Chapter 591: The Marquis of Eternal Peace (Part 1)

Old Bai Niu: Let me tally it up — quite a few of my readers' cameo characters have already appeared. Zhuo Buwei was caned to death, which deviates somewhat from the original request of my young friend Ding Zaizai. Ah, but these character arrangements must serve the plot of this book and avoid feeling forced wherever possible. I will place them in gradually; each cameo may die, be maimed, or find glory.

Wang Dou looked at the uneasy Wang Pu before him, and behind him the trembling, terrified Wang clan merchants. He had originally intended to seek Wang Pu out for a discussion, but since Wang Pu had come to him on his own, that was fine too. He would give Wang Pu, and the Wang clan behind him, a choice.

Hearing the old clan elder of the Wang family mumble incoherently about the schemes of the Jin merchants and the like, he cut him off: "You mean the matter of the Fan, Wang, Kang, Zhai, Liang, Huang, and Qu families spreading rumors and plotting in secret against my Eastern Circuit? This Marquis has long known of it! This Marquis also knows that they printed counterfeit grain tickets, burned and boycotted my Eastern Circuit's commercial goods, and even intended to stage a run on my grain tickets in the Eastern Circuit."

He sneered: "Hmph, they truly have no idea what it means to court death!"

The old clan elder froze. Then, along with Wang Pu and the others, a chill ran through their hearts. So this matter had long been within the grasp of the Loyal and Brave Count. Ridiculous — they had been buzzing around like flies, kept utterly in the dark, while he had seen through it all with perfect clarity from the start. It was a good thing they had come to defect and pledge allegiance; otherwise, what awaited them would be the blood-dripping butcher's knife.

Wang Pu put on a fawning smile and said, "It was all the ignorance of underlings. I beg the Loyal and Brave Count, for the sake of this younger brother who has followed you through bloody battles, to let them off. They have already come to their senses and repented..."

At that moment, Zhong Diaoyang entered to report that Viceroy Hong requested Wang Dou's presence. Wang Dou nodded and said to Wang Pu, "Commander Wang, there is no need for this. I have long regarded you as a brother, as close as flesh and blood. Naturally, I will honor this bond of friendship."

He looked at those Wang clan merchants and said flatly, "Two paths for you to choose. Submit, and live. Resist, and die..."

On the tenth day of the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, after more than ten days of delay, the great army of over a hundred thousand men from the various garrisons once again set out for the capital.

At this outcome, everyone in the capital, from top to bottom, breathed a collective sigh of relief. That this matter could be resolved so smoothly was the best possible result. And the day before, Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, and the others had collectively submitted a memorial admitting fault, which gave the Emperor and the court both face and a way to step down. The Chongzhen Emperor could not wait; he issued an edict summoning Wang Dou and the others to the capital for rewards and titles. The matter of the roving bandits could not be delayed any longer.

The great army surged forward in a mighty, sweeping tide, while at the same time, white mourning banners stood like a forest, all along the way lamenting the five great generals who had fallen in battle.

By now, the commoners of the capital had poured out in full force. They lined both sides of the official road, watching the coffins of Zu Dashou, Ma Ke, Li Fuming, and the others. Many shed tears. There were also the dense ranks of wounded soldiers, most leaning on crutches, trudging with difficulty through the biting wind.

Looking at these officers and soldiers who had fought a bloody war for the nation, the hearts of the capital's commoners were stirred once more. The battle had been so bitterly cruel, and yet those hateful treacherous ministers and censors still spread rumors in the capital, slandering the soldiers. No wonder the Loyal and Brave Count and the others were furious.

In their hearts, most people leaned toward Wang Dou and his side.

Moreover, during this period when the frontier troops had raised an uproar, their military discipline had been ironclad: no looting, no killing, no plundering of the localities. This was a world apart from the mutinies of the past. It also proved, in fact, that the Loyal and Brave Count, the Loyal and Upright Count, and the others possessed a burning, loyal heart devoted to the nation. Without such a heart, how could they have restrained their enraged soldiers?

Though it was cold, the weather that day was fine, with only the occasional fine snowflake drifting down.

At the hour of Si, the great army drew near Zhaoyangmen. Led by the Senior Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru, all the grand secretaries of the cabinet, the Minister of Rites Fu Shuxun, the Minister of War Chen Xinjia, along with the newly appointed Minister of Personnel Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu, and others, were all present in the welcoming party.

The high offices of the Six Ministries could not be left vacant, nor could the cabinet posts. Both men had gotten their wish and entered the cabinet.

Yet by the ancestral institutions of the Great Ming, men of Zhejiang were barred from serving in the Ministry of Revenue. Ni Yuanlu was a man of Zhejiang, and originally it would have been impossible for him to hold office in the Ministry of Revenue, let alone become its Minister. But the Great Ming's finances were in such dire straits that, in order to address this grave problem, the Chongzhen Emperor could no longer afford to be particular about such things.

When Wang Dou and the other garrison commanders arrived, Zhou Yanru and the others, by unspoken agreement, made no mention of the earlier unpleasantness. They merely inquired solicitously about the hardships of the troops on campaign, while at the same time coming before the coffins of Li Fuming and the others. Each of them clutched a coffin and wailed in profound grief. Their sorrowful expressions, in turn, triggered a great wave of weeping.

In accordance with the ritual institutions of the Great Ming, and following discussions between the Chongzhen Emperor and the cabinet, a shrine would be built outside the capital to offer sacrifices, honoring those officers who had fulfilled their duty as subjects and died for the altars of the state. At that time, the Chongzhen Emperor would also personally preside over the rites, to manifest loyalty and valor, and to exhort loyal ministers.

In advance, officials from the Court of State Ceremonial and the Ministry of Rites had already communicated with the overall army commander, Viceroy Hong Chengchou, the Loyal and Brave Count Wang Dou, and the others, and had agreed upon the procedure for this entry into the capital to receive honors. First would come the presentation of captives, then the bestowal of rewards, the proclamation of victory, the sacrificial rites, and a series of other procedures.

Leaving the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to their busy work, the cabinet elders and the great army from the various garrisons selected a number of officers and soldiers to enter the capital in a mighty procession through Zhaoyangmen, parading their merits. They pulled cart after cart of Tartar heads, along with a great mass of captives. Among them were weighty officers such as Shi Tingzhu and several deputy and assistant regional commanders from the Korean kingdom.

There were also cart after cart of captured Manchu and Mongol Eight Banner armor and banners, as well as some of the more intact enemy officer corpses. In particular, the corpse of Haoge was hoisted high on a large cart with a wooden frame. Everywhere it passed, it drew gasps of astonishment one after another.

The great army advanced along Zhaoyangmen Avenue. Every ward and shop they passed was a sea of people. Even the rooftops on both sides were packed densely with onlookers. Wave after wave of earth-shaking cheers rang out. Yang Guozhu's face was streaked with tears. For this sight, even dying in bloody battle for the Great Ming would have made it all worthwhile.

Also walking along the main avenue were the many wounded soldiers from the various garrisons. Just as with the commoners outside the city, the sight of these wounded men who had fought fiercely for the nation, and their labored movements, caused many in the watching crowd to weep uncontrollably once more.

According to the ritual for presenting captives, on the previous day, the palace eunuchs had already set the imperial throne at the center front of the Wumen gate tower. Now, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had arranged the ceremonial guard on both the east and west sides of the imperial approach before Wumen. The Imperial Music Office had arrayed grand court music to the south of the imperial approach, facing north. And the Court of State Ceremonial had positioned two masters of ceremony before Wumen, facing each other from east to west.

Finally, all the civil and military officials, dressed in full court attire, took their places standing in ranks below both sides of Wumen. The elders from the various wards and precincts of the capital region also joined in the congratulatory rites.

Upon reaching the outside of the imperial city, the parading army had already halted. Only the officers presenting captives, guided by the captive-presenting officials from the Ministry of Justice, entered the imperial approach before Wumen. Following the directions of the officials bearing the public announcement, the civil and military officials stood in order to the east and west. Then those captives were marched in under heavy, dark guard.

At the hour of Wu, bells and drums sounded in unison, and music swelled together. As the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial knelt and memorialized, the Chongzhen Emperor, dressed in regular court attire, rode his imperial carriage to the top of the Wumen gate tower. The ceremonial whip cracked to signal silence.

The music ceased. The Chongzhen Emperor looked down and at a single glance spotted Wang Dou and the others below Wumen. A complex expression flickered through his eyes.

Looking further, he saw a great mass of Han army and Korean army captives kneeling in full at the designated place for presenting captives.

At their head were Shi Tingzhu and the others, their expressions haggard and filled with anxious trepidation. At that moment, an official from the Ministry of Justice had already approached the middle path before the tower, knelt, and memorialized to await the imperial will, stating that a certain official had presented captives taken at a certain place, and inquiring of His Majesty's pleasure: whether they should be handed over to the judicial officers, whether their crimes should be pardoned, and whether their bonds should be released.

The Chongzhen Emperor fixed his eyes on the faces of Shi Tingzhu and the others. A look of loathing flashed through his eyes. Then he looked at those Korean officers and soldiers, and his expression softened slightly. He pondered briefly, then shouted: "Shi Tingzhu and the other Han army captives have forgotten their country and betrayed grace. Their crimes are beyond pardon. Shi Tingzhu is to be immediately taken to the marketplace and executed by slow slicing. The rest are all to be beheaded, as a warning to the dragon!"

"As for the Korean captives, the Celestial Dynasty is magnanimous and generous in its grace. All captured prisoners are hereby pardoned of their crimes. It is hoped that your tributary kingdom will return to sincerity without duplicity, ever diligent in your loyal service. Thus is this edict proclaimed, that all may hear and know."

Shi Tingzhu raised his head in shock. He had never imagined that the Great Ming Emperor would deal with him so severely. He suddenly let out a desperate, hysterical wail: "Your Majesty, spare my life!"

All the Han army captives wailed and pleaded along with him. Only those Korean captives were overjoyed, each one shouting: "Many thanks to His Majesty of the Celestial Dynasty."

Wang Dou shook his head inwardly. The Emperor was unexpectedly lenient toward these Korean captives. He remembered that during the Wanli era, several thousand Japanese captives had all been beheaded in the marketplace, and many Japanese officers had even been executed by waist-slicing or slow slicing. That was also a key reason why, for centuries afterward, the Japanese pirates had not dared to invade China again.

Fortunately, over two thousand of the Korean soldiers, along with Kim Ja-jeom, had mostly been killed by him. Many more would be taken to the Eastern Circuit to labor in the mines. The majority of those brought here to be presented as captives had committed relatively minor offenses. If they had all been presented and released, he would not have known how to face his soldiers who had fought the bloody battles.

Amidst the weeping and screaming of Shi Tingzhu and the others, the judicial officers marched them out. The captured Korean prisoners, after their bonds were released, kowtowed in gratitude according to the rites of the Great Ming, and were then led out of Wumen. The majority of them would likely become part of the Tartar army and Tartar officer corps in the capital and the various garrisons.

The civil and military officials sang out to form ranks. The speech-giving official knelt and delivered the congratulatory address. When the congratulations were complete, music swelled loudly. Everyone performed five prostrations and three kowtows. Finally, they rose, the music ceased, and the Court of State Ceremonial knelt and memorialized that the rites were complete. Music rose again, and the Chongzhen Emperor departed in his carriage. The captive-presenting ceremony thus came to an end.

That day, the entertainment for the commoners of the capital was watching Shi Tingzhu being sliced to death, and those Han soldiers being beheaded. Also, the archers of the Five Wards Military Command piled nearly ten thousand Manchu and Mongol Tartar heads into a Jingguan mound outside Zhaoyangmen, corresponding to the sacrificial altar that was to be built for the fallen soldiers of the Great Ming.

Ten thousand heads — what an enormous pile that was. Once stacked, it seemed to soar into the clouds, intended also to proclaim military might and overawe the enemy captives.

However, the heads of Haoge and the others, because they were needed for the ceremony of dispatching officials to announce the victory at the suburban temples, were not piled here.

The commoners of the capital could celebrate and watch with jubilant delight. But for the Chongzhen Emperor and the ministers of the cabinet and Six Ministries, time was pressing. Therefore, immediately following the captive-presenting ceremony, on the afternoon of that very same day, the ceremony for evaluating merits and bestowing rewards was held once more.

Under the pressure of the frontier troops' uproar, the cabinet and the ministry officials handled matters with unprecedented speed and unprecedented unity of purpose. In a very short time, they had drafted and finalized the rewards and titles for Wang Dou and the others.

The bestowal of rewards upon great generals naturally could not take place at Wumen, but was set in the former Fengtian Hall, now the Huangji Hall. As at Wumen earlier, the palace eunuchs had already arranged the imperial throne and incense table. The Office of Imperial Seals set the seal table in the center of the hall. The Office of Ceremonial Attendants set the edict table before the seal table, and the table for the patents of appointment to the north of the center of the vermilion steps.

There was also the Crown Prince and the princes standing in attendance to the northeast of the great hall. The drafting officials stood to the east of the hall. The proclamation officials stood to the north of the patent table on the vermilion steps. The Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites stood to the southeast of the hall. The Minister of War stood to the southwest of the hall.

In addition, civil and military officials stood in attendance to the north of the vermilion steps. The attendants of the Diary Office, the supervising secretaries, the palace investigating censors, the chief minister of the Seal Office, the officials of the Ceremonial Attendants Office, and others stood to the east of the hall. The sword-bearing military officers stood to the west of the hall, and so on. The ceremony was grand and magnificent, manifesting the honor of the enfeoffment and rewards...

In the open space to the southwest below the palace steps, Hong Chengchou, Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Wang Tingchen, Lu Tong, Wu Sangui, and the others stood in separate rows, arranged in order below the vermilion steps. Behind each person stood a young eunuch, each holding a redwood tray with gold-thread trim, intended for holding the patents and gifts for each recipient during the reward ceremony.

In the cold wind, Wang Dou stood quietly below the steps, waiting for the Emperor's arrival. The people beside him were each so agitated they could hardly contain themselves.

Suddenly, Wang Dou heard the sound of someone behind him sniffling. He turned his head to look and saw that behind him was a small, thin young eunuch.

He had a round face and fair skin, and looked as if a gust of wind might blow him over. In his hands he held a tray. Perhaps because the weather was cold, mucus kept dripping from his nose. He did not dare to wipe it, so he could only keep sniffling the dripping mucus back up.

Seeing Wang Dou look at him, he revealed an embarrassed smile, his expression quite humble and meek.

But when he looked at Wang Dou, his expression also held a hint of excitement. He said softly and delicately, "This servant is Wang Desheng. I work at the side of Eunuch Wang Chengen. The Loyal and Brave Count may call this humble one Xiao Dezi. Loyal and Brave Count, this servant admires you greatly..."