Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 101: The Heroic Jurchen Leader?
The young scholar was a young scholar after all. He said what was in his mind, and his tone was full of indignation.

The news that Hou Xianchun was first detained after the court meeting, and then the three judicial departments "filed a case" and arrested Hou Xianchun's family members also spread today.

The court officials knew the whole process and kept silent.

After the decree to confer three new marquises and five earls at the ceremony of surrendering prisoners was announced, how did the uninformed scholars feel?

In their view, it was naturally because the new monarch was warlike and warmongering, and the ministers had bitterly advised against the harm of conferring numerous honors, so the emperor punished them for their words.

Only Hou Xianchun was left, of course, as an example to others, which shows how Hou Xianchun's death-defying advice was unsuccessful.

This further shows that the three grand secretaries in the cabinet are incompetent. How could such an imperial edict not be rejected?
"The last time several titles were conferred was in the first year of the Tianshun reign, during the coup d'etat!" The scholar's mind became more and more excited as he spoke. "The Shimiao is nothing more than a continuation of the titles conferred on the founding heroes. Are those people in the first year of the Tianshun worthy of the titles?"

There was a lot of discussion in many guild halls in the capital.

But the Lu'an Guild Hall was quite quiet.

In addition to reviewing their lessons every day, Wei Yunzhong, Cheng Qinan and Meng Xikong would still get together.

Cheng Qinan was a little surprised: "Dingyuan, do you feel something is wrong? After the night before, no one in the guild hall discussed state affairs anymore."

Wei Yunzhong thought for a moment, then said, "It seems that the shopkeeper didn't tell you. That's right, the two brothers were exempted from curfew the first night and focused on studying for the exam, unlike us who went out to socialize again."

"Does the owner of the guild have any further instructions?"

Cheng Qinan knew that he might not be telling the whole truth. It was probably because his Wei family had some relationship with the Fan family he met that day, so he received special care.

"It is the good intention of the owners of the guild. You may not know that they have been summoned by His Majesty."

"What?" Cheng Qinan was shocked. "Your Majesty summoned them?"

Wei Yunzhong cupped his hands and said, "I know my two brothers well, and I don't want to hide anything. In short, the political affairs of the court are not something we should be distracted by before we pass the imperial examination. The Jin Dynasty merchant was summoned by Your Majesty, and he was able to inform and advise us Shanxi candidates. I'm afraid he has a lot of inside information. It's better to have less trouble than more."

Cheng Qinan was even more convinced now, and he returned the greeting solemnly: "We two will remember your kindness, my dear brother. So that's the case, no wonder."

They didn't talk about the subject any more.

The last month of the 28th year of the Wanli reign began in such an atmosphere.

The three judicial departments convicted Hou Xianchun with extraordinary efficiency and directly exiled him to Gansu Town, where he was transferred to the military to build the new border in Songshan.

In the eyes of those hot-headed scholars, this was simply flattery, and Xiao Daheng was sitting on pins and needles in his position as the Minister of Justice.

Fortunately, the reactions in the capital and the reactions of local officials and gentry still need time to ferment, and the court officials also need to adjust their mentality and state and observe the new emperor's temperament and likes and dislikes.

As the end of the year approached, Zhu Changluo did not immediately face a corresponding counterattack, as if everyone was taking a long-term view and making serious plans.

Or maybe it's just to prevent any changes to the annual salary and year-end salary.

Zhu Changluo also had a lot of things to do, such as specifically summoning foreign officials he wanted to see.

After the court meeting on the eighth day of December, Nurhaci was ordered to enter the Forbidden City again.

Today he stood in front of the North Korean envoy.

But he does not think this is because the North Korean leader is not present in person.

The look in the eyes of the Ming Emperor at the coronation ceremony had made him think for several nights.

Upon learning that Li Chengliang was promoted to marquis, he visited him again, but was not able to meet him.

Now when they arrived in front of the Yangxin Palace, Cheng Jing stopped him first.

"Your Majesty has summoned me. The governor and his entourage should just wait outside."

Nurhaci was a little wary, but he still nodded respectfully: "That's right, I will obey the emperor's order."

Amid the somewhat worried looks of his followers, Nurhaci nodded to them and then followed Cheng Jing inside.

What is the difference between coming to Beijing in person to pay homage and meeting the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty alone?
But this has more or less shown the hostility of the new Ming emperor towards him.

After entering the hall, Zhu Changluo had not yet changed out of the dragon robe he wore for court, and he sat on the throne condescendingly.

After Nurhaci paid a grand visit, he was not even allowed to stand up.

He was pondering in his mind when the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty spoke: "Haixi and Jianzhou were both granted imperial edicts by the Ming Dynasty, allowing them to send envoys to pay tribute. In recent years, there have been endless disputes among your tribes, and the Yehe, Hada and other tribes have often made requests, hoping that the Ming Dynasty will uphold justice. It is also said that in the 15th year of Wanli, 1,499 tribute edicts were reissued to various tribes, and 699 of them from the Hada tribe and 300 from the Yehe tribe were plundered by you, and you paid tribute in their names. Is this true?" Nurhaci's eyes suddenly froze as he looked at the carpet, and his breathing paused.

No politeness, straight to the point.

Is this an excuse to question his intention to unify the Jurchen tribes?

Does the Ming Dynasty have the power to manage the affairs of the Jurchen tribes? Of course it does.

It just depends on whether you are willing to do it and whether it is worthwhile.

If Nurhaci was not afraid, why would he be loyal?
He wanted to become more powerful, so he needed the Ming Dynasty to stop interfering, and he needed these imperial edicts.

Zhu Changluo has continued to point out the key points: "An imperial edict allows one person to enter the capital and receive 20 taels of silver as a reward to buy tribute and reward the tired carriages and horses. At present, the tribute envoys of the Jurchen tribes are still in the capital. I will know the answer by asking. Nurhaci, why don't you tell me the truth?"

Nurhaci did not expect that the hostility of the new Ming emperor would be so obvious. He slowly straightened up and looked at him.

What caught my eye was a young and majestic face, as if he was going to uphold justice for the Haixi tribes.

"Your Majesty, I have been respectful and obedient for decades. The Jurchen tribes are subordinate to each other and have received the grace of the emperor. I have received 500 imperial edicts from the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes. In recent years, there have indeed been many disputes among the tribes. It is natural that the imperial edicts were seized during the victory and defeat. However, I have never taken them for myself and still pay tribute as a vassal of the original tribe."

Nurhaci bowed his head again, and a strand of braided hair flicked behind his head. "Your Majesty, I understand clearly that although I have had disputes with the Hada and Yehe tribes due to hatred, we have made peace. There has been no war in the past few years, and the matter of the imperial edict was also discussed before. Now that they are not coming to pay their respects in person, I dare not not come. It is clear who is loyal and who is treacherous."

The imperial edict that had already been issued had caused disputes among foreign ethnic groups and gradually confused their affiliation. Such a small matter was certainly not enough to hold him accountable.

At least on the surface, he did not break the Ming Dynasty's tribute rules, and he was more open and loyal than the Haixi Jurchen tribes.

After all, there are still so many generals and soldiers of the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes outside the Liaodong border wall.

But Nurhaci had to defend himself, nor could he gamble that the new emperor would not suddenly go crazy.

The great discussion about conferring titles on nobles these days in the capital is a bad sign.

If the Ming Dynasty cannot stop its conquests, then the small problems in the imperial edict can become an excuse.

He was kneeling on the ground, full of resentment, but his body was crouching very low with his buttocks raised high.

Fortunately, this is what Zhu Changluo was waiting for: loyalty.

"Since you are loyal, will you obey me if I want to uphold justice?"

"Your Majesty, the tribesmen of my ministers and I have been hunting in the mountains and fields, and disputes are inevitable for the sake of forests. The blood feuds have accumulated over time, and after a period of time, they will inevitably fight and draw boundaries. Your Majesty only asks me if I will obey your orders, and I will obey your orders. However, the other tribes think that I can be bullied. Does Your Majesty want me to endure it in the future?"

Nurhaci's voice sounded extremely aggrieved, and the voice came out muffled.

Zhu Changluo smiled and said, "How could that be? Haven't you seen Korea? For generations, Korea has been obedient. Therefore, when it comes to its survival, the Ming Dynasty will not stand idly by, but will devote all its national strength to help it drive out foreign enemies and rebuild the royal court. In normal times, I will naturally not care about your minor fights. But if there is another incident of genocide and annexation, I will intervene. Since you are the most loyal among the Jurchen tribes, remember that I will protect your bloodline from loss."

"...I, your Excellency, bow to thank the Emperor for his great grace! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long, long live His Majesty!"

It was a favor in the open but actually a warning, and Nurhaci could only kowtow and express his gratitude.

Just deal with the matter of genocide and annexation, which means that at least the people who have been enthroned in each tribe must be retained to let the Ming Dynasty know that they are still there.

In this case, unless the matter is already done and his strength is enough to make the Ming Dynasty wary, how could the Ming Dynasty acknowledge that he has unified the Jurchen tribes?
However, the Ming emperor continued to make new requests: "To be on the safe side, you should send one of your sons to study in the capital. This is a special favor from the most obedient foreign minister. If you have blood in the capital, the Ming will never turn a deaf ear to it if the country is in danger of being destroyed. If you have achieved success in your studies, you can return and become a loyal and loyal minister. I heard that you already have eleven sons, and the eighth son is just nine years old, just the right age to start learning, so send him here."

The tone left no room for doubt.

Nurhaci could not help but straighten up first, looked at the kind and caring expression of the Ming Emperor, and then knelt down again, as if he was just going to kowtow and pay his respects.

"...I, your Excellency, bow to thank the Emperor for his great grace! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long, long live His Majesty!"

The voice was still full of joy, without any trace of suppressed humiliation or anger.

Zhu Changluo looked at his reaction calmly.

At present, Ming Dynasty is more powerful.

As for combat capability, although the financial problem had not been solved, with Zhu Changluo's accession to the throne, the country would not be abandoned for more than ten years as before, and internal and external troubles began to erupt.

Zhu Changluo had warned him that when Nurhaci returned, he would either have to explode early or endure it more difficultly.

He is naturally the heroic leader of the Jurchens, but facing the current Ming Dynasty, he can still only get what he wants!
(End of this chapter)