Chapter 1274: Wu Sangui, the Trap Is All Set for You!

Shaanxi, Baoji Prefecture.

Wu Sangui's field headquarters was inside the city of Baoji Prefecture. At first he had merely occupied a dilapidated temple, with no intention of staying long. But how things developed far exceeded his expectations — that Li Dingguo, who styled himself the Zhuge Liang of the Shun, had gone to Wuzhang Plain and simply stopped moving!

And he did not die, either. He just blocked the way there and settled into a war of attrition with Wu Sangui.

Wu Sangui had originally wanted to play the part of a great Ming Cao Zhen, yet his record in Shaanxi turned out worse than even Sima Yi's historical defense against Zhuge Liang in the west. At the foot of the Qinling Mountains, on this plain and that, he had been locked in combat with Li Dingguo for nearly eight years!

Chen Yuanyuan had gone from a young wife to a middle-aged matron. The daughter she bore Wu Sangui, Wu Ake, had already finished her studies at the girls' school in Baoji and was preparing to take the entrance examination for Jinling Women's University. If the war in Shaanxi kept dragging on without end, Chen Yuanyuan was going to become Granny Chen!

"My lord, this humble wife must accompany Ake to Wuhan to sit the examination. You must take good care of yourself!"

Inside the study, Chen Yuanyuan, now advanced in years, was speaking with Wu Sangui, who had just returned to Baoji. Beside her sat an exquisitely beautiful young maiden, only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet already possessed of a devastating beauty that could outshine the moon and shame the flowers. Amid that beauty there was also a fresh loveliness like a lotus rising from the water, and her delicately sculpted face seemed more like that of a celestial fairy in a painting.

With a daughter like this, Wu Sangui naturally placed great hopes in her. Although he kept her by his side, he had spared no expense to hire teachers who had graduated from Nanjing University to instruct her in French, mathematics, the Confucian classics, the Principles of Natural Philosophy, and many other subjects. Wu Sangui himself had personally taught her horsemanship, archery, and fencing. She had now completed the girls' school curriculum at home and was about to go to Wuhan to sit the examination — the entrance examination for Jinling Women's University would begin very soon!

Although Wu Ake was a cousin of the Crown Prince, Zhu Hexing, she could not marry Zhu Hexing and become Crown Princess. But a prince not born of Wu Sanmei could still take Wu Ake as a consort.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang was still young, in the very prime of life. If he could take a fancy to Ake, that would be a fine thing. If anything should ever happen to Wu Sanmei, the position of Empress could be filled by Wu Ake, preventing Zheng Chagu from rising to it.

Gazing at his daughter, beautiful as a goddess, Wu Sangui smiled and nodded. "Ake, you must do your very best in the examination. Do not let the daughters of the Zheng, Shen, Wei, Zuo, and Ma families, or those talented young ladies of Jiangnan, outdo you! And remember, you must not neglect your riding and archery — Princess Ahai of the Khoshut Kingdom in the Western Regions is also on her way to sit the examination!"

The matter of Jinling Women's University had been stirring things up for two or three years now, and had naturally drawn attention from all quarters. The Zheng Zhilong, Shen Tingyang, Wei Zaode, Zuo Maodi, and Ma Shiying families all had brilliant daughters and would certainly not let such an opportunity pass. There was also a group of Jiangnan gentry who had grown rich through industry and commerce and intended to send their daughters to Jinling Women's University to become future imperial consorts. Even Galdan had realized this was a rare opportunity, and had sent Anu Khatun's younger sister, Ahai, to go to Wuhan and try her luck.

Wu Ake nodded firmly and answered in a clear, sweet voice: "Father, rest assured, your daughter will not lose to any of them."

"Good!" Wu Sangui smiled, then produced an envelope and handed it to Chen Yuanyuan. "Yuanyuan, this is a letter for His Highness the Prince of Fu. The Prince of Fu is the Dean of the Women's University and also the chief examiner this time. Ask him to find time to test Ake in advance, to see where she is lacking, so she can cram at the last minute and make up for it."

Chen Yuanyuan took the letter, somewhat hesitant. "My lord, our family has never had dealings with His Highness the Prince of Fu. Would he be willing to help?"

Wu Sangui laughed. "Our family has not, but the Empress has always looked after the Prince of Fu! In her early years the Empress had no son, so she treated him as her own. An elder sister-in-law is like a mother!"

The Prince of Fu, Zhu Cixuan, was born around the same time as Wu Sanmei's eldest daughter, Zhu Tianfeng. Wu Sanmei, unable to bear a son herself, was especially fond of Zhu Cixuan, and when he was small she often carried him into the palace to play. Later, Zhu Cixuan's mother, Consort Wei, died in childbirth, and Zhu Cixuan became a motherless child, which made him even closer to Wu Sanmei — she almost treated him as her own son.

It was precisely because of Wu Sanmei's pillow talk that Zhu Cixuan was now doing so well — both a rent-collecting prince and Dean of the Women's University. In the future, how many imperial consorts would be helping him with their own pillow talk! He was simply the rent-collecting prince plus the pillow-talk prince!

"Then this humble wife is reassured." Chen Yuanyuan nodded.

At that moment, a servant's announcement came from outside the door: "My lord, Provincial Commander Liu requests an audience."

Provincial Commander Liu was Liu Sheng, who now served as Army Provincial Commander under Wu Sangui.

Chen Yuanyuan knew Liu Sheng well. Hearing that he had come to call so late at night, she said to Wu Sangui: "My lord, Provincial Commander Liu's late-night visit must be on urgent military matters. This humble wife and Ake will take our leave first."

Wu Sangui nodded, and Chen Yuanyuan led Ake out of the study. A short while later, Liu Sheng strode in hurriedly, first saluting in military fashion, then producing a sealed confidential military report and handing it to Wu Sangui.

"Duke, a secret report has just arrived saying that White Lotus sect heretics have risen in revolt at Great Sword Mountain within the roving bandits' territory, gathering a force of 100,000 with tremendous momentum. They have already cut off the vital pass at Jianmen!"

"What?" Wu Sangui was taken aback. He took the secret report and opened it to read. "Is this true?"

"True!" Liu Sheng said with certainty. "The source is extremely reliable!"

Wu Sangui and Li Dingguo had fought for eight years, and naturally both had planted many hidden agents and secret spies in each other's territory to gather military intelligence.

Liu Sheng added: "Moreover, quite a few Sichuan laborers conscripted by the roving bandits have escaped to our camp in the past few days, and they too have confirmed the news of the uprising at Great Sword Mountain."

The Shun's fubing soldiers were not much given to desertion, but the Sichuan civilian laborers they had conscripted often ran away.

"Isn't this too coincidental?" Wu Sangui still could not quite believe it. "They could have rebelled at any time, but they choose to rebel just as we are preparing to attack?"

Liu Sheng said: "It is indeed suspicious, but we were already planning to advance precisely because the roving bandits are in turmoil! And ever since the bandit false Crown Prince Li Jicheng returned from plundering India, prices in Sichuan and Yunnan have soared, the people are restless, and every fubing soldier is thinking of marching south to get rich. Would it be so strange for some trouble to break out at a time like this?"

Wu Sangui thought it over and felt there was some truth in it, so he asked: "How is the front at Erliguan and Yimen Town? Still stable?"

"Nothing yet for the time being." Liu Sheng said, "When I left, I had already ordered the Shang and Kong armies to prepare for battle. If anything changes in the direction of Dasan Pass, they are to strike first."

"Well done!" Wu Sangui nodded approvingly. "Come, let us ride out of the city together to the forward camp at Erliguan."

As Wu Sangui and Liu Sheng left Baoji Prefecture and headed for Erliguan, on the opposite side at Dasan Pass, the scene was one of brilliant lights and swarming figures, bustling with unusual activity, as if a changing of the guard were underway.

The standoff and fighting on the Shaanxi front had lasted eight years, and it was of course impossible for a single unit to remain at the front for so long, so troops were rotated at regular intervals. Tonight was the night for the Shun army at Dasan Pass to rotate.

But unlike previous rotations, the unit coming up tonight was a force of mounted infantry, and they had brought no cannon. Instead they were using fake cannon made of wood to put on a show of strength.

What was being hauled down from the walls of San Pass were all real cannon; what was being hauled up were all fakes!

In addition, the grain, flour, and fodder stored inside San Pass were being dragged out of the warehouses, loaded onto carts, and hauled away. Anyone with a bit of military common sense seeing this scene could probably guess that the great Shun heavenly army, which had held out on the Guanzhong Plain for seven or eight years, had finally reached the point where it could hold out no longer.

Li Dingguo and Luo Hu were at that moment standing atop the gate tower of Dasan Pass, watching column after column of carts, infantry, and horse-drawn cannon depart through the southern gate of Dasan Pass, heading toward the San Pass road leading to Hanzhong Prefecture.

As he watched, Li Dingguo could not help but sigh: "Eight years of bitter war, all undone in a single morning! Tens of thousands of fallen heroes will not rest easy in their graves!"

Luo Hu, standing beside him, consoled him: "My Prince, this time, as long as we can deal Wu Sangui a heavy blow and make him never dare covet our Shun realm again, these eight years of bitter war will have been worth it."

(End of Chapter)