Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 141: Crisis of the Vassal King

Chapter 141: The Crisis of the Imperial Princes

"With the descendants of the imperial princes multiplying endlessly, take the Prince of Jin for example—they are already in their fourth generation. The number of commandery princes is several times that of the princedoms. A few decades from now, I fear that the entire tax revenue of Shanxi will not be enough to sustain the three branches of the royal family."

"Furthermore, the vital strategic passes of the Nine Garrisons all rely on Northern Zhili and Shaanxi. If all the grain here is used to feed the imperial princes, how are we to provision the army?"

Hu Ying's words were, in truth, somewhat of a digression, yet his point was remarkably sharp.

The twenty-seven primary princes consumed far more than just their official annual stipends of ten thousand piculs of grain.

When factoring in the commandery princes and the defenders of the state, it would require no less than a million piculs of grain just to sustain them.

Yet, given the reproductive rate of the Great Ming imperial house, that figure would likely double within a few decades. And thereafter, the speed of that doubling would only accelerate.

Moreover, there was another factor that could not be ignored.

That was the inherent scarcity of grain in the northern regions. Each year, the imperial court had to transport four million piculs of grain from the south via the Grand Canal to make up for the northern deficit.

The Kai-Zhong system was also utilized to sustain the provisions of the Nine Garrisons.

However, in the northwestern regions of Shaanxi, there resided several imperial princes. The stipends for these highnesses were drawn directly from the local provincial treasuries.

For a Northwest already starved of grain, this was truly adding frost to snow.

Yang Shiqi gave a light cough and said, "Lord Hu, the imperial court has its own laws and regulations. Do not forget the principle of cherishing one's kin."

It was not as though Yang Shiqi was unaware that the imperial princes were causing a financial crisis; it was simply that matters had their priorities of urgency.

Since the reigns of the Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande emperors, the power of the imperial princes had been thoroughly stripped away. Even the few princes who had retained their personal bodyguards—such as the Prince of Chu—had seen those three bodyguard units relocated elsewhere under the resolute methods of the Grand Empress Dowager.

Under such circumstances, the imperial princes were left with nothing more than mere wealth and status.

If they were pressed any further, the imperial court's demeanor would appear far too unsightly.

Furthermore, the great regional princes across the realm—such as those of Qin, Jin, Chu, and Shu—even without military command, possessed latent influences that could not be underestimated. Therefore, matters could not be rushed. If this were debated openly in the imperial court today, within less than half a month, every so-called prince across the realm would come to know of it.

This would only introduce additional factors of instability.

"Your Majesty, Grand Empress Dowager, this subject believes that what Lord Hu has said is entirely correct," Liu Zhongfu stated. "As the minister in charge of finances, the state's expenditures are still relatively abundant, particularly the provisions for the Nine Garrisons. During the late emperor's reign, the cost of winter clothing for the soldiers of the Nine Garrisons was two hundred thousand taels. Originally intended as a one-time subsidy, it has now become a fixed expense."

"Recently, a dispatch from the Ministry of War stated that the Nine Garrisons are suffering from a grain shortage and requested an allocation from the Ministry of Revenue. With four million piculs of grain shipped annually via the canal, and every single expenditure accounted for under a specific heading, from where does Your Lordship expect me to conjure up a sudden surplus of funds and grain?"

"As for the princes in other regions, the various provinces can still bear the burden; however, the stipends of the northwestern princes have become the single largest expenditure for those provinces. Transporting grain in the Northwest is fraught with difficulty. In this subject's view, if the northwestern princes were required to collect their stipends in Nanjing, I would certainly agree."

"This subject wishes to impeach certain princes for lawless behavior," declared Minister of Punishments Wei Yuan as he stepped forward, implicating a number of princes in a single breath.

Zhu Qizhen was well aware of the conduct of the Great Ming's princes. To call them all beasts would be to insult the emperor himself; yet to say none of them were beasts would equally be untrue.

Take, for instance, Prince Zhao of Liao and his two sons, who had become irreconcilable enemies. One son reported the Prince of Liao to the imperial court for treason, seeking to drive his own father to his death, while the prince himself wished to kill his son.

When the Prince of Liao passed away, neither of his sons observed the mourning rites.

Filial piety was a paramount virtue in ancient times.

For such unfilial conduct, Emperor Xuanzong had stripped the Prince of Liao's sons of their status, reducing them to commoners, and left the princedom vacant.

As for the bullying of commoners and the seizure of women, such incidents were countless.

If they were to truly follow the Ministry of Punishments' lead—to say nothing else—and investigate every single prince of the Great Ming, it would surpass any deliberate policy of reducing the number of princedoms.

Yet these crimes alone were not enough to cost them their lives.

After all, blood ties demanded a distinction between distant and close relations.

In later eras, such crimes would warrant dying a myriad of times, but in this age, carrying the status of an imperial prince meant the worst punishment was confinement behind high walls.

There was no help for it; such were the behavioral norms of this era.

Zhu Qizhen could only feel helpless.

"Your Majesty, much of what the Ministry of Punishments has reported is based on hearsay. Nevertheless, because it concerns the reputation of the imperial house, we should still dispatch censors to verify the facts," Yang Shiqi said after a moment of internal calculation.

A wave of puzzlement momentarily washed over Zhu Qizhen, who thought to himself, "Just moments ago, this same Yang Shiqi was speaking of the imperial court's affection for its kin. Why is he now striking so ruthlessly?" Yet, Zhu Qizhen quickly understood Yang Shiqi's intent.

Yang Shiqi continued, "This subject believes that the members of the imperial clan are, after all, the children of the imperial house. Censors acting alone will not convince the public. I request that the various senior princes be appointed as elders of the imperial clan to work alongside the censors in strictly investigating lawless members within their own houses, thereby providing a proper account to the common people of the realm."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wen felt a surge of irritation and blurted out, "Grand Councilor Yang, is this not akin to asking thieves to catch thieves?"

Yang Shiqi replied, "Lord Wang, you go too far. This official believes that the various princes still possess a clear sense of right and wrong."

Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, "What a master of smoothing things over."

The Great Ming had been founded a mere seventy years or so. Although the population of the imperial lineage had multiplied extensively, they had not yet reached the point of being beyond the fifth degree of mourning; they were still one large family. With the various senior princes present, any punishment naturally would not be overly severe.

As for the extent to which they would be disciplined, that would depend entirely on the wrestling match between the inspecting censors sent into the field and the imperial princes.

If there were indeed any censors foolishly stubborn enough to press the matter hard, it remained uncertain whether these princes would dare to retaliate.

Zhu Qizhen also grasped the second layer of meaning behind Yang Shiqi's actions.

This was the stability that the Grand Empress Dowager had consistently emphasized ever since she took the reins of government. They did not wish to stir up massive legal cases. The internal and external cooperation between the Grand Empress Dowager and Yang Shiqi was rooted primarily in an alignment of political philosophy.

With military campaigns underway in the south and the Oirats growing formidable in the north, Yang Shiqi did not mind trimming the withered branches of the regional princes, but he intended to set the overall tone for the matter.

That tone was that the imperial court had no intention of abolishing the princedoms; it was simply that certain individuals had behaved too outrageously, prompting the court to send officials to clean up the mess. If those involved knew what was good for them and sorted out their own messes first, the court would not press the matter further.

Zhu Qizhen immediately pondered, "What course of action would be most advantageous to me?"

His purpose in bringing forth the Grand Empress Dowager this time was to finalize the enfeoffment of the Prince of Xiang to Luchuan. Once the Prince of Xiang arrived in Luchuan, he would naturally assume overall command of military and political affairs, possessing at least three bodyguard units comprising over fifteen thousand soldiers, supplemented by various indigenous chieftains.

This represented a major shift in policy toward the imperial princes.

Therefore, prior to this shift, the governing principle regarding the collective body of imperial princes should remain one of pacification. In accordance with this policy pivot, the imperial princes might well become a rising political force in the future rather than remaining the background figures they were now. Who could say? Perhaps Zhu Qizhen might even utilize their strength to counter the current massive expansion of power among the Great Ming's civil officials.

As for those among them who were truly lower than beasts, there would naturally be time to deal with them in the future. Now was not the moment.

The moment he realized this, Zhu Qizhen declared, "Well said. I likewise believe that my royal uncles all possess a clear understanding of reason. Speaking of the principle of cherishing one's kin, I recall that individuals such as the former commoner of Qi, the former commoner of Gu, the former commoner of Han, and the former commoner of Jian remain confined behind high walls. Is this how one upholds the principle of cherishing kin?"

"I intend to grant a general amnesty to these individuals, ordering the relevant departments to bestow land upon them for settlement. It is simply that these people were sentenced either by the Taizu Emperor, the Chengzu Emperor, or the late emperor."

"I dare not violate their precedents. Since they have been reduced to commoners, let them register locally and take up any peaceful occupation without restriction. If they study diligently, who knows—I might even have the chance to see members of my own clan here in the Golden Hall."

"Your Majesty's benevolent heart will surely touch the heavens above," Yang Rong was the first to chime in.

Having beaten the others to the punch, officials immediately rushed to echo his sentiment, and for a moment, the Wenhua Palace resounded with cascading praises for the sovereign.

This gesture by Zhu Qizhen conformed so closely to Confucian values that naturally no one raised any objections. Yet, there were those who perceived the hidden calculations behind his move.

This was, in effect, offering an alternative path out.

Thus, the imperial lineage of the Great Ming would certainly not continue entirely as before. A very substantial portion of distant imperial relatives would inevitably choose this route—renouncing their status as members of the imperial clan in exchange for the right to sit for the imperial examinations and serve in the military.

For some, holding a title and collecting an imperial stipend was naturally preferable. However, the Great Ming had been founded for over seventy years, and many distant branches of the imperial lineage, subsisting on those meager stipends, were in truth no different from ordinary wealthy households while bearing all manner of restrictions.

It would be far better to renounce their imperial clan status and carve out a world for themselves through their own abilities, whether via the imperial examinations or military service.

Among the imperial lineage of the Great Ming, there were indeed men of genuine talent.

"Your Majesty, while the issue of the imperial princes is significant, it is merely a distant worry. However, if the desire for territorial expansion continues unchecked, it will become an immediate disaster. The Taizu Emperor set boundaries by mountains and seas, designating fifteen nations not to be attacked, so that his descendants might enjoy everlasting peace for ten thousand generations," Chen Wen stated.