Chapter 127: A Personal Trip to Liaodong

Although it was already April, the weather in Liaodong was frighteningly cold.

This region was plagued by wind and snow year-round, and the weather was bitter; once winter arrived, it was so freezing that people had no desire to go outside. If the cold wind of Beijing city was like a knife cutting one's ears, then the wind in Liaodong was meant to kill.

Inside Fushun City, located in the northwest corner of the Liaodong Dusi, the sky was low and dark, and there were few pedestrians on the streets, save for the flags fluttering at two wine shops along the road.

Inside, Han San sat upright in a side room, together with two or three followers, venting their recent frustrations over strong liquor and food.

It was said that back in March, he had received a secret letter from Zhang Yunxiu to come and execute a barbarian named Nurhaci.

Having received the order, he had scurried off to Liaodong.

After much trouble, he found Nurhaci's younger brother, Haershuqi. After some instigation, this second-in-command of the Jianzhou Left Guard developed evil intentions, and the two hit it off immediately.

In the end, they used a great fire to burn Nurhaci to death inside his residence.

He had thought the mission was complete and that he could happily return to collect his reward, but who would have expected that a letter from Zhang Yunxiu would arrive and shatter his beautiful fantasy.

The living must be seen, and the dead must have a corpse.

It had all been burned to charcoal and buried in the ground; where was he supposed to find a corpse?

Besides, the man was a Guard Commander, and on the surface, he was still submissive to the Great Ming. Killing someone always required a reason; killing a court official without cause was a grave crime indeed.

He had already used every ounce of his strength to get rid of this person without anyone knowing.

As Han San was complaining in his heart, the knife-faced man beside him raised his head and whispered, "Boss, what do we do now? The higher-ups said the living must be seen and the dead must have a corpse; where are we going to get that thing?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Han San was already in a bad mood, and at this question, he immediately flew into a rage.

The knife-faced man gave a sheepish smile, shrank his head, and said nothing.

At this moment, the Small Banner Officer on Han San's left had a flash of inspiration, and eyeing Han San, he suggested, "Boss, why don't we just kill another barbarian, burn him into charcoal, and then take him back?"

Although Han San was tempted, his heart was pounding: "What if we get found out?"

"Boss, the Young Master grew up in Jiangling and has never even been to Liaodong; he surely hasn't seen this barbarian. Besides, these Jianzhou barbarians all look the same, so they are hard to tell apart anyway," the Small Banner Officer said with certainty.

"Hmm, that is an idea." Han San rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and nodded. "Alright then, you go to the prison in Fushun City, take out a barbarian who committed a capital crime, and kill him."

"Understood." The two smiled, turned, and left.

After some casual greasing of palms, the Runners, wary of the status of Han San and his men, gave them a savage who had committed a capital crime.

After some swift handling, the man was burned into the appearance of charcoal.

That night, Han San went nearby to inspect it.

He saw a pitch-black corpse; it was impossible to make out any features at all.

Han San was overjoyed, and his voice became a bit excited: "Good, hurry and put him in a coffin, then get some ice to put inside, and we will quickly transport him back for the Young Master to see."

"Yes." The men cupped their fists and swiftly loaded the corpse into the coffin.

The group rested for the night, preparing to set off the next day.

Early the next morning, Han San was half-dreaming and half-awake when he suddenly heard the sound of armor clashing in the inn where they were staying.

He became alert, opened his eyes wide, grabbed his steel saber, and jumped up from the bed in a single motion.

He went to the window to look and saw a fully armed squad of soldiers downstairs; he thought to himself: Why are so many soldiers here? Could it be that the owner here is colluding with bandits? Just as he was thinking this, Han San's door was kicked open.

"Who the hell dares to kick my door?!" Han San turned around and cursed, but after seeing who it was, he was instantly startled and said fawningly, "Oh, Young Master, why have you come? I was just preparing to return and report to you."

The person who arrived was none other than Zhang Yunxiu.

He knew this matter was of great importance and feared Han San would try to fool him, so after sending the letter, he had rushed to Liaodong that very day.

"No need to look at the person; you are coming with me to see Li Rubai." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and beckoned Han San to walk out. Han San nodded in acknowledgment and followed closely behind Zhang Yunxiu.

The group quickly arrived at the government office in Fushun City.

The garrison commander here was called Li Rubai, the son of the Liaodong Regional Commander Li Chengliang.

The group walked into the office, and after reporting their identities, someone immediately went to inform Li Rubai that Zhang Yunxiu requested an audience.

Although Li Rubai was surprised, he thought that since it was the son of the Senior Grand Secretary, he dared not be negligent.

He looked up and instructed the soldier, "Quickly invite them to the main hall and treat them well; I will go change my clothes and come to see the guests."

The soldier accepted the order and left, leading Zhang Yunxiu and Han San to the main hall to sit.

After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, Zhang Yunxiu suddenly heard laughter coming from outside the hall: "In this bitter cold place, there is nothing much to entertain the Department Director with; I hope you will forgive any lack of hospitality."

Zhang Yunxiu and Han San looked to the side.

A man with a round face walked in.

He appeared to be about thirty-one or thirty-two years old, tall and slightly plump, with a pair of thick eyebrows framing a pair of yellowish, soybean-sized eyes.

He wore a black martial arts suit made of gold-threaded fabric, with a gold plaque hanging from his waist and black leather boots trimmed with gold on his feet.

He stepped on the ground with quite an air of importance.

"Garrison Commander Li." Zhang Yunxiu and Han San both cupped their hands and called out.

Li Rubai waved his hand, walked straight to the main seat, sat down, and asked curiously, "Department Director Zhang, in this bitter cold place of Liaodong, why are you not staying comfortably in Beijing instead of running all the way here?"

"I must tell you, the barbarians here do not understand etiquette and do not care who you are." "I came precisely for this." Zhang Yunxiu did not hide anything, taking a letter directly from his bosom and handing it to Li Rubai, "This is a letter from your father; please take a look, Garrison Commander Li."

Li Rubai took it and glanced at it.

His face twitched immediately, and he looked at Zhang Yunxiu, unable to help but exclaim, "Wipe out the entire Jianzhou Guard? Department Director Zhang, this is a heaven-shaking matter; besides, in a small place like Fushun City, I am afraid we cannot mobilize that many troops."

"You don't need to tell me that; Garrison Commander Li's brother is already on the way with troops." Zhang Yunxiu signaled for him to calm down, then added, "I came first precisely to have you find a pretext."

"What pretext?" Li Rubai asked without hesitation.

"A pretext that can wipe out the Jianzhou Guard." Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes and squeezed the words out through his teeth.

"You mean, have me send troops to provoke them first?" Li Rubai asked tentatively.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said nothing, and Li Rubai found himself in a difficult position.

His father did indeed ask him in the letter to assist Zhang Yunxiu, but wiping out a tribe for no reason was a major affair.

Logically speaking, such a major affair should have an imperial decree from the court.

Now that the court had not issued a decree, if he wiped out the wrong people and caused the other natives of Liaodong to retaliate, he would be in big trouble.

After thinking this through, Li Rubai gathered his courage and questioned, "Director Zhang, you also know that mobilizing a large army has always required the court's procedures; I wonder if Director Zhang has them?"

"Didn't your father send you a letter? Could it be that the Liaodong Regional Commander can no longer command you?" Zhang Yunxiu asked back, unhurriedly.

"In the army, there are no fathers and sons; this is a family letter, and it does not bear the Regional Commander's seal," Li Rubai replied, standing his ground.

In short, it comes down to one thing: bring the court's mobilization order, and we will march immediately.

If you can't produce it, then we will just drag this out.

Zhang Yunxiu did not expect this fellow to be so timid; he frowned and used both threats and inducements: "Defense Commandant Li, I am only asking you to dispatch a small squad to go and provoke them. As long as you find a pretext, are you still afraid of not having the court's procedures?"

"I am acting under an Imperial order; you should know the weight of that."

"The Emperor issued an order? Hmm?" Li Rubai was startled.

"Yes, otherwise why would I be living comfortably in Beijing and run to this godforsaken place? Am I so full and have nothing better to do, or is my ass itching?" Seeing that this banner was effective, Zhang Yunxiu immediately intensified his offensive.

"A month ago, the Emperor had a dream. He dreamt of a wild boar in Liaodong using its sharp tusks to pierce his chest. After waking from the dream, the Emperor was drenched in cold sweat and secretly gave me this order."

"That Nurhaci, having lost his father and brother, appears respectful to the Great Ming but actually harbors the heart of a wolf; this is exactly what verified the Emperor's dream."

Zhang Yunxiu spoke vividly and colorfully, and Li Rubai was completely bluffed by him.

Logically speaking, that Nurhaci was merely a minor character in Liaodong. How could the Emperor and someone like Zhang Yunxiu, who were far away in Beijing, possibly pay attention to him?

False mixed with true, true mixed with false.

Yet Li Rubai believed it seven or eight parts.

The fat on his face quivered, and he said fawningly, "Director Zhang, since it is an Imperial secret order, then I naturally dare not disobey. I hope that after Director Zhang returns, you can put in a few good words for me before the Emperor."

"Defense Commandant Li is loyal to the country and well-versed in military affairs; in the future, you will surely be a pillar of the state."

The two exchanged a few polite words, and Li Rubai immediately sent a secret squad of his personal guards to go to Hetu Ala to provoke trouble.

Zhang Yunxiu was exhausted from his journey, so he found an excuse to go down and rest.

After leaving the Defense Commandant's office, Han San stared at Zhang Yunxiu for a while and couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, did the Emperor really issue an edict to take the Jianzhou Guard to the knife?"

"Didn't he also not say that we shouldn't touch the Jianzhou Guard?" Zhang Yunxiu smiled nonchalantly.

First of all, what he conveyed was an oral decree, without proof or evidence.

Even if the Li father and son went to ask the Emperor, he could simply deny it, and at that time, they would be the ones suffering the loss. Moreover, given Li Chengliang's shrewdness, he must have guessed that he did not have an Imperial Edict in his hands.

However, to him, the Jianzhou Guard was merely an existence like an ant.

As long as a pretext was found, it could be easily wiped out.

He only cared about how much benefit he could fish out from it.

When Zhang Yunxiu promised 100,000 taels of silver in goods and the opening of trade routes to conduct business in Liaodong, that old fox Li Chengliang immediately gave his approval.

Thus, he personally wrote a letter, first letting Li Rubai go to the border to provoke trouble.

This was to ensure the legitimacy of his own mobilization.

Later, Li Rusong would lead the Liaodong Army straight toward Hetu Ala.

Incidentally, he could also accumulate military merit for his son; it was simply a great deed that killed two birds with one stone.

Zhang Yunxiu's thoughts were manifold, while Han San beside him was drumming in his heart.

Listening to the Young Master's tone, the Emperor's Imperial Edict definitely did not exist; falsely conveying an Imperial Edict was a crime punishable by beheading.

He glanced at the excited Zhang Yunxiu, shook his head, and ultimately chose silence.

The two returned to the inn, and only then did Han San remember his task, smiling as he reported, "Young Master, the corpse of that what's-his-name Nurhaci you mentioned, we have already brought it back."

"It's not important anymore. Once Li Rusong's army arrives, whether Nurhaci is dead or alive is no longer important," Zhang Yunxiu grinned.

(End of this chapter)