The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 238: One Hand of the Zhenwu Emperor
Yang Tong lost his left hand, and it was difficult for him to aim with one hand. He fired two shots at the stairs, but hit nothing.

The barbarians fought back with short crossbows and muskets. Yang Tong hid behind a big pillar, motionless, and the pillar was hit and wood chips flew everywhere.

He was pinned down by the enemy and couldn't raise his head.

The eunuch saw the iron hook on Yang Tong's left arm and sneered:

"So it's a cripple! Liu Zhaosun has no one else under his command? He sent a cripple like you to die!"

Yang Tong leaned against the pillar, blood seeping from his chain mail. He took a breath and shouted to the upstairs:
"Surrender! There are soldiers everywhere. Tell us where your accomplices are hiding, and I'll kill you!"

The fuse of the eunuch's arquebus just burned out, and with a bang, the lead bullet shot downstairs.

The pillar shook slightly as if it was hit by a hammer. Yang Tong felt dizzy and the flying wood chips cut his face like sharp blades.

"You're a step too late. Eunuch Zeng has already left the city. My family isn't afraid of death, and neither are these men. They all have a blood feud with Liu Zhaosun. Let's burn down the Seven Star Tower! Burn Kaiyuan to the ground! Burn you all to death! Hahaha!"

Yang Tong was too lazy to pay attention to this madman. He searched his body and found only caltrops and a short crossbow.

He was not good at close combat, and now he was alone, so he was no match for the group of desperate criminals in front of him.

As soon as he showed his head, several crossbow arrows shot towards him and Yang Tong was hit by them repeatedly.

At this moment, with a bang, the door was knocked open from the outside.

A group of fully armored soldiers holding thick shields charged into the Seven Star Tower like wild bulls.

A flag captain stood at the door and looked around, holding a command flag and pointing to the second floor.

"Go upstairs and kill them all!"

A steady stream of soldiers swarmed in from outside, and two bodies that looked like Jurchen merchants fell at the door.

"Light a fire! Burn them to death!"

The guards upstairs shouted hurriedly.

They carried out the tung oil that had been prepared long ago from the house and, regardless of the rapidly approaching soldiers, poured it madly in the corridor.

The Qixing Tower was suddenly filled with the pungent smell of tung oil.

The flag captain shouted:
"Pikemen, enter!"

A team of soldiers armed with spears climbed up the stairs in battle formation, held their spears level, and after approaching the target, began to stab frantically.

The barbarians and Liaozhen servants quickly waved their weapons to block the attack, and some brave men rushed up with goose-feather knives to chop at the spearmen.

After killing several spearmen, they were quickly riddled with spear points.

The people behind raised their short crossbows and shot at the Kaiyuan soldiers, but the crossbow arrows were blocked by the shields of the sword and shield soldiers.

The musketeers who followed behind placed their black gun barrels in the gaps between their round shields.

"Aim! Fire!"

The addition of the Kaiyuan musketeers ended all suspense.

·······
Liu Zhaosun looked at the corpses lying all over the place and remained speechless for a long time.

The Qixing Tower is the lair of the Dongchang thugs.

The twelve Dongchang thugs, along with the five trusted servants sent by Zu Dashou, were all killed on the spot.

A servant from the Zu family was brought to the front of Ping Liao Hou and made him kneel down.

"Where is your master?"

"Will telling me spare my life?"

Liu Zhaosun put the goose-feather knife against the servant's forehead and asked again.

"Where is your master?"

"Escaped, fled towards Jinzhou."

"Why go to Jinzhou if you don't go back to Shanhaiguan?"

The head servant said with a playful smile:
"Will telling me spare my life?"

Zhang Chao punched the servant in the chest. The man clutched his stomach and howled, waving his hands for mercy:
"Go to Jinzhou and take a boat, then cross the sea to Shandong. Lord Song said, yes, yes."

The blade cut the servant's cheek, and blood oozed out.

"Go to Wendeng and capture the wife of the Marquis of Liao, and bring the soldiers of Wendeng to the imperial court."

Liu Zhaosun's face changed drastically. He grabbed the servant and raised him above his head with one hand, his eyes wide open as he said:
"When did you leave?! Tell me!"

The servant trembled all over and stammered:
"They left yesterday morning. They bribed a captain of the city guard flag... and he said he would spare us..."

"Go to hell!"

The goose-feather knife slashed down fiercely.

Liu Zhaosun looked at Zhang Chao and said murderously:

"Call the cavalry battalion and follow me in pursuit!"

Qiao Yiqi quickly advised:
"No! Marquis Ping Liao has just recovered from a serious illness and should not travel any further. The ones who escaped are only the remnants of the East Factory. There is no need to mobilize a large army. Marquis Ping Liao, you must remain in Kaiyuan and do not move lightly..."

"shut up!"

Liu Zhaosun shouted angrily, turned around and punched a captured servant nearby.

"Jin Yuji is alone in Wendeng. I can't just sit there and watch!"

The servant flew five or six steps like a sandbag, fell heavily to the ground, spitting blood from his mouth, and died on the spot.

Liu Zhaosun paced back and forth quickly, speaking angrily as he walked.

"Song Yingsheng, that bastard! I knew his family was poor, so I put him in charge of commerce, but he turned his back on me! He embezzled so much money and even colluded with the East Factory! He killed my woman. If anything happens to Jin Yuji, I will kill him and his entire clan!"

The generals around stood far away. They knew that Ping Liaohou was angry and did not dare to provoke this killer.

Finally, Ping Liaohou finally calmed down and looked up at Qiao Yiqi.

"General Qiao is right. Kaiyuan is still not at peace. We can't just focus on personal relationships right now! We have to prioritize the overall situation! Zhang Chao!"

Zhang Chao hurried forward.

"Take twenty guards and capture Fanzi and Song Yingsheng at all costs! Bring them back alive. If you can't catch them alive, bring back their bodies! I will skin them alive! Avenge the merchants and civilians who died!"

Zhang Chao agreed and immediately took his men out.

Ping Liaohou turned to look at Zhang Dong and instructed Zhang Mazi:
"Captain Zhang, take this order and notify the Second Battalion Commander Cheng Liang. Have him personally lead the troops and dispatch the elite night warriors to reinforce Jinzhou. If Zhang Chao encounters any resistance from Liaozhen, attack with all your might. If Zu Dashou dares to make a serious move, I will kill him first!"

Zhang Dong took the badge and left. After completing the arrangements, Ping Liaohou looked at the wounded pacification soldier in front of him. The accompanying military doctor examined Yang Tong's wounds and found five arrow wounds and eight knife wounds. None of them were in vital areas and he was not seriously injured.

Ping Liaohou finally calmed down, and seeing that the pacification soldier was not in danger of death, he stepped forward and said to him:

"You bravely venture into the tiger's den with one arm, worthy of being my Kaiyuan warrior. What's your name?"

"Villain Yang Tong."

Deng Changxiong stepped forward and whispered a few words.

"You are Yang Tong? The sharpshooter of the Second Army. In Hetuala, you shot and killed 27 Tartars by yourself."

Yang Tong said modestly:

"My Lord, it's all thanks to the blessing of the Great Emperor Zhenwu. I'm just lucky."

Liu Zhaosun loudly announced in front of all the generals:

"Yang Tong!"

"exist!"

"From now on, you are appointed as the deputy battalion commander of the first battalion of the Kaiyuan Pacification Troops. You will lead 300 pacification troops and assist Battalion Commander Zhang. Help me protect Kaiyuan!"

Yang Tong took a step back in fear, his face full of astonishment, and the people around him were also slightly agitated.

"General Liu, I only have one hand. I'm just a soldier. I don't know anything. I can't be an officer."

Liu Zhaosun took a step forward and stood in front of Yang Tong. The pacification soldiers were a little at a loss.

Ping Liaohou gently raised the cold and sharp iron hook.

"You can be a sharpshooter, and you can also be a good battalion commander. You have your right hand and this hook, you can do whatever you want. There are some things that a hook can do better than your hand, like killing people."

When Ping Liaohou said this, he looked at the foreigner with his eyes gouged out lying on the ground.

"If I had more pacification troops like you, the East Depot wouldn't dare act so recklessly! And so many people wouldn't have died in Kaiyuan. I want to expand the pacification troops to 2,000. Now is the time to use them, so don't refuse. One hand, so what? I tell you, the Great Emperor Zhenwu only has one hand, but he slays demons and protects the people of the world."

Yang Tong was so scared that he took a step back, clasped his hands together, and said "True God, please don't blame me" to prevent the Zhenwu Emperor from blaming him.

The sniper, who believed in Taoism, looked up at Ping Liao Hou with trepidation. This was the first time he saw Ping Liao Hou.

Unexpectedly, Ping Liaohou would say such outrageous words.

"Master Liu, may I ask where it is said that the True Martial God has only one hand?"

Zhenwu Emperor is one of the supreme gods in Taoism and the main god officially revered during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

From Zhu Yuanzhang to Zhu Di, they all worshipped this true God.

It is said that the success of Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign was also due to the contribution of the God Zhenwu.

Later, Emperor Yongle built Wudang in Junzhou, one of the reasons being to fulfill a vow to the Great Emperor Zhenwu.

Liu Zhaosun looked calmly at the one-armed soldier in front of him and said solemnly:
"I say that Zhenwu God has no left hand because all his attendants are on his right side. His followers always hold his right hand. I have never heard anyone mention Zhenwu God's left hand in any book. Not in the Tao Te Ching, not in Zhuangzi, not by the old Taoist priests in Yuzhen Palace on Wudang Mountain, not even by the divine Zhang Sanfeng. Therefore, Zhenwu God has only one hand."

Yang Tong listened to these words attentively, then looked up at the bustling Kaiyuan City and the eager gaze of Ping Liaohou.

Finally, Yang Tong smiled slightly and said to Ping Liao Hou that since Zhenwu God could slay demons and monsters with one hand, he could also guard Kaiyuan with one hand and help Ping Liao Hou.

Liu Zhaosun patted Yang Tong on the shoulder, supported him, and walked out of the Qixing Tower where blood was flowing like a river, surrounded by guards.

The two walked and talked, and Yang Tong asked about the female worker who, like himself, was the first to discover the fanzi.

Liu Zhaosun thought he was a hero who appreciated heroes, and after a moment of recollection he said:

"She came from Shandong after suppressing the Wenxiang Sect. She has the same surname as me, Liu... Instructor Sen, what's her name?"

Dongguanzi hurried forward and said respectfully:
"Sir, that woman's name is Liu Yue'er, she's a character like Hua Mulan!"

Liu Zhaosun nodded slightly.

"Okay, your disciplinary team must spread the word about Liu Yue'er. Let the people of Kaiyuan know that women can catch spies! They can, too! From now on, our defense against espionage will mainly rely on the people of Kaiyuan."

Yang Tong's heart was beating violently.

People gathered around the Seven Star Tower.

The bodies of the Dongchang men and Liaozhen servants were carried out and placed on the street.

A dozen captured prisoners knelt on the ground.

Sen Ti held up a large paper loudspeaker and shouted:
"My fellow countrymen, Kaiyuan has made such great contributions to the imperial court, helping the imperial court defeat the Jiannu, helping the imperial court quell the White Lotus Sect, and helping the imperial court rescue tens of thousands of refugees. How has the imperial court treated us Kaiyuan?"

"Look! This is how the court repays us!!"

Sen Ti pointed at a group of captured foreigners and servants, and then at the bodies of civilians being carried out. He was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

All the generals and officers around were furious, especially the civil officials. A few days ago, one of their colleagues was assassinated by the East Factory.

If Ping Liaohou had not been present, these people would have pounced on the captives and bit them to death.

"The imperial court is suspicious of us and sent bandits to sneak into Kaiyuan, trying to frame Ping Liao Hou for rebellion. They couldn't find any evidence, so they resorted to murder and arson. You all saw it: the soldiers, civilians, and merchants who died in the city were all killed by them! They also colluded with Liao Zhen, that Zu Dashou! They wanted to assassinate Ping Liao Hou and rob us of Kaiyuan!"

"Not only do they want to kill Ping Liaohou, they also want to rob all our shops and sell us as slaves in the interior of the country!"

Sen Ti stopped talking suddenly at the end. Thousands of eyes around him were wide open with anger, and the burning rage was about to burn the instructor to death.

He took a breath and shouted hysterically:

"Do we agree or not?"

"No!"

The people of Kaiyuan cheered like thunder.

Liu Zhaosun hurried out, glared at Sen Ti fiercely, and waved his hand to signal the people to be quiet.

"Everyone, if the court wants to arrest me, then let them do it. At worst, they can throw me into the Imperial Prison. I'm innocent and not afraid of being sent to the East Depot! I just hope I don't implicate Kaiyuan, or anyone else."

At this time, some people among the people took the lead in shouting.

"Protecting Marquis Ping Liao is a betrayal of the imperial court!"

"Rebellion against the imperial court!"

The sentiment is indignant.

Liu Zhaosun looked back at Sen Ti and smiled with satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)