Chapter 33: Prince Zhou's Surprise

Facing such a massive military conflict, Zhu Gongxiao had already lowered his expectations to the bare minimum: as long as the imperial forces did not suffer a complete defeat, that would suffice. As for achieving any sweeping victories against the enemy, he had long since abandoned such extravagant hopes.

Besides, Zhu Gongxiao was no ordinary, oblivious peer like the former Prince of Fu, who had met his end in a cauldron of stew. He was well aware of the actual combat capability possessed by the Shandong garrison. It was already a blessing if the troops from Shandong could enter the city to help with the defense. But for them to take the initiative and rout the formidable generals under Li Zicheng? In Zhu Gongxiao’s eyes, that was nothing short of a fairy tale.

With such thoughts in mind, the imperial edict currently in his hands suddenly felt exceptionally scorching to the touch.

Yet, this was a situation Zhu Gongxiao had no power to resist.

Since Crown Prince Zhu Cilang had already led his troops and was marching toward Kaifeng, Zhu Gongxiao had no other choice but to passively coordinate and receive him.

Could Zhu Gongxiao possibly issue an order telling Zhu Cilang not to come?

Putting aside whether Zhu Gongxiao even held such authority, one only needed to look at the current reality. Zhu Gongxiao might be a Prince of the First Rank, but the other party was the heir apparent to the entire realm. If he attempted to leverage seniority to suppress the Crown Prince, he would find himself bound hand and foot by the rigid etiquette of monarch and subject. In the end, aside from acting as a wealthy benefactor, Zhu Gongxiao seemingly held no other leverage, and thus naturally lacked the capacity to stop him.

As for invoking the authority of the Henan provincial government to reject reinforcements from the Shandong garrison—that was even more of a pipe dream.

Zhu Cilang’s current status was that of the Imperial Inspector for the Shandong garrison. If the Shandong troops were to enter the city to relieve Kaifeng, Gao Mingheng and all the military officers within the walls would leap for joy. If Zhu Gongxiao were to reject Zhu Cilang’s arrival under such circumstances, wouldn’t he simply be inviting endless trouble upon himself?

However...

Kaifeng was currently in a state of peril as critical as an egg piled atop a stack of firewood, besieged by a million rebel troops outside the city walls. By coming all this way over a distance of thousands of li, wasn't Zhu Cilang simply marching to his own death?

"If the Crown Prince were to perish in Kaifeng, it would be as good as dying by my own hand..." Zhu Gongxiao drew a slight, sharp breath. If he himself were to fall, so be it; the princedom of Zhou was at least a hereditary peerage that could be passed down to his descendants, and as long as his family members managed to escape, their fate might not be entirely tragic.

Yet if the Crown Prince died in Kaifeng, then even if the Prince of Zhou were to die as well, his family would have no hope of survival!

He could vividly imagine how the callous, ruthless, impatient, and anxious Emperor Chongzhen would vent his fury over the death of the Crown Prince!

Since he could not refuse... and faced with such an immense, tangible threat, the only option left to Zhu Gongxiao was to hold Kaifeng with every ounce of his strength.

He had to act just as Emperor Chongzhen envisioned: leverage the prestige of Crown Prince Zhu Cilang's identity to compel all regional reinforcement forces to come to their aid.

Moreover, now that the Crown Prince himself had arrived, the soldiers and civilians trapped inside Kaifeng would surely have reason to believe that the imperial court had not abandoned them.

"Thinking of it this way... there actually seems to be a sliver of good news after all..." Zhu Gongxiao smiled bitterly.

By this point, he had resigned himself to his fate.

Suddenly... a series of hurried footsteps echoed from outside.

Zhu Gongxiao’s trusted eunuch, He Yi, rushed hastily into the room, his face beaming with smiles as he exclaimed, "Your Highness... Your Highness... Wonderful news! Truly wonderful news!"

"Li Yan and Red Dame have returned to the rebel camp!" He Yi hurried forward and dropped to his knees in a kowtow.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gongxiao’s heart instinctively sank.

If the enemy forces had received reinforcements, how could that possibly be considered good news?

Yet, after pondering for a brief moment, Zhu Gongxiao instantly grasped the implication.

"Speak quickly, how many troops do Red Dame and Li Yan still have?" Zhu Gongxiao asked eagerly.

He Yi nodded vigorously. "This humble servant has already found out! The combined forces of Li Yan and Red Dame number no more than four thousand! There are barely over three thousand capable combat troops left!"

"Is this true?" Zhu Gongxiao’s eyes widened instantly.

By now, He Yi had also relaxed, smiling as he reported, "Your Highness, this matter is absolutely certain. The Provincial Governor is waiting in the antechamber right now; Your Highness may question him personally."

Taking a slightly hurried and deep breath, Zhu Gongxiao hastily ordered, "Then what are we waiting for? Invite him in immediately!"

He Yi scurried back out without delay.

At that moment, it suddenly struck Zhu Gongxiao that he hadn't yet carefully read the personal letter sent by Zhu Cilang!

"How careless of me, how careless! Could it be that Heaven has truly bestowed upon us a brilliant commander?" Thinking thus, Zhu Gongxiao hurriedly picked up the private letter sealed with the Crown Prince's personal stamp and began to read it meticulously.

Just a brief glance caused Zhu Gongxiao’s eyebrows to arch sharply.

"The battle report from Dongming?" Zhu Gongxiao muttered to himself, sensing a touch of intrigue.

After reading on for a short while, his expression grew deeply solemn. "This battle possesses the classic charm of Tian Ji’s strategy of matching horses..."

The letter detailed the exact tactical situation Zhu Cilang had faced during the battle of Dongming.

"In truth, I held only three cards in my hand. The worst card was Liu Zeqing’s Shandong garrison combined with Liu Zhen’s mixed forces. The middle card—neither the best nor the worst—was the two thousand new recruits openly backed by officers holding military jinshi degrees. The best card, however, was the artillery and musketeer units I secretly organized by crossing the sea under camouflage, even including my own personal guards. Meanwhile, Li Yan held one middle card and two superior cards."

"Yet, Liu Zeqing’s worst card ended up playing a minor role precisely because of some selfish motives. In the end, backed by a brave commander like Liu Zhen, they managed to temporarily stall Red Dame’s forces. That was how our inferior card managed to hold off Li Yan’s superior card."

"At that juncture, the new army—which everyone had assumed to be weak and fragile—revealed remarkable tenacity, holding down Li Nian’s troops. This was another instance of using a middle card against a superior card; though it could not secure victory, it bought crucial time. And during that precise window... my superior card emerged, suddenly and unexpectedly launched to strike the single middle card remaining in Li Yan’s hand. Consequently, the combined assault of the artillery, musketeers, and my personal guards shattered rebel generals like Qin Dalong and Shi Jiulang under Li Yan's command. The rout of Qin Dalong and Shi Jiulang, in turn, exposed Li Nian’s flank."

"At this point, the morale and fighting spirit of the rebel troops collapsed completely, making the subsequent total rout of the rebel army an inevitable certainty. This was my comprehensive strategic design for the battle of Dongming!"

Zhu Gongxiao finished reading every single word with utmost care. Finally, looking at Zhu Cilang’s earnest plea for him to look out for talented individuals within the walls of Kaifeng, Zhu Gongxiao furrowed his brows slightly, and his long-held, deeply ingrained prejudices began to waver.

Even the various other postscripts in the letter were carefully committed to memory by Zhu Gongxiao, causing him to abandon any further reckless skepticism.

"Perhaps... perhaps the nation's chaos truly calls forth brilliant generals. Does Heaven indeed refuse to destroy our Great Ming?" Zhu Gongxiao mused deeply.

Before long, He Yi returned. Following close on his footsteps, Gao Mingheng’s clear voice rang out: "Your Highness, the forces under Li Yan and Red Dame have suffered catastrophic losses, leaving them with merely over three thousand combat-ready troops, and their standing among the rebel ranks has plummeted drastically. The reason our scouts were able to discover this is precisely because both Li Yan and Red Dame were assigned to the most grueling and hazardous positions. From this, it is evident that the reports of victory from the battle of Dongming must be entirely true. Heaven is not abandoning us; the righteous path still belongs to Ming!"

"It is indeed a joyous occasion, a tremendously joyous occasion!" Seeing the arrival of Henan Provincial Governor Gao Mingheng, the Prince of Zhou rose with a smile to greet him, yet as he smiled, his expression imperceptibly grew somewhat subdued.