Chapter 159: Growing Too Big for His Britches

At his first court audience after returning, Zhu Cilang submitted a memorial: "I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict mobilizing the troops of Liaodong and Jizhou to gather at Jinzhou, and at the same time order Dongjiang Regional Commander Shen Shikui to build fortifications and watchtowers, lay in ample gunpowder and ammunition, and collect warships, so as to be ready to strike at any moment!"

Xue Guoguan said in surprise, "Does Your Highness intend to take the initiative and attack the Jianzhou barbarians?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said, "The Jianzhou barbarians will attack Joseon and Pidao next month. Concentrating our troops at Jinzhou at this time can deter the Jianzhou barbarians and thereby resolve the crisis in Joseon."

"The Tartars are attacking Joseon?" Some ministers began to show surprise and started discussing among themselves.

"Pidao has twenty thousand of our Great Ming troops, forming a pincer with Joseon. The Jianzhou barbarians will find it hard to break through!"

"Right, the Jianzhou barbarians learned their lesson from their last defeat. They shouldn't dare send troops against Joseon again. Your Highness is worrying over nothing."

Though some courtiers opposed it, their tone was gentle, clearly unwilling to offend this young killing star.

Chongzhen frowned and said, "I have received no intelligence from the front lines. How do you know this?"

Zhu Cilang naturally would not tell him that he had sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Liaodong to gather intelligence — being able to probe even the internal intelligence of the Tartars was the kind of capability that easily inspired fear and invited attack.

Zhu Cilang said, "The barbarian chieftain Hong Taiji harbors grand ambitions. If he wishes to enter the Central Plains, he must first pull out the two nails of Joseon and Pidao to secure his rear. The twelfth month is nearly upon us. I speculate that Hong Taiji will take advantage of the Yalu River freezing over to launch a major offensive against Joseon!"

Chongzhen snorted lightly, "The Ministry of Revenue is in difficulty at present. I cannot mobilize tens of thousands of troops and squander vast sums of military expenditure on the basis of your mere speculation. Don't bring up such impractical matters again in the future."

Zhu Cilang sighed, deeply disappointed. He increasingly longed to break free from this cage.

On the first day of the twelfth month, the Mongol tribes gathered their forces at Shenyang. On the second day, Hong Taiji ordered the army to set out on campaign against Joseon.

The Qing army's left wing, led by Dorgon and Hooge, advanced from Kuandian through Changshan Pass by way of Changcheng, then south to Pyongyang. Hong Taiji and Daišan personally led the right wing, entering Joseon from the Dongjing highway through Zhenjiang. Three hundred Qing soldiers disguised as merchants made straight for Hanseong, the Joseon capital, with Dodo personally leading a thousand men following close behind.

On the fourteenth, the main Qing force had reached Anju. Only then did the Joseon king learn of the Qing army's mobilization. By this time Dodo's forces were already at the city walls. With the Qing army coordinating from within and without, the Joseon king fled to Ganghwa Island, seeking the protection of the Ming army.

Having learned from the lessons of their first campaign against Joseon, the Qing army had already cut off the road from the capital to Ganghwa Island, so the Joseon king could only flee to Namhansanseong, on the southern bank of the Han River a mere forty li from the capital.

After entering Namhansanseong, the Joseon king issued a call for all provincial troops to come to the royal rescue, and sent messengers racing to Dengzhou to seek aid from the suzerain state, the Great Ming.

After Joseon's plea for help was delivered to the capital, the court erupted in uproar — no one had expected that, exactly as the Crown Prince had said, the Jianzhou barbarians truly had launched a major invasion of Joseon.

Zhu Cilang stepped into Wenhua Hall, where Chongzhen was consulting with the Grand Secretariat and the senior ministers of the Six Ministries over the Joseon matter.

Chief Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan said with a smile, "Your Highness's foresight is nothing short of divine. We are all in awe!"

The assembled ministers chimed in with praise one after another, and even Chongzhen took a fresh measure of Zhu Cilang — this boy's strategic vision was truly razor-sharp.

Zhu Cilang frowned slightly: "The capital of a vassal state has been breached — is this really something to celebrate? I only wish to know how our Great Ming intends to respond!"

The assembled men found themselves embarrassed by his words. Xue Guoguan's skin was thicker than most; he cleared his throat and said, "Our Great Ming currently faces fiscal difficulties — the Liaodong levy has yet to be fully repaid. Add to that the bandit suppression in the northwest and the fighting in Jiangnan, and the court is in no position to send troops to aid Joseon."

Zhu Cilang said angrily, "What of the garrison at Pidao? What of the garrison at Liaodong? If both forces applied pressure on the Jianzhou barbarians simultaneously, even without attacking they would have kept the Tartars from breaking the Joseon capital so quickly, wouldn't they? A suzerain that cannot protect even its nearest vassal state — who can it possibly convince to submit?"

Zhu Cilang was exceptionally furious. The Guanning army, though strong in troops and horses, merely cowered behind their city walls, daring not to attack and tie down the enemy. Pidao sat right beside Joseon, yet its twenty thousand troops held fast on the island without sallying forth, watching helplessly as all of Joseon fell step by step.

He had also received word that Güshi Khan, founder of the Khoshut Khanate on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, had some time ago sent envoys to Shengjing to pay tribute, expressing willingness to submit to the Qing.

This had originally been the Great Ming's Ü-Tsang, yet now it had turned to the embrace of the enemy. The inability to protect one's vassal states meant a dynasty was gradually heading toward decline. In history, the Qing had likewise fallen not long after losing Joseon.

Chongzhen immediately barked, "How dare you!"

Minister of Personnel Xie Sheng also said, "Your Highness, please weigh your words."

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze across the assembled men, then looked at Chongzhen, made a bow, and said flatly, "I am feeling unwell. I shall take my leave."

This kind of meaningless court deliberation held no interest for him whatsoever, so he walked out on the spot, so enraged that Chongzhen's right hand clenched tight, knuckles turning white, as he silently cursed that this unfilial son had grown too big for his britches!

When word spread that the father-son relationship had once again soured, Empress Zhou and everyone else in the palace were anxious.

As the New Year was approaching, on the suggestion of Consort Dowager Liu and Empress Yi'an, the harem organized a performance, inviting Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang, and all the consorts to attend.

The Wanli and Tianqi Emperors had been especially fond of opera, and there were dedicated stages within the palace. They frequently visited the Maogin Hall, Yuxi Palace, Xuanmo Terrace, and Wuyi Hall to listen to music.

Since Chongzhen ascended the throne, with the nation beset by internal strife and external threats and wars coming thick and fast, the palace had ceased its theatrical performances. As the saying among the people went: "The sovereign has rested song and dance for ten years, so the opera troupes have all gone white-haired."

Up to now, the palace had staged only one performance — on Empress Zhou's birthday in the fifth year of Chongzhen, when a troupe was summoned to perform five or six acts of Romance of the Western Chamber. Nearly everyone in the harem had turned out that day, and the Chongzhen Emperor himself had come to sit for a while.

Nearly five years later, Yuxi Palace opened its doors once more. On the day of the performance, the harem was filled with festive joy, with Consort Dowager Liu, Empress Zhou, Empress Zhang, Noble Consort Yuan, Noble Consort Tian, and all the other consorts gathered together.

The performers of Shenxiang Troupe, a professional company from among the people, presented a list of plays to Chongzhen and asked him to select one. To please the assembled consorts, Chongzhen personally selected The Jade Hairpin.

In the late Ming, Kunqu opera flourished. On the stages of the capital, whether among the people or at court, Kunqu had come to dominate, and The Jade Hairpin was one of the popular chuanqi plays of the Kunqu repertoire.

The story of The Jade Hairpin is set against the Jingkang Incident, when Jin troops invaded the south. The young woman Chen Jiaolian, separated from her mother while fleeing the chaos, enters the Nüzhen Temple in Jinling as a Daoist nun, and later falls in love with and marries the scholar Pan Bizheng, breaking through the constraints of feudal ethics and Daoist precepts.

The play showcased Chen Jiaolian's courage in breaking free from Daoist restraints and pursuing beautiful love, moving the assembled consorts of the harem deeply.

Empress Zhang and Empress Zhou, meanwhile, looked toward Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang. The main purpose of this performance was to mend the rift between the Emperor and the Crown Prince, to let the two of them feel the warmth of family.

What Chongzhen thought was unknown, but Zhu Cilang felt somewhat moved. He had heard that the atmosphere in late-Ming Jiangnan was open and free, though he had not yet seen it with his own eyes — but from The Jade Hairpin, he could discern some of the underlying currents.

This play displayed new concepts and new consciousness violently battering against decayed thought and tradition. This was a great step forward, likely brought about by the sprouting of capitalism in Jiangnan.

Zhu Cilang had once watched a debate competition among young cadres in his later life, and the topic had been: Does the degree of ideological emancipation determine the level of economic development, or does the level of economic development determine the degree of ideological emancipation?

Zhu Cilang leaned toward the latter. He believed that if the common people could not even fill their bellies, how could they have the heart to think about anything else?

Therefore, he resolved that to save the Great Ming, he must first fill the bellies of the Great Ming's people — not waste time in the court hall engaging in meaningless struggles with others!

Tomorrow begins Volume Two — wielding the imperial sword, cutting through thorns and brambles, and switching on ten-thousand-head-chopping mode!