Chapter 206: A Loyal Subject Does Not Fear Death

"Godfather, Godfather, bad news!"

Shi Kefa, sleeping in a daze, only felt someone shaking him. He opened his eyes and, through the blur, saw the dark face of his adopted son Shi Dewei, a face full of panic and anxiety.

"Dewei! Why such panic?" Shi Kefa frowned and lectured, "You have followed me for so many years — how can your composure still be so poor? Raising a ruckus over the slightest matter — what kind of bearing is that?"

"Your son knows his fault." Shi Dewei hastily apologized to Shi Kefa, his expression both tense and admiring, still panting heavily. He had been sleeping soundly in his quarters with a Shandong girl in his arms when his subordinates woke him; after receiving the report, he had run all the way over without even dressing properly.

"Father, Huang Degong has marched his troops out of the city!"

Shi Kefa was stunned. "What? Huang Degong has led his troops out of the city? What is he trying to do?"

Shi Dewei drew a deep breath and said through gritted teeth: "What else could he do? He's going over to the Crown Prince, of course! While we've been arguing endlessly inside Yanzhou, others haven't been idle! How many great things has he accomplished in this past month or so? He has firmly seized control of the three prefectures of Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou! The Tang, Lu, Heng, and De princes and the Duke of Yansheng have all been won over. And yesterday word came that the Crown Prince is personally leading a great army toward Jinan Prefecture. Gao Jie will most likely also go over to the Crown Prince, and someone must have been working on Huang Degong too!

Father, please give the order to move troops at once — you must stop Huang Degong from leaving!"

But Shi Kefa sat steady, expressionless. Only after a while did he sigh: "Let him go. His troops are all battle-hardened veterans. If he had chosen to make trouble inside Yanzhou, you and I would probably already have given our lives. That he leaves on his own shows his conscience is not yet dead. If we tried to keep him by force, I fear it would come to a bloody battle!"

"But — but right now we still don't know which side Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing will take. If Huang Degong leaves too, then of the four garrisons only Liu Liangzuo remains! How are we supposed to force the Crown Prince to return power to the Emperor?"

Shi Kefa smiled bitterly. "Better to let Liu Liangzuo go as well — have him station his troops at Guide Prefecture. Dewei, the gentlemen in Yanzhou argue endlessly and can reach no conclusion. Can we still expect those military men to devote themselves single-mindedly to righting the realm? All your father can do is fulfill the duty of a subject — to do what he knows cannot be done, and do it anyway!"

Shi Dewei looked at Shi Kefa's righteous face, but in his heart there was only helplessness. His godfather had integrity, yes. But thinking carefully, what had he actually done these past days to restore the Emperor's authority? He truly could not say.

Although a great army had been assembled here at Yanzhou, that army seemed to serve no purpose beyond wasting provisions and pay — and now more than half of it had scattered. Even more lamentable, the civil officials gathered at Yanzhou had no plan either; they quarreled day after day and could not produce a single proposal.

But look at the Crown Prince's side — truly swift and decisive! More than half of Shandong was already firmly under his control, and the troops gathered at Yanzhou were on the verge of defecting to his banner one after another. Compare the two, and the difference is plain at a glance!

And look again at Shi Kefa's response — where was this "doing what cannot be done"? It was plainly doing nothing at all! All those days — what were they for? Watching Qian Qianyi and Huang Shu each lead their factions in quarreling every day?

Shi Dewei gritted his teeth. "Father, since the tide has turned, why not side with Qian Qianyi and put preserving the Confucian order first?"

Shi Kefa shook his head. "That is not preserving the Confucian order — that is self-preservation! When the Son of Heaven is in distress, a subject who cannot right the realm has already failed the imperial grace. How could he then fear death and seek to save himself?"

"Father, you are waiting to die." Shi Dewei was frantic, sweating all over, and felt an impulse to learn from Zhu Cilang — to tie up Shi Kefa and flee as fast as possible.

Shi Kefa smiled. "Death may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a goose feather. For your father to die in loyal service to his sovereign is to die a worthy death! I dare not claim it is weightier than Mount Tai, but surely it will not be lighter than a goose feather?"

At that same moment, the highly efficient Zhu Cilang, His Highness the Crown Prince, was moving south from Jinan Prefecture together with the two Regional Commanders Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing, leading tens of thousands of troops on a forced night march straight for Yanzhou Prefecture.

After making Gao Jie his brother-in-law, Zhu Cilang immediately sent men to the Eastern Depot Prefecture to invite Liu Zeqing, whose troops were stationed there, to come to Jinan for a meeting. Although Liu Zeqing held the office of Regional Commander of Shandong, his forces were weak — on paper just over twenty thousand men, and after deducting the phantom rolls only thirteen or fourteen thousand, of whom no more than two thousand were household retainers fit for battle. But he held one enormous bargaining chip: the city of the Eastern Depot, ringed by the Eastern Depot Lake. That small city, barely one square kilometer in area, possessed a moat-lake connected to the Grand Canal!

If Liu Zeqing resisted stubbornly, Zhu Cilang truly had no way to break through Liaocheng, the seat of the Eastern Depot Prefecture — unless he moved the fleet into the Eastern Depot Lake; otherwise the only option was to starve them out.

So although Zhu Cilang knew the man could not be relied upon, he still sent men to invite him courteously, asking him to come to Jinan for a meeting. After they met, he enfeoffed him as Count of Liaocheng, granting him hereditary defense of the city.

But in Zhu Cilang's view, even if Liu Zeqing could hold Liaocheng to the death, he still could not block the Manchu Qing's southward advance — a fortress ringed by the Eastern Depot Lake might be impregnable, but it was also easily besieged.

To delay the Qing army's advance in central and western Shandong, arrangements would still have to be made in the Taiyi mountain range, which stretched for hundreds of li and included the Taishan, Yishan, Mengshan, and Culai ranges.

So as Zhu Cilang, Gao Jie, and Liu Zeqing moved south together, "Red Lady of Jigong Mountain" and the strategist Li Yan set out for Mount Tai with the seals, tallies, and commissions for appointed officials, to win over the bold men who held the mountains for Zhu the Crown Prince.

The great army was now passing through the peaks and valleys of Mount Tai. Looking forward or back from the middle of the column where Zhu Cilang rode, one could see neither head nor tail. Vast and mighty, men and horses numbered in the tens of thousands! Gao Jie's vanguard had already passed Tai'an Prefecture, while Wu Sanfu's rearguard was still deep in the mountains.

Zhu Cilang rode side by side with Liu Zeqing, who had been stripped of the post of Regional Commander of Shandong. Hao Yaoqi's unit, transferred from Sea Sand Island at the Tianjin garrison to Shandong only in late June, marched ahead of the two men, carrying firelocks and long spears.

This force was not only the main strength that had routed the genuine Tartar cavalry at the Battle of Dagu, but had also garrisoned the bastion on Sea Sand Island for more than a month!

Under their intimidation, Dorgon had not even sent troops to occupy the town of Dagu; by the time they left Sea Sand Island, the Qing army had advanced no farther than the city of the Tianjin garrison!

The overwhelming killing aura displayed by this mighty army — one that made the eastern barbarians tremble with fear (in truth, it was Dorgon's caution) — left Liu Zeqing, riding beside Zhu Cilang, not daring even to breathe heavily.

Though lacking in courage, he was still a veteran commander; how could he not tell elite troops from a weak brigade?

"The Grand Progenitor, Exalted Emperor, reborn — the Great Ming is invincible in battle!"

The chant suddenly rose from both front and rear of Liu Zeqing, like thunder, striking awe into the heart! Liu Zeqing shuddered on horseback — this Zhu Cilang truly was the Grand Progenitor, Exalted Emperor, reborn!

"Well? Are Our new model troops passably elite?" Zhu Cilang asked with a smile.

"Elite! Elite! These are the elite with which the Grand Progenitor, Exalted Emperor, swept the six directions and unified the eight corners of the realm! That traitor Shi Kefa actually thought to resist such a heaven-sent army — truly a mantis trying to block a chariot, overestimating his own strength."

"Ha ha ha!" Zhu Cilang laughed three times. "What has Shi Kefa done? He has done nothing at all!"

Liu Zeqing was taken aback. "Is Shi Kefa not opposed to the Thousand Years?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and shook his head. "He wanted to oppose Us, but he took no action. We escorted the Son of Heaven south; the capital fell; the Tartar caitiffs entered the passes. That hearts wavered throughout the realm is only natural. We are a magnanimous sovereign and will not punish Shi Kefa for what is in his heart!"

Liu Zeqing breathed a sigh of relief at these words. He was no good man either! Not only had he failed to relieve Beijing, he had also joined Shi Kefa in stirring up trouble. If the Crown Prince went after Shi Kefa, he could not escape being an accomplice.

"The Thousand Years is truly a magnanimous lord," Liu Zeqing said. "If Shi Kefa knew how benevolent the Thousand Years is, he would surely give his wholehearted support to the Thousand Years' early accession to the throne."

Zhu Cilang laughed. "He is a civil official and a great Confucian scholar. Naturally he will not be as perceptive of the times as Regional Commander Liu."

Liu Zeqing had already urged him to take the throne, and Gao Jie had done the same. The two had even openly submitted memorials asking His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne early to settle the people's hearts. This was a matter of attitude!

Now two of the four Regional Commanders had already declared their support for Zhu Cilang becoming emperor — and one of them had even become Zhu Cilang's brother-in-law.

As for Huang Degong, he had probably been lured away by Ma Shiying to defend Fengyang. That left only Liu Liangzuo, and presumably he would not make trouble for His Highness the Crown Prince.

If Shi Kefa were truly willing to take the lead in urging accession, then Zhu Cilang could indeed ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. But in that case, the worry was that the rich men of Nanjing would join in urging accession as well — and that would be troublesome!

(End of Chapter)