Chapter 90: Preparing for the War of Unification

“I, Li Shili, agree with Military Advisor Li!” Li Shili said solemnly.

“Please let Grand General Guan Anji unite all of China!”

The elders of Green Wood Hall, having followed Ma Jun the longest, knew the benefits of good food, fine wine, and a splendid reputation. One after another, they voiced their support for him.

The other hall masters, Lin Yongchao and Yao Bida among them, exchanged a glance. Hu Dedi of Ginseng Hall said in a deep voice, “I’m afraid it is still too early to speak of this. Asking Prince Zhu to ascend the throne is certainly the righteous course. As for Hall Master Chen, the old man has remained loyal to Taiwan, and for the past few years that brat Zheng Keshuang has made things difficult for him. Naturally, everyone is indignant on his behalf. As for General Ma’s achievements, they are indeed the greatest among the Han. In the future, even if he does not become emperor, if he were to be a prime minister or something of the sort, we would still support him.”

His words were half-and-half, vague and noncommittal. Ma Jun merely nodded slightly.

Mu Jiansheng, his brother-in-law, sat to one side in thought for a long while before saying, “Everyone, in the final years of the Ming, the common people rose up all across the realm, and the Tartars also invaded through the passes. It was a time of both internal chaos and external danger. As a result, our Han people suffered massacre at the hands of the Tartars. Such a vast and beautiful land was handed over for nothing, and the Tartars reaped the advantage. It is plain to see that the Zhu family is truly no longer fit to serve as Sons of Heaven. As the saying goes, Heaven’s mandate is never fixed; only the virtuous may hold it!”

The situation had changed. Ma Jun was Mu Jiansheng’s brother-in-law. Once Ma Jun became emperor, the Mu family would once again possess immense power. Mu Jiansheng’s feelings had already begun to tilt.

Besides, a married daughter is water spilled from the bowl. On the last occasion, Ma Jun had revealed his thoughts to Mu Jianping, and the little girl had repeated every word he meant to say to Mu Jiansheng. This persuasion was now showing results.

Only then did Ma Jun let his smile fade. In a solemn voice, he said, “I am deeply honored by everyone’s kindness, and I am afraid beyond measure. Whatever may happen in the future, for the moment we must remain diligent and disciplined, and first drive the Tartars out. Li Xihua!”

“I am here!”

“Begin battle preparations at once. Order General Mu Jiansheng to lead his men and remain behind with one hundred thousand troops. I will personally command another one hundred thousand, together with the former troops of Green Wood Hall. The remaining generals will lead twenty thousand cavalry, making a total of one hundred eighty thousand. In two months, the army will march! We swear to drive the Tartars out beyond the passes!”

“We swear to drive the Tartars out beyond the passes!” A whole crowd took up the chant.

Ma Jun nodded in satisfaction. “Meeting adjourned.”

Back in the inner hall, Mu Jianping came forward with a smile. “How did it go, husband?”

“What else could it be?” Ma Jun said with a grin as she helped him remove his armor. “Just wait peacefully and become the empress who mother’s the realm.”

“Oh dear, did they all agree?” Mu Jianping asked, both shy and delighted, unable to hide her uncertainty. “How could I mother the realm? In the future, husband... you should still marry another older sister. I’ll... I’ll just be content to be your little wife.”

“One is definitely not enough!” Ma Jun said with feigned seriousness. “We’ll have to marry a hundred or a thousand, just to show off your husband’s abilities!”

“You...” The little wife felt aggrieved, though on the surface she still nodded. “Mm, then marry fewer... otherwise you’ll be too busy, and I’ll only get to see you once in a long while!”

“Heh, marry what? There’s no need for that in this world. One wife is enough for me,” Ma Jun said with a laugh. “I was only teasing you just now. With you alone, your husband already has more than enough to be busy with. Last night nearly wore me out.”

“Oh!” Mu Jianping’s face turned instantly scarlet. She looked around in alarm and quickly covered her cheeks with both hands.

“We’re already an old married couple. What’s there to be shy about?” Ma Jun chuckled and pulled her over to sit with him.

Only then did Mu Jianping recover her composure. She lightly tapped his chest twice. “Husband, if you take the army to war this time, how long will you be gone? Will you take me with you?”

“Probably for a very long time. This time I intend to seize the lands north of the Yangtze in one stroke, and completely drive the Tartars from China,” Ma Jun said, lighting a cigarette as he spoke.

Because she had spent so much time with him, the little wife knew about Ma Jun’s smoking habit. After he casually talked her around last time, she had never troubled herself over it again.

“Then take me with you,” Mu Jianping said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Hmm... yes, I’ll take you,” Ma Jun said, affectionately stroking her cheek.

For Mu Jianping, ever since marriage she had hardly ever been separated from her husband, and so she depended on him greatly.

“Husband, once you drive the Tartars out of the Central Plains, you’ll go kill Wu Sangui, won’t you? But if you run into Master, what will you do then?” Mu Jianping asked softly.

“Master has devoted himself wholly to the Zheng family, and now Zheng Keshuang has tied his hands and feet,” Ma Jun said. “No matter what, I’m not going to hand over this splendid realm to the Zheng family with both hands! When it comes to fighting them, I certainly won’t hold back. As for Master, I’ll do my best to persuade him.”

In Ma Jun’s view, given Chen Jinnan’s temperament and character, he was certainly not going to agree to Ma Jun becoming emperor. When they met in the future, an argument over this would be unavoidable. Yet the tide of history was already moving in that direction, and Chen Jinnan would likely have no choice but to accept it helplessly.

Chen Jinnan was Ma Jun’s master, and had always treated him quite well. Ma Jun would not wrong him when the time came.

War was no child’s play; it was not something one could simply set out to do on a whim. It required all kinds of preparation: provisions, military funds, weapons, equipment, marching routes, and combat objectives. All of it had to be planned in advance.

Li Xihua, as a military man, was overall quite reliable.

Moreover, within the army Ma Jun had unrivaled prestige, and there were also many loyal subordinates hidden among the ranks, so he had little to worry about.

One morning, while Ma Jun was reading memorials in the governor-general’s residence, news suddenly came from the North American base. A group of local natives had been discovered.

Ma Jun hurried out and found the hidden spaceplane, then quietly flew it over there.

By now, the North American base already had nearly one hundred thousand low-grade bioengineered humans, and its construction was advancing at a breathtaking pace.

At the center of the base stood a palace-like structure specially prepared for Ma Jun.

The entire palace carried a modern air, while a ring of cylindrical supports lent it a solemn and imposing dignity.

The palace had three floors. In the conference room on the second floor, Ma Jun met the commander of the base’s troops.

“Sir, during the southbound journey of the resource survey team, they encountered a group of natives. At present, there have been no casualties on our side. A total of one hundred and thirty-two natives have already been captured by the soldiers sent to reinforce them.”

As he reported, the video of the firefight was displayed on the screen on the conference room wall.

In the video, a gang of half-naked men, armed with spears and other primitive weapons, could be seen shouting as they charged forward. Unfortunately, they were all easily captured by the base soldiers with tranquilizer rounds.

“Does the sir wish to go take a look?”

“No need,” Ma Jun said after a moment of thought, shaking his head. “Build a large transport ship as soon as possible. From now on, whenever these natives are discovered, exile them all to Africa or Europe. For now, do not expand toward the eastern coast of the mainland; there are European foreign devils there. You may send people to begin preliminary construction in Australia. In the future, in this world, the continents of the Americas and Australia will not permit the presence of any other human beings.”