Chapter 364: Chen Yongfu

Qin Yi said, "Though the Prince of Fu is despicable, this student believes that if the bandits truly besiege Luoyang, General, you should still go to the rescue. Saving the Prince of Fu at a critical moment would make our Shunxiang Army's might shake the realm; you, General, would become truly renowned across the land, praised by the gentry, and the court would rely on you all the more."

Wang Dou remained silent. Emotionally, he had no good feelings toward the Prince of Fu and his ilk. In Henan, numerous princedoms clustered together; their estates occupied over half the land in Henan. They were like bloodsuckers, accelerating the impoverishment of the common people there.

Especially the Prince of Fu... People say the princes of the early Ming were each more formidable than the last, but the princes of the late Ming each more resembled pigs. The Prince of Fu was a prime example. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, when people in Henan were already cannibalizing each other, he still indulged in debauchery, living a shamelessly dissolute life, watching lewd dances and playing with women all day, eating himself to a weight of three hundred sixty jin.

Perhaps this was exactly what the court was pleased to see. The Great Ming had always raised its princes like pigs; it was normal for the people under their rule to complain bitterly. If a prince gained a reputation for "virtue," that meant he was "currying favor and plotting rebellion." The Prince of Fu, just as the officials hoped, only ate, drank, and amused himself, never associating with guests—that was "peace for all within and without."

Emotionally, Wang Dou had no fondness for the Prince of Fu and the other princes, but reason told him that if he lifted the siege of Luoyang, the political gain would be astonishingly high. Perhaps in the eyes of the court and the Emperor, Wang Dou's previous defeat of the Qing troops with the Shunxiang Army might not even be as important as saving a few princes.

That would be true fame across the realm, celebrated throughout the Great Ming—if not the entire Great Ming, then at least a hard-as-iron fire brigade in the minds of most of the realm's scholars, with the court relying on him even more as a pillar of state. Moreover, defeating Li Zicheng's army and planting seeds of fear of the Shunxiang Army in their hearts would also be highly beneficial for future operations.

The only possible benefit of sitting back and watching Li Zicheng take Luoyang would be seizing the chance to rout his army and capture some of the money and grain he took from Luoyang. But compared to the fame that would spread across the realm, that benefit was clearly shorter-sighted.

Furthermore, according to the local gazetteers of Luoyang that Wang Dou had read in his later life, after Li Zicheng took Luoyang, the gold, silver, money, and grain he seized from the Prince of Fu's mansion, the Luoyang official granaries, and the wealthy households in the city was far less than imagined—only a few tens of thousands of dan of grain and a few hundred thousand taels of silver. To be honest, Wang Dou did not care much about that amount of money and grain.

Contrary to popular imagination, when Li Zicheng attacked Luoyang, the city put up fierce resistance. The battle lasted from the seventh day of the first month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen all the way to the twenty-sixth day of the first month. The entire city of Luoyang was mobilized; all men and women between the ages of fifteen and fifty had to defend the city. Neighborhood heads and tithing heads divided up responsibility zones, using white lime to mark defensive boundaries. Women built sheds and stoves, cooked meals, and delivered water—the entire populace was under arms.

Zhu Changxun, the Prince of Fu, who normally lorded it over Luoyang, also set aside his airs, inspected the defenses, encouraged the soldiers and civilians to hold the city, and even distributed large amounts of silver and grain as rewards. He specially formed a suicide squad, giving each man a reward of one hundred taels of silver.

Wang Dou estimated that the Prince of Fu's household wealth had already been largely consumed during the city's defense. If the rumors were true that he had a fortune of ten million and a million dan of grain, Li Zicheng could not possibly have carted off only that much money and grain.

Precisely because the soldiers and civilians of Luoyang fought desperately, Li Zicheng's army suffered considerable losses. In the end, the defending general surrendered, and after the city fell, Li Zicheng entered and took revenge, killing the Prince of Fu.

There are four versions of the Prince of Fu's death. The fourth version, which spread more widely, is that the Prince of Fu was eaten, in what was called the "Fortune and Blessings Feast." Wang Dou considered this version nonsense; it spread widely because it was more entertaining, and since people fear scarcity more than inequality, and hating the rich was the mainstream sentiment at the time, this version was more satisfying to hear.

Wang Dou leaned toward the third version: the Prince of Fu recruited suicide soldiers who heavily mauled the Chuang King's army, and the Chuang King killed him in revenge. After entering the city, he not only executed the Prince of Fu and over four hundred officials in the city, but also killed Sun Tingsheng, Wang Chaoshan, and Wang Yiming—three major landlords who had come from Mengjin, Xin'an, and Song County to organize resistance in Luoyang.

So for Wang Dou, there was little benefit in sitting back and watching Li Zicheng take Luoyang, and the potential material gain was nothing special either.

If he lifted the siege of Luoyang at the most critical moment, and later lifted the siege of Xiangyang, he would easily seize a golden opportunity to make his name thunder across Henan, Huguang, and even Jiangnan, fully proving his role as the guardian deity of the Great Ming. The court would have no choice but to rely on him heavily.

Sometimes fame is more important than immediate gain. Regardless of what fate befell the Prince of Fu, the Prince of Xiang, and the others in the future, at least for now, Wang Dou saving them would be greatly beneficial to him.

Observing the bandits' tactics and seizing the chance to build his fame—that was Wang Dou's strategy for this campaign.

After weighing the pros and cons, Wang Dou quickly made up his mind.

He said, "As Mr. Qin says, if the bandits besiege Luoyang, our Shunxiang Army should go to the rescue, but we must choose the right moment. The Intelligence Division must closely monitor the western Henan region. I want to know every move the Chuang bandits make."

He looked around at everyone: "When our Shunxiang Army moves, it will be a thunderous strike. I want Li Chuang to be terrified and chilled to the bone, so that in the future, at the mere sight of our Shunxiang Army banners, he will not dare to fight, waking up screaming from nightmares day after day."

The assembled generals all burst into laughter, especially Gao Shiyin and Shen Shiqi, who laughed wildly, a cruel glint flashing in their eyes.

They were full of confidence in Wang Dou, full of confidence in themselves, full of confidence in the Shunxiang Army. They had the nerve, they had the strength.

Watching everyone's high-spirited and vigorous demeanor, Wang Dou thought silently, "From Kaifeng to Xiangyang is a thousand li; matters over there should also be arranged early."

On the twenty-third day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, at Kaifeng Prefecture.

Kaifeng was the provincial capital of Henan and the seat of Kaifeng Prefecture, with Xiangfu County serving as its attached county. The government offices of the province, prefecture, and county—three levels of official bureaus—were clustered in one place, all located southwest of the Prince of Zhou's mansion. Centered on the Bell Tower, the Provincial Administration Commission office was on West Bell Tower Street, and the Provincial Military Commission office was on East Bell Tower Street, with subordinate offices such as the Adjudication Office, the Prison Office, the Administrative Office, and the Records Office.

Surrounding these government offices were continuous residences for various officials, with high walls and vermilion gates, their buildings grand and imposing.

Inside one of these large residences, Henan Vice Regional Commander Chen Yongfu was deep in thought. News from Luoyang was increasingly urgent. Li Zicheng had swept across western Henan, successively capturing Lushi, Shanzhou, Lingbao, Mianchi, Xin'an, and other places, gradually turning Luoyang into an isolated city. The trend toward besieging Luoyang was becoming more and more obvious.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng had once attacked Luoyang but were defeated beneath its walls. Years later, Li Zicheng was making a comeback, and rumors said he deeply hated Luoyang and would surely massacre the city in the future. Amid this news, the people inside Luoyang grew increasingly chaotic; the rich thought of fleeing, while refugees and large households from various counties poured into Luoyang.

Luoyang was no match for Kaifeng; it had fewer troops. Facing Li Zicheng's swift and fierce offensive, the Prince of Fu and the officials large and small inside the city were panicked and uneasy.

Besides summoning former Minister of War Lu Weiqi and Prefect Kang Menggui for discussions, the Prince of Fu also urgently called Army Preparatory Dao Wang Yinchang, Provincial Governor Li Vanguard Commander, Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu, and others from Kaifeng to come for talks, and there was an intention to request troop reinforcements from the court.

The result of the Luoyang discussions was that, depending on the military situation, Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu, Mobile Corps Commander Liu Jianyi, Mobile Corps Commander Ling Tai, and others from Kaifeng would all lead troops to reinforce Luoyang, leaving only Chen Yongfu himself with a few thousand men to defend Kaifeng. This left Kaifeng's defensive strength extremely weak.

But Chen Yongfu and the others had no choice. Henan had few local government troops; this was already the maximum force that could be drawn from the area. And with Li Zicheng's massive momentum, whether the reinforcing troops could defeat those hundred thousand-plus roving bandits and save Luoyang was something no one felt confident about.

Today, the Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander returned from Luoyang. Chen Yongfu saw their gloomy faces. In the past, Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu loved to call a few officers to go drinking at the flower houses at Dayushou, but today he did not mention it.

"The bandits are wiped out only to rise again. Why can't they ever be completely eradicated?"

Just as Chen Yongfu reached this thought, a voice interrupted his contemplation.

"Father, Father."

A young officer burst into the study like a whirlwind, with thick brows and large eyes, wearing a bright helmet, a brigandine, a saber at his waist, and a bow and arrows—fully attired as a military officer. His every glance was full of youthful vigor. It was his son, Chen De.

Seeing his son like this, Chen Yongfu couldn't help but scold, "Look at your impatient and rash manner—have you no sense of an officer's decorum?"

Chen De chuckled. He knew his father was stern on the outside but doted on him the most in daily life, a personality that was cold on the outside but warm inside. As his son, he had long since figured out his father's temper thoroughly.

He cupped his hands in salute and said with a straight face, "Yes, your subordinate greets the Military Commander."

Chen Yongfu's expression softened slightly, a look of fatherly affection flashing in his eyes. His wife had died early, and he had raised this son single-handedly, acting as both father and mother, so his feelings for his son carried a double layer of tenderness. And his son Chen De did not disappoint his expectations; he possessed extraordinary martial skills, was renowned far and wide in Kaifeng Prefecture, and was an excellent archer (historically, when Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng, it was Chen De who shot him in the left eye).

In the Great Ming army, martial valor had always been esteemed. Chen De's bravery greatly honored his father, Chen Yongfu. Whenever he chatted idly with other officers and the topic of his son came up, it was always full of praise, saying a tiger father begets no dog son, which greatly satisfied Chen Yongfu's vanity.

At this time, Chen De also held the rank of Garrison Commander and was in charge of the five hundred retainers under Chen Yongfu's command. As Vice Regional Commander, Chen Yongfu had three thousand troops directly under his command. Although he did not mistreat his subordinates like Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu, who pocketed the pay of nearly half his troops, he still had many old, weak, and disabled soldiers among them. These five hundred retainers were Chen Yongfu's greatest source of real power.

Chen De did not disappoint his expectations, drilling these five hundred retainers into excellent order. Relying on these several hundred fierce retainers, both Provincial Governor Li Vanguard Commander and Regional Commander Wang Shaoyu treated him with courtesy, and even the Administrator of the Prince of Zhou's mansion would respectfully address him as "Venerable Chen" when they met.

However, Chen Yongfu also had many dissatisfactions with his son, namely his love of socializing, associating with people from all walks of life, no matter how low. Recently, he had heard that his son was thick as thieves with Zhou Long from Dashan Goods Store Street. Who was this Zhou Long? A mere wandering bravo, who specialized in collecting protection fees on Dashan Goods Store Street and the like, and also controlled several hundred singsong courtesans to serve in various teahouses and wine shops.

For his son to associate with such a character was truly beneath his dignity.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, but Chen De, seeing his expression, knew his father was about to start lecturing again, so he spoke first: "Father, has Military Commander Wang returned from Luoyang?"

Sure enough, Chen Yongfu was diverted. He sighed deeply, "Military Commander Wang and the others just returned from Luoyang. Provincial Governor Li's intention is that if the military situation in Luoyang becomes urgent, Army Preparatory Dao Wang will lead Military Commander Wang's personal battalion, along with the two mobile corps under Liu Jianyi and Ling Tai, to go reinforce them. I saw them looking as if their parents had died; I'm afraid they are all terrified and chilled to the bone at the prospect of fighting the bandits."

Chen De breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that Father wasn't assigned to go."

He gloated, "The Military Commander and Army Preparatory Dao Wang are usually on bad terms with the Provincial Governor. Now they've been neatly dealt with by Provincial Censor Li, who found an excuse to fix them. Several hundred thousand roving bandits—that'll be enough for them to choke on."

Then he worried, "Father won't be sent there later, will you?"

Chen Yongfu paced in his study: "I don't know either. If the military situation becomes urgent, it's not impossible."

Chen De pondered in silence for a long while, then grew excited. He crept stealthily to Chen Yongfu's side and said in a low voice, "Father, have you heard of that General Who Stabilizes the Realm, Wang Dou? He led his army into Kaifeng yesterday to request marching rations from the city. Your child went to his camp today. Tsk tsk, those troops..."

He whispered, "Your child has an idea..."

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