Chapter 199: Prince of Heng, Redeem Yourself Through Meritorious Service!

Yidu City, the Prince of Heng's residence.

It was called a princely residence, but in truth it was a royal citadel! The walls were high and solid, protected on all four sides by a moat. Without Hongyi cannon, this citadel alone would have given Zhu Cilang's Hard-Working New Army a very hard time.

Though the Hard-Working New Army now had strict discipline, orderly ranks, and high morale, it was still far from being a truly invincible elite force!

They had no Hongyi cannon capable of breaching walls, nor enough firearms, and basically still had to rely on spears, bows and arrows, and sword-and-shield men to hold the field.

Such an army might perform well enough in open battle, but breaching the strong city of Yidu and the Prince of Heng's citadel was all but impossible.

Yet by the evening of the second day of the seventh month in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen of the Great Ming, Zhu Cilang was already seated grandly in the Silver Peace Hall of the Prince of Heng's residence, smiling as he watched the Prince of Heng, Zhu Youzhan, and his several sons, stripped of their python robes and ordinary dress and clad in white, kneeling prostrate in the middle of his great hall.

Yidu City and the Prince of Heng's residence were now firmly under the control of the Hard-Working New Army!

And the man who had helped Zhu Cilang seize the Prince of Heng's residence, the former Assistant Regional Commander of the Qingzhou sub-garrison, Li Shiyuan, had by now been appointed Imperial Commissioner Garrisoning Qingzhou, Regional Commander, concurrently administering the affairs of Qingzhou Prefecture. In other words, all military and civil authority in Qingzhou Prefecture had been grasped by him in one hand!

The newly installed Li Shiyuan now stood at Zhu Cilang's side, pleading on behalf of the Prince of Heng, Zhu Youzhan.

"Thousand Years, although His Highness the Prince of Heng submitted a memorial of surrender to the Roving Bandit, in the end he repented, and sent this subject to launch a surprise attack on the Roving Bandit Yao Yingfeng's force, slaying him. That should redeem a little of his guilt. This subject begs His Highness the Army-Pacifying Crown Prince to show mercy and spare him the death penalty."

Death could be spared, but punishment could not possibly be remitted, and the Heng princely establishment was certainly finished as well. The Prince of Heng would be demoted to commoner and confined for life behind high walls; the Commandery Princes below the Heng establishment, the State-Quelling Generals and State-Upholding Commandants would likewise be demoted to commoners. From now on the whole family could fend for themselves!

At the thought of the bitter days ahead, the Prince of Heng and his sons could not help wailing aloud — a pitiful sight indeed.

But Zhu Cilang kept his smiling expression, utterly unmoved.

"Prince of Heng, stop crying! Crying is useless!" Zhu Cilang said. "Though Commander Li is willing to share some of his credit with you, We do not believe it. A coward like you — you would dare order Commander Li to attack roving bandits? Your crimes are unpardonable!"

Unpardonable?

That meant death?

The Prince of Heng, Zhu Youzhan, was so terrified he could not even cry, his whole body trembling, a warmth spreading below, and then a wet stain appeared on the floor tiles.

"Unpardonable," Zhu Cilang said, looking at his craven appearance and smiling, "but merit can redeem guilt! Prince of Heng, do you wish to redeem yourself?"

Redemption was still possible?

"Yes, yes!" The Prince of Heng, hearing he might live, kowtowed frantically like a pestle pounding garlic. "This subject is willing to offer all his property to His Highness the Crown Prince, and begs only that Your Highness spare this subject's worthless life and allow him to end his days within the high walls at Fengyang."

"Heh heh," Zhu Cilang laughed and shook his head. "Not enough! Your crimes are too great, and your family fortune too small — not enough to redeem them! What to do?"

"This, this..." The Prince of Heng could barely speak. He had already offered everything he owned; if that was still not enough, he was at his wit's end.

"Your family property, We do not need." At this point Zhu Cilang smiled and pointed out a way to live. "Your princely title, We can also let you keep. Of course, you cannot remain in Qingzhou. Come with Us to Nanjing, and We will arrange a princely residence for your retirement. What do you think?"

Such a good thing?

The Prince of Heng was somewhat stunned. A moment ago it was unpardonable, and now he could even keep his princely title?

Zhu Cilang looked at the dazed prince and said in a low voice: "Prince of Heng, if you want to live and enjoy yourself in Nanjing, you must do things for Us. Are you willing to do things for Us?"

"Willing, willing!" The Prince of Heng nodded repeatedly, then his face crumpled. "But this guilty subject is dull-witted and knows nothing!"

"Not knowing does not matter," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "We will have someone teach you. Attendants! Summon the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Zhu Chunchen!"

The one sent to teach the Prince of Heng his duties was the Duke of Chengguo, Zhu Chunchen, who was now Commander of the Imperial Guard — a very high office!

But the Imperial Guard had no troops — only two Commanders, four Commandants, and a pile of Regional Commanders, Vice Regional Commanders, and Assistant Regional Commanders. In short, those ennobled lords and hereditary senior military officers who had fled Beijing with Zhu Cilang, if there was nowhere else to place them, were given nominal posts in the Imperial Guard and drew pay and rations for nothing.

Incidentally, all the civil and military officials who had fled with Zhu Cilang now received their full salaries, with no commutation to goods. Their legal income was actually higher than it had been back in Beijing.

Of course, Zhu Cilang did not treat these ennobled lords and hereditary officers with nominal Imperial Guard posts as useless — as long as they were put in the right places, every one of them was a pillar of the state!

Even the Prince of Heng, Zhu Youzhan, if used well, was still quite useful.

Yanzhou, the Administrative Office of the Prince of Lu's household, Shi Kefa's headquarters.

In a reception hall, several cups of clear tea sent up a rich fragrance. Minister Shi had changed into a loose jade-white Confucian robe, wore no hat, and sat at ease in the seat of honor.

There were three visitors, all dressed as scholars. One was the Duke for Perpetuating the Sage, Kong Yinzhi. Another, with a thick grizzled beard, was the Nanjing Minister of Revenue, Gao Hongtu, who had just arrived in Yanzhou.

The third was a lean scholar with a goatee and protruding eyes, about the same age as Gao Hongtu, around sixty. This man was formidable — the leader of the Donglin faction, Qian Qianyi, famed through history for the anecdotes of "the water was too cold" and "my scalp itches."

Gao Hongtu had led most of the Ministers and Vice Ministers remaining in Nanjing northward to welcome the imperial procession. The Nanjing Six Ministries were headed by Shi Kefa, with Gao Hongtu and Zhang Shenyan next. Now only the Nanjing Minister of Personnel, Zhang Shenyan, too ill to travel, remained behind; the other five Ministers had all assembled in Yanzhou.

Qian Qianyi, however, was not a serving official. This Donglin leader had poor official fortune; in the tenth year of Chongzhen, a political struggle with Wen Tiren had ended in mutual destruction, and he had been stripped of his registration and sent home, where he had remained idle ever since.

This time, perhaps seeing an opportunity, he had brought several disciples north to Yanzhou together with Gao Hongtu.

"Shouzhi, though you are out of office, you are the acknowledged leader of the Donglin, your prestige exceeding even ours. In this matter of presenting remonstrances to His Majesty and the Army-Pacifying Crown Prince, we must rely heavily on you! If we can mobilize more of the talented men of South Zhili to submit joint memorials and build a groundswell, that would be ideal."

Shi Kefa's expression was grave, his tone measured, as he slowly laid out his thinking.

On the question of opposing Zhu Cilang, Shi Kefa was always resolute — and without ruthlessness!

Zhu Cilang, that unfilial son who dared to strike at the very foundation of the Ming realm, had to be opposed! But he did not dare muster troops and march on Dengzhou to fight it out with Zhu Cilang. Instead, he hoped to defeat the Crown Prince, who commanded sixty thousand Hard-Working New Army troops, through memorials and a campaign of public opinion.

And he did not dare openly raise the banner of deposing the Crown Prince — because Chongzhen had no spare heir; if the Crown Prince were deposed, who would be the foundation of the state?

Since he could not be deposed, the only option was to ask the Crown Prince to return governance to Chongzhen and shut his doors in self-reflection.

Of course, memorials and public opinion alone would probably not make Zhu Cilang back down. So military preparations were also necessary! The great armies of the Four Garrisons, plus the army Shi Kefa had brought north from Nanjing to rally to the throne, plus the land and naval forces of the southern capital controlled by the Nanjing ennobled lords.

All told, that was no less than one hundred fifty thousand troops on paper!

One hundred fifty thousand troops on paper, plus the officials of Nanjing, plus the public opinion of South Zhili, plus the Duke for Perpetuating the Sage, who here in Shandong carried the authority of a prince.

Surely Zhu Cilang would be afraid now?

Even if he did not return all power to Chongzhen, he would at least make concessions on the land question to the foundation of the Ming realm — the gentry and scholar-official landlords?

Qian Qianyi gently turned the teacup in his hand, seemingly lost in thought, when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and then Shi Dewei was seen striding quickly in, holding a copy of the Capital Gazette and a princely decree.

"Father, His Majesty has left Dengzhou and arrived at Yidu, the chief county of Qingzhou, and is lodging at the Prince of Heng's residence. He has also appointed His Highness the Prince of Heng and the Commander of the Imperial Guard, the Duke of Chengguo, as imperial envoys, and they are now leading men toward Yanzhou Prefecture. It is estimated they will enter Qufu territory by tomorrow.

In addition, a decree has arrived saying that His Majesty and the Crown Prince will offer sacrifices to Confucius at Qufu. The Duke for Perpetuating the Sage and the Governor of Shandong are ordered to arrange the welcoming ceremonies together with the Prince of Heng and the Duke of Chengguo."

(End of Chapter)