Chapter Seventeen: The Scion of the Warrior Family

To be precise, the group that left Eunuch Guo so astonished had not emerged from the military post of Yongjia Fort, but rather from the Hundred-Household Office there. (The Yongjia Office is subordinate to the Right Guard of Wanquan and is actually where the Hundred-Household Officer of Yongjia Fort resides, hence the name Yongjia Office.)

The position of Hundred-Household Officer originated from the Mongol military system, also known as the Centurion. During the late Yuan peasant uprisings, the Red Turban Army under Han Lin’er’s Song regime, Xu Shouhui’s Tianwan regime, and Chen Youliang’s Han regime all adopted such posts. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Taizu Emperor, being of the Red Turban lineage himself, naturally continued the offices of Hundred-Household and Thousand-Household Officers.

A Hundred-Household Office was generally subordinate to a Thousand-Household Office. Its chief was called the Hundred-Household Officer, with a rank equivalent to the sixth official grade, overseeing two squad leaders and ten minor flag officers, with a total strength of 120 men. For example, Zhou Yunyi, who served as the squad leader at the Left Post of Xima Lin Fort, was actually a minor flag officer. The title “squad leader” was merely his military assignment, not a formal rank. To use the terminology of a modern-day army, Zhou Yunyi as a minor flag squad leader would be equivalent to a platoon leader with the rank of second lieutenant.

The group now emerging from the Hundred-Household Office had also noticed Lu Qing and his companions. At first, they paid no mind, but upon seeing the person leading Lu Qing’s group—Eunuch Guo—the leader of the other party displayed an expression of equal surprise.

Lu Qing was just wondering why Eunuch Guo was staring so fixedly at them, but before he could ask, Eunuch Guo suddenly seemed possessed, rushing straight to the group. He pointed at the middle-aged man in a gray scholar’s robe and hairnet, and shouted in a stern voice, “Shi Tai, why are you not attending your duties in the capital? Why are you, the attendant of the Prince, here in Xuanfu? Do you not know that private dealings with the frontier garrisons is a capital offense?”

Shi Tai had never imagined he would encounter Guo Jing here, let alone be accused of a crime punishable by death the moment they met. He froze in terror, standing there dazed for a while before stammering, “Eunuch Guo, I am not secretly dealing with the border garrisons. I am here under orders from the Prince to deliver birthday gifts to Consort Hang’s family.” Because of his nervousness, he stammered his explanation, sweat beading on his brow.

The Prince?

At these words, Lu Qing’s expression changed. He instinctively stepped forward a couple of paces, scrutinizing the group more closely. Only then did he realize that the middle-aged man called Shi Tai, like Guo Jing, was a eunuch with a pale, beardless face. Behind him, aside from four burly guards, three others also appeared to be eunuchs.

The Prince referred to here was the younger brother of the current Emperor Zhu Qizhen—Zhu Qiyu—who, in about a month’s time, would replace his brother as Emperor Jingtai, known in history as the Emperor Daizong of Ming.

Secret liaisons with the border garrisons and fraternizing with court eunuchs were grave taboos for all civil and military officials, and even more so for imperial princes. As an uncrowned prince yet to be sent to his fief, if Zhu Qiyu’s attendants were accused of such dealings, he would become the target of all suspicion, and any slander against him would be impossible to dispel.

Fortunately, Shi Tai was not here for any clandestine dealings with the border commanders on the Prince’s behalf, but was indeed delivering birthday gifts to Hang Min’s family, the newly-wedded concubine of the Prince. Thus, after his initial panic, he quickly regained his composure, though a nameless anger burned in his chest. Anyone would resent being frightened so unreasonably. However, having once been chosen from the Directorate of Palace Attendants to serve in the Prince’s household—and since Guo Jing had formerly been the Deputy Director of the Directorate—it was only natural that upon suddenly meeting his former superior, Shi Tai still felt a certain awe. Even though he was fuming, he dared not utter another word while facing Guo Jing’s suspicious gaze.

The three eunuchs following Shi Tai were his newly accepted apprentices in the Prince’s household. Seeing their master cowed by a ragged old man looking like a beggar, they were indignant. One, a delicately handsome young eunuch, could not help crying out shrilly, “Eunuch Guo, you must not make false accusations! My master is here on orders from the Regent Prince; he is not engaged in any secret dealings with the border. Don’t you dare slander him with such charges!”

Regent Prince?

Since when did the Ming have a Regent Prince? Eunuch Guo was taken aback, then recalled that in a recent urgent dispatch from the palace before the expedition, the Emperor had appointed his brother, the Prince, as regent during his absence on campaign.

While he was still in a daze, a voice suddenly piped up from inside the Yongjia Hundred-Household Office. A middle-aged man wearing a black gauze cap and a bright red surcoat embroidered with a lion came out.

In the Ming dynasty, civil and military officials wore similar colored robes, but the embroidered insignia differed: civil officials had birds, military officials had beasts. The phrase “officials are all beasts in robes and hats” was not derisive in those days, but rather the envy of all, for to be a beast in robes was to be an official!

The appearance of the man in the lion-embroidered red robe immediately dominated the scene. Even Eunuch Guo, whose status as Supervising Eunuch was higher, could not compare—after all, his own robe was filthy and tattered, and he himself was in a sorry state.

The middle-aged man’s first glance was at Shi Tai, surprised to see him still present. Then, seeing Eunuch Guo, he too was taken aback. Surprise soon gave way to a smile, and he stepped forward beaming, “Eunuch Guo, what wind has blown you here from Datong to Xuanfu?... And what is with your current attire?”

Eunuch Guo had not expected to run into a member of the Yang family in such circumstances, and was deeply embarrassed. He stammered, “Lord Yang, it’s only been half a year, and you’ve grown even more imposing, ha ha. How is Marshal Yang’s health these days?”

Avoiding the question, the middle-aged man grew more curious, replying casually, “My father is in good health, and often mentions you fondly. He still remembers your collection of imperial wine at your residence.”

“Haha, since Marshal Yang is so thoughtful, I will be sure to send him a few jars soon, lest he keeps thinking about it. It’s never good to have someone pining after you...”

Eunuch Guo forced a laugh, noticing the way Lord Yang’s eyes roved over him, wishing he could sink into the ground.

By now, Lu Qing finally understood who the middle-aged man was: he was none other than Yang Jun, eldest son of the Xuanfu Grand Marshal Yang Hong and Commander of the Wanquan Military Commission!

The term “military commission” referred to the Commanding Office. After the founding of the Ming, the Mongol provincial system was abolished, replaced by three parallel commissions: the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Military Commanding Commission—known as the “Three Commissions.”

The Military Commanding Commission was of the second rank, with subordinate guard commands, thousand-household offices, and hundred-household offices. Each guard had 5,600 soldiers divided into five thousand-household offices—front, rear, left, center, and right—each responsible for local military affairs as the highest military authority, under the Five Armies Command and answerable directly to the Ministry of War.

Xuanfu was under three Guards and one Military Commission: Kaiping Guard, Longmen Guard, Bao’an Guard, and the Wanquan Military Commission. Since the Xuanda region had no prefectures or counties, the military offices also handled civil administration, known as “territorial guard offices.”

Yang Hong, the father, was a First Rank Commander, the Grand Marshal stationed at Xuanfu. His son, still young, already commanded the Wanquan Military Commission—a true scion of a military family. With no civil administrators meddling in his affairs, Yang Jun was naturally full of confidence and authority in daily life.