Chapter 580: The Vanguard of the Imperial Army
The Crown Prince’s Palace was located in the southeast of the Imperial City, west of the Duanben Palace. Construction began in the 15th year of the Yongle era, and it was completed when the capital was officially moved there in the 18th year of Yongle. The entire palace featured columns painted red, red walls, and yellow tiles. At the main entrance of the outer courtyard hung a blue plaque with golden characters reading “Crown Prince’s Palace.” It had not yet been given a formal name because Zhu Di had not made a decision. However, all the attendants, maids, and officials in the Crown Prince’s Palace were on par with those in the Eastern Palace, and all the officials in charge of reading and teaching were carefully selected from the Hanlin Academy and the Secretariat.
Early that morning, Zhang Yue arrived there. Although he was not required to stay at home in mourning attire and could certainly walk around the palace, he still wore blue cloth boots with rough hemp edges. The previous day, he had first gone to the Ministry of War to hand over all his official duties, then visited the Secretariat, but he did not see his actual superior—for a simple reason: Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel who also served as head of the Secretariat, was still in prison. As a reader, his role was different from that of the officials in charge of teaching, and he was not very knowledgeable about military affairs. So not only did he not understand the purpose of this visit, but even the deputy head of the Secretariat, who was currently in charge, was puzzled. Nevertheless, they had to allow him free access to the Crown Prince’s Palace as ordered by the emperor.
Having stayed indoors for almost a month, Zhang Yue felt the bright sunlight somewhat dazzling as he stood in this open space. Although he had dealt with Zhu Zhanji many times and often exchanged a few words with him in the palace, this was his first time visiting the Crown Prince’s Palace. It was not until someone came out to greet him that he managed to calm his nerves, only to find it was a strange eunuch in his early thirties with a beaming smile.
“Lord Zhang, the emperor ordered yesterday that His Highness the Crown Prince hold a grand inspection of the vanguard of the imperial army this morning. You’ve come at just the right time. Most of the civil officials in this palace have no experience in battle, so you would be the perfect companion for His Highness.”
Seeing Zhang Yue’s surprise, the eunuch exclaimed, “Oh? Lord Zhang, didn’t you know about this? Well, it must be that the people in the Secretariat don’t take this so-called inspection seriously, so they forgot to tell you. It’s getting late, and with your current attire, you need to change quickly. I’m Chen Wu, one of His Highness’s personal attendants…”
Caught off guard, Zhang Yue didn’t even have time to say much before being pulled in by Chen Wu. The layout of the Crown Prince’s Palace was similar to that of the Qianqing Palace—the first section consisted of east-west straight halls. Upon entering the Changxing Gate in the middle, the main hall, Chongben Hall, came into view right away. The entire hall had yellow glazed tiles and a large hip-and-gable roof; beneath the front eaves were vermilion lacquered latticed doors, giving it a grand and imposing appearance. However, the inside was dark, and it was impossible to see anything clearly from the outside. Passing through the central section of the front eaves led to the back hall, Mingde Studio.
“Yuanjie, you’ve come!”
By this time, Zhu Zhanji was already dressed in a bright red robe, wearing a crimson gauze crown and a precious sword at his waist, looking very valiant. He waved his hand to signal that Zhang Yue didn’t need to overformalities. Seeing his attire, he immediately ordered Chen Wu to take Zhang Yue to change into new clothes. When they came out dressed differently, he nodded in satisfaction.
“These are clothes I prepared in advance for leaving the palace. But those scholars in charge kept a close eye on me, so I never got the chance to wear them. I didn’t expect to use them today. The Imperial Guard is a group of young soldiers specially selected for me by my grandfather. Many of them accompanied me on the northern expedition in the 12th year of the Yongle era. However, many from that group were later assigned to the three major camps in the capital. This current group was reselected from various garrisons at the beginning of this year. It’s been several years since I last inspected the troops. If there are any talented individuals, it’s time to select a few.”
Having spent two years in the Ministry of War, Zhang Yue also had a good understanding of the situation in the capital’s military camps. During the Hongwu era, twelve elite guards were established, including the Jinyiwei, Qishiwei, and Imperial Guard. During the Yongle era, ten more guards were reinstated, bringing the total to twenty-two, all under the command of the Supreme Direct Guard Command. Among them, the Imperial Guard had a particularly tumultuous history.
Originally ranked third among the twelve elite guards during the Hongwu era, the Imperial Guard was responsible for selecting and training young soldiers. Those who became official guards were called “sword-bearing officials” and took turns entering the palace to serve as guards. However, due to their involvement in the Lan Yu incident, the Imperial Guard was massacred during the Hongwu era and temporarily abolished. It wasn’t until the 13th year of the Yongle era that Zhu Di ordered the selection of young soldiers for the Crown Prince and reestablished the Imperial Guard, assigning various ranks of officials under the command of Marshal Xue Lu. More importantly, it served as a source of reserve troops for the three major camps in the capital.
Although the vanguard of the imperial army was in charge of the sword-bearing guards, its training grounds were located outside the imperial city. Zhang Yue followed Zhu Zhanji out of Donghua Gate and Dong’an Gate, mounted his horse, and rode at full speed for about fifteen minutes before arriving at the training grounds of the imperial army’s vanguard in the northeast corner of the capital. By then, officers at all ranks who had been informed had already come out to welcome them. There, flags fluttered and the troops were neatly arranged, with almost all the officers being under thirty years old. As he accompanied Zhu Zhanji to the inspection platform, Zhang Yue, seeing the uniform azure-colored coats, couldn’t help but think of the large training grounds in Xuanfu.
“Yuanjie, do you still remember the four men I lent you when you first went to the south?”
“Of course I do!” Zhang Yue immediately recalled the thrilling encounter at the inn in Songjiang Prefecture and smiled. “Others spread rumors that I was some kind of expert archer, but compared to those four, I was just lucky back then. Those four were highly skilled in martial arts and utterly loyal—truly rare talents.”
“If they weren’t good, why would I have lent them to you? Compared to the Tiance Guard of the Prince of Han and the Changshan Guard of the Prince of Zhao, my imperial army’s vanguard is by no means inferior!”
Zhu Zhanji smiled proudly, then sat down in his designated position at the center, giving a slight nod to the five commanders of the vanguard standing to his left. After they went down to organize the troops for the inspection, he turned to look at Zhang Yue.
“The memorial you submitted to the Emperor Grandfather was shown to me. Although this northern expedition dealt a heavy blow to the Wulangha people, Arutai has fled far away, and his main forces remain intact. He likely won’t give up easily. That’s why the Emperor Grandfather has already begun preparing to recall the three guards of Danning to their original locations. You must have realized by now that the so-called ‘approval’ is merely a formality for you. The imperial army’s vanguard is my personal army, but in reality, it serves as a reserve force for the three main camps, making it extremely important. You mentioned military affairs in your previous memorial—why not give it a try with the imperial army’s vanguard? After all, this is the vanguard. Whatever you do, I can claim it was the Emperor Grandfather’s wish. Do you understand?”
With things said to this extent, how could Zhang Yue not understand? Yet this was far from the leisurely life he had imagined, so he was momentarily stunned. Thinking of his grandmother’s smiling face as she left, his father’s hopes and expectations, and Du Wan’s joking remark that day, he gradually came back to his senses and bowed slightly to the side.
“Your Highness, rest assured. I understand.”
Receiving such an answer, Zhu Zhanji felt relieved and leaned back comfortably. He had been strictly urged to strive for progress since childhood. In terms of literature, he was well-versed in classics and histories, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed being pressured by learned scholars to work hard. As for martial skills like riding and archery, although his experience during the northern expedition had been deeply unforgettable, if nothing else were involved, he actually preferred the feeling of riding on horseback. He had always paid attention to the vanguard of the imperial army but was never allowed to interfere directly in its affairs by the officials in charge. Without Zhu Di’s approval, he likely would have been dissuaded from attending the parade.
Having witnessed several parades at the renowned Xuanfu Training Ground, known as the best in the land, and seen an unprecedentedly large-scale parade of hundreds of thousands of troops during the northern expedition, plus having watched national day parades on TV, Zhang Yue no longer felt much awe standing on the platform overlooking this parade. He simply habitually estimated combat strength, weapons, and other data.
Although the vanguard lacked the fierce fighting spirit of the elite Xuanfu Three Guards, its quality seemed quite good. At least the thousand troops shown in this parade were of top-notch quality. After all, the capital didn’t have a training ground as long as Xuanfu’s. If all the vanguard troops were brought out, this small training ground would likely be overwhelmed.
After the parade, Zhu Zhanji was very satisfied and summoned all the officers to praise and encourage them, giving each some cash. Seeing their joyful expressions, he pointed at Zhang Yue and said, “I haven’t introduced him to you yet. This is Zhang Yue, former director of the Military Armory Department of the Ministry of War. I’m sure you’ve all heard of his name. Now he serves as my advisor on military affairs by imperial order. Since the vanguard is a specialized force trained for me, it can’t stay idle for years. Starting today, I will personally inspect it every half month.”
As guards assigned to protect the palace, the officers of the vanguard were naturally well-informed and surely recognized Zhang Yue. However, upon hearing the last sentence, the leading commanders were shocked. One of them quickly said, “Your Highness, without the emperor’s order…”
“If it weren’t for the emperor’s order, I wouldn’t be here,” Zhu Zhanji replied coldly. He then stood up and asked calmly, “I forgot to ask you—where is the governor of Fangling? Everyone else is here today; why isn’t he here, despite coming from the imperial palace? Remember to tell him that if the vanguard fails, he’ll have nowhere to go!”
Zhang Yue had not seen Fangling in a long time, and he immediately recalled him at that moment. However, this was not the right occasion for him to say much, so he accompanied Zhu Zhanji back to the Crown Prince’s palace. Only then did he ask, only to see Zhu Zhanji’s expression turn grim.
“I originally thought he was reliable and steady, but unexpectedly, his mother accidentally saw him flirting with a palace maid… Yuanjie, anything can go wrong in this world, but one must not make the mistake of choosing bad friends. You need to be more careful. Sun Han is indeed an honest person, but his father performed poorly in this northern expedition, and his skills in archery and horseback riding were even worse. The Emperor is very angry. If it weren’t for Sun Han’s impeccable performance in his duties, even he might have been implicated. What the Emperor hates most is when descendants of nobles fail to live up to expectations. Sun Heng is truly unacceptable.”
Sun Heng, the Marquis of Yingcheng, had lost his military command after failing in an archery competition. Zhang Yue had seen and heard this with his own eyes, so he found it not surprising. Yet, Zhu Zhanji’s implication that Fangling had an affair with a palace maid shocked him greatly. Still, in the face of the enraged Crown Prince, he swallowed his words.
It’s true that one can’t judge a person by appearance alone, but since Fangling entered the Eastern Palace, Zhang Yue had seen him several times, and he never showed the slightest sign of frivolity or arrogance. How could he be such a reckless person? Now was not the right time. After his grandmother’s mourning period ended, he must go and ask him in person.