The fuse of the cannon sizzled as it burned. The momentum of the sparks caused the fuse to lightly bounce on the dark cannon barrel. He Bingwen regretfully looked towards the middle troops coming from the valley. With one glance, his eyes widened and he cried out involuntarily, "The Mysterious Yellow Dragon Banner?"
The second group of troops was walking towards the entrance of the valley. The soldiers' swords and spears were like a forest and their banners were fluttering. But one of the large banners in the middle was crooked to avoid the branches and because there was no wind, it was hanging low. But the bright yellow banner and the faint golden scales and dragon claws were clearly the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Banner that only the nobles and imperial envoys could carry with them when they went on patrol.
He Bingwen was shocked and immediately shouted, "Extinguish the fuse, don't fire!"
As He Bingwen spoke, he shot forward like an arrow. In midair, the saber at his waist slashed through the air. With a "keng", it struck the body of the cannon, causing sparks to fly. Half of the cannon fell into the grass and sizzled as it burned.
He Bingwen broke out in a cold sweat and shouted loudly, "No one move. Look carefully, they … … why do they have the Emperor's Dragon Banner?"
These soldiers had never seen the Emperor's Dragon Banner in their lives and didn't know what You Ji was talking about. The cannoneers held their matches and looked around in shock. The archers had already loaded their crossbows and their fingers were on the triggers. Hearing their superior's order, they unconsciously pointed the arrows towards the sky, at a loss as to what was happening.
Jing Li saw that they were about to be exposed and anxiously said, "The Wokou are about to leave the valley, you dare to cower in fear? Open fire immediately. Do you hear me? If you disobey military orders, you will all be beheaded! "
Yan Hudi shot forward to another cannon and snatched the torch from a soldier's hand, preparing to light the fuse. He Bingwen's suspicions rose. Even if the Wokou had taken large amounts of official uniforms and weapons from Jinhua, it was impossible for them to have obtained the Emperor's Dragon Banner.
At the moment, there was only one imperial envoy in the six coastal provinces and that was Sir Yang Yang Ling. The other imperial envoys who had been to Jiangnan had to hand over the banner when they returned to the capital. Where did the Emperor's Dragon Banner come from? They were in such a panic, were they worried that the Wokou would escape?
He Bingwen said sternly, "Stop!" With a backhand toss, the steel saber in his hand flew out with a 'shua' sound. This saber was meant to stop Yan Hudi, he did not want to hurt anyone, so he shot it in front of Yan Hudi. The steel saber brushed past Yan Hudi's body, and with a 'pu' sound half of it entered the ground. The hilt of the saber trembled incessantly, scaring Yan Hudi so much that he took a step back and almost fell.
He Bingwen followed and rushed over. One of the personal guards beside him felt his waist lighten as He Bingwen held his saber in his hand. He Bingwen held the saber horizontally across his chest and stood in front of the cannon. He shouted in a threatening manner, "What are you doing? The troops at the foot of the mountain have the Emperor's Dragon Flag. I need to investigate thoroughly before I can distinguish between friend and foe. Who dares to act rashly? "
He swept his gaze over Jing Li and the others and said in a deep voice, "This official wants to investigate carefully. If the people at the foot of the mountain are really Wokou pirates, I will destroy the main army and immediately pursue the vanguard of Wokou pirates. I will not allow them to cause trouble in Fujian. However, at this moment, we do not know who the enemy is and who we are, so we must not act rashly. Generals, I'm sorry. Watch them! "
Under He Bingwen's order, the personal guards beside him unsheathed their sabers with a 'qiang' and spread out in a semicircle to surround Jing Li and the others. He Bingwen turned around and said, "Inform the rear troops to gather and stop the main army from escaping. Immediately …"
As he gave the order, Jing Li was already sweating from anxiety, "Once He Bingwen makes contact with the foot of the mountain, the truth will definitely be revealed. At that time, a fatal disaster will befall us. We can only kill He Bingwen and try to take control of his army to fight to the death."
Thinking of this, Jing Li removed the saber from his ribs and threw it to the officer beside him. He walked towards He Bingwen with a cold smile and said, "Humph! This official is only afraid that the Wokou pirates will escape the ambush. You are so timid. When we return, I will report you to Official Ruan and Admiral Zhou! "
He did not have a weapon in his hands. Furthermore, even though he did not belong to a subordinate, he was still a General. His official position was higher than He Bingwen's. The personal guards could only move their sabers along with him and did not dare to push him too far. Jing Li walked until he was two steps away from He Bingwen. Suddenly, he quickened his pace and rushed over. He took out a shining dagger from his sleeve and shouted in a sharp voice, "He Bingwen is afraid of battle. Under Official Ruan's orders, kill!"
When he had arrogantly approached with the authority of an official, He Bingwen had noticed him out of the corner of his eye. However, he had never thought that he would dare to act violently while surrounded by his own personal guards. In a moment of danger, he hurriedly turned his body to the side. The dagger that had been aimed at his back stabbed into his shoulder with a "cha" sound. The dagger pierced through his armor and his arm immediately turned bright red.
Yan Hudi and the others were all Zhou Hong's diehard followers. They were officials in the open and thieves in the dark. They had done all kinds of heartless things. Once the imperial envoy arrived at Fuzhou, it would be difficult for them to conceal their evil deeds. Each of them was worthy of beheading. So when they saw Jing Li move, they all pulled out their weapons and were about to charge forward.
Jing Li's dagger did not take He Bingwen's life. When he pulled out his dagger and stabbed again, He Bingwen had already retreated. He was an old general who had been bathed in blood on the battlefield for many years. He was decisive in killing. At the moment of life and death, he did not have so many misgivings. He immediately shouted, "Committing murder in front of battle and plotting to assassinate the commander, release the arrows!"
The archers were used to He Bingwen's military orders and never dared to disobey. At this time, they knew that these people were high officials of the court and were not people they could offend. But when He Bingwen gave the order, they unconsciously moved their arms, lowered their bows, and released their bowstrings. All of this happened in an instant. While they were still thinking that they could not act, their fingers had already moved away from the bowstrings.
The bowstrings hummed and twenty wolf fang arrows that could pierce through heavy armor within a hundred paces whistled through the air. "Weng weng …" The bowstrings hummed and the arrows were like rain hitting a broken lotus. "Pu pu pu" There were muffled sounds of flesh piercing into the body. Jing Li's chest was hit by four arrows. The sharp arrows pierced through his chest and came out of his back. He flew back two steps and fell heavily to the ground.
Yan Hudi and the others, who were brandishing their steel blades and brandishing their claws, were also riddled with sharp arrows. Yan Hudi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at He Bingwen. After a long while, he slowly fell to the ground.
At this time, He Bingwen and Wen Xin were ninety percent sure that there was something strange going on. He covered his bleeding arm and turned his head to look down the mountain. The central army in the gorge had already neared. It was definitely the imperial envoy's full guard of honor. A light breeze blew past and a dark green banner unfurled beside the Son of Heaven's black and yellow dragon banner. On it was the character "Yang".
He Bingwen and Wen Xin were shocked. Heavens, could it be that the foot of the mountain was actually … was actually Mr. Yang's army?
He Bingwen was a veteran of the battlefield. He was shocked but not panicked. In a deep voice, he shouted, "Heavy cannons, bows, and stones, get ready. Listen for my orders. Wen Baihu, release the arrows and order the army at the foot of the mountain to stop advancing and wait for orders! "
* * *
The imperial envoy, the six provinces' commander-in-chief, the Marquis of Wei Wu, and the Dragon-Tiger High General Yang Ling had arrived at Fuzhou for three days. As soon as Yang Ling arrived at Fuzhou, he moved into the administrative envoy's yamen and took over all the military and government affairs in Fujian. But in the past three days, he had not seen a single one of the Fujian military or government officials. This caused these officials to be in a state of panic. They stayed at home and did not dare to go out. They ordered their servants and personal soldiers to roam the city and ask around for news of the Taoist.
"Administrative Envoy Ruan Dawen, Navy Admiral Zhou Hong, Patrol Imperial Envoy Zhai Qingshan, and Fuzhou Magistrate Wang Feiling colluded with the Wokou and plotted to assassinate the imperial envoy. They have all been arrested and thrown into prison."
"The homes of the four officials have all been surrounded by soldiers. I heard that no one is allowed to enter or leave."
"I heard that General You Ji, He Bingwen, has been very busy these past two days. He has been going in and out of the imperial envoy's field office all day."
"Is this true?" As soon as they heard this news, anyone who had met He Bingwen once or was acquainted with him prepared lavish gifts and flocked to the He Manor to ask for news. For a while, the He Manor was bustling with traffic. When He You Ji heard the news, he simply hid in the administrative envoy's yamen and did not return. This caused his usually leisurely home to be extremely busy.
The next day, they heard that the officials in charge of military affairs, civil affairs, civil affairs, food, and military equipment had all been summoned to the imperial envoy's field office. The various bureaucrats hurriedly ran to the homes of these officials early in the morning to wait for news. However, it was as if these officials had taken mute medicine. As soon as they returned from the imperial envoy's field office, they immediately became mute. No matter how good their personal relationship was, no matter how many questions were asked, they would not utter a single word.
They only heard that when the Governor had just entered the city, he had sent people on horseback to inform the seven guards who had retreated to Gutian, Shunchang, and Sanming regions, a total of more than forty thousand people, to rush to Fuzhou. If they did not arrive in the wee hours of the morning three days later, they would be beheaded by the Emperor's sword.
From this news, they vaguely guessed that the Governor would make a move on the fourth day. So on the third day, all the officials in charge of military affairs, civil affairs, taxation, and law memorized all the information they had in charge of, in anticipation of the Governor's inquiries.
Indeed, that night, all the officials received their orders. The next morning, all the officials in charge of military affairs, civil affairs, taxation, and other departments above the sixth rank called in their names at the Administrative Envoy's yamen.
On the morning of the fourth day, Yang Ling washed up early and arrived at the yamen. The civil and military officials who had arrived in the middle of the night to wait for an audience with him had already blocked the entrance to the yamen.
The main hall was quiet. Yang Ling sat in front of the painting of the red sun rising out of the sea and the white cranes soaring in the sky. His official robe and jade belt were embroidered, his expression as calm as water.
He had marched his troops south, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was inappropriate. Ever since he had been responsible for suppressing the pirates in the six provinces, he had always stayed in Suzhou and had never personally commanded any of the other provinces. Now that the officials in Fujian had committed such a heinous crime, they were feeling guilty. When they heard the news, wouldn't they be driven to desperate action and rush to destroy all evidence of their crimes?
Furthermore, the news from the Imperial Bodyguard was only a one-sided story. If there was no other material evidence, would they be able to kill a provincial military official as they pleased? Because of this, Yang Ling, Xiao Hengjiang, Luo Yan, and a few other generals discussed it and decided to send Han Wu and Liu Da Bang Chui to pretend to be Wokou pirates and extort them.
Since Ruan Dawen feared the Wokou like a tiger, and he was anxious for the Wokou to leave the Min border as soon as possible to avoid exposing evidence that he was funding the enemy, then it was very likely that he would be tricked and capture them in one fell swoop. Therefore, Yang Ling ordered Liu Da Bang Chui to lead a group of his personal guards to the navy and meet up with Han Wu to take the water route to Fuzhou.
Although Yang Ling had thought that if Ruan Dawen and the others had guessed his intentions, they would certainly come up with a countermeasure, but he had never thought that they would be at the end of their rope and dare to use the army to murder the imperial envoy. Therefore, when the army arrived at Yue Shan Valley, he only saw that the terrain was dangerous. Out of caution, he ordered the front and rear armies to pull apart. He had never thought that they would be ambushed at an important pass for the Ming army, on the only ancient post road between the two provinces.
If he had not saved General He with his words in the past and accidentally made him the commander of the ambush today, even if nothing had happened to him, the one thousand Iron Guards at the front of the army would have been completely annihilated under the attack of the cannons, crossbows, and flood.
Because of this, Yang Ling was indescribably angry. Over the past two days, he had mobilized various important officials to understand the military affairs, government affairs, and the situation of the officials in Fujian Province. The debauchery and corruption that exceeded his imagination made him bristle with anger. It looked like without a strong medicine like a storm, it would be difficult to clean up the decadent situation in the Min border.
Thinking of this, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He looked coldly at the silent hall and shouted in a deep voice, "Come, beat the drums and gather the generals! Order all the officials to report their names according to their rank! "
The war drums rumbled in the hall. Two rows of neatly dressed spear soldiers and saber soldiers stood perfectly straight. They lined up from the hall all the way to the door of the yamen. It was a scene of solemn silence.
The first officials to report their names were the civil officials. According to their rank, these officials tidied up their clothes and entered the hall trembling with fear under the gazes of the two rows of fierce-looking soldiers. There was a roll of names in front of Yang Ling. He picked one who came in. Every time he heard the name of an official that he had marked beforehand, Yang Ling said without raising his head, "Take him down!"
Immediately, two junior officers pounced forward and held down the bewildered official, escorting him to a side room. Yang Ling then used his brush to make a horizontal stroke and erased the name. The officials standing in the main hall were all shocked. They looked at the refined Yang Ling in awe, and then looked at their colleagues who were howling in pain as they were dragged away. A sense of joy welled up in their hearts. It seemed like they had made it through this stage.
By the time all the civil officials had entered the Administrative Commissioner's yamen, the civil officials on the left had already lined up all the way to the outside of the hall. Most of these people were third or fourth rank local officials, but none of them had a seat. Everyone was respectful, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
When the military official reported in, Yang Ling waved his hand to stop him. He shifted his gaze to Xiao Hengjiang, who was standing straight to the side, and asked in a low voice, "The seven guards have all arrived? What's the situation now? "
Xiao Hengjiang bowed and said in a low voice, "Yes! The seven guards have all settled outside the west side of the city and set up camp. The seven camps are keeping each other in check, and the army is very quiet. General He's men have already sealed off the four cities. Since the commanders of the seven guards dared to enter the city so calmly, it seems that Ruan Dawen and the others' confessions are true. Other than his navy, although the land guards are corrupt and corrupt, no one dares to collude with the enemy. "
Yang Ling nodded and said solemnly, "I know what I'm doing. Let them file in."
As soon as Yang Ling arrived, he had already taken control of the navy that was anchored in the nearby river. The navy had large ships and cannons, which were suitable for sea battles. Their land weapons were limited, and their land combat ability was even weaker. Yang Ling had sent cavalry to launch a surprise attack, and several of the navy's key generals had either been killed in the city or in Yue Shan Valley. Without a leader, they were quickly subdued.
From what he had learned over the past two days, the Fujian navy's source of soldiers was extremely complicated. Among the officers and officers, there were hereditary soldiers transferred from the guards, and there were also bandits and pirates who had been recruited. These monsters were mixed in, and the navy's military discipline was extremely corrupt.
From the intelligence that the Inner Factory had obtained from Zhou Hong over the past two days, the navy would sometimes encounter lone ships when patrolling the sea. The sea was vast and boundless, and the restraints of the court and the law on them were extremely weak. These officers and soldiers would pretend to be pirates and simply rob the ships and plunder the goods, killing all the crew members and throwing their bodies into the sea. Their actions were even more cruel than real pirates.
These generals involved in the case and the bandits who were involved in the slaughter of the ship had all been arrested by Yang Ling. Although the generals of the seven guards were corrupt and incompetent, they had not committed such a heinous crime. This made Yang Ling let out a great sigh of relief. Although these officials were disappointing, if he really killed them all, who would be left to command the soldiers?
The Wokou's cruelty had already beaten the courage and boldness of these soldiers. An army without military heart, morale, and soul, even if the soldiers' physiques were not weaker than the enemy's and their weapons were not inferior to the enemy's, how could they fight a battle?
In troubled times, heavy punishment was needed! Since the Wokou had used blood and death to scare this army into walking corpses, Yang Ling was prepared to use a reign of terror to wake them up. As long as they dared to face the Wokou, dared to wave their weapons at the enemy instead of turning and running from a distance, then half of the battle would be won.
Not many of the generals were arrested on the spot, but even so, the governor's ruthless methods made the civil and military officials present shiver in their hearts. The hall was silent, and only Xiao Hengjiang's deep voice reverberated in the hall.
Xiao Hengjiang first announced to the civil and military officials that Ruan Dawen and the others had used military funds to bribe the Wokou and then murdered the imperial envoy, as well as the crimes of the officials who had just been arrested. Then Yang Ling stood to announce the appointment and dismissal of the He Province officials.
As the wartime governor, he had the power to appoint and dismiss all the military and political officials. However, these officials all had the word "Substitute" in their titles. They had to report to the Emperor and the Ministry of Appointments would issue official appointments.
The Fujian Navy was completely taken over by Han Wu, temporarily acting as the Navy Admiral. In the army, the Seven Guards were summoned, the Third Guard that was originally stationed at Fuzhou, and the Sixth Guard that was currently stationed at the south, for a total of sixteen guards and five guerrilla warfare generals, were temporarily appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Navy to suppress the Wokou, with He Bingwen as commander-in-chief.
The Governor's Office was temporarily moved to Fujian, with Yang Ling serving as the Fujian Secretary of State, and Fuzhou's Chief Magistrate, Liu Xun, was appointed as the prefectural magistrate.
Then, the new commander-in-chief, He Bingwen, made military arrangements for all the generals.
All the officials were confused by Yang Ling's bold and decisive reforms and lightning-fast arrangements. They could only do their best to absorb all the information and listen to the arrangements that actually came from this young governor.
Yang Ling's behavior was too strange. He did not mention a single word about the punishment of the officials who had committed the crime. He had mobilized all the high-ranking officials and arrested a group of officials on the spot. Then, he did not mobilize any of the officials or appease them. He calmly began to issue battle orders, as if all the officials were his subordinates who had been under his command for many years.
Was this calmness and self-confidence, or was it a complete lack of care? In short, a strange and unfathomable Imperial Envoy Governor began to make the officials feel an indescribable sense of reverence and pressure.
He Bingwen loudly announced the overall military arrangements, the arrangements for the key military forces, the need for each guard to guard the various land and water passes, as well as the strategic objectives that they needed to accomplish, as well as the detailed arrangements for the assembly of the troops, the advance, the fierce battle, and the retreat. He busied himself from before the sun had risen to noon, when the civil and military officials were all rumbling with hunger. Only then did He Bingwen finish the arrangements.
Yang Ling flicked his sleeves and stood up. He calmly asked, "Have you all remembered the tasks that the generals of the various guards need to complete and the matters that the civil officials need to cooperate with?"
His gaze swept across the room. All the officials did not dare to make a sound, only nodding their heads in unison. Yang Ling's face broke into a smile. "Very good," he said. "The six coastal provinces have mobilized their troops and the Wokou pirates have been forced to retreat step by step. We have captured tens of thousands of Wokou pirates and their families.
Right now, the Wokou pirates in Fujian and Guangdong are at the end of their rope. As long as our soldiers are diligent, quelling the rebellion is just around the corner. Everyone, remember, right now, the most important military matter in Fujian is to quell the Wokou pirates. Everyone, go back early to prepare. Tomorrow morning, before the seven guards of the imperial army set off, this official will remain in Fuzhou and wait to report to the court for the various generals to be rewarded! "
The governor turned and returned to the inner yamen. The civil and military officials looked at each other, stunned for a long time before they dispersed. A new official made three changes. They did not dare to be careless with the governor's arrangements. They mobilized the people, prepared rations, and organized the troops. All of them put on a show.
But the civil and military officials all had their own plans. They rolled up their sleeves and pretended to be heroes. Anyone could do that. When they reached the frontlines, whether they used their strength to fight or if they were bluffing, who could care about that? While they were actively preparing for war, there were pairs of eyes watching.
※ ※ ※
In the afternoon, the situation took a turn for the worse. Groups of unsheathed soldiers began to appear on the streets and alleys. They began to confiscate the properties of the one hundred and twenty-eight civil and military officials under Ruan Dawen. Cries could be heard everywhere in the city of Fuzhou. The families of the convicted officials wearing shackles and shackles were sent to prison in an endless stream.
The officials of Fuzhou, who lived next to them, stood in their own courtyards and secretly watched. Each and every one of them was frightened. Before evening, all kinds of news about the Taoist had reached their ears through their families and neighbors. The criminals of all levels were exiled to the army, and those who were sent to the capital were thrown into prison wagons. The long procession of prison wagons drove to the west of the city and openly passed through the seven guards' barracks, heading straight for the capital.
The next morning, the soldiers of the seven guards finished their preparations. The garrison of Fuzhou opened the city gates and let them pass through, heading straight for the frontlines along the coast. The generals of the seven guards were on horseback when they suddenly realized that the flat and wide bluestone road between the east and west city gates had been blocked off by bailiffs, patrol officers, and strong people. There was not a single commoner on the street. On both sides of the road, there was a prisoner kneeling every few steps. Behind him stood a strong soldier with a saber in his hand.
These prisoners kneeled from the two sides of the west city gate all the way to the east city gate. Their hands were tied and their mouths were tied with strips of cloth. When they reached the crossroads where the four main streets converged, they were shocked to see the highest military and political officials of Fujian Province kneeling on the four corners of the high platforms: Administrative Envoy Ruan Dawen, Navy Admiral Zhou Hong, Imperial Patrol Officer Zhai Qingshan, and Fuzhou Magistrate Wang Feiling.
The generals and officers could not help but lighten their footsteps and slowly walked on the street. They could only hear the sound of horse hooves and the rumbling of carriage wheels.
Suddenly, they saw several officers and officers on horseback with arrows in their hands galloping on the road. They raised their voices and shouted, "Pass on the Governor-General's order. The prisoners are in position and verified!"
Immediately, the officers and officers standing behind the prisoners with sabers in their hands responded in unison, "Reporting to the Governor-General, 1,125 prisoners on death row have all been verified and await orders!"
The faces of the generals of the seven guards changed. "1,125 prisoners on death row?" Other than Hongwu and the Yongle Dynasty, when had there been such a large scale operation? Who had the guts to make one thousand heads fall to the ground with one command?
In the distance, three sounds of cannons rang out. Someone shouted, "Fire the cannons to carry out the execution! Behead ~ ~ ~ "
The drawn-out word "behead" leisurely passed by the advancing officers. On both sides of the road, sharp steel sabers were raised at the same time with a "shua!" sound.
More than a thousand shocking shining arcs drew across the ground. More than a thousand streams of blood splashed into the air. More than a thousand heads rolled to the ground at their feet. The air was immediately filled with a thick smell of blood.
The sound of tens of thousands of soldiers sucking in a breath of cold air suddenly converged into a heart-stirring wave of air. The commanders of the Seven Guards suddenly realized that Yang Ling's team of a thousand men that was isolated and without reinforcements, and that none of them managed to escape, happened to be a thousand one hundred and twenty-five men.
Corpses littered the ground and blood flowed like a river. The forty thousand soldiers rolled up their flags and walked out of the east city in a trail of blood. Their murderous aura soared into the sky.
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