The Last Empress

In early June 1900, the streets of Peking became the Boxers' parade ground. Crowds grew thick where 'magic' was performed. The Boxers dashed forward and back, waving swords and spears. The weapons shone ominously in the sun.

East of the capital, near Tientsin, Yung Lu's forces tried to keep the Boxers from cutting the rail link between the foreign ships off Taku and the legations in the city. Yung Lu thwarted them, but his capture of the Boxers made him extremely unpopular. Prince Ts'eng Junior told his friends that he had put Yung Lu on his death list.

On June 8, Boxers set fire to the grandstand of the Peking racecourse, a popular gathering place for foreigners. Overnight the 'China crisis' had caught the world's attention. George Morrison of the London Times wrote, 'It is now inevitable that we should have to fight.'

The next day Prince Ts'eng, with several Boxer leaders in tow, burst into the Summer Palace. Ts'eng's red turban was sweat-soaked and his skin was the color of a yam. I was told that he had been building up his muscles by pounding a sledgehammer under the hot sun. He smelled of liquor and his ferret eyes sparkled.

Before I had a chance to question him about the burning of the racetrack, Prince Ts'eng ordered all my eunuchs into the courtyard. He and a Boxer leader named Master Red Sword proceeded to examine their heads. He wanted to see whether any of them had a cross there. 'This cross is not visible to an ordinary eye,' he said to Li Lien-ying. 'Only a certain few can identify a Christian this way.'

Minutes later, Prince Ts'eng came to my chamber with Master Red Sword. Ts'eng told me that Master Red Sword had discovered that two of my eunuchs were Christians. He asked for permission to execute them.

I could not believe this was happening. I sat unmoved as Master Red Sword performed his kowtows. I could tell the man was thrilled and nervous at the same time-an ordinary Chinese peasant could only dream of seeing my face.

'What else have you promised this man?' I said to Prince Ts'eng. 'Are you going to make him the minister of the Board of National Defense?'

Not knowing what to say, Prince Ts'eng rubbed his nose and scratched his head.

'Has this master had any schooling?' I asked.

'I know how to read a calendar, Your Majesty,' the Boxer volunteered.

'So you must know what year it is.'

'Yes, I do.' The Boxer was pleased with his own quick tongue. 'It is the twenty-fifth year, Your Majesty.'

'The twenty-fifth year of what?'

'Of… of the Guang-hsu era.'

'Did you hear him, Prince Ts'eng? What era again, Master Red Sword?'

'The Guang-hsu-'

'Louder!'

'The Guang-hsu! Era! Your Majesty!'

I turned to Prince Ts'eng. 'Have I made my point clear to you? Guang-hsu is still the sitting Emperor.'

I told the confused Boxer to remove himself.

Prince Ts'eng looked offended. 'Your Majesty, you don't have to support the Boxers, but I need money to bring you victory.'

'Shut up' almost rolled off of my tongue. I had to inhale a mouthful of air to calm down. 'When I was asked to fund the Taku forts, I was told that it would keep away the foreigners for good. And when I was asked to fund a new navy, I was told the same. Tell me, Ts'eng Junior, how your bamboo spears will defeat the foreigners' guns and cannons?'

'Your Majesty, it will be fifty thousand Boxers against a few hundred foreign bureaucrats. I will select a moonless night and flood the legations with my men. We will be so near that their cannons will be useless.'

'And how will you deal with the foreign rescue forces that will come by sea?'

'We'll take hostages! Legations provide the perfect base for negotiations. The hostages will be our bargaining chip. I'll just have to make sure my men don't behead their captives.' Ts'eng laughed as if he had already won.

Prince Ts'eng insisted that he be given an opportunity to demonstrate his magic and that the Emperor be present. So the following day in my spacious courtyard, before Guang-hsu and me, the Boxers performed. Their martial arts skills were magnificent. They chopped hard stone with their bare hands. In an intense fight of one against ten, Master Red Sword went hand to hand against swordsmen, besting them all. He was then attacked with spears and bullets and scorched by fire, yet he walked away unwounded. His opponents, on the other hand, were all on the ground, stunned and bloodied. Disbelieving my eyes, I tried to figure out his tricks. From beginning to end, Master Red Sword seemed in a drunken trance, which Prince Ts'eng explained was called 'spiritual engagement with the god of war.'

***

I was impressed, though not convinced. I praised the Boxers for their patriotic passion. A strange feeling came over me when I turned to Guang-hsu and saw his none-of-my-business expression. I thought about Prince Ts'eng: Terrible as he is, at least he is willing to fight.

I had failed both my sons, and both my sons had failed China. Every time the Western papers accused Ts'eng of being 'pure evil' while honoring Guang-hsu as the 'wise Emperor,' my old scar would tear open. I envisioned how Guang-hsu would be 'rescued' by the foreign powers and turned into a puppet king. I began to hear my voice turn soft when speaking to characters like Prince Ts'eng.

The next morning, after Prince Ts'eng left, my eunuch appeared dressed in a Boxer's ragged red uniform. When Li Lien-ying presented me with a uniform of my own-a gift from Prince Ts'eng-I slapped his face.

Around noon Guang-hsu and I heard a strange noise like the sound of distant waves. I couldn't locate its source: it was not squirrels clambering in the trees, not wind blowing through the leaves, not the creek running beneath the rocks. I became alarmed and called for Li Lien-ying, but there was no answer. I looked for him around the grounds. Finally my eunuch returned, out of breath. He pointed behind him with his finger and mouthed the word 'Boxers.'

Before I could figure out what was going on, Prince Ts'eng was in front of me.

'How dare you surround my palace with your bloody bunch of killers!' I said.

He performed a sloppy kowtow. 'Everyone wants to personally hear your edict.' Ts'eng acted as if the Emperor were not in the room. 'Who says I am going to issue an edict?'

'It must be done without delay, Your Majesty.' Prince Ts'eng's hands went to tighten his belt. 'The Boxers won't leave until they hear your edict.'

I noticed that Li Lien-ying was now pointing toward the ceiling. When I looked up, I didn't see anything unusual. I looked back down and saw a ladder being carried past my window. A few moments later came the sound of footsteps on my roof.

'The Boxers are getting ready to fire on the legations, Your Majesty,' announced Prince Ts'eng.

'Go and stop them,' I ordered.

'But… Your Majesty!'

'Emperor Guang-hsu would like to order Prince Ts'eng Junior to remove the Boxers immediately.' I turned to Guang-hsu, who was staring off into space.

Guang-hsu turned and said, 'Prince Ts'eng Junior is ordered to remove the Boxers immediately.'

Ts'eng's eyebrows twisted into a ginger root and his breath was thick. He went to grab Guang-hsu's shoulders and hissed, 'The attack will take place at dawn, and that is your edict!'

41

The mighty Manchu had fallen so low that no one dared to defend the throne, and the throne was afraid to ask.