Who was that lunatic?
And what, my threefold divine arts were fake?
What kind of crossbow bolt could turn me into a pincushion?
Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique! Mountain-Shrinking Fist! Great Wisdom Zen Technique!
Somebody help me!
Watching himself die again for no apparent reason, Zhu Yuanzhang felt utterly bewildered.
[Starting Over]
By the Qinhuai River, the setting sun glowed like blood.
This time, Zhu Yuanzhang disembarked but didn't hurry into Taicheng.
Instead, he first found an inn by the Qinhuai River and checked in.
Today was October twentieth, five days before Hou Jing would breach Jinling.
The Wu-Zhe Assembly wouldn't be held until the end of the year.
There was no need to rush.
Perhaps that Black-Clad Noble was an enemy of Tongtai Temple.
Zhu Yuanzhang might simply have stumbled into their feud.
He refused to believe that if he waited one more day before entering Taicheng, he'd still be so unlucky as to die for no apparent reason.
"Boss, I'd like a room!"
"Coming, honored guest! This way, please!"
The inn was run by a buxom proprietress. When she saw the Tongtai Temple monk's robe Zhu Yuanzhang wore, her eyes lit up.
She came out in person, holding a folding fan.
"We happen to have two first-class rooms left. Feel free to choose one, Master."
"No need to trouble yourself. Any room will do. But there's something else I need you to take care of."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a silver ingot from his bundle and slapped it onto the counter.
At the sight of the silver, the proprietress's smile grew even wider.
She reached for it, but couldn't pry it loose from Zhu Yuanzhang's iron-hard arm, strengthened by his Mountain-Shrinking Fist.
It wasn't that Zhu Yuanzhang was reluctant to part with his silver.
The gold and silver Fahui had prepared for him in his bundle were enough to keep a family of five happy for the rest of their lives.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew full well that Hou Jing would take Jinling in five days and plunder it on a grand scale.
By then, gold and silver would be about as useful as wastepaper.
"I've been ordered to prepare for His Majesty's Wu-Zhe Assembly. I need to buy grain, salt, meat, and vegetables, and have them delivered to Taicheng tomorrow."
As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang released his hand.
The buxom beauty eagerly snatched up the silver.
Before she could answer, Zhu Yuanzhang took another ingot from his bundle and added his city-entry pass.
"Please see to it as soon as you can."
"Leave it to me!"
The proprietress tucked both ingots into her pocket, excitement written all over her face.
"Huzi! Huzi! Go fetch some hot water and take it to Room A-7!"
"Yes..."
A strapping young man with a broad, tiger-like face called back.
He looked about fifteen or sixteen, yet was already powerfully built.
"Come with me, honored guest."
Huzi led the way.
On the fourth floor, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite pleased with the room's furnishings.
No wonder this was the capital of Xiao Liang.
The inn was in a class far above anything in Hao Prefecture.
"You can see the Qinhuai River from here. Cargo boats pass below every evening. If you need anything, just call out to them."
As he spoke, Huzi tapped the wooden bucket beside the window.
The bucket was half a meter across and more than a meter deep.
A person could curl up and fit inside it.
"Everything in the room was replaced this year. If you want hot water or food, just call for me."
Huzi went on to point out where various shared items were kept and mention a few interesting places nearby. Then he turned to leave.
But Zhu Yuanzhang stopped him.
"You don't seem worried about Hou Jing crossing the river."
"That's a joke, honored guest. Of course we're worried."
"Then why..."
"You mean, why don't we all flee across the river?"
A complicated look flickered in Huzi's eyes.
Then he continued.
"Do you know who my ancestors were, honored guest?"
"Hm?"
Zhu Yuanzhang examined the young man before him.
From this angle, Huzi did seem unusually robust.
Within his mind's spiritual root, [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] trembled faintly.
It made others feel three parts more favorably toward him for no apparent reason.
"My ancestor was once a vice general under Marquis of Donghun, the last emperor of Qi. Later, when His Majesty raised an army and besieged Jiankang, the defending general, Zhang Ji, betrayed the emperor and aided the attackers from within. When the city fell, my grandfather was killed alongside Marquis of Donghun."
As Huzi spoke, a bitter smile tugged at his lips.
Marquis of Donghun was Xiao Baojuan, the last emperor of Southern Qi.
He and Xiao Yan were both members of the Southern Lanling Xiao Clan.
Because his policies were disastrous, the state fell and he died. Xiao Yan usurped Southern Qi.
"Xiao Liang and Xiao Qi came from the same lineage."
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment.
Then he asked,
"Even if your family could no longer produce generals generation after generation, how did you end up as merchants? Did His Majesty punish your family?"
"No."
Huzi shook his head.
His expression remained fairly calm.
"Under the Liang, there are fewer people in the state than in a Han commandery, yet most of them are retainers. They eat without farming and wear clothes without raising silkworms. Some serve princes and nobles; others rely on generals."
"Though my family wasn't especially prominent, in the old days it wouldn't have been difficult to secure a military post at court."
"But His Majesty came to power by murdering his brothers and stealing the throne. He is suspicious and distrustful, so the Xiao Liang royal family controls all the wealth, money, and official positions in the realm."
"And they let their relatives run rampant, plunder the realm, arrest the innocent, and persecute the good. The people are driven from their homes, towns lie in ruin, and banditry and theft spread everywhere..."
Huzi said a great deal.
But Zhu Yuanzhang heard only one thing.
Xiao Yan had reserved every opportunity to hold office and make money for his own siblings and children.
That had left everyone else in the realm with no way to rise.
Even the Lanling Xiao Clan, the remnants of Southern Qi's ruling house, were in the same predicament.
How much worse, then, must it have been for those of lower rank in the dynasty?
Emperor Wu of Liang had gone to great lengths to enfeoff his sons and station them across the realm.
Yet that hadn't saved him from being abandoned by all.
Zhu Yuanzhang remembered clearly.
Historically, the reason the royal relief forces were repeatedly defeated by Hou Jing, despite outnumbering him, was that every member of the Xiao Liang royal family who came to his aid had their own agenda.
They wanted to use Hou Jing to eliminate Xiao Yan, weaken the other relief armies, and then fight over the throne.
Once he understood that,
in an instant,
something stirred in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.
[Holy Wish-Fulfillment] glimmered above his brow.
He looked out at the sky above the Qinhuai River. It was gray and overcast, clouds swirling overhead.
White bones clogged the riverbed, blocking the waterway.
Grieving spirits and ghosts roamed the wilderness.
What a heavy aura of calamity!
But it lasted only an instant.
As [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] went dark, everything before him returned to normal.
The Qinhuai River was once again bustling with prosperity.
Countless pleasure boats drifted downstream, while the rouge washed off by dancing girls shimmered across the river in brilliant colors.
"Thank you for enlightening me..."
Zhu Yuanzhang cupped his hands and said.
He wasn't sure whether what [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] had just shown him was an illusion.
Or whether it truly was a glimpse of the future.
Now, with history as a guide, Zhu Yuanzhang had a vague suspicion.
He still didn't know what Emperor Wu of Liang was trying to do.
But he seemed to understand how Emperor Wu of Liang had failed.
"But that's not enough to be certain."
"I still need to verify it!"
"Think nothing of it. I only hoped to form a karmic connection with you, Master."
Huzi scratched his head.
A wry, self-mocking smile appeared on his face.
His dark, honest features looked burdened with bitterness and regret.
"Perhaps it's been so long since I've had anyone to confide in that I've said too much to someone I barely know."
"I've said so many outrageous, treasonous things to you, Master. Please keep them secret."
"Otherwise, my aunt and I will have no choice but to abandon our home and livelihood and flee to Lingnan tonight."
Zhu Yuanzhang knew this was the effect of [Holy Wish-Fulfillment].
He shook his head and recited a Buddhist invocation.
"May Dingguang Buddha bear witness. This humble monk will never betray you, benefactor."
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