Chapter 27: Testing the Medicine, the Kong Family and the Zhang Family
Zhu Biao did not keep anything back; he reported everything he had heard from Zhang Yi to the emperor in full detail.
As Zhu Biao spoke, the emperor’s expression shifted unpredictably. From Chang Yuchun’s manner of death to the fate of the Chang family’s maid and even the future of the Zhu family’s descendants, Zhang Yi had laid out everything with clarity; it was only a matter of whether the emperor believed him.
The emperor had not wanted to believe it at first, but Chang Sen’s death served as a stark reminder: Zhang Yi’s words might very well be true.
“Who would dare imprison my descendants?”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s reaction mirrored Zhu Biao’s. At the mention of Zhu Biao’s second son, his fury was ignited.
He was the emperor who ruled the world; Zhu Biao’s sons were the heirs to the empire. Had the Ming fallen already, that someone would dare lay a hand on his descendants?
A sudden dread seized him. Could it be that the Ming dynasty was destined for some great upheaval?
Both father and son harbored ominous forebodings, but neither received any clear answer from Zhang Yi.
“That prophet of doom—does he ever bring good news?”
Zhu Biao recounted Zhang Yi’s proposed solution. The old emperor fell into deep thought.
Chuanxiong and bingpian—neither was a rare medicinal ingredient. Especially bingpian, also known as borneol, was often used in incense and rituals. But combined with chuanxiong, could it really cure heart ailments?
Unable to figure it out himself, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned the imperial physician.
“Physician Li, analyze these two ingredients for me. Can they treat cardiac disease?”
Physician Li pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Your Majesty, chuanxiong promotes blood circulation and resolves stasis; it has some efficacy in treating heart disease. But combined with borneol, I cannot say what effect it would have. May I ask where this prescription comes from?”
Zhu Yuanzhang replied, “That is not your concern. It’s a fragment of an ancient formula. Its specific effect is to alleviate symptoms of sudden heart attacks. Take it and study it—find me the correct proportions! I want the complete prescription before next spring. Do you understand, Physician Li?”
Physician Li accepted the order.
Zhu Yuanzhang continued, “Tell me, is there a cure for smallpox?”
“Your Majesty, there is no cure. One can only rely on fate.”
“What if I were to have pus from a smallpox patient injected into another person—would that person gain resistance to smallpox?”
Physician Li was shocked. “Your Majesty, such a reckless act is unheard of! Please reconsider. Do not take such risks!”
“So, that won’t work either. But if something happens to my grandson, what can you do?”
Zhu Yuanzhang erupted in anger. Physician Li was dumbfounded.
Your Majesty, what grandson?
“If you can’t do it, then try it as I’ve described. Find someone and experiment for me!”
“Don’t just tell me it can’t be done—arrange the experiment at once and report back to me!”
Realizing the emperor was serious, Physician Li kowtowed repeatedly. “I will find condemned prisoners to experiment on at once!”
Smallpox cases could be found at any time throughout Ming territory, and it was not hard to find diseased livestock either.
Zhu Yuanzhang summoned a guard and ordered him to accompany Physician Li in finding suitable subjects. After all, with the founding of the Ming, the prisons were overflowing with death row inmates.
Physician Li dared not delay and hurried back to the Imperial Medical Bureau to make arrangements with his colleagues.
After those men left, the emperor remained indignant.
“Father, it seems you are starting to believe what the Zhang family boy said…”
Zhu Biao spoke up inquiringly. The old emperor did not answer directly, but handed him a secret memorial.
This memorial recorded the last conversation between Zhang Zhengchang and Zhang Yi before the former left the capital.
As Zhu Biao read through it, he found something peculiar: when Zhang Yi complained about the emperor’s stinginess, he mentioned “twenty-four taels of silver—enough for three Liu Bowens?” Where did this come from?
“What does this mean? Is it referring to Master Liu’s salary? If so, Master Liu’s current stipend is not worth twenty-four taels. Could it be after being ennobled? But if Liu is made a marquis, the amount would be far greater…”
Halfway through his words, Zhu Biao remembered the list of marquises Zhang Yi had written the other day. Although Zhang Yi hadn’t finished the list, all the marquisates were written out.
But Liu Bowen’s name was not among them.
“Father, you…”
Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in shock. The emperor nodded silently.
“I do not intend to grant Liu Ji a dukedom, nor even make him a marquis…”
“Why, Father?” Zhu Biao was bewildered. Liu Ji was, after all, one of the founding heroes who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang to seize the empire and had made tremendous contributions.
And in the current court, Liu Bowen, though not serving as Grand Chancellor, was, by the emperor’s intentional guidance, a counterbalance to the aristocratic faction led by Li Shanchang.
Given all that, if Liu Ji was not to be made a duke, surely he deserved at least a marquisate?
Zhu Yuanzhang replied slowly, “I still have not decided whether to give Liu Bowen a noble title. If I do, it will be at most an earldom, with an annual income not exceeding three hundred shi of grain!”
Three hundred shi of grain?
Zhu Biao had not immediately understood, but with his father’s prompting, he recalled: the current price of grain in the Ming was about one tael of silver per two shi, meaning Liu Bowen’s annual stipend would not exceed a hundred and fifty taels of silver.
Was this what Zhang Yi meant?
“He figured out what I haven’t even decided yet!”
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a touch of melancholy. In his moments of confusion, he yearned for someone to clear away the mists of the future for him—but when someone actually told him, “I can foresee your every move,” he found it equally unsettling.
Zhang Yi was just a child, but behind him stood immortal beings.
Those lofty immortals, in their own way, placed a mysterious pressure upon the emperor.
“For now, don’t go to the Daoist temple. Let him wait a while.
When the two prescriptions the boy provided have been tested, we’ll see what he’s really worth.”
With that, he called for a decree he had long prepared, made some changes, and sent it to the Grand Secretariat.
…
The Grand Secretariat, the nerve center of Ming power.
At that moment, the court officials were passing around the imperial edict.
“The emperor, at the very start of his reign, has moved first against the religious orders—His Majesty is wise! Those who make a living by trickery and superstition should have been dealt with long ago!”
Most of the officials in attendance applauded the intentions expressed in the edict.
To Confucian scholars, the Buddhist and Daoist clergy were of little worth.
“Those monks and priests wreaked havoc under the previous dynasty, bringing misery on the people. We Southerners suffered especially. Now that His Majesty has made this decision, it is a blessing for all under heaven, a blessing for the common folk!”
“His Majesty is wise!”
Amidst their chorus of praise, the elder seated at the head merely smiled, his expression ambiguous.
“Minister Li, do you see things differently?”
All eyes turned to the old man in embroidered scarlet robes—slender, yet full of vigor. He was none other than Li Shanchang, the foremost statesman of the Ming.
Li Shanchang smiled and said, “Gentlemen, you only see the emperor’s suppression of the monks and Daoists, but do you not also see that the house in Qufu is under imperial scrutiny?”
“Is His Majesty really only targeting the Buddhist and Daoist orders?”
“And…”
“Our emperor has also offered Dragon Tiger Mountain a sweet fruit, has he not?”
Li Shanchang pointed to the end of the edict, where Zhang Yi’s name appeared.
“Zhang Zhengchang was willing to leave his child in the capital as a hostage. I’d say he’s more ruthless than the Duke of Yansheng of the Confucius clan!”