Huangming

Chapter 325 Ants Swarm the City, Internal Collapse and External Devastation

Having made the decision to attack Qufu, Xu Hongru did not hesitate for a moment and immediately sounded the gong to gather troops.

As if afraid that if he hesitated even a moment longer, the gold and silver treasures of Qufu would sprout legs and run away, he immediately issued an order:

Except for leaving three thousand old and weak people to guard Yuncheng, the rest of the people, regardless of age or gender, broke camp and followed him to Qufu.

The scene of their departure was less a grand and imposing procession and more a chaotic mess.

Tens of thousands of followers poured out of Yuncheng like a flood bursting its banks, with soldiers carrying rusty knives and broken guns leading the way, and laborers pushing carts full of treasure mixed in between.

The gold and silver utensils, silks and satins were piled up like small mountains, and the axles of the carts creaked under the weight.

Further on were women strung together with ropes, each one pale and thin, with empty eyes, and would be whipped if they stumbled even slightly.

At the very end were the elderly and infirm, carrying broken bowls and ladles, shuffling along with the main force, looking exactly like a band of bandits returning from looting and plundering, hardly resembling a "righteous army".

Xu Hongru sat on a makeshift "dragon carriage," making sure the pomp and circumstance was complete.

Ahead of them were eight monks who had been forcibly conscripted, wearing rumpled robes, burning incense and clearing the way, humming tunes that no one could understand, claiming to be "receiving the holy carriage."

Behind him followed more than thirty carefully selected women, all of whom had been abducted from wealthy families in Yuncheng. They were forced to change into gorgeous clothes, apply thick layers of makeup, and force themselves to smile as they followed the carriage, serving as the "harem procession."

Even more absurdly, he was surrounded by a dozen or so eunuchs who had just been castrated a few days ago. Their wounds had not yet healed, and they walked with a limp, yet they insisted on learning the court etiquette. Their hands trembled when they served tea and water, and if they made the slightest mistake, they would be beaten and scolded by the guards around Xu Hongru.

Having only captured three county towns and not even established a proper base, they were already eager to put on an imperial air even more imposing than the Forbidden City.

In comparison, Li Hongji's troops were like a completely different army.

His soldiers were all lightly armed, carrying only rations and weapons on their backs. Although their formation was not particularly strict, their steps were steady and their eyes were sharp.

As for the looted property and captured people, he had already allocated them to the auxiliary troops, who were to follow the main force ten miles behind with carts, so as not to delay the march and to provide support at any time.

"Fighting a war with mountains of gold and seas of silver and women?"

Li Hongji rode at the head of the procession, a cold sneer appearing on his lips as he looked at Xu Hongru's sluggish army ahead.

He thought to himself: if they really run into Yuan Keli's elite Beijing garrison, these burdens will be their death warrant.

If we protect them, we can't fight a war; if we abandon them, the people's hearts will surely crumble.

At that point, let alone attacking, they might even have a hard time turning around and running away.

Such a rabble dares to rebel against the Ming Dynasty?
The army would march a maximum of thirty li each day before setting up camp. Xu Hongru would drink and make merry in the makeshift "palace" and count the looted treasures. Meanwhile, the leaders below were busy dividing up the newly captured women and grain, and no one cared about the disorganization of the troops.

The villages along the way had long been looted, the fields were barren, and the dead lay everywhere. Only this chaotic caravan, like a greedy venomous snake, slowly crawled across the land of Qilu.

After several days of trekking, the city of Qufu, shrouded in a thousand years of cultural heritage, finally came into view of the army.

Dozens of manors are scattered outside the city, their green tiles and white walls exuding a sense of wealth in the autumn sun. Most of these belong to the Kong family.

Arrow towers are set up at the four corners of the manor, and guards holding knives and guns can be vaguely seen.

Those were the soldiers of the Confucius family, raised by the Duke of Yansheng's mansion.

Although this force was not a regular army of the imperial court, it had some background: it guarded the Confucius Temple and the sacrificial fields on a regular basis, and it would suppress tenants who resisted rent. Occasionally, it would also help the government maintain local order, and it even participated in suppressing rebellions during the Zhengde period.

Their equipment was not particularly sophisticated, consisting mostly of swords, shields, bows, and arrows, and their numbers numbered only a little over a thousand. However, due to the prestige of the Confucius Mansion in the Qufu area, no one had ever dared to provoke them easily.

But today, faced with the chaotic army swarming in like locusts across the mountains and fields, these soldiers of the Kong family did not dare to resist at all.

Upon seeing the swaying red scarf and the dense mass of heads in the distance, the guards in the manor panicked. They hurriedly locked the storeroom, grabbed a small amount of gold and silver, and abandoned the manor, running wildly towards Qufu City.

Along with the villagers and tenant farmers, they also brought their families to squeeze into the city, and for a time the road leading to the city gate was in complete chaos.

Seeing this, Xu Hongru became even more smug, pointing his whip at the Qufu city wall: "Look! Even Confucius's soldiers are afraid of us!"

Fearing that things might get complicated and that government troops might suddenly arrive, he immediately turned his horse around to look at Li Hongji and ordered, "Huang Hu, attack the city immediately! Within three days, I will raze the Duke of Yansheng's mansion to the ground!"

Li Hongji was prepared.

He reined in his horse, and immediately, auxiliary soldiers pushed forward dozens of siege ladders and several iron-clad siege vehicles from the ranks behind him.

These were siege weapons he had seized from the treasury when he captured Yuncheng and Zou County a few days ago. He had kept them on purpose, and now they came in handy.

"Brothers, the gold and silver treasures in the Duke of Yansheng's mansion are enough for us to live a life of pleasure!"

Li Hongji drew his long sword from his waist and pointed it at the city wall.

"Whoever scales the city wall first will be rewarded with five thousand taels of silver and can choose between the county magistrate's wife or the wife of the Duke of Yansheng!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the elite guards behind him raised their swords, their cold gazes sweeping over the chaotic soldiers in front.

That was a death knell.

Tens of thousands of displaced people, who had been coerced into coming, were divided into three groups and pushed toward the city wall like cattle and sheep.

Most of them were barefoot, clutching rusty swords and spears, some even carrying only wooden sticks. Amidst the shouts and curses of the guards, they carried ladders and pushed siege engines, stumbling and staggering towards the moat.

The defenders on the walls of Qufu City clearly did not expect that this group of rebels would actually dare to touch the sacred site. Only now did they hurriedly move stones and set up bows and arrows, and their defense was extremely rushed.

Several old soldiers were still shouting from the city wall, "You traitors, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?" But what answered them was a whistling arrow and an overwhelming crowd.

"Build a ladder! Build a ladder quickly!"

"Push! Push the car under the door!"

The soldiers roared and slammed the ladders against the city wall. In the blink of an eye, some of the bolder ones started climbing up the ladders.

Although the arrows from the city walls were dense, they could not stop this reckless momentum.

Someone was hit by an arrow and fell, but someone else immediately stepped on the body of their companion to continue upwards.

Not long after, a loud bang was heard!
The lead siege engine slammed into the city gate, and the chains of the drawbridge were chopped off by the soldiers with axes, crashing onto the moat with a loud clang.

Immediately afterwards, several siege ladders were erected on the city wall at the same time, and the shadow of the Red Turbans had already appeared at the edge of the city wall!

"Kill!"

"Hold the line! Throw stones down!"

The shouts of battle, screams of agony, and the clash of weapons instantly shattered the tranquility of Qufu.

Li Hongji stood at the front of the battle, watching the figures fighting on the city wall, his eyes showing no emotion.

This is just the beginning.

The real show is yet to come.

Inside the city, the Duke Yansheng's Mansion, located east of the Confucius Temple, was shrouded in gloom.

Inside the main hall, Kong Yinzhi, the adopted son of the 64th generation Duke Yansheng, was dressed in a brocade robe but could not hide his anxiety as he paced back and forth, the blue bricks under his feet thumping loudly.

His usually well-maintained face was now drained of color, his brows furrowed into knots, and his voice trembled: "Rebellion! Truly rebellion! How dare these rioters? Qufu is the land of sages, the root of all culture in the world! A bunch of peasants, how dare they attack the city?"

Below the hall, his cousin Kong Zhenning had long lost his composure. His hands were tightly gripping his sleeves, his knuckles turning white. "Brother," he said, "in my opinion... these rioters are nothing more than after money and grain. Our treasury is full. Why don't we send some gold, silver, and cloth out to them and explain to them that they should go fight elsewhere? This is the birthplace of the sage; surely they should show some consideration?"

"Confused!"

A sharp shout came from the side.

The speaker was Kong Wenshi, Kong Yinzhi's uncle. He had served as an official in the court and had seen many storms. Although his face was solemn at this moment, his eyes were still sharp.

“Once the mutinous soldiers start killing, they won’t care about any sentimentality. If you give them money and supplies today, they will want your house and your family tomorrow! The only right thing to do is to hold Qufu and wait for the government troops to come to our aid! I have already sent people to inquire, and His Majesty’s army to quell the rebellion has already arrived in Yanzhou. As long as we can hold out for three to five days, the arrival of the reinforcements will turn the tide!”

As Kong Wenshi spoke, he tapped his knuckles heavily on the map on the table, the point of which was in the direction of Yanzhou.

But Kong Yinzhi suddenly stopped in his tracks, his face ashen.

He didn't dare to gamble.

The Kong family had been officials for generations, and he had grown up in luxury. He had never seen anything like this before.
What if the city falls?

With the mutinous soldiers storming into the mansion, his life would likely end in an instant.

What alarmed him even more was the inner quarters.

The hundreds of women in the mansion are all of the bloodline of the sage. If they were to be abducted and defiled by those barbaric and uncivilized people, it would not only be a great disgrace to the Confucius family, but also a disgrace to our ancestors!

"It can't be held..."

Kong Yinzhi muttered to himself, his voice filled with despair.

“There are at least tens of thousands of people outside the city, and our guards only number a little over a thousand. No matter how strong the city walls are, they won’t hold out for more than a few days…” He suddenly looked up, a ruthless determination flashing in his eyes: “We can’t wait! We have to run!”

"Big brother!"

Kong Zhenning exclaimed in surprise.

"Where do we run to? Qufu is our root!"

"Head east! To Yanzhou City!"

Kong Yinzhi spoke extremely fast, as if he would be overtaken by the chaotic soldiers if he hesitated even for a second.

"Our government troops are there, let's hide there and lay low for now! Leave some servants to feign resistance, and we'll take the important people and leave now!"

Kong Wenshi wanted to persuade him again, but saw that Kong Yinzhi had already strode towards the back hall, clearly determined to escape.

He watched his nephew's hurried departure and sighed heavily.

Even those from noble families, when faced with danger, ultimately value their lives more than their integrity.

As the ancestral teachings and sages have said, nothing is more precious than one's own life.

"Come on~"

"Kill!"

The shouts of battle outside the main hall grew closer and closer, like countless drumsticks pounding on everyone's eardrums, even causing the window frames to tremble slightly.

The cries and clanging of metal coming from the direction of the city wall were no longer indistinct sounds, but were clear enough to discern the despair within them.

Just then, Kong Wenji, the magistrate of Qufu, stumbled in.

He was from a collateral branch of the Kong family. His official robes were covered in dust, his hat was askew, and his usual composure was gone. His face was ashen: "My lord! We can't hold on! The mutinous soldiers have already breached the northeast corner of the city wall. More than half of our soldiers have been killed or wounded. If we don't leave now... it will be too late!"

"what?"

Kong Yinzhi was preparing to escape when he heard the news. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. His legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, a servant beside him helped him up.

His face was completely drained of color, his lips were trembling, and even his voice was distorted. Where was the composure of a sage?
"Quick...run! Don't pack your things, getting away is the most important thing! Run east! The city walls are lowest there, and there's a secret passage along the edge of the city!"

He abruptly shoved away the person supporting him and issued a shrill order: "Have the guards fight their way through the east gate, and we'll follow closely behind! Hurry!"

"Master!"

Kong Wenshi's expression changed drastically, and she stepped forward to stop him.

"In the chaos of battle, swords and spears have no eyes. We able-bodied men might be able to break through, but what about the elderly, weak, women, and children in the manor? How can they possibly escape?"

Kong Yinzhi seemed not to hear these words, his eyes filled only with the madness of escaping.

He shook off Kong Wenshi's hand, his tone as cold as ice: "We can't worry about that now! Have the old women take them and hide in the backyard cellar, then seal the entrance with bricks!"

He paused, a cruel smile curving his lips: "Tell them that if the government troops can return within three days, they will have a chance to live; if they cannot return... dying in the cellar is better than being captured and defiled by the marauding soldiers. It would be a worthy death, worthy of the bloodline of the sage!"

"A worthy death?"

Kong Wenshi was struck dumb, his face instantly turning bright red, and he pointed at his nose, trembling with anger.

"You're trying to starve them to death! They're your relatives, the flesh and blood of the Kong family! Don't you care whether they live or die?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Kong Yinzhi turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot.

"Should I take them with me to die? I am the future 65th Duke Yansheng, and the lineage of the Confucius family cannot be severed in my hands! They... they will die for the Confucius family!"

"you--"

Kong Wenshi was so angry that she couldn't speak. Looking at the hideous face in front of her, she felt both unfamiliar and chilled.

A worthy death?

They make it sound noble, but it's nothing more than trading other people's lives for their own survival!
But before he could argue further, Kong Yinzhi turned and strode toward the side gate. A dozen strong soldiers immediately surrounded him, drawing their swords and nocking their bows, forming an iron wall around him.

"go!"

Kong Yinzhi's shouts disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Kong Wenshi watched his hasty retreating figure, and listened to the increasingly close shouts of battle outside the city. He slammed his fist heavily on the pillar next to him, and blood seeped from his knuckles.

The lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind, casting his shadow long and thin, filled with a sense of powerless desolation.

The faint sobs of the women came from the cellar, but were quickly drowned out by the muffled sound of bricks being used to seal it.

Meanwhile, from the direction of the East Gate, the fearless shouts of the soldiers could be heard.

However, Kong Yinzhi was convinced that he could fight his way out with his few hundred soldiers from the Kong family, but he never expected that when he ordered the east gate to be opened, what awaited him was not a smooth road to escape, but a flood of rioters.

As soon as the drawbridge at the East Gate was lowered, the roaming soldiers outside the city rushed over like sharks that had smelled blood, howling as they charged.

Although the five hundred soldiers of the Kong family were well-equipped, they were like a small boat in a raging sea in front of thousands of rioters wielding hoes and sickles. They were surrounded after only a few steps and soon found themselves in a fierce battle amidst the flashing swords.

Outside the city, Li Hongji was reining in his horse to observe the battle situation on the city wall when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something unusual happening at the east gate.

The tightly closed city gate slowly opened.

"Ok?"

He raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"They were defending the city perfectly well, why suddenly open the gates? Are they trying to get themselves killed already?"

Driven by curiosity, he immediately mounted his horse and galloped away with his personal guards.

The closer you are, the clearer you can see.

The group of people at the city gate, dressed in fine clothes, were being held tightly by the rioters and were clearly trying to break out through the east gate.

"idiot."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Li Hongji's mouth.

Why choose to break through during the daytime when the fighting is fiercest, instead of a dark and windy night?
Isn't this just blatantly handing someone a free meal?
He reined in his horse, gazing at the chaotic battle at the city gate, his eyes blazing with murderous intent: "Since they've delivered themselves to my doorstep, then I'll accept them without further ado!"

"Brothers, charge with me!"

Li Hongji took the lead, followed closely by his guards who charged in through the gap in the east gate like wolves.

These guards were all battle-hardened elites, swift in action, charging into the rioting crowd as if it were nothing.

The Kong family soldiers, who were struggling to hold on, were thrown into chaos by the charge of this new force, and the troops scattered and fled like a breached dam.

Protected by his personal guards, Kong Yinzhi was terrified when he saw that his path was blocked. He shouted in a hoarse voice, "Back to the Duke of Yansheng's mansion! Back to the mansion at once!"

"The Duke Yansheng?"

These three words attracted Li Hongji's ears like a magnet.

His gaze swept across the room and quickly locked onto the person who was surrounded in the middle and dressed the most luxuriously.

It was Kong Yinzhi.

This must be the Duke Yansheng.

Li Hongji licked his chapped lips, a cruel excitement flashing in his eyes.

He spurred his horse forward, his long sword flashing coldly in the air: "Duke Yansheng? Perfect, I'll use your head to consecrate the flag!"

The guards understood and immediately dispatched a team to block Kong Yinzhi's retreat back to the mansion like an iron barrel.

The soldiers of the Kong family tried to resist, but were cut down by the guards' swift swords and were forced to retreat in disarray, with screams echoing throughout the area.

As Li Hongji drew closer, Kong Yinzhi's usually pampered face instantly drained of color, and he scrambled to retreat.

But how could he outrun a horse's hooves?
Li Hongji's knife whistled as it slashed down toward his head.

What Duke Yansheng?

Die!

(End of this chapter)