Chapter 11: The Eighteen Children (Part 2)

Wang Dehua’s expression changed drastically, finally becoming... completely calm, yes, completely calm.

The several horses beside him were exceptionally spirited; they had, of course, been carefully selected, and with the Eunuchs of the Imperial Stables training them daily on how to run steadily, these horses were very gentle.

The Fifth Imperial Prince was, after all, a small child; seeing these several tall, powerful horses, he felt afraid in his heart and dared not approach. This suddenly worried Lady Tian, who was terrified of displeasing the Chongzhen Emperor.

It was the Empress Zhou, following closely behind, who spoke up: "Horse-riding is too dangerous. The Fifth Prince is afraid; perhaps Your Majesty should let it be."

"Do not fear. With your Imperial Father here, how could I let him be harmed?"

The Chongzhen Emperor smiled and picked up the Fifth Imperial Prince, stepped onto the golden nanmu horse-mounting stool, and with one leap, was on the horse.

The Fifth Imperial Prince stopped fussing in the Chongzhen Emperor’s arms, his face tense, his hands unable to resist grabbing the reins.

The Chongzhen Emperor took the jade whip from Wang Dehua’s hand and rode along the path by the moat. At first, he held the reins loosely and moved slowly. Once the Fifth Imperial Prince was no longer afraid, he flicked the whip, letting the steed, named "Peaceful Stallion," gallop steadily.

Lady Tian had also wanted to ride and show off, but after glancing at Empress Zhou’s cold expression, she did not dare to ask for permission.

At this moment, she felt aggrieved. Recently, she had heard rumors that her father, Tian Hongyu, had faced many impeachments, which left her terrified. She was in the palace, not the Empress, yet she had such a troublesome father causing her disaster!

After silently criticizing her father, she secretly hated those high-ranking officials of the state. Day after day, they did not think about helping His Majesty restore the Great Ming, but instead, their eyes were fixed on them—the imperial relatives who held no real power. It was truly vexing.

Empress Zhou naturally did not know Lady Tian’s thoughts. Holding Princess Zhaoren’s hand, she stood silently to the side with the other consorts, personal palace maids, and a few junior attendants, waiting.

Their gazes were tightly fixed on the only rider galloping along the path until the Fifth Imperial Prince had his fill of fun, and only then did the Chongzhen Emperor ride back.

"Your Majesty’s horsemanship is superb; truly heroic and heaven-sent!"

Wang Dehua came forward to grab the reins, unable to stop praising him. After the Emperor dismounted, he pointed to a black steed and said, "Your Majesty, this is a newly arrived tribute horse. Your Majesty has yet to give it a name."

"Oh?" The Chongzhen Emperor set down the Fifth Imperial Prince.

His favorite steeds already had names, such as the "Peaceful Stallion" he had just ridden, as well as Jade Dragon Matchmaker and Terrace-of-Mystery Steed.

"Let us call it Auspicious Ride."

The Chongzhen Emperor thought to himself that the roving bandits were almost wiped out. As long as the weather was favorable in the future, would that not be an auspicious time for his own restoration of the national fortune?

Then, the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou accompanied the Fifth Imperial Prince to play with a slingshot for a while before departing for Yingtai.

After finishing their meal, Empress Zhou said to the Chongzhen Emperor, "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have risen early and retired late, always busy with state affairs. It is rare to be this happy today."

The Chongzhen Emperor also sighed, held Empress Zhou’s hand, and said, "These past years, you have suffered too!"

"Your subject does not suffer..."

Empress Zhou said, "It is just that many matters in the inner palace have become lax. Many palace maids are already of age and have not been released or replaced... Moreover, Your Majesty’s progeny is still a bit thin; it is time to replenish the Nine Concubines."

In the late Ming Dynasty, the selection of palace maids and female officials had already been merged.

The standards for the Emperor when selecting female officials were similar to those for palace maids; they were still selected from the daughters of good families among the common people. The standard was mostly young women around sixteen years of age. After entering the palace, they all had to study, and then official positions were assigned based on individual talent.

In previous years, the Ministry of Rites had already submitted a memorial proposing to select daughters of good families to fill the Nine Concubines.

But at that time, the Chongzhen Emperor was overwhelmed; how could he have had the mood?

At this moment, the Chongzhen Emperor did not think much of it and agreed, "Very well, you handle it!"

Lady Tian, standing to the side, remained silent, but her mind was racing: "It would be better to have my father quickly find some women who are skilled in both voice and art. If they could be appointed as Nine Concubines, we could support each other and use this to secure favor!

Moreover, Yangzhou is full of beauties. A few days ago, I heard of a famous courtesan in the pear garden named Chen Yuanyuan, whose voice and art are peerless, the best in the world... Yes, that is decided... My son is still young; if I serve with beauty and have no one in the inner palace to help me, life will be like sitting on a radish..."

The outing ended, and the Chongzhen Emperor was in a pleasant mood. Upon returning to the palace, he was told that Yang Sichang had urgently requested an audience and had been waiting for a long time, so he headed straight for the Wenhua Hall.

In the imperial sedan, the bored Chongzhen Emperor inexplicably recalled some folk rumors reported by the Embroidered Uniform Guard: from Liu Bowen’s "Song of the Sesame Cake": "Ten thousand sons and ten thousand grandsons, layer upon layer; the ancestors’ mountain relies on the line; generals and ministers dare not face the heavenly gate; eighteen children are born on the shoal."

And in the thirty-seventh image of the *Prophecy of the Great Prophecy*, "Gengzi Wind and Thunder Benefit," it depicts a pig on a mountain with a beauty riding on it, and eighteen children below the mountain, one of whom shoots the beauty with an arrow. This implies: "Pig" is a homophone for "Zhu" (the imperial surname), and "red face" also refers to the color vermilion (Zhu). The Zhu clan will perish. "Eighteen children" is the character "Li," meaning someone surnamed Li will destroy the Zhu clan’s world.

Below the image were written three sayings and four lines of poetic prophecy:

The red face dies,

The great chaos ceases.

The eighteen children,

Master the divine vessel.

After the prophecy, there were four more lines of seven-character eulogy:

Dragons fight and tigers struggle across the realm,

Who is the hero to unfold a grand plan?

The eighteen children sit upon the Dui (West),

The nine provinces are in chaos as Li succeeds Zhu.

The Chongzhen Emperor’s first reaction upon receiving the report was naturally to know that this was the work of someone with ulterior motives, deliberately used to bewitch people’s hearts, no different from "Dianjian becomes the Son of Heaven" or "Do not say the stone man has one eye, stirring the Yellow River to rebel against the world."

During the Yongle era, Zhu Yuanzhang’s eighteenth son, Zhu Hui, was superstitious about the phrase "Eighteen children, master the divine vessel" and plotted a rebellion.

During the Chenghua era, there was a man named Li Zilong who was very superstitious about the three words "Li succeeds Zhu." Thinking he had received the "Mandate of Heaven" and was destined to seize the Zhu family’s world, he colluded with a eunuch, intending to enter the palace to assassinate the Emperor and declare his own ascension.

In the end, the conspiracy was leaked, and this foolish fellow and his gang were all killed.

Since then, any copy of the *Prophecy of the Great Prophecy* containing this image and prophecy has been called a "demon book." Anyone found possessing it is considered guilty of high treason, and once reported, their entire family is executed.

However, recently, natural disasters have increased, especially in the Central Plains where the world is unsettled, and these rumors have spread like wildfire.

"The nine provinces are in chaos as Li succeeds Zhu."

The Chongzhen Emperor could not help but want to look at the stars in the north, but it was not yet dark, and he could see nothing. His heart suddenly felt heavy, and he suddenly worried about why Yang Sichang was seeking an audience. He thought to himself: "After the bandit leader Li Zicheng fled to Mount Shangluo, there has been no news. Could it be that he is making trouble again? Yes, yes, it must be him; he is not dead at all! These court officials are truly hateful, all saying he died trapped in the deep mountains, or died from tigers and leopards, or died from the plague. But if he were truly dead, how could these demonic rumors be stirring up trouble?"

He looked toward the north, but could not see the stars. With nowhere for his gaze to land, he could not help but look at the four ancient cypresses not far from the Hongde Hall. "Cypress" (bai) is a homophone for "hundred" (bai). In a courtyard, cypress trees have the meaning of longevity; pine and cypress have extremely long lives, and in imperial gardens, they are indispensable.

Of those four ancient cypresses, one had the thickest trunk, requiring two eunuchs to wrap their arms around it.

During the Jiajing era, it had been struck by lightning, and half the tree died from the middle. But by the eleventh year of Chongzhen, that dead half of the branches began to show signs of life again, and now it was more lush and thick than the other branches.

It just so happened that at that time, Li Zicheng was "defeated and died," Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered, and the disasters were not as frequent as before. This auspicious sign of "withered wood meeting spring" once made him more convinced that the Great Ming would be restored in his hands.

"These ancient trees in the north must be well cared for... North..." The Chongzhen Emperor’s expression suddenly changed drastically...

"Li Zicheng was born in Mizhi, and Mizhi is in the north. Regardless of whether the word 'sit' refers to sitting on the throne or his birthplace, Mizhi is to the west of the capital and cannot be called the 'Dui direction' (West).

Then this 'Eighteen children sit upon the Dui' also does not make sense. Oh, oh, could this 'Nine provinces are in chaos as Li succeeds Zhu' refer to someone else, not Li Zicheng?

Eighteen children, eighteen children... then among these roving bandits and local rebels, who else is surnamed Li?"