Chapter 73: How the Only Son Came to Be (Seeking Recommendations)

"The roving bandits are coming! Run for your lives!"

Company after company of the Pure Army surged and collided along the official road toward Shunyi, panting and gasping, like a flock of frightened sheep. They had been running for several hours now and had long since ceased to be any kind of formation; half of them had even thrown away their weapons. Only a portion of the cavalry escorting several wagons still had their arms and armor intact. But even they did not dare turn back to engage the beast-like bandit horsemen, and merely rode at the head of the fleeing Pure Army foot soldiers.

Behind these panic-stricken fugitives, both sides of the road were littered with abandoned belongings—carts, weapons, chests, silks, gold and silver, calligraphy and paintings... There were also elderly people and small children sitting by the roadside crying out, and mules and horses that had exhausted their strength abandoned by their owners. Some still had breath left in them, lying on the ground and letting out long or short mournful cries.

"The Great Ming is finished! The Emperor has abandoned us too. It's over, all over..."

"Is there any kind soul who will take my grandson with them? Even in death I would be grateful for such great virtue!"

"Our family has been ennobled for over two hundred years... how did it come to this?"

"The Great Ming is done for! All of it swallowed up by the likes of us..."

"We have failed our ancestors!"

Those who fled out the Dongzhi Gate with Wang Cheng'en, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong were mostly the old, weak, and marginal members of the ennobled families. To put it bluntly, they were sacrificial pieces! Once they left Beijing, their fates were their own. However many could escape, so be it. Those who could not, if the roving bandits killed them, nothing could be done.

Their fate truly could not be blamed on Zhu Cilang—there were seventy-two Guards in Northern Zhili! If the land and military households from the Yongle Emperor's era had been preserved, there should have been four hundred and three thousand two hundred military households!

Even if only one elite soldier came from every six military households, that would still be sixty-seven thousand two hundred elite soldiers. Li Zicheng's veteran camp that he brought to Beijing did not even have that many men!

But now, where were those four hundred thousand military households? Where was the land of those seventy-two Guards? Where had it all gone?

Even if the land was gone and the military households were gone, as long as the hereditary noble sons inside Beijing still possessed their ancestors' martial skills and military arts, they could still have raised over ten thousand armored cavalry.

With over ten thousand armored cavalry, they could still have fought Li Zicheng's veteran camp to the death!

Very well, even without over ten thousand armored cavalry, surely there were one or two thousand elite officers? And a few military strategists comparable to Qi Jiguang or Yu Dayou could still have preserved the Great Ming's realm, could they not?

Regrettably, there was not a single one!

Not only was there no one who could fight, they could not even flee properly. Only a minority of the core elite who followed Zhu Cilang, being young and physically fit, could still ride at full gallop. Most of the people fleeing with Wang Cheng'en could not ride spirited horses, and some could only sit in carriages. Moreover, their order was poor, and they carried far too many pots and jars. Some even brought along a great crowd of wives, concubines, and maidservants—truly, who could tell whether they were fleeing for their lives or going on an outing?

As a result, the moment they left the Dongzhi Gate, the column fell into disorder. Everyone scrambled to be first, fighting over the road, with no one bringing up the rear and no one clearing the way ahead. Wang Cheng'en, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong did not have Wu Xiang's organizational ability, nor did they have enough core men to help maintain order. And the two of them also lacked Zhu Cilang's courage to personally cover the retreat and be the last to leave the city. They had fled first with the Pure Army, and once they fled, the others naturally fell into chaos and soon scattered in all directions, no longer a marching column. Those with quick wits abandoned their belongings, disguised themselves as commoners, and fled to Tianjin—quite a few of them got away.

But there were still some who could not bear to part with their possessions, still driving carts and horses and surrounded by servants along the main official road. Before they had gone far, they began to be pursued by Shun cavalry. At first it was roving scouts and outriders; by noon, the more than two thousand cavalry commanded by Li Laiheng had also arrived. Seeing that the enemy had quite a few men and horses, including a large number of Pure Army troops in bright uniforms, Li Laiheng did not dare launch a fierce assault at the outset. Instead he employed the tactic of tail-biting pursuit, constantly snapping at the enemy's rear, creating an atmosphere of panic and forcing them to exhaust themselves in flight.

The Nanhaizi Pure Army had little stamina to begin with. Normally they were just there to earn a meal, and they might not even drill once in several days. How could they compete in endurance with Li Zicheng's veteran camp, which fought battles every day? Moreover, since leaving the Dongzhi Gate before dawn today, they had had no chance to rest, and had been running for several hours straight. They were already exhausted to the extreme.

So when the cry of "The roving bandits are coming!" rang out once more, Wang Cheng'en, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong looked at one another and all shook their heads.

"Commander Qiu, Chiliarch Zu, what do we do?" Wang Cheng'en had already lost his nerve; at this point he felt like seeking death.

It was not because he was about to fail to protect the Chongzhen Emperor's wife and children, but because he had seen through Zhu Cilang's ruthlessness!

What "greater probability of success by breaking out in separate directions"! It was plainly "killing the brothers and imprisoning the father"! Zhu Cilang had the Chongzhen Emperor in his grip, and threw his own three younger brothers to Wang Cheng'en and the others to serve as bait... This was driving his brothers to their deaths!

The Chongzhen Emperor had only four sons, and now three were lost at once. The remaining one, Zhu Cilang, would be the only son!

If the Crown Prince is the only son, how can you depose him? The foundation of the state would be as solid as forged iron! Even if the Chongzhen Emperor reached Jiangnan, men like Shi Kefa would not dare propose deposing Zhu Cilang—after deposing him, to whom would the throne pass?

Since the heir to the throne had become the sole option, and Zhu Cilang had moreover displayed extraordinary political, military, and economic talent, the number of officials supporting his early accession would grow.

It seemed the Chongzhen Emperor would soon become the Retired Emperor... Although Wang Cheng'en also felt that Zhu Cilang was more capable than his father, and that letting him ascend the throne early was the only way to save the Great Ming.

But for Zhu Cilang to actually employ the trick of borrowing a knife to kill his brothers—was that not too vicious? Killing brothers and imprisoning the father—this ruthlessness even surpassed the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, and bore the air of Tang Taizong Li Shimin!

And such a black-hearted, vicious fellow was someone Wang Cheng'en had inadvertently raised up!

Although raising up a Crown Prince as ruthless as Li Shimin would not be letting down the Great Ming dynasty—perhaps the Great Ancestor buried in the Xiao Mausoleum would even be quite pleased... With such a formidable descendant, the Great Ming's realm could flourish again, and the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, would of course be delighted.

But Wang Cheng'en had truly and genuinely let down Chongzhen!

How could such an honest eunuch as Wang Cheng'en not feel guilty?

Seeing Wang Cheng'en's face streaming with tears, Qiu Zhizhong understood what was going on. He quickly produced a decree that had long been prepared and handed it to Wang Cheng'en with both hands: "Eunuch Wang, His Highness the Thousand Years anticipated this long ago... so he prepared this decree. It is addressed to Li Zicheng."

"Issuing a decree to Li Zicheng?" Wang Cheng'en did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Trust him to think of that!"

"How could His Highness the Thousand Years, with his divine foresight, not think of it?" Qiu Zhizhong said. "He instructs you to take this decree and escort the two princes and Noble Consort Yuan to become Li Zicheng's captives! He also asks you to endure humiliation and bear the burden, to preserve the two princes and Noble Consort Yuan at all costs, and by no means to give up and die on impulse.

At the same time, His Highness the Thousand Years also instructs me and Chiliarch Zu to join forces to escort one prince in breaking out toward Yongping."

Zu Zepu also spoke up in persuasion: "Eunuch Wang, do not be afraid. As long as the Emperor and the Crown Prince exist, the two princes are in no real danger. Falling into Li Zicheng's hands will do them no harm.

Moreover, Li Zicheng cannot hold Beijing for long. Once the Manchu troops arrive, he will certainly be unable to defend the city. If he loses Beijing, he will be a dog without a home—would he still dare kill you and the two princes?"

Wang Cheng'en sighed. "This servant has failed His Majesty. Now there is nothing left but to stake this old life on preserving the Noble Consort and the two princes for His Majesty... Only, this servant does not know which one he should protect. Which one do you two intend to protect?"

Qiu Zhizhong said: "We will of course protect the Prince of Ding."

"That is right," Wang Cheng'en nodded. "The Prince of Ding and the Crown Prince are full brothers. The Crown Prince has no son yet, so he must be kept alive as a precaution, must he not?"

Qiu Zhizhong took out another decree. "Eunuch Wang, this is from His Highness the Crown Prince to Consort Yuan. Please deliver it to her... His Highness the Thousand Years does not wish Consort Yuan to throw her life away in vain, so he entrusts Consort Yuan with looking after the Fifth Prince. No matter what, she must raise the Fifth Prince to adulthood."

Wang Cheng'en accepted the decree and sighed again: "His Highness the Thousand Years is indeed thorough in his thinking. He has thought of everything..."

(End of Chapter)