Volume One, The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes - Chapter 147: The Grand Study Hall

Chapter 147: The Grand Hall of Learning

Zhu Qizhen had his own ideas regarding military academies. The blueprint in his mind closely resembled the military academies of later generations.

However, Wang Ji’s proposal completely missed the mark. In Wang Ji’s view, this institution would merely be a cram school for inheriting noble titles. The sole purpose of all attending students would be to pass the qualification examination for title succession. By making these examinations rigorous, the goal was simply to improve the quality of military officers within the garrisons. This vision was vastly different from what Zhu Qizhen had in mind.

Zhang Fu’s concept, on the other hand, came slightly closer to Zhu Qizhen’s ideal. Zhang Fu simply wanted the scions of the nobility to learn archery, horsemanship, and mounted shooting. Nothing beyond that.

Warfare is complex in some ways. When scaled up to massive battles involving hundreds of thousands of troops, it approaches the realm of art. Yet, in other ways, it is remarkably simple; in small-scale skirmishes, raw martial valor remains paramount. In this era, many people believed that military strategy could not truly be taught. The best approach was personal instruction and hands-on guidance, passing down practical combat experience from father to son. This was the origin of hereditary military households. Because many considered the art of warfare to be a family tradition, the Ming dynasty boasted numerous instances of fathers and sons serving as renowned generals in succession.

Therefore, Zhang Fu had never considered teaching military strategy within a formal academy—and certainly not through open, public lectures rather than one-on-one master-apprentice transmissions.

In Zhu Qizhen’s eyes, Zhang Fu’s proposal amounted to a Ming dynasty non-commissioned officer school, producing capable centurions and chiliarchs. Still, it fell short of Zhu Qizhen’s ultimate ambition.

"Merely doing this is not enough," Zhu Qizhen muttered to himself. "I must ride this wave of momentum to perfect military education." Yet, how to leverage this momentum was something he could not immediately figure out.

Feeling unsettled, Zhu Qizhen wandered among the bookshelves of the Hall of Literary Glory, breathing in the rich scent of old paper while his mind raced.

"Invoke antiquity. Appeal to the ancients," Zhu Qizhen thought to himself. "When trying to accomplish anything in China, the best approach is to point out that the ancients did it. And the absolute best approach is to prove that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors once did it."

"If you do that, these Confucian scholars will have nothing left to say."

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He halted in his tracks, his jade pendants clinking together with a crisp chime. He thought to himself, "How could I have forgotten? There is someone in our own dynasty whose words carry even more weight than those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors."

"And that person is the founding Emperor Taizu."

Zhu Qizhen even believed that the feudal fiefdom policy had passed so smoothly precisely because of Emperor Taizu’s border-defense strategy. Appointing imperial princes to guard the frontiers was certainly not Zhu Qizhen’s original invention.

Zhu Qizhen immediately instructed Wang Zhen, "Bring me the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu."

"At once, Your Majesty," Wang Zhen replied.

Wang Zhen immediately led a group of junior eunuchs carrying a large rosewood chest. When opened, it revealed case after case of bound manuscripts.

These were none of the books, but the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu.

Ancient books contained relatively few characters per page, sometimes only a few hundred. Consequently, the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu was a massive work spanning tens of millions of words. Even by the standards of later generations, it would be considered a monumental multi-volume publication. In this era, its sheer bulk was staggering.

This entire chest was packed to the brim with them. Moreover, they were all handwritten copies.

Zhu Qizhen opened the box, flipped to the first year of the Hongwu era, and skimmed through hastily before his eyes suddenly locked onto a page. "Found it," he said. "This is the one."

The text on this page recorded nothing other than Emperor Taizu gathering the scions of the nobility and the imperial princes together for education, appointing Song Lian to instruct them.

And the name of this place was the Grand Hall of Learning.

The underlying meaning, naturally, was that the crown prince is the foundation of the state. This was also one of the methods of crown prince education in the early Ming dynasty. As mentioned earlier, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Jianwen had been classmates. Where had they studied together? Naturally, right here.

Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, "If I want to teach military strategy, I first need instructors. And the only people truly capable of giving such lectures are a few veteran generals in the court."

"Such as the Duke of Ying."

"If I want the Duke of Ying to lecture, the standing and prestige of this institution must be exceptionally high. The Grand Hall of Learning is simply too fitting. I will send the Prince of Dai in, and announce that any future imperial princes will also study at the Grand Hall of Learning."

"Presumably, the scions of nobility at all levels, and even the heirs of the imperial princes, will all flock here."

"If it were merely these people, I doubt they would learn much of substance. However, if we combine this with the military academy—the one suggested by Zhang Fu—operating as a lower-tier preparatory school beneath the Grand Hall of Learning, allowing the top-performing graduates of each cohort to enter the Grand Hall for advanced study..."

"That should prove remarkably attractive."

Zhu Qizhen then considered, "The civil officials will likely object."

The education Zhu Qizhen received was through the Imperial Lectures. He might not have fully understood its implications at first, but over time, he gradually came to realize that the Imperial Lectures were fundamentally a crucial channel through which civil officials sought to exert influence over the emperor. Yang Shiqi and the others would certainly not easily relinquish the power and benefits they had already secured.

"Fortunately, we have the Prince of Xiang," Zhu Qizhen thought to himself. "The affair of the Prince of Xiang provides a truly marvelous pretext."

Examining the institutional framework of the Grand Hall of Learning closely, Zhu Qizhen realized it was likely a mechanism originally devised by Emperor Taizu to keep the imperial princes in check by keeping their sons detained in the capital for education. It certainly carried the flavor of holding hostages, while also ensuring that the heirs of these princes grew up with their loyalties directed toward the central government.

Now that the Prince of Xiang once again held military command, Zhu Qizhen proposing to summon the Prince of Xiang’s sons to study in the capital was something the entire court of civil and military officials would likely endorse, and the Prince of Xiang himself would not dare utter a single word of refusal.

As for slipping in other hidden agendas little by little, there was plenty of time for that.

With a concrete plan formed in his mind, Zhu Qizhen immediately began to consider how to execute it.

The greatest obstacle he faced was the Grand Empress Dowager.

It was impossible to bypass the Grand Empress Dowager on any matter concerning the Prince of Xiang.

Yet, how could he persuade the Grand Empress Dowager?

For a moment, Zhu Qizhen had no clear answer. He tucked Zhang Fu’s memorial inside his robes and strode toward the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.

Before even reaching the palace, he heard a great commotion echoing from within, as if a large number of people were present. For a moment, Zhu Qizhen felt a twinge of bewilderment. The Grand Empress Dowager was not particularly fond of absolute quiet, but the precincts of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility were certainly not a place where anyone dared to speak in loud voices.

What on earth had happened?

After stepping into the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, Zhu Qizhen discovered that the Grand Empress Dowager was not in the main hall, but in a side chamber at the rear.

Several eunuchs were in the process of carrying a large wooden chest out from the room. Following one after another, countless chests were lined up in a neat row all along the corridor.

Curious, Zhu Qizhen asked, "What is going on here?"

Seeing that the emperor had arrived, the eunuchs immediately dropped to their knees in salute, shouting, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

With dozens of people kneeling simultaneously, the commotion was quite significant and naturally reached the ears of the Grand Empress Dowager. From inside the room, she called out, "Is that the Emperor? Come in."

Zhu Qizhen replied, "Grandmother, I am coming right in."

Stepping past the kneeling eunuchs, Zhu Qizhen entered the chamber and was immediately greeted by a cloud of dust hanging in the air. A quick sweep of his gaze revealed that this room was being used as a storage vault.

Inside, large and small chests were stacked layer upon layer. There were countless numbers of them.

The Grand Empress Dowager, supported by the Prince of Xiang, was standing in the middle of the room.

As Zhu Qizhen entered, the Prince of Xiang started to bow in greeting. Zhu Qizhen hurriedly stopped him, saying, "In private, there is no need for such formalities, Uncle." Taking a few steps, Zhu Qizhen came to the Grand Empress Dowager’s right side, making a gesture to support her as well. He asked, "Grandmother, what is all this---?"

With the Grand Empress Dowager standing in the center and the Prince of Xiang and Zhu Qizhen supporting her on her left and right respectively, the elderly matriarch felt a momentary surge of warmth and happiness. She smiled and said, "These are all the private savings and dowry I have accumulated over all these years. There are roughly over one hundred thousand taels. However, Emperor, there is none of this for you—it is all for your uncle here."

Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen smiled and replied, "Grandmother, you jest. Your belongings are yours to give to whomever you please. How could your grandson possibly covet them?"

The Grand Empress Dowager remarked, "Entrenching your uncle in Luchuan was your idea. Going forward, the imperial court will find things much easier to manage in Yunnan. Shouldn't the palace contribute a share of private funds to your uncle as well?"

Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen knew he could not escape bleeding a little wealth. He pondered for a moment and said, "Grandmother is entirely right. Let the palace contribute one hundred thousand taels."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Empress Dowager cast a sideways glance at Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen wore a bitter smile, yet gritted his teeth and refused to offer a single tael more.

It was not that Zhu Qizhen was greedy; rather, as someone preparing to wage war, the more financial reserves he secured, the better. Although thirty-two million taels was certainly not a small sum, Zhu Qizhen had read the financial ledgers from the previous northern campaigns: wealth flowed away like pearls and jade only to be squandered like worthless mud. Warfare was an unfathomable bottomless pit, and no amount of money was ever enough.