Chapter 18: Sun Chuanting!

Sun Chuanting felt a surge of overwhelming joy upon hearing those words. He was finally going to be free!

Though he had spent two whole years imprisoned in the imperial jail, suffering little physically, the ordeal had been a living nightmare. Now that his freedom was restored, how could he not be thrilled?

Just then, Zhu Cilang suddenly remembered something and turned to Ma Bao, asking, “By the way, weren’t you sent earlier to bring the imperial physician to treat Lord Sun? What did the doctor say?”

Ma Bao respectfully replied, “The physician examined Lord Sun and said there was no major illness, only that one ear seemed to have lost hearing.”

Zhu Cilang nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. It seemed the official history had been truthful—Sun Chuanting was indeed partially deaf, but at least one ear was still functional.

At that moment, Sun Chuanting stood up and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, though one of my ears is deaf, the other still hears well. I can continue to serve the Great Ming with loyalty!”

Look at that—a loyal and virtuous general! Despite enduring wrongful imprisonment for two years, his first thought upon release was still to serve his country faithfully.

Such a talent wasted under the reign of Chongzhen!

When discussing the late Ming period, one could hardly avoid mentioning the man before them—Sun Chuanting. The official records even say, “Sun Chuanting’s death marked the fall of Ming.”

Indeed, five months after Sun’s defeat and loss of Tongguan Pass, Li Zicheng’s forces entered the capital. Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself on Coal Hill, and the Ming Dynasty met its final demise.

Had Chongzhen fully supported Sun Chuanting, perhaps the Ming could have risen again.

But fortunately, there was still time—because he was not Chongzhen.

“Ma Bao, guard the door. Without my order, no one is to enter,” Zhu Cilang commanded.

“Your servant obeys!” Ma Bao replied respectfully. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly recalled something and added, “Your Highness, when I returned earlier, I found dozens of nobles kneeling at the palace gates. I inquired and learned they came to surrender their family assets. They also wished to see you and His Majesty.”

“But I didn’t know what to do, so I didn’t attend to them. Should I let them in?”

Zhu Cilang was momentarily taken aback but quickly understood. No doubt these were the nobles untouched by recent events, now terrified for their lives.

Fearing that Chongzhen’s purge wasn’t over, they hastened to hand over their wealth, hoping to preserve their lives and titles.

A smile flickered in Zhu Cilang’s heart—he hadn’t expected such an effect. Yet, he had no time to deal with them now.

“Have them collect all the assets they brought, but keep them kneeling. We will address this once everyone has arrived.”

In Zhu Cilang’s view, these were only a fraction of the nobles; more were yet to come.

Let the storm rage a little longer.

“Understood!” Ma Bao answered and left.

In the Hall of Fulfilling Heaven, only Zhu Cilang and Sun Chuanting remained.

At that moment, Sun Chuanting grew tense. On the way from the imperial jail to the palace, everywhere he saw the Embroidered Uniform Guard busy arresting nobles—fellow officials of the Ming!

Upon arriving at the palace gates, he found a sea of kneeling nobles, each with expressions as if their entire families were dead.

The oppressive atmosphere was suffocating.

Sun Chuanting needed no explanation—something monumental had happened.

Of course, it had nothing to do with him.

Just then, Zhu Cilang spoke again, “Lord Sun, some events have transpired at court today, which you may not yet know. I shall tell you directly.”

“Several nobles, led by Duke Zhu Chuncheng, have been accused of embezzling military funds and coveting imperial power. Upon learning this, the late emperor fell gravely ill and appointed me as regent.”

“This means I now hold authority over state affairs. Do you understand?”

Sun Chuanting had guessed the nobles’ involvement, so this was not too surprising. But the news of the emperor’s severe illness and the prince acting as regent startled him.

He quickly recovered and respectfully replied, “Your Highness, I understand.”

Zhu Cilang continued, “The previous emperor’s handling was unjust, causing you to suffer grievances. But I assure you, such things shall not happen again.”

“The Ming faces internal and external threats: Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong within, and the Jianzhou Jurchens without.”

“I intend to have you continue the campaign in Shaanxi and Henan to eradicate Li and Zhang. Are you willing?”

Actually, Zhu Cilang hoped to send Sun Chuanting to Liaodong to replace Hong Chengchou, but battlefield command changes are taboo, and Sun’s expertise was in suppressing rebels; thus, he abandoned that plan.

As the saying goes, each specialist has his craft—let Sun deal with Li and Zhang, and find another way for Liaodong.

Sun Chuanting promptly agreed, “Your Highness, I am willing to go to Shaanxi to eliminate Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. This is my honor.”

“I shall not fail the trust of His Majesty and Your Highness.”

Sun’s earlier disgrace had been largely due to the chaos caused by these two rebels; he truly despised them.

Pleased with Sun’s response, Zhu Cilang asked, “If you were to completely defeat Zhang and Li, how many troops would you need?”

Sun Chuanting considered briefly and answered solemnly, “I require only 5,000 elite soldiers, supplemented by the local border troops of Shaanxi, to defeat Li and Zhang.”

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang’s heart stirred slightly.

If he recalled correctly, a later film portrayed Sun Chuanting telling Chongzhen the same.

Sun was not boasting about defeating Li and Zhang with just 5,000 men; he meant 5,000 elite troops plus the tens of thousands of border troops stationed in Shaanxi.

Thus, the actual number he sought was between thirty and forty thousand.

What Sun did not know was that, after prolonged warfare, Shaanxi’s border troops had already been halved.

The remainder were busy suppressing bandits elsewhere, leaving no surplus forces available.

This was a significant factor in Sun’s historical defeat.

Of course, Zhu Cilang would not make such a mistake.

He asked, “What if there are no border troops left in Shaanxi?”

Sun Chuanting looked surprised but quickly replied, “If no troops are available in Shaanxi, then I must recruit and train new soldiers.”

“By my estimate, at least thirty thousand elite soldiers are necessary to defeat Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.”

“There is one more matter…”

Sun Chuanting hesitated as he spoke.