MLMD -Chapter 379 Returning to the Capital to Report for Duty

A threat—this was a naked, undisguised threat. Even the founding emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, would never have imagined that more than two hundred years after his death, one of his descendants would be openly threatened in front of the entire civil and military court by a petty official no bigger than a sesame seed—and threatened so brazenly at that.

“Huff… huff…”

The Taihe Hall, normally solemn and silent, was as quiet as a grave. The only sound that could be heard was something like the labored breathing of an old ox—it was Zhu Youjian’s heavy, muffled breaths.

His throat was dry, his breathing labored, his chest tight. At this moment, Zhu Youjian felt like a patient suffering from severe emphysema, struggling desperately for air. Beyond extreme shock and rage, what filled him most was a deep, overwhelming fear.

Yes… this feeling was exactly like the one he had experienced before he ascended the throne, when he had just entered the palace. Back then, his elder brother Zhu Youjiao lay on his deathbed, and he—still Prince Xin—had been urgently summoned to the palace. He waited helplessly in a room near the Hall of Mental Cultivation, powerless, awaiting the verdict of fate. Ten years had passed since then, and he thought he had long forgotten that feeling. Yet today it surged back with terrifying clarity, driving him nearly mad.

He desperately wanted to leap to his feet, summon the guards outside the hall, and have this audacious traitor dragged to the execution ground and beheaded on the spot. But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down—hard—because he did not dare to bear the consequences that would follow.

In fact, it wasn’t just the Chongzhen Emperor. The ministers in the hall felt exactly the same way.

In over two hundred years since the founding of the Ming, Tang Hu was the first man who dared to threaten the emperor and the entire court openly in the Golden Hall. By the usual temperament of these officials, they should have rushed forward immediately, beaten this fool to the ground, and trampled him under ten thousand feet so that he would never rise again—only then would their fury be appeased.

But that was nothing more than a beautiful fantasy.

Because this detestable fellow had already made it clear: whoever dared touch him today, Shanxi would cease paying all taxes to the court from that very day onward. And what’s more, they had no idea what kind of mad retaliation the Loyal and Brave Marquis Yue Yang—still far away in Liaodong—might unleash if the man he had stationed in the capital were executed without authorization.

What if that marquis went berserk and sent people to splash paint or filth at their homes, or even stab them in the dark? They were civilized men, after all—unlike those crude military brutes. Hadn’t the ancestors taught them that a gentleman does not suffer losses right in front of his eyes? Best not to stoop to the level of such people.

Tang Hu straightened up, cast a contemptuous glance at Zhu Chunchen beside him, then swept his gaze across the silent court before turning to Chongzhen.

“Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, this humble servant will take his leave.”

Without waiting for Zhu Youjian to speak, Tang Hu turned and strode toward the exit. When he reached the center of the hall, he suddenly raised his voice and recited loudly:

“On the city walls the surrender flags are raised;
I dwell deep in the palace—how could I know?
Fourteen hundred thousand men lay down their arms—
Was there truly not a single man among them?!
Hahahaha… hahaha!”

At that moment, Tang Hu recalled something Yue Yang had once said: “Those sanctimonious civil officials are all cowards. Even if you spit in their faces, they won’t dare say a word—as long as you have enough power.”

And right now, Tang Hu felt immensely proud. Behind him stood all of Shanxi and over a hundred thousand troops. That was precisely why these lofty officials in the hall didn’t dare let out so much as a fart.

As Tang Hu departed, laughing loudly, not a single official dared to stop him. Though everyone was humiliated beyond words by his insults, and though Chongzhen wished with all his heart to order the man seized and executed immediately, the command still would not leave his mouth. All he could do was watch helplessly as Tang Hu strode out of the hall.

At last, Chongzhen slumped back into the Dragon Throne. At this moment, he knew—he was weak. And even weaker than him were the civil and military officials below…

While Tang Hu was publicly humiliating the entire court in Taihe Hall, what was our Comrade Yue Yang doing?

He was in Jinzhou, racing against time to carry out massive construction projects—repairing city walls and aggressively recruiting troops.

Yes—recruiting troops.

Because once again, Yue Yang felt his forces were insufficient, and this deeply troubled him.

When his territory had been limited to northern Shanxi, four or five tens of thousands of troops were enough to secure it. After he became Governor-General of Xuan–Da and absorbed the post of Shanxi Governor into his hands, he expanded his army to 120,000 and finally felt Shanxi was safe. But after taking Liaodong as well, the problem of insufficient manpower surfaced yet again.

After all, Shanxi and Liaodong were separated by over a thousand li. Even though the Xuan–Da defense line connected them, every pass along the route required garrison troops. Yue Yang ended up dispersing forces like scattering beans, until he suddenly realized he no longer had enough mobile troops at his disposal.

In the end, he could only sigh: no wonder the ancients said that when Han Xin commanded troops, the more the better—there was never such a thing as too many soldiers. With no other choice, he issued an order with a single stroke of his pen: recruit fifty thousand troops locally.

Thus, during the Spring Festival of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Yue Yang remained in Liaodong.

That evening after dinner, Yue Yang led several dozen guards onto the walls of Jinzhou. By the dim glow of the setting sun, he gazed at the snowflakes filling the sky and the snow-covered plains below. It felt as though all the world’s sins had been buried beneath this snowfall. Looking at the pure, magnificent scenery, the dark emotions brought on by days of killing gradually melted away, and his mood improved considerably.

Turning around, he saw dozens of soldiers on the walls sweeping snow with brooms. Snowflakes drifted through the air. Yue Yang smiled and was about to leave when Chen Dazhi approached, saluted, and reported:

“Marquis, Vice Commander He Kegang requests an audience.”

“Let him come,” Yue Yang nodded.

Soon, He Kegang followed Chen Dazhi over. Yue Yang looked at him kindly. “Zijing, what brings you to see me?”

He Kegang clasped his hands solemnly. “Marquis, I have a matter I wish to consult you on privately. I beg your permission.”

“Oh?” Yue Yang smiled slightly and nodded. “Of course. You’ve come at just the right time—I ate a bit too much earlier. Walk with me and help me digest.”

“How could I refuse?” He Kegang replied.

The two walked slowly along the wall, with Chen Dazhi and dozens of guards following at a distance, all keeping a vigilant eye on He Kegang.

After Jinzhou fell, most of its original generals fled with Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang to Shengjing and surrendered to the Qing. Some, however, remained. Yue Yang did not abandon these men but gathered them together, vetted them through the Youchuan Office, and reassigned their duties.

These men were familiar with Liaodong’s terrain and customs, which made future work far easier. He Kegang was one whom Yue Yang valued highly—he retained his original post and entrusted him with recruiting and training new troops.

But in Chen Dazhi’s eyes, He Kegang had only recently defected, and his loyalty was still questionable. Letting him walk alone with the marquis made him uneasy—if He harbored ill intentions, it could be dangerous. Hence, the close watch.

“Crunch… crunch…” Snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked. After a while, Yue Yang spoke.

“Zijing, say what you wish to say.”

He Kegang gathered his courage. “Marquis, you are now a noble who shares the fate of the state. It would not be an exaggeration to say you are a regional warlord commanding vast forces. Are you truly willing to defend the Ming frontier for your entire life?”

Yue Yang did not answer directly. “What do you think I should do?”

He Kegang ventured boldly, “Marquis, you are a scholar by background. You should understand loyalty to the ruler and service to the state. The Ming now faces threats within and without—this is the time for us to serve. You hold high rank and great power, yet why do you always seem so wary of the court? I believe that if you meet His Majesty with sincerity, he will surely value and reuse you.”

Yue Yang shook his head lightly and sighed. “Zijing, I know what you mean. You think that if I surrender all taxes and military power, the emperor will be overjoyed, reappoint me, and have me pacify rebels within and fight barbarians without—leaving a glorious tale in history. Isn’t that so?”

“Isn’t it?” He Kegang asked.

“Heh…”

Yue Yang laughed. He hadn’t expected that a man nearly forty could still be so naïve. No wonder history recorded that Zu Dashou toyed with him to death, and he died without resentment.

“If I did as you say,” Yue Yang said bluntly, “within two months I’d be executed at the marketplace in the capital, and my entire clan would follow me in death. I never entrust my life to another’s mercy—no matter who it is.

“I know you are loyal, and that’s why I value you. But if you keep advising me like this, then I can only ask you to leave. My Xuan–Da Army is a small temple—it cannot house a great god like you. Do you understand?”

His words were merciless.

Yue Yang stared at He Kegang sternly, making his meaning unmistakable. If you keep talking like this, find another master.

He Kegang, though loyal, was not foolish. After the mass surrender of Wu Sangui, Zu Dashou, and others, those Liaodong generals who stayed behind had long been branded as traitors in the court’s eyes. The Ming was vast, but aside from Yue Yang, no one dared employ them. To be blunt, clinging to Yue Yang was their only path.

After a long silence, He Kegang sighed. “Since the Marquis does not wish to hear such words, I will speak no more. Today, I was presumptuous. I beg your forgiveness.”

Yue Yang nodded meaningfully. “Remember what you said today… Come, it’s cold. Let’s go back.”

Just as they descended the wall, a shout came from below: “Marquis! A six-hundred-li urgent dispatch from the capital!”

“Bring it up!”

A guard delivered the letter. It was from Tang Hu, Yue Yang’s deputy director of the Fiscal Bureau in the capital, detailing everything that had happened that day. Tang Hu ended with:

“Zhu Chunchen and Shang Zhou commit such vile acts, yet the entire court is silent. His Majesty, ruler of the Ming, turns a blind eye. Alas… how has the Ming fallen to this state? The hall is full of petty villains—does such a court still deserve support?”

Yue Yang handed the letter to He Kegang. After reading it, He was stunned. He had never imagined such absurdities still occurred at court.

“How about it?” Yue Yang said mockingly. “Still want to urge me to confess to the emperor? Do you think he’ll reuse me?”

He Kegang fell silent.

Soon after, another report arrived: the court had sent yet another envoy.

The Ministry of War ordered Yue Yang to return to the capital to report for duty—the emperor would summon him personally.

Yue Yang gathered his generals and asked, “Gentlemen, the court wants me to return to the capital. What should I do?”

One by one, they opposed it.

In the end, Yue Yang smiled and said calmly, “I will go. But I won’t go alone. This time—I will return to the capital with an army.”

“What?!” The hall erupted in shock.