Chapter 56: The Tyrant Cultivation Project

That evening, even Tianqi stayed at the Xu Mansion and drank himself into a stupor……

He had nothing to fear or hide.

His father, however, would need to be cautious. Getting caught in a scandal, accused of secretly keeping assassins and associating with outside ministers, could be terrifying. But for the Imperial Grandson? No issue. Besides, Xu Guangqi wasn’t an “outside minister”; he was actually one of Tianqi’s tutors. Currently, officials in both the Left and Right Chunfang Bureaus shared the responsibility of instructing the Imperial Grandson. This was why Xu Guangqi never rose to prominence during the Wanli reign, yet under Tianqi, especially in the Chongzhen era, he soared through the ranks to become Minister of Rites, even entering the Grand Secretariat and achieving the top-rank titular title of Crown Prince’s Tutor. Because he was, after all, one of Tianqi and Chongzhen’s tutors, though unlike Sun Chengzong, who was chiefly responsible for teaching Tianqi; Xu was more supplementary.

But a supplementary tutor was still a tutor.

This was also why Tianqi dared to visit Xu Guangqi’s home so openly and without hesitation.

Conversely, if Tianqi had been this freely visiting, say, Fang Congzhe’s or even Xiong Tingbi’s house and publicly staying overnight, that would have been unthinkable. His father’s position as Crown Prince wasn’t secure yet. As long as Prince Fu remained, Consort Zheng wouldn’t give up her efforts. His father’s Crown Prince position wouldn’t be truly stable until next year, when Wanli formally elevated him to the rank of Imperial Eldest Grandson.

The next day, Yang Xin did nothing else but give an intensive lecture to this future emperor.

And he covered everything.

Astronomy, geography, natural sciences, world geography, and the histories of various countries, especially the Age of Navigation and overseas colonization…

“Just three ships!”

Yang Xin pointed at the original world map manuscript he had just obtained from Fang Tinglan.

“They sailed with just three sailing ships,” he said, “the largest only a few hundred liáo in capacity, smaller than our thousand-liáo seafaring ships. The other two were comparable to our Grain Tribute Boats. Yet, they dared to plunge straight into the vast ocean without even knowing their destination! They sailed over ten thousand li without relying on any supply stops. And what about us? We even neglect Taiwan Island, only a mere two hundred li opposite Fujian, leaving it barren and uncultivated.

“The Spanish went to America, killed all the natives, plundered their gold and silver, and occupied their boundless fertile lands. And what did we do? Decades ago, Zheng He led voyages to the Western Oceans with tens of thousands of elite troops. He sailed repeatedly over the years, yet never once left behind a single colony in Nanyang! How much fertile land is there? Java Island alone could feed half of the Great Ming’s population! Rice ripens three times a year there, with ample water and fertile soil. An acre yields at least a thousand jin effortlessly every year. Zheng He passed by these places almost every time, yet he never once thought to eliminate those natives and seize the land.

“Such a great gap!

“This is the gap!

“When they discover new land, they think of killing all the natives, stealing all the wealth, completely occupying that land, migrating their people to multiply and thrive. Within a hundred years, no, within fifty years, that land becomes utterly theirs.

“And what about us?

“We actually took our fine goods to trade for things that are essentially worthless to them! True, Zheng He brought back endless spices, supporting Emperor Chengzu’s northern campaigns. But why didn’t he occupy the land and simply take what he needed? Even now, those islands hold only a few hundred thousand natives. Zheng He’s fleets could have ferried a hundred thousand troops back and forth twice. Within five years, victory would have been complete.

“Now the Dutch are conducting conquests over there. With only a few thousand Dutch men, they’ve beaten the natives into submission and are even starting to build forts. Soon, anyone buying spices will have to go through them. If natives dare sell secretly to outsiders, they massacre the villages. If outsiders dare bypass them to buy spices, they intercept and sink their ships—sitting on a mountain of gold and silver each year. Look at what they do! Then look at what we did!

“Such a gap!

“This is the gap!”

He spoke with bitter disappointment.

“Exploration and conquest are not things you can just talk about lightly,” Xu Guangqi countered. “Emperor Chengzu conquered Annam, but what was the ultimate outcome?”

“That was solely because Emperor Chengzu didn’t kill enough!” Yang Xin retorted. “Besides, Annam had a large population; it was fundamentally different from those untamed wildernesses. Ultimately, our method of conquest was flawed. Look at America today—there’s almost no native resistance! Why? Because any natives who dared resist are already dead!”

Tianqi listened very seriously.

Clearly, the future Great Ming Emperor’s mind was being corrupted by this troublemaker.

Compared to the platitudes of Xu Guangqi and others, Yang Xin’s simple, crude approach was clearly more appealing to a teenager, whether considered fourteen or fifteen years old.

“This is wrong,” the old Xu insisted, sticking to his principles. “If the Spanish had been benevolent, making the natives submit through awe of their power and gratitude for their virtue, wouldn’t that have added more subjects for Spain?!”

“Have the Jiannu ever submitted sincerely to the Great Ming out of awe or gratitude?”

Yang Xin shot back.

“Ah, this…”

Old Xu was left speechless.

“That Confucian approach is useless now.

“Actually, it was never truly effective—look at the tragic fate of the Song Dynasty.

“The very nature of this world is the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. The Europeans, exploiting their superior civilization, are carving out domains across the entire world. Every land is their target. They conquer vast wildernesses with Cannons and Matchlock Guns, killing millions of natives armed with stone weapons. A hundred and thirty years ago they set foot on America. Today, over half of America is already theirs. A century ago they reached the East. Now Luzon is theirs, Java is becoming theirs, they even set foot on Great Ming’s soil, seizing colonial forts in India.

“And what are we doing?

“Still talking about benevolence?

“Did the Spanish conquer the world within a century through benevolence? Only iron and blood achieve true conquest! The Spanish conquered half of America, lands almost thrice the size of the Great Ming, through fire and sword. Even their king dares to call himself the King of the Earth! Listen to that name—King of the Earth! The ruler of the entire globe!

“Yet, shouldn’t the one most deserving to rule this Earth,” Yang Xin challenged, “be the Emperor of the Great Ming?”

“The Spanish truly are too arrogant!”

Tianqi said very seriously.

He didn’t know yet that soon Europe would have a “Sun King”! Indeed, Europeans of this era were overflowing with edgy ambition.

“But they indeed have the qualifications to be arrogant!”

Yang Xin said.

“This world speaks the language of power,” he pressed on. “The Spanish conquered America. The Spanish king’s rule extends across all continents. We hold over a third of the world’s population, yet we remain confined in this small corner of the East—because we allowed Confucian principles to shackle ourselves! While others conquer and slaughter recklessly, we preach benevolence, ultimately forced to face its bitter consequences! If we hadn’t shown ‘benevolence’ to the Huligai people and allowed them to take refuge south of the border back then, would we face the Jiannu scourge today?

“Imperial Eldest Grandson…

“Do you believe only the Spanish are expanding in Europe?

“The Dutch have already arrived. In the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli reign, they harassed Penghu, though Shen Yourong forced them back then. But this is just the beginning! Their fort at Batavia is built, giving them a foothold in Nanyang. They will inevitably push north to establish a foothold against the Great Ming—and that foothold must be Taiwan. Besides the Dutch, there are the English! They’ve just defeated the Spanish Armada and established colonies in India. They too will push eastwards. And the ultimate destination of every European power is the Great Ming. Within ten years, the Great Ming will simultaneously face the Jiannu and Mongols pushing south and European colonists harassing us from the south!

“But, Imperial Eldest Grandson, do you think those are the only enemies?

“Burma, Annam, Japan—which of these isn’t an enemy?

“The Great Ming exists in a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. Far and near, we are surrounded by hungry wolves! Our strength alone keeps them from tearing and devouring us. But today, we are beginning to weaken—because while others feast, we starve ourselves on inexplicable doctrines!

“The Jiannu were the first to bare their fangs at us, beginning to tear at our flesh.

“Right now, we can still hold out. Our ancestors built this body strong enough. But soon, our blood will drain away. We grow weaker. And the hungry wolves watching us—each will follow the Jiannu’s example, joining in tearing us up! And it’s not just the wolves; even the parasites on us will join! Do we lack parasites? Wouldn’t the Tribal Chieftains/Tusi seize the chance to rebel? In fact, they never cease! Imperial Eldest Grandson, do you really think, once the court’s crack troops are all committed to Liaodong, the southwest won’t produce another Yang Yinglong?”

He continued forcefully.

The She-An Rebellion would erupt the year after next. It was this conflict that truly drained the Great Ming of its vitality.

On one side, the Jiannu expanded step-by-step in Liaodong; on the other, the tribal chieftains rebelled in the southwest. Internally, they also had to viciously battle the Donglin Faction. Truly, Nine Thousand Years Old had a difficult time in these years to come. Whatever his qualities, maintaining this chaotic situation was an achievement worthy of respect.

However, his ominous warnings deeply impacted Tianqi. Barring accidents, this youth, destined to ascend the throne in little over a year from now, stared gravely at the world map Yang Xin had laid out. Youth of this age is inevitably filled with grand aspirations and a sense of duty, especially patriotic fervor. The more the encroachment by foreign powers was depicted vividly, the stronger the surge of passion to shoulder the task of saving the nation from destruction welled within him. It was akin to teaching about the Opium Wars or the burning of the Old Summer Palace in middle school history—a way to awaken a profound sense of responsibility and the call to build a strong nation.

Such things were useless against Wanli.

Or against Zhu Changluo. Men at their age, unless possessing the ambition and passion of emperors like the founding Hongwu Emperor or Emperor Wu of Han, would not genuinely heed such warnings!

Thus, cultivating a tyrant must start young.

First, cater to his interests—lure him with his attraction to Science. Then gradually bend him in another direction, constantly instilling poison, warping this little sapling nurtured in Confucian thought, twisting it, blackening it, shaping it inch by inch into the desired form and hue required…

Such treacherous intent!