That night, Ning Chen had a dream.
A very sultry dream, and a very frightening one.
In the dream, Yudie was on his left and Zisu was on his right. An armful on either side, and he meant to enjoy the blessing of the man of Qi to the full. (TL Note: from Mencius — a man of Qi kept a wife and a concubine and was envied for it.)
And just as he was leading his bald little general in and out through the muddy swamp, the Xuan Emperor appeared out of nowhere with the Ninth Princess.
“You wretch — refusing this emperor again and again. What is there about this emperor’s daughter that isn’t good enough for you?”
“Someone — drag Ning Chen out and put him to the knife!”
Ning Chen woke with a start, badly frightened.
His heart was still going. Thank God it had only been a dream.
He looked at the light outside the window. It had to be somewhere around dawn by now.
The Xuan Emperor would just be taking the morning court.
Ning Chen shut his eyes and went back to sleep, trying to pick the sultry part of the dream up where it had left off.
The capital. The palace!
And at that very hour, the Xuan Emperor was indeed just taking the morning court.
“Your subjects greet Your Majesty!”
The whole body of civil and military officials knelt as one.
The Xuan Emperor sat upright on the dragon throne and raised a hand. “Beloved ministers, rise.”
Once they were on their feet, the Xuan Emperor lifted the memorial in his hand. “This is the memorial sent back from Mangzhou by fast courier.”
A start went through them all.
Everyone knew by now that the Left Chancellor was hiding in Mangzhou, that he had massed twenty thousand men there on his own authority, and that Ning Chen had led an army against Mangzhou to put down the revolt.
The assembled ministers looked to the Xuan Emperor.
Seeing no expression at all on his face, their hearts gave a lurch. Could it be that Ning Chen had been beaten?
Mangzhou was easy to hold and hard to take. Bringing that city down was no small thing.
The Xuan Emperor said in a heavy voice, “My beloved ministers must all be clear on how much Mangzhou matters.”
The officials understood perfectly well.
Once Mangzhou fell, the enemy could strike at neighboring Lingzhou, and then at Liangzhou, and after that drive straight through and into the capital itself.
By the sound of what His Majesty was saying, Ning Chen had indeed been beaten.
“Your Majesty! This attack on Mangzhou has failed. Ning Chen has betrayed Your Majesty’s sacred favor and should be punished severely.”
A censor had leaped out.
“Your Majesty, this old subject holds that Your Majesty should never have placed his trust wrongly in Ning Chen. As this subject understands it, the cutting of a way through the North Royal Court and the taking of the King of the Left Court alive were the work of Liang Jingwu, the commander holding Beilin Pass. Ning Chen simply stole the credit.”
“Your Majesty, we ceded territory and paid indemnities, and it was all we could do to come to terms with Nanyue. Now that Ning Chen has failed, Nanyue is certain to use the chance to make trouble and squeeze more out of us. Ning Chen’s crime deserves ten thousand deaths.”
“Your Majesty! Ning Chen has been defeated and has shamed the dignity of the state. He should be punished without mercy.”
The Xuan Emperor looked at the censors with no expression at all, and said coldly, “By my beloved ministers’ reasoning, then, this emperor is also at fault over this attack on Mangzhou?”
“Your Majesty! Forgive this subject for speaking so boldly — Your Majesty is indeed at fault. Your Majesty should not have trusted Ning Chen.”
“This old subject holds that Your Majesty has been far too indulgent of Ning Chen, and far too free with his favor. It should never have been so!”
“Your Majesty! Ning Chen’s talents do not answer to his reputation. Your Majesty has favored him blindly, and that is indeed a fault.”
The look on the Xuan Emperor’s face was very ugly.
These censors were insufferable. Utterly loathsome.
“By my beloved ministers’ account, this emperor should not favor and trust Ning Chen. Then whom should he favor and trust?”
“This emperor trusts several of his beloved ministers every bit as much. Let us do it this way — this emperor will give you fifty thousand men, and you shall attack Mangzhou.”
“This emperor can promise you this: take Mangzhou, and this emperor will make marquises of you. How does that sound?”
The censors who had been jumping in one after another fell silent at once and traded glances.
“Your Majesty! This subject is a civil official and has no skill at leading troops.”
“Your subjects are no more than weak scholars. Marching and fighting are properly the work of the military officers.”
“Your Majesty, this subject is old and his strength is failing. He has the heart to serve the state, but the will outruns the body.”
The Xuan Emperor was so angry he laughed. “So all any of you can do is work your lips?”
The civil officials would not have it.
“Your Majesty, your subjects can offer plans and strategies.”
The Xuan Emperor let out an “Oh.” “Plans and strategies, is it? Then let my beloved ministers tell me — how is Mangzhou to be taken?”
“Mangzhou is easy to hold and hard to take. The city wall stands fifty or sixty feet high and is a full hundred feet thick. What excellent strategy do my beloved ministers have? Speak it out and let this emperor hear it.”
For a moment a dead silence fell over the court.
One censor stepped forward. “Your Majesty, our Great Xuan abounds in men of talent, our soldiers are strong and our horses sound. Find a commander skilled in war and stratagem, put two hundred thousand men under him, and Mangzhou will certainly fall.”
The Xuan Emperor lost his temper altogether. With no thought for how it looked, he snatched the incense burner off the dragon desk and hurled it straight at the censor who had spoken.
Bang!!!
It went wide!
The burner struck the floor with an enormous crash.
The censor who had just offered his plan went white with fright, and cold sweat sprang out on his forehead.
“You fools, all you can do is work your lips. Chang Chengyun has twenty thousand men, and you would have this emperor send two hundred thousand against him. What is it — do you take the soldiers of our Great Xuan for worthless?”
“This emperor said it a moment ago: take Mangzhou, and this emperor will make him a marquis. Is there anyone who will shoulder this emperor’s burden?”
The Xuan Emperor finished speaking.
A military officer stepped out. “Your Majesty, this subject is willing to lead an army out and attack Mangzhou, and shoulder Your Majesty’s burden.”
“This subject too is willing to shoulder Your Majesty’s burden!”
“Your Majesty, give this subject fifty thousand horse and foot and he will certainly take Mangzhou.”
A look of satisfaction came over the Xuan Emperor’s face.
“It seems our Great Xuan is not all lip-working good-for-nothings. There are men of iron in it too.”
The Xuan Emperor waved a hand, motioning the officers back into the ranks.
Then his gaze came to rest on the censors. “You stand here jumping in one after another, attacking Ning Chen. When did this emperor ever say Ning Chen had been beaten?”
Every man of them was struck dumb.
The Xuan Emperor lifted the memorial in his hand. “This is a report of victory. With no more than twenty thousand men, and in less than a single day, Ning Chen took the city of Mangzhou.”
“He captured more than ten thousand of the rebel army. The traitor Chang Chengyun has been cut down. Every official of Mangzhou, high and low, has been taken. The confiscated property comes to several million taels.”
The whole body of officials was thunderstruck!
And then the court boiled over.
Mangzhou taken in under a day?
Mangzhou was easy to hold and hard to take. How had Ning Chen managed it?
The Xuan Emperor fixed his eyes on the censors and said in anger, “Do you still hold that this emperor placed his trust wrongly in Ning Chen? Is his favor something he should not have had?”
“If any of you had the ability, this emperor would set you up on an altar and worship you. But can you do it?”
The whole crowd of censors turned red to the ears, unable to bear the shame.
They had been too hasty!
Ning Chen won — so what was the long face for? You had every one of us fooled… the censors said it inwardly.
But most of them had figured it out by now — the Right Chancellor, Li Hanru and the rest. His Majesty had done it on purpose.
He was building Ning Chen up.
His Majesty had come back to the matter of a marquisate again and again just now.
It seemed that when Ning Chen came back this time, he would be raised to chancellor and given a marquisate.
After the play that had just been staged, if His Majesty gave Ning Chen a marquisate and someone jumped out to object, it would not look right at all.
It seemed the Great Xuan was about to have one more marquis!
The Xuan Emperor glanced at the memorial in his hand, the smile at the corner of his mouth harder to hold down than an AK.
This boy Ning Chen never failed the favor shown him. He could always bring a surprise.
He had received the memorial the night before. The words inside were on the fawning side, and on the overblown side — but he still could not hide the delight in his heart, and he had bestowed his favor on one of the palace maidens newly come into the palace.
The Xuan Emperor felt his fighting strength was getting better and better.
In the old days he did not bother visiting the rear palace once in ten days or half a month. Now he went to the rear palace every two or three days.
That was all Ning Chen’s doing. The prescription the boy had presented to him really was very effective.
The Xuan Emperor gathered his thoughts and glanced at Eunuch Quan.
Eunuch Quan stepped forward, and that thin, high voice rang out: “The court is dismissed!”
“His Majesty commands: the Right Chancellor, Lord Li of the Hanlin Academy, and the ministers of the Six Ministries are to attend upon him in the imperial study.”
(End of Chapter 265)