Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was about to discuss serious matters with Chen Biao, Xu Da and Tang He returned to the neighboring residences to spend time with their wives and children. Chen Wenzheng, Li Bao’er, and Chen Ying slipped away shoulder to shoulder to catch up with one another. Madam Ma went to check on her two sleepy little sons. That left only Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Biao chatting alone.
Zhu Yuanzhang was full of energy. Even after eating his fill, he wasn’t sleepy. He scooped up his son and went fishing.
The Chen residence had diverted water from Xuanwu Lake, creating a flowing stream and pond within the estate.
Wearing a straw hat, Zhu Yuanzhang lay beneath the shade of a tree with one foot resting on a fishing rod. His son sprawled across his belly, and despite having just eaten, he didn’t mind the weight at all.
A twig hung from the corner of his mouth as he continued the earlier topic.
“Biao’er, I know you’re soft-hearted. But this is the kind of world we live in. When common folk can’t survive anymore, they’ll even exchange children and eat them, let alone bandits and soldiers. But as long as people have enough food, they won’t commit such cruel acts. Taking them in is still doing a good deed.”
Chen Biao lay flat on Zhu Yuanzhang’s stomach. His father’s full belly was springy and more comfortable than any pillow.
“I’m not soft-hearted. I’m only kind to my family. Whether I should be kind to ordinary people is something Commander Zhu, who’s going to become Emperor, needs to worry about. If he doesn’t care, why should I?”
Now it was Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyelids that twitched.
Chen Biao plucked a blade of grass and copied his father by sticking it in his mouth.
“If he wants to recruit a cannibal, let him. But Dad, stay away from that cannibal. Don’t ever serve alongside him. Otherwise, once Commander Zhu finishes using him and executes him to calm the people, you’ll probably get dragged down with him.”
Whenever he was alone with his father, Chen Biao spoke even more bluntly about Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled awkwardly.
“Son, I’ve wanted to ask you this for a long time. Do you have some prejudice against Commander Zhu?”
Lying on his father’s stomach, Chen Biao paddled his short little limbs like a tiny turtle.
“No prejudice.”
Zhu Yuanzhang patted his little belly.
“Then do you just dislike Zhang Mingjian? If you really don’t like him, I’ll speak to the Dashuai and tell him not to accept his surrender.”
He wasn’t joking.
Zhang Mingjian had already been reduced to eating human flesh. His army would soon mutiny from starvation, and Yangzhou was already as good as his.
His reasons for acting now were simple. First, hearing about Zhang Mingjian’s atrocities made him unable to bear the suffering of Yangzhou’s people. Second, Zhang Mingjian and the ten to twenty thousand Green Army soldiers under his command were indeed fierce fighters.
If Chen Biao truly rejected Zhang Mingjian, Zhu Yuanzhang trusted his immortal son’s instincts more than anything. If they didn’t recruit him, then so be it. It wasn’t a big deal.
Chen Biao immediately said, “Dad, don’t say that. If you can think of it, how could the Dashuai not? He says he’s rescuing Yangzhou, but what he really wants are Zhang Mingjian’s troops. If you oppose it by saying Zhang Mingjian’s character is terrible, what if the Dashuai gets angry from embarrassment?”
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was already beginning to feel angry from embarrassment: “…Actually… actually… actually, the Dashuai really does want to save Yangzhou.”
Chen Biao patted his father’s arm.
He knew his father was a die-hard Zhu Yuanzhang fanboy, so he comforted him.
“The Dashuai recruiting Zhang Mingjian’s Green Army really will save the people of Yangzhou in practical terms. Even though there are only eighteen households left in Yangzhou now, eighteen households are still people…”
“Ow!”
Zhu Yuanzhang shot upright from the lounge chair.
“Eighteen households?!”
Chen Biao rolled off him, tumbled across the grass, and kept rolling toward the lakeshore.
“Son!!!”
Zhu Yuanzhang panicked even more and hurried after him.
But in his anxiety, he failed to watch his footing. One foot landed on a smooth pebble, and he slipped, pitching headfirst toward the lake.
Chen Biao had already grabbed onto the grass to stop himself. He was barely hanging at the edge, with only half his body over the water.
Zhu Yuanzhang’s fall knocked him in as well.
Big splash, little splash. Father and son fell into the lake together.
The servants, who had been sent over a dozen meters away, heard the splash and rushed over.
Zhu Yuanzhang had already stood up in the water, which only reached his waist.
Chen Biao was held high above his head like a boulder lifted by a strongman—or a giant fat-headed fish proudly displayed by a fisherman after a bountiful catch.
Of course, the pose invited other comparisons too.
For example, Simba in The Lion King.
Or the dutiful son Arthas in World of Warcraft.
“One day, my life will come to an end… and you shall be crowned king!”
“My dad’s beyond saving. Stop treating him. Pull the plug!”
“Ah-choo!”
Chen Biao sneezed. Snot, saliva, and lake water sprayed all over his own face.
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly carried his chubby son through the water and onto shore.
The servants swarmed around them in panic, wiping the water from both master and young master’s bodies.
After the ensuing chaos, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Biao repeatedly warned the servants not to tell Madam Ma what had happened before retreating to the bathhouse.
The home of a wealthy merchant truly was extravagant. Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang had returned, the bath pool had been kept filled with constantly flowing hot water.
However, Chen Biao had already had people open a coal mine on the southern slope of Qinglong Mountain, and the baths were heated with honeycomb coal. In terms of cost, it actually wasn’t expensive.
After Zhu Yuanzhang reviewed the account books, honeycomb coal immediately became standard equipment in the homes of military officers and civil officials alike. Qinglong Mountain itself was placed under military control, while the Chen family was left responsible only for outside sales in exchange for twenty percent of the profits.
Chen Biao: @#$% YOU!!
“Honeycomb coal really is a wonderful thing,” Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again today.
“‘Honeycomb coal is wonderful,’ huh? Damn that Dashuai!”
Chen Biao splashed the water furiously.
“I think he was just waiting to steal the fruits of our family’s labor!”
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…Not necessarily. The Dashuai isn’t that kind of person. With coal mines, people won’t freeze to death in winter, and smelting iron and copper becomes much easier. He was right to nationalize it.”
Chen Biao balanced a towel soaked in cool water on his head so he wouldn’t get dizzy from the hot bath.
“Important mineral resources should belong to the state. But if he wanted to take it, he should’ve taken it earlier! Instead, he waited until our family had built everything up before taking it over… Hmph. He definitely did it on purpose!”
Coal had already been widely used during the Northern Song Dynasty. Chen Biao had merely improved it into honeycomb coal. He refused to believe Zhu Yuanzhang hadn’t known coal’s value all along. When Zhu Yuanzhang first allowed the Chen family to operate the mine, Chen Biao had actually been quite touched.
Turns out he’d just been waiting to screw me over!
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”
How was he supposed to answer that?
It wasn’t intentional. Before honeycomb coal existed, he genuinely hadn’t realized it could replace charcoal and firewood.
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang had only been a farmer. Yingtian was his first permanent territory. Before following Chen Biao around and learning these things, he truly hadn’t known.
A father absolutely couldn’t reveal his ignorance in front of his son. Besides, the Chen Guorui identity was already dumb enough. The Zhu Yuanzhang identity had to maintain the image of an all-knowing leader.
So Zhu Yuanzhang could only silently listen to Chen Biao complain and quietly accept the blame.
After venting for a while, Chen Biao had soaked long enough. Zhu Yuanzhang also remembered the real reason he’d come.
This time, father and son chose a much safer place for their serious discussion.
Zhu Yuanzhang lay in a hammock beneath the shade of a tree, while Chen Biao once again lay flat on his father’s stomach.
Patting the belly resting atop his own, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, “Biao’er, what did you mean by ‘eighteen households’?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
The “Chen Biao” whose memories he had inherited had studied economics and finance. He understood the Ming Dynasty’s economic development and the effects of its policies thoroughly, but he knew very little about Ming historical figures. Nor did he often watch historical dramas or read novels, so he remembered very few famous names.
Among Zhu Yuanzhang’s family, he only remembered Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di, and Zhu Yunwen.
He couldn’t even remember the name of Zhu Yuanzhang’s Crown Prince, who died young.
Among Zhu Yuanzhang’s officials, aside from Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Liu Bowen, and Hu Weiyong, he only knew that Yunnan had a Mu Prince, but couldn’t remember the man’s actual name.
So Chen Biao’s understanding of the Ming founding period amounted to “I’ve heard of it” and “I know a little.” As for exactly which people were involved, he had no idea.
That was perfectly normal. Most people only remembered the stories, not everyone’s names.
But the name Zhang Mingjian—even though he was only a minor figure in history—was one Chen Biao knew very well.
When studying the economic changes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it was impossible not to encounter several major massacres. During the transition from the Yuan to the Ming, Yangzhou suffered one of the most devastating.
Even before Zhang Mingjian occupied Yangzhou, the city had already endured repeated wars. Anyone who could flee had long since fled.
After Zhang Mingjian took the city, there was no grain left to collect in taxes.
So Zhang Mingjian and his Green Army began eating human flesh.
Using human flesh as military rations during times of chaos was unfortunately common throughout Chinese history, so the other factions didn’t think much of it at the time.
Only after Zhu Yuanzhang sent people to persuade Zhang Mingjian to surrender and entered Yangzhou did they realize something was terribly wrong.
The entire city contained only eighteen households.
Yet Zhang Mingjian’s Green Army still numbered tens of thousands of men and more than two thousand horses.
That didn’t fit the normal pattern of an army resorting to cannibalism simply because it had run out of food.
Zhu Yuanzhang flew into a rage. Ignoring the rule against killing surrendered officials, the Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu of Ming recorded:
“Upon arriving at Yingtian, Taizu personally flayed him.”
After personally executing Zhang Mingjian, Zhu Yuanzhang placed the Green Army under Xu Da, whose military discipline was the strictest.
Xu Da was famous for his discipline. Historical records state that he captured countless large and small cities without allowing his troops to commit even the slightest offense against the people. Markets remained peaceful wherever he went.
Only during the assault on Changzhou did something go wrong.
The Green Army completely ignored orders, looting, burning, killing, and even holding feasts of human flesh.
Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang realize that the entire Green Army was beyond redemption.
The soldiers who had harmed civilians were executed under military law, and Xu Da along with every general who had participated in the Changzhou campaign was punished over the incident.
Chen Biao wasn’t a good person in the conventional sense.
He called himself a refined egoist and firmly believed in, “If you’re poor, take care of yourself first.”
In this era of endless warfare, he didn’t think he could save anyone. Being able to protect his own family was already enough.
So although he knew what would happen to Yangzhou, all he did was quietly instruct the employees at his Yangzhou shops to warn the locals that the cannibal Zhang Mingjian was coming and tell them to flee as early as possible.
It was completely useless.
In fact, in the original history, did the people of Yangzhou not know Zhang Mingjian’s reputation?
Of course they did.
Those who wanted to flee had already left.
Those who remained merely clung to false hope, refusing to give up until they had no other choice.
Chen Biao said indifferently, “They eat people, and they even rank them by quality. First-class meat is children like me. Second-class is young women. Third-class is young men. Dad, your meat probably doesn’t taste very good. You’d likely be fourth or fifth class.”
Of course, the people of Yangzhou weren’t all eaten by Zhang Mingjian’s Green Army.
Nature had created something called prions to discourage creatures from eating their own kind. Mad cow disease was caused by prions.
If Zhang Mingjian had truly survived on human flesh every day, he would have caught a prion disease and died long ago.
What they actually did was seize every last grain of food in Yangzhou, then keep a supply of tender-skinned children and women as living food reserves.
Most people starved to death or were killed.
Others died after starving people turned on one another and even resorted to cannibalism themselves.
But the fact remained.
Zhang Mingjian had turned Yangzhou into hell.
Chen Biao had made a joke.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t laugh.
Turning over to look at his father, Chen Biao saw his face frozen in utter shock.
“Dad, you didn’t know almost all the people in Yangzhou were already dead?”
Zhu Yuanzhang blankly shook his head.
“How do you know what’s happening inside the city? Our people can’t even get in.”
Chen Biao scratched the little topknot on his head.
“When Zhang Mingjian’s men came out to seize grain, I had the employees of the Chen trading caravan ask around.”
It was perfectly normal that his father didn’t know what was happening inside Yangzhou.
Chen Biao had only specifically inquired because he already knew history said only eighteen households would remain.
The Green Army soldiers who left the city to seize grain accepted bribes, and the number of civilians left in the city wasn’t exactly military secret information, so they told everything without hiding anything.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, “Biao’er… did you sell them grain?”
Chen Biao shrugged his chubby shoulders.
“Sell? Do you think those Green Army soldiers would actually pay? Brother Ying had our employees frighten them using Commander Zhu’s name, then handed over all the caravan’s supplies before they barely escaped with their lives.”
“So Ying also knows about this?”
“Mm.”
Zhu Yuanzhang became angry.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
Chen Biao poked his father’s puffed-up cheek.
“Brother Ying only just got back too. Besides, you weren’t home. How was he supposed to tell you?”
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that made sense.
He was still angry anyway.
Sitting up cross-legged dejectedly, he hugged Chen Biao a little tighter.
“I really didn’t know Zhang Mingjian was this kind of person.”
Chen Biao sighed helplessly.
“Now that you know, are you really going to argue with the Dashuai and try to stop him from accepting Zhang Mingjian’s surrender? Come on, Dad. It’s normal that you didn’t know. But if Brother Ying could find this out just by asking around, would someone as brilliant as the Dashuai not know? Compared to something this ‘minor,’ Zhang Mingjian’s tens of thousands of troops are far more important.”
The grown man Zhu Yuanzhang frowned so hard he looked genuinely wronged.
I really didn’t know!
Chen Biao continued trying to persuade his stubborn father.
“Dad, anyone who wants to become Emperor has to care about both reputation and practical benefits, and practical benefits matter more. Zhang Mingjian commands tens of thousands of men. If we don’t accept his surrender and instead fight them head-on, how many of your brothers in the army will die? For their sake, he has to surrender. Once Zhang Mingjian has surrendered, could the Dashuai possibly execute a surrendered official? Don’t stick your neck out over this. The Dashuai already fears you. If you expose something like this, how will you survive afterward?”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked even more aggrieved.
“What’s wrong with killing a surrendered official? Why can’t someone as evil as Zhang Mingjian be killed? I’d kill him myself!”
Chen Biao answered absentmindedly.
“Sure, sure. With your temper, even if Zhang Mingjian surrendered, you’d personally kill him. But you’re not Commander Zhu. Sigh… with your personality, you can only ever be a middle-ranking officer. Look at Commander Zhu. Anyone who achieves great things ignores trivial details. Thick-skinned and black-hearted—that’s what it takes to be Emperor.”
Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Closed it again.
His liver hurt from anger.
“The Dashuai isn’t that kind of person! Biao’er! Believe your father!”
Chen Biao smoothly changed the subject.
“Mm-hmm, I believe you. Since we’re done talking business, shall we go see my younger brothers? Let Shuang’er recite the Three Character Classic for you. Gang’er is at the cutest age right now too. You hardly ever come home. Shouldn’t you spend some time bonding with your sons?”
His son still didn’t believe him and had even changed the subject.
Zhu Yuanzhang could only answer gloomily, “Bond over what? Don’t I write letters every few days?”
Chen Biao was speechless.
“Only I can understand your letters. Even if I read them aloud for the others, it’s nothing like talking face-to-face. Come on. Let’s go see my little brothers!”
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, climbed down from the hammock, hoisted his son onto his shoulders, and slowly headed off to visit his two younger sons.
With Chen Biao setting the standard so impossibly high, Zhu Yuanzhang wasn’t especially interested in his younger boys, who only knew how to eat, sleep, pee, and poop, and were always dirty and smelly—even though they were also legitimate sons born to him and Madam Ma.
Besides…
Chen Shuang: QAQ.
Chen Gang: TAT.
Zhu Yuanzhang set Chen Biao down and demanded angrily,
“Am I really that scary?! Huh?! Why do you two cry every single time you see me?!”
Chen Shuang hid behind Madam Ma.
Chen Gang burrowed under his blanket.
The two children cried in perfect unison,
“Waaah!!!”
Already in a terrible mood, Zhu Yuanzhang roared,
“Get out here! What are you crying for?!”
Madam Ma hurriedly shielded the two younger boys.
Chen Biao immediately hugged his father’s leg.
“Dad, don’t be angry. They’re still little. Let it go. They say children can see the murderous aura that clings to warriors who’ve survived countless battles. They must be crying because of that. It just proves how formidable you are.”
Zhu Yuanzhang snapped, “Then why don’t you cry?!”
“My eyesight’s bad.”
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”
He scooped Chen Biao up and pretended he was about to spank his nonsense-spouting son.
Chen Shuang poked his head out from behind Madam Ma and screamed. Raising the Three Character Classic in his hands, he threw it at Zhu Yuanzhang.
“The monster’s taking Big Brother away! Waaaah!”
Chen Gang climbed out from under the blanket, crawled to the edge of the bed, and spat at Zhu Yuanzhang.
“Ptoo! Ptoo! Waaaah!”
Chen Biao closed his eyes in utter despair.
Thank you, little brothers. I know you both love your big brother and want to protect me.
But…
Zhu Yuanzhang exploded with rage.
“I don’t want these two sons anymore! I’m throwing them both away!”
Madam Ma gently stroked the child in her womb and sighed.
“Biao’er takes after me. The other two both take after Chongba. As their mother… it’s truly despairing.”