THE BOY PRINCE AND THE RIVAL GENERALS.
Thus were the great princes and lords of China awaiting the coming of
their imperial master, and with something like impatience, for often, of
late, had his majesty kept them waiting for hours, and then granted no
audience at all. Such, however, was not to be the case then, for soon
the sounds of wind instruments were heard, pages and eunuchs entered
from the door which led to the imperial apartment, followed by the
favorite body attendants of the sovereign, then the Emperor
himself;--and the mandarins in the body of the hall, and the lords upon
the steps of the throne, bent their heads till their foreheads touched
the floors, in which position they remained, awaiting the command of the
monarch to arise. Wey-t-song, the last of the Ming Emperors, was of
middle height and spare figure, at least for a Chinese, whose notion of
manly beauty consists of large and bulky form; he was attired in a robe
of yellow silk, embroidered with five-clawed dragons, a necklace of
costly pearls, and a golden girdle fastened around his waist by a
jeweled clasp; his high cap or crown of purple satin, sparkled with
jewels, and was decorated with the peacock's feather, which fell upon
his long black hair; his boots were of purple satin, and fitted tightly
to the shape of the feet; as for his hands, they were hidden beneath the
folds of his robe.
When the Emperor had seated himself upon the throne, a graceful movement
with his ample sleeves gave the sign for the kneeling courtiers to
arise, and they stood with their arms straightened and eyes turned upon
the ground, pretending that the sight of so much majesty was too
dazzling for their vision.
Thus, for a time, all was silent, till the censor Woo, falling upon his
knees, and holding above his head his silver seal of office, gravely
said, "Since our lord has vouchsafed us his heavenly audience, and the
door of the imperial apartments is no longer disfigured by the
audience-denying tablet, it is the duty of the meanest of his slaves to
open his lips, even at the risk of his life."
"Rise, thou venerable noble, for it is not seemly that one who is at
age's extremity should kneel, even before the Emperor. Rise, noble Woo,
for thy years demand that thy petition should be heard standing," said
Wey-t-song, aiding the aged man to his feet.
"Alas! dread prince, thy servant's days have been too long, for he has
lived to see a successor of the great Emperors, Yu and Yaou, forget that
Heaven had made him the father of his people," said Woo, sadly.
"What words are these? Surely the noble Woo presumes upon his age, for
has it not been wisely said that the will of the Emperor is
omnipotent?"
"It is written in the sacred books, O prince, that it is equally
criminal in the Emperor and the subject to violate the laws. Truly the
life of the minister is the property of his sovereign, but the dignity
of his office belongs to the country, which is even now torn into shreds
by maladministration," replied the firm old noble; adding, "For when the
Emperor becomes negligent of his duty, and sinks into a lover of luxury
and ease, the spirit of indolence must pervade the occupant of every
mandrinate; so, at the present time, every viceroy and governor has
grown to think himself the sovereign, instead of the father and teacher
of his province; each minister, in defiance of the law, sells places to
those unfit to occupy them; and thus the people, being oppressed, have
arisen in rebellion over the empire, to the advantage of rogues and
thieves, who await but the finding of some bold bad man to enable them
to change, O prince, thy very dynasty. Yet surely this is not without
cause, for hath it not been asked, 'Why hath Heaven placed the Emperor
upon the throne, if not to be our parent?' and therefore he ought not to
make himself feared, but in proportion as he deserves to be loved for
his goodness and virtue; therefore, at the risk of his life, the censor
dares tell his dread sovereign that while the people are suffering, the
Emperor should forget his pleasures, fast in his palace, punish the
offending mandarins, remit the taxes of the suffering provinces, and
employ his whole thoughts in alleviating their misfortunes. Like the
Emperors of old, he should lament night and day till the evils are
remedied. Such are the words of the aged Woo, who hath lived through
the reigns of six of thy illustrious predecessors, and they have been
called forth, O dread prince, by thy neglect of the petitions which he
has laid upon the imperial table. If thy slave offendeth, O prince, let
his worthless head be the penalty, for he has done his duty; and the old
noble again fell at the feet of Wey-t-song, who, giving way to a
paroxysm of passion, rose, and, placing his hand upon the hilt of his
sabre, exclaimed, 'What words are these old man? Is the Emperor a slave
that thou darest so far?' But, despot and even cruel as he was, the age
and daring of the old noble had excited in the eyes of the surrounding
courtiers such unmistakable gleams of satisfaction, that, really afraid
of proceeding to extremities, he fell back upon his throne, saying,
"Arise, noble Woo, and that in the licence of thy office thou hast
uttered words of wind against thy Emperor, the rebel-subduing General
Li-Kong will testify."
Upon this, the Prince Li-Kong, falling upon his knees, said, "Truly, O
august and sovereign Emperor, the age of the noble Woo must have
diminished his eyeballs, or he would have seen in the Imperial Gazette
that the Emperor, our father, having heard of the rebellion in the
provinces, had despatched his mean servant, myself, with a correcting
army, and that thy unworthy relation had secured a lasting internal
peace."
"And thy reward, prince?" said the Emperor."
"The generalship of the home armies, and the favor of my great
sovereign, who will not open his heavenly ears to the words of these
rogues, who accuse thy servant and mean relation of ingratitude and
treason."
"This reminds us that the reward is inadequate to thy services, most
princely Li. Let it therefore be proclaimed throughout the empire that
the grateful Wey-t-song is about to bestow upon the kingdom-soothing
Prince Li-Kong the hand of his only daughter in marriage," said the
Emperor.
But before the prince could thank the Emperor, the General Woo-san-Kwei
fell upon his knees before the throne, saying, "The humblest but most
devoted of thy servants would dare to claim the heavenly ears of his
most august prince."
"If the barbarian-subduing general has aught to counsel let him open his
lips."
"Then, truly, O dread Emperor, it must be at the risk of my life; for so
many moons has thy servant been engaged in defending the frontiers of
the empire against the Tartar barbarians, that he has lost the
submissive tones fitted to thy heavenly ears," said Woo-san-Kwei.
"Let the general open his lips, for although his words may be more
warlike, they cannot be rebellious, like those of his noble parent."
"The words of the noble Woo flowed from his heart, O prince, and were
approved by his son, who now, as in duty bound, would counsel his
sovereign, that, although the services of the rebel-exterminating
general have been great, his reward has been greater than his merits,
for does he not hold the golden seals of the highest military command?
As for the princess, she is the daughter of the empire, and too exalted
to be bestowed upon the noble Li-Kong. Remember O Emperor, it will be
the duty of the historians to record that the Emperor Wey-t-song,
instead of commanding, had been weak enough to purchase the services of
a powerful lord, tainted with treason, with the only daughter of his
house; setting aside the wise custom of his ancestors, who bestowed
their daughters upon tributary kings, whereby alliances were formed for
the prosperity of the empire," said the Prince Woo-san-Kwei; adding, "At
the risk of his life has thy servant spoken, O prince, for fear that thy
too great generosity may smear thy page in history."
Scarcely dissembling his enmity, Li-Kong spoke, "Truly my sovereign is
too generous to permit the envy of his servant's enemies to have weight
in his dragon ears."
"The kingdom-soothing general speaks well, for who is this turbulent
lord, and what the value of his services, that he dares be so
rebellious?" said the Emperor; adding, angrily, "Let the dog be
arrested;" when the young prince threw himself before the throne, and
said--
"Let my illustrious parent not so far forget his royal dignity as to
vent his anger upon the honest Woo-san-Kwei, who has saved the kingdom
from the Tartars, and offered his counsel only by right of his high
rank. No, O my sovereign, rather let the hand of my dear sister be
withheld until the Prince Li has further proved his merits, by showing
to his Emperor that he has really performed those wonderful feats of
conquest which he now boasts, but all others deny."
At this speech a half-suppressed murmur of approbation rang through the
hall, which brought a heavy frown upon the forehead of Wey-t-song. As,
however, he really feared a quarrel with either of these powerful
princes, he said, "Though young, the words of the Prince Yong-Li are
wise, for it is not fitting that our people should be feasting and
rejoicing at the marriage of our daughter, while it is not certain that
the rebels are subdued, and the Tartars upon the frontiers. It is,
therefore our will that our daughter's hand be withheld till entire
peace be restored."
Then the whole court bowed to the ground three times in submission to
the imperial will, and the Emperor moved the sleeves of his robe, as a
token that the audience was at an end, when the chief of the eunuchs ran
quickly up the avenue formed by the court, till he reached about half
way, when he stood with his head erect and his arms by his side for a
minute, then having performed the usual prostrations, he ran to the foot
of the throne, where he threw himself upon his knees.
"Is the slave mad, that he dares intrude in this our highest
council-chamber?" said the Emperor.
"The life of the slave is in the hands of his master, yet must he
perform his duty. Treason is within the very walls, O my sovereign."
At the word treason the blood of Tait-sou became weak as water, for the
royal face became livid with fear. He grasped his sabre, saying, "What
says the slave?"
"Two boys, O dread sovereign, have been found within the prohibited
wall; one even within the sacred precincts of the imperial gardens."
At the words two boys there was a half-suppressed titter, probably at
the little cause the Emperor had had to fear; but at the mention of the
garden of the inner palace, the aged Woo said, "Surely, O great
sovereign, the worthy eunuch has overstepped his duty; these young
slaves should have been handed over to the police tribunals."
"The noble Woo is right," replied the Emperor. "What has the dog of a
eunuch to say for intruding in our presence with such matters?"
"The will of the Emperor is the life-blood of the meanest of his slaves,
and but little else is that of the princess in whose presence one of the
dogs was found, and at whose command he is brought hither," replied the
trembling eunuch.
"The profane slave!" muttered the surrounding mandarins, clutching the
hilts of their swords.
"The will of our beloved daughter is law; let the audacious slave be
brought before us," said the Emperor.