The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 33 Building Dikes to Stop River Disasters

The emperor must have sensed the inaccuracies in his third son's words, but as emperor, he couldn't delve too deeply into it, or it would lead to a rift between father and son.

Now, the emperor must pretend that his son has been deceived, and he wants to help his son find out the truth.

The emperor said, “Although their scheme is very well thought out, it is difficult to be fooled if you are careful and cautious. But you were flattered by a few words and blinded by a few taels of silver. That’s why you were foolishly made to be someone else’s pawn.”

The third son blushed and stammered, "But I don't understand why they would do that. They spend so much money to send people into the army, just because they think being a soldier and getting paid is a good job. I thought that even if the people they sent didn't meet the army's requirements, they could just send those unqualified people away. It wouldn't hurt the army; they would be the ones who suffer."

The emperor said, "If things were as you think, I wouldn't be angry. You are young and unaware of the complexities of the capital. Do you know about the so-called Yingmao Army in the capital?"

Tu Chengzhen shook his head to indicate that he did not know. The emperor then turned to the others and asked, "And you?"

Everyone shook their heads; even the crown prince was unaware.

Seeing this, the emperor explained to his sons, "You should know that in recent years, there have been frequent rumors of people drawing salaries without working in the capital garrison. However, every time we send people down to investigate, we can't find anything wrong. What do you think is the reason?"

Everyone shook their heads, and even those who had guesses in their hearts didn't say anything.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor said, "The problem lies with the Yingmao Army. They're called the Yingmao Army, but they have nothing to do with the army. They're a group of thugs who collude with hangers-on and laborers in the capital, organizing them together. They work as usual, but whenever the army needs to muster troops for drills, the officers pay the Yingmao Army to fill the ranks and deceive the authorities. This way, the army can safely collect salaries without actually performing their duties."

At this point, the brothers all understood what the Yingmao Army did.

Seeing that they all understood, the emperor continued, "Their scheme against the third brother was for two reasons. First, they wanted to drag him into their scheme so that it would be easier for them to act in the future. Second, they wanted to send people in to check whether the newly established Xuan Tie Wei had strict discipline. If the military regulations were strict, they would wait for the time being. If the military regulations were lax, they would punish them accordingly, win over the officers, and embezzle the court's salary without working."

After hearing this, the Crown Prince said with concern, "How could the Capital Garrison have so many 'ghost employees'?"

The Emperor said, “Our dynasty has not fought a war for thirty years. The Beijing Garrison has not sent out a single soldier since Emperor Taizong ascended the throne. It has long lost its former military might. According to my estimate, of the 200,000 elite soldiers in the Beijing Garrison, at most only 50% are actually registered in the garrison. If even 10% can go to the battlefield, that would be good.”

The third brother seemed shocked by the number, muttering, "Fifty percent of them are receiving salaries without working."

The emperor said, “Do you think those noble families, living such extravagant lives, get their money from here? It’s nothing more than squeezing it out of the army. Every penny they squeeze out, our throne becomes more and more dangerous. When they run out of money, our throne will be over.”

These are just the things the emperor could say; there were many more inside stories that he couldn't tell his sons.

That was the former crown prince's rebellion, which was also related to the nobles controlling the Beijing garrison and embezzling funds.

At that time, the retired emperor was still in power, and he had already discovered this problem and was trying to find a solution.

Just then, Prince Ping began to consider vying for the throne. The retired emperor then went along with it, allowing Prince Ping to compete with the former crown prince for the throne.

The retired emperor secretly orchestrated a scheme, using the succession struggle to divide the nobles into two factions.

In the future, regardless of whether the former crown prince or Prince Ping ascends the throne, the victorious side among the nobles will inevitably suppress the defeated side.

Using powerful nobles to fight against other powerful nobles would keep the power struggles under the control of the imperial family. In this way, the powerful nobles could be weakened without resorting to drastic measures, and the country could be kept from becoming chaotic. Unfortunately, the retired emperor acted too hastily, and the former crown prince, unable to withstand the pressure from Prince Ping, rebelled.

If the retired emperor had been ruthless at that time, he could have expanded the scope of the crown prince's rebellion and taken the opportunity to eliminate several noble families.

However, this would force the retired emperor to confront all the nobles head-on.

Even if the retired emperor ultimately wins, the country will still be shaken.

Moreover, without the nobles, the emperor also lost the power to suppress the civil officials.

Nothing seemed right, so the retired emperor simply abdicated, allowing Prince An, who had no power base, to ascend the throne.

In this way, the conflict between the retired emperor and the nobles ceased to exist.

The ascension of Prince An will also make the nobles lower their guard.

The emperor couldn't tell his sons about such a shocking inside story.

Even so, when Tu Chengyu and his brothers learned that the Beijing garrison had become like this, they couldn't help but feel worried.

Even the capital garrison, right under the emperor's nose, has become like this. What about the garrison troops in the various prefectures and counties? Are they even worse? And what about the border troops?
The fourth prince said bluntly, "Since Father Emperor knows about the existence of these Yingmao soldiers, just send someone to arrest them."

The emperor shook his head and said, "The Yingmao Army is a minor issue. Whether they are arrested or not is irrelevant to the overall situation. The key issue lies with the generals in charge of the army and the nobles behind them. Otherwise, why would I insist on rebuilding the Xuan Tie Guard? It is precisely because I want to get rid of the nobles and have a usable army under my control."

Only then did the brothers realize how serious the harm caused by the nobles had become.

I also understand why my father was furious when he found out that the third son was helping the nobles plot against the Xuan Tie Guard.

Thinking of all this, the third son, Tu Chengzhen, burst into tears and said in a hoarse voice, "Father, I have disappointed you. I will never associate with the nobles again."

The emperor shook his head and said, "My foolish son, how can you distinguish between friend and foe like this? Just continue your interactions with the nobles as before. As long as you remain cautious, nothing will happen."

After lecturing his third son, the emperor addressed all his sons, saying, “Nobles and civil officials are alike; the imperial family must both utilize and guard against them. They are like great rivers and streams. On the surface, they appear calm, but within, turbulent waves surge. When calm, they nourish the people; when turbulent, they harm the people and waste resources. The imperial family is like this dike, restraining the waves of the rivers and streams, allowing them to calmly irrigate the fertile fields.”

At this point, the emperor paused, thought for a moment, and then said, "Our Tu family has established a kingdom for four generations. When the founding emperor first established the kingdom, he marked the course of the rivers. When the emperor succeeded to the throne, he built dikes. When the emperor emeritus, he repaired the dikes and controlled the water flow between the rivers to prevent one side from overwhelming the other. Now, my task is to clear the silt from the rivers and let them flow smoothly."

The emperor's words were profound and unfathomable, leaving the brothers completely bewildered.

Tu Chengyu asked, "Why didn't Emperor Taizu build the dikes at the same time?"

The emperor said, "During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the rivers were well-behaved, so there was no need for dikes."

(End of this chapter)