Seeing the Ming emperor's questioning settle down by the Fourth Brother, Zhu Biao could not help but admire him from the bottom of his heart.
Immediately afterward, he heard Sixth Brother Zhu Zhen asking his elder brothers what exactly was meant by "the final right of interpretation."
The Second and Third Brothers were both unable to answer. Only the Fifth Brother Zhu Su seemed as if he wanted to say something, yet in the end he stopped himself.
However, Zhu Biao could guess a little.
What later generations called the organizer was most likely the same as the proprietor. As for the right of interpretation, it was even easier to understand. It was much like the great Confucian scholars who annotated the sayings of ancient sages, each giving different interpretations.
But when applied to the matter of the dan shu tie quan, one point could be corrected.
The final right of interpretation belonged to the Son of Heaven.
Three months earlier, the light screen had mentioned the iron certificate held by the Qian family. Therefore, around the New Year period, when Zhu Biao was studying, he asked the scholars about it and read through the historical records regarding such iron certificates through the ages. What he ultimately saw was this.
This thing began with Emperor Gaozu of Han. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties its ability to grant immunity from death became especially valued. At that time, even close ministers of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei would actively seek iron certificates to protect themselves.
The Sui and Tang continued the same system. The excessive issuing of iron certificates began around the time before and after the An Lushan Rebellion. Anyone who had rendered meritorious service to the Tang court would receive one, as a sign of imperial sincerity. Yet the power of the certificate to grant immunity from death actually became weaker and weaker. There even appeared a record of Li Huaiguang refusing to accept such a certificate.
"If a minister rebels, he is granted an iron certificate. I have not rebelled, yet now I am granted one. Is this not urging me to rebel?"
Although Li Huaiguang later did rebel, Zhu Biao, after reading the records, felt it had little to do with the certificate itself. It was simply that Li Huaiguang's suspicions grew heavier and heavier until he felt endangered, and thus secretly allied with Zhu Ci.
Nevertheless, the fact that Li Huaiguang could speak such words was enough to show that from that time onward, the power of iron certificates to grant immunity from death had already become highly questionable.
Perhaps because of this, a later story spread. It was said that when Zhu Youqian was framed and executed, he once presented the iron certificate granted by Li Cunxu in an attempt to obtain pardon. Yet someone laughed and said,
"It is precisely His Majesty who ordered the execution."
Therefore, in summary, regarding the future of those meritorious nobles of the Ming who presently held iron certificates—those who had once been his father's sworn brothers and his own uncles—Zhu Biao felt somewhat pessimistic.
However, because the light screen had previously mentioned that the Qian family had indeed used their iron certificate to obtain immunity from death from his father, and that the matter was recorded in history, Zhu Biao still held a trace of hope regarding the function of such certificates.
But now that he understood that "the right to interpret immunity granted by the iron certificate belongs to the emperor," Zhu Biao suddenly felt enlightened.
Whether the Ming nobility would continue to exist in the future had nothing to do with the iron certificates. Everything depended solely upon his father's single thought.
After all…
Looking again at Li Shanchang, whose headgear had already been removed and whose shoulders seemed to have slumped considerably, Zhu Biao felt extremely complicated emotions in his heart.
---
[Lightscreen]
[It is generally believed today that the formal beginning of the Hu Weiyong Case was marked by two incidents in the twelfth year of the Hongwu era.
One was the case of Hu Weiyong privately killing a carriage driver. The other was the case involving the envoy of Champa bringing tribute.
First was the death of Hu Weiyong's son. In the twelfth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong's beloved son was driving a horse carriage through the capital at excessive speed. Perhaps because traffic conditions in ancient times were not ideal, the young master eventually fell from the carriage and died.
Hu Weiyong flew into a rage and directly killed the driver, that is, the carriage coachman. When Zhu Yuanzhang learned of this, he summoned "Little Hu the Cook" and scolded him fiercely, even declaring that Hu should pay with his life. He rejected Hu's proposal of monetary compensation.
It is said that because of this matter Hu Weiyong developed rebellious intentions and began secretly gathering followers.
In the same year, an envoy from Champa came to present tribute. Hu Weiyong arbitrarily distributed the tribute items on his own authority. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang learned of the matter and flew into a thunderous rage.
Terrified, Hu Weiyong shifted the blame onto the Ministry of Rites. Naturally, the Ministry of Rites did not want to bear such responsibility, so they stepped forward and accused the Secretariat instead. The two sides argued more and more fiercely until Zhu Yuanzhang grew impatient and had all the involved officials imprisoned for investigation, ultimately turning the matter into a major case.
However, one distinction must be made. The person who died in the Champa tribute envoy case was Wang Guangyang. This man had been summoned back by Zhu Yuanzhang in the tenth year of Hongwu to serve again as Right Chancellor in order to restrain Hu Weiyong. Yet he continued to behave negligently.
During the Champa tribute envoy case, even though Zhu Yuanzhang already knew the truth, Wang Guangyang stubbornly insisted that "no such matter exists." This touched the emperor's reverse scale. Zhu Yuanzhang believed Wang Guangyang had formed factional alliances and therefore pursued his guilt. In the end, Wang Guangyang died.
Hu Weiyong's exposure was brought about through the implications of the Wang Guangyang case. The case records showed that a concubine named Chen, who died together with Wang Guangyang, was a confiscated woman.
According to regulations at the time, women confiscated due to crimes committed by their families could only be granted to military merit households. Wang Guangyang was not qualified to receive such a grant.
Following this lead, Zhu Yuanzhang traced the crime to Hu Weiyong, as well as to the Secretariat and the Six Ministries, ultimately triggering the first stage of the Hu Weiyong Case.
However, judging from the scattered words found in the historical records, the formal confrontation between Hu Weiyong and Zhu Yuanzhang did not begin in the twelfth year of Hongwu.
To clarify when the two sides truly began wrestling for power, we must discuss the second stage of the Hu Weiyong Case.]
---
In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin tugged at his curved beard and almost immediately recalled a classical anecdote from the historical records.
"Zheng Bo defeats Duan at Yan?"
The ministers of the Zhenguan court looked at one another. In the end, the steady and composed Fang Xuanling stepped forward.
"If the historical records seen by later generations and what was just described are both true, then yes."
Du Ruhui added,
"From the time that the Ming chancellor monopolized power until the pursuit of guilt, six years passed in between. Perhaps the Ming emperor gradually grew impatient with the arrogance of his minister."
Li Shimin nodded. Both explanations seemed reasonable.
But as usual, he quickly put it aside.
"In the end, it is a matter of Ming. Let that Zhu Chongba worry about it."
"Still, my talent in the use of troops truly stands first in two thousand years!"
Although it sounded like boasting, Empress Zhangsun could hear a faint trace of boredom hidden within his tone.
As the person closest to him, she understood part of the reason.
In recent years, aside from the affairs of the Tang state, the topic her husband spoke about most was undoubtedly the brilliant future era shown within the light screen.
Among those things, what interested him most was the completely incomprehensible methods of warfare used in later generations.
She still remembered how, after witnessing the divine might of the cannons, he had first sighed with her about the power of artillery. Soon afterward he had begun speaking excitedly, though with a trace of yearning, about the fortress-like ships that stirred raging waves upon the seas in later ages, as well as the enormous constructed birds that could soar through the sky.
There was also that "Heavenly Palace" which could remain in the highest heavens and observe the Earth, a thing that made one tremble whenever recalling it, and which he had specially asked Yan Liben to paint.
More than once, Li Shimin had sighed that only the power of later generations could truly be called the might of a Son of Heaven. Compared with it, the authority of a Tang emperor like himself was inferior.
Perhaps, rather than being praised by later generations as the greatest general, he would have preferred to command the armies of that future era and make his name echo through the ages.
Such thoughts naturally needed some gentle persuasion. After all, the emperor of the Tang no longer needed to personally mount a horse and lead troops.
Before Empress Zhangsun could think of what to say, she heard their eldest son speak first.
"Father's talents as the greatest in two thousand years do not lie only in warfare."
"Father's ability to govern the realm through civil administration must also be the greatest in two thousand years."
This made the smile on Li Shimin's face become even more genuine. In the end he patted his son's shoulder.
"My reputation as a general depends upon the various generals. If my name is to shine, it also depends upon the ministers."
The atmosphere in Ganlu Hall relaxed somewhat again. Du Ruhui and the others, whose hearts had previously tightened upon hearing that later generations spoke of conflict between ruler and minister, finally felt relieved once more.