Inside Huagai Hall there was an oppressive silence. Empress Ma also let out a sigh.
When it came to matters such as imperial authority and chancellor authority, Xu Da and Li Wenzhong understood the weight of the subject and deliberately kept themselves apart. As for Li Shanchang, Dai Sigong, and the others, they simply did not possess the standing to interject.
The usually lively Fourth Prince had still not returned. Most likely he wished to avoid Chongba's anger. He had said he was going to fetch fruit, but he had probably already eaten his fill somewhere.
Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang whispered briefly among themselves before also falling silent. Thus the hall sank into an indescribable quiet.
Only the western wind occasionally swept through, carrying sunlight devoid of warmth and scattering it through the palace gate with a low moaning sound.
At last the Empress of Great Ming grew somewhat impatient and spoke gently.
"I do not understand matters of legal institutions. But now that Chongba has the gains and losses recorded by later generations as outsiders, and may also expect that later generations will understand the achievements and faults of the Hongwu reign."
"With these two as mirrors, why should they not become a blessing for Great Ming, preserving what was achieved while avoiding what went wrong?"
Zhu Biao could not help but feel a little admiration.
Strictly speaking, in their early household years the person who had read the most books was their mother.
According to his father, when they were young it had been his mother who taught them to read. Only later, when many capable men entered the household, was that responsibility gradually shared.
Just as with the words she had spoken now. If their father had needed to say something like that, he would probably have spent a long time drafting it in his mind.
And judging from Zhu Biao's understanding of his father, he would most likely now exchange a few words with Mother.
"My dear sister, of course I know what you mean. But abolishing the chancellor system is not to satisfy my personal desires…"
Before Zhu Yuanzhang could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped.
Zhu Biao leaned forward slightly. As expected, he saw his smiling mother gently holding their father by the waist.
"Let later generations say what they wish. Chongba governs Great Ming. Does he also intend to govern later generations?"
"In my view, rather than lamenting each day over handling more than five hundred matters of state, it would be better to use that effort to seek methods of governance that later descendants may follow."
As she spoke, Empress Ma could not help allowing a trace of emotion into her voice.
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt somewhat short of breath. Previously he had assumed that whatever he could accomplish, his descendants must also be able to accomplish.
Now he nodded.
"Certainly."
…
In Ye City, Liu Bei and Kongming exchanged a glance.
Kongming smiled faintly. Liu Bei laughed aloud. Yet neither of them spoke.
This left Liu Xie somewhat curious.
As if responding to the laughter, he looked at the civil and military officials under the Imperial Uncle. Some stroked their beards and laughed, some laughed with bold emotion, and some looked at one another and laughed in the same manner.
Suddenly Liu Xie recalled what General Zhang Yide had boasted earlier.
"To be called the one chancellor of a thousand ages, only Zhuge Kongming deserves the title."
Earlier Liu Xie had been somewhat puzzled as to why this Zhuge gentleman, whose face was as refined as jade, could surpass so many worthy chancellors in reputation.
Now he seemed to understand faintly.
Thus he praised them.
"How fortunate the Han is to possess the Imperial Uncle. How fortunate the Imperial Uncle is to possess Kongming. With such harmony of purpose between the two of you, later histories will surely record it as a fine tale."
Faced with such praise, both Liu Bei and Kongming showed some restraint.
Zhang Fei, however, stepped forward without hesitation.
"That's right. My elder brother even had his tomb built in the same temple as the strategist. A fine tale praised for a thousand ages!"
"But Your Majesty does not know. In later histories my elder brother was not fortunate enough to use the strategist as chancellor… Hey, Elder Brother, why are you stopping me? Your Majesty will learn about it sooner or later."
Pressing his third brother back down into his seat with some force, Liu Bei gave an awkward smile.
"What I have done is merely not forgetting my surname and my ancestors. What Kongming has done is what may truly be called the fortune of the Han."
Kongming had long since grown immune to such words. He merely focused on the light screen.
Then he suddenly recalled how the light screen had once referred to those gathered in this hall.
Thus he also sighed quietly.
"Those who lost their ambitions are not truly without them."
…
Inside Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin was the least concerned about what the light screen was saying.
He even turned to Li Chengqian and asked,
"I once discussed Emperor Wen of Sui with the ministers. Do you still remember what I said, Chengqian?"
The Crown Prince of Tang nodded vigorously.
Previously his father had never forced him to read such things, but after his change in mindset he had begun to feel a strong desire to catch up to his father.
Therefore during the past two years he had carefully studied the records of his father's earlier discussions.
After recalling for a moment he replied,
"Father said that Emperor Wen of Sui possessed extreme vigilance but lacked clarity of mind. He suspected everything and feared that officials would deceive him, therefore deciding every matter personally and exhausting both spirit and body. Court officials dared not speak frankly and merely complied with his wishes."
Li Shimin nodded and sighed.
"How similar he is to this Hongwu Emperor."
For Li Chengqian, hearing his father's earlier words confirmed by later history only made his insight appear all the more remarkable.
Thus he admired him even more.
"Father once said: if a ruler decides ten matters each day, those decided correctly are good. But those decided wrongly accumulate day by day, month by month, year by year. The errors would grow more numerous. Would that not become the path to self-destruction? Did the Hongwu Emperor never read Father's words?"
To the Crown Prince of Tang, the matter seemed obvious now.
If the Hongwu Emperor decided more than four hundred matters daily, even if most were correct, five mistakes per day would already mean nearly two thousand errors in a year.
When multiplied by many years, the number became even more alarming.
At that moment he truly understood the usefulness of mathematics. The comparison of these numbers was extremely clear.
Thus it perfectly matched his father's earlier judgment of Emperor Wen of Sui.
The affairs of the realm were countless and complicated. They must be entrusted to various offices so that matters could proceed steadily. How could everything depend upon a single person?
Seeing Li Chengqian reach such an understanding, Li Shimin felt even more satisfied.
"In the future the territory of Great Tang will stretch ten thousand li. Orders issued in Hebei cannot be applied directly to the Western Regions. The people of the northern steppe know nothing of the South Seas."
"The Son of Heaven must remain at the center and employ others according to their strengths so that each talent may be properly used."
"Remember this well. Take it as a warning. Just as you, Chengqian, have always lived in the Central Plain and Guanzhong. How could you understand the customs of the far south or the Western Regions? If everything depended upon your single decision, would that not be absurd?"
Li Chengqian nodded and then suggested,
"Then why does Father not advise the Hongwu Emperor?"
Unexpectedly, Li Shimin merely shrugged.
"How could a ruler who holds absolute authority be as open to advice as I am? It is better to wait for later generations to point out his mistakes, and then I shall add my own observations to correct his methods of governing."
Li Chengqian admired him even more.
[Lightscreen]
[When Zhu Biao died from exhaustion, the first person to suffer misfortune was Lan Yu. This was the Lan Yu case, often mentioned alongside the Hu Weiyong case.
When people discuss the middle period of the Hongwu reign, they often lack a clear impression of the phases of Zhu Yuanzhang's temperament.
It may be useful to sort them out briefly.
Consider again the Hu Weiyong case. Ming records state that more than thirty thousand people were executed before and after the affair, a rather shocking number.
However, the case lasted from the thirteenth year of Hongwu onward, including accusations of rebellion, collusion with Japanese pirates, collusion with northern enemies, and other charges. The figure of thirty thousand is the total for all of these.
If one examines the details, it becomes clear that before the Li Shanchang case, Zhu Yuanzhang's temper was actually quite mild.
For example, in the thirteenth year of Hongwu the nine clans of Hu Weiyong were exterminated, yet Chen Ning, Tu Jie, and several others merely lost their heads. There is no record of their families being implicated.
In the eighteenth year someone reported that Li Cunyi had once associated with Hu Weiyong. Zhu Yuanzhang did nothing and even issued an edict granting him immunity from death.
This temperament continued until the twenty-second year. I would call this Zhu Yuanzhang's first phase.
In the twenty-third year Li Shanchang was posthumously prosecuted and seven founding marquises were executed. This can be seen as the first purge of the founding nobility, clearly intended to clear the path for the heir. This counts as Zhu Yuanzhang's second phase.
After this wave of executions, in the following year a fifth-rank official named Wang Guoyong submitted a memorial defending Li Shanchang, arguing that the accusation of treason was absurd.
Zhu Yuanzhang neither refuted him nor punished him, allowing Wang Guoyong to withdraw safely. Many people found this surprising.
In fact Zhu Yuanzhang was considering his son and did not wish to make matters too ugly. Since the goal of purging the nobles had been achieved, further action was unnecessary.
That year, with Wang Guoyong's safe withdrawal, the second phase can be considered finished.
The third phase is even clearer.
In the twenty-fifth year Zhu Biao died of illness and was posthumously titled Crown Prince Yiw en.
Great Ming changed from that moment.
Lan Yu was the first to collide with the blade.]