Chapter 33: The Nation’s Fortune Rises!
Year 19 of the Yongle reign.
Zhu Youjian appeared out of thin air within the palace, startling the maids and eunuchs into shrill cries.
“All of you, get out!” Old Zhu Di frowned, feeling that the incessant noise was grating on his ears.
Once the palace fell silent, Old Zhu Di’s tone softened. “My dear grandson, you’ve come. Sit down, try this new tribute tea from Annam—sweet and mellow.”
At his side, Zhu Zhanji quickly stepped forward to offer the tea, his expression nervous. Just days earlier, when he first heard the news from his father, he found it unbelievable. Only after the Prince of Han publicly declared his willingness to take up vassalage in Japan after the campaign, and the Prince of Zhao expressed the same, did he half believe it. Now, seeing a miracle with his own eyes, he felt truly like a frog in a well.
“No need, Great Ancestor.”
Zhu Youjian approached Old Zhu Di and said, “I’ve come for two matters—both crucial to the fate of the Yongle dynasty.”
Old Zhu Di set down his teacup, his expression grave. “Speak, Grandson.”
Zhu Youjian fixed his gaze intently on this ‘Saintly Grandson.’ Only when the man grew visibly uneasy did he ask, “Crown Prince, do you have a wife or concubines?”
“I have one consort and one concubine. The Consort is Hu Shanshang, third daughter of Hu Rong, the Minister of Imperial Banquets.”
Zhu Zhanji answered honestly.
Zhu Youjian pressed further, “No, I am asking about another Crown Prince’s concubine. Is there one by the name of Sun Ruowei?”
Zhu Di’s eyes narrowed. How could he not catch the implication? Clearly, this concubine was considered a femme fatale, a threat to the empire’s fortunes.
At that thought, murderous intent rose within him.
Zhu Zhanji was startled. He knew that look in his grandfather’s eyes all too well—lives could be lost today if he answered poorly. He hurriedly said, “Yes, the Lady Sun is educated, virtuous, and kindhearted. She has always been decorous, never overstepping her bounds—a rare example of a good wife and loving mother!”
A good wife and loving mother?
Ha, you nearly made her sound divine.
Is it really her character you treasure? I’m almost embarrassed to call you out on it.
Hu Shanshang was renowned in history for her virtue; though she often advised Emperor Xuanzong, she fell from favor. In the third year of Xuande, Emperor Xuanzong ordered Hu Shanshang to request her own dismissal from the position of Empress and granted her the title “Immortal Mistress of Tranquil Kindness.”
After being deposed, Empress Dowager Zhang—the Empress of Emperor Renzong and Zhu Zhanji’s own mother—cared for her deeply. In the seventh year of Zhengtong, when Empress Dowager Zhang passed away, Hu Shanshang was devastated and died the following year. Even then, she was buried only with the rites of a consort at Jinshan.
As for Lady Sun—Sun Ruowei—she was utterly submissive to Emperor Xuanzong, flattering her superiors and oppressing those below, bringing disaster to the Ming dynasty. Yet in later generations, television dramas would extol her as a literary and martial heroine who could stabilize the empire with her pen and conquer with her sword, likened to Empress Wu Zetian or Lady Mu Guiying.
Meanwhile, the famed virtuous Empress Hu Shanshang was portrayed as a remnant of the Jingnan Rebellion—a demonic empress!
What utter perversion of the truth!
Worse still, Sun Ruowei raised a peerless Ming war god, a so-called “student of Oirat,” known as the “Heaven’s Chosen Prince,” who would destroy five hundred thousand elite Ming troops in a single stroke.
If not for Minister Yu Qian’s desperate efforts, the Ming dynasty might have ended in that war god’s hands, and even after decades of recovery, the glorious rule of Renzong and Xuanzong could never be restored.
Zhu Qizhen was born in the second year of Xuande—six years from now. As long as the birth of this “war god” is prevented, the fortunes of the Yongle dynasty will surely soar!
For the sake of the dynasty, Zhu Zhanji’s happiness must be sacrificed!
Zhu Youjian spoke solemnly: “Majesty Yongle, I request an edict to depose the Crown Prince’s concubine!”
Old Zhu Di’s heart went cold. If even his grandson called him “Majesty Yongle,” and he still did not grasp the gravity of the matter, he would soon face a very personal conversation with the spirit of his own father.
With grave seriousness, Old Zhu Di said, “Grandson, let this not disturb the Grand Ancestor. I will issue the edict to depose the Crown Prince’s concubine at once!”
Though his words were measured, the killing intent in his eyes made everyone present shiver in terror. Once deposed, she would surely soon vanish from the world.
“Grandfather, you mustn’t! Lady Sun is virtuous, pure, and kind…” Zhu Zhanji exclaimed in panic.
Sun Ruowei had been inseparable from him since childhood, clever as ice and snow, always clear about her ultimate goal. She had Zhu Zhanji wrapped around her finger from the time he played with toothpicks to when he wielded brushes; he was utterly in her grasp.
How could he accept her sudden deposition, or even—execution?
It was something he could never accept!
“I order the immediate deposition of the Crown Prince’s concubine. She is to be confined in the palace, and the Crown Prince is forbidden to see her for life.” Zhu Di glanced at him coldly, without mercy.
“Grandfather, I beg you—”
Zhu Zhanji pleaded bitterly, but halfway through his words, the unfamiliar chill in Zhu Di’s eyes cowed him into silence. In the end, he dropped his hands in helpless defeat.
Old Zhu Di said indifferently, “Withdraw. Convey the edict without error.”
“Your grandson obeys…” Zhu Zhanji answered mournfully. In that moment, all hope for the birth of the Ming war god was utterly extinguished.
[The fortunes of the Yongle dynasty rise. Stage reward: ‘Rifled Musket.’]
“Rifled Musket?”
Zhu Youjian felt he had grasped the pattern.
When the fortunes of the Chongzhen dynasty improved, new timelines and dynasties would be unlocked. The Jianwen reign, it seemed, would light up the technology tree and provide industrial blueprints.
The Yongle reign, by contrast, was tied to weaponry—such as this rifled musket.
With a flick of his left hand, Zhu Youjian produced a weapon—ancient in style yet exquisitely crafted, resembling the famed Type 38 rifle.
Such a fine firearm was certainly not a first-generation product, but something at the level of eighteenth-century industry.
No wonder it was a reward for eliminating the Ming war god—a leap across eras, surely the fortunes of the Yongle dynasty would skyrocket!
Bang!
Zhu Youjian aimed at a lantern fifty paces away and fired. Instantly, it shattered. The accuracy was exceptional, though the recoil left his arm numb.
This was a Minié rifle—though a rifled musket, its effective range reached an astonishing five hundred meters!
“Grandson! What is this firearm? The weapons of the Divine Machine Battalion are not a thousandth as powerful as this!” Old Zhu Di’s eyes blazed with excitement, and he swallowed hard.
Zhu Youjian caressed the weapon fondly, smiling. “This is a rifled musket. Its maximum range is a mile. With the industrial capabilities of my Chongzhen era, even if we attempt to copy it, we won’t succeed until next spring—when the campaign against Japan begins. And even then, due to technological limitations, the accuracy and power of the replicas will only reach about half that of the original—which is already beyond expectation.”
A mile away?
Old Zhu Di wished he could seize the weapon immediately. With such firearms, Arughtai, Uliyangqada, the Oirat tribes—all would be like lambs to the slaughter!
To rule the four corners of the world and expand the empire would be as simple as turning a hand!
“Grandson,” Old Zhu Di said with a shameless grin, “when this rifled musket is produced, could you give the Old Ancestor a batch? You see, times are so hard for me—even the crown prince must sell his trousers to make ends meet.”
Zhu Youjian nodded, smiling. “Rest assured, Old Ancestor, you’ll have them. But these firearms are extremely expensive to produce. As for funding…”
“Naturally, the Yongle dynasty will pay,” Old Zhu Di said cheerfully, then probed, “But my dear crown prince recently sold off palace furniture in the streets—even items from my own chambers are gone. The palace is so poor we can’t put food on the table. Could you perhaps advance the funds, and we’ll settle after the campaign against Japan?”
Zhu Youjian was left speechless, choosing not to answer. Instead, he said, “This musket serves little immediate use. Let me take you somewhere first.”
“Where?”
“To the Hongxi reign of your eldest son.”
…