Chapter 243: The Crown Prince Is Guilty, the Crown Prince Is Fierce

The officers and men of the Hard-Working New Army were drawn up in four neat ranks outside the mountain gate of Tianning Temple, shouldering matchlock muskets and long spears with bayonets fixed, and holding aloft the army banner reading "The Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, Reborn." Every soldier stood in solemn silence, motionless. Several officers with sabers at their waists paced back and forth in front of the ranks, their backs ramrod straight.

The mountain gate of Tianning Temple stood wide open. The officials of the traveling court and the nobles who had come from Nanjing all waited outside the gate in a great throng for the carriages of the Son of Heaven and the Crown Prince. Every one of them held his head high and puffed out his chest, wearing the air of victors — not at all like people who had fled in defeat.

Today was the first day of the ninth month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen of the Great Ming, an auspicious day personally chosen by Zhu Cilang. The traveling court would leave Yangzhou, go first to Guazhou, then cross the river to Zhenjiang, and from there travel by land to the secondary capital.

They would reach the city of Nanjing around the fifth day of the ninth month!

The Chongzhen Emperor had been somewhat listless ever since Han Zanzhou and Zhang Shenyan had left. Nothing felt right anywhere; his food had lost its savor, and his sleep was uneasy. Today, just as it was time to set out, he again felt a little dizzy and wanted to stay in Yangzhou a few more days.

Because he knew that once they reached the secondary capital, the two sides would have to lay their cards on the table! But he did not know how it would turn out. If that gang of corrupt officials and nobles in Nanjing lost.......

His filial son Zhu Cilang, Empress Zhou, and the Chongzhen Emperor's sister-in-law Empress Zhang were all at that moment together urging him to set out quickly.

"Imperial Father, today is an auspicious day, good for travel, and there are no great winds or waves on the river — just right for sailing...... In a few more days, we shall reach Nanjing, the city where our ancestors rose to greatness. Once we are in Nanjing, Imperial Father may rest as long as he likes!"

"Yes, yes. Once His Majesty reaches Nanjing, he can take his ease and enjoy himself, and live out his years in peace, with no more need to trouble himself over the affairs of the realm."

"The Crown Prince and the Empress are right. Once we are home in Nanjing, His Majesty may rest however he pleases......"

Hearing these words of persuasion, the Chongzhen Emperor felt even more miserable. Once he reached Nanjing, he would have to take a very long rest indeed. Perhaps he would no longer even be the Great Ming Emperor, but the Retired Emperor of the Great Ming. He could only watch helplessly as his unfilial son usurped the throne and became emperor, and then led the Great Ming to a restoration!

This business of restoration did not seem hard for that rebellious son of his — so why could he not do it himself?

The Chongzhen Emperor now ignored everyone, merely reviewing in his heart the things he had learned these past days from watching his son govern......

Zhu Cilang's methods did not seem all that brilliant, after all. It was nothing more than sharing fortune and misfortune with those below him, taking the biggest share of the blame himself when there was blame to bear, grabbing the biggest share of the benefits for his own pocket when there were benefits to be had, and when there were no benefits, leaving no stone unturned in searching out where the benefits might be.

Besides that, he had to have in hand an elite force that was both obedient and capable in battle!

At this thought, the Chongzhen Emperor heaved a long sigh. When he himself had first become emperor, his circumstances in every respect had been far better than this scoundrel Cilang's — he just had not understood!

Ancestors, can you not give your unworthy descendant Youjian one more chance?

"Chun'er," the Chongzhen Emperor prayed to the ancestors in his heart, then asked his son, "Is there any news of your third brother?"

If the nobles of Nanjing lost, he felt the only one he could count on would be the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong.

"I have already sent men to make contact," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "Your son has instructed Third Brother to hold Datong firmly, to be on careful guard against both the Tartars and the roving bandits, and also to build hidden forts in the Lüliang Mountains. If the eastern barbarians invade in force, he is to withdraw first to the hidden forts in the Lüliang Mountains."

Zhu Cilang had always maintained a secret channel of communication with the Dai princely establishment — but the person he contacted was not his third brother Zhu Cijiong, but rather the Guard Commander of the Prince of Dai's household guard, Luo Xiushen.

As early as before he left Yanzhou, he had dispatched secret envoys of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Datong to convey his supreme instructions to Luo Xiushen, ordering Luo Xiushen to open up a base area in the Lüliang Mountains for resisting the Qing as quickly as possible.

Because in Zhu Cilang's view, the city of Datong could not be held in the end; the only question was when it would fall. A base area in the Lüliang Mountains, however, would be comparatively easy to hold for the long term.

And Zhu Cijiong was without doubt the most suitable person to go up into the Lüliang Mountains and serve as the great banner of the anti-Qing struggle — he was the third son; the "Third Prince Zhu" of history was probably him, was it not?

With a Third Prince Zhu ruling as king in the Lüliang Mountains, how could the Manchus possibly dare to march south with easy minds?

At this thought, Zhu Cilang smiled smugly, then said to the Chongzhen Emperor, "Imperial Father, it is getting late; it is time to set out...... Once we reach Nanjing, you will soon see Companion Wang and learn the news of Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother."

Chongzhen nodded, then probed, "Nothing will go wrong over in Nanjing, will it?"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "What could go wrong? The Marquis of Huaiyuan and the Earl of Chengyi have already left with their men...... The Marquis of Huaiyuan took his three thousand clan soldiers and went aboard the Earl of Chengyi's ships, escorting the Prince of Tang westward. Neither of those two is getting involved in Nanjing affairs. Of the people in Nanjing, those two are the only ones with any ability; the rest are not worth mentioning. It is already very generous of your son not to go looking for trouble with them — would they dare to court death on their own?"

Really? the Chongzhen Emperor thought. If you, you rebellious son, truly think that way, then you are underestimating the enemy! But you are so cunning — very likely you are deceiving your father!

"The fifth of the ninth month...... less than five days away. We cannot delay any longer; we must set out at once!"

Inside the office of the Governor-General of Fengyang, Governor-General Ma Shiying slammed the table so hard that Huang Degong and Huang Shu, who were present, both jumped. The two of them looked at Governor-General Ma, his face stiff with feigned loyalty, and did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Who exactly had been dragging his feet and refusing to march these past few days? One moment saying there was no money for rewards; the next using the excuse that Xu Dingguo, the Regional Commander guarding Guide, who had only just surrendered and been accepted by Shi Kefa, was making suspicious moves and about to launch a surprise attack on Fengyang!

He had dragged things out until today, when fast riders came from Yingtian Prefecture with word that His Majesty and the Crown Prince would reach Nanjing on the fifth of the ninth month — and only now was this Governor-General Ma getting anxious...... What were you doing earlier?

"This Governor-General will personally lead a great army to Nanjing to rally to the throne!" Ma Shiying said, and as he spoke he took out the "handkerchief edict" he carried on his person and displayed it before Huang Degong and Huang Shu. "This Governor-General holds His Majesty's own handwritten edict — I am rallying to the throne by imperial command!"

Huang Shu glanced at Ma Shiying's "handkerchief edict," and his long, thin face lengthened considerably. These past days he had been running about everywhere for the cause of rallying to the throne — contacting the nobles of the southern capital, canvassing among the scholars of Jinling, and even writing to Zuo Liangyu, with whom he was friendly, urging him to send troops and take part.

Yet this Ma Shiying, who had done nothing at all, now produced a handwritten edict from the Chongzhen Emperor and meant to seize the foremost credit. It was truly infuriating!

Ma Shiying looked at Huang Shu's lengthened face and said with a smile, "This Governor-General has three thousand Guizhou soldiers, brave and fierce in battle, and able to endure hardship — just the men for this Governor-General to lead in rallying to the throne."

Ma Shiying was also a military-register jinshi. His family's founding ancestor Ma Cheng had led troops into Guizhou in the early Ming and risen by military merit to Guard Commander of the Guizhou Guard, a post inherited by his descendants. Ma Shiying's grandfather Ma Yunlong and his uncle Ma Yuqing had both served as Guard Commander of the Guizhou Guard. Although Ma Shiying's branch of the family had turned into scholars who passed down the classics and rites, the Ma family's influence in the Guizhou military remained, and they also had close ties with many Guizhou native chieftains. Thus he had been able to recruit three thousand Guizhou soldiers who obeyed him and could fight reasonably well, to serve as his governor-general's headquarters battalion. In the present troubled times, these three thousand Guizhou soldiers were a great stake!

Huang Shu, for his part, though he had the support of part of the Donglin Faction, the Donglin Faction had no military force to speak of; at most they could serve as guides. But right now no one needed them to show the way, so at the critical moment they always fell just short!

Huang Degong genuinely wanted to save Chongzhen, and he had never thought of contending with Ma Shiying for power. He immediately clasped his hands and said, "Give the order, Commander. Degong will follow wherever Commander leads!"

"Good!" Ma Shiying clapped his hands and laughed. "With Commander's help, the great matter can be accomplished! There is no need to move the main army here at Fengyang — large forces move slowly, and I fear we would miss the moment. This time we will send out this Governor-General's headquarters battalion and Commander's household retainers. Six thousand elite troops in all, setting out at once, marching day and night — we must enter the city of Nanjing before the Crown Prince!"

Then he clasped his hands toward Huang Shu. "Zhonglin, I must trouble you to hurry back to Nanjing first and inform the Duke of Wei and the Earl of Xincheng, and ask them to make every preparation within the city of Nanjing!"

Huang Shu nodded. "Very well, I shall set out for Nanjing at once...... We shall meet again in Nanjing!"