The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 140, Six Points

"I heard that the palace maids serving Prince Jing were replaced recently, and they are all quite old and have ordinary appearances."

""

In the cabinet office, Yan Song sat at the top, Ouyang Bijin at the bottom, and the rest of the people sat on small stools.

The question was asked by Zhao Wenhua, but his tone was certain.

""

"I haven't heard of such changes around Prince Yu, have I?"

"no."

"Your Highness has grown up and is old enough to be a father."

Luo Longwen coughed lightly, then said cautiously, "After the New Year, I'll only be fourteen by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. Isn't that a bit early?"

"A step behind means a step behind."

"It will take at least two or three years for the chosen concubine to be married."

Zhao Wenhua slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "At this critical juncture, what's the point of having a legitimate son? If the eldest son is born, it doesn't matter whether he's male or female. As long as he's His Majesty's first grandson, it'll be a completely different story."

"Brother Zhao's insight is brilliant!"

Someone with inside information whispered, "It is said that before His Majesty came to the capital, he also had two personal maids in the Prince's residence."

""

"That's right. After all, back then, His Majesty was the only male heir in the Prince of Xing's mansion. In order to ensure the continuation of the imperial line, he would definitely make arrangements early on."

"Enough." Ouyang Bijin was unwilling to listen to such heretical talk: "To speak recklessly about His Majesty's past in private is already a transgression. Stop talking nonsense."

"Yes, we will not say anything more. But regarding Your Highness's matter, could we make arrangements accordingly?"

All eyes were on Yan Song. A family can only have one head, so that they can work together to accomplish things.

"Don't rush."

"Can--"

"You've had several dealings with His Highness during this disaster relief effort. Do you think he doesn't understand this point?"

Previously, the princes were confined to the palace, and apart from the people of the Hanlin Academy, no one could see them; they could only hear rumors and gossip. But recently, the two princes have been staying outside the palace for a long time, so everyone is naturally looking for opportunities to show their faces.

They all saw a Prince Jing who made no attempt to conceal his extraordinary talent, decisiveness, and high spirits, and who commanded the obedience of everyone around him.

He was always surrounded by a group of noble sons, some of whom were more than ten or twenty years older than him and had several sons. Yet they were still obsequious and subservient, only raising their heads and revealing that familiar arrogant expression when they saw him.

They were both happy and apprehensive about this. They were happy that they had bet on the right thing, but apprehensive because Prince Jing's talent was truly frightening, especially his eyebrows and eyes, which were becoming more and more like His Majesty's.

"Consuming sexual relations too early might damage his health, and I'm even more afraid that His Highness will become addicted and focus all his attention on women. Let's wait another two years."

.

Zhao Wenhua and the others outwardly agreed respectfully, but inwardly they were thinking that the Grand Secretary was getting old and could not be treated so casually on such important matters. They should still discuss the matter properly with the young Grand Secretary!

After they left, Ouyang Bijin shook his head and said to Yan Song, "People's hearts are starting to run wild. Aren't you going to tighten the reins?"

Yan Song chuckled and touched his deeply lined old face, his voice tinged with a sense of desolation: "Tightening the reins is easy, but what's the use? This old face, apart from the Emperor, everyone finds me an eyesore."

Yan Song slowly got up, picked up the teapot, and poured tea for himself and Ouyang Bijin: "Since the beginning of this year, my gray hair has turned white, my hair has fallen off, my hair and blood are getting weaker day by day, and my spirit is getting weaker day by day. How long will it take before I die with you?"

When I was young, I read Han Yu's "Elegy for My Nephew, the Twelfth Son," and only felt the words were poignant. Now, reading it again, I realize the sorrow within. Time waits for no one.

Ouyang Bijin was not young either, and upon hearing this, he was filled with sorrow: "Have you not heard that time flies like a galloping horse, and the sun and moon are like falling flowers and flowing water, never to be retrieved?"

Death is the greatest fear of humankind; throughout history, countless emperors and generals have sought the elusive pursuit of immortality.

Yan Song filled his teacup with tea, his movements slow and deliberate. The spout trembled slightly, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the table. He put down the teapot, said nothing, and simply wiped the water stains off the table with his palm.

Ouyang Bijin glanced at the clean desktop and understood what Yan Song hadn't said.

Yan Song sat back in his position as the chief minister: "Renfu, it's just the two of us here now. Let's have a heart-to-heart talk and you help me take the helm."

Ouyang Bijin stood up and bowed, while Yan Song pointed to a chair and told him to sit down.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Publicly, I am the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty. The matter of choosing an heir concerns the foundation of our ancestors and the people of the world. Privately, even if I don't consider Yan Shifan, I must consider the many students and former officials I have taught."

In your opinion, how confident is King Jing now?

Yan Song hadn't asked this question in front of Zhao Wenhua and the others, but now he asked Ouyang Bijin alone, because among all the people in the room, only Ouyang Bijin hadn't joined Prince Jing's faction for promotion and wealth.

"Your Highness's talent goes without saying. He acts decisively yet cautiously, knows when to advance and when to retreat yet remains sharp. It is a blessing for our Great Ming to appear at this time."

Ouyang Bijin remained silent for a long time, until the light in the duty room dimmed further, before slowly speaking: "I dare not say I am completely certain, but I am at least 60% confident. The remaining 40% has nothing to do with Prince Yu or any so-called 'pure stream'."

"Six points?" Yan Song raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Two parts are up to Heaven, two parts are up to Your Majesty."

"That means the highest score can only be eight points."

"First there was Crown Prince Yiwen, then Crown Prince Zhuangjing; they were just two points apart."

"Then tell me, which is more unpredictable, the will of Heaven or His Majesty?"

"The will of Heaven is unpredictable, but it cannot be changed by human effort; however, the will of the divine can change due to various circumstances."

The next day, Zhu Zaizhen got up very early, practiced his martial arts as usual, had breakfast, and then left the palace.

The disaster relief efforts still need to be arranged properly, especially the remaining funds and provisions in the Ministry of Revenue. Although the Minister of Revenue is considered his man, if he doesn't keep a close eye on things, these funds and provisions will be spent legitimately.

He summoned the Ministers of Revenue and Works to the Ministry of Revenue. Zhu Zaizhen sat in the grand chair reserved for high-ranking officials, with a large rosewood desk in front of him, four official chairs below, antique shelves against the wall, large cabinets storing documents and imperial edicts, and bookshelves displaying the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty" and the "Records of Money and Grain".

He reached out and picked up the Ministry of Revenue's seal, cast in silver, three inches and two fen square, eight fen thick, heavy and substantial, with the four characters "Seal of the Ministry of Revenue" in nine-fold seal script on the seal face.

-

The two ministers, dressed in crimson robes, jade belts, and black gauze hats, stood solemnly before the hall.

Prince Yu was too ill to get out of bed, while Prince Jing was still able to travel around. Comparing the two, everyone would lean more towards Prince Jing, especially since they were originally members of the Yan faction.

However, one thing is one thing. When officials stand in the court, they can cry poverty, shirk responsibility, and protect the surplus of the government. This is a skill passed down from generation to generation among the officials of the Six Ministries. Not to mention Your Highness, even His Majesty would follow the same procedure.

Xia Bangmo bowed and pleaded, "Your Highness, it's not that I want to withhold the disaster relief funds and grain, but there are urgent needs everywhere. We only have so much at home, and if we're in a hurry, we'll have to rob Peter to pay Paul."

What I just said was by no means an excuse. Some soup kitchens were reduced, and the money and grain saved were used to supplement the anti-Japanese military pay in Zhejiang, thus stabilizing the overall situation with minimal losses.

If we insist on preserving all relief funds and adding more funds for city wall repairs, the Ministry of Revenue will have no money to pay salaries or provide grain to the border regions. At that point, unrest could easily ensue, which would be a catastrophic disaster.

Wenming, the Minister of Works, immediately echoed, bowing and saying, "The capital's city wall was fully repaired three years ago. The bricks and stones are sturdy, the wall is intact, and there is no risk of collapse or leakage."

"Now that the national treasury is tight and the people are suffering, to conscript laborers and spend public funds on large-scale construction projects would not only be wasteful of resources and manpower, but would also easily attract criticism from the upright officials, who would impeach us for being extravagant, negligent in our duties, and indifferent to the people's hardships."

The words sounded grand and reasonable, but in reality, the soup kitchens were closed down, but what was removed was the food that saved lives; the city walls were not repaired, but money was saved.

However, Zhu Zaizhen could not say anything too harsh to Xia Bangmo. Just yesterday, Xia Bangmo had helped him fight for his mother's promotion in front of the emperor. Although Wenming did not speak up yesterday, he obeyed orders during the disaster relief efforts, suppressing the dissatisfaction of many officials in the Ministry of Works.

Zhu Zaizhen put down the imperial seal: "There's not enough grain anywhere. Transporting it there results in losses. How much military pay is Zhejiang short?"

"We've been owed three months' worth of military pay, plus the cost of warship repairs and gunpowder equipment. The Ministry of War has urged us several times to send over at least 100,000 taels of silver."

Zhu Zaizhen did some mental calculations: "There is still a surplus of donated silver. We can allocate 40,000 taels for emergency use. For the criminal merchants imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail, those with lighter crimes can have their families redeem them."

If the censors and officials want to impeach someone, just push the blame onto me.

Furthermore, your Ministry of Revenue barely spent any money on disaster relief this time. I didn't make things difficult for you when things were tough, so shouldn't you contribute some money to the military pay now?

If there are still any shortfalls, take my warrant and go to the Salt Transport Office to ask for alms. Let's see how much our influence is worth. In short, find a way. This is my first time on duty in the capital region for disaster relief, so I must see it through to the end!

Having said all that, Xia Bangmo could only agree, and inwardly he admired the Prince Jing for being able to solve the problem and for providing the majority of the funds, instead of simply wanting more than he could handle.

Zhu Zaizhen's gaze fell on the Minister of Works: "The inner city is still strong, so there is no need to worry about it. The most important thing is the three gates of the outer city: Yongding, Zuo'an, and You'an. I have seen the city wall outside Yongding Gate. Several crenellations have collapsed, and the gate's winch is so rusted that it can't be turned."

These sections of the city wall are thin and the watchtowers are sparse, making them the capital's biggest weakness. In the spring, we must repair the crenellations, fix the gates, and clear the ditches; before summer, we must thicken and raise the walls.

Wenming felt a chill run down his spine. He knew about the situation at Yongding Gate, of course. The Ministry of Works had received a report from Shuntian Prefecture that autumn, but he had been holding back his approval.

It wasn't that they didn't want to repair them, but repairing those city gates in the outer city was a thankless task. The workload was considerable, but the financial reward was meager. It wouldn't bring them any prestige before the emperor, nor would it be as rewarding as repairing palaces or temples. It was purely a thankless and arduous task.

He originally thought that Prince Jing, a boy of thirteen or fourteen, would only know about the city's defenses by looking at them from afar while standing on the palace wall. He never expected that the prince would even know that the winch at Yongding Gate was rusted.

"this--"

Zhu Zaizhen immediately interrupted his complaints: "The remaining 30,000 taels of silver from the donations are all yours. In addition, I've also saved you the money for repairing the Da Gao Xuan Hall in the palace. If you keep complaining, I'll find someone else to do the job!"

Wenming could only hurriedly agree: "Your subject will return immediately to verify the amount of silver, and submit a report tomorrow!"

"All procedures shall be handled by the Cabinet. Everything I say is for official business, and you should all do your best."

"promise."

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