Chapter 1299: Wu Sangui, Get to Wuhan — Now!

By the time Zhu Tianfeng had finished conveying Zhu Cilang's meaning, Wu Sanmei's brows were already knotted into a tight frown.

"Equal before the exam scores," my foot!

The Zheng family has eleven daughters, and every one of them tests well — the top spot will most likely go to a Zheng!

And the Zhu Emperor won't even allow the Crown Prince to take a secondary consort at the same time, which means if Wu Ahuan doesn't pass the exam for Crown Princess, she won't even get a chance to be a secondary consort!

Isn't this just bullying the Wu family's daughters for not being good at exams?

Wu Sanmei let out a cold snort and said through gritted silver teeth, "It must be that vixen of the Zheng family stirring things up!"

She didn't dare curse Zhu Cilang — not only did she not dare curse him, she didn't even dare argue with him, and she didn't even dare go make inquiries herself, which was why she had sent her daughter to find out.

Zhu Tianfeng knew her mother feared her husband; in front of her Imperial Father she was utterly meek and obedient! If he said go east, she went east; if he said go west, she went west — she would never dare show the Zhu Emperor the slightest bit of temper.

And she also knew that Zhu Cilang had a mind of his own, and Zheng Chagu was in no position to sway him. Besides, Zheng Chagu wasn't even particularly favored in Zhu Cilang's rear palace.

The ones truly in favor right now were Marie Mancini, and that Ajige who was always being punished looked rather pitiful but was actually favored too — beating is affection, scolding is love!

But both of their positions were wobbling, because Princess Nisha from the land of India also stood a very good chance of becoming the Emperor's new favorite.

This Indian princess was quite good at ensnaring people — before she had even arrived, she had already hooked away half of the Zhu Emperor's soul. It turned out that after Princess Nisha entered Ming territory, she had fallen ill from the rigors of travel and from being unaccustomed to the climate, and had recuperated for several months in Shaoguan. Only now had she just set out northward.

But during her convalescence in Shaoguan, she had not forgotten to entice Zhu Cilang. Not only did she send him a portrait of herself, she also wrote him love poems and love letters every day. At first they weren't written very well, and the handwriting was rather ugly. But she improved quickly, and now her love poems were so well written that even the talented lady Xu Erlin admired her literary gift.

"Imperial Mother," Zhu Tianfeng said softly, watching her mother's fuming expression, "Imperial Father has a strong will, and once something is decided it's very hard to change. But it's not certain that any of the Zheng family's eleven sisters can take the top spot, because your daughter has noticed that among the girls sitting the exam there are many talented ladies — at least twenty or thirty of them are evenly matched in learning. Who actually passes will depend on how they perform."

Wu Sanmei snorted. "There's still the martial exam! Jiangnan has many talented ladies, but most can handle the pen and not the sword. Even those who've studied a bit can't compare with those girls of the Zheng family — the Zhengs are a military house, after all!

And your Imperial Father puts great weight on financial skills. The Zhengs are born crooked merchants — how can the daughters of those scholar-official families compete?"

"Imperial Mother, there are also the daughters of the Shen family of Chongming," Zhu Tianfeng said, "and the daughters of the Zuo family of Laiyang — they're all very capable."

Shen Tingyang's background was much the same as Zheng Zhilong's; his sons had also intermarried with the Jiangnan scholar-officials, and he too had many top-student granddaughters.

As for the Zuo family of Laiyang — Zuo Maodi's family — they were even more formidable. Not only were they the richest family in Shandong, they were also ennobled meritorious officials, a family of examination success, and the backbone of the Northern Party. Naturally they too were going all-out in preparation for the Jinling Women's University.

"So what?" Wu Sanmei's face still looked grim. "The Shens of Chongming and the Zuos of Laiyang are outsiders in the end. Ake can't be chosen, and Ahuan can't pass — what are we to do? Feng'er, you must think of a way for your mother."

"This..." Zhu Tianfeng grew anxious too, seeing her mother so worried — she was a filial daughter! How could she not be anxious?

"Mother," — her head was sharp after all, and she already had an idea — "let's wait a little longer. Wait until Uncle returns in triumph from Hanzhong, and let him speak with Imperial Father. He can at least secure a secondary consort's place for Ahuan, and perhaps even fight for the position of primary consort."

"Can he really win the primary consort's position?" Wu Sanmei wasn't sure. "Would the exam be skipped?"

"How could the exam possibly be skipped?" Zhu Tianfeng shook her head. "Imperial Mother, Imperial Father is establishing an ancestral institution for the future of the Great Ming!"

Wu Sanmei asked, "Then how could Ahuan possibly pass?"

Zhu Tianfeng said in a low voice, "As long as she reviews properly, it's possible. If Imperial Father can give your child a little hint, then your child will have a way."

The entrance exam questions for the Jinling Women's University this time had been set by Zhu Cilang personally.

Wu Sanmei understood now. She sighed. "It seems that's the only way! But swords and arrows on the battlefield show no mercy, and your uncle is far too careless..."

Right now the outcome of the Battle of Lueyang was impossible to predict!

Whether Wu Sangui would return to court in triumph or come home wrapped in horsehide, no one could say!

"Imperial Mother," Zhu Tianfeng said in a low voice, "if anything should befall Uncle, then Imperial Father would all the more need to console the martyrs and meritorious officials. So the matter of selecting students for the Women's University would best be postponed for a while.

And your daughter can also use this time to give Ake and Ahuan some extra tutoring."

"But how is this matter to be delayed?" Wu Sanmei again asked her daughter for a plan.

"Imperial Mother can write a note to Sixth Uncle, and I'll take it to him," Zhu Tianfeng said. "Sixth Uncle is full of stratagems, and besides, he's the Chancellor of the Women's University — he'll surely have a way."

"Right, right," Wu Sanmei said. "That child Cixuan is obedient; he'll certainly help me."

Zhu Tianfeng's idea was quite useful. Zhu Cixuan was indeed one of Wu Sanmei's people — earlier, when Zheng Zhilong and the others were tallying the strength of the Northern and Southern parties, they had forgotten to count the Ming imperial princes represented by Zhu Cixuan.

These men had now been released from their restrictions and could openly take part in politics and hold office!

And once Zhu Cixuan made his move, he really did push the matter back a bit — his method was simple: he suggested that Princess Nisha also take the exam. Of course, Princess Nisha was not a direct subject of the Ming Emperor, so she could not become Crown Princess or the primary consort of a tributary king. Her taking the exam would not affect the selection of the Crown Princess, but it would satisfy the vanity of both Princess Nisha and Zhu Cilang.

Moreover, it would also highlight the firm friendship between the Great Ming Empire and the Timurid Empire of India!

The Zhu Emperor, who was currently being courted by a fair-skinned, rich, and beautiful Indian princess, naturally would not refuse this suggestion. And with the fighting in southern Shaanxi at a tense stage, the Zhu Emperor was in no mood to preside over the Women's University exam anyway!

But whether Wu Sangui would return to Wuhan standing upright or lying down was hard to say.

Above and below the walls of the Xiangshan fortress, it was already a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

With the battle fought to this point, the commanders on both sides understood that this was now a contest of nerves — a fight over the last breath.

As for Li Dingguo, he had already caught a familiar scent — the peculiar smell that comes just before a near-success collapses! In the many contests between Li Dingguo and Wu Sangui, the openings had been much the same, the middle game much the same, and the endings much the same.

Every time, victory seemed within sight, yet always fell short by just that one breath — one breath short of killing Wu Sangui. Tell me that isn't infuriating!

This time was much the same. The battles before the siege of Lueyang had been fought so brilliantly they could have gone straight into the textbooks of the Yunnan Military Academy. But once they reached Lueyang, Li Dingguo had concentrated more than eighty thousand men — all elite fubing — and still couldn't take it!

Lueyang could not be taken, yet Wu Sangui's relief forces had already arrived in great strength. Now Feihu Ridge, Maling Pass, and Sanhekou — the key points on the Qishan road northwest of Lueyang — were all under attack by Ming forces. Only the tenacity of the garrisons Li Dingguo had dispatched was holding the relief forces back.

But Li Dingguo's army had been fighting continuously for too long, and everyone already knew that Hanzhong was in dire straits, so morale had begun to slide steadily. On top of that, with the incessant fierce fighting of this period, casualties were mounting higher and higher — the troops really were reaching the point where they could no longer fight.

The reason Li Dingguo still refused to give up was that he had learned from prisoners that Lueyang's grain stores were low, while the number of mouths to feed was not small. So he had been nursing the plan of starving out the garrison!

But now it was already March — how did Wu Sangui still have grain? The Battle of Lueyang had begun in early February; it had been nearly a month now. Why hadn't Wu Sangui starved to death yet?

Not only had he not starved — the garrison's strength was still ample!

"Why couldn't they get up there again... Wu Sangui really can hold a city..."

Li Dingguo raised his telescope and watched his soldiers once again being driven down from the fortress walls atop Xiangshan. He was already growing disheartened.

Just then, his eldest son Li Puxing came down from the mountain with his men, escorting several commoners with bruised and swollen faces. Seeing Li Dingguo, he shouted, "Ada, Ada, I've figured out what that dog Wu Sangui is eating!"

(End of Chapter)