Chapter 242: A Sky-Rending Kill Formation Awaits the Crown Prince

In the Tianning Temple traveling palace, inside a dimly lit side hall, the Chongzhen Emperor of the Great Ming sat upright upon the imperial throne. In his yellow dragon robe and winged crown, expressionless, sacred and solemn, he still looked every inch a sovereign holding supreme power. Only the gaze from his eyes no longer carried the old piercing sharpness that made men tremble.

Outside the side hall, the Chongzhen Emperor's Lady Wu of the Selected Attendants was keeping a tense watch on the surroundings with several trusted palace maids. At the slightest stir, they were to report at once. All these arrangements were for the two visitors who had come to Tianning Temple today to pay their respects to the Son of Heaven: Han Zanzhou, the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch, and Zhang Shenyan, the former Minister of Personnel of Nanjing.

Of these two visitors, one stood, while the other sat upon an embroidered stool.

The one standing was Han Zanzhou, the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch, and at that moment he was tearfully pouring out to the Chongzhen Emperor the situation within the city of Nanjing.

"Imperial Master... the ennobled lords of the auxiliary capital, led by the former Garrison Commander Duke of Wei Xu Hongji, the current Garrison Commander Count of Xincheng Zhao Zhilong, the Director-General of Grain Transport Marquis of Fuyuan Zhu Guobi, the Front Chief Military Commission Garrison Commander Count of Cheng'an Guo Zuoyong, the Central Army Commissioner-in-Chief's Office Secretary Marquis of Anyuan Liu Zuochang, Marquis of Lingbi Tang Guozuo, Count of Nanhe Fang Yiyuan, and others, are preparing to raise troops to rally to the throne. They have now readied forty thousand men of the Nanjing Capital Camps, more than ten thousand sailors of the Yangtze River Fleet, and over ten thousand household retainers from the various families. They have also made contact with Ma Shiying, Huang Degong, and Lu Jiude in Fengyang, and Zuo Liangyu in Wuchang. They are preparing to raise troops together to rally to the throne and restore Your Majesty to full power!"

The Chongzhen Emperor listened attentively, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. He now knew his son to be cunning and ruthless. He did not believe the talk of the Grand Progenitor Emperor reborn, but that Zhu Cilang was a second Cao Cao or a second Sima Yi — that he absolutely agreed with.

As for the Nanjing Capital Camps in the hands of those Nanjing ennobled lords... the Chongzhen Emperor was very worried! Would these fellows be caught all at once by the Crown Prince?

So at this moment, faced with the good news Han Zanzhou reported, the Chongzhen Emperor said not a word.

Han Zanzhou, having finished, also simply waited in silence.

After a while, Chongzhen finally said: "The Crown Prince now has six divisions of the New Army of Hardship-Overcoming — the vanguard, rear, left, center, right, and First Division — each division with 000 men. In addition, the New Army Command directly controls a good many more troops, so the total is probably no less than 55,000..."

Zhang Shenyan, his hair and beard all white, his body thin, his face bearing the marks of illness, saw Chongzhen's deep anxiety and hastened to console him: "Your Majesty need not worry. This old subject knows that of the six divisions of the New Army, one division is stationed at Dengzhou and one at Huai'an — both are troops that cannot be moved. Another nine brigades are distributed among the nine prefectures of Jiangnan, and here in Yangzhou at least one brigade must remain. That accounts for another two and a half divisions, so the remaining force is certainly less than two divisions — a mere ten thousand or so men. The troops of Nanjing outnumber them several times over, and Ma Shiying and Huang Degong will bring several thousand more elite soldiers from Fengyang. So there is still some confidence!"

"You intend to open battle with the Crown Prince at Nanjing?" the Chongzhen Emperor asked.

"It need not come to battle," Zhang Shenyan said. "It is merely armed remonstrance. As long as the Crown Prince is willing to return governance to Your Majesty, he can be allowed to supervise the army north of the Yangtze."

"Supervise the army north of the Yangtze?" The Chongzhen Emperor was doubtful. "If only he would agree..."

Zhang Shenyan let out a breath and said: "As long as he is willing to go to Nanjing, it will not be up to him whether he agrees."

"You are still worried he will not go to Nanjing?" The Chongzhen Emperor's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Han Zanzhou replied: "Imperial Master, it is no longer Yingtian Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture standing opposed. It is Yingtian Prefecture alone against the eleven southeastern prefectures in the Crown Prince's hands... This slave has made a rough calculation: the Crown Prince can now collect more than ten million shi of land tax and more than eight million taels in salt tax and commercial tax from the eleven southeastern prefectures in a single year!"

"While the land tax of Yingtian Prefecture alone is only a few hundred thousand shi, and the commercial tax even less — scarcely worth mentioning. If the standoff drags on, it will be very disadvantageous for the Yingtian Prefecture side."

"Eleven prefectures can yield more than twenty million?" The Chongzhen Emperor was startled. "Is that not extortionate taxation?"

"Not at all," Zhang Shenyan said, shaking his head. "His Highness the Thousand Years has already issued an order abolishing the three surtaxes."

"What? He abolished the three surtaxes and still collects more than twenty million..." As Chongzhen spoke, tears fell from his eyes.

When he had held power, he had "desperately levied" to reach that figure — and half the realm had been driven to rebellion. Now that Zhu Cilang had taken over, with the three surtaxes abolished, eleven prefectures alone could bring in that much!

Truly, comparing oneself to others was enough to drive a man to death!

Chongzhen sighed, rose from the throne, his expression somewhat dimmed — clearly his heart had been wounded by the corrupt officials under him.

The reason he had fallen to this state, in the final analysis, was simply lack of money! Could you corrupt officials not embezzle just a little less?

Chongzhen said slowly: "Minister Zhang, Han Zanzhou, in these storm-tossed times, we must still be cautious... The Crown Prince is not easy to deal with... You should return to Nanjing first, and act with care. Do not participate directly..."

The streets of Nanjing remained as bustling as ever, seemingly untouched by the chaos engulfing the realm. Commoners dressed in presentable silk or cotton clothes surged shoulder to shoulder through the prosperous streets of Jinling. Scholars were elegant, merchants prosperous. On the Qinhuai River, painted pleasure boats as lovely as pictures came and went, so numerous that their sterns and prows touched one another. Occasionally courier riders on post horses passed through the streets, the riders all household retainers of the hereditary Nanjing Garrison Commander of the old Xu family, in brocade robes and fine clothes, strutting with arrogance.

Though the southeast was at peace, the realm was in chaos after all! The ennobled garrison commanders who held armies in their hands grew ever more exalted, and even their household retainers began to swagger, daring to cause trouble in Nanjing and gallop their horses at full speed.

Several sturdy horses swept past like the wind through the marketplace, bridle bells tied to their hooves. As the bells rang, the common people stumbled and dodged out of the way. Some passersby dressed as scholars could not help shaking their heads and muttering under their breath: "The Son of Heaven is in distress, and public morals decline by the day!"

But after saying this, there was only a sigh.

Now the civil offices of Nanjing — the Six Ministries, the Censorate — had all but disbanded. The officials formerly in office had either gone to the traveling court or gone to Shandong to continue following Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu. Others had simply hung up their official caps and departed, becoming idle clouds and wild cranes for the time being. So the city of Nanjing was now ruled by the ennobled lords and the garrison eunuchs!

"Young Duke, a letter from Eunuch Han!" That Xu family retainer had in the blink of an eye entered the Dagonfang estate and now stood outside a pavilion, respectfully presenting an envelope with both hands.

At these words, the two men playing chess in the pavilion on a small island in the middle of the rear garden pond of Dagonfang both started at once, then exchanged a glance. Xu Yunjue, in a jade-white loose scholar's robe, tossed aside the chess piece in his hand, took the envelope, tore it open, and drew out the letter inside. First he scanned it at a glance, then read it word by word once more, before letting out a long breath.

Sitting opposite him was none other than Zhao Zhilong, who managed the Nanjing garrison affairs. He waved a hand at the Xu family retainer, sending him away to a distance, then asked: "Young Duke, how is it?"

"The date is set!" Xu Yunjue said with a smile. "He leaves Yangzhou on the first day of the ninth month, and should arrive around the fifth."

"The fifth of the ninth month..." Zhao Zhilong drew a sharp breath, a hint of savagery appearing on his face.

He was now straddling two boats. On one hand, he had submitted a memorial to the Crown Prince exposing the conspiracy of the Nanjing ennobled lords — though in truth his exposure was unnecessary, for there was no one who did not know of the matter! On the other hand, he was still participating in the Nanjing side's conspiracy, and was even one of its core figures! If the plan to overthrow the Crown Prince and restore governance to Chongzhen succeeded, he would be a great meritorious subject of the Chongzhen Emperor, and a dukedom would be nothing to speak of!

With bets placed on both sides, he could not lose either way!

Zhao Zhilong took a deep breath and asked Xu Yunjue: "Young Duke, is everything prepared?"

"Prepared!" Xu Yunjue nodded. "My family's twenty-five hundred household retainers have all arrived in Nanjing. The Capital Camps have been reorganized from top to bottom, and with the men contributed by the various families, sixty thousand can certainly be mustered. Now we are only waiting on Ma Shiying and Huang Degong..."

Zhao Zhilong said: "Censor Huang went three days ago to urge them on... Before the fifth of the ninth month, Huang Degong will personally lead elite troops to Nanjing!"

Xu Yunjue said: "Then nothing can possibly go wrong!"