Chapter 129: Are You Trying to Rebel? (Silver Alliance Leader Nuan Yang 1314 Bonus Chapter)

The vermilion great gate, bearing a hundred years of history, crashed down with a roar.

A large batch of armored soldiers surged into the Wei Guogong Fu like a tide.

This residence, passed down for over two hundred years, finally had its shell shattered.

Fully exposed before the armored soldiers.

Lin Dao rode his horse straight into the residence.

What met his eyes was an exquisitely carved screen wall.

"Wei Guogong Fu."

"After enjoying glory and wealth for over two hundred years, Xu Da's merits have long been repaid."

"A gentleman's grace lasts only five generations before it is cut off."

"You've passed it down for over a dozen generations; surely you don't truly expect it to last ten thousand ages."

Raising his horse whip, he pointed at the screen wall that testified to the glory and power of the Wei Guogong Fu.

"Tear it down!"

Cries, shouts, running, and the roaring sound of houses collapsing.

Xu Hongji opened his eyes.

Xu Hongji left his chair.

Xu Hongji came to the courtyard.

Xu Hongji's expression was fearful, his hands and feet trembling!

A quarter of an hour ago, he was still the true master of Jinling City, able to decide life and death with a word.

But now, he could no longer maintain the dignity of a Grand Duke.

The sweat on his forehead could not be wiped clean no matter how he tried.

At this moment, there was only one hope in his heart.

"It's a riot for pay! It's a riot for pay! It's a riot for pay!"

The Great Ming Court had long been in arrears on military pay; even further back, there were still unpaid wages from the Jiajing Era.

The military households were dissatisfied, and to survive and support their families, they often gathered to clamor and riot for pay.

Because of this, various incidents of the court slaughtering its own troops occurred endlessly.

Such bizarre operations were extremely rare in world history.

Rarely absurd.

As Vice Commander of Jinling and nominal Commissioner of the Rear Military Commissioner's Office, Xu Hongji was most impatient with riots for pay.

The military households were unwilling to starve to death as a whole family, and occasionally came to make a disturbance, which was indeed a very troublesome thing.

In the past, they were driven away with sticks, or people were arrested and imprisoned or beheaded.

But at this moment.

Xu Hongji instead prayed to his ancestors that those who came were military households rioting for pay!

These military households were easy to talk to; give them enough silver and they could be pacified.

What he truly feared was that those who came were not rioting for pay.

If so, he simply dared not think further!

Servants in the residence screamed as they ran in.

One by one, they crouched on the ground like quails, rolling and crawling to escape behind the various lords.

As if the lords' towering figures were as firm as mountains, able as always to shelter them from wind and rain.

Armor leaves clanged, the sound shaking like thunder.

A large batch of heavy footsteps, dense as raindrops, surged in mightily.

Looking at the many armored soldiers surging before him, Xu Hongji's legs went soft, and he nearly knelt and sat on the ground.

"It's over."

Indeed it was over; those who came were not military households rioting for pay.

The military households of Jinling City did not have such excellent equipment; they could not even wear it.

The various lords had expressions of shock and fear, nearly collapsing.

But at this time, there were still those who were blind to the situation and could not see the situation clearly.

Bo of Pingjiang Chen Zhi'an stepped forward and scolded, "Who are you people?"

"You dare wear armor and forcibly enter the Guogong Fu; do you know this is a capital offense?!"

The response to him was an iron fist.

The armored soldier punched him in the face, instantly smashing him to the ground.

Chen Zhi'an covered his face and wailed, blood foam spurting from between his fingers.

The lords were fearful and anxious, trembling like sieves.

These powerful figures who once stomped their feet and made all of Jinling City tremble finally felt personal fear at this moment.

Looking around, Xu Hongji sighed deeply.

The servants and guards in the residence, who in the past bullied commoners and showed off their might, were all experts at that.

But now facing the armored soldiers, they were as weak as chickens.

As for the household retainers and servants, sorry, in the long-peaceful Jiangnan, such existences did not exist.

The sound of horse hooves clip-clopped; Lin Dao rode his horse all the way, smashing houses and breaking walls, coming before the various lords.

His gaze swept over the various lords surrounded by the armored soldiers; he reined in his horse and raised his hand to remove his face armor.

'Hiss~~~'

Those among the titled lords who had seen Lin Dao before suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

"Lin~ Lin~~ Lin~~~"

For a moment, they did not know what to call him.

Calling him a dog thief, they estimated they would be hacked down.

Calling him master, the man was clad in full-body armor.

Calling him Zihou, there was a feeling of guilt.

"Lin Dao!"

Xu Hongji, who had been Grand Duke for decades, drew a deep breath: "Are you rebelling?"

Lin Dao on horseback looked at him at leisure: "So what if I am?"

A single "so what if I am" instantly made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

He really was rebelling.

Privately keeping armored troops was rebellion in itself.

It was just that the titled lords still held a sliver of hope.

"The Jinling Seventeen Wei, tens of thousands of elite troops!"

Xu Hongji looked expressionless: "Da Xiao Xiao Chang, twenty thousand armored soldiers."

"Inside the Divine Machine Camp, three thousand firelocks."

"The Patrol Camp suppresses the local area, six thousand fierce warriors!"

"Outside the city there is also the Xinjiangkou Daying, stationing tens of thousands of troops."

With Xu Hongji's words, the momentum of the titled lords gradually rose.

Right, we still have troops!

You rebel, even if you kill us, what then? Won't you still end up being suppressed?

"The garrison inside and outside Jinling City numbers over one hundred thousand."

Xu Hongji drew a deep breath: "You rebel? You're seeking death."

Lin Dao smiled without smiling, slightly tilting his head: "What do you want to say?"

"This matter can be let go." Xu Hongji spoke in a deep voice: "This Duke is willing to send you all to the Xinjiangkou Ferry, allowing you to take a ship overseas to a distant land."

"How do you find it?"

Negotiation.

Giving you a path to survival, and also giving us a path to survival.

Who would want to die if they could live?

The titled lords all showed hopeful expressions.

Someone in their hearts thought that after escaping danger, they would immediately mobilize the great army to surround and kill the rebel!

"Master Xu."

"Commander Xu."

"Admiral Xu."

"Grand Commander Xu!"

Lin Dao took back the package hanging at the horse's head with his backhand and casually threw it out.

The package rolled on the ground, tumbling to Xu Hongji's front.

The blood-stained package scattered, revealing the fierce head of Liu Yunji inside.

The meritorious nobles all changed color.

Some timid ones were even frightened into letting out a woman's cracking voice.

"You all say it's rebellion."

Lin Dao looked at leisure: "Do you take me for a brainless brute?"

"The Jianghuai Guard and Jichuan Guard among the Seventeen Wei have long been under my control, currently patrolling the river and cutting off passage."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is capable of raiding homes and arresting people, but in war they are worth nothing."

"The Xiao Ling Guard guards the mausoleum, no need to inquire."

"The rest of the guards are all rotten fish and rotten shrimp; guarding the Imperial Palace and standing watch has some use, but war?"

"Hah~~~"

"It's not that I look down on them; it's just that they are truly unworthy of respect."

Lin Dao's gaze was like lightning: "Duke of Wei."

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child who understands nothing, to deceive me here?"

"Da Xiao Xiao Chang, the Firearm Camp, the Patrol Camp, the Xinjiangkou Daying."

"Can these places mobilize over ten thousand men and horses?"

"How many men and horses there are exists only on the military registers; you, as Grand Commander of the Rear Military Command Office, know better than I."

"They are busy working every day, busy doing work for the titled lords, busy earning money to raise their families."

"Who would run to the camp, gather together, and await orders?"

He straightened his waist: "As for those places you mentioned, I have long sent troops to seize them, control the Cang Ku, and seal off the camps."

"Even if there are truly those loyal to the sovereign and patriotic who go to the camp, it is nothing but walking into a trap."

Controlling the Cang Ku cuts off the source of military preparedness; weapons, armor, all kinds of military rations, even fodder and grass, are nonexistent.

These things, the military households do not have at home.

Sealing off the camps cuts off the channel for the military households inside the city to gather together.

The army camp cannot be reached; even if the military households from all places wish to pledge loyalty, they are scattered across such a large city—how could they be gathered?

If the army cannot assemble, they are nothing but scattered soldiers and rogues, not worth mentioning in terms of combat strength.

This is also why, after every dynasty's city falls, the first priority is to seize these important locations.

"Impossible."

Xu Hongji shook his head repeatedly. "Jinling City is so large; how could you possibly have so many men and horses?"

It was all habitual thinking, believing Lin Dao could not muster so many people.

After all, to fully control Jinling City, at least ten thousand or more men and horses are needed.

Meeting Lin Dao's half-smiling gaze, Xu Hongji's heart shook violently.

He thought it over; this man had an errand on his person.

The Jiao Lian of the Yongwei Camp!

Originally, everyone thought this Yongwei Camp was nothing more than a scheme where everyone partnered up to split money and grain together.

After previously learning that Lin Dao had stuffed the tens of thousands of refugees outside the city entirely into the Yongwei Camp to make up numbers, Xu Hongji had even thought this man had brains and knew how to make use of waste.

Xu Hongji suddenly thought of it again.

In these past few months, there had been no more reports of refugees appearing near Jinling City~~~

"You, you~"

Xu Hongji glared with wide eyes, his expression full of disbelief.

"You used Ju Bao Lou's income to raise those refugees as soldiers?!"

Raising soldiers in this era is actually very simple.

Food in the belly, clothes on the body, pay in the hand.

If these three are satisfied, and with some methods, they can naturally be made to serve oneself.

Those refugees on the verge of starving to death, having received Lin Dao's benefits, it is quite normal for them to work for him.

In other words, as early as when proposing to train the Yongwei Camp, this man was already thinking of rebellion?

"I understood one thing long ago."

Lin Dao's horse whip pointed at the various lords: "You will not let my properties go."

"Since it is so, taking the silver earned to spend on raising soldiers is better than leaving it for you all to divide."

"Now."

Lin Dao signaled with his gaze to everyone: "Honestly hand over your household money and grain, and the buried treasures."

"You are all lords with precious flesh and noble bodies; do not bring suffering upon yourselves."

While speaking, from the direction of the Imperial Palace in the distance, a deafening bell sound rang out.

"He~~~"

Lin Dao said with a smile: "That is the Scenic Yang Bell being struck."

It was indeed the Scenic Yang Bell being struck.

Large numbers of soldiers appeared near the Imperial Palace, sealing the city gates, and clashing with the various guards defending the city gates.

The news reached the Eunuch guarding the town, and Han Zanzhou stood stunned on the spot.

His first reaction was.

"How is that possible!"

This is Jinling City!

Although peasant uprisings continue without cease throughout Jiangnan.

Yet Jinling City remains as solid as a golden soup.

With so many defending troops, how could the thieves be allowed to approach the Imperial Palace?

At first, Han Zanzhou thought it was nonsense and loudly scolded the person bringing the letter.

As a result, reports came from all the palace gates, and only then did he half-believe and personally go to see.

All the city gates of the Imperial Palace had been lost, and the flag the other side flew made the Eunuch guarding the town feel as if struck by thunder.

Those who seized the palace gates were actually the Yongwei Camp!

Han Zanzhou, his head muddled, was already thinking about which people were included in his nine clans.

When he came to his senses, his first reaction was to order the Scenic Yang Bell to be struck to summon people.

Calling the defending troops within the city, hurry to come suppress the rebellion!

The Scenic Yang Bell, unstruck for many years, rang the death knell for the fall of Great Ming!

End of Chapter