The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 36 – Part 9

During those few days, the heroes kept themselves busy with arrangements for Yin Tianzheng's funeral. Men of the wulin¹ arrived up the mountain in an unbroken stream. Many of them, drawn by Yin Tianzheng's renown, came to the timber shelter to mourn before his spirit tablet. Kongwen and Kongzhi had already paid their respects in person. Afterwards they dispatched thirty-six monks to perform Buddhist rites for Yin Tianzheng's deliverance. But the thirty-six monks had barely begun their chanting before Yin Yewang, wielding a mourning staff, drove them out. Zhou Dian cursed alongside him: “Shaolin bald donkeys, hypocrites of false righteousness.”

Zhang Wuji was tormented with worry. He conferred with Yang Xiao, Peng Yingyu, Zhao Min and the rest time and again, yet no good plan presented itself. Zhao Min had thought of secretly drugging the food and drink of the Three Monks of Du’e² with Ten Fragrance Softening Sinew Powder,³ and of summoning Lu Zhangke and He Biweng to join forces with Zhang Wuji, but Zhang Wuji and Yang Xiao judged both schemes unwise.

This day marked the first seventh day after Yin Tianzheng’s passing.⁴ Zhang Wuji led the Order’s heroes in laying offerings before the spirit tablet and mourning their loss. Zhao Min dressed in dark blue and a plain skirt, observing half-mourning for Yin Tianzheng. When the ceremony was done, the Ming Order burned the spirit tablet and performed the Holy Fire rite, then respectfully escorted the coffin down the mountain. Yin Yewang knelt and bowed his farewell, accompanying his father’s coffin back to Jiangnan for burial. The Ming Order’s funeral customs had once differed greatly from those of the Central Plains, but after centuries of transmission to these shores, the Chinese faithful now observed the traditions that had held sway here for a thousand years.

That afternoon, followers from below the mountain brought word that the Ming Order’s Haosi branch, the Dragon-Phoenix Army, was marching on Dengfeng under Zhu Yuanzhang’s command, some twenty thousand strong, to receive Zhang Wuji’s orders and assault Shaolin Monastery for the rescue of Dharma King Xie.⁵ The host was vast and its momentum formidable. Zhang Wuji was taken aback and delighted in equal measure. He consulted Yang Xiao and the others: with such numbers, though it ran against the customs of the wulin, it might well cow Shaolin Monastery into withholding harm from Dharma King Xie. Zhang Wuji at once set out with the Left and Right Messengers and their company for Dengfeng, and charged Zhu Yuanzhang to have his troops encamp where they stood, disturbing neither Shaolin Monastery nor the followers of the various schools. They took over a wineshop and laid out a feast to welcome Zhu Yuanzhang and his officers, exchanging news of all that had passed since they last met.

Among those who had accompanied Zhu Yuanzhang to audience with the cult leader were his generals Tang He, Deng Yu and Feng Sheng. Enquiring after the military situation, Zhang Wuji learned that the Ming Order’s revolutionary army at Chuzhou had won victory after victory in recent years. Han Shantong had alas fallen in battle, and Liu Futong now commanded the great host, supporting Han Lin’er as emperor with Bozhou for his capital. The state was named Song, and Han Lin’er was styled the Dragon-Phoenix Emperor.⁶ Though the Holy Fire Tablets’⁷ great prohibition forbade the faithful from proclaiming themselves king or emperor, it was permitted during campaigns to magnify one’s titles for the rallying of popular support. Han Lin’er was a kind and gentle man who had always deferred to the main altar, so division within the Order seemed unlikely.

Another formidable force serving under Han Lin’er was commanded by the general Guo Zixing, who had taken the title King of Chuyang. Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da and the rest had all served beneath his banner. Zhu Yuanzhang’s wife was Guo Zixing’s adopted daughter. Not long after, Guo Zixing died, and his troops passed to his eldest son Guo Tianxu. Guo Tianxu held the rank of Grand Marshal, with Zhang Tianyou as Right Vice Marshal and Zhu Yuanzhang as Left Vice Marshal. Guo Tianxu led the main host across the Yangtze and took Taiping, then pressed on to attack Jiqing Circuit, Nanjing. But a subordinate commander, Chen Yeguang, turned traitor and slew both Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou. Zhu Yuanzhang led Xu Da and the others in quelling the rebellion, assumed the title of Grand Marshal himself, and captured Jiqing Circuit. He renamed it Yingtian, and the Song court removed its capital to Yingtian Prefecture. Zhu Yuanzhang’s merits were so great that he was made Administrative Commissioner and enfeoffed as Duke of Wu, wielding the Song state’s governance. His coming now to pay respects to Zhang Wuji was done in Han Lin’er’s name, to report to the main altar. Liu Futong, seeing Zhu Yuanzhang’s power grow whilst he himself was crowded out at the Song court, had already led his own forces westward. Chen Youliang had attached himself to Liu Futong’s command under the name of the Western Route Red Turban Army, and their expansion too had gone well.

Three cups of wine had passed when Zhang Wuji praised Zhu Yuanzhang and his company from the feast for their great accomplishments. Zhu Yuanzhang rose, cradling a cup in both hands, and presented it to Zhang Wuji with deepest respect. “Congratulations, Cult Leader, on welcoming Dharma King Xie and the Dragon-Slaying Dao back from overseas. Though Dharma King Xie is for the moment detained in Shaolin Monastery, with our Cult Leader, the Left and Right Messengers, and these many heroes to lead us, we shall surely rescue Dharma King Xie and recover the Dragon-Slaying Dao. Henceforth the Ming Order shall command all under heaven, and none shall dare disobey! The slaughter of every last Tartar⁸ and the recovery of our rivers and mountains, that day is now at hand.”

Zhang Wuji drained his cup and said, “When I first made friends with Zhu Big Brother at Fengyang, I never dreamt we should come to this!” The heroes laughed aloud, their spirits high.

But Zhu Yuanzhang did not sit down. He pointed at Zhao Min, who was seated at a neighbouring table, and said, “This subordinate has heard that the Imperial Highness has forsaken the darkness for the light, turned her back on her father and brothers, and is content to entrust her whole life to the Cult Leader. That would ordinarily be cause for celebration, yet there is one matter this subordinate cannot understand, and I beg the Cult Leader to enlighten me.” His face, which had been all smiles, hardened in an instant.

Zhang Wuji said, “We are all our own people here. Zhu Big Brother, speak plainly.”

Zhu Yuanzhang replied, “I am slow of wit. If my words give offence, I ask the Cult Leader’s forgiveness.”

“We are all upright men,” said Zhang Wuji. “There is nothing we do that cannot be spoken of openly. Zhu Big Brother, say what you will.”

Zhu Yuanzhang said, “What this subordinate is about to say, the brothers have been discussing among themselves for some time. It is not this subordinate’s concern alone. This Imperial Highness is a Mongol woman. Her father is the Prince of Ruyang, who commands the court’s armies and is terrible in his authority. Of our Han Chinese revolutionary armies, who can say how many thousands have perished beneath her father’s blade? Every good brother and friend in our ranks longs to kill him for revenge. Our Haosi⁹ revolutionary army, over a hundred thousand strong, asks the Cult Leader to answer one question: in the Cult Leader’s heart, which weighs heavier, this Mongol Imperial Highness, or the lives of the Ming Order’s hundred thousand brothers?” The words were spoken with polished courtesy, but the menace behind them was plain.

Yang Xiao, Fan Yao and the rest had already seen through Zhu Yuanzhang’s purpose. He was riding the momentum of the recent great victories against the Yuan, marching in with his own army, plainly meaning to pressure Zhang Wuji from the leadership of the Ming Order. He reckoned that Zhao Min had given offence to too many people. If he moved to force the issue, the Order’s senior leaders might not stand behind so young a cult leader. And Zhao Min being the Prince of Ruyang’s daughter, with the prince’s hands steeped in the blood of anti-Yuan fighters, using that as a pretext, even those who wished to support Zhang Wuji would lack justification, their moral ground undermined.

Zhang Wuji too had foreseen Zhu Yuanzhang’s intent, and for the moment did not know how to answer. Zhu Yuanzhang went on: “The brothers all say that if the Cult Leader cares for the people of the realm and holds dear the barrier between Han and barbarian,¹⁰ he must sever all ties with the Imperial Highness. Between the Imperial Highness and the brothers of the Ming Order, the Cult Leader can choose only one to embrace. Be close to this one, and that one becomes the enemy; be close to that one, and this one becomes the enemy!”

Zhang Wuji said, “What is Zhu Big Brother saying? From this one, Zhang Wuji, down to the newest brother to enter the Order, every man has sworn a solemn oath before the Bright Lord’s Holy Fire.¹¹ We of the Ming Order may cast away our heads and splash our neck-blood, but with heart and mind entire we swear to drive the Yuan Mongols back to the northern desert, restore the rivers and mountains of our Han people, and make whole our golden vessel once more. If we break this oath, the Bright Lord will never forgive us!” All the heroes present cried as one: “Well said, Cult Leader!”

Zhu Yuanzhang said, “Then the Cult Leader is resolved to sever all ties with the Imperial Highness and never see her again?”

Zhang Wuji shook his head. “No. My resolve to drive out the Yuan Mongols remains unchanged, and my resolve to take Zhao Min as my wife remains unchanged as well. Miss Zhao is a Mongol woman, yes, but she has long since broken with her father and brothers. She told me plainly: marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Whatever I do, she does likewise.”

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head. “Cult Leader, what we undertake is rebellion and regicide. You may trust the Imperial Highness, but can our tens of thousands of brothers trust her? If the hour of trial comes, will the Imperial Highness be willing to uphold the greater right against her own kin, to strike down her father and brothers with her own hand?”

Zhang Wuji saw the manner of the man and found the choice agonising. If the Ming Order split into civil war, Zhu Yuanzhang and the other revolutionary commanders were no match for him in personal combat, but if he killed Zhu Yuanzhang and his followers, the Haosi revolutionary army would be crippled. He feared the Yuan forces would seize the chance to counter-attack, and the great momentum against the Yuan would be undone in a single stroke. Moreover, the Holy Fire Tablets admonished them earnestly: brothers of the Ming Order must never slaughter one another.

He sighed and said to Zhu Yuanzhang, “The Ming Order is resolved to overthrow the court, and that shall never change. But our aim is only to drive the Mongols back to the great desert, to ask them to return to their own homeland, not to come and seize our Han Chinese lands, not to treat our Han people as slaves to be used and oppressed. The Ming Order is ‘drive out the Tartars’, not ‘kill the Tartars’. The Ming Order was brought from Persia. You have all seen the Bright Lord’s portrait: yellow hair, yellow beard, high nose, green eyes, a foreigner from beyond the seas. Yet because the old gentleman guided us towards good and away from evil, to drive back the darkness with brightness, we worship the Bright Lord and follow his teachings. We ask only to live free, not to let outsiders occupy our land, our children, our fields and our possessions, and we shall never occupy the land of others. What we must do is drive the Mongols back to Mongolia.”

Zhao Min had been listening all along in silence. Now she rose abruptly and said, her voice ringing, “Zhu Big Brother, have no more worry! I am a Mongol, and that cannot be changed. You need not drive me out. I shall withdraw from the Central Plains of my own will, return to Mongolia, and never set foot in the Central Plains again for as long as I live!” Zhang Wuji, Yang Xiao, Fan Yao, Wei Yixiao and the rest were all startled.

But Zhou Dian was still uneasy. “Miss Zhao,” he asked, “if you return to Mongolia and never set foot in the Central Plains again, can you bear to part with our Cult Leader?”

Zhao Min smiled. “I shall never break my oath. If my heart cannot bear to part, what can I do about it? The question is whether your Cult Leader can bear to part with me.” Saying this, she turned her gaze elsewhere, not even looking at Zhang Wuji.

Zhang Wuji was deeply moved, knowing that Zhao Min had made this oath solely to spare him difficulty. The Ming Order heroes all felt that, though the oath was not a perfect solution, it preserved the greater purpose. They reflected that if they could indeed drive the Mongols back to the great desert and restore the Central Plains to its own people, it was not as if they must needs slaughter every last Tartar. Besides, within the Ming Order the four gates of Heaven, Earth, Wind and Thunder, the Thunder gate alone being made up entirely of non-Han peoples: Mongols, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and coloured-eyed folk¹² of every description. For hundreds of years they had lived as one, shared life and death, endured hardship side by side. How could they kill all the “Tartars” among them? Fan Yao and the others thought the Cult Leader would surely go to Mongolia with Miss Zhao in time, but that was a matter for later.

Zhou Dian bellowed, “Brother Zhu, now that Miss Zhao has spoken thus, the brothers have no further objections, do they?” Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Yang Xiao and the other senior leaders all stood with the cult leader, and had no choice but to say, “We thank the Cult Leader for upholding the brothers’ bond.”

Zhang Wuji reflected that, although Zhu Yuanzhang and the other ringleaders had been appeased for the moment, many among the twenty thousand troops they had brought may well have been swayed by his words and remained uneasy about Zhao Min. He set out at once with Yang Xiao, Fan Yao, the Five Unbound Adepts, the Five Banner Chiefs and their company for the camp of the revolutionary army. There he purchased wine and meat to reward the soldiers, and received the officers in their military tents. Zhang Wuji made plain once more that the purpose was “to drive out the Tartars” and not “to kill the Tartars,” and declared that he held the cult leadership only in trust. Upon the rescue of Dharma King Xie, he would honour the late Cult Leader Yang Dingtian’s dying wish and invite Dharma King Xie to assume the position.

Footnotes

1. 武林 – wǔlín. Lit. martial forest. The community of martial artists and their world. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 渡厄三僧 – Dù’è Sān Sēng. The Three Monks of Du’e: Du’e, Dujie and Dunan, three senior Shaolin monks who imprisoned Xie Xun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 十香软筋散 – Shíxiāng Ruǎnjīn Sǎn. Lit. Ten Fragrance Softening Sinew Powder. A potent poison that saps the victim’s neili, rendering them limp and helpless. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 头七 – tóuqī. The first seventh day after death, the opening observance of the forty-nine-day mourning cycle in Chinese custom. ↩

5. 谢法王 – Xiè Fǎwáng. Dharma King Xie, i.e. Xie Xun, one of the Ming Order’s Four Guardian Kings. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 龙凤皇帝 – Lóngfèng Huángdì. The Dragon-Phoenix Emperor, the style of Han Lin’er, puppet emperor of the Song regime established by the Red Turban rebels. ↩

7. 圣火令 – Shènghuǒ Lìng. The Holy Fire Tablets, twelve golden tablets sacred to the Ming Order, symbols of supreme authority. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 鞑子 – dázi. A derogatory Han Chinese term for the Mongols, equivalent to “Tartars” in English usage. ↩

9. 濠泗 – Háosì. The region of Haozhou and Sizhou in modern Anhui, a major centre of the Red Turban Rebellion against the Yuan. ↩

10. 夷夏之防 – yí xià zhī fáng. The traditional Confucian doctrine distinguishing the civilised Chinese (夏, Xia) from the barbarian peoples (夷, yi), holding that the two must not be mingled. ↩

11. 明尊 – Míng Zūn. The Bright Lord, the supreme deity of the Ming Order, venerated as the source of light who guides the faithful against darkness. ↩

12. 色目人 – sèmùrén. Lit. coloured-eye people. A Yuan Dynasty administrative category for peoples of Central and Western Asian origin – Uyghurs, Tanguts, Persians, Arabs and others – who occupied a rank between the Mongols and the Han Chinese. ↩