Chapter 556: Zhang Yue with Keen Insight, Shi Heng, a Soldier of Ambition

The route designated by the emperor went from the Qulieer River to Kaiping, then via Xuanfu back to Beijing. For Zhang Yue, however, this meant taking a much longer detour. The distance from the Qulieer River to Kaiping was over a thousand li, from Kaiping to Xuanfu another five or six hundred li, plus more than three hundred li from Xuanfu to Beijing—over half of these two thousand li lay in the terrain-rich areas beyond the Great Wall.

Although the imperial army had already intimidated the grasslands and he was accompanied by dozens of elite soldiers, he wasn’t worried about safety. But per the emperor’s orders, his mission wasn’t to rush back to report news, so there was no need to hurry. As a result, his party stood out greatly. Upon arriving in Kaiping, he saw Guo Liang, the governor there, become extremely nervous, almost thinking something serious had happened to the emperor.

At that moment, Zhang Yue couldn’t reveal the emperor’s fierce orders, so he simply took out the imperial sword specially delivered by a eunuch earlier, claiming he was ordered to hurry back to Beijing to fetch grain. Faced with this explanation, Guo Liang was full of doubts, but seeing the imperial sword, he hid his skepticism.

Kaiping was a key location for transporting supplies during this northern expedition. Before the army set out, Zhu Di ordered all fortresses without natural defenses in the vicinity to be moved inside the city. In addition to the supplies being transported, three thousand dan of grain were stored there, and the armory supplied several thousand jin of gunpowder for defense. The army used military carts, with a supply station every ten days’ journey. Guo Liang believed that the so-called shortage of supplies was merely due to Chen Yu, Marquis of Taining, making a timing mistake.

“The caravans going from Kaiping are progressing smoothly. Although northern Zhili has seen continuous heavy rain, making grain transport more difficult, Marquis of Baoding and Earl of Sui’an are working on solutions. I’m not boasting—the grain stored in the forts along the way is enough to sustain the army for ten days. The emperor needn’t worry.”

The more Guo Liang spoke, the more suspicious he became. If Zhang Yue was indeed ordered to fetch grain, why did he have to take a roundabout route through Xuanfu, which was completely normal, and at such a slow pace? But he wasn’t the kind of straightforward warrior, so he kept his doubts to himself. He simply reminded Zhang Yue, “What everyone is worried about now is when the emperor will return. After all, August is approaching, and snow falls early beyond the Great Wall. If a blizzard hits, it could give the Tartars an opportunity. Since the emperor sent you back, did he mention a specific date for returning?”

If only he had!

With a bitter smile, Zhang Yue could only shake his head. “When I returned, some remnants of the Wulangha clan tried to follow the main army to seize their supplies. They were caught between the two forces and fled. The emperor, in a fit of anger, ordered an pursuit, so I’m afraid it will take a few more days, and there’s no set date yet for the troops to return. That’s why the military provisions prepared so far might not be enough—we need to send more over.”

Guo Liang was naturally dissatisfied with this evasive answer. Once Zhang Yue set off again after resting overnight, Guo Liang immediately sent a messenger to the northern expedition camp to verify the situation. Although it was Zhang Fu’s own nephew, a young minister trusted by the emperor, he had to be extremely cautious at such a time. What if something happened to the emperor? How could he bear the responsibility?

Five days later, Zhang Yue finally arrived in Xuanfu. Since Marquis Wu’an Zheng Heng was accompanying the northern expedition, Xuanfu was temporarily under the command of Earl Anping Li An. Zhang Yue knew very little about him, so they didn’t have much to talk about. If it weren’t for the emperor’s orders, he wouldn’t have even bothered making this detour. After a brief conversation, he learned from Li An that Yuan Fang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, had left Xuanfu the previous night, which puzzled him.

With the emperor absent and the Jinyiwei commander not staying in the capital, what was Yuan Fang doing in Xuanfu investigating spies? Since when had he started to neglect his primary duties? But since he had no time to deal with these matters now, he first asked Li An about the important matters.

As Guo Liang had said, all the grain obtained through the previous allocation system had already been sent to Kaiping. Xuanfu was currently only on guard against northern raids, everything seemed normal. However, after resting another night in Xuanfu, just as he was about to set off early in the morning, he ran into several people in front of the general’s residence.

“Wang Yu?”

“Sir… Lord Zhang?”

Zhang Yue remembered that Wang Yu had been appointed as the commander of Liaohaiwei and had already left with Jin Su and his mother-in-law Feng Lan. So he never expected to meet him in a place like Xuanfu. Although he was in a hurry to return to the capital, he still couldn’t help asking, “Weren’t you supposed to be serving in Liaohaiwei? Why have you suddenly come to Xuanfu?”

Before the tall and thin Wang Yu could respond, a very burly bodyguard interjected, “My lord is no longer the commander of Liaohaiwei. By order of the Ministry of War, he was transferred to be the commander of Shencewei before the New Year. He’s in a hurry to meet Earl Anping to discuss the grain shipment. Given the urgency of the military situation, if my lord has anything to say, he can talk later. Please step aside!”

“Shi Heng, shut up!”

Wang Yu quickly spoke up to stop him. Seeing Zhang Yue frown, he regretted even more having let this boy persuade him into not bringing him along, so he reprimanded him harshly. Only after Shi Heng stepped back two steps with a look of grievance did he bow to Zhang Yue and then explain awkwardly, “The transfer is indeed as he said, but I was sent by the Marquis of Baoding to meet the Earl of Anping. Due to the floods in Northern Zhili that destroyed many roads and bridges, and since ships couldn’t be requisitioned quickly for water transport, the Marquis of Baoding, after consulting the Earl, decided to send me to Xuanfu first to transport grain, with the shortfall to be made up later.”

Knowing that Kaiping and the nearby fortresses had already sent military grain forward and had little stock left, Zhang Yue understood immediately. The four granaries in Xuanfu had ample reserves, and temporarily transferring some of them, with the rest to be replenished via grain transported from the capital, was a sound plan. However, having dealt with Wang Yu several times, he had always thought of him as someone who said exactly what he thought. Seeing his expression now seem somewhat unnatural, he grew even more suspicious.

“In that case, you’ve come at just the right time. I was also sent here by order to urge the delivery of military grain.”

Zhang Yue, who had planned to set off right away, changed his mind suddenly. He glanced thoughtfully at this burly but seemingly young personal guard and couldn’t help but ponder this familiar name.

It had to be said that the military generals of the Ming Dynasty seemed to favor the character “Heng”—Marquis of Wu’an Zheng Heng, Earl of Xing’an Xu Heng, Earl of Yingcheng Sun Heng. Now here appeared someone named Shi Heng—could he be the famous figure of the future? For now, though, he seemed like a strong but inexperienced young officer. With some training, he might turn out to be useful. But this matter would have to wait for now.

He said directly to Wang Yu, “Let’s do this: I’ll accompany you to meet the Earl of Anping first, and then I have a few questions for you.”

Having risen from a lowly rank to a fifth-rank commander in just a short time, Wang Yu was already satisfied and had no desire to climb higher. He only wanted to do his job well and avoid mistakes that could harm his family. Yet the information he had received earlier had truly scared him. Now, with Zhang Yue speaking, he felt as if his thoughts had been seen through. It took him a while to realize this, after which he quickly bowed in agreement, feeling relieved.

Although Zhang Yue was a few years younger than him, after dealing with him several times, Wang Yu felt it was always safe to leave things in his hands.

Although Li An, the Marquis of Anping, was a nobleman, he was someone who feared taking responsibility. Zhang Yue was willing to take on the burden, so he was only too happy to do so. After exchanging a few words with Wang Yu, he made room for them. When only the two of them were left, Zhang Yue glanced at the reluctant personal guard who had closed the door and left, then casually asked, “Judging from his age, he seems to be around sixteen or seventeen. Why did you choose such a naive kid? Is he a relative of yours, or someone from your uncle’s family?”
Wang Yu had originally been worried that Zhang Yue would get straight to business right away, but hearing his question, he felt embarrassed yet also somewhat relieved. He quickly explained, “It’s not my uncle. They… they refuse to have anything to do with me now and have moved to the countryside in Tongzhou. He is the nephew of my mother-in-law. Due to some issues at home, he is following me to gain experience so that he can inherit his late father’s military position in the future.”
The nephew of Feng Lan? Then wouldn’t he also be the nephew of his great-aunt, Lady Feng?
“I see. Well, when you return to the capital later, bring him here for me to meet. From the way he looks, he seems like a capable man.”
Though skeptical, Zhang Yue merely asked out of curiosity and had no intention of meddling in others’ family affairs. After mentioning it briefly, he shifted back to the main topic: “You said earlier that you were ordered to borrow grain from Xuanfu’s army, but you seemed hesitant. Have you encountered any difficulties? The Marquis of Baoding and the Marquis of Sui’an are in charge of transporting the grain, and all the manpower in the various prefectures along the way is under their command. Could anyone dare to go against their orders?”
“Including the grain transported before joining the army, over 300,000 dan of grain have already been shipped. But since the emperor is still in the territory of Duoyanwei and there’s no news of his return, the Marquis of Baoding and the Marquis of Sui’an decided to send more grain. So they sent me back to the capital first. But places like Tongzhou and Baoding in North Zhili suffered severe floods earlier, and now they need to deal with disaster relief as well as repair roads and bridges. It’s very difficult to spare more grain. Besides… besides…”
Wang Yu, who had just returned from the capital, found the rest of the sentence extremely difficult to say. As a thousand-household officer, he was considered a high-ranking military officer locally, but in front of the five ministries and six departments in the capital, he meant nothing. After much deliberation, he finally mustered up the courage to say, “Because Minister Guo of the Ministry of Revenue is also overseeing the grain transport outside, I tried to meet Minister Lu of the Ministry of Rites earlier, but he refused to see me under some pretext. However, I heard a rumor. It goes that while the emperor is away, the more grain there is in the army, the greater the danger if there are any rebellious plots in the future…”
Bang—

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Yue couldn’t help slapping the armrest hard, then immediately stood up. As for what was meant by “the greater the crisis,” it went without saying—someone might fear that if the emperor died unnoticed in the army, they would install a new ruler there and later force the capital to acknowledge this new reality. But since Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, had already used the tactic of dressing himself in yellow robes in the army, when had it ever worked again? Was this Lu Zhen’s opinion, or was someone else deliberately spreading such rumors to cause chaos?

“What other rumors are there from the capital?”

“There’s also the saying that although there’s a message from the army to the capital every day, the fastest messages are often from three or four days ago, and they’re all the same kind of good news. Some say these messages are fabricated in the camp.” Wang Yu was clearly uneasy. Seeing Zhang Yue’s brows furrowed tightly, he hesitated for a while before asking, “Lord Zhang, how is the emperor… exactly how is he?”

“The emperor is still fine. You needn’t worry.”

Learning about the situation in the capital, Zhang Yue, who had once been worried about Zhu Di’s life and death, suddenly saw everything clearly. The emperor was extremely suspicious. He had been furious after receiving secret reports from the capital and had asked him those questions. Now, he likely wanted to use this situation to his advantage. The problem was that while the emperor distrusted the crown prince and civil and military officials left in the capital, weren’t those in the capital also wary of the army marching north? With the emperor in charge of the troops outside and the crown prince governing inside, the greatest fear was someone trying to stir up trouble on both sides!

“Wang Yu, don’t overthink the rest. Just stay in Xuanfu and handle the grain transportation. Just now, the Marquis of Anping agreed that 50,000 dan of grain can be dispatched from Xuanfu first. Focus on getting this done. Don’t worry about anything else. I’m setting off back to the capital right now.”

With Zhang Yue’s words, Wang Yu felt all his worries lift. He personally saw those dozens of people leave at full speed down Bingfu Street in front of the general’s residence. Only then did he clench his fists, feeling greatly relieved. He had left his wife and mother-in-law in the capital. If anything really happened there, what could he do? Since Zhang Yue was returning, with his wife’s cousin’s abilities and connections, nothing bad should happen.

Although they had clashed a bit at first when they didn’t know each other, now that he knew who the other person was, Shi Heng, who was following Wang Yu, also watched eagerly as the group disappeared into the dust. After a while, he asked, “Cousin-in-law, was that really the famous Lord Zhang?”

“How, are you afraid now?” Wang Yu turned around, annoyed yet amused, and glared at his troublemaking nephew before delivering a stern lecture. “Since you’ve left home, you should learn to be more cautious and not act so rashly in everything. People like Lord Xiao Zhang, who don’t care about propriety, are the exception. With anyone else, who knows what kind of treatment you might get? Your father worked hard most of his life to turn that position of military commander into an hereditary one. Once he passes away, when you reach the right age, that position will be yours by inheritance. If you don’t put in the effort, things might not go smoothly.”

“Cousin, you underestimate me too much. It’s just a minor position as a military commander! Of course I’ll train hard. When I go to battle, I’ll surely achieve greater feats than my father and hold a higher rank!”

Hearing such bold claims from this young man who showed no fear, Wang Yu couldn’t help but tug at the beard on his chin. It seemed that contentment only applied to him. This sixteen-year-old, tall and strong, willing to work hard, might indeed become a brave general in the future. If so, passing the military selection exam in two years should be easy.