The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 110 Ancestral Mausoleum? Let's go tell the late emperor's decree.

Not only Li Shimian, but also Xie Jin, Wang Gen, Chen Ying, even the monk Daoyan, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Han, Zhu Di, and the nobles who had been watching the spectacle, were all curious to know what Li Xianmu was going to do.

"This is Imperial Censor Su."

Li Xianmu pointed to an official who was kneeling on the ground and looked to be in his forties, and said sarcastically, "Does Scholar Li know why he opposes moving the capital?"

This censor came from a wealthy family in Jiangnan. His family owned a restaurant and five shops in the capital. Of these five shops, two were for his own use and three were for rent. As soon as the news of His Majesty's intention to move the capital spread, the rent for those three shops was halved overnight.

The restaurant and five shops were worth about three thousand strings of cash, but after news of the capital's relocation spread, their value plummeted to less than a thousand strings of cash within just a few days.

At this point, Li Shimian was already drenched in cold sweat, his face deathly pale, and he could hardly believe it.

Li Xianmu, however, did not let him off the hook, his sarcasm growing even more pronounced. "Scholar Li, why do you think he opposes moving the capital?"

No one has ever thought about these things. Can a shop in the capital be the same as one outside the capital?

In this imperial court, how many people own shops?
"Furthermore, this Wang Hanlin is a native of Yingtian. As early as the Hongwu era, he purchased six houses and villas in the capital, spending a total of more than 6,000 guan. Once the news of the relocation of the capital was released, the land price in the capital plummeted, and those houses that cost more than 6,000 guan are now only worth more than 2,000 guan."

Living in the capital is not easy.

Scholar Li, since you are an official in the capital, you must be renting a place to live.

Now guess how many times his official salary Wang Hanlin earned each year from these houses and villas?

The censors and Hanlin scholars who were singled out by Li Xianmu were practically collapsing to the ground. Faced with this bloody reality, the emperor simply wouldn't believe their sophistry.

"Imperial Censor Su! Hanlin Academician Wang! Have I ever slandered you?!"

Li Xianmu demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

All eyes of the assembled officials fell upon the two men, and countless others were drenched in cold sweat. There were many others in the hall who were in the same state as these two.
The emperor's chilling gaze also fell on the two of them, and the murderous intent in his eyes was almost undisguised.

The two were trembling with fear, but who would dare to lie?
Look at Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing next to the emperor; he's just waiting for them to lie so he can confiscate their property.

"My lord is guilty!"

"My lord is guilty!"

Completely terrified, the two could only kowtow repeatedly in an attempt to salvage their lives.

Zhu Di took a deep breath, barely suppressing the murderous intent churning within him. It wasn't the right time yet; even he hadn't anticipated how things would unfold today.

Li Xianmu actually managed to find such a tricky angle; many of those kneeling before His Highness must be trembling with fear now.

Li Xianmu glanced at the group of nobles who had fought against the Jingnan Rebellion. Sure enough, these nobles, who had been laughing and joking just moments before, were now deep in thought.

Li Xianmu didn't mention this matter, and they didn't even realize that moving the capital would cause the land price in Yingtian to plummet. On the contrary, if the capital were moved, wouldn't the prices of shops and houses in Beijing rise sharply, even by four or five times?
Beijing is their stronghold. Which family in Beijing doesn't own a lot of farmland and shops, and which family doesn't have ten or eight villas?

If the capital were moved, wouldn't we make a fortune in an instant?
Who in this world doesn't like money?

Especially this kind of windfall that comes without effort; no one can get rich without windfall gains!

The group of nobles exchanged glances, all understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.

While everyone in the hall was still stunned by Li Xianmu's revelation of such an unbearable truth, a group of dukes, marquises, and earls knelt down at the very front of the military officers' ranks like a tidal wave.

"We, your humble servants, request that we consider moving the capital to resist the Mongols and protect our Great Ming!"

The sudden fate of the military officer startled everyone in the hall, including Zhu Di. Generally, apart from discussing military issues, military officers were like clay figures in the court, and no one paid any attention to them.

Shocking.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhu Di, and he instantly understood the root of the matter. Li Xianmu had not only exposed the hypocrisy of Su and Wang, but also killed two birds with one stone, dragging a group of Jingnan nobles onto the war chariot of relocating the capital.

With just this one move, the overall situation in the court was completely reversed!

The civil officials were originally divided into three and seven groups, but after the military officials agreed to move the capital, the power dynamic in the court suddenly reversed, and the number of people who agreed to move the capital was now enough to rival the military!

The momentum that Li Xianmu held surged again.

When Li Xianmu was not in power, he rebuked him harshly. Now that he has gained power, he has become more moderate and peaceful. He no longer makes sarcastic remarks, but instead says with emotion: "I remember that Scholar Li came from a poor family. It is said that in winter, there was no charcoal fire and his fingers were frostbitten, but he still persisted in studying. That is why he has achieved what he has today. With your poor background, how can you know what those from wealthy families are thinking?"

Do you still believe that opposing the relocation of the capital is for the sake of the nation and its people?

Li Xianmu's words were utterly devastating to Li Shimian. His face turned deathly pale, and he was even swaying precariously. For someone like him, who held deep beliefs and aspirations, and who was a true Confucian scholar who took the world as his responsibility, to have these things laid bare before him was no different from killing him!
Finally, some people on the ground couldn't hold back any longer. After all, most people didn't have businesses in Yingtian, especially officials from Jiangxi and Zhejiang.

However, someone else raised their head and said, "Li Hanlin is too generalizing!"
Even if a few unscrupulous people are mixed in with them, trying to take advantage of the situation, does that mean they can all be smeared?

If that's the case, what about Li Shimian, who's right in front of you?
He was also against moving the capital, and Li Hanlin recounted his illegal deeds!

Li Xianmu was somewhat lenient with people like Li Shimian who had faith in their hearts, but he immediately changed his attitude towards those who were eager for personal gain.

He roared angrily, “Since ancient times, you people who are eager for fame and fortune have always liked to push a dignified gentleman like Li Shimian to the forefront!”
If a ruler kills someone in anger, he is called a tyrant!

If the monarch does not get angry but pushes it away, you will then share the spoils!
Now that the mighty Ming Dynasty is here, how dare you act so arrogantly and spout nonsense? You'll have no way to escape to the underworld!

"I dare to ask the Hanlin scholars, I dare to wield the power of the monarch, and hold the power of life and death."

Even in such a predicament, they still didn't forget to dig a pit for Li Xianmu. The power of life and death, the authority of the monarch, is absolutely not something a subject can touch.

Do you think you can escape now that things have turned out this way?

Li Xianmu said sternly, "You think you can make such a fuss just because you don't own any shops or houses in the capital? That's utterly absurd."

The others then came to their senses and realized that it was indeed true. They had no interests in the capital, so why should they be afraid?

He was so guilty that he almost fell for it.

Li Shimian also raised his head. He didn't want an explanation from Li Xianmu, but rather wanted to know the truth. "Li Hanlin, what you said earlier is correct. I am of humble origin and know very little about these things. Please tell me how my fellow villagers have profited from this."

Li Xianmu looked at Li Shimian and felt as if his whole being was about to shatter, his worldview being constantly shattered, and all the things he had learned in the past being overturned today.

"Since you want to know..."

Moving the capital to Beijing would inevitably increase taxes on Suzhou and Huzhou. Most of the land in Suzhou and Huzhou was in the hands of powerful families, and ordinary people were either tenant farmers or farmed on government land. How could officials from powerful families in the court be willing to accept this? With the capital located in Yingtian, do you know how much tax silver the court spends every year on security, waterways, roads, watermills, and so on in Jiangnan?
If the imperial court doesn't do these things, they'll have to bear the consequences themselves.

Seeing that almost all of their underwear was about to be brutally ripped apart by Li Xianmu, some people immediately jumped up and down.

"His mouth is full of words about self-interest; is this the kind of talk a moral person should utter?"

"Are all the officials in my Ming Dynasty as you claim? Are you really so clean in framing and slandering me?"

As Li Xianmu pierced through their layers of pretense, their final words of defiance echoed through the hall—

"The late emperor's mausoleum is in Yingtian. After the capital was moved, does Your Majesty have to travel thousands of miles every year to pay homage to the late emperor?"
If Your Majesty does not come to pay respects, does Your Majesty intend to abandon the mausoleum of the late Emperor Xiaoling?

When Your Majesty ascended the throne, you paid homage at the Xiaoling Mausoleum before taking the throne!

This is the real trump card in the hands of the ministers who oppose moving the capital!

The Ming Dynasty governed the country with filial piety. Can you really just abandon your father's mausoleum and leave like that?

Aren't you afraid your dad will appear in your dream in the middle of the night and say you're unfilial?

Aren't you afraid of being condemned by the world?

As the emperor, how dare you not set an example?
Countless gazes fell upon Zhu Di, and even the notoriously unruly Prince of Han couldn't help but furrow his brow.

In the world, loyalty and filial piety are the most important things. As an emperor, one does not need to be loyal to anyone, so only filial piety remains!
This is the morality of the world. If the emperor does not abide by it, at best morals will decline, and at worst the social order will collapse, and the hearts of the people will waver.

Zhu Di took a deep breath, and instead of being angry, he laughed. His loud laughter, which shook the entire Golden Palace, filled the air.

"it is good!"

"Truly a good subject of mine!"

Zhu Di slammed his hand on the dragon throne, both angry and amused, and said, "Li Xianmu!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

The officials in the hall were all stunned. Under such circumstances, why summon Li Xianmu? What decree was Li Xianmu following? Where was there any decree?
Li Xianmu walked upwards from the center of the hall, and to the increasingly astonished gazes of the crowd, he went straight for the dragon throne.

The guards on either side of the emperor were about to draw their swords.

Fortunately, he stopped after only stepping onto the first step, otherwise the knife would have really come down.

Then the courtiers saw Li Xianmu reach into his robes and pull out a sealed imperial edict.

wrong?

He pulled out the imperial edict?
Everyone was stunned. The emperor was sitting right there. What were you doing taking out the imperial edict?
Is there any imperial edict that can compare to the emperor's words spoken on the spot?

Regardless of everyone's expressions and thoughts, Li Xianmu shouted with all his might, "This is the late emperor's last will and testament!"
Sent from April of the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign!
The courtiers received the imperial decree!

These words were like a thunderclap, a gale, a glacier, or a rain of swords and arrows. In an instant, the entire Fengtian Hall fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. In a moment of déjà vu, everyone held their breath and focused their attention, as if no one was there at all!
The next moment, chaos erupted!
The commotion nearly lifted the roof off the Fengtian Hall.

"Boom!"

The bells in the hall rang out loudly, shattering all the noise, and then Li Xianmu's clear voice rang out again, "Your ministers, receive the imperial decree!"

The entire court, like a surging tide, knelt before the imperial edict. Why did no one question it?

Because the imperial edict was sealed and never opened, because everyone remembered that the Li family really did have an imperial edict from the late emperor, which was already known throughout the land as early as the Jianwen era.

The decree from the late emperor is the most sacred and powerful thing in the world.

Some emperors had no influence while they were alive, but after they died, their imperial edicts became like divine pronouncements.

The courtiers prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Although Yingtian is the birthplace of the Ming Dynasty... its location in the southeast makes it unsuitable to bear the weight of the world... future rulers should choose a new land, build a new capital there, and inherit the Mandate of Heaven..."

Awesome! "

This was actually an imperial edict to relocate the capital. All the officials knew that the late emperor had once thought about relocating the capital, but it was put on hold because of the sudden death of Emperor Xiaokang. No one expected that he would keep thinking about it all this time, and even more unexpectedly, Li Qi did not bring it out during the Jianwen era, but kept it until now.

what is this?
How laughable are the words spoken at Xiaoling Mausoleum just now in the face of this imperial edict?
The man who had just spoken out in anger had already collapsed to the ground; he knew he was completely finished.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Li Xianmu put away the imperial decree, and Zhu Di stood up from the throne and then walked down step by step. At this moment, he felt extremely happy.

Today's grand court assembly was a turbulent affair, full of unexpected twists and turns, even catching him off guard several times. But the final result was truly exhilarating.

He remained seated on the throne, while those rebellious ministers who opposed the relocation of the capital had already met a bleak end, like withered lotus leaves falling into the water.

Look at those things, they're truly laughable.

The scholars who opposed moving the capital were all speechless. Now, what else could they say?

"Since you have nothing to say, then I have something to say."

In today's grand court assembly, those who disregard the fate of the nation for their own selfish interests will be executed by me. Are there any who would object?

In today's grand court assembly, those who, for their own selfish gain, knowingly brought up the late emperor's intention to move the capital to challenge me, I will kill them. Are there any who would object?

"In today's grand court assembly, those who, for their own selfish gain, attacked me, even framed loyal ministers—I have exiled them. Are there any who would object?"

Who would dare to disagree?

The victors must thoroughly settle scores; only then can they truly win and bring solace to their comrades.

Now that the emperor has the upper hand in terms of power, virtue, authority, morality, and strength, what is there left to discuss?

Who could have imagined this scene would unfold?
Who would have thought that an imperial edict would arrive as early as the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign!

To pave the way for the current emperor and remove the last obstacle to moving the capital!
(End of this chapter)