Chapter Forty-Seven: August

When Ma Shixiong said this, Chang Shan knew the matter was already half settled. “Suitable? Of course it’s suitable, Brother Ma. You’re now responsible for feeding tens of thousands—if that’s not leadership, what is? The reason I thought of you is that you’re an honest man, and that’s exactly what our Green Army and Pike Army need—a leader like you!”

Chang Shan’s lavish praise brought a broad smile to Ma Shixiong’s face. “Since you put it that way, old Chang, I’ll give it a try and talk to the Lake Chao Navy. We’ll see if they’re truly sincere. Old Chang, do you think I should bargain for more benefits for our Green Army?”

Chang Shan had considered this long ago. “Brother Ma, that’s where you’re mistaken. You’re going over as if marrying off a daughter—what matters most is getting a good son-in-law. So long as we have you as our father-in-law, our Green Army won’t be the ones on the losing end. This time, we only discuss your precious daughter’s future!”

Ma Shixiong’s smile bloomed like a flower. “Old Chang, we’ll do it just as you say.”

August was perhaps the hottest month of the year; even hiding in the shade left no one free from sweat. Now, even the Red Turban generals—Guo Tianxu, Zhang Tianyou, Zhu Yuanzhang—felt as though beads of sweat were seeping from their hearts. Staring resentfully toward Jiqing City in the distance, Guo Tianxu said, “I refuse to believe that without my brother-in-law, the Lake Chao Navy can’t take Jiqing. You don’t need a navy to storm a city.”

Recently, a rumor had spread within the Chuzhou Army: it was said that to take Jiqing, all four marshals had to be present—there could be no lack of Liu Yi and his Lake Chao Navy. Without their support, capturing Jiqing was impossible.

Yet this rumor did not originate from the navy itself, but from the main forces under Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou. The reason was simple: the siege had met repeated setbacks.

After Chen Yexian was captured, Chen Zhaoxian’s forces voluntarily withdrew from Fangshan, allowing the Red Turbans to press right up to the greatest city in the southeast—Jiqing. Guo Tianxu, Zhang Tianyou, and Zhu Yuanzhang all hoped that with a single charge, they could seize Jiqing and from there sweep across all of Jiangdong and the entire Jiang-Zhe circuit.

The problem was that the Red Turbans had met frustration at every turn. Though Chen Yexian and Chen Zhaoxian had given up Fangshan, the Yuan forces near Jiqing still outmatched them, even in decline. The closer they got to the city, the greater the pressure.

Commanders like Zuo Dana Shili, Aluhui, and the foreigner Haiya were all scholars leading troops, but their Yuan soldiers were seasoned veterans and numerous, more than making up for any lack of military skill. Furthermore, the Jiang-Zhe province was the Yuan’s most resource-rich, with fresh reinforcements constantly streaming in to bolster the Jiangdong front.

When the formal assault began, the Red Turbans were left dumbfounded. Though they’d endured the year-long siege and defense of Haozhou, on that occasion they’d been the defenders, not the attackers—utterly different from the situation at Jiqing.

Chuzhou’s Red Turbans had taken big cities like Chuzhou and Hezhou, but these so-called “great cities” were nothing beside the legendary Jinling. What’s more, those victories had depended on surprise attacks—frontal assaults were not their strength.

Thus, each attempt at storming the city ended in utter defeat. The rank and file couldn’t help but recall Liu Yi’s earlier prediction, beating a retreat and placing their hopes ever more on the Lake Chao Navy. Even Zhang Tianyou shared the view. “Commander-in-Chief, there’s no need to rush taking such a famed city as Jiqing. The key is to invite Marshal Liu across the river. With all four marshals attacking together, we’re sure to win.”

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed at this. “Jiqing is indeed the greatest city under heaven, and it may take all four marshals to seize it—but those four need not all include Liu Yi.”

Guo Tianxu was curious. “Yuanzhang, do you still have a pawn in the Lake Chao Navy you can use?”

Lately, Liu Yi’s uncanny foresight had only increased his stature in the navy, leaving the agents Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou had placed there nearly useless, let alone able to supplant him.

But Zhu Yuanzhang only smiled. “Commander-in-Chief, you jest. Marshal Liu is one of our own—I’d never think of such treachery. But don’t forget there’s another marshal in Jiangdong!”

Zhang Tianyou caught on immediately. “You mean Chen Yexian? If he’s willing to come over, we’d be glad to set another seat at the table—he commands twenty or thirty thousand men, after all!”

Since they couldn’t settle things with a single battle and were reluctant to besiege the city in a drawn-out struggle, Guo Tianxu and Zhang Tianyou pinned their hopes on Chen Yexian. Zhu Yuanzhang shared the same hope. “Chen Yexian is already willing to talk, but that alone isn’t enough!”

Once Liu Yi crossed the river, every marshal’s council was steered by Zhu Yuanzhang—though these days, he wielded his influence more gently, wary of pushing Guo Tianxu too far. Guo, however, hadn’t noticed. “If Chen Yexian is willing, what more does he want?”

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. “I need to invite another marshal to join us!”

Before Guo Tianxu could respond, Zhang Tianyou understood. “Marshal Xie Guoxi of the Pike Army!”

Only then did Guo Tianxu realize. The Pike Army, led by Xie Guoxi and Suonanban, was much like Chen Yexian and Chen Zhaoxian’s volunteer forces—originally fighting in Jiangbei, but forced south across the river under the Red Turban pressure.

But Xie Guoxi’s situation differed from Chen Zhaoxian’s. Chen Zhaoxian had always been loyal to the Yuan and fought the Red Turbans, while Xie Guoxi’s Pike Army had first risen to resist the Red Turbans and protect their homes, but quickly became bandits, switching allegiance as suited them, and often their discipline was worse than the Red Turbans.

Still, the Pike Army’s ferocity was famous—no one knew how many strongholds, Red Turban or Yuan, they had seized in the past years, causing endless trouble for the Yuan.

If not for the Chuzhou Red Turbans’ capture of Taiping and their march on Jinling, the Jiangnan Censorate at Jiqing would have had to deal with Xie Guoxi’s Pike Army first. Now, though, they had to win over the Pike Army to deal with the Chuzhou Red Turbans. To the Red Turbans, Xie Guoxi’s tens of thousands were a prize to be courted. “Yes, yes, yes—there’s also Xie Guoxi! If both Chen Yexian and Xie Guoxi join us, there’s no city in the world we can’t take. Yuanzhang, we leave Chen Yexian and the Pike Army to you!”

“Very well, leave it to me!” Zhu Yuanzhang was eager. “With these two marshals joining our cause, Jiqing will surely fall in no time!”

Yet after leaving Guo Tianxu’s command tent, he didn’t rush to find Chen Yexian. Instead, he turned to Zhu Wenzheng, newly arrived from the north. “Has your aunt agreed to this? Is Ma Shixiong’s adopted daughter really the magistrate’s daughter from Changzhou?”