Chapter 60: Oh No, They're Coming for Me!

Zhu Youjian studied with humility and listened attentively. In the small world, he was the teacher, capable of presenting countless novel perspectives that left the emperors of various dynasties in awe, able to judge everything from the vantage point of a man of later generations. Yet, in front of the elder Zhu, he was still but a monarch in need of growth.

“After I dig the hole, you just put in the seeds, then use your foot to cover them with soil,” Zhu Yuanzhang said as he worked the earth, guiding him. “This time, to help you in your battle, I’ve brought out all the family’s resources. Even the second and third sons are here. Later, we’ll have a simple family meal together…”

“Prince of Qin and Prince of Jin?” Zhu Youjian, who was bent over sowing seeds, changed expression at this. Those two were hardly upstanding men.

All four of the infamous villains of the early Ming were sons of the elder Zhu: the second son, Prince of Qin Zhu Xian; the tenth son, Prince of Lu Zhu Tan; the thirteenth son, Prince of Dai Zhu Gui; and the twenty-fifth son, Prince of Yi Li Zhu Yi.

Among them, the Prince of Qin, foremost among the Ming princes, was especially notorious for his misdeeds and tyranny in his fief, so much so that three aged palace servants, unable to endure his brutality, eventually poisoned him.

The Prince of Jin, Zhu Gang, was even more ruthless. From a young age, he bullied the fourth prince relentlessly and died in the thirty-first year of Hongwu. Had he not died, it would have been him, not Zhu Di, whom Zhu Yunwen would have targeted in his campaign to curtail the power of the princes.

If he had survived, it would have been Prince of Jin Zhu Gang smiling at Zhu Di, saying, “Fourth Brother, lend your elder brother some troops; together, we’ll divide the world.” Of course, Zhu Yunwen would still have met his end.

“Ever since he took up his fief, the second has been out of line,” Zhu Yuanzhang observed deeply, his expression unreadable. “I’ve had him follow me these days to learn and observe. He seems to have changed for the better recently. I wonder, though, how posterity judges him.”

How is he judged? Your own words declared him deserving of his fate, that his death was more than justified.

“His posthumous title is ‘Mourned’,” Zhu Youjian replied thoughtfully.

For someone as fiercely protective as the elder Zhu, bestowing even a neutral posthumous title on his legitimate second son was already severe, done only to preserve the royal family’s dignity.

“Mourned? A neutral title? Bestowed by Zhu Yunwen?” The elder Zhu frowned deeply. Seeing Zhu Youjian shake his head, he muttered in a low voice, “That fourth son is too much. Even if his second brother was in the wrong, as the foremost prince he shouldn’t be given a posthumous title like ‘Mourned.’ That just invites the world’s ridicule of our family!”

“It wasn’t Zhu Di, Ancestor. You yourself conferred the title, and you also denounced the Prince of Qin as deserving his fate, that his death was more than justified,” Zhu Youjian said, shaking his head.

He granted the title himself? And even cursed him as deserving his fate? That meant the second son died before the thirty-first year of Hongwu!

Zhu Yuanzhang’s expression changed. He straightened up and stopped working the soil. “What did the Prince of Qin do, exactly? Grandson, you mustn’t hide anything. Before me, you may always speak frankly.”

“The Prince of Qin’s misdeeds in his fief were countless,” Zhu Youjian answered, recalling the records Emperor Chongzhen had read, “but the cause of his death was his torment of palace maids. On trumped-up charges, he and Lady Deng experimented with their own punishments on the maids, who lived in constant terror.

“In the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu, he stopped bothering with pretense. In front of the palace staff, he tortured an innocent maid to death. The other maids could endure no more, poisoned his food, and that very night killed him and disposed of his body in the wild.

“When word reached the capital, the Grand Ancestor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. Before the edict could even leave the palace, the Embroidered Guards had already presented years of the Prince of Qin’s atrocities. Upon reading, the Grand Ancestor denounced him as deserving his fate, declared there would be no punishment for the maids who had poisoned him.”

“That wretch!” Zhu Yuanzhang’s expression grew uglier as he listened, until at last he exploded in rage. “I had heard he mistreated his servants and warned him many times not to abuse those who served him closely. I never imagined he would ignore me completely!”

Zhu Youjian shook his head. “Not only the Prince of Qin, but the Prince of Jin as well was arrogant and cruel. The tenth son, Zhu Tan, would later use ninety-nine children as ingredients in his pursuit of alchemy, and died young—only nineteen—because of it…”

“Who else?” A cold gleam flickered in Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes.

“There was also the unborn twenty-fifth son, born in the twenty-first year of Hongwu. He was named Zhu Yi and made Prince of Yi. He would often shoot commoners with his bow in the marketplace, as though he were hunting game. After his death, he was given the posthumous title ‘Fierce’.”

The Yi lineage was not only wicked in its first generation; every generation that followed was notorious for unforgivable crimes. It was the most degenerate branch of Zhu Yuanzhang’s descendants.

“He will not be born,” Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly.

At last, his expression shifted through many shades. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Grandson, what do you think should be done with these wretches?”

The second, third, and tenth sons all viewed the people as less than human, treating them like livestock. Zhu Yuanzhang was both furious and deeply pained.

He hated their failings and grieved for their misfortune.

After much thought, Zhu Youjian spoke earnestly: “Strip them of their titles and make them commoners.”

He knew that if he suggested this from the outset, the elder Zhu would never agree and would find some excuse to be lenient. But after learning that allowing Zhu Xian to continue unchecked would lead to his own destruction, stripping his rank was already a lenient solution.

“This…” Seeing the elder Zhu hesitate, Zhu Youjian added, “Grand Ancestor, a serious illness requires strong medicine.”

Zhu Yuanzhang cut him off, “It’s not that I pity them. I’m just considering where to send them. Grandson, in your opinion, where should they be sent?”

Zhu Youjian thought for a moment. “In my view, keep them near the capital, Nanjing. If they are sent too far, they might cause even more trouble. It so happens you have just acquired this new grain that needs widespread cultivation—let the princes farm the land on behalf of the Son of Heaven, and they can contribute to the Ming dynasty that way.”

“Excellent!” Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes lit up in agreement. “Let these spoiled sons, accustomed to luxury, learn firsthand the hardships of ordinary people!”

“I’ve decided: from now on, before any prince takes up his fief, he must spend two years living as a commoner. That will stop them from disgracing me when they go out!”

Just then, a rough voice was heard.

“Father, Mother sent me to call you for dinner.”

The Prince of Qin was a towering figure, exuding the same domineering energy as his father. Though outwardly respectful, there was a predatory glint in his eye that made it clear this was a man used to having his way.

“So this is the prodigy from the fourth branch?” the Prince of Qin asked, both curious and cautious. He gave Zhu Youjian a broad, friendly nod, not daring to show any arrogance, cultivating an air of approachability.

He was wicked, but not foolish.

Since the Empress Ma’s illness had worsened, he had been summoned back to the capital. Lately, he had personally witnessed his father beating the fourth son almost daily, with minor beatings one day, major beatings every three. Especially in recent days—good heavens, there was hardly an unbruised spot left on him.

Zhu Yuanzhang’s tiger-like eyes flashed with fury as he roared, “Wretch, kneel before me!”

With a thud, the Prince of Qin knelt smoothly on the ground, his heart skipping a beat.

It’s over. He’s coming for me.