latelenovela Chapter 474 Leading you into an urn
Chapter 474 Leading you into an urn
Before the Qionghai soldiers could charge over with their rifles and bayonets, the Shenji Battalion had already scattered like birds and beasts, and started running away.
Whether it was the Beijing or Nanjing garrison, by the end of the dynasty, they all suffered from corrupt government, greedy and incompetent commanders, and a decline in combat effectiveness. The Shenji Battalion held a relatively high position among the Nanjing garrisons, but they received very little training. Many were unfamiliar with even the complex procedures for firing a matchlock musket, let alone calmly loading ammunition during a fierce exchange of fire. After one volley from the enemy, most were stunned; after two volleys, they essentially gave up resistance; after three volleys, everyone had only one thought: run! Forget the orders of the eunuchs guarding the city, forget the duty to protect the Forbidden City—to hell with them! These Guangdong soldiers were brutal, utterly lawless, and incredibly skilled fighters. Don't mess with them!
When people concentrate on something, the potential they unleash is incredible. The Shenji Battalion soldiers abandoned their heavy muskets, focusing solely on escape. They had an advantage in carrying heavy loads compared to the Qionghai soldiers, and the added pressure of facing certain death led to a miracle! These veteran soldiers, who barely trained a few times a year, actually surpassed their opponents, who trained almost daily, in the running competition, instantly leaving them far behind!
As the smoke gradually dissipated, the soldiers of the Third and Fourth Battalions stared in disbelief at their seemingly superhuman opponents speeding away. They had seen people who could run, but never anyone who could run like this. The fleeing speed of the refugees at the foot of Qiuyu Mountain was already astonishing, but it was still no match for the Shenji Battalion. However, as astonished as they were, they had no choice but to continue the pursuit unless ordered to stop.
Wang Lin and Xu Hongji were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and said in unison, "Chase after them! We can't let things get out of hand!" They were joking, but if the Shenji Battalion, the face of the Nanjing Garrison, were to be completely wiped out inside the city, the mess would be no less serious than the fighting outside the Forbidden City.
Wang Lin climbed into the sedan chair, and Xu Hongji jumped onto his horse. The two simultaneously ordered: "Chase after them!"
Urged on by the two men, several thousand troops from Chihe Camp, Zhenwu Camp, and Jichuan Guard rushed after them.
A bizarre scene unfolded at Hongwu Gate Square: the garrison eunuch Chang Kun, supported by two junior eunuchs, ran ahead, followed by a large group of unarmed Shenji Battalion soldiers, with several thousand Qionghai Army soldiers in pursuit. Behind them were the troops led by Wang Lin and Xu Hongji, making it a veritable marathon. Those unaware of the situation couldn't immediately discern who was chasing whom.
Chang Kun was not young, and even with the help of a young eunuch, such intense running had almost exhausted all his strength. However, he was lucky. He ran as soon as the gunfire started, and by the time the Qionghai Army had finished firing three rounds of volleys, he was already far ahead of the fleeing Shenji Battalion soldiers. In the chase, he had the last laugh, crossed two streets, and arrived at the garrison eunuch's residence outside Taiping Gate, where he plunged inside.
Before he could even steady himself, he panted heavily and ordered the servants in his mansion to close the gates, bolt them, and pile up tables, chairs, and cabinets to block them, as if this would keep the crisis out. As for the fate of the defeated Shenji Battalion, he had no time to care.
But fate had other plans. Soon, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, and the ground seemed to tremble.
Chang Kun couldn't help but press his face against the gate and peek out through the crack. He immediately gasped in shock: a dense throng of soldiers in red and white uniforms were arriving one after another, completely surrounding his residence, while not a single Shenji Battalion soldier was in sight.
"Damn you! These guys call me 'Eunuch Chang' all the time, but when things really get tough, not a single one of them comes to my aid," Chang Kun said through gritted teeth. He figured the Shenji Battalion had scattered during their escape, and these damned Guangdong soldiers hadn't chased after them, only focusing on him, following him all the way here.
However, now was not the time to complain. Chang Kun quickly considered his situation. Surrounded like this, with no way to escape, was he just going to sit and wait to die? But after thinking it over, he really didn't have any solutions.
At this moment, a voice rang out: "Eunuch Chang, although we have never met before, we have already crossed swords from afar. However, that was in the business world. Now we have fought face to face, so you could say we became acquainted through a fight. Now that I have come to see you, you have closed your door tightly. Is this not the way to treat a guest?"
Chang Kun peeked through the crack in the door again, and there stood General Liu Ye. Seeing the other man's ambiguous smile, he gritted his teeth in hatred and shouted through the crack, "Liu Ye, killing is just a matter of beheading. You've already gained the upper hand, yet you still chased us to our residence. Are you trying to wipe us out?"
Liu Ye replied in surprise, "Eunuch Chang, that's not right. We have no grudges against each other, so why are you so sure I'm going to kill you? Can't you even open the door and let me in to catch up with you?"
Chang Kun shouted, "What old grudge do you have? What old grudge do we have with you? Our enmity runs deep! If it weren't for you two years ago, our family could have bought hundreds of thousands of tons of raw silk from Suzhou, worth millions of taels of silver! And just like that, it's all gone! Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. How dare you say we have no enmity?" Mentioning millions of taels of silver, Chang Kun's hatred welled up, and his voice even changed.
At this moment, Wang Lin and Xu Hongji also arrived with their troops. In order not to provoke the Qionghai Army, they did not lead their troops forward, but went alone. The Qionghai Army soldiers had already received orders not to clash with the two, and silently made way for them. When they arrived at the open space directly in front of the army, they happened to hear Chang Kun's words. A thought struck them: indeed, there is no hatred without a cause. The feud between Eunuch Chang and this General Liu had been brewing for two years.
Liu Ye caught sight of the two figures in the distance out of the corner of his eye. He smiled slightly. They had arrived just in time. Why not take this opportunity to set a trap for Eunuch Chang and lure him into it? Someone had to take the blame for the battle outside Hongwu Gate. Although he didn't care about the court's punishment, he figured it was a win-win situation to smoothly resolve this crisis and, incidentally, give Eunuch Chang a good thrashing.
He cleared his throat and continued to berate the nearly enraged Chang Kun: "Eunuch Chang, the business world is like a battlefield. Everyone earns money based on their own abilities. You, a dignified eunuch guarding Nanjing, are so incapable of letting go of what you've got. Don't you have any magnanimity? Is this your reason for revenge?"
Because the door was too narrow, Chang Kun didn't see Wang Lin and Xu Hongji. Unsuspecting, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "That's right! I'm making sure you can't enter the city! Even if you win a battle, you'll still be turned away! Nanjing is our territory. Here, even a dragon has to coil up, and a tiger has to lie low. Even if you force your way in, I'll lead my troops to fight you! It's just a pity that the Shenji Battalion is useless, which is why you have the chance to be so smug here..."
Wang Lin and Xu Hongji were shocked to discover that the entire crisis was created by Chang Kun, and they had almost been dragged down by this damned eunuch!