Chapter Two: The Imperial Relatives
Chapter Two: The Outer Relatives
To love a house is to love even the crows upon it; to hate a house is to hate even its crows.
The Empress Dowager, as remembered by Zhu Qizhen, was ever stern, lacking in warmth. And Xiang Prince, in Zhu Qizhen’s mind, was a particularly unique royal. The Empress Dowager bore three sons—the eldest, naturally, was Emperor Xuanzong; the second was Yue Prince, whose health was always frail and who never established his fief. The imperial physicians had even declared his illness detrimental to producing heirs, so he remained in the capital, recuperating.
Yue Prince was thus never fated for the throne.
Xiang Prince, the youngest, was cherished for his position as the Empress Dowager’s last son. His fief was originally in Changsha, later moved to Xiangyang. Moreover, Xiang Prince himself was noteworthy for his abilities.
When Emperor Renzong passed, Emperor Xuanzong was in Nanjing; at that time, the Empress Dowager supported Xiang Prince as regent, holding court until Xuanzong returned. This was Xiang Prince’s first stint as regent, but not his last.
Though Emperor Xuanzong did not, like Emperor Wenzong, campaign north five times, he had patrolled the border and battled the Tatars. Whenever Xuanzong left the capital, Xiang Prince governed in his stead. Thus, Xiang Prince commanded considerable respect among the officials.
Yet what troubled Zhu Qizhen most was the realization that what he believed to be the ancestral laws were not as unassailable as he imagined.
After all, this was still the early Ming, not its later years.
Between the founding emperor and the second, there was the Jingnan Campaign; the rivalry between Emperor Renzong and Han Prince spanned two generations, only ending when Emperor Xuanzong ruthlessly killed the Han Prince.
Even between Taizong and Renzong, and Renzong and Xuanzong, the transitions seemed smooth, but untold currents ran beneath, unknown to later generations. For example, the reason the Three Yangs were so valued was because they were men from Renzong’s prince’s household, and played pivotal roles in the struggle for succession.
The only thing that reassured Zhu Qizhen was that Xiang Prince was not in the capital, but in Xiangyang.
Still, this did not guarantee absolute safety.
In any struggle for power, whoever believes himself invulnerable is nearest to death. Li Jiancheng forced Li Shimin out of the capital, thinking all was settled, yet Li Shimin turned the tables at Xuanwu Gate.
The matter of Xiang Prince’s golden edict was like a thorn, deeply embedded in Zhu Qizhen’s heart.
Zhu Qizhen asked, “Wang, what do you think should be done?”
Wang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief at Zhu Qizhen’s words. He replied, “Now is not the time for reckless action, but we must be prepared. If Your Highness issues a directive, I can gather loyal and righteous men in the palace to serve you, so the Empress Dowager will not dare act rashly.”
“All Your Highness needs is to cultivate good relations with the ministers of the Inner Cabinet. Once the emperor’s affairs are settled, they will naturally discuss Your Highness’s ascension.”
Zhu Qizhen asked, “Do you have connections with the various marquises in the Five Military Command Offices?”
In the later Ming, the Five Military Command Offices became a mere formality, and all military power fell to the Ministry of War. But in this era, the Five Military Command Offices still held tremendous authority, overseeing the empire’s garrisons. Those in power there were all veteran ministers and generals since Yongle’s reign.
Take Zhang Fu, for instance.
Zhang Fu was now the foremost general, titled Duke of England. Though no longer serving in the Five Military Command Offices, he still held the title of Commander of the Central Army. The heroes of the Jingnan Campaign under Yongle had gradually faded, but Emperor Xuanzong himself had taken to the battlefield, and his command included many who had truly seen war.
However, the caliber of Xuanzong’s meritocrats paled compared to those of Yongle’s Jingnan veterans, and those, in turn, were lesser than the founding emperor’s original meritocrats. Although Zhang Fu remained, the ranks of veteran ministers and generals were thinning, leading to a precarious transition.
Nevertheless, the Five Military Command Offices held the empire’s military authority. Without their support, nothing could be accomplished in the capital.
As for Wang Zhen, he was not the powerful figure he would become years later, but merely a minor eunuch in the palace. If he could extend his influence into the Five Military Command Offices...
“Your servant is incapable and deserves punishment,” Wang Zhen immediately knelt, saying, “There are two usable men among those serving in the Five Military Command Offices.”
“Who are they?” Zhu Qizhen asked.
“The Marquis of Huichang and Hu Xin, the husband of Nurse Li,” Wang Zhen replied.
Zhu Qizhen’s gaze was vacant, staring at the incense burner, his mind racing through various tidings.
In a struggle for the throne—an affair that could wipe out entire families—most generals in the Five Military Command Offices would not participate.
The reason was simple. Although later Ming favored civil officials over military, in the Xuande era, military officials still ranked above their civil counterparts. Every truly trusted general held a hereditary title, especially those like Zhang Fu, who had served through three reigns: Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande. Even if Xiang Prince ascended, could he strip the Duke of England’s Zhang family of its honors?
Thus, most generals would abstain. The civil officials, such as the Three Yangs, supported legitimate succession, but while their influence had grown, on the eve of power transitions, they lacked the strength to sway events.
Yet among the Five Military Command Offices, two men worried Zhu Qizhen—both would certainly obey the Empress Dowager’s orders, meaning a coup.
These were Zhang Qian, Marquis of Pengcheng, and Zhang Sheng, who actually controlled the Five Military Command Offices. Both were the Empress Dowager’s brothers, and thus Zhu Qizhen’s maternal uncles.
When Emperor Renzong married, Emperor Taizong was still Prince of Yan. During the Jingnan Campaign, the Zhang family joined him, and Zhang Qian followed Emperor Taizong to Da Ning, later defending Beijing with Emperor Renzong, earning the title Marquis of Pengcheng. He was one of the campaign’s heroes.
He had grown old and was less involved in affairs.
But Zhang Sheng was different.
Whenever Emperor Xuanzong left the capital, whether patrolling or battling invaders, the Empress Dowager and Xiang Prince were formally regents. But the one truly governing the capital was Zhang Sheng.
With these two present, if the Empress Dowager issued an order to change emperors, the deed would be done. The Five Military Command Offices and the Inner Cabinet would mostly acquiesce.
This was why, before his death, Emperor Xuanzong instructed the ministers that affairs of state must always be conducted under the Empress Dowager’s guidance.
It was not merely because he trusted his mother deeply. It was also an undeniable fact.
Empress Dowager Zhang, during Yongle’s reign, played a crucial role in assisting Emperor Renzong and Han Prince in the struggle for succession. After Emperor Taizong, she deftly handled several political crises.
Though she resided in the inner palace, her influence extended far beyond its confines.
Zhu Qizhen, though feeling somewhat unfilial, could not help but think, “Compared to Empress Dowager Zhang, my own mother falls far short.”
Both Zhang brothers held real power in the Five Military Command Offices.
The Empress’s Sun family, on the other hand, was headed by Sun Yu, just mentioned as the Marquis of Huichang. He had been a minor official overseeing Tian Shou Mountain in the Ministry of Works, with no wartime experience.
Even as a Command Office adjunct, it was merely a sinecure.
The Sun family’s strength was incomparable to the Zhangs.
Yet, however inadequate the comparison, the Sun family was all Zhu Qizhen could rely on. As for Hu Xin—first, Zhu Qizhen did not trust him; second, he doubted Hu Xin could accomplish anything.
Hu Xin’s wife, Li, had entered the palace as Zhu Qizhen’s nurse. This revealed that Hu Xin’s official rank was not high. Truly powerful military officers would never allow their wives to serve as palace maids.
Even though the founding emperor, to restrict eunuchs, had established the female official system, selecting virtuous women over forty to serve in the palace, and Li herself held an official title.
But families of true merit would never allow their wives such roles.
Zhu Qizhen could not pin his hopes on this minor officer.
Suddenly, Zhu Qizhen rose and said, “Wang, I need you to do two things for me.”
“Your Highness, please command me,” Wang Zhen replied. “I will give my life without hesitation.”
“The first,” Zhu Qizhen said, “is to spread word about Xiang Prince’s golden edict being taken by the Empress Dowager. The second, bring the Marquis of Huichang to the palace—ensure no one else knows.”
“I understand,” Wang Zhen replied.
Zhu Qizhen felt a faint desolation, thinking, “I truly do not wish to oppose the Empress Dowager, but some preparations are unavoidable. To simply and quietly become emperor is utterly impossible.”
Zhu Qizhen, with a mind beyond his nine years, knew well the fate of deposed emperors. If things went awry, he would rather die.