Chapter 52: Of All Dynasties, Only Han and Ming Rightfully Claimed the Mandate

Zhang Yi stood firmly on the emperor’s side without a hint of hesitation, which caught Zhu Biao off guard. His face flushed a deep red. Zhang Yi’s opinion of Kong Kejian was even lower than that of Zhu Yuanzhang!

“Traitor to the Han people”—the phrase sounded novel to Zhu Biao, though he’d never heard it before, the meaning was clear enough.

“Brother, why would you say such a thing?” Though anger flickered in his heart, Zhu Biao still wished to hear Zhang Yi’s reasoning. Why did both Zhang Yi and Zhu Yuanzhang look down so much on Kong Kejian?

“As a descendant of the Great Sage and First Teacher, when the Mongols invaded the Central Plains and split the North and South, if Kong Kejian had even a shred of integrity, he would never have thrown in his lot with the Mongols…”

At this, Zhu Biao replied, “Brother, you can’t say that. Although His Majesty drove out the barbarians and restored China, the Central Plains were under Mongol rule for eighty years. Kong Kejian was hardly the only one to bend under their power; if we judge all Northern Han Chinese by this standard, isn’t it unfair?”

“Not to mention your own Zhang family…”

Zhu Biao tried to use Zhang Yi’s own argument against him, expecting him to be speechless, but Zhang Yi retorted, “That’s why I don’t respect my own ancestors either! Didn’t our Dragon-Tiger Mountain get put in its place?”

Zhu Biao was left at a loss for words. The power of honesty can be utterly disarming. If a man gives no quarter even to his forebears, how could Zhu Biao respond?

Zhang Yi pressed on. “But our Zhang family is not the same as the Kong family. First, in terms of status, both our families are called great houses, but the Zhangs are Daoist, the Kongs Confucian… Though we led the Daoist world for eighty years, our Zhang family were leaders only of the Orthodox Unity sect, never of all Daoism. Did the Lingbao sect obey us? Did the Quanzhen sect heed our words? Not at all… And as people outside the bureaucracy, we Zhangs never entered court, never influenced the fate of the realm. But the Kong family? Could Daoism ever compare with Confucianism in status?”

There was no comparison. Since Dong Zhongshu ousted the Hundred Schools, Confucianism had been the unchallenged orthodoxy of China. Dynasty after dynasty, even those that did not hold Confucianism in high regard still treated the Kong family, as the totem of the scholar class, with a degree of favor. For whoever wished to govern this land must rely on the scholars.

The Zhang family could not hope to match the Kong family’s influence. Yet—

Before Zhu Biao could interject, Zhang Yi continued, “If the Kong family had only passively accepted the Mongols’ titles, serving as their lucky charms in Qufu, I wouldn’t have called them traitors, for when foreigners rule, everyone is forced to submit. But Kong Kejian didn’t just serve as a figurehead. He was a high official of the previous dynasty, and that alone would be excused, for everyone knows where his loyalty lay. Yet, when our Ming army marched north, it was this very Duke of Yansheng who persuaded the Yuan emperor not to move the capital. His posturing as a loyal minister is enough to make one sick!”

Zhu Biao fell silent, apparently unable to agree with Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi guessed what he was thinking and said, “Brother, you must be thinking, ‘Each serves his own master,’ aren’t you?”

Zhu Biao nodded.

“That saying might apply in times of dynastic change, but not when the Ming marched against the Yuan! Of all the regimes in history, only the Han and our great Ming can truly claim legitimacy. Do you know what is the greatest significance of our dynasty’s founding?”

Zhu Biao shook his head in confusion. Zhang Yi explained, “To drive out the barbarians and restore China—that sums up both the civil and military achievements of our Sovereign. Expelling the barbarians is his martial feat; restoring China is his civil merit. If he accomplishes both, his place in history will rival that of the First Emperor or Emperor Wu of Han! My esteem for His Majesty is not just for his own deeds, but because the age made him its hero! Since the fall of the Northern Song, the North and South have been divided for centuries… In those years, wave after wave of foreigners ravaged the North, and the Han under their rule have long forgotten their ancestors’ legacy. Many Northern Han now see Southerners as foreigners, especially during the Mongols’ eighty years of rule. Society was divided into four classes; the Han themselves into two—Northerners no longer regarded Southerners as kin, and brother fought brother…

“Our Sovereign was born to end this tragedy, the true ruler for his time. He may have many faults, but no one can deny his achievement! Under his leadership, the Ming’s northern campaigns carried the dreams and justice of countless Han heroes. Anyone who stood in the way of this historic tide was a criminal. So what is Kong Kejian, really? Even if Confucius himself stood before the Ming army, he would be called a traitor!”

By the end, Zhang Yi was openly passionate. As someone from a later age, no one understood the war’s significance better than he. It is said that the nobleman’s influence lasts five generations, and the same is true of cultural identity. For centuries, the North had been lost to China, and the Han identity there had all but collapsed. Had the Ming not restored the Han legacy, perhaps the very idea of the Han nation would not exist in later ages.

The age makes the hero; since history chose Zhu Yuanzhang, he would forever be Zhang Yi’s sovereign. In others’ eyes, Zhang Yi was always a mischievous child, selfish and unruly. But now, seeing his fervor and eloquence, Zhu Biao was shaken. Never before had he considered the war from a perspective beyond the rise and fall of dynasties.

Zhang Yi had opened his mind, and Zhu Biao’s own blood began to surge. Was his father truly so remarkable?

From childhood, Zhu Yuanzhang had groomed Zhu Biao as future emperor, always keeping him close and assigning the finest tutors. His very purpose was to inherit this rising empire from his father and carry it on. As he learned, Zhu Biao acquired new ideas from others and formed his own worldview. When he was able to think independently, he developed his own thoughts on how to govern.

For example, in the matter of the Duke of Yansheng, he felt his father’s approach too harsh. Out of filial devotion, he would never contradict him, but with his budding independence, he couldn’t help but seek validation elsewhere.

But after Zhang Yi’s words, not only did he find no validation, he was nearly persuaded himself. The Duke of Yansheng was a descendant of the Great Sage, the totem of all scholars. Zhu Biao was not opposed to his father putting pressure on the duke, only felt Zhu Yuanzhang’s methods were too extreme. But now, he found himself believing that Kong Kejian, indeed, had brought it upon himself.

“Of all regimes, only the Han and Ming are truly legitimate!”

“The tide of history, the army of justice…?”

As these notions took shape in Zhu Biao’s mind, the Duke of Yansheng—who, even as the previous dynasty crumbled, still clung to his former glory—began to seem truly despicable.

Yet Zhu Biao insisted, “I admit this Duke of Yansheng is somewhat at fault, but His Majesty’s handling of the matter is still too severe. After all, he is the descendant of the Great Sage, and the scholars of the land will surely complain…”

“Tch!” Zhang Yi interrupted rudely, “Brother, all your reading has made you silly. I’ll wager those scholars in court are all secretly on the emperor’s side!”

“Ah!” Zhu Biao was dumbstruck!