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

Chapter 322 The Dialogue Between the Princes of Kaifeng

In March of the fifth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhu Youjian hosted a banquet for various foreign tribes from Henan and Huguang at the Prince of Zhou's residence. Among them were the famous Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, from Luoyang, and Zhu Youjian's old acquaintance, Prince Tang, Zhu Shuohuang, from Nanyang.

In addition, there were the Prince of Zhao of Zhangde Prefecture, the Prince of Zheng of Huaiqing Prefecture, the Prince of Chong of Runing Prefecture, the Prince of Lu of Weihui Prefecture, the Prince of Chu of Wuchang Prefecture, the Prince of Jing of Qizhou, the Prince of Xiang of Xiangyang Prefecture, the Prince of Rong of Changde Prefecture, the Prince of Ji of Changsha Prefecture, the Prince of Gui of Hengzhou Prefecture, and the Prince of Hui of Jingzhou Prefecture.

Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, Huguang had the most princes, with eight; Henan was second, with seven. Half of the princes of the Ming Dynasty were from there.

Before the banquet began, Zhu Youjian, as the host, naturally had to say a few words. Zhu Youjian said, "I have summoned you here today as the head of our Zhu family clan. The content of this conversation will be recorded and sent to the other princes and dukes who are unable to attend the banquet in Kaifeng due to their remote location."

Since I ascended the throne and became the emperor of our Great Ming Dynasty, I have faced a very severe domestic and international situation. After these years of governance, external threats have temporarily ceased to be a threat, but the internal contradictions within our Great Ming Dynasty remain extremely acute.

Some of you may think that this is a matter for me, the emperor, and the court, and has nothing to do with you local vassal kings, but I want to say that's not the case.

As cultured individuals who have been well-versed in the classics and historical texts since childhood, you should know that when a country is on the verge of collapse, it is not only the emperor himself who is slaughtered, but also his relatives and nobles.

I often say that "the Ming Dynasty is doomed," and this is not an exaggeration, but because I have witnessed that my Ming Dynasty has reached the brink of destruction. The fields of the garrison soldiers have been seized, and the tens of millions of ordinary people in the country have less than 20% of the land. The rest has been occupied by the gentry, nobles, and you members of the royal family.

When Emperor Chengzu took away your military power, he compensated you with money and land, but he did not give you the right to move freely, confining you to small princely residences. He did this because he was afraid that you would follow his example and launch a "Jingnan Rebellion".

I'm different. I'm 'naive' and not afraid of your rebellion. In exchange, you'll have to give up some of your economic interests. A real man can't be without money, but at the same time, money is something you can't take with you when you die. Enough is enough; there's no need to pursue it excessively.

I'm not saying this to force you to donate your land and distribute it equally among displaced farmers. That might work in the short term, but it won't be enough in the long run, because the people don't have the ability to protect their land.

All I ask of you is that when you rent out land to the people, you must ensure that, whether it is a year of plenty or a year of famine, the people have enough grain to sustain their families. I call this system the 'Tenant Farmers' Grain Reserve System'.

What I need is for you to use your noble status as vassal kings to protect the land you hold, and to leave these precious arable lands for the displaced people who truly need them to cultivate. As for the emperor, as vassal kings, you have the privilege of tax exemption on 10,000 mu of land, which is already a great favor to everyone.

Land exceeding 10,000 mu will still be subject to taxes paid to the imperial court. The tax rate of our Great Ming is not high. Although you will suffer some losses, for the sake of the eternal stability of the Ming Dynasty and for your safety, we hope you will relinquish this portion of your benefits.

I'm speaking to you all politely, and I hope you'll listen and not ignore my words. After all, I have far more troops than you. Previous emperors like Xianzong, Shizong, and Shenzong all deposed or demoted princes to commoners.

Since I became emperor, I have spoken to you all in a kind and gentle manner, and I have never had the thought of deposing you. This is not because I am incapable of doing so, or because I am afraid of gossip or anything like that. It is simply because I feel that we are a family, and that family rules come before national rules, and that we should reason with each other before taking action.

Uncle Prince Fu, you know your own situation well. Your reputation in the court has never been good, and your relationship with my father is probably not good either. From any perspective, you are the perfect target for my wrath. This way, the court officials will be happy, and the people whose land you seized from your fiefdom will also be happy.

If I were you, I would definitely try my best to improve my reputation, so that the emperor would have to think twice before taking action against me.

I am aware that some of you have experienced situations where your estates have been encroached upon or your management rights seized. When I first ascended the throne, I instructed you to attempt to restore your own regional guards.

But to this day, most of you have not taken any action. Has the long period of comfortable life dulled your fighting spirit? If you had your own guards, would you still be afraid of being bullied by local officials?!

I hereby explicitly demand that you use the funds of the Prince's Palace to recruit soldiers and restore the three regulations for vassal kings. I allow each of you to command three thousand soldiers, but of course, you must raise your own military funds and be self-sufficient. Of course, exceeding three thousand is also unacceptable; I will definitely send troops to deal with you.

I've given you military power to protect your legitimate rights, such as sending troops to collect rent from estates across the land. But if you do anything that involves bullying men and women, assaulting or harming court officials, I will not tolerate it.

Local officials retain the right to impeach you. At the same time, as princes, you have the obligation to supervise the officials of your fiefdoms and prefectures, and you can also submit memorials impeaching local officials. When impeached, I allow you to submit a memorial defending yourself; if a case involves murder, I allow you to go to the capital to defend yourself in person with the person who accused you. I will not show favoritism to either side based on personal relationships.

"The nobles are now unreliable, and the heavy reliance on eunuchs displeases the civil officials. It's also inappropriate to use eunuchs for everything. This system of checks and balances is something emperors throughout history have used, yet were ashamed to admit. I am emperor for the first time; I have no such taboos!"

Pfft! The young Prince Yonghe couldn't help but burst out laughing, and all the other princes present smiled knowingly, because the Ming Dynasty really did have an emperor who became emperor a second time!
Zhu Youjian smiled and continued, "Our Great Ming Dynasty has many problems now: ideological confusion, natural disasters and man-made calamities, and turmoil."

The common people suffered greatly, the soldiers suffered greatly, and even the officials did not live comfortably. Corruption among civil officials was something they themselves admitted; factional strife and infighting also caused enormous waste.

Corruption alone is not enough to have led our Great Ming Dynasty to its current state; waste is the most terrifying thing. To cover up their embezzlement of a few dozen taels, they might spend hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver on something that seems to be the right thing to do.

The reconstruction of the three main halls cost several million taels of silver. Does that mean that without these buildings, our Ming Dynasty court would be unable to function?
Of course I know this is about the nation's reputation, but it depends on the context. At that time, the situation in Liaodong was extremely precarious, Nurhaci was pressing forward relentlessly, and even the capital was under long-term martial law. Was this the time to build the three main halls? Couldn't we wait until the country was stable and the people were living in peace and prosperity before doing these things?!

My brother enjoys woodworking, is not particularly fond of women, and has little interest in fancy clothes or precious utensils.

Before his death, he made no special requests regarding his burial, suggesting that he be buried simply, following the example of wise rulers like Emperor Wen of Han. Why then did the court officials insist on building a lavish, regulated imperial mausoleum? Did the emperor's majesty only manifest itself after death?!
My ideas may be unconventional and not fully accepted or understood by the world, but all I hope for is that our nation can continue smoothly.

This world is not the domain of any one family or clan. What we enjoy now is merely the blessing of our great ancestor, the Taizu, who reshaped China. Therefore, the people of the world are willing to let the descendants of the Taizu become emperors of the Ming Dynasty, while avoiding war caused by disputes over who should be emperor.

However, the blessings of a virtuous ruler last only five generations; the people's patience has its limits. When the people can no longer endure it, it will be like "the imperial treasury burning to ashes, and the streets trampling the bones of officials," at which point, where will there be any emperor or princes left?!

Civil officials are selected through the imperial examinations, but a civil official from a commoner background may not necessarily be wholeheartedly concerned for the people; noble military generals either benefit from the legacy of their ancestors or have risen through the ranks by their own military achievements, but they may not necessarily treat their ordinary soldiers well.

Among the emperors of my Great Ming Dynasty, some were good, and some were not so good; among the princes, some were wise, and some were worse than pigs and dogs. These are not things that cannot be said, just as among the common people, some are kind, and some are cunning.

There are many ills in this world, but everyone is used to covering them up and not daring to speak openly. In reality, how much harm would it do to explain things clearly? No one is perfect; everyone makes mistakes. Neither the court nor the emperor is always right. If you make a mistake, correct it!
The world's resources are limited, and everyone wants to take them; everyone has selfish motives, which is understandable. But no matter what, we must leave the people a way to survive.

I am well aware of the harm caused by the gentry, I know that you princes are ruining the local areas, and I even know about the emperor's extravagance and waste that has caused a great shortage of national funds. But this situation should be changed now.

As the emperor, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I sold everything that could be sold in the palace. If my 120 pounds of flesh weren't so worthless, I would have had to reconsider. Sixteen emperors sit high in the imperial court, and for the Ming Dynasty, an emperor as frugal as me is certainly unprecedented, if not unparalleled. I have set a good example; those who don't believe me can go into the palace and see for themselves!

Every year from now on, around this time, the princes of my Great Ming will bring at least two hundred and no more than seven hundred guards to the capital for a meeting. Right now it's Beijing, but in the future it might be Nanjing. Everyone will have a meal, chat, and I will also inspect your princely guards. If you are bullied by local officials, just say so, and I will stand up for you.

No matter what, we are family, and we should support each other and consolidate the Ming Dynasty's rule, not be wary of each other! Even vassal kings should have some moral principles. As long as the Ming Dynasty has not been destroyed by barbarians, history will surely record your deeds. You should at least have some self-respect!
As a prince of the Ming Dynasty, one doesn't necessarily have to be a virtuous ruler loved by the people and praised by the scholars, but at least one shouldn't be so hated. Either be poisoned to death by a servant like Zhu Xian, or worse, be dragged into the street like Dong Zhuo and burned alive, then thrown into a pot and stewed with deer for a "feast of fortune and prosperity."

Finally, Zhu Youjian, hands on his hips, declared, "That's about all I wanted to say. Who agrees? Who disagrees?!"

Who the hell dares to object? Prince Fu was criticized the most, and his fat face turned purple, but he didn't dare to utter a sound because the Prince Zhou's mansion was surrounded by thousands of soldiers, and anyone who didn't know better would think that Zhu Suzhen had been arrested for rebelling!

Seeing Zhu Changxun's outwardly defiant expression, Zhu Youjian truly felt that this fellow was ungrateful, even though he was clearly trying to save him!
"Prince Fu, your mother's health has not been good these past few years. You'd better hurry to the capital to see her," Zhu Youjian said softly.

Zhu Changxun was slightly moved upon hearing this! In fact, Consort Zheng should have died in the third year of Chongzhen's reign. He didn't know where things went wrong, allowing the old lady to live to this day.

(End of this chapter)