Capital army (sanya)

Who he is

Name

Commander not known; deputy commander of the Palace Command: Wu Xi

Title

Commander of the Palace Command (dianqian du zhihui shi), with the commanders of the Cavalry and Infantry Commands

Since

Wu Xi: by the 2nd month of 1200 (about February 1200, likely course) at the latest (the chronicle calls him deputy commander when it makes him Chaoxin jun jiedushi)

Born

Wu Xi 1162 (the brief), of the Wu family of Sichuan; grandson of Wu Lin and son of Wu Ting in the usual histories

Family

Wu Xi: the Wu house that holds the Sichuan armies (the Sichuan researcher writes its Sichuan side).

Confidence

medium

Song shi quan wen juan 29 shang: Wu Xi entry of the 2nd month of 1200; the orders of 1195 and 1197 on the Three Commands and the river armies.

Overlord

The emperor through the Privy Council.

What it holds

• The palace guard and the garrison of Lin'an
• The escort of the emperor
• A reserve for the river armies

How it was acquired

Standing institution; the Palace Command in Lin'an since 1129.

Allies and rivals

Bound by the Privy Council to the emperor and Han Tuozhou; its commanders must name successors (order of the 6th month of 1195, which includes the river armies).

How things stand that morning

The orders of 1195 and 1197 put the choice of commanders under the Privy Council's review, which is Han Tuozhou's reach into the army.

Wealth

Paid by the state; no figures.

Military

No numbers are given here. The Three Commands guard Lin'an; the heavier forces lie on the Yangtze.

Threats

• A coup in the palace, as in 1194

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

In 1200

1. 2nd month of 1200 (16 February to 16 March, Julian)Wu Xi becomes Chaoxin jun jiedushi while deputy commander of the Palace Command.Depends on: The court's wish to bind the Wu house.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1201 (Jiatai 1, day jimao; month not pinned here)Wu Xi is sent out as commander-in-chief (dutongzhi) of Xingzhou and prefect of Xingzhou, in Sichuan (the annals), so the deputy commander of the Palace Command leaves Lin'an for his family's Shu command.Depends on: The court's calculation about the Wu house. Stopped by: Han Tuozhou's keeping him at court.
2. 24 November 1207The Palace Command's officer Xia Zhen kills Han Tuozhou at the Yujin garden on Shi Miyuan's secret order.Depends on: The failure of the northern war.

Places of note

• Palace Command barracks and parade grounds (not located): Seat of the Three Commands at Lin'an

Where the sources disagree

• The chronicle's day sign for Wu Xi's promotion (xinhai, 2nd month) does not fall in the 2nd month on our calendar (16 February to 16 March 1200 Julian); we date it only to the 2nd month. The brief says Wu Xi was 'Wu Jie's son': the histories make him Wu Lin's grandson.

Evidence: One dated promotion and the general institutional picture; no commander names for the winter.

On the map: A marker only.

Primary sources for Southern Song

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Bi Yuan (畢沅), completed by Feng Jiwu after his death (late eighteenth century, finished after 1801, from Song and Yuan sources). A Qing scholar's continuous month-by-month chronicle of the Song and Yuan centuries, compiled from the Song shi, the Liao, Jin and Yuan histories, Li Tao, Li Xinchuan and other Song sources. Read online
• Outline and Details of Two Reigns (thirteenth century, after 1224). A Song outline-and-detail chronicle of exactly the two reigns around 1200, drawn from the court's daily records. Read online
• Annals of the Western Xia, Wu Guangcheng (吳廣成) (1825 to 1827, compiled from Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan sources). A Qing scholar's year-by-year reconstruction of Tangut history from the Chinese histories, since the Xia left no surviving annals of their own in Chinese. Read online
• History of the Song, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345, from the Song veritable records, state histories and the Huiyao). The official history of the Southern Song, which ruled from Lin'an (Hangzhou) in 1200. Read online
• History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
• History of the Jin, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office, with Ouyang Xuan among the chief compilers (1343 to 1344, from the Jin veritable records and the Jin national history). The official history of the Jurchen empire that ruled north China and Manchuria in 1200. Read online
• History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
• Record of the Great Jin State, Attributed to Yuwen Maozhao (宇文懋昭); the attribution is doubtful (preface dated 1234; probably assembled in the Southern Song from Song and Jin material, with later accretions). A Song-side history of the Jin, with annals for each emperor and chapters on institutions, customs, the capitals and the Jurchen way of life. Read online

12 more in the sources library for South China.