Chapter 209: The Senior Brother Who Answers Every Request

Along the Grand Canal, banners snapped in the wind on both banks, and boats stretched for a thousand li across the water.

Among a long string of grain transports laden with soldiers and supplies, a Qinhuai pleasure barge drifted slowly up the canal, and faintly, from within it, came the sound of strings and flutes.

The owner of this Qinhuai pleasure barge was a person of considerable fame — none other than Liu Rushi, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. Liu Rushi was the concubine of Qian Qianyi, who had just become a Grand Secretary, and this time Qian Qianyi had brought her along on his journey north. And this barge, exquisite and elegant in every detail, had been purchased at great expense and presented to Liu Rushi by Qian Qianyi's disciple Zheng Sen, so that his teacher and teacher's wife might travel north in comfort.

Zhu Cilang was now seated within this pleasure barge, but he had no heart for the song and dance Liu Rushi had arranged for him, and still less interest in Liu Rushi herself — somewhat plump and lustrous, wearing no powder or rouge, dressed in a scholar's kerchief and Daoist robes, made up as a man.

He merely studied, with a faint smile, the pale-faced young scholar of somewhat short and slender build standing in attendance behind Qian Qianyi.

This scholar was in his early twenties, with fine, handsome features, a pair of trimmed mustaches, and a gentle smile always on his face. He was Qian Qianyi's prized disciple — Zheng Sen, the man later generations would revere under the name "Zheng Chenggong."

At present Zheng Sen was merely a government student at the Imperial Academy in Nanjing, but he was already the talent Zhu Cilang most wished to win over. Zheng Sen's father was far wealthier than Zhu Cilang's father — truly rich across two seas: every merchant ship passing through the South Sea or the East Sea had to pay his family protection money! That was far more substantial than the Chongzhen Emperor's "wealth across the four seas."

The richest man of the late Ming was none other than Zheng Sen's father, Zheng Zhilong!

At this thought, Zhu Cilang smiled faintly and said to Zheng Sen, "Senior Brother Zheng, why are you standing off to the side?"

Senior Brother?

Qian Qianyi, Zheng Sen, and Liu Rushi all started. Although Zhu Cilang had made Qian Qianyi a lecturer and nominally regarded him as a teacher, by convention Zhu Cilang would never call Qian Qianyi "benefactor" or "teacher," but only "Master Qian." If Qian Qianyi himself was not a "teacher," how had his disciple suddenly become "Senior Brother Zheng"?

"Senior Brother, come sit over here." Seeing Zheng Sen hesitate, Zhu Cilang grew even warmer, dropping the surname entirely and calling him simply "Senior Brother," and even inviting Zheng Sen to sit beside him.

"If His Highness tells you to sit, then sit." Qian Qianyi was, of course, a teacher who understood the times. He grasped Zhu Cilang's meaning at once and, smiling, instructed Zheng Sen to sit beside Zhu Cilang.

Having received his teacher's word, Zheng Sen bowed to Zhu Cilang. "This student obeys."

"Ah," Zhu Cilang waved a hand, cutting him off. "Why does Senior Brother call himself 'this student' before Us? The seniority is all wrong. You and I are both disciples of Master Qian. You entered the school first, so you are the senior brother; We entered later, so We are the junior brother. From now on, address Us as junior brother, and refer to yourself as elder brother."

"Your foolish elder brother thanks you for the seat." Zheng Sen steeled himself and bowed, then walked over to Zhu Cilang. A serving maid had already brought an embroidered stool for him, and Zheng Sen sat down beside Zhu Cilang, though he perched on only half his buttocks, looking extremely ill at ease.

"Sit comfortably, Senior Brother." Zhu Cilang smiled. "From now on, Senior Brother will be in attendance around Us often; there is no need for such formality."

In attendance? Zheng Sen was startled again, and stole a glance at Qian Qianyi. Qian Qianyi was equally baffled — he had never recommended Zheng Sen to Zhu Cilang.

In fact, he had not even intended to bring Zheng Sen north. It was only that Gong Dingzi, who had come to Nanjing to invite him, had for some reason praised Zheng Sen highly and extended an invitation, and only then had he brought Zheng Sen along.

"Is His Highness going to grant Damu an official post?" Liu Rushi interjected with a smile from the side — and the interjection was perfectly timed.

Zhu Cilang nodded and smiled. "Senior Brother is Master Qian's finest disciple; his literary talent is surely not lacking. We are precisely in need of capable men, so We should of course employ him exceptionally." He paused. "Master Qian, might my senior brother be appointed to the office of Recorder in the Chief Clerk's Office of Our Grand Marshal's headquarters, and concurrently serve as Eastern Palace Book Attendant?"

The Chief Clerk's Office of the Grand Marshal's headquarters was the equivalent of Zhu Cilang's administrative office. Its heads were called Chief Clerk and Co-Chief Clerk, posts held by Bi Jiucheng and Su Ziwen. A Recorder was a subordinate of the Chief Clerk — no great office. And Eastern Palace Book Attendant was a member of the Crown Prince's lecturing staff, tasked with managing the Crown Prince's books; it did not merit the title "Master," and so did not count as a teacher of the Crown Prince.

Though these two posts were not large, they did not actually require Zheng Sen to take up the duties — the Chief Clerk's Office had several Recorders, and Zhu Cilang had other Book Attendants at his side — but the appointment would be extremely useful in raising Zheng Sen's standing within the Eighteen Zhi group.

Although the Eighteen Zhi group was headed by Zheng Zhilong, the group was not the private property of the Zheng clan; it was more a jianghu brotherhood. For Zheng Sen to become the young master, he had to win the recognition of the other members of the brotherhood, including the elder generation of the Zheng family.

And the support of the Army-Supervising Crown Prince would allow Zheng Sen to stand out within the Eighteen Zhi brotherhood!

Likewise, Zhu Cilang needed a senior brother with whom he was personally close to take control of the Eighteen Zhi maritime merchant group!

Qian Qianyi understood Zhu Cilang's intent in an instant, and at once said with a smile to Zheng Sen, "Damu, why haven't you thanked His Highness yet!"

Although Zheng Sen had not thought through all the implications, he knew well how important Zhu Cilang's support was to him. He hurriedly rose and kowtowed to Zhu Cilang. "Your subject Zheng Sen kowtows in thanks to Thousand Years."

Zhu Cilang raised a hand with a smile, gesturing for Zheng Sen to rise and return to his seat. "Senior Brother need not thank Us. The Ming realm now sways in wind and rain, and We, charged with supervising the army, need the aid of men like Senior Brother, accomplished in both letters and arms."

"Gratitude to Junior Brother Your Highness!" Zheng Sen's tone was still thoroughly respectful, but he had changed his form of address.

"Junior Brother Your Highness." Zhu Cilang smiled. "Use that from now on."

In the city of Taiyuan Prefecture, security these days had been tightened further compared to before. Commoners inside and outside the city, anyone with any strength at all, had been conscripted by the Shun army and were digging earth and piling stone like madmen, repairing the city walls. The moat outside the city had been deepened and widened; the parapets and battlements had been thickened and raised; and all manner of defensive equipment was being forged and prepared at full effort.

The Shun troops stationed across Shanxi had also been gradually pulled back, concentrating mainly along the line from Gu Pass (Jingxing) to Taiyuan Prefecture, preparing to resist, step by step, the great Tartar army about to invade Shanxi.

Through June and the now nearly ended July, a strange calm had settled among the Ming, Shun, and Qing.

The Qing, having successfully entered Beijing, had essentially halted offensive operations after driving the Shun army out of Northern Zhili. On the western front they stopped at the Taihang Mountains; on the southern front they stopped at Daming Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, and the northern parts of Jinan and the Eastern Depot Prefectures.

The Shun, for their part, were pulling back their forces in Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and elsewhere, abandoning large swaths of territory in succession and transferring their main forces to Shaanxi and the Taiyuan Prefecture area of Shanxi.

They were posturing to contend with Qing and Ming for the realm from west to east.

And Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, seemed about to become the next focal point of a decisive Shun-Qing battle!

On the streets of Taiyuan, large columns of blue-robed Shun troops constantly came and went — whether to deploy defenses within the city or to march out to build fortifications on the eastern hills, no one could tell.

Inside the Prince of Jin's palace, several Shun officials were quietly reporting to Li Zicheng in the great hall. Li Zicheng looked somewhat thinner, but his gaze was doubly sharp and bright. He was not seated on the throne, but stood behind a table, looking at a map spread across it, brow furrowed, as if deep in thought.

The present situation differed somewhat from the same period in history. The Qing did not seem so powerful, while the Ming faintly showed signs of revival! On the map of Shanxi spread across the table, the Ming still controlled the territory of Datong Prefecture, and had stationed there one Prince, one Governor-General, and two Regional Commanders!

The one Prince was the thirteen-year-old Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong; the one Governor-General was Wang Yongji, Governor-General of the Three Frontiers; and the two Regional Commanders were Jiang Xiang, Regional Commander of Datong Garrison, and Gao Di, Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison. Not only was their strength considerable, their prestige was even more imposing!

It was precisely the existence of the Ming army at Datong that greatly relieved the pressure Li Zicheng faced from the Qing forces. The Prince of Dai at Datong was a large enough target, and could always tie down a portion of the Qing army. If the two sides could join hands, much could be accomplished in Shanxi.

But Datong's attitude toward the Shun and the Qing gave Li Zicheng a headache.

"Imperial Lord, the envoy we sent to Datong has been killed by Wang Yongji and Jiang Xiang again! There are also rumors that Wang Yongji and Jiang Xiang have sent envoys to Beijing, preparing to join with the Tartars to attack us!"

"Imperial Lord, our spies hidden in Beijing report that the Tartars are negotiating a title with the Prince of Dai, intending to enfeoff him as a Tartar Prince. Once the talks are settled, they will attack Taiyuan together with the Prince of Dai."

"Imperial Lord, if the Ming army at Datong goes over to the Tartars, we will be hard pressed to defend both front and rear. Moreover, gentry opposed to us are raising troops all over Shanxi now; the situation cannot be stabilized at all. Better to retreat another step and return to our old home in Shaanxi."

(End of Chapter)