Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 68 Martial Law
October 30, the 48th year of the Wanli reign, after lunch break.

The imperial city, between Xi'an Gate and Taiye Lake, is located in the West Jishi Factory.

The fully staffed First and Second Execution Battalions and the First Company of the Third Execution Battalion began to gather at the training ground according to the pre-planned plan.

Ye Ye, the captain of the first executive brigade, Huang Yuming, the captain of the second executive brigade, and Liu Zongcong, the captain of the first squadron of the third executive brigade, stood under the reviewing platform. They were fully armed, standing with their legs apart, holding a sword in one hand and a flag in the other, silently waiting for their troops to complete their assembly.

Ye Ye and Huang Yuming were both members of the Xu clan's Tongzhou corps. Ye Ye was originally a 100-man commander in the First Assassin Bureau, while Huang Yuming was a 100-man commander in the First Bird Gun Bureau. Following the reorganization and restructuring of the Western Factory's Execution Bureau, Ye Ye was the first to be promoted to 100-man commander of the First Execution Battalion, while Huang Yuming only achieved this promotion after the Second Battalion's expansion was complete, having emerged victorious in the selection process.

Liu Zongcong, on the other hand, was different. He wasn't from the Xu clan's Tongzhou troops, but rather from the Imperial Horse Guards' Warrior Battalion. Originally a captain, he was considered a lateral transfer. He was skilled in horseback archery, hitting nine out of ten targets. He once challenged Ye Ye and Huang Yuming in a duel on foot, remaining undefeated.

But Liu Zongcong's shortcomings were also obvious. He could only write his own name and courtesy name, making him basically illiterate. So after being transferred to the Western Depot, Cao Huachun would call him to the inner study hall of the Silijian every day, where he would sit with a group of young eunuchs to attend classes, and occasionally even become classmates with the Wei Depot Supervisor.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the West Factory Execution Bureau had assembled 2,361 people on the execution list and 324 unassigned personnel.

Soon, Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander of the Western Factory, came to the reviewing platform, wearing a bright red dragon robe, a cloak of the same color and white fox sleeves, accompanied by his trusted eunuchs and direct guards.

Wei Zhongxian's direct guard was a fully staffed general flag. According to the general organization, this general flag should be led by a general flag commander, but the emperor graciously allowed Wei Zhongxian's nephew Fu Yingxing to lead this guard with the title of Qianzong.

After all the members of the Execution Bureau arrived, Fu Yingxing walked to Wei Zhongxian's side, shook out the scroll, and shouted, "Order the 324 unincorporated men to be temporarily assigned to the Third Execution Brigade, commanded by Captain Liu Zongcong."

"Order Captains Huang Yuming and Liu Zongcong to lead their Second and Third Execution Battalions, along with the Imperial Horse Guards' Warrior Battalion, to guard the northern, eastern, and western walls of the Imperial City according to the predetermined plan."

"Order Captain Ye Ye to lead his First Execution Brigade to guard the southern wall of the Imperial City."

"Order Captain Fu Yingxing to lead the factory supervisor's direct guard to guard Chengtian Gate."

After the reading, Fu Yingxing put away the scroll and bowed to hand it to Wei Zhongxian.

After Wei Zhongxian took over, Fu Yingxing walked down the platform with his direct guards and walked in front of the three thousand commanders.

After standing still, nearly three thousand people shouted in unison: "Understand!"

At the same time, Wei Chao, the eunuch who was in charge of the Secretariat and the seal of the Secretariat, came to the headquarters of the Secretariat.

"Zhong Yang." Wei Chao called.

"I'm here." Zhong Yang lifted his robe and knelt down to answer.

"Take people to the military command centers of the four cities of East, West, South, and North, and order them to keep the city gates closed tomorrow and increase patrols." Wei Chao stood with his hands behind his back and gave the order.

"I obey your command." Zhong Yang kowtowed, stood up, and turned to leave the headquarters of the Imperial Household Department.

"Fan Jing." Wei Chao called the second person.

"I'm here." Fan Jing walked up to Wei Chao from behind, lifted his robe and knelt in answer.

"Take people to the patrol camp and order them to impose martial law throughout the city and advance the curfew." Wei Chao continued to give orders.

"As you command," Fan Jing kowtowed and stood up, also turning to leave the Silijian headquarters. "Zhang Xiang," Wei Chao called to the third person.

"I'm here." Zhang Xian was standing on Wei Chao's right, so he lifted his robe and knelt down.

"Take people to the Jinyiwei Command Headquarters and order them to temporarily take over the defense of the Central City Military Command Headquarters, and order them to send more personnel to strictly guard the three southern gates of the inner city, including Xuanwu, Zhengyang, and Chongwen. Open the gates as usual tomorrow." The three southern gates of the inner city connect the inner city and outer city of the capital. Not closing these three gates means allowing people to circulate in Beijing.

"As you command," Zhang Xian kowtowed. Before leaving, he glanced towards the confinement room with a subtle expression.

In the only confinement room of the Imperial Household Department, Cui Wensheng, who had disappeared for nearly twenty days, knelt in the middle, his eyes closed in deep thought. During his confinement, he was only allowed to do four things: sleep, eat, go to the toilet, and kneel motionless.

There were strict rules for eating, sleeping, and waking up each day. The Imperial Household Department assigned six eunuchs to him, each on duty for two hours, watching and following him around the clock to ensure that no matter what Cui Wensheng did, someone was watching.

If he did not follow the rules or could not kneel steadily, the eunuch would beat him with a bamboo stick.

This kind of life was simply not a life for a human being, especially for a eunuch like Cui Wensheng who had lived a life of luxury for a long time. He especially liked the night now because he could lie down instead of kneeling.

There were footsteps coming from far away outside the door.

Had another two hours passed? Cui Wensheng could only judge the time by the shift changes.

After a while, the door opened. But Cui Wensheng didn't look up, because looking up was also a forbidden action. If he did so, he would get hit hard on the shoulder.

"Look up." the man ordered.

This sound is.
"Old... Old..." Cui Wensheng's mouth opened and closed several times, unable to utter a complete word. It was not until he suddenly slammed his head to the floor with a heavy thud that it seemed as if he had opened a box of human words: "Old Ancestor!"

During his time in solitary confinement, the eunuchs guarding him were like dumb men, refusing to respond to questions or conversations, and often receiving a beating with bamboo sticks after speaking. He was isolated in this inhumane environment, surrounded by humans, and had practically lost the ability to speak.

"The verdict on you has been announced." Wang An's tone was unclear.

"Can I, your servant, please spare your life?" Cui Wensheng's eyes were full of pleading and horror.

"Your execution will be tomorrow. Whether you live or die is up to fate." Wang An chuckled and said to the eunuch guarding Cui Wensheng, "The confinement is lifted."

The meeting was very short. Wang An left after only a few words.

Seeing Wang An leave, Cui Wensheng's suppressed emotions finally broke down. He kowtowed to Wang An's back, and after he completely disappeared, he turned and kowtowed in the direction of the Qianqing Palace.

Cui Wensheng kowtowed and begged for mercy, but no one came to pay attention to him.
"How is it? Did you see it clearly?" After leaving the headquarters of the Imperial Household Department, Wang An turned his head and asked the man who followed him into the confinement room.

"Reporting to the master, I have seen it clearly. Please rest assured, my craftsmanship is inherited from my ancestors, so there will be no problem." The man said with a flattering smile.

"Very good. There must be no mistakes in tomorrow's work. Those who should live will live, and those who should die will die. If you complete it well, there will be a reward." Wang An's words stopped abruptly.

"I understand." The man bowed and nodded.

(End of this chapter)