Chapter 22: Arrived in Liaodong

The Emperor was ill—this was the latest news from within the palace, and it seemed the illness was quite severe; more than half of the imperial physicians from the Imperial Academy of Medicine had been summoned.

Once again, a very ominous premonition spread through the court: could His Majesty, the current Emperor, also be in trouble? The Great Ming could not withstand a second upheaval.

The ministers could hardly be blamed for worrying, for there was ample precedent for this!

The late Emperor had ascended the throne and passed away within a single month—one could not help but let the mind wander. The capital was immediately thrown into panic and unease.

Wei Zhongxian's machinations, however, did not stop. The interrogations of Feng Sanyuan, Wei Yingjia, and Zhang Xiude continued unabated.

Inside the dungeons of the Eastern Depot, Wei Zhongxian sat on a chair, drinking tea with an expressionless face, yet a smug smile crept across his features.

His guess had been right—His Majesty intended to use the Xiong Tingbi affair to shake up the court. Let's see how you lot dare to impeach this old Wei after this.

At that moment, Wei Zhongxian saw Sun Yunhe, the Chiliarch in charge of punishments at the Eastern Depot, walk out from within.

Seeing that Sun Yunhe's expression was not pleasant, Wei Zhongxian's face instantly darkened, and he asked in a somewhat cold voice: "Nothing extracted?"

Hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, Sun Yunhe's face showed some embarrassment. He hastily bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Excellency, these men have very hard mouths. We beat them for a long while, but it was still of no use."

Saying this, Sun Yunhe hesitated slightly before adding: "Should we resort to severe torture?"

Before Wei Zhongxian, Sun Yunhe dared not act presumptuously.

This man was currently riding high—the foremost favorite before His Majesty—and moreover, he was his direct superior. Sun Yunhe could not curry favor fast enough!

Glaring at Sun Yunhe, Wei Zhongxian cursed in exasperation: "Worthless!" Then, with a darkened face, he asked again: "How are the men?"

"They've fainted." Sun Yunhe spoke once more, his face still full of embarrassment.

Wei Zhongxian paced in circles on the spot, then abruptly spun around, his face carrying vicious ruthlessness and his gaze icy cold: "Can they withstand severe torture?"

Sun Yunhe hesitated for a long while before speaking: "These three men are extremely weak in constitution. Once severe torture is applied, it's hard to say—if things go wrong, their lives might be lost."

"Worthless!" Wei Zhongxian cursed once more, saying irritably: "The men cannot die, but the confessions must still be obtained. They must be made to reveal the masterminds behind them. I tell you, His Majesty is watching how this old one handles his task. If this task of mine is botched, none of you will fare well. Go—continue the interrogation. I want the confessions, but the men must remain alive."

Though he was complaining inwardly, Sun Yunhe dared not refute, nor even say anything else. He could only reply with a solemn expression: "Rest assured, Your Excellency. The men will live, and the confessions will be obtained."

Having said this, Sun Yunhe turned and walked back into the depths of the dungeon.

The situation in the capital was chaotic—one could say treacherous and unpredictable—for Xiong Tingbi had stirred up no small amount of trouble. But Xiong Tingbi knew nothing of this, for he had already rushed to Shenyang with all possible speed.

In the second month, Shenyang was nothing like the capital—still bitterly cold with frozen ground. A line of carriages creaked and groaned as they advanced over the snow. Xiong Tingbi sat inside his carriage, both hands stretched over the brazier to warm themselves.

"Damn it—after all these years in the Liaodong lands, home is still the best." Just as he was grumbling, Xiong Tingbi let out an extremely loud sneeze, and complained: "If we don't hurry up and fight a battle, my whole body feels out of sorts!"

"My lord, we have arrived." One of his attendant guards called out loudly.

"Finally here—these past days have been suffocating me." Xiong Tingbi muttered as he lifted the curtain and jumped down from the carriage.

The moment he got off the carriage, a crowd of officials swarmed around him, offering solicitous greetings.

"Lord Xiong, it has been many days since we last met—are you in good health?"

"Ah ah ah! Achoo!" Xiong Tingbi caught a strange fragrance emanating from the newcomer and sneezed again. He subtly shifted aside and said: "Fine, fine."

"My lord, do have some hot soup. My wife brewed it personally." Another official opened the food box in his hands.

Xiong Tingbi looked carefully—the bowl of chicken soup was still steaming. But he had never cared for chicken, so he waved his hand dismissively without interest.

A column of troops emerged from within Shenyang city, and a hearty laugh rang out from the city gate: "My lord has kept me waiting a good long while."

Hearing the familiar voice, Xiong Tingbi's furrowed brow gently relaxed. He extricated himself from the crowd and walked over with a smile: "Brother Li."

The man Xiong Tingbi called Brother Li was named Li Guangrong, and his official post was Regional Commander of Liaodong.

Although this man was the Regional Commander of Liaodong, he served as Regional Commander in Liaodong together with Li Ruzhen. It could be said that his standing was far inferior to Li Ruzhen's—or rather, he was nothing more than a figurehead.

The court's appointment of Li Guangrong had a very simple purpose: to divide and counterbalance Li Ruzhen.

When Xiong Tingbi was in office, Li Guangrong could still enjoy his favor, but once Xiong Tingbi left, Li Guangrong was once again pushed aside.

One should know that the Donglin Faction relied heavily on the Li family of Liaodong—getting rid of Xiong Tingbi was in fact a joint effort between Li Ruzhen and the Donglin Faction.

In history, Li Ruzhen had deep ties with the Donglin Faction. When the Qing army attacked Tieling, he held his troops back and did not come to its aid, causing Tieling to fall, for which he was stripped of his post. In the early Tianqi era he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, the Chongzhen Emperor, recalling the meritorious service of Li Chengliang, specially spared his life and sent him to the army.

Li Ruzhen was imprisoned—neither killed nor released. This was to hold him as a hostage, lest the old generals of the Li family in Liaodong wreak havoc upon the region.

After the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, the Donglin Faction exerted its strength once more, and Li Ruzhen was pardoned and released from prison to serve in the army.

For Li Ruzhen, this was essentially sending him back—the army had always been his domain, and the Donglin Faction had pulled the strings behind it.

Originally, having driven away Xiong Tingbi, Yuan Yingtai had taken over as Military Commissioner of Liaodong, and the next step would naturally have been to bring Li Ruzhen back.

The Donglin Faction could even shout slogans like "Only the Yuan barbarian can pacify Liaodong"—so how could bringing back a Li Ruzhen be any problem?

Only, in the original course of history, before the Donglin Faction could even begin their machinations, Liaodong collapsed—Shenyang and Liaoyang fell, Yuan Yingtai committed suicide—and naturally there was no way to bring Li Ruzhen back.

Now, although things had not yet reached that point, Xiong Tingbi had come to Liaodong to replace Yuan Yingtai, and Li Ruzhen had been taken to the capital and imprisoned. The Donglin Faction's arrangements in Liaodong had been all but completely destroyed.

The happiest person in all this was naturally Li Guangrong—his opportunity had come again. He had long been at odds with Yuan Yingtai, and now that Xiong Tingbi had arrived, he cast aside all further deliberation and rushed straight out to welcome him.

Xiong Tingbi looked at Li Guangrong, and his face naturally showed delight as well. With Li Guangrong here, he could quickly stabilize the situation upon arriving in Liaodong.

The two men met, both filled with a welter of emotions. After a brief exchange, Xiong Tingbi said directly: "Come, accompany me to the Military Commissioner's office."

This visit was naturally to deliver the imperial edict, and at the same time to complete the official handover of duties. Only after this step was accomplished would Xiong Tingbi be formally installed as Military Commissioner of Liaodong, becoming the region's supreme military commander.

Xiong Tingbi was burning with anxiety—he could not bear to wait a single moment longer.