Chapter 29: Summoning the Commander of the Three Towns to the Capital!

In the eleventh year of Chenghua, Zhu Youtang was discovered after having hidden in the depths of the palace for six years—a terrifying event indeed, for how could such a thing be within the power of a deposed empress alone? The shadows of the Empress Dowager and the reigning Empress loomed behind it all.

Zhu Jianshen’s first action was to place Zhu Youtang under the care of Consort Wan in the Palace of Virtuous Deeds. The Empress Dowager and the Empress, of course, were unwilling to yield, for everyone wished to claim the child, though neither could state her intentions openly.

Thus, Grand Secretary Shang Lu submitted a memorial, stating that Zhu Youtang’s birth mother was gravely ill and longed to see her son, hoping she might live nearby and visit him on occasion.

For a cabinet scholar to concern himself not with matters of state but with the affairs of the inner palace was, naturally, inappropriate—smacking of collusion between the inner and outer courts. Yet his argument was sound. Since ancient times, imperial families have ruled with benevolence and filial piety; for Consort Wan to monopolize the child and refuse his mother access was indefensible.

However, if Zhu Youtang were to reside nearer his mother, he would have to leave the Palace of Virtuous Deeds. The memorial, in effect, pressed Consort Wan to relinquish Zhu Youtang.

Consort Wan’s response was far more direct than Shang Lu’s circuitous approach. On the third day after the memorial, Zhu Youtang’s mother passed away. With her gone, his continued residence in the Palace of Virtuous Deeds became natural and unchallenged—the problem was neatly resolved.

The death of Zhu Youtang’s mother, Lady Ji, is recorded in detail in the Chronicles of State Affairs. Eunuchs Huang Ci and Zhang Min from the Directorate of Ceremonial procured a dose of medicine from the Imperial Medical Bureau; after taking it, Lady Ji stiffened and died that very night.

Four months later, Huang Ci’s younger brother was granted a hereditary commandership, an official of the fourth rank, and the physician who prescribed the medicine was promoted to Left Censor, also fourth rank.

Thus the matter was settled.

Yet how could the Cabinet abandon the foundation of the state? Especially when it came to intrigue—who would shrink from such a contest?

In the second month after Lady Ji’s death, Consort Wan’s father, Wan Gui, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, died suddenly. This was a decisive blow, for the palace rules were strict: when a consort’s family was in mourning, she was unfit to foster an imperial prince for a time.

The Empress Dowager seized upon this pretext to bring Zhu Youtang to the Palace of Benevolent Longevity—and once he left, he never returned. With matters thus, the Emperor could say little; it was entirely proper for a grandmother to raise her royal grandson. As a father, he could not very well contest custody.

Thus, the struggle for succession ended in a resounding victory for the Cabinet. Having secured the prince, the Empress Dowager and the officials immediately petitioned for his investiture as heir.

In the eleventh year of Chenghua, in the eleventh month, Zhu Youtang was named Crown Prince. The following year, the palace was attacked, and the case of the sorcerer Li Zilong arose. Such was the iron law of the Ming: once the heir was confirmed, the emperor’s life was forfeit.

Fortunately, Emperor Xianzong survived this calamity.

Soon after, he decreed the establishment of the Western Depot, appointing the sixteen-year-old Wang Zhi as its chief. Provincial governors of the third rank could be executed at his word, without prior approval. Imperial power was absolute: execute first, report later!

After this series of fierce reprisals by Xianzong, the Cabinet became markedly more compliant.

It was not until the twenty-third year of Chenghua, when the emperor considered replacing the Crown Prince, that both he and Consort Wan were eliminated within the year.

The emperor’s consort became Empress Dowager, his mother Lady Zhou was elevated to Grand Empress Dowager, and the two of them, holding the emperor in their grasp, dominated the court and compelled the Cabinet to yield authority.

This period is known to history as the Hongzhi Restoration.

(Disgusting, your so-called “restoration”—let’s see if I don’t bring your ancestors to give you a beating.)

The mother of Xianzong lived to the age of seventy-four—a peculiarity of Ming emperors: not only did they not outlive their wives, but not even their mothers.

How dark, how utterly dark!

Zhu Youjian sighed deeply. This is why he often wandered through the dynasties instead of remaining in the palace—one never knew when he might simply evaporate.

…

Above the Forbidden City, the moon shone bright and the stars were sparse. The night passed in silence.

The next day, the morning court!

The three generals of Hongwu, by imperial order, were excused from political affairs. The Imperial Son-in-Law, Commandant Gong Yonggu, temporarily replaced Minister of War Wang Jiayan, and more than ten other high ministers of the current dynasty attended.

Fan Jingwen hurried in, his hair and robes in disarray, clearly just returned from the Hall of Heavenly Works.

The Three Yangs of the Cabinet, together with Xia Yuanji, waited early in the hall. Wang Cheng’en cleared his throat and proclaimed:

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Yang Pu, Yang Shiqi, and Yang Rong are appointed to the Cabinet as Ministers of Justice, Personnel, and Rites! Xia Yuanji is appointed Minister of Revenue! Thus is it decreed!”

The edict was clean and succinct, lacking the usual florid courtesies—so simple it resembled an ordinary appointment notice. Zhu Youjian had no patience for unnecessary complication.

Fortunately, in this court, no one dared oppose him.

“We obey, and thank Your Majesty for your grace!” Yang Pu, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Xia Yuanji, their crimson robes billowing, knelt in unison.

Below, Gong Yonggu, Wang Jiayan, and the other ministers were barely able to contain their excitement. To witness the famed Three Yangs of the Cabinet, architects of the benevolent rule of the Renzong and Xuanzong reigns, was to feel the heart stirred, as if a true pillar had returned to guide all!

Such is the allure of figures from history!

“Rise,” Zhu Youjian said. “Grand Secretary Fan, what is the progress on my mechanical marvel?”

Fan Jingwen replied, “Your Majesty, the two hundred and seventy-six craftsmen of the Hall of Heavenly Works have now a preliminary understanding and are commencing manufacture. Within half a year, we will produce the first machine!”

His eyes were bloodshot, showing two days and nights without sleep, yet his spirit was elated—exhilaration written all over him.

Zhu Youjian nodded, satisfied with the progress.

The principle of the steam engine was, after all, simple: in essence, a gigantic water boiler. The challenge lay in sealing the apparatus to generate sufficient power.

At first, Fan Jingwen had been at a loss, but fortunately, among the craftsmen was one who had fired official kilns, enlightening the others as to the nature of the device.

“Continue to recruit craftsmen,” Zhu Youjian commanded. “I want to see the first machine as soon as possible!”

Naturally, the first steam engine would be barely serviceable—volume, power, material improvements, all presented formidable challenges requiring persistent effort.

To apply it to a locomotive would take at least two or three generations of refinements—plus there were prototypes, track laying, and a host of other issues. The workload was vast, far beyond what the few hundred craftsmen of the Hall of Heavenly Works could accomplish.

Any delay in transporting silver to Japan after the campaign would waste enormous national resources, and the improvement of national fortunes would surely suffer.

“Your Majesty, all the qualified craftsmen in the capital have been gathered, along with over a thousand apprentices. This is the limit. If we are to recruit further, we must look beyond the capital, but at present…” Fan Jingwen hesitated.

“I understand,” Zhu Youjian nodded.

After Tang Tong surrendered to Li Zicheng, his whereabouts were unknown. Liu Zeqing still held sway over Shandong, and Zuo Liangyu maintained his own power in Wuchang.

Wu Sangui was still on the march. Upon hearing of the severe defeat of the Shun army, he did not turn back, but merely slowed his pace—by the time he reached the capital, the Manchus might well be destroyed.

The realm of Ming was still vast, yet imperial authority seemed confined to the capital and its surroundings—but this was not entirely so…

“Issue my decree—summon the three frontier generals to court without delay,” Zhu Youjian ordered.

The generals of the frontier were not to be feared; a single imperial edict could throw them into panic. The Chongzhen Emperor was no longer what he once was—he now commanded both wealth and power!

He remained one of the most absolute monarchs in the land’s history.

From the moment the edict was issued, these men had no path left; their own officers eyed their position hungrily. They must either come to court and beg for a chance at survival, or perish without a trace.

“We obey!” Interim Minister of War Wang Jiayan accepted the order and dispatched the decrees to the various commands, six-hundred-mile couriers racing to every post.

…

Forty miles outside Shanhai Pass.

Yellow dust billowed and swept the land.

A mighty army advanced in formation; soldiers and civilians alike marched in readiness, banners snapping in the wind.

“Report, General! A message from the front lines: an army of a hundred thousand has appeared in the capital, origin unknown, and has routed Li Zicheng’s Shun forces!”

“Oh?” Wu Sangui exclaimed in surprise. “How could there be a hundred thousand elite troops in the capital? Is the intelligence reliable? Is there any concrete information on these troops?”

The scout hesitated. “According to rumor… the divine spirit of the Ming founder appeared, dispatching the Hongwu Heavenly Army to earth, led by King Xu Da of Zhongshan, King Fu Youde of Lijiang, and Lan Yu. That is how they crushed hundreds of thousands of Shun troops and sent Li Zicheng fleeing in disarray.”

“This is suspect—continue,” Wu Sangui said, taking a deep breath. Cautious by nature, he did not immediately dismiss the story. Such rumors from the capital surely carried meaning.

He could not fathom how a giant, at the point of collapse, could suddenly show such vigor—could it truly be a manifestation of the divine?

The scout glanced at Wu Sangui’s face and continued carefully: “Moreover… His Majesty is conducting a massive purge in the capital. Most of the civil and military officials and nobles have been stripped of their property—at best, their entire clans are exiled; at worst, they are executed by slow slicing. Even the imperial father-in-law, Lord Zhou Kui, was executed in this fashion.”

“What! His Majesty is killing again? Even that miser Zhou Kui has been executed?”

Wu Sangui shuddered, a chill running from his tailbone to his crown, and immediately ordered, “Transmit my orders at once—since the crisis in the capital is resolved, let the army halt and rest for half a day! Await further instructions!”

Confiscation and extermination of clans…

Wu Sangui felt a cold wind at his nape, swallowed hard, his gaze flickering. At last, he commanded in a low voice, “Summon all officers to the command tent for council!”

“Yes, sir!”

…