Empress dowager cixi

[xlwoo]

Chapter 1

However powerful, you cannot pull back the chariot of Time; however powerful, you cannot refuse the visit of Death; however wealthy, you cannot bribe the king of Hades; however wealthy, you cannot buy immortality.
She had been beautiful when young. She hated aging. She hated having white hair, but the silver threads stealthily crept onto her head in the due course of time. Li Lianying, whenever he saw a gossamer of snow among her sable silky hair, would bury it under the black ones. If, by any chance, a piece of white hair came off and entwined itself on the comb, he would hide it in his sleeve. He was the one who did the hair of Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908). He knew what Empress Dowager Cixi would feel when she saw some snowy hair on her head. He really knew what she liked and what she did not. He was her favorite eunuch. In a short time, he was promoted to be her head eunuch.
Sometimes when Empress Dowager Cixi noticed that he put his fingers into his sleeve she would ask what he was doing. ?ust itching. Scratching a bit, my respected Old Buddha.Later in her life everyone in the Forbidden City called Empress Dowager Cixi Old Buddha (The word OLD here does not really mean old in age in Chinese, but instead is a respected epithet.) and she liked it. He had to please her if he wanted to stay in her favor forever. Everyone wanted to please her. No doubt. Even the emperor, though afraid of her, sometimes wanted to please her, too. That is why people wish to seize power and remain in it. As long as possible.
It was a new hairstyle. Li Lianying, now the head eunuch, but still doing her hair, called it ? Butterfly Among Flowers He always invented new hairstyles and gave them fanciful names. And while combing her hair, he would tell jokes, mostly vulgar jokes, which sent Empress Dowager Cixi into laughter. He knew a lot of such jokes, which he had heard when he had been a small boy. Thanks to his good memory, he remembered all of these vulgar jokes after so many years. Sometimes he made up some when an occasion arose. Eunuchs all came from poor families, or no families at all. Who wanted to be a eunuch if he could live otherwise? The cutting of the genital was no fun, not to mention the pain, and a lot of blood. The genitals, once cut, were dried and kept in a jar, which hung from the beam in his bedroom. It was the custom to bury the genital with the body when a eunuch died, to make the corpse whole with nothing lacking, although something? not in its original and natural place. But it was the best that could be done.
When her hair was done and breakfast finished, Empress Dowager Cixi changed into formal attire. She put on heavy headgears. The adorned piece on the top looked somewhat like a fan with fringes hanging down from the two ends. On her feet were special shoes that looked something like short stilts in the shape of a small upside-down flowerpot attached on the middle of the sole. Then she went to hold court, sitting behind a pearl screen. Emperor Guangxu, still under age, sat on the huge throne before the pearl screen. Though he said nothing, he heard everything. He knew everything. He was a clever boy, ambitious and anxious to do something to make the weakened empire strong and prosperous again.

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Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu lived in the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City, also called the Purple Forbidden City, was located in the center of the capital. The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 during Ming Dynasty. It had been the imperial home to twenty-four emperors of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The magnificent and awe-inspiring Forbidden City also served as the seat of imperial power during Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). From their throne in the Forbidden City, the emperors governed the country by holding court sessions with their courtiers, secretaries and ministers, issuing imperial edicts and initiating military expeditions.
The Forbidden City extends seven hundred and fifty meters from east to west and nine hundred and sixty meters from north to south. The city of seven hundred twenty thousand square meters is the largest and best-preserved palatial complex in the world. It is surrounded by a moat, which is fifty-two meters wide and six meters deep, and by a wall, which is three kilometers long and ten meters high. There are four gates with towers above them: Noon Gate in the south, Shenwu Gate in the north, Donghua Gate in the east and Xihua Gate in the west. On the four corners of the city walls stand four turret towers, each with three roofs and seventy-two roof ridges. They are masterpieces of ancient Chinese architecture.
The Forbidden City is divided into southern and northern parts, the former serving as the work area of the emperors and the latter as their living quarters. The main structures are arranged along a central axis and constructions on both sides of it are symmetrical. The three most imposing structures in the work area of the Forbidden City are the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Medium Harmony, and the Hall of Protective Harmony. The most magnificent of them is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Here the most important ceremonies of the feudal dynasties were held, including the ascension of the emperors to the throne, their marriage, and their conferring of titles on officials. The Hall of Medium Harmony standing behind it was where the emperors rested before ceremonies and receiving officials. The Hall of Protective Harmony was where the emperors gave banquets and interviewed in person successful candidates of imperial exams for the selection of government officials. In the living quarters are nine separate housing complexes, where the emperors and their families lived. North of the living quarters is a small imperial garden. The Mind Cultivation Hall in the living quarters was where most Qing emperors lived and handled state affairs. It was also here that Empress Dowager Cixi attended to state affairs for as long as 48 years. The Forbidden City is a city within a city and was off limits to the common people.
The layout of the palatial complex, whose full name should be the Purple Forbidden City, is patterned after the legendary Heavenly Palace. In the ancient Chinese astrology, the heavenly area of Purple Forbidden Enclosure centering on the North Star was seen to be at the center of heaven. The palatial complex, regarded as being at the center of human society on earth was therefore named the Purple Forbidden City.
The number nine received special emphasis in the city design. The number of houses in the Forbidden City is 9,999, and nails on every door are arranged in lines of nine nails. This is because the ancients regarded nine as the biggest number, which only emperors were entitled to use. Also, since the numeral has the same sound as everlasting in the Chinese language, it best reflected the wish of emperors that their rule would last forever. Names of places in the Forbidden City contain such words as benevolence, harmony and peace, which reflect the essence of Confucianism.
The predominant color of the Forbidden City is yellow. Nearly all the houses, for example, have roofs of yellow glazed tiles. According to ancient Chinese, the universe was made up of five elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and earth was the most basic of them all. As a result, yellow, the color of earth, was most extensively used for the emperors, who were regarded as the supreme rulers of the world.
The only house with a roof of black tiles is Wenyuan Pavilion, serving as the royal library. This is because the color black represents water among the five elements and water can overcome fire, a constant threat to the collection of books inside.
In 1406, Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty began building the Forbidden City. Historical records show that it took one million laborers and one hundred thousand craftsmen fifteen years to complete the project. The Forbidden City remains more or less the same in appearance and scale despite repeated renovations and expansions by later emperors. All buildings in the Forbidden City are of a wood and brick structure. A total of 3.1 billion bricks were used for the construction of the Forbidden City. A special glue was used to cement bricks and stone slabs. The glue was made from steamed glutinous rice and egg white. Timber came from mountains in the suburbs of Fangshan Town as well as from remote Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Tens of thousands of huge stone slabs were transported to the capital from afar. The biggest piece, which lies behind the Hall of Protective Harmony, weighs 250 tons. The slab, 16.57 meters long, 3.07 meters wide and 1.7 meters thick, was hauled over a distance of 50 kilometers from the suburbs of Fangshan Town to the site by 20,000 laborers at a cost of 176,000 taels of silver. The hauling was done in winter on man-made ice and took 28 days.
The Forbidden City is a national treasure in terms of materials used, architectural style, layout and designed connotation. Besides, it is a storehouse of numerous priceless handicraft articles, rare curios, paintings and calligraphic works by famous artists as well as official documents and historical records. The Wenhua Hall in the Forbidden City stores more than 10 million official documents drawn up over 500 years by central and local governments of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They are the largest and most valuable collection of historical records in the country. Wenyuan Pavilion, or the Imperial Library, keeps a complete collection of all the books published till then like an encyclopedia and a 79,337-volume compendium of historical records and feudal rites compiled over ten years (1772-1781) by the nation's most accomplished scholars.

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Chapter 2

Empress Dowager Cixi was born in a government official's family. Her father was appointed a position as a general, though he had never fought any battles. It was said that when Empress Dowager Cixi was born, there was the scent of the orchid in the room. So her given name was LanEr (meaning the Child of Orchid). She had two brothers and a younger sister, but she was the favorite child of her parents, the apple of their eye. She was beautiful, clever and talented. When she was eleven, her father was transferred to Wuwu, which is a big city situated near the Yangtze River, and later was transferred again, this time, to Canton, a bigger city facing the sea.
“Your opium is ready, Dad.LanEr called to her father, who stood at the window, looking at the front yard where a **** was bullying some hens.
He was proud of her. She could load opium for him now. Since China had been defeated in the Opium War in 1840, opium trade became open and many government officials and officers formed the habit of smoking it. Even Empress Dowager Cixi herself smoked it when she was in power. Someone had recommended opium to her when she had a stomachache. And it was said that when she smoked some opium, her stomachache ceased.
“Hm.” Her father ummed as a reply. In China at that time, parents never said THANK YOU to children. It was taken for granted that children should do things for parents. It was their filial duties.
Many aristocrats of the Mandarin Clan loved to watch operas. So did her father. And her father often brought her to wherever an opera was performed. Therefore, LanEr loved to watch operas, too. When she stayed in power, she watched a lot of operas, specially performed for her in the Forbidden City.
LanEr was sixteen now with an oval face, a straight nose, crescent-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes that were as clear as crystal, peach-colored cheeks with two dimples when she smiled, ebony-black hair in a tress, looking so oily and smooth that if flies had halted on it they would have slid down. Now she sat at the table in the center of the room, sipping tea and looking at her father lying on the bed and smoking opium, and sighing deeply at intervals.
“What's wrong?” LanEr asked. Her father put down the long-stemmed opium pipe on the lacquer opium tray and looked up from the bed at his daughter. ?he situation in Guangxi Province is getting worse. The rebellion, I mean. They are fighting their way eastward and will soon reach here.The daughter agreed, but didn't look worried. Hers was a worriless age.
“They will kill us. Everyone of the Mandarin Clan.” Her father could not suppress the anxiety in his voice. That he was appointed a general was because his destiny would have it, not because he was talented as a fighter. He was really no fighter.
“Then, what should we do?”
“I don't know. Perhaps waiting to be killed.”
“Why not ask for a sick leave? We can go back to Peking.”
“Good idea.” Her father said in approbation.

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LanEr's family left Canton City in a ship they had rented with the crew on board. Actually, the word rent is not correct. At that time, such ships, or ferryboats, belonged to a family or an individual. The family or the individual was the sole crew on the ship or the ferryboat. The ship they were on belonged to a family, husband and wife with a teenage boy. The husband rowed the ship with the help of the teenager. The wife cooked for the passengers who paid the family who owned the ship. Their relationship was just like lodgers in an inn. Only this was a mobile inn. Their destination was Peking.
The ship had a cabin in the middle of the deck. The cabin was divided into two sections with a partition. The larger front section was for the passengers, the smaller back section for the owner? family, including a cooking space. There were no railings all round the ship, which was not too big. The ship had a mast. When the wind was favorable, the husband would put up the sails and he only needed to handle the rudder. A lot of energy saved. Every time they reached a village or a town, the husband would get on shore for provisions and the passengers would also step on shore, but for sightseeing.
Everything was all right so far along the route till one night when the ship was at anchor for the night. It was already deep into the night when some robbers got on board with sharp swords in hand, reflecting the moonlight. Everyone in the cabin woke up in alarm and panic. They begged the intruders to spare their lives. The robbers took all the valuables from the passenger family, but didn't touch anything that belonged to the ship owner. It was the unwritten rule among the outlaws. After these thugs left, no one could go back to sleep. The ship owner's family were hiding in their back cabin while the passenger family were crying bitterly. How could they pay for their lodging and food on the ship since they had been robbed of almost everything. LanEr's father was taken seriously ill after they were left alone.
Her family had been rich. Rich people generally got their daughters married early lest they should be selected to be the palace maids in the Forbidden City. Life in the Forbidden City as maids was not so desirable as imagined by the people who had never been in there. A slight mistake or offense would bring a severe punishment, or even a beating to death. It all depended on the mood of the emperor or the queen at the time of the offense. Only the emperor or the queen had the right for the infliction of such penalties in the Forbidden City. If her family hadn't undergone the loss of wealth, LanEr would have been married already, at such an age.
When her father held his position in Canton City, an officer working under him offended a critique official. A critique official was in such a position by law that he could criticize anyone, including the emperor. The ancestors of Qing Dynasty had made such a law in hopes that their descendants, the future emperors, would have some people to look over their behavior and urge them to do things good and suitable as befitting them as emperors.
The officer detained the ship the critique official was on board and blackmailed him for three thousand taels of silver. The critique official was very angry and as soon as he reached the capital, he wrote a critique report to the emperor, who sent someone down south to investigate. The investigation revealed that her father had taken briberies, which was against law. To make his superiors go easy on him, he scraped all his means to bribe them. As a result, he was removed from his post before he could send in a request for the sick leave. At least, he didn't need to go to jail. He sold some of his estates and bribed the governor of Anhui Province in the hope that he would be appointed another position there. But as a Chinese saying goes, misfortune never comes alone. The governor died from some kind of disease. So his money was like pebbles thrown in water, without even some ripples being seen. Now he was really sick. So he took a ship to go back to the capital with his family, where he still had at least a house and some farms to live on.
The ship got under way at dawn. When the wife served breakfast, LanEr's mother promised her that they would pay her when they arrived in Peking. The old man was a government official, at the least. At that time, the fare for a trip on board a ship cost some ten taels of silver at most. It was not much money to a government official. The owner of the ship was not worried about that.

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One day, they arrived at the Town of Qinghe. Their ship anchored at the third berth along the wharf. The ship at the second berth in front was a little bigger than theirs. The passengers on board that ship were escorting a coffin of an old friend of the mayor of this town to be back to their homeland. The mayor, by the name of Wu Tang, was a scholar.
In late Qing Dynasty, anyone who wanted to serve in the government had two ways to achieve his goal. One was to buy a title and wait for a vacancy corresponding to the title. For instance, if someone bought a title of mayor, he would get a mayoral vacancy. Briberies called donations could speed the process. The other was to take part in tests held by the government. First was the local test. Whoever passed it could participate in the test on the provincial level. After that, the testees who didn't fail the provincial test should go to the capital joining in the final test, which held every three years. This test was very strict, because the winners would be made the government officials. The test system had originally begun in Tang Dynasty and had been adopted by all the subsequent dynasties.
For this test, several examiners were chosen by the emperor himself from the high officials of the central government, with one of them in charge. They would read and score the test papers. There were many attendants to do all sorts of jobs that needed to be done at the test site.
The site had been built long ago. There were rows of bungalows, which were partitioned into booths. Every testee was assigned a booth, the door of which was locked. The testee could leave only after he finished all the test papers. He slept inside the booth, for the test would take a couple of days. The testee would bring his own food in a basket, and also the brush, the ink and the blank paper to write on. All these things were examined before the testee entered the booth to prevent from cheating. If he wanted to go to the toilet, an attendant would be with him to and back, and locked him in again.
The test consisted of two parts. One was to write an article under a given title in a certain fixed style, which was literally translated as Eight-Legged Style A testee, in preparation for this kind of test, must learn how to begin, how to carry on and how to end the article, which should have eight paragraphs, hence the name Eight-Legged. It had strict rules to follow. Anything inconsistent with the rules would fail the testee. In the second part, a testee must express his opinions about certain political ideas or about how to handle political affairs. His opinions carried great weight in his score.
When the examiners were reading and scoring the papers, the names of the testees on the papers were covered. Ten first best ones were carefully selected. Once the selection was over, the names were uncovered. Then the papers were handed in for the emperor to read and decide the order of the winners. But before he made any decision, the emperor would give an additional test, called the imperial exam, to the ten best testees in his palace. The best one (in the opinion of the emperor) would be conferred the title of Zhuangyuan, the second best Tanhua, the third Bangyan and the fourth Zhuanlu. The rest were called Jinshi. Next day, the first winner, Zhuangyuan, would go round on horseback through the main streets in the capital, a special honor. In the evening, the emperor would give a banquet to all those who had passed the final test. Generally the first three would be given jobs in the Forbidden City, close to the emperor, which would provide good opportunities for fast promotion. Others would be appointed officials, some working in the central government, some sent away to be mayors of small towns if there were vacancies.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 3

A scholar should always care for a scholar friend, or his family when he was dead. It was required by old Chinese customs and etiquette. Mayor Wu knew that this late friend of his was not rich. Therefore, he sent a servant to give the friend three hundred taels of silver. The servant was told where the late friend's ship was, at the second berth along the wharf. But before the servant arrived there, the late friend's ship left and the next ship at the third berth moved up one berth. At fate had it, just as LanEr's family was in great need of money, some unknown mayor sent the former friend three hundred taels of silver. The servant didn't know who the friend was. He only did his job by sending the silver to the ship at the second berth. LanEr's family didn't know whether the father had had such a friend before. Who cared since they got the money to pay for things in urgent need. Right then, they needed a coffin badly because the father died last night. Also lucky for Mayor Wu, LanEr remembered to ask the servant the name of his master. LanEr had a long memory. And Mayor Wu had a bright future.

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Once back in their old house, they buried the old master's coffin. Now it should be the duties of the sons to shoulder the life's burden for the family. But LanEr's two brothers were lame ducks. They just idled away their time in teahouses, carrying cages of their favorite birds. That was the common life style of the sons of the rich families of the Mandarin Clan, but they were not rich anymore. Now LanEr had to take care of the family chores.
What could Empress Dowager Cixi still remember about the life of her girlhood living with her parents? Almost everything. She had a distant cousin by the name of Ronglu, a few years younger than she. They were playmates. She liked Ronglu better than she did her brothers and sister. Ronglu was clever and talented, too, while her brothers were a little dumb and her sister just ordinary both in the look and in brains. Does it mean that birds of a feather get together? Normally so.
?f you'll be the queen, I'll be your bodyguard.Ronglu often said to LanEr as her family deemed her as someone special since she was born with the scent of the orchid. She loved it that way. She would play the part of the queen and Ronglu the part of bodyguard. He even went so far as down on his knees before her to make it look real, or feel real. All these served to rouse in her the ambition for power.

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At three year's intervals, the selection of girls for the emperor would begin. It lasted for several months. First, every family of the Mandarin Clan would report their unmarried daughters between ages 13 and 17 to the Clan Affairs Management. The management would send some officials and eunuchs to check out the girls on the list. That was the first stage of the selection. Many names on the long list would be crossed out. Those still on the list would be sent into the Forbidden City for further sifting. Among those selected, some would be sent to the princes. If lucky, they would become the concubines of the princes. Some of the selected would be the royal waiting maids in the palaces. Only a handful of luckiest girls would be in the presence of the emperor.
Most girls, however, still longed to be selected and live in the Forbidden City, either as royal maids or as royal concubines. Even as a royal maid, if she took the emperor's fancy and had sex with him, she would become a royal concubine. But as a royal concubine, if the emperor was never interested in her, she would always live alone, till death released her from the solitary confinement. Just try luck when selected. But whether a girl was selected or not depended on the emperor himself or the empress dowager if there was one. The girl could do nothing to that effect.
As destiny had it, LanEr was selected as a royal concubine and sent to live in the Round-Bright Garden, the Garden of All Gardens, as the foreigners called it. But getting into the palace was only the first step. If the emperor never looked at her, her fate would be miserable. Actually the emperor lived in the Forbidden City, not in the Garden. So LanEr was disappointed. But no worry. The lucky star was shining over her. The rebels in the southern provinces had founded their own regime. It was named The Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom The Qing government armies had been defeated. Reports came in from these provinces, bearing bad news. The emperor felt a headache whenever he read these reports. Therefore, he moved into the Round-bright Garden with the queen, wishing a better environment would assuage his headache when he had to read those reports in dismay. Now LanEr had the chance. She wanted to approach the emperor, but didn't dare to do so, because there were strict rules of etiquette everywhere in the palace. One step amiss, regret the whole life. If she could not go near the emperor, why not let the emperor come to her? Good idea. She always got good ideas. She was so proud of herself.
Emperor Xianfeng (1831-1861 and succeeded to the throne in 1850) came out from the queen's chamber. The queen was from Nugulu family. Her father was one of the prime ministers. (There was more than one prime ministers in Qing Dynasty, because the decision was made by the emperor himself, not by a prime minister.) The queen was kind, benevolent and demure. She never showed her teeth even when grinning. Okay. She never grinned, only smiled. That's what demureness required from a lady.
The emperor sauntered in the royal garden towards his study. Suddenly he heard someone singing from behind a cluster of trees. The voice was so sweet that it magnetized him to it, like the song of the sirens. No resistance offered on his part. Indeed, the emperor never thought of resisting it. He was willing to be drawn to it, to so sweet a voice, a female voice. He was a man. How can a man resist a woman? Besides, he could conclude, from the sweet voice, that she must be a beautiful young girl. Never did an ugly woman have such a sweet voice. Is there any woman like that? Ugly but with a sweet voice? He had best explore it and find the answer for himself.
Behind the grove there was a pavilion, in which a girl sat leaning on the railing. From the attire, he knew she was a royal concubine, but a new one he had never set his eyes on before.
LanEr sat in the pavilion, singing her heart out. A bait she threw out. She had studied the location. It lay near the everyday route the emperor would take when he went to the queen? chamber from his study and then back. Now she saw the emperor coming. The fish to her hook. The biggest fish she could get.
She got on her knees to welcome the emperor, who helped her on her feet. The emperor looked attentively at the new concubine. Beautiful. Really beautiful. The most beautiful among all his concubines. The queen was not so beautiful. But an emperor chose a queen for her demureness and decency of behavior, not for her beauty, but chose a concubine for her beauty. The emperor couldn't take his eyes away from the oval face, the straight nose, crescent-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, clear as crystal, peach-colored cheeks with two dimples when smiling, ebony-black hair in a tress, a pretty contrast to her fair skin. She was dressed in a red brocade gown of the Mandarin style. The emperor touched her hand, jade-white, with red nails. He felt his heart beating wildly against his rib cage like he were having a palpitation. The emperor was only in his early twenties. His hormones rushed up.
So that night the emperor slept with LanEr. She became known later as Royal Concubine Yan, the emperor's favorite concubine. Before long, Concubine Yan got pregnant. The queen didn? have any children of her own and Concubine Yan was the only one pregnant among all the concubines at the time. So she got special treatment. Andehai (known later as Little An), the emperor's favorite eunuch, was sent to wait on her and then became her favorite eunuch. Andehai was a young eunuch with a handsome face and fair complexion. And the most important thing was that he knew how to flatter and to please. If he were to open a school to teach the skills of flattering, he would have had a lot of students.
Emperor Xianfeng was expecting a son, an heir and a successor. If Concubine Yan gave birth to a girl, her side of the scales would tip up and lose the favorite balance, and also her importance in the eye of the emperor. And also her ambition. But as fate would have it, she bore a son to the great expectation of the emperor. Now her side of the scales sank. Her position in the palace was unshakable. Even the queen sometimes would yield to her wishes.

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Chapter 4

Emperor Xianfeng had such a strong desire for sex that he couldn't spend a single night sleeping without a woman beside him in bed. The emperor had nineteen concubines. According to the palace records about the procedures for the emperor's sex life, the emperor never went to the chamber of any concubines. Every night before the emperor went to bed, a eunuch brought in a tray on which lay many small rectangular wooden pieces with the names of all the concubines inscribed on them. The eunuch held the tray high above his head on his knees before the emperor. If the emperor decided on someone, he would turn upside down the wooden piece with the name on it. Then the eunuch went to the chamber of the concubine the emperor had chosen. The concubine was stripped naked. Two other eunuchs put a blanket around her and carried her on their shoulders to the emperor's bedroom. The eunuchs laid down the concubine at the foot of the emperor's bed and taking the blanket off of the concubine, they left the emperor's bedroom. The nude concubine crawled to the pillows and lay down beside the emperor. In the morning, the two eunuchs came back to wrap the concubine in the blanket and carried her back to her own chamber. The date and the name of the concubine were recorded so that if the concubine got pregnant, they could count the days to make sure the child was the emperor's flesh and blood, not someone else's. Since he was so fond of Royal Concubine Yan, he sent for her into his bedroom almost every night, even when she was with child. They were happy together in bed. Sometimes the emperor slept so late that he missed holding his court.
His courtiers came early and waited in the resting room, but the emperor never showed up to meet them to hear their reports or have discussions about all the national affairs. The written instructions set up and handed down by the ancestors wouldn't allow such negligence of state affairs. But the courtiers could do nothing about it. They were not permitted to go to the emperor's chamber to rouse him. The queen could, nevertheless. When she learned it from the eunuchs, (eunuchs were all gossips.) she sent her head eunuch to the chamber the emperor was sleeping in. The head eunuch carried on his head the book, in which the instructions of the ancestors had been written. He knelt before the chamber door and began to recite the instructions aloud. When the emperor heard it, he must get down from the bed and listen to the recitation on his knees. If the emperor was still sound asleep and didn't hear it, his head eunuch would go to wake him up. Of course, the emperor would be annoyed, but he couldn't ignore the instructions of his ancestors. He had to dress up and go to meet his courtiers. This happened too often lately, to the queen's liking. So one day, the queen went there herself with the book on her head. The emperor's head eunuch saw the queen coming and went immediately into the chamber to report to the emperor, who jumped out of bed and had barely time to put on his shoes. He opened the door and found himself face to face with the queen. He said hastily, ?nough, enough. I'll go now.So the queen waited at the door till the emperor left for his court session.
Then the queen ordered Royal Concubine Yan to follow her to Kunning Palace. (The whole Forbidden City was the emperor's residence, inside which there were many buildings. Each building was called a palace in Chinese.) Kunning Palace was a place where the queen held her court generally when she wanted to punish someone. The queen was the second in power in the Forbidden City.
"You shouldn't let the emperor sleep so late and neglect the state affairs. Do you know it's your fault?" The queen accused Concubine Yan.
In the Forbidden City, if anyone was accused of anything by his or her superiors, no matter it's his or her fault or not, he or she must say, "It's my fault." And then he or she must beg to be punished. If the punishment was inflicted, when it was over, he or she must thank his or her superiors for being punished. Likewise, if anyone was to be executed by the order of the emperor or the queen, he or she must thank the emperor or the queen for the execution. That's feudal China. Ridiculous?

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So Royal Concubine Yan said accordingly, “Yes, it's my fault.” But she pleaded, “I can't refuse to be carried to the emperor's chamber.” (Implied, that is no use to be jealous? “I can't tell the emperor what to do if he wants to sleep late.” (Implied, don't blame me.)”
The queen flared up and ordered her eunuchs to beat Concubine Yan. Two eunuchs held her down on the floor. A third eunuch fetched a wooden stick. Just as the stick was being brought down, a voice, panting, shouted, “Stop!” The emperor came to her rescue.
When the emperor was holding the meeting with his courtiers, one of his eunuchs came running to whisper to the emperor that the queen took Concubine Yan to Kunning Palace. The emperor knew at once what would happen. He adjourned the meeting till tomorrow and hurried to Kunning Palace, just in time to prevent the beating.
“Oh, my dear queen,” said the emperor sweetly, “Though Queen have the right to beat her, Queen can't beat her today.(In Qing Dynasty, Emperor and Queen were used to address the emperor and the queen. Or Empress Dowager was used to address an empress dowager.)

“Why not?” The queen looked dubious.
“Because Concubine Yan is pregnant.” The emperor acquainted the queen with the surprising happy news.
The emperor had no son yet. If an emperor had no heir, it was deemed as a sin to his ancestors. So pregnancy in the palace was very significant in the eye of the queen. Concubine Yan was spared and sent back to her own chamber.
“Since Concubine Yan is pregnant, Emperor should let her have more rest. Emperor should no longer sleep with her till her child is born.The queen warned the emperor. (The superiors could use pronouns and names to address or mention the subordinates.)

* * *

[xlwoo]

Sushun and Duanhua were brothers. Since Duanhua was the elder one, he inherited the title of Prince Zheng when their father died. But the younger brother was a man of ability and determination. The brothers, especially the younger one, had won the emperor's favor by offering things to the emperor's liking. They often suggested to the emperor how to have fun and even provided him with every possible diversion and pastime. The most desired fun to the emperor was sex.
The younger brother, Sushun, knew that the emperor could no longer sleep in Concubine Yan's chamber at present. Therefore, he found some very beautiful women, who belonged to Han Clan (The ruling class of Qing Dynasty was Mandarin Clan.) and stole them into the Round-Bright Garden, where the emperor lived most of the year while he should live in the Forbidden City. The Round-Bright Garden was located outside the capital, Peking. The garden had hills and lakes, trees and flowers that covered almost every inch of the ground with footpaths zigzagging among them. Even in the winter, the snowy scene was also beautiful. All the buildings, the pavilions and the arbors, were imitated from the architecture of the famous structures all over the country. The emperor liked to live in the Round-Bright Garden, not just because of its beautiful scenery, but mostly because when he was in the Forbidden City, he must do almost everything in accordance with certain etiquette set up by his ancestors, but when he dwelt in the Garden, there were not so many rules required to observe. Life was a bit easier there for him.
But his ancestors had set up a rule that women with small deformed feet were inhibited to enter any of the emperor's residences. Women of Han Clan had such feet. So the emperor broke the rule to accept them. Among these Han Clan women, one was a widow, some were whores from brothels. All were beauties. One of the whores was originally the mistress of a courtier, who, when aware of it, sent in a report of advice, saying that the emperor should not keep Han Clan women in the Garden. The emperor wrote a sentence on the report and gave it back to the courtier. It said, “You are jealous.” Among all the women of Han Clan, there were four beauties the emperor liked best. He named them Apricot Spring, Peach Spring, Peony Spring and Crabapple Spring (Crabapple here means Chinese flowering crabapple.) They were called Four Springs by the maids and eunuchs in the Garden.

[xlwoo]

After giving birth to a son, Concubine Yan expected the emperor's visit everyday, but for a long time the emperor seemed forgetting her. At length she came to the knowledge that the emperor kept a lot of Han Clan women in the Garden. But she could do nothing about it. Only the queen could produce the book containing the ancestral instructions. She must seek alliance in the queen. So she went to pay her respect to the queen. She knelt before the queen and kowtowed. The queen bade her to stand up after the ritual.
“Queen.” She began, “Does Queen know why the emperor looks thinner day by day?”
“No idea.” Replied the queen. “What have you heard?”
“The emperor has many Han Clan women hidden somewhere in the Garden.”
“That's against the rule.”
“So. That's why I must report to Queen. Queen must interfere. I'm not jealous. I'm only concerned with the emperor's health.”
Therefore, the queen decided to search the garden. Early one morning, many maids and eunuchs followed the queen into the Round-Bright Garden. Concubine Yan accompanied the queen there. They searched every building, every corner in the buildings, but couldn? find any of the Han Clan women supposed to be there. They had been there before, but when the emperor got the wind that the queen would search the garden, he ordered them to be removed to some secret place.
It was said that the emperor liked to have fun outside the Forbidden City. He went out in plain clothes. Once he stole out of the Forbidden City, strolling in the streets, followed by a eunuch and some bodyguards, also in plain clothes. He looked this way and that, at all the interesting things he had never seen before. Someone was kneading a few colored doughs. Then picking pieces of dough off from here and there, he made a female figure out of them. The hair, the face with a mouth, a nose, eyes and ears, colored clothes, the hands and shoes. Nothing missing. Then he made another, a male figure. The figures were taken after the characters from well-known operas. Looking so vivid. Just wonderful. So the emperor told the eunuch to buy both and bring them back to his palace. He had them displayed on his desk. But after a while when the dough dried, there appeared some cracks on the figures. And the last place the figures ended up in was among the garbage.
Another time when the emperor was sauntering along a narrow street, he saw a young beautiful woman standing at the door of a dye shop. She was the owner's wife. When he made for the door, the woman stepped aside to let him in. He walked in like he was a customer and talked to the woman since the husband was in the back of the shop. He said to the woman that he could make her husband rich if she was willing to be his concubine. The woman was at a loss what to say to such an improper proposal. Just then, the husband came out. The emperor left with his attendants. Next day a stranger came into the shop. His servants carried in two boxes. A big heavy box they left on the floor and a small one they put on the table. The man announced that the emperor wanted his wife. If he refused, he must drink the poisonous wine in the cup in the small box. If he agreed, he could keep this big box full of gold. Besides, the emperor would make him a government official. He must choose between the two. He had to choose the latter, even if he loved his wife. The wife was taken and sent to live with the women of Han Clan. Sushun had done another favor to the emperor.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 5

Unfortunately for Emperor Xianfeng, in the second year of his reign, 1851, a great rebellion broke out in the south of China on a large scale, in a religious cloak. But before that, there had been other rebellions in a religious cloak, too. These rebellions had lasted very long. There were two main rebellious organizations. First was the White Lotus Taoists, which had originated in the Yuan Dynasty to fight against the Mongolian Clan, who had galloped down south from Mongolia in the far north and after occupying China, had established the Yuan Dynasty. When the Mongolian Clan had been driven back after their reign of a little less than a hundred years, the White Lotus Taoists had been dormant, because the next dynasty, Ming Dynasty, had been founded by the same Han Clan. Sometimes, they had killed some corrupted officials. When the Mandarin Clan had set up their Qing Dynasty, the White Lotus Taoists had risen up to arms again like an awakened lion or a phoenix rising from the ashes. Especially from 1793 to 1802, they had combated against the Mandarin Clan in five provinces in Midwest China. The other main rebellious organization was Heaven & Earth Society, first organized in 1786 in Taiwan. After 1793, they had set foot on the mainland. Their branches had scattered over many provinces, but battled separately, never united.

* * *

Since early in Qing Dynasty, many clergymen and priests had come to China to save the souls of the Chinese people. They had left their footprints everywhere, even in the remote villages. Using the western religious theory as their basic creeds, the largest and longest rebellious organization was born in 1851. It was called God-Worshipper Society. There had been quite a few rebellions since the Mandarin Clan had crossed the Great Wall and conquered the Han Clan. These were really political organizations in a religious cloak. So was the God-Worshipper Society.
The leader of the God-Worshipper Society was then a young man, Hong by name, born on January 10, 1813, in Guangdong Province. His father was a peasant, tilling the fields to grow vegetables and raising poultries. Hong had two older brothers, who helped their father with the sowing and reaping work. At that time cows were used to plough the ground. They had two cows. Though the family was not rich, they had enough to live on. So the father sent his youngest son, Hong, to a local tutor for education, pinning the hope on the son that some day he would pass the government tests and become an official. But karma arranged for him to take another road in his life. He failed all the tests. In 1836 after his last test failed, he met with someone in the streets of Canton City, who was distributing some books. Hong was given a copy, but he kept it at home and never read it. The failure in the tests made him so downhearted that he decided he would no longer take the tests. He became a tutor giving classes to children in his village.

[xlwoo]

One day in May of 1843, he found time heavy on hands. As he wanted to get some book to read for pastime, he came across the copy long forgotten. It was a gospel book written by a Chinese Christian. The book charmed him so much after he finished it that he wanted to tell people things in the book. So he quit tutoring and started preaching. He no more believed in Buddha. He no more believed in Confucius, whom almost all the scholars worshipped. He believed in God now and created the God-Worshipper Society. He left home for another province, Guangxi Province (west to Guangdong Province he was born in), and turned over a new leaf in his life. He preached in villages after villages there, sowing his seeds. His believers increased rapidly. He set up his headquarters in Jintian Village, which was like a gunpowder barrel that only needed a match.
In 1850, there were droughts in Guangxi Province. Food was scarce. The food merchants raised the prices. People who were starving began to attack the rich people's residences for food. The rich people organized their own guards to resist. The God-Worshipper Society had its believers in many places all over the province. The believers consisted of all kinds of people, from rich residents to poor tramps, from charcoal burners to peasants. In 1851, a match was applied to the gunpowder barrel. A small town police officer, who had been sent to arrest a thief, came across the charcoal burners in the woods near Jintian Village on his way back. He was a corrupted officer and often racketeered people for money. This time he asked for money from the charcoal burners, who made charcoals from the tree branches and lived from hand to mouth. Of course, they refused his demand. As the charcoal burners greatly outnumbered his policemen, he had to leave empty-handed, but he threatened to come back with more policemen to arrest them as rebels. The charcoal burners were afraid and gathered in a rich believer's yard for a discussion what to do. Meantime, the police officer happened to meet another rich believer and took his concubine away from him as a vengeance on the believers. Now the gunpowder was ignited. All the believers came to Jintian Village and the leader Hong declared that God was Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ was Heavenly Brother and that he was Heavenly Son sent down by Heavenly Father to save the world. Then he organized them. They called themselves the Peaceful Army, because their purpose was to bring peace to this world. The uprising took place on January 11, 1851.
The emperor received the report about the riot seven days later. He sent government armies to quench the rebellion. The Peaceful Army marched eastbound. They defeated the armies of Qing government and took over quite a few towns, but they didn't stay there long. They continued the eastward advance till they came to YongAn City. The word YongAn means long safety It's a good name for a city. So they founded a kingdom there, called Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom. Hong made himself the Heavenly King and gave titles to his chief followers, who were also leaders of troops. There were so many kings in this kingdom: East King, North King, West King, South King, Shrewdness King, Swallow King, Protection King, Assistant King and Wing King, who should be like the wings of a bird to make it fly up.

[Danik 2016]

Sorry for noticing this work only now, xiwoo.
It reads like a great Chinese epic with historical background.It reminds me of Tolstois´s War and Peace.
I suppose it already exists in bookform in Chinese.
I am a bit curious to know what made you chose LitNet as your English platform.

[xlwoo]

I wrote it directly in English. No such a book in Chinese. It was already published in bookform and can be bought on amazon.com

[xlwoo]

They put up slogans so that people could know what was their goal. Their slogans were: If there's land, plough together; if there's food, eat together; if there're clothes, use together; if there's money, spend together. And absolute equality everywhere. Enough food and clothes for everyone. These slogans fascinated and attracted a vast number of poor people, and hence swelled the Peaceful Army.
Their sublime aim was to overthrow Qing Dynasty and drive the Mandarin Clan out beyond the Great Wall, back to where they had come from. An order stated that anyone in the Peaceful Army, if coming in possession of anything, must hand in to the Heavenly Treasury and everyone could get a share from it when needed. Therefore, unlike the armies of Qing government, the Peaceful Army had good discipline and was supported by the people. Many young beggars and vagabonds joined it. Another edict was given that people of the Han Clan should grow their hair on the front part of their pate and restore the hairstyle of Han Clan. The male hair style of the Mandarin Clan was to shave the front part of the pate clean and braid the back part of the hair into a pigtail. When the Mandarin Clan had built up their Qing Dynasty, they had ordered all the male people of the Han Clan to wear their hair in the same style. Whoever had refused would have been beheaded. Their slogan was: hair or head. (It meant that if you wanted your hair, you could not keep your head on your shoulders.) So when the Peaceful Army grew their hair, Qing government called them Long-Hair.
While the Peaceful Army was celebrating their victory and newly-founded regime, Qing government gathered large troops and encircled YongAn City. In March, 1852, the Peaceful Army concentrated its forces and wedged out from the enclosure of the government army. The government army pursued, but was put to rout. The Peaceful Army headed for Guilin City, the capital of Guangxi Province. They surrounded the City for a month, but could not take it. So they quit and marched northbound.
The emperor sent three detachments to attack the Peaceful Army, but were also beaten. Then the government troops gathered in Wuchang City for the purpose to prevent the Peaceful Army from going further north. The emperor issued an order to allow cities, towns and even villages to organize and train their own people for self-protection.
On December 7, 1852, the Peaceful Army split itself into two sections. One section went on land and the other by water. They obtained plenty of ships from the government army. Their goal was the Wu-Han area, which included Wuchang City, Hanyang City and Hankou City. The Three Cities were the important military strategic area on the upper Yangtze River. Within ten days the Peaceful Army occupied the three cities one after another. The Heavenly King and all his other kings stayed in Wuchang City to celebrate and recruit while the emperor ordered his army commanders to set up defense lines in Hunan Province, Hubei Province and Anhui Province to blockade the advance of the Peaceful Army towards Nanking City.

[Danik 2016]

Congrats!

[xlwoo]

On February 9, 1853, after the Chinese New Year, the Peaceful Army left Wuchang City, dividing itself again into two sections. They went on land alongside and by water on the Yangtze River. They aimed at Nanking City. They took over many cities and towns along the way, like Jiujiang City, Anqing City, which was a very important spot in the military point of view, and Wuwu City. On March 18, the Peaceful Army entered Nanking City. They changed the name to Tianking City. (Tianking means the Heavenly Capital.)
The Peaceful Army established new law and order in the City. It was very simple: those who killed others would be executed. No robbery or theft happened because the excessive things must go to the warehouses of the Heavenly Treasury. Every twenty-five families formed a social unit. A unit leader was elected. A strong male adult was chosen from every family to form the basic military unit. The twenty-five families worked together and lived together. There was a treasury warehouse in every unit. Everything they got was stored there and everything necessary for the living was supplied from there. It was said that the foreign governments sent their representatives to have a look in Nanking City, surprised at all these. They thought it was a revolutionary army and hereby kept strictly neutral between the two regimes.
When the message reached the Forbidden City, the emperor lost his appetite in anxiety. He appointed new commanders to organize two detachments. One set up their camp in the area of Purple Golden Mountain not far from Nanking City on the southern side of the Yangtze River. It was called the South River Camp. The other camped in Yangzhou City on the northern side of the Yangtze River, hence called the North River Camp.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 6

The historians have discussed why the Qing government armies were so easily defeated and their conclusions are: (1) The military system of Qing Dynasty was that the army controlled by the central government was called Eight-Flag Army and those belonged to the local government were named Green-Camp Army. The Eight-Flag Army could no longer fight after long time of peace (almost two hundred years) and lack of training and practice. The old fighters had long been dead. The new generation of soldiers all came from rich or well-to-do families. They joined the Army as an honor since there was no occasion for fighting at that time. There really were days fixed for training, but most of them just hired some poor young men to be drilled in their names for roll-calling. No one knew who's who by face. Now the time came for the combat, but they didn't know how to fight. As for the Green-Camp Army, their sole duty was to defend the city or town they belonged to against small groups of outlaws. They had no experience in big-time fight on the battlefield, like forming a phalanx, and no training whatever for that matter. (2) Every commander wanted to be independent and fought separately. They couldn't unite as a strategic whole. Especially so was the Green-Camp Army. They were accustomed to the way that once they chased the rebels out of their jurisdiction, their duties were performed. The fleeing rebels were the problem of another jurisdiction. (3) There were conflicts of ideas and interests between officials and officers of the Mandarin Clan and those of the Han Clan. The latter looked down upon the former and wouldn't obey the former. The commanders were all from the Mandarin Clan and all were no good. (4) In Qing Dynasty, officials were above officers in status and ranks, but they didn't know how to fight. So officers often disobeyed them. Quite a few officials just ran away in the face of the enemies. (5) The government officers and soldiers often did nasty things to common people like extorting, and so they couldn't get universal support. When the Peaceful Army assaulted Nanking City, there were only five thousand government soldiers to defend it. This was a big city with the circumference of forty-eight kilometers and more than fifteen thousand battlements. Every soldier should safeguard three battlements. No wonder the Peaceful Army entered the city like back into their own home.
After the Heavenly King settled in Nanking City as his capital, he issued two orders. His Heavenly General and Earthly General (their position equivalent to that of a commander) would march twenty thousand strong northbound, detouring Yangzhou City where the government army camped. His Spring General would start from Pukou Town northward. The instruction given to them was to advance towards Peking to overthrow Qing Dynasty. They fought their easy way through Anhui Province and met resistance in Hunan Province. But they penetrated the defense line of the government army and approached Kaifeng City, the capital of Hunan Province. They assailed the city, but couldn't break through. So they went in a roundabout way and ferried across the Yellow River at Yixin Town. They enclosed Huaiqing Town and conquered the government army there, headed by the governor of Zhidi Province (It's Hebei Province now on the map). They hoofed towards Baoding City, close to Peking.

[xlwoo]

The emperor was chocked by the message. He scraped up all his forces on hand, including the regiment of his bodyguards, one hundred and fifty thousand in all. By that time, the detachments of the Peaceful Army had reached Tianjin City. The mayor had a section of the dike dug open. The water from the Grand Canal deluged the area and blocked the advance of the Peaceful Army. It was winter already. The soldiers of the Peaceful Army were all from the south of China, where the climate is warm. They could not stand the cold of the north and had to beat a retreat. They were assaulted by the government army in their way to withdraw. The Qing government used Mongolian cavalry to attack the Peaceful Army. Four hooves were much quicker than two feet. Spring General of the Peaceful Army was killed in the battle. Heavenly General was surrounded, waiting for rescue. The Heavenly King did send reinforcement twice, but the reinforcement didn't reach Heavenly General because it was blocked by the government army. The Mongolian cavalry that was encircling Heavenly General broke a part of the dike of a nearby river. The flood soaked the provisions and gunpowder of the Peaceful Army. As a result, Heavenly General was captured and executed. Earthly General escaped with two thousand soldiers, but was ambushed, captured and executed, too. The goal to seize Peking failed, because forty thousand of the Peaceful Army could not fight against one hundred and fifth thousand of the government army. It was in 1855.
However, warfare went on at both sides of the Yangtze River. In April, 1856, Swallow King of the Peaceful Army vanquished the North River Camp of the government army. Then in July of the same year, Swallow King and Wing King together beat the South River Camp. The Peaceful Army had the control of the entire area of the Yangtze River. The revolutionary cause reached its summit.
Emperor Xianfeng ordered some of his courtiers to organize new troops in the southern provinces. One of the courtiers was Zeng Kuofan of the Han Clan. Zeng was born in 1811 in a landlord family. He passed all the government tests in 1838 and was promoted to be the Right Deputy Minister of Etiquette Ministry. When Emperor Xianfeng succeeded to the throne, he got another title of the Left Deputy Minister of Judicial Ministry.
Zeng exercised the self-education of his own character. He believed in patience, perseverance, honesty and hidden wisdom (to show you are not clever, or even stupid). These were his principles in all the things he undertook. There were different ways to organize troops. The way Qing government adopted was that everyone at the right age could join the troops, and the officers were appointed by the government. The officers and soldiers didn't even know each other. There were no other ties between them. Zeng followed another way. He appointed those he knew well as his officers and let his officers recruit their own soldiers, mostly from the same village or from the same neighborhood. They were familiar with each other and cared for each other. The ties between them were not mere military disciplines. So the morale was different. Furthermore, most of his officers were literate, some even learned, while many officers in the government army were illiterate; some even couldn't write his own name, or know his own name if when shown to him. The high-rank government officers if illiterate, had secretaries to do the writing job for them when needed.

[xlwoo]

Zeng named his army Xiang Army. (Xiang is the substitute word for Hunan Province just like N. Y. for New York State. This was invented for telegram purpose. One word that stands for a province can save money when sending a telegram.) In 1853 when Xiang Army was just born, it wiped out a group of outlaws like testing the sharpness of the edge of a new sword. Then it beat a division of the Peaceful Army. At that time, two detachments of the Peaceful Army had been fighting in the area of the Yellow River, trying to reach Peking. Some other detachments went back westward and took Anqing City and Wuchang City again. They met with Xiang Army in the district between the Xiang River and the Puyang Lake and defeated the young and inexperienced Xiang Army there. As Zeng gathered his beaten troops, he reorganized and trained them, both on land and on the Yangtze River. After that, Xiang Army marched eastward and conquered the detachments of the Peaceful Army and took back Wuchang City once more. Wuchang City was like a ball being played in the field, sometimes falling into the hands of the Peaceful Army and sometimes gotten by the government army. But the detachments that had been defeated were not the main forces of the Peaceful Army. Now Xiang Army advanced further eastward, both on land and by water, and suddenly faced the Wing King of the Peaceful Army at Jiujiang City. Troops headed by Wing King were one of the main forces of the Peaceful Army and so Xiang Army was subdued again. Wing King proceeded towards the upper Yangtze River and occupied Wuchang City once again. Now the Peaceful Army controlled a vast area of the Yangtze River, from Wuchang City in the west to Nanking City in the east, like the sun clambering at the zenith. It was 1856.
The fatal turning point of the Peaceful Army from victory to failure was the inside murdering of each other. It happened in that same year. When the Peaceful Army had just been formed, Heavenly King had made East King take charge of everything like his prime minister. Later, South King and West King had been killed in the battles. When they had settled in Nanking City as the capital, except for Heavenly King, there were only three powerful kings left: East King, North King and Wing King. Other kings were not so powerful. East King was very conceited and often bullied other kings. He had even no proper decorum for Heavenly King, who began to suspect that East King might usurp his position as the head king. Other kings, especially North King, harbored a grudge against East King, who didn't even know. When they had been fighting the government army, they had known the significance of unity and solidarity. But when they had won the day over the North River Camp of the government army, the victory had turned their heads. Heavenly King and North King commenced to plot against East King, who never had thought that such lethal danger could have come to him.

[xlwoo]

One day, Heavenly King and North King sent their faithful men to assail the residence of East King, who didn't have enough bodyguards to defend himself and was slain. Then the massacre began. His family, his
Relatives and his faithful followers were sought after and all put to death. It was said that the number of the people butchered amounted estimably to twenty thousand. All that time, Wing King was in Anqing City. When
He learned the bloody incident, he hurried back to the capital to blame North King for the slaughter. North King flared up in rage and schemed to assassinate Wing King, who got the wind of it and escaped under the cover of night back to Anqing City. North King had the family of Wing King murdered. When back to Anqing City, Wing King gathered his troops. He had a great deal of supporters among the Peaceful Army because he was always trustworthy and nice to people. When Heavenly King got the message that Wing King would bring his troops to the capital, he panicked and executed North King. Then he had the severed head of North King sent to Wing King to pacify him. When Wing King arrived in the capital, many other kings suggested that Wing King should take charge of everything like East King had done before. But Heavenly King feared that Wing King would become a threat to him some day and so he made his two brothers kings to help him. His eldest brother was made Safety King and his second brother Fortune King. The two kings often interfered with whatever Wing King was carrying out. This made Wing King uneasy. Being afraid to lose his life senselessly like East King and North King, Wing King had to leave the capital with his own troops to go westward for his own independent development. From then on, he didn't keep in contact with Heavenly King anymore. He didn? want to have anything to do with Heavenly King.
Four kings were dead and one king was forced to leave. This greatly weakened the Peaceful Army. The government army seized the opportunity to counterattack. Xiang Army occupied Wuchang City finally. Another government army took Hanyang City. A detachment of Xiang Army had Jiujiang City in control. Therefore, the banners of the Peaceful Army were no longer perceived in Hunan Province and Jiangxi Province. Wing King fought his way from Zhejiang Province through Jiangxi Province and Fujian Province, then across Hunan province, back to Guangxi Province, where he had taken up arms in revolt five years before. Qing government reorganized their North River Camp and South River Camp, which approached Nanking City again.
With five kings gone, two of the other kings became powerful. One was Shrewdness King, who was in Anqing City and the other was Loyalty King, who stayed in the capital to defend it.

[xlwoo]

With five kings gone, two of the other kings became powerful. One was Shrewdness King, who was in Anqing City and the other was Loyalty King, who stayed in the capital to defend it.
In Spring of 1857, in the provinces between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, there arose another rebellion, which was known as the Nian Army, one hundred thousand strong. They often allied with the Peaceful Army. Qing government had to divide its forces to combat both the Nian Army and the Peaceful Army simultaneously. The Nian Army also called the leaders kings. Every king led a detachment, but they did not have a head king. They fought separately, never unified as a whole, though they assumed the same name. They never set up a capital. They went here and there, never stayed at one place long. The leader of the largest detachment was called Fertility King with eighty thousand fighters. In 1858, he took control of Fengyang town and aimed at Peking. In September of 1858, the Peaceful Army led by Swallow King and Loyalty King subjugated North River Camp again at Pukou Town, and then annihilated a detachment of Xiang Army of six thousand soldiers in Anhui Province. A brother of Zeng was killed in the action. No more threat to Nanking City from the north. Then Action King and Loyalty King of the Peaceful Army worked out a stratagem. Loyalty King marched toward Hangzhou City, the capital of Zhejiang Province, feigning an attack to it. This area was very important to the government army because they got all the provisions from there. So the South River Camp maneuvered eastward to defend the city. A tiger, once out of its lair, was vulnerable. Now Loyalty King turned around to meet the advancing South River Camp of the government army while Shrewdness King, Action King, Service King, Assistant King and five generals attacked the rear and flanks of South River Camp, which couldn't resist the blow of ten fists and were scattered on May 5, 1860, and its commander committed suicide. Besides Jiangsu Province (Nanking City is its capital), the Peaceful Army possessed Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province, though they lost all the provinces west to Anqing City, which had been attacked since spring of 1860 by Xiang Army under the command of another brother of Zeng (Younger Zeng to distinguish from Elder Zeng).
When the shocked reports of the defeats of the two Camps lay on the emperor's desk, he was too downhearted to even have a meeting with his courtiers. He had been ambitious when he had succeeded to the throne many years before. He had wanted to restore his empire to its former glory and prosperity. But contrary to his fond hopes and wishes, the whole situation turned from bad to worse. He felt too tired and depressed to prod the leaning empire, nodding to fall. He gave up his hope and ambition. He didn't want to read any more of such sad reports. He would play the ostrich, burying his head in the sands. So he started to indulge himself in sex and merry-making.

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In Qing Dynasty, a royal maid serving in the Forbidden City would either be released to her parents' home or be married to anyone the emperor's whim took to when she reached the age of twenty-five unless she had become the emperor's concubine before that age. So almost every year, the emperor would select some new ones to replace those released. This took place even in the heat of the warfare between the rebels and the government. Girls from thirteen to seventeen of age must be reported to the Clan Affairs Management, which would do the sifting among girls on the list. After that, only a small group of most suitable girls were qualified to be presented before the emperor, who would choose from them himself. That day, many urgent reports from the war districts appeared before the emperor, demanding his immediate attention. He must read them at once and discuss with the courtiers about the military situations there and about how to instruct his commanders to maneuver their troops. He was back to his palace later than usual.
All the time, the girls were standing in the receiving room of the emperor, waiting for him. They were not permitted to sit down. Just imagine: if you were as young and standing for hours, how would you feel? Hungry. Exhausted. Irritated, maybe. Dare not complain. Wishing you were dead then and there. One of the girls was bold enough to complain aloud, "It's the war time. Emperor still selects maids." The eunuch in charge panicked because if the emperor heard of it, not only the girl would be executed, but he would also be punished. He bellowed at her, "Shut up. You'll be beaten if you complain again." He was told that the emperor would soon come. He didn't want the girl to cause trouble for him, and for her, too. But the girl continued as if she hadn't been interrupted, "I'm not afraid of death, let alone beating." The eunuch was really piqued. He raised his right hand, intending to slap her face.
The emperor just entered the room in time to save her skin. All the girls kowtowed to the emperor and were bidden to stand up. Now, the emperor said to the girl, ?ou can say what you have to say. I won't take offense.The girl went on, "Emperor must know there's war in southern provinces and people died hundreds by hundreds everyday. There's flood south of the Yellow River. So many people lost home and everything. In this critical time, Emperor should spend his precious time and energy on these important matters, not on the selection of maids." Cold sweat wetted the clothes of everyone else in this room. They thought the emperor would have her beheaded once she finished, but to everybody's astonishment, the emperor didn't show any wrath. He only ordered that the girls be sent back to their respective homes. It was because the emperor heard a huge-roomful of flattering words everyday and was bored with them. Now such a young girl could tell him the cruel truth to his face. He was surprised and fascinated. So he pardoned her.

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Chapter 7

Despite that it was already over the hunting season, Emperor Xianfeng declared that he would go to the Summer Palace in Rehe. Emperors in Qing Dynasty went there in hunting season, (generally from May to September) really for the purpose of training their armies. But this time Emperor Xianfeng used it as a pretext, because the joint armies of the foreign invaders had occupied Tianjin City in July, 1860, and would soon reach the capital, Peking. It was called The Second Opium War in the history of China.
Some courtiers tried to dissuade the emperor from flight, but in vain. On September 21, the combined foreign troops were very close to the capital. The emperor could hear the sound of cannons in the Forbidden City. On September 22, in the late morning, the emperor left Peking with his family, followed by a few courtiers and two thousand bodyguards.
The Autumn scenes along the escaping route, the yellow leaves on the trees and on the ground, the chilly winds blowing, the melancholy caws of the crow, all added up to the sorrow of the emperor having to flee from his warm luxury Forbidden City. He felt he was a sinner to his ancestors.
Now the royal family was in the Summer Palace: the emperor, the queen, Concubine Yan and her son, and Concubine Li and her daughter. Other concubines didn't have time to follow the emperor. When they came to learn the tidings that the emperor had fled, it was too late for them to catch up with him. The emperor left his brother Prince Yixin in Peking to negotiate with the foreigners, who entered the Round-Bright Garden on October 6, to pillage and then set fire to it. (The burned ruins can still be seen even when the author is writing this book.)
The emperor was sick and weary of dealing with all the troubles. He trusted the state affairs to his favorite courtier, the younger brother Sushun, even though he was not a secretary of state then. Emperors of Qing Dynasty had established a secretarial bureau and appointed five or sometimes six courtiers as secretaries of state, with one as the head secretary. The bureau handled all the state affairs, and the military affairs as well, working under the emperor. The prime ministers were no longer in charge of the national affairs. But they still had some indefinite duties to perform.
There were six ministries. Every ministry had two ministers, one from the Mandarin Clan and the other from the Han Clan. And it had four deputy ministers. One Right Deputy Minister and one Left Deputy Minister were appointed from the Mandarin Clan and the other Right Deputy Minister and the other Left Deputy Minister were chosen from the Han Clan, to balance the racial problem.

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Personnel Ministry took care of the appointments and the removals of all the officials and officers in the central and local governments all over the country and of their promotions and demotions based on their self-evaluations and criticisms from others. For that matter, a critique official could throw a lot of weight around and a critique report on any officials or officers would count. So there were good critique officials and there were bad critique officials. Corrupt officials and officers were afraid of good ones since they wouldn't take money or even gifts, but all officials and officers dreaded bad ones, who would hint a bribery, or a critique report would appear on the emperor's desk, based on mere rumors and gossips. And it was allowed by law. If no critique came in for an official or officer, it meant that he was good. If instead there were praises, it would be better. Therefore, some mayors, though corrupt, forced the people in his district to give him something as an evidence of praise when he left his office, such as an umbrella with as many signatures on it as possible. It was called People of Petition Umbrella which denoted that people there wanted him to remain in office, the highest form of praise for a mayor.
Internal Revenue Ministry kept the records of population statistics, and based on them, made decisions how many taxes the local governments should collect and a certain percentage of the local tax collections should be sent to the central government. It also determined the special tax collections like salt tax. There was a lot of salt smuggling going on to avoid paying salt tax. An officer was thereby placed in the area that yielded salt. He headed an army to force the tax collection. This ministry also controlled the expenditure of the central government since it had the control of the national financial affairs. The local governments had their departments for that purpose. This ministry often had the most difficult time among all the ministries. If there was a war, it must provide the financial support for armies to get provisions and arms. If the emperor needed more money for his personal use, it was the responsibility of this ministry to gratify him. If the emperor was dissatisfied with the performance of their duties, the minister would be removed from office or even put into prison and a new one appointed. But it also served the minister and his subordinates as Ali Baba's cave. They were buried in treasure and could embezzle the hoard bit by bit. If they were discreet enough, no one could notice it.
Etiquette Ministry was a poor but respected ministry, which would make rules of rituals for certain occasions in reference to the rules used by the previous dynasties and act as master of ceremony where needed. Any new rules must be discussed among the high-rank officials and then approved by the emperor. The job was easy. Only no extra money came in. People would bribe the Personnel Minister for a better position. But for what purpose would they bribe the Etiquette Minister?

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Military Ministry took charge of all the war business. It would make all the necessary preparations for a war, including to suggest who could be the generals for armies, what were the best strategies to use, which should be discussed among all the high-rank officials and officers and then be approved by the emperor. Since war was a life and death business and the empire was staked on it, the emperor made the final decisions for everything concerning the war. This ministry would be in joint efforts with the Internal Revenue Ministry to supply the armies with equipment and provisions. In the peaceful time, it would look over how the local garrison troops worked and would train recruits to replace those not fit any more to fight.
Judicial Ministry made all kinds of laws, which would be discussed among all the high-rank officials and then be approved by the emperor. It would interpret laws and try cases concerning government officials and officers. If common people wanted to bring in a lawsuit against an official to the Judicial Ministry, he or she must go through a fatal procedure to prove that he or she had nowhere else to go for justice. A piece of wood was put before the gate of the ministry building with the sharp ends of the nails upward on it. He or she must throw himself and herself on it. If he or she was not dead after that, the judicial minister would accept the lawsuit. But often, he or she would wear enough thick clothes to do that, even in summer time. This was allowed. The ministry didn't accept lawsuits of common people against other common people.
The duties of Construction Ministry were to build new structures and fix old ones that belonged to the central government within the capital. Although its power was limited, it had extra money to be embezzled. The approved budget for the building was always much higher than the real cost. It's the same everywhere, the same anytime through the history, and will remain the same till the remotest future. The government is always like a gigantic cake and everyone around it thinks that he has a right to bite a morsel from it. The greedy ones will have two morsels or more.

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Besides these six ministries, there were some departments in the central government. The Critique Department had the responsibilities to watch that no officials and officers did anything wrong and against laws. If they came to know or hear of such wrong doings, they could send in critique reports to the emperor. They were even assigned the right to criticize the emperor himself if he did something against etiquette rules or laws. The positions in that department could not be bought. Only those who had passed the final test in the capital were entitled to such appointments. Since all the officials in that department were deemed scholars, they wrote their critique reports in great endeavors for the beautiful wording that sometimes the wording gave the emperor a deep impression even if he didn't agree to the opinions. The impression would inevitably imprint the name of the writer on the mind of the emperor and later when the emperor needed somebody to fill a certain position, the name would pop up first. Besides that advantage, those who could write better-worded reports were more esteemed among the scholars and had hereby more influence. So those so-called scholars would not condescend to mingle with the officials who had bought their titles, which created ill feelings among the latter.
There was a Supreme Court, which would try all cases that came its way. The head judge was lower in rank than the ministers and the head critique official. If there was a specially important case, like treason of a high official or officer, it should be tried by the three heads: the judicial minister, the head critique official and the head judge in the supreme court building. The huge courtroom had a big long table put in the center near the back wall. The judge sat behind it on a chair. If three heads were present in a special case, three chairs were put behind the long table. Sometimes three smaller tables were placed there instead of a big long one. Some torture equipments were displayed along both sidewalls and the prison police stood in two rows on either side before the long table. When a prisoner was being brought in, a threatening sound was issued in unison from the policemen standing straight there: huuuuuuuuuu weiiiiiiiiii----till the prisoner was on his knees before the long table. Then the trial began. Usually the prisoner would claim his innocence, but sometimes he really didn't commit the alleged crime. But in either case, since the judge couldn't be sure that the prisoner was innocent or guilty, he invariably ordered the torture equipment used. The first torture for a man was the beating on his bare butts with a thick wooden stick. How many beatings he would get depended on the mood of the judge or the seriousness of the offense. Generally thirty to a hundred. Often the prisoner would bleed on the butts. But the first torment for a woman was slaps on the face with a leather piece shaped like a hand. If the judge was not satisfied with the prisoner's confession, if any, a second torment would be administered. For a man, it was two long pieces of wood with ropes on both ends. The prisoner's forelegs were put between the two wooden pieces. When the ropes were tightened on both ends, there would be sharp pain on the shins, which could even be broken when really pressed hard. For a woman, it was ten short wooden sticks with ropes connected, looking like toy fences. The woman's eight fingers were put in, each between two sticks. Then the ropes were tightened. The pain on the fingers for a woman was also unbearable. Under such tortures, even the innocent would repeat whatever the judge wanted him or her to confess. If the prisoner was a high-rank official or officer, the judge was prohibited to use tortures and he must produce evidence. Even if the judge made the verdict, it should be approved by the emperor, who could change any verdict, even death sentence, as a special favor.
Since many foreign countries established their legations in Peking, the Qing government had to have set up a new department to deal with foreign governments. On January 13, 1861, Prince Yixin sent in a report from Peking to the Summer Palace, requesting the setup of the Foreign Affairs Yamen. On January 20, the emperor approved it. Its head was always a prince. And now Prince Yixin was the head.

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Chapter 8

Since the Secretarial Bureau was set up, many decisions had been made by the secretaries instead of the prime ministers and ministers, who formed the Cabinet, and all the orders or statements must be issued through the Cabinet. The Secretarial Bureau acted only as the emperor? private consulting office and it was not part of the central government. The emperor gave power to the Secretarial Bureau, not to the Cabinet. But a secretary could be simultaneously a prime minister, a minister or even one ranking lower in the official position than a minister. Now only four secretaries followed the emperor to the Summer Palace.
But the emperor still needed to read all the reports sent in by the courtiers in Peking or the governors in all the provinces, twenty-three in all at that time. He must make decisions and gave written orders when required. As his health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, he coughed blood and easily got tired. He let Concubine Yan read the reports for him, and for minor things even let her make the decisions. Concubine Yan was a woman of talent and ambition, aspiring after power. This supplied her with an excellent opportunity to get familiar with the procedures how to handle the state affairs a useful practice to prepare her for her political career later.
The ancestors of Qing Dynasty had had instructions written to forbid women to interfere in politics. But Emperor Xianfeng had developed a headache whenever he had to read those sad reports. He had to have someone to help him read them and Concubine Yan seemed to be the most suitable person to do it at the time. When he felt a little better, he would sit up on the bed with stack of pillows behind his back and head, watching Concubine Yan reading. In that peaceful moment, he would munch some pieces of fruit cut for him by Concubine Li. If not for his bad health, if not for the rebellion in the southern provinces, if not for the foreigners who had driven him out of his palace in the capital, he would enjoy life better, with one beauty taking over his tedious daily task of reading the reports and with another beauty serving his food. After a while the emperor began to notice that Concubine Yan showed great interest and zeal in political affairs. She sometimes even suggested some solutions, which might be good, but was not appropriate from a woman. He became aware that she was not a mediocre woman like the queen. He suspected that she might seize power after his death as an empress dowager, because her son would succeed to the throne. (The rule in Qing Dynasty was that when the son became the emperor, the natural mother must be the empress dowager, no matter who she was or what status she was in.) At first he wanted to execute her for the safety of the empire, but he thought of his son, who was only six then. Such a small child should have a mother to look after him. Besides, he knew by then that the younger brother Sushun was also a man of ambition and might do something evil to his son when he died. He himself could control Sushun, but his son was too young to stand up against him if Sushun wanted to usurp the throne. He would let Concubine Yan contend with him and defend their son. Only he should think of a way to restrain Concubine Yan. And he got one now. He was really pleased with himself for coming up with such a good strategy.

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Except for the emperor, the younger brother became the most powerful man in the empire, even before the Second Opium War, because the emperor always listened to him, and what the emperor did was really what he wanted to do. He wanted to establish his authority, wanted other courtiers to be afraid of him. By what? By killing.
Sushun handed in a report, saying that Qinying must be executed immediately. In 1856, the joint foreign armies occupied the Bay of Dagukou and commenced to attack Tianjin City. The emperor sent Qinying to negotiate with the foreigners. But he came back to the capital without fulfilling the task, not even asking for the emperor's approval to return. The emperor was really angry. Prince Yixin, his brother, proposed to hang Qinying next autumn. (Qing Dynasty often executed prisoners in autumn.) But Sushun insisted that Qinying should be executed at once to set an example for other courtiers so that no one dared to do such things later. So the emperor commanded Qinying to die by his own hand. (Generally by hanging or drinking poison, which was deemed better than being beheaded publicly.)
Next was another courtier, Paijun, who had offended Sushun before. In 1858, Paijun was appointed the chief examiner in charge of the government exam. Since Tang Dynasty, every subsequent dynasty had held government exams to select future officials. This was a very important event. It happened that an actor passed the exam, ranking the seventh place. The regulations then inhibited actors to take such exams, because they were considered among the lowest caste in social status. The emperor got furious and ordered Sushun to investigate. Now he got a chance to revenge. The result of the investigation revealed that many officials handling this examination had accepted briberies, though no evidence showed that Paijun did it. But the actor got his wish through a servant to his concubine, who persuaded Paijun to let the actor pass the exam. Therefore, Paijun was guilty of breaking the rules. Everyone of the officials got certain punishment according to the degree of his offense. Paijun, as the head examiner, was executed at the insistence of Sushun. Many such things occurred. So Sushun made a lot of enemies.

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The sons of the emperor were habitually called Brother. If the emperor had quite a few sons, they would be called by seniority as First Brother, Second Brother, etc. If one of them was made the successor to the throne, he would be called Big Brother. It didn't matter if he was the oldest one or not. Now Emperor Xianfeng had only one son. The son would definitely be the successor. So he was called Big Brother. Six years old was the right age to start learning. If the emperor had more than one son, all the sons would form a class to study. But as now Big Brother had no brothers, he himself was the sole pupil in the class. It was very significant to choose suitable tutors for the future emperor, particularly to choose the head tutor, who would greatly influence the young son. He must be a great scholar with a known great character, and no blemishes whatsoever on it. Generally the head tutor was selected from among Zhuangyuans, the winners of all the former tests. At length, the emperor decided on Li Hongzao, who met all the requirements. When the emperor received Li Hongzao, he assigned him with the honorable task. After he left, the emperor wanted to give him some gifts as the tradition demanded. The emperor took up a brush and spread out a piece of paper. As he was about to write down the items, Sushun, standing at the emperor's side at that time, dictated, two scrolls of silk, ten brushes, . . . as if he were the emperor and the emperor were his secretary. When the emperor finished writing, Sushun took the list and went to get the things for Head Tutor Li. But as they were now in the Summer Palace, there were not many courtiers who could be chosen as proper tutors. So for now the boy had only one tutor. When he got back in the Forbidden City, he would have more tutors with Tutor Li as the head tutor.
Then the emperor sent for his son and told him to study hard and some such things. The boy of six just nodded and blinked. It seemed as if his father's instructions were quite beyond his head. When the boy went to see the queen, she told him simply, ?on't be naughty. Respect and listen to your tutor.The boy replied, ?kay.Early next morning, the eunuch, Zhang Wenliang, who was assigned to look after the boy, woke him up and dressed him formally. He took the boy first to see the emperor, then to see the queen, to let them see if everything about the boy was all right. (Everyone, including the emperor and the queen, went to bed early and rose early by habit.) Then Jingshou, the emperor's brother-in-law, came and took the boy by hand to the study, followed by the eunuch Zhang.
When they arrived, Tutor Li was already there, standing before the door of the study. As they got in, first, Tutor Li kowtowed to the boy, the future emperor. Then Jingshou told the boy to kowtow to the tutor. (It's the traditional ritual.) But Tutor Li refused to accept it, saying, ? prince can't kowtow to a courtier. (The emperor's son was of course a prince by birth.) At that, Jingshou told the boy to make a bow instead. So the boy bowed to Tutor Li and Tutor Li accepted it. There were two desks in the room, one for the boy and the other for the tutor. Jingshou sat on a chair at one side of the room and several assistant tutors stood in a row at the other side.

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Both taking the seat, Tutor Li said to the boy, ? made a schedule for you. If you finish it early, you can leave early. Is that all right to you?The boy said, ?kay.Tutor Li said, ?ood. You must come early in the morning, beginning with learning how to use a bow and arrows, then for some Mandarin language. Finally we'll read a book and practice writing Chinese characters.He turned to the assistant tutors, ?ow take him to learn what you'll teach him.”
The assistant tutors were from the Mandarin Clan. They would teach the boy the archery and the Mandarin language. Though the Mandarin Clan was in a ruling position, they found that if they wanted to rule the big country, the large population of the Han Clan, efficiently, they must learn the Han language?he Chinese language, which was the basic lesson for the children of the Mandarin Clan. The emperor's brother-in-law was in charge of the boy's education as a whole and would watch over every step of the progress. So he went with the boy to see how he would practice the bow and arrows, both of which were particularly made for his small size. After the archery lesson, they came back into the study. Today the brother-in-law wanted to teach the boy the Mandarin language himself. Then Tutor Li took over and began the main course. In the old time, they always taught a book by Confucius. They didn;t even care whether the pupils understood or not. They just made the pupils read the text, learn it by heart and recite it next time when they came. They simply thought that the pupils would understand when they grew up.
The books, either hand-copied or printed, were difficult to read, because there were no punctuation. The pupils didn't know where to stop for a sentence. The tutor must read to them first to show them where to stop. Then he let the pupils read the texts themselves. It got to be a while to mark the full stops of the sentences. So at first the learning process was slow. On the first day, Tutor Li only taught the boy how to read a couple of sentences and how to write a couple of Chinese characters with a brush. The handling of a brush was also not easy. A pupil must sit straight and hold the brush upright at a distance of a foot and a half right before his nose. He must copy the examples on the tablets written by famous ancient calligraphers. If he aimed to be an excellent calligrapher, he must practice the brush moves with a small cup with water in it put between the thumb and the forefinger of the hand holding the brush. When he moved the brush, the water in the small cup was not allowed to spill. It sounded like an acrobatic. But the son of the emperor was just taught the basic skills, given that he wouldn't be a calligrapher.

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Chapter 9

Since Concubine Yan had such a strong desire for power, she must find some allies. At first she sent someone to approach Sushun, but he always despised women. Her sheep's eyes cast to him were ignored. Concubine Yan was greatly disappointed in and even infuriated with him. He got himself a terrible foe without knowing it.
Then she approached Prince Yixin, the emperor's brother, who was more talented than the emperor. The emperor often feared that his brother would some day usurp his throne. It was all because of Yixin's mother, a royal concubine of the late emperor. The present Emperor was Xianfeng's father. Emperor Xianfeng's mother, the queen, had died not long after his birth. So the late emperor had given him to the care of Yixin's mother. The two children, two years apart, had studied together, played together and grown up together. The relationship between them had been closer than that among other siblings. Emperor Xianfeng was the fourth son of the late emperor and Yixin was the sixth. Among the royal family members, he was called Old Six, but his younger brothers called him Sixth Brother. When the old emperor had died, Emperor Xianfeng had succeeded to the throne. Since Yixin's mother was not the queen, she had been called Royal Concubine Dowager. For several times, Yixin had asked the emperor to confer to his mother the title of the empress dowager, but the emperor had declined, saying that it was against the etiquette rules, though such rules had always been changed throughout history. When Yixin's mother had been seriously sick, the emperor often went to visit her. On her death bed, in her last moments when the emperor went to see her again, she had mistaken him for her own son Yixin. She said, ?ake care of yourself when I'm gone. The throne should have been yours.Hearing those words, the emperor was not happy and from then on he started to estrange Yixin, afraid that his brother would some day usurp his throne. So he always prevented his brother from getting into any power. Being talented, though usurpation never came across his mind, Yixin wished to use his talents to serve the empire, to perform some great deeds. He didn't want to live like a good-for-nothing.
Now as the empire was facing the danger of further invasion, Yixin was at last appointed in charge of the negotiation with the foreign invaders. After a lot of bargaining, a treaty was signed. Then the invading armies withdrew from the capital. Yixin sent in a report to the emperor, requesting that the emperor return to Peking since peace was restored. But the emperor found an excuse for himself: he was too sick to travel in the cold weather. There was at least some truth in it.

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The only person Sushun feared was Yixin. He had a finger in the emperor's alienation of his brother. He knew that if the emperor had trusted in Yixin, he wouldn? have had the power as he had now. So a rumor had started to spread that Yixin wanted to usurp the throne. Even another brother of Emperor Xianfeng, the fifth son of the late emperor, believed in it and had mentioned it to Emperor Xianfeng. So every time when Yixin asked to come to the Summer Palace for a visit, the emperor declined, saying that it was more important for Yixin to stay in the capital.
Now as the rumor about the emperor's health went around, everyone had to take into serious consideration his interests, his future, and his fate. For the officialdom was a dangerous place. The ups and downs, life and death, were determined in just a few moments. Yixin had two faithful followers, like his two hands. Wenqiang was a secretary of state, the only secretary who didn't follow the emperor to the Summer Palace. He wanted to stay in the capital to assist Yixin to deal with the foreign aggressors. Baojun was the other person, who was the head of the Royal Family Affairs Management. But the emperor didn't like him for two things. First, as he was the head of the Royal Family Affairs Management in charge of the imperial residences, he should have sent in a report of self-criticism and asked for punishment when the Round-Bright Garden had been burnt, but he had just handed in a report of statement about the conflagration, nothing else. It was because the emperor had already ordered him to give up the keys to The Round-Bright Garden to another head of the Royal Family Affairs Management. Therefore, he hadn't begged for punishment as he had thought that it was no longer in his responsibility. However, the emperor had given him a demotion. But a while later he had been restored to his former position as Yixin had mentioned to the emperor that he had done something to deserve a reward. A reward could offset a punishment. So he got back to the square he had been in. He was so intimate with Yixin that he could even joke with him. The second reason the emperor disliked him was that as soon as the emperor reached the Summer Palace, he had ordered Baojun to send over two hundred thousand taels of silver for the repair of the Summer Palace, but somehow he hadn't sent the money, or he hadn't had any money on hand at all. Sushun disliked him, too, as he was Yixin's follower.

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In the Secretarial Bureau, there were clerical officials to help the secretaries with their clerical work, like drafting an order for the emperor, a report to the emperor, a reply to any official or officer who had sent in a report and required a reply, or copying an emperor's order in a formal writing style, then getting it dispatched to anywhere it should go. They couldn't make any decisions, but they had all the inside information. So they were the popular ones in the whole officialdom. The clerical officials were divided into two shifts, because if emergency arose, clerical assistance would be needed even in the midnight. Zao Yueying was the head clerical official in the daytime shift. He was secretly a follower of Yixin. So Yixin knew everything that happened in the Summer Palace.
Wenqiang was a man of talent and patience. Based on the information sent by Zao, the head clerical official, he made up a strategy for Yixin. Yixin shouldn't do anything obvious yet to rouse the suspicion of Sushun, but he could make any necessary preparations on the sly. The most important thing in the politics, in the power fight, was the support of armies. Sushun had the command of two thousand emperor's bodyguards in the Summer Palace. Yixin should get some commanders of armies on his side. The ideal candidate was Commander Shengbao. When the joint foreign troops had advanced toward Peking, Commander Shengbao had been assigned the task to defend the capital. He had fought a battle against the foreign troops, but had been defeated. Accordingly to the martial law, he would have been severely punished, but as the emperor had already escaped to the Summer Palace and Yixin had been put in charge of all the things in the capital, Commander Shengbao had got away with only a slap on his wrist under Yixin's protection. So he was grateful to Yixin for it. Besides, he hated Sushun for his arrogance and hauteur. Now in Yixin's name, Wenqiang had a letter written to him with a hint of the emperor? health problem and Sushun's avarice for absolute power. The letter served as a red rag to a bull. But Commander Shengbao was a scholar-commander and had brains, though he had also a quick temper. A scholar-commander was originally a scholar, and was later appointed a commander of armies. Commander Shengbao was proud of himself that he could write beautifully and could fight, too.

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Chapter 10

What the emperor mostly did in the Summer Palace was to watch performances of Peking Operas, which, when in the Forbidden City, he could do only on certain occasions like for celebration of birthdays or festivals.
There were three stages in the Summer Palace. The frequently-used one was close to the living quarters of the emperor. The emperor liked to have many people accompanying him when he was watching the operas. The queen didn't like some of the operas, especially the one with a young nun stealing out of the nunnery and a young monk climbing over the wall of the temple. They met at the foot of the mountain and flirted with each other. The queen thought it was against the moral conceptions, but the emperor loved it because it was really fun when the two actors performed the flirting actions in a ridiculous way. (At that time there were no actresses yet. Female parts were acted by actors in female costumes.) At that, the queen kept whispering to herself, ?t's sinful. It's sinful. Pardon us, Buddha. Pardon us, Buddha.”
But she had her favorite opera, which was acted by young boys about the age of ten. When the performance finished, the chief actor was brought to the queen? presence. The actor kowtowed to the queen, who patted his head and gave him two taels of gold out of her own purse.
Concubine Yan loved another opera with the owner of an inn and a sick lodger. Since the man lodged in the inn, he had fallen sick and spent all his money on medicine and rent and food. Though he was recovered now, he could not leave the inn without paying the owner for what he owed to him. The owner said all sorts of nasty things about him and to him. He had to swallow the bitter fruit of humiliation. At long last he had to pawn his weapon and sell his horse. He had been on his way to join the army. She thought that Sushun was very much like the inn owner in behavior, always nasty to people.
The emperor was happy these days, because the military reports said that all the rebellious troops were surrounded and the final victory would soon be due. Besides, it would soon be his birthday. To please the emperor, Sushun was preparing a celebration in the Summer Palace. The celebration would last for three days with the birthday arranged on the second day. The day before the birthday was to warm the celebration so that the next day could get really hot. And the third day was to get things to cool down a little so that everything would be normal again after the three days' celebration. If it weren't for the rebellion in the southern provinces and the foreign invasion, the celebration might last for ten days.

[xlwoo]

On the day before the birthday, only the royal family watched the operas in the daytime and a feast was given in the evening for all to attend, the royal family as well as the courtiers. On the birthday, the emperor got up early. After he had breakfast and was dressed in full, he went to the building where the portraits of his ancestors were hung on the wall opposite the double doors and he kowtowed to the portraits. Then he made his way to another building to receive his male family members and the courtiers. On this formal occasion the emperor went everywhere in a procession. Before the emperor walked two files of bodyguards side by side, carrying yellow flags each with a curved dragon embroidered on them and long-handled weird-shaped weapons reflecting the sunshine, the symbols of power. The emperor sat on a big wide sedan-chair with a yellow canopy over his head to shut out the sun. The sedan-chair was carried by eight eunuchs. After the emperor walked two files of eunuchs carrying all kinds of things the emperor might use, such as clothes to change, towels, teacups, etc. More bodyguards brought up the rear.
When the emperor reached the building, his family and all the courtiers were already there. They were all dressed in full, wearing the blue gowns with pictures of different birds embroidered on the front and the back of the gowns. The different birds showed different ranks. A rosary of beads was hanging down from the neck, almost reaching the knees. The beads were made from different materials for different ranks, the size between a pigeon's egg and a hen's egg. The hats were decorated on the top with a bead of the same material and the same size. Quite a few courtiers received from the emperor a peacock? tail feather as an honor and ornament, which was stuck in the hole of the bead on their hats.
All went down on their knees when they heard the emperor? procession coming and prostrated there till the emperor entered the building. Then they followed in. When the emperor settled on his throne, they arranged themselves in an array according to their different ranks, the highest in the front, and kowtowed nine times while shouting in unison, ?ong live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor!Music was accompanying during the whole ritual. It was almost noon when the ceremony ended. The feast then began with all the dainties available, like the bear? paws, the shark? fins, the swallow's nests and sea cucumbers, etc.
After the banquet the operas began, which lasted late into the night. Before they left, they were each given a gift. But the emperor didn't stay long with them. He had gone to the back palace, to his queen and concubines with whom the emperor had his feast dinner and watched operas on another stage. The evening operas were different, especially the first one which had no scenario. All characters, imaginable from legends, myths, folk songs and fairy tales, got on the stage, dressed in due costumes. All the actors sang the same words in a chorus to praise the emperor. The accompanying music was loud with gongs and drums. When the opera ended and music stopped, everyone felt the ears were still ringing and the silence was deep in between.

[xlwoo]

During the three feasting days, ignoring the advice of the doctors, the emperor ate too much and got too tired so that on the evening of the last day the emperor felt really sick while watching an opera, which threw everyone in panic. After rest and treatment, he felt a little better. Then came the queen's birthday. The emperor remembered that in 1856, on August 12, it had been the queen's twentieth birthday. By Chinese tradition, every ten-year's birthday is more important and should be celebrated on a larger scale. A grand banquet had been held for it. They both had had a time of their lives. But now as the emperor was sick, the queen didn't want to celebrate her birthday, but the emperor insisted. Therefore, the queen agreed to have it only for one day. On that day, when the celebration began, the queen kowtowed to the emperor for making her the queen. Then the queen sat there and all the concubines came to kowtow to the queen and then all the eunuchs and maids followed suit. All the relatives and courtiers kowtowed outside the queen's chamber. Operas were performed and a feast was given. They ate while watching the operas. Since it was the queen? birthday, the emperor let the queen decide what operas she wanted to watch. All the operas the queen chose were those of moral instructions or of the good being rewarded and the bad being punished. The queen was always deemed as a lady saint in the Forbidden City.

[xlwoo]

The sickness of the emperor became serious. He coughed blood more often. Although Concubine Yan helped him to read the daily reports, he still needed someone else to wait on him, to console him. He sent for Concubine Li. But when Concubine Yan learned it, she was jealous. She could do nothing and say nothing, but the queen could, she thought. How could she talk the queen into interfering with it? She should adopt some kind of ruse, whatever kind of ruse that she should take pains to think of.
Next day, after a sleepless night with her brain-cudgeling, she went to the queen? chamber. After the ritual of kowtowing on her knees before the queen, she began, "Does Queen know. . ." She trailed off for emphasis.
"What should I know?" The queen was curious. That's the effect of an incomplete sentence.
The emperor coughs blood again. She raised her handkerchief to her eyes, making some sort of a sound like sobbing. "I always think that the emperor should have more rest. But how can he when Concubine Li is with him day and night? It hinted that the emperor had sex with Concubine Li, which was not good to the health of the emperor."
The queen was concerned, too. "Leave that to me." She solaced Concubine Yan. After Concubine Yan left, she sent for Concubine Li, but the queen was a good-for-nothing and she didn't scold Concubine Li as Concubine Yan would have expected.
"How's the emperor's sickness these days?" She asked Concubine Li.
"Not good." was the reply.
"The emperor must have more rest." It meant that Concubine Li should not have sex with him.
"I know, but how can I reject whatever the emperor wants me to do?" It implied the truth that if the emperor wanted sex with her, how she could refuse.

[xlwoo]

When the emperor had been well and healthy, almost everyday he had given out written orders about this and that, however trivial it was. Now since the emperor was sick, he couldn't have done it everyday. So there were rumors prevalent in the capital about the emperor's health. Some rumors said that the emperor was lingering on his death bed. Some rumors even had it that the emperor was already dead and that Sushun kept it a secret to make his arrangements to seize the power. Rumors were ensued by inflation. The value of currency and the prices of goods were pitching up and down greatly. It was the responsibilities of Sushun who was still the minister of Internal Revenue Ministry after he had been made one of the secretaries of state. Sushun wanted to do something about it. He planned to rectify the four government money shops (i.e. banks) run by the Internal Revenue Ministry and to cast new coins, which should be heavier than the old ones and to issue new money shop notes. Before Sushun had been appointed the minister of the Internal Revenue Ministry, the corruption in the Ministry had been obvious and publicly known. Some officials in the Ministry and some clerks in the money shops worked hand in glove to embezzle money. The minister at that time had been an old man of no ability. Sushun had asked the emperor to remove the old minister and made him the new minister. Then he had made his fame as a man of talent by investigating the embezzlement case. But he couldn't uproot the evil and the corruption was still there. Only the people working there were different. Now Sushun wanted to do it again. But the emperor was so sick that he couldn't get his approval and had to wait.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 11

The royal doctors diagnosed that the emperor was suffering from a terminal disease, but they could not tell the truth, because no one liked to hear that he would soon die. The emperor was certainly no exception.
One day after the head royal doctor examined the emperor, the emperor asked him in a weak voice, “How's my sickness?”
“Not serious.” was the answer.
“What is my sickness? You have a name for it?”
“Emperor is too tired, need a lot of rest.” He didn't dare to add, “Have less sex.”
After he wrote the prescription, he was summoned to the presence of the secretaries of state.
“What is really the emperor's sickness?” asked Tu Han, one of the secretaries of state, “You must tell us the truth.”
The head doctor hesitated, but he knew that if he didn't tell the truth and when the emperor died, he would be accused at least of inability to cure the emperor and let the emperor die. So he decided to tell the truth. “The case is hopeless. Tuberculosis.” He confessed.
“Then, why you said not serious to the emperor? You liar.” A newly-promoted secretary of state shouted at him indignantly.
“Every doctor says so to his patients.” He pleaded.
That's another truth. They couldn't blame him for it. So he was dismissed.

[xlwoo]

In the Chinese history, when a new emperor was too young to rule the country, there were two systems to be adopted: the counselor system and the empress dowager system. It meant who would help the young emperor, that is, to make the decisions for him, to give edicts in his name. The counselors or the empress dowager(s)? Sushun wanted the former while Concubine Yan wanted the latter. Sushun called for a secret meeting in his house. Only four people were present, his brother Duanhua, Zaihuan, Tu Han and himself. They were in a pavilion on a tiny island with only a small bridge for the access. No possible eavesdroppers. They even left the windows open so that no one could approach without being seen. They discussed what they should do before the emperor's last moment. Sushun began, ?he last moment for the emperor will soon come. What do we want him to say as his last words?
“We should make the emperor appoint us to be counselors. But Old Six can't be included.” suggested Zaihuan.
“Good.” said Sushun, then to Tu Han, “What do you think?”
Tu Han was a scholar and often had a second thought for everything. He observed, “The appointment of the counselors must come from the emperor. What we do can't be too obvious and incite criticisms.”
“Don't worry. I'll take care of it.” said Sushun
“Good. Let's write down the names.” said Duanhua.
“All the secretaries.” suggested Zaihuan.
“No, no. Not Wenqiang.” Sushun refuted.
“Okay. Got it.” said Zaihuan, “We have four secretaries here. You, he, he and me.” He pointed to Sushun, Duanhua and Tu Han. And other threes. Seven in all.

[About the other book I posted here, the "100 Famous Women in China" is published. Congrats to myself. readers here can check it on http://www.allbook-books.com/html/100_famous_women_in_china.htm

[xlwoo]

“Not enough.” said Sushun, “It's better to add someone closer to the emperor in genealogy to make eight counselors.” In old China, family relationship was deemed very important. It was not appropriate and would draw criticisms if no one from the emperor's family was included among the counselors. The best candidate was the emperor's brother-in-law, who was really a good-for-nothing and so would not dare to stand up against them. They put down his name on the list.
Then they made another list of names to form a group handling the emperor's funeral. They put Yixin's name on it, but they planned to state that all those, who were in the capital, though had names on the list, didn't need to come to the Summer Palace.
Sushun went to see the emperor almost everyday. Today, the emperor felt better and got up to sit on a chair before the windows. When Sushun saw him, he said, “Congrats. Emperor will soon be well.”
“I wish.” said the emperor. Then he bade the eunuchs and maids to leave the room. Sushun knew that the emperor had important things to say to him. To make it easy for the emperor, Sushun got down on his knees before the emperor so that the emperor could look at him in a comfortable angle when he spoke. “I know you always respect the queen.” commenced the emperor, “You must still respect her when I'm gone.” The emperor stopped to take a breath. Cold sweat broke out on Sushun's forehead. Did the emperor suspect him of anything? Sushun said, “I'm Queen's slave, too. I'll serve Queen all my life.”

[xlwoo]

“But you must protect her if any harm will befall her.” said the emperor.
Sushun heaved a sigh of relief. “I'll defend Queen with my life.” The emperor nodded his approbation. Sushun thought it's high time to mention the counselor system, but he tried another tactic first. “What shall I do if someone wants to have the empress dowager system when Emperor's in Heaven?”
“No such precedent in our dynasty. So no one will suggest it.”
“Can Emperor appoint more courtiers to help Big Brother. I can't help Big Brother alone.”
“Do you mean counselors?” It was not proper for Sushun to say anything in affirmative. He just kowtowed on the floor. That was a habitual act of a hint as YES among the courtiers in Qing Dynasty. The emperor didn't say anything and looked tired. Therefore, Sushun begged the emperor to go back on bed.
The emperor knew that his days were numbered. He wanted to make some arrangements for his son. He wanted to appoint some counselors to help his son, which just fitted the desire of Sushun and his followers. When the emperor asked Sushun who would be better to help his son, Sushun suggested some names that they had discussed and decided on before. But not his own name. The emperor just listened and didn't say anything. Then he bade Sushun to leave and sent for the queen, who came to sit at the emperor's sick bed, weeping.
“No time for weeping now, my queen.” The emperor gasped out his words, “Look under my pillow. There's a seal and a written will for you.”
“What's the will for?” The queen took out the two things and put them into her inner pocket.
“If Concubine Yan does something very wrong and will impair the benefits of the empire, you can produce this will publicly and execute her.” The voice of the emperor sounded a bit weak.
“I hope I don't need to use it.” said the good-hearted queen.
“Now you can leave and tell Concubine Yan to come.” said the emperor.

[xlwoo]

Concubine Yan came and took seat where the queen had sat, weeping too. The emperor told her to be nice to the queen, and after giving her another seal, he bade her to go.
He fell into a swoon. When he came to, he was served ginseng soup. It was said that ginseng could make a person prolong his life on the deathbed. Then he sent for his son and all the courtiers that had come here with him. He encouraged his son to be a good emperor, but his son was too young to understand what he had said. Then the emperor wanted to write formal wills to be declared after his death to the entire empire. It's the tradition. But the emperor was too feeble to write it himself. So one of the courtiers wrote it for him while he dictated. The first will said that his son would be the emperor when he died. The gist of the second will was to appoint eight courtiers to be counselors to the young emperor, his son. Among them were Sushun, the younger brother, Duanhua, the elder brother, and Zaihuan, their nephew, who had inherited the title of prince, though he was older than the brothers. All the eight counselors were just those Sushun wished and had suggested to the emperor. But many courtiers felt it not fair that the emperor didn't include Yixin, his own brother, as a counselor.
It was said that when the courtier drafted the will, he put in some words like to help the young emperor to handle the state affairs into the will, which was later deemed false. Anyway, the wills were read to the late emperor and he didn't say anything, which, in the opinion of the counselors, meant that the late emperor approved them.

[xlwoo]

Everyone in the room watched the emperor, who lay there still and motionless now. It was dawn. After a long while, Sushun burned a stick of incense and put it before the emperor's nostrils to see whether he was breathing. The smoke rose straight in the air, which meant that no breath came out of the emperor's nose any more. The emperor was gone to Heavens, as it should be referred to. Everyone in the room began to cry loudly in mourning. That was also a tradition.
When the queen was mourning, her favorite maid brought her a sad information that Concubine Li had committed suicide, but didn't die, because the opium she had swallowed was not enough. The queen had to summon Concubine Li to her presence and consoled her. It was not an unusual event that a concubine wanted to end her own life to follow the emperor to Heavens in the history of China. But Concubine Li had her own reason for doing so. She was always afraid of Concubine Yan, who, in her opinion, was shrewd and cruel. She feared that since Concubine Yan would become an empress dowager she would maltreat her some day out of old jealousy, which would easily turn into abhorrence and killing. And it was not unusual that when Concubine Yan wanted to kill her, she would accuse her of something, anything she didn't do, which would also impair her good reputation. When she died for the emperor, she would leave a good reputation behind her.
The queen knew why she wanted to die. So she promised to protect her from any potential imaginable harm and bade her to live on. Concubine Li promised to do no more such stupid things.

[xlwoo]

After Emperor Xianfeng died on August 22, 1861, his son succeeded the throne accordingly, who was Emperor Tongzhi (1856-1875), six years old at that time. The queen then became Empress Dowager XiAn, who lived in an eastern chamber, so was habitually called East Empress Dowager. According to tradition, the young emperor? biological mother, Concubine Yan, was made Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived in a western chamber, so was habitually called West Empress Dowager. But the courtiers and maids and eunuchs addressed them as the Mother Queen Empress Dowager for East Empress Dowager and the Holy Mother Empress Dowager for West Empress Dowager. The maids and the eunuchs would also call East Side for East Empress Dowager and West Side for West Empress Dowager behind their backs.
Since Emperor Tongzhi was too young to make any decisions about the state affairs, there arose the problem: who would make the decisions for him till he became of age? Different people had different opinions, of course. Some of the counselors, especially Sushun, the younger brother, thought that the counselors should make decisions for the young emperor since the late emperor had appointed them to help his son to rule the empire. But the empress dowagers, especially West Empress Dowager, had the concept that they should make the decisions for him since they were his mothers. (By tradition, the queen was treated as his mother, too.)
Before Emperor Xianfeng died, there were two groups to assist him in handling the state affairs: one headed by Sushun in the Summer Palace, the other headed by Yixin, the emperor's brother, in the capital. Now after his demise, there appeared a third group in this political game: the two empress dowagers, mainly West Side as she was called informally behind her back.
The late emperor had made a vague decision on his deathbed that whenever any written orders were to be issued in the name of the new emperor, the queen should use the seal he had given her at the beginning of the orders and Concubine Yan should use the other seal at the end. His purpose was to prevent the counselors from taking over the power from his son, the young emperor.
As this decision lacked detailed procedures, there was a dispute between the two empress dowagers and the counselors. The counselors argued that as the emperor was too young to read, no more reports would be turned in. The counselors would read all the reports, make decisions and send in the written orders for the two empress dowagers to use the seals on them, and the empress dowagers could not make any changes on the written orders. But the empress dowagers persisted that they should read all the reports for the young emperor and if they didn't agree to any decision the counselors had made, they had the right to change it, or they wouldn't use the seals, which would make the written orders invalid according to the arrangement of the late emperor. What's the use of an invalid written order? The counselors had to give in. The empress dowagers won the first round.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 12

Before Emperor Xianfeng died, a rumor came to his ear that Yixin, his own brother, would usurp his throne. So when he was very sick and when Yixin sent in a written request for a visit to the emperor in the Summer Palace, he rebuffed him to come to see him, maybe for the last time. And in his appointment of the counselors, he didn't want to include Yixin for fear that his brother might do something harmful to his son. Flesh and blood relationship holds nothing in politics, though blood always sheds for it.
But Yixin didn't care about the rumor. Let time tell everything. Sometimes, explanations will only go the opposite way. However, the courtiers that remained in Peking were greatly dissatisfied about the late emperor's second will. In their opinion, it was reasonable that the late emperor's brother should help his young nephew as a counselor. It was unbelievable, they thought, since the will had not been written in the late emperor's handwriting.

* * *

[xlwoo]

Sushun always wanted to mint new heavy coins so that the inflation could be under control. Now as Emperor Xianfeng died, he must discuss the matter with the empress dowagers. The counselors went to see the empress dowagers everyday to report and talk over the state affairs. When Sushun mentioned the mintage of the new coins, West Empress Dowager asked, “Is it so urgent? Can't it wait till we return to the capital?”
“Yes, it's urgent if we want to control the inflation. If the inflation gets worse, the majority of the people will become dissatisfied with the government and riots may occur, even in the capital.” Sushun replied.
“I know we need copper to make coins. Do you have enough copper?queried West Empress Dowager.
“I”m getting copper transported from Yunnan Province to the capital. Once the new coins get into circulation, the situation will be better.”
West Empress Dowager looked sideways at East Empress Dowager and asked for her opinion. All the while, East Empress Dowager was whispering to the young emperor, telling him to keep quiet. When asked, she just said, “I sounds good.” That meant that she had no objection. West Empress Dowager doubted if East Empress Dowager had heard what she had been talking about with the counselors. But her asking for her opinion was just a formality. So Sushun got the green light for that matter.
The clerical officials in the Summer Palace were very careful to choose sides. Someone would choose to follow Sushun because he had power. Someone thought if Sushun was compared to a mountain, it was a sturdy mountain on the surface. He was really like an ice mountain, which would thaw in no time. That was the opinion of Head Clerical Official Zao and quite a few of his colleagues agreed with him. But most clerical officials wanted to be onlookers, i.e., audience to watch the political opera in the real life and to see how it would end.

* * *

[xlwoo]

When the sad news reached the capital that Emperor Xianfeng died, Yixin wanted to go to the Summer Palace to mourn in person before the late emperor's coffin. This was a tradition, too.
Just then, suddenly came a secret written message from the two empress dowagers to summon Yixin to the Summer Palace. So Yixin sent in a formal report, demanding to go to the palace to mourn for his late brother. The counselors could not say NO to this. Yixin began on his trip to the Summer Palace as the late emperor's brother, not as a courtier.
The Summer Palace was totally under Sushun's control. He even had spies among the eunuchs to eavesdrop what the empress dowagers would say about him. So it was not easy to send a secret letter to Yixin. It was said that one day Little An, the head eunuch of West Empress Dowager, had a quarrel with the head maid of East Empress Dowager. Little An cursed the head maid when they were bickering. The head maid began to cry and went to complain to East Empress Dowager. As Little An was the head eunuch of West Empress Dowager, East Empress Dowager thought that it would be better to let West Empress Dowager handle it. So she told her head maid to complain to West Empress Dowager. Accordingly, the head maid went to West Empress Dowager, who sent for Little An immediately after she listened to the complaint. She decided that Little An was at fault. Then she sent for the head eunuch of the Palace, who already knew the quarrel, but just played dumb, because he didn't want to offend either side, one, the head maid of East Empress Dowager and the other, the head eunuch of West Empress Dowager, though he ranked higher than both of them.
When he came and kowtowed to West Empress Dowager, she said, “Little An always annoys me. I don't want to see him here anymore.” The head eunuch of the Palace said, still on his knees, “I'll send him back to the Forbidden City.” West Empress Dowager nodded and added, “Give him twenty slaps before he leaves.” Little An, prostrating before West Empress Dowager, kowtowed, begging West Empress Dowager to pardon him, but West Empress Dowager was firm this time.

[xlwoo]

The head eunuch of the Palace took Little An to his place and told a eunuch to give twenty slaps on his face. Then he sent Little An on his way back to the capital. A clerk and two soldiers escorted Little An. When they arrived in the capital, the clerk dropped Little An to the Royal Family Affairs Management. A petty official on duty there received them and gave a body receipt to the clerk, who returned to the Summer Palace with two soldiers. Then the petty official registered Little An's name. When he was about to detain Little An in a cell there for the night, Little An said, “Excuse me, Official. I have something very important to say.” The petty official said, “All right. Say it to me.” Little An said, “I can't say it to you.” The petty official was irritated and shouted, “Are you joking with me?” Little An said, “No. I'm not joking. Even if I tell you, you cannot do anything about it.” The petty official asked, “Who do you want to speak to?” Little An replied, “I must speak to His Excellency Baojun.” (Baojun was one of the courtiers in charge of the Royal Family Affairs Management.) The petty official knew that Little An had been the head eunuch of West Empress Dowager and he didn't want to offend him. So he sent somebody to let Baojun know. After two hours, Little An was taken to Baojun's residence.
After Little An kowtowed to him, Baojun asked, “What do you want to tell me?” Little An replied “Here's a letter. Your Excellency'd better read it first.” He produced a letter from his inner pocket. It was a short letter from the two empress dowagers, just ordering Yixin to go to the Summer Palace. Baojun realized the significance of the letter. After he sent Little An back to the Forbidden City, he went to see Wenqiang first. Then they went together to see Yixin.
They figured that if they wanted to deprive Sushun of his power, they had to ally with the empress dowagers. As Yixin hadn't been appointed a counselor, if he wanted to take over power from Sushun, he must denounce the counselor system, not just driving Sushun out of the Secretarial Bureau. If the counselor system was denounced, they had to take to the empress dowager system. It was exactly the purpose of the empress dowagers when they sent Yixin this secret letter. For backup, they had a letter delivered to Commander Shengbao to tell him to bring his troops to the capital.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 13

After the funeral, the two empress dowagers wanted to see Yixin, their brother-in-law. They had confidence that they could find an ally in him, because he was unwilling to be excluded from power center the Secretarial Bureau. But they were afraid that Sushun might say that young widows could not see young brother-in-law. That was also a social tradition in old China. But before they received Yixin, West Empress Dowager wanted to make sure that no one would eavesdrop, because Sushun had some spies among the eunuchs. She sent some suspicious eunuchs on some fool's errand to some places far enough that they couldn't get back in a couple of hours. Then they sent the head eunuch of the palace to summon Yixin, telling him to use some trick if necessary.
The head eunuch waited outside the building till Yixin came out, accompanied by other courtiers, including Sushun. He rushed out to announce formally that the empress dowagers summoned Yixin. To avoid the suspicion of a conspiracy between the empress dowagers and himself against Sushun, Yixin asked Sushun if he could see the late emperor's widows. Sushun asked the head eunuch why the empress dowagers wanted to see Yixin. Having got the instruction, the head eunuch replied that the empress dowagers wanted to know how things stood in the Forbidden City and how all those left there had fared. It sounded like it was entirely a family concern. Since Sushun didn't show any opposition, Yixin went with the head eunuch to see the empress dowagers.
“We should have someone to accompany Prince Yixin to listen in so that we can at least know exactly what they will talk about.” Tu Han said after Yixin and the head eunuch left.
“You always lock the door after the sheep is stolen. It's too late now.” Zaihuan criticized him. They could not send someone following them.

[xlwoo]

After he kowtowed to the two empress dowagers, Yixin was seated. The empress dowagers wanted it to be looked like a family reunion. It was supposed that East Empress Dowager should begin the conversation, but she was not a talkative woman and didn't even know how to mention the important topic. So she began with:
“When did you start from the capital?”
“Early on the twenty-sixth of the seventh moon.”
“How long did it take you to reach here?”
“Five whole days.”
“How's everything in the capital?”
“Everything's fine there. We are making all the preparations for the return of Empress Dowagers and Emperor.”
“I hope we will return before the end of this year.”
“It will be too late. The earlier, the better.” He said in a serious low deep voice.
“Better after everything's properly prepared. Can't have any oversight.” Cut in West Empress Dowager.
“That's for sure. Can't afford anything going wrong.” Yixin agreed. “I'll take care of all the preparations myself when I am back there.”
“Good. I think next month is the earliest we can leave here.” said West Empress Dowager.
“That sounds good.”
“What are people saying about the late emperor's will in the capital” She wanted to lead the conversation to more significant things.

[xlwoo]

“Can Holy Mother Empress Dowager be more specific?” He didn't want to be easily led to where he already knew the conversation would go.
“About the counselor system?”
“We had counselor system before.”
“Does it mean it's a life-long title?”
“Of course not. As soon as the emperor was grown up and took over the power, there would be no need to have counselors any more. Besides, the emperor has the right to take back the title. But generally the succeeding emperor won't do it, since the title was bestowed by the preceding emperor, unless . . .”
“Unless what?” West Empress Dowager prodded eagerly.
“Unless the counselors do something seriously wrong. But now, the emperor can't denounce their titles, because the emperor's orders must go through their hands to be announced to the whole country. They won't let such an order go out of the palace. What's the use if no one knows there is such an order?” It implicated that such an order must be issued through the hands of those other than the counselors.
“What if we appoint you as a counselor?” asked West Empress Dowager.
“I beg that Empress Dowagers will not do that.” Yixin said modestly.
“Why not?” wondered West Empress Dowager.
“What's the use? They are eight and I am single.”
No use indeed. A plan was fermented in the busy mind of West Empress Dowager.

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Although they hated each other politically, Sushun and Yixin were polite to each other socially. Sushun invited Yixin to his house for dinner after Yixin left the Summer Palace. Other counselors were there, too. A servant came in, carrying a small package. When Sushun opened it, everyone stared at the object inside in surprise. It was a bright new coin, the sample one.
“When will you put it into circulation?” Yixin asked Sushun.
“On the new emperor's coronation day. The coronation would be held when the empress dowagers and the emperor returned to the capital.”
“Very good. It seems that you want to return to Peking as early as possible.” That's what Yixin wanted.
“It depends on you.” Observed Sushun.
“Why me?” Yixin queried, baffled.
“You are in charge there. When you finish preparations to receive the empress dowagers and the emperor, we'll come.” Sushun said with a smile. So, the man could smile, Yixin thought.
It was late when Yixin went to his lodging place after the dinner. He sent a servant to fetch Head Clerical Official Zao, who came in plain clothes and entered by a side door. They had a serious talk in an innermost room. Yixin inquired, “What do the counselors think of West Empress Dowager?”
“They think West Side is shrewd.” answered Zao.
“Not only shrewd, but she can also pretend ignorance and say things to put you into a plight.”
“That's a new insight into her character. But why do Prince (address Yixin) say that?” said Zao.
“She wanted me in the Secretarial Bureau, working with the counselors.”
“That's also a way out. If Prince heads the Secretarial Bureau, some counselors will take Prince's side. If anyone disobeys, Prince can squeeze him out of the Secretarial Bureau, though Prince can't take away his title of a counselor. If he's no longer in the Secretarial Bureau, what can he do?” Zao offered his opinion.
“That means I'll have a hand-to-hand combat with Sushun. I'd like to solve this problem when back to the capital.” Now Head Clerical Official Zao knew that Prince Yixin intended to do away with the counselor system, not just to deprive the counselors of their power. It must bring in the empress dowager system. When Yihuan came to see his brother Yixin, Zao took his leave. Yihuan was the seventh brother of Yixin.
“I can't stand him any more.” cried Yihuan before he sat down. He referred to Sushun. Though twenty-two years old, he still behaved like a teenager. “If you don't grow up, how can I trust you?” Yixin warned him, who blushed a little. “I won't say anything before an outsider. Now it's only Sixth Brother and me.” Yixin could not but smile.

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Chapter 14

Yixin and his followers had plotted against the counselors long before he came to the Summer Palace, but it was too early to let the empress dowagers know, because women were generally known unable to keep a secret. It was a life and death secret, something like coup detat.
He didn't go to see the empress dowagers alone again during his stay in Rehe, lest it should rouse the suspicion of the counselors. The necessary message between the empress dowagers and Yixin was exchanged through his younger brother, Yihuan, who married the younger sister of West Empress Dowager. It was natural for his wife to visit her sister.
After certain arrangements were made, Yixin left the Summer Palace in haste on September 16, for fear of being detained if the counselors smelled a rat. Besides, he had preparations to finish in the capital.
The date was fixed for the young emperor and the empress dowagers to return to the capital. It was 26 of October. It was nearly a year staying here. Everyone was happy to go back home.
Just at the joyous time, a letter came from Commander Shengbao to pay respects to the empress dowagers and the emperor. Such a thing had never happened before, because according to tradition, queens and empress dowagers could not have any contact with the outside world. Anyone working in the government could pay homage to the emperor via mail. That was normal. So this letter itself had a special meaning to deliver, which was to support the authority of the empress dowagers and deny that of the counselors. For the disagreement between the empress dowagers and the counselors had surely leaked out to those high-rank courtiers. Now the counselors, especially Sushun, had an uneasy feeling. They had to do something to rebuff it, to refute it; or if any other commanders or governors followed the example, it would be a real challenge to their authorities as counselors. One of the counselors drafted a reply. They went to see the empress dowagers, taking the letter and the draft of reply. First, they reported that the government armies had taken Anqing City, which had been occupied by the rebels. Then they had a discussion about some government affairs. At last Zaihuan mentioned the letter from Commander Shengbao and their reply, explaining that such a letter was against the tradition. East Empress Dowager was surprised to hear that they would actually criticize somebody who just wanted to pay respects to the empress dowagers, but West Empress Dowager said, “Now that it's against the tradition, you can criticize him.” So she printed her seal on the reply and so did East Empress Dowager. Later she explained to East Empress Dowager that she wanted to add a little more gunpowder into the barrel, on which the counselors were sitting. Furthermore, from the information exchange with Yixin through her sister, she knew Commander Shengbao would soon send in a request to come to the Summer Palace to show his last reverence in person to the late emperor before his coffin. She reckoned that if she yielded this time, she could persist next time when they discussed his request.

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Just as everyone was getting prepared on a return journey, a report of suggestion written by Critique Official Dong came from the capital on September 12, which was like a stone thrown into the already undulating lake, causing not ripples, but a big wave. The report said that since the emperor was so young and couldn't handle the state affairs, the two empress dowagers should sit behind a screen at the back of the throne, holding court in behalf of the young emperor. The suggestion was just what West Empress Dowager wanted. It was another political system, the empress dowager system, for the empress dowagers to take over power from the counselors. In the whole Chinese history, this system for an empress dowager to handle state affairs had existed in other dynasties before, but not in Qing Dynasty ever since. But West Empress Dowager felt that it was not the ripe time to suggest such a thing, like food undercooked. So she showed it to East Empress Dowager and they decided to keep the report for the time being.
The usual procedures were that all the reports must be registered by the Secretarial Bureau, then sent in through the Internal Registrar situated at the palace gate to the emperor, now to the two empress dowagers. After reading, the emperor, now the two empress dowagers, would make marks on the reports that needed a reply or a decision. The different marks showed different meanings like known, agree, etc. Then all the reports would be returned to the Secretarial Bureau, who would draft written replies or decisions in the emperor's name according to the meanings of the marks on the reports. If they had different opinions, they could send in their own reports. Otherwise, they sent in the drafts for the emperor to approve, now for the empress dowagers to use seals on them. The drafts, once back to the Secretarial Bureau, if there were corrections, must be rewritten and then sent back to where the reports came. Occasionally the emperor, now the empress dowagers, would keep an awkward report and never give it back to the Secretarial Bureau. It was called Flooded Over like something submerged under water and seemed having never existed. It would save further troubles.
That day, all the reports, except one, were returned to the Secretarial Bureau. When the counselors found from the registration that one report was missing, they sent a royal servant to the Internal Registrar to inquire about the missing report, which was unnecessary because they should know that it was kept by the empress dowagers. The registrar sent in someone to ask the empress dowagers and after acquiring the answer he told the servant that West Empress Dowager kept it. The servant brought back the message.
When the counselors got the answer, Zaihuan, one of the three chief counselors, cried in wrath, “If reports are not given back, what should we work on?”
“That report must be given back to us.” said Tu Han, one of the counselors. Then he ordered the servant to go to the Internal Registrar to ask for the report back.

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When the two empress dowagers knew that they could not keep the report any longer, they got together to discuss how to deal with the counselors. In normal situations no courtier dared to do such a thing unless he wanted to be punished or even beheaded, depending on the emperor's mood at that time. But the counselors were now in charge of the emperor's bodyguards, which made them bold enough to challenge the empress dowagers.
The two empress dowagers were in a dilemma. They knew that the counselors were in charge of the armed men and might do something desperate if they were forced too hard. But if the empress dowagers yielded too easily, they would take an ell when getting an inch.
East Empress Dowager maintained that they should not get into a hot dispute with the counselors, but West Empress Dowager thought that they should do to the counselors as the dignity of the empress dowagers required. Anyway, they decided that they had to face the counselors next day.
When they discussed important things with the counselors, the young emperor was always present to show that they spoke only in his behalf. So was that day.
After consideration,West Empress Dowager began, “We decide that we agree to the report. So draft a written reply.”
“Empress dowagers cannot do that.” Zaihuan protested.
“Why not?”
Sushun thought it was not easy to explain it. He was struck with an idea. He said, “We will discuss it and send in a draft of a written reply tomorrow.” Thus saying, they retired from the presence of the two empress dowagers and the young emperor.
When the counselors were back in their resting room, they got angry. They suspected that it was the result of the meeting between the empress dowagers and Yixin.
Duanhua, one of the chief counselors, said, “If we don't contradict it, such reports will come in over and over again.”
“Right.” Zaihuan remarked, “We must contradict it severely.”
They drafted a written reply in the name of the young emperor, saying that it was against the tradition of Qing Dynasty to have the empress dowagers hiding behind a screen, handling the state affairs and that the courtiers should never suggest such a thing.
It is the same that a political group can always find reasons to state why they should do such a thing or why the other group should not do such a thing.
The report of suggestion was lying before them now. The reason of the suggestion was: “We are now in an unusual time and in an unusual situation, which requires us to take unusual steps.”

[xlwoo]

Chapter 15

When the written reply was sent in, West Empress Dowager read it first. As East Empress Dowager had no ambition and was a happy-go-lucky good-for-nothing, she let West Empress Dowager handle all the state affairs. Only for important things, West Empress Dowager went to seek her consultation.
Now after she read only the first few sentences, West Empress Dowager flared up. When she finished, she took the written reply to the chamber of East Empress Dowager.
“They want to rebel.” She yelled while handing the written reply to East Empress Dowager.
“What do you mean?”
“That they wrote here is totally different from what we wanted them to write yesterday.” If anything a courtier did was against the wish of the emperor, now against the wish of the empress dowagers, it was deemed as rebellion or betrayal. The result could be execution.
“Calm down first.” warned East Empress Dowager, “We don't want them to actually rebel.”
“I know, but we can't let them have their way over ours, or they will tread on our heads before long.” West Empress Dowager complained.
“We'd better deal with them when we return to the capital. We'll have Yixin's support then.”
“But what should we do with this written reply now?” After a while, seeing that East Empress Dowager said nothing, she continued, “At least we should ask them why they wrote the reply like this and see what they'll have to say.”
East Empress Dowager acquiesced.
On September 15, the counselors were summoned to their presence. The empress dowagers received them in the main room of their building. Everyone seemed a bit nervous except the young emperor, who hid in the arms of East Empress Dowager. They all knew that a conflict of words could not be avoided since their views were so far apart and their personal interests were almost opposite.
“Who wrote this reply?” West Empress Dowager asked sternly.
“The result of our discussion.” answered Zaihuan.
“Do you know that this reply should be the emperor's opinion?”
“Yes.” Tu Han cut in, “But since the emperor is so young, the late emperor appointed us to handle things.”
“But it's written in the emperor's name. How can the emperor oppose his own mothers?”
“We didn't write such things. We only contradict Critique Official Dong, who sent in this report.” Said Zaihuan.
“Why is what he said in his report wrong?”
“It's already refuted in the written reply.” Sushun said, “Empress Dowagers can read it for yourselves.”
That was not suitable for a courtier to say to the empress dowagers. But he had said it. He spoke so loudly that the young emperor was frightened and turned to hide his face in the bosom of East Empress Dowager.
“Can a courtier express his opinion to the emperor?” asked West Empress Dowager.
“No, he can't, since the counselors will take care of things one by one in proper order.” said Sushun stubbornly.

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“It's really not necessary for the empress dowagers to read reports.” He said aloud.
The face of East Empress Dowager became pale and the face of West Empress Dowager became red.
“Here's the emperor. Can he read the reports? If he can't, who can act for him, if not his mothers?” The voice of West Empress Dowager grew a bit higher, too.
“Why did the late emperor appoint us as counselors?” said Sushun.
But West Empress Dowager went on, ?ow in the emperor's name, I order you to rewrite the reply.”
“According to our tradition, Empress Dowagers can only look after the young emperor, but can't interfere in the state affairs.”
“Do you want to resist the emperor's order?” She slapped on the table.
“We are not resisting any orders from the emperor, but Empress Dowagers must abide by the tradition.” said Tu Han.
They sounded like quarreling and the voices were escalating. The young emperor was so terrified that he began to cry out and wetted his pants, and also wetted the clothes of East Empress Dowager as he clung to her so closely. The cry of the young emperor interrupted the brawling. The counselors felt awkward and retreated silently to their resting room.

* * *

Sushun asked his elder brother Duanhua and his nephew Zaihuan, who was really older than the brothers, to have dinner at his house. They wanted to have a discussion about what to do to deal with the situation. They talked while eating.
“If she wants to be in charge, good, let her take the rein. But if the horse has no legs, where can she go?Duanhua blurted after downing a cup of wine.
It was their strategy. They were on strike. If no one worked for the emperor, hence for the empress dowagers, how could their orders go out of the palace and be carried out?

* * *

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That afternoon, forgetful of the nap they took everyday, the two empress dowagers had a discussion about the serious situation.
“It's surprised that they couldn't behave themselves.” said East Empress Dowager.
“They looked like they wanted to beat us to pulps.” said West Empress Dowager.
“Now what?” asked East Empress Dowager.
“I intended to keep it quiet for a while, but they forced my hand. Now we have to go back to the old ruse and forget about it till the broth cools.”
But they forgot that their rivals were not wooden mummies.
Next morning they waited for the reports to be delivered to them, but none came. It was not until late in the morning that the bad news came instead of the reports. The head eunuch of the palace dashed in to report to them that the counselors were on strike and the whole palace was in panic. Everyone was afraid that something terrible would happen. The two empress dowagers looked at each other without a word. They bade the head eunuch to go for further information.
They conversed about the situation once more. What could they do when no one listened to them in the Summer Palace? Unless they returned to the capital, where they had Yixin for support. Suddenly a Chinese saying occurred in the mind of West Empress Dowager, which goes like that, “It's not too late for a gentleman to revenge after ten years.” So at last they gave in and imprinted their seals on the written reply to contradict the suggestion. When the counselors got it back, they enjoyed their victory over the empress dowagers. They won the second round, regardless of the obvious fact that the empress dowagers were always over them in power and rank, like a sword hanging by a hair over their heads.
Commander Shengbao had passed a government test and was deemed a scholar. After two promotions as an official, he had been made a general since rebellion occurred in many provinces. He had victory over the enemies in quite a few battles. As a result, he got many gifts of honor from the emperor, like a peacock's tail feather and a yellow coat. (The color yellow was the imperial color in Qing Dynasty. No one should use this color except with the permission of the emperor, like the gift of the yellow coat.) And finally he had acquired the promotion to be a commander with several generals under him. Although he had been beaten in the fight against the foreign troops in the defense of the capital, no one had challenged his authority and reputation, because at that time, defeat by the foreign armies was thought of as a matter of course. If someone could defeat a foreign army with guns and cannons, it would be a great surprise and this person was a wonder-worker. For most weapons used by the government armies were still swords and spears, bows and arrows. It was said that China had invented gunpowder, but only utilized it to make firecrackers.

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When Commander Shengbao sent in a request that he wished to come in person to pay his last respects to the late emperor to show his loyalty and gratitude, Sushun wanted at first to refuse him, but at the insistence of the empress dowagers, he had to give in. Commander Shengbao brought his five hundred bodyguards for his own safety. Everyone in Rehe wanted to get on his good side. He was more than warmly welcomed. After he kowtowed and mourned before the coffin of the late emperor, he returned to his lodging place and received many visitors. But an important visitor he was expecting came at night. It was Head Clerical Official Zao. Commander Shengbao was haughty and arrogant as he had had so many merits. He treated his generals and officers as his slaves, many of whom were illiterate. But he esteemed scholars and talented officials. He received Head Clerical Official Zao with due decorum, though his rank was much higher than that of the visitor. He told Zao that he had met Yixin on the way here as Yixin was on his way back to the capital. Zao gathered that he had known most of the things already and told him only new developments.
“Critique Official Dong is a blockhead.” commented Commander Shengbao, “He deserved the reprimand from Sushun.”
“I think such a suggestion should be made by someone with a much higher rank.” said Zao.
Commander Shengbao agreed and added, “I've half a mind to do it myself, but now's not the right time.”
“Better after the empress dowagers and the emperor get safely back to the capital.” Commander Shengbao nodded his head and the strategy was thus settled.
Before Commander Shengbao left, he gave two hundred taels of silver to every official there as a gift. The problem was that if anyone rejected it, it would be like to smear a speck of mud on his face. No one wanted to offend him. Besides, officials living on mere salary were really poor and always needed extra money. So everyone accepted it. They thought it was a gift, not a bribery. But what's the difference between the two?

[xlwoo]

Chapter 16

Sushun always wanted to belittle West Empress Dowager, because she was the ambitious one, but he didn't succeed. Now he got another idea to see the two empress dowagers separately. He figured that he might get more things done with East Empress Dowager alone. When the two empress dowagers were made known to his demand, they had a conversation.
“I don't know why they want that.” said East Empress Dowager.
“Because you are so good-hearted that they can cheat you.”
“That's what I'm afraid of. We'll still see them together.”
“But if we receive them separately, you may hear things different than when we are together.”
“What if they ask me to make some decisions?”
“You can say you'll think about it.”
“What if it's emergency and they need an immediate solution?”
West Empress Dowager knew that's the problem, but after a while of consideration, she was struck with an idea. She said, “For important things, we must use two seals on the papers. After you use your seal, they must come to me for mine. If it's inappropriate, I'll refuse. We'll play white face and red face.” (Just like playing good cop and bad cop.)
After the crisis, even the courtiers in the capital knew that there had been a quarrel between the empress dowagers and the counselors. Sushun wanted to show to all the courtiers and governors that the empress dowagers still trusted him; so he asked East Empress Dowager to receive him alone. Two empress dowagers had a talk about it and then consented to his request.
Sushun kowtowed to East Empress Dowager before he spoke. “I put my whole heart to work for the benefits of our empire, but still someone complains against me. How can I continue to work like that?” He complained to East Empress Dowager, who assuaged him accordingly.

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“Since there are still wars in the southern provinces, we must save every tael of silver to support the wars.” observed Sushun.
“You are right.” responded East Empress Dowager.
“But not everyone thinks so.” Sushun complained again.
“What happened?” asked East Empress Dowager.
“Holy Mother Empress Dowager wants too many unnecessary things.”
“Like What?”
”Like more bowls, plates and some such things.”
“Such things won't make us poorer.”
“What if everyone else follow her example?”
“She is an empress dowager. Not everyone here is an empress dowager. And I know you work hard and are loyal to the emperor.”
“But still, many are complaining behind my back.”
“Don't listen to others. Just do your job. We trust you.” East Empress Dowager comforted him.
“One thing more. There's gossip that Holy Mother Empress Dowager (West Empress Dowager) often receives male relative. It's against etiquette. Mother Queen Empress Dowager's (East Empress Dowager) better advise Hole Mother Empress Dowager not to do so.” East Empress Dowager just nodded.

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Sushun could think of nothing more to say and had to retire. His goal wasn't achieved. He had wished that when he complained, East Empress Dowager would have given him some kind of gifts or bestowed on him some kind of an honorary title. But nothing, only an empty word of praise.
The two empress dowagers met when Sushun left. East Empress Dowager told West Empress Dowager everything she could remember. Though indignant, West Empress Dowager said, “Sushun is right. We still have war going on in the southern provinces. We must save every coin for it. From now on I won't ask him for a thing.” Meanwhile, she said to herself, “If I have power some day, I'll make himself kneel before me and let a eunuch slap his face hard and then execute him.” She gnashed her teeth secretly.
Then the chief counselors had a meeting. Duanhua said to Sushun, “East Side is dumb. She might not get what you said.” Then he suggested to Zaihuan, “We must use the strategy: Retreat First For the Purpose of Advance.” They decided to try it. So next day when they went to see the two empress dowagers, they put up an oral resignation from some of the insignificant positions. Generally when a courtier sent in a resignation, the emperor, now the empress dowagers, would always refuse the resignation and say some words of encouragement, even give a gift or an honorary title, which was what they just wanted. But this time, unusually, the empress dowagers accepted their resignations and gave all these positions to some other courtiers. Their subterfuge failed. And they could not withdraw the resignations.

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On the day they were to leave the Summer Palace, they were divided into two groups. One group started first, which mainly comprised the empress dowagers, the young emperor and seven counselors and all the other courtiers. The other group departed later, which chiefly were Sushun and Yihuan, escorting the late emperor's coffin. This group could not move fast because of the coffin. They were not in a hurry, as a matter of fact. But the two empress dowagers wanted to reach the capital as soon as possible. They urged others to hurry. They wished that they could have grown a pair of wings and flown to Peking, out of any danger that could come from the counselors. They were not even in a mood to look at the beautiful scenery along the road, the colored leaves, the blue sky dotted sparsely with a few banks of white fluffy clouds and sometimes a vulture swooping down upon a prey somewhere at a distance.
At length they arrived at a place very close to the capital. All the courtiers remaining in Peking, headed by Yixin, came here to welcome the return of the empress dowagers and the emperor. The sight of Yixin and those courtiers incurred a feeling of safety in the two empress dowagers. Ronglu was among them. He was now a high-rank officer in command of an army guarding the capital.
There was a temporary residence for the emperor. They lodged there for the night. After a rest, to wash dust off of their faces and hands, to have some tea and snacks, the two empress dowagers received Yixin. East Empress Dowager asked, “Is everything all right in the capital?”
“Everything's all right and ready.” was the answer. (A vague assurance.) But both empress dowagers understood. East Empress Dowager queried, “How about the Forbidden City?”
“They are ready to welcome Empress Dowagers and Emperor back.”
They arrived in the capital on November 1. Once inside the Forbidden City, the two empress dowagers felt really safe. Even assassins could not easily get in. After a rest, the empress dowagers sent for Yixin, who came immediately and reported to the empress dowagers all the arrangements he had made. Everything was ready for the action.

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Yixin had had a meeting with three prime ministers, who disliked Sushun and had great influence among courtiers. They readily gave their support when Yixin made his plan acquainted with them. A prime minister should often be a scholar, who often had a lot of pupils among courtiers, like an old tree with many branches. It was because when one became a minister he had had chances to be a head examiner in government tests. The testees who passed the test were traditionally deemed as the pupils of the examiners. And a prime minister was promoted from a minister.
Next day when all the courtiers were in the resting room, the empress dowagers summoned Yixin and those prime ministers and Wenqiang, who was Yixin's first follower, excluding the counselors, of course. Zaihuan shouted, “The empress dowagers can't summon courtiers. That's against the tradition.” But they ignored him and went to see the empress dowagers.
The empress dowagers told those prime ministers how the counselors disobeyed them, even bullied them. Once the counselors had been so fierce that when arguing with the empress dowagers that the young emperor had been so frightened that he had begun to cry and even wetted his pants, and also wetted the clothes of East Empress Dowager. The prime ministers were thus instigated and wanted justice to be done. One of them, Prime Minister Zhou, said in ire, “Why didn't the empress dowagers punish them?”
“They are counselors appointed by the late emperor. Can counselors be punished?” asked West Empress Dowager.
“Why Not?” said Prime Minister Zhou, “Empress dowagers can issue an order to deprive them of the title of counselorship first, and then punish them.”
At the suggestion, East Empress Dowager turned her back to them and like a magician produced from her inner pocket a small scroll, the order prewritten on October 21 when still in the Summer Palace. East Empress Dowager had hidden it on her person all the way to the capital. She handed it to Yixin, telling him to read it to those prime ministers. Yixin unrolled the scroll open and read it to them.

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It accused the counselors, especially the three chief counselors, of the following main crimes: When they assisted the late emperor, they handled the state affairs improperly, causing the foreign countries to invade and the late emperor had to leave the capital; when in the Summer Palace they dissuaded the late emperor from returning to the capital when peace was restored so that the late emperor's health deteriorated and the late emperor died there; they opposed to the empress dowagers to handle the state affairs.
Each of the crimes would put the counselors to death sentence, but the order only declared that the counselors be deprived of the title. That's not enough now, for they could counterattack later. So the second order was issued for the arrest of the three chief counselors and the removal of the other five counselors from office.
Yixin took the written orders and went back to the resting room with the prime ministers and Wenqiang. When he read the orders, Zaihuan yelled, “We've just arrived, where came the orders?” He meant that only counselors could issue orders, in the emperor's name of course. He didn't know that anyone could issue orders, once he or she had powerful support, namely, support of forces.
Yixin ordered the palace guards to tie Zaihuan and Duanhua and put them into the royal prison, where only high rank courtiers were entitled to be imprisoned. Other five counselors were sent home for further orders. It was November 2, 1861.
Sushun was still free since he didn't arrive yet. He was on the way. He must be in irons and fetters before the news reached him. If he got the wind that his partners were in jail, he would either rebel or escape, either of which would be trouble.

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Yihuan, Yixin's brother, was with Sushun. They would stay for the night in a small town. Yixin dispatched a messenger there with a written order to take Sushun into custody. The order was delivered to Yihuan, who was to carry it out. A plan was formed for the arrest. Yihuan sent for the head bodyguard of Sushun. When he came, Yihuan asked him whether he would be loyal to the emperor or to Sushun. It was a difficult question to answer, worth careful consideration, and it meant that something serious happened between Sushun and the emperor, namely, the two empress dowagers. He was given a chance to choose which side he would be on since he was Sushun's head bodyguard. Of course, he could not say to Yihuan that he was loyal to Sushun. Only one choice left for him. So he vowed his loyalty to the emperor.
Yihuan ordered him to lead the way to Sushun's temporary residence. A group of soldiers followed Yihuan. When Sushun's other guards saw this, they didn't know what to do as their head guard was among them. They looked at the head guard, hoping to see some hint in his eyes, but the head guard looked down at the ground. So they just let Yihuan and the group of soldiers pass before them. The residence was already surrounded by other soldiers. Most of Sushun's guards were staying with the coffin of the late emperor, as if someone wanted to steal the coffin or the corpse. But in reality, many valuable things were in the coffin to be buried with the late emperor. If anything happened to the coffin, even if nothing was stolen, anyone in charge would be severely punished. So Sushun had sent most of his guards there to assure the absolute safety.
The soldiers disarmed all Sushun's guards for assurance that there would not be a riot. When the soldiers broke into his room, he slept with his two concubines. Sushun was very angry that his slumber was interrupted, the soldiers seized him by force. Two soldiers held him in a kneeling pose when Yihuan read him the written order in the young emperor's name. It was midnight of the fourth date of the eleventh moon.

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Chapter 17

Since all the counselors were either arrested or removed from office, a new power center should be established. Yixin gathered his main followers in his residence for a meeting. This time they decided that there should be six secretaries in the Bureau. Besides Yixin himself, Wenqiang, Baojun and the former head clerical official Zao were all made secretaries. Yixin gave away the positions as political gifts to his followers for their loyalty to him. Yixin's father-in-law would be a secretary, too. He was too old to do any actual duties. He was put there as an adviser. Another secretary was chosen from courtiers of Han Clan to balance the race proportion in the Bureau. The list was approved by the empress dowagers. Yixin was made the head secretary. There had been an unspoken bargain between Yixin and West Empress Dowager. She made Yixin the head secretary and Yixin supported the empress dowager system. Power re-allotted.
When Yihuan brought Sushun to the capital, he reported to Yixin how he had arrested Sushun. Yixin asked him if Sushun had said anything on the way here. Yihuan told his brother that Sushun had said that West Empress Dowager was a poisonous snake and would bite anyone anytime when she thought it was necessary. Yixin ignored the warning.
Sushun was put into the same prison with the other two counselors. Sushun had advised them to kill the empress dowagers on the way to the capital, but they didn't follow his advice, being scornful of women. Now the three of them accused one another of being slow in decision, negligent in stratagem and unnecessarily merciful to enemies, but all to no avail. Sushun wanted to send a letter out secretly to his faithful followers so that they could think of some way to rescue him, but no jailer dared to do such a thing. So this **** of his wouldn't fight. He then planned that if they would try him in a court, he would plead vehemently and ask for hard evidence to delay the verdict as long as possible that he might find a way to escape. But that **** of his wouldn't fight, either. They simply didn't try him in a court.

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The Secretarial Bureau had a meeting to discuss what were the offences that the three chief counselors had committed. There was no debate, no opposition. No one defended Sushun. They concluded unanimously that there were eight offenses.
(1) When the late emperor was lying on the deathbed and wanted them to draft a will for the late emperor, they put in some words that were not what the late emperor meant. And they refused to follow the instructions of the empress dowagers and did everything, using their own free will.
(2) They always said that they were the counselors and could not listen to the empress dowagers and that the empress dowagers should not read the reports.
(3) They always said that the empress dowagers should not see the princes, who were the emperor's relatives. They wanted to alienate them and isolated the empress dowagers.
(4) Sushun even sat on the throne and used the late emperor's things.
(5) Sushun refused to give the things that the empress dowagers asked for.
(6) Sushun always wanted to estrange one empress dowager from the other.
(7) When Sushun was under custody, he still said nasty things about the empress dowagers.
(8) When Sushun escorted the late emperor's coffin to the capital, he lived with his concubines. (It was against the tradition and showed that he was not in a mourning state of mind.)
When the accusations were passed in the Secretarial Bureau, Yixin reported the result of the meeting to the empress dowagers, who just signed an order to execute the chief counselors, Sushun, Duanhua and Zaihuan, immediately, without giving them a chance to plead.
Sushun was executed publicly and hastily. A courtier was sent to supervise the execution of Sushun. Sushun would be carried in a wooden cage on a cart drawn by a donkey. The courtier knew if Sushun was aware that he's going to die, he would use his last strength to resist. He would surely be subdued at last, but it was a trouble no one liked. So when he saw Sushun in the prison cell, he lied to him, “They are having a meeting and want me to bring you there for the interrogation.”

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“They treat me so unfair. I helped the late emperor to handle the state affairs in such a difficult time. I must let them know.” Sushun complained. So he walked out of the cell and followed the courtier to the prison gate. But when he was put into the cage on a cart and went to a different direction, he knew he was trapped. He didn't say anything then, only closing his eyes. He intended to tell the onlookers what he knew about West Empress Dowager and Yixin before he was beheaded. Jailers knew that there were three kinds of prisoners with a death sentence. If a prisoner heard the death sentence and was scared **** out, it was the first kind and easy to deal with. The second kind was the one, who would cry aloud and stamp feet, hearing the penalty of death, but when his energy was thus exhausted, nothing would happen at the execution site. The last kind was the most difficult to handle. Aware of the death sentence, the prisoner was very calm and said nothing, then something would surely happen before the execution. And Sushun could be classified in the last category.
The news of the execution of Sushun spread out fast. So people thronged to where the execution spot was set. It was always at a spacious market place. All the vendors were cleared and a guillotine was set up. Behind the guillotine was a table, where the courtier would sit to oversee the execution. The place was crowded with onlookers. More people lined on either side along the route the prisoner's cart was supposed to pass. It was not until noon that the prisoner's cart arrived at the execution spot. There were all sorts of things covering the cage, the cart, even on Sushun, from the vegetable bits to broken eggs, from traces of phlegm to small stones and mud lumps. It was no wonder because all those who hated him came and those who liked him didn't come. It was customary to behead the prisoner at noon when the sun was at its brightest. It was superstitiously believed that when the sun was shining overhead, the ghost of the prisoner when escaped from the dead body could do no harm to the executioner.

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Not long after the prisoner arrived, an official came on horseback to announce the emperor's order of execution. Sushun rejected to kneel and began to say nasty things about West Empress Dowager and Yixin. A jailer slapped hard on his face. Another kicked him behind his knees so that he went down, but before he could fall on his stomach, the jailer who had kicked him pulled his pigtail to stop his falling, thus making him stay on his knees. Then the executioner came forward. He didn't bring down the sharp wide-bladed sword like people imagined. He aimed the sharp edge of his sword behind the prisoner's neck and pushed very swiftly between two cervical vertebrae, thus severing the head. At the same time, he kicked the body down to elude the blood spurting out on his clothes.
Prison was always the worst place in the world. No matter where and when. Once in a prison, whether guilty or not, the prisoner's family must bribe the jailers, or the prisoner would be ill-treated. Same with the executioner. He could make the prisoner die fast or die slow.
Then another courtier was dispatched to the prison to announce to Duanhua and Zaihuan that they were to put an end to their lives with their own hands. But before he made the announcement, he had a sumptuous meal ready to give them. The last meal for them. He sat with them and drank with them like an old friend. But at least they knew one another since they worked together for the same emperor. After the meal was finished, he made the announcement that they were to end their own lives, if necessary, with a little help from jailors. It was always like that that they could choose between poisoning or hanging themselves. They were locked separately in a room. In each room on a table there were a rope and a cup of wine with poison in it. But when neither of them was willing to take his own life, the jailors had to step in to help. They were tied down on a long bench with a very thin piece of paper over their nose and mouth. Then the jailors sprinkled water on the paper, which stuck on the face to block the air from going in. They were smothered. It happened on November 8.

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Another order was issued that Sushun's estate, including his personal properties, should be confiscated. Government clerks, headed by Secretary Wenqiang, went to his residences to register all the items and moved them into the national treasury.
Sushun had two sons. The elder one had been adopted by his brother Duanhua, who had been in the royal prison. Duanhua had no son of his own. If he died and no one inherited his title of prince, the emperor would take back the title. Therefore, Duanhua had adopted his brother, Sushun's, son. Since Duanhua had followed the late emperor to the Summer Palace, the son had been living with his brother in Sushun's residence. Secretary Wenqiang knew the situation and sent the two sons to live at Duanhua's place, because this residence would be confiscated and given to another courtier, who should have made great contributions to the empire to deserve it. The sons were allowed to take whatever they liked, besides their personal belongings. While the sons were picking things, some servants and maids also picked up some valuables furtively and slipped them into their pockets. Even the tutor of the sons joined in the stealthy plundering. His servants and maids were dismissed with some money and their own belongings. His family members were moved to smaller houses with enough means to live on. This was lenient. The severe one could be that his family members became the slaves for heavy toil or even were executed together.

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A lot of letters were found in Sushun's study. When Sushun had been in power, many officials and officers had written to him to vie into his favor. Some of his faithful followers had even implied in their letters that Sushun should have usurped the throne. Secretary Wenqiang knew that these letters were top secrets. If the contents of these letters were known to the public, it would put the government in a dilemma. So Secretary Wenqiang handled the matter very carefully. He wrapped up these letters himself into a package and took it to see Yixin. Yixin called for all the members of the Bureau and they discussed how to dispose of them. They thought that it was impossible to punish everyone who had had correspondence with Sushun. It would involve too many courtiers. It would cause great panic among courtiers. So the best way was to burn all the letters as if they never existed. The empress dowagers gave their assent to the decision. The letters were burned publicly among the courtiers.
Then there was another order for the other five counselors. The late emperor's brother-in-law was pardoned, because everyone knew he was innocent. Others were removed from office and would never be employed again by the government. One of the other four was banished to a distant province, because he worked the longest as a secretary of state, but could not stand up against Sushun.
West Empress Dowager resented Tu Han, also a counselor, who had often contradicted her when they had been in the Summer Palace. But she had to go easy with him, because his father had been the head tutor of the late emperor and East Empress Dowager forgave him on account of that. So West Empress Dowager couldn't insist on a severe punishment as the late emperor had been her husband, too. The wheel of destiny turns around the human relationship.
When a formal statement about who were the new secretaries was made known to the public, both the courtiers and people at large welcomed it. When the late emperor hadn't appointed his own brother one of the counselors, many had held the view that it had been unfair and the recent appointment of him as the head secretary was thought of by the people as amends. Yihuan, his brother, was now in charge of the garrison troops of the Forbidden City. It was just the job after his heart. The dream of his childhood came true now. He had always wished to be a general or a commander.

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Chapter 18

There was another tradition that everything the late emperor had used must be either given to the courtiers as mementos or burned. So almost everything was given to certain courtiers, four items each, even including clothes and shoes. A list was made who could be given the late emperor's things. Some special ones, like Yixin, got more than four. But the courtiers, who got the late emperor's things, could not use them. They should be displayed as an honor from the emperor.
Then a red-letter day was chosen to carry the late emperor's coffin to his tomb and was interred there. It was said that every emperor's tomb, no matter of which dynasty, was always equipped with arrows, swords and other defensive devices to prevent any unauthorized entry to steal valuables buried there. And the door into the tomb should be kept as a top secret and the tomb builders who knew the secret were buried alive in the tomb.
From the day the late emperor died till the hundredth day, all the courtiers wore the same white linen mourning clothes. By the end of that period, the white clothes looked like dark gray, and shabby. As shaving was not allowed, the beard and the hair on the front half part of the pate were long. The courtiers looked like beggars. The customs of the Mandarin Clan about the hairstyle for a male was that the hair on the front half part of the pate should be shaved and the back part be made into a pigtail. When the Mandarin Clan had just entered the territory of the Han Clan, they had forced the Han Clan male to do the same. If anyone had refused, he would be beheaded, because it meant that he wouldn't accept the reign of the Mandarin Clan.. The slogan then was “If you want your head, you can't have your hair. If you want your hair, you can't have your head.” So the first thing every courtier did on the hundred-first day was to shave and change clothes.
Now the young emperor was back in the Forbidden City. The empress dowagers decided to get more tutors for him. Three more tutors were appointed. All were scholars. The empress dowagers made Prince Wei in charge of the emperor's education. He should manage everything concerning the education except teaching. The most difficult task was how to discipline the young emperor, who was still a child. No one should really blame the emperor except for the empress dowagers. So he decided that he would report to the empress dowagers if the young emperor really needed to be disciplined. But he could not report everything trivial, or the empress dowagers would think that he was a useless old fop. As a tradition, the emperor could have some boy of his age as a study-mate to have lessons together, even to play together in recesses. So Prince Wei sent his own son, Yiqiang , as the study-mate. This was looked upon as an honor, to be able to study with the emperor, but the study-mate was really a scapegoat. Whenever the emperor made a mistake, his father, Prince Wei, or even the tutors, could scold him, since they couldn't blame the emperor. When the emperor saw that his playmate, as well as study-mate, took the blame for him, he would behave better or study harder. But the study-mate had an advantage as a scapegoat when the emperor and he both became adults. The emperor would surely make amends for his study-mate for all the undue censures he had taken for him. The former study-mate would get special favors from the emperor.

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West Empress Dowager was very eager to get the empress dowager system going, but it was unsuitable to urge Yixin. So she seized every opportunity to bestow some favors on Yixin, like to double his Prince salary. Yixin took the hint and had a meeting with all the courtiers who were familiar with the empress dowager system in the previous dynasties. In reference to all the examples in the history, they drafted some rules about this system and handed in for the empress dowagers to approve, West Empress Dowager was not satisfied with some of the items and sent it back for the courtiers to re-draft. So the document was like a ball kicked up and down for several times, till at last West Empress Dowager felt contented.
The essential rules were that the empress dowagers could receive the government officials and officers to discuss the state affairs in lieu of the emperor (The tradition was that the empress dowagers could only see the male family members, not the male courtiers) and that the empress dowagers decided on the appointments and removals, the promotions and demotions of all the government officials and officers in behalf of the young emperor and that the empress dowagers could issue orders in the name of the young emperor.
Although West Empress Dowager had some experience to handle the reports, she thought it was not enough if she wanted to rule the country independently. So she had some scholars to compile a book, taking all the good ruling examples from the history for her reference. West Empress Dowager knew that there had been a real empress, the first and the last, and therefore the sole empress in the long history of China. She wanted to learn from her ruling experience. When the book was finished, she ordered the scholars to be in her presence by turns to explain to her all the texts one by one. They were not her tutors, though they really gave her lessons.
A new secretarial bureau had been organized, headed by Yixin. The emperor's coronation took place on November 11, and a ceremony for the two empress dowagers to handle the state affairs took place on December 2. Every day after that, the young emperor sat on the throne to hold court, with a desk before him. A screen, a frame covered with yellow gauze, stood behind the throne. The two empress dowagers sat behind the screen, vaguely seen through the gauze, like flowers seen through mists, by two rows of courtiers standing in front of the emperor's desk, after the ritual of kowtows. Yixin, the young emperor's uncle, stood to the left of the desk.

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Ambitious people always want to make things better whenever they have the power for the change. So did West Empress Dowager. Since a scholar courtier had been giving her history lessons based on the book the courtier had compiled, she had learned that most of the previous dynasties had crumbled owing to the corruptions of the officialdom. So she desired strongly to change it. She encouraged the critique officials to reveal all the corruptions. Many such reports came to her notice. They all criticized Commander Shengbao, who was fighting now in Anhui Province.
Commander Shengbao was a man of self-importance and bad temper. The only one he esteemed and obeyed had been the late Emperor Xianfeng, who had raised him to the present position. Now Emperor Xianfeng was dead. So no one alive was worthy of his homage and absolute obedience. He looked upon the young emperor as a mere child. He looked upon the empress dowagers as useless women. He looked upon Yixin as the one who needed his support. Without him, how could they have got the upper hand of Sushun and other counselors? He loved the quotation from the Art Of War written by Sunzi, an ancient strategist and commander, which was “When a commander is away fighting, he can ignore the king's orders.” The theory was based on that the king was far away from the battlefield and his orders were not practical and fit for the situation.
Commander Shengbao was deemed as a scholar-commander. He had passed the government tests and had held some official positions before he had been made a commander. So he despised his generals, some of them were illiterate. He often chided them for no particular reasons. If any general offended him, he would have him beaten publicly. He spent money freely. So he had to accept bribery. He always had women with him wherever he went with his troops. This was really against the military law. He didn't care about law. Law was not made for the individuals like him. Whenever he saw a beautiful woman on the way of his march, he just ordered his bodyguards to take her along despite the family's protestation.
The empress dowagers and Yixin were always lenient to him because of his support in their contention with Sushun. But the last straw came and made the situation unbearable. There lived a landlord by the name of Miao Peiling, who recruited and trained an army of his own, in 1856, to defend his homeland against the Nian Army. In 1857 when Commander Shengbao was sent to fight with the Nian Army in Anhui Province, Miao had already won a reputation of bravery in combat. Commander Shengbao liked such persons and sent someone to persuade Miao to join the government army. He enticed Miao with the title of a general. So Miao accepted and brought his army to where Commander Shengbao camped.

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In 1860 when the foreign troops approached Peking, Commander Shengbao was summoned there to defend the capital. He wanted Miao to go with him, but Miao had his own plan and refused to go north with Commander Shengbao. It was because Miao looked at the situation in a wrong light and thought that Qing government would soon be overthrown. He wished to be a warlord, having a stretch of land of his own to rule independently. In April of 1861, Miao began to fight openly against the government. In August of the same year, he took a city from the government army. He sent someone to contact the Peaceful Army and invited the Shrewdness King to come north to form an alliance. In February, 1862, Shrewdness King sent a detachment north. Leader Zhang of the Nian Army joined them and the three of them attacked a town under the government control. Qing government ordered Commander Shengbao to the rescue because Miao had been under him before his betrayal. Commander Chengbao wrote a letter to Miao, promising the restoration of his former title and rights if he could turn over to the side of the government. All that time, Younger Zeng had beaten Shrewdness King and occupied Anqing City. Miao thought that the Peaceful Army would soon be annihilated and Qing government was safe now. So he came to join Commander Shengbao again. Commander Shengbao kept his promise and handed in a report for that matter, but West Empress Dowager rejected to give his former title back to him because of his betrayal.
Shrewdness King escaped and wanted to traverse the area controlled by Miao. Miao lured Shrewdness King to his camping place and detained him as his captive. Miao gave his captive to Commander Shengbao, who reported to West Empress Dowager and asked to escort the captive to the capital himself, but West Empress Dowager said NO and ordered him to execute the captive immediately, which he did accordingly. Then Commander Shengbao had the conception that Miao should be rewarded for the capture of Shrewdness King, one of the two powerful kings of the Peaceful Army at the time. The most suitable reward, in his opinion, was to give his title back. So he wrote a report to that effect. Then a reply came, saying that Miao was pardoned for his betrayal, but the capture of Shrewdness King was not enough and if he could wipe out Leader Zhang of the Nian Army, he could get back his title. Commander Shengbao felt like he couldn't keep his promise and was persistent by writing more than one reports, but all in vain.

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Elder Zeng governed four provinces, including Anhui Province. He didn't like to have Commander Shengbao to stay in his governing area. And Shengbao, though a commander, had no province of his own to govern. He stayed there like a quest to assist the host to fight the rebels. He wrote to ask West Empress Dowager to make him the governor of Anhui Province. West Empress Dowager began to dislike him for his disgustingly domineering attitude, and trusted him no more owing to his relationship with Miao, who was fickle and easy to change sides. She gave the post to one of Elder Zeng's commanders and ordered Commander Shengbao to move his army to Shanxi Province to fight the Hui Clan rebels. At first Commander Shengbao declined with a lame excuse and suggested another commander to go instead, but at the insistence of West Empress Dowager, he had to leave Anhui Province for Shanxi Province in August, 1862. In September, he was repulsed by the rebels. He thereby summoned Miao to Shanxi Province to help him without even writing a report for the permission. West Empress Dowager and Yixin were shocked to find this and ordered other government troops to encircle Miao's army. They feared that if Miao would betray again and ally with Hui Clan rebels, the situation there would be critical.
West Empress Dowager and Yixin wanted to deprive Shengbao of the power to command any troops. Shengbao was offered the position of Military Minister, or if he loved money, he could be the head of the Royal Family Affairs Management, where there were a lot of chances to get money. They wanted him in the capital for fear that he might rebel, too. Nevertheless, Shengbao rebuffed either offer. He mistook it for the ruse to allure him into the capital and kill him. Now he got himself into the dead end. No one could save him.

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On January 22, 1863, an order was secretly dispatched to have Shengbao taken under custody and escorted to the capital. The difficult task was given to a general in his area. If he did it improperly, Shengbao might actually rebel. The general moved his troops as if he was to assault the Hui Clan rebels. All of a sudden, he closed on Shengbao and surrounded his residence at night when Shengbao was still asleep with one of his women. As the order in the emperor's name was read to him to remove him from his post and put him under arrest, he was frustrated like a balloon leaking. He was accused of the following crimes:
1 ) Took women with him against the military law.
2 ) Embezzled the money supposed to use for military purposes.
3 ) Kept the wife of Shrewdness King as his concubine while she should be delivered to the government as the family member of the rebel leader.
4 ) Took bribery from the two brothers of Shrewdness King and hid them in his army while they should be delivered to the government for execution.
When Shengbao was arrested, most of his women deserted him and ran away with their own belongings. The wife of Shrewdness King remained because she had nowhere to go. Shengbao was not in irons and fetters. He was carried in a palanquin just like he were still the commander. An officer and two hundred soldiers escorted him. The group proceeded very slowly. One night when they lodged in a deserted house in a small village, suddenly came a regiment of infantry. They took all the luggage belonging to Shengbao and the wife of Shrewdness King. Some infantrymen were recognized. Another general who hated Shengbao sent them. Shengbao was very angry. He refused to go further and wanted his things back. He wrote a letter to the new commander who had been the general arresting him and was now commanding his army. So the commander ordered the general to return Shengbao's things. Shengbao got back his luggage, but not the wife of Shrewdness King. The general sent these words to Shengbao, “Since she was the wife of a rebel leader, I must deliver her to the government.” Actually he hid her in his backroom as his own concubine, because the wife was so beautiful that no man would resist the charm of her beauty.

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The group reached the capital on March 23 without any further disturbance on the way. The officer escorted Shengbao directly to the imperial prison, where only high-rank courtiers were privileged to be held. Shengbao was put in a room, not in a cell. A former private adviser of his came to see him and solaced him. His
former adviser, Cai by name, promised to do his best to help him with his case as the adviser was now a critique
official. He had got this position through bribery. But before he could do anything, a report came from a general called Li. General Li had originally been with the Nian Army and later had joined the Peaceful Army under Shrewdness King. He had occupied an important town connecting the part of the Peaceful Army north of the town and the part of the Peaceful Army south of the town. The messages passed between the two parts must be through his area. Somehow, Shrewdness King had held him in scorn and hadn't trusted him. No trust is always dangerous in politics. General Li had feared for his life. Commander Shengbao had learned his situation and persuaded him to turn over to the government. He had been given the title of a general as a reward. Since he had worked for the government, he had cut off the connection between the two parts of the Peaceful Army. It meant a lot to the war. He had always been grateful to Commander Shengbao, especially now as the cause of the Peaceful Army was sliding down the slope. He suggested in his report that he was willing to give up his title of generalship for the pardon of Shengbao. This was really ridiculous. But Yixin was afraid that if the government gave him a flat refusal, he might turn back to the Peaceful Army or the Nian Army. This would make a big difference in the war since he was controlling a geographically significant area. After a meeting among the secretaries, they determined to put his request in suspension for the time being and wrote a letter to Elder Zeng. The letter advised him to make necessary preparations if General Li would betray the government.
(Much later, General Li had a dispute with General Chen. As General Chen was the favorite general of Prince Yihuan, he always got the upper hand of General Li, who was angry for the unfairness and wanted to revolt. He had a secret plan, but it leaked out. The governor of Anhui Province knew it. He invited General Li to his place for dinner and detained him and killed him in his back garden. Then he sent money to his family to assuage them. The troops of General Li dispersed. The family of the late General Li was happy and satisfied with the treatment, because if General Li had openly rebelled the whole family would have been executed.)

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Critique Official Cai was as sly as a fox. If he couldn't be sure of the result, he wouldn't take the action. He was in no way to know the attitude of West Empress Dowager towards Shengbao. But he had promised and so he must do something to keep his promise if he wanted to build up his good fame. He went to see another critique official, whose brother had also been a former private adviser of Shengbao. He convinced that critique official to write a report to plead for Shengbao. At first Yixin had wished to spare Shengbao's life. So he had played dumb as if he had forgotten Shengbao's case. When the two reports came, he could no longer play dumb. He had to assign Prime Minister Zhou and Secretary Li to judge the case. They interrogated Shengbao and he pleaded for himself that he had done nothing wrong. He said, ?f I did so many things wrong, why not arrest me earlier?What a reason. But they took time to cross-question him item by item until General Li was talked into submission and withdrew his request. Then the critique official who had pleaded for Shengbao was removed from his office while his report was refuted.

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If Shengbao had begged for life, he might have been pardoned, since his problem was different from that of Sushun. However, he insulted the two judges by saying nasty things about them to their face. When Prime Minister Zhou asked him if he had taken women against their will, he shouted that he had also raped many women, including the female household of Prime Minister Zhou, because Shengbao had passed Zhou's home town on his march to the war zone. In a matter of fact, Shengbao hadn't done such a thing. The reason for him to say so was that when Sushun had been in power, he had often bullied Zhou, who had then been a minister. Zhou hadn't even dared to complain. The death of Sushun had been achieved only under the support of Shengbao. If without Shengbao, how could Zhou become a prime minister? In his opinion, Prime Minister Zhou should be grateful to him. How could he come to judge him? So he said it just to vent his own anger, but it was really against the moral standard of that time so that even Yixin was disgusted. His behavior in the whole process of the questioning showed that he didn't even regret for all the wrong things he had done. If they let him live, he would still be a pest to the government. Besides, West Empress Dowager persisted in death penalty. So he was sentenced to death by hanging himself. They didn't dare to execute him in public like Sushun for fear that he would cry out some palace secrets before his head fell off.
The reasons for West Empress Dowager to put Shengbao to death were: (1) She couldn't stand anyone to disobey her; (2) Since she had disagreement with Yixin, she wished to remove Yixin from office at a proper time so that she could do everything her way. She feared that Yixin and Shengbao would unite against her like she and Yixin had done against Sushun. She wanted to get rid of a potential ally of Yixin; (3) She was afraid that Shengbao might reveal some secrets in her contention with Sushun or say things disrespectful about her.

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Chapter 19

Since Concubine Dowager Li had a daughter, West Empress Dowager would like to have a daughter of her own, but she could never give birth to a daughter now as her emperor husband had died. Prince Yixin had a daughter, very clever and demure, one year older than the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li and two years older than the young emperor, her son. It seemed that she was endowed with an ability of repartee. If she said something, no one could contradict her. She always had a full reason, a logical reason, for whatever she said. West Empress Dowager had seen her more than once when she had come into the Forbidden City with her mother on some occasions like the empress dowagers gave a feast for birthdays or festivals.
West Empress Dowager wanted to adopt her as her daughter. It was really a friendly gesture. But Yixin didn't like it, because he would lose the only daughter he had. He might not bear another daughter. Besides, when his daughter was made a princess, who would kowtow to whom when they met? A problem of the ritual. But he could not refuse the good wish of West Empress Dowager.
His daughter went to live in the Forbidden City. Everyone there called her Big Princess, because she was the oldest among the three children, the emperor, the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li and her. The young emperor loved to tease the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li, but he never teased Big Princess. He respected her and always listened to her.

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Once after they watched operas, West Empress Dowager asked Big Princess if she liked these operas. She replied, “I don't know how they acted, good or bad, but I don't like these operas.”
West Empress Dowager was surprised to hear it. She said, “I saw you sitting there attentively. If you didn't like them, you were supposed to look fidgety.”
But what she said next was more surprising for a young girl. “How could I sit there looking fidgety, when I accompanied Empress Dowagers watching operas?”
It made West Empress Dowager feel herself ridiculous with what she had said. As an adult, she should know the ritual better than the young girl. But she was not angry with her. She could never be angry with her for such a nice clever young girl.
When Big Princess reached the age of thirteen, West Empress Dowager wanted to find a husband for her. As her wish was known, many courtiers wanted to marry their sons to Big Princess. It was not only because Big Princess was wise and demure, but also because the marriage tie to West Empress Dowager would greatly help the father in his official career. Someone went to see Yihuan, the uncle of Big Princess, and expressed his desire to have his son as the royal son-in-law. He hoped that Yihuan could help him since he worked for Yihuan and always loyal to him. Yihuan asked his wife, the sister of West Empress Dowager, to visit her sister in the Forbidden City and be a matchmaker. West Empress Dowager was discreet in choosing a husband for her daughter. She said to her sister, “I must look at the boy first before I can make up my mind.”

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They arranged that the sister and Yihuan would hold a banquet at their residence for the empress dowagers to come to watch some new operas and at the same time to meet the boy. On that day the meeting with the courtiers ended early. The empress dowagers and the emperor went to Yihuan's residence. Other princes and their families, royal cousins and their families and others belonging to the royal household were invited, too. When the empress dowagers and the emperor arrived, everyone knelt in front of the gate of the residence to welcome them. It was arranged that before the performance began West Empress Dowager would receive the boy privately in another room. The boy looked handsome. At the first sight West Empress Dowager liked him, but when she asked what his name was, the boy stammered, unable to get the words out. It was not because he was nervous, but because he was born like that. West Empress Dowager couldn't ask him more questions and dismissed him in disappointment. But the good performances cheered her up.
Later West Empress Dowager married Bit Princess to the son of Emperor Xianfeng's brother-in-law, the one who had been a counselor and had been pardoned. The son liked to study, always sat there as quiet as a mouse, reading, but not so healthy. The son was sixteen years old then while Big Princess was only thirteen. A few years after they got married, the son began to be seriously sick. It was also tuberculosis.
One day a celebration was going on for the birthday of West Empress Dowager. All the imperial household and royal relatives were present for the occasion. The husband of Princess RongAn, the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li, was there, too. But the emperor didn't see the husband of Princess Rongshou. (Princess Rongshou was the formal title and Big Princess was like a nickname.) So he asked his head eunuch about it. The head eunuch whispered to the emperor, “He's dying.”
“But I see Big Princess is watching operas with Holy Mother Empress Dowager. In that case, why doesn't she stay at home, looking after her husband?” The emperor asked.
“Because Big Princess doesn't want Holy Mother Empress Dowager to know it. It is Holy Mother Empress Dowager who married her to that husband. Besides, today is the red-letter day, the birthday of Holy Mother Empress Dowager. Big Princess doesn't want the sad information to dampen the happy celebration. If Big Princess is absent, Holy Mother Empress Dowager will surely ask, and the disturbing truth will come out.”

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So after the performance, the emperor took Big Princess to another room and inquired after her husband about his sickness. Her tears trickled down her cheeks, but she could not cry out loudly, because it would offend West Empress Dowager. The emperor could only say some empty comforting words to her. Before long, her husband died and Big Princess became a widow, but she often went to the Forbidden City to see West Empress Dowager.
Now, every order issued in the young emperor's name, every appointment of officials and officers or their removals from a post must be approved by the two empress dowagers. They had the absolute power. Yixin was only an executive of their decisions. But West Empress Dowager was not fully satisfied. First, she had only half the power, as she was one of the two empress dowagers. Second, Yixin was not such a desirable person as could be totally controlled. He often disagreed with her. For they looked at things from different standpoint of view. Part of her reason for detesting him was that Little An, as she called her head eunuch, often spoke ill of Yixin since Yixin disliked him. Since Little An had delivered that important secret letter that had caused the downfall of Sushun, he had had full trust from West Empress Dowager. He had reminded West Empress Dowager of Sushun's spies among the eunuchs. These spies had been arrested and thrown into jail
Now as West Empress Dowager's head eunuch and her favorite one, Little An did many things against law, such as accepting bribery and interfering where he should not poke his nose. Even the young emperor detested him because he had little esteem for the emperor, who often vowed secretly that he would kill Little An some day. Of course, Little An could never guess it. He only knew how to gain the trust of West Empress Dowager by doing everything she liked, but in the process he had made a lot of enemies. He often went to the palace supplies office, of which Yixin was also in charge, with a long list to demand things like plates and bowls, etc., in the name of West Empress Dowager. Actually, by demanding things not in urgent need, he only wanted people there to acknowledge his authority as the favorite head eunuch of West Empress Dowager. But one day when he went there again, Yixin was there and challenged his authority by refusing most of the things he demanded. So at dinner that evening, he ordered the cooks to put food in coarse china bowls like those used by ordinary people. When West Empress Dowager asked about it out of curiosity, he reported that Yixin had refused to give him fine china bowls. Therefore, West Empress Dowager thought that Yixin despised her and got furious.

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West Empress Dowager often sent Little An to see her mother, bringing her some gifts like ginseng and some edibles. Little An liked the task, because he could get some tips. Her mother now lived with one of her brothers, who were just ordinary in many ways and no talent at all. Therefore, West Empress Dowager just conferred on each of them an honorary title, no official positions. The brother living with her mother wanted a good official position and often begged Little An to convey his wish to his sister, but Little An didn't dare to mention it to West Empress Dowager. Little An knew that West Empress Dowager would not do that, because her brother was so dumb and would surely make mistakes, and then what could she do with him? If she wouldn't punish him, all the courtiers would complain or even criticize her. If she punished him, he was her brother. She would get into a plight.
But as the brother kept importuning him, he plucked up his courage one day to tell West Empress Dowager that her brother desired to be appointed to a good official position. But West Empress Dowager warned him not to interfere with political affairs. The ancestors of Qing Dynasty had instructed that a eunuch who interfered with anything political should be put to death.
Little An was frustrated and decided to teach the brother of West Empress dowager a lesson. Next time when he went there, the brother importuned him once more. He told him that he had mentioned it to his sister and she promised to give him a very good official position and that he should wait patiently for the appointment to be announced. So the brother was very happy and excited. He thanked Little An abundantly. But the appointment never came. He sent his mother to visit his sister in the Forbidden City. When the mother saw West Empress Dowager, she mentioned it. Deliberately West Empress Dowager told her mother that her brother was not a talented man and unsuitable to any of the official positions. She told her mother to advise her brother to just enjoy his life as it was.

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Chapter 20

The two important supplies for the army were provisions and arms. Since most weapons they were using then were swords and spears, there was no constant need for supplement of arms. That left the provisions as the first important thing for the army. So there was a provisions governor for the rations supply to the army. Recently the present provisions governor died and the vacancy should be filled. West Empress Dowager thought of Wu Tang, who had given her family three hundred taels of silver in their time of need, albeit by mistake. She had promised her mother that if she could, she would repay him for the favor. And now she could, but she was afraid of Yixin's opposition. She worked out a strategy. Next day when the empress dowagers had a routine meeting with the secretaries, she suddenly asked, “How is Wu Tang?” She meant if Wu was a capable, an upright, a good or a bad official. Wu's favor to her family had been known to almost all the courtiers in the central government. So Yixin knew what West Empress Dowager wanted. As Wu Tang was at that time a good official of ability, Yixin replied, “He's good and capable.”
“So,” said West Empress Dowager, “Why not let him take over the post of Provisions Governor?”
“Good.” agreed East Empress Dowager who also knew the event. And all the secretaries had no objection. So Wu was appointed Provisions Governor. This job was really a challenge. West Empress Dowager only wanted to return the favor and gave him a promotion.

* * *

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Anqing City was strategically like the gate to Nanking City. Anyone who could control Anqing City area could control Nanking City area. Now the leaders of the Peaceful Army felt that their duties were to defend what had left, especially to defend Anqing City and Nanking City. This was really a wrong strategy, but it was the history. Since Anqing City was still occupied by the Peaceful Army, the government army couldn't surround Nanking City, because the Peaceful Army in Anqing City would come to rescue by assaulting the encircling government army from behind. So Elder Zeng laid out a strategy to take Anqing City first. He gave the difficult task to another brother of his, the younger Zeng as mentioned before. So the Peaceful Army exercised a stubborn and brutal resistance against the fierce attack of Xiang Army headed by Younger Zeng. Shrewdness King had sent a strong reinforcement to its rescue, but had been beaten. In September 5, 1861, Xiang Army occupied Anqing City and marched along the Yangtze River both on land and by water to assault Nanking City, the capital of the Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom. West Empress Dowager appointed Elder Zeng as the Two River General Governor (A general governor governed more than one province while a governor ruled only in one province.) in total charge of the warfare against the Peaceful Army. Younger Zeng launched waves after waves of assail on Nanking City, which was in a crucial situation. Since Shrewdness King had died, Heavenly King had called for Loyalty King back to the capital to defend it. But Loyalty King had his tactics. He led his army of some ten thousands strong to advance towards Shaoxing City and soon took it and then occupied another city, Ningbo. Thus Hangzhou City, the capital of Zhejiang Province, was exposed before the Peaceful Army, which surrounded it accordingly and cut off the supply of food to the city. As the rations were scarce, almost thirty thousand people died from starvation in the city. A government reinforcement army came to the rescue from another province, but was blockaded somewhere between Jiangxi Province and Zhejiang Province and was at last defeated by the Peaceful Army. Hangzhou City fell into the hands of Loyalty King. Many government high-rank officials and officers either fought to death or committed suicide, because even if they managed to flee from the war zone, they would be arrested as cowards and probably sentence to death. That's the martial law. That way, they would lose both the life and the good reputation. When they fought to death or made suicide, they had at least a good reputation to keep as a brave person and their families could get money from the government and live easily.

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When the Peaceful Army had surrounded Hangzhou City, the governor of Zhejiang Province had asked Elder Zeng to send troops to his rescue, but Zeng hadn't complied, because the governor hadn? supplied his Xiang Army with rations according to the arrangement by the Secretarial Bureau. So when Hangzhou City had been taken by Loyalty King, the governor had made suicide.
The goal of Loyalty King to attack these cities was to draw away the government troops that were assailing Nanking City, thus to make the situation there not so critical to the Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom. But in January, 1862, West Empress Dowager appointed Zuo Zongtang as the governor of Zhejiang Province and in February Zuo led his troops into the province to fight the Peaceful Army. The strategy of Loyalty King failed.
While Governor Zuo took over town by town, city by city, originally occupied by the Peaceful Army, Loyalty King led his army towards Shanghai. West Empress Dowager wanted Younger Zeng to go to defend Shanghai, but Younger Zeng wished to take Nanking City. He thought that it was more important to take the capital of the Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom than to defend Shanghai. So in February West Empress Dowager had to order Li Hongzhuang to reinforce Shanghai. Zuo and Li were both scholars and worked under Elder Zeng and Li was Zeng's pupil. But both Zuo and Li didn's completely obey Elder Zeng after they were respectively made the governors. In March, Governor Li organized his own army under the aid of Elder Zeng, which was equipped with new weapons and called Huai Army.

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Some wealthy people in Shanghai were afraid of the Peaceful Army and wanted Governor Li to come as soon as possible. They rented some foreign steam ships to fetch the Huai Army. Governor Li arrived in Shanghai in April and vanquished the Peaceful Army. In June Governor Zuo wiped out more of the Peaceful Army in Zhejiang Province and was appointed General Governor of Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province.
Heavenly King ordered Loyalty King to come back to defend the capital. In September, 1862, Loyalty King gathered all his troops of twenty thousand strong and marched west to attack Younger Zeng, but couldn't beat him. He entered Nanking city with his troops. Meanwhile, the Huai Army continued to assault the Peaceful Army still fighting in that area. When Loyalty King was back to the capital, he suggested to Heavenly King that they should desert Nanking City and fight their way out to somewhere else for further development, but Heavenly King rebuffed his proposal. Heavenly King didn't know anything about strategies. If he was surrounded in the city, he would be like a fish in a bowl waiting to be butchered. If he could fight his way out of the encirclement, he would be like a fish in the ocean. Wrong strategy always means failure.
When the Peaceful Army had attacked Shanghai, there lived many foreigners. After the treaty had been signed in Peking as the result of the Second Opium War, some foreigners organized armies to fight against the Peaceful Heavenly Kingdom for the Qing government. They helped the Huai Army. In November,1862, Governor Li took Suzhou City. In December, West Empress Dowager appointed him as the governor of Jiangsu Province. But later Suzhou city was reoccupied by Admiration King of the Peaceful Army.

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In 1863, Wing King moved into Sichuan Province, but was defeated and killed there by the government army. In December, 1863, Admiration King of the Peaceful Army in Suzhou City was betrayed and killed. In March, 1864, Governor Zuo took Jiaxing City and Hangzhou City, the last two cities under the control of the Peaceful Army in that province. In June 1, 1864, Heavenly King died of some kind of disease. (Some history book says that he committed suicide by swallowing poison in despair.) In July 19, 1864, Xiang Army exploded open a part of the city wall and rushed in. The Peaceful Army wouldn? surrender and defend alley by alley till most of them died in the fight. That night, disguised as soldiers of the government army, Loyalty King took the son of Heavenly King and escaped from the city gate opposite to where the government army entered. But they were separated in the chaos. Loyalty King hid in a temple outside the city, but the government troops was searching everywhere and found him in the temple. So he was escorted to where Elder Zeng camped and was executed there on August 7, 1864. The son of Heavenly King fled with some of his attendants to Fujian Province. There were two different rumors about what became of him. One was that he was captured later and killed. This digressed into another rumor that the boy executed was not the real son. The real son was hidden somewhere no one could find him. The other rumor was that some attendants took him on board a steam ship and went to live in San Francisco and later joined the revolutionary movement.

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The Peaceful Army was annihilated during 1864, but the Nian Army kept fighting against the government. The difficulty with the Nian Army was that they didn't have a settlement to be surrounded. So West Empress Dowager ordered Elder Zeng to take over the charge to battle the Nian Army. Elder Zeng stationed all the troops under his command in a huge loose circle around the area that the Nian Army moved and then shrank the circle to press the Nian Army into the focus in hopes to wipe it out in the focus. The stratagem sounded good, but it took time to bring it into realization. When in a long time he didn't send in any report of success, some critique officials handed in some critique reports saying that Elder Zeng was trifling with his duties and must be removed from this post. Their deduction was based on that since the stronger Peaceful Army had been wiped out, why the comparatively not so strong Nian Army was still there. They thought that it should be conquered by then. They didn't know that the mobile Nian Army was more difficult to deal with. However, West Empress
Dowager ordered Governor Li, Elder Zeng's pupil, to take over the charge and Elder Zeng to resume his former position as the Two River General Governor.
At that time, the Nian Army had split into two parts. The part went west was called West Nian Army and the part left where they had been was called East Nian Army. Governor Li was to fight the East Nian Army and West Empress Dowager ordered Governor Zuo to move his troops west to combat the West Nian Army. Then she gave Zuo's post to Provisions Governor Wu Tang, who had at last some province to govern.
Governor Li had to follow his tutor's tactics because the situation looked that way and any other strategy wouldn't work. Only now the Nian Army had split and their strength had lessened. That's an advantage to him. The East Nian Army was forced to retreat into a small area between two rivers, where the government army launched a sudden attack at night and annihilated the East Nian Army entirely. Now the West Nian Army moved northbound towards the capital. Once when they got very close to the capital, West Empress Dowager was in a panic and ordered Ronglu to bring his troops to block the advance of the West Nian Army, which then made their way south. Part of the West Nian Army went further south and was subdued in Yangzhou City area and its leader was executed on January 5, 1868. The other part went to Shandong Province and was vanquished there in August of that year. The end of the Nian Army.

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In the north beyond the Great Wall, it was the original habitat of the Mandarin Clan, where were all the tombs of the emperors of Qing Dynasty. There was a vast stretch of plain used as pasture for horses. So all the horses for the government cavalry came from there. But robbers in that area also rode on horseback. They came and were gone very fast after the robbery. So they were called Horseback Robbers. It turned out to be a real headache to the local government. When the local government got the message of their whereabouts and sent cavalry there, the horseback robbers already did their job and disappeared. Now five hundreds of them were approached the imperial sepulchers. If any royal mausoleum was dug open and the treasure buried inside was robbed, the local government chief officials would all be put to death. So an urgent report came to the notice of the empress dowagers. West Empress Dowager had serious discussion with the secretaries. As no army could be spared from the south where battles were still being waged against the rebellions at that time, they had to dispatch a newly trained division, which was equipped with rifles. Prince Yihuan was in charge of this special division. Ronglu was his aide with the title of Wing General. Secretary Wenqiang proposed that he himself would head a detachment selected from that division. The empress dowagers consented to his proposal. Secretary Wenqiang told Ronglu to choose the soldiers from the division to form a detachment.

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Ronglu was born of Mandarin Clan. His grandfather and father both died in Guangxi Province fighting the Peaceful Army when it had just begun its mutiny. As a reward to their family and an appreciation of the feats they had performed, Ronglu had been given a post as an official in Construction Ministry. When Sushun had been the minister, Ronglu had nearly been put into jail under the false accusation of embezzlement. When Wenqiang had been made the minister there, he had greatly appreciated the ability of Ronglu in handling the ministerial business. When Prince Yihuan wanted to reorganize the special division and strengthen its discipline and needed someone to help him, Secretary Wenqiang recommended Ronglu to him. Ronglu was appointed Wing General just like a bird needs wings. Ronglu knew who's who and what's what in that division. That's why Wenqiang told Ronglu to form the detachment for him. He would take the detachment to arrest horseback robbers, with Ronglu as his aide.
As that division was notorious for its non-discipline and inability to fight, West Empress Dowager was anxious to make sure how things stood with it. So she sent Little An to have a look. Little An went there in plain clothes. He saw quite a few uniformed men carrying bird cages and others eating food bought from vendors. The scene looked like either a market place or an amusement spot. West Empress Dowager made Secretary Wenqiang acquainted with her fear, but Wenqiang soothed her by saying that it was because those men were living in the big city, too much luxurious things to distract them from their duties and if they were put in difficult conditions, they would adjust themselves to the situation. So Secretary Wenqiang led his detachment to guard the mausoleums of the former emperors against the horseback robbers, who already ran away before the detachment arrived. Secretary Wenqiang helped the local government to reorganized the local defensive forces and then let Ronglu take charge of the detachment to chase the robbers. He himself came back to the capital and reported to the empress dowagers that the imperial graves were safe now.

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Chapter 21

The ancestors of Qing Dynasty had set up a few rules to prohibit eunuchs to do certain things, like to interfere where his duties were not involved, to go outside the capital on whatever excuses, etc. Offense of any of the rules was penalty of death. So no eunuch in Qing Dynasty dared to do anything against the rules except the two eunuchs under the reign of West Empress Dowager. One of the two eunuchs was Little An. The other was Li Lianying. Both were head eunuchs of West Empress Dowager. The latter succeeded the former.
Little An (1844-1869) had no respect not only for the young emperor but also for East Empress Dowager, who disliked him, but didn't want to quarrel with West Empress Dowager on account of Little An, which made Little An all the more arrogant and bold.
Once when the late emperor was alive, his son, the future emperor, was answering a question put by his mother, still Concubine Yan then, Little An interrupted, which was deemed an offense, though a minor one, and which added to the detestation the son had already conceived for him, because Little An often interrupted when the son was talking to his mother. Someone who hated Little An taught the son how to punish him. So this time the son yelled, “Shut up.” Everyone in the room, the maids, the eunuchs, even his mother, were surprised. It was not expected from a boy of six.

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Little An felt awkward. He forced a smile and said, “Why is Big Brother (In Qing Dynasty the emperor's sons were addressed as Brother and the son who was supposed to be the future emperor was called Big Brother.) angry with me?”
The son pretended to be a grown-up and said, “How dare you to speak to me like that?” Then he wanted to summon the head eunuch of the palace. It meant that he wanted to punish Little An for his impertinence. Little An knew that his behavior towards the emperor's son was really against the rule. He had thought that the son was merely a boy. He had interrupted just to throw in some witty words to please the mother. But this time he was ensnared. Even Concubine Yan could not protect him when the head eunuch came. So he went down on his knees.
“Slap your own face.” The boy got angry and ordered. Concubine Yan could not say anything in his behalf since he made the wrong move in front of so many people. And it was an obvious offense. Therefore, he could not but slap his own face.
“Slap hard. One hundred.” The son commanded.
He had to slap himself hard. Another eunuch counted till one hundred. He had to thank Big Brother for ordering him to slap himself on the face. It was also the tradition of Qing Dynasty. At night when he went back to his own bedroom he looked at his swollen face. He wanted to revenge on the son by saying the false things about him to his mother. He often did it, especially after Concubine Yan became West Empress Dowager, to make her angry with anyone he wanted to slander.

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As East Empress Dowager was not ambitious and let West Empress Dowager handle the state affairs, Little An was encouraged to do things against law, under the protection of West Empress Dowager. He took bribery like he was picking apples from the tree. The place he frequented was the Royal Family Affairs Management, because he often went there to demand things for West Empress Dowager. One evening after West Empress Dowager went to bed, he stole out of the Forbidden City and dropped in there. There were already some eunuchs, mingling with some clerks there. That was their gathering place. They drank and gambled there. Their favorite game was dice. When Little An made his appearance, everyone inside got on their feet to greet him. Someone asked him to sit at the table to play for a while. Generally when Little An played, gamblers would always let him win. They called it bribery in disguise. But today, Clerk Telu, very intimate with Little An, pulled him aside, whispering to him. They sat at another table covered with food and wine. They drank and ate while talking about business. Their business was how to help some person to solve his problems and take the bribery. They even bargained how much the person should give them like buying things in the market.
“Somebody likes to have a painting by West Empress Dowager.” said Clerk Telu, “He will pay fifty taels of silver.”
“Just that? You call it business?” Little An didn't care about such a small sum.
“What? the bonus.” Clerk Telu winked at Little An, “And here's the big business.”
Official Zhao had had an assignment to collect taxes and would have sent the completed collection to the South River Camp as a military support. Then the South River Camp had been vanquished and the commander had died. He should have sent the collection to Elder Zeng, who had been made a general governor. A general governor was above other governors in rank and governed more than one province. Elder Zeng had been put in charge of four provinces, where the Peaceful Army had still been fighting at that time. There were two rivers in this area. So his title was Two River General Governor.

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Official Zhao had had a blackmailing and embezzling case against him and had been wanted by the local government. He had hidden in Peking ever since. Now after so many years, although his case was still open, no one would really look for him. However, he could not always stay in hiding. He wanted to bribe someone powerful enough to close his case and better to get him a position like a mayor in a rich town. But first he wanted to wash himself clean of the dirt. His exact words.
“He's a clever guy, hiding in the capital.” commented Little An, “Who will notice him in this big city?”
“He is willing to pay twenty thousand taels of silver when it's done.” Clerk Telu revealed with an alluring smile like a real businessman.
Twenty thousand taels was not a small sum. Little An's heart beat a bit faster as if he were having a palpitation. Being always at the side of West Empress Dowager when she was reading reports, Little An was familiar with procedures how these things were handled. He knew that the case must be closed first, and after that, the assignment. To achieve this, someone relevant to his case should send in a report about the case. Then he could do something to make the case closed. But as far as Little An could remember, all the high-rank officials related to the case were dead. So he asked Clerk Telu whether the guy had joined the army. The reply was in negative. He knew that if the guy had been in the army, he would have had his share of some kinds of rewards, which could be used to offset his offenses.

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Now for twenty thousand taels of silver, he had to cudgel his brains. Suddenly he thought of Wu Tang, the Provisions Governor, who did not have a province to govern and whose responsibilities were to gather provisions for the government army. Provisions governor Wu was West Empress Dowager's favorite governor. If he could write a report and throw in a few good words for the guy, everything would be fine. So he mentioned Provisions Governor Wu to Clerk Telu, who shook his head, saying that it was Provisions Governor Wu who had wanted him. Now the real problem. But he saw in his mind's eye the money dangling before his face. (At that time in China, there were many Money Shops, just like banks in the western countries. They took in the silver taels and wrote out slips of paper called Silver Notes, bearing the sum: ten taels, twenty taels, fifty taels, hundred taels, thousand taels or larger numbers as needed, just like banknotes. If any customer liked, he could cash the silver any time.)
Then Clerk Telu made an arrangement for Little An to meet the guy in his house. When Little An arrived, the guy was not there yet. Clerk Telu said, “I've told him to come a bit late. So we can talk.”
“What about?” asked Little An.
“ told him to bring a down-payment of 1000 taels.” He smiled to Little An.
“That sounds great.Little An smiled back. They could understand each other through their smiles.
“But when the guy comes, Second Esquire An'd better tell him some palace secrets so that he will have confidence that I've found him the right person to solve his problems.” (We have in Chinese all the words to use to respectfully address people of different social status, but I can't find a corresponding word in English for the Chinese word to use here. I have to borrow the word Esquire for the purpose. The ordinal number used here before Esquire denotes that Little An was the second son in his family. If people met his eldest brother, they would address him as First Esquire An. If he was the only son in the family, we don't need to add an ordinal number before that.)

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“No problem. All here.” Little An patted on his own head to show that all such knowledge was in here.
When the guy came, Clerk Telu made the introduction. “This is Second Esquire An, the superintendent of West Empress Dowager. (Little An was really the head eunuch. But no one would mention the word eunuch directly before one. So Clerk Telu used the word superintendent instead.) The guy put his left foot half a step backward and bent his right knee half way down (the left knee was naturally bent, too) with his right arm straight downward, the finger tips almost touching the floor, an act of salute of a subordinate to his superiors in Qing Dynasty, while saying, “Superintendent An!” Little An just nodded his acknowledgment as if that guy was really his immediate subordinate. Then Clerk Telu turned to Little An, saying, “This is Fourth Esquire Zhao.(He was the fourth son of his family. Because he was an official, Clerk Telu must call him Esquire, too.) The guy interrupted hastily, “Just call me Fourth Zhao.” (This was to show his modesty. Anyone who could call him fourth Zhao was either his elders, or his superiors, or his intimate friends, somewhat like in English to use just the first name.) Then they sat down to dinner. They talked while eating.
“It's your luck that I can invite Superintendent An here. Superintendent An is very busy, seldom free. Can Superintendent An tell us something about West Empress Dowager to open our eyes, or shall I say to open our ears?” Clerk Telu wanted to be witty to show his intimacy with Little An.

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So Little An told them how West Empress Dowager had sent him on a life-and-death errand to carry a secret letter to the capital and how they (Little An meant that he had had a part in it.) had brought down the counselors from power. Even Clerk Telu didn't know it as he was working so close to the Forbidden City. Both the listeners showed more esteem than he deserved. After a few cups of wine (No glass yet at that time. A china cup was used to hold wine), Little An began to brag how powerful he was, being the favorite eunuch of West Empress Dowager, which gave the guy more confidence than he really felt. After dinner, Clerk Telu made the guy tell Little An directly about his problems and requests, which Little An had already known from Clerk Telu. But It was the procedures. When the recap finished, Clerk Telu pulled Little An aside to consult each other. Since the guy was an official, he should know such things and they couldn't pull the wool over his eyes. They should at least hint to him through which channel they would manage his problems. Clerk Telu wanted to mention somebody working in the Secretarial Bureau, but Little An objected to it. He feared that if word got out, Yixin would want his skin. He decided to mention Provisions Governor Wu Tang, because if word spread into his ears, he didn't dare to say anything since he owed everything he had got to West Empress Dowager and he was her head eunuch.
But the name of Provisions Governor Wu made the guy nervous and he quavered out his fear, “His Excellency Wu is the person who wants me. If His Excellency Wu knows where I am, His Excellency Wu will have me arrested.”
“Don't worry.” Little An soothed him. “I will manage it. You just wait and see.” By now everyone in the officialdom had known that Provisions Governor Wu was West Empress Dowager's favorite because of the good turn his servant had done for him by mistake to her family many years before. The guy thought that Provisions Governor Wu couldn't reject anything demanded by West Empress Dowager, but he didn't know that Little An never dared to mention such a thing to West Empress Dowager. He planned to achieve it all by himself, in the name of West Empress Dowager. The guy did bring a Silver Note of one thousand taels and gave it to Little An as down-payment.

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Little An was not contented with twenty thousand taels. He said to Clerk Telu, “You tell the guy if he pays thirty thousand taels, I'll get him a very gook position?” Clerk Telu said, “Sure. I'll let him know.” Next day when they met, Clerk Telu informed, “The guy said okay. But he doesn't have so much money in hand right now. He must borrow and will pay when he gets the appointment notice and documents.” Little An knew that the guy didn't trust in him. He really wanted to wait and see. Then Clerk Telu was saying something while he was indulging in his own contemplation. He gathered himself and listened. . . . “That the one thousand taels is the festival gift, not the down-payment. If we can't succeed, we don't need to return it.”
Now Little An put on his thinking cap. He should make a plan how to get the deal done. It was not everyday that he could earn thirty thousand taels of silver. His monthly salary was only twenty taels. But there was a rule in the Forbidden City that a eunuch or a maid could get fined for breaking something or making some offense. The fine would be deducted from the salary. But they had free board and food.
The reputation of Provisions Governor Wu was not so good recently that West Empress Dowager often got reports of criticisms of him, but she flooded them to protect him. (To flood a report meant that the emperor, now the empress dowagers, kept a report, which might cause some unnecessary trouble. Generally after the emperor, now the empress dowagers, read the report, it must go to the Secretarial Bureau for discussion and the secretaries would suggest what decisions should be made. When a report was flooded, it would not go to the Secretarial Bureau and no result would come for it.) Little An knew all this. He went to the Internal Registrar to make copies of them. (All the reports that came in must be registered there. The records showed who handed in the reports to criticize whom for what reasons.) Little An thought that if Provisions Governor Wu became aware how West Empress Dowager had protected him, he would do anything as she wished, or he wished in her name. But how could he get the message over to Provisions Governor Wu? Before long, an opportunity presented itself to him.

[xlwoo]

The calendar showed that it would soon be another Chinese New Year, the grandest festival in a year. The festival gifts were on the way. All the high-rank officials in the provinces would send gifts to the empress dowagers and the emperor, to all the princes, to the ministers, or to those for potential help that might be needed in the future. Special presents were sent to those with special relationship.
One day, West Empress Dowager dispatched Little An to her mother's house to bring her some festival gifts. There Little An met a messenger from Provisions Governor Wu, who sent to the mother of West Empress Dowager one hundred thousand taels of silver in Sliver Notes every year as his gratitude to West Empress Dowager. The messenger knew Little An by fame and was very much polite to him. Little An hadn't thought that he would have met the messenger of Provisions Governor Wu, or he could carry out his plan. And now he wasn't prepared yet. So he just made some social remarks and left.
He was a guy who could scheme. He should really have gone to join the army and would some day have become a great reputed strategist. But now he couldn't anymore even if he wanted, since he had lost his dick. If a guy without a dick should have been a commander, all the generals would have resigned for shame to be fighting under him. Anyway, he was struck with a good notion.
When he returned to the Forbidden City, he informed West Empress Dowager of the encounter with the messenger from Provisions Governor Wu, adding that the messenger had wanted to get in touch with him.
“What for?” West Empress Dowager doubted.
“It's not I, Empress Dowager's slave, he wants to seek. He only wants me to deliver a message to Empress Dowager from His Excellency Wu.” He was the greatest liar. Even a lie-detector would fail its function.
“What's it?West Empress Dowager was interested.
“His Excellency Wu desires to know what special things Empress Dowager wants in his area.”
“He's such a nice person. Always think of me.” West Empress Dowager was pleased.
“Empress Dowager'd better ask for something, anything, so that His Excellency Wu won't feel that his offer of gratitude is ignored.”

[xlwoo]

“That's right. Let him get some embroidered silk stuff with new patterns in Suzhou City. Suzhou City is also famous for its embroidery, known as Su Embroidery. Its typical Chinese gardens with grottos and pavilions are well known in the world.
Now Little An got a theme and could write a good composition. He could openly go to see the messenger without anyone to surmise what was going on between them. For one of the ancestral rules for eunuchs was to ban them from contacting any officials without an assigned task from any of the imperial family members. The purpose was to prevent eunuchs from doing anything illegal. The lesson had been learned from the previous Ming Dynasty.
Little An let Clerk Telu notify the messenger to meet him in his house. Next day, as the messenger didn't know where Little An's house was, Clerk Telu had to take him there and left him with Little An to pretend that he knew nothing about the whole business. Little An was polite to the messenger. At that time, the attitude of one person towards another depended on who wanted to ask a favor of whom. The one to have a favor to ask was always polite, or even pleasing, and vice versa. Little An was a difficult person to deal with, given his attitude even towards the young emperor. The promise of thirty thousand taels of silver did away with his arrogance.
After the exchange of a few social words Little An took out a piece of paper, listing on it the things West Empress Dowager wanted. Then he lowered his voice, “Empress Dowager has another wish. Someone must know the brother of Empress Dowager.” He told the messenger about the whole story and then mentioned the name of the person and his request, adding, “If His Excellency Wu can send in a report to close his case, the brother of Empress Dowager will think it as a favor done to himself.” He implied that it would certainly please West Empress Dowager, too. When the messenger took his leave, Little An suddenly produced from his inner pocket a big envelope and handed it to him, saying, “It's important to give this letter directly to His Excellency Wu.” The messenger nodded and stuffed the letter in his inner pocket together with the list. Little An saw him to the door of his house. In the envelope were all the copies of the critique reports against Provisions Governor Wu and a memo about the case of Official Zhao.

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Since Little An had met the messenger, he had been expecting a response. As a matter of fact, he had been expecting the thirty thousand taels. One day after a month, the messenger came again. He delivered to Little An's home some special food as a small gift from Provisions Governor Wu. The gift was meant as a message that the response from Provisions Governor Wu came. Then the messenger went to see Clerical Official Fang of the Secretarial Bureau, who was a good friend of Provisions Governor Wu. As Clerical Official Fang was at work, the messenger left a small gift together with a large envelope at his home. When Fang came back from work in the evening, he noticed the two things. He read the letter, then the memo that was enclosed in the envelope. The letter said that he (Provisions Governor Wu) had built up the case against Official Zhao, who was really a corrupt official, and he couldn't now write a report to say that Official Zhao was innocent. He hinted in the letter that this was the wish of West Empress Dowager. But he could not contradict himself. He didn't know what to do and needed his help. At the end of the letter he asked Fang to keep it as a secret.
Clerical Official Fang sent for the messenger. He wanted to know the details. The messenger came and told Fang how Little An had come to him and put up such a request. Now Fang understood that it was all Little An's monkey business. It wasn't the first time that Little An did such things in the name of West Empress Dowager. So he wrote a letter of reply to Provisions Governor Wu and told him to ignore the whole thing.
As the messenger didn't come to tell Little An what he wanted to know, Little An had to seek him out. The messenger said as he had been taught by Provisions Governor Wu, “His Excellency Wu has asked someone to handle the matter for him.” How could a governor ask someone else to write a report in the name of that someone else? Such a report should be written by himself. Little An sensed bad omen.

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Later when Clerk Telu learned that Clerical Official Fang got a letter from Provisions Governor Wu, he said to Little An when they met in the evening, “I think it was screwed up. If they want me to tell them where to find Official Zhao, what should I say? I got into a real trouble.” Little An consoled him, “Don't worry. I'll take care of it.” But he was in a panic himself. What if West Empress Dowager got the wind of it? Would she forgive him this time? Then he thought that he'd better go to pay a visit to Clerical Official Fang to learn something from him. Generally, Little An had no respect for clerical officials in the Secretarial Bureau, because they were not of a high rank. But today, he addressed him as Esquire Fang. Fang didn't think high of Little An, but he didn't want to offend him. So he told Little An that Provisions Governor Wu couldn't contradict himself by writing such a report unless West Empress Dowager ordered him to do so. (Implied not through you, Little An.) Then he added, “But His Excellency Wu will let him go without officially closing the case. We don't want to know where he is or what he's doing.” So saying, Fang gave the memo back to Little An. The gesture meant: forget it. Nothing happened. Little An was let off the hook and felt at rest.
Next evening when Little An met Clerk Telu, he said, “He didn't screw up the matter entirely. At least we got half of it done.” Clerk Telu was bewildered and queried, “How so?” Little An told him the result of his meeting with Clerical Official Fang, adding, “The guy wanted us to wash him clean. Now we got him out of the dirt. That's half done.” Clerk Telu knew that Little An wanted half the money. Clerk Telu promised to ask the guy for it.

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Two days later, someone came from the Royal Family Affairs Management and wanted to see Little An, who thought that it must be Clerk Telu coming with the money. But it was another clerk, saying that Prince Yixin wanted to see him. Little An's heart jumped wildly against his rib cage. He felt like to swoon. He followed the clerk to the Royal Family Affairs Management, from where Yixin had sent for him. Yixin was in charge of that management, too. Little An kowtowed before Yixin, who didn't bid him to stand up. Generally he would bid anyone to stand up after he kowtowed to him, but not this time. So Little An prostrated there. Yixin began to censure him for all the unlawful things he had done. He reprimanded him for almost half an hour and then bade him to leave, with the last warning that if he did any such things again, he would be punished severely. He just nodded and left.
Now almost everyone knew that Little An had been scolded by Prince Yixin. He felt humiliated and swore his revenge. A bad news awaited him when he met Clerk Telu in the evening. Official Zhao was afraid that things might change since Prince Yixin had known it. So he refused even to pay half of the money until his problem was really solved. Little An hated Yixin all the more.
Even West Empress Dowager knew that he had been scolded by Yixin, but had no idea of what was the reason of it. So Little An grasped the chance to slander Yixin. He told West Empress Dowager that Yixin didn't really blame him. He was only a eunuch, not even worth the time for a prince to blame him. Yixin really blamed West Empress Dowager for her squandering of money. This really piqued West Empress Dowager. Now an opera would be on soon. Little An would be the happy audience.

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Chapter 22

At last the rupture in the relationship between West Empress Dowager and Yixin broke out in the open. It was caused by Critique Official Cai who sent in a report of accusation, saying that Yixin was haughty, took bribery, aspired after absolute power and had unequal treatments of courtiers. At the end of his report he suggested to remove Yixin from power and appointed Yihuan (Yixin's brother and the brother-in-law of West Empress Dowager) as the head of Secretarial Bureau.
Critique Official Cai was a man as sly as a fox and as greedy as a wolf. He was not contented with his present position. He wanted to have a promotion. Who could give him a promotion? West Empress Dowager. He wanted to do something to please her. As he learned that West Empress Dowager was displeased with Yixin, he looked upon it as his chance. But he didn't want to do anything rash. He wished to make sure through Little An, but Little An didn't want to be seen with him. He didn't want to be directly involved, lest Yixin should be angry with him and take it all out on him when West Empress Dowager did give Yixin beans. Through a detour, Little An gave Critique Official Cai an affirmative hint and an encouragement. At the same time Little An assured Cai that he would save him if Yixin wanted his head. In fact a critique official would never be beheaded for writing a critique report. It was protected by law and tradition.
Now Critique Official Cai took pains to choose the right words while he was drafting the report. Every word should have the right weight so that when it hit, it could make a dent. The collective weight of all the words could knock over the powerful man. When he finished the drafting, he read through it several times and made a couple of changes. Then he copied it in a formal writing pattern. He spent a whole night on it and handed it in next day.

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West Empress Dowager didn't expect to read such a report when she came across it, but she felt that it scratched right on her itching spot. She knew Yixin had many followers like a huge tree with deep roots in the ground. She needed an ally. So she went to see East Empress Dowager and showed her the critique report, adding, “If we don't pull him back now, he'll go over the edge of the cliff.” From the report East Empress Dowager thought that Yixin had really made all the offenses accused and so she agreed with West Empress Dowager.
“We'll remove him from all his offices to teach him a lesson.” suggested West Empress Dowager.
“Do we really need to do that?” East Empress Dowager doubted.
“Will he listen to you if you tell him not to do such things?” pressed West Empress Dowager.
“I'm not sure.” East Empress Dowager remembered having witnessed Yixin's contradiction of what West Empress Dowager had said. So they decided that if Yixin didn't take their advice, they had to remove him from power as a lesson to him. In the opinion of East Empress Dowager, they would play a take-away-and-give-back game with Yixin so that he could learn the lesson, but West Empress Dowager wanted to remove Yixin for good.
West Empress Dowager told Yixin on March 30, 1865, that some critique official sent in a report accusing him of certain things. Yixin was so surprised that he asked who had accused him. West Empress Dowager gave him the name: Critique Official Cai, who had been a private adviser of Commander Shengbao. After the arrest of Shengbao, Cai had come to the capital and got a position as Critique Official through bribery.
“He's not a good official. He has still a case of cheating against him in Sichuan Province. He should be under arrest.” said Yixin while by tradition he should say, “I know I'm wrong. I deserve to be executed.” And he must kneel and kowtow to beg pardon.

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West Empress Dowager was infuriated at his attitude. It was really an example of hauteur and no decorum toward her. She convened Prime Minister Zhou and other high rank courtiers. She had believed that Prime Minister Zhou would have sided with her since he had done so in her struggle for power with Sushun. When she told them to discuss what punishment should be inflicted on Yixin, all the courtiers were stunned. At that time, rebellions were not yet entirely eliminated throughout the country. The situation required unison and unity in the ruling group. So none said anything.
West Empress Dowager got angry and commanded Prime Minister Zhou to give his opinion. He could not but promise to discuss it with other courtiers. They were only then allowed to withdraw to their resting room. She knew now that Prime Minister Zhou was Yixin's follower. At that time he had sided with Yixin, not with her. So she added another Prime Minister Woren to the list of those handling Yixin's case.
Prime Minister Woren was known to be conservative. He hated anything new and modern. He hated the foreigners. Therefore, he had no opinion of Yixin since he had been dealing with foreigners in the negotiation during the war and in the diplomatic affairs later. He was the one with the same aim as West Empress Dowager and wanted to ax down Yixin from power.
Notwithstanding, on April 1, when West Empress Dowager received prime ministers Zhou and Woren and others, she declared her decision to remove Yixin from all his offices. Once when Yixin had argued with her, she had threatened him with it. But Yixin had replied that she could have done so, but he was still a prince by birth and she could never have deprived him of this title.

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West Empress Dowager always resented Yixin's impertinence and disrespect to her. Now it was the opportunity to let him know her authority as an empress dowager. She wanted him to obey her. She wanted everyone to obey her. She wanted to enjoy herself in the absolute power.
The prime ministers then called for Critique Official Cai to provide evidence for his accusation of Yixin. But he said he had no evidence. He had made the accusation from gossip and rumor. When Prime Minister Woren asked from whom he had heard the rumor, Cai mentioned two names. The two officials he mentioned worked in Judicial Ministry and were then summoned before the prime ministers and other courtiers. When they were questioned, they answered that they hadn't said anything to Critique Official Cai and they were not even familiar with him. Prime Minister Zhou asked Cai, “Now what else do you have to say?” Cai replied, “I have nothing more to say since they denied it.”

[xlwoo]

However, some of the princes sent in a petition to restore Yixin to all the former offices, saying that the accusations of the head of Secretarial Bureau should be backed with evidence and that such an important decision should not be made based on personal liking or disliking and that the foreign countries might not want to talk to any other person since they knew Yixin so well and this would cause international trouble. West Empress Dowager hadn't thought that so many courtiers and even princes pleaded for Yixin. She knew that it was not the right time to establish her absolute authority yet. So she didn't insist on her own decision and wanted the princes and courtiers to discuss the matter. When she met other secretaries she placated them and said that if all the courtiers wanted Yixin still to be the head of the Secretarial Bureau, they could hand in a petition. The secretaries were happy and went about to prepare a petition. But before the cabinet meeting to discuss the case on April 4, West Empress Dowager summoned the two prime ministers and some other cabinet members and said to them that Yixin was no longer suitable to be the head of the Secretarial Bureau.
At the cabinet meeting when Wenqiang, who was now in charge of the Secretarial Bureau, quoted what West Empress Dowager had said to them, the members of the cabinet were surprised to hear it. It was totally unbelievable that West Empress Dowager could have said one thing to the secretaries and another thing to the members of the cabinet. It they knew the reason for it, they wouldn't be surprised. After West Empress Dowager had met with the secretaries, Little An reported to her that Yixin was organizing his followers to fight back with her to the end, which was of course not true, but she believed him and got angry again. So the group of secretaries and the group of cabinet members called each other liars. Wenqiang said that if West Empress Dowager meant what she had said yesterday, she could not have said what the cabinet members supposed she had said this morning before the meeting. But a cabinet member retorted that West Empress Dowager had indeed said it, not they supposed.

[xlwoo]

In Qing Dynasty every time when the courtiers came to see the emperor, now the empress dowagers, there was someone, called Courtier Before Throne, who would lead the other courtiers to the throne. Yesterday and today, the Courtier Before Throne was the eighth prince, the eighth brother of the late emperor. So both groups agreed to ask the eighth prince what West Empress Dowager had really said. The eighth prince came and gave his words of honor to assert that what West Empress Dowager had said yesterday was true and what she had said this morning was true, too. That meant that West Empress Dowager had actually said different things on different days. Now no one could be sure what West Empress Dowager really wanted. So they had to adjourn the meeting.
On April 5, West Empress Dowager issued some orders to give some of Yixin's posts to others. (Yixin had been given a lot f positions as rewards for his help to get West Empress Dowager into power.) On April 8, Yihuan came back from his task to oversee the building of the late emperor's tomb. He had a talk with Secretary Zao, former Clerical Official Zao. He asked Zao to draft a report for him to the empress dowagers. He handed in the report, saying that Yixin had done his duties so well and that the only fault was his attitude towards the empress dowagers and that if the empress dowagers could forgive him it would be a blessing to our country. The gist of the report was to say that it was Yixin's fault, but it was not a serious fault, only a fault of wrong attitude towards the empress dowagers. It was not proper to deprive him of power for such a minor fault. West Empress Dowager also gave this report to the cabinet for discussion.

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On April 9, at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Woren as the chairman began, “It'll take too much time for everyone to express his opinion. So I have drafted a report. I'll read it to you and if no one disagrees, we can hand in to the empress dowagers.” Prime Minister Zhou saw through him, understanding that he wanted everyone to accept his opinion. So Zhou said, “We are not in a hurry. Besides, we must discuss the report with Prince Yihuan.” The ruse of Prime Minister Woren failed. Many courtiers opposed to remove Yixin from the post of the head of Secretarial Bureau. Another prince produced a draft of his that coincided with the opinion of most people at the meeting. Even Prime Minister Woren had to accept it. When the report was handed in, West Empress Dowager realized that if she insisted, all the courtiers might send in their resignations. But she tried another tactics. On April 11, she gave back only the post as the head of the Foreign Affairs Yamen since some of the courtiers had explained their fear that the foreign governments would make troubles if Yixin was no more the head there to deal with the foreigners. Now for the second round. Till the end of April, the investigations of the accusations of Yixin had finished and produced no evidence whatsoever. How could Yixin be punished for the false accusations? Besides, to make it easier, Yixin resigned the position as the head of Royal Family Affairs Management, because West Empress Dowager often sent Little An to go there for things and Yixin often refused to give more than necessary. When Yixin resigned the post, West Empress Dowager could appoint someone who would obey her and give her everything she wanted. That meant as a condition. At the same time the other secretaries persuaded Yixin to file in a self-criticism report. Fear of foreign aggression, realization of little support for her among the courtiers and submission shown by Yixin, all added up softened West Empress Dowager. She yielded this time.
On May 8, the empress dowagers received Yixin, who wept tears of being wrongly accused, but the empress dowagers took it as tears of repentance. Even West Empress Dowager was touched and gave an order to restore him to be the head of Secretarial Bureau. A political storm subsided to everyone's relief.

[xlwoo]

Since a lot of water flew under the bridge, the emperor was not so young any more. He was fifteen now. The empress dowagers began to select the queen and some royal concubines for him. Even wedding preparations were slowly getting under way. That would be a grand ceremony. The empress dowagers and the emperor must wear new gowns with dragons embroidered on them. Generally, these special royal apparels were sewn and embroidered in a southern province where the best embroidery work was produced, and then transported to the capital. All southern provinces were well-known for wealth and scenery. People in the north always envied people living in the south.
Little An thought to himself that if he could be sent there on a royal errand, he would not only enjoy the sightseeing, but also get many expensive gifts from the governors and local officials. Who wouldn't wish to be in his favor as he was the favorite head eunuch of the most powerful person in the entire empire? Although there were rules to forbid eunuchs to go out of the capital, who would say NO if West Empress Dowager agreed to it?
It was customary that whenever the royal family had things specially made, the expenses reported were always much higher than the real costs. People handling the orders could make some extra money from it. It was also an open secret.
“Empress Dowager,” Little An said to West Empress Dowager one day, “Since the emperor's wedding needs a lot of money, we can't let them charge us more than necessary.”
“How can we do that as we don't even know the real cost of everything?”
“It's easy. If Empress Dowager send me to oversee the work done there, I'll know how much expense they should report. With extra money saved, we can buy more things for the wedding.”

[xlwoo]

West Empress Dowager acquiesced. So he made preparations to travel. He would take two huge ships to sail down south on the Grand Canal, which had been dug hundreds of years ago in Sui Dynasty and ran from north to south through many provinces. One of them was Shandong Province. The governor of that province was a brave and upright courtier, who hated Little An for all the bad things he had done.
Little An thought that it would be better if he could get the consent of the emperor to his journey to the southern provinces. But he could not just go to ask for the permission of the emperor. He talked to the emperor's head eunuch and asked him to talk to the emperor in his behalf. The emperor's head eunuch hated Little An, too, because he was loyal to the emperor. When he mentioned the request of Little An, the emperor asked his head eunuch what he should do, since he was still young and had no experience about such things. The head eunuch told the emperor that he would say whatever was suitable to Little An and that the emperor should pretend to know nothing of it.
When Little An saw him next day and asked him what was the emperor's attitude, the head eunuch said, “The emperor didn't say anything. I think he won't have any objection to it since Holy Mother Empress Dowager thinks it's all right.”
Little An was so excited that he bragged about his trip. Almost everyone knew it, but none said anything to him. When Yixin knew it, he was happy. Most of the courtiers were also delighted. Those who had had favors from Little An didn't dare to speak to him about it. This was really a serious matter, which involved West Empress Dowager. Everyone knew that they should act very cautiously. A step or a word amiss, they would be condemned. Through his head eunuch the emperor learned everything about Little An. He sent a secret message to the governor of Shandong Province to instruct him to arrest and execute Little An if he traveled through his domain.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 23

Since the defeat of the government army by the foreign troops, West Empress Dowager and Yixin had realized that they must learn from the foreigners, learn their advanced science and technology. They began to buy guns and cannons from the merchants of the western countries. They also bought steam ships and warships. But in the long run, purchase was not a feasible way to strengthen the country. They began to have the factories built to make these things in China. They found that they needed their own engineers and technicians. So they sent children overseas to study in the foreign countries. Elder Zeng and Governor Li respectively had the Machine Bureau and the Manufacturing Bureau set up in Shanghai. Yixin established the Foreign Languages School in Peking so that the government could have interpreters in the diplomatic affairs and translators to render science books in other languages into Chinese. And all the science lessons could also be taught there. An order was issued that province governments should recommend students, and young officials working in the central government could also take part in the entrance exam. All the teachers were employed from foreign countries. That is to say that all the teachers were foreigners.

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It is always easier said than done. The project sounded good and promising, but many conservative courtiers were against it. Prime Minister Woren was the most obstinate to oppose it. They hated all the things modern and foreign. In their opinion, China was the center of the world. How could they condescend to learn things from other countries? Their ego was tremendous. Prime Minister Woren even said, “We can surely find men of such talents within the vast territory of China.” As few students registered for the entrance exam, West Empress Dowager discussed the problem with the secretaries. They drew the conclusion that they should make Prime Minister Woren give up his absurd ideas and opposition before they could succeed in the project. So West Empress Dowager ordered Prime Minister Woren to find some such men for the government. Woren thought that it was a practical joke played upon him. But he didn't take it seriously. He just replied that he had no such persons in mind and could not recommend any. West Empress Dowager and the secretaries saw that the first net they had cast out hadn't caught Woren. So West Empress Dowager appointed Woren as an adviser in the Foreign Affairs Yamen. To Woren who always held out against anything foreign, if he went even to sit in that Yamen, it would look like he was slapping his own face, because it was where the courtiers and officials had direct contact with foreigners. So he handed in a report, saying that he was too old to work in the Foreign Affairs Yamen. Then Yixin told him that he didn't need to go there everyday or do any routine chores and that his sole duty there was to give advice when needed since he was so old and full of experience from life. He just needed to accept the post. That's it for him. Nothing more. But that was just not what he could accept for saving his face. When Yixin pressed him again, he could not say NO. He could not say YES. Tears trickled down his cheeks. Now the only way out for him was to send in a report of resignation or retirement, but he wouldn't do that yet. So he had to give up the opposition. Therefore, West Empress Dowager and Yixin let him go. Thus the voice of other courtiers against the project became gradually mute. West Empress Dowager and the secretaries could carry out their project.

[xlwoo]

In the northwest of China, there are many minorities. At that time, Hui Clan had taken up arms against Qing government almost simultaneously with the Nian Army. The good thing was that they didn't fight their way towards the capital. As the government was battling with both the Peaceful Army and the Nian Army, the Secretarial Bureau had had just enough forces to impede the advance of the Hui Clan rebels towards Peking. Now as the Peaceful Army and the Nian Army no longer existed, West Empress Dowager wanted to conquer the Hui Clan rebellion. She appointed Governor Zuo as the General Governor of Shanxi Province and Gansu Province. Before Governor Zuo went to the northwest, the empress dowagers summoned him to the capital. They wanted to have a look at him to see what kind of person he was, because he often compared himself to Zhuge Liang, the greatest commander and strategist in the period of Three Kingdoms in the Chinese history. Furthermore, they wanted to talk with him about his war plan in the northwest.
Governor Zuo arrived in the capital and lodged in Yanliang Temple. Every temple at that time had guest rooms. This temple had originally been the residence of a prince and changed later into a temple. Owing to the location close to the Forbidden City, all the officials and officers of the highest rank in local governments, who were summoned to see the emperor, now the empress dowagers, would lodge there. After Governor Zuo settled in the guest room, he went to visit Yixin, who held a grand dinner for him. The other guests invited were the secretaries so that they could have a talk over the war plan. Governor Zuo was talkative and he began a long monologue about his scheme, his analysis of the situation there and his tactics to deal with the rebels, which was the club plus the carrot. He designed to give Hui Clan land to plough and food to eat to let them settle down. After that, if there were still rebels, he would slaughter.

[xlwoo]

His analysis was all the disadvantages: (1) Land barren and people poor there; (2) No rivers to easily transport provisions; (3) Han Clan and Hui Clan mingling together and hating each other; (4) Few cows to help plowing the fields, lack of seeds and agricultural tools; (5) Taxes collected there were much less than in the other provinces. Then he added, “The price of rice there is several times higher than in the other provinces. Suppose a soldier eats two catties of rice a day. (Catty is a Chinese weight measurement. Two catties equals to one kilogram.) It costs three taels of silver a month. That's what they had spent on a soldier in the southern provinces. But here with three taels a month, a soldier can only eat rice, no meat or vegetables.” He implied that more expenses were expected.
Yixin and other secretaries all agreed with him. Then Yixin asked, “How much is your budget to do all these and maintain your troops?”
“I estimate that it will need three million five hundred thousand taels every year.” replied Zuo.
“How long do you anticipate to finish your task?
“About five years.” Governor Zuo stroked his beard.
The cost was really skyscraping. Yixin just said, “We'll report to Empress Dowagers and see what Empress Dowagers will say.”

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It was the Mid-Autumn Festival Day that Governor Zuo went to see the empress dowagers. He felt a little nervous. He recited to himself silently about the rituals of behavior before the empress dowagers. The officials in the Etiquette Ministry had taught him how to behave before the empress dowagers according to the palace ceremony. Everyone must learn it if it was the first time to see the empress dowagers. Stepping over the threshold into the receiving room, he took a couple of paces forward and knelt on a cushion specially put there for him. (Only elder courtiers had such a privilege.) Then he took off his hat, put it down on the brick floor beside him and kowtowed. He was still kept on his knees on the cushion while he answered questions from the empress dowagers.
West Empress Dowager addressed him first, “You had a difficult time these years.”
“It's only my duties.” Governor Zuo replied in deference.
“Is everything fine on your way here?” West Empress Dowager was concerned with the general situation outside the capital.
“It looks quiet everywhere after the war. If people can live in peace and have enough to eat, there won't be any rebellion.” Zuo liked to be straight-out with anyone.
“That's what we are expecting. It depends on the governors.” West Empress Dowager hinted that Zuo was one to have such responsibilities.
“How long do you think you need to finish your task in the northwest?” said East Empress Dowager.
“It will take around five years to get everything thoroughly done and no possible backfire.” Zuo said, still kneeling there. It sounded a little boasting, but the empress dowagers were happy to hear it. The interview ended and Governor Zuo withdrew from the presence of the empress dowagers, but he forgot to pick up his hat on the floor.

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When he got back to his lodging, a eunuch brought him some moon cakes sent by the empress dowagers as the festival gift. Then another eunuch came carrying his forgotten hat. One of his private advisers knew that they couldn't just take the hat back. They should buy it from him. It was a ridiculous custom, really a blackmail. But once a custom was established, everybody must follow it, no matter it's reasonable or not. If they refused to pay for it, eunuchs would start a rumor, making Governor Zuo look ridiculous. After a seesawing bargain, three thousand taels were paid in silver notes. Eunuchs would divide it among them.
Following the departure of Governor Zuo, Governor Li arrived in the capital. To the people in Peking, Governor Li was more famous that Governor Zuo. That is, more people in the capital knew the name of Governor Li. The purpose the empress dowagers summoned Governor Li to Peking was to discuss with him about the reorganization of his Huai Army. It was peaceful time now. No need to have so many standing armies. Governor Li was advised to keep only the young and strong and send the rest home. Then they wanted Governor Li to persuade Elder Zeng to accept the position of the Governor of Zhidi Province. (Zhidi Province is now Hebei Province.) Since Peking was located in that province its governor was deemed as the leader of all the governors, including general governors. But Elder Zeng had declined, saying that he was too old and in bad health. Elder Zeng was the most famous governor, his name known to almost everyone in the capital. He had a very good reputation. The empress dowagers didn't want him to retire early.

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West Empress Dowager had played a little trick on him when he had been given the power to command all the troops against the Peaceful Army. At that time many courtiers had been afraid that Elder Zeng might have turned his back against the government and overthrown Qing Dynasty, then declared himself to be the emperor of a new dynasty. The empress dowagers had feared it, too. So they had appointed Zuo as Governor of Zhejiang Province and Li as Governor of Jiangsu Province to weaken Elder Zeng's power. Although Elder Zeng didn't manifest any desire to be the emperor himself, some of his followers had really tried to persuade him to do so. Zuo and Li, though had worked under Elder Zeng, would never support him to be the emperor.
Governor Li was born in Anhui Province. In 1853 when the Peaceful army had taken Nanking City, the emperor had given an order that anyone could train people to defend themselves against the Peaceful Army. So Li went home to train the people in his hometown. In 1858, he went to see Elder Zeng to be his pupil and his private advisor. Then they had some disagreement and Li left Elder Zeng. When Xiang Army occupied Anqing City, Li wrote a letter to congratulate Elder Zeng, who took him back to be his advisor again. When Elder Zeng was appointed Two River General Governor, he gave Li a position till Li became the governor. Li was a selfish man, always thinking of himself first. Since West Empress Dowager gave him such a post as a governor, he wouldn't support Elder Zeng to be the emperor and still worked under him. Besides, even if Elder Zeng did hold up his rebellious banner against Qing government, it was still a question who would have the final victory. Li liked one bird in hand, not two birds in the bush.

[xlwoo]

Governor Zuo was born in Hunan Province. He had passed two government tests and lived as a tutor in his village. After the uprising of the Peaceful Army, he trained the people to defend the village. Then he went to work under the Governor of Hunan Province in charge of military affairs. When Elder Zeng organized his army, Zuo helped him by sending him men to be trained, stuffs needed in war and money. When Elder Zeng was defeated in 1854 in his first battle with the Peaceful Army, he was so downhearted and tried to make an unsuccessful suicide. Zuo went to see him and solaced him. In May, 1860, Elder Zeng sent in a report of recommendation for Zuo and the late emperor gave Zuo a position working under Elder Zeng. Then Elder Zeng let Zuo train his own army. But Zuo always had a different opinion from Elder Zeng about the war strategies and he didn't want Elder Zeng to control him. So their relationship became tense. As West Empress Dowager appointed him first the governor of Zhejiang Province and then in May, 1863, appointed him the general governor of Fujian Province and Zhejiang province, he was now equal in rank with Elder Zeng. So he wouldn't support Elder Zeng to be the emperor and rule over himself again.
Urged by the empress dowagers and the secretaries, Elder Zeng accepted the appointment of the governor of Zhidi Province. He arrived in the capital and also took up his temporary residence in the temple. When people in Peking came to know that he would reach the capital on a certain day, many of them lined up along the route that Elder Zeng was supposed to pass. People wanted to see what he looked like. They already knew Governor Zuo was a bit fat like a rich merchant and Governor Li was tall like a strong fighter. When Elder Zeng did make his appearance, many people were disappointed. Elder Zeng was lean and of the middle height. If not for his official clothes, he would certainly be mistaken for a provincial squire. Someone in the crowd who knew the face-reading was surprised to find that Elder Zeng could be a governor. According to the theory of face-reading, Elder Zeng was destined to be executed, but he was a governor now. The explanation was that he must have done many good things, which must have changed his fate, though not his face.

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During the interview, the empress dowagers inquired and Elder Zeng answered. He was not like Zuo, straightforward. He was an overscrupulous person.
“Was everything fine in the south before you left?” asked West Empress Dowager.
“Yes. Everything's in order.” Elder Zeng replied carefully.
“How is your disarmament?” West Empress Dowager queried in a stern tone.
“Twenty thousand were sent home and thirty thousand remain to be reorganized.”
“They didn't make things difficult for you?”
“No. They are happy to go home.”
“How's your health?” cut in East Empress Dowager.
“Better. I think the worst is over.” Elder Zeng felt a little less nervous.
“You still take medicine everyday?” asked East Empress Dowager, always softly.
“Yes.” His heart beating resumed to the normal.
“When you arrive in Baoding City (The capital of Zhidi Province), the first thing is to train the local army.” said West Empress Dowager.
“I will. And I will strengthen the defense along the coast.”
“If you need anything or have any problem, just send in a report.”
The interview ended. Elder Zeng kowtowed and stood up and backed out of the room. He left the capital next day and made his way to where his post was as the governor of Zhidi Province.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 24

On August 13, 1869, two colossal ships sailed down the Grand Canal, with music floating out of the cabin and banners fluttering on the masts. On one of the banners was a picture of a three-legged bird. There was a story about the three-legged bird. The goddess queen kept a three-legged bird and often sent it out to gather things for her. Little An put up the banner with the implication that he was sent by West Empress Dowager to gather whatever he could get for her, not for himself. But he forgot that West Empress Dowager always wanted to show that she never took things undue to her. Another wrong move Little An made. A fatal wrong move.
Little An had bought a girl from a poor family to be his wife, but he could not have sex with her since his genital had been cut. This absurdity had a history of its own. It had originated from other dynasties. A eunuch, when getting into a certain power, would have a preference to live like a normal person. The idea of a normal person, in their morbid opinion, was to have a family. But no girl would marry him as he was not really a man, lacking the body parts representing a man. He was only half a man, in the view of the other people. So a eunuch could only buy a girl from a poor family. The girl at least wouldn't be starved. But some girl would rather be a nun than the wife of a eunuch. It was said that a eunuch would do nasty things to a girl to get his morbid sexual satisfaction, like biting her or clawing her skin. Poor girl. Some eunuch even adopted a son to inherit his name and property.

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However, Little An took his wife with him. He had some attendants on board and hired some musicians to enjoy his journey. He brought some boxes full of jewelry, some of which were stolen from the palace. He wanted to sell the jewels in the southern provinces and buy some silk stuff there, which he would sell when he was back to the capital. He had really a brain for business. On his way down south, he gathered bribery and even forced some chicken-hearted officials to give him silver notes. When he racketeered his way into Shandong Province, he didn't see anyone come to welcome him. The governor of Shandong Province was an upright official. He abhorred all the evil things. He knew all the bad things Little An had done. He had sworn that he would kill Little An when he had the chance. Now the chance presented itself.
When the governor was reported that Little An had entered his province, he ordered the mayor of the town where Little An stayed for the night to arrest him, but the mayor hesitated, being afraid of West Empress Dowager. At that time a mayor had quite a few advisers to help him manage all kinds of things, from legal to his personal affairs. Someone advised him to take an onlooker's attitude to elude to be involved in this awkward matter. So the mayor found some excuse not to go. It was understood. The governor didn't resent him. Then the governor had to dispatch an officer to do the job. He was afraid that if Little An got out of his domain like a fish jumping out of the net, another governor might let him go, never dared to arrest him.
The officer hastened along the route Little An had taken and at last overtook him. He went to see Little An and said to him that the governor invited him to his yamen (a local government administration building and the governor also lived in there).

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“What will he want from me?” Little An asked the officer.
“I don't know.” Replied the officer, “You will know when you see the governor.”
Little An thought that perhaps the governor would give him a feast and some gifts after it. So he went with the officer to see the governor, but was immediately confined in the yamen. Then the governor ordered Little An brought into his presence. He interrogated Little An, “do you know that your sneaking out of the capital is against the rules of our ancestors? How do you dare to do that?”
“I'm sent by West Empress Dowager on a royal mission. I'm not sneaking out of the capital.” Little An pleaded in an angry voice.
“If you are sent out by West Empress Dowager, where are the official documents?”
“I don't have any documents. But if you don't believe it, you can write to check with West Empress Dowager. West Empress Dowager can confirm it.”

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“Everyone who travels on an official errand should have official documents. If you can't produce any documents, you are surely sneaking out.” Then the governor ordered his guards to put Little An into the prison, rejecting to hear his pleading any more. When Little An was put under the custody, the governor sent an express report to the capital, to the Secretarial Bureau, saying that a eunuch sneaked out of the capital against the rules set up by the ancestors and should thereby be executed. But he didn't wait for a written reply from the Secretarial Bureau and just executed Little An on September 14, for fear that West Empress Dowager would order him to release Little An, who would no doubt revenge on him. But it would be fine if West Empress Dowager wanted to revenge on him for Little An, he had at least already killed Little An. (Another scenario was that he waited for the order, which came to instruct him to execute Little An.) When the jailer went to the cell that Little An was confined in, he lied to Little An, saying that the governor wanted to see him. Little An thought that maybe West Empress Dowager had known it and ordered the governor to release him. Once out of the prison, the jailer didn't take him to see the governor. He put him into a caged cart. Little An knew what it was and felt his whole body listless. The executioner walked beside him. Few people were watching, because it was night. The governor didn't want any trouble and so ordered Little An to be executed at night.
It was said that he had exposed Little An's body for three days and had his body stripped of pants and underwear to show that Little An was really a eunuch. It was because there had been a rumor prevalent that Little An had pretended to be a eunuch, but had had sex with West Empress Dowager. That's why West Empress Dowager had indulged him. A rumor could never be killed by power, but by facts. The exposure of Little An's half-naked lower torso smothered the rumor easily. West Empress Dowager was glad and thankful when she learned it later.

[xlwoo]

Since West Empress Dowager was sick, the report about Little An went to East Empress Dowager, who made a decision urged by the emperor and supported by the secretaries and many other courtiers to execute Little An. Then when the written order drafted by the Secretarial Bureau was sent to West Empress Dowager for her to use her seal on it, she was irate, but she could do nothing to stop it, because she could not change the rules made by ancestors and furthermore, all the courtiers demanded that the rules should be observed, or other eunuchs would follow his example. When the emperor taught by some clever official explained to her about the meaning of the three-legged bird, adding that if she refused to execute Little An, people would think that she had really sent him to collect gifts and bribery for her, which would mar her reputation, she had to use the seal on the written order to show that she had nothing to do with Little An sneaking out of the capital.
The death of Little An provided an opportunity for Li Lianying to take his place. Li had been in the Forbidden City for several years already, but he hadn't had a chance to even appear in the presence of West Empress Dowager as Little An would have allowed no one to threaten his position.
Generally, the ritual to be a eunuch was performed when really young. The older, the riskier when the genital was cut. Eunuch Li, when he got the treatment, was already round thirty. He had been in a business and hence called Tawing Li. He liked gambling. Because of the constant loss on the gaming table, he had owed plenty of gambling debts. He had to leave his hometown to escape from his debtors. He traveled to the capital. He had known some old eunuch in the Forbidden City. Since he didn't get any job, he often went to visit the old eunuch there and learned that all the eunuchs, who had served to comb the hair of West Empress Dowager, had been either reproached or even punished. No one had done the job to her satisfaction yet. Tawing Li thought that as he had no work right then, why didn't he learn to be a stylist? If he could be her favorite eunuch like Little An, it was worth the sacrifice of his dick. At least he had had some experience in treating fur though fur was different from the hair on a human head. They had a little bit similarity. So he went to some brothels, not to have sex with any women there, but to learn how to do the hair beautifully, because the women there were really the hair experts since they always wanted to have pretty hairdo to please their patrons. He went there disguised as a vendor of cosmetics and flowers for several months and learned all the tricks.

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Then he came to see the old eunuch and expressed his wish to be a eunuch. In astonishment, the old eunuch advised Tawing Li not to do such a thing. “The risk was too great. Only one out of every ten survived at your age.” The old eunuch said to Tawing Li. “So I'm the one alive.” Tawing Li insisted. His determination softened the old eunuch and he took Li to see an old man. The old man was an expert. This line of work had been handed down in his family. He told Li to lie down on a wooden bed. His limbs were tied to the four corners of the bed. Before Li knew anything, he felt an acute pain coming from his crotch to his head. He fainted. The old man applied some medicine to the spot to stop the bleeding. If there was no infection before it healed, he was safe, he said. After ten days, he went into the Forbidden City as a real eunuch. He was taught all the etiquette before he could be recommended to West Empress Dowager as a hair stylist, which happened only after Little An died. Little An had been a fool, in his opinion, and he wouldn't be so stupid.
Now through the old eunuch he made himself known to West Empress Dowager that he was a hair stylist. So West Empress Dowager summoned him to her presence and warned him that if he couldn't do her hair to her gratification, he would be punished for boasting. The result was that she was greatly satisfied with his skills in the hair styling. He became her favorite eunuch, and later her head eunuch.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 25

Elder Zeng was transferred to Zhidi Province to be the governor there. The new Two River General Governor was Ma, who was from a family of Hui Clan, but was born in Shandong Province at the east coast of China. His ancestors had immigrated there. Ma was a man of talent. He had fought with the Nian Army and was always victorious in the battles. So he was promoted fast. When he was appointed the Two River General Governor, he organized a new army to be trained for the use of rifles. Every morning he would go to see his army drilling. The soldiers were being trained how to use rifles. He liked to watch them to hit the targets. After that, he went back to his yamen for breakfast. His yamen was very close to the drilling ground. So he just walked there and back. No need to ride on the horseback or in a palanquin. Only a few bodyguards escorted him.
In the olden China, especially in the period of later dynasties, poor people who were wronged or falsely accused had nowhere to complain or sue. The lowest local government would refuse their cases. So they would do desperate things to get the wrongs righted, like to throw themselves on the ground to block the advance of an official from a higher local government. For example, if his case was refused by a mayor, he would stop the governor by throwing himself down on his knees on the ground before the governor's palanquin and crying, “I'm wronged! Help me to right the wrong!” A good high-rank official would take the person to his yamen and accept his case. A bad official would tell his bodyguards to drive him away.
One morning when Governor Ma was on his way to return to his yamen, all of a sudden, a man rushed out of nowhere and threw himself on the ground on his knees, crying, “Your Excellency, right the wrong for me!” But next moment, the man grabbed the right wrist of Governor Ma with his left hand and brought out a sharp dagger from inside his coat with his right hand, thrusting the dagger into the right side of Governor Ma's chest. Governor Ma cried, “It's you.” before he fell on the ground. The bodyguards caught the man on the spot. Governor Ma was carried into his bedroom and laid on his bed. Doctors were sent for. When the bad news spread to the ears of the general of the city, whose duties were to defend the city, and to the ears of the judicial official and other officials, they all hurried to see the governor, who was dying. The doctors arrived next, but they could do nothing, because the wound was fatal. Governor Ma died next day.

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deleted for repeating

[tammyane]

Wow ! very fantasy blog . I am very glad to read it . Thank for sharing

[xlwoo]

They questioned the killer, who was Zhang by name and was taken a prisoner now. The prisoner Zhang confessed everything, which was written down as a document. The confession narrated:
Zhang was in the Nian Army and always wanted to turn over to the government, but had no opportunity.
Ma was at that time the mayor of Hefei City in Anhui Province. Once in a battle, Ma was captured by Zhang, who didn't kill him on the condition that Ma would help Zhang and other two men, Zao and Shi, to join the government army. Ma promised to persuade the governor to arrange for that. So the four of them swore to be brothers. This was a serious event at that time. The betrayal of a sworn brother was thought more serious than the betrayal of a friend. They decided the seniority by age. Ma was the oldest and so was the eldest brother, Zao the second, Shi the third and Zhang the youngest brother. They let Ma go back to Hefei City. Ma did arrange for his three sworn brothers to join the government army. Ma reorganized the turn-over troops and made himself the leader, with the sworn brothers as his officers. Aided by his sworn brothers, he won quite a few battles and got himself promoted rapidly. When the Nian Army was subdued, Ma was already promoted to be the financial official of Anhui Province, a position right under the governor and above the judicial official in a province. His three sworn brothers worked under him in his yamen. It was said that Ma began to show his disdain for his sworn brothers, because he had always been a government official and the three sworn brothers had originally been rebels. It seemed as if he were on the fifteenth floor of the skyscraper while they were in the basement.
Once settling down, the second brother Zao wanted to fetch his wife here from his home village so that they could live together. Zhang advised him to delay a little longer lest things should change, because Zhang was a sensitive man and smelled that something was not quite right. But Zao would not listen to him and fetched his wife from his home village. On arriving here, Zao's wife thought it advisable to visit Ma's wife. Unfortunately, Ma was with his wife and saw Zao's wife. He was stunned to behold such a beautiful woman. He began to plot how he could get his male body parts, the fleshy carrot, under her skirt. And Zao's wife was not a woman to hold her skirt tight. Ma and Zao's wife soon gratified each other's desire, under the rose, of course. Both adulterers looked upon Zao as an eyesore, a thorn in their flesh. Therefore, Ma often sent Zao away on a trip of business to somewhere as far as possible. The business Zao attended to often brought him some extra money. Zao was happy for it.

[xlwoo]

They questioned the killer, who was Zhang by name and was taken a prisoner now. The prisoner Zhang confessed everything, which was written down as a document. The confession narrated:
Zhang was in the Nian Army and always wanted to turn over to the government, but had no opportunity.
Ma was at that time the mayor of Hefei City in Anhui Province. Once in a battle, Ma was captured by Zhang, who didn't kill him on the condition that Ma would help Zhang and other two men, Zao and Shi, to join the government army. Ma promised to persuade the governor to arrange for that. So the four of them swore to be brothers. This was a serious event at that time. The betrayal of a sworn brother was thought more serious than the betrayal of a friend. They decided the seniority by age. Ma was the oldest and so was the eldest brother, Zao the second, Shi the third and Zhang the youngest brother. They let Ma go back to Hefei City. Ma did arrange for his three sworn brothers to join the government army. Ma reorganized the turn-over troops and made himself the leader, with the sworn brothers as his officers. Aided by his sworn brothers, he won quite a few battles and got himself promoted rapidly. When the Nian Army was subdued, Ma was already promoted to be the financial official of Anhui Province, a position right under the governor and above the judicial official in a province. His three sworn brothers worked under him in his yamen. It was said that Ma began to show his disdain for his sworn brothers, because he had always been a government official and the three sworn brothers had originally been rebels. It seemed as if he were on the fifteenth floor of the skyscraper while they were in the basement.
Once settling down, the second brother Zao wanted to fetch his wife here from his home village so that they could live together. Zhang advised him to delay a little longer lest things should change, because Zhang was a sensitive man and smelled that something was not quite right. But Zao would not listen to him and fetched his wife from his home village. On arriving here, Zao's wife thought it advisable to visit Ma's wife. Unfortunately, Ma was with his wife and saw Zao's wife. He was stunned to behold such a beautiful woman. He began to plot how he could get his male body parts, the fleshy carrot, under her skirt. And Zao's wife was not a woman to hold her skirt tight. Ma and Zao's wife soon gratified each other's desire, under the rose, of course. Both adulterers looked upon Zao as an eyesore, a thorn in their flesh. Therefore, Ma often sent Zao away on a trip of business to somewhere as far as possible. The business Zao attended to often brought him some extra money. Zao was happy for it.

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Their affair was gradually known. Paper can't hold fire for long, as a Chinese saying goes. Everyone in the yamen didn't dare to mention it to Zao except Zhang, who could tolerate it no more. Once Zao came back from his business tour, Zhang told him all about it, but Zao wouldn't believe him. Then by degrees, Zao knew it was the truth. He felt insulted and wanted to kill his wife since he didn't dare to kill Ma. Zhang said to him, “As you have no proof, if you kill your wife, it is murder and you will be executed. It's not worth your life to do so. If you don't want your wife any more, you can give her to Ma. Thus we can still be brothers. A man can find a wife anywhere.” Zao thought it over and felt it was a better way than to kill his wife. So Zao found a chance to mention it to Ma, but to his unexpectedness, Ma flared up, saying that Zao was insulting his superiors. When Zao told Zhang the result, Zhang knew that Zao was in a crucial danger. Zhang advised Zao to run away for safety, but Zao would not listen to him. A few days later, Zao was dispatched on another errand. This time he was to bring back some weaponry for the province government. Zhang suspected foul play on Zao's way there. So he and Shi escorted Zao to where his task took him, but nothing happened all the way. Zao laughed at his two sworn brothers. So they left him there and went back.

[xlwoo]

Their affair was gradually known. Paper can't hold fire for long, as a Chinese saying goes. Everyone in the yamen didn't dare to mention it to Zao except Zhang, who could tolerate it no more. Once Zao came back from his business tour, Zhang told him all about it, but Zao wouldn't believe him. Then by degrees, Zao knew it was the truth. He felt insulted and wanted to kill his wife since he didn't dare to kill Ma. Zhang said to him, “As you have no proof, if you kill your wife, it is murder and you will be executed. It's not worth your life to do so. If you don't want your wife any more, you can give her to Ma. Thus we can still be brothers. A man can find a wife anywhere.” Zao thought it over and felt it was a better way than to kill his wife. So Zao found a chance to mention it to Ma, but to his unexpectedness, Ma flared up, saying that Zao was insulting his superiors. When Zao told Zhang the result, Zhang knew that Zao was in a crucial danger. Zhang advised Zao to run away for safety, but Zao would not listen to him. A few days later, Zao was dispatched on another errand. This time he was to bring back some weaponry for the province government. Zhang suspected foul play on Zao's way there. So he and Shi escorted Zao to where his task took him, but nothing happened all the way. Zao laughed at his two sworn brothers. So they left him there and went back.

[xlwoo]

When Zao reached the place, he was kept waiting for a long time. Then an officer came and declared that he was under arrest. Some soldiers seized him and put him in jail. He was accused of being a spy of the rebels lurking in the government and abiding for a chance to do damage to the government. His coming for the armament was a proof that he would take the arms to the remaining rebels. He was executed at once without even a trial. They did it by the military law. When Zhang and Shi learned the astounding news, they realized that it was dangerous for them to return to Ma's yamen. They thereby went their separate ways to hide. Shi was found later in Shanxi Province, but Ma didn't take any action against him because Shi looked harmless to Ma at the time. However, no one knew Zhang's whereabouts. Zhang secreted himself in a remote small village among the mountains. He vowed to avenge on Ma for his second sworn brother. Justice must be done to the betrayal. He was learning kungfu so that when he went to see Ma, he could succeed in his first strike. He found a sharp dagger and dipped its blade in a deadly poisonous substance. After many years of exercising, he felt he was ready. Then he emerged from his lurking nook like a bear coming out of a cave of its hibernation. Only he didn't know where Ma was then. He must first seek him out. But he got an easy task, because Ma was then the Two River General Governor. Everyone knew where his yamen was. So no need to search for him. It saved Zhang the trouble and time. Zhang arrived in the city and stationed himself near his yamen in disguise of a beggar to observe his comings and goings to determine when and where was the best time and place for his deed of vengeance. He got him at long last.

[xlwoo]

When the general and the judicial official read the written confession, they felt that it would look bad to late Governor Ma and even mar his reputation if it was known to the public. They desired to do their last favor to their late governor. They invented another scenario:
Zhang was in the Peaceful Army. When the Peaceful Army failed, Zhang escaped to Ningbo City on the coast of Taiwan Channel in Zhejiang Province. He lived there under a pseudo name and opened a pawn shop. He also did some illegal business with the pirates on the south Chinese sea. At that time, Ma was the governor of Zhejiang Province. Ma ambushed and killed more than fifty pirates, many of whom were the friends of Zhang's. This cut off Zhang's business with the pirates. He began to hold an animosity against Governor Ma. Then Governor Ma considered that the pawn business exploited poor people and should be banned. He put up a notice to that effect, which put Zhang out of his business. Zhang had no way to make a living and so hated Ma all the more. Besides, Zhang's wife eloped with another man and took all the jewels with her. Zhang went to Governor Ma's yamen, requesting that his wife should be apprehended. But Governor Ma thought that this was a trifling case and should not be handed into the governor's yamen. So he rebuffed the case, which strengthened Zhang's hostility against Governor Ma. Now Zhang had no family and no means for a living. If he would die, he would die together with Governor Ma. He made preparations. He got a sharp dagger and dipped the blade in the poisonous substance to make it lethal. He abided for a chance near the governor's yamen disguised as a beggar. One morning when Governor Ma was on his way back to his yamen from the drilling ground, he dashed out and assassinated Governor Ma. This scenario made Ma look like a good governor, even a martyr who had died on the line of duties.

[xlwoo]

When the general and the judicial official read the written confession, they felt that it would look bad to late Governor Ma and even mar his reputation if it was known to the public. They desired to do their last favor to their late governor. They invented another scenario:
Zhang was in the Peaceful Army. When the Peaceful Army failed, Zhang escaped to Ningbo City on the coast of Taiwan Channel in Zhejiang Province. He lived there under a pseudo name and opened a pawn shop. He also did some illegal business with the pirates on the south Chinese sea. At that time, Ma was the governor of Zhejiang Province. Ma ambushed and killed more than fifty pirates, many of whom were the friends of Zhang's. This cut off Zhang's business with the pirates. He began to hold an animosity against Governor Ma. Then Governor Ma considered that the pawn business exploited poor people and should be banned. He put up a notice to that effect, which put Zhang out of his business. Zhang had no way to make a living and so hated Ma all the more. Besides, Zhang's wife eloped with another man and took all the jewels with her. Zhang went to Governor Ma's yamen, requesting that his wife should be apprehended. But Governor Ma thought that this was a trifling case and should not be handed into the governor's yamen. So he rebuffed the case, which strengthened Zhang's hostility against Governor Ma. Now Zhang had no family and no means for a living. If he would die, he would die together with Governor Ma. He made preparations. He got a sharp dagger and dipped the blade in the poisonous substance to make it lethal. He abided for a chance near the governor's yamen disguised as a beggar. One morning when Governor Ma was on his way back to his yamen from the drilling ground, he dashed out and assassinated Governor Ma. This scenario made Ma look like a good governor, even a martyr who had died on the line of duties.

[xlwoo]

The scenario sounded a little absurd for the reason to kill Governor Ma. So people believed what Zhang himself had confessed. It was so dramatic with a little romance involved that it was written into operas and plays, which were acted on the stages of Shanghai. The name of the most popular play was “Zhang kills Ma”, which almost broke the office box record because people thought it was based on the facts related by Zhang himself.
The general and the judicial official knew that the invented scenario must be signed by the prisoner Zhang himself, or it could not be reported to the central government as an official document, but Zhang refused to sign on it. Some officials even suspected that there might be someone behind the assassination. It was suspected that the Xiang Army that had formed by Elder Zeng wouldn't work under Governor Ma, who was not one of the Xiang Army officials. Besides, it was known that Governor Ma had always been strict to or even discipline the Xiang army if anyone in the Xiang Army offended law. But this was too serious if it was the truth.
The story with different scenarios spread to the capital while official reports went there too. The empress dowagers and the secretaries were confused with various narrations. If the assassination had really been backed up by someone in the Xiang Army, it was too terrible and measures should be immediately taken. As the Xiang army had been organized by Elder Zeng, West Empress Dowager ordered Elder Zeng to go back to Nanking City to resume the post of the Two River General Governor since the position was then vacant with the death of Ma. She also sent the Minister of Judicial Ministry there to investigate the case. She then moved Governor Li from other province to be the Governor of Zhidi Province to replace Elder Zeng.

[xlwoo]

The scenario sounded a little absurd for the reason to kill Governor Ma. So people believed what Zhang himself had confessed. It was so dramatic with a little romance involved that it was written into operas and plays, which were acted on the stages of Shanghai. The name of the most popular play was “Zhang kills Ma”, which almost broke the office box record because people thought it was based on the facts related by Zhang himself.
The general and the judicial official knew that the invented scenario must be signed by the prisoner Zhang himself, or it could not be reported to the central government as an official document, but Zhang refused to sign on it. Some officials even suspected that there might be someone behind the assassination. It was suspected that the Xiang Army that had formed by Elder Zeng wouldn't work under Governor Ma, who was not one of the Xiang Army officials. Besides, it was known that Governor Ma had always been strict to or even discipline the Xiang army if anyone in the Xiang Army offended law. But this was too serious if it was the truth.
The story with different scenarios spread to the capital while official reports went there too. The empress dowagers and the secretaries were confused with various narrations. If the assassination had really been backed up by someone in the Xiang Army, it was too terrible and measures should be immediately taken. As the Xiang army had been organized by Elder Zeng, West Empress Dowager ordered Elder Zeng to go back to Nanking City to resume the post of the Two River General Governor since the position was then vacant with the death of Ma. She also sent the Minister of Judicial Ministry there to investigate the case. She then moved Governor Li from other province to be the Governor of Zhidi Province to replace Elder Zeng.

[xlwoo]

Why recently to summit posting is so complicated? can it be simplified as before?

[Pompey Bum]

Everyone has been having problems recently, but the administrators seem to be fixing the situation, so be patient. If you continue to have problems, you may want to try contacting them directly. Good luck. :)

[xlwoo]

The Minister of Judicial Ministry was an old man, sixty-eight already. He should have retired. But at that time no retirement age was fixed. It depended on the individual who wanted to retire or not. The Minister brought two of his subordinate officials, who were familiar with law. The three of them had a discussion how to investigate the case. The officials dreaded that if the assassination was really backed up by someone in the Xiang Army and if their investigation got too close to the truth, it might force the Xiang Army to revolt and it would put Elder Zeng in a dilemma. So the two officials suggested that they should not make their investigation in that direction. The Minister was an upright courtier and wanted to do everything by law, but he also knew the severity of the case. If a mutiny should happen it would disturb the peace they had just acquired and make West Empress Dowager resentful.
But two officials in the local government insisted that they should get to the bottom of the case till the truth was revealed. So taking the advice of his two officials, the minister asked the two local officials to take part in the investigation and the interrogation. Once when they were cross-questioning the prisoner Zhang, who persisted in his own confession, the two local officials asked to torment the prisoner so that he would tell the truth. But the difficulty was that if they only beat the prisoner, he could surely endure the torture and would say nothing more and if they tortured him very severely it might cause his death. The death of a prisoner at the interrogation was a serious matter and any official who ordered the torture would be punished. So who would take the responsibility? The minister wouldn't, because he didn't want to do it. So the two local officials could not insist. Besides, the minister was afraid what if the prisoner couldn't stand the torture and give any names, which were really not the ones behind the assassination, but the ones the prisoner wanted to revenge on, and what if the prisoner even mentioned the name of Elder Zeng, though it could not be the truth. It was really a delicate case, demanding careful handling. At last they had to use the invented scenario as the formal document of the interrogation without even the signature of the prisoner. Then they sent in the report signed by both Elder Zeng and the minister to West Empress Dowager with an extra note attached to explain the dilemma. West Empress Dowager accepted the report and explanation and ordered the prisoner executed. However, Zhang lived in the drama as a hero and the late Governor Ma as a sinister and ungrateful rogue. Who wrote the history? The people or the government?
The minister felt that he had not performed his duties according to the law and his consciousness. He had done something unfit to the post of the minister of Judicial Ministry. He was never so frustrated that he sent in his resignation and a petition of retirement by the two officials, who would return to the capital. The resigned minister went directly back to his hometown.

[xlwoo]

The Minister of Judicial Ministry was an old man, sixty-eight already. He should have retired. But at that time no retirement age was fixed. It depended on the individual who wanted to retire or not. The Minister brought two of his subordinate officials, who were familiar with law. The three of them had a discussion how to investigate the case. The officials dreaded that if the assassination was really backed up by someone in the Xiang Army and if their investigation got too close to the truth, it might force the Xiang Army to revolt and it would put Elder Zeng in a dilemma. So the two officials suggested that they should not make their investigation in that direction. The Minister was an upright courtier and wanted to do everything by law, but he also knew the severity of the case. If a mutiny should happen it would disturb the peace they had just acquired and make West Empress Dowager resentful.
But two officials in the local government insisted that they should get to the bottom of the case till the truth was revealed. So taking the advice of his two officials, the minister asked the two local officials to take part in the investigation and the interrogation. Once when they were cross-questioning the prisoner Zhang, who persisted in his own confession, the two local officials asked to torment the prisoner so that he would tell the truth. But the difficulty was that if they only beat the prisoner, he could surely endure the torture and would say nothing more and if they tortured him very severely it might cause his death. The death of a prisoner at the interrogation was a serious matter and any official who ordered the torture would be punished. So who would take the responsibility? The minister wouldn't, because he didn't want to do it. So the two local officials could not insist. Besides, the minister was afraid what if the prisoner couldn't stand the torture and give any names, which were really not the ones behind the assassination, but the ones the prisoner wanted to revenge on, and what if the prisoner even mentioned the name of Elder Zeng, though it could not be the truth. It was really a delicate case, demanding careful handling. At last they had to use the invented scenario as the formal document of the interrogation without even the signature of the prisoner. Then they sent in the report signed by both Elder Zeng and the minister to West Empress Dowager with an extra note attached to explain the dilemma. West Empress Dowager accepted the report and explanation and ordered the prisoner executed. However, Zhang lived in the drama as a hero and the late Governor Ma as a sinister and ungrateful rogue. Who wrote the history? The people or the government?
The minister felt that he had not performed his duties according to the law and his consciousness. He had done something unfit to the post of the minister of Judicial Ministry. He was never so frustrated that he sent in his resignation and a petition of retirement by the two officials, who would return to the capital. The resigned minister went directly back to his hometown.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 26

During the war against the Peaceful Army, Qing government had established a riverine division on the Yangtze River. It had been placed under the command of Elder Zeng. A general was in the direct charge of the division, which consisted of several battalions with an officer as the head of a battalion. The discipline of the division was worse than everyone could imagine. The division soldiers would take off their uniforms and put on plain clothes and robbed the merchant's ships on the Yangtze River of their goods and other valuables. When Elder Zeng had been alive, West Empress Dowager and Yixin had tolerated the conduct of the division because of Elder Zeng. Now Elder Zeng died and many critique reports came to complain about the terrible discipline of the division, which demanded the attention of West Empress Dowager. She then appointed Deputy Minister Peng of Military Ministry as a Royal Representative to investigate the case. A Royal Representative acted on behalf of the emperor and could execute any corrupted officials and officers in emergencies before he reported to the emperor. The ordinary procedures were that the execution of an official or officer must be reported to the emperor and must wait to be approved by the emperor unless in the army during the wartime when a commander could do so without reporting first.
Royal Representative Peng set out for the Yangtze River area. He was disguised as a countryside squire. He did look like one without his official uniform on, because he was a frugal man and never wore anything in silk or brocade or satin. He started from the upper Yangtze River, then downstream. Everywhere all along the Yangtze River, where there were the division's ships at anchor, he heard or even saw with his own eyes that the division soldiers bullied people and took things from people, even their daughters and sisters.

http://www.allbook-books.com/html/100_famous_women_in_china.htm

[xlwoo]

Chapter 26

During the war against the Peaceful Army, Qing government had established a riverine division on the Yangtze River. It had been placed under the command of Elder Zeng. A general was in the direct charge of the division, which consisted of several battalions with an officer as the head of a battalion. The discipline of the division was worse than everyone could imagine. The division soldiers would take off their uniforms and put on plain clothes and robbed the merchant's ships on the Yangtze River of their goods and other valuables. When Elder Zeng had been alive, West Empress Dowager and Yixin had tolerated the conduct of the division because of Elder Zeng. Now Elder Zeng died and many critique reports came to complain about the terrible discipline of the division, which demanded the attention of West Empress Dowager. She then appointed Deputy Minister Peng of Military Ministry as a Royal Representative to investigate the case. A Royal Representative acted on behalf of the emperor and could execute any corrupted officials and officers in emergencies before he reported to the emperor. The ordinary procedures were that the execution of an official or officer must be reported to the emperor and must wait to be approved by the emperor unless in the army during the wartime when a commander could do so without reporting first.
Royal Representative Peng set out for the Yangtze River area. He was disguised as a countryside squire. He did look like one without his official uniform on, because he was a frugal man and never wore anything in silk or brocade or satin. He started from the upper Yangtze River, then downstream. Everywhere all along the Yangtze River, where there were the division's ships at anchor, he heard or even saw with his own eyes that the division soldiers bullied people and took things from people, even their daughters and sisters.


http://www.allbook-books.com/html/100_famous_women_in_china.htm

[xlwoo]

Peng went to inspect a battalion and asked the officer how he drilled his men. The officer answered with due reference, “Reply to Your Excellency, the Royal Representative, your humble servant train them how to practice archery.” Peng was surprised to hear that. When every warship was equipped with cannons, the officer still trained his men in archery. What's the use of that? He removed the officer from his post.
One day, he entered Zhejiang Province and anchored near Jiaxing Town, which was at the Grand Canal. He got on the shore, ensued by his page. He sauntered on the country road, enjoying the scenery on the Grand Canal. There were weeping willow trees on either bank and distant sails against the blue sky. On the road a boy rode on the back of a buffalo, blowing a fife. Royal Representative Peng entered the town by the north gate. He felt hungry and went into a waterfront restaurant. He found an empty table near the window and sat down. Two division soldiers came in and sat at the next table. While eating, Peng noticed that the two soldiers, when they finished a dish, cast the dish out of the window into the water below, because the restaurant counted the dishes served and charged the customer by the count. The two soldiers had no dishes on their table now. They didn't need to pay. Peng left the restaurant after he paid for his lunch. When he was strolling in the street, he saw a big house and went in. It was an entertainment house. Someone would tell stories there. In the back there was a dais, on which stood a table and a chair behind it. The story-teller was supposed to sit there, narrating the story. The rest of the space was occupied by tables and benches. Listeners would sit there. The entertainment house would sell tea and snacks to the listeners. Generally the story-teller would recount an interesting novel in serials such as the Three Kingdoms. He would change his voice to suit the characters of the novel. He could even imitate a female voice. Often at a very intriquing point of the story, he would say, “Time's up today. If my respected listeners want to know how the story will go on, please come early tomorrow.”

[xlwoo]

Peng went to inspect a battalion and asked the officer how he drilled his men. The officer answered with due reference, “Reply to Your Excellency, the Royal Representative, your humble servant train them how to practice archery.” Peng was surprised to hear that. When every warship was equipped with cannons, the officer still trained his men in archery. What's the use of that? He removed the officer from his post.
One day, he entered Zhejiang Province and anchored near Jiaxing Town, which was at the Grand Canal. He got on the shore, ensued by his page. He sauntered on the country road, enjoying the scenery on the Grand Canal. There were weeping willow trees on either bank and distant sails against the blue sky. On the road a boy rode on the back of a buffalo, blowing a fife. Royal Representative Peng entered the town by the north gate. He felt hungry and went into a waterfront restaurant. He found an empty table near the window and sat down. Two division soldiers came in and sat at the next table. While eating, Peng noticed that the two soldiers, when they finished a dish, cast the dish out of the window into the water below, because the restaurant counted the dishes served and charged the customer by the count. The two soldiers had no dishes on their table now. They didn't need to pay. Peng left the restaurant after he paid for his lunch. When he was strolling in the street, he saw a big house and went in. It was an entertainment house. Someone would tell stories there. In the back there was a dais, on which stood a table and a chair behind it. The story-teller was supposed to sit there, narrating the story. The rest of the space was occupied by tables and benches. Listeners would sit there. The entertainment house would sell tea and snacks to the listeners. Generally the story-teller would recount an interesting novel in serials such as the Three Kingdoms. He would change his voice to suit the characters of the novel. He could even imitate a female voice. Often at a very intriquing point of the story, he would say, “Time's up today. If my respected listeners want to know how the story will go on, please come early tomorrow.”

[xlwoo]

It was almost full house. Only one table was not occupied, which was in the middle just in front of the dais. Peng went there and sat down. All the people there stared at him in consternation. A waiter hurried over and begged him to move, but where could he move to? This was the only empty table in the house. Just then a battalion officer came in, followed by two soldiers. All the faces around him turned pale and the waiter was on the brink of fainting. One of the soldiers shouted to him, “Get away!” The other soldier cried, “How dare you!” Peng stood up and left the house.
Royal Representative Peng returned to his ship and convened the mayor of the town. When the mayor came, he inquired him about the battalion officer, adding, “Why didn't you punish him?
“Your Excellency, the Royal Representative, people don't dare to sue him. Your humble servant don't have any evidence against him. Once a man came to my yamen, but next day was found killed at his home.”
Peng knew that if he sent the mayor to arrest the officer on his ship, the soldiers might riot. So they laid out a plan. The battalion officer got an invitation from the mayor for a dinner party. The officer could not guess why the mayor wanted to give a dinner party, but he could never refused a dinner. When he went into the yamen, it didn't look like to have a party. He was about to turn and leave when he was seized by the policemen in the yamen. He was bought before Peng, who borrowed the mayor's yamen as his interrogating place. When the battalion officer recognized Peng, he knew his punishment was close at hand. Only he didn't know to what extent Peng was to punish him. He kowtowed, begging for his life. Peng had his crimes enumerated and then had him executed to the great delight of the town people.
After his thorough investigation, he returned to the capital and sent in a report to West Empress Dowager, suggesting to remove the division general and many of his battalion officers. West Empress Dowager approved his report and appointed a new general and many new officers.

[xlwoo]

It was almost full house. Only one table was not occupied, which was in the middle just in front of the dais. Peng went there and sat down. All the people there stared at him in consternation. A waiter hurried over and begged him to move, but where could he move to? This was the only empty table in the house. Just then a battalion officer came in, followed by two soldiers. All the faces around him turned pale and the waiter was on the brink of fainting. One of the soldiers shouted to him, “Get away!” The other soldier cried, “How dare you!” Peng stood up and left the house.
Royal Representative Peng returned to his ship and convened the mayor of the town. When the mayor came, he inquired him about the battalion officer, adding, “Why didn't you punish him?
“Your Excellency, the Royal Representative, people don't dare to sue him. Your humble servant don't have any evidence against him. Once a man came to my yamen, but next day was found killed at his home.”
Peng knew that if he sent the mayor to arrest the officer on his ship, the soldiers might riot. So they laid out a plan. The battalion officer got an invitation from the mayor for a dinner party. The officer could not guess why the mayor wanted to give a dinner party, but he could never refused a dinner. When he went into the yamen, it didn't look like to have a party. He was about to turn and leave when he was seized by the policemen in the yamen. He was bought before Peng, who borrowed the mayor's yamen as his interrogating place. When the battalion officer recognized Peng, he knew his punishment was close at hand. Only he didn't know to what extent Peng was to punish him. He kowtowed, begging for his life. Peng had his crimes enumerated and then had him executed to the great delight of the town people.
After his thorough investigation, he returned to the capital and sent in a report to West Empress Dowager, suggesting to remove the division general and many of his battalion officers. West Empress Dowager approved his report and appointed a new general and many new officers.

[xlwoo]

A son was born to Prince Yihuan. His wife, the son's mother, was none the other than the sister of West Empress Dowager. The son was later Emperor Guangxu, who succeeded Emperor Tongzhi, the present young emperor. Besides, he was the first cousin of the present emperor. When the boy baby was one month old, there was a feast to celebrate it. West Empress Dowager was happy to have a nephew and gave many things as gifts. All the princes, royal relatives and high-rank courtiers were invited. All other officials were welcome to show up at the feast. On that day the residence of Prince Yihuan was crowded with guests. But birds of a feather gather together. Different people mingled in different groups by their ranks. The princes and imperial relations stayed together in one room. The ministers kept to themselves in another guest room while the critique officials joined each other in still another room. They would be critical of other courtiers and make fun of them in their chitchats. They would laugh at the expense of other people. That's what they often did when they met. A critique official was always learned and had a sharp tongue.
Ronglu, now promoted to be the deputy minister of Construction Ministry, was put in charge of the arrangement for the feast. He arranged what rank of guests sat in which room. He got two opera troupes to act there and one troupe of acrobatics for the younger guests. Tutor Li, who was teaching the young emperor, liked to mix with the critique officials, though he was also a member of the Secretarial Bureau and could go to the room with the ministers. Many of the critique officials were the famous scholars of the time. Since Tutor Li was also a scholar, he loved to talk about books and poetry rather than vulgar things like food and women. When Tutor Li entered the room, they were talking about the outcome of the final government test of this year. Many critique officials shook their heads and sighed. Some testees, who had passed the test, even had misspellings in their test papers. Correct spelling was the basic requirement. When Tutor Li was told of it, he asked how it could happen. He was surprised to know that most of the appointed examiners were not scholars this year. How could they evaluate an article on the test papers? They were not qualified for that kind of job. Although Tutor Li was made the head of the department of the critique officials, he was not bold enough to criticize anything involving West Empress Dowager. His ambition now was to make the young emperor a scholar. Only a scholar could rule a country well. But he was disappointed in the young emperor, because the emperor didn't like to study hard. The more his natural mother, West Empress Dowager, pressed him, the stronger he detested the learning. Once the emperor couldn't recite a text, Tutor Li couldn't blame him. When he thought that it was deemed the neglect of his duties and that West Empress Dowager would blame him, his tears trickled down his face. Only this could make the young emperor feel ashamed of himself and begin to study hard.
The empress dowagers thought that if the young emperor could have a companion about the same age to share the classes, it would inspire him in the studies. They decided to let Zaizhen, a son of Yixin, to be the classmate. Zaizhen was really not a good company. He didn't like reading, either. But the emperor gradually liked him because he knew all sorts of things outside the Forbidden City and told the emperor about them in the recesses.

[xlwoo]

A son was born to Prince Yihuan. His wife, the son's mother, was none the other than the sister of West Empress Dowager. The son was later Emperor Guangxu, who succeeded Emperor Tongzhi, the present young emperor. Besides, he was the first cousin of the present emperor. When the boy baby was one month old, there was a feast to celebrate it. West Empress Dowager was happy to have a nephew and gave many things as gifts. All the princes, royal relatives and high-rank courtiers were invited. All other officials were welcome to show up at the feast. On that day the residence of Prince Yihuan was crowded with guests. But birds of a feather gather together. Different people mingled in different groups by their ranks. The princes and imperial relations stayed together in one room. The ministers kept to themselves in another guest room while the critique officials joined each other in still another room. They would be critical of other courtiers and make fun of them in their chitchats. They would laugh at the expense of other people. That's what they often did when they met. A critique official was always learned and had a sharp tongue.
Ronglu, now promoted to be the deputy minister of Construction Ministry, was put in charge of the arrangement for the feast. He arranged what rank of guests sat in which room. He got two opera troupes to act there and one troupe of acrobatics for the younger guests. Tutor Li, who was teaching the young emperor, liked to mix with the critique officials, though he was also a member of the Secretarial Bureau and could go to the room with the ministers. Many of the critique officials were the famous scholars of the time. Since Tutor Li was also a scholar, he loved to talk about books and poetry rather than vulgar things like food and women. When Tutor Li entered the room, they were talking about the outcome of the final government test of this year. Many critique officials shook their heads and sighed. Some testees, who had passed the test, even had misspellings in their test papers. Correct spelling was the basic requirement. When Tutor Li was told of it, he asked how it could happen. He was surprised to know that most of the appointed examiners were not scholars this year. How could they evaluate an article on the test papers? They were not qualified for that kind of job. Although Tutor Li was made the head of the department of the critique officials, he was not bold enough to criticize anything involving West Empress Dowager. His ambition now was to make the young emperor a scholar. Only a scholar could rule a country well. But he was disappointed in the young emperor, because the emperor didn't like to study hard. The more his natural mother, West Empress Dowager, pressed him, the stronger he detested the learning. Once the emperor couldn't recite a text, Tutor Li couldn't blame him. When he thought that it was deemed the neglect of his duties and that West Empress Dowager would blame him, his tears trickled down his face. Only this could make the young emperor feel ashamed of himself and begin to study hard.
The empress dowagers thought that if the young emperor could have a companion about the same age to share the classes, it would inspire him in the studies. They decided to let Zaizhen, a son of Yixin, to be the classmate. Zaizhen was really not a good company. He didn't like reading, either. But the emperor gradually liked him because he knew all sorts of things outside the Forbidden City and told the emperor about them in the recesses.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 27

The emperor was grown up. He was seventeen now in the year of 1872. The empress dowagers must return the power to the emperor to handle the state affairs. They were no longer needed to act in his behalf. In the history of Qing Dynasty, the third emperor had handled the state affairs at the age of fourteen. If following this example, the young emperor should have got back his power three years before. But West Empress Dowager wouldn't give up power so easily. She decided that before they returned the power to the young emperor they should select a queen for him. The power-return ceremony should be held after the emperor's marriage. In March, selection of candidates began.
The girls were all selected from the families of the courtiers of the Mandarin Clan and the Mongolian Clan. The tradition prohibited the emperor to even select a girl of Han Clan to be his concubine, let alone to be the queen. (Most people in China are the Han Clan. The Mandarin and the Mongolian are minorities, but the Mandarin Clan was ruling clan at that time and the Mongolian Clan was their ally.)
Many girls about the emperor's age were selected and then were sent to the presence of the two empress dowagers for re-selection. On that day all the girls waited outside the Forbidden City, attired in beautiful dress. Most girls wished that they could be chosen, but some didn't want to live like birds in a cage of a palace. They wanted to be with their parents and marry some boys they loved and lead a happy free life. They had learned that living in the Forbidden City was full of dangers. Sometimes a wrong word would cost them their lives, especially when there were empress dowagers above them.
After sifting, only ten finalists were left. And then among the ten only four were left. Then the emperor himself would decide who among the four girls would be the queen, another one would be the royal concubine and the other two would be just the concubines.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 27

The emperor was grown up. He was seventeen now in the year of 1872. The empress dowagers must return the power to the emperor to handle the state affairs. They were no longer needed to act in his behalf. In the history of Qing Dynasty, the third emperor had handled the state affairs at the age of fourteen. If following this example, the young emperor should have got back his power three years before. But West Empress Dowager wouldn't give up power so easily. She decided that before they returned the power to the young emperor they should select a queen for him. The power-return ceremony should be held after the emperor's marriage. In March, selection of candidates began.
The girls were all selected from the families of the courtiers of the Mandarin Clan and the Mongolian Clan. The tradition prohibited the emperor to even select a girl of Han Clan to be his concubine, let alone to be the queen. (Most people in China are the Han Clan. The Mandarin and the Mongolian are minorities, but the Mandarin Clan was ruling clan at that time and the Mongolian Clan was their ally.)
Many girls about the emperor's age were selected and then were sent to the presence of the two empress dowagers for re-selection. On that day all the girls waited outside the Forbidden City, attired in beautiful dress. Most girls wished that they could be chosen, but some didn't want to live like birds in a cage of a palace. They wanted to be with their parents and marry some boys they loved and lead a happy free life. They had learned that living in the Forbidden City was full of dangers. Sometimes a wrong word would cost them their lives, especially when there were empress dowagers above them.
After sifting, only ten finalists were left. And then among the ten only four were left. Then the emperor himself would decide who among the four girls would be the queen, another one would be the royal concubine and the other two would be just the concubines.

[xlwoo]

Among the four girls, West Empress Dowager liked the girl from Fucai Family, who was only fourteen, but beautiful. East Empress Dowager preferred the girl from Alute Family, who was nineteen, two years older than the emperor, but talented and demure, though not even pretty, just ordinary. But general opinion was that an emperor should choose his queen for her character and demureness, not for her beauty, because many beautiful queens in the Chinese history had only brought destruction to the country.
On that important day in his life, the emperor stood before the four girls. He had got a hint from West Empress Dowager to choose the girl from Fucai Family for his queen. But East Empress Dowager thought the girl was too young to handle all the intricate things in the Forbidden City as were the queen's responsibilities, and an older queen could look after the emperor and help him in many aspects. The emperor himself was biased to that opinion and so handed the jade ruyi, an ornament and symbol for that purpose, to the girl from Alute Family, to the unhappiness of West Empress Dowager, who thought that East Empress Dowager influenced the emperor for it. It was on March 11.
The four girls were sent back home, waiting for the wedding day. A lot of things should be done between then and the nuptial, especially in the future queen's family. She must be treated as the queen since selected, no longer as their daughter. Any family members, if received by her, must kneel and kowtow before her just like to be received by the emperor. At the meals, the mother should serve dishes, waiting at the table like a royal maid. The future queen sat there, eating alone. She had to eat quickly so that her mother didn't need to stand there too long. And she couldn't meet anyone she wanted like before, especially her brothers or young male cousins. The family received a great deal of wedding gifts, and congratulations as well, from all other courtiers.

[xlwoo]

Among the four girls, West Empress Dowager liked the girl from Fucai Family, who was only fourteen, but beautiful. East Empress Dowager preferred the girl from Alute Family, who was nineteen, two years older than the emperor, but talented and demure, though not even pretty, just ordinary. But general opinion was that an emperor should choose his queen for her character and demureness, not for her beauty, because many beautiful queens in the Chinese history had only brought destruction to the country.
On that important day in his life, the emperor stood before the four girls. He had got a hint from West Empress Dowager to choose the girl from Fucai Family for his queen. But East Empress Dowager thought the girl was too young to handle all the intricate things in the Forbidden City as were the queen's responsibilities, and an older queen could look after the emperor and help him in many aspects. The emperor himself was biased to that opinion and so handed the jade ruyi, an ornament and symbol for that purpose, to the girl from Alute Family, to the unhappiness of West Empress Dowager, who thought that East Empress Dowager influenced the emperor for it. It was on March 11.
The four girls were sent back home, waiting for the wedding day. A lot of things should be done between then and the nuptial, especially in the future queen's family. She must be treated as the queen since selected, no longer as their daughter. Any family members, if received by her, must kneel and kowtow before her just like to be received by the emperor. At the meals, the mother should serve dishes, waiting at the table like a royal maid. The future queen sat there, eating alone. She had to eat quickly so that her mother didn't need to stand there too long. And she couldn't meet anyone she wanted like before, especially her brothers or young male cousins. The family received a great deal of wedding gifts, and congratulations as well, from all other courtiers.

[xlwoo]

On March 24, the empress dowagers gave a statement that the wedding day should be on October 16.
On August 23 and September 19, the emperor sent many wedding things to the queen's family as tokens of wedding settlement. There were rules set by the ancestors about what and how many wedding things should be given. They were: two hundred taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, tea containers of gold and silver, silver cups, one thousand scrolls of brocade, twenty horses. These things were not so many as people would think, considering they came from the imperial family. But some things were very special. The silver pieces totaling ten thousand taels were made in a special shape, each piece containing fifty taels with dragon and phoenix carvings on the surface in relief. The twenty horses were all white with new leather saddles, bright brass stirrups and new reins. The surprise was that the horses had been trained to amble to the rhythm of the music. The family must get the dowry ready before the nuptial day. According to the tradition of the Mandarin Clan, the dowry should be carried into the Forbidden City before the wedding day. The dowry was divided into three hundred and sixty packages, each with two poles attached and borne on the shoulder by two men or four men for the heavier ones. The packages were open on the top to display the contents inside. When the dowry was being carried towards the Forbidden City, crowds after crowds of people rushed forward to watch. They almost blocked the streets. Soldiers were sent to maintain order. Generally they would whip people into submission and order, but they were told that during these nuptial days they should not beat people. Therefore, they had to use collective strength to keep back the watchers so that the dowry procession could pass. Eventually the dowry procession came and people could see the jewels, the new clothes, the curios as ornaments in their rooms, and a lot of other things.

[xlwoo]

On March 24, the empress dowagers gave a statement that the wedding day should be on October 16.
On August 23 and September 19, the emperor sent many wedding things to the queen's family as tokens of wedding settlement. There were rules set by the ancestors about what and how many wedding things should be given. They were: two hundred taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, tea containers of gold and silver, silver cups, one thousand scrolls of brocade, twenty horses. These things were not so many as people would think, considering they came from the imperial family. But some things were very special. The silver pieces totaling ten thousand taels were made in a special shape, each piece containing fifty taels with dragon and phoenix carvings on the surface in relief. The twenty horses were all white with new leather saddles, bright brass stirrups and new reins. The surprise was that the horses had been trained to amble to the rhythm of the music. The family must get the dowry ready before the nuptial day. According to the tradition of the Mandarin Clan, the dowry should be carried into the Forbidden City before the wedding day. The dowry was divided into three hundred and sixty packages, each with two poles attached and borne on the shoulder by two men or four men for the heavier ones. The packages were open on the top to display the contents inside. When the dowry was being carried towards the Forbidden City, crowds after crowds of people rushed forward to watch. They almost blocked the streets. Soldiers were sent to maintain order. Generally they would whip people into submission and order, but they were told that during these nuptial days they should not beat people. Therefore, they had to use collective strength to keep back the watchers so that the dowry procession could pass. Eventually the dowry procession came and people could see the jewels, the new clothes, the curios as ornaments in their rooms, and a lot of other things.

[xlwoo]

On the wedding day the emperor sent a luxuriously adorned palanquin to the queen's home. A Royal Representative went with the palanquin, carrying the queen's seal, which was made of gold. When the Royal Representative arrived at the queen's home, all the household came out to receive the queen's seal on their knees. At that time the queen was being attired. Four ladies-in-waiting waited on the queen. One combed the queen's hair into a wedding style. Another put wedding clothes on the queen. Still another changed the queen's shoes. The last lady adorned the queen's face with cosmetics. Then the queen came out of her confined room ensued by the four ladies and accepted the seal on her knees. Then everyone kowtowed to the queen as an action of congratulations. The queen rode in the palanquin and was carried into the Forbidden City. Thousands of people formed the procession, including guards, musicians, eunuchs carrying all kinds of things, and the ladies-in-waiting on horseback. The procession led by the Royal Representative lasted miles, with many people lined on both sides, watching. In the procession there were three hundred pairs of palace lanterns, which were lit when it grew dark. The collective shining of the lanterns almost paled the full moon.
The emperor was waiting impatiently in the Forbidden City. He often asked for what time it was. The other three girls were carried into the Forbidden City with much less rituals before the queen's arrival. When the emperor was reported that his concubines were carried into the Forbidden City one after another, he just nodded the acknowledgment. At last the bells and drums over the front gate of the Forbidden City sounded, announcing the arrival of the queen. So the emperor left his bachelor's room for the wedding room in another building. When the queen arrived, the new royal couple went through a series of complicated ceremonies before they were finally escorted to the wedding room for the night.

[xlwoo]

On the wedding day the emperor sent a luxuriously adorned palanquin to the queen's home. A Royal Representative went with the palanquin, carrying the queen's seal, which was made of gold. When the Royal Representative arrived at the queen's home, all the household came out to receive the queen's seal on their knees. At that time the queen was being attired. Four ladies-in-waiting waited on the queen. One combed the queen's hair into a wedding style. Another put wedding clothes on the queen. Still another changed the queen's shoes. The last lady adorned the queen's face with cosmetics. Then the queen came out of her confined room ensued by the four ladies and accepted the seal on her knees. Then everyone kowtowed to the queen as an action of congratulations. The queen rode in the palanquin and was carried into the Forbidden City. Thousands of people formed the procession, including guards, musicians, eunuchs carrying all kinds of things, and the ladies-in-waiting on horseback. The procession led by the Royal Representative lasted miles, with many people lined on both sides, watching. In the procession there were three hundred pairs of palace lanterns, which were lit when it grew dark. The collective shining of the lanterns almost paled the full moon.
The emperor was waiting impatiently in the Forbidden City. He often asked for what time it was. The other three girls were carried into the Forbidden City with much less rituals before the queen's arrival. When the emperor was reported that his concubines were carried into the Forbidden City one after another, he just nodded the acknowledgment. At last the bells and drums over the front gate of the Forbidden City sounded, announcing the arrival of the queen. So the emperor left his bachelor's room for the wedding room in another building. When the queen arrived, the new royal couple went through a series of complicated ceremonies before they were finally escorted to the wedding room for the night.

[xlwoo]

The queen's palanquin stopped before that building. The queen was helped out of the palanquin, with an apple in each hand. Apple in old China meant safety because the two words have the same pronunciations. A lady-in-waiting came up and took the apples from the queen's hands. Another lady handed to the queen a gilded bottle sealed on the mouth with a red gauze. In the bottle there stored small pieces of gold and silver, rubies and other gems, grains of rice and wheat. It was called the Treasure Bottle. Then the queen should step over a saddle with the two apples under it. Just at that time, the emperor arrived. When the queen got at the other side of the saddle, she found herself standing face to face with the emperor. They kowtowed to each other on a red rug with the loud pleasant music accompanying the ceremony. Then they should kowtow to Heaven and Earth, to the God of Longevity, After that the queen must go to kowtow to the God of Kitchen. It meant that the queen was to manage the cooking of the palace, though the queen really never did the cooking herself. At that time the emperor retired to another room to have a rest. The queen went into the wedding room to re-attire herself. Her hairdo was altered into another style more casual and fit for lying on the pillow. Her clothes were more for the comfortable wear. Then the emperor came in and other people left so that the new couple could have a heart to heart talk.
The emperor's concubines went to see the empress dowagers first and West Empress Dowager was specially kind to the Royal Concubine, whom she liked. When the queen went to see the empress dowagers next day, West Empress Dowager didn't even speak to her, just nodding to acknowledge her kowtow. Everyone in the Forbidden City knew that this was a bad omen. The royal wedding finished after three years of preparation and an expenditure of twenty million taels of silver.

[xlwoo]

The queen's palanquin stopped before that building. The queen was helped out of the palanquin, with an apple in each hand. Apple in old China meant safety because the two words have the same pronunciations. A lady-in-waiting came up and took the apples from the queen's hands. Another lady handed to the queen a gilded bottle sealed on the mouth with a red gauze. In the bottle there stored small pieces of gold and silver, rubies and other gems, grains of rice and wheat. It was called the Treasure Bottle. Then the queen should step over a saddle with the two apples under it. Just at that time, the emperor arrived. When the queen got at the other side of the saddle, she found herself standing face to face with the emperor. They kowtowed to each other on a red rug with the loud pleasant music accompanying the ceremony. Then they should kowtow to Heaven and Earth, to the God of Longevity, After that the queen must go to kowtow to the God of Kitchen. It meant that the queen was to manage the cooking of the palace, though the queen really never did the cooking herself. At that time the emperor retired to another room to have a rest. The queen went into the wedding room to re-attire herself. Her hairdo was altered into another style more casual and fit for lying on the pillow. Her clothes were more for the comfortable wear. Then the emperor came in and other people left so that the new couple could have a heart to heart talk.
The emperor's concubines went to see the empress dowagers first and West Empress Dowager was specially kind to the Royal Concubine, whom she liked. When the queen went to see the empress dowagers next day, West Empress Dowager didn't even speak to her, just nodding to acknowledge her kowtow. Everyone in the Forbidden City knew that this was a bad omen. The royal wedding finished after three years of preparation and an expenditure of twenty million taels of silver.

[xlwoo]

After marriage, the emperor took over the power, namely, to read reports, make decisions and appoint officials and officers. West Empress Dowager was unwilling to entirely lose her power. She told the emperor that if he had anything important to decide on, he should consult her first, because, as she said, he was not experienced enough yet. On February 23, 1873, the emperor took over the power.
West Empress Dowager was unhappy because she was now retired and had nothing better to do. Besides, she was unhappy with the queen because the emperor chose her against her will. Then she was fuming when she learned that the emperor slept with the queen almost every night and seldom went to the chamber of the royal concubine she liked.
Whenever the emperor came to pay homage to her, she would say that the emperor should spend more time with the royal concubine. She would reproach the queen for her indecent behavior. She even reprimanded the queen to her face that she should not be jealous of others. The queen thereby advised the emperor to sleep with the royal concubine more often. But the emperor was furious with his mother, West Empress Dowager, for her interference with his marital life. So he stopped altogether going to see the royal concubine. But afraid of being scolded by West Empress Dowager, he no longer went to the queen's chamber, either. He simply moved to sleep in his study on the pretense that he wanted more time for reading.

[xlwoo]

After marriage, the emperor took over the power, namely, to read reports, make decisions and appoint officials and officers. West Empress Dowager was unwilling to entirely lose her power. She told the emperor that if he had anything important to decide on, he should consult her first, because, as she said, he was not experienced enough yet. On February 23, 1873, the emperor took over the power.
West Empress Dowager was unhappy because she was now retired and had nothing better to do. Besides, she was unhappy with the queen because the emperor chose her against her will. Then she was fuming when she learned that the emperor slept with the queen almost every night and seldom went to the chamber of the royal concubine she liked.
Whenever the emperor came to pay homage to her, she would say that the emperor should spend more time with the royal concubine. She would reproach the queen for her indecent behavior. She even reprimanded the queen to her face that she should not be jealous of others. The queen thereby advised the emperor to sleep with the royal concubine more often. But the emperor was furious with his mother, West Empress Dowager, for her interference with his marital life. So he stopped altogether going to see the royal concubine. But afraid of being scolded by West Empress Dowager, he no longer went to the queen's chamber, either. He simply moved to sleep in his study on the pretense that he wanted more time for reading.

[xlwoo]

Once when he complained to East Empress Dowager that he was often found at fault by his own mother, East Empress Dowager said that his mother had too much time on hand that she didn't know how to spend it and that if he could find something for her to do, she would be happy and blame him less.
Then some officials in charge of royal construction work, suggested to the emperor to rebuild the Round-Bright Garden, Garden Of All Gardens as called by the foreigners. The emperor thought it a good idea. When West Empress Dowager learned it she was really delighted. But Yixin and all other courtiers opposed the notion, because the royal treasury had no money. The work would cost at least one billion tael's worth of silver. At that time the first and foremost need of the dynasty was to build a navy so that they could resist any further invasion from the foreign countries. But the emperor wanted to please his mother and West Empress Dowager wanted to enjoy herself in return for her to give up the power. So the officials in charge of the royal construction work went to the site to see where the repair was needed and to estimate the cost. They reported to the emperor, who gave the report to the secretaries for discussion. The secretaries replied that the government had no money for it, but they had no objection if the emperor could think of a way to raise money. The officials of the construction suggested to the emperor that the money could be raised through donations. So the emperor ordered the courtiers to donate money for it.

[xlwoo]

Once when he complained to East Empress Dowager that he was often found at fault by his own mother, East Empress Dowager said that his mother had too much time on hand that she didn't know how to spend it and that if he could find something for her to do, she would be happy and blame him less.
Then some officials in charge of royal construction work, suggested to the emperor to rebuild the Round-Bright Garden, Garden Of All Gardens as called by the foreigners. The emperor thought it a good idea. When West Empress Dowager learned it she was really delighted. But Yixin and all other courtiers opposed the notion, because the royal treasury had no money. The work would cost at least one billion tael's worth of silver. At that time the first and foremost need of the dynasty was to build a navy so that they could resist any further invasion from the foreign countries. But the emperor wanted to please his mother and West Empress Dowager wanted to enjoy herself in return for her to give up the power. So the officials in charge of the royal construction work went to the site to see where the repair was needed and to estimate the cost. They reported to the emperor, who gave the report to the secretaries for discussion. The secretaries replied that the government had no money for it, but they had no objection if the emperor could think of a way to raise money. The officials of the construction suggested to the emperor that the money could be raised through donations. So the emperor ordered the courtiers to donate money for it.

[xlwoo]

As long as the emperor didn't demand money from the treasury Yixin said nothing more and donated twenty thousand taels of silver. But many courtiers refused to donate. The emperor couldn't punish all the courtiers for that. In the end he only gathered some ten thousand taels, a long way to the budget.
Critique Official Sun filed in a report to oppose it. The emperor got in a rage and wanted to punish him so that other courtiers would be afraid to oppose his plan. He wished to know more about the critique official so that he could find some fault with him. He asked the secretaries about him. The secretaries could guess the intention of the emperor. So Yixin replied that when the late emperor had escaped to the Summer Palace in Rehe, this critique official had tried a suicide by jumping into a well, but had been saved. It implied that he was a faithful courtier to the late emperor. How could the present emperor punish someone so loyal to the late emperor, his father? Then another critique official You handed in a report on the same subject. The emperor was angry, but was delighted too, because he could have someone to punish at last. This time, there was nothing special about the critique official. So the emperor issued an order to dismiss Critique Official You from his position. When the order came into Yixin's hand, he said to the emperor that it was not suitable to remove a critique official for such a thing at the difficult time. When the emperor persisted, Yixin had to report to West Empress Dowager, who sent for the emperor and told him that he should not remove critique officials for things trivial.
Then he ordered all the governors to donate, but all of them complained that they didn't have any extra money to donate since so many things were waiting to be done after the mutinies had been subdued. Even Governor Wu, who was then the governor of Sichuan Province, made an excuse that when he could collect enough money he would have it sent to the capital. But the construction officials didn't believe it, because Sichuan Province was known as a rich province. Now the emperor had to let his plan abort.
At that time, a merchant by the name of Li said to the official in charge of the construction that he wanted to donate a lot of wood for the rebuilding of the Round-Bright Garden. So the official reported it to the emperor, who ordered the official to arrange for all the wood transported to the capital and promised that when the garden was finished he would give the merchant a high official position. Even the empress dowagers learned it. And the emperor often sneaked out of the Forbidden City on the pretext that he would go to inspect the ruins of the garden to see how to better rebuild it.

[xlwoo]

As long as the emperor didn't demand money from the treasury Yixin said nothing more and donated twenty thousand taels of silver. But many courtiers refused to donate. The emperor couldn't punish all the courtiers for that. In the end he only gathered some ten thousand taels, a long way to the budget.
Critique Official Sun filed in a report to oppose it. The emperor got in a rage and wanted to punish him so that other courtiers would be afraid to oppose his plan. He wished to know more about the critique official so that he could find some fault with him. He asked the secretaries about him. The secretaries could guess the intention of the emperor. So Yixin replied that when the late emperor had escaped to the Summer Palace in Rehe, this critique official had tried a suicide by jumping into a well, but had been saved. It implied that he was a faithful courtier to the late emperor. How could the present emperor punish someone so loyal to the late emperor, his father? Then another critique official You handed in a report on the same subject. The emperor was angry, but was delighted too, because he could have someone to punish at last. This time, there was nothing special about the critique official. So the emperor issued an order to dismiss Critique Official You from his position. When the order came into Yixin's hand, he said to the emperor that it was not suitable to remove a critique official for such a thing at the difficult time. When the emperor persisted, Yixin had to report to West Empress Dowager, who sent for the emperor and told him that he should not remove critique officials for things trivial.
Then he ordered all the governors to donate, but all of them complained that they didn't have any extra money to donate since so many things were waiting to be done after the mutinies had been subdued. Even Governor Wu, who was then the governor of Sichuan Province, made an excuse that when he could collect enough money he would have it sent to the capital. But the construction officials didn't believe it, because Sichuan Province was known as a rich province. Now the emperor had to let his plan abort.
At that time, a merchant by the name of Li said to the official in charge of the construction that he wanted to donate a lot of wood for the rebuilding of the Round-Bright Garden. So the official reported it to the emperor, who ordered the official to arrange for all the wood transported to the capital and promised that when the garden was finished he would give the merchant a high official position. Even the empress dowagers learned it. And the emperor often sneaked out of the Forbidden City on the pretext that he would go to inspect the ruins of the garden to see how to better rebuild it.

[xlwoo]

But Merchant Li said to the official in charge that the wood was in the forest on the remote mountains in Guizhou Province, one of the remotest provinces in the southwestern part of China. The big trees must be chopped down, carried to the nearest stream, let them float down on the current to the closest town and shipped from there to the capital. It needed a lot of labor and a long time to get them to the capital. The official was stunned, but he couldn't report this awkward situation to the emperor. Then Merchant Li said that he could help to buy wood planks from some foreign merchants. The official knew that if he couldn't get anything for the emperor, he would at best lose the position, at worst be put into prison. Besides, if he let Merchant Li buy wood planks, the government would pay for them. Money would not come out of his own pocket, and furthermore, he could get some commission from the transaction. So he agreed to the proposal of the merchant and gave him five hundred taels of silver as traveling expense.
They didn't know that Merchant Li was a great imposter. Although he knew a lot of foreigners, he often cheated them out of their money. Then he just disappeared. When these foreigners left China, he appeared to do the same to the other foreigners. Once a foreigner had wanted to purchase a piece of land to build something, he had said to him that he had owned a stretch of land somewhere. Then he had led the foreigner to a marshy land. Though the price had been cheap, when the foreigner had paid Li for the land, he had found that this piece of land belonging to the local government. The foreigner had searched for Merchant Li, but he had just vanished from the face of the earth. The foreigner had died with the wish that his ghost could have found Merchant Li.

[xlwoo]

But Merchant Li said to the official in charge that the wood was in the forest on the remote mountains in Guizhou Province, one of the remotest provinces in the southwestern part of China. The big trees must be chopped down, carried to the nearest stream, let them float down on the current to the closest town and shipped from there to the capital. It needed a lot of labor and a long time to get them to the capital. The official was stunned, but he couldn't report this awkward situation to the emperor. Then Merchant Li said that he could help to buy wood planks from some foreign merchants. The official knew that if he couldn't get anything for the emperor, he would at best lose the position, at worst be put into prison. Besides, if he let Merchant Li buy wood planks, the government would pay for them. Money would not come out of his own pocket, and furthermore, he could get some commission from the transaction. So he agreed to the proposal of the merchant and gave him five hundred taels of silver as traveling expense.
They didn't know that Merchant Li was a great imposter. Although he knew a lot of foreigners, he often cheated them out of their money. Then he just disappeared. When these foreigners left China, he appeared to do the same to the other foreigners. Once a foreigner had wanted to purchase a piece of land to build something, he had said to him that he had owned a stretch of land somewhere. Then he had led the foreigner to a marshy land. Though the price had been cheap, when the foreigner had paid Li for the land, he had found that this piece of land belonging to the local government. The foreigner had searched for Merchant Li, but he had just vanished from the face of the earth. The foreigner had died with the wish that his ghost could have found Merchant Li.

[xlwoo]

Merchant Li went to Hongkong, lodged in a suite of a big hotel, and put up a notice “Wood needed for the royal garden.” When many wood salesmen knew it, they swarmed to him. A French merchant offered the best price. So he ordered thirty-five square feet wood for ten thousand taels of silver. Then he reported the price as thirty thousand taels. He reckoned that as he had promised to donate ten thousand taels, which he would deduct, he would still get twenty thousand taels. The price of the wood only cost ten thousand taels and he could get ten thousand extra taels for himself. The contract said that when the wood arrived in Tianjin City, the government would send some official to receive the shipment and pay the price. But when the French merchant reached the harbor, no one was there to receive him.
When Merchant Li reported the price to the official in charge, he reported to the leading official. And all the officials for the construction thought that the price was way too high and they decided that they didn't want the merchandise. So no one was sent to receive the shipment. The French merchant complained to the envoy of his country and the envoy contacted the Chinese government through the Foreign Affairs Yamen. The cheating deal came out in the broad daylight.
The official in charge had to report to the emperor, who was incensed and told the empress dowagers. As a result, Merchant Li was put to death and the official in charge was removed from office. Since the merchant who had signed the contract died, the deal was off naturally. Then the construction plan aborted.

[xlwoo]

Merchant Li went to Hongkong, lodged in a suite of a big hotel, and put up a notice “Wood needed for the royal garden.” When many wood salesmen knew it, they swarmed to him. A French merchant offered the best price. So he ordered thirty-five square feet wood for ten thousand taels of silver. Then he reported the price as thirty thousand taels. He reckoned that as he had promised to donate ten thousand taels, which he would deduct, he would still get twenty thousand taels. The price of the wood only cost ten thousand taels and he could get ten thousand extra taels for himself. The contract said that when the wood arrived in Tianjin City, the government would send some official to receive the shipment and pay the price. But when the French merchant reached the harbor, no one was there to receive him.
When Merchant Li reported the price to the official in charge, he reported to the leading official. And all the officials for the construction thought that the price was way too high and they decided that they didn't want the merchandise. So no one was sent to receive the shipment. The French merchant complained to the envoy of his country and the envoy contacted the Chinese government through the Foreign Affairs Yamen. The cheating deal came out in the broad daylight.
The official in charge had to report to the emperor, who was incensed and told the empress dowagers. As a result, Merchant Li was put to death and the official in charge was removed from office. Since the merchant who had signed the contract died, the deal was off naturally. Then the construction plan aborted.

[xlwoo]

When the emperor came into power he remembered his study-mate and playmate, Zaizhen, the son of Yixin and made him his Courtier Before Throne so that the emperor could see him more often. When they had nothing else better to do, Zaizhen would tell the emperor some funny things. Or something he thought it was funny.
One day, he told the emperor, “The wife of the French envoy came to see my mother.” The emperor interrupted and asked, “Does a foreigner really have red eyebrows and green eyes?” (Some eunuch had mentioned foreigners to the emperor like that.) Ziazheng replied, “They have green eyes, yes. But they don't have red eyebrows.”
“What's their rule of behavior?” asked the emperor again.
“Their rule is ladies first. When a newcomer arrives, the men must stand up, but the women still sit there. And men always kiss women's hands.” Answered Zaizhen seriously.
“I was told that the women and the men mix together. Is that so?”
“Sure. They shake each other's hands. They embrace each other and even kiss each other on the mouth.”
“Have you been kissed by a foreign woman?” The emperor was curious. He was still a teenager.
“No. I don't have such pleasure. They don't kiss us because they know we don't like to be kissed.”
“Have you touched a foreign woman's hands?”
“Yes. On the day when the wife of the French envoy came to see my mother, I went into our guest room too. I was about to withdraw from their presence, the French woman asked me to stay. By the way, she can speak some Chinese, though with an accent. She shook hands with me, but I had gooseflesh all over.”
“Why? Are there thorns on her hand?” The emperor asked innocently.
“No. Thorns only make me painful. But, no. The hair on her hand and arm is very long.”
“That will look like a monkey's.” The emperor joked.
“Yes. But she is more beautiful than a monkey.” They both laughed.

[xlwoo]

When the emperor came into power he remembered his study-mate and playmate, Zaizhen, the son of Yixin and made him his Courtier Before Throne so that the emperor could see him more often. When they had nothing else better to do, Zaizhen would tell the emperor some funny things. Or something he thought it was funny.
One day, he told the emperor, “The wife of the French envoy came to see my mother.” The emperor interrupted and asked, “Does a foreigner really have red eyebrows and green eyes?” (Some eunuch had mentioned foreigners to the emperor like that.) Ziazheng replied, “They have green eyes, yes. But they don't have red eyebrows.”
“What's their rule of behavior?” asked the emperor again.
“Their rule is ladies first. When a newcomer arrives, the men must stand up, but the women still sit there. And men always kiss women's hands.” Answered Zaizhen seriously.
“I was told that the women and the men mix together. Is that so?”
“Sure. They shake each other's hands. They embrace each other and even kiss each other on the mouth.”
“Have you been kissed by a foreign woman?” The emperor was curious. He was still a teenager.
“No. I don't have such pleasure. They don't kiss us because they know we don't like to be kissed.”
“Have you touched a foreign woman's hands?”
“Yes. On the day when the wife of the French envoy came to see my mother, I went into our guest room too. I was about to withdraw from their presence, the French woman asked me to stay. By the way, she can speak some Chinese, though with an accent. She shook hands with me, but I had gooseflesh all over.”
“Why? Are there thorns on her hand?” The emperor asked innocently.
“No. Thorns only make me painful. But, no. The hair on her hand and arm is very long.”
“That will look like a monkey's.” The emperor joked.
“Yes. But she is more beautiful than a monkey.” They both laughed.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 28

Seventeen was the age already mature for sex, but the emperor could not have sex with the queen, whom he loved, for fear that the queen would be blamed by his mother. And he didn't want to have sex with the royal concubine whom he disliked because his mother had forced her on him. He could not go to the other two concubines if he didn't go to the royal concubine.
His sex life was in crisis. As the emperor gradually knew something about the life of ordinary people outside the Forbidden City, how interesting it was, he wanted to witness it, to have a taste of that life and to see things in the outside world. For diversion, He began to sneak out of the Forbidden City in disguise and wandered in the streets. He had meals in some restaurants famous for some special dishes and visited some bazaars. Once he met a bad courtier, who was singing a few pieces from some well-known operas. It was customary that courtiers or even princes liked to sing or even hum some tunes from the operas. Some courtiers even acted some scenes from operas as amateurs just for the enjoyment of it. The emperor liked to listen to the operas, too. When he listened to the bad courtier, he liked his singing. So a few days later, he promoted the bad courtier to a higher position so that the emperor could see more of him. The bad courtier secretly brought to the emperor some adult books and pictures of naked bodies, which only served to inspire his sexual desire. Life in the Forbidden City was really tedious. The most exciting entertainment was to watch operas, but even the emperor couldn't watch operas everyday. Once or twice he even spent some time in whorehouses to satisfy his need as a man. He could not go to some expensive whorehouses because he was afraid to be recognized by some courtiers, who were the regular patrons there. He could only go where no one would know him, where only workers or poor people frequented. But all these activities of the emperor were known to Ronglu, who was then in charge of the enforcement of law and order in the capital and had his men in plain clothes all over Peking to gather all kinds of information for him. But he didn't tell anyone about the emperor's behavior, only ordered his men to protect the emperor without letting anyone know it.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 28

Seventeen was the age already mature for sex, but the emperor could not have sex with the queen, whom he loved, for fear that the queen would be blamed by his mother. And he didn't want to have sex with the royal concubine whom he disliked because his mother had forced her on him. He could not go to the other two concubines if he didn't go to the royal concubine.
His sex life was in crisis. As the emperor gradually knew something about the life of ordinary people outside the Forbidden City, how interesting it was, he wanted to witness it, to have a taste of that life and to see things in the outside world. For diversion, He began to sneak out of the Forbidden City in disguise and wandered in the streets. He had meals in some restaurants famous for some special dishes and visited some bazaars. Once he met a bad courtier, who was singing a few pieces from some well-known operas. It was customary that courtiers or even princes liked to sing or even hum some tunes from the operas. Some courtiers even acted some scenes from operas as amateurs just for the enjoyment of it. The emperor liked to listen to the operas, too. When he listened to the bad courtier, he liked his singing. So a few days later, he promoted the bad courtier to a higher position so that the emperor could see more of him. The bad courtier secretly brought to the emperor some adult books and pictures of naked bodies, which only served to inspire his sexual desire. Life in the Forbidden City was really tedious. The most exciting entertainment was to watch operas, but even the emperor couldn't watch operas everyday. Once or twice he even spent some time in whorehouses to satisfy his need as a man. He could not go to some expensive whorehouses because he was afraid to be recognized by some courtiers, who were the regular patrons there. He could only go where no one would know him, where only workers or poor people frequented. But all these activities of the emperor were known to Ronglu, who was then in charge of the enforcement of law and order in the capital and had his men in plain clothes all over Peking to gather all kinds of information for him. But he didn't tell anyone about the emperor's behavior, only ordered his men to protect the emperor without letting anyone know it.

[xlwoo]

But the furtive trips of the emperor outside the Forbidden City became so frequent that he neglected his studies. He often stopped attending the classes without any reason, just notifying the tutors, “No classes today.” Usually it should be the tutors that gave the no classes notice, not the other way round. But it was the way with the emperor. What could the tutors say? When the secretaries came to know it, they discussed the situation. It was serious for many reasons, besides the reason for safety. Yixin was the sixth uncle of the emperor. Yihuan was the seventh uncle. And some old courtiers who had seen the young emperor grow up. They handed in a report to admonish the emperor, adding at the end that they hoped that the emperor would receive them and they had more important things to report in person. The emperor got the wind of it already. He didn't want to hear any more of their expostulation. He didn't even read their report. The secretaries and courtiers waited for the emperor to see them, but days elapsed without any hint that the emperor would see them. So they just went in to see the emperor. Since Yixin was the head of the Secretarial Bureau, he began, “Have Emperor read our report?”
“Not yet.” The emperor, though a bit nervous, pretended to speak nonchalantly. Then he took up the report on his desk. Slitting open the envelope, the emperor took out the report from it. When he went half way down the page, the color on his face changed, a little paler. He put down the report and said, “I know now. I will study harder. Is that all right?” He sounded irritated. But these old courtiers ignored his sentiment.
“There's more than that.” said Yixin. He took out another copy and read it aloud. Before he could finish it, the emperor shouted indignantly, “What if I let you be the emperor?” Everyone of the courtiers was stunned. Secretary Wenqiang, who was not well there days, sighed and collapsed on the floor. The emperor was in panic and regretted. The eunuchs waiting outside the building rushed in to help Secretary Wenqiang on his feet. Such things had never happened since the beginning of Qing Dynasty. So Yihuan, the seventh uncle of the emperor, said, “If emperor can watch his behavior, it's a blessing to our Qing Dynasty.”
“I know everything is my fault. What's wrong with my behavior?”
“The first thing for a young emperor is to study hard. The second thing is that a young emperor should not do things an emperor shouldn't do.” said Yihuan.
“What have I done to deserve such censure?” asked the emperor.
“Emperor should not steal out of the Forbidden City.”
“That's rumor. How can I do that?” The emperor pleaded.

[xlwoo]

But the furtive trips of the emperor outside the Forbidden City became so frequent that he neglected his studies. He often stopped attending the classes without any reason, just notifying the tutors, “No classes today.” Usually it should be the tutors that gave the no classes notice, not the other way round. But it was the way with the emperor. What could the tutors say? When the secretaries came to know it, they discussed the situation. It was serious for many reasons, besides the reason for safety. Yixin was the sixth uncle of the emperor. Yihuan was the seventh uncle. And some old courtiers who had seen the young emperor grow up. They handed in a report to admonish the emperor, adding at the end that they hoped that the emperor would receive them and they had more important things to report in person. The emperor got the wind of it already. He didn't want to hear any more of their expostulation. He didn't even read their report. The secretaries and courtiers waited for the emperor to see them, but days elapsed without any hint that the emperor would see them. So they just went in to see the emperor. Since Yixin was the head of the Secretarial Bureau, he began, “Have Emperor read our report?”
“Not yet.” The emperor, though a bit nervous, pretended to speak nonchalantly. Then he took up the report on his desk. Slitting open the envelope, the emperor took out the report from it. When he went half way down the page, the color on his face changed, a little paler. He put down the report and said, “I know now. I will study harder. Is that all right?” He sounded irritated. But these old courtiers ignored his sentiment.
“There's more than that.” said Yixin. He took out another copy and read it aloud. Before he could finish it, the emperor shouted indignantly, “What if I let you be the emperor?” Everyone of the courtiers was stunned. Secretary Wenqiang, who was not well there days, sighed and collapsed on the floor. The emperor was in panic and regretted. The eunuchs waiting outside the building rushed in to help Secretary Wenqiang on his feet. Such things had never happened since the beginning of Qing Dynasty. So Yihuan, the seventh uncle of the emperor, said, “If emperor can watch his behavior, it's a blessing to our Qing Dynasty.”
“I know everything is my fault. What's wrong with my behavior?”
“The first thing for a young emperor is to study hard. The second thing is that a young emperor should not do things an emperor shouldn't do.” said Yihuan.
“What have I done to deserve such censure?” asked the emperor.
“Emperor should not steal out of the Forbidden City.”
“That's rumor. How can I do that?” The emperor pleaded.

[xlwoo]

“Emperor know it's rumor or not rumor.” It sounded like the emperor was lying. So he said, “Do you have any proof? If you don't, you are spreading rumors.” Under such circumstances, Yihuan had to tell the emperor what he had learned so that the emperor looked upon his behavior seriously. So he enumerated what the emperor had done and where the emperor had gone. On such and such a day, the emperor had gone to buy some books. On such and such a day, the emperor had gone to such and such a restaurant to have lunch and what dishes the emperor had ordered and how much the emperor had paid. He could not say in which brothel the emperor had visited. The emperor could say nothing more.
Then the Secretarial Bureau wanted to punish the officials in charge of the royal construction work, because they had caused a lot of trouble by instigating the emperor to fix the Round-Bright Garden, but the emperor wouldn't agree. When Yixin insisted, the emperor flared up in outrage and issued an order to remove Yixin from all his offices, which he had learned from his mother, West Empress Dowager, who had done it before. Other secretaries came to reason with the emperor and the emperor wrote another order to remove every secretary from the Secretarial Bureau. He summoned the ministers and other courtiers and wanted them to discuss what punishment the emperor should inflict on the secretaries.
West Empress Dowager had some eunuchs working in the emperor's place and they ran to report to West Empress Dowager, who went to see East Empress Dowager and told her everything she knew. The two empress dowagers sent for the emperor, who came immediately. East Empress Dowager said to him, “How can you dismiss all the secretaries? Do you want the empire to crumble in your hands?” The emperor could say nothing to plead for himself. Then West Empress Dowager told the emperor to undo all his former orders, which the emperor had to follow, though reluctantly. Anyway, everything became normal.
On November 28, 1874, the emperor was suddenly taken ill. A royal doctor was summoned and after diagnosis he said that it was cold. No big deal. Everyone could fall sick for cold. So he prescribed some medicine, but it had no effect. The doctor was perplexed and didn't know what to do. He had to wait and see what other symptoms would appear. In the meanwhile he just prescribed some general tonics. Then some red spots broke out on the emperor's skin a few days later. So the doctor decided that it was small pox. The doctor thought that it was easy now since he was sure what it was. When the empress dowagers asked him what was the emperor's illness. He told them that it was small pox. The empress dowagers asked, “Are you sure?”

[xlwoo]

“Emperor know it's rumor or not rumor.” It sounded like the emperor was lying. So he said, “Do you have any proof? If you don't, you are spreading rumors.” Under such circumstances, Yihuan had to tell the emperor what he had learned so that the emperor looked upon his behavior seriously. So he enumerated what the emperor had done and where the emperor had gone. On such and such a day, the emperor had gone to buy some books. On such and such a day, the emperor had gone to such and such a restaurant to have lunch and what dishes the emperor had ordered and how much the emperor had paid. He could not say in which brothel the emperor had visited. The emperor could say nothing more.
Then the Secretarial Bureau wanted to punish the officials in charge of the royal construction work, because they had caused a lot of trouble by instigating the emperor to fix the Round-Bright Garden, but the emperor wouldn't agree. When Yixin insisted, the emperor flared up in outrage and issued an order to remove Yixin from all his offices, which he had learned from his mother, West Empress Dowager, who had done it before. Other secretaries came to reason with the emperor and the emperor wrote another order to remove every secretary from the Secretarial Bureau. He summoned the ministers and other courtiers and wanted them to discuss what punishment the emperor should inflict on the secretaries.
West Empress Dowager had some eunuchs working in the emperor's place and they ran to report to West Empress Dowager, who went to see East Empress Dowager and told her everything she knew. The two empress dowagers sent for the emperor, who came immediately. East Empress Dowager said to him, “How can you dismiss all the secretaries? Do you want the empire to crumble in your hands?” The emperor could say nothing to plead for himself. Then West Empress Dowager told the emperor to undo all his former orders, which the emperor had to follow, though reluctantly. Anyway, everything became normal.
On November 28, 1874, the emperor was suddenly taken ill. A royal doctor was summoned and after diagnosis he said that it was cold. No big deal. Everyone could fall sick for cold. So he prescribed some medicine, but it had no effect. The doctor was perplexed and didn't know what to do. He had to wait and see what other symptoms would appear. In the meanwhile he just prescribed some general tonics. Then some red spots broke out on the emperor's skin a few days later. So the doctor decided that it was small pox. The doctor thought that it was easy now since he was sure what it was. When the empress dowagers asked him what was the emperor's illness. He told them that it was small pox. The empress dowagers asked, “Are you sure?”

[xlwoo]

“Yes.” The doctor replied, “If it is the small pox, that meant no danger to his life. If it was not small pox, he might have difficulty to cure.” West Empress Dowager annoyed, but she knew that she could not rebuke the doctor. It was not that she was afraid the doctor would poison the emperor, but that if the doctor was reproached he might get nervous and prescribe wrong medicine. So it was the tradition that no one should blame a royal doctor. On the contrary, West Empress Dowager said to the doctor, “If you heal the sickness of the emperor, I will give you a promotion.” Encouragement was more appropriate. There was another tradition that when anyone in the palace suffered from small pox, a goddess of small pox would be set up in an unoccupied room and joss-sticks and candles were burned before the icon. After a few days the symptoms of the small pox on the skin of the emperor gradually disappeared. Everyone in the palace was happy. The empress dowagers were at rest. However, to their unexpectedness, other symptoms showed up on the emperor. Now the doctor was in a plight. The symptoms indicated the fatal disease of syphilis. It's unbelievable in the doctor's opinion that the emperor could suffer from such a terminal disease, which was spread only through sexual contamination. Of course the treatment didn't get any expected result. The emperor didn't feel any better, but worse everyday. The doctor couldn't tell the truth, because the truth would impair the emperor's reputation, which was at that time considered more important even than his life. Besides, it was a terminal disease. No one could do anything about it even if the doctor told the truth.
Since the emperor got worse day by day, Yixin liked to know what was really the disease. He sent for the doctor. At first the doctor was afraid to tell the truth, but Yixin threatened that if he didn't let him know, when the emperor died, the doctor would get into big troubles. So the doctor had to tell the truth. Yixin was stunned. He had never thought of that. It was incredible. But he could not let the empress dowagers know it.

[xlwoo]

“Yes.” The doctor replied, “If it is the small pox, that meant no danger to his life. If it was not small pox, he might have difficulty to cure.” West Empress Dowager annoyed, but she knew that she could not rebuke the doctor. It was not that she was afraid the doctor would poison the emperor, but that if the doctor was reproached he might get nervous and prescribe wrong medicine. So it was the tradition that no one should blame a royal doctor. On the contrary, West Empress Dowager said to the doctor, “If you heal the sickness of the emperor, I will give you a promotion.” Encouragement was more appropriate. There was another tradition that when anyone in the palace suffered from small pox, a goddess of small pox would be set up in an unoccupied room and joss-sticks and candles were burned before the icon. After a few days the symptoms of the small pox on the skin of the emperor gradually disappeared. Everyone in the palace was happy. The empress dowagers were at rest. However, to their unexpectedness, other symptoms showed up on the emperor. Now the doctor was in a plight. The symptoms indicated the fatal disease of syphilis. It's unbelievable in the doctor's opinion that the emperor could suffer from such a terminal disease, which was spread only through sexual contamination. Of course the treatment didn't get any expected result. The emperor didn't feel any better, but worse everyday. The doctor couldn't tell the truth, because the truth would impair the emperor's reputation, which was at that time considered more important even than his life. Besides, it was a terminal disease. No one could do anything about it even if the doctor told the truth.
Since the emperor got worse day by day, Yixin liked to know what was really the disease. He sent for the doctor. At first the doctor was afraid to tell the truth, but Yixin threatened that if he didn't let him know, when the emperor died, the doctor would get into big troubles. So the doctor had to tell the truth. Yixin was stunned. He had never thought of that. It was incredible. But he could not let the empress dowagers know it.

[xlwoo]

During the emperor's sickness, since he could not attend to the state affairs, the empress dowagers resumed the roles to act in his behalf and recommenced to handle the state affairs, which was just after the heart of West Empress Dowager. She was already disappointed in her son, who, in her opinion, had never listened to her since he took over the power. Now it was everybody's concern who would succeed the throne when the emperor was summoned to Heaven by his ancestors.
According to logic and common sense, the successor should be chosen from the next generation to be the adopted son of the present emperor. But West Empress Dowager thought differently. If the successor came from the next generation to the present emperor, the present queen would become the empress dowager, and she would be the grandmother to the successor. She wouldn't be in a position then to act in behalf of the successor from her next next generation and she would lose power forever. She could not bear even to think of it. She sent Ronglu, who was a high-rank courtier now, to convene all the important courtiers to her presence to discuss the issue of the successor. But as it was a subtle issue, the courtiers didn't dare to express their opinions. They just begged the empress dowagers to make the decision.
Therefore, she selected the son of her sister, who married Yihuan, Yixin's brother, also her brother-in-law. The son was then only four years old. So she could still stay in power on the pretext that the successor was too young and she must help him to handle things till he was grown up.
“His mother is my sister.” she would say, “His father is my brother-in-law. I am his double auntie. He is really my own flesh and blood.”
East Empress Dowager didn't care who succeeded the throne. The courtiers could really say nothing about the selection of the future emperor, which was considered to be the business of the royal family, a family matter, but which really concerned everybody, the whole empire. Since West Empress Dowager made the decision, it was thus settled. Then West Empress Dowager promoted Ronglu to be one of the heads of the Royal Family Affairs Management. Ronglu could see more of West Empress Dowager now.

[xlwoo]

During the emperor's sickness, since he could not attend to the state affairs, the empress dowagers resumed the roles to act in his behalf and recommenced to handle the state affairs, which was just after the heart of West Empress Dowager. She was already disappointed in her son, who, in her opinion, had never listened to her since he took over the power. Now it was everybody's concern who would succeed the throne when the emperor was summoned to Heaven by his ancestors.
According to logic and common sense, the successor should be chosen from the next generation to be the adopted son of the present emperor. But West Empress Dowager thought differently. If the successor came from the next generation to the present emperor, the present queen would become the empress dowager, and she would be the grandmother to the successor. She wouldn't be in a position then to act in behalf of the successor from her next next generation and she would lose power forever. She could not bear even to think of it. She sent Ronglu, who was a high-rank courtier now, to convene all the important courtiers to her presence to discuss the issue of the successor. But as it was a subtle issue, the courtiers didn't dare to express their opinions. They just begged the empress dowagers to make the decision.
Therefore, she selected the son of her sister, who married Yihuan, Yixin's brother, also her brother-in-law. The son was then only four years old. So she could still stay in power on the pretext that the successor was too young and she must help him to handle things till he was grown up.
“His mother is my sister.” she would say, “His father is my brother-in-law. I am his double auntie. He is really my own flesh and blood.”
East Empress Dowager didn't care who succeeded the throne. The courtiers could really say nothing about the selection of the future emperor, which was considered to be the business of the royal family, a family matter, but which really concerned everybody, the whole empire. Since West Empress Dowager made the decision, it was thus settled. Then West Empress Dowager promoted Ronglu to be one of the heads of the Royal Family Affairs Management. Ronglu could see more of West Empress Dowager now.

[xlwoo]

Emperor Tongzhi died on January 12, 1875, and the successor to the throne was named Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908), but he was chosen as the adopted son of Emperor Xianfeng, the husband of West Empress Dowager, not as the adopted son of Emperor Tongzhi, her son, because Emperor Guangxu was the cousin of Emperor Tongzhi, belonging to the same generation. Now West Empress Dowager was his adopted mother, still the empress dowager.
Prince Fu was sent to fetch the son of Yihuan, the future emperor, whose mother, the sister of West Empress Dowager, was happy and sad at the same time. Happy because her son was the emperor now and sad because she lost her son forever. “Will the wet nurse go into the Forbidden City too?” asked the mother.
“No. They had hired another wet nurse already.” answered Prince Fu, who was Yihuan's younger brother, the ninth one.
“But can you report to West Empress Dowager that my son can't leave this wet nurse.” pleaded the mother, who was almost in tears.
“My sister-in-law, you should say Emperor now, not your son any more.”
It was night. The child was asleep. When he was wakened, he started to cry. The mother took him to the Forbidden City, carried in a warm palanquin. When they reached the palace and were presented to the empress dowagers, the child was asleep in the arms of his mother. But when he transferred to the embrace of a new wet nurse, he began to cry again. Therefore, the empress dowagers had to send for the original wet nurse.
Just after a month of the new emperor's coronation, the queen of Emperor Tongzhi died. It was said that she committed suicide, but general opinion was that she was compelled by West Empress Dowager to end her life either by swallowing a lump of gold or by starving herself. Imperial palace is always full of secrets that no historian can solve.
Almost at the same time, Princess RongAn, the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li, was pregnant. When she came to know her stepbrother, Emperor Tongzhi, died, she wept and wept till her baby aborted. Then she got small pox and died not long after Emperor Tongzhi's death. It was said that Emperor Tongzhi needed a companion in Heaven and took his step-sister with him.

[xlwoo]

Emperor Tongzhi died on January 12, 1875, and the successor to the throne was named Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908), but he was chosen as the adopted son of Emperor Xianfeng, the husband of West Empress Dowager, not as the adopted son of Emperor Tongzhi, her son, because Emperor Guangxu was the cousin of Emperor Tongzhi, belonging to the same generation. Now West Empress Dowager was his adopted mother, still the empress dowager.
Prince Fu was sent to fetch the son of Yihuan, the future emperor, whose mother, the sister of West Empress Dowager, was happy and sad at the same time. Happy because her son was the emperor now and sad because she lost her son forever. “Will the wet nurse go into the Forbidden City too?” asked the mother.
“No. They had hired another wet nurse already.” answered Prince Fu, who was Yihuan's younger brother, the ninth one.
“But can you report to West Empress Dowager that my son can't leave this wet nurse.” pleaded the mother, who was almost in tears.
“My sister-in-law, you should say Emperor now, not your son any more.”
It was night. The child was asleep. When he was wakened, he started to cry. The mother took him to the Forbidden City, carried in a warm palanquin. When they reached the palace and were presented to the empress dowagers, the child was asleep in the arms of his mother. But when he transferred to the embrace of a new wet nurse, he began to cry again. Therefore, the empress dowagers had to send for the original wet nurse.
Just after a month of the new emperor's coronation, the queen of Emperor Tongzhi died. It was said that she committed suicide, but general opinion was that she was compelled by West Empress Dowager to end her life either by swallowing a lump of gold or by starving herself. Imperial palace is always full of secrets that no historian can solve.
Almost at the same time, Princess RongAn, the daughter of Concubine Dowager Li, was pregnant. When she came to know her stepbrother, Emperor Tongzhi, died, she wept and wept till her baby aborted. Then she got small pox and died not long after Emperor Tongzhi's death. It was said that Emperor Tongzhi needed a companion in Heaven and took his step-sister with him.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 29

A critique official turned in a report, saying, “The pawn shop owner Li falsely declares that he is a relative of Minister Ho of Construction Ministry and hereby does all sorts of illegal things like cheating and extorting and taking briberies. He is also a go-between in other unlawful transactions. He mingles with the courtiers and his residence is as magnificent and luxurious as those of the ministers.” How can a pawn shop owner manage to have all these luxuries? This critique official beg to have this pawn shop owner to deport to his home town so that the capital could be clear of such human garbage. Then he added in another paragraph, “As for courtiers, especially ministers, they should not mix with such low lives, feasting together and giving each other presents. This critique official beg to issue an order to prohibit such behavior among the courtiers.”
When West Empress Dowager read the report, she was surprised. She knew Minister Ho was a scholar. How could he have anything to do with such people? But she was not sure whether the critique official told the truth, because a critique official was allowed to write a report based on mere rumors and gossips. So she sent her head eunuch Li to gather some facts. Head Eunuch Li, or Tawing Li as people called him behind his back, was cleverer than Little An. He did anything illegal without leaving any trace of proof behind. He spent half a day to make inquiries where he could get the truth and came back to report to West Empress Dowager.
Merchant Li, the pawnshop owner, came from Shanxi Province. He had a building constructed and opened a pawnshop, which took up a great expanse of space in a market place. He dealt in curios and also sold books. So the pawnshop was looked upon as a bookstore as well. Poor people wouldn't buy books or pawn curios. His customers were all rich people and courtiers. Therefore, he bought an official title so that he could wear official clothes on certain occasions. He even knew a prince, who had a hobby to collect antiques. With so much contact with courtiers, he began to step outside the circumference of law. When such dealings became open secrets, they attracted the notice of critique officials. It was just at the time that West Empress Dowager wanted to utilize the critique force to discipline the officialdom and establish her own authority. So West Empress Dowager gave the report to the Secretarial Bureau for discussion and investigation. The Secretarial Bureau ordered the Judicial Ministry to arrest the pawnshop owner. Further investigation revealed that the pawnshop, when in the process of construction, had encroached on a piece of the government land and the whole lot that belonged to a charity organization for poor people. The judgment of Judicial Ministry on him was sixty beatings and one year's imprisonment, and after that, he would be deported to his hometown under parole of his local government.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 29

A critique official turned in a report, saying, “The pawn shop owner Li falsely declares that he is a relative of Minister Ho of Construction Ministry and hereby does all sorts of illegal things like cheating and extorting and taking briberies. He is also a go-between in other unlawful transactions. He mingles with the courtiers and his residence is as magnificent and luxurious as those of the ministers.” How can a pawn shop owner manage to have all these luxuries? This critique official beg to have this pawn shop owner to deport to his home town so that the capital could be clear of such human garbage. Then he added in another paragraph, “As for courtiers, especially ministers, they should not mix with such low lives, feasting together and giving each other presents. This critique official beg to issue an order to prohibit such behavior among the courtiers.”
When West Empress Dowager read the report, she was surprised. She knew Minister Ho was a scholar. How could he have anything to do with such people? But she was not sure whether the critique official told the truth, because a critique official was allowed to write a report based on mere rumors and gossips. So she sent her head eunuch Li to gather some facts. Head Eunuch Li, or Tawing Li as people called him behind his back, was cleverer than Little An. He did anything illegal without leaving any trace of proof behind. He spent half a day to make inquiries where he could get the truth and came back to report to West Empress Dowager.
Merchant Li, the pawnshop owner, came from Shanxi Province. He had a building constructed and opened a pawnshop, which took up a great expanse of space in a market place. He dealt in curios and also sold books. So the pawnshop was looked upon as a bookstore as well. Poor people wouldn't buy books or pawn curios. His customers were all rich people and courtiers. Therefore, he bought an official title so that he could wear official clothes on certain occasions. He even knew a prince, who had a hobby to collect antiques. With so much contact with courtiers, he began to step outside the circumference of law. When such dealings became open secrets, they attracted the notice of critique officials. It was just at the time that West Empress Dowager wanted to utilize the critique force to discipline the officialdom and establish her own authority. So West Empress Dowager gave the report to the Secretarial Bureau for discussion and investigation. The Secretarial Bureau ordered the Judicial Ministry to arrest the pawnshop owner. Further investigation revealed that the pawnshop, when in the process of construction, had encroached on a piece of the government land and the whole lot that belonged to a charity organization for poor people. The judgment of Judicial Ministry on him was sixty beatings and one year's imprisonment, and after that, he would be deported to his hometown under parole of his local government.

[xlwoo]

But the critique officials really aimed at Minister Ho, not the pawnshop owner, like they had said that they wanted to hit the tiger, not a fly. Then another critique official filed in his report, asking what relationship actually was between Minister Ho and the pawnshop owner. After the perusal of the report, West Empress Dowager ordered Minister Ho to explain it. Minister Ho replied in his report that he didn't really have any relationship with the pawnshop owner and that he met him whenever he went to buy some books there. If that was the truth, he was not guilty of anything. But as a matter of fact, Minister Ho took the wife of the pawnshop owner as his dry daughter (In China, dry father/mother and dry daughter/son have no flesh-and-blood tie between them. Their relationship is somewhat like god-father/mother and god-daughter/son, only without any religious meaning in it.) When the wife had died, Minister Ho made one of his maids as his dry daughter and married her to the pawnshop owner. So the relationship between them was dry father-in-law and dry son-in-law. To show his gratitude for marrying his dry daughter to him, the pawnshop owner bought a young girl and presented her to Minister Ho as his concubine. Minster Ho's wife had long been dead. So Minister Ho made the girl his wife. Now the pawnshop owner got himself a young dry mother-in-law. If the girl were still a concubine and when they met, he didn't need to show any respect to her, but as the wife of Minister Ho, he should go down on his knees before her and kowtowed to her when they met on certain occasions.
The critique officials accused Minister Ho of cheating in his reply about his relationship with the pawn shop owner. So Minister Ho was demoted to be the deputy general critique official since there was no other vacancy. (General critique official was the head of the critique department.) Now all the critique officials were opposed to it. That was a wrong move of the Secretarial Bureau. It seemed as if they had made the appointment without serious consideration. Some critique official asked if this appointment meant that a critique official should lie and cheat. Of course not. On the contrary, a critique official should be upright and honest. So the Secretarial Bureau had to let him retire with the promise that his son would get a promotion.

[xlwoo]

But the critique officials really aimed at Minister Ho, not the pawnshop owner, like they had said that they wanted to hit the tiger, not a fly. Then another critique official filed in his report, asking what relationship actually was between Minister Ho and the pawnshop owner. After the perusal of the report, West Empress Dowager ordered Minister Ho to explain it. Minister Ho replied in his report that he didn't really have any relationship with the pawnshop owner and that he met him whenever he went to buy some books there. If that was the truth, he was not guilty of anything. But as a matter of fact, Minister Ho took the wife of the pawnshop owner as his dry daughter (In China, dry father/mother and dry daughter/son have no flesh-and-blood tie between them. Their relationship is somewhat like god-father/mother and god-daughter/son, only without any religious meaning in it.) When the wife had died, Minister Ho made one of his maids as his dry daughter and married her to the pawnshop owner. So the relationship between them was dry father-in-law and dry son-in-law. To show his gratitude for marrying his dry daughter to him, the pawnshop owner bought a young girl and presented her to Minister Ho as his concubine. Minster Ho's wife had long been dead. So Minister Ho made the girl his wife. Now the pawnshop owner got himself a young dry mother-in-law. If the girl were still a concubine and when they met, he didn't need to show any respect to her, but as the wife of Minister Ho, he should go down on his knees before her and kowtowed to her when they met on certain occasions.
The critique officials accused Minister Ho of cheating in his reply about his relationship with the pawn shop owner. So Minister Ho was demoted to be the deputy general critique official since there was no other vacancy. (General critique official was the head of the critique department.) Now all the critique officials were opposed to it. That was a wrong move of the Secretarial Bureau. It seemed as if they had made the appointment without serious consideration. Some critique official asked if this appointment meant that a critique official should lie and cheat. Of course not. On the contrary, a critique official should be upright and honest. So the Secretarial Bureau had to let him retire with the promise that his son would get a promotion.

[xlwoo]

For five years General Governor Zuo at last put an end to the Hui Clan rebellion. Just as he was about to return to the capital victoriously, an international event happened in Xinjiang Province. So West Empress Dowager ordered him to stay there for a while longer. If war should break out in Xinjiang Province between Russia and China he could go there to reinforce.
Russia had occupied Yili Town in Xinjiang Province for quite some time. They had declared that they only kept that town for Qing government till Qing government was capable of ruling the town peacefully and efficiently, because there lived in Yili Town so many Russian merchants and people and Russian government should protect them. At least Russia still occupied Yili Town that belonged to Qing government, which had been busy dealing with rebellions at that time. Now there were no more rebels. Qing government put the Yili Town problem on their agenda. They delivered a diplomatic note to Russia for the return of Yili Town to China. Both governments agreed to have a talk about it in Peterburg in Russia. (Peterburg was then the capital of Russia. They call it Leningrad now.) So Qing government sent a courtier Chonghou there as a royal representative. He had been working in the Foreign affairs Yamen for a long time and knew how to deal with the foreigners. The courtiers often wanted to guess what West Empress Dowager really wished so that they could do things to her satisfaction. But this time Royal Representative Chonghou had a wrong guessing that West Empress Dowager was afraid of war and would maintain peace at any costs. Therefore, he gave in to Russian demands more than necessary. And the worst of it was that he didn't even send a copy back for the approval of West Empress Dowager. He thought that he had the full authority to do that and signed the treaty. Then he didn't wait for any further order and just returned to the capital. By the treaty, Qing government lost a lot of rights, though Russia promised to let Qing government take back Yili Town.

[xlwoo]

For five years General Governor Zuo at last put an end to the Hui Clan rebellion. Just as he was about to return to the capital victoriously, an international event happened in Xinjiang Province. So West Empress Dowager ordered him to stay there for a while longer. If war should break out in Xinjiang Province between Russia and China he could go there to reinforce.
Russia had occupied Yili Town in Xinjiang Province for quite some time. They had declared that they only kept that town for Qing government till Qing government was capable of ruling the town peacefully and efficiently, because there lived in Yili Town so many Russian merchants and people and Russian government should protect them. At least Russia still occupied Yili Town that belonged to Qing government, which had been busy dealing with rebellions at that time. Now there were no more rebels. Qing government put the Yili Town problem on their agenda. They delivered a diplomatic note to Russia for the return of Yili Town to China. Both governments agreed to have a talk about it in Peterburg in Russia. (Peterburg was then the capital of Russia. They call it Leningrad now.) So Qing government sent a courtier Chonghou there as a royal representative. He had been working in the Foreign affairs Yamen for a long time and knew how to deal with the foreigners. The courtiers often wanted to guess what West Empress Dowager really wished so that they could do things to her satisfaction. But this time Royal Representative Chonghou had a wrong guessing that West Empress Dowager was afraid of war and would maintain peace at any costs. Therefore, he gave in to Russian demands more than necessary. And the worst of it was that he didn't even send a copy back for the approval of West Empress Dowager. He thought that he had the full authority to do that and signed the treaty. Then he didn't wait for any further order and just returned to the capital. By the treaty, Qing government lost a lot of rights, though Russia promised to let Qing government take back Yili Town.

[xlwoo]

When the contents of the treaty became known, the first ones who got angry were the critique officials. Some of them wrote reports to accuse Chonghou even of treason. The empress dowagers were irate, too. They instructed the Secretarial Bureau to deprive him of his title of Royal Representative and to have a discussion what punishment should be inflicted on him. On hearing it, the Russian envoy came to the Foreign Affairs Yamen to protest, saying that it was an insult to Russia if Qing government punished the Royal Representative who had signed the treaty. The head official in that yamen explained that Qing government punished him because he hadn't waited for any order and had signed on his own decision and that it had nothing to do with the signing of the treaty. So the Russian envoy could not protest for that reason and left.
Critique Official Zhang Zhitong wrote a report, suggesting that first to execute Chonghou for treachery, second to declare to Russia that the treaty was still invalid since Qing government hadn't approved it yet, third to make war preparations to defend the territory if Russia waged war on China. A lot of courtiers supported his suggestion. Someone even said, “If war is inevitable, it's better to let it come earlier since there are still so many experienced generals survived from the combats with rebels.” What all the courtiers had said could be concluded in two points: Execute Chonghou and if Russia wants to fight, let's fight.

[xlwoo]

When the contents of the treaty became known, the first ones who got angry were the critique officials. Some of them wrote reports to accuse Chonghou even of treason. The empress dowagers were irate, too. They instructed the Secretarial Bureau to deprive him of his title of Royal Representative and to have a discussion what punishment should be inflicted on him. On hearing it, the Russian envoy came to the Foreign Affairs Yamen to protest, saying that it was an insult to Russia if Qing government punished the Royal Representative who had signed the treaty. The head official in that yamen explained that Qing government punished him because he hadn't waited for any order and had signed on his own decision and that it had nothing to do with the signing of the treaty. So the Russian envoy could not protest for that reason and left.
Critique Official Zhang Zhitong wrote a report, suggesting that first to execute Chonghou for treachery, second to declare to Russia that the treaty was still invalid since Qing government hadn't approved it yet, third to make war preparations to defend the territory if Russia waged war on China. A lot of courtiers supported his suggestion. Someone even said, “If war is inevitable, it's better to let it come earlier since there are still so many experienced generals survived from the combats with rebels.” What all the courtiers had said could be concluded in two points: Execute Chonghou and if Russia wants to fight, let's fight.

[xlwoo]

To appease their innocent fury, the Secretarial bureau, approved by the empress dowagers, told Judicial Ministry to detain Chonghou in the jail. Chonghou had confined himself at home since he had returned to the capital, waiting for things to get quiet down so that he might have been let go with only slaps on the wrists. His servants went about the city to hunt for any news for him. When the message came for his apprehension, he put on a prisoner's uniform, which he had made. He also knew that if war broke out he would be executed to encourage people to fight. That's politics. When he was put in a prison cell, his butler bribed the jailers so that his master could be treated well.
The Secretarial Bureau held a series of joint meetings with the cabinet members. They even invited Critique Official Zhang to attend. Yixin enumerated the reasons why the government should not have war against Russia. He said, “Our guns and cannons are not so good and so many as Russians have. We don't have enough provisions and money to support the war. We haven't known the attitude of the generals and soldiers. What if they don't want to fight?” The war cries lowered a little. The only feasible way at present was to send another Royal Representative to Peterburg to renegotiate with Russia to change the articles of the treaty. This was a very difficult task. Then they made several decisions: the government could delay to take back Yili Town and Chonghou could not be executed yet, which would be a friendly gesture to Russia. But why should Russia really care for a Chinese official, dead or alive?
War preparations were still going on. General Governor Zuo left Gansu Province for Xinjiang Province, closer to Russia. News came to the ears of the empress dowagers that Zuo had taken a coffin with him. The empress dowagers were greatly moved and openly extolled him for loyalty and bravery.
After a great deal of bargaining and reasoning with Russia, the old treaty had been denounced and a new treaty was signed, which made Qing government lose less rights, but more money. Russia had asked for the repayment of the maintenance fee they had spent on Yili Town. It sounded reasonable to West Empress Dowager. In the old treaty the fee was five million silver rubles and in the new treaty the fee was increased to nine million silver rubles, which was equivalent to five million taels of silver. As long as West Empress Dowager felt gratified, everything was fine. The new Royal Representative was praised for the completion of the difficult task. He was the eldest son of the late Elder Zeng. As the event was settled to the content of the empress dowagers, Chonghou was pardoned and released.

[xlwoo]

To appease their innocent fury, the Secretarial bureau, approved by the empress dowagers, told Judicial Ministry to detain Chonghou in the jail. Chonghou had confined himself at home since he had returned to the capital, waiting for things to get quiet down so that he might have been let go with only slaps on the wrists. His servants went about the city to hunt for any news for him. When the message came for his apprehension, he put on a prisoner's uniform, which he had made. He also knew that if war broke out he would be executed to encourage people to fight. That's politics. When he was put in a prison cell, his butler bribed the jailers so that his master could be treated well.
The Secretarial Bureau held a series of joint meetings with the cabinet members. They even invited Critique Official Zhang to attend. Yixin enumerated the reasons why the government should not have war against Russia. He said, “Our guns and cannons are not so good and so many as Russians have. We don't have enough provisions and money to support the war. We haven't known the attitude of the generals and soldiers. What if they don't want to fight?” The war cries lowered a little. The only feasible way at present was to send another Royal Representative to Peterburg to renegotiate with Russia to change the articles of the treaty. This was a very difficult task. Then they made several decisions: the government could delay to take back Yili Town and Chonghou could not be executed yet, which would be a friendly gesture to Russia. But why should Russia really care for a Chinese official, dead or alive?
War preparations were still going on. General Governor Zuo left Gansu Province for Xinjiang Province, closer to Russia. News came to the ears of the empress dowagers that Zuo had taken a coffin with him. The empress dowagers were greatly moved and openly extolled him for loyalty and bravery.
After a great deal of bargaining and reasoning with Russia, the old treaty had been denounced and a new treaty was signed, which made Qing government lose less rights, but more money. Russia had asked for the repayment of the maintenance fee they had spent on Yili Town. It sounded reasonable to West Empress Dowager. In the old treaty the fee was five million silver rubles and in the new treaty the fee was increased to nine million silver rubles, which was equivalent to five million taels of silver. As long as West Empress Dowager felt gratified, everything was fine. The new Royal Representative was praised for the completion of the difficult task. He was the eldest son of the late Elder Zeng. As the event was settled to the content of the empress dowagers, Chonghou was pardoned and released.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 30

West Empress Dowager was sick for some time already, but she still went to discuss things with the courtiers. Then her sickness became serious. On March 12, 1880, East Empress Dowager had to handle the state affairs alone, with the help of Yixin and other courtiers, of course. But West Empress Dowager was not happy. She was afraid that East Empress Dowager would seize the power at the chance.
The royal doctor said that her sickness was due to the strains of too much work and suggested that she should have a complete rest till she recuperated entirely. As her anxiety added to her sickness, she didn't feel any better for four months. Medicine proved no effect on her. No one could persuade her to take more rest. Then Big Princess was thought of, who was a widow now and lived separately in her own residence. She went to the Forbidden City to see West Empress Dowager and stayed there to look after her day and night. It was said that Big Princess spoke so convincingly that West Empress Dowager always listened to her.
On July 13, a notice of doctors Wanted in the emperor's name was put up throughout the empire. The governor of Zhejiang Province recommended a famous Doctor Xi, who was dispatched to the capital, into the Forbidden City. The coincidence was that other two governors also recommended Doctor Xi. So Doctor Xi was then summoned to the presence of West Empress Dowager in her chamber. She was lying in bed. First Doctor Xi kowtowed before the bed, then he knelt close to the bed to feel the pulse of West Empress Dowager. He had been taught all the rituals beforehand. After feeling the pulse, he asked permission to look at the tongue of West Empress Dowager. Then he was allowed to stand up and backed away from the bed. Near the door he turned round and walked out of the chamber. He was led into another room to write out his prescription, which was then checked by the courtiers in the Secretarial Bureau and even sent to West Empress Dowager herself to be approved before a eunuch took it to the drug storage room in the Forbidden City for the medicine.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 30

West Empress Dowager was sick for some time already, but she still went to discuss things with the courtiers. Then her sickness became serious. On March 12, 1880, East Empress Dowager had to handle the state affairs alone, with the help of Yixin and other courtiers, of course. But West Empress Dowager was not happy. She was afraid that East Empress Dowager would seize the power at the chance.
The royal doctor said that her sickness was due to the strains of too much work and suggested that she should have a complete rest till she recuperated entirely. As her anxiety added to her sickness, she didn't feel any better for four months. Medicine proved no effect on her. No one could persuade her to take more rest. Then Big Princess was thought of, who was a widow now and lived separately in her own residence. She went to the Forbidden City to see West Empress Dowager and stayed there to look after her day and night. It was said that Big Princess spoke so convincingly that West Empress Dowager always listened to her.
On July 13, a notice of doctors Wanted in the emperor's name was put up throughout the empire. The governor of Zhejiang Province recommended a famous Doctor Xi, who was dispatched to the capital, into the Forbidden City. The coincidence was that other two governors also recommended Doctor Xi. So Doctor Xi was then summoned to the presence of West Empress Dowager in her chamber. She was lying in bed. First Doctor Xi kowtowed before the bed, then he knelt close to the bed to feel the pulse of West Empress Dowager. He had been taught all the rituals beforehand. After feeling the pulse, he asked permission to look at the tongue of West Empress Dowager. Then he was allowed to stand up and backed away from the bed. Near the door he turned round and walked out of the chamber. He was led into another room to write out his prescription, which was then checked by the courtiers in the Secretarial Bureau and even sent to West Empress Dowager herself to be approved before a eunuch took it to the drug storage room in the Forbidden City for the medicine.

[xlwoo]

Doctor Xi had passed the second government test and had come to the capital for the final test. At that time there had been war in the southern provinces. He could not have gone back to Wuxi City, where he had been born and grown up. He had stayed in the capital for preparation for the next test. He had had plenty of time and begun to study medicine all by himself. He had bought an official title, but could never have got a post, because the government had needed money badly and sold more titles than the real positions could have held. Everyone who had bought a title should have waited for a vacancy. To get a vacancy, one should have spent more money. Xi couldn't have paid more money and so he had had to wait. In the meantime, he had practiced his medicine and had greatly improved his skills and knowledge. After war had ended in the southern provinces, Doctor Xi had got a vacancy there.
Now he came to the capital as a doctor. He met the royal doctor first, who asked him a lot of questions as if he was testing his medical knowledge. Doctor Xi answered all his questions deliberately and at last the royal doctor could think of no more questions to ask. It meant that Doctor Xi was a better doctor than the royal doctor. When Doctor Xi asked the royal doctor what illness West Empress Dowager was suffering, the royal doctor could not say anything definite. He couldn't even tell what kind of the illness it was.
Sometimes West Empress Dowager didn't take the medicine if she didn't trust in the expertise of the doctor, who wrote out the prescription, though. But this time West Empress Dowager took medicine for forty-three days, because she trusted Doctor Xi. She was soon convalescent and could see the courtiers again.
There had been a rumor that West Empress Dowager had had a miscarriage and the royal doctor had misdiagnosed. If a doctor could not diagnose correctly, how could he prescribe the right medicine? That was why the sickness of West Empress Dowager had lasted so long. Doctor Xi diagnosed it, but he couldn't say it. So he just prescribed the right medicine under another name of the disease with somewhat similar symptoms. Anyway, when he cured West Empress Dowager, he was given a very good position near the capital so that if next time West Empress Dowager was sick again, he could come on a very short notice.

[xlwoo]

Official Yan was an ugly man, short and lean. His eyes were not on the same level, one a bit higher and the other a little lower. The line connecting the two eyes was slanting. But he was an upright official, never afraid of any unreasonable superiors. At that time he was the Financial Official in Hubei Province, directly under the governor. The governor of Hubei Province was bisexual and doted on his page, a handsome young boy with fair skin. Sometimes, the governor would sleep with him at night. As the boy grew up, the governor gave him official titles till he was then a deputy general and the head of the governor's bodyguards. The deputy general often bullied people and extorted money from people. Official Yan always wanted to put him away in jail, but didn't get a chance.
One day, the deputy general trespassed into a house and raped and killed a girl in that family. The father sued him in Yan's yamen. Now Yan had a reason to arrest him. So he went to the governor's yamen with his guards. The governor hid his boyfriend, the deputy general, in the back of his yamen. Official Yan asked to see the governor, but the governor feigned sick and wouldn't come out to receive Yan. One of his bodyguards said to Yan, “When Governor get well, Governor will come to see Your Excellency.” The governor had thought that Yan would go away and after things got cool off, he could save the skin of his boyfriend. But Yan said to the governor's bodyguard, “Governor will surely recover some day. I'd better wait here till Governor gets well.” He ordered his guards to fetch his sleeping bag and other necessary things from his own yamen. He stayed in the receiving room of the governor's yamen for three days and managed his own official business from there. It really looked bad to the governor, who asked the Judicial Official and his own private advisers to persuade Yan to leave, but Yan insisted that he should execute the deputy general for the murder of the girl before he left. The governor had to come out to see Yan. The governor knelt before Yan to implore him to spare the life of his boyfriend, the deputy general. The governor was Yan's immediate boss. So someone said that it was not appropriate to let the governor kneel before him. Yan helped the governor on his feet and promised to spare the life of his boyfriend, but on one condition. As long as Yan could spare his boyfriend's life, the governor would agree to any conditions. “What's the condition?” he asked. “He must be deported to his home village and Governor can never hire him again.” said Yan. The governor consented to the condition and sent for the deputy general, who kowtowed to Yan for sparing his life. Yan ordered his guards to give him forty beatings before deporting him out of the province. The governor was not a bad man, only a good-for-nothing. He didn't hate Yan for that and never thought of revenge. On the contrary, he recommended him to West Empress Dowager, who then appointed Yan as the governor of Shandong Province.

[xlwoo]

Official Yan was an ugly man, short and lean. His eyes were not on the same level, one a bit higher and the other a little lower. The line connecting the two eyes was slanting. But he was an upright official, never afraid of any unreasonable superiors. At that time he was the Financial Official in Hubei Province, directly under the governor. The governor of Hubei Province was bisexual and doted on his page, a handsome young boy with fair skin. Sometimes, the governor would sleep with him at night. As the boy grew up, the governor gave him official titles till he was then a deputy general and the head of the governor's bodyguards. The deputy general often bullied people and extorted money from people. Official Yan always wanted to put him away in jail, but didn't get a chance.
One day, the deputy general trespassed into a house and raped and killed a girl in that family. The father sued him in Yan's yamen. Now Yan had a reason to arrest him. So he went to the governor's yamen with his guards. The governor hid his boyfriend, the deputy general, in the back of his yamen. Official Yan asked to see the governor, but the governor feigned sick and wouldn't come out to receive Yan. One of his bodyguards said to Yan, “When Governor get well, Governor will come to see Your Excellency.” The governor had thought that Yan would go away and after things got cool off, he could save the skin of his boyfriend. But Yan said to the governor's bodyguard, “Governor will surely recover some day. I'd better wait here till Governor gets well.” He ordered his guards to fetch his sleeping bag and other necessary things from his own yamen. He stayed in the receiving room of the governor's yamen for three days and managed his own official business from there. It really looked bad to the governor, who asked the Judicial Official and his own private advisers to persuade Yan to leave, but Yan insisted that he should execute the deputy general for the murder of the girl before he left. The governor had to come out to see Yan. The governor knelt before Yan to implore him to spare the life of his boyfriend, the deputy general. The governor was Yan's immediate boss. So someone said that it was not appropriate to let the governor kneel before him. Yan helped the governor on his feet and promised to spare the life of his boyfriend, but on one condition. As long as Yan could spare his boyfriend's life, the governor would agree to any conditions. “What's the condition?” he asked. “He must be deported to his home village and Governor can never hire him again.” said Yan. The governor consented to the condition and sent for the deputy general, who kowtowed to Yan for sparing his life. Yan ordered his guards to give him forty beatings before deporting him out of the province. The governor was not a bad man, only a good-for-nothing. He didn't hate Yan for that and never thought of revenge. On the contrary, he recommended him to West Empress Dowager, who then appointed Yan as the governor of Shandong Province.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 31

During the festivals, by tradition, the emperor, now the empress dowagers, would give food or other things to the royal relatives and close courtiers. The eunuchs would run the errands. But by tradition, the eunuchs could not go out by the front gate of the Forbidden City unless they had a note from the Eunuch Management. Or they could only go through the side gates. Young eunuch Li was sent to the residence of Prince Yihuan, the brother-in-law of West Empress Dowager and the natural father of the present emperor Guangxu. Young eunuch Li walked towards the front gate, carrying some food in a container.
“Stop!” A gate guard shouted.
“What's the matter?” asked young eunuch Li.
“Do you know the rule?” The guard looked at him from head to toes.
”What's the rule?” Young eunuch Li asked indifferently.
“Is this the gate you think you can go through?” The guard held out his hand for a note. In his opinion, the eunuch should have produced a note by then.
“Why can't I? West Buddha send me on some mission.” (By that time, the empress dowagers were sometimes called Buddha. West Empress Dowager was called West Buddha and East Empress Dowager was called East Buddha.)
“Whatever the reason, you can't go through this gate unless you have a note.”
“What note?” Young eunuch Li feigned ignorance. “I don't have a note. If you want a note, go to West Buddha for one.” The bickering was so loud that the head gate guard heard it and came out of the guard house. He knew that if the guards let the eunuchs go out of the front gate without a note, they would be accused of the negligence of their duties. But he also knew that since young eunuch Li was sent by West Empress Dowager, he didn't want to offend him. So he advised him to go back and get a note. But young eunuch Li wouldn't do that. Quite a few eunuchs, if not everyone, who worked for West Empress Dowager, was always unreasonable and acted like they were the representatives of West Empress Dowager and others must listen to them. But the gate guards had their obligations. Young eunuch Li wanted to dash out and the guards had to stop him. He then upset the food container purposefully and let the food fall out in a mess. Then he ran back to West Empress Dowager as fast as a rabbit. He even lied that the guards had beaten him. When West Empress Dowager was told that the front guards wouldn't let young eunuch Li go out and upset the food container, she got infuriated and ordered Judicial Ministry to arrest these guards and put them to death.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 31

During the festivals, by tradition, the emperor, now the empress dowagers, would give food or other things to the royal relatives and close courtiers. The eunuchs would run the errands. But by tradition, the eunuchs could not go out by the front gate of the Forbidden City unless they had a note from the Eunuch Management. Or they could only go through the side gates. Young eunuch Li was sent to the residence of Prince Yihuan, the brother-in-law of West Empress Dowager and the natural father of the present emperor Guangxu. Young eunuch Li walked towards the front gate, carrying some food in a container.
“Stop!” A gate guard shouted.
“What's the matter?” asked young eunuch Li.
“Do you know the rule?” The guard looked at him from head to toes.
”What's the rule?” Young eunuch Li asked indifferently.
“Is this the gate you think you can go through?” The guard held out his hand for a note. In his opinion, the eunuch should have produced a note by then.
“Why can't I? West Buddha send me on some mission.” (By that time, the empress dowagers were sometimes called Buddha. West Empress Dowager was called West Buddha and East Empress Dowager was called East Buddha.)
“Whatever the reason, you can't go through this gate unless you have a note.”
“What note?” Young eunuch Li feigned ignorance. “I don't have a note. If you want a note, go to West Buddha for one.” The bickering was so loud that the head gate guard heard it and came out of the guard house. He knew that if the guards let the eunuchs go out of the front gate without a note, they would be accused of the negligence of their duties. But he also knew that since young eunuch Li was sent by West Empress Dowager, he didn't want to offend him. So he advised him to go back and get a note. But young eunuch Li wouldn't do that. Quite a few eunuchs, if not everyone, who worked for West Empress Dowager, was always unreasonable and acted like they were the representatives of West Empress Dowager and others must listen to them. But the gate guards had their obligations. Young eunuch Li wanted to dash out and the guards had to stop him. He then upset the food container purposefully and let the food fall out in a mess. Then he ran back to West Empress Dowager as fast as a rabbit. He even lied that the guards had beaten him. When West Empress Dowager was told that the front guards wouldn't let young eunuch Li go out and upset the food container, she got infuriated and ordered Judicial Ministry to arrest these guards and put them to death.

[xlwoo]

In Judicial Ministry, there were eight middle-rank officials, who were familiar with all sorts of laws. They were upright and acted by the book. So their colleagues called them the Eight Saints. This case was their responsibilities. When the minister told them what West Empress Dowager had instructed, one of them said, “If Empress Dowager want to execute them, Empress Dowager can directly execute them. Now it becomes a case in Judicial Ministry, we must judge it by the law.”
“What will be the verdict in your opinion?” The minister asked modestly.
“Not guilty.” was the answer. The minister was in a fix. How could he report to West Empress Dowager? Another of the Eight Saints said, “In this case, we must not only try the guards, but also try the eunuch.” Still another of the eight Saints told the minister a story from Han Dynasty. (Almost two thousand years ago.) Someone stole a jade ornament from the mausoleum of the emperor's ancestors. By the law of Han Dynasty, such a crime was the sentence of death, but the emperor was not contented and wanted to execute the whole household of the culprit. This was the severest punishment in every dynasty. So the supreme judge asked the emperor what punishment the emperor could inflict on a traitor since the severest penalty was imposed on a thief. So the emperor agreed with the supreme judge. The minister decided to tell West Empress Dowager the story when he saw West Empress Dowager next time. But next time when he was summoned to the presence of West Empress Dowager, she didn't let him speak and reproved him all the time till she felt tired and bade him to go. She had said that the offense of the guards was to resist the order of the empress dowagers and deserved the death sentence. It should be comprehended like that since young eunuch Li had been sent by the empress dowagers and the guards had refused to let him go out to carry out the order of the empress dowagers, the guards had acted against the order of the empress dowagers. But there was not such an article in any law. The minister had to sentence the guards to be banished out of the capital. But West Empress Dowager was not satisfied. The minister had to delay the judgment of the case.

[xlwoo]

In Judicial Ministry, there were eight middle-rank officials, who were familiar with all sorts of laws. They were upright and acted by the book. So their colleagues called them the Eight Saints. This case was their responsibilities. When the minister told them what West Empress Dowager had instructed, one of them said, “If Empress Dowager want to execute them, Empress Dowager can directly execute them. Now it becomes a case in Judicial Ministry, we must judge it by the law.”
“What will be the verdict in your opinion?” The minister asked modestly.
“Not guilty.” was the answer. The minister was in a fix. How could he report to West Empress Dowager? Another of the Eight Saints said, “In this case, we must not only try the guards, but also try the eunuch.” Still another of the eight Saints told the minister a story from Han Dynasty. (Almost two thousand years ago.) Someone stole a jade ornament from the mausoleum of the emperor's ancestors. By the law of Han Dynasty, such a crime was the sentence of death, but the emperor was not contented and wanted to execute the whole household of the culprit. This was the severest punishment in every dynasty. So the supreme judge asked the emperor what punishment the emperor could inflict on a traitor since the severest penalty was imposed on a thief. So the emperor agreed with the supreme judge. The minister decided to tell West Empress Dowager the story when he saw West Empress Dowager next time. But next time when he was summoned to the presence of West Empress Dowager, she didn't let him speak and reproved him all the time till she felt tired and bade him to go. She had said that the offense of the guards was to resist the order of the empress dowagers and deserved the death sentence. It should be comprehended like that since young eunuch Li had been sent by the empress dowagers and the guards had refused to let him go out to carry out the order of the empress dowagers, the guards had acted against the order of the empress dowagers. But there was not such an article in any law. The minister had to sentence the guards to be banished out of the capital. But West Empress Dowager was not satisfied. The minister had to delay the judgment of the case.

[xlwoo]

When this case was not finally settled yet, another surprising event took place. A middle-aged outsider was found wandering near where West Empress Dowager lived. This was very serious. What if this stranger were an assassin? So the stranger was detained and put into the jail of Judicial Ministry. The stranger looked like a retard. So any torment or threat might not work if they wanted the truth how he could have been in the Forbidden City. An official of Judicial Ministry went to his cell and treated him as a guest and let him eat and drink, then asked him questions like they were having a chitchat. The retard said that a eunuch, who lived next door to him, had taken him into that big place and left him to roam all by himself. The minister reported it to Yixin first. Yixin ordered him to get to the bottom of it lest more serious things should happen later. So the eunuch was taken into custody and questioned. Under a little torture, he confessed everything. Young eunuch Li had persuaded him to bring in the retard to make believe that the gate guards always disregarded their duties. Therefore, young eunuch Li was hauled in. Now the verdict of Judicial Ministry was that the guards were expelled from the post, the eunuchs were exiled and the retard was hanged.

[xlwoo]

When the result was reported to West Empress Dowager, she insisted that the punishment of the guards should be more severe. So the Eight Saints found the relevant articles in the law book and copied them, handing in for West Empress Dowager to read. After that, West Empress Dowager loosened a bit, no longer persisting in death sentence. But she wanted the penalty stricter than that on the verdict. Then a new verdict was issued that the guards were exiled to the remote province in the cold north. When it was known publicly, many critique officials thought this was not fair. So quite a few reports came to the attention of West Empress Dowager. One of the reports reasoned, ?he case was not that the guards could not ask the eunuchs to show a note of being allowed to exit. It was that the guards should not behave improperly in the Forbidden City. Now it seemed that the guards should not ask to see such a note from the eunuchs. What? why a retarded stranger was brought in by a eunuch and no guards dared to say anything to it. If that? what the verdict manifested, what? the use to station the guards at the gates? To the eunuchs, it seems no guards at all, though guards do stand there on guard. Thus, how can the guards keep the Forbidden City safe? The eunuchs should be disciplined. A punishment of exile is often for a real crime. If guards got such a punishment just for doing their duties, what will people say when they read the verdict? This Critique Official think that it must be a mistake made by Judicial Ministry, not the intention of the empress dowagers. This Critique Official beg that the empress dowagers correct this mistake so that people know that the empress dowagers are always fair and just. The result was that the guards were only dismissed from the post.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 32

Zaizhen, son of Yixin, was really a dandy. Before the demise of Emperor Tongzhi, he had had to go into the Forbidden City to study together with the emperor. Now Emperor Tongzhi was gone, he didn't need to go there any more. He began to fool away his time everyday in the teahouse, in the restaurant, in the theater, or even in the whorehouse. He had a few concubines, but they lived separately, away from his main residence, which was his father's, not really his. In old China, many generations lived together. But he didn't dare to bring his concubines into his father's residence, because he got all these concubines without Yixin's assent. So he either bought or rented a house for each of his concubines. Some concubines had children with him, but Yixin disowned them as his grandchildren, because it would make things complicated. If Yixin owned that they were his grandchildren, the male children should be conferred some honorary titles plus other things due to their legal status. If otherwise, they could get nothing legally. One of his concubines was the wife of a duke. She was known as Lady Kui.
Duke Kui was a good-for-nothing. Lady Kui was the boss in the family. She controlled everything. She dealt with everything that happened. Duke Kui lived an idle life and was afraid of his wife. Lady Kui liked to go to public places, mixing with the throngs and letting other young men admire her beauty. (She was still young.) One market day, there was a gathering in the square before a temple. Lady Kui went there with her maid. After she worshiped the Buddha in the temple, she loitered among the vendors to look at their things displayed on the ground. Vendors at that time didn't have booths or carts. They carried their goods in baskets or boxes. Some vendors would spread a piece of cloth on the ground and put their merchandise on the cloth for a better show. When Lady Kui felt weary at noon, she went into a teahouse on the roadside. Teahouses sold snacks too. While she sat there, sipping tea, a young man came in, ensued by some servants. The young man was handsome, and for the good guess, in early twenties, and looked like born with a silver spoon in the mouth. He sat at a table, sweeping his eyes across all the female faces till he froze his gaze on the visage of Lady Kui, who turned away to avoid his stare. “Your Ladyship.' Suddenly she heard herself accosted. She turned about and saw a servant smiling and bowing to her. “His Esquire (Denoting his master, the young man.) invite Your Ladyship to that table.” Lady Kui was surprised and resented the brass boldness. “I don't know His Esquire.” She said with a scorn and turned away once more.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 32

Zaizhen, son of Yixin, was really a dandy. Before the demise of Emperor Tongzhi, he had had to go into the Forbidden City to study together with the emperor. Now Emperor Tongzhi was gone, he didn't need to go there any more. He began to fool away his time everyday in the teahouse, in the restaurant, in the theater, or even in the whorehouse. He had a few concubines, but they lived separately, away from his main residence, which was his father's, not really his. In old China, many generations lived together. But he didn't dare to bring his concubines into his father's residence, because he got all these concubines without Yixin's assent. So he either bought or rented a house for each of his concubines. Some concubines had children with him, but Yixin disowned them as his grandchildren, because it would make things complicated. If Yixin owned that they were his grandchildren, the male children should be conferred some honorary titles plus other things due to their legal status. If otherwise, they could get nothing legally. One of his concubines was the wife of a duke. She was known as Lady Kui.
Duke Kui was a good-for-nothing. Lady Kui was the boss in the family. She controlled everything. She dealt with everything that happened. Duke Kui lived an idle life and was afraid of his wife. Lady Kui liked to go to public places, mixing with the throngs and letting other young men admire her beauty. (She was still young.) One market day, there was a gathering in the square before a temple. Lady Kui went there with her maid. After she worshiped the Buddha in the temple, she loitered among the vendors to look at their things displayed on the ground. Vendors at that time didn't have booths or carts. They carried their goods in baskets or boxes. Some vendors would spread a piece of cloth on the ground and put their merchandise on the cloth for a better show. When Lady Kui felt weary at noon, she went into a teahouse on the roadside. Teahouses sold snacks too. While she sat there, sipping tea, a young man came in, ensued by some servants. The young man was handsome, and for the good guess, in early twenties, and looked like born with a silver spoon in the mouth. He sat at a table, sweeping his eyes across all the female faces till he froze his gaze on the visage of Lady Kui, who turned away to avoid his stare. “Your Ladyship.' Suddenly she heard herself accosted. She turned about and saw a servant smiling and bowing to her. “His Esquire (Denoting his master, the young man.) invite Your Ladyship to that table.” Lady Kui was surprised and resented the brass boldness. “I don't know His Esquire.” She said with a scorn and turned away once more.

[xlwoo]

After a while the young man left with his servants. But his cute image still lingered in the mind's eye of Lady Kui. When the waiter came to replenish her teapot with boiled water, she asked him who that young man was. “Your Ladyship mean His Esquire?” said the waiter, “Everyone know Esquire Zaizhen.”
“You mean the son of Prince Yixin?” Lady Kui wanted to make sure.
“None the other.” The waiter smiled his reply. Lady Kui thought that was the man a woman should marry. She always looked down upon her husband because he was a useless man in every sense of the word. Although he was a duke, he didn't have power and didn't have a lot of wealth as other dukes, nor even as marquises, earls, viscounts and barons. In her opinion, wealth should be in correspondence with titles. Lady Kui was vain as many women were.
When she stepped out of the teahouse, the servant, who had addressed her inside the teahouse, came forth, saying, 'His Esquire leave the coach here to take Your Ladyship home.” When she refused, the servant slung himself down on his knees and kowtowed before her, blocking her way to go further. The servant begged, “Have mercy on me, Your Ladyship. If Your Ladyship won't ride home in the coach, His Esquire will think I'm useless and will fire me. I have a family of five to feed. So have pity on me, Your Ladyship.” He kept kowtowing until she conceded. Lady Kui had a heart of gold and didn't want his family to starve. But she asked, “Do you know where I live?”
“Sure.” The servant replied, “Your Ladyship live in Duke Kui's residence.”
So they knew everything about me, she thought. The coachman was holding the door of the coach open for her. The servant crawled on the ground before the coach door, serving as a step stone. Lady Kui stepped on his back and into the coach, helped by her maid, who followed in. The coachman shut the door. The servant rode with the coachman in the front. The coach rumbled forward. Lady Kui sat back comfortably and closed her eyes. The maid sat at her side with only half of her buttocks on the seat. Generally a maid could not sit with her mistress, but she could not stand in the coach, either. So this was a posture adopted by the inferiors before their superiors when they were asked to sit or had to sit on certain occasions.
When Lady Kui felt the coach halted, she opened her eyes, but it was not her home. The servant came to open the door. Lady Kui asked, “Where is this?” The servant replied, “Your Ladyship will know when Your Ladyship go in.” Lady Kui was curious to know and went in, followed by her maid. Esquire Zaizhen was there to welcome her. She couldn't reject his courtship and they slept together that night. Thus, Lady Kui became a concubine of Esquire Zaizhen.

[xlwoo]

After a while the young man left with his servants. But his cute image still lingered in the mind's eye of Lady Kui. When the waiter came to replenish her teapot with boiled water, she asked him who that young man was. “Your Ladyship mean His Esquire?” said the waiter, “Everyone know Esquire Zaizhen.”
“You mean the son of Prince Yixin?” Lady Kui wanted to make sure.
“None the other.” The waiter smiled his reply. Lady Kui thought that was the man a woman should marry. She always looked down upon her husband because he was a useless man in every sense of the word. Although he was a duke, he didn't have power and didn't have a lot of wealth as other dukes, nor even as marquises, earls, viscounts and barons. In her opinion, wealth should be in correspondence with titles. Lady Kui was vain as many women were.
When she stepped out of the teahouse, the servant, who had addressed her inside the teahouse, came forth, saying, 'His Esquire leave the coach here to take Your Ladyship home.” When she refused, the servant slung himself down on his knees and kowtowed before her, blocking her way to go further. The servant begged, “Have mercy on me, Your Ladyship. If Your Ladyship won't ride home in the coach, His Esquire will think I'm useless and will fire me. I have a family of five to feed. So have pity on me, Your Ladyship.” He kept kowtowing until she conceded. Lady Kui had a heart of gold and didn't want his family to starve. But she asked, “Do you know where I live?”
“Sure.” The servant replied, “Your Ladyship live in Duke Kui's residence.”
So they knew everything about me, she thought. The coachman was holding the door of the coach open for her. The servant crawled on the ground before the coach door, serving as a step stone. Lady Kui stepped on his back and into the coach, helped by her maid, who followed in. The coachman shut the door. The servant rode with the coachman in the front. The coach rumbled forward. Lady Kui sat back comfortably and closed her eyes. The maid sat at her side with only half of her buttocks on the seat. Generally a maid could not sit with her mistress, but she could not stand in the coach, either. So this was a posture adopted by the inferiors before their superiors when they were asked to sit or had to sit on certain occasions.
When Lady Kui felt the coach halted, she opened her eyes, but it was not her home. The servant came to open the door. Lady Kui asked, “Where is this?” The servant replied, “Your Ladyship will know when Your Ladyship go in.” Lady Kui was curious to know and went in, followed by her maid. Esquire Zaizhen was there to welcome her. She couldn't reject his courtship and they slept together that night. Thus, Lady Kui became a concubine of Esquire Zaizhen.

[xlwoo]

Duke Kui waited eagerly for the return of his wife the whole day and the whole night, but to no avail. It had never happened like this before. He knew that something was wrong with his wife. Next day, he reported to the yamen that his wife was missing. The wife of a duke was not like a wife of an ordinary person. So the yamen made it a missing-person case. But for three months no trace of his wife's whereabouts was detected. It seemed as if his wife just evaporated like a wisp of steam.
Just as Duke Kui was about to give her up as dead, she was seen in a theater together with Esquire Zaizhen. They were seen by a patrol officer, who knew both Lady Kui and Esquire Zaizhen. The patrol officer didn't dare to report to the yamen. He didn't want to make such an enemy like Esquire Zaizhen. But it was not good to the yamen if the missing-person case could not be closed. So next day he went to see Esquire Zaizhen. Of course, he couldn't see Esquire Zaizhen himself. The head servant received him. He discussed with the head servant how to close the case without making a ripple into a billow.
Now Esquire Zaizhen was afraid that he would get into a big trouble if his father learned it. He suggested to Lady Kui that she should go home to settle it with her husband and then come back.
“You want to get rid of me?” She flared up. “Not so easy.”
“No. I need you. You know that.” Zaizhen reassured her. Lady Kui thought that she could not always hide like a criminal wanted. They made a plan. Esquire Zaizhen promised to get her husband a good position as a condition to the settlement. He gave her a thousand taels in a silver note. So Lady Kui returned to her former home next day to the surprise of everyone in Duke Kui's residence. To them she seemed suddenly descended from Heaven like a fairy god-mother. Lady Kui went to the bedroom and Duke Kui followed in and shut the door behind him.

[xlwoo]

Duke Kui waited eagerly for the return of his wife the whole day and the whole night, but to no avail. It had never happened like this before. He knew that something was wrong with his wife. Next day, he reported to the yamen that his wife was missing. The wife of a duke was not like a wife of an ordinary person. So the yamen made it a missing-person case. But for three months no trace of his wife's whereabouts was detected. It seemed as if his wife just evaporated like a wisp of steam.
Just as Duke Kui was about to give her up as dead, she was seen in a theater together with Esquire Zaizhen. They were seen by a patrol officer, who knew both Lady Kui and Esquire Zaizhen. The patrol officer didn't dare to report to the yamen. He didn't want to make such an enemy like Esquire Zaizhen. But it was not good to the yamen if the missing-person case could not be closed. So next day he went to see Esquire Zaizhen. Of course, he couldn't see Esquire Zaizhen himself. The head servant received him. He discussed with the head servant how to close the case without making a ripple into a billow.
Now Esquire Zaizhen was afraid that he would get into a big trouble if his father learned it. He suggested to Lady Kui that she should go home to settle it with her husband and then come back.
“You want to get rid of me?” She flared up. “Not so easy.”
“No. I need you. You know that.” Zaizhen reassured her. Lady Kui thought that she could not always hide like a criminal wanted. They made a plan. Esquire Zaizhen promised to get her husband a good position as a condition to the settlement. He gave her a thousand taels in a silver note. So Lady Kui returned to her former home next day to the surprise of everyone in Duke Kui's residence. To them she seemed suddenly descended from Heaven like a fairy god-mother. Lady Kui went to the bedroom and Duke Kui followed in and shut the door behind him.

[xlwoo]

“Where were you all the time? I am so worried.” said the husband.
“It's all your fault. I was confined by someone.” The wife complained.
“Who is that someone” ?Duke Kui wanted to know who was so bold to kidnap a duke's wife.
“Someone powerful. We are no match for him.”
“You can at least tell me who he is. I'm not to sue him or what.”
“He's Esquire Zaizhen.” That was their plan to tell the husband the truth.
“Son of Prince Yixin?” The husband couldn't believe his ears and desired to make double sure.
“Who else would be so bold to confine me?”
“Why did he do that to you?” That was the reasonable question.
”Now tell me, you want to go to jail or you want to be a high-rank official.”
“What all that means?” The husband was not so dumb as he seemed to be. Only he was chicken-hearted.
“He's known all you did, the two illegal things, I mean. He has all the evidence gathered.”
“So, what he want? Blackmailing always has a purpose.”
“He wants me. If you let him have me, he'll get a position for you. And here'd a thousand taels.” She took out the silver note and handed it to her husband. “If you don't, he'll give the evidence to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management.” Duke Kui knew that his wife never loved him and that during the three months she had lived with Esquire Zaizhen, they had had adultery for sure. He couldn't really take back a wife that had had sex with another man, whoever he was. So the best way to settle it was to let her go and get the money and the position for the exchange. Lady Kui knew her husband so well that the result was predictable. She didn't really tell Esquire Zaizhen the illegal things her husband had done. She just used them as a trick. Duke Kui sent a report to the yamen to withdraw his case for the reason that his wife was back.
Duke Kui had a younger brother (referred to as Brother Kui hereafter), who was a gambler and a villain, capable of anything. A gambler always needs money. So Brother Kui often went to see Duke Kui for money. When Duke Kui didn't have any cash to give him, he would take whatever he could lay hands on in Duke Kui's house and sold them for money. He was really a headache to Duke Kui.

[xlwoo]

“Where were you all the time? I am so worried.” said the husband.
“It's all your fault. I was confined by someone.” The wife complained.
“Who is that someone” ?Duke Kui wanted to know who was so bold to kidnap a duke's wife.
“Someone powerful. We are no match for him.”
“You can at least tell me who he is. I'm not to sue him or what.”
“He's Esquire Zaizhen.” That was their plan to tell the husband the truth.
“Son of Prince Yixin?” The husband couldn't believe his ears and desired to make double sure.
“Who else would be so bold to confine me?”
“Why did he do that to you?” That was the reasonable question.
”Now tell me, you want to go to jail or you want to be a high-rank official.”
“What all that means?” The husband was not so dumb as he seemed to be. Only he was chicken-hearted.
“He's known all you did, the two illegal things, I mean. He has all the evidence gathered.”
“So, what he want? Blackmailing always has a purpose.”
“He wants me. If you let him have me, he'll get a position for you. And here'd a thousand taels.” She took out the silver note and handed it to her husband. “If you don't, he'll give the evidence to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management.” Duke Kui knew that his wife never loved him and that during the three months she had lived with Esquire Zaizhen, they had had adultery for sure. He couldn't really take back a wife that had had sex with another man, whoever he was. So the best way to settle it was to let her go and get the money and the position for the exchange. Lady Kui knew her husband so well that the result was predictable. She didn't really tell Esquire Zaizhen the illegal things her husband had done. She just used them as a trick. Duke Kui sent a report to the yamen to withdraw his case for the reason that his wife was back.
Duke Kui had a younger brother (referred to as Brother Kui hereafter), who was a gambler and a villain, capable of anything. A gambler always needs money. So Brother Kui often went to see Duke Kui for money. When Duke Kui didn't have any cash to give him, he would take whatever he could lay hands on in Duke Kui's house and sold them for money. He was really a headache to Duke Kui.

[xlwoo]

Brother Kui thought it as an insult. He wanted to revenge and to get more money out of the event. First he went to see a doctor and asked the doctor to write him a certificate about his wounds for the possible future use when needed. Then he asked someone to write a statement for him about everything that occurred so far, including what had happened to Lady Kui. He took the statement to the residence of Yixin. The butler received him and accepted his statement. When Brother Kui left, the butler read the statement and was frightened. He didn't dare to report to Yixin. He sent it to Esquire Zaizhen, who just put it aside and forgot about it.
Brother Kui waited for half a month. When he realized that no one would come to settle things with him, he had another statement written and took it to the head of the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management. The head gave the statement to Yixin, who got furious and told the butler to find his son. Esquire Zaizhen had to come to see his father. He knelt before his father, who enumerated his wrong-doings. Then Yixin told the butler to take his son to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management. It meant that he wanted to punish his son by law. This was very serious. There would be a bad record about the son's behavior. So the butler begged Yixin to spare his son this time. But Yixin insisted. All the household came to beseech on their knees, even the wife of Esquire Zaizhen, the daughter-in-law of Yixin. She should have been jealous and let her husband be punished. But she was a kind woman and a nice wife. So Yixin softened a little. The butler, who had worked in the family when Yixin had been young, seized the opportunity and said that if his son was taken to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management, West Empress Dowager would surely know it and would be angry, which was not good to her health. She was not completely recovered yet. Then he suggested that the son could be confined in his study till he mended his ways in his behavior. Yixin agreed to his measure, but added that the windows secured from outside and the door locked from outside too.

[xlwoo]

Brother Kui thought it as an insult. He wanted to revenge and to get more money out of the event. First he went to see a doctor and asked the doctor to write him a certificate about his wounds for the possible future use when needed. Then he asked someone to write a statement for him about everything that occurred so far, including what had happened to Lady Kui. He took the statement to the residence of Yixin. The butler received him and accepted his statement. When Brother Kui left, the butler read the statement and was frightened. He didn't dare to report to Yixin. He sent it to Esquire Zaizhen, who just put it aside and forgot about it.
Brother Kui waited for half a month. When he realized that no one would come to settle things with him, he had another statement written and took it to the head of the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management. The head gave the statement to Yixin, who got furious and told the butler to find his son. Esquire Zaizhen had to come to see his father. He knelt before his father, who enumerated his wrong-doings. Then Yixin told the butler to take his son to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management. It meant that he wanted to punish his son by law. This was very serious. There would be a bad record about the son's behavior. So the butler begged Yixin to spare his son this time. But Yixin insisted. All the household came to beseech on their knees, even the wife of Esquire Zaizhen, the daughter-in-law of Yixin. She should have been jealous and let her husband be punished. But she was a kind woman and a nice wife. So Yixin softened a little. The butler, who had worked in the family when Yixin had been young, seized the opportunity and said that if his son was taken to the Mandarin Clan Affairs Management, West Empress Dowager would surely know it and would be angry, which was not good to her health. She was not completely recovered yet. Then he suggested that the son could be confined in his study till he mended his ways in his behavior. Yixin agreed to his measure, but added that the windows secured from outside and the door locked from outside too.

[xlwoo]

The butler often went to see the son, who wanted the butler to let him out. The butler wouldn't comply for fear that Yixin would take stricter measures. He advised the son that if he could send Lady Kui back home to her husband, his father might go easy on him. The son was eager to get out. He wrote a letter to Lady Kui without a second thought. The letter said that it was better for both of them that she should return home to her husband for the time being and when he got out she could come back to him and that they could find some place secluded to live together, forever and ever. The butler took the letter to Lady Kui and advised her to follow what Esquire Zaizhen had said in the letter, adding that Prince Yixin would never agree to their relationship since it involved Duke Kui.
Now Lady Kui found herself between the devil and the deep sea. How could she go back to her husband since they had the settlement? She could never do that. She had nowhere to go except to the god of Hell. Next day when the maid entered her bedroom, she gave out a loud shriek. The guards and servants rushed in to see what the matter was. Lady Kui hanged herself. They reported to the butler, who didn't dare to let Yixin know. The butler wanted to settle it secretly. He went to see Duke Kui and told him that his wife had hanged herself. Duke Kui was stunned by the unexpected sad news, but a while later he said, “It's the best way for everybody.” They negotiated. The butler promised to take care of everything about Lady Kui's funeral and burial. Then he gave the husband ten thousand taels of silver as hush money. Some close friend who knew it joked with him that he sold his wife's body, which was worth ten thousand taels.

[xlwoo]

The butler often went to see the son, who wanted the butler to let him out. The butler wouldn't comply for fear that Yixin would take stricter measures. He advised the son that if he could send Lady Kui back home to her husband, his father might go easy on him. The son was eager to get out. He wrote a letter to Lady Kui without a second thought. The letter said that it was better for both of them that she should return home to her husband for the time being and when he got out she could come back to him and that they could find some place secluded to live together, forever and ever. The butler took the letter to Lady Kui and advised her to follow what Esquire Zaizhen had said in the letter, adding that Prince Yixin would never agree to their relationship since it involved Duke Kui.
Now Lady Kui found herself between the devil and the deep sea. How could she go back to her husband since they had the settlement? She could never do that. She had nowhere to go except to the god of Hell. Next day when the maid entered her bedroom, she gave out a loud shriek. The guards and servants rushed in to see what the matter was. Lady Kui hanged herself. They reported to the butler, who didn't dare to let Yixin know. The butler wanted to settle it secretly. He went to see Duke Kui and told him that his wife had hanged herself. Duke Kui was stunned by the unexpected sad news, but a while later he said, “It's the best way for everybody.” They negotiated. The butler promised to take care of everything about Lady Kui's funeral and burial. Then he gave the husband ten thousand taels of silver as hush money. Some close friend who knew it joked with him that he sold his wife's body, which was worth ten thousand taels.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 33

Since the treaty between Russia and China was signed, Yili town would soon be returned to Qing government. The secretaries were considering who would be the most suitable candidate to take over the town and guard it. General Governor Zuo recommended General Zhang, who was already in Xinjiang Province. The report of recommendation from General Governor Zuo said that that General Zhang was the most appropriate person for the post. His bio was attached.
General Zhang was born in Zhejiang Province. He was often seen in casinos for a living when young. Once an elder relative scolded him for his idleness and even boxed his ears in public. He felt humiliated and left home. He went to Henan Province and found his uncle-in-law, who was the mayor of Gushi Town. So he lived in the mayor's yamen and had some pocket money, too. He had never been educated and was illiterate, though he was tall and good-looking, with a strong build. His relative, the mayor, despised him and didn't deign to give him any work. He idled away his time. He had a cousin, the daughter of the mayor, who was nicknamed a lady-scholar. The cousins had never seen each other. At that time Henan Province was one of the areas where the Nian Army moved about.
One day, a horrible piece of news spread that the Nian Army would come to attack the town. A small town didn't have an army for its own defense. The few policemen to enforce law and order could not be considered as a defensive force because they never had any experience to fight on the battlefield. People were in a panic. The mayor could not but put up a notice to recruit young men. Three hundred young people came to register, but none among them were capable enough to be the leader. So the mayor put up another notice that whoever could lead those three hundred young men to trounce the Nian Army would marry his daughter. But no one dared to take the leadership, because the Nian Army outnumbered them tenfold, twentyfold or even hundredfold. Someone joked with Zhang that he should try. This encouraged him. So he tore down the notice and went to see the mayor, his uncle-in-law, suggesting that three hundred people were not sufficient to safeguard the town and the best strategy was to ambush the Nian Army. It sounded reasonable and feasible. The mayor agreed to it. Zhang led the young men out of the town and laid the ambush where the Nian Army would pass. All the gates of the town were closed. Other people stood behind the battlements. They planned to beat the drums and wave the banners when the combat began, making it look like more armed people would come out of the town to join the battle.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 33

Since the treaty between Russia and China was signed, Yili town would soon be returned to Qing government. The secretaries were considering who would be the most suitable candidate to take over the town and guard it. General Governor Zuo recommended General Zhang, who was already in Xinjiang Province. The report of recommendation from General Governor Zuo said that that General Zhang was the most appropriate person for the post. His bio was attached.
General Zhang was born in Zhejiang Province. He was often seen in casinos for a living when young. Once an elder relative scolded him for his idleness and even boxed his ears in public. He felt humiliated and left home. He went to Henan Province and found his uncle-in-law, who was the mayor of Gushi Town. So he lived in the mayor's yamen and had some pocket money, too. He had never been educated and was illiterate, though he was tall and good-looking, with a strong build. His relative, the mayor, despised him and didn't deign to give him any work. He idled away his time. He had a cousin, the daughter of the mayor, who was nicknamed a lady-scholar. The cousins had never seen each other. At that time Henan Province was one of the areas where the Nian Army moved about.
One day, a horrible piece of news spread that the Nian Army would come to attack the town. A small town didn't have an army for its own defense. The few policemen to enforce law and order could not be considered as a defensive force because they never had any experience to fight on the battlefield. People were in a panic. The mayor could not but put up a notice to recruit young men. Three hundred young people came to register, but none among them were capable enough to be the leader. So the mayor put up another notice that whoever could lead those three hundred young men to trounce the Nian Army would marry his daughter. But no one dared to take the leadership, because the Nian Army outnumbered them tenfold, twentyfold or even hundredfold. Someone joked with Zhang that he should try. This encouraged him. So he tore down the notice and went to see the mayor, his uncle-in-law, suggesting that three hundred people were not sufficient to safeguard the town and the best strategy was to ambush the Nian Army. It sounded reasonable and feasible. The mayor agreed to it. Zhang led the young men out of the town and laid the ambush where the Nian Army would pass. All the gates of the town were closed. Other people stood behind the battlements. They planned to beat the drums and wave the banners when the combat began, making it look like more armed people would come out of the town to join the battle.

[xlwoo]

The Nian Army reached the town at night. They camped outside the town, intending to siege it next day. They thought that it was an easy job to take over such a small town. But at midnight, Zhang and his three hundred young fighters assaulted the camp of the Nian Army, who was surprised and panicked. The Nian Army didn't even know the number of the attackers. They only heard the cries of war everywhere and drums beating on the town walls and saw banners being brandished in the wind. The coincidence was that just at the time when the battle was in the hottest, a detachment of the government army came to the rescue and the Nian Army fled. So Zhang was conferred a title and married his beautiful and talented cousin. Then he was made the mayor of that town. No one knew that he could not read and write, because his wife read all the documents and wrote all the reports for him. He was gradually promoted to be the Financial Official of Henan Province. But his illiteracy came out at last in the open. Critique Official Liu revealed the fact to West Empress Dowager in his report. There was a rule that illiterate people could not be officials, but they could be made officers. So he became a general. General Zhang was ashamed of his illiteracy and asked his wife to tutor him. After a few years, he was no longer illiterate. He was happy and proud of himself. When he learned that Critique Official Liu had committed some serious offenses, had been deprived of his title, no title and no post of course, and lived now in destitution, he wrote a letter to him with a silver note of one thousand taels enclosed. But he used a seal on the letter, bearing the word ILLITERATE. The empress dowagers were delighted to hear the story and made him in charge of Yili Town.

[xlwoo]

There were more policemen in Henan Province than in any other provinces, because there were more robbers and thieves in Henan Province. There had been a drought there and people were starving. Who is willing to be starved to death? Disasters, whether natural or not, always engender outlaws. But something more amazing was that some policemen had two personalities They were policemen in uniforms in the daytime and robbers or thieves in plain clothes at night. So these cases could never be solved. Only they never did such things in their own jurisdiction.
Once a rich merchant was robbed on the way home and he reported it to the yamen of the town where he lived. As a matter of course, the case had no outcome. The merchant hired someone to privately investigate for him. As a result, the chief suspect was a policeman called Hu, who lived in Zhenping Town, quite a distance away. The merchant filed a lawsuit against Policeman Hu in the governor's yamen. The governor told the Judicial Official to detain Policeman Hu. So an order of arrest came into the hands of the mayor of Zhenping Town. Mayor Ma was a scholar, having passed three government tests, but he was a bookworm, hardly knew how to try a case. In fact, few mayors were familiar with law. So every yamen had some advisers like financial adviser and judicial adviser.

[xlwoo]

There were more policemen in Henan Province than in any other provinces, because there were more robbers and thieves in Henan Province. There had been a drought there and people were starving. Who is willing to be starved to death? Disasters, whether natural or not, always engender outlaws. But something more amazing was that some policemen had two personalities They were policemen in uniforms in the daytime and robbers or thieves in plain clothes at night. So these cases could never be solved. Only they never did such things in their own jurisdiction.
Once a rich merchant was robbed on the way home and he reported it to the yamen of the town where he lived. As a matter of course, the case had no outcome. The merchant hired someone to privately investigate for him. As a result, the chief suspect was a policeman called Hu, who lived in Zhenping Town, quite a distance away. The merchant filed a lawsuit against Policeman Hu in the governor's yamen. The governor told the Judicial Official to detain Policeman Hu. So an order of arrest came into the hands of the mayor of Zhenping Town. Mayor Ma was a scholar, having passed three government tests, but he was a bookworm, hardly knew how to try a case. In fact, few mayors were familiar with law. So every yamen had some advisers like financial adviser and judicial adviser.

[xlwoo]

Mayor Ma wanted to issue a warrant to take Policeman Hu into custody, but first he consulted with the judicial adviser by the name of Mao, who said that he didn't even know where Policeman Hu was at present. Mayor Ma wondered, “How can that be? Is he not on duty in this yamen?” Mayor Ma had been assigned this post only a few days before. He knew nothing about all the things he should know in this town. So Judicial Adviser Mao told Mayor Ma that probably Policeman Hu just registered here as a policeman and was never on duty. Maybe, he could even be a gangster. Judicial Adviser Mao wanted to look into some documents first. He went back into his own room and consulted his notebook. Hu became a policeman through the recommendation of another policeman called Liu. So Judicial Adviser Mao sent for Policeman Liu. When Liu came into his room, Mao said to him, “Now you are in a big trouble.” Policeman Liu asked what kind of trouble he was in. “You recommended Policeman Hu. Now the governor wants Mayor Ma to detain him for a case of robbery.” This was really a difficult case. Hu was the leader of gangsters in this town. Policeman Liu understood that he could haul Hu in, but his followers would assassinate him for vengeance. But he could not turn down the assignment, either. He went to see the false policeman, the real gang leader Hu and told him everything. “Are you kidding?” Hu doubted. “Do I look like kidding?” Instead of answering, Policeman Liu queried sternly and let him see the warrant. Hu took Policeman Liu to a back room and they laid out a scheme. Hu sent a large sum of money to Judicial Adviser Mao as a probe to his reaction. He figured that if Mao declined, he would think of some other way, and if Mao accepted, everything would be easy. And Mao took the bribery.
A new prisoner was brought into the jail. It was a boy of fifteen. Policeman Liu asked him, “Who are you?” “I'm Wang.” said the boy. Policeman Liu slapped him on the cheek.

[xlwoo]

Mayor Ma wanted to issue a warrant to take Policeman Hu into custody, but first he consulted with the judicial adviser by the name of Mao, who said that he didn't even know where Policeman Hu was at present. Mayor Ma wondered, “How can that be? Is he not on duty in this yamen?” Mayor Ma had been assigned this post only a few days before. He knew nothing about all the things he should know in this town. So Judicial Adviser Mao told Mayor Ma that probably Policeman Hu just registered here as a policeman and was never on duty. Maybe, he could even be a gangster. Judicial Adviser Mao wanted to look into some documents first. He went back into his own room and consulted his notebook. Hu became a policeman through the recommendation of another policeman called Liu. So Judicial Adviser Mao sent for Policeman Liu. When Liu came into his room, Mao said to him, “Now you are in a big trouble.” Policeman Liu asked what kind of trouble he was in. “You recommended Policeman Hu. Now the governor wants Mayor Ma to detain him for a case of robbery.” This was really a difficult case. Hu was the leader of gangsters in this town. Policeman Liu understood that he could haul Hu in, but his followers would assassinate him for vengeance. But he could not turn down the assignment, either. He went to see the false policeman, the real gang leader Hu and told him everything. “Are you kidding?” Hu doubted. “Do I look like kidding?” Instead of answering, Policeman Liu queried sternly and let him see the warrant. Hu took Policeman Liu to a back room and they laid out a scheme. Hu sent a large sum of money to Judicial Adviser Mao as a probe to his reaction. He figured that if Mao declined, he would think of some other way, and if Mao accepted, everything would be easy. And Mao took the bribery.
A new prisoner was brought into the jail. It was a boy of fifteen. Policeman Liu asked him, “Who are you?” “I'm Wang.” said the boy. Policeman Liu slapped him on the cheek.

[svejorange]

After that post and the answer under it, I think I may leave the forum!

[xlwoo]

“Now, who are you?” He asked the boy again.
“I'm Hu.” The boy was on the verge of crying.
“So, remember, you are Hu, now.” Policeman Liu warned him. The boy worked in the kitchen of the ringleader Hu. He was brought in the presence of Hu and Policeman Liu. He was told that Policeman Liu would take him to jail. “Why? I did nothing wrong.” The boy said timidly.
“No. You didn't”
“Didn't do anything wrong.” Hu confirmed, but he said he wanted to make a deal with him, or he would have his parents killed. What could the boy do except to accept? The boy was put into prison, assuming the name of Hu. They assured him that he would not be sentenced to death, that he would only be imprisoned for a few years and after he was released, he could get a wife and a big sum of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life. The boy believed them and accepted the conditions.
To show that they would keep their promise, Policeman Liu treated the boy nicely. When Judicial Adviser Mao knew that it was a boy who substituted the ringleader Hu, Mao was afraid that Mayor Ma would find it out, because the boy looked just like a boy. Policeman Liu suggested that if they could persuade Mayor Ma to interrogate the boy early in the morning when it was still dark, he would not find out that it was a boy. They could light only a couple of candles and tell the mayor that the man Hu was a dwarf. So Mao went to see the mayor and reported to him that the bad policeman Hu was under arrest now. The mayor was hilarious to hear it, because it was a case the governor specified. If he couldn't get the man the governor wanted, he would lose his post. Judicial Adviser Mao added that as Hu was a ringleader, it was best to question him secretly. The mayor agreed. The room for the interrogation was dim. Mayor Ma couldn't see clearly, but he didn't care.

[xlwoo]

“Now, who are you?” He asked the boy again.
“I'm Hu.” The boy was on the verge of crying.
“So, remember, you are Hu, now.” Policeman Liu warned him. The boy worked in the kitchen of the ringleader Hu. He was brought in the presence of Hu and Policeman Liu. He was told that Policeman Liu would take him to jail. “Why? I did nothing wrong.” The boy said timidly.
“No. You didn't”
“Didn't do anything wrong.” Hu confirmed, but he said he wanted to make a deal with him, or he would have his parents killed. What could the boy do except to accept? The boy was put into prison, assuming the name of Hu. They assured him that he would not be sentenced to death, that he would only be imprisoned for a few years and after he was released, he could get a wife and a big sum of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life. The boy believed them and accepted the conditions.
To show that they would keep their promise, Policeman Liu treated the boy nicely. When Judicial Adviser Mao knew that it was a boy who substituted the ringleader Hu, Mao was afraid that Mayor Ma would find it out, because the boy looked just like a boy. Policeman Liu suggested that if they could persuade Mayor Ma to interrogate the boy early in the morning when it was still dark, he would not find out that it was a boy. They could light only a couple of candles and tell the mayor that the man Hu was a dwarf. So Mao went to see the mayor and reported to him that the bad policeman Hu was under arrest now. The mayor was hilarious to hear it, because it was a case the governor specified. If he couldn't get the man the governor wanted, he would lose his post. Judicial Adviser Mao added that as Hu was a ringleader, it was best to question him secretly. The mayor agreed. The room for the interrogation was dim. Mayor Ma couldn't see clearly, but he didn't care.

[xlwoo]

“Your name?” The mayor asked the boy. “I'm Hu.” The boy answered accordingly. “How old are you?” That was the routine question. “Twenty-one.” The prisoner didn't look like twenty-one years old. The mayor glanced at Judicial Adviser Mao, who was standing at his side. Mao whispered into his ear that the prisoner was a dwarf. The mayor believed him. Mayor Ma didn't even think how a dwarf could be a ringleader. (If the mayor asked, Mao was prepared to reply that the dwarf had kungfu. And it was not likely that the mayor would tell the dwarf to perform some kungfu as a proof.) Then the boy recited the statement of confession, which had been prepared for him, that his parents were old and starving and he had no other means to support them, that he had robbed some rich man so that he could buy food for them. “Did you do it alone?” asked the mayor. This was a question that was not in the prepared statement. The boy didn't know how to reply and hesitated. When the mayor pressed, the boy told the truth that there had been four other people with him. In reality, the four men had done the robbery. The boy had stood on the side looking after their things. The four people were gangsters under Hu, who had sent them out to mug people wherever they could. They had gone through a village where the boy had lived with his parents. They had always been seeking for young boys to be trained as fresh blood of their gang. So they had talked to the boy's parents, who could not say No to such people, afraid that they would kill them. The gangsters had given the parents fifteen taels of silver and taken the boy with them. On the way back to their town, they had committed the crime with the boy as the watcher.
The mayor wanted to have the four gangsters hauled in too. Judicial Adviser Mao advised him that the crime hadn't happened in his jurisdiction and no one had requested him to arrest them. His assignment from the governor was to get Hu and send Hu to the higher government. That's it, and no more. The secret motto in the officialdom then was to do exactly what he was ordered to do, and no more, because if he overdid something beyond what he was ordered to do, he might touch a wrong chord that his superiors looked upon as a taboo.
Therefore, the mayor gave his verdict, which was the death sentence, because Hu was a ringleader of a gang, who had also done other crimes. He sent the prisoner and a report to the higher government, which maintained the verdict as a routine procedure since the boy kept saying what was in the statement of his confession. The boy didn't even know that he had the death penalty. They hid the fact from him lest he should make some trouble. So the judicial official on the province level had no reason to change the verdict. When all the documents were delivered to the Judicial Ministry, the minister approved the death sentence as a rule.

[xlwoo]

“Your name?” The mayor asked the boy. “I'm Hu.” The boy answered accordingly. “How old are you?” That was the routine question. “Twenty-one.” The prisoner didn't look like twenty-one years old. The mayor glanced at Judicial Adviser Mao, who was standing at his side. Mao whispered into his ear that the prisoner was a dwarf. The mayor believed him. Mayor Ma didn't even think how a dwarf could be a ringleader. (If the mayor asked, Mao was prepared to reply that the dwarf had kungfu. And it was not likely that the mayor would tell the dwarf to perform some kungfu as a proof.) Then the boy recited the statement of confession, which had been prepared for him, that his parents were old and starving and he had no other means to support them, that he had robbed some rich man so that he could buy food for them. “Did you do it alone?” asked the mayor. This was a question that was not in the prepared statement. The boy didn't know how to reply and hesitated. When the mayor pressed, the boy told the truth that there had been four other people with him. In reality, the four men had done the robbery. The boy had stood on the side looking after their things. The four people were gangsters under Hu, who had sent them out to mug people wherever they could. They had gone through a village where the boy had lived with his parents. They had always been seeking for young boys to be trained as fresh blood of their gang. So they had talked to the boy's parents, who could not say No to such people, afraid that they would kill them. The gangsters had given the parents fifteen taels of silver and taken the boy with them. On the way back to their town, they had committed the crime with the boy as the watcher.
The mayor wanted to have the four gangsters hauled in too. Judicial Adviser Mao advised him that the crime hadn't happened in his jurisdiction and no one had requested him to arrest them. His assignment from the governor was to get Hu and send Hu to the higher government. That's it, and no more. The secret motto in the officialdom then was to do exactly what he was ordered to do, and no more, because if he overdid something beyond what he was ordered to do, he might touch a wrong chord that his superiors looked upon as a taboo.
Therefore, the mayor gave his verdict, which was the death sentence, because Hu was a ringleader of a gang, who had also done other crimes. He sent the prisoner and a report to the higher government, which maintained the verdict as a routine procedure since the boy kept saying what was in the statement of his confession. The boy didn't even know that he had the death penalty. They hid the fact from him lest he should make some trouble. So the judicial official on the province level had no reason to change the verdict. When all the documents were delivered to the Judicial Ministry, the minister approved the death sentence as a rule.

[xlwoo]

When a note of the approval arrived in the governor's yamen, a new official was ordered to oversee the execution of the boy prisoner. As the boy realized that he was to be beheaded, he cried loudly that he was not the man he was supposed to be. The new official was surprised and reported to the judicial official, who insisted on the immediate execution. But the new official felt that he could not execute a wrong person. So he took the prisoner to the governor's yamen and reported it to the governor, who thought it very serious and ordered the judicial official to interrogate the prisoner again. The boy told everything. The judicial official reported it to the governor, who considered that if they wanted to be sure that the boy had told the truth, they had to get the boy's father here to verify it. So the governor ordered the father to be fetched from where he lived. The governor dreaded that if the real Hu got the wind of it, he might send someone to kill the father. So the governor dispatched one of his guards to the mayor of the town, in his jurisdiction was the village the father lived. The mayor went to the village himself and asked around who was the father Wang. When he found the father, he took him along to the town. The father brought with him the fifteen taels of silver as evidence. The father was escorted to the governor's yamen by twenty soldiers for fear that the ringleader Hu would murder the father on the way. When the father and the son met, everything should be clear, but the judicial official persuaded the governor to maintain the original verdict, because he said that the boy was at least an accomplice and should be executed too. They never mentioned Hu, the main suspect, again. Official Zhao in Judicial Ministry sensed something wrong and insisted that the case should be judged in Judicial Ministry. So all concerned parties were brought to the capital. After cross-questioning of them all, the details of the case became clear. The result was that the ringleader Hu was apprehended and executed. Policeman Liu was put in prison for the interference with law. Judicial adviser Mao was expelled. Mayor Ma was removed from the office and banished to some remote province. The governor and the judicial official were both dismissed from their positions as a punishment. The boy was declared not guilty and went home with his father.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 34

East Empress Dowager was always honest and candid with West Empress Dowager as she thought that they were on the same boat. West Empress Dowager always felt an unbalance of emotions whenever she saw East Empress Dowager because East Empress Dowager as the former queen was always deemed a little higher in status than West Empress Dowager as the former royal concubine. If East Empress Dowager said NO, she could not say YES, like in the case when East Empress Dowager wanted to execute Little An, her favorite eunuch. Although East Empress Dowager was always nice to her, she didn't feel the same towards East Empress Dowager, but she hid her true colors and showed her false nicety, which gave East Empress Dowager a good impression.
One day East Empress Dowager found a folded piece of paper on the bottom of her jewelry box. She forgot what it was. So she picked it up and unfolded it. That was Emperor Xianfeng's will to execute West Empress Dowager if she did anything seriously wrong. But it was a long time since then, East Empress Dowager thought, and West Empress Dowager hadn't done anything wrong. What's the use to keep it longer? She thought if she showed this will to West Empress Dowager and then burned it right before her eyes, West Empress Dowager should be grateful and be kind and nice to other people like she was to her.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 34

East Empress Dowager was always honest and candid with West Empress Dowager as she thought that they were on the same boat. West Empress Dowager always felt an unbalance of emotions whenever she saw East Empress Dowager because East Empress Dowager as the former queen was always deemed a little higher in status than West Empress Dowager as the former royal concubine. If East Empress Dowager said NO, she could not say YES, like in the case when East Empress Dowager wanted to execute Little An, her favorite eunuch. Although East Empress Dowager was always nice to her, she didn't feel the same towards East Empress Dowager, but she hid her true colors and showed her false nicety, which gave East Empress Dowager a good impression.
One day East Empress Dowager found a folded piece of paper on the bottom of her jewelry box. She forgot what it was. So she picked it up and unfolded it. That was Emperor Xianfeng's will to execute West Empress Dowager if she did anything seriously wrong. But it was a long time since then, East Empress Dowager thought, and West Empress Dowager hadn't done anything wrong. What's the use to keep it longer? She thought if she showed this will to West Empress Dowager and then burned it right before her eyes, West Empress Dowager should be grateful and be kind and nice to other people like she was to her.

[xlwoo]

She pocketed it and went to see West Empress Dowager. She showed it to West Empress Dowager and then ignited it on the candle fire to show that she entirely trusted West Empress Dowager. West Empress Dowager thanked her profusely for her trust, but secretly she resented the whole thing. She couldn't explain why her feelings were deeply hurt. Was it the distrust of her husband, the late Emperor Xianfeng? Was it the generosity of East Empress Dowager? But in her opinion, this was humiliation. She always wanted to forget the difference in status between East Empress Dowager and herself, but the whole thing about the execution will just reminded her of it. She was not a person easily forgiving.
On April 7, 1881, East Empress Dowager suddenly fell sick. It looked not so serious at first when Doctor Xi went to look at her and diagnosed that it was only cold. After taking some medicine, she felt better and had a stroll in the garden. When she was leaning on the railings to watch the goldfish in the pond, a eunuch came carrying a container. West Empress Dowager sent her some food specially cooked for her. She opened the container and saw a rosy-colored steamed sweet cake. That was her favorite snack. It looked so inviting that she tasted a small piece from it. A little later, she felt an acute headache. Her limbs looked in cramp. Her head eunuch went to report to West Empress Dowager, but she was napping and Head Eunuch Li said that she could not be disturbed. So when the doctors were summoned to see East Empress Dowager, she was already dead. It was April 8, 1881. She died at the age of forty-five. The two empress dowagers worked together for twenty years from 1861 to 1881. According to the rule, the demise of an empress dowager should be immediately announced and her next-of-kin notified. But her death was publicized next day.

[xlwoo]

She pocketed it and went to see West Empress Dowager. She showed it to West Empress Dowager and then ignited it on the candle fire to show that she entirely trusted West Empress Dowager. West Empress Dowager thanked her profusely for her trust, but secretly she resented the whole thing. She couldn't explain why her feelings were deeply hurt. Was it the distrust of her husband, the late Emperor Xianfeng? Was it the generosity of East Empress Dowager? But in her opinion, this was humiliation. She always wanted to forget the difference in status between East Empress Dowager and herself, but the whole thing about the execution will just reminded her of it. She was not a person easily forgiving.
On April 7, 1881, East Empress Dowager suddenly fell sick. It looked not so serious at first when Doctor Xi went to look at her and diagnosed that it was only cold. After taking some medicine, she felt better and had a stroll in the garden. When she was leaning on the railings to watch the goldfish in the pond, a eunuch came carrying a container. West Empress Dowager sent her some food specially cooked for her. She opened the container and saw a rosy-colored steamed sweet cake. That was her favorite snack. It looked so inviting that she tasted a small piece from it. A little later, she felt an acute headache. Her limbs looked in cramp. Her head eunuch went to report to West Empress Dowager, but she was napping and Head Eunuch Li said that she could not be disturbed. So when the doctors were summoned to see East Empress Dowager, she was already dead. It was April 8, 1881. She died at the age of forty-five. The two empress dowagers worked together for twenty years from 1861 to 1881. According to the rule, the demise of an empress dowager should be immediately announced and her next-of-kin notified. But her death was publicized next day.

[xlwoo]

When the confusing message that Empress Dowager died became known to the courtiers, they all thought that it was West Empress Dowager, because she had been sick for a long time. Then when it was made clear that East Empress Dowager died, all the courtiers were stunned. They didn't know what to think, because East Empress Dowager was always known in a good health. Therefore, rumors got legs and spread far and wide. It was suspected that she had been poisoned by West Empress Dowager as it was said that West Empress Dowager had sent some food to East Empress Dowager on the same day she died. The suspicions were based on the following facts:
(1) East Empress Dowager had insisted in the execution of Little An, the favorite eunuch of West Empress Dowager.
(2) Once her new favorite eunuch Li was wrestling with other eunuchs as fun when East Empress Dowager passed on a sedan-chair, Li ignored her. East Empress Dowager thought that Li had no respect for her and wanted to have Li beaten. When she complained to West Empress Dowager, West Empress Dowager disagreed and they had a quarrel.
(3) West Empress Dowager liked to watch operas and had a favorite actor, who often came to where West Empress Dowager lived. It was said that once East Empress Dowager caught West Empress Dowager lying with the actor on bed, very indecent behavior for an empress dowager. East Empress Dowager criticized her and West Empress Dowager had to express her regret and vow that she would never do such things again. She even had the actor put to death.
(4) West Empress Dowager thought that if East Empress Dowager told others about the will, she would be greatly embarrassed. She already felt humbled before East Empress Dowager. She could no longer bear such humiliation.
Added up to the above facts, there were often minor differences of opinions between the two empress dowagers. A sovereign's palace is always full of secrets.

[xlwoo]

When the confusing message that Empress Dowager died became known to the courtiers, they all thought that it was West Empress Dowager, because she had been sick for a long time. Then when it was made clear that East Empress Dowager died, all the courtiers were stunned. They didn't know what to think, because East Empress Dowager was always known in a good health. Therefore, rumors got legs and spread far and wide. It was suspected that she had been poisoned by West Empress Dowager as it was said that West Empress Dowager had sent some food to East Empress Dowager on the same day she died. The suspicions were based on the following facts:
(1) East Empress Dowager had insisted in the execution of Little An, the favorite eunuch of West Empress Dowager.
(2) Once her new favorite eunuch Li was wrestling with other eunuchs as fun when East Empress Dowager passed on a sedan-chair, Li ignored her. East Empress Dowager thought that Li had no respect for her and wanted to have Li beaten. When she complained to West Empress Dowager, West Empress Dowager disagreed and they had a quarrel.
(3) West Empress Dowager liked to watch operas and had a favorite actor, who often came to where West Empress Dowager lived. It was said that once East Empress Dowager caught West Empress Dowager lying with the actor on bed, very indecent behavior for an empress dowager. East Empress Dowager criticized her and West Empress Dowager had to express her regret and vow that she would never do such things again. She even had the actor put to death.
(4) West Empress Dowager thought that if East Empress Dowager told others about the will, she would be greatly embarrassed. She already felt humbled before East Empress Dowager. She could no longer bear such humiliation.
Added up to the above facts, there were often minor differences of opinions between the two empress dowagers. A sovereign's palace is always full of secrets.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 35

Esquire Yang lived in Yuhang Town of Zhejiang Province. He had passed two government tests and had given an honorary title. But he didn't go for any official post. His family was rich. He liked to learn herbal medicine and sometimes served the neighborhood as a doctor. Across the street from his house there was a bean curd (toufu) shop, run by the husband and wife. The wife was beautiful and had a nickname: Cabbage. White and watery. Esquire Yang and the husband and wife knew each other since they were close neighbors. Mayor Liu of the town had a fop of a son who only knew sex and merry-making, never learned anything good and useful, let alone to study. But he was young and handsome, full of energy and hormone. The place he frequented was the whorehouse.
One day the son happened to pass the bean curd shop and saw the wife Cabbage, who was selling bean curd to the customers. He halted before the shop, fixing his eyes on her face. When other customers left, he was still there, motionless like spellbound. Cabbage was wondering what he was waiting for; so she asked, “How can I help you, Customer?” Roused from his daydreaming, he stepped forward, pretending that he wanted to buy some bean curd. But instead of saying how much bean curd he wanted, he introduced himself, “I am the son of the mayor.” Often when people heard his self-introduction, they would stand in awe of him. That was just the effect he wished. Cabbage was awed, too. She apologized for not being aware who he was and then begged to know how much bean curd he wanted. He ignored that and asked flirtingly, “How old are you, Beauty?” Cabbage only smiled. The son asked, “Are you married?” Cabbage replied this time, “Yes.” She hoped that he would leave since she was married. Nevertheless, the son said, “If you marry me, you'll live comfortably and happily all your life.” He knew that was impossible. His mayor father would never ascent to his marrying with the left hand. He said so just as a temptation. He wanted sex with her only. Nothing more. When the husband returned, he had to leave.

[xlwoo]

Chapter 35

Esquire Yang lived in Yuhang Town of Zhejiang Province. He had passed two government tests and had given an honorary title. But he didn't go for any official post. His family was rich. He liked to learn herbal medicine and sometimes served the neighborhood as a doctor. Across the street from his house there was a bean curd (toufu) shop, run by the husband and wife. The wife was beautiful and had a nickname: Cabbage. White and watery. Esquire Yang and the husband and wife knew each other since they were close neighbors. Mayor Liu of the town had a fop of a son who only knew sex and merry-making, never learned anything good and useful, let alone to study. But he was young and handsome, full of energy and hormone. The place he frequented was the whorehouse.
One day the son happened to pass the bean curd shop and saw the wife Cabbage, who was selling bean curd to the customers. He halted before the shop, fixing his eyes on her face. When other customers left, he was still there, motionless like spellbound. Cabbage was wondering what he was waiting for; so she asked, “How can I help you, Customer?” Roused from his daydreaming, he stepped forward, pretending that he wanted to buy some bean curd. But instead of saying how much bean curd he wanted, he introduced himself, “I am the son of the mayor.” Often when people heard his self-introduction, they would stand in awe of him. That was just the effect he wished. Cabbage was awed, too. She apologized for not being aware who he was and then begged to know how much bean curd he wanted. He ignored that and asked flirtingly, “How old are you, Beauty?” Cabbage only smiled. The son asked, “Are you married?” Cabbage replied this time, “Yes.” She hoped that he would leave since she was married. Nevertheless, the son said, “If you marry me, you'll live comfortably and happily all your life.” He knew that was impossible. His mayor father would never ascent to his marrying with the left hand. He said so just as a temptation. He wanted sex with her only. Nothing more. When the husband returned, he had to leave.

[xlwoo]

From then on, he often came to the shop, but never bought any bean curd. When the husband was out, he flirted with her, teased her, importuned her, even threatened her. Some women are vain by nature. The son often bought her cosmetics and new expensive dress. At first Cabbage refused to take anything from him, but he just left the things behind in the shop and scurried away. Cabbage had to hide the forced gifts somewhere lest her husband saw them and caused trouble. By degrees she accepted the handsome young man, the son of the mayor. The son didn't keep their adultery a secret as it should. He didn't care if people knew it. Who dared to offend the son of the mayor? Soon the husband learned it, but what could he do? He could not sue the son in his father's yamen. On the contrary, the son was jealous of the husband and desired to get rid of him.
The husband was taken ill one cold day. Cabbage went to Esquire Yang and asked him to come over to see her husband. So Esquire Yang followed her into their bedroom in the back of the shop. Esquire Yang diagnosed that it was nothing serious and the husband just caught cold. Yang prescribed some medical herbs and minerals, and left. Just as Cabbage was going to buy the medicine on the prescription in a drugstore, the son came to see her. When he knew that the husband was sick and she would go out to buy the medicine, he offered to go for her. He went to a drugstore and bought the medicine on the prescription. Then as if he suddenly remembered, he wanted to buy a small packet of arsenic, to poison the mice in his house, he explained. Back to the bean curd shop, he gave the medicine and the small packet to Cabbage and left in a hurry. Cabbage thought that the medicine and the stuff in the small packet were all prescribed. So she put everything together in a pot and stewed them. When it was ready, she poured the medicine juice into a bowl and fed it to her husband when it was cool enough to take. Before long, the husband cried pain and rolled all over the bed. Cabbage did not know what to do and just watched. Next moment, blood came out from his nose and mouth. Cabbage realized that her husband was poisoned and remembered the small packet, but she couldn't say anything about it.

[xlwoo]

From then on, he often came to the shop, but never bought any bean curd. When the husband was out, he flirted with her, teased her, importuned her, even threatened her. Some women are vain by nature. The son often bought her cosmetics and new expensive dress. At first Cabbage refused to take anything from him, but he just left the things behind in the shop and scurried away. Cabbage had to hide the forced gifts somewhere lest her husband saw them and caused trouble. By degrees she accepted the handsome young man, the son of the mayor. The son didn't keep their adultery a secret as it should. He didn't care if people knew it. Who dared to offend the son of the mayor? Soon the husband learned it, but what could he do? He could not sue the son in his father's yamen. On the contrary, the son was jealous of the husband and desired to get rid of him.
The husband was taken ill one cold day. Cabbage went to Esquire Yang and asked him to come over to see her husband. So Esquire Yang followed her into their bedroom in the back of the shop. Esquire Yang diagnosed that it was nothing serious and the husband just caught cold. Yang prescribed some medical herbs and minerals, and left. Just as Cabbage was going to buy the medicine on the prescription in a drugstore, the son came to see her. When he knew that the husband was sick and she would go out to buy the medicine, he offered to go for her. He went to a drugstore and bought the medicine on the prescription. Then as if he suddenly remembered, he wanted to buy a small packet of arsenic, to poison the mice in his house, he explained. Back to the bean curd shop, he gave the medicine and the small packet to Cabbage and left in a hurry. Cabbage thought that the medicine and the stuff in the small packet were all prescribed. So she put everything together in a pot and stewed them. When it was ready, she poured the medicine juice into a bowl and fed it to her husband when it was cool enough to take. Before long, the husband cried pain and rolled all over the bed. Cabbage did not know what to do and just watched. Next moment, blood came out from his nose and mouth. Cabbage realized that her husband was poisoned and remembered the small packet, but she couldn't say anything about it.

[xlwoo]

In such a case, the wife must report to the government. So a coroner came and detected the remaining trace of arsenic. He concluded that the husband was poisoned. He reported it to the mayor. The wife was arrested as a suspect.
The mayor's son hadn't thought that the wife would be arrested. Now the situation was out of his control. He went to the jail to visit Cabbage, who blamed him for the murder.
“It's no use to blame me.” He said, “No evidence against me. I really come to rescue you.”
“How?” Cabbage asked with hope.
“You are only a suspect. If you can point out someone else who poisoned your husband, you'll be released.” The son really liked Cabbage and wanted to save her life, but he knew that they must find a scapegoat to take the responsibility, or the case couldn't be closed.
“I can''t think of such a person.” She sobbed.
“Who wrote you the prescription?” The son asked.
“Esquire Yang.” The son knew him and even hated him for his learning because his father always compared him with Yang and scolded him for neglecting his studies. He said, “So, he's the one.”
“No, he's a nice man. I can't frame him.”
“Then you will die.” The son pressed. The law at that time was very simple: whoever kills must be executed. “Please, do it for me.” said the son, “When you are released, we'll go somewhere else and live together. Besides, Yang won't be executed because he has an honorary title. At the worst he will be deprived of his title. This time...” (He implied that after the honorary title is taken away, if he commits such a crime again, he will die. But he won't die this time.) Cabbage knew nothing of the law and believed him. By then, she began to love the son and wanted to live together with him since her husband had died.
A few days later, Cabbage was brought before the mayor for questioning. “How did you murder your husband?” The mayor interrogated.
“I didn't murder my husband. It's a total mistake.” replied she on her knees.
“If you didn't, who murdered your husband?” The mayor sounded fierce.
“I don't know. Not me.” Her voice was so low that the mayor barely heard her. He ordered the jailers to slap her face twenty times. Cabbage cried, “No. I have something to say.” So the mayor bid the jailers to hold.
“When my husband was sick, I asked Esquire Yang to diagnose. He wrote the prescription.”
“Where is the prescription now?”

[xlwoo]

In such a case, the wife must report to the government. So a coroner came and detected the remaining trace of arsenic. He concluded that the husband was poisoned. He reported it to the mayor. The wife was arrested as a suspect.
The mayor's son hadn't thought that the wife would be arrested. Now the situation was out of his control. He went to the jail to visit Cabbage, who blamed him for the murder.
“It's no use to blame me.” He said, “No evidence against me. I really come to rescue you.”
“How?” Cabbage asked with hope.
“You are only a suspect. If you can point out someone else who poisoned your husband, you'll be released.” The son really liked Cabbage and wanted to save her life, but he knew that they must find a scapegoat to take the responsibility, or the case couldn't be closed.
“I can''t think of such a person.” She sobbed.
“Who wrote you the prescription?” The son asked.
“Esquire Yang.” The son knew him and even hated him for his learning because his father always compared him with Yang and scolded him for neglecting his studies. He said, “So, he's the one.”
“No, he's a nice man. I can't frame him.”
“Then you will die.” The son pressed. The law at that time was very simple: whoever kills must be executed. “Please, do it for me.” said the son, “When you are released, we'll go somewhere else and live together. Besides, Yang won't be executed because he has an honorary title. At the worst he will be deprived of his title. This time...” (He implied that after the honorary title is taken away, if he commits such a crime again, he will die. But he won't die this time.) Cabbage knew nothing of the law and believed him. By then, she began to love the son and wanted to live together with him since her husband had died.
A few days later, Cabbage was brought before the mayor for questioning. “How did you murder your husband?” The mayor interrogated.
“I didn't murder my husband. It's a total mistake.” replied she on her knees.
“If you didn't, who murdered your husband?” The mayor sounded fierce.
“I don't know. Not me.” Her voice was so low that the mayor barely heard her. He ordered the jailers to slap her face twenty times. Cabbage cried, “No. I have something to say.” So the mayor bid the jailers to hold.
“When my husband was sick, I asked Esquire Yang to diagnose. He wrote the prescription.”
“Where is the prescription now?”