In the second year of Yongle, the Duke of Ying’s household produced a “mad legitimate son”! With the canal transport crisis throwing the whole court into panic, he calmly clutched his abacus and debated “transport costs versus the profits of sea trade” with the emperor. When Jiangnan gentry blocked his door and denounced his tax reforms, he countered with an early version of “taxing by land rather than by household,” earning the Crown Prince, Zhu Gaochi, a round of applause. Best of all, when Zheng He needed silver for his voyages to the Western Ocean, he came up with a “sea-trade joint-stock system” that had merchants clamoring to invest! The conservatives gritted their teeth: “That brat is running wild, relying on the Duke of Ying and the Emperor’s favor!” Zhu Di slammed down his teacup. “Running wild? Just wait until my Ming is rolling in wealth. Let’s see who dares say a bad word about him then!”
