Chapter Nineteen: The Suffering of the People

Chapter 19: The Suffering of the People

From then on, Zhu Qizhen’s days became regular, yet filled with hardship. Li Shimian was a strict teacher who scheduled every morning to the brim. Since he was teaching only one student, and being a scholar of great repute, none of Zhu Qizhen’s progress escaped his notice.

Though there were seemingly no formal exams, every day before Li Shimian felt like being tested. Li Shimian’s sternness was unmatched, and Zhu Qizhen found the lessons exhausting each day. In Li Shimian’s curriculum, it was required that Zhu Qizhen recite the Four Books and Five Classics flawlessly. Yet, for all his severity, Li Shimian’s teaching was of the highest caliber.

Zhu Qizhen didn’t find learning particularly stifling; it was merely tiring. He was required to write ten large characters each day, which he could only manage to do at night, practicing until his wrist ached. More than once, he fell asleep in the Empress Dowager's presence, not out of disrespect, but simply because children are prone to drowsiness. Though mature in mind, Zhu Qizhen could not overcome the limitations of his young body.

Wang Zhen, too, no longer accompanied Zhu Qizhen to Wenhua Hall every day. There were two reasons for this: first, he feared further provocation from Li Shimian, and second, he was overwhelmed with work. Although the Empress Dowager trusted the Three Yangs greatly, she still needed oversight, and all draft edicts from the Grand Secretariat had to pass through Wang Zhen’s hands.

In his bid to establish his own authority, Wang Zhen sought out faults in the drafts prepared by the Three Yangs. Whether he was capable of finding any was another matter, but he noticed that the Empress Dowager did not oppose his efforts. Whenever he rejected a recommendation from the Secretariat, Yang Shiqi and the others would report to the Empress Dowager, who would usually rebuke Wang Zhen and instruct him to accept the Secretariat’s advice. Yet Wang Zhen surmised that there was more beneath the surface. Thus, he spent each morning poring over the memorials from the Secretariat, determined never to simply approve them with a single word.

The Secretariat, for its part, was dissatisfied with Wang Zhen’s interference, but the Empress Dowager’s discernment reassured them. Old foxes such as Yang Shiqi knew well that, without Wang Zhen’s meddling, there would be no opportunity for the Empress Dowager to demonstrate her wisdom. So, they pretended not to notice.

Thanks to the Empress Dowager’s leadership, state affairs were not delayed, though they were sometimes slowed. As a result, the daily administration of the Ming dynasty required little interference from Zhu Qizhen, leaving him free to focus on his studies.

Yet these peaceful days did not last long. In the tenth year of Xuande, after the beginning of April, troubles began to mount.

Zhu Qizhen had not yet finished his lesson when he noticed Wang Zhen waiting outside.

Zhu Qizhen understood that Li Shimian had thoroughly offended Wang Zhen. Although Wang Zhen no longer wielded overwhelming power, he was still a formidable figure in court. Even Yang Shiqi dared not slight him. Yet Li Shimian showed him no courtesy, treating Wang Zhen as nothing more than a servant. Hard as Wang Zhen resented this, there was nothing he could do. With the Empress Dowager still in power, he knew that any action contrary to her wishes would leave him unprotected, even if the emperor wished to help.

Li Shimian’s reputation for loyalty and integrity was renowned, and the Empress Dowager valued him greatly. With her support, Wang Zhen could do nothing against him and simply avoided contact; though he escorted Zhu Qizhen to his lessons each day, he made sure never to meet Li Shimian face to face.

Now, with Wang Zhen waiting outside before noon, it could only mean something urgent had happened.

Zhu Qizhen became distracted. Seeing this, Li Shimian said, “That will be all for today. If Your Majesty has pressing matters, you may go.”

“Thank you, sir,” Zhu Qizhen replied.

“It is due to Your Majesty’s diligence,” Li Shimian said. “You have now completed the Analects. Tomorrow, I will begin lecturing on the Great Learning.”

Zhu Qizhen thanked him again and hurried out.

Upon meeting Wang Zhen, Zhu Qizhen asked, “What has happened?”

Wang Zhen replied hastily, “There has been a severe drought in Henan. From the start of spring until now, not a drop of rain. And there is news from the steppes: at the beginning of the year, the Oirats defeated the Tatars.”

Zhu Qizhen frowned. “The beginning of the year? Why has the news only now arrived?”

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been negligent,” Wang Zhen explained.

Zhu Qizhen said nothing; hearing the question, he had already guessed the answer. At the start of the year, the court had been preoccupied with the late emperor’s funeral. Such intelligence must have been set aside. Still, he had not expected it to be delayed so long—now, more than a hundred days since the late emperor’s passing, with the official mourning period ended, this news was only just arriving.

“Did the Empress Dowager summon me?” Zhu Qizhen asked.

“I wouldn’t dare disturb Your Majesty without her orders,” Wang Zhen replied. “It was at her command that I came to fetch you.”

“Let’s go,” Zhu Qizhen said, rising and heading toward Cining Palace.

The Forbidden City was vast. Even within its walls, Zhu Qizhen found it difficult to traverse the distances. Sometimes he had to make use of a sedan chair.

Arriving at Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager glanced at the sky and said, “Send word to the Empress Dowager’s residence that the emperor will dine here with me today; she need not wait.”

A palace maid acknowledged the order and hurried off.

Zhu Qizhen often took his midday meal with Empress Dowager Sun, his birth mother. If he failed to see her even once a day, there would be accusations of filial neglect from the outer court, and Zhu Qizhen himself found it hard to bear. Though Sun was seen by the Empress Dowager as clever but muddled, her affection for Zhu Qizhen was genuine. Most of his clothing came from Kunning Palace, made by Sun and her attendants—a mother’s love that could not fail to move him.

The Empress Dowager then addressed Zhu Qizhen: “I imagine Wang Zhen has told you. Henan is suffering from disaster. This season’s harvest will yield little, and famine is inevitable.”

“I understand, Grandmother,” Zhu Qizhen said.

“No, you do not,” she replied. “You were raised deep within the palace walls. How can you know the ways of the people? When the Yongle Emperor was in Beijing, he summoned the Hongxi Emperor to the capital, and I accompanied him. On the journey, the Hongxi Emperor left the main road and visited the home of a common farmer.”

“In that household, there was not enough grain to last the night, just a thatched hut, and only a few men emerged—the women hid themselves away.”

“Do you know why?”

“Was it because the women must avoid strangers?” Zhu Qizhen asked.

“That is a rule for the gentry,” the Empress Dowager said. “Common women must work in the fields from a young age. There is no custom of hiding from outsiders.”

“Then I do not know,” Zhu Qizhen admitted.

“It was because they had no clothes to wear,” she said.

Zhu Qizhen was taken aback, lost for words. He had never imagined such a reason.

The Empress Dowager’s voice grew sorrowful. “When the campaign to seize the throne began, the army marched through Shandong, which suffered the worst devastation. With the canal passing through, the people were exhausted by forced labor, left without food or clothing. The Hongxi Emperor, sleepless on the boat, grew to hate the idea of moving the capital precisely to spare the people such hardship. That is why he insisted on relocating the capital back to Nanjing—to ease the burdens of transport on the people.”

“I tell you this not to urge you to move the capital, but to help you understand that the sufferings of the people are far beyond your imagination. At the first sign of disaster, they cannot survive.”

“Our empire is vast, with two capitals and thirteen provinces, each with different climates. Every year, somewhere, there will be famine. Disasters like this one in Henan will become a common occurrence for you, but you must never become numb to them. Never think that just because they are familiar, they are unimportant.”

“Remember, a single careless thought from you could mean thousands of families are driven to cannibalism.”

Zhu Qizhen straightened, “I understand, Grandmother. I will not dare to be negligent, not even for a moment.” He turned to Wang Zhen. “Grand Chamberlain Wang, how has the Secretariat responded?”

“They have exempted Henan from this year’s taxes, appointed Yu Qian as inspector for Henan and Hebei, and allocated a hundred thousand dan of grain for disaster relief,” Wang Zhen replied.

The Empress Dowager added, “The senior ministers of the Secretariat are experienced; there is no need to doubt them. But in matters such as these, the imperial family must show its concern. Wang Zhen, send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Henan—first, to determine whether this is a natural disaster or the result of human failing; second, if anyone harbors ill intent, they must be dealt with swiftly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Wang Zhen said.

As Zhu Qizhen listened, a single name echoed in his mind—Yu Qian.