Di Ming

Chapter 420 You're really desperate to get married, huh? I look down on you!
Zong Qin finally secured the important position of "Imperial Commissioner, Grand Eunuch in Charge of Military Affairs and Garrison of Nanjing," which gave the rebellious family lying in wait in Peng County even more confidence.

The eunuch in charge of Nanjing was extremely important, ranking second only to the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Grand Secretary within the vast system of eunuchs. He was a true regional governor and the garrison commander of the Southern Capital.

The eunuchs guarding Nanjing were not only trusted confidants of the emperor, but also had to have sufficient qualifications, usually coming from the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Although Zongqin was highly trusted by Emperor Wanli and Consort Zheng, his qualifications were actually insufficient. Nine years earlier, Zongqin was a low-ranking eunuch who had been humiliated to the point of contemplating suicide.

It was Zhu Yin's nine years of consistent help and care, along with generous bribes, that enabled him to overcome his lack of seniority and, with great difficulty, secure the important position of the eunuch in charge of Nanjing before the coup.

Zhu Yin said, "You and Mr. Xu will swear an oath to raise an army at Daishan, and I will personally welcome Prince Xin. We will meet at the gates of Nanjing, one in the east and one in the west. Once Prince Xin enters the city, the situation will be settled."

"Although there are many troops in Nanjing, Zong Qin is just a garrison eunuch. At worst, he can issue an order and find a reason to persuade the Minister of War and the Duke of Wei to transfer the main force of Nanjing to the Mulongxu Plain in the south of the city for a large-scale training exercise. As long as it is delayed for a day and a night, things will be much easier to handle."

"Huya will control the emergency news relay stations in Chongming, Zhenjiang, and Nanjing, and can block the news for at least several days. By the time the fleet arrives in Nanjing, it will be too late for them."

Ning Caiwei was still worried and said, "When the coup was launched in July, Zong Qin had only been the eunuch in charge of Nanjing for a little over a month. In such a short time, it would be difficult for him to control the military power in Nanjing. The Minister of War in Nanjing is not one of our people. Xu Xiaobai may also side with Wanli at that time."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Although the Minister of War in Nanjing is not one of our men, the Governor of Yingtian is one of our men! The Vice Censor-in-Chief of Nanjing, who commands the troops on the Yangtze River, is also a member of the Zhu faction. Even if Xu Xiaobai, the Duke of Wei who commands the Beijing Garrison, supports the court, we can still control the situation in Nanjing, it will just be more difficult."

Ning Caiwei has always been cautious. She only did what she was extremely confident of success when she plotted against the King of Qin in Guanzhong and caused such a big incident.

Moreover, what about a coup or rebellion, a matter of annihilation?
She thought for a moment and said, "Nanjing is second only to Beijing in importance. There are as many as 160,000 troops stationed inside and outside the city, including 80,000 combat soldiers. Moreover, Nanjing is an impregnable fortress, with 46 river defense forts and 120 outer city watchtowers. If a siege were to break out, we would be in big trouble."

"The Eight Banners overseas only have a population of 150,000, including men, women, and children. Even if they were all mobilized, they could only muster a maximum of 30,000 soldiers."

"My merchant guild's armed forces number 20,000 across the country. But only half of those 20,000 are actually capable of fighting. So, our total strength is 40,000. Am I right?"

Zhu Yin nodded, "You're right. Our troops, plus our private guards, number a little over 40,000."

Ning Caiwei continued, "Right now, Westerners are stirring up trouble in Southeast Asia, wanting to reclaim Jingzhou (Luzon Island). The indigenous people of Dongning (Treasure Island) are also restless. Daishan Island has many factories and needs to be protected. The Jinghai Navy cannot be mobilized in its entirety; it must leave 10,000 men to guard Jingzhou, Dongning, Daishan, Jeju, and other islands. Therefore, the Jinghai Navy can only deploy a maximum of 20,000 troops."

"Including the 10,000 armed merchant groups and private guards that can be mobilized domestically, we only have 30,000 mobile troops to use for the rebellion."

Zhu Yin said, "These 30,000 men are not enough to be used solely in Nanjing. We also need to divide our forces to guard strategic locations. At most, we can only use a little over 10,000 troops in Nanjing."

"But as long as we gain the political advantage and Prince Xin is able to enter the city, more than 10,000 elite troops will be enough to control Nanjing. After all, the garrison eunuch, the governor and other high-ranking officials are all our people."

Zhu Yin had thought about these problems many times before, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Even if Wanli lost popular support, Prince Xin should have been the crown prince. But if he had actually established a new dynasty in Nanjing, only five or six provinces would have supported Nanjing at the beginning, no more than that.

Even so, it was because Zhu Yin had been planning for several years, and many members of Zhu's faction held important positions in these provinces, such as governors, inspectors, and military commissioners.

After all, Wanli had been emperor for more than 20 years, and with the legitimacy in his hands, the authority of the Beijing court remained supreme. Prince Xin was also a son, and establishing a new dynasty would be contrary to filial piety.

Once the uprising begins, it will be difficult for the southern provinces, such as Huguang, Yunnan, and Sichuan, to immediately support Prince Xin.

Zhu Yin knew the situation well. After repeated assessments, he concluded that the regions supporting the Nanjing court should be the southern provinces south of the Yangtze River: Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong.

It's hard to say for both Guangxi and Guizhou provinces.

Even if they could only capture a few provinces at the beginning, it was still because they were fighting under the banner of Prince Xin. If they had relied entirely on their own insurgency to rebel, it wouldn't have been easy to capture even one province with that number of troops. Even if they captured one or two provinces, their troops would be almost exhausted, and then what would they do?

The Ming court was not completely corrupt, and the Ming army was still strong, with a force of one million. Historically, Nurhaci had 60,000 soldiers when he rebelled, but if he had led those 60,000 soldiers in rebellion twenty years earlier, he would certainly have been wiped out by the Ming army.

He was able to establish the Later Jin dynasty in Liaodong because the Ming dynasty, twenty years later, was terminally ill and had been completely ruined by the Wanli Emperor. It's less that he won the Battle of Sarhu, and more that the Ming dynasty itself was defeated.

Now, although the reputation of the Jin emperor is already very bad, the Ming army is still capable of fighting, the court is still relatively wealthy, and the country is still relatively stable. Raising an army to forcefully push forward is certainly a bad strategy.

Zhu Yin added, “Cao Wenzhao, Mao Wenlong, and Xiong Tingbi will obey orders 100%. It’s a pity that their 30,000 troops are not in Nanjing and cannot participate in the Nanjing coup. But they can draw away the Ming troops in Yangzhou, Huainan, Jingxiang and other places to buy precious strategic time.”

In recent years, Cao Wenzhao and the other two have all been promoted to deputy generals, all thanks to Zhu Yin's covert efforts. It took a lot of money to get them control of several key locations. Cao Wenzhao was stationed in Xiangyang, Xiong Tingbi in Chuzhou, and Mao Wenlong in Huai'an.

These three places are all strategic locations, serving as three key points for protecting the southeast.

Zhu Yin continued, “Qin Liangyu and her husband’s White Spear Army may not necessarily be on our side. Although we are like brother and sister and have a very good personal relationship, when it comes to rebellion, she may support the court. The chieftains in the southwest will also most likely support the court, because they would prefer the emperor to be in faraway Beijing.”

Ning Caiwei pondered for a moment and said, "I've also considered that the White-Spear Army might only support us for a maximum of 60%. We should prepare for our retreat should we fail. We still have over ten million taels of silver in savings on the mainland, which we need to start transporting overseas in batches. Even if we lose, we should still capture over a hundred thousand Han compatriots and take them to sea. We need to mobilize more ships now and have them on standby along the coast."

"Commerce in the north should also be scaled back to avoid losses from confiscation."

Zhu Yin nodded, "We also need to find a way to bring Master Shen and Consort Wang out of Beijing. Once we stage a coup, Emperor Bai Jin will definitely not let Consort Wang and Master Shen go. After all, Master Shen has spoken up for me a lot in the cabinet over the years."

Ning Caiwei asked, "What about my adoptive father who was dismissed from his post and returned to Shandong?"

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "My godfather is actually fine. My relationship with him is a secret. The emperor doesn't know that he is my godfather, and our relationship is very ordinary to outsiders. Perhaps the emperor will even reinstate him as commander to lead an expedition against me."

"Hehe!" Ning Caiwei laughed too. "If Emperor Baijin reinstates our godfather Nanzheng, then things will get interesting."

Ning Qingchen suddenly said, "There is still an army available, but you just didn't think of it."

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei both looked at Qingchen, their expressions very similar, "Huh?"

“The Miao people!” Ning Qingchen said, “The Miao people in Jiuli City can produce at least three thousand strong men. For the past three years, they have been grateful to Little Tiger and have spontaneously built a shrine for him. Moreover, I have cured many of their patients and delivered many Miao girls’ babies. They also admire me.”

"As long as I and Little Tiger step forward together and get them to rise up and join us in rebellion, they will definitely do it!"

Zhu Yin frowned. "Of course I've thought about that. But I'm unwilling to use Miao soldiers unless absolutely necessary. If I do, I'll have to keep all the promises and give them official positions. More importantly, they have connections with the Yang family of Bozhou. If they turn against us, they'll be a major threat."

"Do you think the Miao people are willing to rebel with us? People's hearts are unpredictable. When we get to the gates of Nanjing, they might get scared and betray us."

Ning Caiwei also said, "We can't use the Miao people from the start; the risk is too great. Your and Little Tiger's influence is certainly useful, but can they really dare to rebel with you just based on influence? That would be a crime punishable by extermination!"

"When will it really be useful? At least after we take Nanjing and establish a new dynasty. Only then will people see hope, and only then will your and Little Tiger's influence be enough to get many people to rise up and support the Nanjing court." "Without controlling Nanjing and establishing a new dynasty, all your influence and prestige are meaningless and cannot be immediately converted into strength."

Zhu Yin took out a map from his bosom and spread it on the table. "Prince Xin must have been forced to go south. He had no trusted confidants by his side, only guards and palace servants sent by the Zheng family to monitor him along the way. When he passed through Nanjing, he could not stop on the river. He could only stop at Caishiji and go ashore to pay homage to Xiaoling Mausoleum from afar."

"According to the plan, Prince Xin will definitely stay in Caishiji for a day."

"I will act on that very day! I will rescue Prince Shin from the enfeoffment procession."

Ning Caiwei frowned slightly as she looked at the map. "But you only have five hundred private guards with you, while the entourage for your fiefdom has at least a thousand men. It will be difficult to safely rescue Prince Xin. If we send an armed merchant caravan with you, it will be too conspicuous and easily exposed. Both land and water checkpoints will investigate. Caishiji is only seventy li from Nanjing, and the inspections are very strict. How can we hide an armed merchant caravan? Forge orders and official seals?"

This shows how difficult it is to secretly rebel. Even if you have troops, it's very difficult to mobilize them without being detected.

Three to five hundred people is fine, but once the group exceeds a thousand people, how can the land and water checkpoints let you pass?

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "There's no need to pretend to be government troops or orders from the Ministry of War. Have you forgotten there's another force outside Nanjing? The Bright Army!"

Ning Caiwei slapped her forehead, "Oh dear, I almost forgot! Right, let's use the Bright Camp!"

Zhu Yin said with certainty, “The Brightness Camp has occupied Baohua Mountain for nine years under the guise of mountain bandits. They have been recruiting refugees who have fled. Now they can produce eight hundred elite soldiers. They have been trained for many years and are very strong. They are our earliest secret force.”

"More importantly, Guangming Camp is only a few dozen miles away from Caishiji, and it only takes one night to get there."

Ning Caiwei said, "If Xu Xiaobai chooses us, things will be much easier. He has been diligent in military affairs over the years and has a great reputation among the Nanjing garrison. Because of him, the combat strength of the Nanjing garrison has been greatly improved, and the situation of troop quotas has also improved a lot. He directly controls more than 20,000 elite troops in Nanjing."

Zhu Yin knew this, of course. That's why he never severed ties with Xu Xiaobai over the years, and they maintained a very good personal relationship.

But Xu Xiaobai was unaware that he wanted to rebel.

Ning Caiwei paused here, then said with a playful expression, "In the past few years, Xu Xiaobai has suffered the loss of his grandfather, then his father, and then his mother. Fortunately, generals are not required to observe mourning periods, so he managed to retain his military power. However, this has delayed his marriage. Now at the age of twenty-four, he is still unmarried. The mistress of the Duke of Wei's mansion is actually his aunt."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Yin was taken aback.

Ning Caiwei hesitated for a moment, "Little Tiger, don't be angry. Your sister Wu You is still unmarried, isn't she? She has high standards and comes from a wealthy family; she won't marry anyone who isn't extremely rich."

Zhu Yin understood. "You mean, you want me to marry Xu Xiaobai?"

Ning Caiwei nodded with a smile, "You two are already good friends. If you become in-laws, your relationship will be even more different. He might very well be on our side, and the dowry will be tens of thousands of soldiers!"

"Besides, Xu Xiaobai is a Duke, talented, handsome, and reliable. A brother-in-law like that is hard to find even with a lantern. You can't keep your sister around all the time, can you? She's already nineteen."

"This February, Xu Xiaobai's three-year mourning period for his mother ended, and he should be getting married. The gates of the Duke of Wei's mansion have been almost worn out, but his aunt, in order to continue to control the household affairs, deliberately find fault with the candidates. Either their family background is not good enough, or their social status is not high enough, or their horoscopes don't match. As a result, after so long, no one has been chosen yet."

“If we step in, Xu Xiaobai will definitely agree to a marriage alliance with us. Once the engagement is finalized, he will be one of ours.”

Zhu Yin stood up and paced back and forth. Suddenly, he stopped. "Is Wu You willing? In the past two years, I've introduced her to several promising young men, but she hasn't taken a liking to any of them."

Ning Caiwei smiled and said, "Yesterday I deliberately brought this up to test her. She seemed somewhat interested, but ultimately she's shy and acted reservedly. In my opinion, she's willing. Otherwise, she would have said she only wanted to stay by her brother and sister-in-law's side."

“I was afraid you wouldn’t agree, so I didn’t continue to flirt with her, lest she get angry with me. If you agree, I’ll just talk to her directly and tell her directly, since it’s all for her own good anyway.”

Zhu Yin chuckled, "What's there to disagree with? I'm doing this for her happiness, for her own good. Why would I disagree? You go and tell her. You're her sister-in-law, so it's more appropriate for you to speak up."

Ning Qingchen suddenly sighed, shook her head, and looked at him with disdain.

"What are you doing?" Ning Caiwei scolded.

Ning Qingchen sneered: "What a hypocritical couple. You and Little Tiger are clearly after someone else's tens of thousands of troops, but you insist on saying it's for Wu You's happiness. You're hypocritical and your motives are impure."

Ning Caiwei raised an eyebrow. "How can it not be for her own good? Is this hypocrisy? Are you suggesting we keep her in the Zhu family forever and never let her get married? If she becomes an old maid, it will be difficult for her to remarry. A daughter should not be kept at home forever; if she is, she will become an enemy! Haven't you heard that? You are just judging others by your own petty standards."

"Tch!" Ning Qingchen scoffed. "When are you going to arrange a marriage for me? Isn't it bound to happen sooner or later? Is it for my own good? Are you going to send me to a foreign land for a political marriage?"

Ning Caiwei was too lazy to argue with her sister anymore, and said to Zhu Yin, "I will call Wu Youlai right now. If she doesn't agree, I will definitely not force her."

Zhu Yin stood up. "Then you talk to her. I need to go out of the city to check on the water conservancy of the Wujiang River."

After Zhu Yin left, Wu You arrived very soon.

Nineteen-year-old Wu You had fully blossomed into a beautiful and graceful young woman. Unlike other daughters of noble families, she possessed an inexplicable air of nonchalance, yet remained enigmatic to many.

She looks like a woman with a story to tell.

"Sister-in-law." Wu You greeted her and sat down naturally.

“Little sister,” Ning Caiwei said bluntly, “you are already nineteen years old, and your brother and I have always been concerned about your marriage. Your brother is heartbroken if we don’t find you a good family, and he always says he’s sorry. You and your brother are both very picky, and you don’t even look at people who are not good enough.”

Wu You smiled, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. "Sister-in-law, who is it this time?"

“The Duke of Wei, Xu Xiaobai,” Ning Caiwei said solemnly. “He is only twenty-four, but he has already inherited the title. He is also a good friend of your elder brother, and they went through thick and thin together back then. Think about it, what kind of person is your elder brother? How could his friend be anything less? Although Xu Xiaobai has two concubines, he has never married…”

After Ning Caiwei finished her introduction, Wu You lowered her head slightly, looking a little embarrassed. Then she raised her bright face and said softly, "Please, sister-in-law and brother, make the decision!"

Ning Qingchen opened her mouth, somewhat surprised.

Wu You, Wu You, you agreed so quickly?

You're so desperate to get married, I look down on you!
...

P.S.: Are there any people unhappy about the younger sister being married off? Well, there's nothing that can be done about it; it's a historical story, after all. She can't stay by your side forever and grow old, can she?
(End of this chapter)