Chapter 511: Chapter 511

The Secret Edict Has Gone Missing! The hundred-odd riders following behind He Tengjiao were all big, strapping men, their armor and uniforms neat and orderly. Their armor was not the common Ming army style, but plate armor pieced together from large iron plates, the surfaces scorched with fire to dull the shine. Gathered together, the hundred-odd riders formed a rolling expanse of black, dark and heavy, and from them emanated a faint, elusive killing intent that made them look somehow wrong. Were these really He Tengjiao's personal guards? Why did they look like victorious troops just come off a battlefield? Though few in number, the men were strong and the horses fierce, and they carried a daunting sharpness about them...

Zuo Menggeng's fingers, gripping his saber hilt, had already turned white, but he said not a word. Behind him, the Zuo family retainers drawn up in formation likewise held their breath, staring at the scene before them, cold sweat beading on every man's forehead. They were all brave fellows who had fought at Zuo Liangyu's side for years. Though they always lost battles, their judgment was still sound — the riders He Tengjiao had brought could absolutely fight!

Watching the riders ahead draw nearer and nearer, Zuo Menggeng was on the verge of raising his hand to give the order to attack! His trusted officers and family retainers all had their hands on their weapons, waiting only for their master's command to fall upon the foe!

Only Huang Shu still appeared relatively composed. He merely said in a low voice, "Duke, He Tengjiao does not seem to have brought his full force. The cavalry and infantry following him number only a little over two thousand. How can so few be a match for the tens of thousands of troops we have here?"

Zuo Menggeng had of course seen how many men He Tengjiao had brought. Besides the hundred-odd cavalrymen with their intimidating bearing, there were about two thousand infantry, a mixed force of pikemen and musketeers. Half of them wore armor as fine as the cavalry's — where on earth had he gotten it? It must have cost a great deal of silver, surely? Was this He Tengjiao so adept at squeezing the common folk?

Even as a head full of questions surfaced, a voice within him was shouting: "Wrong! Wrong! Get into Jiangling City quickly, shut the gates and hold fast — there is definitely something wrong with this He Tengjiao!"

But before he could actually shout the order aloud, the cavalry and infantry led by He Tengjiao came to an abrupt halt and advanced no farther.

The hundred-odd cavalry had all already crossed the Yangtze, while the two thousand infantry had stopped on the pontoon bridge.

At the sight of this, Zuo Menggeng let out a great breath of relief. If He Tengjiao truly meant to fight, he would not have left his infantry strung out on the pontoon bridge. Stretched out in such a long line, they could not even deploy — what sort of battle formation was that?

He Tengjiao had already spurred his horse forward. When he was still a dozen or so paces from Zuo Menggeng, he dismounted cleanly and neatly, then burst into loud weeping in Zuo Menggeng's direction: "Marquis Zuo, Marquis Zuo, how could you just leave like this? This old man was to join you in purging the court of evil ministers, rallying to the throne, sweeping away the treacherous and the wicked, putting down the rebels and destroying the barbarians, and achieving a great cause together. How could you abandon the world so suddenly? Wuwawa — truly, 'the campaign not yet won, the hero falls first; it makes heroes' sleeves wet with tears for all time...'"

With He Tengjiao's outburst and weeping, Zuo Menggeng was now completely at ease — "purge the court of evil ministers, rally to the throne, sweep away the treacherous and the wicked" — these words were all aimed at Zhu Cilang! If He Tengjiao were loyal to Zhu Cilang, how could he recklessly say such things?

At this thought, Zuo Menggeng finally wept aloud with relief.

"Worthy nephew, worthy nephew... you must restrain your grief and accept what cannot be changed. The cause your esteemed father left unfinished, we shall carry on together! We must cleanse the realm and restore a bright and clear world to the Great Ming!"

As He Tengjiao spoke these rousing words, he had already come up before Zuo Menggeng. Zuo Menggeng, who had been sunk in his own thoughts, was at last startled awake and hastened to bow respectfully to He Tengjiao: "This humble official respectfully welcomes Your Excellency the Governor."

He Tengjiao reached out and made a gesture of helping Zuo Menggeng up, letting him straighten, then took Zuo Menggeng by the hand and nodded repeatedly: "A fine fellow indeed! With a son like you, Marquis Zuo can rest in peace... By the way, how has the Prince of Chu been these days?"

"Well, well." Zuo Menggeng nodded. "Though His Highness is young, he is extremely fond of learning, and is prudent and courteous as well — a model among the feudal princes."

Those words were spoken with a guilty conscience! Zhu Cizhao was not the least bit fond of learning — he was entirely given over to lust! All day long he clung to Zuo Mengmei. Nor was he prudent; every day he clamored to purge the court of evil ministers, never stopping to consider what a fearsome man his elder brother Zhu Cilang was!

But it was precisely because of Zhu Cizhao's behavior that Zuo Menggeng felt completely at ease about him and Zuo Mengmei — so long as they did not learn that he was preparing to defect to Li Zicheng, they would not make trouble for him...

"Excellent!" He Tengjiao nodded, then suddenly lowered his voice. "To be frank, this official has brought the secret edict ordering us to rally to the throne and purge the court of evil ministers!"

What? Zuo Menggeng was stunned. Another secret edict? Last time Huang Shu had brought a letter hidden in a sash to deceive his father, and had dragged him down along with it. Now you say there is a secret edict — is it real or fake?

"Your Excellency, this secret edict is..." Zuo Menggeng inquired, "to whom is it addressed?"

"To you and the young prince," He Tengjiao said, making no effort to conceal it, his face full of anguish. "The Crown Prince above coerces the Son of Heaven and below oppresses the scholars and common people. He has long since provoked the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people. The Son of Heaven, mindful that he is the eldest legitimate son, was unwilling to depose him, and so endured patiently, hoping the Crown Prince would repent. But the Crown Prince remained obstinate and unrepentant, and only grew worse, pressing the palace and scheming for the throne. Before this campaign, he forced the Son of Heaven to issue an open decree fixing the date of abdication and transfer of the throne... How can any subject in the realm with the least shred of loyalty tolerate such a traitorous villain?"

"This..." Zuo Menggeng's heart was racing as he listened. "Your Excellency, you mean to raise troops and rally to the throne?"

"Not I alone." He Tengjiao said, "The Son of Heaven has already issued a secret edict, naming the Prince of Chu Grand Marshal of All the Realm's Armies, and commanding this official, Commander Huang of Huaibei, Commander Gao of Xuhai, Gao Ziyou of Shandong, Zuo Zhongji, the Prince of Lu, and you, young general, to raise troops together, rally to the throne, punish the rebellious son, and set right what has been thrown into chaos!"

The Great Ming is finished!

Zuo Menggeng thought to himself: The Great Ming has fallen to such a state, and yet you — fatuous ruler, treacherous ministers, rebellious son — must still fight bitterly among yourselves. What hope is there left? Fortunately, I have already gone over to the Shun. I am now a founding merit-official of the Shun, and will no longer follow you traitors down this dark road to the end.

At this thought, Zuo Menggeng prepared to lure He Tengjiao into the city. Inside the south gate of Jiangling he had a full ten thousand elite troops lying in ambush. So long as He Tengjiao was willing to enter the city, it would not matter how formidable his household guards were — the elite troops within held the advantage of terrain, occupying the high ground, loosing arrows in volleys, and with cannons on the walls firing inward as well. Even if you had three heads and six arms, death was certain!

"Your Excellency," Zuo Menggeng said, "His Highness is within the city... shall we enter together and proclaim the edict in the Prince's presence?"

"Very well!" He Tengjiao nodded, then made a show of feeling about in the sleeve of his python robe, and then — "Aiya!" — "Where is the secret edict? Nephew Zuo, did you take it?"

What? The secret edict has been lost?

Zuo Menggeng and Huang Shu, who was with him, could not believe their ears. A secret edict! Something so important, and you lost it... The Great Ming depending on you? It truly is hopeless!

At that moment He Tengjiao suddenly pressed a hand to his forehead. "Aiya, aiya, what a senile old fool I am. The secret edict is not on my person... This old man will go and be right back!"

With those words, He Tengjiao turned around, lifted the hem of his official robe, and trotted off toward the pontoon bridge. The iron-armored riders behind him also led their horses and followed, leaving Zuo Menggeng, Huang Shu, and the others staring dumbfounded.

What sort of business is this?

As Zuo Menggeng stood gaping, someone suddenly shouted: "Young General, trouble!"

Trouble? Where is the trouble? Zuo Menggeng looked left and right, then cast his gaze forward — and instantly broke out in a cold sweat from head to toe.

It turned out that the two thousand-odd infantry who had just now halted on the pontoon bridge, taking advantage of the moment while He Tengjiao and Zuo Menggeng were conversing, had quietly begun to move, slipping off the pontoon bridge and up onto the Yangtze riverbank, and were now deploying into formation!

"Young General, flee! That fellow He is no good man!" One of Zuo Menggeng's trusted household retainers had already come up and was tugging at him.

Zuo Menggeng was not quick-witted, but he did have courage and strength, and was not in the least afraid of a scholar like He Tengjiao. He shook the man off with force and said loudly, "What is there to fear? It is only two thousand men or so!"

The man cried out urgently, "Young General, they are lighting their match cords! If we do not run now, we are dead..."

Lighting match cords... they mean to shoot us all! This He Tengjiao is utterly ruthless!