Chapter 162
Chapter 162
[After Zhu Yuanzhang Returned to the Great Ming – 13]
The Reigning Emperor had personally led the campaign only to be captured in the north. Half of Great Ming’s sky had collapsed. With the crisis urgent, Hu Ying and the others had no time to rest in Luoyang. After a brief discussion and one cup of tea, they prepared to escort Zhu Yuanzhang north to the capital.
Zhu Yuanzhang agreed. He ordered horses prepared and summoned the estate’s chief administrator. “The capital is unstable and Great Ming faces troubled times. After I leave, shut the estate gates and receive no outsiders.”
The administrator solemnly accepted, then asked, “How should the Lin Family be handled?”
“I will visit personally.”
After arranging the marriage, Zhu Yuanzhang had reported it to court, but the memorial had not yet reached the capital. Only now did Hu Ying and the others learn that Prince Lu was betrothed and would soon welcome his Princess Consort.
Ming imperial consorts generally came from ordinary families. Concerned that powerful in-laws might cause chaos after the new emperor’s accession, Hu Ying summoned the administrator after Prince Lu left. Leaning forward, he asked tentatively, “Does the future Princess Consort come from a prominent family?”
Grand Secretary Chen Xun and the others understood his concern and looked over.
The administrator chose his words. “Her mother was a close friend of the late Princess Consort.”
An ordinary woman could hardly befriend an imperial prince’s wife.
Hu Ying asked, “What office did her father hold?”
“He died many years ago. The Princess Consort was raised by her grandmother.”
Hu Ying relaxed somewhat. “Does her maiden family have other men?”
“She is the senior Lin branch’s only daughter. She once had an uncle and a male cousin.”
An uncle and cousin-excellent candidates for causing trouble!
Hu Ying became more serious. “What office does her uncle hold?”
The administrator answered without expression, “He is no longer with us.”
Hu Ying: “…”
“Then her cousin?”
“Also no longer with us.”
Hu Ying: “…”
Suppressing the urge to scratch his head, he asked, “Are there no surviving men in her maiden family?”
The administrator smiled, hiding his contribution to history. “Not only are there no men. The Princess Consort is the only surviving member of the family.”
Hu Ying and his companions: “…”
“Any other questions, Minister Hu?”
Hu Ying silently sat back. “No.”
…
Soon after the betrothal, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote to Lin Lanyi’s maternal Xiang Family, inviting them to the wedding. Fearing her uncles could not leave their posts, he also wrote their superiors requesting leave. Prince Lu possessed at least that much influence.
Unlike the dwindling Lin Family, the Xiang Family flourished. Old Madam Xiang had two sons and three daughters, as well as several children born to concubines. Lanyi’s mother had been her eldest daughter.
Because that daughter died soon after giving birth, Old Madam Xiang cherished her granddaughter especially. Despite her age, she visited several times to support Lanyi. She had even considered marrying the girl to a Xiang cousin, but before choosing anyone, she received letters from both Lanyi and Prince Lu.
Prince Lu was an incomparably noble imperial prince. Lanyi’s letter praised his integrity and reliability. Delighted yet dreamlike, Old Madam Xiang hurried her daughters-in-law into preparing the entire family for Luoyang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, they were drafting Lanyi’s dowry inventory. Her mother’s furniture, shops, farms, and estates remained, but faded fabrics and jewelry needed replacing. Old Madam Xiang opened her private treasury, and her daughters-in-law willingly added gifts. A niece becoming Princess Consort was worth far more than silver.
As the women chatted, servants announced the Prince. Lanyi’s aunts teased her until Old Madam Xiang smilingly sent them into the inner room. She took her granddaughter’s hand and went to greet him, but her heart sank at his grave expression.
Zhu Yuanzhang stopped her bow and explained the news from the capital. Then he apologized to Lanyi. “The matter is grave, so our wedding must be delayed. Wait in Luoyang. Once the capital is stable, I will send for you.”
When the Emperor left for war, everyone in Luoyang had praised the Son of Heaven’s martial wisdom and resemblance to his ancestors. No one expected this result.
Lin Lanyi felt a turmoil of emotions, with little joy at possibly becoming Empress. Suppressing her worry, she said gently, “The road ahead will not be easy. Your Highness must be careful and protect your health.”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted her shoulder. “These are troubled times. Luoyang may not remain peaceful. I ordered the estate closed and will transfer four hundred guards here as a precaution. Lanyi, take care of yourself.”
She nodded. “Then I will recall the stewards purchasing goods outside and close our gates as well.”
Old Madam Xiang agreed that caution came first.
Reassured by their wisdom, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the officers who had remained for the wedding feast and chose them to accompany him. With the Emperor captive and Prince Lu entering the capital under the Empress Dowager’s decree, this was a road straight to heaven. The men bowed and accepted eagerly.
Zhu Yuanzhang said farewell and returned to his estate.
Eldest Madam Xiang and the others emerged in surprise. “Why did His Highness leave before even drinking tea?”
Lanyi remained silent. Old Madam Xiang summoned her sons and explained.
Second Madam Xiang exclaimed joyfully, “If so, our Lanyi has received extraordinary fortune!”
Old Madam Xiang’s face remained solemn. “Fortune is fortune only after it lands in one’s hands. Suspended in midair, it is merely a painted plum that cannot quench thirst. Recall every purchasing steward and keep the men at home. If you boast before matters settle and word reaches the capital, this marriage may fail. The present Empress Dowager was selected for the palace during the former emperor’s reign. Did she ultimately become Empress then?”
No one dared object.
…
Back at the estate, Hu Ying urged immediate departure. Zhu Yuanzhang took his trusted attendants and galloped toward the capital.
Hu Ying was old, and Chen Xun, though ten years younger, was sixty-four. Duty had carried them from the capital to Luoyang, but after securing Prince Lu, their bodies began to fail. Refusing to delay the enthronement while the Oirats threatened Great Ming, Hu Ying divided the party. Jin Ying and Prince Consort Shi Jing would escort Prince Lu ahead; the elderly officials would follow as quickly as possible.
Fresh horses waited at every relay station. After traveling day and night, Zhu Yuanzhang’s party reached the outskirts of the capital at dawn on the fifth day.
At the city’s distant outline, everyone relaxed. Ministry of Rites officials and palace attendants who had waited outside welcomed Prince Lu.
The court sent ceremonial officials requesting that Prince Lu recognize Emperor Xuanzong as his imperial father, redesignate the late Prince Lu as his imperial uncle, and install the captive Emperor’s son Zhu Jianshen as Crown Prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought, *So they want to use me as a chamber pot?*
Fortunately, he had seen a living example in the Underworld. He would copy Zhu Houcong’s response and firmly rejected the Ministry of Rites. “With the Reigning Emperor captive and the realm leaderless, the *Ancestral Injunctions of Great Ming* were invoked to summon me. I enter the capital as a regional prince. When the senior line cannot continue, a junior line succeeds it. What is wrong with that? Why add the unnecessary step of adopting me into Emperor Xuanzong’s line?”
The officials paled. As the Empress Dowager’s confidant, Jin Ying knew this had to be contested. “Your Highness, guard your words!”
Jin Ying saluted northward and said sharply, “The Reigning Emperor has several sons. How can you claim the senior line has no heir?”
Zhu Yuanzhang raised a thick brow. “Then what throne did you summon me to inherit? What sort of emperor am I supposed to be?”
Jin Ying fell silent.
When the news reached the palace, the Empress Dowager raged and again proposed enthroning the Eldest Imperial Son. But if the proposal could pass, it would have passed earlier. Why wait until Prince Lu stood outside the capital?
Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi repeatedly advised, “The Eldest Imperial Son is only three. How can he rule? Your Majesty loves your grandson, but a child sovereign invites doubt. In this crisis, only Prince Lu can be enthroned.”
The Empress Dowager evaded the point.
Unable to endure more, Vice Minister of War Yu Qian stepped forward. “If the imperial son were grown, we would certainly enthrone him. But he is a child and the Oirat army is approaching. How could he command the realm?”
He knelt. “We speak for the state and all under heaven, not private interest. May Your Majesty understand!”
The officials knelt behind him. “For the state’s sake, please enthrone Prince Lu at once!”
The Empress Dowager swept away with an iron face.
The Great Rites Controversy in the Jiajing Era lasted three years. Great Ming had no three years to waste now.
That afternoon, Zhu Yuanzhang entered the imperial city through the Great Ming Gate, notified the ancestral temples, met the Empress Dowager, and ascended the throne in Fengtian Hall. Instead of holding a feast, he immediately convened court to discuss the Oirat threat.
For the first time in nearly a century, an enemy approached the capital. Officials split between resistance and withdrawal south.
Wearing the Twelve-Emblem Robe, imperial crown, and Son of Heaven’s sword, Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his expression hidden behind twelve jade strands.
Lecturer Xu Youzhen argued until red-faced. “I observed the heavens. The calendar has changed and the Mandate has departed. Only moving south can avert disaster! Nanjing, Emperor Taizu’s former capital, is the ideal choice!”
Jin Ying, Minister of Rites Hu Ying, Grand Secretary Chen Xun, and especially Yu Qian opposed him. Yu Qian declared, “The capital is the realm’s foundation. Move it and every heart will waver. Was the Song court’s lesson not tragic enough? Anyone who proposes moving south should be executed!”
At last, all turned toward the silent emperor. “May Your Majesty decide!”
Zhu Yuanzhang descended the jade steps with one hand on his sword. “I hear that after news of Tumu reached the capital, commoners panicked, wealthy households fled south, and officials wavered?”
“Exactly!” Xu Youzhen thought he had gained support. “I do not value my own safety, but we cannot confront the Oirats now. Withdraw temporarily, recover our strength, then march north to restore Great Ming!”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled pleasantly. “I have a method to calm every heart immediately, but I must borrow one thing from Minister Xu.”
“Whatever I possess, I will present.”
“Your head.”
Zhu Yuanzhang drew his sword. Snowy light flashed. Blood sprayed from Xu Youzhen’s neck, and he collapsed in terror, eyes open in death.
“Emperor Taizong moved the capital here so the Son of Heaven would guard the nation’s gate. If I abandon it without battle, how can I face my ancestors in the Underworld? If the Son of Heaven flees, how can soldiers and commoners resist?”
He sheathed his sword and swept the hall with a fierce gaze. “From this day onward, anyone who proposes moving south will be executed immediately!”