"Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne as emperor this year, yet many still view him through the lens of the past."
"Little do they realize, Zhu Chongba is Zhu Chongba, and Zhu Yuanzhang is Zhu Yuanzhang."
"Those who fail to grasp this reality will likely find their entire clan wiped out."
Inside the Yingtian Prefecture Prison, Ma Yu took a bite of a chicken drumstick and lectured the two brocade-clad youths in front of him with unstoppable eloquence.
Carried away by his own enthusiasm, the hand holding the chicken drumstick waved through the air, sending grease flying in all directions.
Faced with such treasonous critique of the reigning Son of Heaven, the two youths reacted in entirely contrasting ways.
The handsome youth’s face was filled with excitement, as if he were dying to cheer him on out loud.
Beside him, the sturdy youth wore a look of utter horror, his eyes wide with fright.
*Are these words something I'm actually allowed to hear? I don't want to die!*
Unbothered by their expressions, Ma Yu finished off the drumstick in a few bites:
"Zhu Yuanzhang will, in all likelihood, use the Iron Voucher to buy people's hearts. You must tell your elders to firmly refuse it."
The handsome youth asked in bewilderment, "How do you know I... the emperor will use the Iron Voucher to buy people's hearts?"
Ma Yu thought to himself, *Because I am a transmigrator, and I read it in history books.*
Naturally, he couldn't share that with anyone, nor did he care to invent an excuse, so he simply tossed out:
"I guessed it. It's an old trick used since ancient times."
"When fighting to conquer the realm, every possible reward is promised away just to buy loyalty."
"When the time comes to make good on those promises, he probably wishes he'd been mute back then and never promised a thing."
"Given Zhu Yuanzhang's stingy and ungrateful nature, he naturally won't want to lavishly reward his meritorious officials, yet other rewards won't carry enough weight."
"There is nothing more useful than the Iron Voucher."
"To put it bluntly, it's just a piece of scrap iron that doesn't cost him a single actual benefit."
"Once the realm is truly pacified and his imperial seat is secure, revoking them will take nothing more than a single word."
The handsome youth nodded thoughtfully, then pressed further:
"If that's the case, why would you want my father to refuse it?"
Ma Yu chuckled and said, "That's no Iron Voucher; that's King Yama's death warrant."
"Without it, if your father is willing to honestly relinquish his power, he might still live out his days as a wealthy commoner."
"With it, he won't even get the chance to make a graceful exit while at the height of his success."
***
Qianqing Palace.
Upon the imperial throne, Empress Ma finished reviewing the final memorial, massaged her temples, and sighed:
"I truly am growing old. Back in the day, I could go without sleep for several nights straight with no trouble, but now just reading official documents for a while makes my head start aching."
Zhu Biao said with concern, "I'll have the imperial physicians come right away to examine you."
Empress Ma waved a hand. "I'm just a bit mentally fatigued; resting for a while will fix it. Summon what imperial physicians?"
"Besides, if the ministers outside the palace find out, they'll think something is wrong with me and start worrying all over again."
She then pointed to a stack of memorials and said, "Don't forget to have these important ones delivered to your father overnight."
With no other choice, Zhu Biao replied, "Yes."
Before the establishment of Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang fought campaigns away from home while Empress Ma held down the home front.
Routine matters were handled by her and Li Shanchang, while major issues were sent via eight-hundred-li courier to Zhu Yuanzhang on the front lines for a final decision.
This year, with the founding of the Great Ming dynasty, the situation had changed.
After all, there was now an imperial crown prince.
Therefore, when Zhu Yuanzhang went on an inspection tour to Kaifeng, following ritual propriety, he ordered Crown Prince Zhu Biao to hold the fort and oversee the state, with Li Shanchang and the others assisting.
Yet that was merely on the surface; in reality, routine matters were still handled by Empress Ma, with Zhu Biao following alongside her to learn.
Zhu Biao was exceedingly bright and quickly grasped the knack of it, becoming capable of independently handling day-to-day affairs.
Only when truly troublesome matters arose did he require her to make the final call.
Empress Ma felt a genuine sense of satisfaction regarding this son.
Filial, well-mannered, humble, and clever—Heaven truly had blessed her with such an outstanding son.
Yet, almost immediately, she thought of another son, and a surge of anger rose uncontrollably within her heart.
*How did I ever give birth to such a good-for-nothing?*
At that thought, she said with anger in her voice: "Have the Second Prince and Chang Mao learned to repent?"
Zhu Biao's expression turned somewhat unnatural as he replied, "They've repented. The Second Brother is extremely regretful now."
"It's just... he's somehow become friends with that state criminal who impersonated your nephew."
Empress Ma asked in astonishment, "How is that possible?"
"If I remember correctly, that criminal came from a beggar's background, didn't he?"
"The Second Brother has always been arrogant and dismissive of everyone. How could he possibly make friends with him?"
With shifting eyes, Zhu Biao said evasively, "He heard that the criminal was impersonating imperial kin and got curious."
"The criminal is a silver-tongued smooth-talker, and before long he managed to talk the Second Brother into high spirits."
Empress Ma looked him up and down until he was squirming in discomfort before she finally spoke:
"They say a child's grown when he leaves his mother's side, and it seems that's truly the case—even you've started lying to me."
Apprehensively, Zhu Biao said, "No... no, how could I ever dare lie to you?"
Empress Ma smiled faintly. "Look at how guilty you look; you don't even know how to lie."
Zhu Biao's face flushed red, and he lowered his head, stammering and unable to utter a word.
Empress Ma shook her head and said, "No one knows a son better than his mother. I've watched all of you grow up, and I know your tempers inside and out."
"The Second and Third Princes are proud by nature. The more you pander to and try to please them, the more they look down on you."
"Yet they do have one redeeming quality: they treat people with genuine talent with extreme courtesy."
"To make the Second Brother look at him in a different light, that beggar must truly possess extraordinary traits."
"Now that you're hiding things and not daring to tell me what happened, it can only mean he said some things insulting to the imperial family, and you're afraid I'll be angry if I hear them."
"Am I right?"
Filled with a mix of shame and admiration, Zhu Biao said, "There is no wisdom greater than Mother's."
Empress Ma was still rather receptive to flattery from her own son, and she smiled as she said:
"If I couldn't even figure out something like that, how could your father and I occupy these seats?"
"Very well, now honestly tell me the whole story. What makes that criminal so special that he can make the Second Brother view him with respect?"
Zhu Biao took out the secret report from the Gongwei Guard and said, "I don't know how to phrase it. Once you read it, you'll understand."
The Gongwei Guard was Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard, established during his days as the Prince of Wu, and renamed the Gongwei Commandery in the third year of Hongwu.
One of the agencies under its jurisdiction was named the Yiluan Office.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, the Yiluan Office was renamed the Emperor's Guard.
Therefore, there is no need to elaborate on what the true responsibilities of the Gongwei Guard were.
With his birth father away from home and his birth mother furious with the Second Brother, it was only natural for Zhu Biao, acting as an elder brother, to dispatch a few Gongwei Guard scouts to protect his own younger brother inside the Yingtian Prefecture Prison.
Thus, the relevant secret reports sent back by the Gongwei Guard went straight into his hands rather than being delivered to Empress Ma, who held the ultimate authority.
Empress Ma took the secret report and unfolded it. Barely two lines in, she flew into a towering rage:
"How dare he address His Majesty by his given name! Utterly devoid of respect for ruler or father!"
"Originally, I even pitied him for being so young and wrongly accused for no reason, and I wanted to find a way to spare his life."
"Since he's like this, there's no need to bother. When your father returns, he can be dealt with according to the law."
However, what angered her even more by comparison was Zhu Shuang:
"Not only is he not angry when his own father is insulted, but he actually wants to be friends with the man—he's worse than an animal."
"I used to think he was just young and lacking experience, and that he'd grow out of it as he got older. It seems I was wrong."
"Have him brought back immediately. I will teach him personally how to conduct himself as a human being."
Zhu Biao hurriedly tried to soothe her: "Mother, please calm your anger. The Second Brother was just confused for a moment..."
It would have been fine if he had stayed silent, but this remark only dragged him into the fire as well.
Empress Ma glared at him. "You still have the nerve to speak up for him? Your father has been cursed at, and you're still acting as if nothing happened."
"Have you stuffed all the sage books you've read into a dog's belly?"
Her phoenix eyes flashed with anger, carrying an inherent, intimidating aura that turned the legs of the surrounding eunuchs to jelly.
As everyone knew, the Empress was kind-hearted and considerate of her subordinates; she rarely grew angry and never vented her wrath on the servants.
Yet once someone crossed her principles, she never showed leniency.
And right now, it was abundantly clear that someone had touched her bottom line.
Ashamed, Zhu Biao said, "Your son is unfilial. Please punish me, Mother."
Yet Empress Ma did not let him off easily:
"If it were any other matter, that would be one thing, but you must give me a reason for this particular incident."
"Otherwise, go kneel at the Imperial Ancestral Temple until your father returns."
Lowering his head, Zhu Biao said, "It is your son's lack of filial piety. Regardless of whether you punish me or not, I shall penalize myself by going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to make amends."
Empress Ma's expression softened slightly. "I know you've always been a sensible child; you must have a reason for acting this way."
"Speak, then. What on earth is going on here?"
Zhu Biao's expression grew somewhat awkward. "Some things are inconvenient for me to retell. You'll understand once you keep reading down."
Aroused by curiosity, Empress Ma dropped the subject, lowered her head, and resumed reading.
The further down she read, the more astonished she became.
When discussing Zhu Yuanzhang's inspection tour to Kaifeng, Ma Yu asserted that his journey was ostensibly an inspection but truly meant to relocate the capital.
Others might not know, but how could Empress Ma not be clear on this?
Zhu Yuanzhang's trip to Kaifeng this time was indeed to evaluate whether the place was still suitable to serve as the national capital.
Counting them up, the civil and military officials in the entire court who knew about this did not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.
How did Ma Yu, a mere beggar, come to know of it?
Reading further, Ma Yu even provided five reasons:
First, in terms of personal sentiment, Zhu Yuanzhang undoubtedly wished to place the national capital in a historically renowned northern city.
Places like Chang'an and Luoyang, for instance, were both capitals of thirteen dynasties and had nurtured powerful empires.
Whoever unified the realm would prioritize placing the capital in one of these two locations, and Zhu Yuanzhang would be no exception.
Second, most enemies of Central Plains dynasties originated from the northern grasslands. Placing the capital in the north would be advantageous for building a northern defense line.
Third, Yingtian possessed a thin imperial aura.
Aside from the Eastern Jin, no dynasty that established its capital in Yingtian lasted for more than sixty years.
Though talk of the Mandate of Heaven was ethereal and illusory, who dared to gamble that such a thing did not exist?
Fourth, while the natural barrier of the Yangtze River could block enemies, it would also confine people's minds.
Over the long term, it would cause people to become short-sighted and insular.
Once trouble brewed in the north, the officials and ministers stationed in Jiangnan would, in all likelihood, directly demand the abandonment of the north.
Ma Yu even cited the example of the Southern Song.
During the Southern Song period, many people wanted to launch a northern expedition, but a northern expedition required increased taxes.
Once the north was retaken, massive resources would still have to be poured into restoring production.
All of these resources would have to be borne by the commoners of the south.
Consequently, the gentry and commoners of the south universally opposed the imperial court's northern expeditions.
If the capital region were kept in Yingtian, the history of the Southern Song would likely repeat itself.
Fifth, the south was wealthy while the north was barren; the south was densely populated while the north was sparsely populated.
If the capital were placed in the south, the north would completely lose its voice.
This would intensify north-south tensions and could even lead to the division of the country.
Therefore, from no matter which perspective one looked at it, the capital had to be set in the north.
After reading these five reasons, Empress Ma's face displayed a look of disbelief.
These five reasons took into account the Mandate of Heaven, history, human sentiment, reality, and various other factors.
The crucial point was that even Zhu Yuanzhang had only thought of the first two; the final three were things none of them had ever considered.
In terms of vision, Ma Yu saw further and more comprehensively than any of them.
Was this the level of comprehension a fourteen-year-old beggar could possess?
Initially, she had suspected that Ma Yu might be someone's pawn, but now that seemed not to be the case.
Someone with this level of insight had no need to go through such convoluted struggles.
If he came straight to Yingtian, he could instantly become an honored guest of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Yet if he was nobody's pawn, where on earth did he get this insight?
Did he possess innate knowledge?
Zhu Biao continued, "The Gongwei Guard re-interrogated the refugees who fled alongside him and confirmed that he is indeed a beggar who used to beg around the Xuzhou area."
"His family is unknown, he didn't even have a given name, and his age was merely estimated."
"The name Ma Yu was only adopted to impersonate your relative."
"Last year, he followed a band of refugees south and fell violently ill along the road, almost losing his life."
"According to those vagrants, ever since recovering from that illness, he's been like a completely different person."
Empress Ma furrowed her brow. *He really is a beggar?*
This completely contradicted what she had guessed.
In her mind, someone possessing such insight must surely be the scion of a great family or someone taught by a famous master, reduced to such plight merely because of the chaos of war.
Yet the investigation by the Gongwei Guard had overturned her speculation.
Yet if he truly was a beggar, where on earth did this insight come from?
Could it be innate wisdom?
Zhu Biao went on, "The Gongwei Guard also re-interrogated the officials of Jiangning County and uncovered more details."
"The moment he was dragged into prison, he confessed even before any torture was applied."
"The Jiangning County officials simply assumed he was an ignorant youth and didn't guard against him much."
Hearing this, Empress Ma sensed something abnormal.
Under normal circumstances, anyone facing such a situation would certainly cry out their grievance.
After all, this was a capital offense; nobody would take the blame for such a charge unless tortured to the point of being unable to bear it.
For him to act this way, the only explanation was that he had been entirely clear about his situation from the very start.
Since those people were treating him as a scapegoat, they would never let him walk out alive; resisting would only bring him more physical suffering.
Therefore, he had made no pointless struggles.
Yet confessing did not mean resigning himself to fate; he had chosen to perish together with his enemies.
Thus, he chose to impersonate imperial kin.
According to the Great Ming Code: falsely claiming to be imperial kin carries a crime equivalent to treason, punishable by the extermination of the nine clans.
A case of such magnitude would inevitably shake the imperial court, and the emperor would certainly dispatch officials to investigate thoroughly.
By then, the officials who had wronged him would all be dragged down into the mire.
And furthermore...
Imperial kin could not be impersonated haphazardly, nor would it succeed if the timing was wrong.
If he had pulled this stunt the moment he was arrested, the Jiangning County officials would undoubtedly have made him vanish without a trace.
The matter would never have reached the imperial court's ears at all.
That was why he waited until the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Merit and Evaluations conducted its review to make his impersonation.
The officials of the Bureau of Merit and Evaluations fell directly under the Ministry of Justice, enjoyed bright futures, and had no conflict of interest with the Jiangning County officials.
With a case as massive as impersonating imperial kin, they neither dared nor would they help cover it up for others.
Otherwise, once the matter was exposed, their own clans would be wiped out as well.
Because of this, the case was able to reach the highest levels of the state.
Such precise mastery of the situation, such calmness in the face of danger, and such resolute determination in the shadow of life and death...
These were simply not traits an ordinary person could possess.
Even less could they be possessed by a beggar.
A strong sense of curiosity stirred within Empress Ma's heart. Just what kind of secret was hidden within this beggar?
Driven by curiosity, she flipped open the secret report once more.
Then, she laid eyes on something that left her utterly shocked.
*The Iron Voucher?*
How could this be? How did he know about that?