lcionline Chapter 593 The troublesome little devils outside Chongwen Gate
Chapter 593 The troublesome little devils outside Chongwen Gate
After searching for more than a day without finding any trace of Panda, Liu Ye finally realized that Panda was deliberately avoiding him. The three Tianjin garrisons were all near the city walls; no matter how much Panda dawdled, he should have been back at the government office by now.
Liu Ye was furious and slammed his fist on the table. "Send men to search for him in Tianjin. Tianjin is only so big; I refuse to believe we can't find him. Once we find Panda, bring him back!" Since reasoning with him wasn't working, he had to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
Beijing.
Lin San rushed to the capital, hoping to find the Grand Secretary Wen Tiren as soon as possible and complete the task assigned by the general. However, he did not expect that the nine gates were under martial law and the city gates were tightly closed, making it impossible for him to enter.
He arrived outside Chongwen Gate, and the guards, seeing him approaching with a large number of soldiers, immediately shouted: "The Tartars have invaded! Martial law has been declared in the capital! No one is allowed to enter. Who goes there? Do not come any closer, or we will fire arrows!"
Lin San replied, "I am Lin San, the commander of Qionghai Town in Guangdong. I am responsible for escorting the Tartar heads to the capital. Quickly open the city gate and let me in."
The soldiers guarding the city walls seemed to have heard the funniest thing in the world, and they all burst into laughter.
"Tartar heads, my foot! Do you think you can just pick up cabbages on the roadside? We've been paid for this for years and haven't even seen a single Tartar head. Everyone knows the main Tartar force is in the Shunyi area right now. You're just a captain from Guangdong, where would you get your hands on a Tartar head? Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"
Lin San suppressed his temper and patiently explained, "We fought a battle with the Tartar prince Abatai in Shandong and killed several thousand Tartars and Mongols. We haven't had time to report the victory yet, but now we've brought the heads along with them."
The laughter from the city walls grew louder, with someone sneering, "You say you defeated the Tartar Beile Abatai, but I could say I defeated the Tartar Khan Huang Taiji! Anyone can spout nonsense like that!"
Lin San said impatiently, "I don't understand you people. Go and report to your superior and have him come and talk to me."
This remark about a lowly soldier provoked the guards on the city wall. The laughter stopped, and one of them said, "Our superior is not here, and we don't know when he will come. You can attack us from wherever you want."
Lin San was furious that the garrison was so unyielding. He shouted, "Besides escorting the head, I also need to request the emperor to send troops to join forces with the Qionghai Army to attack Abatai. The military situation is urgent. You cannot bear the responsibility if this matter is delayed!"
The flag bearer replied sarcastically, "You want to ask the Emperor to mobilize troops? What a boastful tone! Since he's such an important figure, we dare not neglect him. You wait here while we go and inform him."
Lin San asked, "How long will it take to announce it? Is half an hour enough?"
"That's not necessarily true. We report to the platoon leader on duty, who then reports to the garrison commander, who then reports to the brigade commander, who then reports to the deputy commander of the Beijing garrison in charge of the defense of Chongwen Gate and Zhengyang Gate. It goes up the chain of command, and it can take three to five days at the fastest, or ten days to half a month at the slowest. If you have the patience, you can wait..."
Lin San realized that they were just toying with him and that these people had no intention of reporting on his behalf. A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he reached for his pistol at his waist and said, "If you are unwilling to report, then please send a message to the residence of the current Grand Secretary, Lord Wen, saying that General Liu of Qionghai Town has a message for him."
The guards burst into laughter. The flag bearer chuckled, "One minute you're asking the Emperor to mobilize troops, the next you're delivering a message to the Grand Secretary. You've got such a powerful background, we're terrified! Unfortunately, we're just lowly minions, not qualified to see the Grand Secretary, so we're afraid we can't deliver your message."
Finally losing his patience, Lin San drew his pistol, aimed it at the city wall, and shouted, "You ungrateful bastards, do you really want me to resort to violence?!" The soldiers accompanying him also raised their Patriot rifles and aimed them at the city wall.
The defending soldiers, all from the heart of the capital, were well-informed and knew these were muskets, far more powerful and ranged than bows and arrows. They dared not be careless, and immediately drew their bows and aimed at the city walls. A stalemate quickly ensued, and the atmosphere became extremely tense. A flag bearer shouted, "Dare to brandish weapons in the capital? Have you got some nerve? Trying to rebel?"
The commotion was so great that it alerted a garrison commander from the Beijing Garrison who was patrolling the nearby city wall. He came to the Chongwen Gate tower and asked, "What's going on? The tension is palpable. Are the Tartars attacking?"
The young officer replied sheepishly, “Sir, there’s a madman down below the city walls who claims to be surnamed Lin, a captain from Guangdong. He says he has a Tartar head to present to the capital and important military intelligence to report to the Emperor and the Grand Secretary. How can we fall for such a ridiculous story? We don’t even know if he’s a spy sent by the Tartars. He got angry after a few questions and even brandished his weapon… Brothers, we’re on duty to defend the city. With muskets pointed at us, we naturally have to take action…”
The garrison commander, responsible for the defense of the Chongwen Gate area, dared not be careless upon hearing this. He went to the wall and shouted, "Is this Commander Lin down here? I am the garrison commander of the Shenshu Battalion of the Beijing Garrison, also surnamed Lin. We are from the same clan. Please put down your muskets. This is a crucial area of the capital. If a fight breaks out, it will be difficult for everyone to explain themselves."
Lin San, relieved to finally find someone reasonable who seemed to be of a decent rank, put down his pistol and tried to soften his tone as he replied, “Brother, I am the commander of Qionghai Town. Our Qionghai Army fought a battle with the Tartar prince Abatai in Shandong. Abatai was defeated and fled. Now we are taking the sea route to get ahead of him and intercept him in Tianjin. We have two purposes in coming to the capital: first, to present the Tartar head to the emperor; and second, to request orders from the Ministry of War to mobilize the troops stationed around Tianjin to assist us in fighting the Tartars. Please open the gates and let us in, or you could inform the Grand Secretary.”
Lin San, being of minority ethnic origin, was unfamiliar with Han Chinese customs and lacked political experience. Whether it was seeking reinforcements or offering a severed head, these were major matters that required following official procedures; one couldn't simply rush to the Grand Secretary. Although the Grand Secretary held a high position, with power approaching that of the former prime minister, he was nominally a senior secretary assisting the emperor in handling state affairs. Directly dealing with these matters was taboo and could easily arouse the emperor's suspicion and lead to impeachment by censors.
However, he was lucky. This garrison commander, who was from his own clan, had close ties with Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren had also contributed significantly to his appointment as garrison commander. Although not a direct follower of the Grand Secretary, he was still considered a faction close to the Grand Secretary within the army. Hearing Lin San repeatedly mention the Grand Secretary, Garrison Commander Lin understood that this Commander Lin and the general behind him must have some unspeakable relationship with the Grand Secretary. He said, "If it's true, we will naturally open the gate. I will now have someone place a basket down. Commander Lin, please put your identification token and several heads in the basket. We will open the city gate after we have verified everything. The Tartars are not far from the capital. It is my duty, brother. Please do not take offense."