Chapter Sixty-Five: Introducing the Beauties of Zuoying

The first to enter Jiqing shall be king?

The civil and military officers present grew solemn upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang make such a promise. Each wished to witness this historic moment.

Of course, “the first to enter Jiqing is king” had nothing to do with them—commanders of ten thousand, supervisors, captains of a thousand, captains of a hundred, or the vanguard. But if Zhu Yuanzhang or Liu Yi were to be made king, then those who had rendered meritorious service might not gain a hereditary marquisate, but at the very least their ranks would rise by three levels. Many of them wished they could accept on Liu Yi’s behalf.

Yet Liu Yi knew well that Zhu Yuanzhang was flustered; otherwise, he would never have made such a promise.

It was indeed as Zhu Yuanzhang said: in the tales of the rise of Han, the first to enter Xianyang was to be crowned king. But the issue was that no one had really taken that promise seriously. Liu Bang had nearly lost his life because of it.

Given such a precedent, if Liu Yi were to treat “the first to enter Jiqing is king” as a serious possibility, it would surely spell his doom, leaving him not even a grave. At present, Zhu Yuanzhang’s forces far outmatched his own Chao Lake fleet in both numbers and strength.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang had no right to make such a promise. The combined Marshal’s Office of Chuzhou had only fifty thousand troops. In these troubled times, that was a formidable force and, even after one or two defeats, not enough to spell disaster. But to claim a kingship with this strength was courting annihilation.

History had repeatedly shown that proclaiming oneself king too early made one the target of all. Both the anti-Yuan forces and the Yuan court would focus all their might against any who dared make such a claim. Furthermore, the Chuzhou Marshal’s Office was but a branch of the Red Turban Army under Zhao Junyong of the Han-Song Dragon-Phoenix regime. Even Zhao Junyong, though he had once declared himself king, quickly abandoned the title when circumstances worsened. If even he did so, the Chuzhou office was even less qualified.

Though ambitious, Zhu Yuanzhang himself, in another timeline, refrained from declaring himself king. He did not take the title of Duke of Wu until the twenty-first year of Zhizheng, five years after he captured Jiqing. He did not finally declare himself King of Wu until the twenty-sixth year of Zhizheng, a full decade after taking Jiqing. The following year, the Ming dynasty was founded.

Having thought through all this, Liu Yi replied calmly, “Marshal Zhu, you exaggerate. I am confident Marshal Guo and Marshal Zhang will succeed. Let us wait for their good news.”

Seeing Liu Yi unmoved, Zhu Yuanzhang tried once more, speaking with heartfelt sincerity, “Marshal Liu, there have been many misunderstandings between us. I know you distrust me, and I once misunderstood you as well. But since you have brought troops to support our Left Camp today, past grievances are now cleared. These are times when we must stand together and overcome hardship. I stand by my promise: the first to enter Jiqing will be king!”

But Liu Yi shook his head and said, “Marshal Zhu, you misunderstand me. After all, we are both sons-in-law of the Guo family—how could I think such things? Marshal Zhu, why not tell me about the beauties in your Left Camp instead!”

Seeing Liu Yi steer the conversation back to women, Zhu Yuanzhang knew he could not persuade him, but made one last attempt. “Brother Yi, this is a critical moment for our Chuzhou Red Turbans. If you agree, I promise you: not just a few beauties—even the noble ladies of Jiqing city could be yours. Name the one you desire, and I, Zhu Yuanzhang, will bring her to you!”

Liu Yi remained unmoved. “Marshal Zhu, you are mistaken. The noble ladies of Jinling have nothing on the heroic daughters of generals in your Left Camp. Rest assured, since I am here today, no matter what happens, our troops will not scatter!”

Though Liu Yi did not promise to remain in Jiangnan, his assurance that “our troops will not scatter” eased Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind. He was about to say more when the urgent sound of hoofbeats and a sobbing report reached them: “Marshal, terrible news! Marshal Guo and Marshal Zhang suffered a crushing defeat at Hu Village. Marshal Zhang fell on the field!”

Liu Yi had not expected history’s momentum to be so relentless—though events had accelerated, Guo Tianshu and Zhang Tianyou still fell into the trap. Zhu Yuanzhang, however, asked the question that weighed most heavily on his mind. “And Marshal Guo?”

The messenger, weeping, replied, “Marshal Guo is gravely wounded. We managed to rescue him, but he remains unconscious and likely won’t survive.”

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi, along with the Red Turban officers present, grew heavy with grief at the news. The Left Camp had already lost several thousand men in this setback, and now, with Guo Tianshu and Zhang Tianyou crushed at Hu Village, their campaign for Jiqing was on the verge of collapse.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was the first to recover from the shock. He declared loudly, “Today’s defeat is all due to the cunning plots of the Mongol-Yuan. But Marshal Liu foresaw this outcome long ago. Such a minor setback cannot halt our victory. Jiqing and Jiangdong will be ours!”

He spoke without hesitation, “Since Marshal Zhang has tragically fallen and the Chief Marshal is unconscious, Marshal Liu and I shall jointly direct the campaign in Jiangdong. Though Marshal Liu does not agree, I repeat my pledge: the first to enter Jiqing shall be king. Whoever leads the assault—be it myself or Marshal Liu—shall command our Chuzhou Red Turbans!”

Liu Yi’s voice was equally grave. “I too did not wish for such misfortune. But now, with the situation dire and tens of thousands of soldiers and their dependents in mortal peril, if not Marshal Zhu and I, then who? The affairs of the Chuzhou Marshal’s Office will be managed by us for now, but I believe, by tradition, we should add another one or two marshals to the round-table council—this is, after all, the Guo family’s foundation, and as their sons-in-law, we must think of the Guo family’s interests.”