Chapter 63: Returning to the Capital

In December of the eighth year of Hongwu, how utterly unremarkable was Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest of Kaifeng and the entirety of Henan?

Zhu Yuanzhang did not bring a single minister. He took only one hundred Brocade Guard bodyguards to escort him and a few young eunuchs to wait upon him.

The Brocade Guards raised the imperial canopy, and he boarded the imperial carriage.

He toured through Henan as if he were on a sightseeing trip.

Countless commoners offered food in containers and drinks in vessels to welcome him, and enemy soldiers surrendered in an endless stream.

In front of his wise and martial father, people's utmost reverence and the allegiance of the whole world were mere floating clouds.

The process was so boring that Zhu Yuanzhang kept nodding off along the way.

"Your Majesty, the next stop is Dengzhou."

Dressed in the imperial dragon robe embroidered with twelve symbols, Zhu Yuanzhang opened his tired eyes and cursed: "That little bastard does nothing but stir up trouble every single day. He hasn't even grown his hair properly yet, and he wants to reform the laws for me."

"When I was fighting to conquer the empire and sitting upon the throne, he was still in his mother's womb."

...

As they were about to enter Nanjing, looking at Zhu Wenzheng, whose brows were twitching wildly and who appeared deeply anxious, Zhu Shuang reined in his horse and asked, "Brother, why do you look so terrified all the way here?"

Hearing this, Zhu Wenzheng wore a bitter expression and said with a wry smile, "You might not care if your father blames you for forging the imperial edict, but I am the one who is doomed. My uncle has always been most fond of breaking the bridge after crossing it and slaughtering the donkey the moment the grinding stops."

"You are someone who has already died once, what is there to be afraid of? At worst, you can just die again."

Wenzheng smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking that this virtuous younger brother of his certainly knew how to comfort people.

Seeing Zhu Shuang looking so relaxed, he couldn't help asking with curiosity, "Four years of painstaking effort destroyed in a single day, do you not feel even a shred of discouragement?"

Zhu Shuang touched his comfortably full stomach and said with a deadpan expression, "It is indeed quite a pity. I just ate two whole roasted geese a moment ago."

Along the way, he had eaten well and slept soundly without the slightest bit of dejection. He had set out as a prince and was returning as a prince; he hadn't lost a single piece of flesh.

Following such a thick-skinned master, Zhu Wenzheng couldn't help but recall how Zhu Yuanzhang himself had always been undefeated in spirit, neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat.

...

"On the battlefield, you are my senior. But if I may boast, away from the battlefield, you fall far short of me."

"Before any reform is implemented, it is like crossing a river by feeling the stones. The Sixteen Civil Codes sounded wonderful, but in reality, they were just a flash in the pan."

"We made three mistakes: first, we were too hasty; second, we lacked a like-minded team with strong execution; and third, most importantly, we lacked a foundation among the common people."

"We appeared to have relieved many refugees, but we never truly immersed ourselves among the people. Failing to mobilize the commoners was the primary reason for our defeat."

Hearing this, Zhu Wenzheng felt as though he had been enlightened. As a nephew who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang from the very beginning, he had always witnessed how his uncle was even more ruthless when executing his own men than he was against the enemy.

Now that he thought about it, if not for the strict military discipline of the Ming army—even though Chen Youliang had the most troops and Zhang Shiwei was the wealthiest—why on earth was it his uncle Zhu Yuanzhang, who possessed the smallest territory, that had the last laugh?

The two men whipped their horses into a gallop, and as they were finally about to reach the outer city, they ran into Li Jinglong and Xu Da, who were waiting in place.

"Your son-in-law pays his respects to the elder patriarch."

Xu Da had traveled by water. Seeing him covered in the dust of a long journey, Xu patted his shoulder encouragingly and said, "The emperor has seen everything you have done for the imperial court in the north over the years. In the future, the military forces of the Great Ming will belong to you young people."

Xu Da knew Zhu Yuanzhang's character well. Although he was only forty-three and in the prime of his life, he had already reached the pinnacle of officialdom where no further titles could be bestowed. It was impossible for the Great Ming to have a living prince of a different surname. A glorious death on the battlefield, much like Chang Yuchun, would be his own best destination.

"The elder patriarch is in the prime of his manhood; may you take good care of your health, for the future holds boundless promise."

After exchanging pleasantries with Xu Da, Zhu Shuang rode over to Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong now wore the air of someone who considered himself number one under heaven, looking down his nose at everyone wherever he went. The moment he clearly recognized who was approaching, he could no longer sit still.

With a flattering smile, he said, "Isn't this my dearest cousin-uncle? Nephew pays his respects to you."

Zhu Shuang was most curious about how this fellow had stumbled into such sheer good luck to capture the mother and son of Shoujidu, so he asked, "Second Girl Li, I told you to guard the Zijing Pass, so how on earth did you end up at the Juyong Pass?"

Hearing this form of address, the King of Pretense Li Jinglong felt disdain in his heart, yet his expression remained unchanged as he replied, "Cousin-uncle, please address me by my title: Li Jiujiang, the Greatest General of the Great Ming." Seeing Zhu Shuang clenching his fists until his knuckles popped, he hastily corrected himself, "Nephew was just joking. At the time, General Zhu Neng was defending the Zijing Pass, and a military secretary inside the pass asserted: The Juyong Pass is empty, yet it is a crucial pass of the Great Wall. When the enemy flees north, they must pass through the Juyong Pass."

A military secretary was similar to a modern-day chief of staff; the most famous military secretary in history was undoubtedly Ban Chao. Zhu Shuang asked with curiosity, "Who on earth possessed such extraordinary foresight?"

A broad-shouldered, stout young military commander stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sheng Yong, Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief under the Duke of Cao, pays his respects to the Prince."

Upon hearing the name, Zhu Shuang had a sudden flash of realization. Wasn't this the very man who had nearly killed the Fourth Prince with an iron portcullis in history, ultimately causing the Fourth Prince to lose two of his premier generals, Zhang Yu and Tan Yuan?

He dismounted, walked over, patted Sheng Yong on the shoulder, and praised, "In the future, you will surely accomplish great things." Zhu Shuang thought to himself that if it weren't for the hindrance of a fool like Li Jinglong, this man might have actually saved the Jianwen regime.

...

Being so heavily praised by the Prince of Qin, who currently possessed the momentum to become the foremost military figure of the future, Sheng Yong was flattered and flushed as he replied, "This humble subordinate is merely a lowly official in the army and does not deserve Your Highness's undeserved praise."

After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, they proceeded together.

Looking at the towering city walls, though he had only been away from the capital for four years, Zhu Shuang felt as though a lifetime had passed.

Huang Gou'er, the Superintendent Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonies, was just over forty, of medium build, with a smooth face and no beard. Holding the imperial scepter, he came out to welcome them, unfurled the imperial edict, and said in a shrill voice: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: We lead the civil and military officials to await you all. Today, at the Meridian Gate tower, the grand ceremony of presenting prisoners of war shall be held. Respect this!"

"Your minister Xu Da."

"Your minister, Shuang, Prince of Qin."

"We respectfully obey His Majesty's decree."

Among the two kneeling on the ground, his father-in-law Xu Da accepted the imperial edict.

Huang Gou'er put down the scepter, bowed deeply, and said, "My Lord Duke of Wei, Second Highness, His Majesty has decreed that your journey of conquest and subjugation has been arduous, and has specially bestowed the imperial carriage to carry you into the palace."

With a wave of his hand, the imperial carriage drawn by six horses stopped before the two men.

Xu Da boarded the carriage, but Zhu Shuang frowned, wondering in his heart whether this was a test.

Seeing him hesitate and refuse to move forward, Xu Da waved his hand and said, "Since ancient times, an emperor and his ministers sharing the same carriage demonstrates boundless imperial grace. His Majesty's absence is precisely to let you take his place. There is no need to be overly cautious; do not miss the auspicious hour, quickly get on board."

Hearing this, Zhu Shuang became even more terrified, for his elder brother was still alive. Hitching a ride in a carriage during childhood was acceptable, but now that he had reached adulthood, given Old Zhu's suspicious nature, he might use the crime of overstepping one's bounds to settle accounts with me any day now.

Thus, under the astounded gazes of the crowd, he exerted strength from his waist and hoisted Chang Yuchun's massive coffin onto the imperial carriage, then kicked the burly imperial chariot driver right off.

Standing atop the Meridian Gate tower, Zhu Yuanzhang was radiant with health and stroked his beard. Behind him stood the civil and military officials, and looking down at the sea of Nanjing commoners below the city tower, he felt as sweet as honey, grinning from ear to ear.

Starting today, he would be a supreme ruler comparable to the First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, reigning over the nine provinces and commanding the eight directions.

There was no land under heaven that did not belong to the king, and no subject who was not the king's vassal. From then on, no matter the ends of the earth, his decrees would reach every corner of the Ming Empire. From this day forward, the world would only heed the commands and edicts of the Hongwu Emperor, bringing all the barbarian tribes into submission.

He was an emperor born from the humblest of origins; how many people throughout history could compare to such an achievement?