Chapter 107: Someone's Sending Beauties? (Please Collect, Please Recommend)

After taking a bath, changing into clean clothes, hastily eating some food, and forcing himself to summon the generals for a meeting and personally deliver a battle mobilization, Zhu Cilang still ended up drowsily falling asleep. Right there in the Marshal's Office, while Guard Commander Cao Youyi of the Military Orders Guard was assigning tasks to the division commanders and brigade commanders below him, along with Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Chunjie and Naval Guard Assistant Regional Commander Shen Tingyang, he accidentally dozed off — and even started snoring.

But everyone knew how hard Zhu Cilang had been working these days, so no one had the heart to wake him. They all lowered their voices and held the war council without him.

Right now the others could still take turns catching a little sleep, but he, the Army-Supervising Crown Prince, had to stay at the front day and night, supervising the battle.

Even during lulls in the fighting, he still had to comfort the wounded, inspect the food, distribute rewards to meritorious officers and men, and talk with officers at every level of the Hard-Working New Army. In the midst of all this, he even had to concern himself with the manufacture of musket spikes — they were spikes rather than bayonets because they had no blade, only a tapered point. In fact, it was a three-foot armor-piercing spike, not difficult to forge, but fitting it onto the muzzle was a bit troublesome. Because the firearms of this era were not standardized products, the matching spikes had to be custom-made, which was extremely troublesome.

Fortunately, Tianjin was itself a major military-industrial center with many craftsmen available for hire. So Zhu Cilang assigned Li Shi, the son of Li Zubai, who could read geometric drawings, along with Soy-Sauce Huang and Old Rice Su, to jointly oversee the production of 2,000 custom-made socket bayonets, while also recruiting a group of army-following craftsmen. This matter was neither big nor small, and Zhu Cilang could not avoid getting involved.

In short, Zhu Cilang personally attended to as many matters as he possibly could. His approach was called "attending to everything personally," which was not exactly a brilliant leadership method. But when there were few capable people available to handle affairs, it was a necessary expedient.

At least under the Crown Prince's personal oversight, the soldiers of the Hard-Working New Army could all eat meat and receive the pay and rewards they deserved. Those who deserved beheading or punishment in the death camp could not escape their penalties. Officers and men who performed excellently in battle were promoted, and unqualified officers were promptly replaced. Two or three hundred socket spikes that could be fitted onto the barrels of turtledove-foot muskets had also been forged.

Therefore, the Hard-Working New Army — a force that had only recently been established, with mediocre recruits and an unusually complex mix of officers — was able to perform beyond expectations in these three days of bloody battle, inflicting heavy casualties on Tang Tong's troops. If not for the large number of conscripts forcibly pressed into service from around Tianjin, Regional Commander Tang's force would have long since fallen apart.

And for Zhu Cilang to have brought the Hard-Working New Army to its current state in such a short time — to speak honestly, no one under the Marshal's Office was unconvinced. Even veteran Regional Commanders like Wu Xiang and Cao Youyi felt that if they had been put in his place, they would certainly have done far worse than Zhu Cilang.

Without anyone noticing, the Crown Prince had already established his authority and become the backbone of the wandering Ming court.

"Companion Cao, is there any news from Yongping?"

Just as everyone was beginning to regard Zhu Cilang as their backbone, the Chongzhen Emperor, staying in the Governor's yamen in the southern part of Tianjin, was anxiously awaiting news of Wu Sangui.

His three sons and one Noble Consort had headed toward Yongping! With no news at all now, how could he, as a father, not be anxious?

Moreover, the Hard-Working New Army that Zhu Cilang had raised was, after all, a motley force. The 40,000 elite troops of the Guanning Army under Wu Sangui were the real crack troops. Only when these Guanning troops reached Tianjin would the Chongzhen father and son truly be out of danger.

But now there was not a scrap of news from Yongping! What on earth was that fellow Wu Sangui doing? Had his three sons managed to escape? If they had not, then Cilang would be the only son left in the family...

"Your Majesty, what did you ask?"

Cao Huachun was a little drowsy and had not heard Chongzhen clearly. He had been out of the palace for many years and was no longer accustomed to rising early and staying up late.

The Chongzhen Emperor frowned. He did not even have a capable attendant anymore — it was truly suffocating.

"Has anyone come from Yongping?"

"No," Cao Huachun replied. "Tianjin is currently surrounded by roving bandits... no one can get in or out!"

Chongzhen snorted. "Can't we send brave men to break through the encirclement?"

"Well..." Cao Huachun squinted his sleepy eyes, not knowing how to respond.

The Marshal's Office now held all military authority in a single grip. As a senior eunuch, he had no say at all, so he had no idea whether Zhu Cilang had sent brave men to break through and contact Wu Sangui.

Chongzhen was about to scold him further when a nephew of Cao Huachun announced in a low voice from outside the room.

"Your Majesty, a Scholar Zhang from Tianjin has arrived outside the Governor's yamen with seventeen or eighteen young women, requesting an audience. He says he has selected beauties by the order of the Thousand Years..."

"Beauties?" The Chongzhen Emperor was taken aback and looked at Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun shook his head. "No, I haven't heard anything... Perhaps the young master saw that Your Majesty had no one to serve him, and so had the Tianjin gentry select palace ladies?"

"Nonsense!" Chongzhen glared at Cao Huachun. "Do We look like We have the mind for that?"

"Then perhaps the young master needs them himself?" Cao Huachun said carefully. "Perhaps the young master wishes to give Your Majesty a grandson as soon as possible?"

Chongzhen thought it over and agreed — it must be that Zhu Cilang himself was lustful, finding Wu Sanmei, Ning Xiangyu, and Fei Zhen'e not beautiful enough, and so had ordered a selection of beauties.

"Companion Cao, go take a look," Chongzhen said. "If any are passable, accept them; if not, send them away... But don't select too many — one or two will suffice. Cilang is still young; he must not be allowed to indulge in female charms."

"This old slave obeys the imperial decree."

Having received Chongzhen's order, Cao Huachun tottered out of the yamen with his nephew. Little did he know that he had already fallen into someone's trap... There were no little beauties to be sent to Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang at all! This was merely Scholar Zhang, who was wholeheartedly set on welcoming the Roving King, probing for the location of the Chongzhen Emperor.

In the southern part of Tianjin there were quite a few yamens suitable for use as a temporary imperial residence — the Governor's yamen, the Regional Commander's yamen, the Provincial Military Command yamen, the grain transport yamen, and the Guard Command yamen. All of these yamens were now under martial law, with Embroidered Uniform Guard standing sentry at the gates, making it very difficult to get any information out of them.

Moreover, the great flagpoles outside the yamens were all bare, with no banners at all. So outsiders could not easily tell where Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen were actually staying.

But this matter did not stump the resourceful Scholar Zhang. He had people buy seventeen or eighteen girls — not beauties by any means, just scrawny refugee girls fleeing famine and disaster. They were washed clean, dressed in bright clothes, and brought to the gates of several yamens to test the waters. The pretext was that they were presenting palace ladies by imperial order... He figured that the Chongzhen father and son had fled in disarray and must be short of attendants, so anyone voluntarily offering help would be welcome. Using this excuse to probe, he was not afraid of being exposed. As luck would have it, the very first yamen he tried was the Governor's yamen where the Chongzhen Emperor was staying.

"These... these are the beauties you've brought?" Cao Huachun squinted in the dim yellow lantern light, sizing up the dozen or so scrawny girls before him. Not a single one was worth a second glance.

"Superintendent, if you are not satisfied, this student will go back and select more carefully. Just give me a few more days, and I will surely find a peerless beauty..." Scholar Zhang recognized Cao Huachun. During the years Cao Huachun had been in retirement at Wangqingtuo, he had frequently visited Tianjin. Seeing the old man, Scholar Zhang's heart was already certain — the Emperor was most likely staying in the Governor's yamen.

Hearing Scholar Zhang speak thus, Cao Huachun quickly waved his hand. "No need... The temporary palace happens to be short of attendants. Let them all stay. You have been thoughtful. By the way, do you hold any examination degree?"

"This student passed the provincial examination."

"Oh, a juren." Cao Huachun nodded. "Very well then. It is late tonight. Come back tomorrow morning, and I will take you to an audience with His Majesty. At that time, an official rank can surely be bestowed upon you."

Haha, the dog emperor really is in the Governor's yamen!

Scholar Zhang was overjoyed at these words and immediately bowed to the ground, thanking the great eunuch Cao for his patronage — along with, of course, a full chest of silver offered up...

(End of Chapter)