Volume One: The Infant Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 152: Alliance with the Nobility

Zhu Qizhen said, "When the state confers titles and rewards upon meritorious officials, it is certainly to reward virtue, punish wrongdoing, and inspire the hearts of the people. Yet it is also meant to ensure a harmonious beginning and end with these loyal subjects, for the nobles of the realm serve as the protective screen of the nation."

"The late Emperor was able to depart in peace precisely because we had the Duke of Ying."

"And yet, in the first year of Zhengtong, when military affairs erupted in the northwest, it was necessary to dispatch Wang Ji to oversee the campaign. Was it because the imperial court lacked great generals?"

This was a thought Zhu Qizhen once harbored, but no longer. The shortage of competent military commanders was certainly a factor, but the Grand Empress Dowager's vigilance regarding military power was an equally crucial one.

With the Chenqiao Mutiny and the usurpation of the imperial robe serving as a stark warning from the past, how could the Grand Empress Dowager fail to take precautions?

The only truly prestigious general in the capital was someone who could not be easily moved. That was why a civil official was given the opportunity to command a grand army.

Zhu Qizhen continued, "During the reign of Emperor Taizong, was there ever such estrangement between our imperial house and the nobility? Come to think of it, even if I were not the Emperor, our two families share the bond of kin. Yet, how much of this deep affection will remain for the generations to come?"

How did Zhang Fu's father, Zhang Yu, meet his death?

During the Battle of Dongchang in the Jingnan campaign, Emperor Taizong had broken deep into the enemy lines and his whereabouts in the army became unknown. Zhang Yu charged into the enemy formation to search for Emperor Taizong. Failing to find him on the first attempt, he returned to his own ranks, and discovering that the Emperor had not yet returned, he charged into the fray a second time.

By the time Zhang Yu became trapped deep within the Southern Army's lines, Emperor Taizong had already returned.

However, Zhang Yu was unaware of this.

Driven by the resolve that he would not return to his own lines without finding Emperor Taizong, Zhang Yu was heavily surrounded by the Southern Army and fought to the death until his last breath.

Because of this, Emperor Taizong always treated Zhang Fu like a son or a nephew.

Yet, while Emperors Renzong and Xuanzong still valued Zhang Fu, they did not hold him in the same high regard as Emperor Taizong had, and their relationship lacked that same profound intimacy.

By the time the succession reached Zhu Qizhen, his perception of Zhang Fu was largely that of a senior minister in the outer court and a giant within the military. As for personal warmth and intimacy, there was very little left.

"I hope that the Duke of Ying will generation after generation remain the pillar of the state, and that the imperial house and the family of the Duke of Ying will remain inextricably close through the ages. Therefore, I have been thinking that henceforth, while the Imperial Lectures are indeed fine, we should emulate the Founding Emperor: let the scions of the nobility and the imperial clan be educated together in the Grand Hall of Learning. What is taught there must not be merely the Four Books and the Five Classics, but also the arts of war and military strategy."

"At present, I have not yet established an heir apparent, so the Grand Hall of Learning does not require a Grand Academician to concurrently oversee it. However, I wonder if the Duke of Ying might be willing to look after it for me."

Zhang Fu understood instantly that his guess had been correct.

At the same time, he felt the immense weight of this rare opportunity.

If the family of the Duke of Ying could secure a permanent place within the Grand Hall of Learning across generations and share the bond of schoolmates with every future Emperor, what reason would they have to fear the decline of their lineage?

Zhang Fu immediately replied, "This subject is deeply grateful for Your Majesty's boundless grace. Leave this matter to me, and I shall handle it impeccably."

Zhu Qizhen felt a sudden sense of relief in his heart and thought to himself, "This matter is finally settled." Of course, the high-spirited demeanor Zhang Fu had displayed in the court let Zhu Qizhen know that although the nobility had been suppressed by the civil official faction in recent years, it did not mean the noble faction was entirely devoid of power.

If nothing else, the fact that the nobility still possessed the capability to launch the Coup of夺门 within Beijing after the Tumu Crisis demonstrated the vast latent strength of the noble faction.

As the leading figure of the noble faction, since Zhang Fu had nodded in agreement, even if the civil officials were unwilling, Zhang Fu had the means to push the matter through.

After sending Zhang Fu away, Zhu Qizhen paced back and forth inside the Wuying Hall, carefully pondering his conversation with Zhang Fu that day.

The overarching strategic policy against Oirat was to fight a decisive battle along the line of the Great Wall.

Zhu Qizhen still harbored some doubts about this idea in his heart.

However, the establishment of the military academy and the system of the Grand Hall of Learning gave Zhu Qizhen a glimmer of hope for military reform.

At the very pinnacle of the Ming dynasty's military officer system stood the three ranks of dukes, marquises, and counts. Below them were the hereditary commanders, hereditary vice-commanders, all the way down to hereditary centurions.

This massive faction controlled the military power of the Ming dynasty.

Even though Zhu Qizhen knew that the foundation of this colossal faction—starting from the most ordinary military households—was already showing signs of decay, attempting to tamper with this aspect was exceedingly difficult.

Any matter concerning military power, if mishandled even slightly, would plunge the realm into chaos.

No emperor through the successive reigns of the Ming dynasty was a fool.

They would rather build anew from the ground up, creating private armies of generals similar to the Qi Family Army, than dare to touch such a vast vested interest group. There was clearly a reason for this.

Yet, without touching these matters, if Zhu Qizhen wished to defeat Oirat, his preparations would forever remain insufficient.

Therefore, handling this issue would truly test Zhu Qizhen's political prowess.

Intervening through the military education system was a path Zhu Qizhen had rehearsed in his mind many times.

"Who are my enemies, and who are my friends?" Zhu Qizhen repeatedly murmured these words to himself.

This was the very starting point of his actions.

First, for the upper echelon of the nobility—men like the Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, and the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Yong—while they might have vested interests in the loss of guard garrison lands, this was not their primary interest.

For the nobility standing at the very apex of the Ming dynasty's food chain, a strong and influential military establishment was their greatest interest.

One must remember that during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, even a provincial surveillance commissioner had to bow when meeting a regional military commander. In particular, regional military commanders everywhere were held by noble officials, rendering these administrative commissioners and the like almost equal to civil officials serving within the military.

Yet what was the situation now?

The civil officials had already faintly gained the upper hand over the nobility.

They might not foresee the future scenario where a Ming dynasty military officer would beg in vain for the status of a lackey before a seventh-rank civil official, but the daily encroachment of civil official power upon the domain of the nobility was a stark and realistic problem.

In the hearts of many nobles, the reason for this state of affairs was naturally not attributed to their own declining martial prowess, but rather blamed on Emperor Renzong.

The ministers of Emperor Renzong's household from his days as a prince were all civil officials.

And it was precisely these civil officials who had monopolized the high power of the imperial court for over a decade, pressing the nobles down bit by bit.

Thus, what truly determined their status was imperial favor.

Zhu Qizhen finally began to feel a glimmer of what it was like to be an Emperor.

An Emperor had to maintain a point of balance. Regardless of which faction held the reins of power in the court, whichever direction the Emperor leaned toward was the one that could suppress the other.

During the period when the Grand Empress Dowager ruled from behind the curtain, it seemed as though she did nothing at all, yet this balance was consistently maintained.

Though the civil officials appeared to hold the upper hand on the surface, whenever the Grand Empress Dowager leaned ever so slightly toward the other side, Zhang Fu was able to overturn the situation.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen deduced that these top-tier nobles hungered for imperial favor far more than they hungered for mere wealth.

Of course, wealth was naturally something they also desired.

However, since Zhu Qizhen held the reins of state power, finding ways to bestow grace upon the nobility was entirely feasible. Once the upper nobility were pacified, dealing with those below them would become much easier.

After all, those men were all the old subordinates of these nobles. Strictly enforcing the hereditary succession of offices could certainly alleviate the decline in military prowess within the army, but Zhu Qizhen did not believe that the decay of the Ming guard garrisons could be reversed by a mere military academy.

This was merely the beginning.

What Zhu Qizhen intended to do extended far beyond this; he wished to reinstitute the military imperial examinations, incorporate all military jinshi into the military academy, and have the top three scorers enter the Grand Hall of Learning for their studies.

In this way, he would introduce a faction of military officers whose backgrounds were untainted and who had no ties whatsoever to the guard garrisons.

Only then would he find a way to abolish the hereditary system for military officers, and perhaps even convert some interior guard garrisons into ordinary counties.

And so forth.

Zhu Qizhen's mind was filled with grand strategies, and he had only just penned the very first stroke.

"Haste makes waste, haste makes waste, haste makes waste," Zhu Qizhen suppressed the excitement surging within his heart and told himself, "Governing a great nation is like cooking small fish; one must not be hasty, one must not be hasty. The more haste, the more mishaps."

However, the very first thing Zhu Qizhen needed to do was establish his firm stance for the coming years—that was, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the nobility. Not to use them to confront the civil officials, but to use them to resist any potential resistance from military officers of the lower guard garrisons.

Zhang Fu moved swiftly.

The very next day after returning, he raised the matter within the Cabinet. Upon hearing it, Yang Shiqi immediately grasped the profound implications behind it and said, "Duke of Ying, are you saying this is His Majesty's will?"

Even before Yang Shiqi, Zhang Fu dared not put on airs, and he replied, "Naturally. Even if I had the courage of a tiger, I would not dare to fabricate an imperial edict. Though I am lacking in talent, I have already volunteered before His Majesty to take charge of the Grand Hall of Learning. I ask that the Cabinet promptly draft the edict."

Yang Rong interjected, "Duke of Ying, this matter is of grave significance. How can we rely on the words of a single party? We must request the Emperor's personal confirmation before a conclusion can be reached. I ask the Duke of Ying to wait a moment."