Chapter - 40 (40) (2/2)
Zha Yihuang finished the letter and handed it to Gu Yanwu; he said, ”Ting Lin Xiong, do you think it can be used?”
Gu Yanwu took the letter. Lu Liuliang scooted next to him, they read together. ”Marvelous,” they both said.
Lu Liuliang laughed and said, ”This sentence, 'Who would have known that our Taizu [great ancestor, posthumous title for the founder of a dynasty] Emperor Gao's title Wu Guo [Wu state] unexpectedly agrees with our uncle and nephew's family name of three hundred years later?' This 'Wu' character will seal his death sentence; he can't offer excuses anymore.”
Gu Yanwu laughed and said, ”These two sentences, 'Desiring to behead the white snake and bestow a gale, hoping for my nephew to retrieve the shoe from underneath the bridge; consider to strive to get out of the trench and answer all calls from heaven, I sincerely hope my nephew will reach nobility.' That is a modification of Liuqi Xiong's 'Passionately planning the matter of Zhong Shan, the great feat of Kaiping, will not be accomplished without Mr. Qing Tian's planning the operation.'”
Zha Yihuang laughed and said, ”Blindly using the same pattern, copying the way they walk in Handan [i.e. slavishly copying others, one risks becoming a caricature].”
Tian Di Hui warriors looked at each other in dismay; they did not know what these three were talking about, they thought it was a code word of some secret society or secret language of Jianghu. Thereupon Gu Yanwu explained to everybody: Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang at first called himself 'Wu Guo Gong' [state duke Wu], afterwards he was also known as 'Wu Wang' [king Wu]; the 'Wu' was identical to Wu Sangui, Wu Zhirong's family name. Beheading the white snake, bestowing a gale was a reference to Han Gaozu Liu Bang [first Han emperor, reigned 207-195 BC]. Retrieving a shoe from underneath the bridge was the old story of Zhang Liang. Zhu Yuanzhang rose up from the trench and was determined to answer all calls from heaven. Conferring nobility title in sincerity was a reference to Liu Bowen.
Wei Xiaobao clapped his hands and said, ”This letter is better than the one Wu Liuqi Dage wrote; that Wu Sangui actually wanted to be the Emperor, it's just that comparing him to Hao Gaozu and Zhu Yuanzhang is holding him a bit too high.”
Lu Liuliang laughed and said, ”This is Wu Sangui holding himself too high, not Mr. Zha holding him up.”
Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Right, right! I forgot that it was written by Wu Sangui himself.”
Zha Yihuang asked, ”How do we sign the letter?”
”This letter,” Gu Yanwu replied, ”No matter who look at it, will know that it was written by Wu Sangui. The more obscure the signature, the more it will look authentic. Just sign it 'shu xi shou zha' [lit. uncle west hand write-down], four characters.” Turning to Qian Laoben he said, ”Qian Xiong, would you write down these four characters? Our writing is too scholarly, not like a military man who is used to lead troops.”
Qian Laoben picked up the brush and gingerly wrote the four characters. He said apologetically, ”These four characters are wobbly, they are too shapeless.”
Gu Yanwu said, ”Wu Sangui is a military man, naturally he would have this letter written by a scribe. These four-character signature is very good, they do not follow certain stroke rule, but look very bold, just like a military general's handwriting.”
On the envelope, Zha Yihuang wrote, 'Personally presented to Yangzhou Zhifu Laoye [Prefectural Magistrate Master], private.' He put the letter into the envelope, and gave it to Wei Xiaobao. He smiled and said, ”Forging a letter will unavoidably be harmful to our secret virtue, it's not men of honor's conduct, but in order to achieve the great undertaking, we are forced not to bother about trifles.”
Wei Xiaobao mused, ”To deal with this kind of dog thief Wu Zhirong, what's the big deal about forging a letter? Scholars are really ridiculous.” He received the letter and said, ”After this matter is accomplished, we are going to have a drink, we will have a reception for the three gentlemen.”
Gu Yanwu said, ”Wei Xiongdi and Liuqi Xiong, one 'wen' the other 'wu' [civil and military], are definitely the pillars of Ming family resurgence; Deng Gaomi and Guo Fenyang were no more than this. If we can really pull down that old thief Wu Sangui, it will be like severing one arm of the Tatars. Wei Xiongdi's cup of wine, we'll wait until we achieve great success before we drink it. Hereby the three of us are taking our leave, so as not to tarry here too long, the information might leak, and spoil the important matter.”
Although in his heart Wei Xiaobao held Gu Yanwu in high regard, but these three scholars talked like they were 'biting words and chewing characters', with an allusion in every sentence so that even to understand half of what they say was not too easy; if he talked to them a bit too long, he would not feel comfortable. Thereupon when he heard that they were leaving, it was exactly what he had been hoping for. He thought, ”I am sure the three of you gentlemen do not like to gamble; I am afraid if I asked you to go to the brothel to see the young women, your body and soul will be separated. If I cursed one time, 'damn it', your eyes will grow big, and your beard will stick out. It's better for you to quickly excuse yourselves.” Thereupon he took out a fold of banknotes, and presented three thousand taels to each person as their traveling expense. And then he asked Xu Tianchuan and Gao Yanchao to escort them via the back door, and out of the city.
As soon as Gu, Zha and Lu, three people left, Wei Xiaobao immediately felt relieved. He thought, ”Those people in the imperial court are also scholars, but they are interesting. Those high-ranking officers of Jiangsu province, such as Ma Futai, Mu Fantai, are also more interesting than Mr. Gu, Mr. Zha, and the other. Speaking about making friends, that dog head Wu Zhirong is still better than those three old misters.”
While he was still thinking about the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner, his personal guard came to report than the inspector-general and the administrative commissioner were asking for an audience. Wei Xiaobao shivered, ”Could it be that the information has leaked already?” he mused.
Wei Xiaobao went out of the hall to see the guests; seeing the two men's solemn expression, he could not help but feeling anxious.
The host and guests saluted each other and sat. The inspector-general Ma You took out a document from his sleeve pocket, stood up, and presented it with both hands. ”Imperial Envoy Daren,” he said, ”There is an important matter.”
Wei Xiaobao received the document, and handed it over to the provincial administrative commissioner Mu Tianyan; he said, ”Xiongdi is illiterate, would Laoxiong please read it?”
”Yes,” Mu Tianyan said, and opened the document. He already knew the content of the document; thereupon he said, ”Daren, the Ministry of War in the Capital sent a 600-li urgent message, instructed us to pass it on to Daren: Wu Sangui, that rebel thief has raised arm in rebellion.”
As soon as he heard it, Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he could not refrain from springing up and called out, ”Damn it, that old fellow has really done it.”
Ma You and Mu Tianyan looked at each other in consternation. The imperial envoy minister heard the big news of Wu Sangui's rebellion, unexpectedly he was wildly delighted; they wondered why he did that.
Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”His Majesty has a divine foresight; he had foreseen this matter long ago. Gentlemen do not need to panic, His Majesty's troops and horses, army provisions, cannon, gunpowder, money for soldier's pay, weapons, everything has been adequately prepared. It's fine if that old fellow Wu Sangui does not revolt, but if he rebelled, we will definitely capture his Chen Yuanyuan.”
Although to Ma You and Mu Tianyan his words were neither fish nor fowl, when they heard that the Emperor was well-prepared, they were quite relieved. Wu Sangui was adept in the art of war, and under his command there were strong soldiers and sturdy horses. When they heard that Wu Sangui rose in rebellion, all government officials were trembling with fear; they were apprehensive that the black hat on their heads [i.e. official position] could not be guaranteed anymore.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”There's one thing I found it very strange.”
”Please advise,” the two men said together.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”This news, did gentlemen learn about it just now?”
”Yes,” Ma You replied, ”As soon as lowly officer received the Ministry of War's document, I immediately notified Fantai Daren, and rushed over to Daren's field headquarters.”
”Really no leak?” Wei Xiaobao asked.
The two of them replied together, ”This is national affair involving military intelligence, we must ask Daren to decide. Lowly officer absolutely did not dare to leak it out.”
”But Yangzhou's Zhifu already knew about it,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Don't you think it's a bit strange?”
Ma You and Mu Tianyan looked at each other again, they were very surprised. Ma You said, ”May I ask Daren, what did Prefectural Magistrate Wu say?”
Wei Xiaobao said, ”Just now he secretively came to see me, telling me that there is something big happening in the southwest, someone wanted to make him Liu Bowen. He advised me to adapt to circumstances, and to close my mouth in front of the two of you. When I heard it, I did not understand; what Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen, and all that nonsense? While I was about to scold him, the two gentlemen arrived.”
The two men were shocked; their countenance changed greatly. Ma You's intelligence was mediocre, but Mu Tianyan was rather good at adapting himself to changes, he said in a low voice, ”If that Ol' Wu really said that, it means that he was advising Daren to rebel. He really does not want his head anymore.”
”I don't understand what he was talking about,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I was going to ask him to explain a bit clearer. He always throws literary stuff, something about arising first [xian fa] or arising later [hou fa]. I said Lao Tze was young, yet he had become high-ranking official, couldn't it be regarded as arising first?”
Ma You and Mu Tianyan both thought, ”That Wu Zhifu must have said, 'gaining the initiative by striking first [xian fa zhi ren], arising later to control the people [hou fa zhi ren]'. Imperial Envoy Daren is unlearned, he thought it was 'developing first, developing later' [xian fa da, hou fa da].” The two of them were mature and experienced, they did not say anything.
Actually, Wei Xiaobao had heard the expression 'gaining the initiative by striking first' countless times from the storytellers since he was little; this time it was not because he was unlearned, rather, he was playing dumb.
Ma You said, ”What a big guts this Wu Zhifu has! I wonder if he has left?”
Wei Xiaobao said, ”He is still waiting here, he said he wanted to discuss important matters with me. Humph, he is just a tiny prefectural magistrate, what large-scale program of lasting importance he can possibly discuss with me? If it is Wu Sangui's large-scale program, Xiongdi would rather discuss it with the two gentlemen, I won't possibly listen to minor prefectural magistrate's long-winded words.”
”Yes, yes,” Ma You said, ”Is it possible for Daren to call Wu Zhifu over? Let lowly officer ask him a few questions.”
”Very good!” Wei Xiaobao said. He turned toward his personal guard, ”Invite Wu Zhifu here.”
As Wu Zhirong entered the hall, seeing the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner were present, he could not help feeling delighted and anxious and the same time. Delighted because the Imperial Envoy Minister attached great importance to his secret report that he unexpectedly summon both Futai and Fantai over to discuss this matter, anxious because since the information already leaked out, the inspector-general and the administrative commissioner would inevitably share his great merit. Immediately he stepped forward to salute and pay his respect, and then stood with arms hung down.
Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Wu Zhifu, please sit down.”
”Yes, yes,” Wu Zhirong replied, ”Thank you very much Daren for granting me a seat.” He sat with his buttocks barely covered the chair.
”Wu Zhifu,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”You have an important matter you wanted to discuss with Xiongdi, although you repeatedly said that we can't let Futai Daren and Fantai Daren know about it, this matter is of an utmost importance, I have no choice but to invite two Daren to discuss it over; please do not take offense.”
Wu Zhirong's countenance looked awkward; hastily he stood up and bowed to Wei Xiaobao and Futai and Fantai and said with a forced laugh, ”Lowly officer was too brazen, would three Daren please understand, this … this …” He wanted to gloss over several things, but Wei Xiaobao got right to the point [orig. 'open the door and see the mountain'] and said it out, hence he found it very difficult to cover up. No wonder the inspector-general and the provincial administrative commissioner's countenance looked very unsightly.
Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, ”Wu Zhifu's information is very quick; he said that in the southwest there is a great general with authority over troops and horses that is going to deploy troops in rebellion one of these days. The way he deploy troops is desperately serious, it will shake the world, His Majesty's dragon palace courtyard will be unstable, can't say for sure our heads might also fall down. Is that right?”
”Yes,” Wu Zhirong replied, ”But three Daren's flood of good fortune fills the heavens, naturally the misfortune will turn into blessing, ominousness will turn into auspiciousness, definitely all taboos are off.”
”In this matter we will have to depend on Wu Daren's good fortune,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Wu Daren, this general shares the same ancestor with you, he is also surnamed Wu?”
”Yes,” Wu Zhirong replied, ”This is our ancestor's …”
Wei Xiaobao cut him off, ”You have obtained this general's letter, it was written personally by him, are you sure it is not fake?”
”Absolutely not,” Wu Zhirong replied, ”Definitely it is not fake.”
Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, ”Although in this letter there is no mention of deploying troops in rebellion, but it did mention Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen, what have you. Xiongdi did not study books, I do not understand what is written in the letter, Wu Daren explained in details the meaning of the letter, you wanted Xiongdi to take immediate action, something about arising first or arising later, you said it's a chance that's hard to come by in a hundred years, that great riches and honor certainly cannot be disposed of, that Xiongdi may be granted the title Wang [king], and Wu Daren may be granted the title Bojue [earl], is that right?”
Wu Zhirong replied, ”That was lowly officer's erroneous views, Daren's clear judgment is a hundred times better compared lowly officer's. The content of the letter is indeed as Daren said.”
From his right hand sleeve Wei Xiaobao took out Wu Liuqi's letter and held it in front of Wu Zhirong. His body leaned sideways to cover up the letter. ”This is the letter, isn't it?” he asked, ”Look carefully, this is of a grave importance, must not make mistake.”
”Yes, yes,” Wu Zhirong replied, ”This is the letter, it can't be wrong.”
”Very good,” Wei Xiaobao said.” He put the letter back into his right hand sleeve, and returned to his seat. ”Wu Zhifu,” he said, ”Please withdraw momentarily, I will discuss it over with Futai Daren and Fantai Daren. It seems that our three people's glory, riches and honor, will have to depend entirely on you, Wu Daren. Ha ha …”
Wu Zhirong could not conceal the complacent look on his face; he bowed to salute the three men again, and said, ”I depend entirely on three Daren's cultivation.” Bowing, he slowly withdrew.
Wei Xiaobao waited until he reached the door before asking, ””Wu Zhifu, what is your alias?”
”I don't dare,” Wu Zhirong said, ”Lowly officer's humble name is Zhirong [lit. his glory], in manuscript character Xianyang [to praise/commend/hallow].”
Wei Xiaobao nodded. ”That's all,” he said.
When Wei Xiaobao was interrogating Wu Zhirong, in their hearts Ma You and Mu Tianyan were furious, but according to bureaucratic rule, when the superior officer was talking, the subordinate must not interrupt. Ma You was hot-tempered, he was about to lash it out, but Wei Xiaobao ordered Wu Zhirong to withdraw, hence he could not help the veins from bulging out his forehead, his entire face from swelling deep red.
From his left hand sleeve Wei Xiaobao took out the letter Zha Yihuang forged. ”Gentlemen, please take a look at this letter,” he said, ”That servant [usually used in derogatory way] Wu Zhirong said that this letter is indeed serious. Xiongdi has never learned books, I don't know if he was telling the truth or a lie.”
Ma You received the letter. He saw written on the envelope was 'Personally presented to Yangzhou Zhifu Laoye, private.' He pulled the letter out and look at it together with Mu Tianyan. They saw the addressee was 'Xianyang my nephew'.
The more the two people looked, the angrier they were. Without waiting until he finished reading, Ma You slapped the table and shouted, ”That dog head is too audacious, let me kill him with a saber.”
Mu Tianyan was more careful, he thought Wu Zhirong dared to openly advise a superior officer to rebel, it was a bit too unreasonable. However, just now Wei Xiaobao questioned him in their presence, they heard each sentence the opposite party gave in answer, why would he doubt it? The previous day in front of the Chanzhi Temple enjoying the Chinese peony, Wu Zhirong did say that Wu Sangui was his distant uncle. Apparently Wu Zhirong knew that Wu Sangui rebellion would be successful, he must be so pleased that he lost his senses and hence had been acting absolutely unrestrained.
”Is this letter really written by Wu Sangui for him?” Wei Xiaobao asked.
”That dog head himself said that it absolutely true,” Ma You replied.
”The letter is lengthy and talked about many things,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”What exactly is it saying? Would two gentlemen explain it to Xiongdi?”
Thereupon Mu Tianyan explained line by line, the classical quotations about 'Beheading the white snake and bestow a gale', and 'Retrieving the shoe from underneath the bridge', 'Striving to get out of the trench and answer all calls from heaven', and 'reaching nobility in sincerity', and so on.
Ma You said, ”Just this sentence alone, 'Our Taizu Emperor Gao's title Wu Guo' is enough to have his entire family exterminated.”
Mu Tianyan nodded; he said, ”I heard that in this rebel Wu matter, it has something to do with the third Zhu crown prince's appeal, something about restoring Ming Family.”
While they were still talking, suddenly came the report that the Imperial Bodyguards from the Capital had arrived to announce the Imperial Edict. Wei Xiaobao and Ma You and Mu Tianyan kneeled down to receive the decree; actually, Kangxi was summoning Wei Xiaobao to hurry back to the Capital, as for the imperial order to build Martyr Shrine in Yangzhou, it was to be handed over to Jiangsu Province's Administrative Commisioner to finish it. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, he thought, ”The young Emperor is fighting Wu Sangui; if he sent me to be the Grand Marshal, that would be very impressive.”
Ma You and Mu Tianyan could hear the encouragement and exhortation tone in the Imperial Edict, they immediately congratulated him on his coming promotion. Wei Xiaobao said, ”Tomorrow Xiongdi will return to the Capital. When I kowtow in front of His Majesty, I will commend on two gentlemen's great accomplishment in your official duty. It's just that how well two gentlemen are doing your official duty, I am ashamed to admit, but honestly Xiongdi is not too clear; I am forced to ask two gentlemen to tell me.”
Futai and Fantai were greatly delighted, they cupped their fist to express their thanks. And thus Mu Tianyan spoke highly of the inspector-general's political achievements. He racked his brains to recall Kangxi's temperament, and tried his best to explain how Ma You worked diligently in the government, how he loved the people, how he promoted religion and virtue, and so on. Among these, nine out of ten were bogus. Ma You listened with smile so wide that he was unable to put his lips together. Afterwards Mu Tianyan also listed several achievements of his own; although the words were simple, all were real meritorious service.
”I have remembered all of these,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”We will also add another big contribution: Rebel Wu's Rebellion. His Majesty abhorred this matter extremely, this Wu Zhirong wanted to be the one who respond from within, he wanted all civil and military officials of the entire province of Jiangsu to revolt together, fortunately the three of us investigated and found it out. Once this report goes up, we won't be able to avoid titles and rewards. Tomorrow Xiongdi will leave for the Capital, two gentlemen please write a memorial to the Emperor.”
Futai and Fantai spoke together, ”This is Wei Daren's great merit, lowly officers do not dare to claim credit due to others.”
”No need to be polite,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Let's just consider the three of us render the merit together.”
Mu Tianyan added, ”Zongdu [governor-general] Ma Daren has returned to Jiangning, when Imperial Envoy Minister returns to present the memorial to the Holy Sage, it would be best if you also speak a few good words on Ma Daren's behalf.”
”Very well,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Speaking a few good words does not need any capital.”
Ma You and Mu Tianyan expressed their gratitude again before taking their leave. Wei Xiaobao immediately ordered Xu Tianchuan and the others to bind Wu Zhirong and stuffed his mouth with a piece of hemp cloth so that he could not talk even if he wanted to. The fear and bewilderment in Wu Zhirong's heart was unspeakable.
Early in the morning the next day, each and every one of civil and military officials in the city of Yangzhou had already lined up in the hall, waiting for the Imperial Envoy Minister to grant them audience. Each one had a heavy gift. Actually, being a government official in Yangzhou, they were already stationed at the world's most plentiful place; each government official was not looking for promotion, they were only hoping that when the Imperial Envoy Minister returned to Beijing, he would say a few good words on their behalf, then they would be perfectly contented if they could occupy their current position for a few more years.
The previous day the governor-general had also obtained the news, and had travelled overnight to Yangzhou. Naturally the gift he and the inspector-general brought was more serious. Yangzhou prefecture received three years of land tax exemption, there would be considerable amount of commission all-around. Although Wei Xiaobao did not have time to personally manage it, the Fantai had already presented the commission due him. The military leaders and personal attendants who came with Wei Xiaobao also received ample gifts and gold.
Ma You already prepared a memorial to the throne, which he asked Wei Xiaobao to personally present it to the Emperor. In the memorial it was detailed how Wei Xiaobao opened inquiries and secret investigation, how he personally enter dangerous zone before he could uncover Wu Sangui and Wu Zhirong conspiracy, et cetera; naturally it was greatly exaggerated, even the governor-general, the inspector-general, and the administrative commissioner, three people, who were rendering their assistance on the side, were not without merit.
Mu Tianyan said, ”His Majesty is deploying the troops against Wu Sangui, it's a pity that lowly officer is a civil officer, I do not have the skill to go into battle and kill the traitor. Lowly officer has received order from Zongdu Daren and Futai Daren that within ten days we are going to send a batch of army provisions to Hunan, to be used by His Majesty.”
Wei Xiaobao happily said, ”The main force has not been deployed, the army provisions are already in place. Three gentlemen are very thoughtful, His Majesty will definitely be very happy.”
After all the government officials were dismissed, Wei Xiaobao sent his personal guard to Lovely Spring Courtyard to pick his mother. He changed into civilian clothes and met his mother. Wei Chunfang did not know that her son was a high-ranking official, she thought he cheated in gambling, and had won a large sum of money. When she heard that he wanted to take her to Beijing to have a happy and prosperous life there, she shook her head at once and said, ”Money from gambling, today the left hand wins it, tomorrow the right hand loses it. By the time I get to Beijing, you will have lost everything; perhaps you will sell Laoniang [your old mother] to the joy house. If Laoniang wants to do business, staying in Yangzhou is better. In Beijing, that bent-tongue language of the bureaucrat, Laoniang cannot speak.”
Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Ma, please set your hundred and twenty hearts at ease. When we get to Beijing, you will have servant girls and older female servants, you won't need to do anything. The money that I have, we won't be able to spend it forever.”
Wei Chunfang did not stop shaking her head, ”If I don't have anything to do, I will be suffocated to death of boredom. Servant girls and older female servants, Laoniang has never had the good fortune to enjoy it, in less than three days I would have to cut my braids.”
Wei Xiaobao knew his mother's temperament; he thought that if she had to sit all day long in a big courtyard without doing anything, she would not have the least bit of interest. Thereupon he took out a stack of banknotes, altogether there were fifty thousand taels, and said, ”Ma, I am giving you this money. Go and buy the Lovely Spring Courtyard, you can be the proprietress. I'll say you can also buy three more courtyards; we can open Lovely Spring Courtyard, Lovely Summer Courtyard, Lovely Autumn Courtyard and Lovely Winter Courtyard, the four seasons. We can make money all year long.”
But in her bosom Wei Chunfang did not have high aims; she laughed and said, ”I will go have someone look at these banknotes, whether they are genuine or fake. If they indeed can be cashed, Laoniang will be very happy to manage a small courtyard. If you want to open big courtyard, we'll wait until you grow up, and then you can be the boss.” Lowering her voice, she asked, ”Xiaobao, your large sum of money, you did not get it from stealing or robbing, did you?”
Wei Chunfang was greatly delighted and felt relieved instantly. She laughed and said, ”Little has mastered this trick, even if you lose, you won't be poor.”
(Book note: In the original block printed edition of Gu Yanwu's poem, there were a lot of codeword, rhyming characters to substitute the intended words, such as 'yu' [expect/anticipate] for 'hu' [non-Han people, barbarian], 'zhi' [support/sustain] for 'yi' [barbarian], and so on, to avoid violating the taboo, making it hard for the later generations to decipher. Mr. Pan Zhonggui wrote 'Examination on Ting Lin Poems' ['pavilion forest' was Gu Yanwu's alias]; he added comprehensive explanation to make the poems clear. Our book uses Mr. Pan's work as reference.)
[1] Zhuge Liang (181-234), military leader and prime minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms, where he is portrayed as a sage and military genius. Liu Bowen (1311-1375), general under the first
Ming emperor Zu Yuanzhang, also has a reputation as a military genius.
[2] 'Han jian' literally means 'traitor to China (i.e. Han people)', I usually just simplify it to 'traitor'. Here Wei Xiaobao was going to say 'da han jian'.
[3] Three-long two-short ( 三长两短 ) is an idiom means 'unexpected misfortune/accident'.
[4] An idiom from Zhuangzi: female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts.
[5] These seven substances are considered life's daily necessities in ancient China.
[6] The phrase 'written order' is actually 'shou yu', with 'shou' means 'hand'.
[7] Orig. 'chu jia ren' – those who left home to become monk or nun (applicable to either Buddhist or Taoist). Jijing literally means 'peace' or 'quiet'. Reminder: 'Daren' (lit. big person) is the term used by commoner/subordinate to address government official/superior.
[8] Xi Shi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties, given by King Gou Jian of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu. Yáng Guìfēi, or Yang Yuhuan (719-756), famous Tang beauty, consort of Emperor Xuanzhong, blamed for extravagance and killed as a scapegoat during the Anshi rebellion.
[9] Daji (c. 11th century BC), mythical fox spirit and concubine of the last Shang Dynasty Emperor Zhou Xin.
[10] Lit. lowly concubine; it can also mean 'I, your servant' (deprecatory self-reference for women).
[11][12] 夫差, I am not sure what it is, a friend says that it was government official, like governor or deputy.
[13] 娘个贱胎踏踏叫, again, I don't know what it is. Perhaps a saying or an idiom.
[16] Orig. 'bo mu' – wife of father's elder brother, a polite form of address for a woman who is about the age or older than one's mother.
[17] Ah Yi – maternal aunt, a polite form of address for a woman who is younger than one's parents.
[18][19] Orig. 'Jiao' – a legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.
[20] This book note does not exist in the book (3
rd
edition), but it does in the online text (2
nd
edition).
[21] My dictionary did not give me any names, but Yahoo! Babelfish returned 'Ferdinand Verbiest'. Wikipedia has an article on him.
[22] Johann Adam Schall von Bell,
[23] Regnal name of the 15
th
[24] Yang Guangxian, (Courtesy of Smurf120)
[25] In Chinese, ten to nineteen start with the character 'ten', shi, shi yi, shi er (ten, eleven, twelve), and so on. Hence Shuang'er birthday could be anywhere between ten and nineteen.
[26] Orig. 'shengshang' [lit. 'the saint'], courtier's or minister's form of address for the current Emperor.
[27] Orig. 'wan shui' – ten thousand years.
[28] Northeast China/Manchuria. Lit. 'east of the Pass' (Shanhai Pass).
[29] Jing – quiet/peaceful/to make tranquil/to pacify, Hai – ocean/sea.
[30] Lit. old younger brother, an affectionate form of address to a much younger man.
[31] Shuntian (lit. 'obey-the-heaven') is an another name for Beijing.
[32] A general of Shu in Romance of the Three Kingdons, portrayed as an old fighter.
[33] FYI, Wei Xiaobao was a Dutong [commander], under him was Fu Dutong [deputy commander]; and then Canling. Hence he made Shi Lang two ranks below him.
[34] 1 tael = 1/16 catty, approximately equal to modern 50 grams.
[35] Da – great, Gu – abbreviation for Tianjin (also called Jin Gu).
[36] Lit. 'eat all', in the context of playing cards: 'sweeping the (card) deck clean'.
[37] Orig. 'tong pei', again, in the context of playing cards: 'lost to everybody'.
[38] According to Chinese legend, the Dragon Palace is where the Dragon King resides, at the bottom of the Eastern Sea.
[39] A form of theatrical double act, popular since Qing dynasty, with one player seated stage front and acted out the poem or song of the second player hidden backstage.
[40] Hall full of red (Man tan hong) – success across the board, victory in everything one touches.
[41] Yellow way [huang dao] – the ecliptic (plane of the solar system); Black Way [hei dao] – usually refer to underground/clandestine operation.
[42] Wooden percussion instrument used in Buddhist meditation.
[43] A prefecture level city in Heilongjiang province, northeast China.
[44] Orig. 'gui po', foreign b1tch or foreign woman (Courtesy of Ren Wo Xing and CFT).
[45] Albazino is a village (selo) in Skovorodinsky District of Amur Oblast, Russia, noted as the site of Albazin, the first Russian settlement on the Amur River. Later in 17th century, the town was center of a petty kingdom known as Yagsi (Manchu: Yaksa; Chinese: Yakesa). The name of state came from Nikifor Chernigovsky's coat of arms - Jaxa.
[46][47] Tou laozi: tou – classifier for animal, laozi – old man, father, 'I, your father'.
[48] Laotouzi: old man, used contemptuously.
[49] Fyodor (Theodore) III Alexeyevich of Russia (9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682. (From Wikipedia)
[50] The dictionary definitions are gunmen/musketeer (from 'musket'), but when the word 'musketeer' my mind, I would imagine Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan; hence I opted to use the first definition. Addtitional info, courtesy of Ace High: Streltsý is the Russian version of musketeers. They were armed with firearms (arquebuses, muskets). They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops (Стрелецкое Войско).
[51] Wu Zetian (624-705), Tang Empress, reigned 690-705.
[52] Jiang Ziya (dates of birth unknown - 1015 B.C.), a Chinese historical and legendary figure who resided next to the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. A sage and military strategist, Jiang Ziya was called upon by King Wen of Zhou to serve as prime minister. His purported teachings to King Wen form the basis of the Six Secret Teachings.
[53] King Wu of Zhou (-1043), personal name Ji Fa, reigned 1046-1043 BC as first king of Western Zhou dynasty 1046-1043 BC
[54] Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher, later warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi. Cao Cao was the main villain of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms.
[55] Zhang Xianzhong (September 18, 1606 – January 2, 1647), nicknamed Yellow Tiger, was a Chinese rebel leader who conquered Sichuan Province in the middle of the 17th century. Upon capturing it, he declared himself emperor of the Daxi Dynasty. According to Chinese chronicles, many scholars rejected that claim, so he had them massacred. After killing the scholars, he went after the women, merchants, and all the officials. Then he had his soldiers kill each other and the officers' wives' feet cut off and put on top of a mound.
[56] Hung Taiji (1592-1643), eighth son of Nurhaci, reigned 1626-1636 as Second Khan of Later Jin dynasty, then founded the Qing dynasty and reigned 1636-1643 as Emperor; posthumous name Qing Taizu.
[57] According to legend, fox demon often disguise itself as beautiful woman, but it was not able to hid its tail; hence the saying 'exposing the fox tail' means 'revealing one's evil nature'.
[58] These idioms mean 'surreptitiously substitute one thing for another', and 'walk off with someone else's possession', respectively.
[59] Lao-tze, Chinese philosopher (c. 500BC), the founder of Taoism.
[60] These four characters are surnames. I don't know what it is, but I am guessing it refers to some great literary talent of the past.
[61] Shi Jin is a fictional character in the Water Margin. He ranks twenty third of the thirty Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed Nine Tattooed Dragons. He is one of the Eight Tiger Cub Vanguard Generals of the Liangshan cavalry. He sports flowery tattoos all over his body, as well as nine dragon tattoos on his upper torso, which earns him the nickname Nine Tattooed Dragons. (Courtesy of Ace High)
[62] A shàngshū (尚書) is a board chairman, president or in this case, a minister. Ming Zhu is a Chairman/President of Board of War, or the Minister of War, possible the Left Minister of War. (Courtesy of Ace High)
[63] Croton has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat severe constipation since the seed of the plant can cause diarrhoea to human. Apparently, it has the same effect on horses. (Courtesy of Ace High)
[64] Orig. 'jiaolong' – legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.
[65] All were female warriors. I could not find any useful information on them other than from Hong Kong TV series/movies: Fan Lihua from 'Lady Fan' and Yu Taijun from 'Saving General Yang', Mu Guiying from 'Legendary Amazons' (Yang Saga/Stories of the Yang Clan). Additional info courtesy of Ace High:
[66] Gao Lishi (684–762), formally the Duke of Qi, was a eunuch official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign. He is believed to have been in charge of many decisions that were supposed to be the emperor's responsibility during Emperor Xuanzong's later years, and was believed to have been richer than many of the nobility of the era.
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – October 19, 1627) is considered by most historians as the most powerful and notorious eunuch in Chinese history. Originally a hoodlum and gambler, he took the step of becoming a eunuch and entering palace service to escape from his creditors. After entering the palace, he got into the service of Madam Ke, the wet-nurse of the future Ming emperor. The couple began manipulating the Tianqi Emperor, who renamed him Wei Zhongxian. The emperor's favor later gave Wei absolute power over the court.
[67] Tumu Rebellion or Battle of Tumu Fortress
[68] Paradise here refers to 'the dwelling place of Buddhist Immortals'.
[69] Not sure if this is a place's name. Chai – firewood, Sang – mulberry tree, Kou – mouth/entrance.
[70] The Viceroy of Liangjiang (两江总督), fully referred to as the Governor General of the two Yangtze Provinces and surrounding areas, overseeing military affairs, food production; Manager of waterways; Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional viceroys in China proper during the Qing Dynasty of China. The Viceroy of Liangjiang had jurisdiction over the provinces of Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Anhui. Because Jiangsu and Anhui were once the combined province of Jiangnan (South of the Yangtze), the province was known, along with Jiangxi (west of the Yangtze) as the two rivers (jiang), hence the name 'Liangjiang'. Chinese historians often rank the Viceroy of Zhili as the most honorable and powerful, and the Viceroy of Liangjiang as the richest of the eight (Courtesy of Ace High).
[71] Compiled by Li Shizhen, c. 1596.
[72] Wang Anshi (1021-1086), Song Dynasty politician and writer, one of the Eight Giants.
[73] Duke of Wenzheng, 'wen (culture/literature/gentle) zheng (upright/just)' being his posthumous title.
[74] In these three phrases, the word 'tremble' (han) rhymes with the surname Han, the word 'busted guts' (po dan) rhymes with the surname Fan, and the word 'knee down' [xia gui] rhymes with the surname Wei.
[75] A Message To Han Cho The Yangzhou Magistrate,
[76] A Confession, from the same web site.
[77]http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/qin-guan-wang-hai-chao-watching-the-waves/
[78] 'Bao the Dragon Image', fictional name used for Bao Zheng (999-1062), Northern Song official renowned for his honesty. Justice Bao stories were based on this character.
[79] Gelugpa School of Tibetan Buddhism.
[80] Wikipedia has a couple articles on Dzungar and Galdan, as well as Sangjie (Sengge). If you are interested, search using those three keywords.
[81] Tang Bohu or Tang Yin (1470 – 1523), Ming painter and poet, one of four great Jiangnan talents of the Ming Dynasty.
[82] Hero and Heroines: Orig. 'qun xiong' and 'qun ci', with the word 'xiong' and 'ci' refer to 'male' and 'female' species, usually used to describe animals.
[83] Xi Shi (c. 450 BC), famous Chinese beauty, foremost of the Four legendary beauties, given by King Gou Jian of Yue as concubine to King of Wu as part of a successful plan to destroy Wu. Yang Yuhuan or Yang Guifei (719-756), famous Tang beauty, consort of Emperor Xuanzhong, blamed for extravagance and killed as a scapegoat during the Anshi rebellion.
[84] Qiang – ethnic group of northwestern Sichuan, Hu – non-Han people, barbarian.
[85] The word 'banner' here refers to Manchurian ruling class (Eight Banners).
[86] Wu Zhirong read 'yi' – barbarians, Wei Xiaobao said 'yi' – onomatopoeia.