Chapter 4: The Heritage of Prince Su’s Estate

The Shaanxi Regional Military Commission oversees twelve garrisons, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Beyond these, there are the two hundred thousand Heavenly Strategy soldiers and one hundred thousand Cangyun troops provided by Zhu Jinzhen’s "newcomer gift package," bringing his total force to a million strong.

With the crucial Shaanxi frontier under his control, even the Emperor must tread carefully before daring to move against Zhu Jinzhen. This is especially true given that Zhu Jinzhen is universally recognized as the youngest Earthly Immortal swordsman in the world. Having achieved the staggering feat of repelling three Earthly Immortals single-handedly with a single sword, no one would dare act rashly unless Zhu Houzhao could muster more than four Earthly Immortals to counter him.

Li Cheng’en, Grand Commander of the Heavenly Strategy Army, nodded in agreement upon hearing this. "The Prince is right. By this generation of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor’s authority no longer possesses the absolute command that it did during the reigns of the founding Emperor, the Yongle Emperor, or even the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors. The current situation is chaotic, the court is unstable, and while our current Emperor is a wise ruler, no matter how wary he may be, he cannot afford to strike at us. If he did, who would be left to resist the Great Liao and the Mongol Yuan if they were to join forces again?"

The current Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, is by no means an imbecile like the Jianwen Emperor. If he were, he could never have balanced the interests of the Dragon Protection Villa, the Eastern Depot, and the civil official faction while navigating the cutthroat factional infighting of the imperial court. He is well aware that moving against the Prince of Su’s estate would be tantamount to cutting off his own arms. Once the deterrent and barrier provided by the Prince of Su’s estate were gone, the Mongol and Liao empires would inevitably launch a comeback, leaving the Ming Dynasty in true peril.

Most importantly, Zhu Houzhao is afraid. If an Earthly Immortal were to lead hundreds of thousands of the Ming’s finest border troops in another rebellion, would he not end up like the Jianwen Emperor, forever nailed to the pillar of shame?

The civil and military officials of the Shaanxi Three Commissions in the hall nodded repeatedly. Although everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows their Prince holds enough military power in Shaanxi to potentially revolt, what of it? Their Prince is the world-recognized Earthly Immortal swordsman, whose strength surpasses even that of the legendary Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang, who has not been seen in a century, or the sword demon Dugu Qiubai and the Sword God Xie Xiaofeng, who shook the world a century ago.

The twelve Shaanxi garrisons are not to be trifled with, either. Years of day-and-night training have granted every soldier the combat prowess to take on ten or even a hundred foes. They possess the Great Snow Dragon Riders, the premier cavalry, as well as the Heavenly Strategy and Cangyun Xuanjia—two elite trump cards. The army is also filled with countless experts. If the Emperor wishes to move against Shaanxi and the Prince of Su’s estate, he must first weigh whether he truly has the strength to do so. Furthermore, had it not been for their Prince, much of the Ming territory would have been lost years ago when the Mongol and Liao forces invaded, leaving the borderlands in ruin.

"I have been overly anxious," Shen Bing said, snapping back to reality and bowing with a self-deprecating laugh. Indeed, it is not they who should be worried, but the Emperor himself. The stability of the Shaanxi frontier was won by their Prince on the battlefield.

Times have changed. Since Zhu Jinzhen inherited his title, the entire Shaanxi region has flourished day by day, with talent emerging constantly and military power growing with each passing day. One must remember that when the Yongle Emperor launched his campaign to seize the throne, he had only one Earthly Immortal, Yao Guangxiao, and a handful of Grandmasters of the Heavenly Phenomenon realm to support his fiefdom in Yan, yet that was enough to sweep the world and secure the throne.

Yet their Prince is the uncrowned king of the Shaanxi frontier. By public knowledge alone, Zhu Jinzhen is worth three Earthly Immortals. Coupled with the troops of the Shaanxi frontier and the elite forces like the Heavenly Strategy and Cangyun armies, Zhu Houzhao would never dare move against him before purging the court. Any misstep would result in the immediate collapse of the Ming Dynasty.

Setting aside Shen Bing’s internal thoughts, Zhu Jinzhen finished listening to the reports and providing his decisions. With a calm gaze, he turned to Li Cheng’en, who sat at the head of the subordinates, and asked as usual about the development of the Heavenly Strategy Army over the past year: "Cheng’en, how is the training of the new Heavenly Strategy recruits progressing? How many are in the Vajra realm, and how many have reached the Zhi Xuan realm?"

Many in the Heavenly Strategy Mansion had died in the war years ago. Under Zhu Jinzhen’s authorization, both the Heavenly Strategy and Cangyun armies had been vigorously replenishing their ranks. Since Zhu Jinzhen acquired his "Sign-in System" cheat, he had spent the last three years obtaining countless elixirs, divine weapons, and magical artifacts, which he bestowed upon his men. Consequently, the strength of the Heavenly Strategy and Cangyun armies was now far greater than it had been years ago.

To put it mildly, when Li Cheng’en and the Heavenly Strategy Mansion were first summoned from the newcomer gift package years ago, the hundred thousand Heavenly Strategy soldiers were generally only at the lower levels of the nine-rank martial scale. Li Cheng’en himself had only just reached the Zhi Xuan realm. Others, such as the Heavenly Spear Yang Ning, Deputy Commander Qin Yiyan, and General Cao Xueyang, were mostly in the Vajra realm, with fewer than a handful having reached the Zhi Xuan realm.

Now, after years of development, the expanded force of two hundred thousand Heavenly Strategy soldiers saw their commanders and generals starting at the Zhi Xuan realm, with many having reached the Heavenly Phenomenon realm. Li Cheng’en himself had reached the Great Heavenly Phenomenon realm, standing on the threshold of becoming an Earthly Immortal. On the battlefield, leading the eight hundred Martial Guard battalions in coordination with the Heavenly Strategy battle formations, they could even contend with an Earthly Immortal.

Hearing Zhu Jinzhen’s question, every official in the hall pricked up their ears. Though they served under Zhu Jinzhen, their understanding of the strength of his three elite trump cards had remained stuck in the past, as the Heavenly Strategy, Cangyun, and Great Snow Dragon Riders reported directly to the Prince, and they had no authority to inquire.

"Reporting to the Prince," Li Cheng’en began, gathering his thoughts. "After more than two years of training, the hundred thousand new Heavenly Strategy recruits include fifty-six thousand soldiers in the lower three ranks, twenty thousand in the middle three ranks, and about ten thousand elites in the upper three ranks. Among them, roughly six thousand have entered the Vajra realm, over one thousand have reached the Zhi Xuan realm, and thirty have entered the Heavenly Phenomenon realm."

This was the strength of the new recruits added after the great war against the Mongol and Liao forces. As for the original soldiers of the Heavenly Strategy Mansion, their strength was even more terrifying.

"Hiss!"

"Thirty in the Heavenly Phenomenon realm, over a thousand in the Zhi Xuan realm, and thousands in the Vajra realm?"

"Even if you added up all the martial arts families, sects, and bandit strongholds the Prince swept away across the northern desert, they wouldn't be able to scrape together so many experts, would they?"

"If the new Heavenly Strategy recruits are this strong, then wouldn't the reinforcements in the Cangyun army be even more formidable?"

"Don't forget, we still have the Great Snow Dragon Riders."

The civil and military officials in the hall were struck with shock. While the rest of the Ming Dynasty—and indeed the world—remained ignorant of the hierarchy and true power of the troops in Shaanxi, as high-ranking officials in Lanzhou and Shaanxi, how could they not know? Though the Heavenly Strategy Army was famous and served as a frontier deterrent, they were, in fact, only the second or third-tier trump card in the Prince's arsenal.