The Prisoners of Fate: Sequel to The Emperor's Prey

by Jeremy Han

  The Prisoners of Fate

  (Sequel to The Emperor’s Prey)

  A Novel

  ‘We are no longer masters of our own fate’

  The Prisoners of Fate

  1435 Ming China

  A series of mysterious assassinations rock the empire - high-ranking officers die grotesquely and rumour has it that the killer is a woman with many hands.

  A crown prince who is supposed to have died thirty three years ago resurfaces to start a rebellion. His exploits strike fear deep in the heart of the imperial court, as many think he is not human.

  An eight year-old boy ascends the Dragon Throne. His mother will do anything to ensure her son will never be replaced.

  The dreaded imperial secret service, the Eastern Depot, finds itself under siege. To eliminate the threats to the throne, Ji Gang, their ruthless commander needs an answer only his arch foe could give, for only Zhao Qi knows the identity of the mysterious man wanted by the imperial court.

  Together, they will face an invisible enemy. But can they trust each other?

  Will they be able to save the emperor against a plot as old as time?

  And who is the unseen hand behind the shadows?

  Copyright ©2015, Jeremy Han

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means – whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic – without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts, used in critical reviews. Unauthorised reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

  ISBN 978-981-09-4447-6

  Cover Design © Jeremy Han 2015

  The right of Jeremy Han to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All characters and events in this publication, even those based on historical characters, are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  To those who read The Emperor’s Prey, your positive reviews and encouragement gave birth to this sequel

  This is for you

  List of Characters

  Historical/Semi-historical Characters

  1. Emperor Jian Wen, birth name Zhu Yunwen, 2nd emperor of the Ming dynasty. Officially, he does not exist due to Yong Le’s purge. He is the grandson of the founder of the Ming dynasty.

  2. Emperor Yong Le, birth name Zhu Di, officially recorded as the 2nd emperor of the Ming dynasty after Jian Wen’s official records as emperor were destroyed. He is actually the 3rd emperor of the Ming. He ascended the throne in 1402 after usurping the crown from his nephew, the Jian Wen Emperor.

  3. Ji Gang, commander of the Eastern Depot, whose duty was to eliminate all enemies of the throne and was established under the reign of Yong Le. A member of the elite Brocade Guards who was tasked to head the dreaded imperial secret service.

  4. Zhu Wenkui, the eldest son of Emperor Jian Wen. Like his father, his fate is largely unknown after the civil war of 1402. See historical notes on the controversies surrounding the fate of the crown prince.

  5. Wang Zhen, the first eunuch dictator and tutor to the Zheng Tong Emperor. See historical notes on his fate during the 1449 Tumu Crisis.

  6. Emperor Zheng Tong, birth name Zhu Qizhen, who was eight years old when he became emperor in 1435. Some sources say his mother acted as his regent when he was a child, while others said it was his grandmother. He became the first Ming emperor to be dominated by a eunuch.

  7. Meng Da is depicted as Ji’s deputy in this story. But in some historical sources, Meng exists as a co-commander of the Eastern Depot with Ji.

  8. Zhao Qi, loyal and noble commander of Jian Wen’s bodyguard. He was responsible for the emperor’s escape in The Emperor’s Prey. He is an exponent of the Tiger Fist and is skilled with the sabre. Zhao’s character is semi-fictional. See historical notes of The Emperor’s Prey.

  9. Empress Dowager Zhang Xiaogong, known as Empress Dowager Zhang in this story. Little is known about her, except that she was probably the mother of the child emperor and regent until 1442. Some sources indicate she was a concubine who rose to become empress.

  Fictional Characters

  1. Li Jing aka the Acrobat, a member of Jian Wen’s bodyguard under Zhao’s command. He became a street performer to prevent detection and capture by the Emperor Yong Le. He is the father of Li Po. He is trained in the Monkey Fist and various esoteric arts linked to street performers. Besides Zhao, he is the only surviving member of the team who rescued Jian Wen in The Emperor’s Prey.

  2. Kong Wei, the eunuch director of ceremonies. A tortured soul, he harbours a secret for many years, waiting for the perfect opportunity to scheme against the throne. Yet, it is not for his gain, but to fulfil a promise made decades ago.

  3. Yin – A eunuch assassin who practices the Snake Fist. He kills by using a cobra kept specifically for this purpose. He is a stealthy killer, the opposite of Yang.

  4. Yang – A eunuch assassin skilled with the sabre. Shrewd and ruthless, he applies strategy to his viciousness and creates great havoc as his exploits strike fear in his enemies.

  Dong Chang - The Eastern Depot

  1. An Deli - Ji Gang’s former second-in-command. Experienced and calm, he retired because his hand was hacked off in an earlier confrontation with Zhao Qi in The Emperor’s Prey.

  2. Yong Ju - Ji Gang’s prodigy since the time of The Emperor’s Prey. He is intelligent and teachable. His weapon of choice is a pair of cutlasses wielded with both hands. He is promoted to be Ji’s deputy in this story.

  Glossary

  Han – Ethnic Chinese during that period referred to themselves as Han people. It is not to be confused with being subjects of the Han dynasty. It is a classification still in use today.

  Guan Dao – A pole with a sabre-like blade attached. Originally designed as a weapon for horseback fighting, it could be shortened to be used on foot. Its heavy blade made it essentially a slashing weapon. .

  The iron fan – A Chinese, collapsible hand fan made of steel that can be opened or closed with a flick of the wrist. It was frequently used as a concealable weapon. It is known as a scholar’s weapon or an assassin’s weapon because it can be concealed or used for other more mundane purposes like keeping cool on a hot day.

  The Dong Chang – The Eastern Depot was the dreaded imperial secret service founded by the Yong Le Emperor to root out his enemies, especially those who supported the nephew he deposed from the throne.

  The Xi Chang - The Western Depot was another imperial agency started to fight its non-conventional enemies. This secretive agency was established by eunuchs to fight sorcery. See historical notes at the end of the book.

  Historical Timeline of emperors in the story:

  Hung Wu (1367-98) - 1st Emperor of Ming. Grandfather of Jian Wen Emperor, and father of Yong Le Emperor.

  Jian Wen (1398-1402) – 2nd Emperor of Ming, disappeared after the civil war and his fate remains unknown to this day. The prequel The Emperor’s Prey is about his disappearance from history.

  Yong Le (1402-1424) – 3rd Emperor of Ming. He usurped the throne from his nephew Jian Wen in 1402, and destroyed all records of Jian Wen’s rule. He dictated to the historians to record him as the second emperor instead of the third.

  Hong Xi (1424-1425) – 3rd Emperor of Ming. Because his father Yong Le was the ‘second’ emperor, Hong Xi is officially known as the ‘third’ emperor.”

  Xuan De (1425-1435) – 4th Emperor of Ming. Father of Zheng Tong, the boy-emperor who ascends the throne in this story. Xuan De died young at age thir
ty-five, leaving a boy to succeed him on the throne. His reign was the ‘Golden Age’ of the Ming dynasty.

  Zheng Tong (1435-1465) – 5th Emperor of Ming. He ascended the throne at the age of eight, and became the first emperor to be guided by a powerful eunuch. He lost his throne due to poor military advice from his eunuch tutor, and gained it again under the official name of Tian Shun after being a hostage of the Mongols. This story is set during his reign.

  Prologue

  1402

  After the civil war….

  Even the sun did not spare the condemned prisoners its fury. Its glaring noon light caused them to squint and frown, shielding their eyes with shackled hands as they came out of the prison and into the dry heat, shuffling with dread to the execution ground. Some limped painfully, others hunched under invisible burdens, several dragged their feet and had to be pushed, a few walked with their heads held high. Everyone faced death differently, although all were probably innocent. Already, they looked like ghosts in the white outfit of a prisoner on death row. A middle-aged lady, plump and greying wailed and almost fell as a guard shoved her roughly. She was caught by another inmate who tried to comfort her to no avail. They were going to die – all of them. No words, no matter how kind, would alter their fate.

  Surrounding the ill-fated was a silent, subdued crowd made up of eunuchs, servants and other members of the palace staff. Their fearful manner and sombre mood reflected their unwillingness to watch their friends’ and colleagues’ impending deaths. But the usurper, the Prince of Yan who would soon be crowned, had passed an order commanding the palace staff to watch these who would be made an example – everyone who was close to the family of the deposed Jian Wen Emperor must die. The new emperor wanted to erase the memory of his predecessor. If no one remembered there would be no rebellion. But also because something he wanted was missing and only someone close to the vanquished royal family could have taken it. That very something could come back to haunt him or his descendants someday. All those walking to their fate were possible candidates for the theft, and it was better to kill all than to miss one.

  The group of unfortunates reached the sandy square patch. Before them a raised platform with a tent was erected. Some of them, those who still had their senses, noticed the tent was yellow – the colour of the emperor. The usurper himself was there, and his first act as son of heaven was to personally condemn these people. Wind blew, and a soft cloud of dust lifted off the sandy grounds, swirling around the prisoners. The hour of wu ‘mid-day’, the traditional time for executions, had arrived.

  Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, the usurper looked down at the mass of people approaching their deaths with an anger he could barely suppress. He might have defeated an emperor, but someone among these lowly servants dared to oppose him, to steal something from him. Rage coursed through him and his fists clenched so tight they shook. Neither Mongols nor imperial troops could stand against him, yet these insignificant beings had the courage to defy him! If he could not find the one who stole the documents then he would eliminate every single one of them who could possibly have had access to the lost evidence. Earlier that week, his men torched all the records pertaining to the lives of the deposed Jian Wen Emperor and his family. He ordered the Ming chroniclers record him as the second emperor after his father, not the third after his nephew.

  An emperor only after that whelp?

  His predecessor and his family must disappear from imperial history. He thought everything was in order until one of his men came to him with the bad news: the birth records of Jian Wen’s princes were gone. Someone had taken them.

  Legitimacy.

  No one must ever question his legitimacy to rule, or that of his sons after him. A birth record with the emperor’s seal recognising the royal blood in a child could lead to problems. His men had burnt down the previous emperor’s palace, and reported to him they had found the bodies of the imperial family inside. They may be dead, but they must never be resurrected. Zhu Di knew his nephew was popular, and if Jian Wen’s supporters knew of the lost document they could easily fabricate the story of a crown prince returning to take his rightful place. The usurper did not like loose ends; he must tie this one for his descendants. The tension on his face eased into a cold smile.

  The prisoners shuffled to the place where the white dust would absorb their shed blood. Surrounding them were the black turbaned executioners: huge men with stern faces holding great sabres. Every one of them looked like an angel of death and they were bare-chested, so that the copious amount of blood that would surely splatter could be easily washed off.

  Someone cried out, “Have mercy on us, Majesty! We are innocent! We are just servants, poor people who make a living here. We do not harbour any thoughts of rebelling against you. We are your servants!”

  Another shouted, “We did nothing wrong, Majesty!”

  And another, “Spare us, we beg you. We are innocent!”

  “SILENCE!” the usurper’s voice boomed. The prince stood tall with his hands on his hips like the general that he was. He glared at the weeping crowd as though they were the Mongols he was so used to fighting, but in truth most of them were mere household staff.

  So why were they condemned?

  He pointed at them. “Something is missing from the archive. Something that I want! Someone among you must have taken it for only you, the household staff of Jian Wen, could have access to it.”

  He paused as he took in the baffled expressions of the prisoners standing under the scorching sun. Most of them were drenched with perspiration as they listened to their condemner accuse them of a crime they knew nothing about. The man who was both their accuser and judge continued.

  “So, if I cannot have that, then the only way I can ensure that no one will ever know the truth will be to silence those who might know. Someone had taken what I want, but since no one has owned up, all must pay the price!” He raised a finger at the crowd beyond the condemned. “And for the rest of you, let their blood teach you never to go against me!”

  The captives looked at each other with bewildered expressions. Nobody knew what the usurper wanted. They knelt and started to cry.

  “Mercy! Mercy, Majesty!” Women and men who carried out mundane chores cried for clemency for a crime they had no understanding of.

  But their pleas fell on deaf ears. The usurper took a ling ‘seal’, an elongated triangular piece of metal with the word ‘authority’ written on it and tossed it onto the execution ground – a signal that sentenced had been passed. The executioners lumbered forward like grim reapers and one-by-one swung their massive blades downwards with practiced ease.

  A junior eunuch standing in the safety of the crowd of witnesses shut his eyes and cringed at the screams of the innocent dying. His body started to shake as the sounds of death etched forever in his memory. Among all, only he knew what the usurper was talking about.

  Tell the usurper! Save the innocent!

  Every part of his consciousness screamed at him to stop the massacre by admitting his crime, but some primal, self-protecting instinct stopped him.

  No! Stay silent!

  That fact grated on his conscience as he heard steel cut through bone and decapitated heads thudding against the ground.

  Chu-ut! Thud!

  Shutting his eyes was no use. The sounds of that day would conjure up images of headless bodies toppling over in his mind for the rest of his life. His body trembled violently, and he retched. The people around him believed it was because of the gruesome spectacle and paid him no notice. After all, he was not the only one who could not stomach the grisly spectacle, but only he knew the truth. It was a guilty conscience that afflicted him.

  As he observed the entire capital punishment, he knew what the usurper had truly wanted. He knew that he, and he alone was culpable, not those who fell that day. For he alone had the secret document the usurper wanted, handed over to him for safekeeping until an opportune time.

  The last scream, the high-pitched wa
il of the nursemaid, ended abruptly with the swing of the blade. Deafening silence reigned over the execution ground. The horrified crowd stifled their cries for their dead friends for fear of offending the usurper who watched with satisfaction what he believed to be the bloody conclusion to one of his headaches. Then, without a word, he strode off the platform to attend to more pressing matters.

  The young eunuch’s legs turned to water, and when the crowd started to disperse he could not move. Yet he must - he must not attract any attention by lingering. So far it was his lowly position that had saved him from suspicion. For who would have suspected that it was he who held the secret document the blood thirsty tyrant wanted?

  He started to walk away weakly, dazed with remorse. He was barely conscious of the fact that fear had unleashed his bladder. Each step he took got him further from the stink of shed blood and the sight of broken bodies, and as he disappeared into the anonymous crowd of palace slaves his heart’s resolve strengthened. The earlier pulsating drum beat fuelled by guilt and fear steadied into a regular rhythm.

  So many have died. It should have been me lying dead, headless, instead of them. But I live. I must fulfil my promise and see it come to pass.

  I swear.

  1

  1435

  Thirty-three years later

  Reign of the Zheng Tong Emperor

  Eastern Ming

  The commanding general of the prosperous city of Hangzhou strode into his villa with his characteristically big, confident strides. Sentries and servants bowed to welcome their strutting master. The day had ended, and it was now time for leisure. His manservant took off his armour carefully, handling each piece of the ceremonial outfit carefully so that he would not incur the general’s wrath. He would polish it later so that the general would look impressive again for the parade tomorrow. Having served the warrior for years, he knew the man’s quirks and temper. For all his faults, the commander was a diligent officer who drilled his men hard. Despite the peace in the country he did not slack in keeping his men on their toes. The last thing the servant wanted was to endure a thrashing for not taking care of the carefully crafted, star-shaped studded cuirass and the hand-lacquered helmet. He heard it had been bestowed by the previous emperor. His boss expected every metal stud to shine like a star at night.