Chapter 51: The Ming Army

Inside Deqing city, the news that Luoding had been occupied by bandits had long since arrived, brought by Jiang Er, a shop assistant of Lu Changyuan's household.

Jiang Er, on his master's orders, slipped out under cover of night through a gap in Luoding's city wall, then headed straight for Deqing. He suffered quite a bit on the road, but fortunately nothing worse than fright, and in the end reached Deqing safely.

After entering the city, Jiang Er did not first report to the Green Standard, but went straight to the Deqing county yamen, because the Deqing County Magistrate Lu Gongming was his master's clan uncle. With that family connection, things would be easier to say.

The moment he heard that Luoding had been taken by bandits, that Kong Guoliang, the Green Standard Battalion Commander garrisoned there, was dead, and that the bandits were extorting and blackmailing all over the city, not sparing a single gentry or wealthy household, Lu Gongming was so furious his whiskers bristled.

Without another word he took Assistant Magistrate Wu Changshou and headed straight for the Green Standard garrison, requesting that Garrison Commander Zhang Dade immediately send troops to suppress the bandits.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Dade had not the slightest interest in sending troops against bandits, because bandits mostly robbed and ran; they would not sit around foolishly waiting for government troops to come suppress them.

By the time he led his men over, the bandits would long have vanished. Where was the profit in that?

Was he supposed to lead his men all over the mountains hunting for the bandits' lair? Besides, he was the Garrison Commander of Deqing, not of Luoding.

What did Luoding being taken by bandits have to do with him?

But if it had been the Ming army rather than bandits who had seized Luoding, then Zhang Dade would have sent troops to attack immediately, no matter what — provided, of course, that the enemy was not Li Dingguo's force.

If it really was Li the Tiger's troops, then even if Zhang the Pockmark ate a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, he would not dare touch the tiger's rear.

But if it was some Southern Ming ragtag outfit, then that would be touching Zhang Dade's own tiger's rear — a beating not to be missed.

Why no interest in fighting bandits, yet interest in fighting the Ming army?

The reason was that fighting bandits meant protecting the region and pacifying the people; fighting the Ming army meant expanding the realm for the court. The difference between the two was enormous.

In the former, one could not massacre a city; in the latter, one could massacre the city afterward, not only looting freely and making a fortune, but also receiving commendation from the court. Who would not be glad to do such a fine thing?

Zhang Dade specifically questioned Jiang Er again, and once he confirmed that those men were bandits flying Li Dingguo's banner, all his interest drained away, and he lazily prepared to see his guests out.

Once the Garrison Commander set the tone, the Battalion Commanders and Company Commanders below naturally grasped his intent.

One after another they clamored that these troops could not be sent out; if troops were to be sent, then bring the Regional Commander's written order plus provisions and pay for the march! Otherwise, the Green Standard brothers had no time to make a trip to Luoding.

These ignorant soldiers!

Lu Gongming, a juren of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, faced these military men with fury he dared not voice. He forced down his temper and pleaded for a long while, but Zhang Dade was utterly unmoved and refused no matter what to send troops.

Left with no choice, Lu Gongming went back and wrote an official dispatch that very night, sending it to Zhaoqing Prefecture.

In the dispatch he roundly cursed Zhang Dade, and requested that the Prefect of Zhaoqing promptly notify the Regional Commander to issue orders to suppress the bandits, so that the people of Luoding would not suffer the bandit scourge.

Jiang Er could not wait for the Green Standard to march, and he was anxious too, but no matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do. If the Green Standard would not send troops, what could he do about it? He could only stay at the county yamen and wait for news.

That day, just after lunch, as Lu Gongming was holding a tea bowl to aid digestion, Song Tong, the headman of Xihe Township, burst in shouting: "Your Honor, terrible news — the Ming army is coming!"

"What? The Ming army is coming?!"

With a clatter, the tea bowl slipped from his hand to the floor. Lu Gongming sprang up, his face full of panic.

In all his years as an official, what he feared most was hearing that the Ming army was coming, for that meant his old life as County Magistrate was in danger. The court's laws were strict: losing territory or abandoning land meant losing one's head.

And the Ming army was no soft touch either; at the slightest provocation they would seize Qing officials like him to sacrifice to their banners. Caught between the two, his life as County Magistrate was truly bitter...

"I saw it with my own eyes. The Ming army came ashore at Xihe Ford and is marching on the county seat under their banners!" Song Tong was gasping for breath; the run had nearly done him in, but at last he had managed to report what he had seen.

They had not yet reached the county seat?

Lu Gongming felt somewhat relieved, and asked Song Tong: "How many troops does the Ming army have, and whose banner are they flying?"

Song Tong said with a bitter face: "Your Honor, I was in a hurry to get back and report, so I dared not get close enough to look. I truly do not know how many men there are, but I did see the banner clearly — it was called the Taiping Camp!"

"The Taiping Camp?"

Lu Gongming quickly ran through his mind and confirmed he had never heard of this Ming army unit, nor was it one of Li Dingguo's units. At once he stopped panicking. After a moment's thought, he took men and headed for the Green Standard garrison.

Before he even entered the building, he heard the sound of mahjong tiles from inside.

"Pong!"

"Thirty thousand!"

"Mahjong!"

"Sir, what luck you have!"

"Haha... less flattery, hurry up and hand over the silver, hand over the silver..."

"......"

These soldiers are certainly in fine spirits!

Hearing the mahjong sounds inside, Lu Gongming cursed inwardly. He pushed aside the two personal guards at the door and barged in, saying urgently: "Sir Zhang, the Ming army is coming! You must lead men to defend the city at once!"

Zhang Dade was in the middle of enjoying the game when Lu Gongming suddenly barged in, looking as though his parents had just died, and started babbling about the Ming army coming. This thoroughly annoyed Zhang Dade, who had just won a big hand.

He slammed the table and roared: "Nonsense! My men are watching from the wall.

If the Ming army really were coming, would they not report it?"

Seeing that Zhang Dade did not believe him, Lu Gongming stamped his foot in agitation: "The Ming army has just crossed Xihe Ford — they have not reached the city yet!"

"Truly?" Zhang Dade was stunned, and asked doubtfully: "Where did a Ming army come from?"

"From the direction of Luoding!" Lu Gongming pointed west.

"Luoding?" Zhang Dade was stunned again, even more puzzled. "Wasn't that place taken by bandits? Where would a Ming army come from?"

How could Lu Gongming know what had happened? "Sir, you had best lead troops up onto the wall and take a look. Do not let the Ming army break the city!"

"Damn it!"

Zhang Dade shoved aside the tiles in front of him, cursed irritably, and shouted at his subordinates, who were still staring blankly: "What are you sitting there for? Come with me and take a look!"

"Aye! Yes, sir!"

Only then did his subordinates snap to their senses. They rushed out in a fluster, and before long had led their Green Standard troops charging out of the camp.

Lu Gongming followed Zhang Dade toward the city wall. Before they reached it, they heard the bell in the gate tower ring.

A great bell hung in the gate tower, normally silent; it was rung only when enemy troops were sighted outside the city. Hearing the bell, Zhang Dade and the others all started, now certain that the Ming army really was coming. They dared not delay any longer and hurried up onto the wall.

Once on the wall, they saw a Ming army unit outside the city slowly approaching the wall, flying the banner of the "Taiping Camp." The soldiers were all uniformly dressed as Ming troops, and at the very front were several mounted officers.

But their numbers were not large; a rough sweep showed only about a hundred men.

"Only this many?"

Zhang Dade and Lu Gongming voiced the same question at once: this few Ming troops dared to attack Deqing?