Volume One: Is There a Path for Humanity in Troubled Times 21. The Lady III

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Only two or three torches had been thrown in when the Azure Army raised a white flag from the window, shouting in unison, “We surrender! We surrender!” The Red Turbans, enraged by the poison arrows, and Li the Monk, intent on avenging Hundred-household Officer Zheng—so that he might succeed him rightfully—would never accept their surrender so lightly. Torches flew in succession like dragons, one after another. The blazing fire raged for half an hour before it finally began to die down. During that time, the besieged Azure soldiers made two desperate charges, but both were cut down by the Red Turban archers.

From inside the gate came cries of agony; every now and then, a man aflame would bolt out in panic. The Red Turbans rode relentlessly, ignoring the dead, slashing at those half-burned with their blades. At the end, with a thunderous crash, the walls collapsed, and only four or five of the luckiest Azure soldiers broke through. One fell to the ground upon exiting, kowtowing desperately, while the rest scattered.

Li the Monk took up his bow personally, shooting down the fleeing men one by one as if they were rabbits. The man groveling on the ground cried out in haste, “Grandfather, spare me! I’m useful—a great use, Grandfather! Ancestors, I have great use!” His voice was sharp—it was the fire-starter who had sung earlier.

Li the Monk returned, took from his confidant the very poisoned arrow that had wounded Officer Zheng, and laughed, “So you are useful—just in time to avenge Lord Zheng!” He nocked the arrow to shoot, but Deng She stepped in to block him. Li the Monk lengthened his nasal sound, his eyes bulging in fury, ready to explode.

Deng She spoke gently, “Captain Li, wait.” He turned and sought instruction from Lady Wang: “Mistress, in my humble opinion, let’s first hear what this man has to say. Perhaps we’ll learn why there was an Azure force here and what lies ahead. This eunuch’s accent is strange—let’s find out the truth and make plans accordingly.”

It was a matter of life and death; no carelessness was allowed. Lady Wang nodded in agreement: “Indeed, that's the best way.” Li the Monk blinked, lowering his bow and shouting, “Bring him up.”

Because Guan Shirong had been commanding the attack, he was already near the fire-starter. Hearing Deng She and the others discuss, he agreed with Deng She’s view. Since Lady Wang consented, he said nothing more, swung his horse around, and cracked his whip over the fire-starter, urging him to the small knoll.

The fire-starter dared not stand, scrambling forward on all fours, his head pressed to the ground, his body covered in mud and ashes, his clothes half-burned, hair singed, face blackened. He kowtowed repeatedly, his voice trembling: “This humble one, He Guangxiu, greets the grandfathers.”

Deng She positioned himself by Lady Wang’s side: “Please, Mistress, question him.”

Lady Wang was taken aback. In the main camp, Wang Shicheng had always doted on her but never involved her in military affairs. Warfare was men’s business. Though proud, she had never thought to be like those Red Turban women generals who commanded banners and sent thousands of men to their deaths.

In fact, she rather looked down on such women.

A woman should dress up for her man, attend to him, see he is comfortable, and thus enjoy, with a clear conscience, the wealth and status her husband can provide, basking in the glory that comes from his achievements. She had always believed that was a woman’s role.

But then she thought: with Captain Xu gone and Officer Zheng dead, she now had no trusted people left at her side. Placing her fate in strangers’ hands was risky. Just as she had wielded the blade in the carriage yesterday, she adapted to circumstance and, seizing the moment, questioned with authority, “You, fire-starter—where are you from?”

The fire-starter replied, “This humble one is a Korean outcast from Yongping in Liaodong.”

At these words, everyone present understood—he was not a palace eunuch, but a self-castrated one.

In the Yuan dynasty, there was a tradition of Korean eunuchs wielding power. For instance, in the current Emperor’s reign, the two chief eunuchs who had dominated court politics for over a decade were both Koreans: Gao Longpu, who introduced Lady Qi to the Emperor, and Park Buhua, a fellow clansman of Lady Qi. Lady Qi, daughter of the Korean strongman Qi Che, was the second Empress and deeply favored.

Thus, many lowly, cunning Koreans would castrate themselves, hoping to enter the palace and gain imperial favor. But so many castrated themselves that only a handful could enter the palace. Most failed and were despised everywhere, living wretched lives.

Unable to stay in their homeland, many drifted to Liaodong and Shangdu, making a living off people’s curiosity about their mutilated bodies.

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In Liaodong, when Kublai Khan invaded Goryeo at the beginning of the Yuan dynasty, the Korean Hong Chahu surrendered and led a mass migration to this region. After Goryeo surrendered, over the following century, countless Koreans smuggled or migrated to Liaodong, so much so that Goryeo suffered a shortage of able-bodied men and significant population decline. In response, the Yuan Emperor, at Goryeo’s request, repeatedly sent Koreans back to their homeland.

The Azure soldiers who had accompanied He Guangxiu were Goryeo immigrants living in Yongping (west of modern Qinhuangdao).

Once they learned He Guangxiu’s origins, those present showed visible disdain. Lady Wang spat, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, and withdrew behind Deng She: “Speaking with such filth will sully me. Captain Deng, you question him.”

Naturally, Deng She did not decline, asking, “Yongping is several hundred li from here. How did you end up here?”

He Guangxiu, trembling, replied, “We are lowly, subject peoples. In times of chaos, life is hard. For a moment, blinded by greed, we thought we could imitate the great men of the Central Kingdom and form a volunteer army…” At the murmurs of those around, he hastily corrected himself, “We became lackeys instead—foolish, deserving death!” He slapped himself hard, his face swelling and blood trickling from his mouth. Deng She stopped him and asked, “You claim you’re of great use—what use?”

He Guangxiu wiped the blood from his mouth, grinning obsequiously: “I bring major military intelligence. I’ve heard that the Mongol emperor has ordered the princes of the Northern Province to send reinforcements.”

This news was truly shocking. Yellow Donkey cried out, kicking He Guangxiu over: “You, a Korean eunuch, how could you know such critical information?”

He Guangxiu dared not complain of pain—he rolled over, scrambled up, and kowtowed furiously: “My countryman—” He pointed toward the burnt remains nearby—“the one you grandfathers burned, he often frequented the homes of important people in Yongping. Before we came here, he’d just heard this from those officials. I dare not deceive you by a single word.”

Yellow Donkey, now convinced, was at a loss: “What should we do?”

The Northern Province adjoined the heartland, and its princes were all Mongol nobles. Their followers and subjects were still governed by the Mongol thousand-household and hundred-household system, unlike those in the Central Plains. With the Emperor’s decree, one could easily imagine tens of thousands of cavalry sweeping southward, crossing the northern deserts in full force. The first to face their onslaught would be the northern expedition armies.

In that case, heading toward Shangdu would be like walking into a tiger’s jaws. Looking around at their ragtag two or three hundred men, Yellow Donkey realized they would hardly fill the Mongols’ teeth.

Li the Monk was at a loss as well, frustrated and anxious, and drew his sword to kill He Guangxiu. In terror, He Guangxiu soiled himself and blurted out, “I’ll be your inside agent! Let me be your inside agent!”

“What do you mean?” Deng She stopped Li the Monk for the second time and pressed for details.

Back in Yongping, He Guangxiu had been destitute and despised. Occasionally, when hired by kind families, he would covet their wealth and leak information to his Korean companions, who would then rob them at night. Now, in desperation, he rattled off, “Yongping’s garrison is weak and has never suffered war; the city’s defenses are slack. If you wish to take it, I know the place well and am willing to sneak inside and act as your agent.”

As he spoke, his thoughts grew clearer and, recalling the city’s riches, his courage swelled, spittle flying: “Yongping is a great city, with granaries overflowing, arms piled high, endless coins, gold, silver, jewels, silks, all dazzling to the eye. Every household is wealthy, and the streets bustle with people.”

He glanced at the tattered Red Turbans, swallowed nervously, and pressed on: “If you grandfathers cooperate with me, you could take the city with ease—it would be like giving wings to a tiger.”

He spoke the truth. Since the Red Turbans had crossed beyond the frontier into Liaodong, their focus had always been on militarily and politically significant strongholds like Shangdu or Liaoyang. Yongping, a vital junction between the migration towns (later Shanhai Pass, built by Xu Da) and the capital, was hard to hold. Miraculously, after years of war, Yongping remained unscathed.

Luo Guoqi, who had been silent, grunted and asked, “Yongping is a big city. How could a lone, lowly man like you act as our agent? Don’t think you can fool us with lies.”

He Guangxiu kowtowed until his forehead bled: “I wouldn’t dare, even with a leopard’s courage. Grandfather, you don’t know—there are many of my countrymen in the city, all coveting its wealth. If I return, a few words from me will persuade them to join and serve you.”

Deng She was moved.

He thought of Sesame Li and Zhao Junyong, who had seized the strategic city of Xuzhou with just eight insiders. Of course, times had changed—cities were no longer unguarded. But Sesame Li had only eight; they had eight hundred. And Yongping was not a major stronghold—if the plan was sound, it might well be taken.

Most importantly, he had no desire to return to Shangdu.

With the northern expedition doomed, why should he die with them? After Deng San’s death, Deng She had learned his lesson: one’s fate must be in one’s own hands. If he could seize Yongping and its resources, he could rise from a precarious minor captain to a regional commander like Wang Shicheng or Guan Duo.

Even if they failed to take the city—

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He thought, at worst, they could travel from Yongping to the coast and then sail to Shandong. There, and in Henan, the Red Turbans were powerful. Unlike now, they would have the freedom to advance or retreat as they wished. At worst, they could join Zhu Yuanzhang.

So be it—fortune favors the bold. He made up his mind. Only two problems remained: convincing Lady Wang, and linking up with Wen Huaguo and Chen Hu, so as to shake off the Yuan pursuers for good.

—

1. “Bangzi” (outcast):

Record of Observations from Eastern Liao: Besides the envoys, the Korean attendants and laborers are called “bangzi.” If a woman is promiscuous, she is made an official courtesan, and her sons are called “bangzi,” despised among commoners. Their hair is unkempt, they are not allowed to wear caps; they travel on foot for thousands of miles, forbidden to ride; they sleep on grass, not allowed the warmth of brick beds. They are the lowest and most burdened class.

It is unclear if this class existed in the Yuan dynasty, but by inference, this is likely a tradition carried through the ages.

2. Korean eunuchs:

Selecting Korean eunuchs became a fixed state policy in the Yuan dynasty.

Korean eunuchs held far more power at the Yuan court than Han Chinese eunuchs, forming a pervasive political force within central government. Goryeo’s envoys relied on their influence for every petition.

“In the second year of Zhizheng, autumn, the Censor-in-Chief petitioned that eunuchs had become too numerous and must be reduced, along with palace women. At that time, most eunuchs were Koreans.” Not just eunuchs—many palace women were also Goryeo tributes. “Since the Zhizheng era, most attendants and maids in the palace have been Goryeo women.”

For these reasons, “the cruel and the ambitious imitated each other; fathers castrated sons, brothers their siblings. The more violent, in a fit of anger, would castrate themselves. Within decades, such people became numerous.”

Not only opportunists castrated themselves: “Choi Seyeon, angry at his wife’s jealousy, castrated himself to become a eunuch. At the time, eunuchs were so favored that many aspired to be among them.”

3. Gao Longpu:

“Gao Longpu, of a Korean charcoal family, wielded power at the emperor’s side, incurring the world’s hatred. The Censorate reported: ‘Gao Longpu, from a Korean charcoal-burner family, usurps power, acts tyrannically, princes and ministers bow to him, he accepts bribes and gifts so that gold and silver pile up like mountains, wielding authority over all under heaven.’”

4. Empresses of the Yuan:

The Yuan imperial harem had more than one empress. “Beneath the main empress, there were two more palaces, each with their own empress—thus, two or even three empresses.” In Genghis Khan’s era, his camp-palaces housed over a dozen empresses.

The Genghisid family only intermarried with certain clans such as the Khongirad and Ikkirad. The first empress of each Yuan emperor always came from these, especially the Khongirad, who, since Genghis Khan’s time, were loyal allies and played a major role. By Genghis Khan’s rule: “If the Khongirad had a daughter, she became empress; a son, he married a princess. Daughters would be empresses for generations; sons would marry into the imperial family for generations.”

5. Korean troops in the peasant uprisings:

As a vassal state, Goryeo dispatched many troops to help Yuan suppress the Red Turbans.

For example, in the fourteenth year of Zhizheng, “when Chancellor Toqto ordered a campaign against Zhang Shicheng, he conscripted soldiers from Goryeo; King Wang sent generals Yi Gwon and Yu Taek with 23,000 men. In November, they failed to take Gaoyou, and six officers were killed in action.” After the Yuan defeat at Gaoyou, Yu Taek continued to fight rebel forces in the Yellow and Huai regions.