Chapter 124: Is Wu Sangui Fated to Be a Traitor? (Please Add to Favorites)

"Your subject Wu Guoyong, Mobile Corps Commander under the Liaodong Regional Commander and Earl Who Pacifies the West, kowtows before the Crown Prince, Thousand Years!"

On the forecastle deck of the Great Dragon Head, the man performing the grand kowtow before Zhu Cilang was none other than that stalwart of the Wu family who had led the charge and routed Li Guo's force.

The man had a Mongol's face — small eyes, a broad flat face, a splayed mustache, and a thick, sturdy build, around forty years of age.

He was Wu Xiang's adopted son and Wu Sangui's sworn elder brother, as well as a squad leader of the Barbarian Cavalry. He also held the rank of Mobile Corps Commander in the Guanning Army, and was a fierce general on whom the Wu father and son relied heavily.

This time, on Wu Sangui's orders, he had brought south fifty Barbarian Cavalry, four hundred and fifty household retainers, and five hundred Guanning cavalry. He had also brought Wu Sangui's great banner, so that when necessary he could pass himself off as Wu Sangui.

In other words, both of the "Wu Sanguis" who had appeared on the Tianjin Guard battlefield were counterfeits.

But the question was: why had the real Wu Sangui not come? Why had his Guanning grand army not come? His father, younger brother, younger sister, mother, and his beloved Chen Yuanyuan were all in his own hands! Why had he not brought the Guanning Army's elite to Tianjin to join up with him?

What exactly was he trying to do? Had he truly hardened his heart to go over to the Tartars and become a traitor?

Zhu Cilang's mind had already turned this over seven or eight times, yet he still could not fathom Wu Sangui's scheme.

By all reason, coming to Tianjin to join him and then going together to Jiangnan to live well was the best option. Even if he could only bring out five thousand elite troops, once in Jiangnan they would be a force that could rampage at will.

As for Jiangnan's defense, it would rely mainly on the navy! With one or two hundred centipede ships like the Great Dragon Head, armed with cannon, the Yangtze defense line would naturally be as firm as a wall of metal.

Would not the old Wu family then enjoy glory, wealth, and rank without end? Such a simple multiple-choice question — how could Wu Sangui fail to answer it?

"Commander Wu, rise. Grant him a seat!"

Wu Guoyong stood, but did not dare sit. He merely cast a glance with his small eyes at Wu Sanmei, who stood behind Zhu Cilang.

That was the Wu family's second young miss. With his mistress standing, how could a household retainer like him sit?

"If Thousand Years tells you to sit, then sit!" Wu Sanmei put in.

Only then did Wu Guoyong perch half his rear on a grand tutor's chair. Seeing this, Zhu Cilang was already somewhat relieved that Wu Sangui had not come — a great general who charged into battle was utterly obedient to Wu Sanmei, a mere "palace maid." If Wu Sangui himself had come, what then?

"Does the Earl Who Pacifies the West have any further instructions? Also, have Our three younger brothers and Noble Consort Yuan reached Yongping?" Zhu Cilang asked with a grave expression.

The reason he rarely showed a smiling face was that the fighting at the southern wall of Tianjin Guard was still ongoing. He did not even know whether the Chongzhen Emperor had passed away, so as a filial son he could hardly chat with people grinning. Who knew — he might have to ascend the throne weeping and wailing before long!

"In reply to Thousand Years, this subject set out on the eighteenth day of the third month, the very day Governor-General Tian arrived at Shanhai Pass," Wu Guoyong answered. "Therefore I do not know whether the three princes and the Noble Consort reached Yongping. When I departed, the Earl Who Pacifies the West instructed me to lie hidden east of Tongzhou, and if I discovered that Thousand Years and His Majesty had broken out, to come and receive them. Once received, I was to escort the imperial party to the army at Yongping."

"Oh." Zhu Cilang nodded lightly, noncommittal.

Wu Guoyong continued, "This subject departed Shanhai Pass on the evening of the eighteenth, reached Yutian on the nineteenth, and Sanhe on the twentieth, intending to reach Tongzhou on the twenty-first. But I did not expect Tongzhou to be seized by the roving bandits on the twenty-first! I captured a roving bandit cavalryman near Tongzhou, and after interrogation learned that His Majesty was holding out in the barbican of Zhengyang Gate. So I lingered near Tongzhou for several days, and only after learning that the Zhengyang Gate barbican had been breached by the roving bandits and that the Crown Prince had reached Tianjin did I turn toward Tianjin."

"The 'His Majesty' holding Zhengyang Gate was a man We had impersonate him," Zhu Cilang said slowly. "The true His Majesty has already come to Tianjin with Us. He is now in the southern city, protected by Wu Xiang. Once Wu Sanfu has driven off the roving bandits, you may accompany Us to pay your respects."

Wu Guoyong let out a breath. "That His Majesty is safe and sound is excellent news indeed. The roving bandits are but capering clowns. Though they have stolen the capital, they cannot hold it long. Thousand Years and His Majesty need only wait in Tianjin for some days, and you shall return in triumph to the capital."

What was he saying?

Zhu Cilang was taken aback. Had Wu Sangui taken the wrong medicine? He was going to contend with Li Zicheng for Beijing?

"Commander Wu," Zhu Cilang said with a frown, "the roving bandits are many and powerful, and beyond the passes there are also the eastern barbarians, who must not be underestimated. The court's present strength cannot simultaneously oppose the eastern barbarians and the roving bandits. It would be better to move south for the time being, abandon the Northern Metropolitan Region to the eastern barbarians and the roving bandits to fight over, and let the court recuperate in the south while awaiting a change in the empire's fortunes."

"Thousand Years may set his mind at ease," Wu Guoyong said with a smile. "Governor-General Wang and the Earl Who Pacifies the West already have a fine plan. They will surely be able to expel the roving bandits and recover the capital for His Majesty and Thousand Years!"

"What?" Zhu Cilang's expression changed at once. "They too are borrowing eastern barbarian troops to suppress the roving bandits?"

Wu Guoyong was startled. He had not expected Zhu Cilang to be so "prophetic," guessing in one stroke the grand plan that Wang Yongji and Wu Sangui were hatching.

Seeing Wu Guoyong's reaction, Zhu Cilang knew he had guessed right.

As for this foolish scheme of inviting the wolf into the house, Zhu Cilang naturally would not approve! Zhu Cilang's idea was to open the door, then quietly slip away, and let the wolf go in and bite Li Zicheng to death on its own!

He certainly would not defend Li Zicheng against his Manchu compatriots — Li Zicheng had taken the capital and now stood as the apparent overlord of the north, so defending the Yan region and blocking the Qing troops from entering the passes was his responsibility.

Therefore Zhu Cilang's plan was to pull Wu Sangui's men away, then watch Li Zicheng fail and abandon Beijing.

Having lost the gateway of Yan, having abandoned the capital, the foremost city of the realm, without a fight, Li Zicheng would naturally become, in the eyes of all under heaven, the emperor who did not resist, and his claim to overlordship would be lost as soon as it was gained.

By then, the one to whom all Han people under heaven could look up would of course be His Highness the Grand Crown Prince Zhu, the mainstay of the resistance against the Qing!

But a scheme like inviting the wolf into the house was putting the traitor's cap on one's own head! Zhu Cilang was no fool — how could he possibly do such a thing?

Besides, what need was there? Li Zicheng could not hold off the Qing troops in the first place. The capital would be taken by the Qing troops sooner or later no matter what; there was no need for anyone to invite the Qing troops through the passes.

Now, along the Ji-Liao Great Wall line, only Shanhai Pass still had a large force; everywhere else was left unguarded. It was as easy as turning over one's palm for the Manchus to enter the passes — whether Wu Sangui held Shanhai Pass or not made no difference.

That being so, what meaning was there in Wu Sangui becoming a traitor? Zhu Cilang's brows knitted deeply. This matter had to be stopped somehow!

Just as he was thinking this, several dispatch riders came galloping along the pontoon bridge and pulled up beside the Great Dragon Head sand ship. The lead rider faced the bow and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Victory report! Regional Commander Wu has driven the roving bandits out of the city! The Emperor, the Empress, and the old Regional Commander are all safe and sound!"

Zhu Cilang let out a breath of relief. Whatever else happened, the battle at Tianjin Guard had been won outright. With this victory, he could at least withdraw safely to Dagukou, and once at Dagukou, he could try to make contact with Wu Sangui and Wang Yongji.

No matter what, he could not let those two become foolish traitors who invited the wolf into the house — becoming a traitor was already a grave error, but to become a traitor who was not even a competent traitor would be compounding one error with another.

If Wu Sangui and Wang Yongji truly proved beyond saving — Zhu Cilang thought — then he must salvage as many of the Guanning Army's officers and men as possible.

The future great cause of resisting the Qing and saving the nation would still need them to exert themselves and risk their lives!

"Guoyong!" At this thought, Zhu Cilang finally broke into a smile and called Wu Guoyong's name warmly. "The roving bandit army now occupies the area around Xianghe, Baodi, and Yutian. Reaching Yongping by land will not be easy; only the sea route remains open. You and your one thousand cavalry shall escort Us to Dagukou! Once at Dagukou, We shall contact the Earl Who Pacifies the West by sea."

Wu Guoyong of course did not know that he was about to board Zhu Cilang's pirate ship — or rather, his "official ship." Without further thought, he agreed to follow Zhu Cilang and escort him eastward.

Recommendation: Ren Guocheng's new xianxia novel, "The Sect Leader Is So Handsome" — Zhang Xu has just woken up to find himself the leader of a small sect, surrounded by cold and mocking gazes, with only one little loli clapping and crying, "Sect Leader Big Brother is so handsome!"

(End of Chapter)