Chapter 623: Reports from the Enemy Camp

Once June passed, the scorching summer heat faded. Although it was still hot during the day under the sun, nights gradually cooled down. As a result, government offices typically had two layers of curtains—bamboo curtains during the day and cloth curtains at night—to block sandstorms and provide shelter from heat and cold. The Department of Geography under the Ministry of War, located in the innermost courtyard of the ministry’s complex, followed this practice as well. Unlike the courtyards of the other three departments, its walls were about twenty feet high, and it was guarded by strong soldiers on rotation.

Here were kept the most accurate maps of the country and various geographical records, along with military intelligence from all corners of the realm. This information was compiled by officials and reported to the ministers, who would then present it to the emperor. Although it seemed there were only two senior officials, one junior official, two clerks, and four scribes, they actually oversaw hundreds of spies in the north, Annam, southwest, southeast, and other regions. In times of war, these spies, along with daily reports from various military units, could be overwhelming.

Although one should wear ordinary clothes while working in an office, the heat was so intense that once formal meetings were over, everyone took off their official robes. A middle-aged man sitting by the window wore a blue robe as heopeneded open a sealed letter, frowning in frustration. “More reports from the north? What on earth are those spies in Oirat and Tatar doing? I get several top-secret reports almost every day. Are they Arutai’s confidants or Oirat leaders? Everything seems urgent!”

Zhang Yue had been working in the Department of Geography for a few months and had gradually become familiar with the procedures. With so many matters on his mind, he felt overwhelmed. Without looking up, he said, “Yesterday, there were three urgent reports from the Tatars, three from the Oirats, one from Annam, and one from Liuzhou. The rest were ordinary documents of no importance. Among those marked as top-secret and urgent, none were truly critical.”

Tang Yong, the senior official of the Department of Geography, had risen through the ranks from clerk to junior official and knew the place inside and out. He had only held this position for just over a year. Initially, he thought Zhang Yue was there to take his place and felt resentful. But when he heard rumors that the court planned to appoint another senior official and two clerks to the department, he calmed down somewhat, and his attitude toward Zhang Yue improved. Being calm by nature, he ignored his colleagues’ chatter and carefully examined the documents in his hands.

“What’s this? Someone from the enemy camp has come to Kaiping to surrender, claiming that Arutai will invade the borders again this autumn?”

Zhang Yue unfolded another urgent letter and scanned the thin sheet of paper in one glance, suddenly exclaiming in surprise. It would have been fine if it mentioned something else, but the name “Alu Tai” was enough to stir up concerns among many people in the court. Immediately, the other four people in the room put down their tasks and gathered around. Tang Yong, the leader, took the paper from Zhang Yue and glanced at it for a moment before his expression darkened sharply.

“This was sent back from Kaiping, with the seal of Marquis Wu’an on it… There are many spies under the Ministry of War, yet such an important piece of information wasn’t mentioned before!” Recalling Li Qing’s criticism that they hadn’t noticed these clues among the piles of official documents, Tang Yong’s frown deepened even more. “The letter doesn’t even state the identity of those who surrendered—how can we be so certain of this matter? Damn it, if only the Ministry of War had more spies in the north!”

The people from the Ministry of War had long held this thought, so almost all of them nodded at that moment. Zhang Yue couldn’t help but recall how he had used the Jinyiwei to gather various intelligence back in Qingzhou, almost eradicating more than half of the White Lotus Sect in Shandong. The Jinyiwei had a vast network, but its main role was to supervise officials, with intelligence gathering being secondary. As for the Ministry of War, although it had its own intelligence network, it was far from perfect. Take this military report—since it came from those who surrendered, its authenticity was questionable. The document was also vague, making it hard to determine whether it could be trusted or not. Yet it couldn’t be ignored!

“Lord Zhang, this is a serious matter. Let’s go see Minister Zhao and Minister Li together.”

Zhao Jin was still in charge of military garrisons, while Li Qing handled military affairs directly. But in case of urgent reports, Li Qing wouldn’t bypass Zhao Jin. After hearing Tang Yong and Zhang Yue’s report, the two didn’t dare delay. They carefully inquired about the situation and immediately took the original report to the palace to see the emperors. By afternoon, an imperial order came to retrieve the Ministry of War’s military reports from the past month. Soon after, news spread that the emperor had summoned the governors of the five military regions and the ministers of the six departments to hold a meeting. Immediately, offices everywhere became busy and tense.

Since all these matters were related to the Ministry of War, and the Department of Local Administration was particularly affected, there was no longer any sign of the usual leisurely atmosphere. Whether it was officials or clerks, everyone moved in a hurry, afraid to delay. It wasn’t until the evening hour that they finally finished all their tasks. Zhang Yue, who was on duty that night, stayed behind. He had been busy all afternoon and only now felt extremely hungry. As he sipped tea, a servant entered to change the curtains, followed by someone carrying a food box.

He placed the food box on the cedar table beside him and said with a smile, “I saw it was busy in there earlier, so I didn’t dare disturb. This food was sent by someone from your residence. I initially put it on the stove in the common kitchen; it should still be warm.”

Night duty meant working throughout the night, with no rest even the next day—only a brief nap at noon at most. It was extremely exhausting. So although Zhang Yue usually acted like his colleagues, Du Wan would always have food sent from home whenever he was on duty. Now, with an empty stomach, seeing the three-layered food box made him even hungrier. After the servant left, he opened it. The first layer contained rice and two kinds of vegetables; the second layer had pastries; the third layer held a small jar of soup. Starving, he devoured the food quickly, leaving only a plate of pastries for supper. He then walked around the room for a while.

In those days, early to bed and early to rise was highly valued. Court officials had to attend meetings before dawn, especially so. It was only because Zhu Di grew impatient sitting still in his later years that the meeting system became less strict, allowing many officials to get an extra half hour of sleep. Although it wasn’t too late yet, as the night deepened and Zhang Yue drank several cups of strong tea, he gradually felt drowsy. Though he still looked at the things on the table and held a pen in his hand, the words on the paper seemed to blur, and yawns came one after another. Eventually, he stood up and did some exercises to refresh himself. Just as he sat back down at the table, he heard voices coming from outside.

The Department of Local Administration was a secure place where outsiders rarely entered, and even other officials from the Ministry of War seldom came, let alone make noise. Normally, servants and clerks spoke in hushed tones, and even when handling matters inside, they discussed things in low voices. So at this moment, he was greatly surprised. Before he could ask anything, the curtain at the door was pulled back. Seeing two people enter one after another, he was first shocked, then quickly stood up to greet them.

At the front, Zhu Di wore a crown adorned with two dragons playing with a pearl, along with wings-shaped decorations, and was dressed in a purple robe with a gold-threaded collar and narrow sleeves. Zhu Zhanji stood beside him, supporting him. Due to an illness he had suffered recently, Zhu Di’s complexion and spirits were not in their best, so after glancing around, he called Zhang Yue over. He went straight to the desk and sat down, seeing a map laid out on it. The Oirats were marked in red pen, and since the ink was still wet, he smiled indifferently. When he noticed several sheets of paper beneath it, he picked them up and examined them carefully.

Seeing Zhu Di bent over studying those papers, Zhu Zhanji said to Zhang Yue, “Back in the day, the founding emperor inspected the Ministry of War at night. Since no one was on duty there and an urgent military report arrived, he angrily removed the ministry’s sign. Tonight, Grandpa has come unannounced to see if the ministry is slacking off. Along the way, I saw lights on everywhere—thankfully, you’re still diligent.”

Before Zhang Yue could respond, Zhu Di, who had already finished reading the papers, raised his head. As he pondered the series of words written by Zhang Yue, his expression softened slightly. “Just now, several commanders and Zhao Jin and Li Qing were arguing fiercely in the Qianqing Palace. Marquis Anyuan volunteered to lead the troops, while Li Qing said they shouldn’t act rashly. But just now, Yuan Fang reported news from the Jinyiwei and Xuanfu Garrison—somehow, Arutai seems to intend to march south again. The previous military reports claiming Arutai had united various tribes and was very powerful were all just bluffing!”

Even Zhu Zhanji had not heard of this last piece of information and was stunned. Zhang Yue, who had previously gathered various spy reports over the past few days and made some guesses while comparing them, suddenly lit up.

“Just at the end of May, Arutai’s forces fought a major battle against Prince Tuohuan of the Oirat Choros tribe and suffered a crushing defeat. Countless people and livestock were lost, and now their tribe is in disarray, fleeing north. How could they have the leisure to march south! Yuan Fang says this information came from a merchant caught engaging in illegal trade by the Jinyiwei, and he guarantees it’s accurate. Since the Jinyiwei can’t be wrong, then the informant must be lying!”

Zhang Yue had spent the entire night thinking that although Arutai needed to use military force to rebuild his dominance, it was incomprehensible that he would keep provoking after already being defeated and fleeing once under Zhu Di’s command. Now it seemed the source of this information was problematic! Yuan Fang’s move was truly brilliant. If it weren’t for knowing that Arutai had already suffered a major defeat at Tuohuan’s hands and no longer had the strength or means to invade, Zhu Di might have had to lead another expedition!

“Your Majesty is truly wise!” He bowed deeply, then said slowly and clearly, “Therefore, I believe the court knows too little about the situation among the captives, and most of the information is delayed or inaccurate. On the contrary, the Tatars and Oirats, as they often take captives and promote them to official positions within the empire, make it easier for spies to gather information about our court. If military reports are slow to arrive, even the insights of the Ministry of War and the Five Bureaus will be of no use. I think the spy network under the Bureau of Geography should be reorganized, with both the channels of communication and sources of information needing to be reassessed.”
“Good, it’s approved!”
Zhu Di glanced at what Zhang Yue had just written and was quite impressed by his sharpness. Already annoyed at having been manipulated before, he had this idea in mind. After a brief pause, he spoke in a deep voice again, “Someone else will go to deal with the Oirats; you need not worry about this matter. Shang Xirong, the deputy director of the Ministry of Works, is repairing the city walls in the old city of Danning. It has been occupied by the Wulangha people for many years, but thanks to the Duke of Yingguo, there’s no need to worry about loss. During the initial discussions among the Five Bureaus, the Duke of Cheng also recommended the Duke of Yingguo to lead troops against Arutai, but now that’s not necessary.”
Although he spoke casually, Zhu Di was not entirely pleased. Staring at the wooden lattice windows, it seemed he could see even farther ahead.
“Have Marquis Wu’an send that captive to the capital. I want to question him personally!”