Chapter 22: The Imperial Physician Goes Mad

He was about to call for his fourth son when he realized that the night had grown quite late. Upon inquiring, he learned it was nearly three in the morning. Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue. In his view, there was never a wrong time to discipline a child; whenever he felt like it, he could do it.

However, he had already been scolded by his wife with a feather duster just yesterday, on New Year’s Day, for hitting the boy. If he were to summon the fourth son in the middle of the night to beat him again without a solid, justifiable reason, wouldn’t his wife come charging in with that feather duster once more? It wasn't that he feared the sting of the duster—in fact, her doing so felt rather pleasant—but the night was biting cold, and he worried about her catching a chill.

Beyond that, there was another reason: he had a plan in mind. To maneuver against Li Shanchang regarding affairs in the Middle Capital, he needed to utilize his sons. While this plan made perfect sense to him, it would undoubtedly seem even more unreasonable to his wife than his New Year’s Day outburst. Gaining her approval would not be easy, and to avoid jeopardizing his subsequent plans, Zhu Yuanzhang had to exercise some temporary restraint. In short, due to various factors, he once again postponed the beating of his fourth son. Besides, thrashing the boy was part of the plan—it would serve as a necessary bit of "flesh-wounding" strategy.

The fourth son, meanwhile, remained blissfully ignorant. As he slept, he even dreamed happily of watching his father beat the third son.

"Go and fetch Liu Ying for me."

After much deliberation, Zhu Yuanzhang decided against hitting his fourth son, yet he still felt a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. Thus, he summoned the newly appointed Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Liu Ying. He intended to kill someone to lift his spirits and ease his frustration, serving as a ceremonial "flag-raising" for the debut of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

While waiting for Liu Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang sat in his chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the imperial desk—a soft, repetitive sound. He had fallen into deep contemplation once more.

"Have Qian Zhili, the Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Academy, killed!" Zhu Yuanzhang ordered with cold, decisive efficiency once Liu Ying arrived. "Remember, make it look presentable. Do not just kill him outright; stage it as an accident. A fire, a drowning, or perhaps a carriage accident—you handle the specifics. But under no circumstances must anyone know that you were the ones behind it."

Liu Ying accepted the order without a single word of hesitation or inquiry. He did not ask why the Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Academy had to die. He did not concern himself with the reasoning; he only cared about faithfully executing the Emperor’s command.

Though Liu Ying did not ask, Zhu Yuanzhang had his reasons. It was not merely a whim to kill for amusement. Qian Zhili had brought this upon himself. He was closely associated with Hu Weiyong, having been promoted by him and owing him a debt of gratitude. In his previous life, when Hu Weiyong had sent an imperial physician to treat Liu Bowen and subsequently poisoned him, he had used his connections to have Qian Zhili—the second-in-command of the Imperial Medical Academy—carry out the deed.

The Imperial Medical Academy was responsible for the health of Zhu Yuanzhang and his family, and occasionally attended to high-ranking officials. How could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly rest easy knowing that such a dangerous man, who took orders from Hu Weiyong, held such a vital position? If Qian Zhili could follow Hu Weiyong’s orders to eliminate Liu Bowen, could he not be ordered to poison him or his family in the future?

Having survived the chaotic, treacherous end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had witnessed too much malice and faced too many threats to take this lightly. Furthermore, based on the history of the Ming Dynasty he had seen in the modern era, he had more than enough reason to be wary of the Imperial Medical Academy.

Take, for instance, Liu Wentai, the so-called "greatest imperial physician in history." The Tumu Crisis had been both heartbreaking and infuriating. The advantages gained by his fourth son through five grueling campaigns on the steppes had been squandered in an instant, nearly toppling the Ming Dynasty. Later, the Chenghua Emperor, Zhu Jianshen, emerged as a capable ruler and a true restorer of the Ming. He suppressed internal rebellions, quelled external threats, and reclaimed territory lost by Zhu Qizhen, restoring the dynasty’s authority. Such a proactive emperor was a blessing for the Ming, but for the predatory bureaucracy, he was a threat to their interests.

Then came Liu Wentai, a man with no real medical skills who had previously faced criminal charges, yet managed to reinvent himself and ascend to the position of Director of the Imperial Medical Academy. When Zhu Jianshen suffered from a simple case of diarrhea, Liu Wentai "mistakenly" prescribed the wrong medicine and killed him, cutting short the Ming’s restoration. This was a crime punishable by the extermination of one’s entire clan, yet because certain elements within the officialdom protected him tooth and nail, Liu Wentai suffered no consequences. He was merely demoted from Director to Vice Director. Four or five years later, when the heat had died down, he returned to his former post as the head of the Academy!

Following him was the Hongzhi Emperor, Zhu Youtang, who was all too compliant with the civil officials. The power of the bureaucracy expanded rapidly under his reign, but when he eventually tried to pave the way for his own son, these same people struck again. When Zhu Youtang caught a minor cold, Liu Wentai "accidentally" prescribed the wrong medicine once more, killing him as well!

After killing two successive emperors, surely Liu Wentai should have been executed? The successor, Zhu Houzhao, was far cleverer and more ambitious than his father and sought to kill Liu Wentai to avenge his grandfather and father. Yet, even then, the civil officials intervened to protect Liu Wentai, sparing his life and settling for mere exile. As for Zhu Houzhao, a capable emperor in his own right, he subsequently suffered several "accidental" drownings. Most absurdly, even months after his final "drowning," officials like Yang Tinghe still insisted with a straight face that he had died from it! Throughout this, when Zhu Houzhao wanted to bring in an outside doctor, Yang Tinghe flatly refused. Even the Jiajing Emperor, with all his cunning, could not escape the rot of the Imperial Medical Academy. When he was nearly strangled by a palace maid and fell unconscious, he was saved by a physician from the Academy, yet this savior met a tragic end shortly thereafter.

A man who killed two emperors retires in peace, while the doctor who saved an emperor dies soon after. Think on that! It was no wonder the Jiajing Emperor had wiped out the Imperial Medical Academy twice.

When Zhu Yuanzhang had first read these accounts, his eyes had burned with rage, and he had wanted to cut them all down. Now, back in the eighth year of the Hongwu reign, knowing all of this—and knowing the connection between Qian Zhili and Hu Weiyong—how could he let Qian Zhili live? To leave such a scoundrel alive was the height of irresponsibility toward himself and his family. However, merely cleaning up one man like Qian Zhili only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. He needed a way to resolve this once and for all.

Zhu Yuanzhang already had a rough idea of how to proceed. After some thought, he rose, left the Wuying Hall, and headed to the Kunning Palace to spend the night with Empress Ma.

***

"Uncle, what… what should we do? The Emperor clearly no longer trusts me," Hu Shan said in Hu Weiyong’s small courtyard, his voice trembling with anxiety.

"Pull yourself together! It’s nothing!" Hu Weiyong raised his voice and glared at his nephew. "If His Majesty didn't punish you, it means the matter ends here. With me, your uncle, serving as Chancellor, do you really worry about having no official post in the future?"

"Uncle is right; I was shallow and lost my composure," Hu Shan quickly admitted, feigning a submissive attitude while feeling a surge of relief. In truth, the Emperor’s sudden abolition of the Chief Military Commission and the creation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to screen him out had been unsettling, but not as catastrophic as he had feared. His true concern was that his uncle might abandon him. He knew well that his wealth and status came not from the Emperor, but from his uncle, the Chancellor. As long as his uncle did not despise or forsake him, being removed from the Emperor’s personal guard didn't matter. Now that he had his uncle’s reassurance, his worries dissipated.

"Uncle, do you think... the Emperor has some other motive in establishing the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Hu Shan asked.

Hu Weiyong raised his teacup and took a small sip to sharpen his focus. "What motive could there be? It’s simply that we stumbled in our recent affairs, making the Emperor suspicious. He felt the Chief Military Commission was no longer useful, so he created the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Its functions should be much the same as before; he won't be able to come up with anything new."

Hu Weiyong took another sip of the strong tea. Too much had happened in the last two days; even he needed the caffeine to keep his wits about him. "However, Zhu Yuanzhang acted too hastily. To personally confirm the general candidates in such a short time—how can he possibly weed out everyone who isn't loyal to him?" Hu Weiyong shook his head, unimpressed by the Emperor’s approach. Zhu Yuanzhang was as prone to impulsive outbursts as ever.

After his nephew left, Hu Weiyong sat alone in his study and let out a silent, thin smile. In truth, this operation hadn't been a complete failure. Although the plan to eliminate Liu Bowen had failed, earning him a reprimand from Zhu Yuanzhang and the removal of his nephew from the imperial guards, the move to kill Liao Yongzhong had been a success. He could use that to curry favor with many among the Huai-Xi nobility and further consolidate his influence.

Moreover, his strength in the palace was not limited to his nephew. There was a more secret thread: Qian Zhili, the Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Academy. He had intended to use him to kill Liu Bowen, but an accident had intervened. Perhaps it was for the best; his secret asset had not been exposed and could remain hidden as a trump card. At some point in the future, it would surely play an unexpected role.

After weighing the gains and losses, Hu Weiyong, who had been wracked with worry for days, finally felt at ease as he drifted off to sleep.