Shen Qionglian then secretly discussed overseas maritime affairs with the Shen family. The Shen family was wealthy and powerful, with the older generation still possessing sea charts and blueprints for large ships capable of withstanding giant ocean waves. Since the Hongwu reign began implementing maritime prohibitions, forbidding even a single plank from going to sea, money could make devils push millstones. Driven by enormous profits, maritime smuggling continued despite repeated prohibitions. The Shen family conducted transactions on the black market, recruiting sailors and mercenaries to deal with pirates. Things progressed smoothly.
Shen Qionglian controlled the Bureau of Court Rites, so she had plenty of ways to make letters escape inspection. From time to time, she informed Hu Shanwei of the ship’s progress.
After spring began, the Yan army switched from defense to offense. Previously, wasn’t there the impregnable barrier of Jinan that couldn’t be taken after long siege? Prince Yan devised a method to solve this barrier—the Ming dynasty’s territory was vast, so why must they necessarily pass through the city of Jinan? If they couldn’t fight it, surely they could avoid it.
Prince Yan was a man who could bend and stretch. Previously, he had been able to perform explosive acting by pretending to have a stroke, with a crooked mouth and nose, drooling everywhere, using this as an excuse to bring his four children back to Beiping. Now avoiding Jinan was simply child’s play—this wasn’t shameful.
The Yan army didn’t go through Jinan and performed history’s most audacious “overtaking on a curve.” The Yan army crossed the river at Guantao, avoiding Sheng Yong’s main force, attacking along the way the weakly defended cities of Dong’e, Dongping, Wenshang, and others—thanks to Ji Gang’s Embroidered Uniform Guard’s detailed intelligence, Prince Yan understood the southern army’s military deployment in more detail than Emperor Jianwen himself.
From the twelfth to the seventeenth of the first month, in just five short days, the Yan army was like a sharp arrow, piercing through Shandong and reaching Pei County, which was already within Jiangsu territory.
By the thirtieth of the first month, the Yan army was at the gates of Xuzhou!
At this time, the southern army’s main force led by Sheng Yong was still in Shandong.
Upon hearing this news, the capital trembled with fear. When Emperor Jianwen saw the military report, he felt for the first time that the great edifice was about to collapse. At the grand court assembly, civil and military officials discussed who should go to Xuzhou to intercept the Yan army.
A military general voluntarily requested assignment, saying: “This humble general is willing to go to Xuzhou to intercept the Yan army.”
Instantly, the Fengtian Hall, which had just been noisy as a marketplace, fell silent.
This person was none other than the second-generation Duke Weiguo, Xu Huizu—the biological older brother of Princess Yan Xu, and the legitimate eldest son of Xu Da, the Ming dynasty’s greatest founding minister.
Xu Huizu had originally been a strong candidate for the first northern expedition’s grand marshal. A scion of a military family, an outstanding general of the Ming’s younger generation, he frequently guarded the borders and had rich combat experience. Combined with his father Xu Da’s prestigious reputation, Xu Huizu was different from Li Jinglong, that coward who only knew armchair strategizing and kept running and retreating in battle—Li the Runner. Xu Huizu had real capability.
But Emperor Jianwen’s character was narrow-minded, and he had never dared to use him. Even after both marshals Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong had suffered crushing defeats, Emperor Jianwen still didn’t dare use him.
Xu Huizu also knew he was not favored, but the Ming dynasty had reached a critical juncture, almost being attacked at their doorstep by the Yan army. If he remained silent any longer, he would probably be regarded as a Yan army spy.
Xu Huizu urgently needed a battle to demonstrate his loyalty.
Seeing Emperor Jianwen still hesitating, Xu Huizu continued: “Princess Yan is this humble general’s younger sister. However, a married daughter is like spilled water—women follow their husbands after marriage. The Duke Weiguo’s residence and the Xu family’s position has always been loyal to the Ming dynasty and loyal to Your Majesty.”
Emperor Jianwen paused and asked: “If Duke Weiguo encounters his nephew Zhu Gaoxu on the battlefield, what would you do?”
Yan’s Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was responsible for defending Beiping, while his second son Zhu Gaoxu had always followed Prince Yan in battle, achieving countless merits. Xu Huizu was Zhu Gaoxu’s biological maternal uncle.
Everyone’s eyes fixed on Xu Huizu, including his biological younger brother Xu Zengshou. In his youth, Xu Zengshou had been the capital’s leading playboy, ranked alongside the “Demon King of Chaos” Mu Chun as one of the capital’s great scourges. Later, Xu Zengshou married Mu Chun’s eldest sister, but the couple had no children. Xu Zengshou never took a second wife or concubines, instead adopting one of his elder brother Xu Huizu’s sons in name.
Xu Zengshou was unlearned and unskilled, relying solely on the grace of his absolute good father Xu Da to obtain a nominal first-rank military official position, only appearing at court assemblies to “clock in.” Because Xu Zengshou was too idle, when Prince Yan’s four children were hostages in the capital, while their maternal uncle Xu Huizu was often guarding borders, it was mostly this second uncle who looked after them, frequently bringing them to gatherings and entertainment at the Duke Weiguo’s residence.
Xu Zengshou had no children, so his relationship with his nephews was particularly close. Later, when Prince Yan launched the Jingnan Campaign, Xu Zengshou naturally was drawn into Prince Yan’s camp by Ji Gang. Much of the court’s military intelligence was obtained by Xu Zengshou for Ji Gang.
Xu Zengshou had always tried to persuade his elder brother Xu Huizu to “join up”—the young emperor had always been wary and suspicious of him anyway, and all his loyal devotion had been fed to dogs, so why bother? Better to work together with brother-in-law Prince Yan.
But Xu Huizu firmly refused his brother’s suggestion every time. From childhood, their father Xu Da had treated his two sons differently—raising the first child by the book and the second like a pig. The eldest son had to inherit the family business and continue the Xu family’s glory, so besides strict training in martial arts and military strategy, he had always emphasized ideological and political education in loyalty to the ruler and love of country. The younger son was left to his own devices, pampered into adulthood.
Therefore, Xu Zengshou had joined Prince Yan early, while Xu Huizu had somewhat foolish loyalty. It’s just that before their father Xu Da died, he repeatedly told Xu Huizu to take good care of his foolish younger brother. Knowing his brother had joined Yan, Xu Huizu had always kept the secret, neither exposing his brother nor being dragged by his brother into Prince Yan’s camp.
Originally, Emperor Jianwen didn’t want to use Xu Huizu, but now Prince Yan’s army was at Xuzhou’s gates, getting closer and closer to the capital. Sheng Yong’s southern army was still circling around Shandong. He sat on the dragon throne, looking at rows of military generals—among those who could lead troops into battle, only Xu Huizu remained!
The other capable military generals had basically been exterminated along with their entire families by his grandfather, Emperor Gaozhu.
Emperor Jianwen was forced into having no choice but to ask Xu Huizu the difficult question of “If the Ming dynasty and your nephew both fell into water, who would you save first?”
Having decided to volunteer, Xu Huizu had prepared his answer long ago. Without blinking an eye, he said: “This humble general is the Ming’s Duke Weiguo, receiving the court’s salary and serving the court loyally. On the battlefield, there are only Ming generals and rebels—no uncles and nephews.”
The implication was that even facing his nephew Zhu Gaoxu, he would kill without hesitation.
Brothers killing brothers, uncle and nephew mutually destroying each other, brother-in-law and sister’s husband fighting to the death on the battlefield.
Emperor Jianwen, forced into helplessness, had no choice but to trust Xu Huizu. “Good! I give you fifty thousand troops. Immediately support Xuzhou.”
At the grand assembly, civil and military officials wore various expressions—some admiring, some contemptuous, some conflicted, some doubtful.
But Xu Huizu paid no attention to others, immediately taking the imperial seal and mobilizing troops for the battlefield. His younger brother Xu Zengshou chased after him, saying in a low voice: “Elder brother, your method is still better—taking troops to Xuzhou to coordinate with Prince Yan from within, you’ll definitely be able to capture Xuzhou.”
Xu Huizu stopped, looking coldly at his brother: “Those with different paths cannot work together. We brothers now each serve our own camps, each loyal to our own masters. You are my younger brother, I won’t report you, but from now on, I won’t cover for you either. You… take care of yourself.”
Xu Huizu rode away. Xu Zengshou stood stunned for a while. From childhood, his elder brother, like their father, had almost never refused his requests, indulging him, doting on him, practically raising his younger brother like a son.
Now Xu Zengshou was over forty, and his elder brother had never divided the family property, allowing him to live in Duke Weiguo’s residence. Whatever good things were obtained, his brother would pick the best for him first, and had even adopted a son in his name, so someone would conduct his funeral and burn incense for him in the future. From cradle to grave, his elder brother had arranged everything clearly for him.
Xu Zengshou couldn’t believe his elder brother would cut ties with him like this, so he rode after him: “Elder brother, if you encounter Zhu Gaoxu, would you really raise your blade against your own nephew?”
Xu Huizu said: “Not just a nephew—even if I encountered Princess Yan, my younger sister… if she stubbornly refuses to surrender, I would show no mercy with my blade!”
Seeing his elder brother’s such resolute answer, Xu Zengshou finally understood that there would inevitably be a decisive battle between his elder brother and brother-in-law.
Regardless of who won or lost, Xu Zengshou couldn’t accept it. What should he do?
Xu Zengshou contacted Ji Gang, saying: “I don’t care what methods you use—my elder brother can be defeated, but he cannot die. Keep the green hills, and you won’t lack for firewood. Keep his life, and I’ll always be able to persuade him to change his mind.”
Ji Gang patted his chest: “Leave it to me. Actually, Prince Yan doesn’t want to harm his brother-in-law either. We’re all family—why all this fighting and killing? We just hope Prince Yan crosses the river and enters the capital soon, so Master Xu won’t be so conflicted.”
Besides dispatching Xu Huizu to support Xuzhou, Emperor Jianwen also sent his second brother-in-law, Princess Ningguo’s consort Mei Yin to defend Huai’an. Princess Ningguo was born to Empress Xiaoci and held a noble position. Mei Yin was also one of the trusted ministers left by Emperor Gaozhu for Emperor Jianwen.
Since Fengyang wasn’t far from Xuzhou, Emperor Jianwen also sent people to secretly bring the imprisoned Prince Zhou and his family to the capital as hostages. If Prince Yan wanted to attack the city, they would tie Prince Zhou to the city walls to repel the enemy. Prince Yan and Prince Zhou had deep brotherly affection—he definitely wouldn’t fire cannons at his own younger brother.
Hu Shanwei received new instructions from Ji Gang—find out where Prince Zhou’s family was imprisoned and rescue them before they could be tied to the city walls as cannon fodder.
Hu Shanwei was certain Emperor Jianwen was capable of such acts. Someone who could kill his own mother and younger brother had long since lost all moral boundaries.
Hu Shanwei quickly obtained intelligence from the imperial study—Prince Zhou’s family was imprisoned in a side hall of the Xiaoling Mausoleum, all guarded by Emperor Jianwen’s trusted palace guards.
Princess Huaiqing was anxious beyond measure. No one cared more about this half-brother than she did. She immediately worked with Ji Gang to find a solution: “My birth mother, Noble Consort Chengmu, is buried at Xiaoling Mausoleum, behind the main mausoleum. That area is all my people, but I can’t reach into the mausoleum’s important areas.”
Ji Gang measured with a small ruler the distance between Noble Consort Chengmu’s tomb and the side hall where Prince Zhou was imprisoned: “The high walls between mausoleum areas are heavily defended—it’s difficult for us to climb over. However—”
Ji Gang circled a section of high wall with red ink: “The foundation here is soft. We can dig a tunnel here, starting from Noble Consort Chengmu’s mausoleum area, rescue Prince Zhou’s family, and immediately collapse the tunnel to escape. But if Prince Zhou escapes from Noble Consort Chengmu’s mausoleum area, even if we create the illusion of Yan bandits breaking in, given His Majesty’s suspicious nature, he’ll inevitably suspect the Princess.”
Princess Huaiqing had grown up pampered by Emperor Gaozhu and possessed the pride of a Ming princess: “So what if he suspects me? First, there’s no evidence. Second, I’m a Ming princess—he’s my junior nephew. Would a nephew kill his own paternal aunt on trumped-up charges? Unprecedented! Who would dare touch me?”
Ji Gang greatly admired Princess Huaiqing’s courage and her sibling affection for Prince Zhou, but was still somewhat worried: “His Majesty’s political methods are naive yet bold, often disregarding consequences. Don’t forget how Princess Qingyang became Qingcheng Princess. Even a princess specially enfeoffed by Emperor Gaozhu could have her title reduced just like that.”
Princess Huaiqing sneered: “Reduce it then. Whether I become a princess, a princess commandery, or even a commoner doesn’t matter. When fourth brother breaks in, I’ll still be a princess. Besides, fourth brother has already reached Xuzhou—how far can the capital be? Moreover, besides the method of digging a tunnel from my mother’s mausoleum area, do you have anything better?”
There wasn’t any. Noble Consort Chengmu Sun was a beloved consort of both Emperor Gaozhu and Empress Xiaoci, so her burial area was closest to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
When Noble Consort Chengmu died of illness that year, having no sons, she faced the embarrassing situation of no one to conduct her funeral. It was Hu Shanwei’s suggestion that Emperor Gaozhu promulgated the “Record of Filial Piety,” changing the ancient mourning system of thousands of years where “fathers are honored above mothers, families have no double mourning, and concubines receive no mourning.” He ordered the new filial system where “fathers and mothers are equally honored, and all sons mourn concubines for one year in qi cui.”
With the promulgation of the new filial system, plus Noble Consort Chengmu’s merit in raising Prince Zhou, Emperor Gaozhu ordered Prince Zhou to regard Noble Consort Chengmu as his birth mother, observe twenty-seven months of zhan cui mourning, and conduct the consort’s funeral. Only then could the consort be buried and have her funeral conducted with dignity.
People ultimately have feelings, and even the cold imperial family had warmth. Prince Zhou’s pure filial piety toward Noble Consort Chengmu was seen and remembered by her biological daughter Princess Huaiqing. For this rare emotion, she was willing to take risks.
Prince Zhou never expected that his filial devotion to Noble Consort Chengmu years ago would create his future escape route.
While Ji Gang and Princess Huaiqing busied themselves digging tunnels, the front-line battlefield situation changed unpredictably, with new battle reports arriving daily. Prince Yan attacked Xuzhou, Xuzhou sent troops out to fight and was defeated by Prince Yan, so they simply closed their gates and defended the city walls to the death.
Having tasted the sweetness of bypassing Jinan and heading directly south, why would Prince Yan return to his old ways of fierce assault? Besides, Jiangsu was vast, with many roads leading to the capital. Prince Yan no longer lingered in battle, changing course to head south from Suzhou.
Only then did the southern army from Shandong finally catch up to break the siege. Prince Yan had made arrangements in advance, setting ambushes that repelled the southern army led by Ping An and Tie Xuan.
Prince Yan built a floating bridge to cross the river. While crossing, his brother-in-law Xu Huizu’s reinforcements arrived. Xu Huizu fulfilled his promise—facing Prince Yan’s offer of surrender, Xu Huizu remained impartial and ordered a decisive battle with the “Yan bandits” at Qimei Mountain.
Xu Huizu truly deserved to be Xu Da’s descendant. Under his command, the southern army achieved great victory, the Yan army retreated in defeat, and not only that, the Yan army also lost a great general, Li Bin.
The defeat at Qimei Mountain truly cost Prince Yan both his brother-in-law and troops. Not only that, it was now approaching May. The Yan territory army was basically all northerners, unaccustomed to the south’s heat and mosquito harassment. Mosquitoes spread disease, Yan soldiers suffered heatstroke and fell ill, temporarily lowering morale.
Just as the southern army had feared the northern winter, now the Yan army feared the southern summer equally!
Jiangsu’s summer was stuffy and hot, like a giant steamer. To cool down and prevent epidemic disease, Prince Yan even shaved off his beard completely. Wearing armor was like being a cooked crab.
At this time, subordinates suggested returning to Beiping to escape the heat, then heading south to attack cities when it was cooler.
They had fought all the way to Jiangsu—having taken off their pants, should they put them back on? Prince Yan refused, pointing at the great river before them: “Those who wish to cross the river, stand left. Those who don’t, stand right.”
Truly worthy of being Yan territory elites, having fought this far, most remaining were those with firm resolve. Upon hearing this, most stood on the left, though a small group stood on the right, wanting to go home to escape the heat. They weren’t afraid of death—they were afraid of heat…
Prince Yan Zhu Di possessed the courage of Han Xin’s back-to-the-river battle, continuing to inspire his heat-weary subordinates: “Emperor Gaozu lost nine out of ten battles, yet ultimately gained the realm…”
On this side of the river, Yan army morale gradually soared again under Prince Yan’s rather inflammatory speech.
On the other side of the river, southern army general Xu Huizu sharpened his weapons and horses, pursuing victory, preparing to deliver the final blow to his brother-in-law, planning to annihilate the Yan army on the spot.
Just as Xu Huizu ordered the expedition, a sharp voice rang out: “Imperial edict arrives!”
Xu Huizu had no choice but to dismount and receive the edict. The envoy opened the bright yellow imperial edict: “By Heaven’s mandate, the Emperor decrees: The capital cannot be without good generals. First recall Duke Weiguo Xu Huizu to return to the capital for defense. This is decreed!”
Xu Huizu was dumbfounded: “Why recall me? I just won a victory. Now the Yan army’s morale is low, they’re unaccustomed to southern heat, diseases are rampant, their fighting strength is weak—this is a golden opportunity for our army to attack.”
The envoy sneered: “This humble servant only came to announce the edict. If His Majesty wants Duke Weiguo to return, His Majesty has his reasons.”
Xu Huizu was a man of foolish loyalty. Knowing the edict was problematic and would miss the battle opportunity, he was helpless. He handed over the tiger tally and headed toward the capital.
Why did Emperor Jianwen recall Xu Huizu to the capital? Because his younger brother Xu Zengshou had spread word throughout the capital that before his elder brother left, he had wept bitterly before their father Xu Da’s spirit tablet, saying he would definitely protect his family and preserve the lives of his younger sister and nephews, telling their father to rest assured.
Thus, Emperor Jianwen, already wavering, again suspected Xu Huizu’s loyalty, fearing he would lead troops to defect to Prince Yan—like throwing a meat bun to a dog. He simply recalled the meat bun.