Chapter 133: Returning in Triumph to the Capital

On the twelfth day of the ninth month, the Ming army returned within the passes, and the Qing army likewise began its return to Shengjing, bringing the third Qing incursion through the passes to an end.

In this catastrophe, the Great Ming suffered grievous losses—up to one hundred eighty thousand commoners had been seized, and though over one hundred thousand were recovered, several tens of thousands had already been carried off beyond the passes early on; the gold, silver, silks, and other goods taken were beyond counting.

Many parts of the Great Ming had been swept by the Qing army, dealing the greatest devastation to the economy, and the common folk were burdened beyond words; the Qing army likewise suffered heavy losses, leaving tens of thousands of heads behind on Ming soil.

After exiting Lengkou Pass and returning to Qian'an, local officials and garrison commanders from the surrounding areas came one after another to pay respects to the Crown Prince. Zhu Cilang summoned only Liu Jingyao, the Yongping military supervisor; the rest were made to kneel beneath the dragon banner in the field camp.

Though Liu Jingyao was the Yongping military supervisor, he was not a eunuch, which surprised Zhu Cilang somewhat. Since the Yongle reign, the Great Ming had established the system of eunuch military supervisors; supervisors were basically always eunuchs, making this Liu Jingyao something of an exception.

Subsequently, Zhu Cilang learned that Liu Jingyao was a jinshi of the second year of Tianqi, currently serving as Assistant Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shandong while also supervising the military at Yongping. (In the Ming dynasty, Shandong Province encompassed not only the later Shandong but also the Liaodong region—a very large area.)

After briefly chatting with Liu Jingyao, Zhu Cilang set the group of officials kneeling beneath the dragon banner to work—recording the names and native places of the rescued commoners, and handling their comfort and relief.

As for the seized supplies and valuables, the Yongwei Camp and the New Camp were responsible for organizing their transport to the capital. After local officials and garrison troops provided carts, they could only watch helplessly as the vast quantities of goods were hauled away.

Zhu Cilang convened a dedicated military council, carefully dividing up the heads taken in this battle, and only then wrote up the battle report and sent a man to deliver it to the capital.

In the end, the officers of the Shenji Camp, the Shenshu Camp, and the Tianxiong Army all came out of the great tent with smiles on their faces, beaming with joy.

On the fourteenth day of the ninth month, after two days of rest, Zhu Cilang led the army back toward the capital. On the road he received word from the capital: Zhang Fengyi, Minister of War, and Liang Tingdong, Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, had both, fearing punishment, taken an overdose of rhubarb medicine and died one after another a few days prior. The court issued an edict condemning the two men to death by dismemberment and confiscating their family property.

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, the report of the great victory at Lengkou reached the capital.

The messenger cavalry, brandishing the victory dispatch, galloped down the capital's main thoroughfare, shouting: "Victory dispatch! Great victory at Lengkou! Our army pursued the slave bandits three hundred li and beheaded seven thousand of the enemy at Lengkou, rescuing one hundred twenty thousand commoners!"

"Victory dispatch! Great victory at Lengkou! The Crown Prince slew the old slave's seventh son, Abatai, in battle! And captured the turncoat general Chao Pichang alive!"

When the victory dispatch reached the Grand Secretariat, it immediately stirred a commotion. The Chongzhen Emperor personally read the dispatch, reading it out word by word.

"Hahaha! To slay a prince before the ranks—truly a great victory!" Chongzhen laughed heartily, feeling as though every pore on his body was incomparably comfortable at that moment.

The assembled ministers chimed in one after another, offering flowery congratulations and opening up every posture of flattery.

A few days later, the Imperial Ming Times devoted a special section in its latest issue to reporting this great victory, praising it lavishly, blowing it up with all their might, lauding this victory to the heavens—the headlines each more shocking than the last.

Each section carried even more detailed reports, not only covering the course of every battle but also featuring special columns on the heroic deeds of the commanders of the several major camps.

Driven by the Imperial Ming Times, the entire capital was set ablaze with excitement. The name of the Crown Prince was on everyone's lips, and the might of the three camps—the Yongwei Camp, the Shenji Camp, and the Shenshu Camp—spread such that even the New Camp and the Tianxiong Army gained renown.

Around every newsstand in the capital, crowds had long since gathered in dense, dark masses, listening to the news-crier in the middle swaying his head as he read out the contents, bursting into cheers from time to time.

When Zhu Cilang led the generals back to the capital, both sides of Yongding Gate were already packed with commoners of the capital, all wanting a glimpse of the Crown Prince's bearing.

By now Zhu Cilang had been made into something utterly legendary—a reincarnation of the true dragon, an incarnation of the Great Emperor Zhenwu, a reincarnation of the Purple Tenuity Emperor Star—which was why this utterly rotten situation had seen such a turn for the better.

At exactly the hour of si, under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, the great army filed through Yongding Gate one after another, and the densely packed welcoming crowd burst into cheers.

The victorious army's banners fluttered, blotting out the sky and covering the sun; the imperial procession amid the host of flags seemed like the Heavenly Emperor's carriage descending on the clouds.

Zhu Cilang did not sit in the imperial procession, but stood atop the enormous double-decked war chariot specially built for him by the Armory Bureau.

Behind the war chariot came many great drum carts; the drummers skillfully beat out marching rhythms, and the mighty martial drum music even drowned out the Ministry of Rites' victory music.

Amid the rousing marching drumbeats, the soldiers of the several camps strode down the main thoroughfare with heads high and chests out—especially the Yongwei Camp at the front. Clad in iron armor that flashed with cold light, they marched with neat, powerful steps, their iron boots striking the blue-stone pavement in a single, thunderous rumble.

The army's imposing bearing made the watching commoners even more jubilant, and some among them shouted fervently: "Salute to the heroes!"

Huang Degong, riding at the very front, was filled with pride. He raised his powerful right arm and bellowed: "Ten thousand victories for the Great Ming!"

"Ten thousand victories!"

"Ten thousand victories!"

The officers of the Yongwei Camp at the front shouted in unison, their voices shaking the ground for several li, instantly setting the watching commoners' blood boiling with passion.

Young women lining both sides of the road, their faces flushed red, screamed and waved their handkerchiefs until their arms were nearly sore.

Though the young soldiers of the Yongwei Camp remained neat and orderly, quite a few of them subtly rolled their eyes to sneak glances at these young women; but as they drew near the group of screaming girls, they all became perfectly proper again, staring straight ahead with taut faces as they strode forward.

Among the welcoming crowd were not only middle-aged men and women, but also young women, and even some educated men—for instance, students from the Imperial Academy.

Some Imperial Academy students were moved by the sight and could not help but exclaim in admiration: "With such military might, we too yearn for this!"

Quite a few Imperial Academy students were won over by the Yongwei Camp, wanting to abandon the brush for the sword and join the Yongwei Camp to serve the nation. They followed alongside the Yongwei Camp's formation all the way to its quarters.

These Imperial Academy students gathered before the Yongwei Camp's main gate, declaring they wished to enlist, leaving some of the camp's officers at a loss for what to do.

After the various camps returned to their quarters, officials from the Ministry of Rites, representing the court, came to console and reward the troops, handing out a bit of silver and cloth at each camp as a token gesture before slipping away.

Zhu Cilang, for his part, returned to the palace to report on his mission, handing back the imperial procession and the imperial sword.

The next day, the Chongzhen Emperor held a banquet in the rear garden of the palace, summoning Zhu Cilang and the principal commanders of this campaign, including Huang Degong, Vice Regional Commander of the Yongwei Camp; Sun Yingyuan, Vice Regional Commander of the New Camp; Zhang Shize, Vice Regional Commander of the Shenshu Camp; Wang Wannian, Assistant Regional Commander of the Shenji Camp; as well as the supervisors Cao Huachun and Lu Xiangsheng.

This banquet was fairly lavish, with meat and wine—unlike the shabby six small dishes served at the family feast at Zhu Cilang's residence before. Yet despite such abundance, no one dared to eat heartily; they only occasionally picked up a piece as a token gesture.

During the feast, the Chongzhen Emperor was very pleased, sparing no praise for the generals, and also inquired about some details, making everyone feel honored and flattered beyond measure.

After the meal was simply concluded, Chongzhen specifically kept Lu Xiangsheng behind and summoned several ministers to discuss together how to settle the rescued commoners.