Chapter 12: The Little Ancestor Was Restless Again

The Hongzhi Emperor ordered dozens of policy essays submitted by the Imperial Guard to be distributed. Several copies also lay on his desk. When Zhu Houzhao heard they were policy essays about Southwest affairs, he seemed interested and looked pitifully at his Imperial Father.

Unfortunately, the Hongzhi Emperor ignored him. He focused entirely on picking up one essay from his desk. After skimming it briefly, he finally said calmly, “Not bad. My ministers may take a look.”

Saying this, he casually handed it to a young eunuch beside him, who then passed it around for review.

Liu Jian looked down at it for a moment and understood. What His Majesty called “not bad” was merely passable. The handwriting in this acceptable essay was fairly neat, and the answer discussed how to conduct military operations in the Southwest, making some reasonable points.

Of course… for a son of the Noble Families, being able to answer like this was indeed nothing to criticize.

The Hongzhi Emperor then read several more essays in succession. Occasionally he nodded, but sometimes he would lightly add a comment: “This one is also acceptable.”

He smiled mockingly. Though he said “acceptable,” his brow began to furrow slightly, and deep in his eyes, there was disappointment.

Then, he instinctively smiled bitterly, realizing he had been foolish. These days, he had been thinking day and night about the Southwest problem. He was an Emperor with a strong sense of responsibility, and the prolonged rebellions in the Southwest made him anxious. Unexpectedly, because of his constant worrying, in his urgency, he had pinned his hopes on a group of young men.

Thinking this, the Hongzhi Emperor chuckled to himself, knowing he had gone too far, and stopped holding out much hope.

The Hongzhi Emperor said, “Having read so many essays, you must be tired. You may withdraw.”

Liu Jian and the others rose and bowed. They had long lost interest in the essays by the scions of the Military Nobility. In their view, many weren’t even up to the level of a Government Student Candidate. Reading such dry essays was extremely painful, so they quietly withdrew from the Warm Pavilion.

The Hongzhi Emperor was also somewhat weary. He waved his hand, intending to push the last essay aside and have the eunuchs tidy up. But as his gaze swept over it, a line of text suddenly caught his eye—”Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains”!

This term was unheard of, unseen. It immediately piqued his interest. So he slowly picked up the essay, narrowing his eyes slightly. His bloodshot eyes scanned the text and saw the essay outlined three strategies: ‘using barbarians to control barbarians,’ ‘extending favors,’ and ‘Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains.’

The ‘extending favors’ strategy was the easiest to understand. The problem in the Southwest was that the native people refused to assimilate, so the imperial court established administrative districts and appointed many hereditary chieftains in the Southwest. These hereditary chieftains, often remote and beyond the Emperor’s reach, naturally became local despots. Many rebellions were either sparked by the chieftains’ harsh oppression or led by the chieftains themselves.

Using the method of extending favors could indeed weaken the power of these hereditary chieftains, making them dare not cause trouble.

As for ‘using barbarians to control barbarians,’ this wasn’t new. As early as Emperor Yingzong’s time, the concept of using barbarians to control barbarians existed. The imperial court gathered Zhuang and Tujia people from places like western Hunan and deployed them to Guangxi, ordering them to suppress local native uprisings. The reward was the land and grain of the rebel tribes. Thus, these people were called ‘Wolf Troops.’ To obtain land and grain, the Wolf Troops fought bravely. Moreover, since they weren’t local natives, even if they got land and engaged in Military Farming, they still needed to guard against other native people. Therefore, most remained loyal to the imperial court, well aware that only by uniting with local troops could they protect their settlements.

But this ‘Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains’…

So many essays discussed how to suppress rebellions, how to advance troops, how to pacify, yet none hit the mark.

But this essay, with just the four words ‘Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains,’ seemed to suddenly enlighten the Hongzhi Emperor. The Hongzhi Emperor excitedly slapped the table: “Marvelous, marvelous, haha…”

The essay was anonymized. The Hongzhi Emperor eagerly tore off the anonymity cover, and a name came into view—Fang Jifan…

This name seemed somewhat familiar… This person seemed to be… seemed to be…

Suddenly, the Hongzhi Emperor’s expression turned somewhat uneasy. He set the essay aside and became impassive again. “Serve tea.”

A young eunuch from the surveillance office had been waiting outside. Hearing the call, he hurried in quietly, bowed, and presented a steaming Tea Cup.

This was the same young eunuch who had tied up Fang Jifan last time. Though he acted arrogantly and throw his weight outside the palace, before the Hongzhi Emperor, he was like a castrated quail.

The young eunuch bowed, very respectfully saying, “Your Majesty, please have some tea.”

The Hongzhi Emperor nodded, took the Tea Cup, and sipped gently. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhu Houzhao still kneeling to one side. But now his mind was entirely on those four words ‘Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains.’ Curiously, he asked, “Fang Jifan… have you heard of this person?”

This young eunuch had been attending the Hongzhi Emperor constantly. These past few days, he had already heard Fang Jifan’s name three times from His Majesty. The first time was when the scoundrel sold ancestral land, infuriating the Hongzhi Emperor. The second time involved the Military Review. The Hongzhi Emperor seemed to take pity on Nanhe Bo, thinking that since Nanhe Bo couldn’t control his son, he would have this unfilial son of the Fang Family tied up and forced to take the Military Review. After the review, he could just toss the fellow into some remote Imperial Guard station and have a strict officer discipline him. The first two impressions were bad, and now he was being mentioned again for some reason.

But likely, His Majesty must deeply detest this person…

This young eunuch was named Liu Qian. He already thoroughly hated Fang Jifan. But he was an extremely cautious person and wouldn’t rashly speak ill of Nanhe Bo and his son. Only when the timing was right would he subtly add insult to injury.

And now… the opportunity had come.

The young eunuch hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, have you forgotten? This is that good-for-nothing who sold his ancestral property. Your Servant has also heard many rumors outside the palace. They say he is ignorant and incompetent, acts recklessly all day, and even… heard he slandered the sovereign. This person is very arrogant, looks down on everyone, often says even the… even the Heavenly King himself could come before him, and he would…” Liu Qian wisely didn’t continue further.

These words were extremely malicious. Who was the Heavenly King if not the Emperor? This Fang Jifan kept mentioning the Heavenly King—how rebellious!

Whenever the Emperor’s taboo was provoked, in a moment’s thought, it could mean death without a burial place.

Then, the young eunuch added, “Of course, Your Servant only heard this through gossip… hehe…”

This was to leave himself an escape route. After all, the other party was Nanhe Bo and his son; he couldn’t speak too absolutely.

But finally, as if to provide evidence, he added, “Your Servant also heard that these past two days, this little ancestor was restless again. He actually went to the Eastern Market himself and set up a stall, claiming to sell Ebony, and at ten times the market price. Your Majesty, isn’t this forced buying and selling, bullying good citizens?”

The Hongzhi Emperor may not have been one who loved his people as his children, but he was considered a virtuous ruler. Upon hearing about bullying the people, he immediately showed disgust on his face.

Zhu Houzhao knelt to the side. Seeing his Imperial Father like this, he felt secretly pleased. So it was this Fang Jifan again. How bold, daring to be even more mischievous than this Crown Prince. Last time, he made this Crown Prince copy ‘On Discerning Treachery’ dozens of times—that score hasn’t been settled with this fellow yet. Good, now he’s provoked Imperial Father’s wrath; truly, even the Heavenly King couldn’t save him.

“Such a thing happened?” The Hongzhi Emperor said furiously, “How outrageous! Even I dare not lightly take the people’s wealth. Where does he get the nerve? I’ve long heard he is an unfilial son, but considering the merits of his father and ancestors, I showed leniency. But now he’s becoming even worse. Can I still tolerate this? This matter must be thoroughly investigated!”

After saying this, the Hongzhi Emperor suddenly remembered something and looked at Liu Qian: “Where is he forcibly selling Ebony?”

“Eastern… Eastern Market…” Liu Qian was overjoyed inside. This Fang Jifan was finished!

Hehe, serves you right for disrespecting me!