Chapter 256: Qin Liangyu's Army Advances on Guilin

Zheng Hongkui slapped the trainee soldier on the head: "What 'ghost wall' nonsense? You're in the navy — you believe in that stuff?"

The trainee rubbed his head and gave an embarrassed laugh.

Zheng Hongkui pointed at the Gui River: "The Gui River runs swift, the Xi River runs slow. Where the two rivers meet, there are whirlpools and backwaters.

These backwaters aren't noticeable normally — they only affect navigation when the river swells sharply.

Upstream on the Gui, in the Li River stretch, it's been raining heavily for the past half month, so the current surged. And since the fire ships had no one at the helm and their sails had burned away completely, that's what caused yesterday's circling spectacle."

The trainees listened with rapt attention, marveling at the Nan'ao navy's brilliant foresight.

Zheng Hongkui laughed: "There's no brilliant foresight about it — just careful reconnaissance. When I was a trainee, I often heard the helmsmen say that naval battles aren't fought with courage alone, but mostly with brains.

Weather, hydrology, monsoons, currents... whichever side can turn these to their advantage wins. So you need to study and train! Otherwise, the next time you see two rivers' backwaters, you'll make the same fool of yourselves with 'ghost wall' talk."

All the trainees laughed and agreed.

Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion — only half a year ago he'd graduated from the naval academy, and now, before these new trainees, he could already play the senior. A few hours later, the waterway was cleared, and over a hundred sand boats passed beneath Wuzhou city, heading toward Xunzhou.

These were transport vessels the Nan'ao army had leased from civilians, loaded with military grain, gunpowder, weapons, and the like.

Guangxi had never had much of a river fleet to begin with. After yesterday's battle, the entire province's warships had been burned to nothing, leaving every waterway completely under Nan'ao control — they could move troops and grain with impunity.

Zheng Hongkui indulged in a malicious fantasy: if Zhu Xieyuan heard the shocking news on his way back to the capital, he'd probably die of rage on the spot.

The sand boat convoy fought its way upstream and reached Xunzhou three days later, only to find the city had already been taken by the Nan'ao army.

Bailangzai had already led the main naval force north to attack Liuzhou, while detaching a flanking force south to take Nanning — exactly matching the operational plan drawn up by the general staff.

After a brief rest, the sand boat convoy continued up the Qian River carrying grain. By the time they rushed to Wuxuan County, they found it had already been breached as well, with the main fleet continuing north to attack Xiangzhou.

The men of the grain convoy hadn't expected that no matter how hard they hurried, they still couldn't keep pace with the front line's advance.

The grain transport officer drove his men hard, ordering them to row with all their might, day and night without rest, and finally managed to deliver the military grain and gunpowder just before Xiangzhou fell. At the same time, he witnessed firsthand the reason the city had fallen so quickly.

The moment the Nan'ao army arrived, it was the same three-pronged approach: bombardment, calls to surrender, and scattering leaflets. That very night, civil unrest broke out inside the city, and by the next day the gates were thrown open. The County Magistrate, the Patrol Inspector, and the Company Commander were dragged out bound hand and foot, their faces beaten bloody and bruised, nearly indistinguishable from the dead.

Among the rioters, the ones who struck hardest and charged foremost were the guard station soldiers.

These men were Guangxi's main defensive force, yet they bore the heaviest exploitation, living lives half-human, half-slave. They'd long since been itching with hatred for their high-handed, tyrannical officers.

The common folk had also had their fill of Ming officials' faces, and they awaited the Nan'ao army almost day by day.

With such "internal turmoil and external pressure," no matter how sturdy the city walls, there was no reason they shouldn't fall.

After taking Xiangzhou, Bailangzai left a garrison force as usual, and the main army continued north, driving straight for Liuzhou.

Once Liuzhou fell, Guilin, the provincial capital of Guangxi, would have no barrier left — it would become a turtle in a jar.

While the Nan'ao army advanced triumphantly, Zhu Xieyuan's return fleet had just arrived at Chihe Post Station on the shores of Lake Dongting.

He was advanced in years, and the journey from Zunyi to the capital was long — taking a boat was indeed the best choice.

Tomorrow their fleet would enter the Yangtze from Yuezhou, so today they rested early at the post station, preparing to cross Lake Dongting.

Supported by his grandson, Zhu Xieyuan emerged from the cabin and was seized by a violent fit of coughing when the wind hit him.

"Grandfather!" his grandson Zhu Yixun called out in concern, positioning himself upwind to block the breeze.

Zhu Xieyuan waved his hand to signal it was nothing, then shuffled toward the post station, asking as he walked: "Any word from the capital region?"

Zhu Yixun shook his head, then said indignantly: "The She-An rebels had barely been defeated when the court recalled you, Grandfather. As I see it, this isn't calling you back to defend the capital at all — it's plainly the eunuch faction's curs trying to strip you of military command, rushing to install their own men and seize credit for suppressing the rebellion!" Zhu Xieyuan smiled faintly: "I am already past sixty. Whether I have great merit or not no longer weighs on my mind. As long as the southwestern rebellion is pacified and the court can devote its full strength to the Jianzhou barbarians, I'll be content."

His grandson snorted coldly: "Rely on Zhang Woxu? That incompetent ink-slinger has already crossed swords with the She-An rebels before.

In the first year of Tianqi, he was Governor-General of Sichuan and Guizhou, yet when the She-An rebels besieged Guiyang, he sat tight and did nothing, letting the city endure a ten-month siege in which hundreds of thousands inside nearly all starved to death.

I've heard the court originally meant to punish him, but the man managed to use several hundred thousand taels of embezzled military funds to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian. Not only did he escape unscathed, he came back around to take up the post of Governor-General of the Five Southwestern Provinces...

The situation in the southwest today is the fruit of nearly a decade of Grandfather's painstaking effort. I truly fear it will be ruined in the hands of such a worm."

"Cough, cough, cough, cough..." Zhu Xieyuan coughed without stopping.

Realizing he'd misspoken, Zhu Yixun quickly tried to make amends: "But the She-An rebels have already been crippled by Grandfather — their main force was wiped out entirely. Even if they let Zhang Woxu take over, or set a pig in charge at Zunyi, it would be enough to mop up the remaining bandits."

Zhu Xieyuan smiled weakly: "You little rascal, always quick with your tongue."

As they spoke, grandfather and grandson had reached the post station. Zhu Xieyuan turned to gaze out over Lake Dongting, seeing the sunset reflected on the water, the world between heaven and earth bathed in blazing orange-red, countless waterfowl silhouetted against the dying light.

Zhu Xieyuan murmured in admiration: "Truly, 'morning light and evening gloom, a thousand scenes in flux'... With such a land and rivers, why does no one cherish them?"

Zhu Yixun knew his grandfather's words came from the *Yueyang Tower Record*, and that the transcendent state of "not rejoicing in externals, not grieving over oneself" matched his grandfather well. At the same time, the broad-minded commitment to the realm described in that essay, and Fan Wenzheng's circumstances of adversity, mirrored his grandfather's own situation exactly.

Understanding his grandfather's feelings, he had servants bring over a cotton quilt and a bamboo chair so Zhu Xieyuan could enjoy the lake view, then had charcoal brought for warmth and curtains drawn to block the wind.

Zhu Yixun stood attendance at his side, occasionally sharing amusing anecdotes about Lake Dongting he'd recently heard, drawing repeated laughter from his grandfather.

For nearly a decade, Zhu Xieyuan had devoted every ounce of his energy to the southwestern situation, racking his brains and pouring out his heart, his brow perpetually furrowed with worry.

This was the first time Zhu Yixun had seen his grandfather so relaxed.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. From the official road not far away came the clamorous sound of galloping hooves.

Zhu Xieyuan said calmly: "Go see who it is. If it's a local official, tell them I've already retired for the night, and politely ask them to leave."

"Yes!" Zhu Yixun bowed and withdrew.

Before long, Zhu Yixun came hurrying back, speaking in a light, cheerful tone: "Grandfather, look who's come!"

Zhu Xieyuan turned in surprise and saw a military officer standing beside his grandson. This person stood six chi tall, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist — extremely robust — clad in cloth-faced iron armor whose plates clinked as he walked. Yet beneath the helmet was a gentle, feminine face.

"Your Excellency!" Seeing Zhu Xieyuan, the person clasped their hands excitedly in salute.

"General Qin?" Zhu Xieyuan was pleasantly surprised as well.

The person before him was none other than Qin Liangyu. She was the Tusi of Shizhu, later enfeoffed by the court as Regional Commander of Shizhu, a leading general under Zhu Xieyuan's command. Her White Spear Soldiers were the elite of the elite, having rendered outstanding service in pacifying the She-An Rebellion.

The two shared compatible characters and mutual respect. Meeting here by Lake Dongting, they felt the joy of encountering an old friend in a strange place.

Zhu Xieyuan asked first: "General Qin, weren't you heading to the capital region to defend the throne? How do you come to be here?"

"Your subordinate received the transfer order and rushed to the capital day and night. But halfway there, another order arrived, directing my troops to turn back."

As Qin Liangyu answered, Zhu Yixun had already brought over a chair and placed it by the charcoal fire, gesturing for her to sit.

Though she was a military officer, her bearing was refined and graceful, and she knew proper etiquette. Only after declining several times did she take her seat at Zhu Xieyuan's warm insistence.

"Has the siege of the capital been lifted?" Zhu Xieyuan asked eagerly.

"The imperial envoy did not inform me; I only heard of it by chance. It seems the Guanning Army fought many bloody battles and successfully drove back the Tartars, leaving only Zunhua, the Ji Garrison, and other towns yet to be recovered."

"When I returned my troops to Changde and heard that Your Excellency's vessel had arrived here, I came forward rashly to call upon you. I hope Your Excellency will not hold it against me."

While Qin Liangyu was speaking, Zhu Yixun had already taken several strings of green fish, threaded them onto wooden skewers, and placed them over the charcoal fire to roast. Soon the fragrance of fish drifted through the air. Zhu Xieyuan's expression relaxed, and he said repeatedly, "Good that the siege is lifted, good that the siege is lifted... Is the Regional Commander returning to Zunyi, or to Shizhu?"

Qin Liangyu shook her head: "I am going to Guilin."

"Cough, cough, cough..." Zhu Xieyuan's brow furrowed. "Guilin? Has something happened in Guangxi?"

"It seems to be related to the Nan'ao Army," Qin Liangyu said cautiously. "But with Your Excellency's dispositions along the Xunzhou and Wuzhou line, surely the Nan'ao rebels cannot stir up much trouble. Perhaps before my troops even cross the mountains into Guangxi, the trouble will already have been settled."

"Cough, cough..." Zhu Xieyuan said nothing, only coughing incessantly.

The two of them, accompanied by the aroma of roasted fish, chatted about what they had seen and heard in the capital region and the southwest. Unwilling to burden Zhu Xieyuan, Qin Liangyu spoke only of good news — how the Eight Banners had been repulsed before Yongding Gate and driven back all the way by the Guanning Army, and so forth.

As for the Emperor's health and the treacherous, shifting situation in the capital, they did not mention a word.

Just as they were talking, a bird boat came down the upper reaches of the Yuan River and stopped before the post-station wharf. A messenger came ashore and handed a letter to Zhu Yixun. It had been sent from the Zunyi Governor-General's office, and the sender was a former subordinate of Zhu Xieyuan.

Even though Zhu Yixun had steeled himself, after opening the letter he was still stunned on the spot, his face suddenly changing color.

"Cough, cough... What is it?" Zhu Xieyuan asked with difficulty.

Zhu Yixun glanced at his grandfather, unsure whether he should speak.

Qin Liangyu had already guessed the gist of it and probed: "Has something happened in Wuzhou?"

Zhu Xieyuan said, "Cough, cough, cough... Xunzhou is guarded by Regional Commander Li. Though this man is lax in disciplining his troops, he is deeply versed in river warfare. The city has countless warships and fire ships. Even if the rebels besiege Wuzhou, they cannot take it in a short time. Speak!"

By the end, Zhu Xieyuan's voice had become extremely stern.

Zhu Yixun said in a trembling voice: "Wuzhou, Xunzhou, Xiangzhou... all have been taken..."

"What?" Qin Liangyu stood straight up, the armor on her body clattering. "This... how can this be? Who is the enemy? The Nan'ao rebels?" Zhu Xieyuan coughed without cease.

Zhu Yixun said in a hoarse voice: "Not long after Grandfather stepped down, Zhang Woxu replaced the provincial Regional Commanders with his own confidants. The one guarding Xunzhou is Cao Xiong, who had just been transferred from North Zhili and knows nothing of river warfare. Xunzhou's warships, together with the river fleet and garrison troops... all... all were wiped out..."

"Cough, cough, cough..." Zhu Xieyuan coughed even more violently, reaching out with trembling hands to demand the letter from his grandson.

Zhu Yixun handed over the letter and gently patted his grandfather's back.

Zhu Xieyuan squinted as he read the letter through, then leaned back in his chair, coughing and sighing: "That rebel Lin deploys troops like a god — I underestimated him... cough, cough... No wonder everyone says the Nan'ao Army is invincible in river warfare. Truly formidable, truly formidable..."

Qin Liangyu's face was full of anxiety, and Zhu Xieyuan handed the letter to her as well.

She read the letter over several times and still could not believe it, confirming: "Your Excellency, is what is written in this letter true?

The Xunzhou river fleet, attacked from three sides on the waterway, was wiped out to the last man... And the Nan'ao Army emerged without a scratch?

And what is this 'water-ghost walling the way,' 'River God transporting troops,' 'fire burning the linked river'... This reads like something out of a storyteller's tale. How could it be possible?"

"Water-ghost walling the way" was the backwater at the confluence of the three rivers.

"River God transporting troops" was the fire ships hiding behind Changzhou for a surprise attack.

Zhu Xieyuan explained these methods to Qin Liangyu, and at the end sighed: "These tactics sound simple to describe, but carrying them out is a thousand times more difficult. If even one link goes wrong, the entire plan collapses in failure.

Let alone that Cao Xiong — even if Regional Commander Li had been there, nine times out of ten he too would have fallen for the ruse.

This villain Lin Qian possesses not only astonishing boldness and cunning ruthlessness, but his subordinates are all picked elite troops. He has become a grave threat to the court. The harm he will cause in days to come will be no less than that of the Jianzhou barbarians or the She-An rebellion!"

The letter did not state who commanded the Nan'ao Army, but since Lin Qian had earned the greatest military merit while serving as a general of the court, Zhu Xieyuan instinctively assumed that Lin Qian himself had led this campaign.

As they spoke, Zhu Yixun discovered another sheet of paper inside the envelope. Opening it, he found it was a leaflet from the Nan'ao Army urging surrender.

The leaflet was written entirely in plain vernacular, declaring that this campaign was to lift the heavy burden from the people's shoulders, to seek justice for the common folk oppressed by the Prince of Jingjiang, and to punish corrupt officials and cruel native chieftains.

It also promised that after Guangxi was taken, taxes would be waived for one year, and for prefectures and counties that surrendered, taxes would be waived for three years.

Guangxi native chieftains willing to cooperate with the Nan'ao Army would retain their positions, the circulating officials would be abolished, and they would hold their border lands in hereditary tenure.

Zhu Yixun handed the leaflet to his grandfather and Qin Liangyu.

Qin Liangyu remarked with emotion: "Thankfully it is the Nan'ao Army that has entered Guangxi. Had it been the She-An rebels, who knows how the people would have been slaughtered." Zhu Xieyuan gazed up at the sky: "That is precisely what I worry about. No matter how strong that rebel Lin is in the art of war, he is not Heaven's mandate and cannot achieve greatness. But if he truly accomplishes what the leaflet promises, then the people's hearts will turn to him, and to recover Guangxi then — who knows how many years it would consume."

Zhu Xieyuan pondered for a long while, then said firmly: "Inform the fleet. Tomorrow we turn back up the Yuan River."

Zhu Yixun was greatly alarmed: "Grandfather, we were recalled to the capital. How can we turn back?"

"Cough, cough... This is an emergency. We must deal with that rebel Lin first. Go to the ship — I must submit a memorial confessing my fault."

With that, he rose and walked toward his flagship, while his grandson urged that he could have the paper and brush brought to the post station instead.

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats came from the official road outside the post station.

The sun had now fully set. For someone to gallop at full speed in such darkness, the matter must be of the utmost urgency — most likely the court's reply concerning the Guangxi campaign.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked toward the official road.

The messenger dismounted and walked quickly toward the lakeshore. In the lamplight, his plain white mourning garments stood out starkly.

A bad premonition rose in Zhu Yixun's heart.

The roasted fish had already burned black, giving off an unpleasant smell of char, but no one paid it any mind.

After the guards verified his identity, the messenger approached quickly, knelt before Zhu Xieyuan, and said in a grief-stricken tone: "I report to Your Excellency — I have come to announce a death. Your honored father passed away at the beginning of this month."

"What?" Zhu Yixun felt his head buzz.

Zhu Xieyuan's legs went weak, his vision darkened, and he fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on a bed in the post station, surrounded by servants, his grandson, Qin Liangyu, and others.

"Cough, cough... How long was I unconscious?"

"About an hour."

"Heaven's will..." Zhu Xieyuan's voice was too soft for anyone by the bedside to make out.

According to the regulations of the Collected Statutes of the Great Ming, an official upon hearing of a parent's death must immediately submit a memorial and request to resign from office to observe mourning.

Even one as powerful as Zhang Juzheng had to receive an imperial edict of "duoqing" — being kept in office despite mourning — before he could remain in his post.

Filial piety loomed as large as heaven. Even if Zhu Xieyuan dared to defy the law of the realm by not returning to the capital, he would never dare to bear the infamy of being unfilial.

The five southwestern provinces — he could not return to them.

Zhu Xieyuan composed himself, asked the details of his father's death, had his grandson write the mourning memorial on his behalf, and dismissed the remaining servants.

The room was left with only Qin Liangyu.

Zhu Xieyuan stared at her, his eyes seeming to hold a thousand words.

Qin Liangyu understood in her heart, and clasped her fists: "Rest assured, Your Excellency. This officer's trip to Guilin will not let the rebel Lin advance a single step."

Zhu Xieyuan forced himself to sit upright, squeezing words from his throat: "If Guangxi falls, the Great Ming may face the peril of collapse... hold it... cough cough cough... you must hold it!"

The Nan'ao army advanced by both water and land, following the Guangxi waterways, breaking through everything in their path like a splitting bamboo.

Gunpowder and military grain arrived at the front lines in batch after batch, and reports of victory from every direction were delivered daily to the Nan'ao General Staff Headquarters.

From the Guangxi front line to Nan'ao by water was a full two thousand li or more, yet because the waterways were clear and the current flowed downstream, it took only three days for delivery. Zhang Woxu, Governor-General of the Five Southwestern Provinces based in Zunyi, had only just received news of Xunzhou's fall when Nan'ao already learned that Bailangzai had breached Liuzhou. Inside the General Staff Headquarters, the staff officers were already so busy their feet barely touched the ground.

In the main hall, Lin Qian sat in the seat of honor, listening to the report of the Army Chief of Staff.

"Reporting to the Helmsman: since Xiangzhou fell, the main force of the Western Route Army in Guangxi has begun besieging Liuzhou. Outlying areas such as Luorong County and Liucheng County all opened their gates and surrendered three days ago...

According to military dispatches, Liuzhou's defending garrison numbers no more than a thousand-odd, all guard station troops and temporary militia, with extremely poor morale.

Commander Lei has already placed the artillery positions in the highlands south of the city and set a surrender deadline—if the city has not opened its gates by month's end, they will launch a full assault..."

In the center of the General Staff Headquarters sat a massive sand table, presenting the entire topography and city defenses of Guangxi.

Along the line of Wuzhou, Xunzhou, and Liuzhou, the shield-and-halberd banners of the Nan'ao army had all been planted. The heartland of Guangxi had essentially fallen under Nan'ao's control. The Great Ming's flame banners were distributed only sparsely in the provincial capital Guilin, and in the south and west of the province.

Even as the Chief of Staff gave his report, military dispatches continued to arrive without pause, and the staff officers beside the sand table would move the flags with long poles according to the latest battle situation. Lin Qian asked: "Up to today, how many casualties have our forces suffered?"

A young staff officer answered: "Reporting to the Helmsman: fifteen of our men killed in action, thirty-two seriously wounded."

As he gave this answer, the young staff officer's face was full of pride. Nearly half of Guangxi had fallen under their control, yet casualties numbered under fifty—this could truly be called a great victory. Looking across the more than two hundred years since the founding of the Great Ming, perhaps only Qi Jiguang's campaigns against the Japanese pirates had produced such absurd results.

The military intelligence officer said: "The Ming court is rotten beyond repair, and the people of Guangxi have suffered deep persecution. Everywhere our army goes, the people welcome us with food and drink in baskets and pots. Apart from the Battle of the West River, there have been almost no major engagements. Such results are only to be expected."

As the campaign advanced, the Nan'ao Times also consecutively published several editions of articles reflecting the livelihood of the Guangxi people. After reading them, Lin Qian realized that Guangxi's rulers had reached an utterly inconceivable level of extravagance, cruelty, and tyranny.

Uncles and nephews contending for succession, selling people into slavery, converting grain salaries into silver, monopolizing the salt trade, forcibly seizing civilian farmland, killing innocents to claim merit, burning and plundering villages... such a litany of evils that they could not all be recorded even if every bamboo slip were exhausted.

It made one feel that the fact the Guangxi people had endured until now without rebelling was nothing short of some kind of sorcery.

With the Ming army's soldiers and bandits setting such a shining example first, it was no wonder that everywhere the Nan'ao army arrived, cities in Guangxi opened their gates and surrendered.

At this moment another soldier entered bearing a military dispatch and handed it to the military intelligence officer.

After the officer opened it, he clasped his fists: "Helmsman, the latest news—Liucheng has already opened its gates and surrendered."

As his words fell, the staff officer beside him pulled down the flame banner atop Liuzhou's city walls and planted the shield-and-halberd banner in its place.

The situation on the sand table was now perfectly clear.

The Western Route Army held Liuzhou, and the Northern Route Army was stationed at Zhaoping, each occupying the two largest waterways leading to Guilin, waiting only for the General Staff Headquarters to give the order to advance north and join forces.

Lin Qian was just about to give the order when another military dispatch arrived.

After reading it, the military intelligence officer reported: "Helmsman, the Ming court has sent several armies to reinforce Guilin. Among them is one elite force—the White Pole Army of the Shizhu Tusi, commanded by Qin Liangyu."

By that time, Qin Liangyu had already become famous from the bloody battle at Hun River, and the ferocity and elite quality of the White Pole Army under her command had earned even the Jianzhou barbarians' wary respect.

Lin Qian asked without changing expression: "How many men did she bring?"

"Around two thousand."

Lin Qian pondered a moment: "Send orders to Lei Sanxiang—tell him to be cautious. The White Pole Army is no rabble of chickens and dogs."

"Yes!" The Chief of Staff hesitated a moment before asking, "Helmsman, what about Qin Liangyu? This person's reputation among the people is too good—I fear that..." Lin Qian said in a cold voice: "On the battlefield, guns and cannon have no eyes. Show no mercy."

It was already deep into the night when Lin Qian returned to his residence by carriage.

In the room, Ye Zhen was waiting for him. She helped Lin Qian out of his clothes and brought him a bowl of silver-ear soup.

Ye Zhen chatted a few words about their son, then asked about Lin Qian's work during the day.

Lin Qian briefly recounted the Guangxi campaign, then asked casually: "Does the Grand Secretary have an old acquaintance with Qin Liangyu of the Shizhu Tusi?"

Ye Zhen shook her head: "I've heard people say General Qin is a heroine among women, a true female warrior. Unfortunately she dwells in the southwest, ten thousand li from the capital."

Before the Battle of the Hun River, General Qin once led the White Pole Army to garrison Tongzhou, yet still could not meet Grandfather."

However renowned Qin Liangyu's name, she was still a military officer, and a Tusi at that. The White Pole Army's status was akin to mercenaries, not even within the regular order of battle of the Great Ming army. With such a position, to claim a private friendship with Ye Xianggao, who was then Chief Grand Secretary, would indeed be somewhat of an overreach.

Seeing Lin Qian eating his silver-ear soup in silence,

Ye Zhen continued: "Among the Great Ming's Tusi, there has always been the custom of a wife succeeding her deceased husband. General Qin's Tusi position was obtained in exactly this way.

General Qin's husband was Ma Qiancheng, Tusi of Shizhu in Sichuan. He was killed during the Wanli era by a mining eunuch sent by the court.

After General Qin inherited the Tusi position, she not only refrained from taking revenge on that mining eunuch, but instead pacified disputes and fought for the nation.

Before the Battle of the Hun River, the White Pole Army also suffered repeated injustices. General Qin endured humiliation and bore heavy burdens for the greater cause of family and country—truly admirable."

A mining eunuch was a palace eunuch sent to the localities to collect mining taxes.

The mining tax was one of the Wanli reign's most notorious malpractices, having cost countless lives.

Lin Qian ate a red date and said with a cold laugh: "Truly the loyal descendant of a steadfast military house. If the Great Ming had more people like her, perhaps the world would be at peace." Ye Zhen sensed a hint of sarcasm in her husband's words and asked cautiously: "My lord seems dissatisfied with General Qin?"

Lin Qian tilted his head back, finishing the silver-ear soup, wiped his mouth, and said: "That General Qin was born into this age is the Great Ming's fortune and a martyr's sorrow. I merely grieve for her misfortune and am angered by her refusal to fight."

"Grieve for her misfortune and angered by her refusal to fight?" Ye Zhen murmured the words to herself, then her eyes lit up, and she said with admiration: "Every word my lord speaks is a pearl of wisdom. You've said in one breath everything your wife wanted to say but could not—truly thought-provoking!"

Lin Qian was startled: "No one has ever said this before?"

Ye Zhen shook her head, then said softly: "My lord speaks with subtle words and profound meaning, yet always borrows the ancients to conceal himself. Such restraint and modesty truly earns your wife's admiration."

The atmosphere gradually grew somewhat intimate. Lin Qian said: "I'll go wash up."

Ye Zhen leaned close, her breath fragrant as orchid, and whispered: "No rush..."

Half an hour later, Lin Qian finished washing and lay back on the bed, then asked out of nowhere: "That mining eunuch—what was his name?"

Ye Zhen said with feigned anger: "You're not allowed to think about official business here!"

But a moment later, she still answered: "His name was Qiu Chengyun. He's now attached himself to the Wei eunuch."

In early April, the Northern Route Army, led by Zhong Aqi, breached the prefectural seat of Pingle.

The Western Route Army, commanded by Bailangzai and Lei Sanxiang, had already advanced to outside Yongfu County. The two great armies were now less than two hundred li from Guilin.

At the same time, the White Pole Army, traveling day and night over mountains and ridges, had already arrived within Guilin's borders.

Yahei

Pink Circle

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