Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 114 Conspiracy or Coincidence?!
Empress Zhou had a good nap in the afternoon, but couldn't sleep at night. She kept pestering Zhu Youjian for something, her voice filled with sobs and pleas. Zhu Youjian then realized that she was genuinely crying.

Zhu Youjian's dilemma was that even though he disliked Zhou Kui's family, he could not call for their execution.

From a legal standpoint, they are disliked, but not deserving of death. He cannot decide life and death based solely on personal likes and dislikes. The trouble Zhou Kui might do in the future is something that has not yet happened and cannot be used as a standard for conviction now.

Privately, Zhou Kui was still Empress Zhou's biological father. Even if it were truly an accident, he would still be blamed. Unless he had already decided to depose the Zhou family, but he couldn't bring himself to be so ruthless.

For Zhou Yufeng, her predicament lay in her inability to find a sense of being needed and to define her own value. This was also a drawback of the Ming Dynasty's system of preventing the rise of powerful maternal relatives; empresses from humble backgrounds could not comfortably enjoy such sudden wealth and honor, which is why Ming Dynasty empresses often exhibited a strange simplicity.

They wove and embroidered in the palace, engaging in productive activities. To put it kindly, this was being a role model for the people; but personally, it was merely a small consolation for passing the time and realizing personal value. In such a vast empire, what good were the three feet of cloth they wove?
As for procreation and sex, aren't these things a given? Does the emperor seem like someone who lacks these things? The Ming Dynasty version is more nostalgic; they wouldn't have the audacity to use such matters to threaten or negotiate with the emperor.

Zhu Youjian understood Empress Zhou's unease and tried his best to appease her, but he had no solution. He certainly wouldn't execute or demote his empress without cause.

However, Empress Zhou has to adapt to this sense of imbalance in her values. Perhaps things will change once her child is born and she focuses her energy on her child.

Zhu Youjian had previously wavered on whether to make Zhou the empress. He knew that making Zhou the empress might not be entirely a good thing for her, and now it seemed that his doubts had come true.

However, it would be unreasonable not to make her empress. She was doing a good job as a princess. For example, when Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, ascended the throne, he made his princess empress on the same day.

Many things in the world are unsolvable. No matter which path you choose, you won't get a perfect result. You either have to weigh the pros and cons and choose the path you think is relatively better, or you have to flip the table and then bear the consequences of that.

The next day, Zhu Youjian publicly announced at the court meeting that due to the bad practice of previous emperors bestowing titles upon their maternal relatives, a large number of such relatives had been created, and these relatives were arrogant, domineering, and bullying men and women, which aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people.

Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty has paid a heavy price to support these relatives of the emperor, and this must change from now on. From this day forward, no title will be conferred without military merit, and relatives of the emperor will not be granted titles without cause!
After making that initial cut, Zhu Youjian continued to drop bombshells: the court would not reclaim the lands acquired by princes, nobles, and those with official titles or positions through rewards or legal transactions, but tax reductions and exemptions would no longer be allowed indefinitely.

From this day forward, princes will be exempt from tax on 10,000 mu of land, dukes on 8,000 mu, marquises on 5,000 mu, earls on 3,000 mu, Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) on 1,000 mu, and students on 300 mu. Ministers in red robes will receive an additional exemption of 1,000 mu, ministers in blue robes on 500 mu, and ministers in green robes on 300 mu. The emperor himself will set an example by paying taxes on the eight million mu of imperial estates at the normal rate of one-thirtieth of the regular tax.

This time, although everyone was still reluctant, there wasn't a large group of people who jumped out to oppose the emperor.

There are many reasons: one is that everyone knows the country is going to reform, and the emperor has been very lenient this time, so people can still accept it.

Then the emperor had just won a battle and was riding high. The elite troops of the Beijing garrison shouted that he was the Holy Emperor. Sun Chuanting's three thousand elite cavalry were still stationed in Beijing. These ten thousand men could easily defeat the Jurchens. They could easily hang up and beat up all the officials in the capital. The officials had to consider the consequences of disobeying the emperor.

Finally, while the emperor's orders are one thing, everyone has their own methods. Whether the taxes can be collected, and how much can be collected, depends on the methods of the emperor and his court officials.

In reality, none of them necessarily intended to oppose the emperor; they were simply guided by their own interests, which often differed from the emperor's. As for the emperor's life or death, or who the emperor was, it didn't really matter to most people. Of course, they wouldn't allow an emperor who openly wanted to kill them; he had to be drowned—even a commoner's rage can lead to bloodshed.

The Song Dynasty, by not suppressing land annexation, united with the scholar-official class to oppress everyone else, including powerful families, gentry, warlords, and common people, and remained wealthy until the country's demise. In contrast, the Ming Dynasty died in poverty. It seems reasonable to learn from the wealthy Song Dynasty.

As for the common people, a group of people selected through examinations, they only believe that their success is due to their own efforts. How can they really regard themselves as representatives of the people? Although the sages' teachings taught the scholar-officials to be diligent in their duties and love the people, this is entirely based on personal integrity. How many people can be expected to actually follow this principle?
From a class perspective, they were an independent scholar-official class, naturally belonging to a different class from the common people. There are individuals who betray their class, but no class that betrays its own. From the perspective of the source of their power, their power came partly from the emperor and partly from the court as a whole, not from the people. So how could they be accountable to the people?
The Ming Dynasty was transitioning from a small-scale peasant economy to a commodity economy. While farming might not seem to generate much wealth, Zhu Youjian (Emperor Yongle) knew that agriculture was the foundation of everything, and fleeting profits were meaningless to the nation. Bi Ziyan was eager to prove himself and wanted to increase the silver revenue from the Taicang granary, but Zhu Youjian preferred to acquire more grain; for this reason, a less-than-impressive balance sheet didn't matter. The Taoist priest at the Beiding Niangniang Temple, selling fertility formulas, had been apprehended by the Eastern Expeditionary Police. This man was a fake Taoist without a certificate of ordination and not a formal member of the temple. However, Zhu Youjian had no liking for monks and Taoists. Adhering to the principle that thieves never leave empty-handed, he extorted three thousand taels of silver from the Beiding Niangniang Temple under the pretext of helping them, and also confiscated eight hundred acres of fertile land.

The Beiding Niangniang Temple was a royal temple built by imperial decree, ordered by Emperor Zhu Zhanji, known as the "Cricket Emperor." Subsequent emperors continuously expanded it and granted it land, making the Beiding Niangniang Temple increasingly wealthy. What the previous emperors thought was none of Zhu Youjian's concern; now that it was fattened up, it was his turn to reap the rewards. With the empire on the verge of collapse, making these Taoist priests, who had been supported for so many years, bleed a little wasn't unreasonable, was it?
As for the fake Taoist priest, Zhu Youjian ordered him to be given ten catties of his so-called secret medicine and his property to be confiscated. The ingredients of his secret medicine for conceiving a son were incense ash and herbs, and there was also an upgraded version: incense ash and herbs that nourish qi and blood, such as angelica, rehmannia, ginseng, licorice, and safflower.

The medicine Zhou's mother bought was the upgraded version. These medicines have the effect of nourishing blood and replenishing qi. Safflower promotes blood circulation and regulates menstruation, which can cause miscarriage. It does have the effect of regulating menstruation and helping fertility, but it is a high-risk folk remedy. In other words, if a woman who has never been pregnant drinks this folk remedy, it may actually be of some use, but if a woman who is already pregnant takes it, it may lead to miscarriage. It is like paying money to suffer.

A foolish person had a sudden inspiration, and Zhu Youjian almost lost a child, and might even have killed his own wife.

However, the investigation revealed that the fake Taoist priest had been selling fake medicine for many years, and the prescriptions he sold were fixed. He was not acting under someone's instructions. Even if someone did, they would be a master strategist like the Black Organization in "Detective Conan," capable of subtly guiding others' behavior without anyone noticing.

Whether someone is guilty or innocent rests solely on the emperor's mind. Regardless of whether he was acting under orders, the fact that he possessed a drug that could cause miscarriages and that the drug was delivered to the empress was enough to trigger a major case, implicating tens of thousands of people, shaking the capital, and resulting in a massive killing spree.

However, Zhu Youjian didn't want to appear neurotic, so he decided to treat the matter as an accident for the time being. Nevertheless, he still wanted to use it to sow discord. Zhu Youjian presented the evidence he had gathered to Empress Zhou, but what she thought of it remained a mystery to him.

Empress Zhou's face turned deathly pale, and then tears welled up in her eyes. With a pleading look in her eyes, she asked, "Your Majesty, is everything in this confession true?"

Safflower is easy to identify. Zhou's mother brought many packets of secret medicine. You can see it just by opening any packet. Comparing it with medical books, the evidence is irrefutable.

"But why would my mother want to harm me?!" Empress Zhou's expression became dazed.

Zhu Youjian sighed softly, put his arm around her and said gently, "Perhaps this was just an unintentional mistake."

The most bizarre part of the whole thing is that the fake Taoist priest's house even had a lot of brocade banners given to him by the people, such as "Miraculous Healing Hands", "Skilled in Medicine", and "Bodhisattva Who Grants Children".

"The Way of Medicine is integrated with the Way of the Dao; the gourd appears as a compassionate vessel. Skillful hands drive away chronic illnesses; Yin and Yang are harmonized for health." Signed: April of the second year of the Tianqi reign, by Li Banghua, Censor of the Censorate. Zhu Youjian looked at this brocade banner and exclaimed that it was outrageous.

The fake Taoist priest drank a medicinal soup made from ten catties of secret herbs—some were cheap, some were upgraded. After drinking it, he suffered from diarrhea and nosebleeds, nearly losing his life. However, Zhu Youjian ultimately released him. After all, he wasn't selling poison.

Having spent half his life swindling and cheating, the old Taoist priest was back to square one. His home was raided, and three hundred taels of silver were found inside. Through the interrogation, the old Taoist priest realized he had committed a grave offense, a crime he had committed against the heavens. How could he have known that the woman was the mother of the current empress? If he had known, he would never have dared to sell medicine to that woman, even if he were beaten to death!
The old Taoist priest thought he was doomed, but to his surprise, he was released. After leaving the prison, he performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows ceremony in the direction of the palace, and then headed towards the place where he had hidden his money.

After receiving the money, the old Taoist priest didn't even return to his residence. Instead, he headed towards the outskirts of Beijing. His ancestral home was in Junzhou, Xiangyang Prefecture, Huguang Province, so he was probably preparing to return home.

His every move naturally did not escape the eyes of the Eastern Depot's agents, and eventually the report reached Zhu Youjian. Wei Zhongxian asked him how to deal with this person.

Zhu Youjian drew his sword, looked around blankly, and waved his hand dejectedly, saying, "Let him be!"

(End of this chapter)