Chapter 487: Only Those Who Grow Stronger After Defeat Are True Heroes

When Zhang Chao stepped out of the Qianqing Palace for the first time after meeting the emperor alone, he was drenched in sweat. Although the palace had already burned red coals to keep it warm, it was still extremely hot. However, the reason his clothes were soaked was the emperor’s sudden fury. Though he had once impressed everyone in the martial arts competition held by the imperial guards and thus received personal praise from the emperor, he was only allowed to enter the palace occasionally to express his gratitude—without even having to attend court meetings. How could he have ever experienced such a scene before?

What terrified him even more was that he dared not hide anything at that time and told everything as it was. As a result, Zhu Di threw the lid of the teacup at him. He didn’t dare to dodge at all. Although the lid missed him, the loud crash and the subsequent roar still seemed to echo in his ears.

“You wretched scoundrel! Your father spent over a decade in Jiaozhi. Finally returning to the capital, he couldn’t even enjoy a peaceful life. He went back to that place no one else wanted to go—just for his son! And you? Even while leading troops to fight the Japanese pirates, you still thought about courting women! How could Zhang You raise such a good-for-nothing? No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you lack common sense and don’t know when to retreat! Your brother, though a civil official, has more courage than you. I wish it were you who was trapped in Xinghe Fort now! Get out of my sight! I can’t stand seeing such a worthless and irresponsible person!”

“Young master, let’s go quickly. This isn’t a place to stand around in a daze at the entrance of the Qianqing Palace!”

Liu Yongcheng, the eunuch in charge of the imperial horses, climbed the last step. As he passed by Zhang Chao, he gave a calm reminder before entering the main hall. Learning from the serving eunuchs that the emperor was in the East Warm Pavilion, he slowly adjusted his robe before following the corridor to the entrance. After announcing himself through the curtain and receiving a response, someone lifted a corner of the curtain, and he quickly bowed and entered.

“Your humble servant pays his respects to the emperor…”

“What’s the situation in Xinghe?”

Faced with such an impatient tone, Liu Yongcheng couldn’t help but glance secretly at Zhu Di. Seeing his grim expression, he immediately abandoned his habit of speaking indirectly and said concisely, “Just now, Haishou sent a messenger from Xuanfu. It seems that Xinghe only sent messengers to Wanquan for help at first, after which there was no further news. Wanquan sent five groups of scouts in succession, but only one group managed to return safely. They said the Tartars were very powerful this time, with at least tens of thousands of them. Since the exact situation isn’t clear yet, the Marquis of Xingan is worried that launching an attack rashly might fall into the Tartars’ trap, so all the fortresses along the Outer Great Wall are now on high alert.”

“He’s quite cautious!”

Even though Liu Yongcheng had been following Zhu Di since the YanWangfu days, he still couldn’t figure out what the emperor meant from those simple five words. Although Xu Heng, the Marquis of Xingan, was only the grandson of the first Marquis of Xingan, he had enjoyed great favor over the years. Was the emperor now thinking he was truly prudent, or was he dissatisfied with his passive attitude toward warfare?

“The messenger also mentioned that Arutai had fled north, and there were internal conflicts among the Tartars. If they fled north and were in chaos, why would they first disturb Pingping and then head straight for Xinghe so quickly? What advantage is there in capturing Xinghe that would warrant Arutai to make such a large effort?” At this point, Zhu Di slammed his hand on the armrest, not expecting Liu Yongcheng to answer. Instead, he ordered sternly, “Have the Left Guard of Xuanfu send troops from Zhangjiakou Fort, and the Right Guard of Wanquan send troops from Yutai Ridge to ensure the Tartars don’t invade inside the Great Wall. Order Duke Ying of Britain Zhang Fu, Marquis Wu of An Zheng Heng, Marquis Anyuan of Liu Sheng, and the other six ministries to immediately discuss matters related to Xinghe. After they finish, have Zhang Fu come see me.”

After Liu Yongcheng left, Zhu Di angrily stood up and went to the desk. Seeing the mountain of memorials, he grew even angrier. He pointed at the thick stacks and ordered, “Move all these things to my palace. Tell the crown prince that aside from military matters, he should handle all these trivial affairs from now on. Don’t bother me with everything! Also, have Yuan Fang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, come here as soon as possible. I can’t believe he’d take so long for such a small matter!”

Only when the desk was cleared did Zhu Di feel somewhat relieved. At that moment, a young eunuch cautiously reminded him that it was time for dinner, but he ignored him completely. Instead, he picked up the red ink brush and wrote a red character on paper. Squinting at the large red character, he gradually wore a thoughtful expression. Then he put down the brush and turned to gaze at the map covering half of the wall in front of him.

It would be easy for Arutai to bypass Xinghe, and it wasn’t impossible to attack Xinghe before the supply troops arrived. Why such coincidence? It’s true that the Mongols were unafraid of wind and snow, but to suddenly launch a full-scale attack on an earthen fortress in the bitter cold—what on earth were these plunderers thinking? Although Zhang Yue was accompanied by the military commander Wang Huan on this mission, Xinghe wasn’t a strong fortress—could it really hold out? Sending reinforcements was easy, but his generals were good at small-scale battles; if they rushed in recklessly and fell into an ambush, it would be counterproductive. But if Xinghe fell, the consequences would be even worse.

At this moment, Zhu Di, who had always prided himself on his martial prowess, felt somewhat uncertain. He once had a few men under him who could be called great generals—Qiu Fu was one, Zhu Neng was another, and Zhang Yu as well. But Zhang Yu died in battle, Zhu Neng passed away early, and Qiu Fu lost his honor and led his troops to defeat. Among the younger generation, Zhang Fu was undoubtedly the best, but beyond him, there was no one else with the talent to take charge independently. Yet he couldn’t rely on Zhang Fu for everything—he also needed to leave room for his sons and grandsons.

“Your Majesty, Yuan Fang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, requests an audience.”

Hearing this quiet announcement, Zhu Di quickly regained his composure and nodded to have him brought in. After the man entered and bowed, he gestured with his eyes and asked, “How is the investigation progressing?”

“Your Majesty, it turns out that Mu Sheng, the Duke of Qian, did indeed have ulterior motives in arranging a match between Zhang You and that foreign woman. As the successor to his brothers, he governed Yunnan but wasn’t skilled in warfare. Relying on the influence of the Mu family, he managed to keep the local chieftains in check. The chieftain of Mangshi had only one daughter and a nephew. Since this chieftain was always domineering and in excellent health, he planned to find a husband for his daughter so that his grandson could inherit the position. The nephew bribed the Duke of Qian with large sums of money and also arranged for the chieftain of Mangshi to pay an extra 10% in gold in tribute, promising to add another 30% after he became the chieftain. Coincidentally, that foreign woman had saved Zhang You several times and seemed to have feelings for him, so the Duke of Qian used some tactics.”

Seeing that Yuan Fang stopped speaking, Zhu Di snorted in annoyance—he knew exactly what would come next. He had long known Zhang You was patient and wouldn’t rashly bring a woman back even if he became involved with her abroad. If it weren’t for Mu Sheng constantly speaking in his favor in memorials, and because Zhang Fu needed to avoid suspicion, Zhang You wouldn’t have risen from a lowly position to become a general, let alone deputy commander. At this moment, filled with anger, he thought of what Ma Qi had said to him upon returning from Jiaozhi, crying bitterly before him, and his resolve wavered even more.

Yuan Fang, who was good at observing people’s expressions, could easily tell the emperor’s mood changes. Yet he couldn’t turn black into white—since he refused to handle the matter, the emperor would find another way, so he simply stood there silently. After a long while, he heard a faint voice coming from above.
“Someone, go to Wenyuan Pavilion to summon Yang Rong, and then to the Hanlin Academy to call Shen Du over.”
That was the intention to issue an imperial edict. Understanding this well, Yuan Fang quickly took his leave. Only after descending the steps of Qianqing Palace and walking along the main road to Qianqing Gate did he think of a crucial issue—the emperor hadn’t even asked about the fate of Zhang Chao’s suspicious concubine! It was all that reckless man’s doing. Now, killing her wasn’t an option, nor was keeping her—she was clearly a troublesome problem!
He also wondered what had become of Zhang Yue, who was trapped in Xinghe… Even if a decision could be made quickly here and troops sent to rescue him, the round trip would still take three days. Could they hold out that long?
Zhang Chao returned home with a gloomy expression by evening. As soon as the gatekeeper, who had been waiting anxiously, saw him return, he hurriedly sent someone inside to inform them, but no one dared approach Zhang Chao, fearing bad luck. Zhang Chao had no mood to pay attention to the servants’ reactions; he just kept walking. When he was nearly at the second gate, he saw his younger brother Zhang Qi waiting there, and his expression changed slightly.
“Younger brother…”
Zhang Qi rushed up in a few steps, asking anxiously, “How did it go? Did you explain to the emperor?”
“Explain… If I made a mistake, it’s a mistake. Explaining is useless,” Zhang Chao said with a bitter smile. Then he wrapped his arms around Zhang Qi’s arms. “Younger brother, it’s all because of my incompetence. I not only harmed myself but also my family. Maybe I’ll even harm Father. My future seems bleak. Please don’t make the same foolish mistakes as me.”
“Elder brother, why are you being so indecisive? What exactly did the emperor say?”
Zhang Qi was furious and fiercely broke free from Zhang Chao’s grasp. Seeing him smile weakly, he became even angrier. He grabbed him by the shoulders and growled, “Even if it’s demotion or exile, you have to give an explanation! Not to mention Mother, even Grandmother seems indifferent, but she’s actually worried about you! Now that Father, Uncle, and Third Uncle are not here, and the third brother is outside, no matter what setbacks you’ve faced, you must act like an elder brother and show us!”

“It’s just that one won’t be able to inherit an official position in the future; it’s not a big deal… I really wish I could swap places with my third brother. You know, something happened to him.”
At these words, not only Zhang Qi was stunned on the spot, but also Gu Bin, who had just left the Gu family’s residence, and Zhang Jiu, who saw him off, were frozen in shock. Gu Bin rushed forward almost in a flash and asked Zhang Chao, “Cousin, please explain clearly—what do you mean by ‘something happened to my third cousin’?”
Seeing all his brothers staring at him, Zhang Chao hesitated for a moment before explaining, “The emperor said that Arutai’s army has surrounded Xinghe, and my third brother is trapped inside. Communication with Xinghe is cut off now, so we don’t know what’s happened to him.”
“How is that possible! If something happens to my third brother, what will become of my wife and child? And Jingguan is only a few months old!”
Zhang Qi, the most impatient, couldn’t help but stomp his foot angrily, while the others fell silent. After a while, Gu Bin bowed and said, “I need to go see our teacher to inquire about the situation. I’ll be leaving first!”
Watching Gu Bin leave in a hurry, Zhang Jiu quickly regained his composure and said to Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi, word by word, “We need to keep this a secret for as long as possible. Our grandmother can’t bear such a shock, nor can my sisters-in-law! Brother, don’t be disheartened. If one can’t inherit an official position, then one must earn one through hard work. Don’t you have martial skills? A true hero becomes stronger through setbacks!”