Chapter Seventy-six: Fang Guozhen

Among the generals at the Left Camp, Tang He understood Zhu Yuanzhang’s intentions best. He was the first to step forward and say, “The naval camp doesn’t wish to accept the offer of surrender, mostly out of fear that discussing it will bring disaster upon themselves. But I worry that someone in the naval camp may be tempted by the offer!”

The situation at the Left Camp was much like that of the Chaohu navy. Everyone believed that accepting surrender when enemy forces were at the gates was tantamount to courting death—unless the administrative bureau showed sufficient ‘sincerity.’ But this led only to an endless cycle. In Zhu Yuanzhang’s and his generals’ eyes, sincerity meant the troops of the bureau and the governor’s army withdrawing their siege. Yet for the bureau and the governor, Taiping and Jiqing were close at hand, and if the Red Turban Army at Chuzhou truly wished to demonstrate sincerity, they must first retreat north of the Yangtze.

From the very beginning, the negotiations for surrender were locked in a dead end. The more frequent the envoys, the fiercer the fighting became. Many people, fully aware that the negotiations would fail, nonetheless pushed for talks—because the more envoys came and went, the more profit there was to be made.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was not discussing surrender to make a profit, but as a true delaying tactic. With enemies on all sides—the bureau’s troops, the governor’s army, the Long Spear Corps, and the enigmatic Liu Yi—what he needed most was time. Negotiations for surrender provided not only time, but opportunity. “Since the naval camp refuses the offer, we have no reason to accept it either. It’s just that Marshal Liu is set on taking concubines, and many in the camp are dissatisfied. You must keep a close eye on him!”

To ‘keep an eye’ on Liu Yi was, in truth, to wait for any slip and then deal with him swiftly and decisively. But as soon as this was mentioned, Li Shanchang warned Zhu Yuanzhang, “Marshal, the naval camp’s motto now is not to seek total victory, only to avoid defeat. Their foundation is solid and steady. If you want to stir them up, you’ll have to use the allure of beautiful women!”

Such a cautious strategy meant Zhu Yuanzhang could not find any weaknesses in the Chaohu navy. Li Shanchang believed that only by enticing them into action could the problem be solved.

But after so much dealing with Liu Yi, Zhu Yuanzhang knew full well that Liu Yi was a ruthless figure who never left a bone behind. “The beauty trap? That would simply benefit Liu. He loves it when we deliver him money, grain, and women. I won’t waste effort for no reward. I’d rather die than play the beauty trap!”

Xu Da, oblivious to the mood, pressed, “What if the naval camp keeps holding steady? Old Zhu, it’s just a few women—if you won’t risk the child, you’ll never catch the wolf!”

The losses Zhu Yuanzhang had suffered since childhood paled in comparison to those dealt by Liu Yi. Moreover, he fancied himself a man of romance, and Xu Da’s words irritated him. “Don’t be fooled by Liu Yi’s current stability. Once Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen make their move, let’s see if his strategy of avoiding defeat rather than seeking victory still works!”

At these words, all the generals cheered, “Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen are about to act?”

At this moment in Taizhou, Fang Guozhen was discussing the situation with his elder brother Fang Guozhang and his nephew Fang Mingshan. “Only a few hundred weak, elderly, and sick remain in Chuzhou? Marshal Shimo has truly left us with a monumental problem.”

Fang Guozhang cautioned that the matter was not so simple. “Those few hundred are just the coastal administrative forces. The militia of old friends like Zhang Yi, Hu Shen, and Ji Chen aren’t counted—but it’s still an opportunity. Their militia is entirely different from the coastal administrative troops.”

After the Yuan dynasty conquered the three southern provinces, each route established a bureau or deputy bureau for defense. Yet with constant warfare, the administrative defense system in the south was collapsing. The coastal bureau at Chuzhou had committed nearly all its troops to the battle in Jiangdong, leaving only a few hundred weak and elderly in Chuzhou itself. Meanwhile, local scholars like Zhang Yi, Hu Shen, and Ji Chen controlled thousands of militia.

Though Marshal Shimo Yisun worked well with the Chuzhou militia, past experience showed such cooperation could not last. Shimo Yisun was an hereditary bureau chief and held the position of Marshal of Eastern Zhejiang—a pillar of the Yuan system, guaranteed a bureau post at birth, and with slight effort could rise to marshal or even higher.

As for Zhang Yi, Hu Shen, and other southerners, if not for troubled times, even with a degree and decades in office, they'd be lucky to hold a minor post in local education. Even a position as a provincial clerk would be an exception.

There was an irreconcilable conflict between the old establishment and these new rising figures. The most common scenario in recent years was for local gentry and landed elites to struggle desperately to drive out the invading Red Turban Army and reclaim their towns, only to be hunted down and killed by the departing Darughachi or overseers. These southern peasants, competing with rooted Mongols and Semu people, were doomed to die.

Chuzhou had become overrun by bandits, beyond hope of recovery, because the Darughachi Bao Huding of Longquan imposed brutal levies. The suffering county folk, desperate to survive, invited bandits from Qingtian. When the bandits arrived, Bao Huding abandoned the city. But even the Qingtian bandits could not restore order. Scholar Wang Yi then raised troops to reclaim the county from the bandits. Bao Shuding, without hesitation, eliminated Wang Yi. With Wang Yi dead, Chuzhou’s situation collapsed entirely.

Yet Fang Mingshan saw it differently. “Uncles, don’t focus only on Chuzhou. The provincial troops are all thrown into the Jiangdong campaign. Not only Chuzhou but Wenzhou and Qingyuan lack soldiers and officers. Only Mailegusi of Shaoxing still has some militia. I should seize the chance to take the entire coastal region of Eastern Zhejiang, not just Chuzhou!”

Fang Guozhang laughed, “Mingshan, taking Wenzhou, Qingyuan, Taizhou, and Shaoxing is no trouble at all. But Chuzhou is different. We must savor not only the delicacies of the sea but also those of the mountains!”

Only then did Fang Mingshan realize that Fang Guozhen and Fang Guozhang already regarded the four coastal routes as meat in their bowl, ready to eat, and they planned to swallow Chuzhou and Wuzhou, the inland counties, as well. “It’s truly an opportunity. The governor, the bureau, and the marshal of Eastern Zhejiang are all focused on Jiangdong. For us, it’s a heaven-sent moment to raise our banner!”

Fang Guozhen laughed heartily, “Who says we need to raise a banner? We’re defending the territory for the imperial court! Now I’ve grasped the true bottom line of the governor and bureau—no need to raise a banner, and we can still help the court defend its lands!”

Of all the heroes in the realm, Fang Guozhen was the earliest to rise. The Red Turban uprisings of Han Song and Xu Song were in the eleventh year of Zhizheng, but Fang Guozhen began his rebellion in Taizhou as early as the eighth year of Zhizheng. He had accepted offers of surrender and rebelled again more times than anyone else—so much so that it could be said he lived off negotiations for surrender. With each round, his power grew, and by now he thoroughly understood the Yuan court’s bottom line and methods, knowing how to quietly take over county after county from Yuan control without raising a banner or openly rebelling.

Fang Guozhang added, “Mingshan, you must learn well from your uncle. The best warriors leave no glorious feats. Don’t always think in terms of fighting and killing. Just follow Guozhen’s methods, go step by step, and sooner or later Eastern Zhejiang will belong to our Fang family!”

Fang Guozhen sighed, “I’ve already figured out the true bottom line of the governor and bureau. If we proceed step by step, all the delicacies of mountain and sea will be ours. But if the governor truly restores that one man, seafood is assured, but mountain delicacies will be harder to come by.”

Fang Mingshan asked at once, “Who is that?”

Fang Guozhen’s voice was tinged with bitterness. “Liu Ji, the chief administrator of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.”