Chapter 84: The Variable

Fushou’s words indeed moved the official sent from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. “When I return to Hangzhou, I will relay everything you said. If that esteemed lord truly leads a campaign against Yangzhou himself, then Zhang Shicheng, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Liu Yi are nothing but a rabble of shrimp soldiers and crab generals!”

Three hundred miles away, Zhang Shicheng was already cursing, “That noble is personally marching on Yangzhou? What—what should I do?”

This time, Zhang Shicheng was making a gamble of epic proportions. Not only had he hastily mobilized twenty thousand armored troops, but he had also committed all his main forces to the crossing of the river, leaving fewer than ten thousand men in Gaoyou and Taizhou.

Currently, the main Yuan forces were locked in fierce battle with the Red Turbans at Jiqing, Taiping, and Chuzhou, so Zhang Shicheng's troops swept forward almost unopposed, taking Jiangyin at once. Zhu Ding had indeed helped him recruit a number of militia leaders and local magnates, so Zhang Shicheng’s forces had not diminished but instead grown in strength, and now he was preparing to attack Changzhou, Pingjiang, and beyond.

Yet no one had anticipated that the Yuan court still held such a powerful card in reserve. Zhang Shicheng almost wished he could race back to Gaoyou to defend his stronghold. “Gentlemen, the Yuan court is launching a full southern campaign, and we have fewer than ten thousand men in Gaoyou and Taizhou. What should we do?”

This time, Zhang Shicheng was truly frightened. He was never a man of steadfast will, which was why he repeatedly accepted offers of appeasement. But now, he didn’t even have a chance to surrender.

Last year, he had shattered Tuo Tuo’s four hundred thousand troops under the walls of Gaoyou. This year, after the Huainan province had finally managed to appease Zhang Shicheng, he turned on them faster than a page turns in a book. If he himself were the emperor of Yuan, he wouldn’t accept the surrender of such a faithless traitor either.

General Li Bosheng was bold to the extreme. “Even if that noble arrives in Yangzhou and the situation north of the river reverses, even if we don’t cross the river, Gaoyou and Taizhou won’t hold! But if we can’t hold Gaoyou and Taizhou, then we must seize the opportunity to take Changzhou, Pingjiang, Songjiang, Hangzhou, and Jiaxing. As long as we control the five prefectures, even if the Yuan court sends another four hundred thousand troops, they won’t be able to touch us!”

These five routes Li Bosheng spoke of were the richest and most valuable in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. To seize even one would be a mountain of gold, let alone all five. Zhang Shicheng's pale face brightened at last. “Taking all five routes is no easy thing, unless we join forces with Zhu Yuanzhang to deal with the Chaohu navy. Otherwise, even without Yuan forces intervening, we’ll have to contest with the Red Turbans of Chuzhou first!”

Li Bosheng replied with a flourish, “Then let’s deal with the Chaohu navy while we’re at it. Zhu Yuanzhang has long had a grudge against them, and I myself find Marshal Liu of Chaohu to be nothing but a scheming charlatan, unlikely to accomplish anything!”

Zhang Shicheng lacked courage but had plenty of ideas. “It’s precisely because Marshal Liu of Chaohu is unlikely to become a major force that I don’t want to join Zhu Yuanzhang in dealing with Chaohu!”

For Zhang Shicheng and the Kingdom of Great Zhou, only if Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi remain locked in a difficult struggle, unable to quickly decide victory or defeat, can they reap the greatest benefit. A swift resolution between Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi does not suit the interests of the Zhang Shicheng faction.

But Li Bosheng believed that swift action was needed. “Now we must take drastic measures, even poisonous ones, to accomplish great things. No matter who wins or loses, as long as the Red Turbans of Chuzhou tear each other apart, victory is ours! What we need most now is time.”

He cared nothing for the outcome of the Red Turbans’ internal conflict or whether Zhu Yuanzhang’s power would surge after defeating the Chaohu navy—he simply wanted the turmoil needed to seize territory. Zhang Shicheng saw some merit in his words. “That would only benefit Zhu Yuanzhang. I’ll notify him that I agree to join forces, and as soon as he begins his attack on Jiqing or takes Jiqing, I’ll immediately strike upriver against the Chuzhou naval camp!”

Liu Yi, meanwhile, did not realize that a great crisis was looming. Though he had heard similar news from various sources, he remained skeptical. “Though the Yuan court is full of praise for this noble, claiming there’s nothing he cannot accomplish, I truly don’t believe he would come to Yangzhou in person. The rumor seems unreliable.”

Lady Golden Flower had also heard the name. “Marshal, we must be prepared. Though it’s not as daunting as when Chancellor Tuo Tuo led four hundred thousand troops to Gaoyou, if this noble truly arrives in Yangzhou, it would be as if two hundred thousand troops had come! Two hundred thousand!”

Her estimate was exaggerated; no single man’s ability could match two hundred thousand troops. But if this noble did personally command at Yangzhou, he would certainly not come alone but lead a formidable army south.

And he already had such an army at his disposal—a crack force directly under the Yuan court, half made up of Mongolian regimental commanders, and the rest veteran Han commanders. Their quality was worlds apart from the current Yuan government troops on the eastern front. Thus, Liu Yi was forced to reconsider the map. “I never expected such a variable. If he commands Yangzhou, Zhang Shicheng will either seize all of eastern and western Zhejiang in a lightning strike, or retreat north of the river. But I believe he will choose to seize both regions.”

Liu Yi was confident, but the naval officers present found his judgment questionable. Liao Yong’an asked, “The Yuan army has cut off Zhang Shicheng’s retreat—will he really continue south? Impossible! I know Zhang Shicheng well, he’s always lacked resolve; he’ll surely choose to return north!”

Li Pusheng agreed, “That’s right. We’ve been fighting the Yuan army in the north for half a year; Zhang Shicheng only decided to cross the river now, which proves he’s not destined for greatness. He’s far more likely to return north!”

Shao Rong, the newly joined ‘Six Regiment Commander’ of the Chaohu navy, also felt Liu Yi’s judgment too arbitrary. “Marshal, we can handle ordinary Yuan commanders, but this one is different. He not only commands a great army, but the entire Huainan province is at his disposal!”