Chapter 5: The Eastern Palace Guard

During this time, the Chongzhen Emperor asked Zhu Cilang why he wanted to read *The Art of War*, and Zhu Cilang took the opportunity to bring up military affairs again, subtly expressing his desire to train an army.

Chongzhen, however, said that fighting wars on paper would not do — actual practice was very difficult, for instance the Capital Camps were even worse than the inner drills in the palace.

"Father, Your Majesty, if you have the time, you may personally review my Eastern Palace personal guard at the Shouhuang Pavilion. I think they will give you a surprise." Zhu Cilang said with a smile.

"Oh? Very well, I have grown weary of reviewing memorials anyway. I might as well go for a stroll. Let us leave now." The Chongzhen Emperor showed a bit of interest in Zhu Cilang's words.

Wang Cheng'en shouted to the eunuch on duty: "Prepare the imperial carriage for Wansui Mountain's Shouhuang Pavilion!"

By the time Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang walked out of the Qianqing Palace, the imperial carriage was already prepared, with over a thousand Grand Guardian warriors of the Embroidered Uniform Guard accompanying as escorts.

Chongzhen mounted the imperial carriage and wanted Zhu Cilang to come up and ride along, but Zhu Cilang politely declined, repeatedly claiming he dared not overstep his station.

Zhu Cilang walked alongside Chongzhen's imperial carriage and said to the Grand Guardian warrior Xu Sheng beside him: "Go relay the order to Sun Yingyuan, have him lead the Eastern Palace guard to assemble immediately at the Shouhuang Pavilion drill ground."

"Yes!" Xu Sheng clasped his fists in acknowledgment and dashed off swiftly.

After hearing this, Chongzhen said with a laugh: "My son, with this last-minute gathering of troops, I fear even by the time I arrive at the Shouhuang Pavilion, they may not have finished assembling."

The Shouhuang Pavilion was situated on Wansui Mountain, which in later generations was known as Coal Hill — the place where, historically, Chongzhen hanged himself from a southeastern branch — only a little over a thousand meters from the Qianqing Palace, a mere quarter-hour's walk away.

Only now did Zhu Cilang send word, and even if that Grand Guardian warrior had the fastest legs, it would still take him a good portion of that time.

The Eastern Palace guard needed to complete their assembly in less than a quarter of an hour, before the Emperor's arrival — a considerable challenge indeed.

"Please rest assured, Father, Your Majesty." Zhu Cilang said with a faint smile.

Seeing Zhu Cilang's confident demeanor, the Chongzhen Emperor said no more, and seated in his imperial carriage, surrounded by a host of Embroidered Uniform Guard, proceeded toward the Shouhuang Pavilion on Wansui Mountain.

The Eastern Palace guard was something Zhu Cilang had spent a full year forging. Having previously failed to secure command over the formation of an army, Zhu Cilang had no choice but to select fifty skilled elite soldiers from the Tengxiang Four Guards to serve as his Eastern Palace personal guards.

The Tengxiang Four Guards' selection standard was "the strongest and most able officers and soldiers from guard stations across the realm, as well as men who had escaped back from the barbarian lands," so virtually every one of them was an elite soldier.

However, by the Chongzhen era, this force's combat effectiveness had already declined, but the quality of its recruitment base remained — the main problem was simply a lack of training.

Following the drill regulations and training subjects personally written by Zhu Cilang, after half a year of training, these fifty soldiers had already formed a personal guard with extremely strong combat capability.

One could not speak of their practical combat ability on the battlefield, but at the very least they had achieved absolute obedience to orders and strict discipline — far superior to those soldiers in the Capital Camps who idled away their days waiting for a paycheck.

Seeing the results of the training, Zhu Cilang then requested five hundred elite soldiers from the newly established Yongwei Camp under Cao Huachun, personally leading men to make the selections, and after another half year of training, only then did today's Eastern Palace guard come into being.

As a Crown Prince who had already left the palace to reside in his own establishment, forming a personal guard of several hundred men was still no problem whatsoever.

The grand and imposing imperial carriage passed through the Xuanwu Gate at the northern entrance of the Forbidden City, heading straight into the Shouhuang Pavilion on Wansui Mountain.

The Shouhuang Pavilion was a reviewing stand built by Chongzhen, specially used for inspecting inner palace drills.

The group arrived at the drill ground, with Chongzhen at the head, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Grand Guardian warriors protecting him standing in two rows on either side, while Zhu Cilang stood beside Chongzhen.

The moment they arrived, they saw several hundred soldiers on the drill ground who had already formed ranks and were standing there.

The entire formation was perfectly uniform, not the slightest bit disordered — no matter from which direction one looked, it was a straight line.

All the soldiers stood motionless; even when they saw the imperial carriage pass before their eyes, no one turned their head, as if they had been frozen in place.

The Eastern Palace guard's five hundred-plus men were all sturdy fellows of one mold, every one with a straight back and eyes fixed forward, radiating an aura of martial valor — all five hundred plus being like this made one feel an invisible pressure.

The faces of the host of Embroidered Uniform Guard and Grand Guardian warriors protecting Chongzhen all showed expressions of disbelief.

"Your Majesty, these soldiers stand in perfect formation, no less impressive than any battalion in the Capital Camps." Wang Cheng'en praised from the side, not daring to speak too grandly.

This kind of bearing made Chongzhen's eyes light up. He had seen the Capital Camps' soldiers before — those numb, listless, forced-spirit faces had no comparison whatsoever with the Eastern Palace guard.

Chongzhen's eyes shone brightly, and it was a long while before he uttered a single word: "Excellent!"

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang breathed a sigh of relief, while also reflecting inwardly — after a year of grueling training, and having killed seven or eight troublemaking soldiers who disobeyed military orders to serve as a deterrent, only then did the Eastern Palace guard achieve its present appearance.

Chongzhen's face was full of admiration. He said to Zhu Cilang: "My son, I am very curious — how did you drill this Eastern Palace guard of yours?"

Zhu Cilang said: "Reporting to Father, Your Majesty, your son consulted many military manuals, added some of his own ideas, compiled a new set of training methods, and then drilled them strictly."

Military manuals? The imperial collection had plenty of military manuals — just recently someone had even presented a newly compiled one.

However, wanting to strictly drill out an imagined army according to a military manual was basically impossible — the resistance involved was too great, and those who succeeded were few and far between.

Zhu Cilang continued: "They train at least four shichen every day, not including the emergency musters at night."

"Oh." Chongzhen heard this and said no more.

Such training intensity was something others could not hope to match — for those soldiers in the Capital Camps, if their total monthly training added up to four shichen, that would already be considered good.

"Crown Prince, begin the drills." Chongzhen nodded and said.

Zhu Cilang made a deep bow to Chongzhen, walked to the front of the Shouhuang Pavilion, and made a hand signal to Sun Yingyuan, the Assistant Regional Commander of the Eastern Palace guard.

Sun Yingyuan was a military officer in his thirties who had been transferred from the border troops into the Capital Camps, then incorporated by Cao Huachun into the newly established Yongwei Camp, and finally spotted at a glance by Zhu Cilang in the Yongwei Camp and taken away — which made Director Cao's heart ache for quite some time.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang's special hand signal, Sun Yingyuan immediately strode to the front of the formation and bellowed: "Attention!"

"Shua!" — in that instant, all the soldiers on the drill ground stood ramrod straight. Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor made them even more spirited — for the Emperor to personally review the troops was what great honor!

Sun Yingyuan continued to bark: "Shoulder arms!"

Another "Shua!" — in that instant, all of the Eastern Palace guard on the drill ground had their spears and muskets resting on their shoulders, movements perfectly uniform, extremely striking.

Chongzhen watched and nodded repeatedly — orders obeyed, prohibitions heeded; this was something how many generals wanted but could not achieve.

Sun Yingyuan continued commanding, shouting: "Form ranks, advance!"

The sound of orderly footsteps rang out. Five hundred soldiers formed five rows — the first row shield bearers, the next two rows spearmen, and the last two rows musketeers. Each row was spaced several paces apart, and all five rows advanced simultaneously with perfectly matched steps; the crisp, uniform sound of footsteps made the very ground tremble slightly.

"The men advance and withdraw with ease, respond to commands as one, obey orders without question, and are highly trained — this truly opens my eyes. With such a strong army, why should the Great Ming worry about pacifying the realm?" Chongzhen said with some emotion.

As they passed the Shouhuang Pavilion, every soldier looked toward Wansui Mountain, chests thrust out and heads held high, utterly solemn.

The Eastern Palace guard's square formation advanced across the drill ground, and just as it was about to reach the Shouhuang Pavilion, Sun Yingyuan gave a single command, and the entire formation stopped instantly — the movements still perfectly uniform, the ranks still impeccably ordered.

Zhu Cilang looked at the army he had trained, his heart stirring with excitement. He suddenly drew the sword of his personal attendant Xu Sheng, stepped forward a few paces, pointed it diagonally outward, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Great Ming, ten thousand victories!"

"Ten thousand victories!" The five hundred Eastern Palace guards shouted in unison, their voices shaking the fields all around!

Wang Cheng'en glanced at Zhu Cilang and seemed about to say something, but Chongzhen shook his head, stopping him — his own son showing off in front of him was nothing, so long as it wasn't someone else.

"Great Ming, ten thousand victories!" Zhu Cilang continued to roar, though his vocal cords were not yet mature and his voice came out somewhat shrill — this did not detract from his successful show of bravado, since many in the Capital Camps were managed by eunuchs anyway.

"Ten thousand victories!"

"Great Ming!"

"Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!"

The ear-splitting roar echoed across the entire Wansui Mountain and ignited the blood and fervor of the crowd.

After a long moment, Chongzhen finally spoke in a loud voice: "Convey Our imperial edict: the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, though young in years, is diligent in his duties and loyal to the state. The Crown Prince holds unique insights and understands military affairs. He is hereby specially appointed Governor-General of the Capital Camps' military affairs, with full authority over all personnel matters and complete responsibility for training and reorganizing the Capital Camps."

Hearing this result, Zhu Cilang's heart pounded wildly. He hurriedly knelt to receive the edict and express his gratitude. After all this scheming and effort, he had finally achieved his goal.

First, through his impressive performance, he had dispelled Chongzhen's mental barrier of still seeing him as a child; then, by mentioning that he was reading Sun Tzu's Art of War, he attracted Chongzhen's attention.

Given Chongzhen's suspicious nature, he was certain to inquire further, and Zhu Cilang took the opportunity to bring up military matters and express his own views.

Finally, by reviewing the Eastern Palace guard, he proved his ability to command troops. This interlocking chain of plans ultimately allowed Zhu Cilang to achieve his objective.

The Eastern Palace guard was the most crucial link—this was also why Zhu Cilang had prepared for a full year. Only if Chongzhen saw this army with his own eyes could it ignite the innate martial fervor of a man and move him to issue the edict of appointment on the spot.

Zhu Cilang had also exploited the psychology of human nature.

The contract notification has arrived—the contract will be mailed in about three days. Those who need to invest, hurry up!