Chapter 83: At Last, Loyal Subjects — (Please Favorite, Please Recommend)

"Your subject Feng Yuanyang, Governor of Tianjin and Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief, kowtows before Your Majesty."

"Your subject Cao Youyi, Regional Commander of the Tianjin Garrison and Left Commissioner-in-Chief, kowtows before Your Majesty."

Seeing two loyal subjects of the Great Ming kowtowing to him, the Chongzhen Emperor was so moved he nearly wept. Since Zhu Cilang had launched the palace coup days earlier, he had not laid eyes on a single "loyal subject of the Great Ming" who actually had troops in hand.

At Tongzhou he had entertained a sliver of hope for Song Quan, Governor of Shuntian. But Song Quan turned out not to be a true loyal subject at all — he cared nothing that the sovereign and father was imprisoned by the Crown Prince, and thought only of fleeing for his life... The very fact that he thought only of fleeing proved he was of the Crown Prince's faction!

Cao Huachun, whom he had encountered near Wangqingtuo, at least had some "conscience," waiting on him hand and foot all along the road, and after reaching Wangqingtuo even vacated his own family mansion to lodge Chongzhen. But what pleased Chongzhen most was that Cao Huachun had arranged for Zhu Cilang to rest in Cao Huayu's former residence.

In this way, Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang were separated! Moreover, Zhu Cilang and his trusted men from the princely household — Chen Jie, Lin Zengzhi, Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu, Huang Dabao, Li Ruolian, and Zhu Chunjie — were all exhausted. After reaching Wangqingtuo, they all seized the time to rest. No one had the energy to bother with Chongzhen, a bare emperor with no power, so Chongzhen gained a little room to maneuver.

A little room he had, but recovering power was impossible. Cao Huachun was no fool — who would dare strike a stone with an egg? At Wangqingtuo, the troops under Zhu Cilang's control included the three Kenan battalions, one battalion of the Guard, one battalion of Dragon Cavalry, one battalion of Tiger Guards, and one battalion of the Shuntian patrol — seven battalions in all, with 7,000 men on the rolls!

Cao Huachun's force, though, numbered more than two thousand, nearly three thousand. But how could his household retainers and civilian levies compare with Zhu Cilang's 7,000 soldiers? Those men were regular troops no matter what! Fully equipped with weapons and armor, they had received at least some formal training, and under Zhu Cilang's encouragement their morale was actually rather high. Only a brainless man like Cao Huachun would strike a stone with an egg — his diligent care of Chongzhen was in fact at Zhu Cilang's command... The entire Cao clan was now in Zhu Cilang's grip, so how could Cao Huachun oppose him? However cunning he was, he was still a grand eunuch who had sacrificed his own manhood for his family's prosperity!

But how could the Chongzhen Emperor know Eunuch Cao's mind? He never troubled himself to fathom his subjects' thoughts, nor much considered their interests. All he was calculating now was that Cao Huachun had 3,000 men, Tianjin had at least 5,000, and the two together made 8,000 — a full 1,000 more than Zhu Cilang's 7,000!

If his own side had more men, then could he not take back supreme power?

At the very thought that he might recover power, the Chongzhen Emperor instantly rallied, and raised a hand to bid the two loyal subjects rise. Then he ordered Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong, the two "aunties," to bring two embroidered stools for Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi to sit on.

He no longer trusted eunuchs much now — eunuchs were unreliable... Eunuchs coveted outside wealth and had no human desires, and the Chongzhen Emperor had no money, so what could he use to buy a eunuch's loyalty? The two old-maid palace women were different — their eyes practically shone when they looked at the Chongzhen Emperor! Chongzhen knew that they wanted only him, nothing else!

So after reaching Wangqingtuo, Chongzhen had immediately dismissed the eunuchs Huang Dabao had assigned to serve him, and replaced them with the two old-maid palace women.

"Minister Feng," the Chongzhen Emperor said, "Li Jiantai is Supreme Commander in the field, his whereabouts unknown, and his Grand Secretary post stands vacant. We wish you to enter the Grand Secretariat. In addition, the post of Minister of War is also vacant — it shall be yours as well."

What? Make you Minister of War? Would that not be the death of you?

Feng Yuanyang was startled by Chongzhen's attempt to win him over, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Of the dozen-odd Ministers of War under the Chongzhen reign, only Feng Yuanyang's elder brother Feng Yuanbiao could be said to have retired honorably — and that was only because he was so gravely ill he could do no work at all...

"This subject... this subject's talents and wits are limited. I fear I cannot cope with the present crisis, and would fail Your Majesty's sacred trust..."

Hearing Feng Yuanyang's words of refusal, Chongzhen merely nodded and said: "The situation is indeed dire. We earlier collapsed at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy and cast the weight of ten thousand jun onto the Crown Prince — truly failing the hopes of our ancestors. But now Our body has recovered, and We can at last take up this heavy burden again. You two are loyal subjects of the Great Ming, and will surely serve with sincere hearts, aiding Us in governing the realm of the Great Ming."

"This subject is willing to exert himself to the death for Your Majesty!"

"This subject shall naturally devote himself heart and soul to aiding Your Majesty!"

Loyal subjects indeed!

Chongzhen was overjoyed at these words and said with a smile: "With you two to assist Us, the great undertaking is certain to succeed!"

What did that mean?

Both Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi were startled by the Chongzhen Emperor's words. The two of them, it turned out, knew nothing of the palace coup at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy! Nor was that a matter one could publish in the Capital Gazette for all to read — how would one phrase it? That the Crown Prince had staged a coup and hollowed out the Emperor's authority?

Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi were far from Beijing besides — where were they supposed to learn of it?

Cao Huachun knew a little — Huang Dabao had told him on orders (Zhu Cilang's orders) — but he had not passed it on to Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi. So Feng and Cao had no idea that Chongzhen and the Crown Prince were at odds, and naturally did not know that the "great undertaking" in Chongzhen's mouth meant recovering his power — they thought it meant retaking Beijing!

"Your Majesty," Cao Youyi said, dropping to his knees before Chongzhen with a thud, "this subject is guilty. My troops number over ten thousand on the rolls, but in truth there are only 4,500, and of those I can personally rely on fewer than a thousand..."

Chongzhen nodded. "We know. This is a common failing in every region, not Tianjin Garrison alone."

Cao Youyi continued: "This subject has only a few thousand troops, truly not enough to recover the divine capital, nor even to withstand the main force of the rebels. When this subject left Tianjin, word had come that rebel cavalry had already reached the vicinity of Tianjin, and their main force will presumably arrive soon as well. This subject begs Your Majesty to journey south to the auxiliary capital as soon as possible, and only after reaching the auxiliary capital of Nanjing summon loyal men and rally anew."

"We are of the same mind," the Chongzhen Emperor said, raising a hand to bid Cao Youyi rise, and speaking gently: "The road to the auxiliary capital is long and arduous, and We must rely on you two to escort Us the whole way. How many troops have you two brought today?"

Only then did Cao Youyi relax, and answered: "What has come with this subject today is the central army of the Tianjin Garrison — only 1,500 men."

"So few..." The Chongzhen Emperor frowned slightly. "Are the remaining troops all in Tianjin Guard?"

Feng Yuanyang said: "This subject's patrol battalion has already gone out to fight the roving bandits. Inside the city of Tianjin there remain about three thousand troops."

"Good!" Chongzhen said. "That being so, tomorrow you two and Cao Huachun shall together escort Us to Tianjin... Once We reach Tianjin, We shall have escaped the tiger's jaws!"

The two loyal subjects did not understand that the tiger's jaws Chongzhen meant were Zhu Cilang's mouth, so both breathed a great sigh of relief and repeatedly declared their willingness to exert themselves to the death for the Chongzhen Emperor.

......

At that same moment, Yuan Yuzong, Circuit Intendant of Tianjin, was likewise drinking and chatting merrily with the Shun army general Hao Yaoqi, secretly plotting how to seize either the Chongzhen Emperor or Zhu Cilang.

The previous night Hao Yaoqi had received Li Guo's field dispatch, and knew that the Chongzhen Emperor had escaped from the capital and was very likely on his way to Tianjin. Then he had learned from Yuan Yuzong that the Crown Prince of the Great Ming, or Chongzhen, had already passed Tongzhou and was racing toward Tianjin.

That was right — Yuan Yuzong also did not know that both the Chongzhen Emperor and Zhu Cilang were on their way to Tianjin. Because Zhu Cilang was far too cunning: while at Tongzhou he had only issued an order commanding Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi to welcome the imperial presence and prepare boats, without stating clearly that both he and the Chongzhen Emperor were going to Tianjin Guard.

But even just a Crown Prince would be a merit as great as heaven!

Yuan Yuzong slapped his chest and declared: "General Hao, the two traitors Feng Yuanyang and Cao Youyi have both gone to welcome the imperial presence. Inside the city of Tianjin, this humble official is in charge, and the two Vice Regional Commanders are of one mind with me, both willing to serve the Son of Heaven of the Shun. If the Chongzhen father and son both come to Tianjin, this humble official will seize them as easily as catching two dogs!"

"I fear it won't be so easy!" Hao Yaoqi said, stroking his great beard. "According to reports from the scouts I sent out, the troops fleeing with that Zhu brat may number ten thousand! How many men do you have?"

"This humble official has 4,000 elite troops!" Yuan Yuzong said. "We can set an ambush inside the walls of Tianjin Guard... If the General is uneasy, he may slip into the city of Tianjin together with this humble official. With the General's heavenly troops, seizing that Zhu brat will be as easy as turning over one's palm. Only the General must put away the Roving King's banners, or word will leak out."

"I know!" Hao Yaoqi laughed heartily. "So long as we can seize that Zhu brat, I'd even pretend to be a Tartar!"

(End of Chapter)