The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched mounted guards from the Imperial Guard to Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, to recruit Lou Ying as an imperial physician.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the offices of the Great Ming court reopened and resumed official business. Zhu Yuanzhang issued several edicts that day concerning military affairs, government administration, and other matters.
Among them was an imperial edict concerning the Imperial Medical Academy: a new post of Director of the Imperial Medical Academy would be established at Principal Sixth Rank, with an annual salary of one hundred and twenty shi of grain. Xiao Jiuxian, formerly an imperial physician who also served as a clerical officer, was appointed to the position.
Last September, among the Eighteen Western Tribes in Qinghai that had submitted to Great Ming, some tribes had been persuaded by Northern Yuan envoys to betray Ming and defect to Yuan. They openly blocked the tribute route from Ü-Tsang to Great Ming, even murdering the envoys the Ming Dynasty had sent to investigate and attacking Great Ming's garrison at the Hezhou Guard.
Last winter, Zhu Yuanzhang had ordered Deng Yu and Mu Ying to prepare to suppress the rebellion. The campaign against the Xifan was expected to begin in the third or fourth month of this year, severing the Northern Yuan's tentacles reaching into the west. Most of the Great Ming court's senior officials were now busy with this major affair of state and war.
Thus, officials of the outer court, including Hu Weiyong, Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, paid no attention to the creation of a Director of the Imperial Medical Academy's post. They merely assumed that Xiao Jiuxian had cured some palace consort during the New Year festivities and received a promotion as his reward...
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Lantern Festival drew near.
Zhu Yuanzhang still rose early and worked late, occupied with affairs of state.
He did want to follow Dai Sigong's instructions to work less and rest more, but he truly could not manage it. All he could do was drink more medicinal decoctions each day to nourish his health.
After dinner that day, Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing memorials in the Western Warm Chamber of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Suddenly, a strange sight appeared before his eyes, and that peculiar yet familiar voice rang in his ears.
"Rebel Army Group chat activated!"
Seeing the translucent box before him, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help feeling a little excited. He immediately wanted to ask whether Liu Bang had returned to Chang'an.
But then he remembered that fewer than ten days had passed since the last group chat. Even if Liu Bang had broken out of Mount Baideng, the war with the Xiongnu would take some time to conclude. His return to Chang'an was probably still some way off.
Still, if Zhang Liang was beside Liu Bang, then with Chen Ping as well, there would be enough advisers to devise plans for him.
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to enter a message silently, Liu Bang sent one first.
[Liu Bang: This damned thing finally showed up again! It was gone for over a month. Your old man here thought it had vanished for good!]
Zhu Yuanzhang was astonished.
More than a month had passed in the early Han?
Did that not mean... time moved at a different pace in the early Han than in Great Ming?
At that thought, he immediately asked.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: Han Gaozu, has more than a month truly passed on your side?] [Liu Bang: Why would your old man lie to you? What, has it not been over a month on your side?]
Liu Bang really is sharp. He figured it out from a single sentence.
After marveling at that, Zhu Yuanzhang replied.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: By my reckoning, only nine days have passed here.] [Liu Bang: Only nine days?]
Liu Bang seemed unable to believe it.
Just then, Zhang Jiao sent a message too.
[Zhang Jiao: Only five days have passed here.]
At the sight of that, Liu Bang lost his cool outright.
[Liu Bang: Your old man already thought this damned thing was unfair last time, and now it turns out I was right! Why do you two only have to wait five days and nine days, while I have to wait over a month?!]
For some reason, reading Liu Bang's complaints-or rather, curses-left Zhu Yuanzhang feeling considerably better.
If a shorter interval between chats means greater favor from the Rebel Army Group, then although I cannot compare with Zhang Jiao, at least I am much more favored than Liu Bang. Ha!
After laughing, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to business.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: Han Gaozu, have you returned to Chang'an?] [Liu Bang: It has only been a little over a month. How could your old man have made it back to Chang'an?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: Then is Zhang Liang beside Han Gaozu?] [Liu Bang: Zhang Liang is frail and often ill. Ever since Great Han moved its capital to Chang'an, he has shut himself away to recuperate and rarely even takes part in affairs of state. Why would he accompany your old man on a campaign against the Xiongnu? If you urgently need someone to devise plans, besides Chen Ping, I have Lou Jing here too. Both can offer advice.]
Lou Jing?
Zhu Yuanzhang searched his memory before recalling that this man was one of Liu Bang's important advisers in the early Han. He had advocated a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu to let the Han Dynasty rest and recover, and had been granted the surname Liu for his achievements, becoming "Liu Jing."
As for Lou Jing's other deeds, he could not remember them clearly.
In the Rebel Army Group, Liu Bang also began introducing Lou Jing.
[Liu Bang: Lou Jing was originally from Qi. He does not have as many ingenious schemes as Chen Ping, nor is he as skilled at responding to changing circumstances as Zhang Liang. But when it comes to surveying the state of the realm and devising plans to secure the country, he is no less capable than Zhang Liang.] [Liu Bang: Before fighting the Xiongnu, your old man sent several envoys to inspect their troops and horses. The other envoys all said the Xiongnu soldiers were weak and their horses scrawny, and that we could fight them. Only Lou Jing said it was a ruse, that the Xiongnu were deliberately feigning weakness, and urged me not to send out the army.] [Liu Bang: Your old man did not listen to him then, and even imprisoned him at Guangwu, which led to the Siege of Baideng. Now that I have escaped, I released him and had a long talk with him. Only then did I discover that the strategies within his breast were no less formidable than Zhang Liang's.] [Liu Bang: Taking advice from him and Chen Ping would hardly be worse than taking advice from Zhang Liang and Xiao He.]
Liu Bang's words tempted Zhu Yuanzhang quite a bit.
But he still had to weigh the terms.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: If Lou Jing and Chen Ping cannot offer plans that satisfy me, it will not count.] [Liu Bang: Oh, come now, Old Zhu. You are a founding emperor too. Why all these petty calculations and quibbles? How about this: let us form an alliance outright.]
An alliance?
Zhu Yuanzhang roughly understood what Liu Bang meant as soon as he heard it, and he was tempted too.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: What sort of alliance?] [Liu Bang: Simple. Whenever you need someone to devise plans, just say so. Whether it is Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Lou Jing, or even Han Xin and the others, whoever you want, your old man will bring him over and ask.] [Liu Bang: Likewise, if your old man asks about future events, you must tell me everything you know and leave nothing unsaid.] [Zhu Yuanzhang: Those advisers under you may not be able to offer me many useful plans. But every piece of information I reveal about you is vitally important. If we form an alliance on your terms, would I not be taking a tremendous loss?] [Liu Bang: Then what do you want? It seems your old man can only have people devise plans for you. There is nothing else I can help with, is there?] [Liu Bang: Besides, at most you could say this alliance gives your old man a little advantage. How does that amount to a tremendous loss for you?]
Over the past few days, Zhu Yuanzhang had given the Rebel Army Group a great deal of thought.
He felt that, besides learning about the future if someone from a later era of Great Ming was invited into the group, "Rebel Army Q&A" was also well worth exploring and exploiting.
Last time, for instance, he had answered correctly. Although the song animation he received as a reward was not to his liking, and had even filled him with anger and anguish, it had nevertheless reminded him to pay attention to the health of Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Xiongying.
Moreover, the question itself had hinted at the reason Great Ming would one day fall.
If future questions and rewards were similarly useful, he would have to answer as many correctly as possible, so he could learn more about matters concerning himself through the rewards.
It would be good if he could use the likes of Liu Bang and Zhang Jiao to help him answer more questions correctly. Judging by the answering rules last time, however, that seemed difficult.
With that thought, he replied to Liu Bang.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: An alliance between us is possible, but I need to consider its precise terms.] [Liu Bang: You can consider it, but do not take too long-who knows how long this damned Rebel Army Group will wait before appearing again? If you drag it out until your old man's allotted years run out, you will only be able to ally with my ghost.]
Liu Bang's words stirred a thought in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: I can tell you one thing first-in the eleventh year of Emperor Gao of Han, Ying Bu rebels. You lead a campaign despite being ill and are wounded by a stray arrow, causing an old ailment to flare up. You then die in the twelfth year of Emperor Gao of Han after treatment fails.]
Liu Bang froze briefly upon reading the message, then was overjoyed.
He immediately understood Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning-if he knew how he would die, he could begin making plans early. Perhaps he could escape that calamity and extend his life!
[Liu Bang: Thank you!]
Guangzong.
Sitting in his study, Zhang Jiao watched the messages from Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang keep appearing in the group. Before long, Liu Bang had obtained such important information from Zhu Yuanzhang, and envy showed on Zhang Jiao's face.
He thought of the approach he had devised over the past few days and decided to give it a try.
[Zhang Jiao: Zhu Yuanzhang, if you can guide me in breaking the siege of Guangzong, I can also gather the brilliant strategists of this age for your use.]
Zhu Yuanzhang had not expected Zhang Jiao to "say" something like that.
After reading it, he recalled the Yellow Turban Army's circumstances and eventual fate. He was about to refuse outright when he suddenly thought of the advisers from the Late Han and the Three Kingdoms Period whose names had echoed through the ages: Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Pang Tong, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Xu Shu...
If these men could truly serve him, would that not be the same as having a council of Three Kingdoms strategists?
But no sooner had the thought arisen than two very practical problems occurred to him.