Chapter 26: Many people died yesterday, and even more will die today!
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Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang said awkwardly, “Mother, rest assured. I did not lay a hand on Grandfather, but he was involved in this matter, so I could not simply do nothing.”
After a pause, Zhu Cilang continued, “I confiscated Grandfather’s estate and found three million two hundred thousand taels of silver!”
“His title, however, remains intact.”
There was no way to conceal the matter, so Zhu Cilang decided to tell her plainly.
Empress Zhou had not yet found the words to respond when Chongzhen’s gleeful voice suddenly rang out.
“Good! I have wanted to deal with Zhou Kui for ages! That fellow has abused innocent people and committed every manner of misdeed, relying on his status as the emperor’s father-in-law. He has done nothing to deserve better than having his estate confiscated!”
“Three million two hundred thousand taels of silver. Who knows how much blood he has sucked from the people of Great Ming?”
“Not executing him is already the greatest mercy he could receive!”
Chongzhen felt thoroughly avenged. After all, that old wretch Zhou Kui was always whining to him about how poor he was!
It had to be said that, when it came to dealing with Zhou Kui, Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang were entirely of one mind.
…………
Empress Zhou suddenly felt a deep pang of distress.
Her own son had confiscated her father’s estate, while her husband was taking this attitude toward the matter. She was utterly exhausted!
But as a daughter-in-law of the Zhu family, she found it difficult to say anything.
After all, she knew perfectly well what sort of person her father was. Compared with the fate suffered by other nobles, this could already be considered a favorable outcome.
At last, Empress Zhou slowly said, “Your mother knows what your grandfather is like. You did nothing wrong.”
“He ought to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, who knows what sort of trouble he might cause in the future?”
Sure enough, no matter how corrupt Great Ming became, its empresses were always the wisest and most virtuous women in the realm.
Well…
With the exception of a certain demon empress surnamed Sun!
After offering Empress Zhou a few more words of comfort, Zhu Cilang finally left the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
This time, Zhu Cilang returned directly to the Eastern Palace.
Previously, he had remained in the imperial palace because he was leading a rebellion.
But now that the imperial palace was entirely under his control, there was no longer any reason for him to stay.
Strictly speaking, he was still the crown prince. Living in the imperial palace was indeed somewhat improper.
And so, Zhu Cilang finally enjoyed a rare night of sound sleep.
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Time passed swiftly, and before long, the next morning arrived.
As the bells summoning the court rang out, the Crown Prince was once again presiding over the government!
As usual, the officials entered in an orderly procession, then divided themselves into two rows and saluted Zhu Cilang, who sat beside the Dragon Throne.
Interestingly, during court sessions in the Ming dynasty, officials were not required to kneel. The practice of kneeling before the emperor during court audiences only began under the Manchus.
Of course, there were occasional exceptions.
For instance, when a convicted official appeared before the emperor, he was required to kneel.
Zhu Cilang looked down upon the officials in the hall and noticed that they all seemed somewhat listless today.
A cold smile flickered across his heart.
Clearly, they had already learned what had happened the previous day and were filled with apprehension.
After all, quite a number of people had died yesterday—and even more would die at noon today!
At that moment, Wang Cheng’en called out loudly, “If anyone has a matter to report, speak now. If not, the court is dismissed!”
The assembled officials remained silent.
Zhu Cilang said nothing either. He merely nodded at Wang Cheng’en.
“Read the decree.”
Wang Cheng’en carefully took the imperial decree, which had been prepared in advance, from the desk and proclaimed in a loud voice:
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The rebel forces are running rampant, having successively breached several cities in Shaanxi and Henan and showing signs of ever-increasing strength. We therefore specially decree the reinstatement of Sun Chuanting, former Governor-General of Baoding.”
“Sun Chuanting is hereby appointed Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, with authority over all military affairs in those regions. He is concurrently granted the rank of Minister of War, presented with the Imperial Sword, and elevated to Grand Tutor and Grand Protector of the Crown Prince.”
“So decreed!”
The moment the words fell, a middle-aged man dressed in a scarlet robe entered through the palace gates.
It was none other than Sun Chuanting.
His appointment as Governor-General of the Three Border Regions meant that, from this day onward, he would be responsible for military affairs in Shaanxi, Huguang, Henan, and the surrounding territories, commanding the armies stationed along the three frontiers.
He also possessed the authority to deploy troops throughout those regions.
Faced with an official who had been imprisoned for two years and was now suddenly entrusted with such immense responsibility, some of the court officials could not help but feel astonished.
Only the Grand Secretariat and the officials of the Six Ministries remained calm, as though they had known about it beforehand.
In truth, they had.
At Zhu Cilang’s instruction, Wang Cheng’en, the eunuch entrusted with drafting and issuing imperial rescripts, had taken the decree to consult with the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries the previous day.
The Grand Secretariat had raised virtually no objections. They all knew that Shaanxi and Henan had been devastated by the rebel forces and that someone truly needed to step forward and take charge of the situation.
Sun Chuanting was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate!
The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War had initially raised some objections. After all, one had no money to provide, while the other had no troops to send.
But once they heard that all expenses would be paid from the imperial treasury, they obediently fell silent.
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Thus, Sun Chuanting’s appointment as Governor-General of the Three Border Regions proceeded smoothly.
“Your servant Sun Chuanting thanks Your Majesty for this gracious favor. I shall not fail the trust Your Majesty has placed in me!”
Sun Chuanting performed a formal obeisance, then took his place among the civil officials.
There was nothing improper about this. Sun Chuanting had originally been a civil official; he had merely been granted a military command.
After conferring the appointment upon Sun Chuanting, Zhu Cilang turned his gaze toward the assembled officials.
“You should all know what happened yesterday. For those who do not, I shall explain it once more.”
“According to a secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, during yesterday’s searches of the Duke of Cheng’s residence, the Marquis of Dingxi’s residence, and the Marquis of Funing’s residence, a full one thousand three hundred suits of armor were discovered!”
“You all know that, regardless of the circumstances, privately stockpiling armor is a capital offense punishable by the confiscation of one’s estate and the extermination of one’s entire clan. And this was not merely one suit or two, but one thousand three hundred!”
“After learning of this matter, Father Emperor was so enraged that he fainted once more. Upon regaining consciousness, he issued a decree ordering the Duke of Cheng, the Marquis of Dingxi, and the Marquis of Funing to be executed together with their three clans!”
“The Embroidered Uniform Guard captured all of them last night and confined them in the Imperial Prison. They will be executed publicly at noon today!”
“I, too, feel deeply helpless about this.”
“But what I wish to make clear is that it is not our Zhu family that has wronged the Duke of Cheng and the others, nor are we trying to exterminate them without mercy. Rather, they were utterly ungrateful and held imperial authority in contempt!”
“If they are not executed, then perhaps one day, when you come to court again, the person seated here will no longer be a member of the Zhu family!”
After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, the officials in the court remained silent.
They did not dare say anything.
What was there to say about privately stockpiling armor?
Let alone the extermination of three clans—even the extermination of nine clans would not have been excessive.
Zhu Cilang paid no attention to their silence.
He had merely wished to explain the matter briefly. He had no need for them to offer their opinions.
“If none of you has anything to report, then the court is dismissed!”
Zhu Cilang spoke once more.
But the instant his voice fell, a man of about fifty rose from among the civil officials.
“Your servant Ni Yuanlu, Minister of Revenue, has a matter to report!”
As expected, what had to come had finally arrived.
Zhu Cilang sighed inwardly.
There was no need to ask. The man had come to request money from him.
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