Chapter 144: Everyone Is Clever

As the field commander, Huo Qiu was extremely satisfied with Gong Shitai’s performance.

High-ranking Yuan officials like Gong Shitai always professed that they would "never serve two masters," often adopting an attitude of neither resisting nor cooperating with the Red Turban Army. Yet, once given a graceful way out, combined with a mix of intimidation and enticement, these Yuan officials—whether they were imperial graduates or provincial scholars—would invariably lean toward cooperating with Zhenjiang.

Even if a few stubborn diehards refused to see reason, Huo Qiu had ways to deal with them. Therefore, since Gong Shitai had found his stepping stone, Huo Qiu naturally gave him plenty of face: "My Vice Administrator is preparing to come to Songjiang to discuss with Minister Gong how to turn around the perilous situation in the southeast. What does Minister Gong have to offer by way of instruction?"

Although Huo Qiu spoke with courtesy, his blade was still pressed against Gong Shitai’s neck, and Gong Shitai’s wife and children were still in Huo Qiu’s hands. Consequently, Gong Shitai naturally spoke in accordance with Huo Qiu's intentions: "Since Vice Administrator Liu is preparing to come to Songjiang to discuss the matter of pacification, it is a blessing for the realm and a blessing for the country! I, Gong Shitai, will definitely cooperate fully to ensure that Songjiang City remains impregnable!"

Despite holding the nominal title of Minister of Rites and possessing a brilliant career in the past, Gong Shitai had now fallen into a rebel camp, and all his former glory was washed away like water flowing downstream. Uttering ghost stories that even he himself did not believe, Gong Shitai prepared to do whatever it took to satisfy the Red Turban rebels.

And Huo Qiu indeed needed Gong Shitai’s full cooperation right now. He had only fifteen hundred men under his command, and nearly half of them were diehards who refused to surrender and still considered themselves loyal troops of the Great Yuan. Therefore, he did not quibble over Gong Shitai’s self-serving rhetoric: "Minister Gong, as long as you help me hold this city of Songjiang, you can be the master of your own house, whether it is in eastern or western Zhejiang!"

Upon hearing these words, Gong Shitai immediately grew spirited. Although the man before him was merely a major chieftain among the Zhenjiang rebels whose words might not carry weight, and although he had once served as the Yuan Dynasty's Minister of Rites, joining the rebels meant he would at best end up as a governor-general or similar official in western or eastern Zhejiang—which seemed like a waste of great talent.

Despite his empty title of Minister of Rites, his actual post had merely been that of Prefect of Songjiang. According to custom, the Darughachi of Songjiang Prefecture was the true supreme authority, deciding all matters big and small with a single word, while the Prefect was only responsible for routine administrative affairs. If the Darughachi of Songjiang hadn't happened to die of illness, the position of master of Songjiang would never have fallen to him.

Moreover, since Bo'an Timur, the Censor-in-Chief of the Jiangnan Branch Secretariat, had already joined the rebels, Gong Shitai's coercion into the service of pacifying the Zhenjiang rebels could hardly be considered an unpardonable crime.

The Zhenjiang rebels offered a man of Southern China with his imperial credentials far better prospects than the Great Yuan court ever could. Furthermore, if the situation turned unfavorable, he could turn his mission of "pacification" into a solid reality. However, all of this had to be built upon the foundation of holding Songjiang City: "General Huo, rest assured. With your heart and mine united, Songjiang City will be completely secure. The several volunteer militias in the city are all in my hands, and officials great and small must obey my command!"

Huo Qiu could never have held Songjiang City with just fifteen hundred men alone, but once Gong Shitai, the Prefect of Songjiang, threw in his lot with them, the situation naturally changed. Within half a day, the defense of Songjiang City took on a completely new look.

Although the garrison was a mixed bag—including Chaohu Lake naval forces, North River Green Army, Great Yuan regular troops, local Songjiang volunteer militias, and temporarily mobilized able-bodied commoners, with a total force of just over three thousand—after a brief integration, everyone from top to bottom was resolved to defend the city. Gong Shitai, the newly turned Prefect of Songjiang, was even eager to take the field himself: "To our west are the Gaoyou rebels, and to our south are Miao rebels. Just think about what your fate will be!"

Whether it was Zhang Shicheng of Gaoyou or Yang Wan'zhe's Miao army, both were notorious for burning, killing, and pillaging. Although Zhang Shicheng's army maintained slightly better discipline and understood the need to restore order after a bout of plundering, the mere thought of this catastrophe naturally united the entire city of Songjiang with Gong Shitai.

After all, Gong Shitai was the Prefect of Songjiang; matters in Songjiang Prefecture were decided by him now, and he had secured this reinforcement from the Jiangnan Branch Secretariat. Furthermore, according to Gong Shitai, another massive army was already on its way to reinforce Songjiang.

"What? The Zhenjiang rebels entered Songjiang City first?"

Upon hearing this news, Pan Yuanming was practically bursting with rage.

"How did they get into Songjiang City first? Where did they pop out from? Is Gong Shitai a complete bucket of rice? When the Red Turban bandits reached the city walls, did he not know how to put up a fight?"

Pan Yuanming never expected that by merely spending a day negotiating and stalling with Yang Wan'zhe's faction, Liu Yi's forces from Zhenjiang would have already fought their way into Songjiang Prefecture. Did Liu Yi drop from the heavens?

The scouts he sent out soon brought back clear intelligence: "The Zhenjiang rebels who entered the city are operating under the banner of the Great Yuan regular forces, but as soon as they entered, they placed Prefect Gong under control. Moreover, Prefect Gong is hardly reliable himself—he promised the Zhenjiang rebels that as long as they don't raise the Dragon-and-Phoenix banners, he will throw in his lot with them!"

Hearing this, Pan Yuanming let out a sigh of relief. "I see how this bunch of Zhenjiang rebels got here. It's fine, it's fine. This faction from Zhenjiang only numbers about a thousand men in total. We can take them, we can take them!"

Though Pan Yuanming kept repeating that they could take the enemy, in his heart he felt rather uncertain. Though he commanded fifteen thousand men, he knew full well what kind of troops they were. They had a ninety-percent chance of victory against the Chaohu navy in a field battle, but launching a storming attack on Songjiang City was an entirely different matter. Besides, the Zhenjiang army's recent string of victories had indeed cast a psychological shadow over Zhang Shicheng's faction, and Pan Yuanming was no exception.

Yet he quickly thought of a countermeasure: "Since the Zhenjiang rebels have arrived so quickly, we shall naturally bring in external reinforcements. Notify Yang Wan'zhe; if outsiders are at our doorstep and he refuses to commit his full strength, there will be no place for him to stand in Songjiang Prefecture. Still, one must rely on one's own iron for forging; regardless of whether Yang Wan'zhe comes or not, we will take Songjiang City first!"

As long as he brought Yang Wan'zhe's tens of thousands of Miao troops into Songjiang, he would be in an unbeatable position. "In one beating of the drums, let us take Songjiang City!"

"Huo Wanhu has already engaged in a fierce battle with Pan Yuanming in Songjiang City? And Yang Wan'zhe's Miao army has also entered Songjiang Prefecture in full force?"

Liu Yi had never expected Pan Yuanming's reaction to be so swift. Just as the Chaohu naval forces had completed their assembly, Pan Yuanming and Yang Wan'zhe had already begun joining forces.