The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 72 The Yongle Empire
As news of Jianwen's unwavering loyalty to the emperor continued to arrive, the unrest in the hearts of the people finally subsided.

On the first day of the eleventh month of the third year of Jianwen's reign, the Princess Consort of Yan, the Crown Prince of Yan, and other close relatives who were originally stationed in Beiping were all brought to Yingtian.

With everything in place, Prince Zhu Di of Yan announced to Heaven, Earth, ancestors, and deities in Yingtian that he had officially ascended the throne and changed the era name to Yongle. From then on, all times in the world were called the first day of the eleventh month of the first year of Yongle.

Then, following the example of Emperor Taizu Gaohuang's "founding and assisting meritorious officials", he bestowed the title of "meritorious officials who pacified the rebellion", and granted them great honors and rewards.

The mighty Ming Dynasty, vast and mighty, presents a new era. The wheels of history roll ever onward, as if throwing everything from the old Jianwen era into the dustbin of history.

However, the reality of politics is naturally not so simple, and the issues left behind by Jianwen are quite complicated.

After the ceremonial matters were completed, Zhu Di summoned his close ministers to discuss a crucial issue that had to be addressed: "What should be done with the ministers who were demoted to commoners during the Jianwen era?"

The vast majority of people believed that the princes' titles should be restored, since this was the theoretical basis for the campaign against and the execution of Jianwen, and it could not be denied.

Zhu Di was somewhat displeased. How could he not know who his brothers were? So he looked at Li Qi, who had been silent all along, and asked, "Jinghe is wise. Do you have a solution that satisfies both sides?"

After a moment of contemplation, Li Qi said solemnly, “Your Highness raised an army in the name of pacifying the rebellion and ascended the throne in the righteous cause of eliminating the tyrant. There are some things that must be done. However, it is not appropriate to elevate the princes indiscriminately. Apart from the Prince of Xiang, the other princes have committed many illegal acts. If we shield them indiscriminately, it will inevitably affect Your Majesty’s reputation.”

Therefore, I believe that each king should have a different approach.

The innocent Prince Xiang should be immediately restored to his royal title and posthumously honored with a high honorific title. He should also be widely praised in the world so that everyone in the country knows that there is such a famous prince in our clan!

Of the other kings, the King of Zhou is Your Majesty's own brother, and his past crimes were the least serious. With proper education, he can be restored to his royal title, thus demonstrating Your Majesty's brotherly affection towards your clan brothers.

As for the other princes, their actions are all extremely perverse, and they could not be governed even during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Gaozu. They should be summoned back to the capital, severely reprimanded, and then the hardships and difficulties Your Majesty has faced should be explained to make them cautious and repentant. Three rules should be established, and if they commit the same offense again, they will not be spared!
"Such actions should surely settle the matter concerning the kings."

Zhu Di also discovered another advantage of Li Qi in the court: when it came to the princes, other ministers, even if they saw through it or had their own thoughts, dared not speak out. For example, right now, others had reservations.

However, Li Qi was the consort of Princess Lin'an, and the princes had to address him as their elder brother-in-law, so Li Qi spoke without much restraint.

"Jinghe is right!"

After pacing around the palace for a few moments in thought, Zhu Di decisively ordered, "Do as Jinghe said. Summon all the princes to the palace immediately."

Before long, all the princes who had been demoted to commoners entered the hall, while Li Qi and the others waited in a side hall.

This was the first time Zhu Di had seen his brothers since the Jingnan Rebellion. Even though he had dressed and tidied himself up, he still looked obviously haggard. The past few years under Jianwen had been a torment for them, and looking at Zhu Di, who had become the emperor, they felt only deep envy and fear.

Zhu Di originally intended to start the reprimand directly, but seeing their condition, especially the terribly emaciated Prince Zhou, he ultimately softened and sighed, "Jianwen is dead, your hard times are over."

King Zhou, tears streaming down his face, choked out, "Fourth Brother!"

Zhu Di then said earnestly, "I will restore your royal titles, but don't be too happy yet. I have something to say to you."

Jianwen disregarded the bond between the clan and frequently beat, killed, and stripped his uncle of his title. This was certainly wrong of him, but you should also be more vigilant. Why did Jianwen not attack the others first, but instead target you?
The things you did caused your father a lot of headaches when he was alive. Zhu Yunwen disliked your behavior, but he didn't want the world to criticize him if he took action against you, so you met with a great disaster.

Now I restore your princely titles, but you must all remember that this is not without conditions. As princes of the court, I do not expect you to accomplish anything great, but at least do not wantonly harm your people. Even if you frequent brothels or indulge in debauchery, at least you will not cause any harm to the world!

Zhu Di could tell from their expressions that only the Prince of Zhou had taken his words to heart. Of course, he didn't know that the Prince of Zhou had witnessed the suffering of the people on his way to exile and had suddenly come to his senses. He was truly a gem that could not be made without being carved. The others were even more cruel and unruly than the Prince of Zhou, so they naturally did not take Zhu Di's words to heart.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Di's face darkened, and he suppressed his anger, saying, "Father has a saying for you, which I will give you today: We will drink from the golden cup together, but we will not spare each other with a sword!"

The princes immediately realized that Zhu Di was truly angry, for he had uttered such words.

"I'm telling you all right now, if you dare to do anything immoral again, the same calamity that Jianwen suffered may very well befall you. Get back to your fiefdoms!"

After the group of people hurriedly fled, the courtiers were led back to the main hall by their attendants. Seeing the emperor's displeased expression, they knew that the princes had not heeded His Highness's earnest teachings. Not daring to provoke him, none of them mentioned the matter again.

Zhu Di calmed himself down and stopped thinking about those people.

"Chen Qing."

Zhu Di summoned Chen Ying to the front. Chen Ying had also been implicated and demoted during the Jianwen era, but was reinstated after the Yongle era by Li Qi. Li Qi immediately knew what Zhu Di was about to do, and even with his intelligence, he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Zhu Di said gently, "I remember that you served as Minister of Justice during the Hongwu era, and now you are the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. You must be quite familiar with the old cases."

Chen Ying was unsure what the emperor was up to, but he still replied, "Your Majesty, that's right. I have served in the Ministry of Justice for nearly twenty years, and I have a general memory of most of the major cases."

Upon seeing Chen Ying's expression, Zhu Di knew that Li Qi had not told Chen Ying about the upcoming exoneration of the Duke of Han's government. This sense of secrecy and knowing when to advance and retreat pleased Zhu Di greatly, and even his tone became somewhat pleasing.

"Then it would be best to entrust this matter to you. During the Hongwu era, there was the old case of Hu Weiyong, which involved a wide range of people, even implicating the families of many nobles. After the Hu Weiyong case, Yang Jing, the former Minister of Justice, was executed, and Mao Xiang, the former Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was also executed. It can be seen that these two were both wicked people."

These two men happened to be the presiding judges in the Hu Weiyong case. I believe there were bound to be errors or omissions in the proceedings. Therefore, I wish to request Minister Chen to retry the Hu Weiyong case. If there are any wrongful convictions, I will exonerate them and demonstrate my benevolence!

Sure enough!

That's true!

When the emperor mentioned the Hu Weiyong case, Chen Ying already guessed what the emperor wanted to say. What was there to try in the Hu Weiyong case? It was nothing more than to exonerate one of the people involved!

He could hardly help but look at Li Qi, whose eyes also held a gentle smile.

Jinghe, you've finally succeeded! I knew that with your talent, you would one day be able to exonerate the Li family!

Chen Ying was genuinely happy that her friend had finally achieved his long-cherished wish, and also delighted that the Li family could truly return to a world of integrity.

He kowtowed deeply, his face solemn and his voice stern: "Your subject Chen Ying accepts the imperial decree. This time, I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust, clear the name of the wronged, and restore their innocence to the world!"

Everyone in the court and among the people knew that Chen Ying and Li Qi had a good relationship. The emperor specially appointed him as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who had the power to review cases, and put him in charge of this case. It turned out that at that time, the emperor had already prepared to overturn Li Qi's case.

Leaving aside the meritorious officials who contributed to the Jingnan Campaign, the Nine Ministers and the court officials who served as advisors to the emperor were all very curious about what merits Li Qi had made for His Majesty that made His Majesty treat him with such special regard.

Could it be that Li Qi and His Majesty were on good terms?
Could it be because of Princess Lin'an? Everyone knows that Princess Lin'an is only a few months younger than His Majesty, and they truly grew up together and have a very good relationship.

But none of this is enough for His Majesty to overturn the verdict handed down by Emperor Taizu Gao for Li Qi!

They were naturally unaware that the matter of Zhu Di's interrogation in the palace was entirely orchestrated by Li Qi, who also kept his mouth shut, pretending that he had never done it.

All glory belongs to our King!
This was Li Qi's creed when facing a powerful monarch, and also his way of preserving himself as a subject.

As the meeting concluded and the officials were leaving the palace, Zhu Di summoned Li Qi and whispered, "Jinghe, after your family's case is over, let's put Fang Xiaoru's case on the agenda. There are just too many people from Jiangnan in the court. How has Zhu Yunwen tolerated them?"

Li Qi nodded slightly.

After turning around, he fell into thought. Sure enough, Zhu Di, who came from the north, was very sensitive to the current situation in the Ming court. Zhu Di's repeated urging of Li Qi to take action was not only to trample on Fang Xiaoru, but also contained his concern for the literati in Jiangnan.

Especially after he severely trampled on Fang Xiaoru, Qi Tai, and Huang Zicheng, his worries about the literati in Jiangnan reached their peak. He didn't know which of these literati were hostile to him.

A top-tier emperor's intuition told him that while he needed to utilize these talented individuals, he also had to severely suppress them, otherwise problems would inevitably arise in the future.

Zhu Di discovered this soon after arriving in Yingtian and ascending the throne, but Zhu Yunwen remained oblivious for three years as emperor. This is the difference between the two!
One was a monarch ranked among the top in history, and the other was a good-for-nothing who sat at the same table with a monarch who had lost his country.

"Unfortunately, I don't have enough time. After dealing with Fang Xiaoru's lineage, I can entrust the means of suppressing the literati in Jiangnan to Mu'er. He is more intelligent than me and will surely succeed."

There will be no Qing Dynasty in this lifetime.

But wouldn't it be a pity if the three great cases of Jiangnan didn't exist? Let's see if the Jiangnan literati who knelt before the Manchu's sword will kneel before my Li family!

A slight smile played on Li Qi's lips, but there was no joy in it, only a chilling aura and a strong killing intent!
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(End of this chapter)