Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 597 Please ask
"Why are you crying?" Mao Wenlong gently patted Zhang's back. "It's okay if you can't have children. Does that brat dare not treat you like his mother?" Zhang was over thirty and still childless, and Mao Wenlong had long given up on expecting her to bear him an heir.

Zhang was even more distressed and began to repeatedly pound her fists on Mao Wenlong's chest. Mao Wenlong, with his chainmail always on, felt no pain. However, he still grabbed Zhang's hand and said forcefully, "Enough! I've already apologized to you, what more do you want? Just stab me with your knife." With that, Mao Wenlong released her and reached for the sword he always carried.

Zhang was stunned by the hooligan-like behavior of this man. She threw a punch straight at Mao Wenlong's chest, but unexpectedly, the punch clashed head-on with the iron-armored man, causing her to feel pain instead.

The dull pain in my fist traveled all the way to my heart, and tears of grievance welled up all at once.

"So annoying!" Mao Wenlong exhaled a breath of alcohol, turned his head and shouted towards the study, "Isn't it ready yet! What are you dawdling about?"

"It's all set, all set." Madam Wen had already prepared the writing implements, but she heard everything that was happening outside and didn't dare to go out and disturb them. Madam Wen was very good at understanding her place; a concubine was a concubine, even if she had a son.

"Take care of yourself, I'm going to the study to write a letter." Mao Wenlong walked past Zhang Shi and headed towards the study.

"Wah!" Just then, a cry suddenly came from the main room.

Mao Chengdou cried not only because Mao Wenlong made too much noise and woke him up, but also because after being woken up, he turned over and over but couldn't see anyone.

"It's all your fault!" Zhang glared at Mao Wenlong like a tigress, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and went back to her room.

Mao Wenlong sighed and looked at Madam Wen, who was slowly emerging from the study. "So, is he your son or her son?"

“Chengdou is not only my son, but also the lady’s son, and even more so the master’s son,” Madam Wen said politely.

"Tch, I certainly wasn't this noisy when I was a kid." Mao Wenlong swaggered into the study. He had absolutely no intention of going back to the room to soothe the child.

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When the crying finally subsided, Mao Wenlong's letter had only just begun.

Zhang pushed open the door and walked to the desk, crossing her arms. Looking at Mao Wenlong, who was holding a pen but not writing under the lamplight, she said in a slightly teasing tone, "What are you standing there for? Drunk and trying to pick up your pen by lamplight?"

"Don't cry anymore?" Mao Wenlong didn't look up, still staring straight at the last word on the manuscript paper.

"I finally managed to calm you down. Please stop making a fuss," Zhang sighed.

“It’s normal for little kids to cry at night,” Mao Wenlong put down his pen, blinked, and turned his head to look up at Zhang. “I’m talking about you.”

"Why should I cry!" Zhang's aggrieved emotions seemed to be brewing again.

“Stubborn woman, are you born a donkey?” Mao Wenlong pulled Zhang Shi into his arms. “If you want a son so badly, then let’s try again tonight.”

"You old rascal, you should at least try to write this letter first." A flush, too deep for the night, rose on Zhang's face. "Do you want me to write it for you?" Zhang changed the subject.

Zhang came from a scholarly family in Shanxi. She helped draft all of Mao Wenlong's private letters and even some less important official documents.

“You can’t write this letter well,” Mao Wenlong said, shaking his head.

"Heh," Zhang chuckled softly, reaching over to take the letter. Looking at the ugly handwriting on the paper, she shook her head. "A letter to my uncle?"

"Hmm." Mao Wenlong's eyes were a little dry. With a blink, he managed to squeeze out a few turbid tears.

"Why is there only a format? What's the content?" Zhang glanced at it quickly, but only saw some common polite phrases.

Mao Wenlong didn't reply, he just shrugged.

"Is this a favor you're asking?" Zhang asked proactively.

"Indeed. Ha!" Mao Wenlong yawned heavily and smacked his lips. "It was indeed a favor."

"If you're tired, go and rest," Zhang said, nudging Mao Wenlong's shoulder.

“No,” Mao Wenlong rubbed his throbbing temples. “I have to mail this letter tomorrow.”

“Go ahead, I’ll write it for you,” Zhang said. “What do you need my help with?”

"It can't be said openly, nor can it be written openly." Mao Wenlong slowly closed his eyes and rubbed his Jingming acupoint.

"Can't you just write down what you're asking for? Are you really drunk?" Zhang scrutinized Mao Wenlong closely, only to find that he seemed much more sober than before.

“You don’t understand. This matter cannot be discussed or written now, otherwise it would be disobeying orders.” Mao Wenlong frowned and gently stroked his beard.

"Then you can write it when you can," Zhang said, tossing the letter back onto Mao Wenlong's desk.

"No, no, no, this matter should be done sooner rather than later, and faster rather than slower." Mao Wenlong pushed Zhang aside and picked up his pen again. "Besides, it will take time to contact and make arrangements with my uncle. If we wait until I am able to write before asking for help, I'm afraid that lucrative position will be snatched up by someone else."

"A lucrative post?" Zhang asked doubtfully. "Weren't you just promoted to guerrilla commander in Zhenjiang? Can you still transfer to another post?"

Mao Wenlong's promotion to Zhenjiang guerrilla commander was indeed recent, and the process was quite tortuous. In April of the 46th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Nurhaci rebelled, capturing Fushun. Zhang Chengyin, the Liaodong general, rushed to the rescue but was defeated and killed, causing shock in the capital. In May, the Emperor appointed Yang Hao as the Right Vice Minister of War to oversee Liaodong. In the same month, Qiao Yiqi, the garrison commander of Dishuiya, was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, in charge of Zhenjiang guerrilla affairs.

In February of the following year, Military Commissioner Yang Hao submitted a memorial, respectfully reporting the upcoming campaign. On February 25th, the Ming army launched a four-pronged attack. General Du Song led the western route along the Hun River out of Fushun Pass; Ma Lin led the northern route towards Kaiyuan, joining forces with the Yehe troops at Sanchakou; Li Rubai led the southern route towards Qinghe, exiting through Yagu Pass; and Liu Ting led the eastern route, joining forces with the Korean troops at Kuandiankou. At that time, Qiao Yiqi, the Zhenjiang guerrilla commander, was assigned to the eastern route, under Liu Ting's command, and was supervising the Korean army.

According to the plan, the four Ming armies would converge on Hetu Ala on the second day of the third month.

However, it wasn't until the fourth day of the month that Liu Ting's eastern route force, which had been delayed by the Korean army for two days, finally reached Fucha Plain, about sixty li from Hetu Ala. By this time, Du Song of the western route had been killed in battle, Ma Lin of the northern route had been defeated and fled, and Li Rubai of the southern route dared not advance due to Amin's obstruction. Liu Ting's eastern route force had effectively become an isolated army.

On the afternoon of the fourth day of the third lunar month, under the command of Grand Prince Daishan, the Jin army, with a force nearly ten times larger, launched an attack on the Ming vanguard that had advanced to Abdali Hill. This battle raged from the afternoon of the fourth day until the morning of the fifth day, stretching for nearly twenty miles. In the end, Liu Ting, the commander of the vanguard, and his adopted son Liu Zhaosun fought valiantly to their deaths, and Liu Ting's cavalry was completely annihilated. This was the most tenacious battle fought by the Ming army in the Battle of Sarhu.

On the fifth day of the third month, after Liu Ting's troops were defeated and killed, Qiao Yiqi, a guerrilla commander in Zhenjiang, led his remaining forces out of the encirclement and joined forces with the rear guard led by Kang Yingqian, the military commissioner of Jinfuhai and Gaizhou. Upon learning of the annihilation of the vanguard and the death of Liu Ting, Kang Yingqian immediately deployed his troops to meet the enemy. However, his forces were outnumbered; even with his remaining troops, he only had two or three thousand men, which was insufficient to withstand the combined forces of the six banners under Daishan. The rear guard was also completely wiped out, and Kang Yingqian barely escaped with his life, fleeing back by sea.

After another defeat, Qiao Yiqi led his remaining troops eastward to Fucha Plain, where the Korean army was stationed, in an attempt to reorganize their defenses. However, the Korean Grand Marshal Jiang Hongli had already decided to make peace with Daishan and even offered to hand over Qiao Yiqi and the rest of the Ming army to the Jin Dynasty. Unwilling to suffer humiliation, Qiao Yiqi jumped off a cliff and died for his country.

After Qiao Yiqi's suicide, the Battle of Sarhu came to an end, and the vacancy for the Zhenjiang guerrilla position became vacant. At that time, all three routes had suffered disastrous defeats, with only Li Rubai's troops surviving as a whole. Therefore, the imperial court had no choice but to promote a large number of surviving officers from the Southern Route Army to various posts. Among them, Dai Guangyu, the guerrilla commander of the General's Battalion, was assigned to fill the vacancy for the Zhenjiang guerrilla position.

On the 21st day of the seventh month of the 48th year of the Wanli reign, the emperor passed away. On the 1st day of the eighth month, Crown Prince Zhu Changluo ascended the throne. During this period, Zhu Changluo, as Crown Prince, acted as regent, reviewing a large number of memorials and reports that had been left unfinished by the late emperor. One of them was the impeachment of Dai Guangyu by Chen Wangting, the then Liaodong Inspector General.

Shortly after Dai Guangyu was dismissed from his post, Chen Wangting, the Liaodong Circuit Inspector, was transferred to Jiangxi. At that time, Yang Lian, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War, was promoted to Liaodong Circuit Inspector. In the first month of the first year of the Taichang reign, Yang Lian, the Liaodong Circuit Inspector, requested that Mao Wenlong, the Liaoyang Military Training Guerrilla, be promoted to Zhenjiang Guerrilla. The emperor approved the request and sent a memorial to the Ministry of War, ordering him to be promoted one rank.

"Can't I get promoted now that I've just been promoted? Right now there's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Thinking of this, Mao Wenlong's spirits lifted again.

"Where are you being promoted to?" Zhang's eyes flashed, and she leaned close to Mao Wenlong's ear and whispered, "Is it that General Hu is going to be removed?"

"Take what? General Hu was just following orders; how could he be taken away so easily?" Mao Wenlong saw things very clearly. Given the current situation, Hu Guochen and Xiong Tingbi were closely intertwined. Attacks on Hu Guochen were invariably motivated by ulterior motives. Conversely, as long as Xiong Tingbi remained in power, mere verbal attacks wouldn't be enough to destroy Hu Guochen.

"Wasn't Yuan, the councilor, here for the political infighting?" Zhang continued. "Wasn't the reason he locked the door and wouldn't let us out during the day for that?"

"What are you arguing about? What are you saying!" Mao Wenlong rolled his eyes at Zhang. "That's just a woman's view."

“Hey! My dear Master Mao,” Zhang glared at Mao Wenlong. “‘Councilor Yuan came for factional strife,’ you said it yourself.”

"Shh, shh!" Mao Wenlong quickly made a shushing gesture. "What did I say? Listen carefully, I didn't say anything, so don't go out and make a fuss."

“I’ll just rant,” Zhang said, pursing her lips and holding up five fingers, listing the names one by one. “What about Inspector Yang’s rebellion, Commander Xiong’s precarious situation, Councilor Yuan’s rise, and Military Commissioner Gao’s retreat? Oh, right! And Grand Secretary Fang and Grand Secretary Gao are like oil and water, and Grand Secretary Xu is in grave danger. Oh dear, my esteemed Chairman Mao, weren’t you analyzing things so logically? How come you’re now calling it womanly opinions?”

"Oh dear. Who knows about Supervisor Yuan?" Mao Wenlong quickly stopped himself and changed his words, "Knowing nothing. Anyway, don't go around bragging. We'll have to curry favor with him later."

"Hmph." Zhang shook her head. "Who wouldn't you fawn over?"

Mao Wenlong didn't respond to that. "By the way, how much money do you have left at home?"

Zhang was taken aback. "A thousand taels, perhaps? What's wrong?"

"What else can we do? Of course, we'll send it to my uncle and ask him to help us with the arrangements." Mao Wenlong tapped his fingertips lightly on the draft paper. "Let's tidy it up and make it a round number. Take out a thousand taels."

"A thousand taels?" Zhang exclaimed in shock. "So much!"

"A lot? Are you giving gifts for the New Year? A thousand taels is definitely not enough. The amount of help from my uncle's side will be more than that." Mao Wenlong wasn't worried about the money. Although he wasn't particularly wealthy, his maternal family, the Shen family of Hangzhou, was certainly not short of money. There was even a local saying that "among the most powerful families in Hangzhou, the Shen are the best." Sending money was a way of showing his respect to his uncle, who had just become the Prefect of the Capital. Thinking of this, Mao Wenlong picked up his pen again and slowly added the eight characters "exhausting all family wealth, preparing a thousand taels of silver" to the manuscript.

"What kind of job is it that requires so much money?" Zhang's brows furrowed.

"Don't ask anymore," Mao Wenlong waved his hand. "You'll know next month."

Mao Wenlong knew perfectly well that even after the expansion of Zhenjiang's defense zone, the civil administration would remain unchanged. Gao Canzheng would still be Gao Canzheng; the only difference would be that he would be transferred from guarding Liaoyang Circuit to military command of Zhenjiang Circuit. At best, he would be promoted one rank and given the additional title of Shandong Provincial Administration Commissioner.

However, the vacancy for the highest-ranking military officer guarding Zhenjiang and Ping'an is guaranteed to result in a promotion, at least to the rank of Assistant General, and eventually to Commander-in-Chief. Although Yuan Jianqi has granted him permission to lead troops south and even reinforced his forces, this doesn't guarantee he'll secure this guaranteed promotion. Mao Wenlong's biggest worry now is that a high-ranking official might suddenly be parachuted in or transferred from above, dividing the expanded defense zone into several smaller units, thus relegating him back to the position of guerrilla commander in Zhenjiang or some other guerrilla unit under the command of a Commander-in-Chief.

"We'll know next month. Right! If you'll know next month, your uncle will definitely know too! Why am I worrying so much?" Mao Wenlong had a flash of inspiration and realized that he didn't need to say it outright at all. He just needed to send out the letter of request with a hint of something and the money. Once the two things were sent to the capital, the news of his guardianship of Korea would surely spread widely.

Thinking of this, Mao Wenlong immediately lowered his head and began to write furiously. Zhang Shi leaned over to watch for a while, but still didn't know what position her husband was trying to obtain.

"My lord," Zhang called softly.

"Hmm?" Mao Wenlong didn't look up, continuing to write furiously. "Go wait for me in the west wing. Once I finish writing this letter, I'll come and serve you properly."

"Oh dear!" Zhang stamped her foot in embarrassment. "I wanted to ask if we should write another letter to Haizhou?"

"Write it to Zhang Bingxian?" Mao Wenlong paused, his pen poised.

“Yes. Although it’s a bit far, he’s still my maternal uncle.” Zhang nodded.

"Forget it." Mao Wenlong hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "He's in the eye of the storm right now, fighting with the gods. It's better to stay away."

(End of this chapter)