Chapter 40: The Predicament

Xu Da was filled with melancholy. Chang Yuchun, plagued by the resurgence of old wounds and new injuries, was already at the end of his tether. If the campaign were proceeding smoothly, as fellow veterans of the battlefield, Xu Da would have naturally allowed him to fulfill his wish to die in battle and be wrapped in a horse hide.

However, the entire Northern Expeditionary Force of the Ming was now trapped in a desperate situation. If Chang Yuchun, who had never known defeat, were to die within the ranks, it would be a devastating blow to the morale of the troops. Their remaining two hundred thousand men were truly at a dead end.

Chang Yuchun gasped for air and said, "Brother Tiande, we are both old veterans; you cannot fool me. Li Wenzhong was reckless and underestimated the enemy, suffering a crushing defeat at Jiaozhou at the hands of Wang Baobao and losing over fifty thousand men. If we wait for Wang Baobao's eighty thousand cavalry to strike directly at our retreat route at Dengzhou, then our remaining two hundred thousand Ming troops will have no wings to fly away."

"Tiande, Great General, give your order. Even if I have to risk my life, I will carve out a path to survival for these two hundred thousand brothers."

Xu Da remained silent for a long time before saying, "The Emperor has decreed that even if the entire army is lost, I must ensure you return to the capital alive, Brother Boren. Do not make things difficult for me."

Xu Da actually understood Zhu Yuanzhang well. Chang Yuchun’s invincibility was like a banner for the Great Ming. As long as Chang Yuchun lived, he could gather an army for a Northern Expedition again in five or ten years. If he died in a defeated army, the myth of the Ming army’s invincibility would be shattered, making the future reconquest of the Northern Yuan ten thousand times more difficult.

"Li Wenzhong’s defeat is my fault. I did not expect that fop Wang Baobao to use thirty thousand defeated troops to lure us deep into his trap, while hiding fifty thousand men among refugees to ambush us at Jiaozhou Bay. That must be the work of that old fox Chahan, borrowing the navy to cut off our reinforcements. They want to sever our rear and surround us, knowing that our supplies will inevitably run dry over time. Since Chahan wants a decisive battle, I will lead the army myself to meet him."

Chang Yuchun struggled to stand, saying, "Brother Tiande, I beg you one last time. Let me lead the army for one final charge."

Xu Da waved his sleeve. "The Emperor appointed me as the commander and you as the deputy. Boren, focus on healing your wounds. If I am unfortunate enough to die in the chaos, then you shall lead the cavalry and break through. As long as the Emperor is on the throne, we will sooner or later have the day to launch a Northern Expedition and restore the Divine Land."

"Help General Chang to rest. This is a military order."

Walking out of the tent, Xu Da sighed deeply. "Facing such a formidable enemy, is Heaven planning to destroy our Great Ming?"

Unfortunately, Xu Da was not a transmigrator. If he knew that the culprit behind all this was his own virtuous son-in-law, he would have immediately marched his troops to counterattack Kaifeng and personally chop that scourge into pieces. Alas, there were no "ifs."

Just as Xu Da was lost in sorrow, thousands of miles away in the Forbidden City of Nanjing, within the Fengtian Hall:

Zhu Yuanzhang, perched high on the dragon throne, was cursing like a shrew in a market:

"Why are all you ministers in the court silent?"

"The grain I pay you in salary would produce more meat if fed to pigs."

"Am I feeding you buckets of rice just to watch you make a joke of me?"

"What do you mean there are no generals to use? Send the troops! I will lead the expedition myself to wipe out this goddamn Great Yuan!"

Li Shanchang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, half of our national grain reserves have been sent to the Northern Expeditionary Force. Another three parts must supply the Western Army under Mu Ying and Fu Youde in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, as well as the Eastern Army under Deng Yu, Feng Sheng, and Tang He in the two Guangs and Fujian. Our national treasury has only twenty percent of its grain left. If a natural disaster occurs, our Great Ming may face the calamity of collapse. Please, Your Majesty, think twice."

Zhu Yuanzhang, in a fit of rage, retorted, "Then use my private treasury! I don't care; I am sending the troops today!"

The Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, knelt and said, "Reporting to Father Emperor, the money in the private treasury has already been used to build the Central Capital, Fengyang, and the Xiaoling Mausoleum."

Zhu Yuanzhang was deflated. Being an emperor without money was truly maddening. He finally understood why that little beast, his second son, was so shameless about mooching off his imperial carriage—without money, everyone was dirt poor.

Hu Weiyong, the Assistant Minister of the Secretariat, seeing that the Emperor’s fury had not subsided, immediately knelt and said, "I, Hu Weiyong, impeach the Duke of Cao, Li Wenzhong, for being arrogant and tyrannical, underestimating the enemy and advancing recklessly, which caused our Ming army to suffer setbacks. I request that Your Majesty punish Li Wenzhong for the crime of losing troops and humiliating the nation."

"I, Censor Tu Jie."

"I, Left Censor-in-Chief Chen Ning."

"I, Left Chancellor of the Secretariat Li Shanchang."

"I, Censor-in-Chief Liu Ji."

"I, Left Assistant of the Secretariat Yang Xian."

"I, Right Assistant of the Secretariat Wang Guangyang."

"We request that Your Majesty imprison Li Wenzhong’s entire family and punish him for his crimes."

Aside from a few lone military officers, all the civil officials in the court were kneeling on the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the kneeling civil officials—there were the Huai-Xi faction, the Zhejiang-East faction, and even men from Jiangxi. Although he had intentionally cultivated these factional struggles, the power of these civil officials banding together was now subtly overshadowing him as the Emperor.

His palms, hidden within his dragon robe sleeves, were clenched so tightly they were almost dripping with sweat. He found Li Shanchang, who was still standing, increasingly eyesore.

The world thought he wanted to abolish the position of Chancellor, but they did not know that what Zhu Yuanzhang truly hated was the civil official clique. These people spent their days obsessed with power and profit, never focusing on governing the country.

If someone asked what grievances the civil official clique had against him, Zhu Yuanzhang would smile and answer with a blade in hand: "A blood feud."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, "Li Wenzhong is my nephew, and besides, defeat is not necessarily his fault. Whether he should be punished is for me to decide alone."

Li Shanchang, who knew the old Emperor’s temperament well, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang’s smiling face and guessed it was a sign of hidden, explosive rage.

But as the saying goes, once the arrow is on the string, it must be fired. Weakening the military nobility had been the common wish of scholars since the Tang Dynasty. Even though he and Liu Ji were life-and-death political rivals, their shared identity as literati destined that none of them could retreat today.

Especially as the head of the hundred officials, Li Shanchang placed his official cap on the flagstone, bowed deeply, and said in a low voice, "If Li Wenzhong is not executed, the law of the nation cannot be upheld. If Your Majesty insists on acting recklessly, I, Li Shanchang, beg to be allowed to retire."

"I, Liu Ji."

"I, Yang Xian."

"I, Hu Weiyong."

"I, Chen Ning."

"I, Tu Jie."

"I, Song Lian."

"I, Liu Sanwu."

"I, Wang Guangyang."

"We kowtow and beg Your Majesty to execute Li Wenzhong to uphold the law of the nation."

Zhu Xun was not present, and the time he was dismissed was nothing compared to this. The person Zhu Yuanzhang specifically wanted to protect, the civil officials specifically wanted to kill. This was no longer just slapping the Emperor in the face; they had placed a blade at his throat, forcing his hand.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, and sneered, "My good son, look at the fine example you have set for me."

The Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, hurriedly begged for mercy, "Father Emperor, I... I truly do not know why they acted as if they had conspired today."

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth. "If you, the leader of the civil officials, cannot lead them well, then I will have to step in and manage the team myself."

He turned and pointed to the only military officer kneeling on the ground, Liao Yongzhong. "Marquis of Deqing, you are the commander of the navy. Why are you kneeling? Tell me, should Li Wenzhong be killed?"

Liao Yongzhong, suddenly singled out, shook like a leaf in the wind. Why was he kneeling? He wanted to stand up, but seeing the unkind gazes of the other ministers, and thinking of his own merits—which were enough to earn him a dukedom, not to mention that without him and his deceased brother Liao Yongan, where would Zhu Yuanzhang have gotten the navy to defeat Chen Youliang?—he hardened his heart and knelt. "Your humble servant believes that the Duke of Cao was reckless and deserves his punishment."

"Good, good, good. Since that is the case, then follow your decree: imprison Li Wenzhong’s entire family."

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang crossed out Liao Yongzhong’s name in a small notebook the size of a palm on his desk.

The Crown Prince nearby was covered in sweat as he watched this; the old Emperor was not marking names, he was writing in the Book of Life and Death.

Just as the eunuch was about to pass the decree, Li Jinglong, who was guarding the door of the Fengtian Hall, scrambled in, crying, "Uncle, there has been a miscarriage of justice! Uncle, my father is innocent!"

Seeing him covered in tears and snot, Zhu Yuanzhang said with disgust, "Innocent my foot! That 'Li Bao'er' lost the army and humiliated the nation. Not only did he lose fifty thousand soldiers, but he also put my two hundred thousand troops in a death trap. I couldn't vent my hatred even if I killed him ten times over."

"Drag this shameful thing away and throw him in jail!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

As two guards were about to grab him, Li Jinglong cried out to heaven and earth, suddenly tossing an object from his bosom.

Breaking free, he said with great joy, "Uncle, I have a way! I have a way!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed in extreme anger. "A good-for-nothing like you who just eats and waits to die can conjure up an army of one hundred thousand for me? Get out!"

Li Jinglong held the Golden Medallion above his head. "Uncle, I cannot conjure one hundred thousand, but I should be able to provide thirty thousand."

Li Shanchang asked suspiciously, "How is the Crown Prince’s Golden Medallion in your hands?"

"Hahaha, Uncle, we still have a large army! The Prince of Qin, the Prince of Qin is in Kaifeng!" Li Jinglong danced with excitement.

If Zhu Xun were to see this, he would surely beat him to death on the spot. I asked you to deliver a letter, and you are trying to get me killed!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Jinglong with the gaze of a man looking at an idiot. Far from being happy, his brow furrowed even tighter.

"The Prince of Qin’s city of Kaifeng is surrounded by enemies on all sides and isolated abroad. Let alone saving the Northern Expeditionary Force, it’s hard enough for him to save himself. Are you here to mock me?"

Li Jinglong shook his head. "I would never dare, Uncle. Listen to me carefully; the Prince of Qin’s troops are strong and his horses are sturdy."

Li Jinglong, the number one socialite of the Ming, had a silver tongue—it was a waste for him not to be a storyteller.

In a short while, he had explained the whole story and the situation inside Kaifeng City to Zhu Yuanzhang with crystal clarity.

The ministers in the court were already breaking out in a cold sweat.

One million two hundred thousand taels of silver, five hundred thousand piculs of grain—was this a hostage situation? This was more like going to wreak havoc on the Yuan Dynasty!

Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes were spitting fire. This little beast was living better than he was!

In three years of "studying abroad," he had raised an army of thirty thousand, and they were all cavalry!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up to the heavens and roared, "Five thousand muskets, one thousand cannons! This... this little beast is even wealthier than my Great Ming!"

The Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, was also stunned. Second brother, you went as a hostage; how did you end up raising an army and rebelling?

Li Jinglong did not dare to say that Zhu Xun was still hiding one hundred thousand sets of Yuan army armor. If he said that, the old Emperor might suffer a brain hemorrhage on the spot.

If Zhu Xun were present, he would definitely have had ten thousand cuirassiers parade before the old Emperor, cursed him as a country bumpkin, and told him to open his eyes, likely angering him until he spat blood in the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang was both happy and helpless. Happy that this little beast had wreaked havoc on the Yuan Dynasty to a new level, and helpless that distant water could not quench a near thirst.

Seeing his chance, Li Jinglong knelt. "The Prince of Qin ordered me, besides delivering the letter to the Empress and returning the Crown Prince’s Golden Medallion, to ask one more thing."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked suspiciously, "What is it?"

"The Prince of Qin is willing to send troops to recover the entire Henan province and open the connection between the imperial court and the main army, but he has one condition: he wants to borrow one person from Your Majesty."

"Who?"

"The commoner Zhu Wenzheng."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a long time before saying, "I grant it."