Green Phoenix

by Poon, Alice;

  These fiefdoms had for a long time been a terrible drain on the Empire’s coffers as the upkeep of their armies required constant state funding, and now amounted to almost half of all state revenue. In return, though, the Lords had neither the obligation nor the desire to contribute anything to the Empire. They had virtually a free rein to squander all the taxes they legally or illegally collected. For commoners who lived under them, it meant neither peace nor a decent life. Widespread corruption and tyranny were the order of the day. The Lords served nothing but their own self-interest.

  Of the three, Wu Sangui was the most avaricious and belligerent, having built up a strong army of seventy thousand men. He monopolized his fiefdom’s salt fields and copper mines and levied heavy taxes on farmers. The wealth he extracted from these sources enabled him to live like an emperor and also allowed him to lure bandits from Li Zicheng’s disbanded rebel army to join his ever-growing military force. As his wealth and military power grew by the day, he became more and more contemptuous of the Qing Empire.

  Early in the twelfth year of Kangxi’s reign, Shang Kexi, the Ming defector who had overseen the massacre in Guangdong under Dorgon’s regency, was ailing and becoming senile. He petitioned Kangxi for permission to retire to the Liaodong peninsula to the east of Beijing, allowing his son Shang Zhixin to inherit his title of Feudal Lord. Kangxi, on receiving the petition, considered it for a long while and decided it was a golden opportunity to start the process of dealing with the three fiefdoms.

  His mind made up, he broached the issue for discussion at a meeting of the Privy Council. Most members of the Council, including Songgoto, were opposed to the idea of terminating the fiefdom, while Mingju was one of the few who supported it. Kangxi went as usual to his Nana for counsel.

  After hearing him out, Bumbutai said meditatively: “We tried our best to tolerate the Feudal Lords as we needed them to maintain some sort of order in those remote regions. But it was always to be just an interim measure. Our rule is never complete until we have south and southwest China under our total control. Besides, these Lords have shown themselves to be nothing but self-serving predators. There will never be true peace if they are allowed to continue to fleece our subjects. It is about time we did something.”

  “That is exactly how I view the situation, Nana. We cannot sleep well until this long-standing problem is resolved once and for all.” He was truly glad that Nana and he were always of the same opinion.

  “Xuanye, of the three Lords, the old fox Wu Sangui is the most cunning and you must be especially vigilant in dealing with him. If circumstances demand it, don’t hesitate to kill the hostage Wu Yingxiong in order to rein him in.”

  Kangxi took heed of his Nana’s words as always and, emboldened by her support, he went ahead and approved Shang’s petition in a highly visible manner, hoping the approval would induce the other two Lords to follow suit.

  By summer, Wu wanted to test out Kangxi’s real intentions, and he petitioned to retire to Manchuria. Kangxi again consulted his Privy Council on how to handle Wu’s request, and the majority of the Council took the view that Wu was only playing a game and had no real intention to retire. They believed there was a good chance that he would rise in rebellion once the retirement arrangement was agreed. After long deliberation, Kangxi made his decision.

  “Wu has been planning to rebel against our Empire for a long time,” he declared. “Even if we allowed his fiefdom to remain in place, it would be naïve of us to think we could tame him. But if we act first and take him by surprise, we may well prevail.”

  In the early autumn, the Kangxi Emperor issued an order for Wu Sangui to resettle to Manchuria and sent a Court envoy to Yunnan with the order. When Wu received the order, he flew into a rage, cursing Kangxi in the foulest language. The next thing he did was to have the Court envoy beheaded and sent the severed head in a gift box back to Kangxi by courier. Then he wrote letters to Shang Kexi and Shang Zhixin in Guangdong and Geng Jingzhong in Fujian inciting them to rise up against the Manchus in concert with him.

  At this time, Wu Sangui’s former concubine, Chen Yuanyuan was living a secluded life with the Taoist name of Yu An, in a garden retreat he had built especially for her on the northern outskirts of Kunming. Wu still paid her a visit whenever he was troubled and she was always able to soothe his soul by talking to him about the Taoist Three Treasures (compassion, frugality and modesty) that Yu Lin had taught her. For him, Anfu Garden and Chen Yuanyuan were like a spiritual refuge. But he still had an innate proclivity for power and worldly treasures and pleasures.

  After Yuanyuan had left him the second time, he had moved his wife Madam Zhang out of his Palace into a small mansion so that he could install a harem of young and pretty concubines for his carnal pleasure. He spent an average day drinking and feasting himself into a torpor and watching his concubines perform erotic dances naked.

  The villa that Yuanyuan resided in was nestled in an expansive landscaped garden filled with flowering trees, rose hedges and jasmine shrubs, and adorned by small creeks, wooden footbridges and pagodas. In front of the villa’s main south-facing entrance was a large pond with gigantic pink and white lotus flowers floating atop wavy green leaves. On the farther side of the pond stood several willow trees, beneath which were placed four stone benches around a stone table. The garden’s main gate opened on the east side. The landscaped garden area lay to the west, with a pebble-stone path leading to it.

  The main lounge of the villa had been turned into a Taoist shrine where Taoist nuns gathered from time to time to chant and perform rituals. Yuanyuan’s private residence, which she shared with two novice nuns, was discreetly tucked away at the back, fronting a small backyard where they grew fruit and vegetables.

  One day, a crisp fine day in autumn, Wu appeared in Anfu Garden, drunk and haggard. He had had several sleepless nights, struggling with the risky decision that he had taken. It was true that he had huge prestige and immense wealth. Yet there were always more riches and more glory to be had. Nothing would ever be gained if no risk was taken, he knew.

  He found Yuanyuan sitting serenely on one of the stone benches, reciting her daily Taoist prayers. She was dressed in a simple light-grey hemp robe with a dark-blue vest on top, and in her soft white hands she held a string of black prayer beads. On her shaved head she wore a light grey cloth cap that framed her smooth forehead. Her eyes were as clear as water and had a starry glint in them.

  He sat himself on the bench next to her.

  “I’m going to lead my men to war again,” he blurted out. “This time, we’ll be fighting the Qing dogs…”

  Yuanyuan gasped in shock. She had had a bad feeling the whole morning. So this was it. She fixed her gaze on Wu.

  “Do you know you are making a big mistake?” she said with great seriousness. “The Qing Empire has always been generous to you. How can you even think of doing such a thing?”

  “…..I am a Han and not a Manchu. It is my duty to fight them,” he replied.

  “But you chose to side with the Manchus long ago. You said the Ming Empire was corrupt to the core and its demise was justified.”

  He puckered his lips in a show of displeasure, as he hated to be reminded of his defection. “I owe my loyalty to Ming,” he persisted. “I’m going to resurrect the Empire….”

  “The Qing Empire appreciated the help you gave them and rewarded you most lavishly. Isn’t that true?” Her gaze never faltered.

  “You have too simple a mind to understand the complexities,” he said, irritated. “They now want to withdraw my fiefdom and resettle me to Manchuria. Those ungrateful Qing dogs….”

  “The fiefdoms were never meant to be permanent,” she said patiently. “There can’t be several kingdoms in existence at one time. The Qing Empire naturally would want to assume control sooner or later.” She tried to talk some sense into her old friend and the love of her secular life, whom she could now on
ly regard with pity and compassion.

  “They could have left my fiefdom alone….”

  “Resettlement is not such a bad idea after all. Shang Kexi has agreed.”

  “You don’t understand, woman! Why do you think I built up such a strong army? I want you right here where you belong. I know you are happy here and I can protect you….”

  “But I could follow you to Manchuria….”

  “The truth is, I can’t live….. with lessened power. They’re going to divest me of my power once I have resettled. But if I fight now, there’s still a chance I can hold on to what I have. With a little luck, I might even become the Emperor….” He finally exposed his deepest and best-guarded thought. Yuanyuan was the only person in the world he could bare his soul to.

  On hearing his confession, Yuanyuan no longer harbored any hope of convincing him to change his mind. Unbridled ambition was his curse and there was nothing she could do to remove the curse. She knew he was doomed.

  “I see that there is no way I can persuade you to change your mind. But can you at least promise me one thing?” she said.

  “If I can do it, of course.”

  “If you don’t survive this war, I won’t want to live either. Can you leave instructions for us to be buried together?”

  He raised his eyes to meet hers and saw the glint that lit up her beautiful placid face. The happy years they had spent together came rushing back in a tide of euphoria. His weary eyes reddened.

  “Don’t be silly,” he replied. “I will live to a ripe old age, and so will you.” He held her tight in his arms.

  Early the following year, Wu’s army, carrying white banners emblazoned with the slogan “Overthrow Qing and Restore Ming”, marched out of Yunnan and stormed into the provinces of Hunan and Sichuan. The weak and lazy Qing Bannermen were no match for the well-trained and well-equipped rebel army, and the two provinces were captured with surprising ease and speed.

  The Manchu and Mongolian cavalrymen had been steadily losing their agility and efficacy, having grown fat and indolent from an easy lifestyle. Even in Dorgon’s days, they had been surpassed by the Chinese Eight Banners, which had since been transformed into the formidable Green Standard Army. It was the Green Standard Army that had helped Shunzhi win the Battle of Nanjing. Kangxi witnessed the floundering of the Manchu Eight Banners in their shameful defeat in Hunan and Sichuan.

  Meanwhile, Geng Jingzhong in Fujian was emboldened by the supporting army of 150,000 that crossed the Taiwan Strait to join the Fujian rebellion. The army was led by Zheng Jing, eldest son of Zheng Chenggong, the Ming loyalist who had fled to Taiwan after losing the Battle of Nanjing. He had helped his father drive the Dutch colonists from the island and had built the Kingdom of Tungning there.

  In Guangdong, Shang Zhixin also looked set to respond to Wu Sangui’s call to rise up against the Qing Empire, and one of Wu’s followers, Wang Fushen, led an uprising in the provinces of Guangxi and Shaanxi. Instantly, half of China was plunged once again into bloody warfare. For the Qing rulers, the only saving grace was that most of the Chinese commoners were not sympathetic with the rebel armies, because it was clear that these plundering warlords had no plans other than their own rapacity. Kangxi knew well that the commoners would bear the brunt of brutality if the fighting was allowed to drag on.

  He could not but feel that he was treading a thin line. It was the most dangerous situation he had ever found himself in. One false step and he would see his Empire and the Aisin Gioro clan of which he was head pulverized into dust. Cold sweat gathered on his forehead as he contemplated how all that his forefathers had sweated to achieve could so easily slip from his grasp.

  As if there was not already enough on his plate, the Chakhar Mongols in Inner Mongolia under the leadership of Abunai and his son Borni chose this moment to become restive, eager to join the empire-wide rebellion. Abunai had earlier been put under house arrest under Kangxi’s orders, as he had tried to renege on his predecessor’s vow of allegiance to the Qing Empire. In Hong Taiji’s time, intermarriage had been used as a means of keeping peace in this region, but now the marital bonds were losing their magic touch.

  Bumbutai was being briefed on a daily basis on the situation. One day before dawn broke, she went to Kangxi’s bed chambers in the Palace of Heavenly Purity to speak with him. Intuition fed her fears as she felt her grandson’s despair at the turmoil he faced. As she arrived, he was already up and about to leave for Cining Palace. They sat down together in the main reception room.

  “Xuanye, I’ve received news that Abunai and Borni are planning on taking Mukden. Mukden is our secondary capital and we must make it our priority to protect it.”

  “I know, Nana. But our forces are already spread thin to deal with the rebellions….” He was obviously stymied for a solution.

  “I would suggest you send Tuhai to lead a team to deal with them. His family used to live in Mukden and he spent his childhood and youth there. So he knows the territory well.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of him. Yes, he should be the right choice.”

  “I will urge my Khorchin Mongol relatives to assist him. Have you ordered the execution of Wu Sangui’s son yet?”

  “Not yet. I will do that today.” He was still feeling overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility and fear of failure.

  “That should help to curb Wu Sangui’s arrogance,” she added, hoping to inject a dose of confidence into her grandson. “I wonder if we should appoint Han commanders for our Banner forces in the south and the southwest to replace Manchu commanders? It is clear that we cannot rely on them. I think the Green Standard Army would perform better under Han command. This is no time for pride.”

  Bumbutai had been mulling this for a long time and she surmised that Kangxi’s inaction with regard to military command was due to resistance from his Privy Council.

  “Nana, thank you. I did propose this idea again to the Council. They were not receptive when I raised it before.”

  “Go ahead and issue the orders and I’ll try to convince the Council members in private. I will also write to my clansmen to seek their help.”

  As if chancing upon a glitter of light in a pitch-dark tunnel, Kangxi could now at least find his bearings.

  The severed head of Wu’s son, Wu Yingxiong, was prominently displayed in the execution ground of Beijing. When the news reached Wu Sangui, he broke down in grief, effectively bringing the war to a short halt. Then Kangxi offered Wu and his family amnesty if he agreed to surrender. Wu flatly turned down the offer.

  In the spring of the fourteenth year of the Kangxi reign, Borni led an armed force of three thousand Chakhars into Mukden and released Abunai from imprisonment. Tuhai had put together a motley team of untrained Bannermen and household bondservants and managed somehow to put up an effective defense, with discreet help from Khorchin Mongols.

  One day, word came to Tuhai’s camp that Borni had been stabbed to death by a Khorchin cavalryman inside his own camp. Within days, Tuhai’s men captured Abunai and drove the Chakhars out of Mukden. Thereupon, Kangxi ordered that Abunai and all Chakhar royal males be executed and their royal females and children enslaved with the exception of Manchu Princesses. The Chakhar Mongols were henceforth put under the Qing Empire’s direct control.

  In the midst of this turmoil, Kangxi’s beloved Empress passed away at the age of twenty-one, while giving birth to her second son. By this time, five of his sons had died in infancy and only one, born of Concubine Hui, had survived. Her death devastated him. Their intimate bond had been sentimental as much as spiritual, and the premature death of her first-born a couple of years earlier had already broken his heart.

  Severely depressed, he went to visit his newborn son several days after his Empress had passed away. Watching the vulnerable tiny bundle flailing its limbs happily in its cot, he placed his little finger in its tiny hand and felt the needy infantile gri
p. A paternal flame lit up his heart, and made him feel that all he wanted was to shower all his love and attention on the little being who had just lost his mother.

  “I will protect you and love you, little one,” he whispered as he bent down to kiss the infant’s forehead. “There’s nothing for you to fear.”

  He couldn’t wait for the boy to grow up so he could teach him all of his skills and life’s lessons. In the following year, he made this infant son, Yinreng, the Crown Prince. It was a way of showing gratitude to his late Empress.

  But after the mourning period was over, Kangxi had to plunge right back into the battle with the Feudal Lords which had long been stalemated. Kangxi began writing messages in his own hand openly reprimanding the Manchu Bannermen for their inferior performance and lavishing praise on the Han Green Standard Army for their valor. He ordered the execution of one Manchu general for desertion. Then the warlord in Fujian Province, Shang Zhixin, who had been sitting on the fence and now seeing the Qing forces in such a bind, decided to jump in. Kangxi despaired. Morale in the Qing Army was at its lowest ebb. There were even posters pasted on walls in many towns criticizing the Emperor.

  Then, the winds of war began to shift. Internal strife started to infect Wu’s rebel army as incessant fighting wore down the rebels’ spirits. Many started to question their allegiance to Wu. Then Wu’s lieutenant Wang Fushen decided it was expedient to change sides and Kangxi immediately appointed him as a Green Standard Commander charged him with crushing Wu’s army. He also spread the word that rebel soldiers who surrendered would be spared punishment and be assimilated into the Green Standard Army. This enticed a great number of the beleaguered rebels to defect. The change of heart had a rippling effect.

  Then Geng Jingzhong in Fujian surrendered a few months later, followed by Shang Zhixin. Zheng Jing, the son of Zheng Chenggong, retreated back to Taiwan.