Chapter 68: I Can’t See Clearly, I Truly Can’t See Clearly!

Yongle the Plump and Hongxi the Plump were filled with grievance.

Just to let your father, a mere prince, enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple, you cast my father out of it!?

The Xuande Emperor and the other two young Zhu scions were equally incensed. After all, the Jiajing Emperor was their great-grandson, yet he could commit such an outrageous act!

If the ancestral rites had been followed based on bloodline proximity, they would have had no complaint. But to let the Jiajing Emperor’s father in, they cast out their own plump father! This could not be tolerated!

Old Zhu Di’s gaze swept over to Zhu Gaoxu, the boisterous Yongle prince watching the commotion, and he barked, “Come here!”

“Coming, Father,”

Zhu Gaoxu quickly dropped his mocking expression and walked over dutifully, responding with feigned meekness.

Smack!

A sudden slap sent the Prince of Han staggering.

“Why did you hit me!?” Zhu Gaoxu was dazed, rubbing his head in deep grievance.

“Think about what you’ve said!” Old Zhu Di snorted, unable to strike those out of reach, but more than willing to take it out on those nearby.

What had he said? He’d said plenty!

Zhu Gaoxu dug deep into his memories, and one line emerged from the haze:

“Even if you make the Yongle Encyclopedia the greatest book of all ages, the future will never recognize you as the rightful heir!”

And now, seeing the scene before him, it was as if the figure of Emperor Jiajing materialized, laughing at Zhu Di: Even if you make the Yongle Encyclopedia the greatest book of all ages, I will never recognize you as the rightful heir!

Damn it!

What a disaster from nowhere! Zhu Gaoxu gnashed his teeth. Cursed Jiajing! If I don’t beat the crap out of you someday, it means you had nothing left to lose!

“But Jiajing used the Great Rites Controversy to crush the scholar-officials, treating his ministers as house slaves and the treasury as his private property…” Zhu Youjian opened his mouth to explain, but quickly shut it again. Things had escalated so far—unless the Jiajing Immortal took a beating, it would never be settled.

Moreover, even if Zhu Yuanzhang might be impressed by such an explanation, if old Zhu learned that Jiajing spent over twenty years absent from court, obsessed with alchemy and immortality, he’d surely still get a beating.

“All of you are emperors, yet you lose your composure so easily! What sort of behavior is this!” Zhu Yuanzhang scolded with a frown, “My great-grandson is right here, isn’t he? There’s no need to worry about not having a target!”

“Yes, Father! I was reckless,” Zhu Di and old Fourth Zhu apologized.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t keep their cool, but with the temple name of Ming Chengzu at stake, if they could, old Zhu certainly couldn’t!

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted lightly, then turned with a kind smile. “My great-grandson, the Jianzhou tribes should all be inside this city by now, right? With just a handful of men, it’s best to settle this quickly. The other dynasties still await their turn to fight the pirates.”

Three thousand men—such a paltry force...

The ministers from the Chongzhen court behind him all felt deeply embarrassed.

“Your humble servant bows to the sacred spirit of Emperor Taizu!” Imperial son-in-law and commandant Gong Yonggu stepped forward respectfully.

“Reporting to Emperor Taizu, in order for Our Sovereign to reach Ningyuan swiftly, only three thousand light cavalry came along. I fear we cannot hope to fight the Jianzhou tribes…”

Zhu Youjian smiled amiably, waving a hand, “With the Ancestors at my side, what worry have I for lack of soldiers?”

“You youngsters need not fret. I didn’t come empty-handed,” Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, brimming with confidence.

“Yes, it was presumptuous of me!” Gong Yonggu finally relaxed. If that army of one hundred thousand elite troops from the Hongwu era arrived, they could surely fight the Jianzhou!

If led by generals like Xu Da and Lan Yu, it might even be possible to trap the Jianzhou in their lair!

“My great-grandson, let’s begin,” Zhu Yuanzhang said, hands clasped behind his back, his tone full of pride.

Zhu Di, Zhu the Fourth, and the others instantly focused all their attention.

A scene of a million-strong army—such a spectacle, draining the might of an entire dynasty, was a once-in-a-lifetime sight!

They would watch closely!

“Yes, Ancestor,” Zhu Youjian’s figure vanished from sight.

...

Ningyuan.

“The two scout squads we sent out have met with disaster? My Manchu warriors are unmatched in horsemanship—how could they possibly fail to escape? How did the Ming army manage to trap them!?” Hong Chengchou frowned deeply, a feeling of unease gnawing at him, leaving him irritable and restless.

He knew the Ming forces well—they’d always collapse at the first blow. Even in a direct clash, they shouldn’t have been able to trap those two squads, especially since their mission was only to scout—surely escape should have been easy.

“Lord Hong, I suspect it may be the Ming’s Shenji Camp firearms. The Ming Emperor dares to ride forth with only three thousand cavalry—perhaps he’s relying on these weapons,” said a civil official, his face ashen—not because of the fate of the scouts, but because of trouble brewing in the rear courtyard.

From the sounds drifting out of the back garden, he could tell his own wives and concubines were among those involved, their voices rising and falling in rhythmic chorus.

Humiliation! Utter disgrace!

When I get back, I’ll divorce that woman for sure!

“It’s possible. But our outposts heard no gunfire. I suspect it was a trap,” Hong Chengchou mused. Then he ordered, “Mobilize eighteen thousand bannermen and twenty thousand surrendered Ming soldiers—lead them out to encircle and suppress. Even a lion uses full strength to hunt a rabbit—let there be no carelessness!”

“Yes!” The civil official rose.

“Wait!”

“Please, Lord Hong, speak.”

“Be wary of firearms as well. When charging, put the surrendered Ming soldiers in front. Under no circumstances let our bannermen be harmed by gunfire. If the Prince Regent is enraged, there will be consequences.”

“And one more thing,” Hong Chengchou added, “If the Ming Emperor truly is here, he must be taken alive!”

“Yes, I’ll see to it right away.” The civil official accepted the order and left the mansion in a wretched state—after all, his own wives were in the rear courtyard as well, which was unbearable!

The sounds from the back only intensified!

Hong Chengchou’s expression shifted. He truly did not wish to command this first battle in Manchu territory under such circumstances.

But Grand General Dodo’s orders forbade them from leaving the mansion without cause—otherwise, they wouldn’t get the thrill they desired.

He dared not defy the capricious and savage Dodo, whose status as Dorgon’s own brother quashed any thought of resistance. As long as he himself wasn’t made to join the debauchery, he could endure anything!

Hong Chengchou took a deep breath. He began, “My plan is to march swiftly from Jizhou and Miyun, covering a hundred miles straight to the outskirts of the capital…”

“Report!”

A Han bannerman scout burst in, terror etched on his face. “Lord Hong, the—the Ming army is everywhere outside!!”

“What?”

Hong Chengchou leapt to his feet. “Take me to the city wall—quickly!”

The civil officials followed at once, the whole party fleeing the mansion as if for their lives.

On the city wall,

The surrendered officials climbed for a better view.

As far as the eye could see, all four sides of Ningyuan were packed with dense formations of a thousand men each, stretching far beyond sight.

Banners fluttered and dust billowed.

The entire hundred-li circumference of Ningyuan was shrouded in an atmosphere of chilling menace—no onlooker could help but feel terror!

“How many are there?” The surrendered Ming officials stared in a daze, muttering, “I can’t see—I truly can’t see.”

“Lord Hong, please say something,” someone pleaded, swallowing hard.

“Quiet!” Hong Chengchou commanded. “I am thinking.”

...