The killing of well over a hundred field commanders, once word got out, had every likelihood of sparking a mutiny. Naturally, Prince Wu had countermeasures prepared.
But first, he needed to persuade Yang Xuanji.
He said to him: “His Majesty’s thinking is that no matter how grave the problem, it remains a matter within our Yang family to resolve. We can close the doors and speak plainly — everything can be discussed. But if the realm is lost because of infighting among the Yang family, not a single one of our ancestors will forgive us.”
Yang Xuanji let out a long and heavy sigh. “Have I not always thought the same?”
Prince Wu said, “Since you are also willing to work for the preservation of the Yang family’s realm, then name your conditions freely. His Majesty has said: if you wish to enter the city to negotiate, he will personally open the gates to receive you; if you prefer to remain in your camp to negotiate, he will come alone, without troops.”
These words moved Yang Xuanji considerably. Think of it — if they went on fighting each other until the Yang family’s realm was gone, enriching all those who had been sitting back watching the fight unfold — how profoundly foolish that would be.
And so Yang Xuanji replied, “Whatever His Majesty proposes, I will agree to.”
This sounded magnanimous — but was in fact a graceful going-along-with-the-current. Emperor Yang Jing had already offered to abdicate in his favor. What was there left to resist?
Prince Wu then said, “If that is settled, then we must first eliminate the dangers hidden within your own ranks.”
Yang Xuanji clasped his hands in a bow: “I am ready to hear your guidance, Royal Brother.”
Prince Wu said, “The field commanders are all dead now, but the news must not leak out. Send men to the Liang Province troops immediately.”
He lowered his voice and continued: “Announce to the Liang Province troops that a larger share of the remaining provisions will be distributed to them — because their commander Du Ke, with the army’s welfare at heart, has personally led a contingent to seek out additional grain. As their chief, you cannot let the Liang Province soldiers be shortchanged.”
“Then go personally to Zhai Li’s troops. Tell them that Zhai Li has already taken men to find provisions — the army cannot be without its commander, so you are promoting certain men and have them organize the troops. And make clear to them that they will not be used as the main assault force against Daxing.”
Yang Xuanji nodded. “I have it all remembered.”
Prince Wu said, “Then invite all of these commanders to your central command tent and tell them that Daxing is already prepared to open its gates — once they enter the city, all will be richly rewarded.”
Yang Xuanji said, “I will follow your guidance in all things.”
Prince Wu asked, “Then… shall I invite His Majesty to come here?”
Yang Xuanji said, “Let us enter the city.”
If the Emperor came here, he could not bring himself to kill him — the infamy of it, and besides, the Emperor had already offered to abdicate. If he killed the Emperor after that, how could he ever command respect? Moreover, he was well aware that the people inside Daxing were exceptionally loyal to the Emperor — if he killed him, the throne would be impossible to hold.
Prince Wu clasped his hands in a bow: “On behalf of His Majesty as well, I thank you. On behalf of the Yang family’s ancestors, I thank you.”
Yang Xuanji sighed, “Only when things have come to this have I truly awakened. Let us first secure our realm, and then see what comes next.”
Now that Yang Xuanji and the Emperor were on the same side, these words of awakening were not mere pleasantries.
By now he had clearly understood: those people — the great noble families — would never permit a member of the Yang family to sit the throne again.
He, the so-called Mandate King, had simply been used.
And with hatred in his heart, and the throne right before his eyes, this epiphany came quite naturally.
Yet a man like him could hardly be entirely selfless. What he truly intended was to enter the city and have the Emperor abdicate immediately.
So he looked at Prince Wu and said, “When the army enters the city — might His Majesty have some misgivings? If His Majesty has any reservations, I can leave my troops outside the walls.”
Prince Wu smiled. “His Majesty’s meaning is that anything done to preserve the Yang family’s realm, he is willing to do. But for the sake of prudence, the Liang Province troops and Yue Province troops could enter first — both to ease His Majesty’s mind somewhat, and to keep those hundreds of thousands of troops from deserting.”
These words were plain enough. Yang Xuanji smiled slightly. “In that case, once the arrangements within the army are in order, I will lead the forces into the city to defend the capital together.”
Prince Wu gave a sound of assent, then took his leave with his two attendants.
Following Prince Wu’s instructions, Yang Xuanji distributed roughly half the remaining provisions to the Liang Province troops, and they settled down. For further assurance, Yang Xuanji announced that the Liang Province troops and the Yue Province troops would enter the city first to receive their rewards.
These things can never be fully concealed — it all came down to whether the middle and lower-ranking officers of the Liang Province troops would accept it.
In truth, those officers at the middle and lower levels were not privy to any real secrets, and they needed to think about their own futures.
With the Liang Province situation in order, Yang Xuanji personally went to Zhai Li’s camp to offer reassurance.
Fearing that delay would only breed complications, he announced the entry into the city just one day later.
In Daxing at that time, Emperor Yang Jing sat there looking outwardly calm — but his mind was churning with a thousand thoughts.
Although Prince Wu had left for Yang Xuanji’s camp with his full preparedness, now that it was actually happening, he could not help but think of more complications: if he truly abdicated, would Yang Xuanji allow him to live?
The Empress was now visibly pregnant — there was no concealing it.
If Yang Xuanji harbored some dark intention, it would not only be the Emperor himself who might die — it would be his wife, and his unborn child.
Prince Wu had been sitting beside the Emperor throughout, and without the Emperor saying a word, how could Prince Wu not understand?
After a long silence, Prince Wu said, “Your Majesty need not worry. I will make arrangements.”
The Emperor gave a vague sound of acknowledgment: “I trust Royal Uncle…”
He was too lost in anxiety to have fully heard what Prince Wu had said, and replied without entirely thinking.
Prince Wu inwardly sighed, feeling that this Emperor inspired nothing but compassion.
The Yang family’s realm had come to this point, and every burden of it had fallen upon His Majesty’s shoulders — yet all of it was not of his making. How could he be blamed for it?
And everything His Majesty could have done, he had done. Against a tide that could not be turned — was there anything further to reproach him for?
On the third day, Yang Xuanji’s messenger arrived to say that preparations were complete and they were ready to enter. The Emperor was silent for a moment before replying that he would personally come to the city gate to receive them.
On the fourth day, at first light, Yang Xuanji led his army to the gates of Daxing — and before long, the gates of the city truly opened.
Emperor Yang Jing led his civil and military officials out on foot. The moment he saw Yang Xuanji, the Emperor quickened his steps and greeted him with the full ceremony due from a younger kinsman.
That single word *Royal Uncle* from the Emperor moved Yang Xuanji more than he had expected — and he immediately leaped down from his horse to receive him.
For a moment the two men faced each other, and a wordless, ineffable feeling passed between them.
Yang Xuanji followed Prince Wu’s arrangement, having the Liang Province troops and Zhai Li’s Yue Province forces enter the city first. These two contingents were what Yang Xuanji most needed to secure — once inside the walls, with nowhere to go, he could rest easy.
Twenty-odd thousand Liang Province troops, Zhai Li’s Yue Province troops numbering about twenty thousand — such a massive force in his hands. Who could say that Yang Xuanji was about to be cast aside?
His own Mandate Army still numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Taken all together, he remained the most powerful force present.
With nearly five hundred thousand troops entering the city, Yang Xuanji had no fear of anything Prince Wu or the Emperor might attempt.
If it truly came to a fight inside the walls, did he fear anyone?
But what happened next left even Yang Xuanji unable to react in time — and even gave rise in him to a small measure of remorse.
After the Emperor brought Yang Xuanji into the palace, the Emperor removed his own imperial robes, then held the Imperial Seal in both hands and knelt before Yang Xuanji.
Yang Xuanji made a show of declining repeatedly, but the Emperor’s resolve was settled — if Yang Xuanji would not accept it, he would remain kneeling.
Faced with this, Yang Xuanji had no choice but to reluctantly receive the Imperial Seal, and then said many comforting and reassuring words to Yang Jing.
Yang Jing knelt on the ground and said he had only one request: that Yang Xuanji treat the city’s soldiers and people with kindness. And he was prepared to move out of the World Origin Palace immediately.
Yang Xuanji naturally insisted again and again that he stay — but Yang Jing was steadfast in his resolve.
And so, that very day, Emperor Yang Jing moved out of the inner palace and took up temporary residence in Prince Wu’s mansion within the city.
Yang Xuanji was happy — genuinely, truly happy.
He had schemed for so many years. The throne had come to him in a manner completely different from what he had imagined — but it had come nonetheless.
The sensation of sitting in the dragon throne was incomparable.
Yang Jing and the Empress moved into Prince Wu’s mansion, and for many successive days they remained deeply secluded, refusing to receive anyone at all, no matter who came seeking an audience.
Prince Wu showed no unusual behavior either — going to court each day to attend to affairs, and being among the first to perform the prostrations of obeisance before the new Emperor Yang Xuanji.
For over ten days in a row, the city remained free of wind, rain, and turbulence. The transfer of imperial power seemed to have passed just as smoothly as that.
But half a month after Yang Xuanji had entered the city and ascended the throne, Prince Wu’s preparations were complete.
One night, the Liang Province troops suddenly rose up in force to surround and attack the World Origin Palace. Yang Xuanji was thrown into panic and alarm.
He urgently commanded Prince Wu to come to his defense, and dispatched men to summon his Mandate Army from outside the city.
But he had followed Prince Wu’s advice and left the Mandate Army outside the city walls as a precaution against contingencies.
The Liang Province troops mounted a fierce assault on the World Origin Palace. Prince Wu’s Left Imperial Guard stood still and did not move.
The palace held for less than a full night before it was taken. The Liang Province troops captured Yang Xuanji alive and dragged him out, bound from head to foot.
And at this moment, Yang Xuanji still did not understand why.
Over those past ten-plus days, Prince Wu had in secret contacted the commanders of the Liang Province troops and told them: it was Yang Xuanji who had killed Du Ke, and that he intended to come for them next. Because he did not trust them, he had deliberately had them enter the city first, and was now making arrangements with Prince Wu’s army to join forces with the Mandate Army at an appointed time to disarm the Liang Province troops.
Prince Wu had calculated that Yang Xuanji, in his moment of triumph, would become careless — and triumph always creates an opening.
The Liang Province commanders feared for their lives, but here they were, already inside the city. If it came to a real fight, going up against Prince Wu’s Left Imperial Guard would only mean suffering mutual losses.
So the group deliberated together and asked Prince Wu to decide. Prince Wu told them: if they received the Emperor back to the palace now, they would each be distinguished meritorious subjects, and the Emperor would certainly reward them generously.
And so, under Prince Wu’s leadership, the Liang Province commanders respectfully escorted Emperor Yang Jing back to the World Origin Palace to take charge of affairs.
Before all the assembled officials, the Emperor declared with grief and indignation that he had given up his throne entirely — his one and only request had been for Yang Xuanji to treat them all well. Yet he had never imagined Yang Xuanji’s true intentions.
The assembled officials fell to their knees and urged the Emperor on — and so Yang Jing, who had referred to himself as *I* only a moment before, very quickly reverted to referring to himself as *We*.
Prince Wu personally supervised the execution of Yang Xuanji, and invited all the Liang Province and Yue Province commanders to witness it. The scene, remarkably, inspired something close to collective satisfaction.
Yang Xuanji had reigned as Emperor for exactly half a month before ending up with his head severed from his body.
To pacify the Liang Province troops, Emperor Yang Jing promoted a large number of men and granted noble titles to countless others.
He did the same within the Yue Province troops — and in an instant, that combined force of over four hundred thousand, who had lost their driving force to begin with, coupled with the Emperor’s equal wielding of grace and authority, became the Emperor’s own army.
When word reached those outside the city, Yang Xuanji’s Mandate Army fell into immediate chaos.
Prince Wu led his troops out of the city to offer reassurance. The message was simple: Yang Xuanji is dead. If you are willing to submit, every man will be rewarded. If you want to fight, then fight.
But the provisions?
More than half the provisions had been brought into the city with Yang Xuanji. The Mandate Army outside — even if they wanted to fight, with no supply of grain and with the formidable name of Prince Wu filling them with dread — how could they dare?
Yang Xuanji had been, by any measure, a man of heroic ambition and iron will. Yet in the end, it was this imperial throne that brought him to a miserable death.