Chapter 347: A Great Slaughter

Like wolves bolting and wild boars charging, the household servants, shop hands, and idle ruffians who had been gathered on the various streets came rushing back in a frenzy, each one clamoring: The Shunxiang Army has entered the city, fully armored, bearing blades and muskets, tens of thousands strong.

They appeared suddenly outside the city. Bearing a written order from General Dingguo, the city-guarding soldiers dared not obstruct them. They are coming to kill!

The General’s mansion intends to suppress the scholars and commoners—what is to be done? We beg Old Master Ceng and Mr. Wu to devise a stratagem at once.

The various officers, soldiers, and the men from the merchants’ mansions all jabbered at once, every face stricken with panic; they clamored loudly, each countenance ashen as death, and many had already resolved to flee.

Wu Lue’s face was livid; he had never imagined Wang Dou would dare dispatch troops into the city. Ceng Youxian’s face was white. He coughed once and said: Gentlemen, do not panic, do not panic. This old man refuses to believe that, under this broad and luminous heaven, General Dingguo would dare commit such an act of heaven-angered, man-resented oppression of scholars and commoners. Does he not fear the damning verdict of the censors and the iron brush of history?

Wu Lue also raised his voice: Indeed! We plead on behalf of the people, fervent in our righteous cause; though it cost us our lives, we do not flinch. Long ago, the Five Righteous Men of Suzhou resisted the eunuch faction’s corrupt ministers, defying brutal force, and in the end their names were etched in history, recorded on tombstone inscriptions. A true man understands the weight of life and death; a commoner may bear the fate of the altars of state. Even if Wang Dou oppresses scholars to reward his troops, we shall face it with composure and without fear!

His words drew a burst of cheers. Wu Lue waved his arm and shouted: Let us go forth and reason with the Shunxiang Army, and see whether they dare defy the world’s condemnation and slaughter merchants and scholars!

The crowd surged forward; those merchants and students united as one, raising their banners high, shouting all the way as they marched toward the east of the city. Even larger numbers of household servants and ruffians, clutching tiles and stones, either charged ahead in small bands of three or five or scattered along the periphery—the whole mass advanced in a mighty, rolling tide!

Suddenly a deafening volley of musketry rang out, followed by cries of alarm, and the household servants and disorderly mob came rushing back like a tide, shrieking at the top of their lungs: The Shunxiang Army is killing people! The Champion troops are killing people...

The crowd fell into utter chaos. Wu Lue, Ceng Youxian, and the others stood dumbstruck, and among the merchant group, men like Wu Yue were equally shocked, their faces drained of all color: Wang Dou... Wang Dou actually dares to use force?

The rhythmic tramp of a large body of troops drew steadily nearer, and a voice rang out: By order of General Dingguo, the Shunxiang Army enters the city to quell disorder, to seize Eastern-slave spies and traitors colluding with the invaders. Martial law is imposed upon the entire city with immediate effect. Proclamation: Do not assemble in the streets and markets. Do not riot. Do not insult the government. Violators shall be dealt with as rebels—kill without mercy!

The Shunxiang Army is a righteous force; it commits no act of harassment against the common people. Soldiers and civilians, await the resolution in peace; there is no cause for alarm!

Yanqing Department was a key center of the strike and market shutdown. To intimidate his opponents to the utmost, Wang Dou ordered Wen Fangliang to lead a contingent of troops into the city. At this moment Wen Fangliang sat astride his horse. He was fully armored, and the soldiers behind him were likewise each clad in cotton-and-iron armor and iron helmets; they carried lances and muskets, advancing in perfect order, and their killing aura instantly silenced the surrounding area, strip by strip!

Before this army, Wu Lue suddenly realized how utterly laughable all his own actions of these past days had been!

Facing the crowd of merchants and scholars who had braced themselves and stepped forward, Wen Fangliang wasted no words on them. Seated on his horse, he directly drew a document from his breast and proclaimed: By order of the General, seize the Eastern-slave spies Ceng Fuyang, Wan Meier, and their associates. Chen Enchong, Zhang Wanshan, and others have colluded with the slaves and aided the enemy—arrest them as well. You are all to place the weight of the imperial court and the altars of state above all else and cooperate fully in apprehending these traitors. Anyone who dares obstruct shall be deemed an accomplice!

Like a bolt from the blue, Wu Lue, Ceng Youxian, and the others were stunned! How could their concubines, how could their sons, possibly be Eastern-slave spies? If they truly were Eastern-slave spies, then not only would their market strike these days become a laughingstock, but with their own kin turned spies, they themselves would be in danger of implication!

Had Wang Dou suppressed them on the grounds of refusing to pay commercial taxes, they could still have stood on the moral high ground, fervent and righteous, opposing and denouncing him with full justification. But with Wang Dou handling the matter under this charge... they all had to fear the danger of being deemed accomplices. That was a matter implicating entire households, carrying the penalty of extermination of one’s clan and death by slow slicing!

Wu Lue first shouted: Nonsense! Nonsense! Meier could never be an Eastern-slave spy! Wang Dou is spouting rubbish!

Ceng Youxian also said in a trembling voice: General, could there be some mistake? My son could never be a spy!

Only a young man standing behind Ceng Youxian showed a panicked expression on his face. He cried out: No, no, I am wronged! I am wronged!

Wen Fangliang swept his hand down and barked: Seize them!

At once a squad of Shunxiang troops, fierce as wolves and tigers, lunged toward Ceng Fuyang. Ceng Youxian cried out: No, no? ...

Several household servants from his mansion, along with nearby students, instinctively moved to block the way.

Crack-crack-crack-crack! Muskets roared, mists of blood splattered, and these several men were all blasted flying backward!

After they tumbled to the ground, the searing pain of the gunshot wounds instantly spread through their bodies; staring at the gaping, bloody holes in their flesh, they shrieked in agony, rolling back and forth on the ground.

Ah!

Seeing their wretched state of unbearable suffering, some among the merchants and scholars behind them instantly bolted in panic, and an even larger mass of people came running toward the Shunxiang troops!

Fire!

The deafening roar of musketry rang out again; amid the rising gunpowder smoke, another dozen or so people were blasted to the ground!

Wu Lue instinctively tried to flee, but took a heavy musket butt square in the face, and instantly his face burst open, blood gushing like a fountain!

Clutching his face, he collapsed to his knees, screaming shrilly in pain!

No one is to move recklessly! Otherwise you will be treated as Eastern-slave spies and executed on the spot!

Under the stern shouted orders, the merchant-and-scholar procession, which had been a boiling cauldron of chaos, finally came to a halt. They all stood there, faces drained of color, each one dumbstruck as a wooden chicken. The household servants and ruffians around them also hurriedly dropped to their knees. Some, suddenly realizing they were still clutching tiles and stones, hastily flung them away!

The thick stench of blood spread under the sunlight. Looking at the corpses on the ground and hearing the wounded groan in chorus, many could not help but vomit. Some were so terrified they began to cry. The morale that had earlier united ten thousand hearts as one had long since vanished without a trace!

The sudden reversal of events left them unable to react. Was this not a righteous struggle against commercial taxes? How had it suddenly become about Eastern-slave spies? And people had been killed right before their very eyes!

The merchants in particular were trembling from head to toe, muttering: Why has it come to this? How could it come to this?

Ceng Fuyang had long since been thrown to the ground by several brawny Shunxiang soldiers, his arms twisted behind him and firmly bound. Ceng Youxian stared blankly at him for a long while, then asked tentatively: My son, are you truly an Eastern-slave spy?

Ceng Fuyang turned his head away, not daring to meet his father’s gaze!

At that moment several night scouts from the Intelligence Division came over. They shot Ceng Fuyang a cold, sinister glance and said to Wen Fangliang: Reporting to Company Commander Wen, we have found espionage tokens hidden in Ceng Fuyang’s room. This donkey-spawned wretch really is a spy for the Tatars!

One of the night scouts presented a tray, on which lay several tokens: a white jade pendant ring bearing certain secret marks, along with wax-sealed pill letters and other covert methods for transmitting intelligence. The Shunxiang Army’s night scouts had long served in the forces and naturally understood the various ways Qing army spies passed letters!

Staring at that tray, Ceng Fuyang could no longer suppress the terror in his heart and collapsed limp to the ground!

Ceng Youxian suddenly let out a piercing wail: Heavens! What sin have I, Ceng Youxian, committed, to have begotten such an unrighteous, disloyal, sovereign-forsaking, father-forsaking beast!

Tears streamed down his aged face; he could not speak for sobbing!

Wu Lue at this moment struggled to his feet; blood was streaming from his nose and mouth. He, too, said to Ceng Fuyang in shock: Brother Ceng, you...

Just then two more night scouts came forward, dragging a bound woman. Seeing this woman, Wu Lue jumped even more violently: Meier! You... you... could it be...

The woman had a charming, alluring appearance. She cast a bitter smile at Wu Lue and said to Wen Fangliang: I want to see Han Chao. If that heartless man had not abandoned me, I would not have fallen to such a state today!

Wen Fangliang had also heard of this woman. As early as the eighth year of Chongzhen, Han Chao had been intimate with her. Back then, Madam Zheng of the Wanshenghe Rice Shop had admired Han Chao. Wang Dou and the others, believing a wife should be chosen for her virtue, had urged Han Chao to marry Madam Zheng. No one had expected that this old flame would be bought off by the Qing!

Wen Fangliang gave her a long, hard look, then shouted: Ceng Youxian, Wu Lue, and the others are strongly suspected of espionage; take them into custody for interrogation. All persons present are to be detained together. Once the spies are weeded out, we shall await General Dingguo’s decision.

Faced with the label of traitorous spy, none of the merchants and scholars present dared make a move; they merely wailed aloud, as if doomsday had come.

Seize them...

Arrest the spies, and seal all shops belonging to those who colluded with the slaves!

It seemed as if the entire Yanqing Department was filled with Shunxiang Army units. Following the prearranged plan, they fanned out squad by squad, arresting people according to the name lists and sealing shops, methodically and without confusion.

Matters having come to this, the local military households and commoners of Yanqing Department could not react in time. Fortunately, the Shunxiang Army truly committed no offense against them, which set their minds somewhat at ease. They hid in the streets and inside their houses, buzzing with discussion. Very quickly, the news that the Director of Studies’ son Ceng Fuyang and Wu Lue’s concubine were Tatar spies spread like wildfire.

Many people cursed furiously: these damnable curs who deserve to be hacked to pieces, actually serving as spies for the Tatars—even death by a thousand cuts would be too good for them! Many even speculated: could the strikes and market shutdowns across the Eastern Circuit these days have been instigated by these spies?

If that were the case, then all those who had participated in the market strike were under suspicion of being Tatar spies!

The sounds of doors being smashed open rang out continuously. Those who had participated in the strike and the protest marches were the minor pawns behind the great officers and great merchants; the major players were all hiding in their own mansions, gauging the wind and directing operations from afar.

But their temples were in the city—what use was hiding in their mansions? The troops simply broke down the doors and seized them. Regrettably, these officials and merchants were not all state-toppling spies, but nearly all had been involved in smuggling beyond the frontier, which counted as aiding the enemy. From the very first day of their market strike, the Intelligence Division had kept them under close surveillance and had long since searched out and gathered a mountain of evidence against them.

The ironclad proof was as solid as a mountain, leaving them no room for sophistry. Whether officials or merchants, local Battalion Commanders or Company Commanders, or members of the gentry, the heads of households were directly seized and taken away, and their families placed under surveillance. At the same time, all land and property under their names were sealed in their entirety.

Those who dared resist arrest were executed on the spot. The sound of musketry rose and fell throughout the city; it seemed there were quite a few who failed to grasp the situation!

With a thunderous crash, the main gate of a residence in Cheng’en Ward, Yan’an Department, was smashed open. Two squads of Shunxiang Army soldiers surged into the compound — the very place where Zhang Wanshan, grand-uncle of the current Regional Military Commissioner of the Wanguan Regional Military Commission, resided. The household had nearly two hundred bondservants and retainers!

Seeing government troops dare to break down the door and enter — as if the sun had risen in the west — everyone in the residence was both shocked and furious.

Led by a steward in a blue silk long gown, a crowd of retainers surged out aggressively, each gripping spears, cudgels, and staves. Before they could speak, the Shunxiang Army Squad Commander leading the unit raised the warrant in his hand and said coldly: “It has now been investigated that Zhang Wanshan has aided the enemy, the evidence is conclusive. By order of General Dingguo, he is to be arrested and brought to justice. Do not aid the tyrant in his crimes, lest you end up utterly annihilated!”

The steward, both shocked and furious, shouted: “How dare you, Wang Dou! Do you not see what place this is? This is the Zhang residence... our master’s uncle-nephew is none other than the current Vice Regional Commander of the garrison city, Zhang...”

Before he could finish, the Squad Commander had already said icily: “By order of General Dingguo, any who dare raise arms in resistance shall be killed without mercy!”

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! The thunderous roar of firelocks erupted as dozens of matchlocks aimed at the retainers before them pulled their triggers!

Misty sprays of blood shot forth. The retainers toppled in swaths like wheat stalks before the wind. The steward took bullets to the body, staggering backward and crashing to the ground. By the time he hit the ground, he was already dead — yet his eyes were wide open, staring rigidly at the sky, his face filled with utter disbelief!

Ah!

The remaining retainers screamed in unison!

Fire!

The Squad Commander’s cold voice rang out, followed by another roaring volley of firelocks, and another swath of retainers shrieked as they were blasted to the ground!

Outrageous! Outrageous...

At that moment, Old Master Zhang was helped out by several servants. Seeing the scene before him, he stood dumbstruck, then erupted in a violent rage. Wang Dou’s subordinates had dared to storm into his residence and run amok, openly killing people — such... such...

His hair and beard bristled as he pointed at the Shunxiang Army soldiers on this side, too furious to speak!

The servants around him were likewise stupefied. This was the Zhang residence! The place where the grand-uncle of Zhang Guoqi, Vice Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison, lived. Had those Shunxiang Army soldiers eaten the gall of a leopard?

But his words went unfinished, for a Shunxiang Army soldier rushed forward and struck him heavily — the butt of a firelock slammed into his lower abdomen. Immediately, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Zhang Wanshan’s lips. Uncontrollably, he collapsed to his knees!