Chapter 238: Good News — All of It Good News!

With a soft click, a chess piece landed lightly on the board. A game was locked in fierce, tangled combat. Yet the two players seemed to be a pair of hopeless amateurs, for all their stones were clustered in the center, great swaths of black and white pieces grappling together, while the surrounding areas were sparsely occupied — the corners and edges seemed entirely ignored.

The two players were father and son: the Chongzhen Emperor and the Army-Supervising Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang. Relations between father and son had improved somewhat of late; Zhu Cilang, now flush with money, sent gifts to the Chongzhen Emperor every few days — all fine treasures obtained from the households of the four Huai-Yang salt magnates, some produced in China, some imported from the West.

And what the Chongzhen Emperor loved most were Western clocks and watches! In the late Ming, such things were practically black technology! The finest pieces, made by master Western clockmakers, were exceedingly expensive — how could the miserly Chongzhen Emperor bear to buy them? Besides, he feared being accused of frittering away his ambition on playthings. He did not even dare handle the Western timepieces collected during the Wanli and Tianqi reigns that were stored in the palace.

But how could the clocks of the Wanli and Tianqi eras compare with the pieces in the homes of Yangzhou salt merchants? There was simply no comparison...

Moreover, Chongzhen had now let himself go. He no longer feared being called degenerate or debased — the more degenerate, the safer!

So he cast aside all restraint and played with whatever pleased him!

Yet even as he gradually sank into degeneracy, the Chongzhen Emperor had not given up his desire to regain power. So that he might one day lead the Ming's restoration, the Chongzhen Emperor, besides shielding himself with degeneracy and debasement, was also quietly studying his son's methods of governance...

Zhu Cilang might be treacherous and ruthless, but his methods were formidable indeed! Not only did he keep military and fiscal power firmly in his grasp, he could also bring treacherous ministers, corrupt officials, rebels, unscrupulous merchants, and scheming warlords all to heel!

Although the court he controlled contained almost no good men apart from the sidelined sovereign — that is, Chongzhen himself — one had to admit that under the governance of this pack of villains, the Ming truly was showing signs of revival...

Could the way to govern a realm really be to use bad men?

Just as the Chongzhen Emperor was playing chess with his son while pondering the way of governance, another bad man named Li Yan entered, led in by Feng Sizhong. Before he could even offer his greetings, Zhu Cilang spotted him.

"The military adviser has arrived? No need for formalities — come over and talk... Companion Pang, bring a chair for the military adviser."

Zhu Cilang did not stand on ceremony, not treating himself as heir apparent in the least. He directly made decisions on the Chongzhen Emperor's behalf, and even ordered about Pang Tianshou, the senior eunuch who attended the Chongzhen Emperor.

This Pang Tianshou had originally been a senior eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, and had been in Nanjing on business before Beijing fell. He was therefore not one of Zhu Cilang's men. When Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang reached Yangzhou, he had come over from Nanjing to offer his service.

Zhu Cilang was broad-minded enough not to suspect him, and sent him to replace the endlessly complaining Cao Huachun in attending Chongzhen — Cao Huachun had grown too accustomed to comfort and could no longer serve anyone! Besides, he was now a hero of the hard times, enfeoffed as the Hard-Times Marquis of Jinghai — why should he still be a eunuch?

Li Yan made no show of modesty either. He simply planted himself squarely and fully into the chair that Eunuch Pang had brought, a sight that made the Chongzhen Emperor frown deeply.

A bandit-scholar like this, with no sense of decorum — how did he ever become a military adviser... Shouldn't a military adviser be like Zhuge Liang? How could a bandit be allowed to serve as one?

"Military Adviser, how are things in Runing?"

It turned out that on his way south from Yanzhou, Zhu Cilang had dispatched Hongniangzi, Feng San, and Chen Yingyuan to Runing Prefecture, along with 2,000 Hard-Times New Army troops, 300,000 taels of silver, and an edict to win over the remnants of the roving bandits in the Runing area and the bandits of the Dabie Mountains.

Runing Prefecture had once been occupied by Li Zicheng's men, but Li Zicheng was now pulling in his forces to prepare for a decisive battle with the Qing army, so Runing Prefecture, which to the Shun was little more than a scrap at the edge, was gradually abandoned.

"Thousand Years," Li Yan said with a smile, "the roving bandits south of the Huai River have mostly withdrawn. Gushi, Guangzhou, Shangcheng, Guangshan, Luoshan, and Xinyang are all in our hands now! If the Prince of Tang can take up his fief promptly, Runing Prefecture will soon be secure!"

Zhu Cilang nodded, then suddenly turned his gaze to the Chongzhen Emperor, who was studying the board with lowered head: "Imperial Father, what do you think?"

"What?" Chongzhen started, looking up at his son.

Zhu Cilang smiled. "Imperial Father, do you think we should have the Prince of Tang take up his fief in Runing?"

Chongzhen was stunned again and again: Am I not a sidelined sovereign under this unfilial son? How can I still have any say in the Prince of Tang's enfeoffment? Is the unfilial son testing me?

"There is no need to ask Us about this," Chongzhen said. "You decide, my boy."

Chongzhen had now learned to dissemble too, able to put on an air of indifference to politics...

Zhu Cilang of course understood that this muddle-headed father of his was pretending. He smiled and said, "The enfeoffment of a prince is no trivial matter; it still requires an imperial edict from Imperial Father. Moreover, Runing, where the Prince of Tang is to go this time, is of the utmost importance to the Ming's remaining half of the realm — nearly on par with Dengzhou and Laizhou. As long as Runing does not fall and Dengzhou and Laizhou do not perish, the defense of the Jianghuai region will be as solid as gold!"

"Is that so?" the Chongzhen Emperor said noncommittally.

Zhu Cilang picked up a chess piece and tapped it lightly against the board before him. "The defense of Jianghuai is just like this chess game before us. Fengyang, Huai'an, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou form the middle section — they look supremely important, but the places that truly decide victory or defeat are at the corners and edges! That is, Dengzhou-Laizhou, Xiangyang, and Runing. Dengzhou-Laizhou is now firm and secure, and with the Prince of Lu holding the Taiyi Mountains, it should be safe. But Xiangyang is in the hands of the roving bandits, and for now we lack the strength to recover it. So Runing and Wuchang have become the shields guarding the flanks of Jianghuai. If either is lost, the northern armies will sweep down along the river straight to Jinling!"

"Is it truly so critical?" The Chongzhen Emperor's brow furrowed.

His muddle-headedness was feigned — he could not stand by and watch the protective screen of the Jiangnan half-realm be lost!

"Your Majesty," Li Yan, standing nearby, took up the Chongzhen Emperor's question and explained, "Runing leans on the Dabie Mountains and borders the Huai River. The terrain is strategically vital, and the people there have always been fierce. A considerable portion of the so-called fierce troops of Huaixi come from the Runing area. If Runing is in the court's hands, with a prince stationed there, then the fierce troops of Huaixi can serve the state, and the Dabie Mountains can become the nation's rampart. Even if the bandits and barbarians float down the Han from Xiangyang along the river, they will be checked by Runing's forces and unable to move freely.

Moreover, Runing's troops can not only defend but also attack! Runing Prefecture belongs to Henan. To the north lies the border of Kaifeng Prefecture, and to the west the border of Nanyang Prefecture. If twenty thousand fierce troops crouch like tigers in Runing, then the enemies at Kaifeng and Nanyang will find it hard to sleep easy!"

"Imperial Father, as long as the Prince of Tang can hold Runing, the western line of Jianghuai will be free of worry!" Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "And as long as Dengzhou-Laizhou and the Taiyi Mountains are not lost, the eastern line of Jianghuai will be secure too. With both the eastern and western lines secure, we can enjoy peace and prosperity in Nanjing!"

What? You already want to enjoy yourself in Nanjing? Chongzhen felt a small pang of disappointment, but he still nodded. "In that case, We shall issue the edict..."

He spoke very slowly, stealing glances at Zhu Cilang.

Truth be told, he very much wanted to issue the edict to assert his existence!

The Chongzhen Emperor had already seen that Zhu Cilang was no ordinary unfilial son, but an unfilial son on the level of Li Shimin! If he were allowed to hold court power for long without letting a wise sovereign like himself speak, then before long the scholars and commoners of the realm would forget that he existed...

Zhu Cilang smiled. "The Prince of Tang's departure for his fief should be escorted by meritorious nobles to appear grand!"

"Oh," Chongzhen nodded. "Whom do you have in mind, my boy?"

"Your son wishes to have the Marquis of Huaiyuan, Chang Yanling, and the Earl of Chengyi, Liu Kongzhao, jointly escort the Prince of Tang to his fief." Zhu Cilang smiled. "Chang Yanling is already in Yangzhou, but Liu Kongzhao is still in Nanjing. Imperial Father, why not issue an edict summoning him to Yangzhou for an audience?"

What? Alarm bells instantly rang in the Chongzhen Emperor's mind! So the unfilial son wanted to use the Prince of Tang's enfeoffment to break up the loyal ministers in Nanjing!

Zhu Cilang looked at his easy-pickings father and said with a smile, "Imperial Father... do you truly wish to see the traveling court and the Nanjing nobles come to blows?

Our Ming is now in a time of peril; we cannot afford internal strife! At present the traveling court clearly has the upper hand, while the nobles and meritorious officials of Nanjing are at a disadvantage. But your son has always been magnanimous. As long as they are willing to bow their heads, your son will let bygones be bygones."

So that was it... The Chongzhen Emperor thought to himself: So the unfilial son wants to subdue the enemy without fighting! No — this unfilial son is far too cunning. He must be deceiving me again. Those loyal ministers in Nanjing are doomed!