The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Gongsun Jin and Liu Yangzheng, one claiming to be surnamed Gong and the other claiming to be surnamed Wen, sat at the table opposite Zhu Yi.

Perhaps fearing their questions were too pointed, the two did not allow the guards to come forward to listen, but they remained outside the door, ready to be at their service at any time.

"Ask them quickly," Liu Yangzheng said impatiently.

Or perhaps they feel that what they are doing is a waste of time.

Zhu Yi became wary and said, "Are you trying to get research secrets out of me? To be honest, I'm just a liberal arts student. Of the literature, history, and philosophy, I'm only decent at history. I know nothing about the others."

This is to show our attitude.

If you ask me about things that have already happened in the past, I can tell you. But if you try to extract academic information from me, I have no comment.

Liu Yangzheng glanced at Gongsun Jin, puzzled.

Gongsun Jin, seemingly already accustomed to this, calmly said, "Alright, let's begin. Brother Zhu, you say you come from the year 226. May I ask, what dynasty was it, and what was its reign title?"

Zhu Yidao said, "The dynasty collapsed more than a hundred years ago."

Gongsun Jin asked in surprise, "How so?"

Zhu Yi said coldly, "Simply put, the emperor has been overthrown. Without an emperor, there is naturally no reign title."

"Nonsense!" Liu Yangzheng was the first to question. "When a dynasty falls, a new dynasty should take its place. Without a ruler or father, without order or stability, wouldn't that be a complete disorder?"

Zhu Yi said, "You speak with such seriousness. Do you really wish for an emperor who holds the power of life and death, who can take your lives and property at any time? Even in the Ming Dynasty, no one wants to be oppressed by someone with impunity, right?"

"You!" Liu Yangzheng realized that the words were directed at him and glared at him angrily.

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "It's alright, just a discussion. Brother Zhu, in which year did the dynasty you mentioned fall?"

Zhu Yidao: "1911."

Gongsun Jin sighed, "If there's been no emperor for over a hundred years, wouldn't the struggle for power and profit lead to numerous warlords rising up and causing chaos throughout the land? Which dynasty are you referring to when you say 'dynasty's collapse'? The Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yi felt uncomfortable seeing that both of them were intentionally or unintentionally advocating the theory of the supremacy of imperial power.

He casually remarked, "The Ming Dynasty was destroyed in 1644, and the Qing Dynasty, a dynasty established by the Jurchen barbarians from Liaodong, was destroyed in 1911."

Gongsun Jin said, "The Jurchens occupy the Central Plains? That's truly... unheard of. In what year did they establish their state? And in what year did they occupy the Central Plains? Or were there dynasties that divided the Central Plains with them along the river, like the Five Barbarian Tribes when they entered the Central Plains?"

Zhu Yidao said: "The Qing Dynasty was founded earlier, and it entered the Central Plains in 1644."

Liu Yangzheng said, "From what you're saying, those few small tribes of the Jurchens in Liaodong actually managed to wipe out my mighty Celestial Empire?"

"Dynastic changes are commonplace, what's so surprising about that?" Zhu Yi said. "However, you're wrong. Strictly speaking, the Ming Dynasty was not destroyed by the Jurchens."

"You..." Liu Yangzheng glared at Zhu Yi again, as if he felt that Zhu Yi was playing a trick on him.

Gongsun Jin laughed and said, "You say the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, the same year the Jurchens entered the Central Plains, yet you also say the Ming Dynasty wasn't destroyed by the Jurchens? Brother Zhu, aren't your words contradictory?"

Zhu Yidao said: "It is true that the two events occurred in the same year, but the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by bandits. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, a bandit leader known as the 'Chuang King' named Li Zicheng led his troops to capture the capital in this year. Wu Sangui, the Ming general guarding Shanhaiguan, used the pretext of avenging the emperor to let the Jurchens into the pass. After the Jurchens occupied the capital, they defeated Li Zicheng and then crossed the Yangtze River to the south. It took them several decades to finally occupy China."

Gongsun Jin nodded and said, "The invasion of foreign barbarians and the fall of the world are indeed lamentable."

Zhu Yi said, "You claim to be a Ming Dynasty person, and you believe all of this I'm saying?"

Gongsun Jin laughed and said, "Anyway, there's no way to verify its authenticity, is there?"

Now it was Zhu Yi's turn to be speechless.

Yes, it's just like telling a story. Whether others believe it or not doesn't matter. Whether they were really people from the Ming Dynasty or modern times, does it make a difference to him? One can't be verified, and the other doesn't need to be verified...

That means he can make up whatever story he wants.

"Brother Zhu, let's get down to business. How many emperors did the Ming Dynasty have in total?" Gongsun Jin asked.

"Before 1644, there were sixteen," Zhu Yi said.

"Could you list some examples?" Gongsun Jin asked.

Zhu Yi said, "Is this a test for me? The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Taizu, followed by Emperor Huizong, Emperor Chengzu, Emperor Renzong, Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Daizong, Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xiaozong, Emperor Wuzong, Emperor Shizong, Emperor Muzong, Emperor Shenzong, Emperor Guangzong, Emperor Xizong, and Emperor Sizong."

Gongsun Jin asked, "Who is Emperor Huizong?"

"Emperor Jianwen," Zhu Yi said, "was given the temple name by the Southern Ming emperor in the first year of the Hongguang reign, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Before that, his imperial title was not recognized."

Gongsun Jin and Liu Yangzheng exchanged a glance.

Because Emperor Jianwen was not recorded in official histories of the Ming Dynasty and was little known, Zhu Yi could mention him so casually and naturally.

Gongsun Jin pressed further, "And what about Emperor Chengzu?"

This question made Zhu Yi pause for a moment. He said, "You mean, this is before the Jiajing era? Emperor Chengzu, also known as Emperor Taizong of Ming, changed his temple name during the Jiajing era. Jiajing was the reign title used during the reign of Emperor Shizong."

Gongsun Jin was also slightly surprised.

It may seem like a simple question about a temple name, something that could be easily made up, but the richer the story, the more credible it becomes.

Gongsun Jin then looked Liu Yangzheng up and down with an inquiring tone, as if to say, "Mr. Liu, what are your thoughts? Or, could you directly expose his lies?"

Liu Yangzheng said, "Tell me about what happened after Emperor Chenghua."

Gongsun Jin was speechless for a moment.

Isn't this a slip of the tongue?

Just now, this kid guessed from our reaction to "Emperor Chengzu" that we are currently in the period before Jiajing. Now you're mentioning Chenghua, aren't you narrowing down the scope for him? He himself only mentioned Emperor Xianzong, but not the Chenghua reign title.

Then why doesn't he seize this time to fabricate stories?

Zhu Yi, however, wasn't thinking about that. He asked, "What did you say?"

Gongsun Jin picked up the conversation, saying, "Let's talk about what happened after the sixteenth year of the Chenghua era."

"After the sixteenth year of Chenghua?" Zhu Yi thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "Nothing major happened."

Gongsun Jin asked, "That Emperor Xianzong, in which year... um?"

Zhu Yi said, "You want to ask when the Chenghua Emperor died? No, if it's really as you assume, that this is the Ming Dynasty, during the Chenghua era, then asking when the emperor died would be treasonous. I dare say, do you really dare to ask?"

Gongsun Jin laughed and said, "There are no outsiders here, and Brother Zhu, you are a wise man, you should know that such words are just for listening, who would dare to spread them? Besides, we both have official titles, even if it were said to be from you, no one would believe it."

Zhu Yi nodded and said, "That makes sense."

"Then..." Gongsun Jin coaxed, "explain it in detail?"

Zhu Yidao: "Emperor Xianzong died of illness in August of the twenty-third year of the Chenghua reign, and passed the throne to his crown prince, Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youcheng. Did the emperor appoint a crown prince?"

Now it was Zhu Yikao's turn to face the two people opposite him.

Gongsun Jin nodded and said, "It's settled. What about Consort Wan?"

"Wan Zhen'er? She died before Emperor Xianzong at the beginning of the twenty-third year of Chenghua. Emperor Xianzong was depressed because of this and followed her to death half a year later," Zhu Yi said.

"Then tell me... Emperor Xiaozong? What was his reign title? And what major events happened?" Gongsun Jin's eyes seemed to light up as well.

Zhu Yi still didn't take it seriously, and didn't even bother to look at the reactions of the two people opposite him. He casually said, "Emperor Xiaozong's reign title was Hongzhi, which lasted for eighteen years. It was the Hongzhi Restoration period in history. Emperor Hongzhi was a very proper emperor and can be considered one of the more normal emperors of the Ming Dynasty. He worked hard to govern the country, and there were basically no major natural disasters or man-made calamities during his eighteen years of rule. Moreover, he only married one empress, making him the first emperor in history to be monogamous."

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "Please continue."

Zhu Yidao said: "After the Hongzhi Emperor died, the throne passed to his eldest son, the Wuzong Emperor, whose reign title was Zhengde. The Zhengde Emperor was spoiled from a young age. He was intelligent but also acted recklessly. He first favored the powerful eunuch Liu Jin, and after Liu Jin was executed, he favored Jiang Bin, Qian Ning, and others. Zhengde reigned for a total of sixteen years. After his death, the throne passed to the Shizong Emperor..."

"Wait a minute," Gongsun Jin said with a smile. "Brother Zhu, what you've said is too general, almost like using the Spring and Autumn Annals style of writing. You haven't even mentioned the name of this Zhengde Emperor yet."

"Didn't they say? The Zhengde Emperor's name was Zhu Houzhao," Zhu Yi said.

"Oh, then how did Zhu Houzhao die?" Gongsun Jin asked with a smile.

Zhu Yi pondered for a moment, "Why do you address Zhu Houzhao by his given name? Is it because in your script, since it's not yet the Zhengde era, you can address the future emperor however you like?"

So, is your current setting either the Chenghua or Hongzhi era?

Zhu Yidao said: "Emperor Zhengde contracted tuberculosis after falling into the water while on a pleasure boat during his southern tour. He died in the spring of the following year after returning to the capital."

Gongsun Jin then asked, "How old was this emperor when he passed away?"

"Well, he ascended the throne at the age of fourteen and died at the age of thirty," Zhu Yi replied after a rough calculation.

"Hmph!" Liu Yangzheng snorted softly from the side.

Because people nowadays use the traditional Chinese age reckoning (虚岁), Zhu Houzhao was believed to have ascended the throne at the age of fifteen. How could someone who couldn't even get the age of an emperor's ascension to the throne right be spouting nonsense about the future? Liu Yangzheng meant that he had already exposed him and there was no need to ask any more questions!

Gongsun Jin, however, sensed something amiss and asked seriously, "And then what?"

Zhu Yidao said: "After Zhengde died, the throne was passed to Shizong, who became the Jiajing Emperor."

Gongsun Jin, speaking hastily, didn't give Zhu Yi time to think and continued to ask, "Which son of Zhu Houzhao was Emperor Shizong?"

Zhu Yidao said, "Zhu Houzhao had no sons, not even brothers. Oh, no, he did have a brother, but he died young. After Zhu Houzhao's death, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe, following the ancestral rule of succession by younger brother, brought Zhu Houcong, the second son of Zhu Youyuan, the Prince of Xing, the uncle of Emperor Zhengde, to the capital to succeed to the throne. He became Emperor Shizong."

"How many years did the Jiajing Emperor reign for?" Gongsun Jin asked.

"Forty-five years," Zhu Yi said.