Chapter 354: The Great Xia Army Enters Guizhou from Two Sides, the Prince of Jingjiang Is Sentenced to Execution

As they spoke, Lin Qian, Fu Zonglong, and the others had already mounted their horses, with Kong Youde riding alongside.

After riding for a moment, Lin Qian discovered that although the Dian horses were short at the shoulder, they had great stamina—carrying a man up slopes and around bends as if on flat ground, their four hooves seeming to stick to the earth, walking steadily and surely.

However, in terms of riding comfort, the Dian horses were a bit bumpier than the Jeju horses.

Kong Youde explained: "Dian horses are naturally fast-stepping with short strides, so they vibrate more. On flat ground this is a drawback, but in the mountains of the southwest, it's actually a lifesaving trait."

They hadn't advanced far when they saw a large expanse of open pasture upstream of the Sanxi River. It was winter now, the pasture grass withered and yellow, the yellow stretching all the way to the distant Qingxiu Mountain, covering roughly four to five thousand mu.

Because it was near the Dian horse production area, the First Regiment of the Third Cavalry Brigade of the Seventh Division, along with the brigade's mounted artillery battalion, trained here.

At that moment, several hundred Dian horses were active in the pasture, each with mounted infantry soldiers walking alongside.

Lin Qian asked curiously: "Nanning is densely populated too—how is there such a large pasture here?"

"Uh..." Kong Youde opened his mouth to answer but couldn't produce a single word. Ask him about raising horses or training horses, and he could answer fluently; ask him why this place wasn't used for farming, and he truly had no idea.

Fu Zonglong picked up: "Every year during the Yu River's flood season, the water level surges dramatically. I see that this pasture has a lot of Bermuda grass, goose grass, and reeds growing—it seems this pasture is on gentle, low-lying terrain that gets flooded during the flood season, making it unsuitable for farmland."

Lin Qian nodded, then asked Kong Youde: "Since it gets flooded during the flood season, is this period of time enough?"

Kong Youde gestured boldly with cupped hands: "Your Majesty need not worry—never mind the flood season, these soldiers and their war horses will be battle-ready in another two months." The Seventh Division had begun training in the fourth month of the second year of Zhongxuan, and had now trained for seven or eight months. For ordinary line infantry, that was enough time, but the Seventh Division was after all a new formation, and it also had entirely new mounted infantry and mounted artillery—just getting accustomed to the horses alone would take a long time.

Lin Qian worried that haste would make waste.

But Kong Youde said nonchalantly: "Dian horses have gentle temperaments and are easy to train. Our mounted infantry's requirements for horses are far lower than those of ordinary cavalry. These horses only need to master three subjects—collective standing still, sudden turns and stops, and desensitization to firearms—before they can go into battle.

I estimate half a month will do; at most a month to train them."

Calculating the time, the mounted infantry wouldn't make it for the "direct thrust at the center, splitting east from west" operation, but they would still be the main force in subsequent battles.

Lin Qian asked again: "And the mounted artillery?"

Kong Youde's expression turned slightly troubled: "Pulling cannons isn't like pulling carts. Dian horses are excellent pack animals, but pulling carts is already a stretch, and pulling cannons is even more of a struggle. It's not that they can't do it—they just need training. The most important thing is to train them not to run when they hear cannon fire.

That's why I put the training ground next to the mint—the water hammers clanging all day long serve to acclimate the war horses' ears.

I estimate it'll take at least two months of training."

Lin Qian nodded. Kong Youde was the type to make sweeping promises that sounded unreliable, but upon closer conversation, he did have a sense of proportion—not a man who craved glory and overreached.

The two then continued discussing the details of building the cavalry brigade.

Kong Youde patted the neck of the Dian horse beneath him and praised: "These horses are excellent—they endure hardship and have steady temperaments.

Those tall, big horses from Liaodong are fierce, sure, but they have wild temperaments and are troublesome to train.

They're also delicate—ride them too long and their legs go weak and tremble. Elite Tartar troops on the march have to bring two horses per man—one for riding, one for charging. Not like our horses here—crossing ditches and ridges, carrying cargo and riders, they can do it all. Those tall horses come to the southwest, and they're truly no match for our Dian horses! Yesterday I saw a few horses so hungry they were gnawing on tree bark. Remarkable—that's the first time I've ever seen a horse eat tree bark."

Lin Qian joked: "Great Xia has plenty of fodder—you can't have the war horses doing carpenter work."

Kong Youde laughed heartily: "Don't worry, don't worry—Old Kong here would go hungry himself before shortchanging these horses!"

Fu Zonglong stood nearby, observing that Kong Youde was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a booming voice, skilled horsemanship, knowledge of horse breeding, and the ability to train cavalry—clearly a fierce general. Combined with his Liaodong accent, Fu couldn't help but grow curious and asked about the man's identity.

Lin Qian slapped his forehead: "My fault—I forgot to introduce you. This is General Kong Youde, a Mobile Corps Commander of the Dongjiang garrison. And this is Fu Zonglong, Lord Fu, Governor-General of the Five Southwestern Provinces."

The two exchanged greetings with cupped hands, both secretly astonished.

Kong Youde thought to himself: "Good heavens, even the Governor-General of the Five Southwestern Provinces has surrendered! Good thing our Dongjiang garrison surrendered early—otherwise we'd have to queue up to surrender later."

Fu Zonglong sized up Kong Youde repeatedly, thinking: "When I was at court, I only ever heard that Mao Wenlong of the Dongjiang garrison falsified battle reports, was arrogant and overbearing, ignored orders, and seemed to be setting himself up as a king of his own island.

How is it that his subordinate generals are so utterly obedient here in Great Xia? And moreover, this General Kong is also a fierce warrior—why have I never heard of him before?" Fu Zonglong took the opportunity to exchange a few words with Kong Youde, probing indirectly about the situation at the Dongjiang garrison.

Kong Youde was a straightforward man—once the topic of Mao Wenlong came up, it was like opening a floodgate, and he poured everything out: "The commander's health is excellent—he eats three and a half bowls of coarse rice every meal, and every few days he leads us ashore to raid and harass.

Though Hong Taiji and Dorgon guard tightly and we can't gain much advantage, as the saying goes—a toad hopping on the back of your foot—even if we can't bite the Tartars to death, we'll annoy them to death!

Just before I came to the southeast, we'd just killed a regimental commander of the Bordered White Banner—heh heh heh..."

A regimental commander was a jiala zhangjing, a mid-level officer of the Eight Banners. One regimental commander oversaw five niru, roughly fifteen hundred fighting men. Killing one regimental commander would be a considerable achievement for the Ming, but judging by Kong Youde's tone, it didn't seem like much of a haul.

After hearing this, Fu Zonglong felt considerably more at ease. If even the arrogant generals of the Dongjiang garrison could gain important positions in Great Xia, it seemed the Xia King truly had the capacity to tolerate talent—his own former subordinates in the southwest would surely all have bright futures too.

Along the way back, Kong Youde kept praising the Dian horses endlessly. In his view, these horses would have no use north of the Yangtze, but in Jiangnan—especially the southwest—they were absolutely the finest breed.

And Yunnan happened to be the land route choke point of the Indochinese Peninsula—whether sending troops down the Yuan River or Red River into Annam, or advancing through the Nu River and Lancang River valleys into the Toungoo Dynasty, it was all very convenient.

Kong Youde had only been speaking casually, but Fu Zonglong took it seriously and said gravely: "The Nu River and Lancang River route is too perilous—it's only suitable for surprise troops or a detached force.

If you want to march against Toungoo, the shallow valleys along the Longchuan River and Daying River would be more appropriate."

The Toungoo Dynasty was rich in teak and had long been a strategic target of Great Xia. Moreover, Toungoo harbored great hostility toward the Central Plains dynasties—they had even extorted a Great Xia trade caravan sent to the Mughals—and would sooner or later have to become a colony.

Seeing that Fu Zonglong was so knowledgeable about marching routes, Lin Qian grew interested and asked the reason.

Fu Zonglong said slowly: "Your Majesty knows that your servant is a Yunnan native. Among the people of Yunnan—especially those along the western and southern borders—nearly everyone bears a deep blood grudge against Toungoo."

Lin Qian said: "Tell me in detail."

Fu Zonglong said: "A hundred years ago, the southwest of Yunnan was all loose tribal territories, all vassals of the Great Ming.

During the Jiajing reign, a man named Mang Yinglong appeared in that region. A man of wild ambition, after unifying Toungoo he immediately marched his army to seize the Three Xuan and Six Wei. In the tenth year of Wanli, his brother Mang Yingli led an army of several hundred thousand to invade the interior of Yunnan, burning villages, plundering people, and slaughtering border troops wherever they went—the entire province was shaken.

Later, the court sent Generals Deng Zilong and Liu Ting to counterattack. Though they repelled the powerful enemy, they were never able to recover the Three Xuan and Six Wei.

Since then, the two sides have faced off with the Nu River and Daying River as the boundary. The Toungoo bandit troops have raided year after year, border civilians and soldiers have died in droves year after year, and the Three Xuan and Six Wei still have not returned to the fold."

Kong Youde listened and flew into a rage: "These barbarians—wolf-hearted and dog-lunged—they truly all deserve to be cut down!"

Lin Qian said calmly: "Lord Fu need not worry—within our lifetimes, we will surely see the Mang clan's Toungoo return the Three Xuan and Six Wei."

Fu Zonglong was slightly startled and looked at Lin Qian.

Lin Qian said firmly: "Not just the Three Xuan and Six Wei—for every piece of land we've lost, every civilian we've lost, every bit of wealth we've lost, they will repay tenfold, a hundredfold!"

Lin Qian said this not to win over Fu Zonglong—in the eyes of Great Xia's maritime power faction, if a piece of land bordered the sea and had value, then the country on that land was doomed.

As the saying goes: "The common man is innocent, but possessing jade is a crime."

Sultan Mudha of Aceh died precisely because he possessed jade.

And the Mang clan's Toungoo—this common man who already bore heavy crimes, now possessing teak like the He family's jade—Lin Qian dared not imagine how miserably they would die.

Seeing Lin Qian's composed demeanor, as if he were simply stating a fact, Fu Zonglong felt an inexplicable chill and said with cupped hands: "When that day comes, your servant wishes to be the vanguard."

Lin Qian said in a relaxed tone: "Great Xia's civil officials do not command troops, but when the time comes, Lord Fu can certainly manage grain transport in the rear."

Fu Zonglong laughed upon hearing this and said, "Even if it means transporting grain and supplies, I will still be on enemy soil, directing operations from the front!"

At this moment, Nanning city was already visible in the distance.

"Very well, it's settled then." Lin Qian said as he spurred his horse, entering the city first, with dozens of riders—his guards and attendants—following behind.

Lin Qian rode all the way to the General Staff Headquarters, dismounted, and entered, with Fu Zonglong and the others following him in.

Xu Fengjie and the other army staff officers snapped to attention as Lin Qian entered.

66】 Lin Qian glanced at the sand table on the table and said, "Take this down, and bring up the Guizhou sand table."

Lin Qian glanced at the sand table on the table and said, "Take it down, and bring up the Guizhou sand table instead."

"Yes!" The staff officers responded in unison.

Then, under Fu Zonglong's utterly astonished gaze, more than a dozen men each carried in a heavy sand table section, rapidly assembling them on the table, and soon pieced together the shape of Guizhou.

Fu Zonglong compared it against his own memory and found it matched perfectly without the slightest error. He was inwardly shaken: "Could it be that someone under my command has already abandoned the darkness for the light? How is this sand table of Great Xia more accurate than my own maps of passes and strategic points?"

This sand table had been made by the Great Xia Military Intelligence Department using Mercator projection, triangulation, and sextant latitude measurement, so it was naturally precise—though its accuracy in troop deployment was somewhat lacking.

Fu Zonglong hastily offered up his deployment maps, and the staff officers inserted flags on the sand table according to the maps, improving the accuracy considerably.

While waiting for the sand table to be arranged, a personal guard entered and handed over an official document, saying, "Your Majesty, this has just arrived from Guangzhou."

Lin Qian took it. The document was from the Navy Staff Headquarters stationed in Guangzhou, and its contents stated that the Maritime Customs Administration had reported another ship-hijacking incident. This time the hijacking had occurred in the waters off Chiwei Islet, and the vessel taken was a two-masted Fujian junk. After the wokou boarded, they not only plundered the cargo but also seized the ship and its entire crew.

A passing merchant ship from Zhangzhou had witnessed the whole affair and reported it to the customs authorities.

In the current Nanyang, the only ones who dared to openly buy and sell Han Chinese "laborers" were the Toungoo Dynasty and the Dutch in Batavia. The fate of those kidnapped crewmen went without saying.

However, the hijacking of a civilian merchant vessel was the sort of matter that, even if reported, should have been submitted by the Maritime Customs Administration. The Navy Staff Headquarters' eagerness to report it first made their intention abundantly clear.

And at the end of the document, the Navy Staff Headquarters also mentioned the sea trial progress of four fourth-class ships, estimating that all testing would be completed before year's end. They had also drafted more than a dozen names for new ships, for Lin Qian to choose from.

Additionally, the document mentioned that the Yandun Shipyard had made improvements based on the Eagle Ship and invented a new type of warship whose maximum speed was even faster than the Eagle Ship's, and it was currently undergoing testing and acceptance.

This was practically snatching the work of both the Navy Department and the shipyard as well.

They were all but saying outright that Lin Qian should return to Guangzhou quickly and not delay the attack on Batavia.

Lin Qian said, "Understood." He then handed the document back and asked Xu Fengjie, "Has someone been sent to invite Lord Zhu?"

Xu Fengjie said, "They've been sent. He should arrive shortly."

The fertile basins around Dianchi Lake were rich in produce, and since the occupation, the army had been able to procure grain locally, greatly easing the logistical burden. Zhu Xieyuan had thus returned to Nanning to stay temporarily. Seeing the Guizhou sand table set out on the table, the staff officers knew they were about to discuss Guizhou military affairs—which was hardly unexpected for them.

After all, the plan for advancing into Guizhou had already been discussed once before Fu Zonglong was persuaded to surrender.

Before long, footsteps sounded from outside the General Staff Headquarters. Zhu Xieyuan walked into the room, first saluting Lin Qian, then catching sight of Fu Zonglong, and said with relief, "Zhonglun."

"Your Excellency." Fu Zonglong clasped his hands in salute. A thousand words surged in his chest, yet for a moment he could not speak them.

Zhu Xieyuan merely smiled and said, "It's good that you've come. Military matters are urgent—we can reminisce at our leisure later. Let us first discuss business."

Lin Qian then had Fu Zonglong explain the strategy of "striking straight at the heart, splitting east from west."

After hearing this, Xu Fengjie said, "The three battalions of the New Army happen to be stationed west of Sizhou, which makes them easy to redeploy."

Another staff officer said, "Chen Dashuan has been holding down the Cen chieftain for nearly four months now and has long since run out of patience. He requests battle every few days—sending him into Guizhou would be just right." Fu Zonglong asked cautiously, "What kind of man is General Chen? Would he dare to thrust deep into enemy territory alone?"

Xu Fengjie laughed and said, "Among the New Army commanders, finding one who is cautious and methodical is hard. But finding ones who dare to fight and push hard—nearly all of them are. If not for the General Staff's strict orders for him to restrain his subordinates, Chen the Bold would have already made his move on Sizhou."

Fu Zonglong nodded and said, "If that can be done, then the great task can be accomplished."

Fu Zonglong had little experience commanding in the field, and the few times he had taken the field, he had relied entirely on surprise attacks with elite troops.

Pu Mingsheng's battle of renown—the one where seven hundred Juke soldiers captured and killed Chen Qiyu—had been commanded by Fu Zonglong.

This had also led Fu Zonglong to develop a path dependency, favoring unconventional and risky tactics.

In this regard, he and Zhu Xieyuan were polar opposites. Zhu Xieyuan excelled at defensive and attrition warfare and utterly abhorred reckless advances.

So Zhu Xieyuan asked with a stern face, "Who are the chief officials of Dushan Prefecture, Duyun Prefecture, and Guizhou Prefecture? How confident are you that you can persuade them to surrender?" Fu Zonglong reported the three names in order, and also listed the names of the chief officials of every prefecture and county along the way: "These men are all Your Excellency's old subordinates, and I also regard them as my own people."

Zhu Xieyuan still shook his head and said, "The human heart is hard to fathom. They may not remember old ties, and moreover, among these men, quite a few are die-hard fools of blind loyalty. If the army marches to their city walls and they simply refuse to open the gates, that would be manageable. What I fear is that they might feign surrender and cut off our army's retreat."

Fu Zonglong shook his head repeatedly, picked up the pointer stick, and gestured at the sand table, saying, "In my view..."

The other staff officers stood where they were, watching the two men argue without cease.

Both men were gentlemen of refinement who normally enjoyed close personal friendship, yet when discussing grave military matters, neither would yield an inch, and within moments both had argued themselves red in the face. Zhu Xieyuan held the advantage in strategic deduction, while Fu Zonglong, having only recently left Guizhou, had a clearer understanding of the actual situation on the ground.

They argued for a long time, yet neither could convince the other.

Xu Fengjie seized the opportunity to interject, "Gentlemen, our army does not have only five thousand troops. General Qin has written to say that she can attack from Qujing." The prefectural seats of Guizhou were largely arranged along an east-west axis, hugging the main thoroughfare connecting Jingchu with Yunnan and Dian, which was suitable for the passage of large armies.

Qin Liangyu commanded a force of twenty thousand, fully equipped with artillery and of formidable fighting power. Moreover, she could rely on Yunnan for supply and logistics. Coordinating with the three battalions of the New Army to enter Guizhou from two directions would cover both orthodox and unorthodox approaches, making the operation far more secure.

Though Fu and Zhu had argued fiercely, there was one point on which both agreed: Great Xia might be inadequately prepared, but Ming's Guizhou was also astonishingly weak—it was precisely the best time to take it. To miss this opportunity would be a true pity.

Zhu Xieyuan pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "Yunnan has only just been pacified. Clearing out remnant bandits, restoring people's livelihoods, auditing household registries, and appeasing the chieftains—this is a busy time. Can General Qin spare herself?"

Lin Qian said, "Do the two lords remember Great Xia's separation of civil and military governance?"

Zhu Xieyuan suddenly realized, "Your Majesty's meaning is that General Qin only needs to concern herself with marching and fighting, and there will be others to handle governance after the war."

"Exactly!" Lin Qian clapped his hands, then looked at Zhu Xieyuan, "When it comes to simultaneously coordinating across provinces the four great difficulties of military affairs, civil administration, chieftain management, and logistics, I doubt anyone in Great Xia can surpass Lord Zhu.

How could there be a principle of letting generals govern prefectures while casting good ministers out to the wilds?"

Zhu Xieyuan was stunned by these words.

The Great Ming had a systematic and complete set of precautionary principles for surrendered officials, one of which was called domicile isolation—not allowing surrendered officials to be stationed in their hometowns or former territories.

Another was called disbanding personal forces—forbidding officials from commanding their old troops.

For surrendered civil officials, the restrictions were even harsher: for their entire lives, the highest they could reach was a staff advisor position—even a county magistrate would never be granted.

Zhu Xieyuan had originally thought that the King of Xia inviting him out of retirement was merely because the Yunnan-Dian war was urgent, and he would serve as an advisor. He had never imagined he would be entrusted with a post governing a frontier region! To break two precautionary principles at once—such trust was truly beyond what his merits deserved.

Lin Qian said, "Lord Zhu."

"Your servant is here." Zhu Xieyuan's response rang out with full vigor.

"I hereby appoint you Governor-General of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, responsible for the civil administration of the three provinces and for supplying grain and fodder to the army campaigning in Guizhou."

"Your servant accepts the command."

In a daze, Zhu Xieyuan felt as though he had returned to three years ago, when he had launched a five-pronged pincer attack at Yongning, annihilating a hundred thousand rebels of the She-An Rebellion, and the vision of pacifying the southwest was once again within sight.

"Minister Fu."

Fu Zonglong had just been inwardly rejoicing for Zhu Xieyuan, never expecting there to be business concerning himself as well, and hastily responded: "Your Majesty."

"I hereby appoint you as interim Chief of Staff attached to the Third Battalion of the Great Xia New Army, to assist in military affairs."

"As commanded." Fu Zonglong was overjoyed at heart—being able to accompany the army on campaign, personally persuading surrender beneath the city walls, the odds of the strategy to strike straight at the enemy's core and split east from west succeeding would be all the greater.

Entering Yunnan and Dian was most critical in terms of logistics, but now attacking Guizhou, with fewer troops mobilized and grain shipped along both the Yunnan and Guangxi lines, logistical pressure was not particularly prominent. Rather, personnel appointments were the most important matter.

Zhu Xieyuan and Fu Zonglong, as the two successive Governors-General of the Southwest, had together served more than ten years in the region. Even if they had not formed cliques for private gain, the government offices could hardly avoid being filled with the protégés and former subordinates they had promoted.

With these two joining forces to persuade surrender, plus Qin Liangyu's army pressing in force, Lin Qian could not imagine why the officials of Guizhou's prefectures and counties would not surrender.

If Chongzhen were to perform steadily again, using Fu Zonglong's defection to stir up a great inquisition, the conquest would proceed even more smoothly.

And in terms of ability, the three—Zhu Xieyuan, Fu Zonglong, and Qin Liangyu—were respectively expert in strategy, logistics, and tactics, complementing each other perfectly.

In the past, when suppressing the She-An Rebellion, the three had been an iron triangle; now under Great Xia's rule, their coordination could only be smoother.

Therefore, Lin Qian was not concerned with the specific marching routes or tactics, but instead asked: "In your views, when should troops be dispatched for the Guizhou campaign?" Fu Zonglong spoke first: "The sooner the better!"

Zhu Xieyuan said slowly: "Attacking simultaneously along the eastern and western routes would be best."

Xu Fengjie said: "General Qin's official dispatch states that General Ma Xianglin has already gathered four battalions of the New Army at Qujing, ready to attack at any time. Additionally, the combined forces of the Luo and Wei chieftains, four thousand men in total, are in the Xundian Prefecture area and can also enter Guizhou shortly after."

Lin Qian asked again: "Are grain supplies sufficient?"

"Enough for two months' use."

Zhu Xieyuan stroked his beard and said: "Within two months, this old minister can establish a new grain route through the Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, guaranteeing the army's provisions never run short."

Fu Zonglong said: "Two months is enough! I am confident I can take everything west of Guiyang within two months!"

In truth, he was confident he could conquer all of Guizhou within two months, thoroughly washing away the label of "mediocre minister" that clung to him—but being newly arrived, he still left himself some margin.

Lin Qian pondered for a long while, then said in a deep voice: "Time waits for no one—we dispatch troops this very day!"

The assembled staff officers acknowledged in unison, then set to studying the marching routes into Guizhou.

Lin Qian, meanwhile, rose and walked to the door of the General Staff Office. He knew little of land warfare, so he would not meddle in tactical details. As he reached the door, all the staff officers snapped to attention and looked at him.

Lin Qian said: "I shall be returning to Guangzhou shortly. The Guizhou campaign is hereby entrusted to you all."

The staff officers clasped their hands in salute together, vowing they would not betray the trust placed in them.

The next day, Zhu Xieyuan had already packed his luggage, preparing to depart for Kunming to take up his post. His haste was also for the sake of the campaign—for every day he arrived earlier, Qin Liangyu could extricate herself from civil affairs and hasten to the battlefield one day sooner.

However, Lin Qian still summoned the grandfather and grandson, bringing them to tour the Bachijiang Soap Factory.

Zhu Xieyuan had long known of tea-oil soap, only he had not known it was manufactured using water power. After the tour, he was deeply shaken.

Lin Qian then picked up a bar of tea-oil soap and explained the matter of granting chieftains the distribution rights for the soap.

Zhu Xieyuan immediately understood Lin Qian's intent, and guessed: "Your Majesty means to use the profits from soap to bind the chieftains—could it be for..."

He stopped mid-sentence. In truth, he had already fully guessed Lin Qian's intent, but only realized halfway through that he should not be so talkative—no emperor liked having his thoughts divined by others.

Yet Lin Qian did not mind, and praised him: "Correct, it is precisely for replacing native chieftains with regular administration. If the chieftain system is not reformed, the Southwest will never know peace—but if changed rashly, men like She Chongming and An Bangyan will emerge endlessly.

Meritorious chieftains must not be made to feel slighted, and chieftains harboring treacherous ambitions must not be provoked into rebellion—the measure of this balance is extremely difficult to grasp.

I imagine this heavy burden can only be entrusted to you."

In Zhu Xieyuan's view, the Great Xia army's martial might was at its peak, and the King was far too young—there was no way he would agree to an exchange of interests. If the chieftains were willing to reform, so be it; if not, a great army would surely come to pacify them.

Forcing the change would repeat the same mistake as the Ming dynasty, and the result of such an approach would be endless rebellion.

Zhu Xieyuan had spent more than ten years suppressing rebellions in the Southwest, and knew well the ills of the chieftain system, as well as its dilemma. He had thought that once the Southwest campaign was concluded, he would tactfully remonstrate with the King—he had even planned to first seek a channel through Ye Xianggao, probing Lin Qian's preferences and pondering how best to offer counsel.

He never expected Lin Qian to have thought ahead of him—not only was his concept of replacing chieftains with regular administration ahead of its time, he had even already selected the interests to be offered in exchange. Zhu Xielong's heart was filled with astonishment. The feeling of serving this King was so smooth, so completely opposite to serving the Tianqi Emperor—could this... could this be the wise sovereign that only existed in storybooks?

Unaware of Zhu Xieyuan's thoughts, Lin Qian continued on his own: "... In short, for replacing chieftains with regular administration, benefits must certainly be given, but privileges should be avoided as much as possible—we cannot create a local tyrant lording over everyone. Aside from that, all one-time economic compensations are negotiable..."

Zhu Xieyuan clasped his hands and said: "This minister will bear it in mind, and will not betray Your Majesty's trust."

As they spoke, the two had already walked out of the soap factory and arrived by the docks. Lin Qian said: "To guard against Ming court retaliation, your Excellency's family has already been moved from Zhejiang to Guangzhou. This is only temporary residence abroad—within less than a year, they will be able to return to their native place.

This weighty burden of replacing chieftains with regular administration now rests upon your Excellency's shoulders from this day forward. This is no achievement of a single moment—I hope your Excellency takes care of your health. I await in silence the day your Excellency's name is inscribed in the annals of history."

Those words "inscribed in the annals of history" echoed endlessly through Zhu Xieyuan's mind, and by the time he came back to his senses, he was already aboard the ship.

Zhu Xieyuan hurriedly called for his grandson.

Zhu Yixun poked his head out: "Grandfather called for me?"

Zhu Xieyuan said: "Where is the medicine Doctor Su prescribed?"

Zhu Yixun smiled helplessly: "It's not yet time to take the medicine. Once it's done brewing, I'll bring it to you, Grandfather."

As he withdrew from the cabin, Zhu Yixun muttered to himself: "Usually he's always too busy and forgets to drink it—why does he suddenly remember this today? How strange." After bidding farewell to Zhu Xieyuan, Lin Qian also boarded his ship, following the fleet downstream as they returned to Guangzhou.

At the same time, in the mountains of Shuixi, An Bangyan heard that the ten-thousand-strong Ming army sent to encircle and destroy him had once again withdrawn—and the reason was, yet again, related to the Xia King. This time, it was Fu Zonglong's defection to Great Xia.

He had lost count of how many times the Xia King had saved him from fire and water. An Bangyan was so moved he nearly wept, his heart certain that the Xia King must be his benefactor! At the same time, in Guilin, before the former Jingjiang Prince's mansion.

The former Jingjiang Prince Zhu Lühu, clad in prison garb, listless and dispirited, numbly listened as the supervising executioner finished reading out his lengthy list of crimes.

Upon hearing the final sentence—immediate beheading—Zhu Lühu burst into loud wailing on the spot, begging and pleading for his life.

The people of Guilin surrounded the execution ground, packing over a dozen streets so tightly that not a drop of water could pass, and their curses nearly lifted the roof off the prince's mansion. The supervising executioner looked down upon the Jingjiang Prince as if gazing at a maggot, and said coldly: "Great Xia has no death by slow slicing—you should count yourself lucky."

With that said, the supervising executioner withdrew, and the executioner stepped forward bearing a great cleaver.

"Execute!"

One stroke of the blade—Zhu Lühu's blood splashed on the spot, his head tumbling to the ground.

The executioner picked up the head, holding it aloft to display to the crowd. The commoners were stunned for a moment, then erupted in earth-shaking cheers—the entire city of Guilin trembled within the roar.

Yahei

Tapioca pearls

Handwritten