Retired Emperor

Biodata

Background / History

During his reign, Jiang Jiu personally led eight military campaigns. His achievements included campaigning against Northern Mang, subduing the Southern Barbarians, fighting Japanese pirates, and intimidating the Jurchen. His military background earned him a reputation as an emperor who had spent his life in the saddle 207 354.

After a coup, he retired to the Eastern Palace but retained control over state affairs. His continuing authority alongside Emperor Jingde produced the situation described as “sun and moon” hanging together over Great Qian: competing decrees and rival factions weakened the country 45 354.

His supporters included established nobles, military commanders, palace eunuchs, and officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Seventy percent of the old nobles connected to the Capital Camp adhered to him, while Wang Ziteng served as the central figure balancing their interests 144 184.

Appearance

The Retired Emperor is initially depicted as a seventy-year-old man with deeply furrowed features, piercing eyes, and a ruddy complexion. Despite his age, he remains vigorous and physically forceful 144 193.

• Imperial dress: Wears a nine-clawed dragon robe and, on formal occasions, a crown 144 220.
• Eyes: Frequently described as clouded or aged, though his gaze remains intimidating 144 290.
• Bearing: Speaks in an authoritative voice and personally confronts officials rather than relying solely on attendants 193 241.

Personality

He cherishes longstanding relationships and protects trusted followers, a quality that sustains his faction’s loyalty. Dai Quan’s death initially leaves him angry rather than sorrowful, but familiar objects in his bedchamber later bring back memories of their forty years together. His attachment to old retainers also influences his protection of Wang Ziteng and his support for Qin Zhong 147 184 290.

His favoritism has limits, particularly when treason or damage to his reputation is involved. He accepts that Dai Quan and the Prince of Eastern Peace deserve punishment, and recognizes that rebellion makes his own son and grandson impossible to save. At the same time, he explicitly threatens Jia Huan if testimony implicates his name 144 147 220.

Proud of his military achievements and judgment, he resents challenges to his authority. His appreciation of Jia Huan grows when he concludes that the young officer pursues criminals without regard for factional loyalties. He admires Jia Huan’s forceful methods, but his willingness to support him remains constrained by political stability, old loyalties, and public justification 207 228 280 290.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Cultivation

At his death, the Retired Emperor possesses inner qi at the ninth level of the Profound Insight Realm. No advancement of his own cultivation is documented in the supplied material 352.

• Reacts immediately when he senses Consort Zhong gathering energy for an attack 352.
• Kills Zhong despite her newly attained tenth-layer Profound Insight cultivation 352.
• Cannot survive the poisonous, icy demonic energy introduced through her claw wounds without stronger assistance 352.

Taizu Divine Fist

His named martial technique manifests the phantom of a savage true dragon 352.

• Uses it at full strength to counter Zhong’s claw strike 352.
• Smashes Zhong into a wall and kills her on the spot, but fails to prevent her poisoned claw from penetrating his waist 352.

Political Authority

Retirement does not remove his ability to command officials, influence appointments, or intervene in investigations 144 184 245.

• Palace protection: Even the reigning emperor cannot simply force entry into his palace to seize someone under his protection 144.
• Factional leverage: Uses the Capital Camp’s importance and stability to secure Wang Ziteng’s pardon 184.
• Appointments and rewards: Benefits from vacancies among Jingde’s loyalists and later pushes through Jia Huan’s ennoblement 245 334.
• Ancestral Hall oversight: Orders the guardians to consult him before acting, fearing that Jingde will use them against Jia Huan 311.

Intelligence and Oversight

He maintains information channels independent of ordinary court investigations 173 207 257.

• Secretly assigns the Prince of Liang to monitor Beiliang Governor-General Wei Yuan, despite Wei being a trusted confidant 173.
• Receives an accurate account of Jia Huan’s confrontation with the Second Prince 207.
• Exchanges information with the Prince of Zhennan by carrier pigeon 257.
• Identifies the Eastern Depot as a pretext for involving the Ancestral Hall Guardians in a lethal confrontation with Jia Huan 352.

Relationships

• Emperor Jingde — His son and reigning successor. Their rivalry divides the court; the Retired Emperor publicly questions Jingde’s fitness to rule, while Jingde ultimately prevents rescuers from reaching him 207 241 352.
• Prince of Zhennan — His beloved son and political ally. They exchange intelligence and spend time playing chess; his final unspoken wishes include warning the prince to return to the Southern Borderlands 257 346 352.
• Prince of Zhongshun — His son. He mourns the rebellion case that condemns both Zhongshun and his grandson, but acknowledges that their crimes cannot be excused 220 221.
• Jiang Qi / Second Prince — His legitimate grandson. Jiang Qi’s failure to visit or respect him leaves him with little affection for the prince even before the rebellion is exposed 207 220.
• Jia Huan — Initially an irritating but useful officer; later a cherished minister and major source of the Eastern Palace faction’s renewed strength 147 207 245.
• Dai Quan — His attendant of forty years. Their old affection prompts protection and later grief, but the Retired Emperor ultimately permits Jia Huan to take him away 144 147.
• Wang Ziteng — A favored military subordinate whose position anchors the Retired Emperor’s influence over the Capital Camp 184.
• Qin Zhong — An absolute confidant who has served him loyally for nearly twenty-five years. This longstanding attachment influences his support for Qin’s appointment over Jia Huan 289 290.
• Jia Daishan — A deceased trusted general and former right-hand man. The Retired Emperor recalls their conversations about the Jia family’s future 144 257.
• Consort Zhong — His beloved consort and eventual assassin. She attacks after he refuses to intervene for her relative 352.
• Yang Taiyue — Chief Grand Secretary. Supports rewarding Jia Huan and, after the Retired Emperor’s death, argues for honoring him as Emperor Liezong 280 334 354.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Protecting Old Retainers

Dai Quan seeks refuge in the Eastern Palace when Jia Huan uncovers crimes connected to his descendants. The Retired Emperor initially tells Jia Huan to leave Dai’s punishment to him. After examining official statements concerning plague deaths, White Lotus Cult collusion, and stockpiled weapons, he abandons that protection. Jia Huan’s fabricated claim that the criminals openly invoked the Retired Emperor’s name further pushes him to demand punishment and keep his own name out of the testimony 144.

Wang Ziteng subsequently exploits his grief over Dai Quan to request Jia Huan’s dismissal. The Retired Emperor refuses, judging Jia Huan capable despite disliking his arrogance 147.

• Revokes Jia Baoyu’s scholar qualification after his examination scandal, but allows him to continue taking the examinations 153.
• Protects Wang Ziteng after his public confession to shielding Song Xiong and soliciting bribes. Song Xiong is executed, while Jia Huan receives a personal order ending the investigation into Wang 184.
• Rebukes Jia Huan for publicly humiliating Grand Secretary Cui Xiangwei, but later joins Jingde in ordering Cui’s execution. He also orders Wang Ziteng to apologize to Jia Huan’s office 193 194.

Growing Appreciation of Jia Huan

Jia Huan’s destruction of the Second Prince’s entertainment establishment changes the Retired Emperor’s assessment of him. Rather than seeing a deliberate attack on his faction, he begins to regard Jia Huan as an officer willing to offend either emperor in defense of the state and the Guard’s dignity 207.

This judgment briefly falters when Wang Ziteng reports that Jia Huan has left the Capital. Believing he has fled Jiang Qi’s marriage scheme, the Retired Emperor calls him cowardly. Jia Huan is actually pursuing evidence that implicates Jiang Qi and Prince Zhongshun in rebellion; the resulting case ends with both princes executed by poisoned wine 215 220 221.

The Imperial Uncle Case

When Jia Huan is suspended and confined to the Capital, he offers to bring down Yin “openly and honorably.” The Retired Emperor permits him to leave with ten men for one month, accepting Jia Huan’s pledge to take his own life if he fails 228.

Jia Huan later exposes Xia Shouzhong’s framing plot. The Retired Emperor dispatches investigators, publicly affirms Jia Huan’s loyalty, and repeatedly demands that Xia identify the person who ordered him. He specifically hopes to force Xia to name the emperor, bringing the father–son conflict into open court 240 241.

The affair leaves several posts formerly occupied by Jingde’s loyalists available to the Retired Emperor’s faction. He personally rewards Jia Huan, Scholar, and Twin Whips, then visits Rongguo Mansion after Jia Huan arrests Li Rangzhi 245 257.

Military Rewards and Command of the Guard

Following Jia Huan’s victory over Northern Mang, the Retired Emperor proposes a marquisate. Jingde counters with a hereditary Dingguo dukedom conditional on Jia Huan surrendering all official power. The Retired Emperor objects that stripping a successful general and Guard officer of authority would harm the state 280 281.

During Jiang Wuyuan’s downfall, however, he supports his longtime confidant Qin Zhong as the next Commanding Commissioner. He envisions Jia Huan assisting Qin and succeeding him after another decade, while personally going to Rongguo Mansion to prevent retaliation against the Jia family 289 290 292.

After Jia Huan defeats Jiang Wuyuan and presents further case files, the Retired Emperor helps secure his appointment instead. He presses Jingde to recognize Jia Huan’s importance to reorganizing the Guard, participates in the promotion ceremony, and requires the Ancestral Hall Guardians to consult him before acting 300 303 308 311.

White Lotus Cult Campaign

Jingde gives Jia Huan one month to destroy the White Lotus Cult while withholding direct control of Jiangnan’s army. The Retired Emperor unsuccessfully demands that Jia Huan receive the Military Tally 315.

Expecting the campaign to fail, he eventually accepts that the military pledge must be enforced. He is preparing to seal Jia Huan’s removal when Ouyang Jin arrives with a battle report before the deadline has expired 316 331.

Once victory is established, he pushes through Jia Huan’s elevation to Dingguo Duke despite Jingde’s resistance. He later welcomes Jia Huan back personally and requests that half the captured weapons be allocated to the Southern Borderlands 334 339.

Assassination

The Retired Emperor rejects Jingde’s attempt to exchange ten thousand elite soldiers for the release of imprisoned Yin relatives. He also warns Empress Yin against arresting Jia Huan’s family without authorization 346.

While reviewing state affairs, he realizes that the Eastern Depot’s true purpose is to create grounds for the Ancestral Hall Guardians to kill Jia Huan. He intends to stop their interference the following morning, but Consort Zhong attacks him that night 352.

He kills Zhong with Taizu Divine Fist, yet her poisoned claw leaves him gravely wounded. Imperial Physician Xuanyuan temporarily stabilizes him and sends for the guardians. Jingde orders Wei Yongzhong to intercept the rescuers, whose deaths prevent help from arriving 352.

The Retired Emperor dies while Xuanyuan is carrying him toward the Ancestral Hall. His final thoughts are of protecting the Prince of Zhennan and Jia Huan, and of being remembered as a good emperor 352.

Death and Legacy

His death ends Great Qian’s dual-sovereign arrangement and leaves Jingde in sole control of imperial power. Wang Ziteng subsequently submits to Jingde, illustrating the collapse of protection formerly provided by the Eastern Palace 352 356.

The court disputes his posthumous designation. Jingde favors Emperor Wu, while Yang Taiyue argues for Emperor Liezong, citing his military achievements and the victories won by Jia Huan under his patronage. The supplied passage records this debate without establishing its final outcome 354.

Jia Huan publicly announces that he will return to the Capital to pay respects at the Retired Emperor’s mausoleum 355.

Notable Quotes

“As an emperor who spent his life in the saddle at war, I rather like his domineering, forceful approach.” 207

“As long as I am here, no one can harm the Jia Family!” 292

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard Office urgently needs reorganization. It needs Jia Huan to stabilize the situation!!” 303

Trivia

• Age inconsistency: He is explicitly seventy in Chapters 144 and 147, but described as eighty in Chapter 346 144 147 346.
• Shared title: Later references to a “Retired Emperor” are not necessarily Jiang Jiu. Chapter 387 discusses that honor for the reigning emperor’s father, while Jia Zheng receives the title after Jia Huan becomes emperor 387 399.