Chapter 163: Heading South

On the sixteenth day of the first month, the various government offices of the court resumed their work, and the first grand court assembly of the new year was formally convened.

At the assembly, the Chongzhen Emperor first laid out his plans for the new year, then issued an imperial edict: Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, acting on behalf of Heaven, would tour and inspect the Southern Metropolitan Region, and was granted the dragon staff and imperial sword, with overall command of military affairs in Nanjing, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, and Huguang. He was to lead the Yongwei Camp to station troops at Fengyang to campaign against the roving bandits, and also to collect the overdue taxes owed by the Southern Metropolitan Region.

Surprisingly, none of the ministers objected. Chief Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan of the Grand Secretariat secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though on the surface he wore a face full of smiles toward Zhu Cilang.

The date for the southward march was set for the second day of the second month, the day of the Dragon Raises Its Head, leaving only half a month before departure. Zhu Cilang began his busy preparations.

Regarding the Crown Prince's expedition, all offices in the capital cooperated fully, providing grain, fodder, weapons, and other supplies in whatever amounts were requested. Their efficiency was simply astonishing.

The Chongzhen Emperor looked at the various memorials submitted and felt quite puzzled. Having been emperor for ten years, this was the first time he had discovered his court officials could work so nimbly. It seemed he ought to change the Grand Secretariat more often!

Zhu Cilang knew very well that these ministers could hardly wait for him to leave so they could continue fooling the Chongzhen Emperor. Therefore, he was not polite in the least — money, grain, muskets, cannons, whatever he needed, he stretched out his hand and demanded it all!

Under normal circumstances, when guest troops fought in foreign lands, they only needed to bring three days' worth of provisions themselves; the rest was supplied by the local government of wherever they passed through. But Zhu Cilang demanded a full ten days' worth of grain for his army of twenty thousand.

At the Crown Prince's lion's-mouth opening, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Cheng Guoxiang, publicly rebuked him, saying: "In recent years, natural disasters have come one after another, and this summer the drought is even worse. We, the court's trusted officials, must avoid suspicion and resentment. What the Crown Prince is doing is extortion, is blackmail!"

Zhu Cilang was quite surprised at Cheng Guoxiang's audacity. Was the man not afraid of dropping dead?

Zhu Cilang sent people to investigate him specifically and discovered he was actually a famous incorruptible official. Though he was the Minister of Revenue in charge of money and grain, his household was destitute, pitifully poor.

Just because Zhu Cilang did not deal with him did not mean no one else would. Upon hearing the news, Chief Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan immediately rebuked him, telling him that even if he had to squeeze it out, he must produce ten days' worth of grain!

Cheng Guoxiang felt he had done nothing wrong, yet he was rebuked by the Chief Grand Secretary and attacked by the assembled ministers. His face turned purple with rage, and he cried out that treacherous ministers ruled the court. He then submitted his resignation and, taking his old wife and driving an ox cart, returned to his hometown in Anhui.

After the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Li Daiwen, took office, he said not a word of complaint. Within a few days he had assembled ten days' worth of military grain and delivered it to the Yongwei Camp's garrison.

In the days before departure, the court held a grand farewell banquet. At the feast, there was laughter and cheer everywhere, and amid the clinking of cups, people whispered and murmured to one another.

Xue Guoguan, Yang Sichang, and the other civil officials sat at one table. Though the two men fought each other to the death behind the scenes, on the surface they were all harmony and goodwill — both were masters of the hidden dagger behind the smile.

Zhu Cilang sat together with Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, and the other generals of the Yongwei Camp. Everyone chatted and laughed, feeling completely at ease. Compared to the Tartars, the fighting power of the roving bandits was simply garbage — they felt no pressure at all.

One could tell from the court's bounty payments: killing one Tartar earned a promotion of one rank, while killing six roving bandits was needed for the same promotion. The monetary rewards also differed several-fold. The gap between the two was plain to see.

Wang Wannian, Zhang Shize, and other military officers of the Capital Camps were also present. They slung their arms around the shoulders of the Yongwei Camp officers, acting as familiar as old friends.

Wang Wannian raised his wine cup to toast Zhu Cilang, saying heartily: "This humble general wishes Your Highness victory in this southern campaign, may the banner of triumph be raised at the very start, and may success come with the horse's arrival!"

He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, then added: "What a pity that this old Wang has no chance to follow Your Highness south to earn merit. Truly a regret of a lifetime!"

Zhu Cilang took a light sip of tea and smiled: "Who says you have no chance? Why don't you go pick out some artillerymen from the Shenji Camp plus a hundred red barbarian cannons, and let them head south with me?"

The smile on Wang Wannian's face suddenly froze, gradually turning uglier than a cry. Even before leaving, the Crown Prince still had his eye on the Shenji Camp's red barbarian cannons!

Zhu Cilang looked at his bitter-melon face and grinned: "Don't worry, consider it a loan of your cannons. Whatever cannons and flintlock muskets the Armory Bureau produces from now on will be equipped for your Shenji Camp — the Yongwei Camp won't take a single one. How about that?"

Hearing Zhu Cilang say this, Wang Wannian felt a bit better. He was extremely envious of the flintlock muskets produced by the Armory Bureau. Those muskets were not only finely crafted with fast loading speeds, but with paper-cartridge fixed powder charges, their range and power were far superior to the old matchlock muskets that needed ignition.

Wang Wannian dreamed of having an elite force like the Yongwei Camp, so that he too could stand tall in court. Any civil official who dared to yap at him, he could bury alive!

Wang Wannian agreed happily, filled with beautiful hopes. What he did not know was that more than half of the Armory Bureau's finest craftsmen had already been packed up by Zhu Cilang — people and families alike — loaded onto ships, and sent south along the Grand Canal.

Zhang Shize also came over to offer a toast, but he was worried the Crown Prince might take a liking to his Shenshu Camp's cavalry and feared being tricked as well, so he only said some words of blessing and not a single sentence more.

After the banquet, the civil and military officials took their leave one after another, every face wreathed in smiles.

That same day, Zhu Cilang convened a military council and made arrangements for the Yongwei Camp's various units to head south. He appointed Zhou Yuji as commander of the vanguard camp, leading five thousand men to escort the grain supplies and set out five days early.

All of the Yongwei Camp's heavy artillery was hauled to Tongzhou and loaded onto ships to travel south along the Grand Canal, with Sun Yingyuan responsible for guarding the water route. Huang Degong would lead the main force of ten thousand men accompanying His Highness by land, passing through Shandong into the Southern Metropolitan Region.

Besides the Yongwei Camp, Zhu Cilang also brought along Yang Tinglin and Li Tingbiao. Yang Tinglin had grand plans in his heart and was a man who could get things done. Zhu Cilang could not bear to see him ruined in the capital, so he specially petitioned the throne to have him accompany the southern march.

The Chongzhen Emperor said nothing more and approved on the spot. He also appointed Li Tingbiao as Guard Commander of the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard, to accompany the Crown Prince south. As for the capital's Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, Wu Mengming would fill the post — a win-win for both sides.

Zhu Cilang had nearly emptied the several firearms factories under the Armory Bureau. All existing stock was equipped for the Yongwei Camp, which was now fully armed with the most advanced flintlock muskets. The artillery battalion had also been expanded several-fold, with a full two thousand artillerymen, nearly catching up to the Shenji Camp.

Zhu Cilang not only took away more than half of the craftsmen, but also moved the entire research institute. For this southern expedition, he had no intention of returning for several years. Anything that could be taken, he took; anything that could not be taken would be redeveloped in the south.

As for the court, factional strife, and all that — you all go play by yourselves! This old man is starting to work solo, and I won't be keeping you company!

On the second day of the second month, the court held a grand send-off ceremony. The Grand Secretariat, the Six Ministries, the Five Chief Military Commissions, and all the other important court officials gathered to bid farewell.

Over a hundred thousand common folk from Xincheng and Liangxiang came of their own accord. A sea of dark heads gathered before the Yongding Gate. The people of Liangxiang came to see off the valiant army that had once saved their lives, while the people of Xincheng came to bid farewell to their sons who had joined the army.

The ten-thousand-strong Yongwei Camp army, armored and armed, marched slowly out of the Yongding Gate and set foot on the road of the southern campaign.

The ministers smiled and waved at the Crown Prince. Only after witnessing with their own eyes the Yongwei Camp army disappear from view did everyone breathe a sigh of relief, their stiffly smiling faces gradually relaxing. That killing star had finally left. Tonight, surely no one would go home sober!

As the Yongwei Camp marched farther and farther away, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted at the top of their lungs: "Heaven bless our benefactor! Heaven bless the loyal and good!"

"Heaven bless our benefactor! Heaven bless the loyal and good!"

The cry gradually spread through the crowd, and many others began to shout along. The sound grew from small to large, until finally the voices of over a hundred thousand people merged into one, enveloping the area for miles around.

"The people's hearts can be used!" the Chongzhen Emperor murmured from atop the Meridian Gate tower of the Forbidden City. Gazing into the distant clouds, he silently swore in his heart: "Ancestors above, your descendant Youjian shall surely reform governance and restore the Great Ming to glory!"