Chapter 43: The Schemes of Duke Zhang Weixian of England

"The winds of heaven are about to shift!"

The Duke of Ying uttered these words with profound meaning, leaving the nobles around him entirely bewildered.

He had finally figured it out: the new emperor was truly intent on drawing his sword.

All those imperial favors and the elevation of Wei Zhongxian were merely delaying tactics to bewilder the eunuch faction. The new emperor's plan was clear: either make no move at all, or strike with absolute lethality to seize total control upon the very first action.

This was evident from the involvement of Fang Zhengfa, Li Ruolian, Li Banghua, and the Five-City Gendarmerie. Now, he desperately wanted to know what the emperor's ultimate trump card might be.

"Disperse, all of you. Return to the capital garrison and resume your drills. From now on, everyone will remain within the main encampment. Without my explicit permission, anyone daring to step outside the camp will be treated as a deserter and executed without mercy!"

With those words, Zhang Weixian mounted his horse and galloped ahead toward the outer capital garrison camp.

Upon returning to the commander's tent, before he even had time to sit down and take a sip of tea, a courier was led in by his personal guards.

"Marshal, I am a courier from the Congtai Relay Station in Guangping Prefecture, sent under the orders of Station Master Zhang Xinyu to deliver a message."

Hearing the words "Congtai Relay Station in Guangping Prefecture," Zhang Weixian felt a sudden jolt in his heart, and a grim premonition arose within him. The station master of Congtai was a distant relative of the Duke of Ying's clan and a man he had planted there primarily to gather intelligence.

"Everyone, withdraw!"

Zhang Weixian gave a low bark. Aside from his son, Zhang Zhiji, all others retreated from the tent. Then, he said softly, "Speak!"

"Marshal, the station master asked me to inform you that a large army has passed through Guangping Prefecture. The exact numbers are unclear, but judging by their equipment, they appear to be the White-Staff Soldiers. Calculating the time, they should have already passed Zhending Prefecture by now!"

Boom!

Ten thousand bolts of thunder seemed to crash in Zhang Weixian's mind. He stood up instantly. He had known the tides were turning, but he never expected the emperor to secretly summon the White-Staff Soldiers.

Before he could speak, his son Zhang Zhiji, standing nearby, cried out furiously, "Impossible! If they are the White-Staff Soldiers coming all the way from Zhongzhou, why hasn't a single urgent report from the prefectural and county garrisons along the route been sent back to the court?"

"Young Lord, several relay stations around Zhending Prefecture and the roads leading to Beijing have been completely sealed off by the Brocade Guard. All official messengers and personnel traveling along the route toward the capital have been detained. I only managed to get out because I know the mountain trails of that region intimately."

"You may withdraw and rest first. Remember, do not breathe a word of this intelligence."

Zhang Weixian slowly sat back down, his face a mask of utter defeat.

Zhending Prefecture was less than five hundred *li* from Beijing. At the marching pace of the White-Staff troops, a mountain-warfare unit, it would take them only three or four days.

Once the White-Staff Soldiers broke through the blockade around Zhending Prefecture and forced a rapid march, by the time the ministers, gentry, and nobles in Beijing received word, the White-Staff troops would already be outside the city walls.

The White-Staff Soldiers were stationed in Zhongzhou, Sichuan. The only ones with the authority to mobilize them were His Majesty and the Ministry of War. Since the Minister of War was a creature of Wei Zhongxian, the Ministry of War certainly knew nothing of this. Therefore, it could only be the emperor's doing.

Fang Zhengfa, Li Ruolian, Li Banghua, Yuan Keli, the Five-City Gendarmerie... One event after another clicked into place in Zhang Weixian's mind.

After a long silence, Zhang Weixian murmured softly, "His Majesty truly wields formidable methods!"

By now, Zhang Zhiji also realized the gravity of the situation and said in a low voice, "Indeed. Who could have ever guessed that the Emperor would secretly summon the White-Staff Soldiers to the capital? And pulled it off successfully, at that!"

The exact number of White-Staff Soldiers was uncertain, but he knew that during the Battle of Sarhū in 1619, Qin Liangyu had led six thousand elite troops to reinforce Liaodong, though more than two thousand had perished by the end.

Eight years had passed since then. To say the least, they must number around ten thousand now.

Those ten thousand men could easily be deployed with the effectiveness of thirty to fifty thousand ordinary troops—such was the legendary combat record forged by the White-Staff Soldiers.

If the Brocade Guard was partially neutralized, and the Four Guard Brigades of the Imperial Stables were also kept in check, combined with the Five-City Gendarmerie, these various factions under the emperor's control would amount to at least thirty thousand men.

Zhang Weixian knew all too well the current combat capability of the capital garrison. Even if he added the personal retainers of all three hundred and sixty garrison commanders, they could at best merely hold their ground against the force controlled by the emperor.

Yet this was Beijing. Just a few days ago, the emperor had repealed an imperial ancestral decree that the populace deeply detested, permanently abolished additional land taxes, and handled the crisis in Shaanxi brilliantly—skyrocketing his popular support to unprecedented heights.

With a single cry from the emperor, every commoner in the capital would rise up to support him.

At least this current emperor had issued an imperial edict halting tax increases; if a new emperor were to take the throne, who knew what might happen?

"Father, what should we do now? Should we maintain neutrality, or seek an audience with the emperor to compromise beforehand?"

"Fool! If I go to see His Majesty now, wouldn't it be tantamount to telling him that I already know about the White-Staff Soldiers entering the capital? If His Majesty asks me where I got the information, how am I supposed to answer? Do you think the Emperor would hesitate to cut off my head for the sake of the bigger picture?"

Zhang Zhiji gave an awkward, sheepish smile, realizing he had panicked and completely overlooked that crucial flaw. He muttered, "Then... we simply wait and watch how things unfold?"

"No, we must take some action!"

Zhang Weixian shook his head. "We will pretend to know nothing about the White-Staff Soldiers, but we can still demonstrate our goodwill to His Majesty."

"How do we show goodwill? By blindly obeying whatever the Emperor commands?"

"Let me ask you, why is His Majesty summoning the White-Staff Soldiers to the capital?"

To this question, Zhang Zhiji answered without the slightest hesitation, speaking right off the top of his head: "From the current situation, it is to purge the eunuch faction. Wei Zhongxian has his Five Tigers, Five Hounds, Ten Disciples, and Forty Grandsons.

Among them are Minister of War Cui Chengxiu, Minister of Personnel Zhou Yingqiu, Minister of Works Wu Chunfu, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief Li Kuilong, Brocade Guard Commander Tian Ergeng, Brocade Guard Assistant Commander Xu Xianchun, Brocade Guard Commander Cui Zhengyuan, Eastern Depot Adjudicator Sun Yunhe, and Yang Shuai.

The eunuch faction occupies thirty percent of the court's ministerial posts. If they join forces, they can mobilize the Twenty-One Imperial Guard Divisions, along with fractions of the Brocade Guard and the Four Guard Brigades of the Imperial Stables. The Emperor is mobilizing troops precisely out of fear that these people might instigate a rebellion."

*(Translator's note: The Ming dynasty troop mobilization process was extremely complex and could not be handled by a single department. The Minister of War would propose it, the Grand Secretariat would nod in approval, the Directorate of Ceremonies would stamp it in red, and the Imperial Stables Directorate would deliver the imperial edict and fire-tally credentials to the Ministry of War. Only after the Ministry of War verified everything would it coordinate the logistical supplies and troops, transferring them to a designated commander within the Five Chief Military Commissions. However, during the Chongzhen era, the Minister of War, the Grand Secretariat, the Directorate of Ceremonies, and the Imperial Stables Directorate were all men loyal to Wei Zhongxian. If they wished to bypass Chongzhen to mobilize troops, it was entirely possible—the only variable being how many deployed soldiers would actually dare to fight. The very reason the Ming dynasty established the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonies was to create a system of mutual checks and balances, yet Wei Zhongxian had completely mastered and manipulated it.)*

"You omitted the Palace Interior Drill Guards; those are personally commanded by Wei Zhongxian and represent a force that cannot be ignored either," Zhang Weixian added, continuing, "Tomorrow at the morning court session, I will directly impeach Cui Chengxiu. Cui Chengxiu was penalized just a few days ago because of the peasant rebellion in Shaanxi, and today there is the issue concerning the Five-City Gendarmerie. His Majesty has long been dissatisfied with him.

Yet with no one in the court daring to impeach him, the Emperor could not make a move even if he wanted to. As long as I launch the impeachment and enlist a few friendly civil officials to back it up, His Majesty will undoubtedly cast Cui Chengxiu straight into the Ministry of Punishments prison.

From there, I will recommend Li Banghua to serve as the Minister of War. In doing so, we sever Wei Zhongxian's most capable right-hand man. With the Ministry of War under our control, even if some among the Twenty-One Guard Divisions defect to Wei Zhongxian, they will only be a minority.

Combined with the White-Staff Soldiers, the Five-City Gendarmerie, the Brocade Guard, and the Four Guard Brigades of the Imperial Stables, His Majesty will secure an unassailable position."

"I have my own arrangements for this; you need not worry. Stay at the main encampment for the next few days and keep all the garrison commanders under strict surveillance."

Zhang Weixian waved his hand dismissively. "Furthermore, dispatch numerous agents to keep a close eye on the Twenty-One Imperial Guard Divisions as well as the garrisons toward Tianjin and Liaodong. Any abnormal movement must be reported to me immediately."

"Father, these preparations of yours... does this mean we are thoroughly siding with His Majesty?"