Chapter 550: Decision

Zhou Yanru walked the road to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Though he moved at a brisk pace, every gesture and step still displayed a dignified, graceful bearing. Not yet fifty, he was in his vigorous prime, a man of commanding presence. At twenty he had placed first in both the metropolitan and palace examinations — a quintessential gifted scholar of Jiangnan.

In the sixth month of the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, Zhou Yanru had been forced to resign on grounds of illness. Now, re-entering the Grand Secretariat and holding the high post of Chief Grand Secretary, he was, to be honest, somewhat surprised himself. The imperial will was unfathomable, yet the Chief Grand Secretary's seat falling into his hands was also within his expectations.

The nation's fortunes were perilous. Several successive Chief Grand Secretaries had accomplished nothing. Chen Xinjia lacked the seniority and prestige. Looking across the realm, the Chief Grand Secretary's seat — who else but me?

At this thought, even with Zhou Yanru's depth of composure, he felt a touch of elation.

Zhou Yanru's return to power was the embodiment of favorable timing, geographical advantage, and harmonious human relations. Above, he had the Emperor's trust; below, the support of the various political factions, from the Donglin to the Eunuch Party. In particular, the Donglin's rising force, represented by Zhang Pu, pinned their hopes on Zhou Yanru, offering this earnest counsel: "Should Your Excellency serve as Chancellor again, change the former course, and you may regain a reputation for virtue."

Because of the gentlemen's support, Zhou Yanru was also very attentive to satisfying the needs of all sides. He was already making arrangements to recall Donglin partisans Zheng Sanjun, Liu Zongzhou, Fan Jingwen, Ni Yuanlu, Li Banghua, and others back to the imperial court.

At the same time, because the Eunuch Party members had never been able to raise their heads during Wen Tiren's administration, they placed their hopes in Zhou Yanru and exerted great effort when he returned to office. Zhou Yanru did not disappoint their expectations, simultaneously arranging for Ma Shiying to become Governor-General of Fengyang. For a time, both at court and across the land, all acclaimed him as worthy.

The socialite Zhou Yanru, with his masterful touch, swiftly eased the internal strife among the Great Ming's factions, greatly delighting the Chongzhen Emperor. The Emperor placed enormous hope in him, even setting aside imperial dignity to bow to Zhou Yanru, declaring: "I entrust the realm to you, Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Yanru had not been Chief Grand Secretary for long, yet he was already acclaimed across the four seas, riding high on success. Now, as he walked briskly, he pondered: His Sacred Majesty has urgently summoned the Grand Secretaries — what matter could it be?

Like Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru had always excelled at reading and catering to the Emperor's thoughts. With the faintest turn of mind, he already understood the purpose of the imperial summons.

First, it must be the matter of Jinzhou — that was a perennial topic. Second, it might concern the roving bandits of the interior.

Where were the roving bandits? Mostly in Henan, Shaanxi, and such places. Especially Henan...

Henan!

Zhou Yanru pondered deeply. For His Sacred Majesty to summon him so urgently, the situation there must be dire.

A chill ran through his heart. The figure of Henan Governor Li Xianfeng flashed through his mind.

Since he had taken the post of Chief Grand Secretary, Li Xianfeng had also vigorously curried favor with him. Moreover, Li was a member of the Donglin Party.

Reason told Zhou Yanru that if the Henan situation was dire, he should abandon Li Xianfeng as soon as possible and sever all ties. After all, he had just assumed the post of Chief Grand Secretary; even if he bore responsibility, it would be minor and would not affect the Emperor's perception of him. Only...

At this juncture, as the newly appointed Chief Grand Secretary under the gaze of the entire realm, if he abandoned Li Xianfeng now, the various officials who held high hopes for him would inevitably feel the fox's grief at the hare's death, which would greatly harm his reputation and his cultivation of worthy men...

As thoughts raced through his mind, he had already prepared several sets of contingency plans.

Guided by a palace eunuch, Zhou Yanru finally arrived at the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He paused instinctively, adjusted his robes and hat, then strode in with head held high.

Inside the hall, the Chongzhen Emperor was pacing back and forth with a grim expression. Several other Grand Secretaries stood in solemn attendance: Minister of War Chen Xinjia, Minister of Personnel Li Rixuan, Minister of Revenue Li Daiwen, and others, along with Grand Secretaries Wei Zaode, Chen Yan, and the rest.

Seeing Zhou Yanru arrive, gazes of every shade turned toward him. Among them, Chen Xinjia was indignant: That common lout, he's snatched the Chief Grand Secretary's throne from me again!

Li Rixuan and the others remained expressionless. Wei Zaode and Chen Yan each had a dark look that flickered and vanished in an instant.

Wei Zaode had once been a disciple of Xue Guoguan. Because Zhou Yanru's trusted confidant Wu Changshi had played a considerable role in the matter of Xue Guoguan being ordered to commit suicide, Wei Zaode bitterly hated Wu Chang and constantly sought an opportunity to avenge his former patron. He extended this hatred to Zhou Yanru as well.

Zhou Yanru, for his part, had always held Chen Yan in contempt, and Chen Yan deeply resented him for it. However, with Zhou Yanru riding a cresting wave of influence, the two wisely chose to avoid his sharp edge for the time being.

Under the crowd's gaze, Zhou Yanru's expression was composed, his stride unhurried. He savored these looks. The envy, jealousy, and hatred in their expressions also brought a trace of a sardonic smile to the corner of his lips. In that instant, the mockery, disdain, and arrogance contained within that smile would have been difficult for even the most brilliant expert in expressions to decipher.

People say it is lonely at the top, but I know how exquisite the taste of it truly is, how utterly intoxicating!

This was the exquisite taste that power and authority brought.

When he faced the Chongzhen Emperor, Zhou Yanru's expression instantly transformed into one of fearful reverence. He performed his salute with meticulous precision.

The Chongzhen Emperor hurried over and personally helped Zhou Yanru to his feet. "Please rise, Mr. Zhou. With you here, I have no worries."

The Emperor's words stirred Zhou Yanru's emotions. After rising, he exchanged courtesies with the Grand Secretaries present with flawless etiquette.

After granting the Grand Secretaries seats, the Chongzhen Emperor impatiently ordered the duty eunuch to show them Li Xianfeng's memorial.

After reading it, Chen Xinjia gave a cold snort. "Earlier this year, the Loyal and Valiant Count dealt a great defeat to the Chuang bandits, whose forces fled into the deep mountains with only a remnant of defeated troops... Half a year has passed, and not only have these remnant bandits not been exterminated or pacified, they have vigorously risen again and are now pressing upon Luoyang. The Henan officials are utterly incompetent. What is even more hateful is the complete lack of military dispatches reporting this. What are Li Xianfeng and his ilk scheming?"

As he spoke, he cast a meaningful glance at Zhou Yanru.

The Chongzhen Emperor's expression darkened further. Henan Governor Li Xianfeng's actions could be called deceiving the sovereign and hoodwinking the throne.

Zhou Yanru carefully examined the memorial, putting on a show of earnest caution, as if weighing every word. In truth, with a single sweeping glance earlier, he had already grasped the memorial's contents completely.

His mind raced. From the memorial, and from the meaning he read between the lines, the key reason the Chuang bandits had revived was that when the roving bandits were routed earlier, the local authorities had accepted the surrender of a vast number of them.

These surrendered bandits were bandits at heart and hard to change. As soon as the Chuang bandits rose, they rose up in response en masse. Nearly every city the Chuang bandits passed through had collaborators within. Often, without any fighting, the cities fell swiftly.

Moreover, because these surrendered bandits had experience in roving warfare from previous years, this led to one consequence: wherever the Chuang bandits went, they quickly acquired a large army that could fight without training and possessed a certain combat effectiveness. Compared to previous years, this onslaught was far more ferocious.

They also had a broad base among the populace. This year, Henan had suffered a thousand-li stretch of barren land, and popular resentment was seething. Although the Loyal and Valiant Count suppressed the roving bandit uprising early in the year, it was like a volcano: temporarily capped, but when it erupted again, it was many times more violent than before.

What was even more terrifying was that after seizing cities, the Chuang bandits no longer razed the walls and roved on. Instead, they began dispatching officials and generals to garrison them. They also established battalions, trained elite troops, and distributed farmland — just like those new armies the Great Ming was drilling and training. This was... this was setting up a separatist regime! Could it be that after getting a thorough beating from the Loyal and Valiant Count, the Chuang bandits had a sudden flash of insight?

Zhou Yanru already foresaw the terrifying implications. The calamity they would bring upon the Great Ming would be even more colossal.

It was precisely because of this that Li Xianfeng and the others were caught off guard. Under the accumulated abuses of officialdom, their initial instinct was to cover it up. But the Chuang bandits rose too swiftly and were already pressing hard on Luoyang, a matter that implicated the capital crime of allowing a princely fief to fall. Only then did they dare not conceal it any longer.

As a seasoned veteran of officialdom, Zhou Yanru was exceedingly astute. He immediately understood the hidden intricacies.

Fortunately, Luoyang had not fallen, and Li Xianfeng had urgently dispatched Regional Commander Chen Yongfu to relieve the city. The situation could still be salvaged.

Of course, he dared not speak in absolutes. Meeting the Chongzhen Emperor's expectant gaze,

Zhou Yanru weighed every word carefully: "Although Li Xianfeng has failed Your Sacred Grace, the matter of Luoyang is of immense importance. Our Emperor, who carries on Heaven's mandate and rules the realm, is divinely martial and brilliantly cultured. I beseech you to focus on the larger picture. Charge him to atone for his faults through merit. Li Xianfeng will surely be overwhelmed with gratitude and terror, and will exert his utmost loyalty to repay Your Sacred Grace's favor in even the smallest measure."

The Chongzhen Emperor's expression shifted and changed, but ultimately calmed. He began pacing slowly within the hall.

Zhou Yanru's eloquent words had spoken directly to his heart. Calming down, he also realized that while Li Xianfeng was guilty, his crimes did not yet warrant dismissal and execution. The most pressing matter now was how to exterminate the resurgent Chuang bandits.

Zhou Yanru further emphasized another point: "The bandits' false decrees are strict and clear. They can also feign benevolence to deceive the common people, seizing cities, drilling and training troops. Their momentum grows daily. Over time, they will surely become a great scourge. They must be swiftly exterminated — this is the matter of paramount importance."

The Chongzhen Emperor's brow furrowed. He, too, was worried about this. He pondered and asked, "What good strategy do you have, Minister?"

Zhou Yanru deliberated and said, "Supreme Commander Ding Qirui, in his capacity as Minister of War, oversees the military affairs of Huguang, Henan, Sichuan, and both banks of the Yangtze, while still concurrently managing the affairs of the three border regions of Shaanxi. He is stretched too thin to attend to everything. In my humble opinion, one man could be appointed to replace Ding Qirui as Supreme Commander of the three border regions of Shaanxi, tasked specifically with exterminating the Chuang bandits, to prevent the situation from deteriorating. This man must be capable and inspire confidence..."

The Chongzhen Emperor cut him off and asked urgently, "Do you have a candidate in mind, Minister?"

Ding Qirui had been recommended by Yang Sichang at the time. A mere bookworm, he was indecisive and weak-willed. Not only was his bandit-extermination campaign progressing slowly, but recently he had also lost troops and officers. Although the Chongzhen Emperor still trusted and favored him, he also felt that someone was needed to manage the three border regions in his stead.

Zhou Yanru was about to speak when Chen Xinjia loudly interjected, "Your Majesty, your minister recommends a man who can shoulder this heavy responsibility."

Zhou Yanru immediately smiled and fell silent. The Chongzhen Emperor, however, was inwardly displeased: "Minister Chen is overly swayed by personal feelings and selfish considerations."

His brow furrowed slightly. "Who?"

Chen Xinjia said, "The former Minister of War, Fu Zonglong."

The Chongzhen Emperor's frown deepened considerably. Fu Zonglong had a fierce and unyielding temperament, with a violent and irascible temper. The Emperor had never liked him. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, Fu had even impeached Yang Sichang for wasting state resources without rendering service and for using his arrogance to bully the court officials. Enraged, Chongzhen had thrown him into prison.

Chen Xinjia, still not noticing the Chongzhen Emperor's expression, hurriedly explained, "Fu Zonglong has always been renowned for his prestige and is adept at commanding. Few other ministers can even approach his caliber. With him overseeing the three border regions of Shaanxi, the Chuang bandits will surely be wiped out in a single campaign."

The Chongzhen Emperor gave a cold snort. "Fu Zonglong is arrogant, domineering, and reckless. I have endured him in every way, and yet this man… Hmph."

Zhou Yanru now also urged, "Your Majesty, although Fu Zonglong thinks too highly of himself, his ability is still passable. The Chuang bandits already show signs of a spreading blaze. I beg Your Majesty to put the affairs of state first."

That Zhou Yanru would actually speak up for him made Chen Xinjia glance at him strangely.

The Chongzhen Emperor turned the matter over in his mind, and finally said with bitter hatred, "So be it. I shall pardon the Minister of War Fu Zonglong, and have him supervise the Shaanxi troops against the bandits as Right Vice Minister. Li Xianfeng is to be sternly reprimanded by decree, fined one year's salary, and ordered to atone for his crimes by achieving merit. Should the situation in Henan deteriorate further…"

"Your Majesty is sagely wise."

Zhou Yanru secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Governor of Henan, Li Xianfeng, had finally escaped this calamity, and he could now give an account of himself to both his superiors and subordinates.

When Chen Xinjia first made his recommendation, the Grand Secretaries had also been tempted, each wanting to push their own preferred candidate. However, they keenly sensed the Emperor's expression toward Chen Xinjia and, one after another, held their tongues. Seeing the Emperor follow Zhou Yanru's every word, they burned with jealousy inside.

Finally, they moved on to discuss the matter of Jinzhou…

When the great battle of Jinzhou was raised, everyone had a headache. When the strength of both sides was close, apart from a direct, head-on fight, there were no other clever solutions. What each man spoke of was nothing more than the same old platitudes.

The Minister of Revenue, Li Daiwen, began his usual complaints: "With many troops, supplies are strained, and grain and fodder are hard to sustain. Your Majesty, your humble servant will say it again: the matter of Jinzhou must be resolved swiftly. I beg Your Majesty to issue a decree ordering the Governor-General of Ji-Liao, Hong Chengchou, the Loyal and Brave Count Wang Dou, and the others to seek a decisive battle with the slaves as quickly as possible!"

Chen Xinjia immediately objected, "Absolutely not!"

He said urgently, "Your Majesty, war is a dangerous affair. One misstep, and the result is the complete loss of our elite forces. The Loyal and Brave Count has already made it clear: while our grain and fodder are hard to sustain, the bandit slaves have it even harder. As long as we hold out, we can surely win without fighting. Why must we take this risk?"

Li Daiwen shouted furiously at Chen Xinjia, "The Minister of War speaks so lightly of simply holding out. May I ask, where is the grain and fodder to come from?"

Chen Xinjia shouted back even louder, "Lord Li, if the grand army suffers losses, who will bear that responsibility? You?"

Listening to the Grand Secretaries argue, the Chongzhen Emperor rubbed his forehead, feeling waves of headache. It was like this every time. Apart from quarreling, there was no sound strategy to deal with the situation.

He was agitated and about to ask the opinion of the Chief Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru when the Minister of Personnel, Li Rixuan, suddenly spoke: "Your Majesty, forgive your humble servant's boldness. Your servant believes the time has come for our imperial army to seek a decisive battle with the slaves."

For a moment, all eyes turned to him.

Li Rixuan said calmly, "Perhaps the various lords have heard rumors that the Loyal and Brave Count's one hundred thousand troops have already marched from beyond the frontier, heading straight for Jinzhou! The slaves now at Jinzhou are inwardly terrified. This is a heaven-sent opportunity, one that can be encountered but not sought. To not fight now — would that not be squandering this chance from heaven?"

A strange silence fell over the hall. The Chongzhen Emperor's right hand began to tremble uncontrollably, especially when he heard the words "one hundred thousand troops."

More and more news from beyond the frontier was reaching his ears. He did not know who was fanning the flames, but many remonstrance officials, acting on hearsay, had submitted memorials impeaching Wang Dou for maintaining private troops and arbitrarily opening hostilities at the border. The Chongzhen Emperor had kept all these memorials withheld and unissued.

After a long moment, Chen Xinjia said indignantly, "This is utter nonsense, utter nonsense! Truly absurd. Where would Wang Dou get one hundred thousand troops? Elder Li, you are a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet. How can you lend credence to rumors and act like some marketplace gossip?"

Faced with Chen Xinjia's attack, Li Rixuan did not get angry. He only said lightly, "Even if not one hundred thousand, there must be ten or twenty thousand, no? An empty hole invites the wind; it is not necessarily without sound."

The Grand Secretary Chen Yan now also said with a beaming smile, "The Loyal and Brave Count has impressive methods. Without a sound, he has trained and organized so many powerful divisions and crack brigades. Truly worthy of being a pillar of the state."

These veiled, cutting words twisted Chen Xinjia's refined features. "Suspecting loyal ministers, slandering great generals — is this how you conduct yourselves?"

He flicked his sleeve and said sternly, "A worthless lot, not worth consulting!"

Li Rixuan calmly drank his tea. The Chongzhen Emperor also silently watched Chen Xinjia, a strange, unreadable light flickering in his eyes.

He said gently, "Minister Chen, calm yourself. I naturally know the Loyal and Brave Count's loyalty. Let us hear what the Chief Grand Secretary has to say."

Zhou Yanru had been quietly listening to the Grand Secretaries' debate. He had also made a point of thoroughly understanding the man Wang Dou. Although the Emperor had always been wary of "collusion with the inner court" and "factionalism," the current Grand Secretaries, without a great general backing them from outside, could not sit securely within the Inner Cabinet. Just as Zhang Juzheng, in his day, had needed Qi Jiguang's support.

Since his rise, Wang Dou had always remained on the periphery of factional struggles. Even with Zhou Yanru's depth of scheming, he could not fathom Wang Dou's inner thoughts. Many believed Wang Dou was of Yang Sichang and Chen Xinjia's faction, but Zhou Yanru knew it was more that Chen Xinjia and others were borrowing Wang Dou's radiance.

For Wang Dou, the support of ministers outside was, at best, icing on the cake. Without it, it did not hinder his continued rise in rank and fortune, his becoming the focal point of the Great Ming, a vital pillar of the state.

For Zhou Yanru, he would not lightly offend a military man with real power, especially a military man like Wang Dou.

Although he represented the Donglin faction, over the years, Wang Dou had not done anything to openly offend the Donglin. It was true that he had once executed a batch of literati, merchants, and military men on the Eastern Road, but those people had infringed upon his interests.

In daily affairs, one could also see that Wang Dou was easy enough to get along with. Though his power grew, he had not done anything to offend the entire literati class. He was a bit domineering, but in the current Great Ming, that was quite normal.

The entire Donglin faction's attitude toward Wang Dou was to observe his words, scrutinize his actions, and watch in silence.

Zhou Yanru was not without thoughts of winning Wang Dou over as an outside ally. Today in the hall, one could see the attitude of the Great Ming's sovereign and ministers toward Wang Dou: reliance and fear. Even the Emperor's view of Chen Xinjia had changed.

However, because he had Wang Dou's external support, Chen Xinjia's position remained as steady as Mount Tai. As long as Wang Dou remained standing outside, Chen Xinjia would surely remain secure within the cabinet, at most temporarily shelved by the Emperor. But if something went wrong outside, Chen Xinjia would certainly be needed to clean up the mess.

As a veteran of officialdom, Zhou Yanru was adept at pandering to the Emperor's wishes. The incident years ago of the Liaodong troops falsely claiming pay had lifted him from a Vice Minister to a Grand Secretary. And now…

Zhou Yanru was certain that the Emperor had grown impatient with the Jinzhou campaign. Especially with the roaming bandits rising again, he urgently needed to draw elite troops back to the interior to deal with them, and even less could he tolerate the consequences of losing a feudal prince.

Thinking this, Zhou Yanru said respectfully to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, with the roaming bandits rising again, the Jinzhou campaign truly cannot be delayed."

Chen Xinjia still wanted to speak, but meeting the Emperor's stern gaze, he could only fall silent.

Zhou Yanru gave Chen Xinjia a gentle smile, then continued: "…The street talk that the Loyal and Brave Count has marched out with one hundred thousand troops, pressing on Jinzhou from beyond the frontier — this is utterly absurd and mistaken! At most, when the Loyal and Brave Count rushed to Liaodong, he ordered some local militias and trained braves to go beyond the frontier to harass, as a show of support — a diversionary tactic. For the battle of Jinzhou, all the able-bodied men of the various tribes beyond the frontier have been conscripted, leaving the northern caitiffs hard to resist. Thus they spread panic, exaggerating wildly. Or there may be ulterior motives at play."

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded repeatedly. Zhou Yanru's analysis was reasonable and struck right at his heart.

Zhou Yanru continued, "Yet the Loyal and Brave Count's stratagem has also yielded good results. The northern caitiffs are terrified and lack the will to fight. Our imperial army's morale is sharp. This is precisely the moment to press forward and decide the outcome in one stroke."

As Zhou Yanru spoke slowly, the Grand Secretaries either remained silent or voiced agreement. Only Chen Xinjia murmured, "The Loyal and Brave Count said the time for a decisive battle has not yet come."

Li Rixuan glanced at him and said flatly, "The Minister of War speaks of nothing but the Loyal and Brave Count. The Loyal and Brave Count is also an official and general of the Great Ming, a subject of His Majesty. Would he dare openly defy an imperial decree?"

Chen Xinjia snorted and repeated his earlier words: "…If the grand army suffers losses, who will bear that responsibility?"

The Chongzhen Emperor looked at the two of them with displeasure and said to Zhou Yanru, "Mr. Zhou, continue."

Zhou Yanru said respectfully, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

He continued, "Just now, the Minister of War said that the Loyal and Brave Count believes the battle of Jinzhou has not yet reached the moment for a decisive fight. Indeed, since his rise, the Loyal and Brave Count has won every battle. In terms of military command, there is truly no one in the Great Ming who surpasses him. However, he is, after all, a military minister. Regarding court strategy and the greater national picture, he may have his shortcomings…"

He said, "Of course, the Loyal and Brave Count has fought for the nation, bathed in blood on the battlefield, and rendered great service. Your humble servant believes he should be heavily rewarded and greatly promoted in rank, in hopes that he will continue his efforts and establish exceptional merit. Furthermore…"

Zhou Yanru said, "The Regional Commander Yang Guozhu and others are brave, resourceful, and full of stratagems. Their loyalty and righteousness are enough to stir men's hearts. They should also be separately commended and rewarded to encourage future efforts."

Finally, Zhou Yanru knelt and kowtowed: "I am Your Majesty's servant, with a heart of pure ice, thinking only of the imperial court. All I have said, these matters of state, come from my innermost being. I beg Your Majesty to exercise your sacred judgment alone."

The ministers in the hall, including Chen Xinjia, also knew that the Jinzhou matter needed to be settled. They all knelt and kowtowed: "We beg Your Majesty to exercise your sacred judgment alone."

The Chongzhen Emperor stood, thinking to himself, "The Jinzhou matter has dragged on unresolved for too long. Now, a decision must be made."

…

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, at Jinzhou, on the northern bank of the Nü'er River.

In the western river section of Mount Rufeng, the area within three li of the river had now been captured by the Ming army. The Ming and Qing sides faced off across a complex, winding network of trenches and ramparts.

The Qing army encampments, flying banners of various colors, stretched densely from south to north, spreading all the way to the vicinity of Jinchang Fort.

A standoff between great armies was not a matter of sitting still. Small-scale fighting never ceased each day, whether it was infiltration and counter-infiltration between scouts, or the repeated contesting of each section of ramparts and trenches. Often, what you seized by day, I would retake by night raid or surprise attack, reclaiming the lost outpost.

In the back-and-forth, seesaw battle, both sides bled continuously. Many soldiers were utterly exhausted. The constant rotation of units had also become a necessity for both sides.

The encampments around Jinchang Fort, lying deep within the Qing army's heartland, appeared largely calm. Many of the Qing soldiers coming and going wore no armor, some not even helmets, revealing their shaved-bluish scalps and the slender queue at the back of the head — the money-rat-tail braid.

The weather had turned increasingly cold. One after another they donned padded robes and warm hats — the bowl-shaped hats of the later Qing era, mostly made of leather, wool, or satin. There was also a cool hat worn in summer, shaped like a bamboo rain hat, its frame woven from bamboo strips and covered with thin silk.

Many also wore melon-rind caps, derived from the Great Ming's Six-in-One Unification Cap.

At this moment, atop the walls of Jinchang Fort, the dragon banners of the Qing Emperor fluttered in the wind. The troops garrisoned inside were all elite Gabulshiyan warriors. As early as when Twin Peaks Mountain had been captured by the Ming army, Hong Taiji, for his own safety, had moved his traveling palace into Jinchang Fort — though, of course, they had not abandoned their stronghold on Breast Peak Mountain either.

Inside the former garrison commander's hall, Hong Taiji sat high in the seat of honor, his expression dark and grim. On either side sat the Manchu banner lords, along with the gūsa ejens of the Mongol Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners, standing rigidly behind them.

Also in the hall was a great crowd of Outer Vassal Mongol jasaghs, taijis, tabunangs, and other princes and ministers. Among these Outer Vassal Mongols, the Left Wing was led by the Khorchin Tüsiyetü Prince and his ten Khorchin banners; the Right Wing was led by Ejei, the Gülen Efu and Hošo Prince of Chahar, along with the other Mongol banners.

There were also several khans of the Outer Jasagh Mongols, such as the Tüsiyetü Khan, the Jasaghtu Khan, and the Sechen Khan.

At this moment, every face in the hall was grim as they watched the center of the chamber. There, a burly Mongol man knelt, his back bared, being heavily lashed by two hulking Gabulshiyan soldiers wielding water-soaked leather whips.

Crack!

The water-soaked leather whip, over five chi long, swung up again. One lash came down, and a long trail of blood welled up.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The two Gabulshiyan carrying out the punishment showed not the slightest pity. Each stroke of the whip fell harder than the last, heavier than the last.

The Mongol man had begun by gritting his teeth and bearing it, struggling not to let out a sound, but the immense agony soon overwhelmed his control, and he began to wail in misery.

With every lash that struck, he let out a howl. Under the heavy whip, the skin of his back had long since split open, flesh gaping, blood ceaselessly seeping down.