037 Xiangshan Martial Arts Demonstration

As soon as the morning court session concluded, Zhu Yousong, supported by several eunuchs, returned to the inner palace in high spirits, humming and singing all the way with beaming joy, looking just like an amateur opera enthusiast returning from a theater.

The imperial city of Nanjing had been almost entirely dismantled when Emperor Chengzu moved the capital northward in order to construct the Forbidden City in Beijing. Though it was called the inner palace, it was actually separated from the Fengtian Hall by merely a single courtyard wall, featuring only a dozen or so small courtyards. Small as it was, it contained everything it ought to have. The most prominent ones were naturally the Kunning and Cici Palaces, along with various residential courtyards for imperial concubines; nothing was missing, though they fell far short in terms of scale.

Ever since Zhu Yousong ascended the throne, he had hardly ever set foot in the Kunning Palace. Instead, every single night he stayed at a detached pavilion called the "Twin Swallows Tower." Living here was a pair of sisters whom Ma Shiying had brought all the way from Luzhou and presented to Zhu Yousong—definitely one in a million. As for the background of these sisters, nine out of ten came from brothels, though whether they were truly sisters remained anyone's guess.

The moment Zhu Yousong laid eyes on the sisters, he instantly felt that his eyes were not enough to take them all in, wishing he could melt such charming and gorgeous beauties into his stomach to hide them away. Because the two sisters danced an exceptionally superb swallow dance, Zhu Yousong bestowed upon them both the title of Consort Twin Swallows, taking them into the inner palace, and the courtyard where they resided was renamed the "Twin Swallows Tower."

As soon as Zhu Yousong stepped into the Twin Swallows Tower, he heard a burst of sweet, giggling laughter accompanied by the splashing of water coming from inside the room. The sound was as crisp as spring water flowing over pebbles and silver bells chiming, piercing his ears and thrilling his heart, instantly turning Zhu Yousong's bones weak. He waved his hand to signal the eunuchs to wait outside the courtyard gate, then let out a chuckle and pushed the door open.

...............

Following the leading eunuch, Wang Lanping passed through the Fengtian Hall and arrived before the gate of the inner palace courtyard.

The eunuch raised his chin and said to Wang Lanping, "Wait right here."

Wang Lanping craned his neck to peer inside. Where was this?

"Hey, where are you looking? Is this a place you can just gaze at at will? This is the inner苑."

Wang Lanping smiled inwardly. This was even worse than the backyard of the Du family in Huaining. No wonder the Emperor wanted to rebuild the imperial city; this place hardly looked like a royal residence.

Before long, Zhu Yousong came out from the courtyard wearing a bright yellow cloak with a bath towel tied around his waist. This outfit, coupled with his physique, made him look exactly like a butcher slaughtering pigs on the street, bearing not the slightest resemblance to the Supreme Ruler of All Under Heaven. He was simply lucky to have been born into an imperial family.

Wang Lanping stated the purpose of his visit, petitioning the Emperor to issue an imperial decree appointing Zheng Sen as the Deputy Regional Commander of Huai'an. He also mentioned that the current commander of the Three Thousand Directorate was advanced in age and no longer suited for military duties, which would also be an act of imperial grace toward an aging veteran. He proposed that Song Dali, a meritorious veteran of the battle of Huaining, could take over as the commander of the Three Thousand Directorate.

Once the imperial decree was secured, going to the Ministry of War to obtain the transfer order would be effortless. Although this emperor was considered dispensable in the eyes of the generals outside Nanjing, he still held some weight in the imperial court; at least officials like Shi Kefa and others still acknowledged this Son of Heaven.

Zhu Yousong casually inquired about the backgrounds of Zheng and Song. Song Dali was acceptable, as he had originally been a junior officer in the Wind Directorate, and promoting him to commander of the Three Thousand Directorate based on military achievements was entirely justified. However, upon hearing that Zheng Sen was merely a licentiate scholar, a look of undisguised disdain crossed Zhu Yousong's face. How could a mere student without even an official academic degree be elevated to the post of Deputy Regional Commander? But as soon as he heard Wang Lanping add that Zheng Sen was the son of Zheng Zhilong, he immediately nodded in agreement, remarking that a tiger father surely bore no dog-like sons.

Wang Lanping felt somewhat surprised as well. Could it really be this easy? Just a casual mention, and approval was granted without even seeing the person. It seemed that official posts in the Hongguang court were truly cheap.

It was not that official posts were cheap in the Hongguang court; rather, they were far too valuable. When the dynasty was first established, the imperial treasury was empty, and Zhu Yousong struggled even to find a decent place to receive the court tribute of all officials. Fortunately, Ma Shiying was clever and resorted to selling official posts. Nanjing was a gathering place for wealthy merchants and a major hub for water and land commerce, boasting an abundance of wealthy individuals. Overnight, the Hongguang court wildly bestowed official titles and noble ranks, flooding the streets with officials big and small. Gradually, a satirical poem began to circulate widely within the city of Nanjing: Commanders are as numerous as dogs, military evaluators crowd the streets; the Prime Minister only loves money, while the Emperor merely drinks wine.

The Prime Minister referred to here was none other than Ma Shiying.

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Wang Lanping chatted a bit more and deliberately insinuated during the conversation whether the current state affairs were entirely monopolized by Senior Grand Secretary Ma Shiying, and how the Emperor's own situation fared, asking if the Emperor needed him to devise a rescue plan. Yet Zhu Yousong seemed absent-minded, whether failing to catch these hints from the subtle probing or because there was something far more important inside the courtyard that demanded his attention. While Wang Lanping was speaking, Zhu Yousong kept turning his head back toward the courtyard gate, his eyes filled with anxiety.

When two charming women draped in sheer gauze appeared in the courtyard, Wang Lanping understood: this emperor was beyond saving. He promptly took his leave.

With the imperial decree in hand, he returned to the garrison camp, summoned Zheng Sen and Song Dali, and the three of them went directly to the Ministry of War. Getting straight to the point, they sought out Shi Kefa to obtain the transfer orders. Armed with the imperial decree, Shi Kefa did not ask a single question; he simply retrieved the official seal and transfer orders for Zheng and Song, stamping them with the official seal of the Ministry of War.

Time was of the essence. To prevent Ma Shiying from finding out, Zheng Sen mounted a fast horse and galloped off to assume his post in Huai'an.

Zheng Sen was taking up his post with an imperial transfer order; the worst that could happen was that he would go and act as an errand runner for Liu Zeqing. Moreover, the post of Deputy Regional Commander in the Huai'an Regional Commander's office had long been vacant, so a transfer from the Ministry of War was entirely logical. It was presumed things would not be too difficult, provided Zheng Sen knew how to play the humble subordinate upon arrival and did not harbor ambitions of dividing power with Liu Zeqing.

However, Song Dali taking over the Three Thousand Directorate was not nearly so simple. The current commander of the Three Thousand Directorate was named Li Zhi, nearly sixty years old, whose ancestors had been founding meritorious subjects of the Great Ming. His descendants had hereditary rights to the commandership for over two hundred years. The Li family had operated here for generations, and their roots ran deep among every single soldier at the grass-roots level. Snatching military power from his hands would genuinely require some careful scheming.

Therefore, Wang Lanping instructed Song Dali not to alert anyone just yet. Instead, using the name of Wang Lanping, the garrison提督 (Military Commissioner) of Nanjing, he issued the Emperor's decree ordering all capital garrisons to muster all their troops within three days and assemble at Elephant Mountain, fifty li outside Nanjing. The newly appointed Military Commissioner would inspect all the camps, establish a martial arts training ground, and allow each camp to send its most skilled martial artists to compete. The winners, regardless of their current rank, would be promoted by three grades and simultaneously awarded a four-clawed dragon robe with square embroidered patches bestowed personally by the Hongguang Emperor.

As soon as this news spread, the fifteen capital garrisons immediately boiled over like a frying pan. The generals mustered their troops overnight and surged toward Elephant Mountain with the most imposing momentum.

In their eyes, Wang Lanping was nothing. These people could treat imperial decrees with indifference, so what was a Nanjing garrison Military Commissioner? However, owing to the massive amounts of silver Wang Lanping had scattered about a few days prior, these garrison generals had no choice but to spare some face. After all, they were fellow officials in the same court, and nominally he was still their superior superior; it would be improper not to show up.

That was only one reason. More importantly, the prospect of obtaining the Ming dynasty's dragon robe was an immense honor. In the future, it would bring glory to their ancestors, and when they died, being draped in this robe inside their coffin would make them trade away even the desire for spiritual ascension and enlightenment.

The fifteen garrisons arriving this time were: the Nanjing Garrison Camp (directly under Wang Lanping's command), the Five Army Directorate, the Three Thousand Directorate (light cavalry), the Iron Cavalry Directorate (heavy cavalry), two Zhenjiang naval flotillas, the Divine Machine Directorate, the Left and Right Imperial Guards, the Left and Right Tiger Guards, the Left and Right Vanguard Directorates, and the Inner Guard Directorate (directly under the imperial palace).

Three days later, at the foot of Elephant Mountain, armor glistened like a forest, ten thousand horses galloped, and battle banners blotted out the sun. Sixty thousand grand troops gathered here, and surrounding encampments stretched for over ten miles. It was the first time Wang Lanping had ever witnessed so many soldiers gathered in one place; the military might was truly overwhelming, and formidable generals were as thick as clouds. Unfortunately, these fifteen garrisons were allies in name only with discordant hearts, and if one of the camps were annihilated by an enemy before their eyes, they might not even step forward to lend a hand.

As the grand army assembled, various training grounds, martial arts stages, and review platforms were rapidly erected. Wang Lanping led the chief generals of the fifteen garrisons to ascend the review platform one by one. Instantly, awe-inspiring martial might surged from beneath the platform, shouts echoed all around, and the brightly colored uniforms of the various camps stood out vividly under the sunlight. Over a thousand battle flags fluttered and snapped in the wind, while in the distance on the river surface, eight hundred warships dropped anchor across the water—a truly magnificent spectacle.

On the review platform, Wang Lanping sat in the center with a commander's desk before him, upon which fifteen command flags were planted. The chief generals of the fifteen garrisons sat in rows on either side, all beaming with broad smiles as they gestured and pointed at the sixty thousand troops below.

A soldier hurried up onto the review platform, knelt before the generals, and reported, "Reporting to General Wang, the drills of all camps are complete. Please issue your orders, General."

To describe Wang Lanping's state of mind at this moment as surging with emotion would be an understatement. Although he could not command fifty-nine thousand of these sixty thousand troops, the thrill born from being awed by the majestic momentum of this military formation was entirely real. What future Eight Banners iron cavalry? Under such martial might, they were not worth mentioning.

The fifteen generals seated on both sides also stood up, cupped their fists in salute to Wang Lanping, and said in unison, "Please issue your orders, General!"

"Very well!" Wang Lanping stood up abruptly, his iron armor clanking, and waved his hand. "Let the drill begin!"