Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 42 Taking a Long-Term View

……

Zhu Youjian slowly shifted his gaze from the hand warmer and turned it back to Zhang Weixian, who was lying on the ground.

"Does the Duke mean that I shouldn't have deployed the former troops of the Prince's Mansion to guard the inner palace?"

His voice was calm, so calm that there wasn't a trace of emotion in it, as if he were just asking a very ordinary question.

Zhang Weixian remained kneeling, his body as still as a mountain, yet his voice came through clearly.

"No, Your Majesty."

"You have just ascended the throne, and the palace is a mixed bag, with Wei's traitors and cronies everywhere. It is only natural to use people you trust to stabilize the palace."

Zhu Youjian raised his eyebrows slightly and leaned forward slightly.

"Then, was it because I shouldn't have reorganized the list of my personal guards, or moved the families of my eunuchs to the imperial estates?"

There was already a hint of impatience in his voice.

"No, not either." Zhang Weixian shook his head.

"Among the generals of the Han Dynasty, there are countless impersonators, the guards are lax, and treacherous people have been mixed in for a long time."

"The safety of the nation rests on Your Majesty's shoulders. How can we not take precautions against any potential threats? Your Majesty's reorganization of the personal guards and the purge of the eunuchs are both perfectly justified."

"What a perfectly reasonable statement!"

Zhu Youjian's voice suddenly rose, and he could no longer suppress his anger!
"The warriors and the four guards are scattered and disorganized, with half of them being old men and children!"

"The capable are relegated to low-ranking positions, while the incompetent sit high on their desks!"

"Shouldn't it be right for me to personally go to the training grounds, select the elite troops, and rebuild the new camp?!"

However, Zhang Weixian's response to the emperor's wrath remained as calm and composed as ever.

"Your Majesty, these two battalions are the elite of the capital, the most elite of the imperial guards, and the whole world is watching."

"The decline of the imperial guards is a sign of the decline of the nation. Your Majesty's swift and decisive actions to eliminate long-standing problems and select outstanding talents are only natural!"

"So what exactly are you trying to say?!"

Zhu Youjian finally couldn't hold back any longer, and suddenly stood up from the soft couch, his face turning pale with anger!

He looked down at the old man lying on the ground, his chest heaving violently.

The three consecutive "of course" statements did not calm him down; instead, they added fuel to the fire, making the anger in his heart burn even brighter!
Since you think everything I do is right and justified, then why do you say that I am afraid?

Why say that the ruler and his ministers distrust each other?

Why stand here in this position, ready to risk death to remonstrate?!
Are you, the Duke of England, one of the most distinguished nobles of the Ming Dynasty, going to imitate the persuasive rhetoric of the Spring and Autumn Period and resort to such sensationalist rhetoric?

Inside the main hall, only the emperor's heavy breathing and the sound of the rain pouring down outside could be heard.

After a long while, Zhang Weixian slowly raised his head once again.

His face showed no fear, only a deep, unyielding weariness and sorrow.

"Your Majesty... I have already said that."

"Whether it's reorganizing the inner court or cleaning up the personal guards, it's all part of the job."

"The nobles made a fuss for a while, and the officials made a fuss for a while. This so-called distrust between the emperor and his ministers can be resolved in the face of His Majesty's thunderous methods."

He sighed deeply, his cloudy old eyes seeming to pierce through the throne before him and gaze into the distant past.

"Your Majesty, I am only... I am only afraid that Your Majesty will follow the same path as Emperor Shenzong."

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow, his anger subsiding slightly.

He then noticed that this was the second time Zhang Weixian had mentioned Wanli.

Zhang Weixian's voice became melancholic, as if he were lost in a long memory.

"I was born in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign. At that time, I was young and ignorant, and did not know the difficulties of the country."

"By the time I grew a few years older, it was already the end of the Longqing era."

"Emperor Shenzong appointed Zhang Jiangling as his chief minister, implemented new policies, rectified official corruption, surveyed land, and the Single Whip Law was widely praised throughout the land."

"At that time, the Ming Dynasty was truly magnificent, with a full treasury and peace throughout the land."

A look of longing appeared on his face.

"Later, Emperor Shenzong took personal control of the government. Although he abolished all the new policies, he can still be called a wise and enlightened emperor."

"He was diligent in his duties, encouraged open discussion, and even walked several miles to pray for rain when the capital region was suffering from a severe drought. All the people of the country were grateful for his benevolence."

"However... however, since the struggle for the succession began in the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign, everything has slowly changed."

Zhang Weixian's voice carried a hint of indescribable bitterness.

"Emperor Shenzong was repeatedly at odds with his ministers over the matter of establishing an heir, and state affairs were gradually put on hold. Memorials were kept in the palace without being issued, and vacancies in the court were not filled."

"In the end, it was as if he was angry with the whole world. He locked himself in that palace and never wanted to come out again."

"A once wise and sagacious ruler, after a slight setback, ultimately became... became..."

He murmured this, his lips twitching a few times, but ultimately he lacked the courage to utter the word.

He gasped for breath a few times, as if the memory had drained all his strength.

"Your Majesty, since I inherited the title more than 30 years ago, I have been a duke in name only, but in reality I am nothing more than a figurehead for sacrifices and holding the imperial insignia."

"I am neither a capable minister like Zhang Jiangling nor an unparalleled general like Qi Shaobao."

"What virtue or ability do I possess to dare to serve as Your Majesty's pillar of support?"

He raised his head and looked at Zhu Youjian earnestly and sincerely.

"His Majesty's actions in the few days since his ascension to the throne are all those of a wise ruler as recorded in history books."

"His decisiveness, shrewdness, and precision in understanding people's hearts are all indicative of the nature of a ruthless leader."

"This old minister wonders, how grand must the ambitions of such a divinely ordained ruler be?"

"And what kind of fierce resistance and backlash will such a grand ambition encounter in the Ming Dynasty, which is now riddled with deep-seated problems?"

He took a breath, his voice filled with desolation.

"Your Majesty, you see, Emperor Shizong was obsessed with cultivating immortality and did not attend court for twenty years, yet the officials remained respectful and the dynasty continued to function."

"Emperor Shenzong neglected his duties for thirty years, and nearly half of the officials in the country were missing, yet the ministers remained inactive, and the country remained in a state of complacency."

"The current court of my Great Ming Dynasty is such a strange place."

"To accomplish something is as difficult as climbing to the sky; but to do nothing and just drift through life is easy."

As he spoke, his voice trembled slightly.

"Your Majesty, you are still young, yet you possess such talent and such a temperament."

"But if in the future you implement new policies and encounter numerous obstacles, the world will be in uproar and the ministers will criticize you."

"Won't you become disheartened and turn all your ambition into disappointment and resentment towards the world?"

"This is the source of my fear!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Weixian knelt down on the ground again, tears streaming down his face, sobbing uncontrollably.

……

The tension that Zhu Youjian had been holding in suddenly dissipated at that moment.

He looked at the old man lying on the ground, his shoulders trembling slightly, and felt a mix of emotions.

He considered countless possibilities: Zhang Weixian might be there to test the waters on behalf of the nobility, to bargain, or even to threaten him.

But what he never expected was that he would receive such heartfelt and sincere words.

He saw very little of the so-called integrity and character of the Ming Dynasty in the civil officials at the court meeting a few days ago.

But unexpectedly, today, I saw it in an old nobleman whom I thought was just loafing around and waiting to die.

only……

Even if we take a step back and assume that what you said today came entirely from the bottom of your heart.

Then what makes you think that I would become like Emperor Wanli because of a little setback?

You cannot see the future.

And I, on the contrary, am someone who has returned from that most distant future!

Once again, the image of Consort Liu's gentle eyes flashed through Zhu Youjian's mind.

"Human nature is perilous, the moral mind is subtle; only by being refined and unified can one truly grasp the mean."

One was an old imperial concubine during the Wanli reign, and the other was a veteran official who served three reigns and was entrusted with important responsibilities.

These two elderly men, who had weathered the storms of three reigns, were both worried about the same thing. What kind of despairing scene had they witnessed during the Wanli era that left such a deep-seated fear in their hearts?
The sound of rain seemed to grow louder, pounding against the glazed tiles and creating a tremendous clamor.

Zhu Youjian did not try to help Zhang Weixian up again, but simply sat down cross-legged opposite Zhang Weixian.

He first let out a long sigh, then shook his head and chuckled.

"Duke of England, you think of me like that...you really underestimate me."

His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to have a peculiar penetrating power, clearly reaching Zhang Weixian's ears.

"Is the Duke afraid that I will lose faith in the world?"

"The more you try to do something, the greater the backlash you'll encounter, and you'll end up all alone."

"I can only learn from my grandfather, Emperor Shenzong, who hid in the Forbidden City, closed the door and entertained himself, and never talked about being a restorer of the dynasty again, nor dreamed of being a sage ruler."

Zhang Weixian slowly raised his head, looking at the young emperor who was so close to him.

"Your Majesty... This old minister is already sixty-two years old this year."

"This old minister will not live to see the birth of a third wise ruler..."

"This old minister cannot wait any longer. I'm afraid... my Great Ming Dynasty will not be able to wait any longer either!"

Zhu Youjian had a thousand words in his heart, but at this moment, he suddenly didn't know where to begin.

He wanted to tell him that he had seen that future with his own eyes.

That was not just the fall of a nation, but the fall of the entire world; it marked the beginning of centuries of decline for China.

He wanted to tell him that he was not some divinely ordained sage ruler as described in history books, but simply a patriot who grew up under the red flag of the new era.

He was fully aware of the brutality of the struggle and never had high hopes for the civil officials of the late Ming Dynasty.

But he couldn't say a single word of these things.

Zhu Youjian suddenly laughed.

"The fact that the Duke can speak so frankly to me shows that he loves me."

He shook his head again.

"The affairs of the state are complex and intertwined. I am young and lack virtue, so it is only natural that the Duke is worried that I will become disheartened by setbacks."

"However, the Duke understands my great ambitions, but he does not understand my spirit."

"What I want to do, what I envision for the world, is ultimately different from what the Duke thinks. For the moment, I don't know how to explain it."

Having said that, he simply stood up, dusted off non-existent dust from his robes, and went back to sit down behind the imperial desk.

He restored the dignity and aloofness that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty should have possessed.

"We should take a long-term view of things. Please, Your Excellency, take your time and look ahead."

He gestured to Gao Shiming outside the hall.

"Gao Banban, the Duke of Yingguo is getting on in years, and his excitement today may harm his health. You should personally escort him back to his residence to rest."

Zhang Weixian was still a little confused. He felt like he understood, but at the same time, he didn't understand anything.

What exactly did the emperor mean by his last few words?
But he knew that the audience between the emperor and his ministers was over for the day.

He had no choice but to force himself to perform a deep bow, despite his aching and numb legs.

"This old minister... obeys the decree. Thank you for Your Majesty's grace."

After saying this, he slowly left the main hall with Gao Shiming's help.

……

Inside the hall, only Zhu Youjian remained.

He slowly walked to the palace entrance, looked at the drizzling rain outside, and reached out to catch a few drops of cold rain.

The height is not cold.

He suddenly understood why emperors in history became more withdrawn and suspicious as they went on to achieve their later years.

Because their will ultimately needs to be carried out by countless people.

Human hearts are the most unreliable thing.

Zhang Weixian is most likely a loyal subject; otherwise, his acting skills would be too good, and his opportunistic behavior would be too extreme.

What more could the Duke of England possibly gain? A royal title? He certainly didn't need to.

Even for such a loyal minister, the limit of his imagination was nothing more than to support the country, revitalize the court, and become a ruler who could restore the dynasty.

Even with just that, they were all worried that they would suffer setbacks and, like Emperor Wanli, retreat into the inner palace and give up.

If they truly knew their own ambitions, how many people would still be on their side?

What I need to do now is perhaps to repair this wrecked ship that is about to capsize.
But what needs to be done next is to completely smash it and use its keel and sails to build a brand new giant ship that can sail to the New World!

The hardships and sacrifices involved are beyond their comprehension.
"One should take a long-term view of things..."

Zhu Youjian muttered to himself, a confident smile playing on his lips.

The world as I see it may be beyond your imagination.

He turned and walked back to his desk, spread out a sheet of snow-white Xuan paper, picked up a vermilion brush, and dipped it in deep red ink.

The brushstrokes fall, penetrating the paper with force.

……

Zhang Weixian followed Gao Shiming silently along the empty palace paths of the Forbidden City.

The rain had lessened somewhat, but it was still drizzling, splashing tiny droplets on the bluestone slabs, which then converged into streams that flowed into the distance.

The two of them were silent all the way.

As they approached Donghua Gate, a young eunuch suddenly appeared from behind, carrying an umbrella.

"Lord Duke, please wait!"

The young eunuch ran up to them and respectfully took out a scroll wrapped tightly in oiled paper from his robes.

"His Majesty has just written two lines of poetry and ordered me to deliver them to the Duke."

Zhang Weixian was still somewhat dazed, his mind still echoing the emperor's last words, "One should take a long-term view of things," and "The world in my heart is ultimately different from what the Duke thinks of."

What exactly is different?
He subconsciously took the scroll, assuming it was to complete the poem, and simply didn't bother to read it.

He casually slipped it into his sleeve and climbed into the palanquin that was already waiting outside the palace gate.

The sedan chair started shakily and moved slowly forward in the rain.

After an unknown amount of time, a cacophony of noises arose outside.

"Hey! Husband, quickly pour the water into the vat, and fill it with more water. The rain is about to stop!"

"I know, I know! You old woman, what are you yelling about!"

"Hurry up! This isn't rain, it's all silver!"

Zhang Weixian was brought back to his senses by the lively voice.

—If this rain stops, tomorrow's morning assembly should proceed as normal, right?

What surprising words will His Majesty utter then?

He took the scroll out of his sleeve and opened it casually.

He caught his breath after just one glance!
On that sheet of Xuan paper, there was no heading, no signature, only two lines of large characters written in cinnabar!

"With lofty aspirations and sacrifices, we dare to change the world!"

　Zhang Weixian's birth year is unknown, but I infer from various clues that he should be around 60 years old at this time.

　　These clues include the birth year of his father, Zhang Yuande, the time when Zhang Weixian inherited the title, and the time of his death, so the error should not be too great.

　　Since the timeframes are roughly the same, I'll simply assume he was born in 1566 during the Ming Dynasty, thus spanning the reigns of six emperors: Jiajing, Longqing, Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi, and Chongzhen.

　　-
　　The drinking water situation in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty was terrible. Most wells yielded bitter water, with only a few producing sweet water, which had to be purchased. At that time, most of the water carriers in the city were from Shanxi: "All the water carriers in the capital were customers from Shanxi; even in scholarly families, water carriers could peek into their homes"—from *Old Beijing Anecdotes*.

　　-
　　Interestingly, after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, the twenty-four banners of Manchu, Han and Mongol were also stationed in the city, and their accompanying cooks were mostly from Shandong (perhaps because Shandong was the first to be conquered?).

　　So from then on, the two groups from Shandong and Shanxi fought over the sweet water, and in the end, the Shandong group won.

　　From then on, the capital's water supply was monopolized, allowing them to raise prices at will: "Raising water prices is merely a matter of dividing wells and households by area, using drought as an excuse to oppress the people; is it truly the oppression of a drought demon?"—Shen Bao

　　-
　　Finally, I set Zhang Weixian's birth year as the 45th year of the Jiajing reign, which is the last year of the TV series "Da Ming 1566" starring Chen Baoguo.

　　I will organize Zhang Weixian's life timeline later and put it in the works-related section. I will simplify the content and take everyone through the life of this elderly man in his sixties.

　　See how the entire country declined from his perspective.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)