Di Ming

Chapter 455 Spreading Rumors and Conspiring to Depose the Regent, Leading Veteran Generals of the Northern Army to the Yangtze River.

At Qingyang Palace, at the fifth quarter of the Shen hour, the night was already deep.

The newly appointed Prince Zhu Xuanqi of Shu still came to Qingyang Palace with great interest to discuss important matters concerning ancestral temple sacrifices with Zhu Yin.

During this period, the King of Shu was extremely happy and fulfilled. He realized that being an official and participating in politics was such a wonderful experience.

"Grand Tutor." The Prince of Shu was beaming with joy, as if celebrating a happy occasion. "The statue of the founding emperor has been placed in the shrine, and the ancestral tablet has been selected. From now on, princes and dukes can also offer sacrifices to the founding emperor."

"The Grand Tutor's reforms are truly a great achievement."

This afternoon, the embroidered silk portrait of Emperor Taizu was solemnly brought into the ancestral temple and placed above the statue of the first King of Shu after the Taoist priests set up an altar and performed a ritual.

For the first time, a statue and tablet of the founding emperor appeared inside the Shu King's Ancestral Temple.

Inside the Ziyang Hall, the young regent, dressed in a seven-star Taoist robe presented by the palace's Taoist priests and wearing a hibiscus crown with five-petal lotus patterns, looked dignified and solemn.

"Uncle Shu, please sit down and let's talk." Zhu Yin put down the secret letter from Nanjing. "Kangxi, serve tea to the Prince of Shu."

The King of Shu sat down, took a sip of Mengding Shihua tea, stroked his beard, and laughed, "If this matter were to reach Beijing, the Emperor Emeritus would likely be furious."

Zhu Yin smiled slightly, “If he’s angry, he’s angry. The retired emperor should have changed this absurd system long ago, but how can we count on him? To put it bluntly, the founding emperor shouldn’t have established the ancestral rule that princes were not allowed to offer sacrifices to him.”

The Ming Dynasty had a very peculiar ancestral rule: members of the imperial clan could only offer sacrifices to the first king to be enfeoffed, but not to the founding emperor. This deprived members of the imperial clan of their right to offer sacrifices to the founding emperor, and only the imperial family could offer sacrifices to the founding emperor.

This absurd system, which violates the Chinese tradition of filial piety, was an ironclad rule established by Emperor Taizu himself: "After my death, no prince may offer sacrifices to me; only the succeeding emperor may."

This shows how ruthless the founding emperor was as a political figure, and how cruel he was to himself. In order to maintain the stability of the main lineage, he deprived the various smaller lineages of the right to perform ancestral rites for him.

Everyone felt something was wrong!
The princes and officials all felt it was inappropriate.

How can a minor branch of the family not worship the founding ancestor? The founding ancestor is the common ancestor! Utterly absurd!
However, emperors throughout history have upheld the so-called ancestral rule established by Emperor Taizu that "minor lineages should not worship the common ancestor," and strictly prohibited various vassal states from worshipping Emperor Taizu.

Wang Shizhen once wrote with great dissatisfaction: "This system of the Gao Temple makes the princes unaware of who their common ancestor was."

Historically, Prince Fu did not want to leave the capital. Before taking up his post, he used this as an excuse to cry to Emperor Wanli, saying, "If I go to Luoyang, will I never be able to offer sacrifices to Emperor Taizu in this lifetime?"

Those princes and dukes who dared to offer sacrifices to the founding emperor were severely punished. For two hundred years, few dared to violate this prohibition.

The Prince of Shu had grown accustomed to the Regent's style these days; he dared to say almost anything, seemingly without any scruples. He showed no respect for the Emperor Emeritus, and even occasionally harbored resentment towards the founding emperor.

The Grand Tutor's dissatisfaction with Emperor Taizu mainly stemmed from his dissatisfaction with some of the ancestral rules established by Emperor Taizu.

In fact, even members of the imperial family were dissatisfied with these ancestral rules, including him, the Prince of Shu. The only difference was that the Grand Tutor dared to speak out, while he dared not criticize.

Everyone knew it was absurd and no one wanted to follow it. But the princes and dukes were strictly watched, and there could be no violation of the rules during sacrifices. So the princes could only refuse to worship the founding emperor.

On the contrary, it was the lower-ranking members of the imperial family who were able to worship the founding emperor because the court's supervision of the sacrifices was very lax, the emperor didn't care much, and they were closer to the common people. Local officials and the people all felt that it was only right and proper to worship the founding emperor, and they wouldn't interfere by reporting, accusing, or meddle in their sacrifices.

This created a cultural phenomenon: high-ranking members of the imperial family could not worship the founding emperor, while lower-ranking members could!

It's really strange.

Then, the emperors found an excuse for themselves: "The Ming Dynasty governs the world with propriety."

The meaning is actually: "The dynasty first governs the world with rites, and then with filial piety. The system of rites is superior to filial piety, and the ruler's authority is superior to the father's authority."

As a descendant of Emperor Taizu, Zhu Yin scoffed at this so-called ancestral rule. To deprive the lesser branches of the right to worship him, the founding emperor, simply for the sake of the main line's legitimate imperial throne? Did that mean they didn't acknowledge the lesser branches as his descendants? What about the cohesion of the Zhu family?
Confused!

Does the distinction between the minor and major lineages matter? You only allowed the major lineage to offer sacrifices to you, but soon after your death, the minor lineage seized the throne and became the "major lineage" that could offer sacrifices to you. The original major lineage not only lost the throne but also almost died out. What use is this ancestral rule?
Even ordinary people in China know to worship their common ancestor. Why can't members of the imperial family? Then stop saying that the Ming Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety.

Why not abolish this absurd ancestral system so that it will disgust future generations?
Therefore, Zhu Yin abolished this ancestral system without hesitation, and ordered the Prince of Shu to paint an image of the founding emperor, bring it into the ancestral temple, and then offer the first sacrifice to the founding emperor, and then officially appoint the Prince of Shu as a secondary sacrifice.

At the same time, high-ranking members of the imperial clan, such as princes, generals who protect the country, and generals who assist the country, can also worship the founding emperor just like lower-ranking members of the imperial clan!

Therefore, there was the important event of Ming dynasty soldiers and their ancestral clansmen jointly worshipping Emperor Taizu at the Shu King's Ancestral Temple.

The King of Shu was naturally delighted and immediately complied.

"Grand Tutor," the King of Shu suddenly hesitated, "are those Shu embroidery women who embroidered the portrait of Emperor Taizu to be forced to commit suicide before their families are compensated? As embroiderers..."

"Absolutely not!" Zhu Yin shook his head without hesitation. "They embroidered the image of the founding emperor, they are meritorious people, how can we force them to commit suicide? Just because they touched the image, they broke a major taboo? What kind of logic is that?"

“Each person will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver and sent back to reunite with their families.”

"Good. Grand Tutor is truly kind-hearted." The King of Shu also breathed a sigh of relief, and then took out another list, "This is the list of seven hundred soldiers."

Zhu Yin took it and went through the names of more than 700 people, which gave him a general idea.

...

Only after the King of Shu left did Zhu Yin continue reading the secret letter from Nanjing.

Under the flickering lamplight, Ning Qingchen quietly came to Zhu Yin's side, leaned close to the small head with its double buns, and read the secret letter together.

“How despicable! Li Tingji and his accomplices actually took advantage of your suppression of the rebellion in Sichuan to spread rumors and try to depose you as regent.”

"These people always put their own interests above those of the country."

Ning Qingchen's face was frosty.

Zhu Yin put down the secret letter and sneered, "Even in later generations, there are countless such exquisitely selfish nobles, let alone in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, the Ming Dynasty perished in their hands."

Zhu Yin had been waiting for Li Tingji and others to cause trouble while he was away from the capital. Despite a series of great victories recently, he deliberately did not send a fast horse to the capital to officially announce the victories, and he also stopped sending She Chongming and An Bangyan away in prison, instead keeping them in the army.

The goal was to prevent the imperial court from receiving news of the great victory. Otherwise, if Li Tingji and his associates knew of the victory, they would not dare to cause trouble.

Now, as expected, they couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out.

They are now secretly spreading rumors of their defeat in Sichuan. In addition, their adoptive father, Qi Jiguang, has led a large army south to the Yangtze River and is collecting and building warships, causing panic among the people of Jiangnan.

Li Tingji and others represented the forces within the southern aristocratic families eager to overthrow them; in fact, they were the first radicals to emerge. Behind them was the entire conservative and reactionary southern gentry and powerful clans.

Their influence was indeed considerable; they had managed to win over many officials and eunuchs, and even tried to get Xu Xiaobai to join their side. They were also preparing to send someone to persuade the young emperor and empress dowager.

They even secretly sent people to follow the grain transport boats across the river to meet with their adoptive father, Qi Jiguang, who had just arrived in Yangzhou, and sent people to Beijing to contact the Zheng family.

Their goal was to seize control of Nanjing and depose him as regent. If they advanced, they would seize power in the Southern Dynasty. If they retreated, they would help the Northern Dynasty destroy the Southern Dynasty.

Ning Qingchen laughed and said, "Little Tiger, this time the Nanjing court will probably have a third of the official positions vacant."

“Not only that.” Zhu Yin’s gaze was cold. “Officials in various provinces are also colluding with them. If one-third of the court is vacant, many official positions will also be vacant in various provinces.”

Ning Qingchen said, "Won't the dismissal of so many officials cause unrest?"

Zhu Yin shook his head dismissively, “If we’re missing Butcher Zhang, we’ll just eat hairy pigs? We already have plenty of talent, and this time we can fill in a batch of them. Zhu Party backbone members, Propaganda Society backbone members, Tiger Fang backbone members, Eight Banners backbone members, and Merchant Society backbone members can all fill the vacancies.”

"This time, it's not just about purging a group of opposition members, but also about making room for our own people. Otherwise, with them occupying positions, it will be difficult for our people to get promoted."

Ning Qingchen was a little worried. "Little Tiger, don't be careless. What if they succeed? For example... what if the Emperor and Empress Dowager are really persuaded? People can change, especially when it comes to power. What if some of the Nanjing garrison also defect?"

"Don't worry, it's absolutely impossible." Zhu Yin smiled slightly. "Mr. Xu, your sister, and Ding Liyang are all in Nanjing. No one can cause any trouble."

"Don't forget, General Qi, who drank from the Yangtze River, was my godfather."

Ning Qingchen thought about it and agreed; she felt a little sorry for Li Tingjing and the others.

How could they possibly defeat the little tiger? They were being outmaneuvered by the little tiger from beginning to end.

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Li Tingjing and the others were just the first to rebel against me, after all, this was an opportunity. But they are by no means the last."

"We'll be returning to Beijing the day after tomorrow; it's time to close the net. Presumably, Beijing has already received news from Sichuan."

He deliberately concealed the news from Nanjing, but did not block it from being sent to Beijing.

At this point, Beijing must have already known about the situation in Sichuan.

What would the money-grubbing emperor think if he knew? Oh, he'd probably still be kept in the dark. Interesting.

Just as Zhu Yin was speaking, Murong Gou Dan hurriedly entered the hall and said, "My lord, we have received two new messages, one is military intelligence from western Sichuan, and the other is military intelligence from the south."

Zhu Yin opened the military intelligence report from western Sichuan and immediately smiled.

Xiong Tingbi did not disappoint him. He has now reclaimed the Songpan Grassland, defeated the Aba chieftain, seized more than 34,000 horses from the Songpan Grassland, and occupied the Zhangla Gold Mine.

Next, he will attack Mi Temple, Langyi Temple, and Zhongcha Temple, and try to recapture Dajianlu before the snow season arrives!

"Xiong Feibai is truly a talent!" Zhu Yin was overjoyed. "With his ten thousand elite troops stationed in western Sichuan, I can rest assured."

Zhu Yin immediately wrote to Xiong Tingbi, instructing him to manage the situation properly in western Sichuan and then send the warhorses, gold, and silver seized in Songpan back to Chengdu.

Then Zhu Yin looked at the military intelligence from the south, which brought both joy and worry.

The good news is that Yang Yinglong has wiped out the remnants of the Yongning rebels, slaughtering them all and leaving countless heads rolling in Yongning. The She clan members, their associates, and relatives have also been captured and are being prepared to be escorted back to Nanjing.

Song Wanhua of Shuidong also wiped out the remnants of Shuixi, uprooting the Shuixi rebels. Many Shuixi nobles were exterminated, and the entire An clan and their followers were also arrested.

Thus, the two great chieftaincies that had ruled Yongning and Shuixi for thousands of years came to an end.

Huya said that the entire Yunnan-Guizhou region is now terrified by the news of the demise of the She and An chieftains. Many chieftains have begun to voluntarily submit memorials expressing their loyalty to the imperial court.

Which chieftain in the southwest would dare to rebel?

This was good news, but it was all within Zhu Yin's expectations.

The bad news is that the Burmese army crossed the Nu River and captured Longchuan Pacification Commission and Yongchang Military and Civilian Prefecture, and is now facing off against the Ming army composed of the Mu family and Mu family across the Lancang River.

Faced with a formidable enemy, Yunnan was forced to declare its allegiance to Nanjing. Hao Yunlai, the newly appointed Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, successfully stabilized the chaotic situation after taking office in Kunming.

Otherwise, the Burmese army would have already crossed the Lancang River and attacked Dali by now, and the situation would only be worse.

Even with Hao Yunlai, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, rallying forces from all sides, the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves remains vast, and the Lancang River defense line is unlikely to hold out for long.

Zhu Yin's gaze turned somewhat gloomy.

At present, he has little spare troops to send to Yunnan to fight against Burma.

We can only rely on our adoptive father's army.

Zhu Yin wrote several letters and immediately issued an order: On October 30th, return east to Nanjing!
……

Beijing, the Forbidden City.

Today, a somber atmosphere pervades the Cabinet, the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the Palace. It's only October, yet there's a chill in the air.

News from Sichuan that came from Hanzhong was enough to alarm the imperial court.

Not long after She Chongming and An Bangyan rebelled, they were easily suppressed by Zhu Yin's army, which he personally led.

The combined armies of the two chieftains, numbering 100,000, were annihilated within a month!
Zhu Yin's fame once again shocked the world!

Because Zhu Yin led his army to rescue Sichuan, Sichuan had already submitted to the puppet dynasty. Furthermore, Yunnan had also declared its allegiance to Nanjing. Thus, the entire south fell under the puppet dynasty's control, and the imperial court had no territory left!
Zhu Yin also invited the Prince of Shu to come out of seclusion, formally discussed seniority with the Prince of Shu, and acknowledged the status of the eldest son of the imperial family!

They really are descendants of Jianwen!
Zhu Yin swiftly suppressed the rebellions of She and An, which not only enhanced his own prestige but also allowed the Nanjing puppet regime to gain a firm foothold and consolidate its control over the southern provinces.

This was undoubtedly terrible news for the imperial court.

The only good news was that Zhu Yin did not cut off the canal transport; grain from the south was still being transported to the north, and trade between the north and south was not interrupted.

Upon receiving the news from Sichuan, Consort Zheng was so enraged that she gritted her teeth in hatred.

"Where is Qi Jiguang?! Where is he?!" Consort Zheng exclaimed, her face pale. "Why hasn't he crossed the river yet! Zhu Yin is in Sichuan; he should be attacking Nanjing!"

"I want Zhu Yin dead! I want Chang Luo dead! I want these two traitors to be torn to pieces!"

The Crown Prince Zhu Changxun, who was sitting to one side, dared not utter a word when he saw his mother so angry.

"Your Majesty," said Zhang Jing, the chief eunuch, forcing a smile, "the royal army has no boats and cannot cross the river in a short time. We need enough boats to cross the river, so this matter cannot be rushed."

Grand Secretary Wang Xijue had recently lost a lot of weight, his beard had turned completely white, and his voice was somewhat hoarse. He said, "Judging by the current situation, it will be at least late November before the ships are ready. Your Majesty, Your Highness, even Qi Jiguang, a renowned general, could not fly across the Yangtze River..."

Upon receiving the news from Sichuan, he was truly terrified and exhausted, and all he wanted to do was retire.

But at this juncture, how could he possibly retire?
It’s hard to get off the tiger!

Gao Huai comforted her, "Your Majesty and Your Highness, please rest assured. Qi Jiguang is a renowned general, invincible in battle. He commands an army of 100,000. Once he crosses the river, he will surely wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Only then did Madam Zheng calm down, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Tell Qi Jiguang to recapture Nanjing by the end of the year, without fail! If he fails to recapture Nanjing by the end of the year, arrest him and bring him to the capital for trial! Don't say you weren't warned!"

"If we can recapture Nanjing by the end of the year, we will grant you a title of nobility!"

Zhang Jing felt things were a bit too hasty, but the Imperial Concubine was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to persuade her any further.

Wang Xijue sighed inwardly, revealing a bitter smile of helplessness.

The current situation is dire; Nanjing and Zhu Yin are gaining increasing power, while the imperial court is becoming increasingly demoralized. This is an ominous sign!

He had lost all confidence that he could still destroy the Southern Dynasty.

As the group was discussing matters, Gao Cai suddenly entered the hall with a strange expression, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, Young Master, Grandfather... Grandfather just sent me to inquire about the affairs of the previous dynasty, and asked me to report the latest news..."

The head eunuch was on the verge of tears. "How should I report this? My grandfather's health isn't good right now..."

Upon hearing this, the Zheng family and other bigwigs fell silent.

The hall looked like it was about to freeze over.

How should we report this? Previously, to protect the emperor's health, we deliberately concealed bad news, saying that the puppet regime only had one isolated city, Nanjing.

The emperor believed it. And the deception was successfully concealed for three months.

But if the truth is told to the emperor now, he will either be unable to withstand the blow or he will pursue the crime of deceiving the emperor!
What should we do? Should we keep it a secret forever?

Zheng's once stunningly beautiful face turned deathly pale. After a long silence, she sighed and wept, saying:
"I'll make the decision. Since we've already concealed it, let's keep it a secret to the end. There's no other way. Whether the news is true or false is no longer important. What's important is His Majesty's health; it must not be compromised!"

"Gao Cai, go to the Western Garden and report to the Emperor that... that Qi Jiguang has crossed the river and begun besieging Nanjing. Nanjing should be recaptured within three months..."

Gao Cai swallowed hard, her voice trembling with tears, and said, "This servant will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

After saying that, he hurried to the West Garden to report.

Inside the West Garden, Wanli Emperor smoked a vape while playing cards with several eunuchs.

"Grandfather," Gao Cai returned to the Emperor's side, "this servant has obtained the latest news. It is said that Qi Jiguang has crossed the river and begun the siege of Nanjing. The rebel leader is trapped in the isolated city of Nanjing, just like a rabbit at the tail end..."

"Hahaha!" Wanli laughed, his face flushed. "So, the Yin Rebellion and the Xin Rebellion only had one city, Nanjing, from beginning to end, and even on the verge of defeat, they only had one city? Hahaha! They can rebel like this? This is my empire! They should understand that!"

"That old bastard Qi Jiguang is not bad!" Wanli slammed down the cards in his hand, his big face full of smiles. "Tell the previous court to send an imperial edict to Qi Jiguang that once he captures Nanjing, he will be granted the title of Earl!"

Gao Cai forced a smile and said, "Grandpa, the Empress already said that if Qi Jiguang captures Nanjing, he will be granted a marquisate..."

Wanli's face darkened. "A title of nobility? No way! What's the point of granting a title of nobility for merely capturing the isolated city of Nanjing? Although the Yin Rebellion and the Xin Rebellion were heinous crimes, they were just a farce. How could they possibly amount to anything? Qi Jiguang didn't achieve much in suppressing the rebellion either."

"Furthermore, Qi Jiguang was a follower of Zhang Juzheng in the past and once tried to rebel with Zhang Juzheng. He is an impure minister with a bad record! The fact that I can reinstate him without holding a grudge is already a great favor to him. Granting him the title of Earl is an even greater imperial grace. To make him a Marquis? That's too much!"

"Tell the previous dynasty that Qi Jiguang cannot be granted a marquisate!"

...

P.S.: I'm too busy and it's too late today, so I'll stop here. Thank you, and goodnight!

(End of this chapter)