Chapter 10: Overwhelming Force!

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“Your Majesty! The Ming army is upon us!” The vanguard general Liu Fangliang rushed in, breathless and anxious.

“What?”

Li Zicheng was startled for an instant, but reacted swiftly. He immediately left his tent and mounted his horse. Gazing out, he saw utter chaos—a squadron of Ming cavalry had cut through their ranks as if there were no resistance, slaughtering their way with ease and precision.

There was no time to think of anything else. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “The King of Chuang is here! The King of Chuang is here!”

The disordered soldiers of Dashun heard his call as if given a backbone, and quickly rallied around him. Under the command of officers at every level, they rapidly formed battle lines.

“Kill! Unless we seize the traitor’s banner, we shall not return!”

The Ming cavalry galloped through the camp, their blades flashing and howling. Dozens of banners were hewn down, and over a hundred of Dashun’s banner guards perished.

Once these unstoppable Ming cavalrymen saw the enemy begin to recover their formation, they showed no desire to linger. They spurred their horses and charged out.

Their martial prowess was so daunting that tens of thousands did not dare approach.

“Celestial soldiers of Great Ming have descended—surrender at once!”

Their leader, Lan Yu, swept his gaze across them with pride and disdain, calling out in a loud, commanding voice.

Then he turned his horse and departed.

“Where did such a formidable general come from? How could he be so fierce!?”

“And where is Liu Zongmin? Wasn’t he on sentry duty? How could he have missed this Ming cavalry and allowed them to storm our camp!?” Li Zicheng’s chest heaved with anger as he questioned.

“General Liu... he’s still holding the vanguard. We don’t even know where these enemies appeared from,” Liu Fangliang answered with a bitter smile after listening to his scouts’ reports.

“Useless! Even if I tied a dog there, it would have at least barked!” Li Zicheng fumed.

“Your Majesty, don’t be angered. This is a blessing in disguise, not a disaster. Though the cavalry that just charged us was unstoppable, they were no more than three thousand strong. It shows the Ming is at the end of its strength!”

Niu Jinxing, however, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

“Your Majesty, the surprise attack on our camp was not a fault of battle, but the result of the Ming’s cunning. Judging by their numbers, these three thousand must be the private troops of some noble in the city, hardly worth our fear,” Liu Fangliang reassured him.

“Still, lest we invite further trouble, I advise we march at once. Two hundred thousand against three thousand—the advantage is ours,” Niu Jinxing said gravely.

“Well said, strategist!”

Li Zicheng considered briefly and immediately gave the order: “Command the army to march…”

“Report! The vanguard has been attacked; sixty thousand forward troops are in rout! Liu Zongmin has fled with part of his force!” Hao Yaoqi, the main reserve general tasked with supporting the vanguard, galloped up and shouted urgently.

“What? Is it the Tartars from Liaodong attacking us?” Li Zicheng pressed.

“It’s not the Tartars—it’s the Ming!”

“Somehow, a force of a hundred thousand has appeared out of nowhere, stretching as far as the eye can see, their momentum unstoppable, their fighting spirit overwhelming—our men cannot withstand even a single clash!”

Hao Yaoqi’s words faded as his horse did not stop, carrying him and a horde of men straight to the rear, fleeing in haste.

Panic swept through the main camp. The vanguard was annihilated, the central army’s commanders had turned and fled—the camp was in complete upheaval, and for the moment, no discipline could be restored.

“This…”

Li Zicheng’s mind went blank. The situation had seemed so promising, the throne within reach. Now, defeat came as swiftly as a landslide. Where had it all gone wrong?

A hundred meters away—

“Charge!”

Xu Da led the assault, sword raised high, cleaving through all resistance.

Behind him surged a hundred thousand troops, spirits ablaze with excitement and fervor. The astonishing turn of fortune had left them both stunned and wild with courage—they fought with reckless ferocity, fearing neither death nor injury.

They were ready to trade their lives for victory.

Such valor left the Dashun army collapsing at the first blow. They could not even muster a proper defense before scattering in all directions.

“Your Majesty, all is lost—we must go!” Niu Jinxing cried in despair.

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“You coward!”

By the time Li Zicheng turned, Niu Jinxing had already fled a hundred meters. Furious, Li shouted, “All soldiers of the main camp, follow me and break out!”

“Yes, sir!” The messengers scattered in all directions.

In the end, only three or four thousand men managed to rally and escape together; the rest, leaderless and demoralized, barely resisted before collapsing into chaos. In total, they killed no more than a thousand enemies, yet tens of thousands had been routed. The true nature of the rebel army was laid bare.

“These rebels are as fragile as paper. Pity those few thousand defenders—they must be desperate for the plunder!” Lan Yu laughed heartily, his armor splattered with blood.

“Mighty are the Ming! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!”

The battlefield echoed with the thunderous cries of the Ming soldiers.

“Order Lan Yu to pursue the rebels with three thousand cavalry and capture the King of Chuang alive!”

Xu Da, after a token pursuit, reined in his horse and issued the command.

“At your command! Soldiers, follow me to glory!” Lan Yu spurred his horse, his three thousand cavalrymen charging like wolves and tigers.

Among them were many veterans who had fought the Mongols and Yuan—truly the elite of the elite.

...

Meanwhile, in the capital.

“Summon Wu Mengming to the palace!”

With a single order from Zhu Youjian, the ailing Wu Mengming—the last commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in history—hurriedly knelt before the emperor.

“May Your Majesty be in good health!”

Wu Mengming was trembling with fear. Though he had long neglected his duties, as the head of the secret police he was still one of the sharpest sources of intelligence in the empire.

Last night, hearing rumors of unknown troops maneuvering in the city, he thought Li Zicheng was entering the capital and had prepared his letter of surrender—only to discover that the troops belonged to the palace itself!

His mind went blank; he summoned his old subordinates overnight and set the Embroidered Uniform Guard back in motion. He owed his position not only to a good father, but to his own sharp sense in reading the political winds.

Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, Zhu Youjian stared at him for a long time.

Sweat soaked Wu Mengming’s collar before the emperor finally spoke:

“Redeem yourself by meritorious service, and your past shall be forgiven!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty! I will serve unto death!” Wu Mengming was ecstatic.

It was as though he had returned from the dead. At this moment, should the emperor command it, he would not hesitate to kill his own father or mother.

Zhu Youjian smiled, betraying no intent to hold a grudge. He said simply, “Take the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We’re going to confiscate property.”

“As you command!” Wu Mengming’s heart finally settled, and he was overwhelmed with excitement.

Soon after, Zhu Youjian took his seat in a sedan chair. Wu Mengming, leading three hundred of his men, marched ahead with great vigor.

Fu Youde led two thousand elite soldiers in the rear, guarding the procession.

They advanced in grand array to the residence of Marquis Jia Ding, Zhu Youjian’s father-in-law, Zhou Kui.

“Selling off the residence?”

Zhu Youjian laughed quietly, shaking his head at the bold characters painted on the wall.

Zhou Kui had risen from a penniless fortune-teller to a wealthy, powerful noble in just a few years, all by collecting wealth in the emperor’s name.

Yet when the emperor, in an effort to resist Li Zicheng, ordered the imperial relatives and high officials to donate silver for military expenses, Zhou Kui resorted to every trick to avoid contributing—crying, making a scene, and playing the victim. He claimed he had no spare wealth and refused to part with a single coin.

He even posted a sign at his gate, offering to sell his property at a loss, and appeared at court in patched, shabby clothes. In reality, records show that when Li Zicheng’s forces ransacked his home, over 700,000 taels of silver were found!

Even the empress did not know her own father was so miserly. She could only sell her gold and silver jewelry for five thousand taels, send it to him through intermediaries, and ask him to donate in his own name to set an example.

But Zhou Kui, after taking the money, actually skimmed off two thousand taels and reluctantly donated only three thousand!

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He was so miserly that even misers would feel ashamed, and even the stingiest would weep at the sight!

“Open the gate!” Zhu Youjian commanded.

“Who dares make such noise before the residence of the imperial father-in-law!”

The servants surged out, but seeing the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they did not cower—instead, they berated them: “Are you blind? This is the residence of the Emperor’s own father-in-law. How dare you block the gate with swords drawn?”

At the prime minister’s gate, a seventh-rank official could swagger; in the father-in-law’s residence, a mere servant could act like a third-rank—is it any wonder their pockets bulged with silver? Over time, their arrogance had grown, and they threw official titles around with abandon.

Wu Mengming listened for instructions.

Zhu Youjian said, “Confiscate the property! Turn the earth three feet deep!”

“Which officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard presumes to wield such authority? You have no jurisdiction over the Marquis Jia Ding’s mansion! Bring your superior here to meet me!” the servant sneered.

Clang!

“Above me stands only the Emperor of Ming. How dare you, a petty knave, speak so recklessly!”

Without hesitation, Wu Mengming drew his sword and beheaded the man, blood splattering three feet.

“What! His Majesty?!”

As the troops poured in, the servants, hearing the emperor’s name and seeing the deadly seriousness of the situation, immediately cowered, hugging their heads and squatting in terror.

Soon, the panicked Zhou Kui was dragged out. Upon seeing Zhu Youjian, he fell to his knees: “Your servant greets Your Majesty—may you enjoy good health!”

“I am not well,” Zhu Youjian replied coldly.

Boom!

With those words, all present dropped to their knees. Zhou Kui, in particular, was so terrified he wet himself—knowing that no matter the reason, such words from the emperor spelled certain doom.

Zhou Kui wailed, “I pray for Your Majesty every day, exhausting myself with loyal devotion. I know not what has disturbed Your Majesty’s peace—I deserve a thousand deaths!”

Zhu Youjian stepped from his sedan, looking down coldly. “Tell me—when the nation was in dire peril and I called for donations to the army, you, as my imperial relation, who have amassed countless riches through my indulgence, gave not a single coin in time of crisis! Is this true or not?”

“I am wronged, Your Majesty! I have always shared the nation’s weal and woe, scraping together three thousand taels in donations at the cost of my family’s poverty. How could I have hoarded wealth or failed to contribute? It must be slander from the eunuchs—please, Your Majesty, see the truth!”

“Nonsense! Do you take me for a child? Even when the Empress gave you five thousand taels, you withheld two thousand, yet you still dare speak of sharing the nation’s burdens!”

Zhu Youjian’s anger flared. “Very well—since you know the phrase ‘share the nation’s weal and woe,’ let us see whether a search of your humble home will turn up even half a tael of silver!”

“How could Your Majesty humiliate me so? Pity my daughter, whose body is not yet cold, and now her father is to be ruined and his family destroyed—how cruel!”

Zhou Kui, now truly panicking and guilt-ridden, began to pound his chest and weep bitterly, as if Zhu Youjian were a tyrant of the worst sort.

“Your Majesty, we have found a great hoard of silver in the cellar—at least several hundred thousand taels!” the Embroidered Uniform Guards reported gleefully. This was a task they excelled at.

Bang!

A chest, three feet square, was hauled out by several men. The gleaming silver bricks made Zhou Kui’s face turn ashen and sweat pour from his brow.

“A fine example of poverty you are! For every tael of silver discovered in your home today, you shall receive a stroke of the blade!”

Zhu Youjian declared coldly.

...