Chapter Twenty-Nine: Killing with a Borrowed Blade

Guo Tianxu was in an exceptionally good mood: “My brother-in-law and Marshal Golden Flower handled things beautifully! Zhu Yuanzhang may boast all he wants, but now the navy of Lake Chao answers to Guo, not Zhu!”

Although Lady Golden Flower, together with Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng, had taken it upon themselves to establish a branch Marshal’s office at Lake Chao, such arrangements were customary whenever the anti-Yuan armies surrendered and joined the cause. Moreover, the Lake Chao faction had acted with remarkable discretion; the appointments of the three marshals had all been formally reported for Guo Tianxu’s approval. Guo Tianxu knew this was merely a procedural gesture, but since there was a process, it filled him with satisfaction.

Had Zhu Yuanzhang, with his forceful personality, been the Grand Marshal, he likely would have schemed to swallow the Lake Chao navy whole. But Guo Tianxu, not only lacking in power, but also in temperament, was content simply to see the navy change banners and serve under his command. In fact, as long as the Lake Chao navy was not in Zhu Yuanzhang’s hands, he was satisfied. “Everyone, stay vigilant these days. We must arrange Yunyü’s wedding properly.”

It was Deputy Marshal Zhang Tianyou who reminded him, “Grand Marshal, precisely because Zhu Yuanzhang failed to act, we must make every effort to placate him!”

Hearing this, Guo Tianxu felt a hint of frustration. “Who is really in charge of Chuzhou? Zhu Yuanzhang botched things, yet we must bend over backwards to soothe him. I fear we’ll expend more effort on him than on my brother-in-law.”

Zhang Tianyou laughed aloud. “Well, Zhu Yuanzhang lost both men and resources. If we don’t appease him, his thirty thousand armored soldiers will surely grumble!”

Despite the shifting balance of power brought by the Lake Chao navy’s arrival, Zhu Yuanzhang remained the strongest force in Chuzhou’s Marshal’s office, both in manpower and martial prowess. Without him, the sky would fall on the Marshal’s headquarters. So, failing to secure the Lake Chao navy, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more dangerous.

Guo Tianxu had already devised a solution. “Doesn’t Zhu Yuanzhang want to become a Guo family son-in-law? We'll select a distant, illegitimate girl from our clan to marry him. That should please him, shouldn't it?”

He considered this a brilliant idea, yet it failed to satisfy Zhu Yuanzhang. “A Guo family son-in-law? So I’ll be part of the Guo family? But there is only one Miss Guo Yunyü.”

Not only was Zhu Yuanzhang dissatisfied, but several of the commanders shared his sentiment. Tang He, usually modest and courteous, voiced his displeasure, “If you won’t marry off Miss Yunyü, so be it. But offering a distant, illegitimate girl is an insult.”

Xu Da spoke bluntly, “We won’t let this matter slide. Liu Yi rose overnight without merit, now stands equal to our marshal, and we all resent it!”

Hu Dahai, one of Zhu Yuanzhang’s fiercest generals, shouted, “Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou owe us justice! Liu’s rapid takeover of the Lake Chao navy happened only because Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou favored him.”

At this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly interjected, “The rest doesn’t matter, but the Lake Chao navy fell to Liu Yi because of my own recklessness, not because Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou played favorites.”

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if his heart were bleeding. Compared to losing Miss Guo Yunyü, the fact that the Lake Chao navy was now in the hands of Liu Yi and Lady Golden Flower pained him even more.

He had already regarded the Lake Chao navy as his own prize, but now, not only had the cooked duck flown away, a formidable new rival had emerged. Even the navy’s informants, seeking to avoid suspicion, had severed contact with him.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang had finished, his advisor Li Shanchang applauded, “Well said, My Lord! The Lake Chao navy was indeed won by Marshal Golden Flower and Liu Yi through their true abilities. But whether they can hold onto it will depend on their skill!”

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately laughed, “Shanchang always understands me best. We have many old friends at Lake Chao. Though Liu Yi and Lady Golden Flower are now in charge, we mustn’t forget those old friends. All proper courtesies must be observed.”

Zhu Yuanzhang favored using others to do his dirty work, and though the method was old, it was unfailingly effective. Chen Youliang’s murder of Zhao Pusheng, which destroyed his own Great Wall, was driven by Zhao’s loyalty to Xu Shouhui, but Zhu Yuanzhang had always provided Chen Youliang with the knife, stirring up discord at every opportunity.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, this was merely a test of his cunning. Even if it failed, there was no loss. He simply didn’t believe Liu Yi could control the unruly, mixed Lake Chao navy. “Anyway, the navy is only temporarily in Lady Golden Flower and Liu Yi’s hands. If the army wishes to cross the river, it will still rely on my thirty thousand armored soldiers to charge through the traps!”

This was what truly made Zhu Yuanzhang’s heart bleed. Had the Lake Chao navy been his, he would have commanded forty thousand water and land troops.

In these chaotic times, forty thousand battle-ready soldiers could go anywhere in the world, let alone rule a small Chuzhou Marshal’s office!

Now, he was only offered a distant Guo family girl as an insult, but Li Shanchang saw it differently. “Marshal, since the Guo family is sending a daughter to marry, accept her into your household. Then you’ll be a Guo family son-in-law, and they can never again shut you out.”

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t help but laugh. “Exactly. I’ll be part of the Guo family, a brother-in-law to Liu Yi. Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou can no longer treat me as an outsider. Tell Guo Tianxu that whatever arrangements he makes for Guo Yunyü and Liu Yi’s wedding, my concubine must be given equal ceremony.”

This was a declaration of spiritual victory: the Guo family’s daughter would enter Zhu’s household as a secondary wife, and her wedding would match the grand scale of Liu Yi and Guo Yunyü’s marriage.

Yet Zhu Yuanzhang was not satisfied with a merely symbolic triumph. Soon, he began to devise countless ways to use others as weapons.

Guo Yunyü would be the first victim.