Chapter 331: The Black-Hearted Crown Prince, Part II (Third Update — Begging for Monthly Tickets)

"It's been a whole month already — how is it still like this? Loose and sloppy, who are you putting that show on for? Why haven't you cracked down hard? I told you: beat who needs beating, curse who needs cursing. So what if you beat one or two to death? What the hell is Feng Sizhong even good for? Demote him! Two ranks down — make him a Mobile Corps Commander!"

On the parade ground of the Xiaoling Guard New Army's main camp, the Crown Prince Zhu was standing stiff-faced and cursing people out! Not only cursing — he announced on the spot the order demoting Feng Sizhong, the Guard Commander of the Xiaoling Guard!

Feng Sizhong, kneeling on the ground, truly wanted to weep but had no tears left — his Assistant Guard Commander post was gone! And his ordeal wasn't over yet: he wasn't being demoted and sent away, but demoted and kept on — that was the rule of the Hard-Trial New Army!

After being dropped two ranks, Feng Sizhong would take up the post of Mobile Corps Commander of one brigade under the Xiaoling Guard New Army with the rank of Chiliarch — and he'd be given the worst brigade at that — and he would still have to take part in the last-place elimination! If at the next inspection this brigade was still the worst, Feng Sizhong would become a battalion commander. Demotions came fast too!

And along with the demotion, his merit fields and salary would shrink as well! An Assistant Regional Commander's monthly pay was 90 taels; a Chiliarch's was 60 — starting next month, Feng Sizhong would only get 60 taels.

An Assistant Regional Commander's merit fields were about 850 mu, while a Chiliarch had only 650. That meant he'd collect 200 shi less in rice rent each year and take 360 taels less in salary. On top of that, the office stipend of a Guard Commander (division-commander level) was considerably higher than a Mobile Corps Commander's; after deducting the corresponding office expenses, Feng Sizhong would lose at least two or three hundred taels — add up all the odds and ends, and he'd earn over a thousand taels less a year! If he dropped further to battalion level or even banner-team level, Feng Sizhong would feel like coughing blood.

"Zhang Dingbian!" Zhu Cilang barked out again, summoning his current chief of the bodyguard, Zhang Dingbian. "I'm giving you the rank of Assistant Regional Commander — go take over as Guard Commander of the Xiaoling Guard!"

The man called Zhang Dingbian came from the Liaodong border army; originally a household retainer of the Wu family, he had followed Wu Guoyong to the Tianjin Guard and then joined the Hard-Trial New Army, starting with the rank of Battalion Commander. Later he was promoted several times for merit, and with the rank of Provost he took over Zhu Cilang's bodyguard battalion. Now he was being raised another grade, to take charge of the mausoleum guard with the rank of Assistant Regional Commander.

But with Feng Sizhong's example right before his eyes, Zhang Dingbian didn't dare casually accept the assignment.

"What's the matter? Can't take it on?" Zhu Cilang asked, looking at the bear-backed, tiger-waisted Zhang Dingbian.

Zhang Dingbian was a straightforward man and answered on the spot: "This subject has no confidence!"

"Fine. We'll give you a little more confidence!" Zhu Cilang strode up onto a wooden platform erected in the center of the parade ground. Several loud-voiced proclamation officers beside him immediately followed and stood on the high platform. Below, front and back, left and right, were four crooked, uneven brigade squares.

"Listen, all you imperial clansmen of the Great Ming!" Zhu Cilang, full of fury, raised his voice to a shout. "We are the Crown Prince in command of the army! We are, so to speak, your kinsman and brother. But right now you are soldiers of the Xiaoling Guard New Army. As the saying goes, in the army there is no father and son; on the battlefield there are no brothers! Since you have entered the ranks, there is only strict military law — no kinsmen or brothers!"

Every sentence he spoke was repeated by those loud-voiced proclamation officers, the sound echoing across the empty parade ground so that everyone heard it clearly. So when the line "there is only strict military law — no kinsmen or brothers" came out, a roar went up across the field. The clansmen, who had already trained hard for a month, all felt wronged. Everyone had worked so hard — how could the Crown Prince still be dissatisfied? Now they weren't even brothers anymore?

"Thousand Years, you can't just abandon us!"

"Thousand Years, we're all descendants of the Exalted Ancestor, the High Emperor!"

"Thousand Years, the Great Ming realm has a share that belongs to us too."

"Old Ancestor, Thousand Years is abandoning us!"

"If you won't look after us, we'll go weep at the Xiaoling Mausoleum!"

"Wuwu, Exalted Ancestor, High Emperor..."

The young clansman Zhu Qirui also felt wronged, but he didn't join the crowd in raising a ruckus — instead he burst out crying with a wail. Now he had no home, no father or mother, no elder brother or sister; all that remained was his status as a clansman, and he couldn't even muddle along waiting to die — he had to train with the troops. Every day there were two drill sessions, each a full two hours; no matter how cold the weather or how strong the wind, there was no resting. How pitiful!

And even so, His Highness the Crown Prince was still not satisfied! Just thinking about it made him heartbroken.

"Pa-pa-pa—"

A deafening volley of matchlock fire suddenly erupted, scaring the wailing Zhu Qirui half to death — he even forgot to cry, just gaped open-mouthed toward the platform.

What did the Crown Prince mean by this? Was he going to shoot everyone? Everyone here was his own kinsman and brother!

No one was shot. It was only that Zhu Cilang, seeing the scene getting a bit chaotic, had ordered his guards to fire into the air.

Once the scene quieted down, Zhu Cilang, his face dark, continued his address: "We now announce that from this day forward, all clansmen in the Xiaoling Guard New Army will take part in the last-place elimination system! Three months from now, We will return to review the three armies, and every banner team will be reviewed separately. The clansmen in the worst banner team will all be struck from the imperial genealogy — they will no longer be descendants of the Exalted Ancestor, the High Emperor!"

Ah — really expelling them? You're too black-hearted! The clansmen present, including Zhu Qirui, were all stunned.

Zhu Cilang paused, a flash of killing intent crossing his face, and his tone turned grim: "Furthermore, there are 10 quotas for death by imperial order! We will issue blank death-warrant edicts with no names filled in and hand them to the military law office of the Xiaoling Guard New Army. Once a clansman's name is written in, he can be sent to the Imperial Clan Court for execution!"

Th-this... even death sentences... he doesn't recognize kin at all! The clansmen were terrified. This Crown Prince was too savage!

Zhu Cilang continued: "We are clear in rewards and punishments. Three months from now, the banner teams that perform outstandingly in the review and place in the top three will all receive heavy rewards! The clansmen among them will all be entrusted with important posts! As long as you perform well, you are Our good brothers — and We have always given Our brothers important employment!"

That was true enough — his brother Zhu Cijiong was off fighting Mobile Corps Commander warfare in the Lüliang Mountains, a mainstay of the realm! How was that not great employment?

But most of the clansmen present didn't know the situation of Prince Dai, Zhu Cijiong; hearing that they could be given important posts, they perked up a bit.

A life of muddling along waiting to die was actually pretty boring too! And with the whole realm in chaos now, that leisurely life until death clearly wasn't coming back.

"The Exalted Ancestor, the High Emperor, reborn — ever victorious in battle!"

At that moment, Zhang Dingbian, just newly installed in his post, suddenly raised his arm and shouted.

"The Exalted Ancestor, the High Emperor, reborn —" The officers and clansmen below also instinctively shouted along.

Seeing that the people below had finally perked up a bit, Zhu Cilang was satisfied.

Just then, several fast riders suddenly galloped into the main camp. The one in the lead was none other than Zhu Cilang's study-companion eunuch, Huang Xiaobao. He spotted where Zhu Cilang was, spurred his horse over, then tumbled off the saddle and scrambled up onto the high platform, all the while shouting without pause.

"Thousand Years, bad news—"

(End of Chapter)