Chapter Eighty-Eight: As Long as the Family Stays Together

But even Chen Zhaoxian knew that once Liu Yi stirred things up like this, Zhu Yuanzhang would be thrown into utter confusion and forced to throw all his strength into damage control, with no mind left to deal with the Chao Lake navy. The war in the Jiangdong region was bound to shift violently once again.

If even Chen Zhaoxian in the Yuan camp understood as much, the Red Turbans at Chuzhou were even more in disarray. By now the pressure on Zhu Yuanzhang was like suffering three crushing defeats in succession. Even Tong He, the old hand who best understood him, urged him to put the larger picture first: “Grand Marshal, Liu Yi’s crossing of the river was only a fit of temper. Hurry and turn a big matter into a small one, a small one into nothing. If you speak to him properly, Marshal Liu will surely come back to his senses!”

Tong He was still being polite enough. Guo Tianjue, the right deputy marshal, had long been silenced by Zhu Yuanzhang, but now he had found his chance. “Marshal Zhu, this matter absolutely requires you to cross the river yourself. As long as you go over and invite Marshal Liu back, everything can be resolved at once. Otherwise, if Marshal Liu should accept the Mongol Yuan’s offer of surrender, the consequences would be unthinkable!”

Shao Siwanhu, Shao Rong’s fourth elder brother, now even put on his veteran airs and said earnestly, “Yes, ten thousand Yuan troops can come south from Yangzhou at any moment. At a time like this, we absolutely cannot let a quarrel of pride get out of hand. Our Chuzhou forces are one body; we must hold together. Whatever disputes we had before can be set aside. Marshal Zhu, for the sake of the greater good, cross the river and make that trip. You must bring Marshal Liu back!”

In the past, Li Shanchang had always helped Zhu Yuanzhang think of ways to deal with Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy. But now he was speaking in the same tone as Guo Tianjue and Shao Siwanhu: “Rest assured, everyone. There’s only a little friction between our Grand Marshal and Marshal Liu. Our Grand Marshal has always been the one best able to consider the larger picture, and he would never force Marshal Liu into the arms of the Mongol Yuan!”

Zhu Yuanzhang felt as if his mind were about to explode. In the past, he was the one who told others to consider the larger picture. But today everything had turned upside down, and everyone was telling him to do it, to cross the river and bring Liu Yi back.

Just a few days earlier, it had been Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy who had taken the initiative to ease tensions. Liu Yi had even proposed a face-to-face meeting with Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yuanzhang had been unmoved by threats or entreaties alike. No matter how many intermediaries Liu Yi found, he turned them all away.

Right when Zhu Yuanzhang had been smugly convinced he held the absolute upper hand, news came that Liu Yi had dropped everything and crossed north over the river. The Red Turbans at Chuzhou were thrown into an uproar. Whether they were old troops from the Guo Zixing faction or men from the left camp, they all came to blame Zhu Yuanzhang, accusing him of driving Liu Yi away and wrecking his grand plan.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt it was all Liu Yi’s fault. As commander of the whole army, it would have been one thing if he had steadily held his ground and refused to fight the Mongol Yuan to the death. But what did it mean to drop everything, abandon the troops, and cross north over the river? And this wasn’t the first time—it was the second!

If any of his own wanhu or qianhu pulled such a strike, Zhu Yuanzhang would have killed him on the spot. Yet because this was Liu Yi, Grand Marshal of Chao Lake, everyone spoke with one voice: “Don’t push the water camp too hard. If you force the water camp into a corner, what if they surrender to the Mongol Yuan?”

The Chao Lake navy were all former men of Peng Yingyu and Xu Shouhui. Their religious fervor ran deep, and their resolve against the Yuan was the firmest of all. Zhu Yuanzhang believed they could never possibly surrender to the Mongol Yuan, and that was why he had felt so secure.

But those urging Zhu Yuanzhang to consider the larger picture had their own logic: “The water camp is already flying under the banner of the Dragon and Phoenix. If you drive them too far, they’ll naturally raise the Zhizheng banner instead. Don’t forget, we ourselves once prepared to fight under the Zhizheng banner!”

They were referring to the old affair from the fortieth year of Zhizheng, when Prime Minister Toghto’s four hundred thousand troops besieged Gaoyou. At the time, Guo Zixing and Zhu Yuanzhang had already prepared blue banners and blue uniforms. After Toghto’s defeat at Gaoyou, those blue banners and blue uniforms finally found their use: the Chuzhou Red Army raised blue flags and wore blue garments, pretending to be Blue Army rebels, and launched a surprise attack on Heyang, which they then captured successfully.

Since the Chuzhou Red Turbans themselves had such a shameful history, it was only natural that Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy might be driven to surrender to Yuan if pushed hard enough. Shao Siwanhu said with grave sincerity, “I know the Grand Marshal is burning with anger, but Marshal Liu at most wants a few women. We can all sit down and talk it through. What issue can’t be settled? Not at a time like this can we afford to split the family!”

That was the real concern. Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy were only a possibility, but driving Liu Yi into a corner and making him take his troops and leave was a far more likely outcome. If Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy broke away from the Chuzhou Red Turbans, then setting aside the dream of capturing Jiqing Route, the main force of the Chuzhou Red Turbans would be driven into a desperate fight with their backs to the river, liable at any moment to be annihilated to the last man.

They had clearly had a chance to seize Jiqing Route and take all of Jiangdong, yet Zhu Yuanzhang’s waywardness was about to bring the whole situation crashing down.

Thinking of this, everyone vented all their anger and resentment on Zhu Yuanzhang. Though he was an unparalleled hero, in the end he could not withstand the pressure. “I’m willing to sit down and have a proper talk with Marshal Liu, but I won’t learn from him and drop everything the moment something goes wrong. You go and bring him back!”

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to say something harsh, but by the end even he could feel his own panic.

They would eventually have to deal with Liu Yi and the Chao Lake navy, but absolutely not now. Just as everyone said, they could not split apart at this moment.

As turbulent as Zhu Yuanzhang’s great tent in Jiangnan became, Liu Yi’s residence with Gu Yunyu was just as lively.

Though after crossing the river Liu Yi had announced that he would shut his doors to visitors and spend some time reflecting in solitude without seeing anyone, there were too many relatives and friends whose visits neither he nor Gu Yunyu could possibly refuse.

Every guest came bearing lavish gifts. No one dared come to see Liu Yi, Marshal Liu, empty-handed at a time like this, and everyone who entered did their utmost to comfort him while cursing Zhu Yuanzhang to high heaven: “I know Marshal Liu has been wronged in this matter. I crossed the river precisely to stand up for justice for Marshal Liu!”

“Whatever conditions you have, just name them. We’ll make sure justice is done!”

“Yes, the Grand Marshal’s office in Chuzhou belongs to Zhu Yuanzhang, but even there matters have to be decided around the round table. We can’t let him rule by fiat. When the time comes, we’ll speak on your behalf!”

“Yes, as long as we don’t split apart, anything can be discussed. If Marshal Liu wants beauties, just give us the names and we’ll sort it out for you!”

“Take this chance now to say whatever grievances you have. Put forward any conditions you want. Zhu Yuanzhang absolutely would not dare mention splitting the family at a time like this.”

They exhausted every possible word of comfort, but in the end everything came down to those three words: do not split apart.