Chapter 59: I Locked Myself In

Zhu Di, accompanied by the Empress and two imperial princes, arrived at the Celestial Prison.

Well, this was quite a spectacle. The Son of Heaven and his entire family had come to spend the Lunar New Year in the dungeon. The last imperial family to celebrate the New Year in a jail cell seemed to have the surname Zhao...

Contrary to the impression of bleak winds, bitter rain, and abject misery, the Celestial Prison was exceptionally lively and filled with festive cheer.

Firecrackers popped in the night sky, and colorful fireworks burst into bloom. Figures darted across a makeshift stage, delivering magnificent vocal performances. A bustling Three Kingdoms opera was currently playing the scene where Zhao Yun intercepts the river. A martial artist dressed in full costume, brandishing a long spear, dashed back and forth with striking agility, single-mindedly sworn to protect his lord.

Seeing this scene, even Zhu Di was moved. He couldn't help laughing and cursing, "Damn it, this is livelier than the imperial palace!"

"Bring those two scoundrels over here."

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Zhanji were summoned. The moment Zhu Di laid eyes on them, his anger flared up instantly.

"Second boy, you've got some nerve. You've really grown capable, running over here to win people's hearts, haven't you?"

Zhu Gaoxu remained very calm, replying indifferently, "This son was simply celebrating the New Year with a friend. He has taught me many things; it's merely courtesy to return a favor."

Zhu Di snorted. "You're talking about Xu Jingchang, right? Let me tell you, that brat is your eldest brother's man. He's played you for a fool, and yet you're thanking him? Can't you tell good from bad?"

Zhu Gaoxu's emotions remained steady. "Imperial Father, I address you as such, Eldest Brother addresses you as such, and Third Brother addresses you as such. Why must we draw lines and divide ourselves?"

These words left Zhu Di momentarily speechless, and Empress Xu, standing nearby, actually felt her eyes redden with tears welling up on the verge of falling.

Ever since the Jingnan Campaign concluded, ninety percent of her worries stemmed from her three precious sons engaging in open and covert struggles, attacking one another in the contest for the imperial succession. It had left her, their birth mother, mentally exhausted and in endless agony.

Especially Zhu Gaoxu, who had caused such a massive mess that she had once thought the boy was beyond saving.

Never had she imagined that after sending him to follow Xu Jingchang for a few months, he would show signs of a complete rebirth.

All three brothers were born of her and the Emperor's flesh and blood, and they were all cousins to Xu Jingchang. Indeed, there was no need to draw lines between themselves; they were all one and the same family.

We are family!

Zhu Gaoxu had truly attained enlightenment.

"Second boy, come here quickly."

With that, Empress Xu reached over and retrieved a pouch of gold ingots—originally brought along as rewards from Zhu Di to his ministers—and shoved the entire bundle into the hands of the second prince.

Taking this in, Zhu Di let out a soft sigh, a myriad of mixed emotions churning in his chest. He turned his head and caught sight of the dark-skinned little boy, Zhu Zhanji.

"And you? Why have you run over here too?"

Zhu Zhanji answered with utmost honesty, "I also wanted to curry favor with my cousin-in-law."

"Curry favor with your cousin-in-law? Is your cousin-in-law more important than your Imperial Grandfather?" Zhu Di demanded angrily.

Zhu Zhanji blinked, remaining utterly earnest. "Cousin-in-law is very wealthy. He has several thousand able-bodied young men, and he said that after the New Year he's going to open a factory to weave cloth... I wanted him to chase Second Uncle away so the two of us could do business together..."

The little fellow's voice wasn't loud, but Zhu Di heard every word clearly. "Splendid! So you all have your own schemes. To think this Son of Heaven isn't even as useful to you as Xu Jingchang! Both of you, get out of my sight!"

The plump crown prince happily scooped his son into his arms, patted the little boy's head, and cast a meaningful glance at Zhu Gaoxu.

At this moment, Zhu Di glanced toward the heavy gates of the Celestial Prison and gave an order: "Go open the gates."

The brocade-clad guards moved swiftly, swinging the grand doors wide open.

Zhu Di commanded again, "Use a thick iron chain to block the entrance. Do not allow anyone inside to come out."

The guards obeyed. A heavy iron chain was strung horizontally across the threshold, dividing the space into two separate worlds—inside and out.

"Pass the decree. Bring them over."

Before long, the ministers of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts—nearly a hundred officials in total—stood neatly in rank by their official ranks inside the prison. Separated by the iron chain, they bowed deeply to Zhu Di.

"We, your guilty subjects, kowtow to Your Majesty. Ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Zhu Di remained silent for a long while, leaving everyone kneeling on the cold ground.

At last, he spoke slowly, "I have locked you all inside the Celestial Prison. No doubt some of you are harboring resentment, cursing me in your hearts, calling me absurd, tyrannical, treating officials like beasts of burden, whispering that not even wicked tyrants like Jie and Zhou would commit such deeds..."

"We dare not harbor any such thoughts! We beg Your Majesty to retract those words!" Jian Yi's face was streaked with tears as his kowtows struck the floor with resounding thuds. The other officials hurriedly followed suit. Xu Jingchang was deeply reluctant, but realizing this wasn't the time to stick his neck out as a target, he simply followed the herd. It wouldn't do to draw Zhu Di's direct gaze.

"I will not retract them," Zhu Di said coldly. "I want to tell you what I see from where I sit! His Late Majesty, born a commoner, rose from Huaixi, fought battles across the realm, expelled the remnants of the Yuan, and restored our rivers and mountains. Three dynasties later, no founding of an empire is more legitimate than the Great Ming! Now look at what the court has turned into over these years. Grand Ancestor's ancestral laws have completely collapsed, tax revenues are insufficient, the imperial treasury is hollowed out, corrupt officials run rampant, and the people struggle to survive."

"As the year draws to an end, I have perused memorials from all across the land. Fields in Shandong lie barren, and starving refugees are everywhere. In the Central Plains of Henan, the populace is displaced, hundreds of thousands begging for bread, and even in the wealthy regions of Jiangnan, people have starved to death right inside Suzhou city! With the nation brought to this pass, my heart burns with anxiety, and I cannot sleep through the night. Whenever I close my eyes, I can picture His Late Majesty demanding to know how I managed to reduce the Great Ming Dynasty to this state!"

"I have no face to look upon the Grand Ancestor, yet over the mere matter of commercial taxes, you people engaged in endless buck-passing and prevarication, muddying the waters. Not a single ministry can withstand a thorough investigation. The Ministry of Personnel in particular—when the country is destitute and funds are lacking for anything else, you were remarkably generous in handing out allowances to officials, padding them with hefty increases. Even without these bonuses, none of you would starve to death. If those funds had been distributed properly, how many common folk could have been saved? How much good could have been accomplished?"

Zhu Di's piercing questions caused Jian Yi to tremble violently, his head striking the floor in frantic kowtows.

"This subject is guilty! This subject deserves a thousand deaths! I beg Your Majesty to punish us severely to deter others!"

Staring fixedly at Jian Yi, Zhu Di finally let out a long sigh. "There is no need. With the New Year upon us, my coming here is not to slaughter people, but simply to have a heart-to-heart talk with you all, to speak some honest truths. I was not raised deep within the palace walls as some useless emperor surrounded by treacherous sycophants; I am well aware of the reality."

"The great affairs of the court require you to execute them. Officials must be recommended by you, the common people must be granted relief through you, and whatever policies I conceive must be implemented by your hands. Without your assistance, I, the Son of Heaven, cannot take a single step forward. Therefore, the allowances must still be paid, and officials must live with dignity. But..."

"You must also grant me dignity, so that I may hold my head high before the Grand Ancestor!" Zhu Di's voice rose sharply.

These words struck straight at the heart. Xia Yuanji, Liu Jun, and several other ministers trembled in sheer terror, tears streaming down their faces.

The most deeply stirred of all was Marquis of Jing'an Wang Zhong. Zhu Di's raw, unvarnished outpouring made him feel as though he had been transported back to the military camps—back to the fierce, hazardous years of the Jingnan Campaign when they fought shoulder-to-shoulder, risking life and limb together.

Wang Zhong slammed his forehead against the ground. "Your Majesty is supremely wise! It is entirely due to our disloyalty. This subject is guilty!"

The civil officials naturally could not lag behind and quickly kowtowed to confess their faults.

Zhu Di nodded, letting out a heavy, emotional sigh. "Ruler and ministers are meant to be heart and limbs to one another. I locked you inside not to humiliate you, but so you might reflect deeply on how best to assist the state and govern the people hereafter. If by next year the fortunes of the realm have not improved in the slightest, if the treasury remains depleted and the people continue to suffer, I shall not blame you. I shall lock myself inside!"

"I shall go in to make amends to the Grand Ancestor! To make amends to the hundreds of millions of subjects!"

The more he spoke, the more terrified the assembly grew. Jian Yi, Xia Yuanji, and the rest had no choice but to kowtow once more, repeatedly pleading guilty.

Zhu Di's message was crystal clear: if things did not improve within a year, none of them would be spared... If the Son of Heaven had to squat in a dungeon, the ministers might as well go hang themselves.

A ruler's humiliation is a minister's death—that was precisely what it meant!

With their backs to the river, absolutely no one had a retreat route.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We shall devote our utmost strength to assist Your Majesty. If we fail to bring peace and stability to the state, we willingly submit to execution!"

Having drawn up their military pledge, the ministers realized they had run out of roads to retreat.

Seeing this, Zhu Di's mood finally improved somewhat.

"When I came, I already instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare wine and food for you all... My family and I will share this meal with you. This iron chain will remain until the midnight hour, at which point it shall be removed. A new year brings a fresh start; you know very well what must be done."

Balancing benevolence with stern authority, Zhu Di left the officials trembling in awe, daring not utter another word of protest. After they expressed their gratitude for the imperial grace, attendants duly delivered the imperial feast, comprising no less than a hundred exquisite dishes.

The ministers received the banquet, spreading it out across the open ground inside the celestial prison.

Though the food prepared within the palace was undeniably delicate, when the officials tasted it, they generally frowned. To be frank, it really couldn't compare to Xu Jingchang's culinary skills; by comparison, it fell desperately short.

Zhu Di's attempt to capture the hearts of his court officials through their stomachs suffered a severe setback.

While they felt a measure of gratitude, it wasn't much—just a tiny fraction...

"Director-General Xu, why don't you open a restaurant after all this? I guarantee business would be booming."

Xu Jingchang rolled his eyes at Xia Yuanji. "Minister Xia, you still have the leisure to joke around with me? The matter of replenishing the imperial treasury that His Majesty spoke of falls squarely on the shoulders of your Ministry of Revenue!"

Xia Yuanji laughed heartily. "Director-General Xu, you must be mistaken. The Ministry of Revenue only collects land and head taxes; the amount is essentially fixed, more or less. The real source of income lies with your Directorate of Official Dispatches. You are the one tasked with collecting sufficient commercial taxes and balancing the livelihood of the people while pacifying refugees... To be honest, I'm starting to feel a bit worried for you. How on earth are you going to manage all of that?"

Xia Yuanji smiled benignantly, looking for all the world like a Maitreya Buddha.

The man was utterly punchable. Xu Jingchang gnashed his teeth, itching to give him a thorough thrashing.

At that exact moment, Zhu Di borrowed the largest firecracker from Zhu Gaoxu. Striking a light, he watched as the firecracker soared into the sky and detonated with a loud bang. Reflexively, Xu Jingchang shuddered and stared blankly up into the night sky...