According to the regulations, all participants should return to the campsite immediately, otherwise they will be penalized after the second of the trumpets. They could even be disqualified if a third call happened without their return. The regulations also provided that at the end of the hunt and after counting the hunting pieces by each team, the results were determined and the awarding ceremony would be presided by the Prince in the middle of the campsite.
Shortly after the first call, in the late afternoon, the camp began to fill up with participants, exulting with enthusiasm. By the time the trumpets fell silent, after the third call, all the teams had returned and were already starting to count their hunting pieces. With that exhilarating enthusiasm, only a small number of participants had noticed the absence of the Prince and his royal guard. However, gradually, one after another became aware of that strange absence. Little by little the voices became silent, and more and more, throughout the camp, silence spread. The eyes of men met, apprehensive and unanswered. The questions about what was happening, about the whereabouts of the Prince and his team, were running through everyone’s minds. The next moments were one of embarrassment and discomfort. When, already for the time elapsed, everyone was feeling apprehensive and worried, noises were heard in the distance that indicated to be of galloping horses trying to win, hurriedly, the way ahead. A few moments later it was confirmed the arrival of Zhu accompanied by the personal guard of the Prince, but with total absence of the latter. Faced with the unusual, those present turned pale, focusing on Zhu and waiting for an explanation. This one, with quick gestures, asked those present to approach.
- Gather in a circle! I have urgent and important information to give you! - Said Zhu, out loud.
Everyone’s hearts were squeezed, anxiously waiting for the news, which certainly would not be the best.
- The Prince, in an onslaught of a hunting piece, took an erratic turn in the woods and shortly after we stopped seeing him! This situation occurred in the middle of the afternoon! Since then we have done everything to find him, but so far without results. We do not know his whereabouts. The sun will soon disappear, so it is very urgent that we organize ourselves into search groups. I propose that we divide the riders into eight groups in order to achieve the fastest and most extensive search possible!
The expression on everyone’s face was now of total surprise and anguish.
- Pay close attention! We have to be quick! The Prince’s last sighting occurred near the canyon towards sunset.
The impact of the news had been brutal and was now accompanied by a growing eagerness to leave, quickly, in search of the Prince. On everyone’s face there was now an expression of sadness and concern. As the knights hurriedly took their mounts, Zhu gave the final instructions.
- I ask for utmost order! Each group will follow only after my directions.
Zhu tried to be agile in organizing the groups, avoiding that the teams duplicate paths and efforts, adding here and there last minute recommendations. After organizing the search groups and before leaving too, he sent a messenger from the personal guard to the palace to take the news to the Empress. Despite Zhu’s speed, by the time the search began the sunset had already occurred - soon the night was coming. The time that followed, lived by those who stayed at the campsite, was filled with much anguish and silence. The knights who left looked for traces of the Prince’s presence on all sides, night in, but in vain...!
Hours later...
Team after team, they returned to the camp. At the campsite, with each arrival, there was renewed hope for better news. But little by little, discouragement began to set in with the return of each group. When the penultimate team arrived, with no news, the heavy and deep silence began to undermine the hearts of everyone present. Some still raised the possibility of the Prince being lost and at any moment being able to appear. Supporting this version was the fact that Zhu and his companions had not yet returned. As the hours went by, the suspicion that the worst could have happened grew. Already very close to dawn there were noises of approaching, it was the knights of the imperial guard, who in line, behind Zhu, were returning, bringing a body crossed over the mount - the Prince arrived at last, but without life! The body was placed on a litter, while those present formed a circle as a sign of homage and regret. The moments that followed were of deep silence throughout the campsite. Soon after, preparations began to take the road back to the palace. With their hearts torn, everyone prepared to return. Through the clarity on the horizon, two messengers from the Empress arrived, trying to find out about the recent developments, but faced with the harshness of the facts, they made a return trip, bearers of sad news.
In the palace, life awakened for another day involved in the usual routine. Those closest to the Empress, however, noticed in her face a deep and growing concern. Near the end of the morning the two messengers arrived with the news of the accident that killed the prince. Faced with such unexpected information, the Empress interrupted the audience she was in, gathering to her chambers as a sign of mourning, but not before calling the direct relatives of the Prince for an emergency meeting, together with those responsible for the Council of State and Imperial House. The news quickly spread throughout the palace, with general consternation. In the middle of the afternoon and in the distance, the carriage was sighted, slowly approaching, bringing a litter where the Prince’s body rested. The news spread quickly throughout the city, with officials and people coming to see him, thus forming an enormous human cordon at his passage, as a sign of sorrow. The Empress, upon learning of the tragedy, ordered that appropriate rooms be prepared from which the funeral rituals would later take place. With the arrival of the body and after the necessary preparations, the Prince was deposited there in a burning chamber. By decision of the sovereign, it had been announced throughout the kingdom that the funeral ceremonies would take place within nine days and that he would be honored as Emperor.
The funeral was attended by a large number of noblemen and high representatives of the empire. The deceased was buried on a grey day and full of sadness for most of those who knew him personally. With his death the hopes of many were reduced to ashes, either because he was a young man full of life and contagious to those closest to him with his enthusiasm, or because after several years of ruinous management of the palace, the elders placed renewed hopes on him. The reign that promised to be long came to an end without even beginning.
Sometime later...
The fights for succession began. The unexpected tragedy, which victimized the future imperial heir, aroused conflicts of interest that would last for a long time. The Prince had left no indication of continuity in the succession and the Emperor, his father, already deceased, had left only one name in the succession line. The unclear circumstances of the heir’s death brought increased difficulties. In the meetings held by the Council of State and Imperial House it had been concluded that the Empress should maintain the regency until the legitimate successor of the deceased Prince was found. The members of the Council of State were now of the opinion that it would be up to the relatives of that one to indicate among them the successor. In turn, the Empress, meeting with the brothers of the deceased, expressed her willingness to collaborate in everything that was necessary, in the peaceful transition of power. With this initiative, the sovereign opened the way for her influential action, in order to achieve once again her ends. Among the eighteen children alive, understanding became very difficult. With the rivalries between them, due to the fact that three were triplets, everything became complicated. To make things even more difficult, whatever the order and the criteria to be used in the selection, there was always more than one that fulfilled the conditions of election. The Empress, who knew all this for a long time, showed great serenity in the whole situation. The relatives of the Prince took a long time to make a decision and, strange as it seemed, when they came to a solution, soon everything returned to the starting point. All this was not unrelated to the action (disinterested and m
anipulative) of the Empress - here and there, always adding a pinch of poison to make it as difficult as possible. The Empress knew that her victory was due to the (perpetual) disagreement of the potential heirs. For her it was important, however, that, in the opinion of the nobles and the empire in general, it was clear that her position was exempt and exemplary - if things did not go well, the problem resided solely in the heirs, who did not reach an agreement about the line of succession. The Empress tried to make this indecision stand out in every way possible, because she knew that time was her best ally. The matter was now the subject of conversation throughout the empire. Months passed one after another and the legitimate heirs proved incapable of indicating who, among them, should assume the rights of succession. After eight months since the death of the Prince and as the situation remained in deadlock, the Empress met with the relatives of the deceased once again, giving knowledge of the serious problems that arose with the deterioration of state finances and the need to take urgent measures. She therefore proposed that she be the one to appoint the successor. The brothers of the Prince, convinced that the Empress would choose among them one that she considered more suitable to govern the empire, gave her a power of attorney for the appointment of the successor in writing with irrevocable acceptance. The Empress informed the Council of State and Imperial House of the decision of the heirs, sending edicts to the provincial governors, informing that she was mandated by the heirs to appoint the successor within thirty days. Thus, among the most influential men of the kingdom, they began to give their opinion on who would be the choice of the Empress, so that the whole empire was on hold, waiting for the appointment of the new successor.
On the ninth day of the following month, the Empress had several men of her confidence closed in isolated rooms, with the mission of writing the edicts of appointment of the new Emperor. Those men were provided with supplies, service personnel, and other conditions necessary for the making of the edicts. When completed, they were duly sealed and delivered to messengers escorted by the Army and handed over to the Provincial Governors for further distribution throughout the empire. Simultaneously the Empress made known, through edicts distributed throughout the kingdom, the day and time when the name of the future Emperor would be made known. She further informed that it would incur the death penalty to remove the seal of the manuscript before the day and time scheduled for its disclosure. In this way secrecy was achieved. When at the pre-determined time the subscripts were opened, simultaneously and throughout the empire, nobody wanted to believe what was written! The Empress appointed a nephew of hers, a three-years-old boy, to the position of Emperor, remaining as regent until he could exercise it. The Empress’ attitude towards the legitimate heirs had violated all the rules of imperial succession. They felt betrayed and outnumbered in their rights. Since they could not appeal the decision, from that moment on they declared silent war on the Empress. If the ruler was manipulative and cunning towards them, they felt they had every moral right to turn her kingdom into a permanent hell. That same day they constituted a secret society, guaranteed by blood oath to which they would be faithful, to overthrow the Empress.
The society created, although secret in nature, was not closed, as it could admit new members under very particular conditions and focused on high admission requirements and tight control of its members. The Empress’ decision had, however, other reactions of displeasure. Also the nobles, military men and cultured people, saw in that attitude an improper appropriation of power. As time went by, the uneasiness grew worse, especially among the military - partly due to the misuse, by the Imperial House, of the funds collected with the special tax for military purposes. In the corridors of the palace rumors had begun to circulate that the money collected with that tax was being applied, by order of the Empress, for purposes other than that for which it was created.
Gradually the Empress began to be involved in a growing wave of hostilities. Zhu, particularly aware of this situation, informed the Empress.
- I’m beginning to hear unpleasant things about you in the corridors! - Said Zhu, on one of his encounters with the Empress.
- What do you mean?!
In the first moments, Zhu was silent to the Empress’ great displeasure.
- Do you want to be more specific, or are you speechless?!
- It’s not difficult to guess, is it?! It’s about the money for the Armed Forces!
- Nothing surprises me anymore! My decision was made in the interest of the kingdom! They don’t know what it’s like to manage an empire without financial resources! They’re ungrateful, that’s what they are!
- Something has to be done, I fear for your life! - added Zhu, in an almost unnoticeable voice.
Two weeks later and as a reaction to this growing situation of difficulties, the Empress decided to create a special personal security force. The so-called “virtuous fists” movement with support from the eunuchs and under Zhu’s command. These men would be chosen from among the most skilled and trained in martial arts ones. The movement was intended to create an invincible force in the service of the Empress. However, for some military leaders, the regent’s decision was the drop of water that made the cup overflow. That decision was welcomed as a declaration of war on the interests of the military and a gross provocation to the institutional relationship. As the months passed and the eunuchs were recruited to join this “special force”, the malaise definitively took hold in civil and military society. There began to be a time of political and od administrative institutions disintegration. There was a general feeling that the empire was increasingly divided and ready to implode.
The secret society, created by the late Prince’s brothers, was now more active than ever. Among its members were influential people, including some of those in charge of the Imperial House, who brought to the secret society very important information and with it managed to further undermine the financial interests of the Empress. Thus, with the complicity of the merchants and some of the officials, the secret society managed to make many of the transactions without payment of customs duties required by imperial law, turning the already precarious financial situation of the palace into real chaos. Little by little and throughout the empire, as a result of this situation, there began to be a growing underground activity in the ports, seriously damaging the state coffers. Over the years and the growing lack of control of public finances, led the Empress to rehearse extreme measures to contain these tax leaks, and decided to apply, at Zhu’s suggestion, a network of espionage (the men of her elite force), identifying the main merchants and shops that were evading the port taxes. Everything would be under control were it not for Zhu’s initiative (with total ignorance of the Empress), allowing some of his men to carry out punitive actions, in the dead of night, to some of these stores. With this imprudent initiative, Zhu covered the rebellious actions of his men, having launched the fuse for the great social upheaval that later developed uncontrolled proportions. The most honest merchants took the situation to the knowledge of the Empress, who attended to their complaints and gave instructions to investigate in depth and punish the “criminals” in the words of the Empress herself. However, by Zhu’s action, the perpetrators were never identified, nor were any clarifications given to the injured. With time there was a marked administrative, legal, moral and financial decadence of the State - little by little the nation began to present itself as a heap of administrative structures in ruins of which the Empress was an example, leaving the country in a chaos voted to abandon. To aggravate the situation even more, throughout the empire, a growing foreign intervention in trade and industry began to take place, in a totally deregulated and underground manner. But as if all this were not enough, the consumption of imported drugs expanded throughout the territory, reducing to ashes what little remained of the former empire.
The strong influence of the secret society was now felt throughout the country and was gradually wounding to death the interests of the Empress, with the complicity of foreig
ners in the local and drugs trades, forming an unparalleled underground economy. In response to this state of affairs, the Empress, influenced once again by Zhu, let the “virtuous fists” launch a major attack on shops, factories, and diplomatic missions and surround the city. The government ministers, caught by surprise, asked for support from the foreign forces, which, in a few days, freed the city from the siege. As a consequence of the intervention of foreign forces “the virtuous fists” were exterminated and peace reigned again. The Empress took refuge in the summer palace and did not return to the imperial city. She was thus held hostage to her attitudes and lost all her political and moral authority forever. As the months passed, the Empress’ health began to deteriorate rapidly, undermined by the disgust and abandonment of her most faithful servants, reaching the end of her reign without honor or glory. For the history, of the one that had ascended from concubine to Empress, remained the memory of a woman who squandered the coffers of the State and a whole vast imperial fortune, leaving a giant country in chaos and on the brink of ruin - aimlessly and surrendered to foreign influences, with a whole nation lamenting for its vast misery...!
PART II
Rebirth from the Ashes
20th century
On the horizon, the green rice paddy fields waving in the wind, washed by a gentle breeze and under a bright sun, contrasted with the state of the Empire voted to be abandoned. The Empress, with the defeat of her virtuous fists, took refuge in the summer palace. The throne was given over to its fate, under the compassionate gaze of a young heir (appointed by the Empress) still in the care of a nanny. The victorious foreign powers, taking advantage of the situation, took a dominant position in the economy with great interference in the affairs of the state. In the months following the defeat of the “virtuous” the crown closed in on itself to the bewilderment of the entire administration of local and central power. The Empress, disappointed by the course of events and without realizing that these were the result of her own political mistakes, saw her health decline rapidly, ending soon after for not resisting a cardiac arrest.
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