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

Chapter 323 Who's in favor, and who's opposed?!

"Who agrees, who disagrees?!" Zhu Youjian's voice still echoed in the palace hall. The princes fell silent for a moment, not because they were silently rebelling against the emperor, but because they were still trying to figure out the deeper meaning of the emperor's words. In short, they were overthinking it.

Zhu Youjian had already been quite open and honest with them, but this was just too un-imperial. It was already good enough that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't reduce the power of the princes, let alone let them train an army?! They weren't even that close to Zhu Youjian. If they were relatives, they were already beyond the fifth degree of kinship. It was already a favor that the emperor didn't punish them!
They hadn't taken any action before, partly out of laziness, but also out of fear of the emperor setting a trap for them, so they had been observing the situation. Only the Prince of Tang felt he had made a dirty deal with the emperor, so he was relatively more uninhibited. He trained a guard of several hundred men. It wasn't that he didn't dare to train more, but he felt the pinch of maintaining an army—over a thousand taels of silver a month was burning his wallet!
They drew their swords and looked around, bewildered. They had raised soldiers, but for the time being, they didn't know what use they were. Apart from serving as a show of force to intimidate others, they seemed to have no other purpose. Wasn't this the same as their original honor guard?
As for leaving the princely residence to travel far away, they would feel a little itchy when the court forbade them to go out, but when they were actually allowed to, they felt a little panicked. They had gradually gotten used to staying at home for a long time, and suddenly having to go out really made them feel anxious and not quite used to it.

Everyone looked at each other, and the scene became awkward. Finally, it was Zhou Wang, a local, who broke the awkward situation. He managed to say, "Your Majesty, do the officials in the court agree with what you have said?" Zhou Wang's words stung Zhu Youjian.

Although he did not conquer the country, he had already deeply experienced the dilemma that the founding emperors described as "it is easy to conquer the country on horseback, but difficult to govern it on foot."

The army is merely a safety net, protecting him from drowning and serving as a deterrent to civil officials. It's not omnipotent; it can't control officials' feigned compliance and underhanded tactics. The Ming Dynasty was vast, and the army couldn't reach every corner. Furthermore, if the army wasn't kept in check, who knew what kind of trouble it might cause?

They are generally obedient, but they may not fully understand and execute the emperor's orders.

"Whether you agree or disagree, it's our family matter. Who are they to interfere?!" Zhu Youjian said angrily. "I know that many of the estates you own were donated by others. If you care about your reputation, return the land; if you're so shameless as to just seize it, I'll pretend I didn't see it."

The Prince of Zhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we will obey your decree and do our best to fulfill your words. However, Your Majesty's actions may invite criticism. We hope Your Majesty will take this seriously! The two emperors, Guangzong and Xizong, died young. Your Majesty must not be unaware of this!"

Given that Zhu Youjian was speaking frankly and that the Prince of Zhou had been quite blunt, the various vassal states nodded in agreement, meaning: Your Majesty, what you said is very good, and everyone is willing to follow suit, but what everyone is really worried about is not anything else, but whether you, the emperor, can survive.

If you, the emperor, suddenly pass away, wouldn't everyone be courting death by what they're doing now? What if the next emperor doesn't recognize your policies? What if he starts weakening the power of the princes again and causing trouble for everyone?!

Zhu Youjian said that he could only govern his generation. As for his own reputation, anyone who cares about politics knows that he has always been highly regarded, so there is no need to worry about him going back on his word.

Zhu Youjian said that his father and elder brother had only fallen ill from overwork, and asked everyone not to overthink things. As for himself, he was strong and healthy, did not indulge in wine or women, and did not practice Zen, alchemy, or take drugs. He was in good health.

Since ascending the throne, he has paid particular attention to the inner and outer palaces, and his travels are always accompanied by a large army. A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, and he would never do the foolish thing of traveling incognito. He hopes that everyone will have confidence in his ability to survive. Given the exceptionally long reigns of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Shenzong, everyone can have confidence in his lifespan.

"It is precisely because I am weak and powerless in the court that I hope you all will come and help me. Back then, Prince Xiangxian served as regent twice and governed for seven dynasties, and died a peaceful death. How majestic he was! You should at least learn from his example!" Zhu Youjian said with a sense of disappointment.

The Prince of Xiangxian?! That's really impressive. Everyone looked at the Prince of Xiang. Zhu Yiming, the eighth-generation descendant of Zhu Zhanxian, felt honored to hear his ancestor being praised by the emperor. He straightened his back and faced the gazes of the princes and the emperor with an arrogant expression.

Indeed, one of Zhu Youjian's two major weapons in governing the country was his commitment to trustworthiness! Confucius was quite capable; when Zigong asked him how to govern a country, he said that one must have food, soldiers, and credibility, with the people's trust being the most important. With the Zhou king taking the lead, the other vassal states also echoed his sentiments, and in an instant, the ice melted away, and the room was filled with a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

Nanyang had abundant grain reserves; when Kaifeng was besieged, it was Nanyang that worked tirelessly to transport supplies. The Tang Emperor's focus was on the so-called "sufficient grain allowance" system for tenant farmers. He said, "How much is considered sufficient? If a tenant farmer has three to five people, or a household with dozens, wouldn't it be unfair to rent land to those with larger families? If we don't give land to those with larger families, allowing them to starve, wouldn't that contradict Your Majesty's original intention in establishing this system?"

Zhu Youjian suggested referring to the imperial court's public land rental system, distributing land according to population size and differentiating between able-bodied men, women, the elderly, and the infirm. The Tang Emperor pressed further, "Previously, after paying the taxes, the people kept the rest, so they worked diligently. But now, if they only have enough for their own food, what if they're unwilling to cultivate more land and instead just do a perfunctory job?"

Zhu Youjian glanced at the Tang King slightly, never expecting that this old beast and scoundrel who took pleasure in killing his own son and grandson was actually quite clever.

Zhu Youjian said: "The system of keeping enough food rations does not mean that you keep only your own food rations and then take away the rest. What are you thinking? We just hope that you will make appropriate concessions during years of disaster so that the people will not starve to death. In normal years, we also collect fixed land rent. If the people plant more, the extra will still be theirs. Why wouldn't they work hard to plant the land?"
"Don't feel like you're being taken advantage of. Each of you owns hundreds of thousands or even millions of acres of land, and you only collect tens of thousands of taels of silver in rent every year. You may not feel the pinch, but I do. Now, you can manage your own land and have troops collect the rent. It's much better than having local officials manually fill out tax forms for you. Your annual income will at least double!"

The Tang emperor bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for answering my questions and dispelling my doubts. Now I have no more doubts!"

Zhu Youjian stroked his beard with a sense of satisfaction, then suddenly realized that the Prince of Tang was not unaware of the situation; he was deliberately playing along, setting up a stage for Zhu Youjian's performance. "You little rascal, Prince of Tang!"

Although Prince Tang was cunning, he was shrewd and ambitious, but not to the point of rebellion, and Zhu Youjian could not find a reason to deal with him. After giving Prince Fu a slight warning, Zhu Youjian was still not satisfied. In addition to Prince Fu, who was a true prince, Zhu Youjian's uncles present were also the sixth son of Emperor Wanli, Prince Hui of Zhu Changrun, and the seventh son, Prince Gui of Zhu Changying.

Prince Gui, Zhu Changying, was unremarkable, but his son, Zhu Youlang, was extremely famous!

“Prince Lu, I heard you call yourself ‘Lu Buddha’?! I find this very strange. What is this ‘Buddha’? Do you no longer acknowledge your late father and instead acknowledge Shakyamuni as your father?! And Prince Hui and Prince Chong, you too! And Prince Hanzhong, who is not present today, I heard that the four of you once said, ‘If we were not princes, we would rather enter the Buddhist order.’ Should I grant your wish?!” Zhu Youjian said with an unfriendly expression.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! It is Prince Lu who often says that he was 'wrongly born into an imperial family, otherwise he would have become a monk long ago.' Neither of us has ever said such a thing!" Zhu Changrun hurriedly defended himself.

Prince Chong panicked: "Your Majesty, I don't just believe in Buddhism. I also worship the gods of Taoism, Hui, and Western religions. Emperor Shizong worshipped Taoism, and Emperor Shenzong worshipped Buddhism. I'm just following their lead. Whatever Your Majesty tells me to believe, I will believe!"

Good heavens, he's just a half-believer. I really misunderstood him. Zhu Youjian sighed and rubbed his forehead.

The "Buddha of Lu" was clearly obsessed. He sat there blankly, his right hand gripping the prayer beads so tightly that his knuckles were slightly white. He looked like he was struggling, clearly torn between being a vassal king and becoming a monk.

The other vassal kings all turned to look at the Prince of Lu. They were extremely anxious. No matter what, the emperor had spoken, so they had to back down for now! If they came quietly in private, no one would say anything!
"I don't care what you believe in, but this pile of silver cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of these bald monks. You who are donating money to monks and exploiting the people to build Buddhist temples, stop now, or I'll confiscate your homes along with the monks' property!" Zhu Youjian said coldly to Prince Lu. "Prince Lu, do you really want to become a monk?!"

The Prince of Lu's fiefdom was in Weihui Prefecture, Henan. The fiefdoms of the Princes of Zhao, Zheng, and Fu were close to his, so the group sat together. When the Prince of Fu noticed that the emperor's expression was on the verge of collapse and the Prince of Lu was still in a daze, he reached out and nudged him as a reminder. The Prince of Lu snapped out of his reverie, got up, and left his seat to come to the middle of the various princes.

"Your Majesty, I am devoted to Buddhism and have no interest in politics. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request!" Prince Lu kowtowed. Upon seeing this, all the other princes were speechless, and Zhu Youjian was also dumbfounded!
(End of this chapter)