Chapter 1694: The Son of Heaven Has Gone to Throw His Life Away — What Do We Do Now?

The thunder of ten thousand armored cavalry pouring out of the Nanhaizi encampment and rumbling across the Lugou Bridge toward the southwest was enough to shake heaven and startle the earth!

This was ten thousand armored cavalry, and with two horses to a man! The dust alone kicked up as they advanced along the post road could be seen from the walls of Beijing!

Besides, Zhu Youjian still had a few Imperial Guardsmen from the Embroidered Uniform Guard by his side. Though he did not much trust these guards, most of whom came from noble households, he had not dismissed them either, and had even promoted Li Zunzong, grandson of Li Chengliang and son of Li Rusong, to captain of the guard. Li Zunzong had followed Zhu Youjian to the Nanhaizi encampment the day before, but he had no idea this young Son of Heaven meant to lead the campaign in person — not until he heard Zhu Youjian announce that the army would march on White Mountain. By the time he thought to remonstrate, it was already too late.

Ten thousand armored cavalry came roaring out — and you still want to remonstrate? Could you stop them? There was no help for it, so he sent one of his men into Beijing to the Earl of Ningyuan's residence to report to his elder brother Li Zunzu, then mounted up himself and rode off with a squad of guards in the wake of Zhu Youjian's great army, with no idea what they were supposed to do. These guards wore no armor and carried no spears or bows — just a single Embroidered Spring Saber apiece. If it came to a real battle, would they be protecting Zhu Youjian, or would Zhu Youjian be protecting them?

The Earl of Ningyuan, Li Zunzu, had followed his father Li Rusong onto the battlefield. Had his father not died under murky circumstances while campaigning against the Tumed, by now he would most likely be a Regional Commander. His family and the Chahar were old adversaries, so of course he knew how perilous this fight would be!

Of course, the Earl of Ningyuan also knew that the Son of Heaven's household cavalry could fight — his uncle Li Ruzhen served as an adjutant in the Headquarters Army, so how could he not know?

But the problem was that the Son of Heaven must not be allowed to lead troops! The young Son of Heaven was a mere boy; however great his abilities, he was still a raw recruit who had never set foot on a battlefield. What if he panicked and wet himself? On a battlefield, if the Regional Commander collapses in terror, then no matter how great the advantage, it is all thrown away.

Moreover, the Chahar had several thousand armored cavalry of their own — they were not an enemy to be beaten casually. If by some chance the young Son of Heaven became a second Emperor Yingzong, could the Earl of Ningyuan's house wash its hands clean?

At these thoughts, Li Rusong's son was frightened to tears. Weeping, he went to the Military Headquarters, and only when he got there did he discover that Zhang Weixian, Commander of the Capital Camps, was not in. After asking around, he learned that Zhang Weixian had gone to the Ministry of Personnel that morning and had not yet returned!

Li Zunzu had no choice but to go on to the Ministry of Personnel. When he arrived, he found the ministry's main hall packed with high officials in python robes and black gauze caps, all shaking their heads and sighing — one look told him something had gone badly wrong.

"Disaster! Disaster!" Li Zunzu shouted the moment he came through the door, tears streaming down his face as he shouted.

His weeping and shouting might not have mattered by itself, but it frightened the officials in the hall out of their wits — Li Zunzu's brother Li Zunzong was captain of the Imperial Guard!

For him to weep like this and shout at the top of his lungs — could it be that something had happened to the Son of Heaven?

At noon, the assembled officials had not seen the young Son of Heaven at Qianqing Palace; they had only found a baffling handwritten edict that said: "If you want war, then war it is!"

After leaving Qianqing Palace, the ministers grew more and more uneasy the longer they thought about it. So instead of going home, they gathered again at the Ministry of Personnel to continue deliberating on a plan.

But they deliberated and deliberated without reaching any conclusion. Just as they were about to seek connections and make further inquiries, the Earl of Ningyuan, Li Zunzu — elder brother of the guard captain Li Zunzong — came in weeping!

Everyone looked at him, and their hearts sank: What is to be done now? The Son of Heaven has no son yet, and no brothers either. If something has happened to him, who will be emperor?

"Earl of Ningyuan," Zhang Weixian hurried forward, seized Li Zunzu by the arm, and asked, "Is His Majesty—"

Li Zunzu nodded, his face full of grief and sorrow. "Duke of Ying, so you already know!"

Zhang Weixian let out a mournful sigh, then burst into tears: "Your Majesty, how could you leave us like this?"

His weeping was all it took — every civil and military official in the Ministry of Personnel's main hall began wailing along with him. The Emperor was gone! How could they not weep? Even those whose hearts were not with this young Son of Heaven had to cry at this moment as though their own father had died.

Li Zunzu was a bit stunned by the scene. What was going on? Why was everyone carrying on as if their parents had died?

Sensing something was off, Li Zunzu hastily shouted: "Disaster! His Majesty is leading the campaign in person — he is going to fight the Chahar's Khutugtu Khan to the death! His Majesty is going to throw his life away!"

What?

His Majesty has gone to fight Khutugtu Khan to the death?

At this, everyone stopped fake-weeping and stared at Li Zunzu with bulging eyes.

Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji rushed to Li Zunzu's side and asked in a trembling voice: "E-Earl of Ningyuan, what did you say?"

"Chief Grand Secretary, my younger brother sent word this afternoon: His Majesty has already led the Headquarters Army's ten thousand-odd cavalry out of the Nanhaizi encampment, declaring that he is going to Datong Garrison to fight the Chahar's Khutugtu Khan, who has broken through the wall, to the death!"

When Huang Liji heard this, the muscles in his calves seized up, and before he could steady himself he sat down hard on the floor. The Minister of War, Wang Zaijin, who stood nearby, was somewhat calmer. He stepped forward and asked: "Earl of Ningyuan, say that again."

"His Majesty has led his troops out toward Datong to fight the Chahar's Khutugtu Khan to the death!" Li Zunzu said. "His Majesty arrived at Nanhaizi yesterday, and this morning he assembled ten thousand-odd armored cavalry on the parade ground for a review. As soon as the review was over, he set out with those ten thousand-odd cavalry toward the Zijing Pass to the southwest. My younger brother could not stop him in time, so he sent a man to inform me."

Wang Zaijin stamped his foot: "We should have seen this coming. The Son of Heaven conducts himself like the Martial Temple — he is plainly a His Majesty who wants to be an emperor on horseback!"

"What is to be done now?" asked Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji.

Wang Zaijin gritted his teeth: "Obviously, we go and bring His Majesty back! His Majesty does not even have a son. If anything should happen to him, would not the Ming realm fall into chaos?"

"Can we catch up with him?" Huang Liji asked in a trembling voice.

"We do what men can, and leave the rest to Heaven!" Wang Zaijin then turned to Zhang Weixian, Commander of the Capital Camps. "Commander, leading troops to war is your proper duty. Go at once and assemble several thousand — ten thousand if possible — cavalry. If His Majesty truly refuses to return, then take those cavalry and serve as His Majesty's vanguard!"

What? Zhang Weixian's mouth hung open, and he could not get a word out. The only cavalry around Beijing that could fight was precisely the Headquarters Army's ten thousand-odd horsemen! His Majesty had taken them all — where was he supposed to find several thousand cavalry now?

The Earl of Ningyuan, Li Zunzu, knew that he was implicated through his scheming uncle Li Ruzhen, and that if anything truly happened to Zhu Youjian, he would certainly suffer disaster. He had no choice but to steel himself and volunteer: "Duke of Ying, my household still has a hundred retainers, all of them able fighters. There are so many noble houses in Beijing — if each house contributes fifty horsemen, that is two or three thousand men at once. The Capital Camps and the Embroidered Uniform Guard still have some cavalry. Scraped together, we could manage five or six thousand."

Zhang Weixian glared at Li Zunzu, thinking: Are you trying to get all us military nobles of Beijing killed?

Li Zunzu looked around at the assembled officials, all of whom were staring at him, but he could not concern himself with that now. He stepped forward, leaned close to Zhang Weixian's ear, and said in a low voice: "My lord Duke, if the worst should happen, we need to have a cavalry force in our hands!

And what if the Son of Heaven wins? Do we military nobles of the capital really intend to stand aside?"

Zhang Weixian understood at once!

At a moment like this, he, as Commander of the Capital Camps, could not afford to be without a few thousand men capable of fighting. If the Son of Heaven truly perished — these few thousand men would be the capital for deciding the succession! And if the Son of Heaven won, he could still lead a few thousand men out to pick some of the fruit, and show that the capital's military nobles still had some use. Otherwise, would not the Son of Heaven, riding the prestige of having defeated the Chahar, squeeze yet more benefits out of the capital's noble houses?

"Right!" Zhang Weixian nodded emphatically at once. "We nobles, who have received imperial favor for generations, cannot simply stand by and watch the Son of Heaven court danger!" He clasped his hands toward Huang Liji, Wang Zaijin, Sun Chengzong, and the others. "Gentlemen, go first and try to dissuade the Son of Heaven. I will go muster the cavalry and follow shortly!"

Huang Liji, Wang Zaijin, Sun Chengzong, and the rest exchanged glances and nodded. Now there was nothing to do but prepare for both outcomes. If they could persuade the Son of Heaven to return, well and good; if they could not, then they could only make plans for the worst!

(End of Chapter)