Chapter 35: Zhu Chunchen Wept (Da Luoluo Weeps and Begs for Recommendations)

It was only later that Zhu Cilang learned that the Shun army that reached the outskirts of Beijing on the sixteenth was not the force led personally by Li Zicheng, but rather a force of more than ten thousand cavalry under Liu Zongmin that had made a detour from the Zhengding direction.

Both Liu Zongmin's and Liu Fangliang's armies had been used by Li Zicheng as flanking forces, advancing one after the other across the Taihang Mountains. Liu Fangliang had split off from Li Zicheng at Pingyang, while Liu Zongmin had split off from him at Taiyuan. Of the two flanking forces, Liu Zongmin's moved more swiftly, reaching the west side of Beijing on the afternoon of the sixteenth.

The area around Diaoyutai and Yuyuantan, about five li from Fucheng Gate, had long been chosen by Song Xiance, Li Zicheng's chief military strategist for the founding of his dynasty, as the temporary palace where Li Zicheng would direct the assault on Beijing, because many villas of the capital's prominent families had been built there. Therefore, after Liu Zongmin reached the west side of Beijing, he first sent men to occupy Diaoyutai and then set fire to some of the buildings nearby, both to intimidate the defenders within the city and to signal Li Zicheng's main force advancing from north to south.

After occupying Diaoyutai, Liu Zongmin led his troops around the city walls and north to the Sha River to meet Li Zicheng. At the Sha River, for some unknown reason, there was still a Ming force stationed there, numbering only three thousand men in all, commanded by another Commander of the Capital Camps, Li Guozhen, Earl of Xiangcheng. (Only after he left the city did Zhu Chunchen take over his duties as acting commander.)

How could these Capital Camps troops dare to engage Liu Zongmin's cavalry? They simply collapsed at the sight of the enemy. But Li Guozhen, who commanded them, was a simple-minded loyalist. He neither surrendered nor fled toward Tongzhou or Tianjin, but instead made for Beijing with a small number of his household retainers.

Only when he reached outside Desheng Gate did he discover that the gate had been blocked, so he had to go around the city walls. It was not until the early morning of the seventeenth day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen that he entered Chaoyang Gate on the east side of Beijing's inner city, bedraggled and in utter disarray.

And there, in the barbican of Chaoyang Gate, Li Guozhen—who had already despaired of the Great Ming and could not understand why he had even bothered to enter the city—witnessed an unbelievable scene.

Inside the barbican of Chaoyang Gate there was actually a real army!

And cavalry at that!

They were not many in number, but there were more than three hundred sturdy men—some of them older, but at a glance clearly veterans who had been through the killing fields! Once they donned their war coats and iron armor, their killing aura could not be concealed no matter what.

Besides these armored soldiers and officers, a great number of carts and horses were gathered inside the barbican. All sorts of carriages were loaded with baggage, with drivers standing by their respective carts, and there were also many eunuch soldiers patrolling about, keeping watch over the carts and baggage.

Seeing all this, even the slow-witted Li Guozhen understood: the stubborn emperor had finally come to his senses and was preparing to abandon the city and flee...

"Are you the Earl of Xiangcheng?"

Just as Li Guozhen was thinking of hurrying home to pack up so that he could escort the emperor in flight, a military officer in his twenties, fierce-looking and speaking with a Liaodong accent, suddenly strode up to him and saluted with clasped hands.

"Ah, I am indeed the Earl of Xiangcheng. And you are..." Li Guozhen could not recall having such a fine fellow in his Capital Camps.

Although Li Guozhen himself could not fight, he still had an eye for men, and he could tell at a glance that this fellow exuded a palpable killing aura.

"I am Wu Sanfu, Vice Regional Commander of the Overcoming Hardship Battalion! By order of the Crown Prince, Regional Commander and Governor-General of Zhili Military Affairs, I am to requisition your household retainers, Commander. Please leave your retainers here and proceed to the barbican of Fucheng Gate to pay your respects to the Crown Prince!"

It turned out that the man who had stopped Li Guozhen was Wu Sanfu. After announcing the requisition of Li Guozhen's household retainers, he handed over a written order from the Crown Prince.

"What? The Crown Prince, Regional Commander and Governor-General of Zhili Military Affairs..." The handsome Li Guozhen, whose eyes were especially large, stared so hard at Wu Sanfu that his eyeballs bulged like bronze bells.

The Crown Prince was only sixteen, and had always been so well-behaved. No one had ever heard of him being particularly fierce or cunning. How could he have become Regional Commander and Governor-General of Zhili Military Affairs?

Could it be that... His Majesty had already fled, leaving the capital to the Crown Prince?

At that thought, Li Guozhen could not help grumbling inwardly at Chongzhen... If you were going to run, you should have taken this earl along! This earl's ancestors were doubly meritorious—for the founding of the dynasty and for the Jingnan campaign! Utterly loyal!

Seeing him dazed, Wu Sanfu quickly reminded him, "Commander, please go to Fucheng Gate at once to pay your respects... Military affairs are urgent. Do not delay."

"Oh..." Only then did Li Guozhen come to his senses. He was about to call for his household retainers when he remembered that Wu Sanfu had said he was requisitioning them... Was that really appropriate?

"Assistant Regional Commander Wu," Li Guozhen said with a frown, "my household retainers have followed me for many years... If the Crown Prince takes them, I fear they will not serve him well."

"No matter!" Wu Sanfu waved his hand. "Earl of Xiangcheng, you go on to Fucheng Gate. I will see to your retainers myself."

As he spoke, he took another written order from an attendant beside him and loudly proclaimed to the followers behind Li Guozhen: "By order of the Crown Prince, Regional Commander and Governor-General of Zhili Military Affairs: all able-bodied men of the capital who are willing to enlist and serve, and who are skilled in martial arts, adept at riding and archery, or proficient in the use of firearms, shall be granted the title of Overcoming Hardship Meritorious Servant, enrolled in the Eastern Palace personal army's Overcoming Hardship Battalion, and given fifty mu of farmland in Jiangnan, plus a reward of twenty taels of silver—ten taels now, and another ten upon reaching Tianjin. Those who already hold official rank shall be immediately promoted two grades..."

Rank, titles, land, and silver... all the benefits that ought to be given were given at once! Chest after chest of gleaming silver was brought out, and the moment the lids were opened, the silver dazzled the eyes!

At the sight of the silver, Li Guozhen was even more dumbfounded. Where had the silver come from? Ten taels per man just for enlisting... With the two hundred-odd men he had brought, that was more than two thousand taels handed out on the spot! Where had the Crown Prince gotten such silver?

"Earl of Xiangcheng!" Wu Sanfu barked again. "Give your men their orders at once! Surely you do not mean to defy the Crown Prince's command? His Majesty has granted him the Imperial Sword, with authority to execute first and report later anyone below the rank of Prince!"

Below the rank of Prince... Li Guozhen drew a sharp breath, now even more convinced that only the Crown Prince remained in Beijing, and that His Majesty was gone!

Since the Crown Prince was now the highest authority, he dared not defy the order. He hastily turned his household retainers over to Wu Sanfu, then, taking only a few attendants, rushed off toward Fucheng Gate. As he passed along the North Avenue by the palace wall and Fucheng Gate Street, Li Guozhen saw large numbers of able-bodied men of the capital lining up to enlist.

What was going on?

People were actually volunteering to enlist!

Could it be that the people of the capital had suddenly remembered the grace and favor of the Great Ming over the past two hundred and several decades?

Full of questions, Li Guozhen, the great earl, soon arrived at Fucheng Gate. But he did not immediately see Zhu Cilang. Instead, he encountered Zhu Chunchen, armored from head to toe and panting with every step. Zhu Chunchen was now wearing a suit of iron armor left behind by his ancestor Zhu Neng, and it was heavy! The weight of several dozen jin was pressing down on him so much that he could barely walk!

But walk he must! Because Zhu Cilang had issued an order requiring him to take his household retainers, all in armor and bearing weapons, and patrol back and forth atop the western wall of Beijing's inner city!

While patrolling, he was also to loudly proclaim the good news that the Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang, had personally taken command of the army in the face of battle and was distributing lavish rewards!

If he dared not carry out the order, the Imperial Sword would be used to behead him!

After several hours of this, his calf muscles were cramping. Now, seeing Li Guozhen arrive, Zhu Chunchen actually wept.

"Earl of Xiangcheng, thank heaven you've come! And you're wearing armor... wonderful! Patrol the walls for me for a while, won't you? I'm nearly dead from exhaustion... You're a Commander too. You can patrol the walls in my place."

With that, Zhu Chunchen plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Wh-wh-what... what is going on here?" Li Guozhen stared at Zhu Chunchen in astonishment. "Is the Duke of Chengguo going to personally mount the walls to kill the rebels?"

"Kill what rebels?" Zhu Chunchen wiped his tears. "It's all my miserable fate. His Majesty assigned me to assist the Crown Prince... The Crown Prince is up there on the gate tower, so what can I do? I can only risk my life and stay with him. And I've been given the job of patrolling the walls and handing out rewards. I've been at it since last night, and I'm nearly dead from exhaustion..."

Of course he was exhausted! Zhu Cilang was still waiting for him to generously donate two or three hundred thousand taels! But this duke was a miserly skinflint who would not part with a single feather. It would be a wonder if he were not worked to death!

"Wait—you said handing out rewards... how much?" Li Guozhen asked hurriedly. "When I entered the city just now, I saw the north wall of the palace and Fucheng Gate Street full of able-bodied men lining up to enlist. And by the way... the household retainers I brought back were detained by an Assistant Regional Commander at Chaoyang Gate wielding a Crown Prince order. What is all this about?"

"Ah, what else could it be?" Zhu Chunchen said with a mournful face. "A motley crowd gathered by lavish rewards! Those who can fight get twenty taels of silver, plus some sort of meritorious title and farmland in Jiangnan, and are enrolled in the Overcoming Hardship Battalion as the Crown Prince's personal troops. And from today on, whether they can fight or not, anyone who takes the field gets one tael of silver a day, with extra for each head taken... With rewards that heavy, of course you can recruit some men who don't fear death!"

(End of Chapter)