Chapter Ninety-Three: Unmoved

Zhao Junyong had long been the supreme commander of the Chuzhou Red Turban Army, and in fact even the commander above the commander. In theory, the superiors of Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi were Sun Deya of Haozhou, and only Sun Deya in turn answered to Zhao Junyong.

But that was only the theory. At present, Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi dealt directly with Liu Futong and Han Lin'er, without going through Zhao Junyong or Sun Deya at all. And Zhao Junyong and Sun Deya treated the Chuzhou Red Turbans as a thorn in their side, always seeking their destruction. For that reason, He Weiyi's explanation seemed quite plausible.

Yet the authorities of the regional secretariat knew full well that He Weiyi's thinking was nothing but a daydream. "Prime Minister He, Zhao Junyong and the Chuzhou rebels will certainly come to blows, but not today, and certainly only after Jiqing has fallen!"

Though Zhao Junyong and Sun Deya were locked in deadly enmity with Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yi, so long as the Chuzhou Red Turbans continued their fierce assault on the Circuit of Jiqing, there would be no chance of an internal bloodletting among them.

The regional secretariat could not understand how so shrewd a man as He Weiyi could fail to grasp this, and Taiping's reply was even more astonishing: "I think so too, but His Majesty and the Secretariat are of one mind that restoring maritime transport is the urgent priority."

Though He Weiyi's answer seemed to miss the point entirely, the regional secretariat understood at once.

Restoring maritime transport at all costs was a joint decision of the Zhizheng Emperor and the Grand Secretariat, and He Weiyi was merely the man charged with carrying it out. He would execute that order with unwavering firmness and not the slightest compromise, even if he could not himself comprehend it.

As long as it was an order from His Majesty and the Grand Secretariat, Taiping would carry it out to the letter. This was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

Because of this, several great Mongol nobles of formidable pedigree insisted on working beside Taiping; while he sat in the post of Left Prime Minister, they feared no one would undermine them. Yet it was also this same quality that plunged the Jiangnan regional secretariat into grave peril.

The envoy from the regional secretariat, clinging to his last hope, asked, "Prime Minister Taiping, is there still any way to salvage this? Though Jiqing may still be able to hold for the moment, if anything untoward should happen, I fear the situation in the southeast will collapse utterly!"

He Weiyi had already made up his mind. "I am but the emperor's household servant, so naturally I must act according to His Majesty's wishes. But within the scope of my ability, I will do what I can to help you resolve matters. Speak: what is it that your regional secretariat wishes the Circuit Administration of Huainan and the Regional Military Commission to do?"

The regional secretariat knew full well that although Taiping had said he would "do his best within his ability," the Yangzhou authorities would not send a single soldier, a single roll of cloth, or a single coin to the Circuit of Jiqing. At most, they would provide a heap of blank appointments. Thus the envoy could only think on his feet. "Many thanks for the Prime Minister's kindness. Since the Prime Minister says so, please submit a memorial to the court at once. The urgent matter for restoring maritime transport is to hold Jiqing firm. If Jiqing falls, maritime transport will surely be cut off."

Taiping nodded. "I can agree to that. State the other conditions as well."

Before the envoy could speak, an urgent report came from outside: "Prime Minister, the rebel naval camp has suddenly sallied forth from Taiping and is heading straight for the Chief Censor's water stronghold!"

"That barbarian Haiya has certainly improved a little!"

Although Zhao Pusheng and Li Pusheng both felt that Manzi Haiya was still using old tricks, once the battle truly began they discovered that the Yuan navy had also learned the tactic of steady, methodical advance, fortifying stage by stage. Beyond the existing system of water forts, they had added several more and countless works of defense.

Having taken to heart many lessons from the battle at Chaohu Pass, Manzi Haiya now employed an entirely new tactic of joint land-and-water defensive retreat. At the first sign that things were going badly, he held his water forts with grim resolve, and his artillery, stone bombs, and heavy crossbows all opened fire almost at once. The first wave of fireboats from the Chaohu fleet, sweeping downstream, achieved almost nothing. Now, though the great river was a blaze of flames, the Yuan navy remained practically intact.

So Zhao Pusheng could not help but exclaim, "I never expected that after only a few months, this Barbarian Chief Censor would make us look at him in a new light!"

Jinhua Lady also looked at the Yuan navy's performance with fresh respect. "Personally, I don't think this is all the Chief Censor's doing. I suspect Kang Maocai had a hand in it!"

At the mention of Kang Maocai, the Chaohu fleet immediately took interest. "That boy Kang Maocai really has some talent, so we can't let Zhu Yuanzhang have him for free!"

"Exactly. Anything else can be discussed, but not Kang Maocai!"

"Marshal, when do we use our trump card?"

Though the first assault by the Chaohu fleet ended in a hasty retreat, morale aboard the naval camp remained high. They wanted nothing more than to sweep the Yuan navy away in a single, overwhelming blow.

After all, over the past half year the Chaohu fleet had been too cautious and methodical, missing far too many chances for crushing victories and drawing far too much criticism. Every time the soldiers of the left wing met the men of the naval camp, they would bring this up, and everyone had long been eager to fight a great decisive battle.

But Liu Yi said with unusual steadiness, "Don't rush. Advance steadily. I say it again: stay beyond defeat. Time is on our side!"

Zhao Pusheng asked, "But what if He Taiping of Yangzhou sends troops to reinforce Jiqing?"

Liu Yi laughed immediately. "He Weiyi may come, but the Left Prime Minister Taiping will not. There's no need to hurry. Right now Zhu the Marshal is more anxious than we are!"

Indeed, Zhu Yuanzhang was more anxious than Liu Yi and the Chaohu fleet. He had been waiting since daybreak for word of victory from the Chaohu fleet, only to hear instead that their assault had gone poorly. It made him so furious he was practically jumping out of his skin. "That damned Liu—can't he show a little ambition? He's always so full of himself that I thought he could take the Chief Censor's water fort in one round. Who knew that after half a day he'd only burned a few small boats!"

Tang He hastened to echo Zhu Yuanzhang. "The Marshal speaks the truth. We truly overestimated the naval camp's ability. Who knew they only had this much skill!"

Li Shanchang, however, saw it very differently. "If the naval camp could take the Chief Censor's water fort in just half a day, then we might as well invite Liu Yi to be Grand Marshal ourselves. In truth, this is a good thing!"

Tang He and Li Shanchang both turned bad news into good, but Zhu Yuanzhang remained deeply agitated. "When will the naval camp finally take the Chief Censor's water fort, and is Kang Maocai really willing to come over or not?"