"Moving too hastily?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, then tossed a memorial over.
"Not only will we abolish those households, we will also pursue the responsibility of the incompetent among them for dereliction of duty."
"We do not care whether later generations call us benevolent or cruel. Those who neglected their duties must bear the consequences."
Zhu Biao took the memorial with curiosity. At a glance he saw the name Dai Sigong written at the top.
This imperial physician had become extremely familiar to him. Ever since the light screen ended in mid-November, Dai Sigong had practically forgotten food and sleep while verifying the medical theories revealed within that vision.
After that he had examined the Crown Prince and the Empress one by one, conducted a full inspection of the health of the Great General Xu Da, and even carefully reviewed the Emperor's physical condition.
All of these tasks had been carried out by this physician alone. It had not been easy.
Seeing that this memorial had been written by Dai Sigong, Zhu Biao suddenly recalled that throughout the entire process the physician had never summoned any colleagues to assist him. A vague suspicion formed in his mind.
He opened the memorial.
Just as expected.
At the very beginning Dai Sigong apologized, stating that the memorial might appear to attack his fellow officials, and that he was willing to accept punishment for it.
After that the physician laid out the many problems within the Imperial Medical Service. Without the slightest politeness he wrote:
"The imperial physicians of the Hongwu reign surpass all previous generations in one particular matter. The imperial doctors inherited from the medical households of the former Yuan dynasty rely only on a single category of warming and nourishing prescriptions. Whenever princes or noble persons within the palace fall ill, they respond to every disease with the same formula. They even laugh and say that the excellence of this prescription lies in its impossibility of error. This system has continued for a century. The more prestigious the physician, the more mediocre he becomes."
Zhu Biao suspected that the claim about physicians proudly praising themselves might have been a rhetorical device used by Dai Sigong.
However, the fact that many imperial physicians were mediocre was probably true.
Even someone like Zhu Biao, who knew nothing about medicine, understood one basic principle. No matter the illness, physicians could always prescribe some form of nourishing or recuperative tonic.
If something went wrong, they could simply use clever words to explain it away. Prescribing a tonic would rarely be considered a mistake.
But in that case, whether the patient recovered or not would depend entirely on fate.
After working through this logic in his mind, Zhu Biao suddenly understood the anger in his father's heart.
"The calamity that later generations say befell Mother… was it a man-made disaster caused by incompetent physicians?"
"What else could it be?" the Emperor replied.
"Your mother followed us through battles across the north and south. For twenty years she endured countless hardships without her body failing."
The Son of Heaven of the Great Ming dynasty recounted those past experiences one by one before throwing his sleeve aside in anger.
"And now after only a few years of peaceful living, disaster suddenly strikes? We refuse to believe in such coincidences."
Zhu Biao had been filled with anger as well, but hearing this actually calmed him somewhat.
He understood his father's temperament very well. When the Emperor spoke in this tone, the decision had already been made. Not even the Empress could persuade him otherwise.
Those incompetent physicians, even if they knelt before the throne weeping and begging for mercy, would be far too late.
Since this matter had already been decided, Zhu Biao temporarily set it aside and asked about another issue.
"Father, regarding the matter of changing the Penghu Inspection Office into the Ryukyu Inspection Office…"
At the mention of this topic, the anger on Zhu Yuanzhang's face quickly subsided. He turned and sat down again on the chair in the study before asking in return,
"Biao'er, do you believe that the Ryukyu Inspection Office is truly meant to seize the Kingdom of Ryukyu?"
Zhu Biao immediately smiled and shook his head.
"Your son watched the light screen together with Father. I know what Father truly intends."
"Father's target must be the island of Yizhou. For a hundred years the seas around Great Ming have suffered endless troubles. At present there are the Japanese pirates, and in the future there will be the Portuguese pirates. One lies to the north and the other to the south. The island of Yizhou lies between them. It is therefore the essential base for managing the imperial navy."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He stood up again and walked to a screen set beside the study, gently touching the patterns painted upon it.
"This is only the first reason. By controlling Taiwan, we can support Ryukyu ."
The screen had been newly made. Painted upon it were silhouettes of Great Ming, Korea, and Japan. There were no written labels and no mountains or rivers drawn. Anyone who saw it would merely assume it was a strange decorative screen offered as tribute from some region.
Running his hand across the chain of tiny islands scattered in the eastern seas of Ming territory, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.
"If the sea is regarded as the borders of the state, then the importance of both Taiwan and Ryukyu to Great Ming is no different from that of Beiping. They are the strategic gateways of Ming's maritime frontier."
"Only by controlling these gateways can we speak of security."
His finger then moved downward across the screen, passing Qiongzhou and sliding further southwest before stopping at a narrow strait.
"Only by guarding the outer barriers can we remain free of worry."
Zhu Biao pondered this for a moment before speaking quietly.
"Father, the ancient sages once said that life arises from hardship and death from comfort…"
Before he finished speaking he suddenly felt a sharp flick strike his forehead.
The sound was crisp and loud.
When he looked up he saw his father's back, still fuming.
As a son he naturally understood the reason.
Zhu Yuanzhang had always held strong objections to the statement by Mencius that the people were more important than the ruler. Because of that, he tended to dislike many of Mencius's other teachings as well.
But now it seemed that after hearing the explanations shown in the future vision, his father's attitude had softened somewhat.
Normally such a remark would have resulted in Zhu Biao being sent away to copy the Ancestral Instructions several times. Yet now he had only received a flick to the forehead.
Smiling slightly, Zhu Biao caught up and changed the subject.
"Father, a few days ago I visited Uncle. We drank quite a bit during the banquet, and Uncle seemed somewhat despondent."
At these words Zhu Yuanzhang also grew somewhat melancholic.
"Your Uncle Xu Da cared most about the destruction of Yuan… yet in the end…"
"We had two brothers, both with bitter fates. Why must Heaven be so unfair?"
While he still lived, Chang Yuchun had hoped to destroy Yuan and win lasting glory, yet he died young.
Xu Da then carried on his brother's wish, hoping to annihilate Yuan completely and offer the achievement to his brother's spirit. Instead he died of a carbuncle on his back.
Suppressing the sorrow he felt for his brothers, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.
"Do not concern yourself with this matter. Your father will comfort him."
Zhu Biao nodded and brought up another topic.
"I have heard that the Chief Censor wishes to see the iron certificate of immunity from death granted to the Qian family."
The Emperor did not seem particularly concerned.
"Not only Shanchang. We are curious as well."
"That certificate is surrounded by many legends in later generations. Perhaps we should find a crime for the Qian family…"
"Father!" Zhu Biao quickly interrupted.
Inwardly he felt a moment of alarm for the Qian family.
"That story is merely an anecdote and not worth treating seriously. Later generations also say that the Qian family's talent lies in the great figures they produced. If Father mishandles the matter and disaster falls upon them, I fear…"
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and nodded.
"Biao'er's concern is reasonable. Still, your father is very curious about that iron certificate."
"Since we cannot test the legend fully, we shall invite the Qian family to a banquet before the Lantern Festival and borrow the certificate for a look. That should cause no problem."
Only then did Zhu Biao feel relieved. He nodded and kept the matter in mind before bringing up one final amusing topic.
"Father, can you guess where Cousin is at this moment?"
Seeing the lively expression on Zhu Biao's face, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt a bad premonition.
When he recalled how bold Bao'er usually was, how he had grown even more enthusiastic about maritime affairs after watching the future vision concerning Japan, and how the Japanese envoys had recently arrived again for the New Year tribute mission, a guess quickly formed in his mind.
"Hónglú Temple?"
Zhu Biao nodded.
"Cousin borrowed a false name and went to call the Japanese his sworn brothers."