weaving

In the western route of the loyalist army of Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, in Juye County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.

"Attention everyone."

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng tapped the huge map hanging on the wall and said loudly, "As the old saying goes, 'Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure.' This time, the Jurchens have invaded, and the core strategic goal of our Yongyi Army is to recover the Hetao grasslands, subdue the Tumed Mongol tribes, and make them a great ally of our Yongyi Army."

As for the invading Jurchens who are still rampaging through Shandong, we must strike them hard, ensuring they cannot take a single person, a grain of rice, or a penny from the heartland of our Great Ming. We must inflict pain, cripple them, and even kill them outright. However, this is a secondary strategic objective of our Valiant Army.

Zhang Cheng turned around and faced his civil and military officials, and continued, "You must know that in order to ensure the smooth achievement of our army's primary core objective, the weapons, money and food supplies in Xuanzhen are mainly used to support the operations of Futao and Fukaipingwei."

Support for our side in defending the capital and resisting the invaders is limited. Apart from the gunpowder, armor, weapons, cannons, grain, and fodder we brought with us when we set out, we can only rely on our own reserves in the southern part of the capital and western Shandong.

Of course, now that our main force is concentrated in Yanzhou and has occupied Jining, we can take this opportunity to deploy defenses along the Grand Canal, recover lost territory, relieve our army's worries with the grain transport, protect the lifeline of the canal, and lure the main force of the Jurchens to attack.

Wei Zhice was not angry that the Earl of Yongning had not adopted his suggestion. Instead, he took the initiative to ask, "Does the Commander mean... that he wants to intercept the grain transport and use it for his own purposes?"

Wang Pu was startled by what he heard. He raised his eyebrows, opened his mouth and widened his eyes, and stared at Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng, waiting for his final statement.

Clearly, Wang Pu was still very cautious about intercepting the grain transport. Even with Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng leading the way, he was still afraid that the saying "when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact" would become a reality.
On the contrary, Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, remained calm and composed. He had completely bound himself to the Yongyi Army, sharing both honor and disgrace, life and death.

Fortunately, Jiang Xiang, Ge Ruzhi, Pi Zhongyao, and Jiang Jianxun were not invited to the military council, otherwise their jaws might have dropped in astonishment.

The Earl of Yongning is far too audacious—not only did he condone the Jurchens' capture of Yanzhou and the Lu vassal state, but now he even wants to intercept the grain transported to the imperial court.
Even Xiong Tingrui, the military commander of Xuanfu who was attending the military council, was startled. His gaze toward Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, was quite intriguing, a mixture of emotions.

Even now, Xiong Tingrui has not yet made up his mind to completely pledge allegiance to Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng. He is merely temporarily accepting Yongning Earl's command and dispatch in accordance with the imperial decree.

However, the various behaviors of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng also caused some changes in Xiong Tingrui's mind. He knew that he could no longer waver like this and had to make a decision eventually.

"Perhaps after this mission to defend the emperor, I'll have to make a decision," Xiong Tingrui reminded himself silently.

Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, calmly said to Wei Zhice, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."

After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to everyone present, scanning them from head to toe and observing the changes in their expressions, as if he had opened a "God's-eye view" and was taking in all the expressions of everyone present.

Zhang Guangda didn't care about the grain transport; all he cared about was the banner of the Earl of Yongning. He never questioned the Earl of Yongning's decisions: "Commander, please tell me how to allocate these loyal troops in the western route."

The Earl of Yongning did not express his opinion directly, but slowly walked towards the direction of the commander's desk. Although he was not walking in a hurry, the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat oppressive.

…………

Everyone slowly followed behind the Earl of Yongning...

Some of them walked with their heads held high, like generals about to be ordered to go into battle, such as Zhang Guangda, Li Jiyu, Yuan Shizhong, Luo Rucai, Li Fuming, Lin Fangping, Xu Jinyong, Liu Chengzhu and others.

Others, such as Wei Zhice, Wang Pu, Chen De, Xiong Tingrui, and Zhu Zhicang, walked slowly with their heads down, seemingly deep in thought. Wei Zhice joined Zhang Cheng's army in the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign when Zhang Cheng led troops to defend the emperor. He gradually rose from a staff member to a general commanding a battalion, and even in the imperial court, he was a renowned and distinguished general with outstanding military achievements.

Now, he was in a dilemma. Ever since he learned that the Earl of Yongning had deliberately allowed the Jurchens to abduct the Lu vassal, Wei Zhice's mind had become heavy.

He had no intention of rebelling against the Earl of Yongning, but after all, he was a man who had studied the classics, and the ideas of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and loyalty to the emperor and the country were deeply rooted in his heart.

Even though the current Ming Dynasty court is truly disheartening, Wei Zhice has not given up on it.

What he was struggling with was—how to move forward in the future?
If he continues to follow the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng, with unwavering loyalty, then what lies before him may be a path of no return; success will bring glory to his ancestors, while failure will bring ruin to his entire clan.

Wei Zhice was, after all, a man with a family, and the Wei family was a highly respected gentry family in Huolu County. He couldn't very well bring shame upon his family or even have his entire clan punished because of his own wrongdoing.

However, Wei Zhice was also very upset if he did not continue to follow the Earl of Yongning.

After all, since following the Earl of Yongning, all the events that have happened around me are still fresh in my mind. As it stands, although the Earl of Yongning's actions are somewhat illogical, they are often effective.

If everything were done according to common sense, how could we have the Yongyi Army today?

Before it could even grow strong, it would likely be swallowed up or destroyed by those who already have vested interests.

"It's time to make a decision!" This was what Wei Zhice quietly told himself.

…………

Others followed at the very back, taking their time.

Such as Hu Yiwen, Guo Jinyi, Qin Sheng, Yuan Fucheng and other staff members, as well as the five Sun family members, uncle and nephew, Sun Hao, Sun Keng, Sun Qiang, Sun Zhijie and Sun Zhihuan.

They were essentially indifferent, after all, they were just advisors to the Earl of Yongning, only involved in planning and had no authority to make decisions. Moreover, they did not have military power and were not the object of the court's efforts to win them over.

Especially the five Sun family uncles and nephews, who had only been in the Yongning Earl's army for a short time, and with the protection of their ancestor Sun Chengzu, they were naturally fearless. As long as Zhang Cheng did not plot a rebellion or usurp the throne, they dared to follow him to the end.

…………

The person with the most preoccupied thoughts in the main hall was probably none other than Wang Pu, the General Commander of Datong.

It is common knowledge that Wang Pu and Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng are like grasshoppers on the same vine, bound together to the death. Moreover, this is not just hearsay, but Wang Pu's own words.

Previously, Wang Pu only thought about clinging tightly to the powerful and influential, following in the footsteps of the Earl of Yongning to gain military merit and enjoy wealth and luxury. But now, he felt a chill of fear, terrified that Zhang Cheng's audacity and recklessness would implicate him! (End of Chapter)