lcionline Chapter 472: Retaliation is inevitable
Chapter 472: Retaliation is inevitable
The sudden change caught everyone off guard.
Just as the Chihe Camp, Zhenwu Camp, and Jichuan Guard were about to withdraw, a crisis was about to be averted, and the next step was to "negotiate" (a Jiangsu dialect term for bargaining). However, the Shenji Camp suddenly attacked, and the atmosphere became tense again.
An elderly man with a white face and no beard, dressed in a Qilin robe, arrived at the center of the square in a sedan chair surrounded by the Shenji Camp. After getting off the chair, he looked around and finally locked his gaze on Liu Ye's direction. He said sternly, "These are the people. Take them down. Kill any who resist on the spot!"
Liu Ye was taken aback at first, then flew into a rage. This beardless old man looked like the mastermind behind everything—the garrison eunuch Chang Kun. Liu Ye would never believe that Commander Niu at the city gate wasn't acting under Chang Kun's direction. It seemed that his disregard for official protocol, his unreserved entry into the city, had finally gotten the better of this damned eunuch, who had now stepped forward to make his move.
His guess was absolutely right. The fact that the Qionghai Army was refused entry to the city twice, before crossing the river and after their triumphant return, was entirely at Chang Kun's instigation. The reason was simple, just as Liu Ye, Yan Guang, and others had guessed: it was all for the sake of the millions of taels of silver worth of raw silk in Suzhou.
Chang Kun was not originally a prominent eunuch in the palace. His connections and abilities were mediocre, and he wasn't even qualified to study at the Imperial Academy. Later, by associating with Cao Huachun, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he used his life savings to secure the position of the garrison eunuch of Nanjing—the pinnacle of his eunuch career. To recoup his initial investment, he frantically amassed wealth in Nanjing, disregarding any semblance of decency. His involvement in the raw silk trade in Suzhou was a key method of making money, but this was thwarted by Liu Ye, who then monopolized the entire raw silk export, completely cutting off Chang Kun's chances of entering the industry. From then on, the notoriously vengeful Chang Kun regarded Liu Ye as his mortal enemy.
However, Liu Ye was a military officer in Guangdong at the time, and Chang Kun's sphere of influence was limited to the Nanjing area, so he had no influence over Guangdong. But he had been keeping an eye on Liu Ye's every move. After Liu Ye drove out the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan and became famous, he was sent to Anhui to suppress the pirates. He would have to pass through Nanjing, and he felt that his chance for revenge had come.
He instructed the city gate guards to refuse entry to the Qionghai Army under various pretexts, resorting to all sorts of humiliation, just to annoy them. He hoped to provoke them into causing trouble, which would be even better. Unexpectedly, Liu Ye not only took the bait but also led his army to forcibly enter the city, threatening the palace, giving him the perfect excuse and making him overjoyed. Upon learning this news, he immediately summoned the Shenji Battalion, mustered his troops, and marched menacingly towards Hongwu Gate.
The reason for summoning the Shenji Battalion, rather than the Chihe Battalion or the Zhenwu Battalion, was that the Shenji Battalion had a closer relationship with him and was easier to command. The Chihe Battalion was mainly responsible for guarding the imperial tombs, and the Zhenwu Battalion was composed of elite soldiers from various Nanjing battalions and able-bodied men from Huai'an and Yangzhou prefectures, making its personnel complex and less convenient to mobilize. Moreover, in the event of any unrest that threatened Nanjing, both the Nanjing garrison commander and the Minister of War had the authority to mobilize them, potentially leading to conflicting orders. Only the Shenji Battalion relied heavily on the Bureau of Military Equipment for its supply and replenishment of weapons and supplies. As one of the twenty-four offices of the eunuchs and directly under the control of the garrison eunuch, the Bureau of Military Equipment naturally had a very close relationship with the Shenji Battalion.
Wang Lin and Xu Hongji were so angry that they wanted to curse when Chang Kun suddenly appeared and acted as a troublemaker. They were talking peacefully and it seemed that the crisis was about to be resolved, but the appearance of Chang Kun and the Shenji Battalion pushed things back to the original track.
Wang Lin walked over and whispered to Chang Kun, "Eunuch Chang, we've already reached a pretty good understanding between the two sides. If everyone compromises, we can resolve this amicably. If we insist on fighting, things might get messy..."
Chang Kun replied with righteous indignation: "Lord Wang, you are mistaken. How can such a madman who trespasses into the forbidden area of the palace be let off easily? I am a man who cannot tolerate injustice. Either I should never encounter such a thing, or if I do, I will definitely take care of it! If Lord Wang has any difficulties, then leave it to me."
Wang Lin cursed inwardly, "What have you ever done besides lining your own pockets? Now you're pretending to be a loyal minister, making us look like we're just sitting idly by." But the other party spoke so eloquently, refusing to discuss the unspoken rules of officialdom, leaving Wang Lin at a loss for what to do.
Xu Hongji also came over, dismounted beside the two, and advised, "Eunuch Chang, a moment of patience brings peace, and a step back opens up a vast sky. Why bother with this hothead? The Divine Machine Battalion is equipped with firearms. If we accidentally damage the Forbidden City behind it, none of us can bear the responsibility!"
Chang Kun intended to exploit Liu Ye's crime of forcibly entering the city and trespassing on the palace, to take advantage of his illness and kill him, settling a personal score. He wasn't about to back down after a few words of advice. He bulged his eyes, waved his hand, and loudly proclaimed, "His Majesty sent me to Nanjing to guard the city; this is a sign of his trust in me, and I cannot betray it. Lord Wang and Duke Wei, there's no need to persuade me further. If you are unwilling to help, then watch as the Divine Machine Battalion captures this scoundrel and sends him to the capital for trial."
When persuasion failed, Wang Lin and Xu Hongji returned dejectedly to their southern positions. They were now in an awkward position, unwilling to intervene for fear of being drawn into this pointless conflict, yet unable to leave on their own accord to avoid giving others ammunition. They could only retreat several dozen steps further, watching blankly as the Shenji Battalion and the Qionghai Army resumed their standoff.
Chang Kun, his face beaming with excitement, pointed a finger at Liu Ye and said, "Traitor, just surrender obediently, or we'll have to take action."
Liu Ye replied disdainfully, "Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, you're overestimating yourself! Who gave you such courage?"
Chang Kun was furious upon hearing this and ordered the Shenji Battalion's adjutant, "Have everyone open fire!"
The adjutant hesitated and said, "Sir, the enemy outnumbers us, and their muskets look much more powerful than ours!"
Chang Kun was furious: "Don't boost the morale of others and diminish our own prestige. We are the mighty Beijing Garrison, while they are just a bunch of country bumpkins. Do you really think they would dare to fight the Beijing Garrison? It's just a bluff."
Left with no other option, the adjutant ordered all the arquebusiers to prepare to fire and load their guns.
The Qionghai soldiers watched as the Shenji Battalion opposite them loaded their ammunition, and anxiety began to rise within them. Their knuckles, gripping their rifles, turned white from the force—no one knew better than them how lethal a shot at this distance could be. Previously, it was the enemy who had endured their dense volleys of fire; now it was their turn to face that pressure. They couldn't help but look towards the central command, hoping to see the order to fire so they could strike first.