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

Chapter 225 The Powerful Mother and the Broken Him
King Han was not a fool; he had anticipated all of this, so he calmly accepted his fate and even felt that the emperor was quite kind-hearted.

Their lineage originated from the twentieth son of Emperor Taizu, and their blood relationship with the current emperor is already very weak. In addition, they are located in a remote area, and the successive kings of Han have always preferred to keep a low profile, making them almost invisible. The emperor may not even remember that such a branch of the imperial clan existed.

At first, he was reluctant to leave, otherwise he wouldn't have waited until now to suggest fleeing. But faced with his life, none of that mattered anymore; even the greatest wealth and honor couldn't be enjoyed without a life. Going to the capital would at most mean house arrest. He had no grudge against the emperor; surely he wouldn't be killed?

A prince cannot leave his fiefdom without permission, so he needed the emperor's permission to flee. In addition, he asked the emperor to send troops to escort him to the capital, either Sun Chengzong or Hong Chengchou. His princely residence also had some guards, but he had no confidence in their fighting ability.
Zhu Youjian agreed and ordered Sun Chengzong to send several hundred soldiers to escort him to the capital. Pingliang Prefecture borders Xi'an, and the roads were not completely blocked by the rebels. As long as his family was not too unlucky, they could still safely pass through Tongguan Pass to the east and enter the capital.

However, given the vast amount of property in a prince's mansion, Zhu Youjian couldn't afford to waste military and civilian resources relocating it. He could only have him sell his property for valuables or leave them sealed away in the mansion.

The King of Han was really just a nobody. Despite being the first vassal king and having lived for over two hundred years, his palace only occupied a quarter of the city of Pingliang. It was not even as big as a hair on the King of Qin's leg. The King of Qin was in Chang'an, and his palace was four or five times larger than his! But his example had a great influence.

The reduction of the power of the princes should not be done in this way. Currently, the princes of the Ming Dynasty are purely indebted. They cannot bear the responsibility of defense and governance, and they are also burning money. It would be better for them to come to Beijing and become "peaceful princes". The court will give them some pocket money, thereby recovering large areas of land for public rental land.

Of course, how could the imperial court be so corrupt as to seize the property of the princes? This was just a "rent on behalf of the princes," and the rent was all paid by the princes themselves. It was just that the imperial court couldn't work for free, so it was reasonable for them to collect some management fees.

Zhu Danji didn't care much. Powerful princes could beat officials to death in the street, while those who were less fortunate had their weddings and funerals handled by the chief secretary of their princely residence, not to mention their land. They were truly kept in captivity without any freedom.

Two months later, the family of Prince Zhu Danji of Pingliang arrived in the capital. Prince Zhu was in his early thirties, and his wife was beautiful, though somewhat domineering. The Dowager Princess of Pingliang, Zhu Danji's mother, was even more powerful; it seemed she was the one in charge of the Pingliang Prince's household. Seeing this, Zhu Youjian felt a pang of sympathy for this distant relative.

"King Han, there is no need to be reserved. You are a vassal king of my Great Ming. If you are interested in politics, I allow you to wear a python robe and jade belt, and carry a sword and shoes in the palace. If you find politics boring and do not wish to come, that is also your choice."

"Is it really true?!" King Han was overjoyed, and his eyes lit up.

However, Consort Dong was a cautious person. She quietly kicked her son and said, "Your Majesty, Danzhen is not good at politics and can only study poetry and books. All matters, big and small, in the Prince's Palace are handled by the Chief Secretary's Office. I am afraid that I will fail Your Majesty's high regard."

Zhu Danzhen's eyes dimmed, but he dared not utter a word of rebuttal. Zhu Youjian was speechless: This old woman, supposedly cautious, dared to pull such a stunt in front of the emperor, even interrupting the emperor's conversation with the princes—she's truly used to being domineering!

"As you know, every piece of land in the capital has an owner, and it's not easy to find a large tract of land that meets the regulations. If my former residence wasn't frequently used for entertaining guests, I could give it to you without any problem," Zhu Youjian said to Zhu Danji, ignoring Consort Dong.

Zhu Danzhen opened his mouth to answer, but his mother interrupted him: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. There is no need to rush about the affairs of the Prince's Mansion. I have already ordered people to purchase land and houses in the capital."

Zhu Youjian couldn't stand this old woman any longer, so he turned to the quiet Empress Zhou beside him and said, "Zitong, you show the Dowager the way. In the future, when you have free time, you can visit each other more often."

"Hmm!" Empress Zhou responded softly, stepping forward to take Consort Dong's arm. Consort Dong's face was somewhat pale, but she still cooperated and followed the Empress out. Princess Han apologized and followed as well.

Seeing his mother walk away, Zhu Danzhen said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My mother is just like that. I apologize on her behalf."

Sigh! Zhu Youjian shook his head, wanting to say something, but gave up. Even an upright official can't settle family disputes, and this hurdle can only be overcome by himself.

Zhu Youjian slumped in the chair, telling Zhu Danyi to be at ease and not to be restrained.

"How much money does your princely residence have?" Zhu Youjian asked casually. In all honesty, he wasn't trying to swindle Zhu Danji's money; he was simply curious about the wealth these princes had accumulated over the centuries, and whether the princes or corrupt officials were truly rich.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Danzhen immediately became alert. He was a coward, not a fool. He even said with some grievance, "I donated 2,500 taels of silver to support the army in the first year of the Tianqi reign. When the court was building the Prince Duan's Mansion, I donated 1,000 taels of silver. When Your Majesty sent a letter, I also contributed silver."

Zhu Youjian thought about it and realized that there was such a thing, but at that time, the Prince of Tang gave more, so he didn't pay much attention to the Prince of Han's side.

"Ah, don't be hasty. What are you saying? How could I possibly covet your little bit of silver? Alas, although I am the emperor, I am penniless. Even the imperial treasury is overflowing with money! I am already in such dire straits, so I am worried that you will be bullied by officials in the local areas and that you will not have a good life."

Zhu Danji still looked at the emperor with suspicion: Was the emperor really in such a miserable state?! Could what he wrote in his letter a few years ago have been true? Back then, to avoid standing out, he only gave him five hundred taels of silver, just like the other princes. Wasn't that a bit too stingy?!
He hesitated and said, "I brought three thousand taels of silver with me to the capital this time. If Your Majesty needs it urgently, I can lend it to you first."

"Only three thousand taels?!" Zhu Youjian exclaimed in surprise. "What will you do if you lend it to me?!"

Zhu Danji said somewhat embarrassedly, "These three thousand taels are my personal money. The rest of the money is in the hands of my mother and the princess. I don't know exactly how much it is."

Zhu Youjian slapped his forehead and said helplessly, "You... never mind, you should keep this money for yourself."

After a moment of silence, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but ask, "Do you need me to lend you a hand and borrow a few of your capable guards from your palace?"

Zhu Danzhen understood, and a look of struggle appeared on his face, but in the end he said dejectedly, "No need, Your Majesty, I thank you for your kindness, I think things are fine as they are."

(End of this chapter)