Chapter 141: Gong Shitai

People from Haozhou? Liu Yi suddenly understood.

Although Hu Qiuping had spoken of grand ideals, dreams are one thing, and reality is another.

The Chaohu Navy currently controlled only Zhenjiang and Jiangyin, and the soldiers under their command were desperate fugitives from north of the Yangtze. The most urgent priority was to take Songjiang Prefecture, and the key to that was securing the full support of the Left Camp. Nothing would win their support more effectively than having someone from Haozhou in charge of Songjiang.

Even if this woman from Haozhou had a somewhat unpleasant past with Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as Hu Qiuping held the reins in Songjiang, the entire Left Camp would stand behind her. A smile played on Liu Yi’s lips: "There is only one thing to do now, and that is to take Songjiang Prefecture!"

Guo Yunyu, however, shook her head and said, "My husband is mistaken. There is one more important thing, and that is for me to get well-acquainted with our sister from the Hu family."

She was determined to keep a tight grip on that little vixen, Hu Qiuping.

Songjiang Prefecture.

"Zhang Shicheng has sent an army of one hundred thousand. Please, sir, make a decision soon!"

"Though the one hundred thousand is surely an exaggeration, there must be at least sixty or seventy thousand of those Gaoyou rebels. You must come up with a plan!"

"Sir, please find a way! I hear that Yang Wanzhe’s fifty thousand Miao soldiers are already in the south!"

"Indeed. Although Yang Wanzhe’s Miao troops are despicable, of two evils, one must choose the lesser. It would be better to invite Yang Wanzhe into the prefecture city!"

"Sir, you may make many mistakes, but never invite the Miao army into the city! The Gaoyou rebels may be wicked, but compared to Yang Wanzhe, they are saints of ten generations!"

"Quite right! The state has nurtured scholars for a century, not to invite Miao barbarians to scourge the world. Gong Shitai, you must think carefully before you decide!"

"Sir, if you do not invite the Left Chancellor Yang to send reinforcements, Songjiang City will fall!"

Hearing these challenges, Gong Shitai stamped his feet in frustration: "What do you mean by this? Are you trying to roast me on a fire? I, Gong Shitai, am not to be trifled with!"

Despite his anger, he had neither the power nor the means to solve the immediate crisis. "Help me think of another way. As long as it has nothing to do with that Miao barbarian Yang Wanzhe, I will follow your advice."

But as he said this, he lacked all conviction. He was truly at his wit's end.

Gong Shitai’s career was remarkably illustrious. Not only was he a Jinshi from the fourth year of the Taiding era, but he had also served as a Director of the Academy of Worthies, a judge in Taihe Prefecture, and an assistant magistrate in She County, Huizhou. He had even served as a judge in Shaoxing, cracking numerous major cases. He had edited the national history, served as a Hanlin compiler and a director in the Ministry of Rites. When the Red Turban rebellion broke out and the Yuan court decided to reuse Southerners in the central government, Gong Shitai became a Censor, and people of the time said, "The return of Southern scholars to the central government began with Gong Shitai."

Although he was a Southerner, his mindset was no different from the Yuan court. He quickly raised a million bushels of grain to support the capital, earning him a dazzling array of titles: Vice Minister of Personnel, Commissioner of Water Conservancy and Land Reclamation, Censor of Jiangxi, Censor of Fujian, and Minister of Rites. Even the well-connected Mongols and Semu people did not rise as quickly as he did.

However, despite his title as Minister of Rites, his actual position was merely the Prefect of Songjiang. The Yuan court still viewed him as a Southerner; making him the Prefect was the extent of their generosity. Positions like the Darughachi of Songjiang, which were both thankless and difficult, were reserved for Mongols and favored Semu officials.

Fate, however, was fickle. No one expected the Darughachi of Songjiang to die of sudden illness at such a critical juncture. After Zhang Shicheng seized Pingjiang, he launched a massive assault on Songjiang. The Yuan court’s position in the southeast now rested entirely on the shoulders of this Southern Jinshi, Gong Shitai.

Despite his brilliant resume and shining record, the mere mention of the Gaoyou rebels and Yang Wanzhe made Gong Shitai as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He sought a lifeline, but his subordinates and advisors hated Yang Wanzhe and his Miao army far more than they feared Zhang Shicheng.

Zhang Shicheng might be wicked, but he was of Han blood and knew when to stop. Yang Wanzhe, however, was a Miao barbarian; wherever he went, he brought total destruction. The council chamber had dissolved into chaos, with men even coming to blows: "I think we should let Yang Wanzhe in and let him and Zhang Shicheng slaughter each other!"

"I’ll kill you! I am a man of Songjiang—how could I let my wife and children fall into the hands of Yang Wanzhe!"

"If you won't invite Yang Wanzhe, what other choice do you have? Zhang Shicheng has tens of thousands of men!"

"General Wang Yuijing is still holding the line at the front! As long as he keeps the situation stable, things will improve!"

Their infighting solved nothing. Gong Shitai grew increasingly frantic. He usually relied on his official authority to command the room, but now he couldn't even control his own staff, let alone the tens of thousands of Gaoyou rebels approaching. Someone suggested, "My Lord, of two evils, choose the lesser. Perhaps we should talk to the Gaoyou side."

Talk to the Gaoyou side? Gong Shitai rejected the proposal immediately. Negotiating was fine, but Zhang Shicheng now styled himself the Emperor of the Great Zhou—how could one negotiate with that?

Having spent so many years in the Yuan bureaucracy, Gong Shitai was, at his core, a standard Yuan official. He viewed every problem through the lens of the Yuan court and refused to defect to Zhang Shicheng: "Apart from Zhang Shicheng and Yang Wanzhe, what other forces can we rely on?"

Someone immediately mentioned Liu Yi: "What about Liu Yi, the Academician from Zhenjiang? He has fifteen hundred righteous soldiers near Songjiang right now!"

Gong Shitai knew of Liu Yi and the origins of his troops, but he felt it was inappropriate: "Although the Zhenjiang rebels are willing to repent, they are, after all, former Red Turbans, and they still fly the false banners of the Longfeng regime. This suggestion is highly improper..."

Before Gong Shitai could finish his sentence, cries of alarm erupted from outside: "General Wang Yuijing has been defeated! A crushing defeat..."