Chapter 39: Cannons Take Aim (Please Collect, Please Recommend)

The task Zhu Cilang gave Johann Adam Schall von Bell was to use the red-barbarian cannons mounted atop Fucheng Gate to bombard the yellow felt tent near Diaoyutai. He estimated that Li Zicheng's main army headquarters was right there! It was an obvious target, and the distance was not too far — roughly four li away, about two thousand meters. The red-barbarian cannons mounted on the high ground should be able to reach it!

He had no idea whether Li Zicheng did not understand the power of the red-barbarian cannons, or had simply gotten carried away with pride — to actually set up such an obvious target for people to shoot at.

If they could kill Li Zicheng with a single shot... that would truly be the blessing of the ancestors!

But from what Zhu Cilang knew of ancient artillery, he felt the matter was a bit uncertain.

"John," Zhu Cilang said, turning back to Schall after finishing his instructions to the gunners, "can you hit that yellow felt tent?"

Hearing His Highness the Crown Prince address him as "John" in the Western pronunciation rather than "Tang Ruowang," the big-bearded foreigner in his fifties was momentarily stunned.

"Your Highness, you address this subject..."

Zhu Cilang smiled. "John Adam — in the language of Germania, is that how it is said?"

"You even know of Germania..." The old priest stared at Zhu Cilang in astonishment. "That is this old subject's homeland."

"Mm," Zhu Cilang nodded. "We heard it from a bird-man in a dream during Our long sleep a few days ago."

"A bird-man?"

"A person with three pairs of great white wings on his back!" Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "He called himself Gabriel... He told Us that you, the servant of the servants of the Lord's people from Germania, would help Us restore the Great Ming."

Schall was utterly dumbfounded!

What Zhu Cilang said was too... too incredible!

A bird-man with three pairs of great white wings, who called himself Gabriel... that was a six-winged seraph! The Crown Prince had dreamed of an angel! Could it be true?

And the angel had even called him "the servant of the servants of the Lord's people"! That title belonged to the Pope of Rome!

Could it be that he would one day become Pope?

O Lord, could this be true?

In his previous life, when Zhu Cilang was attending university in Shanghai, he had pursued a Shanghai girl whose family had been Catholic for generations, and had even gone through the motions of attending services at the Xujiahui Cathedral and joined a catechism class. In the end he never got the girl, but he did make a few Catholic friends and learned quite a bit about Catholicism — which he was now putting to use to hoodwink Schall.

Because he understood how Catholicism worked, he would not say he had dreamed of God or Jesus — only that he had dreamed of a bird-man. For the Second Coming of Jesus would mean the Last Judgment and the end of the world! If he tried to tell a Catholic priest that, it would surely end in an argument!

But a bird-man was different. Bird-men by their very nature had the duty of guarding and guiding humanity. The words of the bird-man Gabriel could be understood as Jesus wanting Schall to properly guard Zhu Cilang, this important human being, and if he completed the task well, he would be made Pope. After he passed away peacefully, his soul would surely ascend to Heaven and become a saint...

But Schall was, after all, an experienced old charlatan of the cloth, and would not be fooled so easily. Of course, he would never imagine that Zhu Cilang possessed a noble soul from the twenty-first century; what he could conceive of was still temptation from the devil... Perhaps what Zhu Cilang had seen was not an angel, but a devil disguised as an angel, and therefore he must remain at Zhu Cilang's side and observe carefully.

So Schall bowed respectfully to Zhu Cilang with a formal salute: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, to be able to assist you in restoring the Great Ming is this subject's honor!"

"Good!" Zhu Cilang nodded approvingly. "Then tell Us now — can you hit that yellow felt tent?"

"I can!" Schall answered with certainty. "That felt tent is within the range of the red-barbarian cannons, but... this subject cannot guarantee a hit on the first shot."

"That is no matter," Zhu Cilang nodded. "Do all that man can, and await Heaven's timing!" He paused. "Here at Fucheng Gate there are six red-barbarian cannons. You will personally aim them, all trained on that yellow felt tent, and have your disciples serve as gun captains. Have them await Our red-flag signal... When the red flag is raised, they will fire a volley together."

There were only six red-barbarian cannons, and no reliable explosive shells — only solid shot was available. So the odds of killing the rebel chieftain inside that yellow felt tent were not high, but Zhu Cilang would still not pass up any opportunity to do Li Zicheng in!

"Thousand Years, the roving bandits appear to have sent an envoy... and it seems they have two members of the imperial clan in custody!"

While Schall took his disciples off to operate the red-barbarian cannons, Wang Qi, a guard of the Eastern Palace who had been observing the front lines through a telescope, had already spotted Du Xun, Li Shuangxi, and the others approaching.

"Let Us look." Zhu Cilang reached out and took the telescope, pressed the eyepiece to his eye, and began scanning. Sure enough, there were two dejected-looking fellows in the everyday robes of princes being escorted forward under guard.

"Your Highness, among those coming with the two imperial clansmen, one appears to be Du Xun, the army supervisor of Xuanfu!"

By now someone had already recognized Du Xun. Du Xun had formerly been the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Palace Upkeep, a position of no small rank, and many of the eunuchs and Eastern Palace guards attending Zhu Cilang knew him.

"Heh," Zhu Cilang laughed coldly. He had already recalled the historical matter of the negotiations between Li Zicheng and the Chongzhen Emperor. "Firearms Bureau! Light your match cords and load your pieces!"

"Aye!"

"Your Highness, Du Xun appears to be together with the two princes!" At this moment Gao Yushun of the Directorate of Ceremonial spoke up in a trembling voice.

Although the princes of the Ming dynasty were wealthy prisoners, they still enjoyed the highest honors, and "letting a prince fall into enemy hands" was a grave crime in the Ming!

Of course, Zhu Cilang was not afraid... He was the Crown Prince, and would one day be Emperor! But being utterly ruthless and getting princes killed would still damage Zhu Cilang's good name.

"Is that so?" Zhu Cilang raised the telescope again and looked carefully. "No, there isn't. Where are any princes? We do not see them. Do any of you see them? Attendants, prepare the basket — whoever sees a prince may ride the basket down to rescue His Highness. Do any of you see them?"

"Ah, we do not see them..."

"Where are any princes? There are none..."

Who would dare see them? Go down there to die?

Zhu Cilang turned his head and looked at Gao Yushun. "Companion Gao, would you like to go down and take a careful look?"

"No, no, no... this old slave's eyes are dim with age — I was mistaken, mistaken!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded. "Being mistaken is no great matter; what matters is recognizing the error and correcting it... Then there is no need to go down."

"Thousand Years, the Firearms Bureau is fully prepared for battle!" Pan Shuchen, the bureau's chief eunuch, loudly reported to Zhu Cilang at that moment.

"Wait!" Zhu Cilang said. "Await Our command!"

"Aye."

Zhu Cilang then beckoned to Zhu Chunchen. "Duke of Chengguo, come forward — We have words for you!"

...

Du Xun had no idea that this time he had run into a little crown prince who was like a demon. With two princes as hostages, he was still quite confident.

In all of Beijing, there was probably not a single person who would dare disregard the lives of the princes. Even the Chongzhen Emperor was a man who would rather save face and suffer for it. He would never shoulder the infamy of getting imperial princes killed...

But Li Shuangxi, who had come with him, was still quite wary. A hundred paces from the city wall, he stopped advancing, and let Du Xun go forward alone to call out.

"Listen up on the wall! I am Du Xun, garrison eunuch of Xuanfu, come under the Roving King's orders to negotiate. With me are the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin... Do not fire muskets or arrows from the wall! If you harm the princes, you cannot bear the consequences!"

Soon a helmeted head poked out from behind a crenel on the wall — it was Zhu Chunchen, Commander of the Capital Camps.

"It really is Eunuch Du! We thought you had died for the country! Never expected you were still alive..."

"Is that the Duke of Chengguo?" Du Xun was relieved at the sight of the Duke, and trotted forward at once, crossed the stone bridge over the moat, and ran to the foot of the arrow tower at Fucheng Gate. He shouted up at the gate tower, "The Roving King has sent me to negotiate with His Majesty... As long as His Majesty agrees to the Roving King's terms, he is willing to withdraw his troops."

"What? There is such a good thing?"

"Indeed, Duke of Chengguo — quickly lower a basket so that I may be hauled up onto the wall."

"Very well, very well — the basket is being lowered now..."

Before long, a basket was indeed lowered from the top of the wall. Du Xun was thoroughly pleased with himself. How could those fools in Beijing possibly compare in wit with the Roving King's military advisor? Given how easily they were deceived, the fall of the dynasty was only to be expected! Fortunately, he himself was smarter than them, and had promptly abandoned darkness for the light, following the Roving King and becoming a founding minister of the Shun...

(End of Chapter)