In 1381 his father-in-law and General Fu took him to engage the remnant Mongols, led by Nayur Buqa. The prince’s first experience was a success as the 33
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Presant-day Beijing
map 2. Beijing and Its Vicinity during Yongle’s Reign
the formative years
Ming forces prevailed. Even though Nayur Buqa escaped, the Ming troops captured a large number of prisoners and animals. As the prince battled the Mongols in the barren, brown wasteland of north China, he learned how to gather intelligence on the enemies, to look for hoofprints and horse dung, and to study every water well and dead animal he could find along a northbound overland trek. Above all, he learned from his two mentors the important lessons of caution, of sharing the lot of his men, and of instilling respect and loyalty in his subordinates.30 This maiden campaign would become the spur to the prince’s hyperkinetic life.
Scarcely had the prince concluded his first military campaign than he had to bid farewell to his mentor General Fu Youde, who was in the autumn of 1381
ordered to command an army of three hundred thousand troops in Yunnan—
then still an outpost of a remnant of Mongol power. During the next few months, the prince tried to familiarize himself with his princely domain by such activities as going to admire the two-dragon-shaped Heavenly Longevity Mountain, north of Beiping; walking on the beaches of the lovely Bei Lake (Beihai); and inspecting the several rivers that were linked to the Grand Canal.
He then journeyed to Shanhai Pass, a fortress wedged between the mountains and the sea where the Great Wall meets the ocean. He also checked the exposed towns, forts, stockades, ports, passes, barriers, and other Beiping strategic locations that required constant vigilance. From his father-in-law he learned how many troops were needed to defend these places and how to assign troops from nearby guard units in rotation. After this learning-by-inspection tour, the prince was convinced that two ingredients were still lacking before the Ming government could complete the garrison defense in his area: recruitment and training of at least seventeen guard units with a total of more than one hundred thousand men, and construction of a new wall at Badaling (some seventy kilometers northwest of Beiping) so that Ming commanders would have updated beacon towers and new facilities for stationing cavalry and infantry.
While the prince was blossoming in Beiping, his mother, Empress Ma, who had just celebrated her fiftieth birthday, passed away in September 1382. Grief immediately gripped the entire household, in particular Princess Xu, who had served her mother-in-law with filial piety when she lived in Nanjing. Although every member of the imperial family wore traditional mourning apparel for three years, Princess Xu followed, additionally, a strict vegetarian diet, a practice consistent with her Buddhist background. The royal couple soon journeyed southward to comfort the emperor, who had suspended court business and was terribly grieved at the loss of his wife and most trusted advisor. The Prince 35
the formative years
of Yan then learned that his father had chosen the south side of Mount Zhong, which rises 448 meters above the sea level in northeastern Nanjing, to be the empress’s burial site.
On October 31, exactly forty-four days after her death, the co‹n of the empress was carried by an elaborately decorated wagon, first passing through Xuanwu Gate, then circulating Sparrow Lake and turning north from Great Gold Gate (Dajinmen) to her final resting place. The trees on Mount Zhong stood burnished with scarlet and gold, Mother Nature’s farewell to the beloved empress. There she was interred at Filial Piety Tomb (Xiaoling), which was heavily guarded by special troops. Eunuchs took turns lighting incense and can-dles every day and kept the fires in the tomb temples burning all the time. On the anniversary of Empress Ma’s death, eunuchs wearing smocks mourned and prayed for forty-nine days. To alleviate his grief, the Prince of Yan remembered that his mother had always taught him not to act hastily. Regarding his character, especially his level of comfort with himself, he seems to have inherited and learned from his mother the trait of coolness under fire. More than two decades later, soon after he ascended the dragon throne as emperor, Yongle ordered the canonization of his mother as the Filial and Kind Progenitor Empress (Xiaocigao Huanghou). He also commanded the distinguished Hanlin scholar Xie Jin (1369–1415) to write a glowing biography of his mother.31
36
3 / The Years of Waiting, 1382–1398
During Zhu Di’s three years ofmourning for his mother, much was happening regarding Ming laws, institutions, foreign policies, and administrative practices that served as the basis on which his own future government would rest. For example, in 1381 The Yellow Registers (Huangce)—
which recorded the population by family membership, place of residence, and labor services owed—were promulgated. In 1382 the tax captains were abolished, their functions being transferred to the lijia system, whereby peasant households were organized into groups that were mutually responsible for the payment of taxes. (However, three years later the tax captains were reestablished with their original duties.)1 During the same year, a tribute mission from Java brought seventy-five thousand catties (about 4.6 metric tons; one catty equals 604.53 grams) of pepper to Nanjing, and two years later Korea sent two thousand horses to the Ming court. But there was a breakdown in relations between China and Japan as Japanese pirates continued to ravage coastal towns.
Emperor Hongwu restored the civil service examinations in 1384, with metropolitan examinations to be held every three years, beginning in 1385.2 In 1384
the emperor established a new eunuch-run agency called the Directorate of Ceremonial to “take care of palace ceremonies and protocol, codify imperial etiquette and precedents, supervise eunuch behavior and attire, and scrutinize any eunuch misconduct or violation of palace.” In a highly touted instruction to the Ministry of Rites, the emperor also restricted the court eunuchs from corresponding with civil o‹cials.3
The Prince of Yan also learned in January 1382 that his mentor, General Fu Youde, had taken Kunming and that Basalawarmi, the Mongol ruler of Yunnan, had committed suicide. Better still, early in 1384 the campaign in Yunnan and Guizhou was declared over and General Fu was awarded a dukedom with an annual stipend of three thousand piculs of rice. But sadly enough, the prince’s father-in-law took ill while commanding troops in Beiping. General Xu Da 37
the years of waiting
finally succumbed to the illness and died in Nanjing on April 17, 1385. He was only fifty-three years of age. However, because of his great contributions to the founding of the Ming dynasty, he was buried on the north side of Mount Zhong, in the imperial burial ground. The Princess of Xu, expressing an unas-suageable grief, observed yet another three years of mourning over the death of her father, acco
mpanied by more than one thousand days of vegetarian diet.
General Fu Youde came to Beiping in 1385 to take over the military command left vacant by the death of Xu Da.4 Nevertheless, life for the prince’s family was fortuitous in some respects, for it was at this time that Fu brought a castrated Muslim boy named Ma He (1371–1433), then only fourteen, and gave him to the Prince of Yan, as was frequently done with castrated prisoners of war.
Ma He was born in Kunyang County, Yunnan, but his forebears had come from Central Asia and followed Qubilai Khan’s forces in the conquest of Yunnan.
Although his great-great-great-grandfather, Sayyid Ajall, became the governor of Yunnan in 1274, the family later su¤ered misfortune. Ma He’s father died in the war of retribution in 1382, and Ma He was castrated at the age of eleven and taken into the camp of General Fu Youde as a prisoner of war. Ma had a great personality, and he developed disproportionately long arms and legs, which made him stand out among other castrated servants in the prince’s household.
He had a curious and lively mind. His voice was fresh and his black eyes tender and modest, traits that won favor with the prince. As Ma matured, he proved to be one of the prince’s right-hand men and also a skilled military strategist.
He easily established a strong bond with his fellow castrati and displayed an unflinching loyalty to the prince.5 The prince, after ascending the throne, would change Ma He’s name to Zheng He and would order him to lead six phenomenal maritime expeditions to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
When Fu Youde took over the theater command of the Beiping garrison, he had about seventeen guard units with more than 131,000 men, while the troop strength of the entire country had exceeded the one million mark. The Beiping garrison was one of the three extra military commissions established in 1376, and its theater commanders, such as Fu Youde and Xu Da, were specially appointed and were responsible to the emperor directly. Also among these troops were thirty special guard units—slightly less than 10 percent of the total—commanded by Emperor Hongwu’s own sons, whose princely fiefs were scattered strategically, mostly to the north and west of Nanjing. Clearly, the Ming military configuration was designed to ensure the continued supremacy of the emperor and his family. Nevertheless, these arrangements also reflect a rather unstable military organization that resulted from the emperor’s e¤orts to maintain a balance between the center and the periphery. Within 38
the years of waiting
this broader military-geographic system, the troops directly under the control of the emperor were always stronger than any likely combination of regional forces. However, a rebellion by an uncontrollable prince would cause dysfunction in such a system.
Shakespeare’s line “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” fits not only Henry IV of England but also Emperor Hongwu of the Ming, who lived under constant anxiety and fear. After the purge of Hu Weiyong in 1380 and the subsequent purges five years later, the Ming military institutions provided several layers of security against conspiracy. All of the guards units and battalions were combined in the Five Chief Military Commissions, which had charge of all military registers. Each commission was headed by an unprescribed number of chief commissioners (rank 1a), deputy commissioners (1b), and assistant commissioners (2a). While military commissioners controlled tactical direction of the army and supervised the professional aspects of military administration, the Ministry of War in Nanjing, headed by a 2a minister and two 3a deputies, originated basic strategy and controlled personnel, supplies, and troop mobilization. In short, the commissioners only executed the orders and policies of the Ministry of War and led the army in the battlefield. When there was a war, troops were mobilized from various guard-battalion units on orders from the emperor, and commanders were chosen from the Five Chief Military Commissions to lead them. During the campaign, the commanders’ families were required to remain in the capital as hostages to guarantee the commanders’
return. As soon as the war was over, troops returned to their respective guard-battalion districts, and the generals surrendered their temporary tactical command. Consequently, this system prevented the commanders from building up personal followings or controlling areas that could become their own power bases.
However, the balancing act between the capital and the princedoms became tricky as Emperor Hongwu constantly revised and adjusted “The Ancestor’s Instructions,” which provided a basic policy guide for his feudatory system and spelled out the regulations that governed the conduct and stipends of the princes. By establishing a chain of princedoms, Emperor Hongwu expected his sons to help consolidate the rule of the Zhu family, to prevent ministers’
usurpation, and to counter the power of regional commanders. But the more obsessed Emperor Hongwu became with security, the more he realized the vulnerability of his feudatory system. From the histories of imperial succession in the Han and Tang dynasties—both of which were marred by fratricidal tragedies—he learned that each new reign was a new era and that there was always a dangerous proclivity for serious rupture among imperial o¤spring.
39
the years of waiting
Due to his chronic fear of subversion, Emperor Hongwu sought to monitor and put a damper on the princedoms’ ability to threaten the court. Consequently, during the winter of 1380, exactly seven months after the Prince of Yan had settled into his new home, Emperor Hongwu revised for the third time his “Ancestor’s Instructions.” According to the new regulations, the Prince of Yan could no longer keep both civilian and military counselors. Instead, he was to be assisted by two low-ranking administrators—a 5a senior member and a 5b junior member—both to be sent by the court.
On paper at least, the new regulations seemed to have limited the prince’s power and restricted his movement. His annual trip to the capital for an imperial audience remained the same, but the date of his arrival in Nanjing was scheduled according to his seniority—his age plus the status of his mother—
so as to prevent him from meeting his other brothers during the imperial audience. He was allowed to see other princes only once every three, five, or, in some cases, ten years. His stay in the capital could not exceed ten days, and he was not allowed to eat or drink when attending parties given by court ministers or by his in-laws. The court would not provide him food or drink during his stay in the capital; when attending an imperial banquet, the prince was required to bring his own food. To ensure that he would think twice before raising an army against the emperor, the prince was asked to leave his son in Nanjing when he returned to his princely establishment.6
The new instructions also took away some of the prerogatives that previously had been endowed to the princedom. For example, the princely guard troops would now be administered by the Ministry of War, and the prince was not allowed to curry favor with provincial commanders or make contact with their troops. The prince, after recruiting new military personnel, whether for temporary or hereditary appointment, had to submit a list of names to the court for its approval. If the court wished to transfer or reappoint the sta¤ of the princedom, the prince was obliged to immediately comply with such a request. Within the princedom, the prince was prohibited from hiring “opportunistic climbers, wise guys, or political pundits,” and he was not allowed to receive petitions from such people. Within his domain, if there were rare talents or men of exceptional knowledge and ability, the prince could not keep these virtuous people for himself, but instead was directed to bring them for service in the emperor’s court. No prince was allowed to keep unlawful people or fugitives in his army. All the magistrates and o‹cials of the local government within the princedom and in its vicinity were to be appointed by the court, and the prince was not to interfere with local administration. Needless to say, the authority to manage government funds, provisions, and litigation belonged 40
the years of waiting
exclusively to these court-appointed o‹cials. If the princely household needed labor or other services, the prince could only ask go
vernment agencies to provide for him, nor was he allowed to find his own workers for construction projects. Most interestingly, the instructions also specified that from the fourth through the ninth lunar month the prince was not allowed to go out hunting or on military maneuvers, so as to avoid encountering Mongol raiders.7
But the new “Ancestor’s Instructions” in fact gave the Prince of Yan a lot of elbowroom within his realm. His status and prestige remained as high as ever, almost equal to that of the crown prince. All correspondence from the emperor to the prince had to be a‹xed with a special imperial seal called Treasure of the Emperor’s Loving Relatives (Huangdi Qinqin Zhi Bao); otherwise it would be considered null and void. When the special court envoy arrived in the princedom—either for business or just passing through—he had to prostrate to the prince four times. Even the dukes and generals were required to perform this feudal form of kowtow before the seated prince. Twice a month, on the first and the fifteenth days, all provincial administrators—including the governor, regional military commissioner, guard commander, prefect, subprefect, and county magistrate—were required to attend scheduled princely audiences and to kowtow to him. The prince could also summon these o‹cials whenever he had legitimate business to discuss with them.8
Moreover, a messenger sent by the prince to the court carried special passes and tablets and marched under the princedom’s brilliantly colored banners; he did not have to go through routine checkpoints or report to any government agencies, such as the Ministry of Rites. He was allowed to go straight to His Majesty. Unless ordered by the emperor, any person who dared to stop the princely messenger was charged as a traitor. In fact, as soon as the messenger’s party arrived at Meridian Gate, the guards there were required to immediately inform the eunuchs on duty. In no time a small group of eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial, all in their embroidered robes, scurried to greet the messenger and ushered him into the Inner Court. If the personnel on duty, whether the guards or the eunuchs, failed to quickly relay news of the arrival of the princely messenger to His Majesty, they were charged with treason. Thus a calculating and ruthless prince could always use his status and prestige to mollify the courtiers he disliked as well as to win courtiers whose loyalty and discretion he could swear by.9
Perpetual Happiness Page 6