Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes - Chapter 139: The Posthumous Strategy of Young Master Zhang

Chapter 139: The Posthumous Strategy of Young Master Zhang

It seemed as though overnight, an essay had spread through the entire city of Beijing, reaching everyone from titled nobles to civil officials.

It triggered a massive political earthquake. Even major ongoing events, such as the southern expedition to Luchuan and the upcoming repair project of the Lugou River, were relegated to secondary importance.

On the surface, the essay appeared to be the work of a wild and unrestrained scholar, but it struck straight at the heart of the current state policies of the Great Ming. Furthermore, its literary style was brilliant, and many of its analyses were piercingly profound.

Most importantly, this was the posthumous work of Zhang Zhong, the Heir of the Duke of Ying.

A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples.

Responses from various factions varied greatly.

Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, stood before the ancestral tablet of Zhang Zhong.

Logically speaking, Zhang Zhong died without an heir and thus was not qualified to enter the ancestral hall. But who among the Duke of Ying's household could possibly obstruct the deep paternal love of Zhang Fu?

In his hand, he clutched a copied manuscript of Zhang Zhong’s treatise on feudal investiture.

Zhang Fu’s hair was completely white. He raised his face and let tears stream down as he said, "This is what you poured your heart and soul into over these past few years. It was I who harmed you; I could not let go of the affairs of Annam, yet I burdened you with such heavy worries."

Different people read this essay and felt differently, but to Zhang Fu at this moment, it was simply the manifestation of his beloved son's profound filial piety.

Zhang Yu had died early, leaving Zhang Fu to shoulder the responsibilities of the family clan with extreme caution and prudence. Yet there was only one single matter regarding which he had defied all the civil and military officials of the imperial court without ever changing his mind.

That matter was the abandonment of Annam.

It was something that weighed heavily on his mind, a grievance he could never let go.

In Zhang Fu’s view, Zhang Zhong’s essay was an earnest attempt to alter the state policy of the Great Ming—to steer the dynasty out of the strategic contraction it had been in since the Hongxi reign.

Moreover, Zhang Fu believed that after so many years of recuperation and rest, the Great Ming court had accumulated some wealth. It was time to change the strategy of complete non-interference toward Mobei, Nanyang, and other regions, which had persisted since the Renxuan reigns.

Zhang Fu naturally knew that many people would oppose this.

However, regardless of the fact that this essay embodied the lifeblood of his deceased son, solely because it represented the interests of the military nobility, he was determined not to take a single step backward.

"You must remember, I, Zhang Fu, am not yet dead!" Zhang Fu's hair and beard stood on end, his eyes flashing like lightning, making him look like an exploding tiger.

Ordinarily, in the cabinet, Zhang Fu was rigidly observant of the rules, submissive, and dared not overstep even a fraction of an inch—that seemed not to be the real Zhang Fu. But Zhang Fu at this moment was the true Zhang Fu.

Stepping out of the ancestral hall, Zhang Fu immediately instructed his servants to send formal invitations to the Duke of Cheng's estate, the Duke of Ding's estate, and all the other noble houses in the city of Beijing.

Zhang Fu could not claim he never associated with the nobility, but a large-scale banquet hosting the capital's nobles was a rare occurrence indeed.

Such actions by Zhang Fu were apparently not meant to be concealed.

Yang Shiqi learned of the matter almost immediately.

After some careful consideration, Yang Shiqi first summoned Yu Qian and asked, "Did you know about this?"

Yu Qian had, of course, read the essay, but he replied, "Your student did not know." Yang Shiqi was not surprised and asked, "Yet this is the Emperor's intention, isn't it?"

Yu Qian pondered for a moment before answering, "The Emperor often harbors the ambition to expand the territory and open up new frontiers—this is something Your Excellency already knows. However, enfeoffing vassal princes in regions so remote that the imperial court's whip cannot easily reach them is probably not the Emperor's original intention. After all, the Incident of Jingnan is something that can never truly be bypassed."

Yang Shiqi naturally understood this.

The Incident of Jingnan was a taboo in the Great Ming. It was not that it could never be mentioned at all, but ever since Jingnan, the trimming and reduction of the vassal princes had long become an unmentionable political correctness.

Yang Shiqi sighed and said, "You still fail to see the bigger picture. How do you know this isn't actually a clever scheme by the Emperor to weaken the vassal princes?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qian was startled at first, but understanding dawned on him shortly after.

In the eyes of the people of the Ming dynasty, the Great Ming was the greatest place under heaven, while lands far away from the realm were nothing but barren wilderness. By enfeoffing various vassal princes in remote regions far from the heartland of the Ming, at the very least, the current Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces would be spared from having vassal kings established within them.

Was this not a disguised form of weakening the vassal system?

Not everyone was capable of firmly establishing themselves in distant lands, nor did everyone possess the extraordinary courage of the Prince of Xiang.

Yu Qian asked cautiously, "Does Your Excellency mean..."

Yu Qian had already grown accustomed to his political standing within the imperial court.

He served as the direct channel of communication between the Emperor and Yang Shiqi.

Many matters involving Zhu Qizhen were communicated to Yang Shiqi through Yu Qian.

Yang Shiqi stated, "This matter must not happen. Although there are some good ideas in it, such as the handling of the vassal princes—I had never considered how the endless multiplication of descendants across various branches of the royal family would eventually burden the imperial court beyond endurance."

"I am preparing to draft regulations for the imperial clan. From now on, the court will only be responsible for the annual stipends of the vassal kings, while the family members and clansmen of each vassal will have to fend for themselves. We will also appropriately allow members of the imperial clan to enter official service. However, during the Yongle era, the court consumed far too many resources. Even though the realm has been recuperating since the Hongxi reign, the fact remains that warfare has broken out repeatedly."

"During the Xuande reign, there was the campaign to pacify the commoners of Han, the expeditions against Uryankhai and Songpan, and the disastrous defeat in Annam. After the Zhengtong era, there was the northwestern campaign, and now there is the Luchuan expedition."

"The military blade of the imperial court has never ceased its killing edge; it is merely a matter of whether the wars are large or small."

"Although Oirat is growing stronger, it takes ten years to gather strength and another ten to recuperate before mobilizing an army. Even if His Majesty has the intention to wage war, I must remonstrate with him and declare that within ten years, no military actions shall be spoken of."

When Yang Shiqi read the essay, he did not care about the enfeoffment of distant vassal states; he went straight to the heart of the Emperor's underlying intentions.

As the saying goes, the real meaning lies outside the poem.

While the essay was undoubtedly a fine piece of literature, poured over with the lifeblood of Zhang Zhong to the extent that not a single word could be easily altered, Yang Shiqi was more interested in discerning the motives lurking behind it.

That motive was Zhu Qizhen's attempt to alter the longstanding state policies of the Great Ming.

Following the political earthquake, the Grand Empress Dowager no longer interfered in state affairs. Yang Shiqi was firmly resolved not to let the imperial court plunge into a vortex of endless military conquests. Ten years—Yang Shiqi himself might not even remain at the center of power for another decade.

Therefore, he uttered these words. While he genuinely believed that the court's reserves were insufficient to sustain large-scale military campaigns, Yang Shiqi was not entirely free from personal motives either.

That personal motive was the bitter realization that he could not ultimately stop the Emperor.

After all, in ancient times, if an emperor was truly determined to accomplish something, very few people could genuinely stop him.

However, Yang Shiqi did not wish to clean up a disastrous mess left behind by the Emperor.

Growing old, a man merely sought a good reputation for posterity. Zhu Qizhen was indeed the Emperor, but he was not the Grand Emperor Taizong. Yang Shiqi had himself fought alongside Emperor Taizong and truly knew what it meant when the military crisis was perilous and urgent.

He was unwilling to take such a risk.

Turning his head, Yang Shiqi said to Yu Qian, "Convey these words to His Majesty."

Yu Qian was slightly startled. Although Yang Shiqi could generally guess that whatever Yang told him would be reported to Zhu Qizhen from various perspectives, and whatever Zhu told Yu was likely intended for Yang Shiqi's ears, this was the first time Yang Shiqi had stated his position so plainly and directly.

He understood all the more how crucial today's matters were.

If handled improperly, the stable political situation that had been maintained continuously from the tenth year of Xuande to the fourth year of Zhengtong would be shattered right here and now.

Yu Qian entered the palace and reported these words to Zhu Qizhen.

Upon hearing them, Zhu Qizhen said, "I understand."

Yu Qian pleaded, "Your Majesty, the sentiments of Senior Grand Secretary Yang are also for the sake of the imperial court. I beg Your Majesty to ponder them deeply."

Hearing Yu Qian's words, Zhu Qizhen felt a momentary surge of displeasure. He regarded Yu Qian as his confidant, yet Yu Qian did not show him absolute obedience. But immediately afterward, Zhu Qizhen's expression relaxed.

After all, famous ministers whose names echoed down through history were men of talent, not mere slaves.

Slaves could offer absolute obedience, but those who truly achieved great things were always men of talent.

Even so, Zhu Qizhen still felt somewhat uncomfortable inside. With a faint smile, he said, "Senior Grand Secretary Yang is overthinking. I am merely mindful of the current Luchuan campaign and have no genuine desire to launch massive military expeditions. How could I not understand the logic of gathering strength and recuperating for ten years as advocated by Senior Grand Secretary Yang? I give my word to the Senior Grand Secretary that before the Luchuan campaign is settled, I will absolutely not provoke any other military conflicts."

Yu Qian knew very well that Zhu Qizhen's promise had some loopholes and wiggle room. There were plenty of caveats hidden in his words. Nevertheless, Yu Qian finally had an acceptable response to report back to Yang Shiqi.

Yu Qian offered a few more words of persuasion to Zhu Qizhen, the essence of which was that since His Majesty was in the prime of his youth, this was precisely the time to exercise restraint and avoid acting with undue haste.

Zhu Qizhen agreed to every point before sending Yu Qian off.

Watching Yu Qian depart, Zhu Qizhen's expression shifted slightly, and he thought to himself, "By acting this way, I can presumably prevent Yang Shiqi from stepping forward to lock horns with me directly. However, the chorus of opposition from the civil and military officials throughout the court will certainly not subside so easily."

"Fortunately, with Zhang辅 (Zhang Fu) around, I don't need to worry about the military faction."

After turning the matter over in his mind and still feeling somewhat uneasy, Zhu Qizhen rose from his seat and ordered his imperial procession prepared for the Cining Palace.