Chapter 1648: I Borrow Your Head for a Use

On the twenty-fifth day of the eighth month in the seventh year of Tianqi, early morning, in the city of Beijing.

Inside and outside the imperial city, everything was already firmly under the control of Zhu Youjian's three thousand personal troops from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses and several hundred guards of Qianqing Palace. Wei Zhongxian's faction never even had a chance to entertain the thought of resistance before it was shattered by the thunderbolt strike of this young Son of Heaven. The thousand-odd eunuch soldiers guarding Wei Zhongxian looked smart enough, but when it came time to lay down their lives for him, apart from begging for mercy and scattering like birds and beasts, they proved capable of nothing at all.

While Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke were still weeping in each other's arms, these eunuch soldiers had already begun fleeing toward the West Prosperity Gate and the West Peace Gate. When they burst out of the West Prosperity Gate, Huang Degong's men had not yet arrived, but they failed to get out through the West Peace Gate. So they were all bottled up inside the Western Garden of the imperial palace — not gathered together, but hiding all over the Western Garden. Because the Western Garden was a royal pleasure garden, with a large pond, several small islands in the pond, and many palace buildings and storehouses, all surrounded by dense woods, it was a fine place to hide people. Huang Degong had only five hundred men at hand and could not search it thoroughly, so he had no choice but to seal the West Prosperity Gate and the West Peace Gate, and at the same time send men to patrol back and forth along the imperial city wall and the paths within the Western Garden. There might well be "fat sheep" mixed in among these eunuch soldiers — he could not let them get away!

With their underlings scattered, Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke could not even flee! Their heads were now worth a great deal of money, and without loyal followers to protect them, how could they dare go out and stroll around? They had no choice but to find a small dark room in the Palace of Universal Peace and hide there, buying whatever time they could!

However, their skill at hide-and-seek was truly nothing special, and before long they were found by Li Chengyun — formerly known as Wei Chengyun — and his men.

The two of them, trembling with fear, were dragged into the great hall of the Palace of Universal Peace. Still in shock, they saw Zhu Youjian clad in full armor. This young Son of Heaven was seated boldly in a chair, both hands resting on a treasured sword, his expression calm, showing not the slightest trace of joy or anger.

Having just accomplished such a great deed — bringing essentially the entire imperial palace under control — and yet still able to keep all emotion from his face, such depth of mind and scheming clearly marked him as a great ruler of his age!

Do not underestimate the matter of controlling the imperial palace! These were no longer the Hongwu or Yongle years. The waters of the imperial palace ran deep! It was not something any man could fully control simply by becoming emperor.

Otherwise, the Taichang Emperor would not have died after only twenty-nine days on the throne!

Nor would the Tianqi Emperor necessarily have died so mysteriously at the age of twenty-three, nor would his sons necessarily have died one after another in infancy!

If an emperor cannot even keep his own life and the lives of his heirs out of others' hands, what great undertaking can he possibly accomplish?

In this life, if Zhu Youjian was to become the ruler who restored the Ming, he naturally had to first seize control of his own destiny!

The imperial palace had to be firmly under Zhu Youjian's own control!

Moreover, the "inner court," based in the imperial palace, also controlled vast amounts of property and troops!

In his previous life, Zhu Youjian never once considered how much wealth actually stood in his own name — not even after he was driven from the throne by that unfilial son. His eyes were fixed only on real gold and silver, while he overlooked the imperial estates, the imperial shops, and the royal gardens. Especially the royal gardens!

To say nothing of elsewhere, around Beijing alone there were four royal gardens: the Southern Garden (South Sea Park), the Eastern Garden, the Northern Garden, and Fishing Terrace.

The largest of them, the Southern Garden, covered as much as three hundred thousand mu of land! Even after deducting the area occupied by lakes, streams, and palace buildings, there were at least two hundred thousand mu available for distribution.

That was no small sum!

Moreover, the Southern Garden had been a royal hunting ground since the Yuan dynasty, left unplowed for three or four hundred years — how fertile must that soil be!

The population around Beijing was dense and grain prices were high, so there was no fear the land could not be rented out.

Land this good — five hundred mu was enough to support one household of heavy cavalry!

Just these two hundred thousand mu, carefully distributed, could support four hundred heavy cavalrymen.

If the Northern Garden and Eastern Garden were also distributed, a full thousand heavy cavalrymen could be supported!

With a thousand heavy cavalrymen in hand, even if the eastern barbarians could still detour through the passes and appear beneath the city walls, there should at least be strength enough to give battle.

Of course, to turn several hundred thousand mu of royal gardens into a thousand households of heavy cavalry, an inner court fully under Zhu Youjian's control was absolutely indispensable!

And compared with the lands owned by the eunuch faction throughout the court, several hundred thousand mu of royal gardens was probably a small figure! If half of those scoundrels' lands could be confiscated and distributed to warriors bold and skilled in battle — ha, tens of thousands of new troops could be raised!

Then send men to Macao to invite foreign officers and soldiers skilled in firearms and in organizing those so-called Spanish tercios to come help with training.

Pacifying Liaodong in five years was too much to hope for, but at the very least the eastern barbarians could be kept from breaking in. If they could not break in, they could not plunder. If they could not plunder, sooner or later they would grow poor and weak!

Just as he was inwardly congratulating himself, Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke were shoved into the hall amid Li Chengyun's loud shouting.

"Spare this slave's life, Your Majesty! For the sake of the late emperor, spare this slave's life!"

Seeing Zhu Youjian, who now bore the look of a great ruler of his age, Wei Zhongxian wept and wailed his plea. Madam Ke, who had come with him, probably knew she was doomed and did not beg, but merely knelt there weeping.

Zhu Youjian paid them no attention, simply sitting in silence.

He was waiting. Waiting for someone!

His move against Wei Zhongxian using the three battalions of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses was one stone to kill three birds.

Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke were, of course, one bird!

If they were not rooted out, Zhu Youjian's emperorship would be hollow — there was no possibility of cooperation or coexistence between the two sides!

The powerful eunuchs in the inner court who had attached themselves to Wei Zhongxian, and the officials in the court who had attached themselves to Wei Zhongxian, were the second bird! Of course Zhu Youjian would not root them all out. If he rooted them all out, who would serve as his running dogs and hawks and hounds? The Donglin Faction? Another court overflowing with righteous worthies? Better forget it!

But neither could Zhu Youjian lightly let off these treacherous ministers who had attached themselves to Wei Zhongxian. He had to make them understand his severity — make them pay fines! Pay in land!

And the third bird... should now be on its way to the Palace of Universal Peace!

Zhu Youjian also had to make them understand his severity — that he was utterly ferocious!

"Her Highness Empress Yi'an arrives!"

The announcement rang out. The beautiful Empress Zhang Yan had arrived, bringing with her two trusted chief eunuchs, Wang Yongzuo and Wang Benzheng, along with a group of junior eunuchs bearing swords, staffs, and clubs.

When the three battalions of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses launched their action the previous night, Wang Yongzuo and Wang Benzheng were both in the palace. Their reaction was quick enough — they immediately led their men to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility to protect the empress. At the same time, they sent men to the Hall of Literary Splendor and the Palace of Universal Peace to investigate. Only this morning did they receive word that Zhu Youjian had suddenly struck, personally going to incite the three battalions of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses to rise and attack the Palace of Universal Peace!

To be honest, this way of doing things had greatly exceeded Empress Zhang's expectations. A matter that could clearly have been settled by political maneuvering — why had this boy Zhu Youjian resorted directly to force?

Was there any need for that?

"Imperial Sister-in-law, please take the seat of honor!" Zhu Youjian rose, clasped his hands toward Empress Zhang, and made as if to yield the throne beneath him to her.

"No, no," Empress Zhang would not dare sit in Zhu Youjian's throne. She glanced at Madam Ke, slumped on the floor, and snorted: "Wicked woman, your day has come!"

Zhu Youjian pointed at Madam Ke and said with a smile: "This wicked woman I hand over to Sister-in-law to deal with!"

At the words "hand over to Empress Zhang to deal with," Madam Ke shuddered!

"And what of Wei Zhongxian?" Empress Zhang pointed at Wei Zhongxian. "This traitor deserves to die ten thousand deaths!"

Zhu Youjian smiled: "A man can die only once! Madam Ke goes to Sister-in-law to deal with; the rest We shall deal with Ourselves!"

His words had barely ended when someone came to announce: "Reporting to His Majesty: the Commander of the Capital Camps, the Duke of Ying, the former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Luo Sigong, and the various Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat have all arrived outside the Gate of Supreme Ultimate."

Zhu Youjian said with a smile: "Invite them to the Palace of Universal Peace!" Then he turned to Empress Zhang and said, "Sister-in-law, We are about to kill a man! Please withdraw for a moment!"

"No need!" Zhang Yan gritted her teeth. "I will watch Wei Zhongxian die!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, then said to Wei Zhongxian with a perfectly calm expression: "Zhongxian, I borrow your head for a use!"

(End of Chapter)