latelenovela Chapter 623 Cannons Aimed at Yongding Gate
Chapter 623 Cannons Aimed at Yongding Gate
Just as the two were at a loss about the news that the Tartars were about to arrive in the capital, a soldier at the gate came to report again.
"General Liu Ye of Qionghai requests an audience."
Zhang Fengyi's eyes lit up. Wasn't Qionghai Town the powerful army that had driven away the Japanese invaders and captured Gao Yingxiang alive? With such an army coming to the emperor's aid, there was hope of resisting the Tartars. He quickly said, "Bring them in quickly!"
Liang Tingdong asked, puzzled, "Boqi, who is this General of Qionghai? You seem to have become much more energetic."
Zhang Fengyi was a little excited: "You've been in the border town for a long time, far from the central government, so you may not know that the Qionghai Army is a strong force, no less than the Guan Ning Army. With them in charge, we can rest easy even if the Tartars cross the border."
As they spoke, Liu Ye entered the main tent. He glanced at the two men, then cupped his hands and said, "This humble official greets you two lords."
Zhang Fengyi scrutinized him for a moment, then nodded repeatedly: "A man of imposing stature, a dragon among men, only someone like him could train such a powerful army. Your journey from afar to the capital to defend the emperor demonstrates your unwavering loyalty to the court..."
Liu Ye interrupted him: "Um, cough cough, Minister Zhang, right? You are still the Minister of War, in charge of the army of the whole country. Don't you know that you have never transferred my troops to the capital?"
Zhang Fengyi was taken aback. "You mean..."
Liu Ye answered without hesitation: "What I mean is: although I have killed many Tartars along the way and have come to the capital, I am not here to defend the emperor, thank you!"
Zhang Fengyi plopped back into his chair, completely bewildered, muttering, "They didn't come to defend the emperor? What should we do then?"
Liang Tingdong couldn't help but question, "Boqi is the Minister of War. Even if you weren't summoned to the capital to defend the emperor, is it not acceptable for him to order you to stay here and deal with the Tartars?"
He glanced at him sideways and replied, "You are Liang Tingdong, the Governor-General of Xuanda?"
"Exactly."
"Are the troops in Guangdong under your command?"
Liang Tingdong paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's not my responsibility."
"Then why are you overstepping your bounds and making such a racket when I'm speaking to the Minister of War?"
Liang Tingdong felt his blood rush to his head, his vision went black, and he swayed precariously, clutching his chest to keep from falling. This remark had left him extremely frustrated. After all, he was a high-ranking official in charge of military affairs in Xuanda and Shanxi, yet he was being so disrespected by a mere general.
Zhang Fengyi asked weakly, "If you didn't come to support the emperor, why did you come to the capital?"
Liu Ye looked at him with pity: "Minister, you're not in the capital, so you probably don't know what happened, do you? Yang Sichang is now controlling the Ministry of War. He's not only trying to seize your position as Minister, but he's also extending his reach to Tianjin, hindering my plan to assassinate the Tartar prince Abatai. I'm here to demand an explanation. As for supporting the emperor, let whoever wants to go, go. The court's treatment of people has left me heartbroken..."
Zhang Fengyi was taken aback. He had requested to leave the capital to oversee military operations in order to avoid impeachment, and he was completely unaware that Yang Sichang, with the emperor's tacit approval, had attempted to seize the position of Minister while serving as a Vice Minister. In that instant, he felt as if the entire world had abandoned him; he was stunned and unable to utter a single word.
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Liu Ye knew it was impossible to discuss entering the city with him, so he shook his head and left.
Zhang Fengyi remained stunned for a long time. Liang Tingdong, worried that something might happen to him, shook him vigorously until he regained his senses. Once he was fully conscious, he murmured, "The situation is hopeless, I only wish for a quick death." He grabbed a handful of rhubarb and stuffed it into his mouth.
Liu Ye left the tent and ordered his men, "Zhang Fengyi is a good-for-nothing, you can't count on him. Have Datong Town clear the way and go knock on the door!"
Wang Pu was very cooperative and quickly made way, allowing the Qionghai Army to arrive at Yongding Gate without any obstruction.
Liu Ye arrived at the city walls and called out to the city tower: "I am Liu Ye, the General of Qionghai, and I have urgent business to discuss with the Emperor in the capital..."
The officer on duty on the city wall was the same one who had made things difficult for Lin San. He frowned when he heard the shout. Qionghai Town again? One after another, they're all rushing to the capital. Are they all just bored and have nothing better to do?
He stood on the city wall and shouted irritably, "The capital is under martial law now. You think you can just come into the city with a single word? Who do you think you are? So what if you're a general? There are plenty of generals among the troops outside the city who are there to defend the emperor. If they all wanted to come into the city, wouldn't that cause chaos?"
Liu Ye calmly said, "You're not qualified to talk to me. Go find your boss, or you can send Yang Sichang, the Vice Minister of War..."
The captain laughed in exasperation. That tone was so familiar; that big, simple-minded fellow had said the same thing back then. If it weren't for the later shift garrison commander, Lin, ordering the city gates opened, he would never have let anyone in. Why are the people of Qionghai Town so arrogant?
"And you call yourself Lord Yang of the Ministry of War? You won't even see the city gate guards. Just stay outside the city and fight the Tartars to the death. If you're unlucky enough to die, the brothers will collect your corpses after the Tartars leave..." The captain was spitting as he spoke, doing everything he could to be sarcastic. Today, the garrison commander Lin wasn't there, so there was no one to help these Cantonese guys.
Just as they were getting into the conversation, Liu Ye and the others took a few steps back, and one cannon after another was pushed up, forming a long line. The dark muzzles of the cannons were raised and aimed at the city gate, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.
The platoon leader abruptly stopped speaking. Beijing also had cannons, but only a few dozen were scattered across various city walls, with only a few at Yongding Gate—a mere fraction compared to the enemy's numbers. As a veteran of the Beijing garrison, he knew the power of cannons; if that long platoon of cannons were to fire, it might not destroy the city walls, but the gate towers would definitely be blown away.
Liu Ye said leisurely, "If you utter another word, I'll order the cannons to fire. If the Yongdingmen gate tower is leveled, even if you don't get killed by the cannon fire, can you bear the responsibility for provoking a conflict without authorization?"
The sergeant was sweating profusely. The capital being bombarded by his own people was an extremely serious political event. Putting aside what punishment the crazed general would receive, he, a nobody, was definitely not going to escape. The best outcome would probably be that his superior would kill him on the spot to vent his anger.
He dared not utter another word, carefully took two steps back, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and muttered a curse: "He's a complete madman, utterly unreasonable."
Fists always work more than words. Soon, a military officer arrived at the city wall, cautiously peering out and surveying the dense array of cannons below. He said, "Brother, let's talk this out. You want to enter the city, right? Let me report to my superiors first. You take these things back; they're creepy..."
Liu Ye shook his head: "I don't have time to waste here. Go find Yang Sichang directly. If he doesn't show up in half an hour, I'll bombard Yongding Gate!"
The threat was so frightening that the garrison dared not provoke Liu Ye any further and quickly sent someone directly to the Ministry of War.
The main hall of the Ministry of War.
"What?! Qionghai Town has set up cannons aimed at Yongding Gate!" Yang Sichang slammed his fist on the table in anger. "This is utterly lawless! Prepare a sedan chair and take me to Yongding Gate. Also, immediately send someone to the palace to inform the Emperor of this!"