Chapter 777: Bloodshed in Battle

On November 23rd, the large armies by land and water finally set off from Sha River. Unlike Zheng He’s treasure ships and flat-bottomed boats on the canals, these warships were not uniform—there were requisitioned civilian boats, repaired warships, and vessels built recently by the pontoon bridge unit… Yet regardless, the array of boats on the river still exuded considerable deterrence.

Zhang Yue, Shi An, and Chen Yong boarded Commander Chen Hua’s flagship. Compared to the other boats, this two-story vessel appeared somewhat aged, with visible signs of repairs and repainting. On the first day after setting sail, everything was peaceful. On the second day, seeing Chen Hua staying close by Zhang Yue’s side as they walked around the ship, Peng Shisan, who was following behind, suddenly sighed, “Back then, I arrived at Qinghua Prefecture on this very ship with the Duke of Yingguo. Who would have thought I’d ride it again in my lifetime?”

Chen Hua glanced at Peng Shisan carefully before smiling and saying, “I suppose this is the brave warrior who accompanied the Duke of Yingguo to pacify Jiaozhi back then? Things seem similar now as they were then… May I ask Lord Zhang, if this army were to suffer defeat, would the Duke of Yingguo resign and go to war?”

As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell over the ship.

Though it was winter, the winters in Jiannan were not like those in the north. Lush trees could still be seen along both banks of the river. As the ships moved forward, the sound of water filled the air, with waterbirds fishing from time to time. Yet the soldiers on the hundreds of boats at most glanced briefly; even the most impatient ones did not act. Some officers, after handling their duties, would look out from the bow and marvel at the tranquility of the moment.

When Chen Hua spoke, Zhang Yue happened to see a waterbird dive into the water. Soon after, as it flapped its wings and took off again, a wriggling fish was stuck in its sharp beak. Without answering Chen Hua, Zhang Yue turned to Peng Shisan and said, “Old Peng, test your archery skills!”

Having followed Zhang Yue for many years and sharing a deep understanding, Peng Shisan nocked an arrow and shot immediately. With a soft sound of the bowstring, the waterbird, which had just caught food with great effort, was hit by an arrow. It spat out the fish instantly, flapped its wings weakly twice, and plunged back into the water. Yet in a short while, it surfaced, swimming away despite its injury. At that moment, Chen Hua beside Zhang Yue was stunned before reluctantly praising, “What excellent archery!”

Zhang Yue naturally didn’t mistake these insincere compliments. He smiled slightly and said, “Commander Chen thinks this arrow was fierce in its momentum, but it’s actually nothing special? There’s an old saying in the Central Plains: ‘When the plover and the clam fight, the fisherman reaps the benefits.’ But to be a fisherman, one must have the skills to do so. Just like Old Peng earlier—his arrow did hit the bird, but unfortunately, not only did he lose the fish, but the bird also escaped wounded. Fortunately, it’s not some aggressive bird that can summon its kind in large numbers; otherwise, things would get really troublesome.”

Realizing Zhang Yue was using an analogy, Chen Hua became much more cautious. He forced a smile but stayed silent.

Determined to be blunt, Zhang Yue continued softly, “There’s one thing Commander Chen might not know yet. A Shenwei warship has already arrived in Haidong Prefecture, delivering a secret letter from Eunuch Zheng. This so-called Chen Tianbao, a descendant of the Chen family, is merely a puppet put up by Champa. Champa is a small country easy to manipulate, but it’s not good enough!”

Chen Hua was in his early thirties, with dark brown skin and a somewhat short stature, but he was quite sturdy. The sudden arrow attack after his earlier words, followed by Zhang Yue’s remarks, made him seem uneasy. Upon hearing the last sentence, his expression changed abruptly. The longer he remained silent, the more talkative Zhang Yue became, mentioning Mu Sheng, who was about to lead troops from Mengzi County in Yunnan, to Lord Liang Ming of Baoding, who was about to bring reinforcements to Jiaozhou. Finally, he added calmly one last sentence.

“Commander Chen just asked about the Duke of Yingguo. Actually, the Duke once wrote to me. He entered Jiaozhou four times and pacified it completely—eliminating the Hu family, the Chen Jian and Chen Jikuo brothers, and all the remaining rebels. Now that he’s older, he wants to follow in the footsteps of the Mu family by settling in Jiaozhou to retire. After all, the climate there is much better than the dry cold of the north.”

At these words, Chen Hua gasped sharply. His father had served under Zhang Fu and must have told him many times about that famous general—serious and unsmiling in peacetime, yet commanding with ease in battle. He was kind to the people but ruthless toward enemies. Chen Hua had witnessed firsthand the thousands of corpses piled up outside Jiaozhou’s city walls over a decade ago, a sight he could never forget.

He forced a smile and said, “That’s the Grand Tutor, the Duke of Yingguo. How could the emperor bear to let him go?”

“As Commander Chen said, if we lose this time, the Emperor will surely release them.” Zhang Yue gave Chen Hua a half-smiling glance before adding calmly, “It’s just a joke. The scale of this rebellion is far less than that of the Hu family father and son and Chen Jianding uncle and nephew back then, not to mention the Lan Shan noble Li Li. With land and naval forces advancing together, we will surely make some gains. Besides, Eunuch Zheng has already led the Divine Might ships to punish Champa, cutting off their supply line. The rebel troops will be isolated, and we can easily wipe them out then!”
Peng Shisan stood behind Zhang Yue, observing Chen Hua with interest. The people of Annam were naturally aggressive. Even during the Chen dynasty’s rule here, there were constant uprisings throughout the country. The same was true after the establishment of the Jiaozhi Administrative Commission. From what he had heard, even if this veteran naval officer had no intention of joining the rebels, he likely had other ambitions. Now, after shooting that arrow and Zhang Yue saying those words that sounded like threats yet also persuasion, this man must be feeling anxious.
Although sailing on rivers was much safer than on seas, after standing by the railing for a while and exchanging a few irrelevant remarks, Zhang Yue pretended to feel seasick and returned to his cabin accompanied by Peng Shisan and the others.
Watching Zhang Yue’s steady steps and recalling his carefully thought-out and confident words, Chen Hua knew full well it was just an excuse. He stood there for a while longer before turning and strode back to his own cabin. At the entrance to his cabin, four strong guards were standing guard.
“Keep watching. Don’t let anyone in!”
Once inside, he saw a man dressed as a personal attendant smiling and greeting him. Usually very polite to him, this time he couldn’t muster any smile and felt even more disgusted. He simply nodded briefly, dismissed the messenger who had once stirred his emotions, and sat down in the chair in the center. When the man approached again to remind him that everything was arranged and ask if he would carry out the plan as planned the next day, he put down the water pot he was drinking and stared coldly at him.
“You said before that your master agreed that as long as I lead the troops to support them, I would become the Prime Minister of Annam in the future?”
“That’s right. Why does General Chen still doubt my words? It was the King himself who said it—none of it is a lie.”

“The Great King? I actually want to ask—back then, the Ming people did try to find descendants of the Chen family, but neither Uncle Chen Jianding nor his nephew showed up. So how come now there’s this so-called legitimate heir? Besides, after all these years, where did all these loyal followers come from? Where did the money come from to buy weapons and recruit soldiers? And where did the people come from to serve as officers and lead troops?”
Chen Hua had always treated him with respect, but now, faced with such a sudden attack, the man was utterly stunned. Wiping his eyes quickly, he didn’t dare answer directly, instead putting on a flattering smile: “Fourth Brother, since the Great King has already seized control of the situation, what’s there to talk about from the past? You must know how much power the Prime Minister of Annam holds—it’s far better than being just a minor commander in the Ming army! Besides, the Great King is the legitimate heir of the Chen family, and everyone already acknowledges it…”
“Acknowledges it? Those people only do so because they’ve gained some advantage from the Ming. As long as someone claims to be a descendant of the Chen family and is willing to lead an uprising, they’ll acknowledge him! Descendants of the Chen family… You and I are both descendants of the Chen family. How can some unknown guy become the Great King?”
“Fourth Brother, you… you can’t go back on your word! Besides, our bloodlines are too distant. Even if we claim to be kings, no one will believe us…”
“What going back on my word? What bloodlines! You call me Fourth Brother, but don’t forget—we’re not even remotely related! Don’t think you can hide your schemes from others. That Zheng He has already led his fleet to Champa to demand answers! And even if we win against the Ming army this time, that Zhang Fu—that butcherly ruthless Duke of Ying—might volunteer to garrison Jiaozhi. By then, no one will survive! Moreover, Chen Tianbao isn’t even comparable to the Hu father and son back then, let alone Chen Jianding or Chen Jikuo. He’s not even as good as Li Li. That Zhang Yue has already noticed it—definitely noticed it…”
The enraged Chen Hua grew more and more fierce as he spoke. Seeing that the other man still persistently tried to persuade him, he suddenly drew the sword at his waist and lunged at him like a madman. The messenger was terrified and kept retreating, eventually kneeling down and begging for his life. Yet he could only cry out a few times before stopping abruptly, his face still filled with disbelief until his last breath.

After wiping the blood from the dead man’s clothes, Chen Hua took a deep breath. His sword clanged to the ground. He hadn’t killed many people since joining the army, and since this man was related to him, he felt even more uneasy. Killing someone and throwing them into the water might erase evidence, but that only solved one problem. With his impulsive action, Chen Tianbao’s fate was sealed, and there were still so many things that needed to be addressed!

He had initially confided in a few trusted subordinates—what would they think now? Moreover, giving up all his plans just because of Zhang Yue’s words would be utterly humiliating.

With these thoughts, he immediately dropped his sword, fetched his rarely used greatsword from the wall, turned around, and swung it coldly at the corpse, severing its head in one strike. Grasping the bloody head and suppressing the strong smell of blood, he strode forward, opened the cabin door, glanced briefly at the four people outside, and then called one of them over to give orders.

As soon as Chen Hua left with the still-dripping bloodied head, the four immediately sent one person inside to tidy up—just to straighten the overturned tables and chairs. They didn’t even touch the bloodstains or the decapitated body. Another person rushed to the deck, signaled a few strong soldiers, and headed straight to the lower cabin.

In the cabin at the stern were Zhang Yue, Shi An, and Chen Yong. Earlier, Li Qing had suggested that the two should take a different boat from Zhang Yue, but after discussing it, Shi An and Chen Yong decided that as minor clerks from the Nanjing Ministry, even if they took separate boats, they would still perish if something went wrong. It was better to stay with Zhang Yue. With more people around, there was a better chance of capturing the culprit first if trouble arose. When Zhang Yue left, he forced the two to stay in the cabin. So when Zhang Yue returned, Chen Yong anxiously stepped forward to ask,

“Don’t worry. Since you warned me before, I’ve made plenty of preparations.”

“But is it foolproof? The boat is on the river—any small mistake could ruin everything!”

“Mr. Chen, nothing in the world is foolproof. If it’s only 50% likely to work, it might fail; if it’s 70%, it’s probably successful. But 90% success rate? That’s practically impossible.” Seeing that Chen Yong still wanted to argue, Shi An gently nudged him with his elbow and then said with a smile, “I heard from Minister Li that you’re very skilled at chess. Since we’re on the boat and have nothing else to do, how about playing a game?”

No wonder Chen Yong was so anxious. He had ranked sixth in the second tier of the imperial examinations in the 13th year of the Yongle era and had once served as a scholar-in-training, but his experience in the capital’s bureaucracy was even greater than that in provincial posts. Although he was an elder in the imperial examination ranks than Zhang Yue, he was still just a minor official. Now, he had given up the hope of a successful career and simply wanted to do something meaningful.

Hearing Zhang Yue mention playing chess, he was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until Shi An beside him reminded him that he reluctantly sat down. He was originally from Qiantang; though his poetry was excellent, his chess skills were also among the best in the Jiangnan region. But with his mind preoccupied, he was defeated badly by Zhang Yue, whose chess skills were rather average, after a series of moves.

“Brother Chen, you’re letting me win!” Zhang Yue, distracted, had already seen Peng Shisan lead people out of the room. His expression relaxed, and he smiled at Chen Yong, saying, “No matter how much I think about those troubles, they’re still there. It’s better to calm my mind by playing chess.”

Shi An, who had been watching from the side, had already picked up on some clues and also offered a few hints. Hearing the word “calm my mind,” Chen Yong instantly recalled what his chess teacher had said before. He closed his eyes and focused for a moment before moving black first again. Not long after the game began, noise came from outside. Soon after, the cabin door was pushed open, and Chen Hua entered, covered in blood and holding a severed head.

Civil officials valued killing without bloodshed. Although they might have been involved in deadly schemes in the political arena, they rarely saw actual deaths. Moreover, both Shi and Chen were still far from the higher ranks. Fortunately, they had seen blood in several battles before and had witnessed many wounded people since arriving in Jiaozhou Prefecture, so they could still remain composed.

Yet when the dead man’s head was thrown onto the ground and rolled a few times, with those unforgiving eyes staring right at them, Chen Yong and Shi An immediately sprang up from their chairs.