Chapter 810
Taking Over Jinling
The covenant was drafted on the spot.
Li Shanchang wrote down the instructions, Su Yunjin dictated them, and Ma Xiuying checked them one by one. Xu Da and Li Wenzhong listened in, while Chen Xiaohu and Ni Wenjun supervised. This time, Chen Jie gave Su Yunjin enough authority, and as long as the goal of peacefully taking over Jiangnan could be achieved, Ma Xiuying could be given some preferential treatment.
The terms were written in great detail, down to the time limit for the handover of each prefecture and county, the departure or retention of each general, and the amount of money and grain for each transaction.
After finishing writing, Su Yunjin used her seal—"Seal of the Empress Dowager of the King of Han." Ma Xiuying also used her seal—"Seal of the Princess Consort of the King of Wu."
Two copies of the alliance agreement were made. One was taken back to Jiangzhou by Su Yunjin, requesting Chen Jiusi to use the seal of the King of Han. The other copy was left in Jinling, to be exchanged between the two parties after the King of Han used the seal.
By the time the matter was finished, it was nearly noon.
Su Yunjin took her leave. Ma Xiuying saw her off at the gate of the mansion.
Before parting, Su Yunjin suddenly turned around, looked at Ma Xiuying, and said in a low voice, "Sister Ma, today's matter concerns both countries, please forgive my rudeness."
Ma Xiuying bowed slightly: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. You have already given my sister a lot of face today."
The two women addressed each other as "sister" and "younger sister," expressing their affection, while "Your Highness" was a matter of official business. It was truly cruel to bring these two close friends together to discuss a matter concerning the life and death of Jiangnan, but what could be done?
Su Yunjin insisted on coming herself because, in her words, her sister Xiuying was strong-willed, and if anyone else came, they would surely humiliate her.
It would be better if I did it myself; that way, my sister would be more comfortable.
Su Yunjin gave Ma Xiuying a deep look, then turned and mounted his horse, leading the delegation away to the resting place prepared for them.
The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance.
Ma Xiuying stood in front of the mansion gate, watching the delegation disappear at the end of the long street, when suddenly she swayed and fell backward.
"Madam!" Cui'er exclaimed.
Xu Da and Li Wenzhong rushed forward to support her. Their hands touched her plain white dress beneath her cloak, which was soaked with cold sweat and icy cold.
"I'm fine." Ma Xiuying steadied herself, pushed them away, and stood up straight. Her face was as white as paper, but her eyes remained clear.
"Xu Da, Wen Zhong, Shan Chang." She looked at the three men, her voice soft but each word clear, "The alliance agreement has been finalized, with a three-month deadline. In these three months, we still have much to do."
She turned and walked into the mansion, her back straight and her steps steady.
But only Xu Da and Li Wenzhong, who had helped her up, knew that her body had been trembling for a moment.
It trembled like a candle flickering in the wind.
But she held on.
She held on when everyone thought she would collapse.
For this city, for these people, for that person who is no longer here, and for the promises once made.
Expel the barbarians and restore China.
She must stand firm at this last post; she cannot fall before then.
Su Yunjin arrived at their camp with a heavy heart. At this moment, Chen Xiaohu asked, "Sister-in-law, are you alright?"
Su Yunjin waved her hand, glanced at Chen Xiaohu, and then looked at her most trusted cousin, asking, "If it had been Zhu Chongba who returned from Poyang Lake, could I have been as strong as Ma Xiuying?"
This question stunned Chen Xiaohu. He thought about it for a long time, but he didn't dare to think about the answer.
Ni Wenjun, standing to the side, spoke up: "There are no 'what ifs.' A victory is a victory, so the situation you described no longer exists!"
Ni Wenjun's words were cold yet powerful, shattering this unrealistic idea. There were no "what ifs," nothing could be assumed.
Su Yunjin then realized what was happening and said, "I was overthinking it. By the way, when will today's alliance document arrive in Jiujiang Prefecture?"
Ni Wenjun said, "If things go quickly, it will take two days."
Su Yunjin nodded.
The treaty was sent up the river and quickly arrived at Jiujiang Prefecture. Chen Jiu Si sat in Jiujiang Prefecture and looked at the treaty, saying, "Our princess is too kind. These treaties are enough to treat Zhu Chongba and his subordinates well."
Chen Chun said from the side, "The princess is kind-hearted. Why don't we send another letter to Tiger Commander and the others and ask them to talk again?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiu Si shook his head and said, "Since I sent the Princess Consort to negotiate, it's because I intend to give preferential treatment to Zhu Chong Ba and his subordinates."
"Although we have a struggle for the world, overall we are all righteous people, and Ma Xiuying has had a tough time too."
As Chen explained, he picked up his Han King's seal and pressed it onto the covenant, saying, "Let's do it according to the covenant."
After the covenant was stamped with the seal of the King of Han, it was sent to Jinling by express courier. At the same time, Chen Jiu Si's "Proclamation to Pacify the People" and "Order for Reception" were also sent to various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan.
The proclamation used mild language, emphasizing that "King Han is benevolent and cannot bear to see the south of the Yangtze River suffer from war again," and promising that "those who surrender will be reinstated to their original positions; the people will be able to live in peace."
The regulations were so detailed that they were strict—from the handover of city defenses, the inventory of the treasury, and the registration of households, to the assessment of officials, the determination of taxes, and the allocation of troops, everything was governed by rules.
On the first day of the fourth month, the first batch of Han army officials arrived in Jinling.
The leader was a middle-aged civil official named Shen Jing, formerly the chief secretary of Chen Jiu Si's Huangzhou Prefecture and Hu Weiyong's deputy, known for his shrewdness and competence. He led thirty assistants and two hundred guards to meet with the officials sent by Xu Da at Shili Pavilion, ten miles outside Jinling City.
"Lord Shen, you must be tired from your journey." Li Shanchang, the person in charge of the Wu King's side, was wearing a dark blue Taoist robe and had a calm expression. "The Han King's edict has arrived. Please enter the city to handle the handover matters."
Shen Jing dismounted and returned the salute, but his gaze swept over the Jinling city wall behind Li Shanchang. The flags on the city wall had been changed; they were no longer the large "Wu" flags, but hastily made "Han" flags. The garrison was still composed of former Wu soldiers, but most of their armor and weapons had been confiscated, and they patrolled with only wooden spears.
"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Li." Shen Jing smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. "I wonder if the treasury, household registers, and military registers are ready?"
"Everything is ready." Li Shanchang stepped aside to make way. "Please."
The delivery began at the Jinling Treasury.
When the storehouse door opened, Shen Jing and the clerk behind him were both taken aback.
The warehouses weren't exactly empty, but they were certainly not full. The grain stores were only 30% full, the copper coins were less than 100,000 strings, and the silk was no more than 1,000 bolts. The most valuable items were the armor—3,000 sets of chainmail, 500 sets of lamellar armor, over 10,000 bows and crossbows, and countless swords and spears. But these were all military equipment and couldn't be sold to pay the army.
"That's all?" Shen Jing frowned.
Li Shanchang calmly said, "Last year's battle at Hongdu and this year's battle at Poyang Lake have depleted the Nanjing treasury. What remains is the surplus grain that General Xu brought back from Hongdu."
Shen Jing remained silent and gestured to his assistant to count the items.
He walked to the back of the storeroom and casually opened a wooden box—inside were account books, neatly stacked. He pulled one out and opened it; the records were detailed, the income and expenditure were clear, and even the allocation of a hundred catties of grain had the signature of the person in charge.
The accounts are cleared.
But the library is empty.
Next is the household registration. Nanjing and the seven surrounding counties have 113,000 registered households and a population of over 470,000.
This figure eased Shen Jing's expression slightly—Jiangnan was prosperous, and population was wealth. But he soon discovered that the "gentry" and "wealthy households" columns in the register were mostly empty.
"Why is that?" he asked, pointing to the roster.
Li Shanchang was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Does Lord Shen know Lan Yu and Mu Ying?"
Shen Jing's pupils contracted.
Of course he knew. Lan Yu, Zhu Chongba's adopted son, was brave and skilled in battle, with a fiery temper. Mu Ying, Zhu Chongba's adopted son, was calm and intelligent, adept at governing local areas. These two were renowned in Jiangnan and extremely difficult to deal with. "A little over a month ago, before the alliance was finalized," Li Shanchang said softly, as if talking about something unrelated to himself, "Generals Lan and Mu, under the pretext of 'suppressing the remnants of the tyrannical emperor and punishing treacherous merchants,' led their troops out of the city. In one day, they destroyed seventeen powerful gentry fortresses, confiscating countless properties. The money and grain they obtained were used as military supplies; the captured men were incorporated into the army. After that... they set sail eastward and disappeared without a trace."
Shen Jing's face darkened completely.
Where did you go?
“Fusang,” Li Shanchang uttered. “Some maritime merchants saw their fleet, about two hundred ships, gathering off the coast of Songjiang, heading east. Before leaving, they burned all the granaries, workshops, and shipyards that they couldn’t take with them.”
The warehouse was empty because the money and food had been exhausted.
The wealthy and powerful families disappeared because Lan Yu had killed and robbed them all.
The workshops and shipyards were burned down because they could not be left to future generations.
This was a decisive blow. It was the last and most ruthless counterattack by Zhu Chongba's former subordinates before their complete defeat—what I cannot have, you cannot have easily either.
Shen Jing's face was extremely pale.
Over the next two weeks, similar reports poured into Nanjing from various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan, and were then forwarded to Jiujiang Prefecture by Shen Jing.
Suzhou Daily: Of the seventeen weaving workshops, nine were burned down; more than three hundred skilled weavers were "recruited" by Lan Yu to join the army.
Hangzhou Daily: Mu Ying sailed away all forty ocean-going vessels stored in the port of the Maritime Trade Office; he also took away the shipyard craftsmen, nautical charts, and shipbuilding plans.
Songjiang Daily: Of the eighteen saltworks, more than half of the salt producers have fled; the stored salt was "borrowed" by the remnants of Wu's army, who claimed it was "for military supplies."
Huzhou Daily: The granary was burned down, and 100,000 shi of grain were reduced to ashes.
Even more troublesome are the local forces.
Before their retreat, Lan Yu and Mu Ying not only robbed people and money, but also "cleaned up" the local area—all the wealthy and powerful people closely related to the Wu King's Mansion were either raided or coerced, and the rest were either terrified or already at odds with the Wu King's Mansion. When the Han army officials arrived in the area, they often faced the predicament of having no one to use, no food to collect, and no soldiers to deploy.
Shen Jing sat in the temporary office of the Jinling Garrison Command, looking at the pile of documents on his desk with a furrowed brow.
He originally thought that taking over Jiangnan would be a feast—a rich land with abundant money and grain, and a dense population. With a little reorganization, it would become the foundation of the Han King. But now, the feast has become leftovers, leftovers that have been licked and spat on.
"Sir, urgent report from Zhenjiang." The clerk rushed in. "Three more granaries have been burned down. The guards said it was done by remnants of the Wu army, but there's no trace of them."
Shen Jing rubbed his temples: "Understood. Issue an order to all prefectures and counties: starting immediately, strictly investigate arson and looting; anyone who takes advantage of the chaos to cause trouble shall be executed on the spot. Also, send a letter to Jiangzhou, requesting the Prince of Han to quickly allocate funds and grain to appease the people."
"But what about the King of Han..." The official hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Shen Jing knew what he wanted to say. Although the Han army won the Battle of Poyang Lake, the casualties were heavy and the money and food were consumed in great quantities. Although Huangzhou Prefecture was rich, it used up 50 to 60% of its stored grain in this battle. Originally, the remaining grain was to be stored for the Northern Expedition, but unexpectedly, it had to be used to fill the deficit in Jiangnan.
What is this called!
In early May, Xu Da and Li Wenzhong dismissed approximately 50,000 former troops of the King of Wu.
According to the alliance, they could leave safely with their families and personal guards, and the King of Han even paid them severance pay.
Ma Xiuying did not leave. She moved to Jiangzhou with Zhu Biao. Chen Jiusi kept his promise, granting her a residence, thirty servants, and an annual stipend. The courtyard was not large, but it was clean and elegant, both within and outside the high walls.
She lived a secluded life, rarely leaving her courtyard. Her days were spent teaching her son, embroidering, and praying to Buddha, like any ordinary widow.
Only when the night was deep and quiet would she open the back window and look southeast—that was Jinling, that was Yingtian, the place Zhu Chongba had fought for for twenty years but ultimately failed to defend.
Su Yunjin visited her once during that time.
The two women sat facing each other in the courtyard, brewing tea in silence. Finally, Su Yunjin put down her teacup and said softly, "The Prince of Han knows about Lan Yu and Mu Ying's journey to Japan. He is very angry, but... there's nothing he can do about it."
Ma Xiuying listened quietly without answering.
"The wealthy and powerful families of Jiangnan were slaughtered. Their grain and money workshops were either looted or destroyed." Su Yunjin looked at her. "Was this your doing, or Xu Da's?"
Ma Xiuying finally raised her eyes, her gaze calm: "You think this is our idea?"
Su Yunjin was stunned?
“Jiangnan is a piece of fat meat, but once you eat it, you have to be able to digest it.” Ma Xiuying said slowly. “Yun Jin, the difficulties you see are only what is in front of you. The King of Han’s anger is also superficial. Lan Yu and Mu Ying, two so-called smart guys, are just taking the blame for others.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yunjin looked at Ma Xiuying and said, "Are you saying that all of this was actually a scheme orchestrated by my husband?"
Ma Xiuying looked at Su Yunjin and said, "Politics is not something women should get involved in. Yunjin, you are not someone who should wallow in this quagmire."
"Maybe."
Su Yunjin sighed, took a sip of tea, and talked for a while longer.
Su Yunjin got up and left. As she reached the courtyard gate, she turned back and saw Ma Xiuying still sitting there, her back straight and thin, like a nail driven into the land of Jiangnan.
This nail won't hurt anyone, but it will always remind those who sit on this land—this place once belonged to the Zhu family.
Sister Ma, why do you have to do this? If you want to... never mind.
In mid-May, Chen Jiusi formally accepted Jinling and renamed it "Yingtian," signifying his formal acceptance of Zhu Chongba's power and territory.
The ceremony to accept the emperor's inauguration was grand, but it was obvious to everyone that the new capital had a superficial liveliness. Although the shops on the streets had reopened, there were few customers; although there were voices in the marketplace, they were mostly family members of Han soldiers with northern accents; the imperial court was full of newly promoted officials, but in the local prefectures and counties, most of the officials were still old officials from the Wu King's court, barely managing to keep things afloat.
The vitality of Jiangnan cannot be restored overnight.
Meanwhile, in the north, preparations were also in full swing. Some even claimed that Emperor Yuan Shundi had borrowed 400,000 troops from the three khanates—the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, and the Ögedei Khanate—to amass troops in the north, indicating a trend toward marching south and conquering the Jiangnan region.
The once proud Khan had four sons. His fourth son founded the current tyrannical Khanate, while his other three sons also established their own empires. Now, the Great Yuan Dynasty is asking the Golden Horde for help and sending 200,000 troops. The Chagatai Khanate and the Ögedei Khanate are also sending 100,000 troops each to assist in the war.
For a time, the prestige of the Qianlong Emperor in the north soared.
Chen Jiu Si sat in the newly renovated Fengtian Hall, looking at two reports on his desk.
One document was a financial estimate of Jiangnan submitted by the Ministry of Revenue—annual revenue was less than 30% of pre-war levels, and a large amount of investment was needed to restore production.
One was an urgent border defense report submitted by the Ministry of War—the Yuan navy had begun to take shape and could sail south along the Grand Canal at any time.
He rubbed his temples, suddenly recalling the words Zhu Chongba uttered before his death on Luoxing Mound:
"The world is too big, it's too tiring to sit alone."
At the time, he just thought it was the loser's sour remarks.
Now, he seems to understand.
Footsteps sounded outside the hall, and Su Yunjin entered carrying a bowl of ginseng soup, gently placing it on the table.
"My husband, it's time to rest."
Chen Jiu Si looked up at her and suddenly asked, "Yun Jin, do you think Zhu Chong Ba would laugh at me if he were still alive and saw this situation?"
Su Yunjin was silent for a moment, then said softly, "He won't laugh. He'll say... this is just the beginning."
Chen Jiu was stunned for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. The laughter echoed in the empty hall, carrying an indescribable desolation.
"Yes, this is just the beginning."
And isn't all of this what I wanted?
The broken Jiangnan, the Jiangnan without its gentry, is nothing but a blank sheet of paper, and I am the most skilled at painting on that blank sheet. A year, a year is enough to clean up this mess, and then we can launch the Northern Expedition! (End of Chapter)