Chapter 65: The Son of Heaven Guards the Gate of the Realm; the Sovereign Dies for the Altars of State

On the night of the twentieth day of the third month in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, as the sky darkened, the stretch from outside the Gate of Heavenly Success to the Great Ming Gate was ablaze with lights, bright as day. Along both sides of the broad road, inside and outside the various government offices, officials and their families preparing to flee were packed in tight.

The officials of Beijing, great and small, were as numerous as hairs on an ox. Some had already slipped away earlier for various reasons, but those who had not fled were still the vast majority. As of the night of the nineteenth, the officials in the inner city alone who had not yet fled numbered in the thousands. If their families and servants were added, there were no fewer than fifty or sixty thousand people.

Yet the officials and their attendants now gathered outside the Dongzhi Gate, the Chaoyang Gate, and the Gate of Heavenly Success numbered at most a little over ten thousand. That is to say, most of the capital's officials had still chosen to remain and await their new master.

However, the batch of ennobled dignitaries Zhu Cilang valued most, along with the four Grand Secretaries and the chief officials of the Six Ministries, the Nine Courts, and the Censorate, had all chosen to follow the evacuation.

In addition, Johann Adam Schall von Bell of the Directorate of Astronomy had brought a group of his subordinates and followers and, early on, followed the Company Commander Pan Shuchen of the makeshift army sent by Zhu Cilang to the Meridian Gate.

Besides the blaze of lights outside the Meridian Gate, the barbican of the Zhengyang Gate south of the Meridian Gate was likewise brightly lit, with banners flying and the look of a great massing of troops. Zhu Cilang's father-in-law Wu Xiang was still holding that position, and more than twenty Hongyi cannons had been concentrated on the barbican walls of the three gates: Zhengyang, Chongwen, and Xuanwu.

At the same time, the imperial edict imposing martial law on the inner city of the capital had been issued before nightfall. At this moment, on every street and lane of the inner city, Capital Camps soldiers bearing weapons were patrolling everywhere.

Notices recruiting soldiers at high pay had also been posted in front of the Military Administration Office and the several military command offices, as well as inside the Xuanwu and Chongwen city gates. The recruiting price had soared from one tael of silver a day to three taels of silver a day!

What exactly did this mean? Were the Emperor and the Crown Prince still fleeing or not? Why did it look as though they were preparing to defend the inner city of Beijing to the death?

The officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate all found it strange and began discussing it among themselves.

"What's going on? Are we fleeing or not?"

"Perhaps we're not fleeing anymore? I heard His Majesty has awakened..."

"Awakened? Then the Crown Prince..."

"I fear it cannot end well!"

"Alas! Heaven does not favor the Ming!"

"Watch your words! Watch your words..."

"Watch what? If he is allowed to keep on like this, there will be nothing left at all!"

"Isn't that the truth?"

"An imperial edict! There is an imperial edict..."

It was just as the officials were discussing this among themselves that someone suddenly shouted out.

An imperial edict! Not a princely decree!

The hearts of the officials present all sank! But they still hurried toward the Gate of Heavenly Success. For the promulgation of major imperial edicts in the Ming dynasty, a decorated cart was set up outside the Meridian Gate to carry the edict up to the Gate of Heavenly Success, where the edict-reading official would read it aloud. Then the Embroidered Uniform Guard would place the edict in a cloud casket, tie it with colored rope to the dragon pole, and slowly lower it down. After that, officials of the Ministry of Rites would receive the edict.

By the time the officials surged outside the Gate of Heavenly Success, the edict-reading official had already finished reading the edict, and the edict had already been lowered in the cloud casket. Qiu Yu, the Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary concurrently serving as Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was just then removing the edict from the cloud casket.

Immediately, an official acquainted with Qiu Yu went up and asked, "Brother Minzhong, what does the edict say?"

Qiu Yu was a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and the formally issued edict bore his draft endorsement, so naturally he had long known its contents.

He sighed. "His Majesty is not leaving!"

"Ah?"

"What?"

"What on earth has happened?"

Qiu Yu shook his head. "His Majesty has awakened..."

"Then the Crown Prince..."

The assembled officials all drew a sharp breath.

Yesterday's "palace coup" — they had all had a part in it...

"The Crown Prince is to leave the city and supervise Nanjing." Qiu Yu's next words let everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "We are likewise to leave the city as planned, escorting the Crown Prince, the Prince of Yong, the Prince of Ding, and the Fifth Prince to Yongping Prefecture, and then travel by sea to Shandong."

Yongping Prefecture was the territory inside Shanhai Pass, where the Governor-General of Ji-Liao was stationed, and Wu Sangui's main army was most likely also within the bounds of Yongping Prefecture.

Therefore, after Zhu Cilang left the city, he should by rights head straight for Yongping to join up with Wu Sangui...

"Then His Majesty?"

Qiu Yu said in a solemn and stirring tone: "His Majesty is to remain and defend Beijing! The Son of Heaven guards the gate of the realm; the sovereign dies for the altars of state... His Majesty is about to lead the imperial army in person to the tower of the Zhengyang Gate to direct the battle!"

Was it true?

The officials present were all stunned!

The Emperor was actually that great! He was staying behind himself to block Li Zicheng, letting his sons and his ministers flee for their lives... This was a good emperor!

The officials preparing to flee actually felt a twinge of guilt. They all felt that they had always been fooling the Emperor, and had also been embezzling and taking bribes — truly inexcusable... After this departure for the auxiliary capital, they must be good officials, strive to embezzle a little less, and not embezzle the Great Ming dynasty into extinction!

Just as everyone was feeling moved, the previously tightly shut Gate of Heavenly Success suddenly creaked open. Inside, it was likewise ablaze with lights, and a company of Embroidered Uniform Guard bearing torches filed out in formation. Following behind these Embroidered Uniform Guard were palace attendants with sabers at their waists and long spears on their shoulders.

This was... the imperial army setting out in person? With just these Embroidered Uniform Guard and eunuchs? Could they hold the Zhengyang Gate?

As the officials wondered, they stepped aside to both sides, clearing the road. They had barely steadied themselves when they saw the imperial procession of the Chongzhen Emperor. The procession was not as grand as in days past, nor were there many of the great Han generals in golden helmets and golden armor to protect him.

The Emperor himself was in full armor, riding a tall horse, escorted by Luo Yangxing in his flying-fish robe and Gao Yushun in his great red python robe, slowly emerging from the Gate of Heavenly Success. The Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, also in full armor, rode behind the Chongzhen Emperor.

The officials could not believe their eyes. Was that truly the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming? They could not see clearly, and there was not even a torch or lantern to illuminate him...

"Your subject Qiu Yu respectfully sends off His Majesty on his imperial campaign! May our Emperor win victory at the first battle and utterly defeat the roving bandits! Long live our Emperor, long live, long live, long live..."

Qiu Yu, Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary concurrently Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, at this moment took the lead and knelt, then loudly sent off the Emperor on his campaign.

Seeing him kneel and kowtow, the other officials did not dare remain standing either, and all knelt and prostrated themselves, shouting "Long live!"

The Chongzhen Emperor, Luo Yangxing, Gao Yushun, and the others passed out through the Gate of Heavenly Success and the Great Ming Gate amid this chorus of "Long live!" and headed toward the barbican of the Zhengyang Gate.

But Zhu Cilang did not follow them. He stopped beneath the Great Ming Gate. Qiu Yu, along with Wei Zaode, Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen, and the other Grand Secretaries, rose one after another and walked toward Zhu Cilang.

Seeing the officials approaching, Zhu Cilang at once raised his voice and said loudly: "Gentlemen, please bring your families and follow Us!"

Boom, boom, boom...

Just as Zhu Cilang was leading the guilt-ridden Ming officials — who were preparing to embezzle a little less after going to Jiangnan — eastward along Chang'an Avenue, the more than twenty Hongyi cannons on the towers of the Zhengyang, Xuanwu, and Chongwen Gates roared all at once!

The ones responsible for aiming were still Johann Adam Schall von Bell and his several students and subordinate officials. The targets of the more than twenty cannons were the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, less than three li from the Zhengyang Gate. The Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers were both very large targets, almost the size of two cities. And a mere three li was a very close distance; as long as the standard loading and aiming procedures were followed, it was almost impossible to miss.

Thus, more than twenty solid shot all hit on the first salvo, landing within the bounds of the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers. They did not cause much damage, but they gave Li Zicheng, who had just moved into the Temple of Heaven, a great fright.

One of the cannonballs had landed near the Palace of Abstinence at the Temple of Heaven, where he was staying tonight! Had it been a little more accurate... he would have been covered in dirt and dust again!

"Long live! Long live! Long live, long live, long live..." Immediately after, the sound of "Long live!" came from the direction of the Zhengyang Gate.

"Report..."

Soon a veteran-camp leader of the Shun army charged with watching Zhengyang Gate came to report: "Reporting to the Imperial Lord, the Zhu bandit emperor has personally taken the field and mounted the arrow tower of Zhengyang Gate!"

"What?! The Zhu emperor personally taking the field... and he has even mounted the arrow tower?"

"The Emperor has come out himself?"

Not only had Li Zicheng not expected it, even his chief strategist Song Xiance and Du Zhizhi, who had defected from the Chongzhen Emperor's side, had not expected that Chongzhen would have such courage as to ascend the wall in person to direct the battle.

Now... the battle for Beijing may not be easy to fight!

(End of Chapter)