Chapter 10: The Zhu and the Wu, Sharing Jiangnan (Please Favorite, Please Recommend)

"Please sit, Commander." Zhu Cilang looked at Wu Xiang with a genial smile and gestured toward an empty chair in front of him.

"This subject is overwhelmed with trepidation," Wu Xiang hastily demurred.

"The Commander and his son are both meritorious and trusted ministers, pillars of the realm. How could you not be entitled to a seat?" Zhu Cilang knew Wu Xiang was not being modest—he genuinely did not dare sit. His superior Wang Cheng'en was still standing obediently, so how could he sit?

"If Thousand Years tells you to sit, then sit," Wang Cheng'en said with a smile. Wu Xiang would soon be an "old imperial in-law," and a father-in-law of the emperor who held heavy troops at that—he would probably even have a seat before the Son of Heaven.

"This subject thanks you for the seat." Wu Xiang made no further fuss and sat down in the chair opposite the Crown Prince, though he perched on only a small part of his buttocks.

As for Wu Sanfu, he could only stand obediently behind his father.

"Has the Commander heard of the proposal to move the capital south?" Zhu Cilang asked, looking at Wu Xiang.

"Move south?" Wu Xiang was inwardly startled. "Absolutely not! The capital is the foundation of the realm, where the late emperor's tomb rests—how could it be abandoned?"

Zhu Cilang merely smiled as was his habit, as if approving of Wu Xiang's position. But in his heart he was perfectly clear, and he knew exactly what his future father-in-law was calculating.

What "foundation of the realm," what "late emperor's tomb"—these had little to do with the Wu family. What the Wu family truly cared about was the several million taels of the Liaodong levy every year!

The Wu family was now the greatest warlord in the Guanning Army. Of the several million taels of the Liaodong levy, apart from the portions paid in tribute to superiors at every level, the rest was at the Wu family's disposal. Of that, what went into the pockets of the Wu father and son was at least several hundred thousand, was it not?

If the court moved south, Jizhou and Liaodong would naturally have to be abandoned. The Guanning Army would either escort the emperor south or surrender to Li Zicheng. Whether they went south or surrendered, the several million taels of the Liaodong levy each year would certainly be gone. So the Wu family's opposition to moving south was entirely predictable!

But when Beijing truly could not be defended, escorting the emperor in a southward escape should be the Wu family's best way out. Because whether they surrendered to the Shun or to the Qing, no one would give the Wu family several million taels of the Liaodong levy every year. Not only would there be no levy, they would also be used as cannon fodder.

If the Wu family surrendered to the Shun, they would be the vanguard in Li Zicheng's war against the Qing. If the reverse, they would be the Qing army's spearhead in entering the pass to attack Li Zicheng. Only by following the Ming south would they be treated as trusted core troops, kept well fed and well cared for. There might even be a chance to go further... Zhu and Wu, sharing the realm south of the Yangtze!

Because the thirty to forty thousand Guanning troops in Wu Sangui's hands, once brought south, would be an invincible force!

By then the Ming court would depend on the Wu family's army for its very survival, and the wealth of Jiangnan would be theirs to take as they pleased.

It was just that in history, Wu Sangui could not make up his mind at the critical moment, and in delay and waiting he lost the historical opportunity that belonged to him, thereby becoming the eternal sinner who invited the wolf into the house—and he also buried most of the Wu clan.

From this point of view, Wu Sangui was no brilliant politician, and his downfall in the War of the Three Feudatories was simply inevitable.

"Imperial Father's determination to move south is already fixed!" Zhu Cilang said, biting off each word. "Today a secret edict will be sent to Wang Yongji and your son. The Guanning Army will escort the imperial carriage, going south by way of the Tianjin garrison! Feng Yuanyang has already prepared two hundred great seagoing vessels and several thousand sailors, ready at any time to escort the imperial carriage to Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"What?!" Wu Xiang drew a sharp breath. "All the great ministers at court have approved the move south?"

Zhu Cilang's father-in-law had only been in the capital for a little over a month and did not know Chongzhen's temperament. He thought Chongzhen was truly a good emperor who followed good counsel. So in his view, the obstacle to moving south was the opposition of the court ministers, not Chongzhen's underhanded buck-passing.

"Since it is a secret edict, of course the court ministers cannot be allowed to know," Zhu Cilang continued his persuasion. "If word leaks out, the Roving Bandits will certainly send light cavalry to circle around and block us, and the Tartar curs might also seize the chance to strike. Moreover, within the capital, panic would be unavoidable, and a landslide collapse would be inevitable."

"If the court ministers know nothing, how can we get away in such haste?" Cold sweat appeared on Wu Xiang's forehead. He hesitated, then added: "Besides, my son's troops have probably only just entered Shanhai Pass, and the Liaodong refugees traveling with them number in the hundreds of thousands..."

Wu Xiang did not care how many court ministers could escape, but the Liaodong refugees following Wu Sangui were mostly military dependents—not something that could simply be abandoned.

"Did the Commander not tell Imperial Father a month ago that of your troops, only three thousand are usable?" Zhu Cilang still wore a smile, showing not the slightest dread of impending disaster, and spoke in a measured tone. "Three thousand brave men would not have hundreds of thousands of dependents, would they? Even allowing a little extra, five thousand brave and battle-worthy men to escort the imperial carriage, with twenty thousand military dependents accompanying them, would be sufficient. With all the mules, horses, and wagons the Guanning Army possesses, would that not be enough for twenty-some thousand people?"

Wu Xiang was left speechless by Zhu Cilang, and at the same time astonished by his composure.

This Crown Prince, so young in years, yet his bearing and courage were extraordinary!

Zhu Cilang continued: "Troops are not valued for numbers but for quality. Yet elite troops must also be used in the right place! If the Commander and his son's three thousand household retainers were used by the Roving Bandits as a vanguard to fight the Tartar curs, how much would they amount to? If they were used by the Tartar curs, entering the pass to fight the roving bandits' main camp to the death, assaulting fortified cities, battling in the wilderness—how much would they amount to then?"

Hearing this, Wu Xiang could no longer stay seated. He stood up at once. "Why would Your Highness say such a thing? This subject and his son are utterly loyal to the Great Ming and would never go over to the rebel caitiffs..."

Zhu Cilang looked at Wu Xiang and said slowly: "Calm yourself, Commander. We know the Commander and his son are loyal. You and your son are not only loyal but also intelligent. You know that to be used by the rebels or the caitiffs is a dead end! Even if you survived by luck, you would still end in poverty and ruin.

The Commander and his son's three thousand household retainers were raised on a million taels of pay... The only power under heaven that can give the Commander and his son a million taels of pay is the Great Ming! The Roving Bandits have their main camp, the Tartar curs have their Eight Banners. If the Commander and his son went over to them, you would only be used as a vanguard—how could you become their trusted core? Do the main camp or the Eight Banners have a million taels of pay? Much less for the likes of you?

Only if We and Imperial Father reach Jiangnan will there be none to rely on but the Commander and his son and the Valiant Guard Camp commanded by Huang Degong. The rest are all inadequate. The Commander and his son and Huang Degong will be the Great Ming's pillars of Mount Tai!

And with the realm in chaos and the Central Plains in ruins, the only place that can support your family's three thousand household retainers is Jiangnan! If you and your son can lead several thousand household retainers to escort the imperial carriage south, you will be the pillars of the state, and the wealth of Jiangnan shall naturally be shared with you!"

Zhu Cilang's tone and expression suddenly changed, and he said with finality: "The great plan to go south is already decided and brooks no doubt. The secret edict will be sent to Shanhai Pass today. We ask only whether the Commander and his son will follow the dragon!"

Was this real?

Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu, father and son, both felt a suffocating sensation... This was the Zhu family wanting to share Jiangnan with the Wu family!

Holding the Son of Heaven hostage, commanding the feudal lords, plotting to usurp the throne—these were things Wu Xiang could not imagine, nor dared to imagine. But going to Jiangnan to rake in money with both hands—that was something Wu Xiang dreamed of even in his sleep.

Now all under heaven was poor except Jiangnan, Fujian, and Guangdong, which were fabulously wealthy. If one could go to Jiangnan to get rich, who would still cling to the miserable hardship of Shanhai Pass?

Besides, how much longer could the situation at Shanhai Pass hold? Once Beijing fell, if the Wu family could not escort the imperial carriage south in time, they would have to choose between the Shun and the Qing. But no matter whom they chose, they would be a big, detestable piece of cannon fodder, ground down to nothing sooner or later—though of course, in history Wu Sangui rose to the rank of Prince Who Pacifies the West, a prospect that Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu, and Wu Sangui himself could not have dreamed of now.

Judging from the current situation, in all the world only a sucker like the Great Ming would spend several million a year to maintain the Guanning Army... This account was simply too easy to reckon.

So once Chongzhen made up his mind, there was no question at all of whether Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui would follow or not.

Since there was no choice, Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu exchanged a glance, and then both performed a deep bow of salutation: "This subject and his son are willing to give our lives in death to escort the imperial carriage south!"

"Good!" Zhu Cilang smiled. "The Commander and his son are indeed pillars of the state!

By the way, there is one more matter to tell the Commander and his son. Juyong Pass... has already fallen into the hands of the Roving Bandits! The rebel troops will reach the walls of the capital within ten days. Therefore the matter of going south brooks no delay, and most likely we will have to break through by force! Are the Commander and his son afraid?"

What? Such a thing? Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu stared at Zhu Cilang in astonishment, unable to speak.

Afraid... Of course Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu were afraid, but they were even more astonished. Because they could see not a trace of dread or worry on Zhu Cilang's face.

The Crown Prince had grown up deep in the palace, raised by women and eunuchs—should he not have been very timid?

The Roving Bandits were about to reach Beijing, so why was this Crown Prince not the least bit afraid?

(End of Chapter)