The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 61 The Angry Zhang Nian
Inside the Yan'an Prefecture government office, Zhang Nian had just received news of Anse's siege. He was currently discussing countermeasures with his subordinates, including the Assistant Magistrate and the Vice Magistrate, while holding Wu Ze's hand.

Before he could even catch his breath, devastating news followed one after another—Anse had fallen, Magistrate Sun Xiuyuan had died for his country, and rebel troops were at the gates of the city!

Upon hearing this news, Wu Ze's face turned pale instantly, and he tried to slip away as fast as he could.

Zhang Nian, with his sharp eyes, grabbed him and shouted angrily:
"Stop right there! Where do you think you're going?!"

"The rebels are pressing in, and it's all your fault! Now you think you can just walk away?!"

Wu Ze was caught red-handed and awkwardly forced a smile:
"Lord Zhang, I was just thinking that something terrible was going to happen and I needed to immediately send a messenger to Yansui Town to ask Lord Yang for help!"

"I'll make the arrangements right now, without delay!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and tried to run away.

Zhang Nian could easily see through his little scheme, and immediately ordered his men to stop Wu Ze:

"No need, I'll take care of that!"

Having said that, he turned to look at the magistrate beside him and said in a deep voice:

"Immediately dispatch couriers to Yansui Town to request assistance from Governor-General Yang He of the Three Border Regions!"

The magistrate nodded quickly in agreement, and then added:
"Your Excellency, I believe we should immediately summon the gentry of Yan'an Prefecture and have them procure provisions and conscript local militia."

"Otherwise, with just our small force, we probably wouldn't be able to hold out for even half a day!"

Zhang Nian nodded in agreement, and then waved to the magistrate inside the hall:

"Go quickly! Invite all the gentry of Yan'an Prefecture to the government office, especially the Ma family!"

"Remember, speak politely! Don't cause any more trouble!"

The magistrate accepted the order and hurriedly led his group of clerks out of the government office to invite various local gentry from all over the city.

Before long, a group of local gentry, led by the Ma family patriarch and Ma Denggao, arrived at the prefectural government office one after another.

Although Ma Denggao is over seventy years old and has a full head of white hair, he is still very energetic, with his back straight and his long white beard swaying slightly in the wind, making him look very dashing.

As soon as he stepped into the lobby, his temper flared up, and he pointed at Wu Ze's nose and started cursing:
"What kind of commander are you? You've dared to attack my Ma family during the bandit suppression campaign?"

"Where did you get the audacity to burn down my Ma family's ancestral home?!"

"Do you think the Ma family has no one left just because I'm an old man with half my body in the ground?"

"Look what you soldiers have done to this once beautiful Ma Family Village!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Wu Ze was sweating profusely from the scolding, but he still dared not retaliate. He could only force a smile and say:
"I'm innocent, sir! I didn't burn down your house; it was those bandits who did it!"

As Wu Ze spoke, he turned and pointed to Yu Chengye in the corner.
"Look, it's this little thief! In order to escape the government troops, he resorted to desperate measures and set fire to your house!"

Ma Denggao followed his hand and saw a young man covered in blood, beaten beyond recognition, lying dying in the corner.

Ma Denggao frowned and glanced at Wu Ze:
"Are you sure it's him?"

Wu Ze nodded repeatedly: "That's right! It's this little thief!"

After saying that, he rushed to the corner, grabbed Yu Chengye by the hair, dragged him in front of Ma Denggao, and then punched and kicked him again.

Seeing this, Ma Denggao quickly stopped Wu Ze and then asked:

"What are you doing! Trying to kill me to cover your tracks?"

"I've heard that this kid isn't a bandit at all, he's just a villager!"

Wu Ze quickly shook his head in denial:

"Old man, who told you this nonsense? It was this little thief who did it!"

"I even have witnesses here!"

Madeng snorted coldly:
"Witnesses? I have witnesses too! My Ma family's gatekeeper is right outside right now!"

"Should I have him come and talk to you about it?"

After listening, Wu Ze looked puzzled. How come he had never heard of a gatekeeper?
Ma Denggao stared at Wu Ze with a resentful expression:

"When your soldiers entered the village, he was hiding in my old house with two children." "So when you thieves couldn't force your way in, you set my house on fire!"

"It was this kid who ran out and drew away your band of thieves, which allowed them to escape and avoid disaster!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ze froze on the spot, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

He never expected this to happen, and inwardly cursed his subordinate Zheng Baihu for his incompetence, wishing he could go back and tear him to pieces.

Zhang Nian stood in the hall watching this farce and shook his head helplessly.

That idiot Wu Ze can't even do something as simple as killing someone to cover it up cleanly. No wonder he was chased all the way back from Wangzhuang.

Zhang Nian coughed lightly twice and stepped forward to smooth things over:

"Gentlemen, let's set this matter aside for now. With a formidable enemy at hand, we must remain united and not let this damage our harmony!"

"If the enemy soldiers break through the city, we'll all be in trouble."

Zhang Nian had no choice; he had to protect Wu Ze, since Yan'an Prefecture still depended on Wu Ze and his hundreds of guards to defend it.

Ma Denggao was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at Ma Denggao:

"Thieves? In my opinion, it's not certain who the thieves are!"

"The rebels occupied Anse, but I didn't see them burning, killing, or looting everywhere. On the contrary, it was you government troops who went out and did all sorts of bad things!"

"I am utterly ashamed to be associated with you!"

Having said that, he flicked his sleeves, disregarding Zhang Nian's feelings, and stormed out of the hall.

Seeing this, the other local gentry followed in Old Master Ma's footsteps, hoping to take the opportunity to slip away.

Zhang Nian was so angry that his face turned ashen. How could he possibly tolerate these local gentry? If he couldn't deal with Ma Denggao, he could at least deal with all of you.

Zhang Nian immediately ordered his men to block the gate and said in a deep voice:

"Wait!"

"Everyone! You can leave if you want, but only if you send people or donate money. Otherwise, nobody will be leaving this door today!"

But these local gentry were no pushovers either. Seeing Zhang Nian's forceful approach, they immediately feigned pitifulness:

"Your Excellency, we are just ordinary people, and we are grateful if we can even afford to eat meat on a regular basis. How could we possibly have any money to donate?"

"Yes, yes, at most we can barely make ends meet, we really have no surplus food!"

Zhang Nian was so angry he laughed. He pointed at the man who had just spoken and roared:

"Hey Wang, you run a grain store, and now you're telling me you're out of grain?"

"And you, Master Zhao, you eat delicacies every day, yet now you say it's just a little bit of meat?"

The group of local gentry looked at each other, but refused to budge. They were all determined that whoever wanted to pay could pay, and they themselves would not contribute a single penny.

After a brief standoff, another person stepped forward and said in a sarcastic tone:
“Your Excellency, in my opinion, anyone can escape this matter except your in-laws, the Li family.”

"It's all the fault of the Li family! Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. In my opinion, you should go and settle accounts with the Li family!"

"The Li family is extremely wealthy in Yan'an, and they are also your in-laws, so they certainly won't refuse; we won't keep them company."

After saying that, he led the group of local gentry away, completely ignoring Zhang Nian's ashen face.

Zhang Nian was panting heavily, trying to calm himself down. If it weren't for the fact that these people were all from official families, he would have taught them a lesson today!
With a grim face, he roared at the clerk beside him:

"Go! Bring Li Shichang and his son here!"

"And invite Eunuch Wang from the Prince Qing's residence as well!"

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(End of this chapter)