Chapter Ten: Failure Is Also a Credential

Perhaps it was those years of unrecognized talent and frustration—though Du Zundao might have the appearance of a pale, gentle scholar, his reputation was one of fierce severity. The most famous story told of him was this: a cousin of Liu Futong, upon catching sight of Cha Han’s banners in battle, was so terrified that he abandoned his men, leading to a disastrous defeat. Afterward, Du Zundao and Liu Futong clashed over how to deal with the defeated general. Du Zundao insisted on strict military punishment, while Liu Futong, ever sentimental and mindful that this cousin had once saved his life, did all he could to protect him. In the end, Du Zundao drew his sword and executed the man in front of Liu Futong and all the civil and military officials, and after that, Liu Futong could do nothing but let the matter drop. Such stories were not uncommon.

Yet such tales did not frighten the Lady of Golden Flowers. "Prime Minister Du, I came from thousands of miles away to offer my allegiance, believing that the founding of the Dragon and Phoenix dynasty would surely bring about a great revival. Never did I expect you to treat the affairs of state as a child’s game. Is this the Song realm, or the realm of the Du clan?"

Her words were harsh, but Liu Yi’s were even sharper: "Prime Minister, if you were merely contending for the lands between the Huai rivers, then how you deal with Chao Lake hardly matters… But if you possess the bearing of one who would rule the world, you should be doing all you can to help my sister seize Chao Lake!"

At the mention of "the bearing of one who would rule the world," Du Zundao’s expression became stern. "And what does supporting you have to do with that? Lady Golden Flower, you may have some ties to the Chao Lake navy, but men like Zhao of the Two Blades and Ironhead Li do not necessarily obey you. In these past two months, three separate embassies from Chao Lake have come to Haozhou. Not only are they more sincere, they’ve also brought grand gifts!"

Though Du Zundao’s manner was severe, the Lady of Golden Flowers sensed hope, knowing she had to persuade him today. After all, all the various factions of the Chao Lake navy, beset within and without, were each seeking their own survival; if she lost their allegiance, she would lose her last chance.

So she sat down and said, "Yet up to now, the Chao Lake navy still acknowledges Xu Shouhui as their lord and flies the banner of the Zhiping era. Prime Minister Du, only we can help you bring the Chao Lake navy under your command."

Du Zundao burst out laughing. "Who says only the Lady of Golden Flowers can take Chao Lake? On the other side, Chuzhou has been negotiating with them quite well. It was I who personally established the Marshal’s Office of Chuzhou."

The more Du Zundao emphasized that he himself had arranged for the creation of the Marshal’s Office of Chuzhou, claiming it as his own power base, the more the Lady of Golden Flowers felt her chances were growing. "Chuzhou’s Marshal’s Office now commands forty thousand armored troops. If they manage to seize the Chao Lake navy, their strength would rival that of Sun Deya or even Zhao Junyong, wouldn’t it?"

This was precisely what Du Zundao feared most. Already, Haozhou was feeling powerless in the face of Chuzhou’s forty thousand strong, and though Du Zundao had founded the Marshal’s Office and counted Guo’s Army as his own, he constantly worried the Guo clan’s force would grow uncontrollable.

Guo Tianshu, Zhang Tianyou, and Zhu Yuanzhang were now acting entirely on their own, even driving out Sun Deya’s Haozhou troops. If the Chao Lake navy fell into their hands, Haozhou would be utterly helpless. Worse still, Haozhou possessed no decent navy of its own. How could they allow Chuzhou, already formidable, to acquire such a powerful fleet?

Unconsciously, Du Zundao rose to his feet. "Chuzhou is kin, and the stronger they grow, the brighter the Song’s fortunes. But as for you, Lady Golden Flower—you come from a false dynasty and are a Saintess of the White Lotus. Once you led a hundred thousand righteous troops and yet could not even hold Xiangyang!"

He was casting doubt on her abilities, but Liu Yi and the Lady of Golden Flowers knew that opportunity was at hand. She spoke at once: "This recent southern campaign has triumphed again and again, thanks to your strategic direction, Prime Minister. I just want to ask: will the main army be crossing the Yangtze next?"

By "main army," she meant the forces under the Marshal’s Office of Chuzhou—Du Zundao’s own sore point.

Cross the river? Or not?

At this thought, Du Zundao suddenly sat back down, the gentle scholar once more. "If the main army crosses the river, the Chao Lake navy will indeed be key. Master Liu, if you seize Chao Lake, what is your next move?"

The Red Turbans of Chuzhou were battle-hardened veterans. This southern campaign, ordered from above, had brought them victory after victory, sweeping from Haozhou to Chuzhou. These successes had convinced Liu Futong, Sheng Wenyu, and Du Zundao to establish institutions and raise the Dragon and Phoenix banner.

But the Red Turbans could go no further by themselves—they were land troops, not sailors, and could not hope to cross the river with mere washbasins in hand. That was why he valued the Lady of Golden Flowers and Liu Yi so highly. Now, Liu Yi gave a clear answer: "We cross the river, and take Jiqing Circuit and Jiangdong Road."

Jiqing Circuit is what would be Nanjing in another time, and Jiangdong Road closely resembles a province centered on Nanjing—a path, in another era, that would lead Zhu Yuanzhang to ultimate power.

This was the very plan Du Zundao had labored over. "Exactly. If we send the whole nation south to take Jiqing and Jiangdong, half the Song’s revival is achieved. Why tangle with the Mongols in the Central Plains and between the Huai rivers? If only our countrymen weren’t so shortsighted!"

Liu Yi caught the hidden meaning in Du Zundao’s words.

The forty thousand-strong Chuzhou army, after all, was hardly sufficient for a "nationwide southern campaign." Du Zundao was clearly preparing to abandon his bases in Henan and the Huai region, to form several powerful army groups and sweep south across the Yangtze into the rich lands below.

It was a viable strategy. If carried out, there would be no place for Zhu Yuanzhang, and Liu Yi and the Lady of Golden Flowers would merely help Du Zundao ascend to greatness.

Yet such a grand scheme would never pass within the Han-Song regime. On one hand, the ties to their ancestral lands made them unwilling to abandon what they had built. On the other, Han Shantong and Liu Futong flew the banner of "Restoring the Song," with long-term ambitions to retake Youyan, and more immediate goals of recovering the old Song capital of Bianliang—Kaifeng.

Moreover, the main Mongol army groups under Cha Han, Li Siqi, and Dashibadulu were close at hand, making such a risky stratagem impossible. That was how, in another world, Zhu Yuanzhang found his opportunity.

Thus, after saying all this, Du Zundao seemed weighed down by burdens. "Lady Golden Flower, where do you think the army should cross the river?"

She was about to answer when Liu Yi interjected, "Prime Minister, when my sister commanded a hundred thousand righteous troops, she still could not hold Xiangyang."

Du Zundao laughed. "If your sister hadn’t held out in Xiangyang for several months, we’d never have had the chance to recover and rebuild in Henan. Besides, losing to Dashibadulu is no disgrace. In our battles with him, the Song has both won and lost. If being defeated by Dashibadulu meant one could never rise again, how many high officials in our dynasty would be lost forever?"

Liu Yi was gently reminding him: compared to the never-defeated Guo army, the Lady of Golden Flowers, who had failed to hold Xiangyang despite commanding a hundred thousand, might be a more suitable partner.