Green Phoenix

by Poon, Alice;

  I understand that you have always felt that you were robbed of the right to rule. But I am sure you will agree that Hong Taiji has proven himself to be a fair, capable, respectable and benevolent leader who has given his all in leading the Manchus and Mongols into an unprecedented era of solidarity and prosperity. The way he treats the conquered Han Chinese is also most admirable.

  I can assure you that Hong Taiji deeply regrets having taken your mother’s life. Please believe me that it was deep insecurities and not depravity that drove him to commit that act. He has since tried in his own way to make amends to you. He is a man who is now in his last days. I beseech you with all my heart to put down the burden of hatred and to forgive and forget.

  Fulin is only a five-year-old child. Without your help and the cooperation of the other clansmen after Hong Taiji passes, my son and I will be exposed to great threats and perils, the likes of which I dare not even imagine. What, for instance, if some impudent clansman proposes that I follow in Lady Abahai’s footsteps?

  I am praying to Eternal Blue Sky that you have not yet done anything harmful that cannot be reversed. And I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive your brother.

  Yours forever,

  Bumbutai”

  When she finished writing, she asked Sumalagu to deliver the letter to Dorgon in person the next day.

  In the town of Gusu in Jiangsu Province, there was a beautiful orphan girl named Chen Yuanyuan who had been brought up by her aunt. Being a peasant widow, the aunt was living in abject poverty and had no choice but to sell Yuanyuan to a brothel. She was then re-sold as a maid to a wealthy family surnamed Zhou. Old Master Zhou happened to be the father of the Ming Empress who, it transpired, was plagued by jealousy over Chongzhen Emperor’s favoritism towards one of his Consorts, named Tian. The Empress found it expedient to present Yuanyuan to the Emperor in an attempt to distract him. But her plan did not work as the Emperor showed no interest in the girl. Even worse, Yuanyuan’s exquisite beauty aroused envy and animosity in Consort Tian. The jealous Consort first had the girl whipped and expelled from the Palace, then given as a concubine to her father, Old Master Tian.

  General Wu Sangui was a good friend of the very rich Tian family. One day he paid Old Master Tian a visit and Yuanyuan appeared to serve him tea. Wu’s eyes would have been glued to her if it weren’t for propriety’s sake. But Old Master Tian caught General Wu’s sidelong and leering glances in the directions of the girl and thereupon came up with a mutually beneficial arrangement. Now more than ever, the Tian family’s vast land and property holdings needed protection from peasant rebels’ random marauding, and General Wu’s soldiers could readily provide that protection. On Yuanyuan’s part, she secretly admired the general’s gallantry and could imagine no better future for a low-born woman such as herself. It was thus that she ended up in General Wu’s household as his favorite concubine.

  Both General Wu and Yuanyuan had grown up in Jiangsu Province and their early childhood memories bonded them. He installed her in a courtyard house in Beijing and lavished jewelry, silk garments and perfumes on her. He never even looked at another concubine or any other woman. Although for a time they would enjoy each other’s love, Yuanyuan’s tragic destiny would land her in yet more infamy and disgrace. She was also to become, ironically, the pivotal figure behind the Manchu Empire’s defeat of the Ming Dynasty.

  The rebel leader Li Zicheng’s peasant army was growing from strength to strength and his next target was the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing. Li had heard tell of General Wu’s beautiful concubine from his underlings, and he couldn’t get her off his mind. One of his deputies saw an opportunity and proposed a plan to him to force General Wu to defect to Li’s forces. They would abduct Yuanyuan and other members of Wu’s family and hold them as hostages.

  Inside the lounge of Dorgon’s mansion, Ajige and Dorgon were in deep discussion, devising a plot. Sumalagu arrived at the entrance gate in the early afternoon and Dorgon’s personal guards on duty refused her entry. She waited for a while, aware of how important the letter was, but in the end had no alternative but to leave the envelope with one of the guards. She implored him repeatedly to hand it to the Beile as soon as possible.

  Inside, unaware of Sumalagu’s presence outside the door, Dorgon was immersed in the conversation with Ajige.

  “I have recently been in contact with Daisan and Jirgalang and they both agree to cooperate,” he said. “The chance is finally presenting itself. Hong Taiji’s health is on the edge of total collapse and he doesn’t have a successor named. Our first step is to seize control of the Plain Blue Banner.”

  “That should be easy, because the soldiers under that Banner never specifically pledged loyalty to Hong Taiji when he grabbed it from Manggultai,” Ajige replied with confidence. “You can personally address them and seek their allegiance.”

  Ajige and Dodo had for a long time tried to persuade Dorgon to claim the throne for himself, but Dorgon had always rejected the idea. He had thought that their military power was inadequate to support such a move.

  “I plan to make a formal speech on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, that being an auspicious day. But first I will visit the soldiers to find out what they are thinking.”

  “That’s a good idea. With Daisan’s and Jirgalang’s support, we don’t have to worry about a confrontation with Hooge. Dodo and I have waited so long for you to come round to making this decision. It’s time to remove Hong Taiji from the face of the earth altogether,” Ajige couldn’t hide his excitement as he bellowed.

  “We must do this quietly,” Dorgon warned.

  “Yes! Then on the ninth day we can send Hong Taiji on his last journey. We can at last avenge our mother! I know a herbalist and I can get some arsenic powder for you. You must use your most trusted servant.” Ajige spoke feverishly, his face flushed. He then whispered details of his plan into Dorgon’s ear.

  For Dorgon, the thought of taking Bumbutai for himself had been the constant spur to take this fate-changing step. The time had come for him to claim his due.

  Ajige didn’t leave Dorgon’s mansion until dusk, by which time the guard with the envelope had already gone off duty and stepped into a nearby tavern. As was his habit, the guard got drunk and had to be carried home. His wife undressed him and put him to bed, dropping the letter to the floor without noticing it. Her toddler child picked it up, played with it and tore it to pieces. It would never be known whether Dorgon would have changed his mind had he read Bumbutai’s long letter.

  Sumalagu did not realize that her mission had failed, and Bumbutai was still snug in the belief that her letter had reached Dorgon. On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month it suddenly dawned on her that the Emperor hadn’t put anything down in writing about the succession. She was on her way to his Residence to remind him when a maid from the Royal Nursery rushed towards her with news that Fulin had contracted a fever, so she hurried over to see her son instead.

  The following night, a maid from the Emperor’s Residence took two bowls of sweet almond soup from the royal kitchen to the lounge where Bumbutai was telling the Emperor about Fulin’s condition. It was luckily nothing serious, she told him. On a side table, she began grinding an ink slab on a stone plate.

  The Emperor was taking the sweet almond soup from his personal bowl, using a porcelain spoon. Bumbutai stepped from the side table to sit down beside him at the main table. She had just picked up her own bowl when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the maid trembling like a leaf. An uneasy feeling crept up on her. But before she could act, Hong Taiji had already emptied the bowl in three gulps. She was too late.

  In a few heartbeats, he was clutching at his throat and went into convulsions. A thunderbolt struck her and her mind started whirring. She struggled to keep herself calm.

  “The Emperor has a headache and needs to retire early,” she declared. She and the maid helped hi
m to the bed, and as he lay down, he had another seizure and passed out, foaming at the mouth. Without a word she wiped his mouth clean and let down the bed curtains.

  Then she sent the Emperor’s eunuch to get Sumalagu and then signaled for all the maids to leave except for the ashen-faced one. When she lifted the curtains to look at the Emperor again, he had already stopped breathing, his face a morbid pallor. She put her ear on his chest and heard no heartbeat.

  The maid couldn’t stop her violent shaking. She eventually dropped to her knees to beg for her life. On Bumbutai’s questioning, she revealed that Beile Dorgon’s manservant was her beau and had persuaded her to do the deed, giving her a jade bracelet and promising to take her away to his hometown afterwards. Just then, Sumalagu appeared. Bumbutai whispered to her what had happened. Then she turned to the maid.

  “Do you understand the gravity of this crime and what punishment awaits you and your beau?” she asked. The maid bobbed her head in answer. “Now listen carefully. I’m going to give both of you an alternative to a death sentence. You are to convince your lover to leave with you permanently for a place outside the borders, never to return in your lifetime. I will give you five gold bars to sustain you both for the remainder of your lives. You have to give me your answer right now.”

  Bumbutai’s instinct told her that the maid was not evil-hearted, and so took a chance with her. The stricken maid fell to her knees and banged her head on the floor three times, uttering between sobs, “May the Goddess of Mercy bless you. We owe you our lives. I swear on my life that we will leave Mukden immediately and will stay away forever.”

  Having taken the bowls and spoons from the table, Sumalagu stepped forward to help the maid rise. On their way out, Bumbutai bade Sumalagu fetch Dorgon and Physician Sima immediately.

  Dorgon soon arrived. Bumbutai gazed at him, her face white as marble and imbued with a mixed emotion of deep pain and anguish. The only word she could utter from her dry throat after a long silence was: “Why?”

  “You know very well the reason,” he answered with indignation.

  “Dorgon, there was no need for this. He was going to pass soon any way. You could have laid down the burden of hatred and been a free man. But now you have blood on your conscience, just as Hong Taiji had blood on his. This is not going to bring back your mother.”

  “He took so much from me!” He spluttered. “He deserved this!” Then he cast a sidelong glance at the deathbed and realized she was right. This wouldn’t bring back his mother. He was hit by an unexpected wave of remorse.

  “He was going to give you the Plain Blue Banner, and was going to write a will making Fulin his heir, to be assisted by a number of Regents including you. Now that he has passed without leaving anything in writing, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I am so, so sad that my letter had absolutely no effect on you.”

  “What letter?” he asked, puzzled.

  “It is no longer important. The most urgent thing is to cover your tracks. I’ve already dealt with the maid and your servant. I trust Physician Sima could help us.”

  Even as she spoke, the eunuch announced Physician Sima’s arrival. He approached her respectfully.

  “The Emperor had a sudden and violent stroke just before going to bed and lost consciousness,” she told him. “His last breath came while you were being summoned. Please record the circumstances to pass on to the Banner Chiefs.”

  Physician Sima made a cursory examination of the dead body.

  “The likely cause of death was a heart stroke,” he said carefully. “The Emperor has previously had bad strokes.”

  He then wrote down the time and cause of death on a piece of paper.

  After the physician left, Dorgon grabbed Bumbutai by the waist and kissed her passionately. She put up a little resistance at first and then relented. Then she pushed him away.

  “Fulin and I are in great danger now,” she said. “You must promise me that you will support his enthronement and that you will agree to be a Regent.”

  “I will do whatever you wish me to do,” Dorgon replied. “All I ask is that after the throne succession issue is settled, you will marry me and live with me.” His heart was on fire.

  “But according to Chinese customs, such a marriage would be considered immoral,” she replied.

  “Bumbutai, you are a Mongol and I am a Manchu!” he exclaimed. “In both our cultures, it is natural for a brother to marry his widowed sister-in-law. Are you trying to fabricate excuses to reject me?” His face twisted in pain as he spoke.

  “No, no, Dorgon. I just want you to know what is on my mind. I am afraid that our Han officials might not take it well. I am thinking of the honor of the Imperial clan. I promised you I would offer you both my body and my soul and I intend to keep my promise. Besides, both Fulin and I need you to protect us from harm.” She was keenly aware as she spoke of the dangers that lay ahead.

  “Bumbutai, are you sorry that Hong Taiji is dead? I need to know the truth.”

  “Dorgon, what do you expect me to say? He was my husband for eighteen years and I have children by him. Even though I never felt any love for him, I believe he truly cared for me. This …. this is a great shock for me. I thought you had read my letter… ” She paused, blinking away a tear before she continued. “I don’t think he deserved such an end. As I said before, this needn’t have happened. Now you and I will carry the guilt with us for the rest of our lives. If you still doubt my heart …. ”

  “But he didn’t seem to be bothered by his cold-blooded murder of my mother. This is only an eye for an eye.”

  “You’re wrong. He was weighed down with remorse every day. He knew he had committed the gravest mistake of his life out of cowardice. Fearing the wrath from you and your brothers was his daily curse and punishment.”

  Dorgon looked at her for a long time, a pained expression on his face. “It seems you cared a great deal about him,” he said finally. “Please try to understand me, Dorgon. First and foremost I care about our Empire and its subjects, including my own clan and tribe, and I always will. I have a duty and interest in giving them my very best. But I have always had only one true love and friend, and I think you know that.” She spoke with a naked honesty that he found at once compelling and endearing. For a long while he could find no words. The dewy mist in her eyes dissolved his heart, like the random sprays of spring showers thawing away piles of winter snow.

  “I know it’s senseless of me to be jealous of a dead man,” he said. “I promise I will help you in whatever way you need, Bumbutai.”

  “I will forever be indebted to you, my love.”

  “You must understand that it is for your sake that I will agree to be a Regent instead of claiming the throne myself, although I also think such an arrangement is best for the stability of the Empire.”

  Guilt was pricking his conscience and acted to mollify him.

  “Yes, I understand,” she said, relieved. “I only hope Hooge won’t try any tricks to upset our plans.”

  “Leave everything to me. I will call a meeting of the Private Council in Dazheng Hall first thing in the morning and will summon all men under the two White and two Blue Banners to gather in the Square just in case. Jirgalang gave me his word that he would side with me.”

  “I will get the eunuch to make the death announcement to Daisan and Hooge,” She responded.

  He hugged her one more time before leaving the chamber. As soon as he was out of sight, Bumbutai drew a deep breath. She didn’t know where she had drawn the courage from, but both Fulin’s life and hers were at stake. Either act or die.

  She told the eunuch to summon Jirgalang.

  Thirteen

  When dawn broke, mourning bugles blasted to the four corners of the Imperial Palace. Huge white lanterns had been hung round all the porticos of the Imperial Residence and Dazheng Hall in the early morning hours. In the middle
of the Residence lounge, a casket draped in white silk cloth was placed on a lacquered bier, surrounded by burning white candles. The corpse had been dressed in a golden Imperial robe embroidered with dragons and a gold-rimmed red velvet crown. White-robed male mourners knelt in rows in front of the casket while female mourners in white veils and robes grouped on both sides, all kneeling and wailing loudly.

  Moments later, troops from the Manchu Eight Banners marched in through the Main Gate and stood at attention in the Square in front of Dazheng Hall, while the Imperial Guards lined both sides of the grand pathway, instantly creating an atmosphere of hostility and tension.

  Inside the Hall, the Banner Chiefs were all present wearing white mourning robes over their plated armors and seated by order of Banner rank on the right and left, a little distance from the throne dais. Hooge and Daisan took their seats respectively on the right and left closest to the dais. Next to Hooge sat Dorgon, with Jirgalang next in line; on the other side were Daisan, Ajige and Dodo.

  The late Emperor’s chief eunuch read out the eulogy which had been prepared by the Minister of Documents. As the late Emperor had left no written will, by custom of the Aisin Gioro Clan, the successor to the throne had to be decided by consensus reached by the Banner Chiefs.

  The previous night, after his meeting with Bumbutai, Dorgon had a big argument with Ajige, but finally Dorgon succeeded in convincing his elder brother of the prudence of taking a regency role rather than trying for the throne. Dodo had also agreed.

  When the reading of the eulogy was complete, Hooge rose to his feet and addressed the Banner Chiefs.

  “As the late Emperor’s eldest male offspring and as Chief of the two Yellow Banners, I think you will all agree that I have a legitimate claim to the throne. However, it is not my intention to lay such a claim. I would rather leave it to my Uncle Daisan, who is the most venerable member of our clan, to name a suitable candidate.”