The person Zhu Mo was looking for was naturally Prince Raochang, Zhu Chongju.
As the saying goes, the one who ties the bell must untie it. Historically, if a wife is caught in the act, it must be her husband, not others, who catches her; and to debunk such rumors, it requires the actual husband to publicly refute them, only then can suspicion be cleared.
Zhu Mo continued,
"Brother Ma, Brother Zhang, Brother Ma, you are all locals and have been in the army for many years, you must have quite a few informants and acquaintances, right? Help me investigate someone – Prince Raochang, Zhu Chongju!
I believe he cannot be absolved of responsibility for Datong's Yiyong turning into what it is today. And for this person to have done so many things yet always hide behind the scenes, never showing his face, is truly very strange… As for Brother Li, I will need you to accompany me to the Prince of Dai's mansion to pacify this old sycophant first. Otherwise, if he throws a tantrum, it will truly be unmanageable…”
Mm-hmm,
Everyone still admired him; caught in the middle of it all, his mind was still clear.
Ma Lu responded, "Yes, this person is very peculiar! Honestly, I haven't seen him for several years. Although he is said to be in and out of Datong city all the time, I don't really know this person…”
Wang Chonggu nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and continued,
"He used to appear frequently at Huayan Temple, but not so much in recent years. His princely mansion is just a commandery prince's residence, and it has long been dilapidated. He doesn't repair it, and it's small in itself, making it quite unremarkable… The people of Datong don't really have much of an impression of this person. However, according to our understanding over the years, this person is extraordinary!
Young Master Zhu, when Yang Bo recruited the Yiyong back then, it was this Prince Raochang who ultimately made it successful. He incorporated the personal guards of the Prince of Dai and several other commandery princes into it. As for the uniforms, armor, swords, flags, passwords, and so on, he was the one who provided all of them. Li Chong was merely the visible commander; in reality, the true progenitor was him.
Furthermore, he is also very familiar with those from the White Lotus Society, such as Zhao Quan, Qiu Fu, Li Zixin, and Li Fuda, who is now a monk at Huayan Temple. These people, in the past few years, moved north, and it was said they had pledged allegiance to Anda. But sometimes, it was heard they went elsewhere to make a living, and in any case, no one knows the truth.”
Alas,
Upon hearing this, everyone became even more anxious. If that were the case, this person was a very formidable character, and where could he be found in such a short time?
Zhu Mo's thoughts suddenly stirred, and he blurted out, "Now that Anda has moved south, they have made their move! That means if this Prince Raochang has ambitions, he should be doing something at this moment… Think about it, what would he do? Perhaps then we can find him!”
Right!
Exactly!
Ma Fang suddenly shouted, proclaiming loudly, "I know! He's at Yuanbaozi! There's Tiger Mountain there, and at the foot of Tiger Mountain is an iron forging station. The Yiyong's weapons were all crafted there!”
Oh?
This reminder made Wang Chonggu, Ma Lu, and Zhang Yue also recall.
Ma Lu said, "Young Master Zhu, that's right. Prince Raochang has been smuggling iron to the Tatars for many years. It was only a few years ago, when Zhang Taiyue became Minister of War, that it was strictly prohibited… The iron forging station there is called Youyu, and sometimes they forged weapons for us. I believe that for the White Lotus Society to collude from within and without, they would need the swords and weapons from that large armory.”
Zhu Mo was overjoyed, thinking that there was a seventy to eighty percent chance this was the case, and immediately said, "Brother Li, shall we go ahead first and wait for their news?”
Mm-hmm,
Lin Wenjin nodded and said, "Good! Brother Wang, you are good with words; draft the notice first and then proclaim it throughout the city. I will go with Young Master Zhu to the Prince of Dai's mansion now.”
And at this very moment,
A sound of hurried footsteps came from the city wall. As they rushed out of the main hall of the North Gate Tower, they saw Zhang Yue almost stumble and fall. Holding a military dispatch with a feather, he shouted,
"Anda has broken camp from Xiaoshishan and marched south!”
"All three contingents have pressed down!”
Whoosh!
Everyone immediately felt a chill—
Too fast!
At least two days faster than they had expected…
Li Wenjin murmured, "Indeed, Anda never takes a loss… Not far south of Xiaoshishan is Desheng Fortress, only four to five hundred li away… Is he planning to attack Datong as his main target?”
Wang Chonggu, however, shook his head and said gravely, "I don't think so… Anda is flexible and unpredictable; his true intentions are always hidden. I think his real target is the capital!”
Zhu Mo couldn't be bothered with all that. Regardless of where the attack was, the key was to be able to mobilize, unite their efforts, and naturally they could hold their ground; otherwise, any place would be a defeat.
He didn't want to waste any time and said, "Brother Li, let's go!”
The two immediately galloped towards the South Gate.
…
At the same time,
The capital, Yan Residence, late at night.
A heavy and stagnant atmosphere oppressed Old Yan Song's study; everyone felt suffocated.
The military intelligence report was sent to Xuanfu. After Ge Jin personally signed and confirmed it, it was then sent to the capital. This was the Yan family faction's own intelligence system, which did not pass through the court.
And the letter,
It was written by a Han Chinese scribe at Anda's command.
It was very brief, only one sentence—
"Esteemed Elder Yan, I have broken camp and will be residing at Desheng Fortress in a few days."
All the officials had read it several times. Besides finding the calligraphy very good, they also felt a strong sense of shock. After all, where was Desheng Fortress? It was less than two hundred li north of Datong!
Moreover,
This sentence was spoken by Anda himself, a generation's formidable figure, exuding an inexplicable killing intent that sent chills down their spines?
For nearly half an hour, no one dared to speak.
Yan Song thought for a long time, knowing that these family retainers found it difficult to comprehend, and said faintly,
"Let's discuss it. It's alright if you say something wrong…”
Yan Shifan intended to set an example. He glared at everyone, then said solemnly, "Father, I think Anda has two intentions. One is to tell us that he is serious and has already moved. The other is likely to inform us that he intends to attack Datong?”
Yan Song did not speak, but merely glanced around at everyone.
Zhao Wenhua had also served in the Ministry of War. At this moment, unable to avoid it, he could only cough and say,
"Esteemed Elder, Young Elder, your subordinate believes that Anda has always been cunning. The posture he adopts for attacking a certain place is often a feint for attacking another place… We will not concern ourselves with his ultimate destination for now. In my opinion, he is more likely deliberately trying to disrupt our formation… Otherwise, he could just attack directly; why inform us? Once Desheng Fortress is taken, everything will be clear, so why write a letter?”
Mm-hmm,
Yan Song nodded, indicating his approval, and then looked at everyone.
Luo Longwen said, "Wenhua's view is certainly reasonable, but don't forget the other layer – originally, both sides agreed not to take real action. If he were to actually capture Desheng Fortress and not tell us, wouldn't we suspect him of going back on his word? Therefore, your subordinate believes Anda's intention is not that complicated; he is simply telling us that he has begun his performance on stage…”
Good,
Good!
"Longwen, after all, is insightful…”
Yan Song slowly paced a few steps, stroking his beard, "Anda is cunning… Longwen is right. His other intention is that he has already made his move, and now it is up to us…”
Luo Longwen saw his face full of approval and continued,
"Your subordinate understands. We fear he will attack seriously, and he also fears we will attack seriously! This is correct… His intention is to make us also take some action, to convince him that we will not go back on our word.”
Yan Song nodded, but did not want to waste time, saying,
"Let's not talk about other things. Let's get to the main point now: what can we do to make him believe that we will not go back on our word and will not attack seriously? Think about it. This is a major matter. It's okay if you don't figure it out, but you must all think and speak. Do you understand?”
Mm-hmm,
Everyone repeatedly agreed.
But these people were not fools either: the Yan family had crossed a line. At this point, whoever spoke would have the blame fall on them later. If the Emperor discovered this, it would mean execution for the entire family.
After a long while, everyone remained silent.
Yan Shifan snorted and directly addressed him, "Wenhua, why aren't you speaking again?”
He singled out Zhao Wenhua because Zhao Wenhua had done most of the dirty and arduous work in his rise to power, and it was impossible to clear his name.
Zhao Wenhua secretly cried out "Bad luck," his mind raced, and he sighed that he was too deeply entangled with the Yan family to ever break free. He could only brace himself and concoct an idea, saying,
"Esteemed Elder, Young Elder, I think we can have some forts in the outer frontier withdraw… This way, Anda will naturally believe we only have defensive intentions. And to the court, we can say that with the enemy troops pressing close, the priority is to protect the capital, hence some frontier troops have been withdrawn for defense?”
Right, right,
Mm-hmm, hmm,
As this strategy emerged,
Everyone quickly agreed it was appropriate, lest they be pressured to speak again by Yan Shifan.
Yan Song sighed,
"Then let's withdraw first. You go down and do it, tell Ge Jin, Yang Bo, and the others to withdraw depending on the situation. Which ones to withdraw, and which ones to leave, should be systematic but also fast… If it's too late, it might be too late, after all, we have to protect the capital…”
After speaking, a hint of unfathomable mockery flashed in his eyes, and he added,
"Remember, this is the most urgent matter for the Great Ming Dynasty! Shifan, look, on which day would a court session be appropriate? Summon everyone as soon as possible… Some matters still need Xu Jie and the others to handle…”
Yan Shifan grunted. Seeing his father quite weary, he felt a pang of concern and said, "Father, you should rest too. Everything depends on your decisions. At your age, don't overexert yourself…”
Yan Song glared at him and sighed,
"Forget it, I'll just nap in this chair. When the fifth watch arrives, I still have to go to the palace… This matter is too significant to keep from the Emperor.”