Chapter 23: We're Having a Baby

At the vegetable market in Kaifeng, a sea of people gathered. The commoners, gaunt and dressed in rags, looked on as the high-and-mighty figures they usually feared were dragged onto the execution platform like mangy dogs.

Zhu Shuang produced a thick ledger and announced loudly to the curious crowd:

"The prisoner Wu Xing, emboldened by his son’s position as a secretary in the Yuan imperial court, colluded with Kaifeng Prefectural Vice Magistrate Yan Liang and the garrison officer Baturmeng since the natural disasters began in the third year of Zhizheng. They hoarded nearly 130,000 piculs of grain, causing the price of grain in Kaifeng to skyrocket from three wen to two taels per jin. Countless commoners starved to death, while they illegally profited over 90,000 taels of silver."

"The prisoner Huang Tiangui, retired as a judge from the Yuan Privy Council, has since the second year of Zhizheng colluded with the Kaifeng Darughachi Alax and others to illegally issue usurious loans, forcing commoners to use their land as collateral. During famine years, he forced these people to sell their children into slavery, leaving many homeless and forced to beg. Over twenty years, he seized more than 60,000 mu of land and opened over a hundred gambling dens, ruining countless families. He hoarded thousands of gold and jade ornaments and countless antique paintings and calligraphy, with illegal profits totaling over 200,000 taels of silver..."

"The prisoner Yan Liang, Vice Magistrate of Kaifeng, colluded with unscrupulous merchants and abused his power to persecute the people. In the fifteenth year of Zhizheng, he accepted five beautiful songstresses from the prisoner Huang Tiangui, along with 500 taels in bribes and jewelry worth over 8,700 taels of silver. In the seventeenth year of Zhizheng, he accepted eight gorgeous dancing girls as concubines from the prisoner Wu Xing, along with 7,000 taels of silver and thirty-six antique paintings and calligraphy worth over 9,800 taels of silver."

"The prisoner Alax, Darughachi of Kaifeng, committed crimes and slaughtered the innocent. He habitually withheld military pay and embezzled rations. He accepted 1,000 taels of silver and two beautiful concubines from Huang Tiangui, and in exchange, helped Huang seize farmland from the villagers of Guo Village. When the villagers resisted, Alax framed them for rebellion and ordered his soldiers to massacre 412 people, an atrocity known as the 'Guo Village Bloodbath.' His crimes are heinous and beyond description."

"The prisoner Li Ming..."
"The prisoner Zhong Yuan..."
"The prisoner Zhu Hou..."
"The prisoner Wang Shiyong..."
"The prisoner Narinso..."
"The prisoner Batel..."

As Zhu Shuang read out the charges, nearly 1,300 people—the prisoners and their families—were dragged onto the stage. The spacious execution platform was packed, each prisoner wearing a placard stating their name, crimes, and impending sentence.

Zhu Shuang waved his hand and ordered: "Take all prisoners to the moat outside the city for execution."

"Wait!"

A Confucian scholar pushed his way to the front of the platform and bowed: "Yang Shiqi, a scholar from Ji'an, greets Your Highness."

Zhu Shuang nodded, feeling numb. He thought to himself, *Another one of Fourth Brother's men. Ever since I snatched Fourth Brother’s wife, his civil and military officials have been lining up to submit their resumes to me.*

"Ji'an is over a thousand miles away. What brings Scholar Yang here?"

Yang Shiqi said with slight embarrassment: "Returning to Your Highness, I am a provincial graduate. I came because I have old ties with Vice Magistrate Yan Liang. I lost my father at a young age and was too poor to afford schooling, but Vice Magistrate Yan helped me begin my education. Though we lack a formal master-student bond, the sentiment remains. Crimes should not extend to one’s family, and such excessive slaughter will damage the harmony of heaven. I, Yang Shiqi, a humble student, dare to implore Your Highness to spare the family of Yan Liang."

"Scholar Yang, others are doing their best to steer clear of this, yet you are the first to plead for mercy. The premise that 'crimes do not extend to the family' only holds true when the 'benefits do not extend to the family.' I see you are a man of sentiment and righteousness, so I grant you permission to erect a monument for him in the future."

Seeing things had not gone his way, Yang Shiqi persisted: "May I ask if Your Highness is using the Yuan Code or the Ming Code for these sentences?"

*Is this kid trying to trap me?* The difference was massive. Under the Yuan Code, Yan Liang would only be exiled, while under Old Zhu’s Ming Code, being skinned and stuffed with straw would be a light punishment. Since it was not yet time for Old Zhu to unify the realm, if he used the Ming Code, the gentry in every city he occupied would surely band together and resist to the death.

"I am using the People's Code."

"The People's Code?" Yang Shiqi wondered if he had misheard.

Zhu Shuang pointed toward the commoners below, who were beating drums and dancing in celebration.

Over a thousand prisoners were escorted by five hundred soldiers to a makeshift execution ground by the moat outside Kaifeng. The people of the city spread the news, and nearly a hundred thousand crowded the scene.

"Execute."

At Zhu Shuang's command, a thousand executioners took their positions. The commoners cheered thunderously, praising him as a righteous official.

...

A thousand miles away in the Forbidden City of Yingtian, Zhu Yuanzhang had finished the morning court session and moved on to the afternoon one. Middle-aged and tireless, he was so vigorous that he had recently added two more princes to his brood.

The workaholic Zhu Yuanzhang had just finished dinner with Empress Ma when the new Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Xun, approached in his flying-fish robe. He pulled a secret missive from his sleeve, knelt, and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, according to scouts in Kaifeng, there is news from the Second Prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang spread the missive on the imperial desk. A moment later, he laughed loudly: "He beheaded over a thousand of them just like that! Such corrupt officials and treacherous merchants deserve to die to appease the public anger. This rebellious son is as decisive as I am—good, well killed."

Upon reading a certain line, Old Zhu clapped his hands and laughed: "'The premise that crimes do not extend to the family only holds true when the benefits do not extend to the family.' Jiang Xun, look at this—he truly is my own flesh and blood. How well said! It speaks right to my heart."

Seeing the Emperor in such high spirits, Commander Jiang felt as though he were floating. If he had a tail, he would surely be wagging it. Jiang Xun thought it was well worth the 500 taels he had spent to snatch this delivery duty from Eunuch Huang.

"Your Majesty is wise. The Second Prince has inherited even a fraction of your greatness."

Zhu Yuanzhang read on, his brows suddenly furrowing in confusion: "How did this little bastard suddenly get his hands on ten thousand men, and five hundred equipped with firearms?"

Zhu Yuanzhang could not fathom how a prisoner of war could emerge from enemy territory with such a strong force.

The scouts Jiang Xun had planted in Kaifeng also had no idea what had transpired in the Yuan army camp outside the city.

It wasn't until Zhu Yuanzhang flipped open a secret report regarding Chahan that his face turned as black as ink. He picked up the jade ruyi nearby—his personal back-scratcher—and smashed it onto the head of the intelligence chief, Jiang Xun.

Ignoring the blood streaming down his forehead, Jiang Xun sobbed: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Did this humble servant... did this servant do something wrong?"

Zhu Yuanzhang took the two missives and, with his hands behind his back, walked out of the Qianqing Palace, leaving behind a bewildered Jiang Xun clutching his bleeding head.

*The intelligence chief thought to himself that he must have forgotten to check the almanac today; delivering letters for the Emperor is truly not a job for a human.*

Arriving at the Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang saw Empress Ma sewing a shoe sole.

With a *slap*, he threw the missive onto the dragon bed and roared: "Look at what your son has done! This little beast never lets me have a moment of peace."

Empress Ma threw the shoe sole down and flew into a rage: "My son? Is he my son with Chen Youliang or Zhang Shicheng? Zhu Chongba, how dare you roar at me?"

Seeing his wife reach for the shoe sole, Zhu Yuanzhang retreated in haste, softening his tone: "Our son, our son... just look at the secret report about this little beast."

"There is finally news of Erlang?"

Having not seen Zhu Shuang for nearly a year, Empress Ma set aside her anger, picked up the missive with joy, and read it, laughing: "Is it worth getting so worked up over such trivial matters? Look at how capable our Erlang is! Not only did he abduct a princess while a prisoner, but he also captured Kaifeng City for you without losing a single soldier. Our Erlang has truly made something of himself."

"Trivial? The Crown Prince and the Chang girl have just married, and this little beast is about to give me a grandson! And that’s not all—this little beast found a barbarian woman. Our Ming dynasty's eldest grandson is going to be a Mongol, and you think this is a trivial matter? How am I supposed to explain this to Tiandé, to the officials, and to the people of the world?"

Empress Ma arched her brows: "Zhu Chongba, back then I didn't despise you for being a beggar, yet now you despise your future daughter-in-law and eldest grandson. Regardless, this is a major event involving the third generation of our Zhu family. The daughter-in-law is nearly eight months pregnant, and she has no one to look after her. If something happens to her while following the army, I won't have the face to see our ancestors when we go down there. Chongba, no matter what, you must bring this daughter-in-law back."

Seeing his stubborn wife, Zhu Yuanzhang stomped his feet and cursed: "This damn little beast, he's truly creating a calamity."