Chapter 21: The Secret Edict

Inside the Wuying Hall of the Forbidden City, the Chongzhen Emperor was listening to Liu Chao's report on the affairs of the imperial estates.

"Reporting to His Majesty, ever since Your Majesty last visited the imperial estate, we servants have stepped up production arrangements. Because the food is filling, Your Majesty has also reduced tenant rents and distributed chicks, ducklings, and piglets, so the villagers are full of drive. Whether able-bodied young men or the old, weak, women, and children, anyone with strength works diligently. I do not know how to describe it, but I only feel that the people are happy from the bottom of their hearts, and everyone is full of spirit. As of yesterday, the estate walls are basically complete; the workshops have all begun operation, and military grain output has already exceeded ten thousand dan. Under the guidance of Ministry of Works officials, military uniform production has also gradually become standardized, with over two hundred sets now produced. This is mainly because the women doing the sewing are not yet skilled enough; as their sewing improves, output will rise. The chickens and ducks are tended daily by the village children—though they are young, they are extremely attentive. As for when egg-laying will begin, I do not understand such matters. The pig farmers are also exceptionally diligent. These farming households, having heard that the estate purchases all chicken, duck, and pig output, all praise Your Majesty as a sage ruler living in our midst. Some even wanted to build a living shrine for Your Majesty, but I did not permit it. That is all regarding estate affairs. I also wish to request guidance: the able-bodied young men now have basically nothing to do—how should we proceed? I await Your Majesty's instruction!"

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded approvingly and praised him: "Well done! I can see you work with sincerity. Keep it up, and I will not treat you unfairly! When you return, have people seek out well-digging craftsmen in the surrounding estates. This spring and summer have seen very little rainfall—prepare for the worst and guard against prolonged drought in the future. The more well-digging craftsmen the better. Once found, each craftsman should lead a team of able-bodied young men to begin digging wells on the estate first. Costs shall be settled at market rates. Pay special attention to this point—I intend to cultivate a professional well-digging team. The well-digging team must be able to earn money, for only by earning money can their enthusiasm be mobilized. The team should gradually expand in scale, and the estate's able-bodied young men must be fully utilized. First dig a hundred wells in the imperial estate's fields, then once experience is accumulated, expand to the surrounding areas. Also, regarding the fields of the Earl of Sincerity that were seized last time, you must take over as soon as possible with your people. Train several capable subordinates, otherwise you alone will not be able to manage. If you need anything, speak freely with Wang Cheng'en!"

Liu Chao acknowledged and then reported: "Your Majesty, from what I know, the cost of digging one well is considerable. If settled at market rates, our estate alone would need several thousand taels of silver. If we later dig wells for other farming estates, I fear ordinary farming households could not afford it!"

The Chongzhen Emperor spoke: "In the future, if wells are dug for ordinary farming estates, the cost shall be borne by the court. If other nobles or wealthy households require them, they shall be settled at market rates. Liu Chao, do you know that the bandits who arose from Shaanxi were originally ordinary farming households? It was because Shaanxi suffered years of drought, with consecutive harvest failures in the fields, and countless people starved to death. So under the instigation of certain people with ulterior motives, these farming households embraced the idea that death was death either way—rather than starve, they might as well rob others and die with a full meal—and so they rebelled. Now the drought is spreading further, and I do not wish to see such a situation arise here in the capital, at the very feet of the Son of Heaven. As long as the fields produce and the people do not fear hunger, they will never oppose the court. So no matter how much digging wells costs, it is worth it. With well water for irrigation, even in severe drought, the grain harvest will not fail entirely. Then if the court reduces taxes and strengthens relief efforts, the people can survive the famine, and the Great Ming will not erupt in chaos everywhere. I intend to extend this project to the several provinces hardest hit by drought. I am the Son of Heaven—I cannot watch my own subjects starve to death. Otherwise, I would have no face to face the people of the world!"

At that moment, Li Erxi hurried into the hall holding a memorial. Wang Cheng'en quickly stepped forward to receive it and presented it to the Chongzhen Emperor. After taking the memorial and scanning it a few times, the Emperor suddenly hurled it to the ground, stood up, walked around the desk, and paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, his face ashen.

Wang Cheng'en and the others shrank to one side in fear, not daring to breathe.

After pacing several times, the Chongzhen Emperor stopped and spoke: "Liu Chao, return and continue your duties! Li Erxi, go at once to the Yongwei Camp and summon Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji, and Huang Degong for an audience. Wang Cheng'en, send someone to the Grand Secretariat to convene the Grand Secretaries for deliberation!" The several men acknowledged and departed on their respective missions.

The Chongzhen Emperor sat back down behind the imperial desk and began to consider how to resolve the matter of the imperial envoy being blocked and the guards being killed.

His predecessor, the Chongzhen Emperor, had shown no mercy toward civil officials. From Grand Secretaries, Governors, and Governor-Generals at the top down to prefectural magistrates and county magistrates at the bottom, anyone who defied imperial will or touched the Emperor's reverse scale was either arrested, dismissed, or killed. The most famous case was Yuan Chonghuan, who was executed by slow slicing. Many cried out against the injustice of it, and even in the era after Chongzhen, in later generations, controversy over Yuan Chonghuan never ceased.

But Chongzhen had been exceptionally lenient toward military officers—this was also a move born of necessity. With the realm in turmoil, beset by internal troubles and external threats, he needed to rely on military officers to sweep away the bandits. The old Ming phenomenon of civil officials being honored and military officers despised had completely reversed. Toward the errors of military officers, Chongzhen had endured again and again, at most issuing edicts of reprimand, but no actual punishment was ever seen.

This led to military officers growing increasingly arrogant and gradually paying lip service to the court's commands while opposing them in practice. They put their own cliques' and personal interests above all else. If this situation continued, even if the bandits could be suppressed, it would create a situation where the tail wagged the dog. If the court completely lost control over its military officers, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, the Chongzhen Emperor made up his mind—this time he must make an example of one to warn a hundred, using a powerful counterstrike to intimidate those arrogant men.

At this time, the matter of the imperial envoy being demanded "passage money" was already spreading like wildfire throughout the capital.

Since the founding of the Great Ming, such a thing had never occurred.

Because Wang Bing's memorial had gone through the procedure of the Office of Transmission—the Grand Secretariat—the Emperor, it had quickly been spread abroad.

This time, regardless of faction, the civil officials' opinions were remarkably unanimous. This was a naked contempt for the court, and contempt for the court was contempt for the civil officials. Nearly all officials were burning with indignation, submitting memorials one after another to express their outrage and demanding that the court punish the lawbreakers to uphold proper discipline.

Wen Tiren and the other Grand Secretaries were also of one mind, just preparing to go to the palace together for an audience when a eunuch bearing an edict brought the Emperor's oral instruction to convene a meeting. The assembled men followed the edict-bearing eunuch to the Wuying Hall.

After all had paid their respects to the Emperor, Wen Tiren stepped forward first and memorialized: "Your Majesty, this matter of the imperial envoy being blocked has stirred up enormous waves in the capital. If it is not handled properly, the court's authority and face will be completely lost, and other military officers may well follow suit. At this time of national crisis, the consequences would be unimaginable. Your ministers strongly advocate severe punishment—the specifics await Your Majesty's decision!"

The Chongzhen Emperor spoke: "Then what do my ministers propose?"

The Grand Secretaries exchanged glances, all knowing that this sovereign of theirs had in recent years treated civil officials harshly but been lenient toward military officers. After a moment of hesitation, Wen Tiren again memorialized: "Your ministers have just briefly deliberated. An edict should be issued reprimanding the Shandong Governor and Regional Commander, and the perpetrators should be demoted and dismissed, transferred elsewhere!"

This suggestion was in fact formulated by Wen Tiren and the others following the Chongzhen Emperor's previous line of thinking, unaware that the current Chongzhen was no longer the same man.

The Chongzhen Emperor shook his head and said: "This matter is unprecedented. If not severely punished, I fear others will follow suit en masse, and the court's decrees will be treated as nothing. I do not believe that losing one Mobile Corps Commander and his troops will affect the campaign against the bandits. Proceed according to the law—those who kill must pay with their lives, and those who defy the court shall be executed!"

The Grand Secretaries looked at each other in astonishment. Was this still the Emperor they knew? Why had he suddenly become tough on military officers as well? But this approach actually suited the civil officials' wishes very well. Hiding their delight, they all bowed in unison: "We obey Your Majesty's sacred decree!"

The Chongzhen Emperor continued: "It is not only this matter. I have heard that the people suffer more from the officers and soldiers than from the bandits. Many government troops harass the localities, plunder the people, and even kill and rob. One can see how corrupt military discipline has become. Are these still the court's troops? They are no different from the roving bandits! Minister Wen, after you return to the Grand Secretariat, draft edicts for the Governors-General, Governors, and Regional Commanders of all regions, strictly clarifying orders: henceforth, any soldier who harms the localities or the people shall be executed without pardon! Any commander who can restrain his subordinates and take not even a hair from the people shall be promoted beyond the usual ranks. This edict shall be issued together with what I said previously regarding treatment for fallen and wounded officers and soldiers. You may withdraw!"

The assembled ministers withdrew to the Grand Secretariat to draft the edicts, while the Chongzhen Emperor continued waiting for the Yongwei Camp commanders to arrive. After all, the Grand Secretariat's offices were very close to the Wuying Hall, while the Yongwei Camp lay outside the palace walls—the round trip would take time.

After about another quarter of an hour, Li Erxi arrived hurriedly with Sun Yingyuan and the others. Upon entering the hall, the generals performed the great ceremonial kowtow. The Chongzhen Emperor bade them rise, looked at them with a grave expression, and told them of the imperial envoy affair.

After hearing it, the generals were first shocked, then consumed by towering rage. Sun Yingyuan fell to his knees with a thud, disregarding propriety, staring straight at the Emperor, his face flushed red, his beard and hair bristling, and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, your ministers are military officers of the Great Ming, imperial bodyguards, raised up by Your Majesty from obscurity, and we feel deeply the grace of our sovereign! Now some petty wretch dares to commit such heaven-defying acts, humiliating the imperial envoy. When the master is humiliated, the servant must die! Your Majesty, I am willing to lead my fierce troops to punish this traitor, and I will surely cut off this villain's head to wash away this shame!" Having spoken, he pressed his forehead to the ground and remained prostrate.

Huang Degong and Zhou Yuji were also enraged. The two also knelt and begged to be sent into battle.

The Chongzhen Emperor rose, walked around the imperial desk to stand before the three men, and personally helped each of them up. In the hearts of Sun Yingyuan and the others, Chongzhen was their sovereign and father, and they were moved to tears. The Chongzhen Emperor looked at the three and said in a warm voice: "I know well that you are all loyal and true men. The Yongwei Camp is the force I trust most, and it is my pillar of support! I hope that one day you will lead your fierce troops to sweep away the petty villains for me and restore to the Great Ming a bright and clear world! I will not say I will treat you as princes and marquises, but I will treat you as family—that is my promise to you! If you do not fail me, I will never fail you!"

Sun Yingyuan and the other two were so moved they wept aloud, kneeling again and swearing that they would not begrudge their very lives to ensure Your Majesty's wishes were fulfilled.

The Chongzhen Emperor offered a few more warm words of reassurance. Once the men had risen and their emotions had gradually calmed, he continued: "I have considered this matter at length. We must both make an example of one to warn a hundred and avoid provoking a mutiny. Generals Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong, you will lead five hundred elite cavalry of the Yongwei Camp in secret to Shan County, where you will find a hidden spot to encamp. I will issue a secret edict to the Shandong Governor, ordering him to go personally to Shan County and summon Wu Shangwen. The villain Wu will certainly not suspect treachery. You will reconnoiter the terrain in advance and ambush and kill him on a road he must pass, ensuring not one man escapes. After the villain is executed, I will have the Shandong Governor carry the edict and accompany you two to the military camp to pacify the officers and soldiers. You two will remain in Shandong from then on. First, weed out the old and weak from the camp, giving them appropriate silver and sending them home; second, recruit soldiers locally. Shandong is the sacred land of the sages, with simple and honest customs. Shandong soldiers are loyal and reliable. This affair with Wu should have been the result of his inciting the masses. I will have the relevant offices transport one hundred thousand taels of military pay to you, and new-style military grain will also be delivered subsequently. Adding to the original officers and soldiers under Wu's command, I require you to recruit five thousand troops, train them diligently, and strive to make them an elite force that dares to fight and dares to charge as soon as possible. The five hundred elite cavalry you bring shall serve as your personal guard battalion. I hope you will not fail the trust I have placed in you. Shortly I will have the Grand Secretariat draft an edict promoting General Sun Yingyuan to Regional Commander of the Yongwei Camp. I will issue an edict to the Duke of Ying, who oversees the Capital Camps, ordering you to select daring fighters from the Capital Camps to replenish the Yongwei Camp. General Huang Degong is promoted to Vice Regional Commander of Shandong; General Zhou Yuji is promoted to Assistant Regional Commander; when you have rendered further meritorious service in the future, further promotions and rewards will follow."

The three knelt and thanked the Emperor for his grace, then received the edicts and departed. Huang Degong and Zhou Yuji returned to the Yongwei Camp, mustered five hundred elite cavalry, and left the capital directly for Shandong. A squad of Embroidered Uniform Guard riders carrying the Emperor's secret edict also rushed through the night toward Jinan Prefecture.

In Jinan, inside the second hall of the Governor's yamen by Daming Lake, Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian was frowning with worry over the matter of Wu Shangwen's troops blocking the imperial envoy.

Though he was a grand official guarding the frontier, nominally all troops within Shandong's borders were under his command, but in these chaotic times the court relied heavily on military officers, and those commanders with troops under them grew increasingly arrogant by the day.

In the past, Regional Commanders had to perform the full kowtow when meeting him. Now even the Shandong Regional Commander Liu Zeqing and other military officers only clasped their hands in greeting when they saw him. The officers and soldiers below the Shandong Regional Commander would not obey him at all. Though furious, he was helpless.

What Wu Shangwen's troops had done this time filled Zhu Dadian with extraordinary anger. As a high minister of the court, he felt deep shame and a heavy sense of frustration. Such a blatant act of humiliating the court could never have happened before, but since it had, he was powerless—he could only sit and wait for the Emperor and the court to decide how to handle the matter.

Based on his understanding of the current sovereign's conduct, this affair would probably amount to much thunder and little rain—at most an edict of reprimand.

He heaved a deep sigh, picked up his tea and took a sip. Just as he was about to set the cup down, his aide Qi Datong hurried into the room, clasped his hands in salute, and said: "Your Excellency, Embroidered Uniform Guard officers from the capital have arrived bearing a secret edict from His Majesty. They are currently taking tea in the duty room outside the hall!"

Zhu Dadian was startled, then quickly understood—this must be the court's decision on the imperial envoy affair. He had not expected it to come so quickly. At the same time, a trace of doubt arose in his heart: why were Embroidered Uniform Guard delivering the edict, and why a secret edict at that? Shouldn't such matters be promulgated by open imperial decree? Though somewhat puzzled, he still stood up and ordered: "Quickly set up the incense table to receive the edict!"

"Your Excellency, the Embroidered Uniform Guard who came to deliver the edict said it is a secret edict for you alone—no outsiders may know of it!" Qi Datong replied.

Zhu Dadian was startled again. Had he guessed wrong? At this critical juncture, why would His Majesty send him a secret edict alone?

"Then quickly invite the imperial envoys in!" he said.

Qi Datong went out and returned shortly, followed by several Embroidered Uniform Guard officers in Colonel's attire, travel-worn and dusty.

Zhu Dadian hastily clasped his hands in greeting and said: "Gentlemen envoys, you have had a hard journey!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard officers returned the salute, and one of them produced a vermilion lacquered box from his bosom. Zhu Dadian hurriedly moved to kneel and receive the edict, but the Colonel holding the edict stopped him: "Governor, His Majesty specifically instructed that this is a secret edict. Your Excellency need not perform the great ceremony—simply act according to the edict's contents!"

Zhu Dadian straightened up and received the wooden box with both hands in a solemn manner. The Colonel continued: "His Majesty also instructed that this edict is to be known only to Your Excellency the Governor—no one else may learn of it. Please act with caution. The delivery of the edict is complete. Please arrange lodgings for us—my brothers and I will rest for the night and return to the capital tomorrow morning to report completion."

Zhu Dadian hurriedly ordered Qi Datong to take the Colonels down to rest, instructing him to treat them well. Qi Datong and the Colonels saluted and departed.

After they had all left, Zhu Dadian examined the wax seal on the wooden box and found it intact. He then lit a candle, melted the wax seal, opened the box, and took out the Emperor's secret edict to read.

After reading the simple contents of the secret edict, Zhu Dadian was both shocked and exhilarated. Was this still the sovereign he knew? What the secret edict said and required was exactly what he, Zhu Dadian, had thought and wished to do—but he had only dared to think it in his indignation, for he had no authority to act on it.

Before receiving the edict, he had secretly harbored some resentment toward the Emperor and the grand ministers of the court, for he had assumed the Emperor would again be indecisive with the military officers. He had never expected His Majesty to change his ways this time, finally striking down hard at those commanders who defied the court. How satisfying! Thinking of this, Zhu Dadian began to laugh, his laughter growing louder and louder, lasting a long, long time.