Chapter 101
Chapter 101
[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 21]
After the Jingkang Incident, Li Shimin ascended the throne on the first day of the fifth lunar month that same year and proclaimed himself emperor, changing the era name to Jianyan. He then fought Jin in one campaign after another without suffering a single defeat. Not only did he force the Jin to bow their heads and submit a formal surrender, meekly disgorging everything they had swallowed, he also recovered Shandong, the three prefectures of Taiyuan, and other lost territories in one sweep, restoring the rivers and mountains of the Great Song.
Song and Jin had been at war from the very beginning of his reign. The fighting had scarcely stopped for an entire year. Song territory had become the battlefield, and the devastation inflicted upon the economy and the people’s livelihoods went without saying. Jin, meanwhile, had lost troops and generals while suffering one internal upheaval after another, leaving it equally disinclined to continue. The two sides tacitly agreed to a ceasefire and peace talks, each withdrawing to recover its strength for the battles to come.
Heaven had shown mercy: the second year of Jianyan was truly a good year. Wind and rain came in due season, and the four seasons followed their proper course. When the year-end tallies were made, good news arrived from every corner of the realm.
The Ministry of Revenue calculated the year’s intake of coin and grain. When its officials presented the figures to the emperor, they could not hide the smiles creasing their faces.
There was something else that delighted Li Shimin even more.
Perhaps it was because Zong Ze had finally encountered an enlightened ruler and could now see hope for the country, but although he was originally supposed to die in the seventh month of Jianyan’s second year, he remained very much alive at year’s end. He could eat three bowls of rice at a sitting and, when the mood took him, still mount a horse with a saber in hand and charge into battle.
The first time Li Shimin mentioned this, Zong Ze had been deeply gratified and shed tears of emotion.
The second time, Zong Ze’s heroic spirit had surged, and he had heartily agreed.
…
The Nth time Li Shimin mentioned it, Zong Ze stared at the young emperor in confusion. He frowned and pondered for several moments, then his expression abruptly changed. After dismissing his family and attendants, he fell to his knees and wept. “Has some illness befallen Your Majesty’s sacred person? Is your allotted span nearly spent? Is that why you have visited this minister’s residence so often of late to speak of ambitions you have yet to fulfill?”
Li Shimin: “…”
“This old minister is a fool! Only today did I realize!”
Old tears streamed down Zong Ze’s face as he beat his chest and stamped his feet. “Heaven shows no pity to our Great Song! It has only just bestowed a brilliant sovereign upon us, and now it means to take him back? Your Majesty is young, while Zong Ze is old and decrepit. Why not claim my life instead and leave Your Majesty in this world to accomplish your great designs?!”
Li Shimin: “…”
Li Shimin was deeply moved. Then, with a black expression, he said, “I thank Marshal Zong for the kind thought, but I am in excellent health. I eat well, sleep well, and have an imperial physician take my pulse every three days. There is nothing wrong with me.”
Zong Ze: “…”
Zong Ze silently climbed to his feet and swiftly wiped away his tears. He said nothing, merely fixing the emperor with a wounded, accusing stare.
Then what in the world had their iron-headed emperor been up to lately?!
Li Shimin: “…”
Li Shimin could hardly tell him, *According to the history books, you’re about to die.* After choking on his words for a moment, he finally said, “I only wanted someone in whom I could confide.”
Li Shimin: “…”
Li Shimin nodded with a brittle smile, bade him farewell, and left in a distinctly disgruntled mood.
On horseback on the way back to the palace, he could not resist asking his old companions, “He sounded full of vigor to me. Do you think he’s safe now?”
Emperor Gaozu thought it over, his tone uncertain. “He should be?”
Ying Zheng saw in Zong Ze a shadow of his own veteran general Wang Jian and held the old minister in considerable respect. He therefore deigned to speak, a rare occurrence. “Qin Hui’s fate could change. Yue Fei’s fate could change. Emperors Qinzong and Huizong even died outside the Meridian Gate. If the fates of treacherous ministers and foolish rulers can change, why should a loyal minister’s destiny remain fixed?”
The tension in Li Shimin’s heart eased. He laughed at himself. “You’re right. I was too close to the matter to see it clearly.”
Liu Che added, “The last time around, he probably died because the realm was collapsing before his eyes and he could see no hope. Wanyan Gou wanted nothing but a shameful peace and had no intention of marching north. The old man was filled with heroic ambition yet had no way to realize it. Isolation and resentment ate away at him; even the strongest body can be ruined by that kind of anger. But now that you’re here, Jin has been beaten like a dog and the Great Song is flourishing by the day. The knot in his heart has loosened, so naturally his health has improved too.”
Zhu Yuanzhang agreed. “Don’t forget, this is a renowned general who could still take up his saber, mount his horse, and charge into battle at sixty-nine!”
“Ha!”
The other emperors had just begun to find this reasonable and had not yet had time to nod when Liu Che smugly rolled his eyes and said in a singsong, taunting voice, “Old Zhu, only the two of us are qualified to say that. People who died in their forties or fifties couldn’t possibly understand what it feels like to be past seventy!”
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”
The other emperors: “…”
Before Li Shimin could call the Didi proxy beating service, Emperor Gaozu and Ying Zheng had already rolled up their sleeves and were advancing on Liu Che with distinctly unfriendly expressions.
Li Shimin had at least lived to fifty-two. Those two had suffered a far crueler fate: both died at forty-nine, without even crossing the threshold of fifty!
Only after the words had tumbled glibly from his mouth did Liu Che realize his mistake. He turned to run, but it was already too late.
Seated nearby, Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him in complete bewilderment. “Zhi’er, do you have foreign blood in you? Is your other name Instigate-a-Beating-or-I-Feel-Unwell-ski?”
Liu Che: “…”
That year, the Great Song enjoyed favorable weather, peace throughout the realm, and well-stocked granaries and treasuries. Sovereign and ministers stood united in purpose. Jin, by contrast, had been having a thoroughly miserable time.
After the upheaval in the Supreme Capital, the Prince of Liang Zongbi established a rival court in Longzhou. Meanwhile, Wanyan Zongpan, a legitimate son of Jin’s founding emperor, ascended the throne with the support of his mother, Empress Tangkuo, and a host of trusted followers. Both men declared themselves Jin’s one rightful sovereign and Son of Heaven.
Each side wished to preserve its strength and keep the situation under control. However, no mountains separated the Supreme Capital from Longzhou, nor did any river or sea divide them. Neither side was willing to retreat and let the other gain an advantage. Friction broke out every few days, and with new grudges piling atop old hatreds, it was hardly surprising that they fought a battle every few months.
When the news reached Dongjing (Kaifeng), Great Song officials submitted memorial after memorial calling for war. Yet to the court’s surprise, the young emperor, usually so eager for battle, declined to give his approval. He merely smiled, inscrutable, and said, “The time has not yet come.”
Li Shimin was still waiting.
Waiting for Yelü Dashi and the other Liao men to help him train a powerful cavalry force capable of sweeping across the eastern lands.
It was true that the Great Song and Liao were bitter enemies, but in Liao eyes, Jin was infinitely worse.
When the men Zong Ze dispatched finally located Yelü Dashi and his followers, the Liao initially prepared to rise in resistance. Yet once they heard the envoys explain their purpose, they immediately declared that if the Great Song meant to march north against Jin, the Liao would bring their own provisions and join the fight!
Li Shimin went nowhere during the winter of Jianyan’s second year. He remained in the palace with Zong Ze, Wu Jie, Yue Fei, and the others, studying routes for the coming spring offensive. Once the map was spread out, they analyzed the terrain from south to north with every intention of settling the war in a single campaign.
His beloved little princess was four years old now. Under her father’s influence, she was bold despite her tender age. When Li Shimin took her riding, she showed no fear at all and clapped her hands in delighted laughter.
Empress Dowager Zheng watched from the side, her heart in her throat. “Really, Your Majesty! Take care not to frighten the child!”
Empress Wei merely smiled. Cradling her young son, she said gently, “He will not. His Majesty is a loving father and would never act recklessly.”
Empress Dowager Meng smiled too. “Yongning takes after her father. They say you can see the adult in the three-year-old. By the time she grows up, I expect she will be a heroine who can draw a bow and ride a horse!”
Empress Dowager Zheng paused. Remembering the calamities that had befallen several of her own daughters, her spirits dimmed, but the gaze she fixed upon the little princess grew even more loving. “A heroine is a fine thing. She can hold her fate in her own hands and make herself heard. She needn’t be like duckweed upon the water, able only to drift wherever the current carries her.”
Empress Wei knew that painful memories had risen in her heart. Yet since Empress Dowager Zheng had not spoken of them directly, an ill-timed attempt at consolation might only deepen her grief.
Instead, Empress Dowager Zheng became embarrassed. “This is my fault. I brought up such things for no reason and made the Empress uncomfortable.”
Empress Wei hurriedly replied, “Imperial Mother, when you say that, you truly leave me no place to hide my shame.”
The women continued chatting in perfect harmony. When Li Shimin arrived, however, they all fell silent. Empress Wei rose with a smile and ordered the attendants to serve the meal.
Li Shimin pinched the little tuft of hair atop his daughter’s head, then handed her back to the Empress. His gaze swept around the hall, and he suddenly noticed that one of the imperial princesses seemed to be missing. A place at the banquet stood empty. Emperor Huizong had left behind so many daughters, however, that Li Shimin could not immediately think which one was absent.
He lowered his voice and asked Empress Wei, “Which younger sister isn’t here?”
Empress Wei answered softly, “Zhuzhu is ill and cannot rise from bed. She just sent someone to the palace with an apology and said she could not attend today’s banquet.”
The Zhuzhu she meant was Princess Huifu, Zhao Zhuzhu.
It was the depths of winter, and the weather was bitterly cold. The imperial princesses had delicate constitutions, so there was nothing strange about one of them catching a chill.
Li Shimin thought little of it. He vaguely remembered that Princess Huifu’s birth mother, Noble Consort Wang, had died young, and that the princess herself had been ill for some time after being ransomed back from Jin. Pity stirred in him, and he added, “Send someone to look in on her and bestow a few gifts. These girls have suffered more than enough. As their elder brother and sister-in-law, we ought to show them greater care.”
Empress Wei nodded. “I have already sent someone.”
Moved by his beloved wife’s virtue and by how perfectly their thoughts aligned, Li Shimin gave her hand a gratified squeeze, then turned to speak with the two empress dowagers.
Outside the hall lay the bitter cold; within, it was warm as spring. The palace servants had prepared a hotpot, and once the broth was seasoned, its aroma seemed to take on a life of its own, burrowing straight into everyone’s nose. The cooks sliced meat as thin as cicada wings, ready the instant it touched the bubbling broth, and added all manner of other steaming dishes. Even the excessively grand and stately palace hall seemed to acquire the warmth and smoke of ordinary human life.
It was then that the palace lady Empress Wei had sent to visit Princess Huifu returned. Upon entering and finding the feast at its liveliest, she hesitated and did not approach.
Lady Zhang, who served at Empress Wei’s side, noticed her. She quietly slipped away, drew the woman aside, and asked in a low voice, “Has the imperial princess’s illness worsened?”
The returning palace lady’s face was tight with anger. “The princess isn’t ill at all. Her face is injured, and she is too ashamed to let anyone see her!”
Shock crossed Lady Zhang’s face. One look at the other woman’s expression told her there was far more to the story, and her features immediately turned grave. “What happened?”
The palace lady said bitterly, “The Prince Consort has behaved outrageously! He ransomed a woman from a brothel and brought her home as a concubine, then gave her the princess’s jewelry to wear. The princess was furious and confronted him, but that wretch was bold enough to strike her! Her face was injured. She is too ashamed to go out, yet she does not want the affair to spread and make her the laughingstock of Dongjing (Kaifeng). She could only suffer in silence, decline today’s palace banquet, and nurse her wounds at home!”
Rage blazed in Lady Zhang. She hated the Prince Consort for his arrogance and defiance, but she also pitied the princess, who had lost her mother young, suffered in the north, and finally returned to Dongjing (Kaifeng), only to find herself married to such a man.
And somewhere beneath that pity lay anger at the princess for failing to fight back. “How could the princess be so foolish? Noble Consort Wang may have died long ago, but the princess still has an elder brother and sister-in-law. If she came to the palace and lodged a complaint, I’d like to see His Majesty refrain from skinning that Prince Consort alive!”
The moment the words left her mouth, however, Lady Zhang gave a bitter laugh. “No. I cannot blame the princess. I was taking too much for granted.”
Why did she say that?
Because the princesses of this dynasty could not begin to compare with the princesses of earlier dynasties.
How formidable had the princesses of Han and Tang been?
Their titles alone told the story.
Princess Luyuan, Princess Guantao, Princess Pingyang, Princess Taiping-which of them had not wielded enormous influence while alive, making the political world tremble whenever she stamped her foot?
Keeping a few male favorites had been the least of it. These were women who had genuinely altered the course of politics beneath heaven!
But what of this dynasty?
Ever since its founding Emperor Taizu, its princesses had been more obedient than the last, each more gentle, humble, deferential, and yielding than the one before. The civil officials spoke from both sides of their mouths. They praised those mild, virtuous, patient, and submissive princesses to the skies, then turned around and savaged any princess whose temperament fell short of their ideal of dignified womanly virtue.
But was it necessarily a blessing to be praised?
Those words recorded in the histories-*humble, submissive, and virtuous*-had been bought with a princess’s lifetime of forbearance!
Just look at the sort of Prince Consorts the Song had produced. One abused a princess until, when she fell ill, her blankets crawled with lice. One committed adultery with a princess’s wet nurse. One drank and caroused, coupling with concubines right in front of his wife. Another tormented a princess to death…
Those who knew the truth might call them princesses and Prince Consorts. Anyone who did not would think they were watching a contest between paragons of feudal womanly virtue and the vilest male scum alive!
With so many precedents before her, Princess Huifu had even less reason to hope. Her birth mother had died young, and her maternal family possessed no power to support her. Even after suffering such humiliation, what could she do?
She did not even dare imagine that her elder brother and sister-in-law would defend her or demand justice on her behalf.
That was precisely why the Prince Consort dared act with such impunity.
*The princesses of earlier reigns endured the same thing. What gives you the right to object?*
The young palace lady was so furious she was nearly in tears. “Sister Zhang, you have no idea how monstrous that bastard was! He stole from the princess’s dowry to adorn that brothel woman. When the princess confronted him, he said… he said…”
Lady Zhang’s face was like dark water. “What did he say?”
Overcome with rage, the palace lady burst into tears. “He said the princess had been defiled by the Jin too, that she wasn’t much nobler than a brothel woman, and had no right to look down on anyone else!”
At those words, Lady Zhang felt a surge of fire shoot straight to the crown of her head. Cultivated as she usually was, she could not stop herself from cursing. “That beast! Men failed to defend the city and allowed women to be violated. It is bad enough that he feels no shame over that-how dare he use it against her? Emperor Huizong arranged his marriage to the princess while still on the throne. That man was here when the Jin seized the two emperors and carried them north. Why did he not nobly die for his country then? Why did he not kill the Jin? Yet when it comes to bullying a defenseless woman, suddenly he has courage to spare!”
Hatred filled her so fiercely that she bit her lip until it bled. Seeing the young palace lady’s face drenched with tears, she took out a handkerchief and wiped them away. “Why are you crying? The palace banquet is not over, and all the imperial princesses are still inside. If I rush in and speak of this now, I will only reopen their own wounds. Don’t worry. The instant the banquet ends, I will beg the Empress to intervene. Even if I have to kowtow until my forehead splits open, I will make certain she gives the princess justice!”
The young palace lady nodded through her tears. Lady Zhang gave her several more instructions, composed herself, and only then returned to the hall to resume her duties.
Empress Dowager Meng and Empress Dowager Zheng were advanced in years and tended to grow drowsy in the afternoon. Empress Wei thoughtfully had them escorted back to their respective palaces, while the imperial princesses departed the palace one after another for their own residences.
Before Lady Zhang could raise the matter of Princess Huifu, Empress Wei asked her first. “You have been distracted ever since you went outside. Has something happened to Zhuzhu? That does not seem quite right either. If she were seriously ill, you would have spoken long ago. Why wait until now?”
Li Shimin turned for a look and saw that Lady Zhang had bitten through her lip. Knowing something must have happened at Princess Huifu’s residence, his expression immediately grew solemn. “What exactly happened? Tell us everything, without leaving out a single detail.”
Lady Zhang dropped to her knees with a thud and repeated everything the palace lady had told her to the Emperor and Empress. At the end, she said furiously, “For the Prince Consort to behave with such insolence is not merely an outrage against the princess; it is an insult to the Imperial House. How can a man so rebellious and devoid of principle be spared?!”
Empress Wei was a woman and had known Princess Huifu before. She already pitied the unfortunate girl; when she heard how the Prince Consort had abused her, rage flared in her heart and her face darkened.
As for Li Shimin…
His precious son Li Zhi had faced a similar situation in his previous life.
Not long after his younger full sister, Princess Xincheng, entered her second marriage, rumors began to spread that she and her Prince Consort were at odds. She died soon afterward. The relevant office was ordered to interrogate the Prince Consort, who could offer no answer.
Shocked and enraged, Li Zhi immediately ordered the Prince Consort’s execution and exiled his clan.
The fact that Li Zhi later discovered he had wronged the man and had him reburied beside his sister was immaterial to the present discussion. So too was the possibility that Princess Xincheng had died of melancholy over her first husband, leaving Li Zhi guilt-ridden and inclined to vent his fury upon the second.
Compared with Li Shimin, Li Zhi was a little lamb beside a tiger. Yet even that gentle ruler had killed a Prince Consort and exiled his clan after learning that his sister had been wronged. What, then, would Li Shimin do?
After hearing Lady Zhang’s account from beginning to end, Li Shimin’s head filled with question marks. He sat frozen for a long moment, then asked in bafflement, “Has the Prince Consort lost his mind? Has he decided this mortal world is no longer worth lingering in?”
Empress Wei: “…”
Lady Zhang: “…”
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly said, “Oh! Sorry, sorry, this one’s on me! I’ve told you how humiliating the Great Song was and how shameless Wanyan Gou was, but I never explained what status Song princesses actually held!”
He hastened to enlighten Li Shimin. “In the Song Dynasty, there was nothing unusual about a princess being abused to death by her Prince Consort.”
“…” Li Shimin: “!!!!”
A critical hit on the very first line!
Li Shimin stared at him in disbelief. “The emperors did nothing?!”
*I had plenty of daughters, and some of them truly did receive little favor. But no matter how little I favored one, if her Prince Consort dared kill her, he could wash his neck and wait to die!*
Liu Che was shocked too. “Surely not? Isn’t that the sort of thing that happened in Emperor Gaozu’s brain-dead world? Did Prince Consorts in real life actually dare kill princesses?!”
Ying Zheng also frowned. “Is that true?”
“Oh, please.” Zhu Yuanzhang wore the expression of a man surrounded by provincials. “The emperors were either benevolent sovereigns who shared rule beneath heaven with the scholar-officials, or adopted sons from collateral branches of the imperial clan. Where would they find the leisure to concern themselves with such things?”
Li Shimin said, “Sharing rule with the scholar-officials means allowing a Prince Consort to kill your own daughter? You could share the realm with the King of Heaven himself and that still wouldn’t be acceptable! And what is this nonsense about adopted sons from collateral branches? They were all surnamed Zhao. Could they not tell family from strangers?!”
Ying Zheng murmured, “Art truly does imitate life.”
The other emperors: “…”
Zhu Yuanzhang continued, “In the Song Dynasty, there was also a Prince Consort who committed adultery with a princess’s wet nurse.”
Li Shimin: “Ugh!”
The other emperors: “Ugh!”
“Are you serious?!”
Liu Che’s voice turned sinister. “What happened afterward? Did the Prince Consort die?!”
Emperor Gaozu and Ying Zheng both leaned forward to listen.
“No,” Zhu Yuanzhang said. “The princess was virtuous and pleaded for mercy on their behalf. The affair came to nothing.”
Li Shimin: “…”
The other emperors: “…”
Liu Che laughed in fury. “The princess was not nearly virtuous enough. How petty and narrow-minded of her! She should have had the Prince Consort take the wet nurse as his concubine. The two women could share one husband like Ehuang and Nüying, call each other sisters, and thus prove themselves worthy of a bond that began in childhood.”
Li Shimin: “…”
The other emperors: “…”
Zhi’er, how exquisitely vicious of you.
Zhu Yuanzhang added, “And the Song had an even more remarkable Prince Consort. The princess fell ill, and while he was attending her, mm… he coupled with a maid right beside her bed.”
Li Shimin: “…”
The other emperors: “…”
Li Shimin began to question his entire existence. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
The corner of Ying Zheng’s mouth twitched. He hesitated. “It… surely cannot!”
Liu Che scowled. “That’s fucking beyond the pale!”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled without answering.
Empress Wei and Lady Zhang saw the emperor remain silent for a long while and could not help growing worried. They feared he intended to smooth matters over-raise the board high, bring it down gently, offer a few reprimands, and turn the page.
To their astonishment, when Li Shimin came back to himself, he said not a word. He snatched up the saber at his waist and strode out, murderous fury rolling off him.
Empress Wei started and hurried after him. “Your Majesty?”
Li Shimin turned back to her, his expression perfectly amiable. “Go and take your afternoon nap. I am going to kill a dog. I will be back shortly.”