Volume 1, Chapter 42: Cutting into the Cake of the Civil Officials...

Upon hearing Jiang Lin’s words, the four members of Old Zhu’s family were instantly filled with confusion.

Old Zhu asked with a puzzled expression, "Jiang Lin, why do you say that?"

"As long as our Great Ming takes advantage of the fact that the Oirat tribe has yet to rise and eliminates them beforehand, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Zhu Di, standing nearby, stepped forward to face Old Zhu. Already raring to go, he volunteered, "Father, leave this matter to me. I will ensure that not even a trace of the Oirats remains!"

Zhu Yourong cheered for Zhu Di, "With Fourth Brother’s strength, he can certainly handle the mere Oirats with ease!"

"Even if the Tumu Crisis hadn't occurred, perhaps something else would have happened instead. Don't you all find this matter suspicious?" Jiang Lin shook his head and proceeded to share the confusion he had harbored regarding this period of history over the years.

"According to historical records, Zhu Qizhen led an army of 500,000 on a personal expedition, while the Oirat side had only 20,000 troops."

"If the records are true... even if 500,000 Ming soldiers stood still and let 20,000 Oirat troops slaughter them, it wouldn't be finished in such a short time, would it? How could they have been almost completely wiped out?"

"Furthermore, do you truly believe that after experiencing the reigns of four emperors—Hongwu, Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande—the Mongols still had the audacity to proactively invade the borders of the Great Ming?"

After listening to Jiang Lin’s words, Old Zhu’s family began to harbor doubts.

Just as Jiang Lin had said...

500,000 against 20,000—it certainly did not add up...

In their estimation, even if you brought in a dog to serve as the commanding general, it could still easily win the battle!

Even if this Zhu Qizhen were a complete waste, he couldn't possibly be worse than a dog!

Something was wrong!

Something was terribly wrong!

Moreover, Tumu Fortress was not far north of the capital, yet the Oirats managed to fight their way there with only 20,000 men. Had the Great Ming’s border defenses truly become so fragile?

Zhu Biao frowned deeply and nodded slightly. "After hearing Brother Jiang’s analysis, I also feel that this Tumu Crisis is a bit fishy."

Jiang Lin then added, "Also, don't forget, this battle is referred to as the 'Tumu Crisis' (Tumu zhi Bian)."

"If, according to historical accounts, the casualties among the soldiers were catastrophic, shouldn't it be called the 'Defeat at Tumu' or the 'Tragedy at Tumu'?"

"What exactly is the 'change' (bian) in this crisis?"

"That’s right! Only when political factors are involved do historians record an event as a 'change' (bian)," Zhu Biao suddenly realized.

Zhu Di’s eyes widened. "Big Brother, Brother Jiang, are you two suggesting..."

Jiang Lin nodded. "Exactly. There is a high probability that Zhu Qizhen was set up!"

"Zhu Qizhen was not necessarily a wise ruler. At the time, he was a teenager of seventeen or eighteen, and with the help of the Empress Dowager and the 'Three Yangs,' his capabilities had not improved at all."

"In short, to use the terminology of our later generations, he was just a brainless, impulsive, 'chuunibyou' teenager who was being manipulated by others."

For a moment, the four members of Old Zhu’s family frowned deeply. They faintly sensed that a huge secret lay hidden behind this matter.

Zhu Di clenched his fists instantly and said sternly, "Manipulating the Emperor! Was it that Wang Zhen?"

"How dare a mere eunuch collude with the Mongols? Does he not know his place? Does he not know from where his power is derived?"

"In my opinion, he was merely being used as well. Furthermore, this is not something that one or two people could accomplish; it required the cooperation of a group!"

Jiang Lin shook his head and continued to express his thoughts.

"Later generations have various theories about the Tumu Crisis. One theory is that... when Zhu Qizhen led his personal expedition to fight the Oirats, he encountered a coup d'état at Tumu Fortress on his way back!"

"The two events coincided, creating the Tumu Crisis!"

"The so-called Tumu Crisis was nothing more than internal strife within the Great Ming, a case of killing one's own!"

"Of course, this is just a conjecture by people of later generations; it may not necessarily be true!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Di was stunned. He now largely understood what Jiang Lin meant...

Bang!

With a loud crash, Zhu Di said with a face full of fury, "Dammit, these people are truly too bold!"

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes. He had not expected that the civil official group of later generations would actually do such a thing.

"What do you mean by 'too bold'? There is nothing they wouldn't dare to do..."

Jiang Lin intentionally left a suspenseful pause, then cleared his throat and continued:

"The conflict between the Ming emperors and the civil officials stems fundamentally from the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, and the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di."

"Me and the Fourth One?" Old Zhu looked puzzled, not expecting that this matter would actually involve him.

Jiang Lin said, "Next, I will start with Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty has always held a deep prejudice against civil officials."

"For instance, you once stated mercilessly in Song Lian’s imperial edict: 'You, Song Lian, are well-versed in the past and present, but you severely lack decisiveness and execution, and you are unlikely to achieve anything of great significance.'"

"You must realize that Song Lian, as a great Confucian of the time and the teacher of the Crown Prince, was the leader of the scholarly community."

"Hmph! Was I wrong? These darlings of the literary world only love to engage in word games; they can't accomplish anything major!" Old Zhu’s attitude remained one of great disdain.

Zhu Biao could not help but let out a long sigh, his voice filled with helplessness.

"Sigh... Father, you truly went too far in that matter. These scholars value their reputation above all else. By doing this, you have caused a rift between yourself and all the scholars in the world."

"That's right, it laid an important foundation for the civil officials to later band together and act in opposition to the Emperor," Jiang Lin nodded, agreeing with what Zhu Biao had just said.

Then, he turned to look at Zhu Di beside him and spoke slowly:

"After the civil officials lost face with His Majesty, they subsequently lost their 'substance' with you."

"To put it bluntly, you touched the interest-laden cake of the civil officials, preventing them from making money."

Amidst Zhu Di’s confused expression, Zhu Biao smiled and explained to him, "Fourth Brother, the issue lies in your relocation of the capital to Beiping."

"These civil officials have spent half their lives managing their estates in Nanjing. If they were to follow you to the new capital, wouldn't they have to abandon these family assets?"

"Those were all piles of silver, after all!"

Jiang Lin’s eyes lit up. Zhu Biao, as the Crown Prince, truly lived up to his reputation; he could see the essence of the matter at a glance.

"That's correct. After the Yongle Emperor issued the decree, this group of civil officials was instantly in an uproar, desperately submitting memorials of remonstrance using all sorts of excuses, all to stop you from moving the capital to Beiping."