The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 228 Yang Hao's Attack

Pei Dahu looked at Yang Hao who was hidden in the shadow of the lamp, took off his hat, revealing a pair of round cow eyes.

"Sir Yang, the title of Madam Imperially Honored was bestowed upon her by the late Emperor. How come when it comes to you, she becomes unruly and willful?"

Yang Hao walked out from the shadows, his squinting eyes suddenly widened, and when he saw the face under the hat clearly, he was shocked.

"Pei Dahu?"

Pei Dahu nodded to Yang Hao, and the scar on his face twitched.

"I hope you are well, Yang Jinglie."

"How did you get to...Tianjin? Where is Ping Liaohou?"

Shen Lian, Lin Yu and Wu Xiao also took off their hats. Yang Hao looked at them in surprise.

"I don't know the true nature of General Yang, so I have to resort to this desperate measure. Please don't blame me, Lord Yang. Tianjin has been in turmoil lately, so we're here to take Lord Yang out for some shelter."

"It's okay, it's okay. I just thought you were really the Jinyiwei."

Since Yang Hao became the Tianjin Coast Guard, although he embezzled a lot of money, he was often troubled by the censors and imperial court officials, who often accused him of using the power of Ping Liaohou to bully the men and women in Tianjin.

Yang Hao hated these censors to the core, but he had no choice but to spend money to bribe them.

When he saw the Jinyiwei coming to his house in the middle of the night, his first reaction was that they were here to extort money again.

After hearing what Pei Dahu said, he knew the purpose of the four people's visit. He winked at Wei Yidao, and the maids around him immediately retreated.

Only Pei Dahu, Shen Lian and four others were left in the room, as well as Yang Hao and the head servant who had just been knocked down by Shen Lian.

Yang Hao introduced the four people:

"This is my trusted servant Wei Zhao, who is considered my half-adopted son. He is very reliable and has great kung fu skills..."

The four of them smiled awkwardly and bowed to Wei Yidao who was defeated in one move.

No fighting, no acquaintance, the two sides are considered to know each other.

Yang Hao pulled Wei Zhao over and introduced him:
"Wei Zhao, they are all trusted subordinates of Marquis Ping Liao. Pei Dahu, the head of General Liu Jing's retainers, is now guarding Marquis Ping Liao. When he made great military achievements at Sarhu, it was I who personally submitted a petition to commend him. I heard that you just engaged in a fight. It's like a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple, with your own people fighting against your own."

Wei Zhao suppressed his anger and bowed to everyone.

He looked up at Pei Dahu and suddenly felt that this man looked familiar.

This is no wonder. Before the Battle of Sarhu, Liu Jing stayed in Shenyang for half a month, quarreled with Yang Hao for half a month, and was finally assigned to the most dangerous eastern battlefield.

It is very likely that the two servants had met each other in Shenyang City.

After a few pleasantries, Pei Dahu continued:
"Yang Jinglue, the situation is urgent, so I'll cut to the chase. My brothers and I killed dozens of Jinyiwei in the capital and burned down the Jiaofangsi. We committed heinous crimes and our entire clan will be implicated. Based on these two notices, I'm afraid Yang Jinglue cannot escape responsibility, so please follow me..."

"What? You killed the Jinyiwei? And you burned down the Jiaofangsi. It's simply..."

I almost said that crazy sentence, but in the end I held back.

However, Yang Hao was a man of decisiveness and ruthlessness, and was used to seeing life and death in the officialdom. He soon calmed down, glanced at everyone, and said coldly:

"You are so bold! Do you know that killing the Jinyiwei means extermination of three clans? I have been an official for thirty years and have never seen anyone as cruel as you. If the court captures you, lingchi would be a light punishment. Is this what Ping Liaohou intended?"

Shen Lian walked to the front and said with his head held high:

"That's what I meant."

"I am Shen Lian, the sworn brother of Eunuch Wei. Xu Xianchun killed the factory owner and wants to kill me and Brother Pei, so I killed them. Right now, soldiers from the North and South Military Commissions are rushing towards Tianjin, along with soldiers from the Five Cities Military Commission. Judging from their posture, they want to kill Shen and Sir Yang as well."

"Master Yang, come back to Liaodong with us. The Marquis of Ping Liao and the Imperial Madam are waiting for you."

Yang Hao stared at Pei Dahu and said:

"How many of you are there?"

"Twenty-six people, including three female relatives."

"Twenty-six people? And the women?"

The three of them looked at Shen Lian without saying a word.

"How are you going to get to Liaodong?"

Pei Dahu said nervously:

"Go to the dock and hire a boat tonight..."

"All the docks in Tianjin have been empty for a long time. The nanmu wood purchased by the palace from Yunnan and Guizhou has just arrived at Dagukou. The Caohe River cannot transport it, so the Fujian ships have been diverted there."

Yang Hao asked the four people soul-searching questions in the tone of a senior grain officer, with a half-smile on his face.

"The food and supplies have not yet been sent out before the army moves. You have committed such a heinous crime. You didn't even think of your own retreat beforehand, right?" Seeing Yang Hao's attitude, several people looked at each other. Shen Lian gritted his teeth, raised the Embroidered Spring Knife above his head, and handed it to Yang Hao.

"Sir Yang, this sword was given by the late emperor. It has killed countless evil people. If you are unwilling to leave, then kill Shen and hand over his head to the court tomorrow morning. The court may be able to spare your life."

Yang Hao clapped his hands and laughed, then stepped forward to help Shen Lian up, shaking his head and sighing:

"Captain Shen, you are young and full of energy. I am just trying to see if your plan is thorough. I have no other intentions. If I don't leave, are you waiting to be cut into pieces by the imperial court?"

He pushed aside the Embroidered Spring Knife, turned around and asked the servant Wei Zhao:

"Wei Zhao, when can our Fu ship leave the harbor?"

Wei Zhao said without hesitation:
"Master, the ship can leave at any time, but it's best to wait until daybreak. The sea has been frozen over these days, and it's easy to hit an iceberg in the dark."

Yang Hao waved his hand, and his hoarse voice suddenly became high-pitched.

"Make preparations immediately and leave at daybreak. Prepare food and water. Move all my silver to the bottom of the hold overnight to use as ballast. Pile some cargo on top. Fly the flag of the Tianjin Navy and sail out of the harbor at daybreak. Take Lu Tongzhi's cargo with you as well."

Wei Zhao agreed and quickly turned to leave. Just after taking two steps, he was stopped by Master Yang again.

"Wait."

"Master, do you have any other instructions?"

Everyone looked confused and was deeply shocked by Master Yang's actions.

I only heard Master Yang give another order:

"Let someone else handle the Fuchuan first. Now go to the Zhejiang Guild Hall and find Xu Zixian (Xu Guangqi) and that red-haired Yijin Nige. Invite them both to my house immediately."

Wei Zhao obviously knew Xu Guangqi. He stood there, looking embarrassed and hesitant:
"Master, what if they don't come? I'm afraid I can't defeat the red-haired barbarian."

Wei Zhao had met Jinnige. Though this red-haired barbarian, sporting a feather fan and a silk scarf, admired the culture of the Celestial Empire and dressed like a Confucian scholar, speaking of Jehovah and Confucius, blending Eastern and Western elements, he was actually nine feet tall, with red hair covering his chest over two inches. His fists were bigger than sandbags, and he could kill a buffalo with one punch.

"Master, how about I go with these Jinyiwei and capture the Red Haired Barbarians?"

Yang Hao said angrily:

"Master, did I say to arrest him? Ginni is my good friend and a servant of God. He has come all the way to the Ming Dynasty, embracing Confucianism and citing scriptures. To attack him is simply disrespectful and a disgrace to us civil servants!"

"Tell them that yesterday, I, the master, led the navy to intercept Japanese pirates at sea and found a Western cup. The inner wall was engraved with gold, the edge was engraved with a cross, and there were some pearls, emeralds, amethysts and other decorations. The Shimabara pirates said it was a miracle. Tell them to prepare more silver, otherwise I will sell it to the French..."

Yang Hao asked Wei Zhao to repeat this passage twice, and after confirming that it was correct, he waved his hand and let him go to the guild hall.

Pei Dahu and Wu Xiao stared blankly at Master Yang, Lin Yu opened his mouth wide, and Shen Lian didn't know what to say.

Yang Hao stroked his sparse beard and said nonchalantly:

"I started making preparations last year. I have all the necessary ships, food, and sailors. This is so that I can leave Tianjin at any time and return to Liaodong to assist your General Liu.

"Speaking of which, General Liu, you've really given me such a hard time. Not only did you kill Yuan Yingtai, you even spared the Duke of Yansheng. How could you rebel like this? You don't know how to bide your time. Alas, you've even brought an end to my good days in Tianjin!"

All four of them remained silent.

Wu Xiao couldn't help but ask:
"Who is this Xu Zixian? And what is this Jin Ge? Why did Master Yang capture them? Are you planning to keep them as hostages?"

Shen Lian had been in the capital for a long time. He had a keen eye on all directions at the Pacification Office, so he certainly knew Xu Zixian's background and quickly explained:
"That's Xu Guangqi, the current head of the Ministry of War. He's a believer in Western Christianity. He specializes in Western firearms and city defense. Since I started my rebellion, he's been submitting petitions to the court, requesting the promotion of firearms and the reduction of redundant troops in the nine frontier regions, particularly those in Liaozhen. He also suggested recruiting more musketeers and artillerymen, and was subsequently impeached repeatedly. Last month, Xu Guangqi resigned on the pretext of illness and came to Tianjin to recuperate with his fellow Christian, Ginni Ge."

Having said that, Shen Lian patted his forehead, looked up at Yang Hao, and sighed secretly.

He was about to be arrested and executed by slow slicing, yet at a time like this, he still thought of recruiting talented people for Ping Liao Hou—or kidnapping people, to be more precise—he must have been the governor of Liaodong! I admire you!

Wu Xiao muttered to himself:

"This is a good father-in-law in the Ming Dynasty."

Master Yang waved his hand and said to the four people:

"Okay, let's go."

The four of them said in unison:
"Go? Where?"

Yang Hao didn't say anything either. He took out a bunch of keys from the house and shook them in his hand. The keys made a crisp jingling sound.

"Let's go to the armory. We've got three-barreled muskets, chain mail, triangular heavy arrows, gunpowder and kerosene. Oh, and two Portuguese cannons. Pick them out first, and then we'll go move them to the dock with Xu Guangqi."

Seeing the four people standing still, Yang Hao urged:
"There are only about twenty of you, and the enemy has at least three to five hundred men. You don't think you can protect me to Liaodong with your bare hands, do you? Hurry up, we still have to rob Lu Tongzhi of his southern goods tonight."

Wu Xiao was stunned on the spot, his Shaanxi accent blurting out.

"Oh my god, the father-in-law is more powerful than the son-in-law."

(End of this chapter)