Chapter 1304: What They Contend For Is the Chance to Render Meritorious Service to the Nation!

Finish the fighting quickly and then there'll be money? Is it to take advantage of the time before the Ming forces in southern Shaanxi finish resting and regrouping, and have the Ming troops under the Yunnan-Sichuan-Guizhou Governor-General's Office push through and finish the war in one go? The troops under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office are all southern troops, not the same system as the northern troops directly under the Ming court.

Zhu Cilang thought to himself: Can't you, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Restoration, just properly check the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works? Getting fooled like this by two gangs of unscrupulous merchants — how are you ever going to go down in history as the Zhuge Liang of the Great Ming? Can the history books record that the grand Zhuge Liang of the Great Ming couldn't even understand an account book?

"In matters of war, one cannot simply be greedy for speed!" Zhu Cilang said thoughtfully. "Right now the various forces in southern Shaanxi are all utterly exhausted. They should continue to rest and resupply. Besides, the new Governor-General of Sichuan-Shaanxi hasn't been decided yet. I'm afraid there's no way to fight again before summer."

"Your Majesty," Wei Zaode quietly reminded him, "the rebels at Tiger Fang Mountain are now moving west along Mount Jingmen. Perhaps they can be put to use. If they can pass through the territory of Shizhou Guard and reach the area around Zhongzhou and Shizhu, then launch a surprise attack and seize Zhongzhou or Shizhu, the elite troops under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office will have their chance. As long as we can take Zhongzhou, Shizhu, Fengdu, and Fuzhou, cut the Yangtze waterway, and sever the link between Kuizhou Prefecture and Chongqing Prefecture, the passage into Sichuan from the east will be completely opened. Then the great army can attack from both the northeast and the east, and the roving bandits will have no choice but to abandon Sichuan and flee!"

Wei Zaode was the Chief Grand Secretary, so of course he knew the inside story of the Tiger Fang Mountain uprising. But he probably couldn't have come up with the idea of a surprise attack on Zhongzhou or Shizhu. Zhu Cilang knew this Chief Grand Secretary Wei's way of doing things all too well — he was just an abacus bead: move when pushed, with no ideas of his own.

Today's idea must have come from Ma Shiying!

With Wu Sangui dead, the Wu family's prestige had plummeted, and within the Northerners' faction there was no one of sufficient stature to hold the line, so everyone's minds began to stir.

"Good, good," Emperor Zhu said with a smile and a nod. "This is a very good plan! We will discuss it later with Li Yan, Feng Sizhong, Zhu Chunjie, and Pan Yuchen to see whether it can work. By the way, you and Ma Shiying should come and discuss it together as well!"

Though he understood this in his heart, the current Zhu Cilang would not involve himself in factional strife — factional strife, while not a good thing, cannot be avoided; it can only be guided and controlled.

Right now what the northern and southern factions are contending for is the opportunity to render meritorious service to the nation, and both of them have the ability to render such service — they are not fighting blindly. So this kind of factional strife can still be tolerated. Therefore there is no need to stop it.

Of course, he also couldn't let the Southerners' faction swell too much on the strength of the Sichuan and Yunnan campaigns.

The balance at court still had to be maintained by whatever means possible!

The next day's midday court session was originally the "military council session" — a military conference attended by the high-ranking officers of the Marshal's Office, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of the Navy. The location was also in the Hall of Diligent Governance, though not in the main hall, but in the west wing of the Hall of Diligent Governance, in the annex also known as the Map Hall.

Because of Wu Sangui's death from illness at the front, the northern military officers in the Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War all seemed somewhat dejected.

Emperor Zhu did not bring up the matter of the campaign into Sichuan right away, but instead spoke of Wu Sangui's funeral.

It would of course be a grand funeral, with burial beside the imperial tombs at Sleeping Dragon Mountain in Chuzhou — the so-called Sleeping Dragon Mountain was actually the collective name for a chain of hills within Chuzhou. It was a site of excellent feng shui found by Emperor Zhu's feng shui master in the first year of Hongxing, said to be capable of preserving the Great Ming's dynastic fortune for at most another three hundred years (not counting the first year of Hongxing).

Before Wu Sangui's tomb was completed, Wu Sangui's coffin would rest at the Temple of the Martial Sage in Wuhan — this Temple of the Martial Sage was not dedicated to Lord Guan, but to the Confucian Martial Sage. Although Wu Sangui did not die in battle, his death was still connected to campaigning for the nation, so he too was qualified to be canonized as a sage. Henceforth he would be a minor sage of the Confucian school, and his spirit tablet would be placed in the Temple of the Martial Sage to receive incense offerings.

Of course, a solemn funeral ceremony would also be held for Wu Sangui! Not one of the high officials and nobles in Wuhan could get out of it — they all had to contribute their share of funeral money!

Zhu Cilang himself also had to contribute a share — no matter what, he had to give a hundred thousand taels of silver!

In addition, the one presiding over Wu Sangui's funeral would certainly be Kong Yinzheng, the Duke for Perpetuating the Sage. He must be made to arrange Wu Sangui's funeral properly, and not according to the specifications of a Duke — raise it one level higher, and hold it according to the specifications of a Commandery Prince. Presumably old Wu, if he knew in the underworld, would also be very pleased.

And then there was the posthumous title!

"How shall Wu Sangui's posthumous title be decided?" Zhu Cilang asked. "The first character is certainly Wu. Now let us settle the second character. All of you, speak."

"Your Majesty, this subject believes that Wu Sangui first won a great victory, opening the gateway into Sichuan for the court, and then died of illness — he can be called Ning."

The one who answered this question was the military strategist Feng Sizhong. This Wuning was the highest-ranking posthumous title for Ming military officers, and in the history of the Ming dynasty only Xu Da, the Commandery Prince of Zhongshan, had received the posthumous title Wuning.

"Wuning is not appropriate," Zhu Cilang rejected Feng Sizhong's proposal. "Although Sangui's service was great and his merits abundant, within the Wu family he cannot be ranked first."

Feng Sizhong understood that the first meritorious servant of the Wu family Emperor Zhu spoke of was Wu Sanfu — Wu Sangui was, after all, a thrice-serving subject, and his merits truly could not compare with Wu Sanfu's. So Wu Wuning could only be Wu Sanfu.

"Wuyi is also not appropriate, since there is already a Wu Wuyi (Wu Xiang)," Feng Sizhong continued. "That leaves only Wumin or Wuhui."

"Then use Wumin!" Zhu Cilang said. "Min means swift! Sangui moved troops with speed — whether advancing or retreating, his speed was always fast. It is just a pity that in the battle of Lueyang his movements were slow, and he died of illness at the front."

Emperor Zhu had spoken with his golden mouth, and henceforth Wu Sangui would be Wu Wumin. Wumin was also a fine posthumous title!

"Now let us discuss the matter of entering Sichuan!" Zhu Cilang said. "What does the Marshal's Office think? Is now the opportunity to seize Zhongzhou and Shizhu by deception?"

"Your Majesty," Feng Sizhong said, "this subject believes that seizing Zhongzhou and Shizhu by deception is feasible. However, relying solely on the forces under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office is still not enough to take all of Sichuan. After all, the roving bandits' northern capital is in Chongqing Prefecture, where heavy troops are stationed, and they have also fortified Chongqing into a wall of bronze and iron.

Taking Zhongzhou and Shizhu would at most draw the roving bandits' attention from the northern front to the eastern front, creating the conditions for the success of the surprise attack on the northern front."

The surprise attack on the northern front had been in preparation all along. The specific plan was to break into the Sichuan Basin through Songpan Guard. A division of the Imperial Guard had already gone up onto the plateau and was adapting to the plateau climate while waiting for the weather to warm.

Zhu Cilang then looked at Ma Shiying. "Minister Ma, you are a veteran official who served two terms as Governor-General of Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan. What is your view?"

Ma Shiying smiled and said: "If Kuizhou Prefecture changes hands, the roving bandits will certainly concentrate heavy troops at Chongqing. But they would not go so far as to drain Chengdu of its forces entirely. The risk of descending south through the Songpan Plateau is still considerable. If we want to ensure the success of the surprise attack, we must send out another force — troops from Guizhou to strike at Qujing and threaten the roving bandits' old nest in Yunnan."

"Are the forces under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office sufficient?" Zhu Cilang asked.

The forces under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office were relatively few — only three armies: the Yunnan Army, the Sichuan Army, and the Guizhou Army. Among them, the Yunnan Army was built around the men of Duke Mu's household, recruiting all manner of demons and monsters who had fled out of Yunnan. The Sichuan Army was the troops of the Western Sichuan Garrison, the main force under the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Governor-General's Office. The Guizhou Army was a force cobbled together from the local military households' strongmen and the tusi strongmen of Guizhou.

The three armies combined had a total strength of only seventy or eighty thousand men. Moreover, their combat effectiveness was weak, and facing the Shun army they could only adopt a defensive posture.

"Not enough," said the military strategist Feng Sizhong. "The three armies of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan have at most eighty thousand men. Taking Zhongzhou, Shizhu, and Fuzhou would already be difficult enough; to simultaneously strike at Yunnan as well is not enough. However, the Yunnan campaign cannot begin for a while anyway, and there is still time to move troops into Guizhou. If two new army divisions go in, they should be able to pose a threat to Qujing!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded, saying with a laugh: "Then let the Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War draw up the strategy!"

He did not ask Ma Shiying's opinion further. Now the military affairs of the Great Ming did not need to be questioned by the civil officials of the Grand Secretariat; the professional officer system of the Marshal's Office, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of the Navy had its own plans. The reason Ma Shiying had been invited over was simply that among the "righteous army" now fleeing westward along Mount Jingmen there were undercover agents of the Ministry of Justice, so Ma Shiying, as Minister of Justice, had to be kept in the loop.

(End of Chapter)