421.
The Real Reason Zhang Shicheng Moved — Li Injung’s Persuasion
Zhu Yuanzhang did not know this.
From the beginning, Zhang Shicheng had never intended to move on a grand scale.
In Yangzhou, Zhang Shicheng repeated the same words again and again.
“It is not the time.”
Those words carried both caution and calculation.
No matter who had asked, he would likely have given the same answer.
Once he moved, all eyes would turn toward him, and retreat would no longer be easy.
He knew that well.
The one who held onto him until the end was Li Injung.
At a small banquet table in Yangzhou, Li Injung set down his cup and said,
“If you do not move now, control from north to south—up to Wuchang—will fall entirely to Zhu Yuanzhang.”
Zhang Shicheng looked down at the map and let out a breath that was almost a laugh.
“So you’re saying I must be the one to step in?”
Without speaking, Li Injung unfolded the map and pointed.
“Zhu Yuanzhang has entered Poyang Lake. Chen Youliang’s main force is there. The outcome in Jiangnan will be decided in that place.”
His fingertip moved to Yingtian.
“This place is empty.”
Zhang Shicheng’s eyes changed.
“If I take Yingtian?”
Li Injung answered shortly,
“Zhu Yuanzhang will reach out first. He may even ask for cooperation.”
Zhang Shicheng’s hand stopped.
After a moment, he said,
“You’re right.”
Yundam’s Design
Behind Li Injung’s persuasion stood Yundam.
Before Chen Youliang, Yundam spoke quietly.
“Zhang Shicheng will move.”
“On what grounds?” Chen Youliang asked.
“Because Yingtian is empty.”
Chen Youliang smiled.
Yundam did not.
“When Zhu Yuanzhang wavers, the front will split.”
It was not a prophecy, but a calculation.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not see it directly, yet he felt it.
The sensation that another front had opened behind him.
After Yao Yingchong’s corps departed, he realized it.
The army was already divided.
Nine corps remained.
More than thirty thousand had broken away.
From that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang’s flow began to change.
Not collapse, but redirection.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Like the stillness before the wind turns.
Like the thin tremor before a current shifts.
On the Eve of the Battle of Poyang Lake
Night clung to the battlements of Nanchang.
Yet inside the city, it was not night.
Candles flared and trembled before a great map,
and on the faces of those gathered were both tension and expectation.
There was no laughter, but the eyes were sharp—
the eyes of those who knew what tomorrow would bring.
Footsteps rushed outside.
The door opened, and Park Seongjin entered, his windcloak flaring.
Mud and blood fell from his hem.
They were not the traces of flight, but proof of a task completed.
“I submit my report.”
Before the words had finished, Chen Youliang rushed to the doorway.
A general, yet now moving like an anxious host.
“Zhonglang-jang—did you truly succeed?”
Park Seongjin formed a fist salute.
An awkward smile crossed his face.
“I moved as ordered.”
He then humbly shifted the credit to the Yao commander who had arrived with him.
The Yao commander shouted loudly,
“Loyalty!”
Inside the chamber hung a vast naval map linking the Yangtze, Poyang Lake, Nanchang, and Hukou.
Red banners marked Chen Youliang’s forces.
White banners marked Zhu Yuanzhang’s.
Blue banners marked Zhang Shicheng’s.
The generals placed stones and wooden markers to match the situation.
Each time a single small stone moved, the motion of thousands changed.
Park Seongjin’s gaze stopped at one point.
“There—Nam Ok’s banner.”
Yundam smiled.
“Yes. It was planted again where you severed it. A new corps Zhu Yuanzhang raised.”
Park Seongjin clicked his tongue.
There was ease in his eyes.
“And Zhang Shicheng?”
Yundam replied,
“He’s moving down toward Yingtian. Zhu Yuanzhang sent Yao Yingchong with thirty thousand.”
Park Seongjin let out a quiet laugh.
“An empty-house raid.”
Below the map, small banners marking movement were packed densely.
Yundam clasped his hands before it.
The night wind brushed the paper.
The candles flared, then settled.
“The wind has changed.”
The generals held their breath.
“Which way?”
Yundam pointed to the middle reaches of the Yangtze.
“From downstream to upstream. Favorable to us.”
Park Seongjin nodded.
“Their speed will drop.”
Yundam answered immediately,
“It’s the dry season. Large warships cannot avoid shallow channels.”
He tapped the wooden board.
Officers entered at once.
“Avoid the large ships. Split into light vessels and maneuver inside Poyang Lake.”
A general asked,
“What is the target?”
Yundam’s finger stopped on Zhu Yuanzhang’s flagship.
“The main body.”
Park Seongjin spoke low.
“The moment it grounds on the sandbar.”
Yundam’s voice hardened.
“That moment.”
As the generals moved, Yundam raised a hand.
“Remember this.”
He pointed to the lower edge of the map.
“We do not go below here. The water is shallow. If the large ships catch, the small ones will swarm like hornets.”
The generals answered together,
“Loyalty!”
Chen Youliang exhaled as he studied the map.
“The great turning battle is near.”
Outside the tent, soldiers were readying oars, bows, and shields.
Hundreds of ships lay on Poyang Lake, their shadows stretched beneath the moon.
The night deepened—
not a night that shrank back,
but one that pressed forward.
After the council ended, Park Seongjin approached.
“Lord Yundam.”
“Speak.”
“The wind today feels… unsettled.”
Yundam looked at him for a moment, then said,
“It’s not only the wind. Fortune itself is tilting.”
“When do we move?”
Yundam drew back the tent flap and looked at the water.
“The moment Zhu Yuanzhang’s flagship stops.”
He added, slicing the surface with his fan,
“That is when you take his head.”
Park Seongjin formed a fist salute.
“Loyalty.”
“It is an order.”
Outside, cannon were being loaded onto ships.
Ropes were drawn tight, metal rang out,
and the soldiers’ short commands bound the night into something hard and unyielding.
The True Reason Zhang Shicheng Moved — Li In-jung’s Persuasion
Zhu Yuanzhang did not know this.
From the beginning, Zhang Shicheng had no intention of making a large move.
At Yangzhou, Zhang Shicheng repeated the same words again and again.
“It is not the time.”
Those words carried both caution and calculation.
He understood that once he moved, all eyes would turn toward him, and there would be no easy way back.
The one who held him to the end was Li In-jung.
At a small banquet in Yangzhou, Li In-jung set down his wine cup and spoke.
“If you do not move now, control of the north–south corridor all the way to Wuchang will fall to Zhu Yuanzhang.”
Zhang Shicheng let out something like a laugh as he looked down at the map.
“So you are saying I must step forward.”
Without a word, Li In-jung unfolded the map and pointed.
“Zhu Yuanzhang has entered Poyang Lake.
Chen Youliang’s main army is there.
The contest for Jiangnan will be decided in that place.”
His fingertip moved to Yingtiān.
“This place is empty.”
Zhang Shicheng’s gaze changed.
“If I take Yingtiān?”
Li In-jung answered briefly.
“Zhu Yuanzhang will reach out first.”
Zhang Shicheng’s hand stopped.
After a moment, he spoke.
“You are right.”
Yun Dam’s Design
Behind Li In-jung’s persuasion stood Yun Dam.
Before Chen Youliang, Yun Dam spoke calmly.
“Zhang Shicheng will move.”
“On what grounds?”
“Because Yingtiān is empty.”
Chen Youliang smiled.
Yun Dam did not.
“If Zhu Yuanzhang wavers, the front will split.”
The words proved true, almost like a prophecy.
Yet clear calculation is stronger than prophecy.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not see it directly, but he felt it—
the sensation that another front had opened behind him.
After Yao Yongchong’s corps departed, he realized it.
The army had already been divided.
Nine corps remained.
More than thirty thousand troops had been drawn away.
From that moment, the current around Zhu Yuanzhang began to change.
Not collapse, but a shift in direction.
Like the stillness just before the wind turns.
Like the faint tremor before a river’s flow bends elsewhere.
