Huangming

Chapter 143 The Wolf-Headed Spear Guards the North, the Crane's Cry Startles the Camp

Qi Zuoguo led more than a thousand Zhejiang soldiers on a night march, their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth and their mouths gagged as they galloped along the official road of the Fen River straight towards Fenzhou Prefecture.

At dawn, as the city gates opened, the guards yawned and lowered the drawbridge. Suddenly, they saw a flash of cold light in the morning mist, and Qi's sword was already at their necks.

"By imperial order, I have taken control of the western part of Fenzhou Prefecture!"

Qi Zuoguo brandished Wang Chengen's warrant, and his stern shout startled the still sleepy guards.

"Sir, let's talk this out!"

This happened not long after he got up, and the guard was so scared he almost wet himself.

Qi Zuoguo snorted coldly and said, "Don't try anything funny!"

"Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be considered a traitor!"

The guard really cried.

"Sir, you may enter the city without a word, I will absolutely not utter a sound!"

He doesn't even receive a single tael of salary a month, and it's often delayed. With so little money, what's the point of risking his life?

"I, Li Xiao'er, swear to Heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Zuoguo put away his precious sword. With a wave of his hand, the Qi family army, clad in fine armor and stretching as far as the eye could see, surged toward the city through the misty fog.

Silently.

The guard felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this!
Prefect Liu went to Jiexiu to deal with the imperial envoy's confiscation of the Fan family's property. Now it seems that the Fan family has fallen, and Prefect Liu has also been caught in the crossfire.

Even the most powerful figures can fall from grace.

Li Xiaoer was filled with emotion.

But he quickly composed himself.

but
This has nothing to do with him, whose monthly salary is only one or two taels of silver.

Even if the king's flag is changed on the city wall, in the end, he still has to guard the gate.

now.

Inside the prefectural office, Liu Zunxian's trusted advisor was copying a secret letter when, before the ink was dry, he was tackled to the ground by Zhejiang soldiers who broke down the door.

The letter fluttered down, and it read in bold: "Quickly dispatch troops from Taiyuan to intercept and kill the eunuch faction."

It turned out that although Wang Chengen had made preparations in advance and blocked the main road to Fenzhou Prefecture, some of Liu Zunxian's men still managed to take a side road and escape back to the prefectural city to inform the advisor.

"How dare you! You even want to mobilize troops from Taiyuan?"

Qi Zuoguo sneered and stepped on the letter.

The clerk was pinned to the ground by the Zhejiang soldiers, his eyes filled with horror.

"What are you doing? How dare you trespass on the government office of the prefectural city?"

Qi Zuoguo didn't say much to him. After taking control of the government office, he sealed up all the documents and account books and headed towards the patrol and inspection camp.

When Qi Zuoguo took control of the government office, some unrest was inevitable.

Several people escaped and went to the patrol station to report the news.

The archers of the patrol office assembled upon hearing the news, but they were nothing but useless bums who were paid but not worth anything.

Not only is training neglected on a regular basis, but the number of participants is also extremely insufficient.

It is said that there are more than a thousand people, but in reality there are only more than three hundred.

Before they could even break out of the camp, they were stunned by the volley of fire from the Zhejiang soldiers' muskets and dared not advance an inch further.

Some shrewd people had already slipped away beforehand.

Qi Zuoguo's Qi Family Army was the elite of the elite, so how could they be afraid of these people?

His gaze was sharp as he scanned the assembled archers of the patrol unit.

These archers were poorly dressed, and their weapons were rusty, clearly indicating that they had been out of training for a long time.

He sneered, strode forward, and spoke in a booming voice:
"You are soldiers of the imperial court, yet you willingly serve as henchmen of corrupt officials, embezzling military pay and oppressing the people. Do you know your crimes?"

The archers exchanged bewildered glances, some muttering under their breath, "We're forced into this situation because we can't even get our pay."

Qi Zuoguo interrupted sharply: "Shut up! Liu Zunxian embezzled military funds and lined his own pockets, and he has now been arrested! If you continue to be so stubborn, you will be making enemies of the imperial court!"

He suddenly drew his Qi family sword, its cold light flashing as the blade pointed directly at the command platform in the drill ground: "Today, I am ordered by imperial decree to take over Fenzhou Prefecture. If you are willing to submit, your past actions will be forgiven; if you dare to resist, you will be killed without mercy!"

A commotion arose among the archers. Someone recognized Qi Zuoguo's attire and exclaimed, "It's the Qi Family Army! Qi Shaobao's soldiers!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Qi Zuoguo shouted: "The Qi Family Army has strict discipline and never oppresses the people! If you are willing to abandon the darkness and embrace the light, I guarantee that from now on, your military pay will be paid in full and will never be withheld!"

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in the archers' eyes.

They had only submitted to Liu Zunxian out of desperation, and now, seeing the imposing presence of Qi Jiguang's army and the promise of military pay, they were immediately tempted.

An older archer stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "General, we are willing to submit to you and await your command!"

Qi Zuoguo nodded: "Good! In that case, you shall immediately lay down your weapons and line up to receive my orders!"

The archers put down their weapons and lined up in neat rows.

Qi Zuoguo ordered a headcount and reorganization of the troops, and sent veterans of the Qi Family Army to lead the training, which quickly stabilized the situation in the patrol office.

And the other side.

In the eastern suburbs of Fenzhou Prefecture, five hundred militiamen, armed with sticks and hoes, surged chaotically toward the prefectural government office.

They were young men temporarily conscripted by Liu Zunxian to suppress the salt workers' uprising. Upon hearing that the prefect had been captured, they were immediately filled with indignation.

It turns out that although Liu Zunxian was a corrupt official at heart, he pretended to be an upright and just official on the outside.

He often distributed porridge outside the city, which won him many people's hearts.

Seeing that the people's hearts were with them, the leader, a scarred man, brandished a machete and shouted, "This corrupt official has ruined Liu Qingtian! Let's kill the eunuch's lackeys and avenge Liu Qingtian!"

"Southern soldiers are at the patrol and inspection station camp!"

"Don't let them get away!"

The group, making a ruckus, headed towards the patrol and inspection camp.

"These rabble!"

Qi Zuoguo had already received the report, and with a cold laugh, he ordered the Zhejiang soldiers to form ranks along the long street.

The first three rows of shields in the Mandarin Duck Formation stood like an iron wall, while the rear row of wolf-tooth spears pointed diagonally, and the musketeers were hidden behind the shield formation, having finished loading their weapons.

When the militiamen charged within a hundred paces, Qi Zuoguo suddenly shouted, "Fire!"

"Bang bang bang!"

More than ten muskets fired simultaneously, the lead bullets hitting the militiamen about a foot in front of their feet, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The scarred man at the front was so frightened that he fell to the ground, and his machete clattered out of his hand.

"Take another step, and kill without mercy!" Qi Zuoguo spurred his horse into battle, the Qi family sword gleaming coldly.

His gaze swept across the crowd like lightning: "Liu Zunxian embezzled military funds and colluded with Shanxi merchants. The evidence is irrefutable! You deceived people, retreat now to avoid being implicated!"

A commotion broke out among the militia.

At this moment, the soldiers of the patrol office who had been incorporated into the army seized the opportunity to come out and shout: "We are the Qi Family Army! The Qi Family Army does not kill the poor! We have already received news that Prefect Liu is a corrupt official who took bribes from the Fan family. He has now been dealt with by the imperial envoy sent by His Majesty. Don't go down the wrong path, or you will implicate your family and it will be too late to cry!"

It turns out that Qi Zuoguo specially ordered people to raise the old flag of the Qi Family Army. Back when the Qi Family Army was suppressing Japanese pirates, they had strictly ordered that "they would rather freeze to death than dismantle houses, and starve to death than plunder," which earned them a very high reputation among the people.

Having prestige is something that should naturally be utilized.

The newly surrendered patrolmen were also trying their best to perform well.

They shouted in unison:

"Qi Family Army doesn't kill the poor!" "Prefect Liu is a corrupt official!"

"Lay down your weapons and surrender to Qi Family Army. Qi Family Army will open the granaries and distribute food. Everyone will have enough to eat and will not go hungry!"

In an instant, a commotion broke out in the militia ranks.

They weren't interested in Qi Jiguang's army or Liu Futai, but their eyes lit up when they heard about opening the granaries and distributing grain.

Heaven have mercy, the reason they were willing to be conscripted as militiamen was that they wanted to survive and not starve to death.

However.
Even if they were conscripted as militiamen, they could only eat thin porridge and plain rice every day, and could only eat until they were half full, never until they were completely full.

My family is still hungry!
Food is more important to them than anything else!

The scarred man leading the group was one of Liu Zunxian's men. Seeing this, he cried out in alarm and quickly turned to the men behind him, shouting, "Don't listen to their nonsense! What Qi Family Army? They're nothing but eunuchs' lackeys! You all know perfectly well whether Liu Qingtian is a corrupt official or not! Without Liu Qingtian distributing porridge at the city gate every day, how many people would starve to death?"

"Besides, how dare a mere military officer open the granary and distribute grain? Isn't he afraid of being punished? Don't believe his lies!"

Among the militia, some people immediately began to hesitate.

Qi Zuoguo was prepared and shouted, "The imperial court has confiscated the Fan family's property. Today, the granaries are being opened to distribute grain, all of which belongs to the Fan family. You are now to register your names, and each of you will receive three dou of relief rice!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and ordered his men to bring out more than a dozen bags of grain that had just been seized from the Fan family. They opened them on the spot, and the golden millet poured onto the bluestone slab.

The militia members stared wide-eyed.

Words are pale, but the golden millet is incredibly vivid.

Everyone unconsciously swallowed.

Seeing this, the scarred man quickly said, "It's just a few bags of millet, don't let him fool you."

Qi Zuoguo sneered and continued, "The grain shops in the prefectural city all belong to the Fan family. I have already confiscated them, and the grain I obtained amounted to hundreds of thousands of catties. Is that not enough for you all to receive?"

Hundreds of thousands of kilograms?

This time, the militia couldn't hold out any longer.

"Don't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was shoved forward by the militiamen behind him.

Seeing the situation reverse, the scarred man swallowed hard and got up. Suddenly, he turned around and slapped the man behind him: "Why did you push me? What are you standing there for? Quickly kowtow to General Qi!"

For ordinary people to survive, they must be agile.

If Liu Zunxian is in control of the overall situation, then he is Liu Zunxian's man.

But the situation is now irreversible.
When it's time to sell Liu Zunxian, you have to sell him!
With the scarred man leading the way, the five hundred men knelt down in a rush, their earlier hostility turning into gratitude.

"Put down your weapons, register yourselves, and line up to receive relief food!"

When Qi Zuoguo said this, the people were all grateful.

"Thank you very much, Qi Family Army!"

"Qi Family Army is truly a living bodhisattva!"

"Qi Family Army is even more compassionate than the Eternal Mother of the Vacuum Homeland!"

Qi Zuoguo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was somewhat worried about the influence of the White Lotus Sect on these militiamen, he still turned to his personal guard and whispered, "Report to Eunuch Wang immediately, Fenzhou Prefecture has been secured."

Ten days later.

Inside the General's Mansion in Taiyuan, the candlelight flickered like ghostly shadows.

Zhang Honggong's hand, gripping the secret report, bulged with veins, and the ink on the silk paper smudged.

"The entire Fan family was imprisoned, and Prefect Liu confessed to salt and iron smuggling, implicating seven generals in the border town."

"boom!"

The gilded beast-head paperweight slammed onto the blue bricks, startling the officers below into kneeling down.

"General, please calm down!"

Left Battalion Lieutenant General Wang Ting shouted, his neck stiff with anger, "That eunuch dares to touch the Fan family! He's clearly trying to cut off our source of income! This humble general is willing to lead three thousand iron cavalry to raze Fenzhou Prefecture to the ground and declare that the White Lotus Sect has rebelled!"

"idiot!"

Zhang Honggong kicked over a low table, shards of porcelain splashing all over the room.

"Qi Family Army's Mandarin Duck Formation is guarding the prefectural city. Do you think the Zhejiang soldiers' wolf-tooth spears are just fire pokers?"

Upon seeing Commander-in-Chief Zhang Honggong, he already showed fear and seemed to be considering retreating.

Right Battalion Commander Niu Cheng suddenly sneered, "Why fight head-on? The ironware the Fan family is transporting to the grasslands is all 'farm implements' that we've approved. If that eunuch finds the approval document from the Ministry of War..."

The air suddenly solidified.

Zhang Honggong's pupils constricted. Last winter, he personally approved five hundred iron pot travel permits, and the red deeds were stamped with the seal of the Taiyuan Garrison Commander!

Niu Cheng's unspoken meaning was quite clear.

The Fan family fell from power, and Liu Zunxian was arrested.

None of them can escape responsibility!
Retreating now will not end well!

Only by taking risks and taking a gamble can we perhaps find a way out.

Whenever there is unrest in Shanxi, the imperial court will rely on the Taiyuan garrison to suppress the uprising, and their dirty deeds can be completely covered up.

Zhang Honggong, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Town, had obviously thought of this as well.

"Send the order!"

He abruptly ripped open his robe adorned with the Qilin emblem and shouted, "Immediately destroy all correspondence with the Fan family, and send troops to suppress the rebellion."

Before he could finish speaking, a personal guard stumbled in through the window: "Report! Dust and smoke are billowing on the Fenzhou post road. Judging by the banners, it's the standard battalion of Wang Guoliang, the Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong!"

“Wang Guoliang?” Niu Chenghu’s face turned ashen.

"Didn't that old scoundrel claim to be sick for half a month?"

Zhang Honggong suddenly burst into wild laughter, his hat and sash askew as he laughed: "What a fine Wang Chengen! He's mobilizing Zhejiang troops to control Fenzhou and requesting the dispatch of a large army to press Taiyuan—he's trying to trap us like turtles in a jar!"

The troop deployment to Xuanfu and Datong was also one of Zhu Youxiao's backup plans.

Again.

To reform Shanxi, we cannot use Shanxi's soldiers!
"What should we do?" Everyone started to panic.

They could have instigated a civil unrest and then used it to cultivate a powerful rebellion.

Now, even that opportunity is gone.

"What should we do? Can we rebel?"

The Taiyuan Prefecture had a quota of over 50,000 troops, and 10,000 troops were stationed in the city of Taiyuan.

The rest of the soldiers were stationed at Ningwu Pass, Yanmen Pass, and Pingxing Pass.

However, the figure of 50,000 was only on paper; at this moment, there were less than 5,000 troops in Taiyuan City.

Five thousand people want to rebel?

Isn't that just courting death?
Just then, an old man's voice rang out from outside the hall.

"General Zhang, His Majesty does not intend to exterminate them all."

Upon closer inspection, Zhang Honggong realized it was Governor Zhang Xiao.

"What do you mean by that, Governor?"

Zhang Xiao said with a smile, "The angel was on his way to deliver the decree. After hearing His Majesty's decree, the general understood everything."

(End of this chapter)