Chapter 59: The Great Battle (4)

Zhu Shuang ignored the dazed and soul-smashed Wang Baobao, drawing his bow and notching an arrow to loose a whistling signal.

Tens of thousands of Qin iron cavalry immediately split into two columns to encircle the Yuan cavalry.

They began breaking into several small squads, continuously crushing and slaughtering the remaining twenty-some thousand Yuan cavalry.

A Yuan soldier, with an arrow embedded in his shoulder, picked up a fallen scimitar from the ground and roared up to the heavens.

"Long live the Great Yuan!"

A Qin iron cavalryman galloped past him, swinging the saber in his hand.

The head of that Yuan soldier rolled onto the ground, blood spurting from his neck like a pillar.

The Qin iron cavalry shouted in unison, their voices shaking the earth.

"Long live the Great Ming!"

Moving in packs, they slaughtered the Yuan soldiers until they were utterly routed.

Chaos erupted among the Yuan forces as they began to scatter and flee in all directions.

The Qin army split into several columns, following closely behind to pursue and kill them.

Seeing the corpses strewn all over the ground, Wang Baobao finally could not hold back any longer; he fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands, weeping bitterly.

Zhu Shuang, who had brought the Yuan Emperor along for a sightseeing tour of the battlefield, sighed and remarked, "I thought it would be a evenly matched battle, but it turned out to be a one-sided slaughter."

Sitting in front of him, sweating profusely, Zhu Wenzheng said, "I told you long ago that with our army's combat power, launching a direct night raid on Nahacu's camp would have settled the outcome in a single battle."

"Even with things going this smoothly, we still lost nearly seven thousand men. I only have this little foundation left, and you've gone and squandered it all just for a bit of military merit."

Zhu Wenzheng couldn't help muttering inwardly: This younger brother of mine is clearly formidable, but he is simply far too cautious.

Zhu Shuang's heart was bleeding. The loss of just over a thousand artillerymen had cost him three years of cultivation. Of those one thousand cannons, eight hundred had blown up into scrap metal, and the remaining fewer than two hundred had their barrels warped beyond use.

Then there were the compensation payouts for over five thousand men—that was all pure, glittering silver.

A spendthrift like Zhu Wenzheng had never managed a household, so he had no idea how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt could be.

Wang Baobao was hoisted up by two Qin soldiers and dragged onto a carriage. Zhu Shuang did not order him to be bound.

"Stop killing, I surrender."

Seeing Wang Baobao's ashen complexion, Zhu Shuang pointed at the large banner bearing the character "Qin" on the carriage.

With a beaming smile, he said, "I just want you to remember today. In the future, whenever you see this banner, stay as far away from it as possible."

Zhu Shuang had someone lead a horse over and kicked Wang Baobao off the carriage.

"For the sake of my wife Kököjin and our newborn child, get the hell out of here, and don't let me ever set eyes on you again."

Wang Baobao swung himself onto his horse, veins bulging on his neck as his fists clenched with loud cracks.

"How dare you look down on me, Koke Temur?"

Standing by the carriage, Zhu Shuang looked at him with the expression one might reserve for garbage.

"For the sake of the child, I'll call you brother-in-law. Otherwise, you, Wang Baobao, are nothing more than scum."

Riding his horse out several hundred paces, Wang Baobao screamed at the top of his lungs, "If I do not wash away this humiliation, I am no man! Prince of Qin, Shuang, you will regret this one day."

Zhu Shuang put his hands on his hips, curled his lips, and commanded, "Fire the arrows and shoot that dog."

Panicking in utter dismay, Wang Baobao whipped his horse frantically and fled in a streak of dust.

Zhu Wenzheng said with worry, "What if this fellow stirs up trouble in the grasslands later and becomes a disaster for the borders?"

Zhu Shuang patted him on the shoulder and let out a long sigh. "You know my father best. If there were no threats on the border, what need would there be for the former Pacification Army, or the current Qin army?"

With the realm having just been pacified, Zhu Wenzheng could already imagine that tall, imposing figure turning the Fengtian Hall into a river of blood.

"How wonderful it would be if you had been born two years earlier."

"My eldest brother is my eldest brother, and I am myself. We grew up differently and have different personalities; neither of us can replace the other."

"Once the realm is pacified, the Forbidden City will be the stage for Father and Eldest Brother. My stage lies in the fiefs."

Looking at this younger brother who had grown increasingly mature through blood and fire, Zhu Wenzheng couldn't help sighing at the caprices of fate.

Troops were dispatched to clear the battlefield, and the remaining eight thousand surrendering Yuan soldiers—the very last elite of the Yuan Dynasty—were turned into the dust of history.

Zhu Shuang summoned Zhang Yu and instructed, "Take the Yuan Emperor to Juyong Pass and toss him to Li Jinglong."

Zhang Yu asked with confusion, "To destroy a nation and capture the enemy's leader—such heavens-high merit, you're just going to hand it over to that wine-sack and rice-bucket?"

Hearing this, Zhu Wenzheng's expression shifted drastically. "Younger brother, are you worried about the Uncle?"

"Neither my father-in-law nor I can receive any further enfeoffments. I have a premonition that our household and the current Qin army might not survive."

"We can only do everything in our power to preserve a tiny spark."

The next day, just as the dawn was breaking.

Zhu Shuang led the remaining forty-odd thousand Qin soldiers to the Ming army's camp.

Xu Da and Cagan Temur came out of the camp to greet them.

As the two armies met, Zhu Shuang dismounted in a single fluid motion, knelt on one knee, and cupped his fists. "My two fathers-in-law are here, please accept this bow from your humble son-in-law, Zhu Shuang."

With that, he even knocked his head against the ground.

Xu Da showed not a shred of joy; his face flickered uncertainly as he asked, "What do you mean by handing over the immense merit of capturing the capital to this old man?"

"Had my father-in-law not wiped out the main force of the Yuan army, Dadu's city defenses would not have been left empty for your humble son-in-law to exploit. Your son-in-law would not dare to usurp merits that belong to the heavens."

"You rascal, you are far too slick. However, you are already honored as a Prince of the First Rank and cannot be enfeoffed any further. In my hands, you might at least secure the title of a commoner prince after death. I shall accept your kind gesture."

Cagan Temur helped him up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and said warmly, "My good son-in-law, do you know if Minmin's delivery went smoothly?"

Zhu Shuang shook his head. "Your son-in-law was wandering outside for nearly a year, and fearing they would worry, I never wrote a single letter home."

Cagan sighed and said, "From now on, our Great Yuan will be nothing more than a wisp of ink in the vast bamboo slips."

"Brother Cagan, the succession of dynasties is just like birth, aging, illness, and death—it is the way of the world. His Majesty has already issued an imperial decree enfeoffing you as the Duke of Rong. From now on, live a peaceful life and enjoy your days."

Watching Xu Da wrap his arm around Cagan's shoulder, Zhu Shuang couldn't help feeling perplexed: Didn't I tell you two fathers-in-law to have a duel in the ring and determine a winner? How did you end up as close as brothers?

The moment Xu Da saw those crafty eyes of the brat rolling around, he knew he was up to no good. He couldn't help asking a soul-searching question: "His Majesty asked me to ask you: between Kököjin and Miaoyun, whom do you plan to install as your primary consort?"

Zhu Shuang was startled upon hearing this. How did the problem of who is older and who is smaller get tossed back to me? Since both fathers-in-law were alive, neither of them was someone to be trifled with.

He simply closed his eyes, hardened his heart, and declared, "Equal wives."

Xu Da and Cagan stared at each other in blank dismay. Xu Da finally spoke up, "There are no two suns in the sky, and no two rulers for the people. You are an imperial prince of the blood; you can only have one primary consort."

"I'm not the Crown Prince, and they aren't rulers of the world. What's wrong with having two primary consorts?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Da and Cagan instantly felt it made a lot of sense, leaving them utterly unable to refute.

"Very well, official business is concluded. Now it's time for this old man's personal business. You little bastard disobeyed military orders and almost caused my entire army to be wiped out."

"Furthermore, you failed to patronize the courtesans along the Qinhuai River and were captured by the enemy instead. His Majesty's face and mine have been thoroughly disgraced by you little bastard. Drag him away and give him eighty military杖 (strokes of the heavy staff) according to military law."

Xu Da barked at the guards on either side. Behind him, Zhu Wenzheng, Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, and the others instantly drew their sabers and shielded Zhu Shuang behind them.

For a moment, the Qin army and Ming army generals stood in a tense standoff against each other.

Zhu Shuang glared at his subordinates and ordered, "Put your swords away. The old father-in-law beating me is his way of acknowledging my status as his son-in-law."

Xu Da showed not a trace of anger; instead, he laughed. "You little slickster, you've raised quite a fine private army—they've got about eight tenths of my capability. What a pity, though."

Zhu Shuang was hoisted up by several of Xu Da's personal guards and dragged off to the Military Law Department. He understood what Xu Da meant, because his father, Zhu Yuanzhang—the Emperor through the ages—would never tolerate an army under his rule that did not obey orders, even if that disobedient person was his own son.

His trousers were pulled down, and the heavy staff, thick as an arm, came crashing down on his buttocks with loud smacks.

Thinking of how Fourth Uncle in history stood in Beiping playing the fool for nearly thirty years, he felt a sliver of despair before that tall, imposing figure.