Chapter 1457: Ada, Rest Assured — Your Daughter Is Filial

"Puxing, Sixing, Runxing, Yue'e — all of you, speak up!"

In Songpan Guard City, inside the command headquarters, Li Dingguo, Military Governor of Do Kham, summoned his three sons and one daughter into his study, then handed them the imperial edict that had just arrived, forwarded through the Sichuan Military Governor's office.

Zhu Cilang's edicts numbered two in all. One granted marriage to Zhu Ci'en and Li Yue'e — a belated formality, one might say. The Eight-Faced Vajra King had already boarded the carriage; could Zhu Cilang, as the elder brother, fail to pay the fare? Beyond paying the fare, Zhu Cilang also announced in this edict a gift of one million taels of silver to the couple Zhu Ci'en and Li Yue'e — the very one million taels that Chongzhen had scraped together by selling the West Garden to the Rent-Collecting King and then digging out his own burial money. This sum was granted entirely to Zhu Ci'en and Li Yue'e. Nor was there any need to transport actual silver from Yingtian; banknotes from the Maritime Merchant Bank and the Salt Merchant Bank would be issued directly. At this moment the banknotes, together with the other articles of reward, were being escorted toward Songpan Guard by Li Jinxue and several other officials of the Imperial Clan Court.

This edict, in truth, amounted to nothing; a glance sufficed. What truly distressed the family gathered in the study was Zhu Cilang's other edict.

In this edict, Zhu Cilang approved the request put forward by the Do Kham Military Governor's office for a collective migration to the Western Regions, and also agreed to grant eight million taels of silver for travel expenses — naturally, these travel funds would not be paid in cash, but would be provided as corresponding goods, chiefly cotton cloth, silk, ironware, tea, and the like. With these goods, the Li family army could barter for provisions along the route during their westward migration.

To this, Li Dingguo and the others raised no objection. Although the figure of eight million (in practice nine million) fell short of the ten million they had demanded, the gap was not large and could be accepted. What truly troubled them were the two major demands Zhu Cilang had attached: the "Plan for Distributing Military Households of the Do Kham Military Governor's Office" and "Li Dingguo's Appointment as Military Governor of Dongchuan."

Only if Li Dingguo's side agreed to the "distribution of military households" and "Li Dingguo's posting to Dongchuan" would the Ming court increase the funds and supplies for the Do Kham relocation.

Silence filled the room. Only after a long while did Li Yue'e break it: "Ada, Emperor Zhu has gone too far. Your health is still so robust, and yet he wants you to divide up the family property. Is there any such principle under heaven? I'll go back and speak with the Ninth Prince, and have him submit another memorial to the Emperor."

Li Dingguo sighed: "Other families have no such rule, but his family indeed does. The Retired Emperor Chongzhen is still alive, is he not? And has Hongxing not already reached its twenty-fifth year? Had Chongzhen's estate waited until his death to be passed down, this realm would long since have belonged to the Shun!"

"The present Hongxing Emperor is the same. He has not died, yet he has already divided out a great deal of territory and vassal kingdoms to his sons. He merely clings stubbornly to the throne of the Ming Emperor and refuses to yield it."

So it turned out that dividing the family property while still alive was an old tradition of the Zhu family!

Li Puxing snorted coldly: "Emperor Zhu clearly harbors no good intentions. This plan for distributing military households that he has proposed is meant to sow discord among us. If our family falls to fighting among itself, he will have succeeded!"

Li Runxing nodded in agreement: "How could our own family ever fight? Emperor Zhu's scheme will never succeed. We cannot agree to divide the family!"

The second son, Li Sixing, was the most cautious and hesitant of the three Li brothers. His brows knitted tightly as he said in a low voice: "This journey to the Western Regions is a distant road of more than ten thousand li. Without the travel funds from Emperor Zhu, and without the cooperation of the garrisons along the way, how are we to make it? So many old brothers — quite a few of them have followed Ada for over thirty years. Must they all come to a bad end?"

"Second Brother!" Li Runxing looked at his second brother, still somewhat unwilling. "Our allegiance to the Ming was only out of necessity, not sincerity. Right now the Emperor is making a great revival in Yunnan and Burma. Perhaps before long he will counterattack Sichuan."

Li Sixing snorted: "Li Jicheng only knows how to go plunder money in the Land of India. And what if he does seize it? Can he outspend Emperor Zhu? In my view, he is nothing more than a regional hegemon carving out Burma."

Li Runxing evidently still cherished the Shun dynasty. He snorted a few times and seemed ready to quarrel with his second brother, but was stopped by Li Puxing, the eldest of the three sons.

"What is there to quarrel about? So long as we brothers remain of one mind, what difference does it make whether the family is divided or not?"

Li Sixing and Li Runxing frowned at the same time, and both turned their gazes toward Li Yue'e — Zhu Cilang wanted to allot her twelve thousand households!

Moreover, Li Dingguo's adopted son Li Yuan would receive another five thousand households. The Li family had forty thousand households in all; nearly a small half would thus be carved away.

And Li Yue'e's allotted share was larger than any of the four brothers' — she was, in effect, Li Dingguo's heir.

Li Yue'e seemed to sense the looks from her two brothers. At once she smiled and said to Li Dingguo: "Ada, your daughter is but a woman, and no commander of troops. What use have I for so many military households? I do not want them!"

"You do not want them," Li Dingguo said, looking at his daughter. "But will Emperor Zhu agree? This is what he wishes to give you and your husband."

"Besides, you now have a husband. Does he want these twelve thousand households?"

"He does not want them either," Li Yue'e said. "Ada, that husband of mine is the sort who loves beauty more than power. Back then, when Chongzhen wanted him to become King of Luzon, he gave the chance at kingship to his brother because he could not bear to part with the beauties of the Qinhuai River. How would such a man care about those military households?"

Her words were of course correct, but the problem was that Zhu Ci'en had now married Li Yue'e, and so he had to first obtain a share of a realm before there could be mixed-blood beauties of the Western Regions.

Li Yue'e looked at her father and continued: "Ada, if you register those twelve thousand households under my name, it will be the same as holding them yourself. I am a filial daughter and will heed Ada in everything."

"Once we reach the Western Regions, Ada can find a way to join us, and then I will return all the troops to you, old man."

What filial piety indeed — utterly unlike Zhu Cilang!

Li Dingguo had always felt that Li Yue'e was the most considerate of his children, better than all the rest. So he nodded and said: "That is indeed a way... We truly cannot hold on in Songpan Guard any longer. Better to set out after this autumn's harvest, go first to the Hehuang region to pass the winter, and by next spring or summer we can enter Anxi."

The route he planned was to go from Songpan Guard into the borderlands of Do Kham, then to Hehuang, into the Hexi Corridor, and ever westward until reaching Anxi and the Western Regions... Once they reached the Western Regions, the sky would be vast and the earth broad, and they could soar wherever they pleased.

"Ada, what about Uncle Liu and Uncle Ai?" Li Yue'e then asked about the prospects for Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi.

Li Dingguo sighed again: "It is difficult. A few days ago another letter arrived from Chamdo... your Third Uncle Ai is also preparing an expedition. He too can hardly stay any longer on the snowy plateau! Once he leaves, can Second Brother Liu remain in Ü-Tsang? His departure is only a matter of time. I never imagined that the four of us brothers would in the end be scattered to the far corners of the earth!"

"Ada, as long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of running out of firewood." Li Yue'e consoled her father. "So long as Father preserves his strength, our chance will come in the future."

Li Dingguo nodded and said with a bitter smile: "It seems that is all we can do... Later, let Li Yuan make the hard trip to Chengdu Prefecture and carefully discuss with Emperor Zhu's Military Governor of Xichuan, Hao Yongzhong, how we are to leave this bitter, cold place of Songpan Guard!"

"What? Twelve thousand households... Wife, do you truly mean to hand them over once we reach the Western Regions?"

After Li Yue'e returned to the residence she shared with Zhu Ci'en, she told the Eight-Faced Vajra King what had been decided today in the discussion with Li Dingguo and the others. The prince immediately grew anxious.

He had still been counting on Li Dingguo's troops to carve out a realm... Only with a realm could there be beauties!

"Husband, set your mind at ease!" Li Yue'e laughed. "How could I let Ada toil his whole life long?"

"Yue'e, you mean..."

Li Yue'e blinked. "You do not understand my meaning? I am a filial daughter. I cannot let Ada suffer his whole life. He must be sent to Yingtian Prefecture to enjoy his retirement... Husband, so long as the Emperor shares this intention, it will not be very difficult to accomplish."

Zhu Ci'en let out a breath of relief and looked at his new wife. "Wife, you truly bring your husband good fortune!"

(End of Chapter)