How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 232 Your Highness, You Love the Ming Dynasty!
The weather during the Little Ice Age was cold; by the tenth month of the lunar calendar, Kaifeng, located in the central Zhou Dynasty, was already covered in a blanket of snow.

Snowflakes pattered against the mulberry paper on the window of the study in the Zhou Prince's Mansion.

The charcoal brazier inside the room burned brightly, but it seemed unable to dispel the chill in the heart of Zhu Gongxiao, the current Prince of Zhou.

He wrapped his fox fur coat tighter around himself and looked at Prince Qin, Zhu Cunshu, sitting opposite him. This distant cousin had a ruddy complexion, a stark contrast to the legendary image of him who had lost his fiefdom, lived in Beijing, and spent his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol and indulging in debauchery.

“Prince Qin,” Zhu Gongxiao said, suppressing his doubts and sighing as he rubbed the warm teacup between his fingers. “I understand your purpose. It is a good thing that His Majesty is thinking of the imperial family. But… ancestral rules are as solid as mountains. I have the ancestral foundation to protect and the entire imperial family to manage in Kaifeng. I dare not act rashly.”

He phrased it tactfully, but his meaning was clear: he wasn't going.

Although Emperor Chongzhen could issue an edict to summon the princes to the capital, it would be difficult for him to deal with these "reclusive princes" if they found reasons to stay put. He couldn't very well ask Wei Zhongxian to pry them out of their shells one by one, could he?
Zhu Cunshu smiled, not directly refuting him. He picked up the wine pot warming on the small stove beside him and refilled Zhu Gongxiao's empty cup. "Brother Wang, this lamb wine from Kaifeng is quite delicious. But after drinking it for a while, wouldn't you like to change things up?"

He put down the wine pot, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, which carried a hint of sincerity: "Brother Wang, the ancestral rules you mentioned, or rather, our understanding of the ancestral rules, may very well be wrong!"

"What?" Zhu Gongxiao raised his eyelids.

Zhu Cunshu took out an old book from his sleeve, its blue cover bearing the title "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty." He skillfully turned to a page and pushed it in front of Zhu Gongxiao.

“Brother Wang, look, the ancestral precepts clearly state in black and white that ‘princes of vassal states must not leave their fiefdoms without permission’ and ‘they must not enter the capital without an imperial edict.’” Zhu Cunshu pointed to the words. “But there’s a crucial point here—this ‘vassal prohibition’ only applies to princes who have ‘vassal states’!”

Zhu Gongxiao frowned: "What do you mean by this?"

“What I mean is,” Zhu Cunshu’s voice was clear, “that I, your younger brother, am now a ‘prince without fiefdom’!”

He looked at Zhu Gongxiao's astonished face and said, word by word, "His Majesty has granted me permission to 'not go to my fiefdom,' so my fiefdom in Shaanxi is gone! Without my fiefdom, what kind of 'prince' am I? Since I have no fiefdom to defend, how can there be any talk of 'leaving without permission'? I am now living in the capital by imperial decree, so there is no restriction of 'not being allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict.' I can go to the Western Hills to see the snow, or to Tongzhou to see the grain transport boats, and I can go wherever I want! I can roam freely throughout the world. Brother, those shackles of fiefdom restrictions cannot bind a prince without a fiefdom!"

Zhu Gongxiao opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time. This logic… can it be explained like this? His mind was buzzing; the rules ingrained in his bones for generations seemed to have been pried open.

Zhu Cunshu pressed his advantage: "Let's get down to business. Brother Wang, with all this wealth in Kaifeng, the silver in your treasury must be getting moldy, right?"

Zhu Gongxiao's expression changed slightly. This was the truth, but also something to be wary of. He said vaguely, "They were all left by our ancestors; just take good care of them."

"Keep watch? What's the use of just watching?" Zhu Cunshu scoffed. "Money has to be put to work to produce a son! Does Your Highness know what kind of business I did in Beijing this year with His Majesty?"

"What deal?"

"Buy at the bottom!" Zhu Cunshu's eyes lit up. "Last year, the Jurchens caused a huge uproar, and people in Beijing were in a panic. Real estate prices plummeted to rock bottom. His Majesty, along with a few of us—myself, the Duke of Kong, and Eunuch Wei—joined forces to buy up the properties. Just this one move," he held up a finger and waved it in front of Zhu Gongxiao, "I've made this much on my investment, and it's still going to keep rising! Could you earn that much in twenty years by just holding onto the rent from Wangzhuang?"

Zhu Gongxiao gasped. One million taels? After deducting expenses from all his income, the Kaifeng Prince's Mansion could only manage to save ten thousand taels of silver a year at most.

"This...this isn't all," Zhu Cunshu said, suppressing his excitement. "You may have heard that I've distributed all the land I owned in Wangzhuang, Shaanxi, to the imperial family members for cultivation. You must think I've lost out big time? Heh, quite the opposite! I still collect rent, but now I collect grain. This year, Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, and grain prices soared. My rent, converted into silver, actually yielded 20,000 more than in a bumper year! Distributing the land has made the income more flexible and stable!"

Zhu Gongxiao could no longer sit still. The silver in his treasury was fixed, with a finite annual income. But Zhu Cunshu's money seemed to multiply on its own!

"Let me put something more abstract, but it's still the truth." Zhu Cunshu looked at his cousin, whose expression was constantly changing. "Brother Wang, you're trapped in Kaifeng. You're called a wealthy prince, but apart from these four high walls, how much of the world have you actually seen? What are the misty rains of Jiangnan and the sandstorms of the North like? Don't you want to see them for yourself?"

Zhu Gongxiao didn't speak, but his eyes flickered. Who wants to be trapped in a city for their entire life? Especially princes like them who were born into wealth.

"His Majesty often tells us princes in the capital that we are descendants of the Zhu family, and we cannot just eat and do nothing. Now, the Ming Dynasty has reached a point where it needs the descendants of the Zhu family to step forward and take action!" Zhu Cunshu's tone became solemn. "His Majesty knows that you, my brother, have the Ming Dynasty in your heart, and you are not the kind of mediocre person who only knows how to enjoy yourself. If you are willing to come to the capital, His Majesty has said that he will entrust you with important responsibilities!"

"A heavy responsibility?" Zhu Gongxiao's heartstrings were touched.

"Yes! Take the Prince of Jin, for example. He has already arrived in Guiyang with the most capable princes from the Jin vassal state and a group of guards reorganized from Shaanxi refugees. He's about to defend Shuixi for the country! He's a true fortress king! Isn't he much stronger than you are now?"

"For example, right now, Shaanxi is suffering from a severe drought, and there are refugees everywhere. It is precisely the time when manpower is needed. His Majesty needs a highly respected prince to take charge of disaster relief! This would be a great deed that would save countless lives and be remembered in history! Moreover, it could truly protect the Ming Dynasty! Brother, isn't this better than you staying in this palace all day, staring at account books and money?"

Protect the Ming Dynasty!
These three words struck Zhu Gongxiao's heart like a heavy hammer. Many of the princes during the Chongzhen era were simply wasting their lives, but some truly loved the Ming Dynasty and were genuinely worried about the widespread famine, rampant corruption, and the people's suffering! Prince Zhou, Zhu Gongxiao, was the most anxious of them all!
The greatest reward is simply to let him contribute to the preservation of the Ming Dynasty's foundation!
He doesn't need promotions or wealth.

He's already a prince; if he's promoted any further, he'll have to become the emperor.
He had millions of silver coins hidden in his house, all of which had gone moldy (blackened), and he was truly a man who didn't care about money.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen felt that sending this man to Shaanxi for disaster relief was far better than sending a corrupt official, at least he wouldn't pocket the relief funds. Besides, he was, after all, the Prince of Zhou! He was a high-ranking prince among the Ming Dynasty princes, and there were quite a few princes in Shaanxi. With his presence and the title of Grand Minister of the Imperial Clan, he could persuade those princes to contribute the grain stored in their homes.

If they refuse to take it, he might turn hostile and unleash his power as Grand Master of Ceremonies, which those princes wouldn't be able to withstand!

"King of Qin!" His voice was somewhat hoarse, yet carried a long-lost sharpness, "Your words tonight have truly... truly enlightened me!"

He walked to the window, pushed it open, and the cold wind and snow rushed in, instantly invigorating him.

"Staying here in Kaifeng is truly like sitting in a well and looking at the sky!" He gazed at the dark, snowy night, as if he could see the distant northern battlefield and the even more distant city of Beijing.

"Very well!" Zhu Gongxiao slammed his hand heavily on the window frame. "I will go to the capital with you! I will meet His Majesty and do my part for the Ming Dynasty! I... will accept this disaster relief mission!"

The wind and snow are even stronger in the southern desert, and they feel like knives on your face.

On the walls of Huangshabao, several Mongol soldiers on night watch huddled in a corner tower, clutching their spears and stamping their feet. No one expected soldiers to come in this awful weather.

Cao Wenzhao lay prone behind the snow slope, his beard and eyebrows covered in frost. Behind him, several thousand elite soldiers from Xuanda and the Imperial Guard crouched silently in the snow, their men and horses gagged, their hooves wrapped in cloth.

He suddenly drew his sword and swung it forward.

There were no shouts of battle, only the sound of the wind. A dark mass of figures emerged from the snow and rushed towards the earthen city.

The killing began silently. The sentry at the base of the wall had his throat slit. A ladder was placed atop the wall, and Cao Wenzhao was the first to climb it. A night patrolman on the city wall had just turned around when a flash of a blade struck him down.

Chaos broke out in the fortress only after the Ming army stormed into the streets. The defenders, who hadn't even properly dressed, were hacked to pieces.

As dawn approached, the wind and snow subsided. The flags atop Huangshabao City Wall had been changed, and the Ming Dynasty military flags fluttered loudly in the wind.

The resisting Mongols and a small number of Eight Banner soldiers were almost all killed, and the remaining people knelt in the snow, trembling.

Sun Chuanting walked into the still-smoking fortress, his face blue with cold. He nodded to Cao Wenzhao, who came to greet him: "Take inventory of the battlefield and send out scouts."

"Yes!" Cao Wenzhao clasped his hands in a fist salute, his face covered in blood and ice shards.

Sun Chuanting entered the garrison commander's earthen house, sat down at the broken wooden table, and spread out a sheet of paper.

He first wrote a report of victory. Then he wrote another letter, this time to Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Datong.

The letter was very simple:
Yuan Fuyuan:

Our army has captured Huangshabao. The southern gateway to the Gobi Desert has been opened. The remaining people of the Chahan tribe all yearn for legitimacy. We urge the Loyal and Righteous King to quickly move here, raise his banner, and pacify the hearts of the people.

Sun Chuanting.

He summoned his servants: "Send this to the governor's office in Datong via express courier service, which is six hundred li away."

"Order!"

A few days later, Huangshabao.

A troop of Ming cavalry escorted the carriage into the fortress. Empress Dowager Sutai alighted first, then carried a baby boy wrapped in a sable coat—the baby boy was quite handsome, with a pair of bright and lively eyes; he was Altan Chechen, the loyal and righteous prince of the Ming Dynasty and a member of the Chahan tribe.

Soon, a tall pole was erected in the open space inside the fort. A new flag was raised, embroidered with "Loyal and Righteous King of the Great Ming Dynasty." Next to it, an old flag was raised, the eagle flag of the Han tribe.

The Mongolians gathered below the stage looked at the eagle flag and stirred, with some kneeling down to kowtow.

Sun Chuanting and Yuan Chonghuan stood side by side, their faces expressionless. They knew this was only the first step in the battle for their livelihoods in southern Mongolia.

(End of this chapter)