Chapter 89: Gathering a Crowd

Inside the second hall of the Governor's yamen, Chen Qiyu was receiving Assistant Regional Commander Guo Tai, who had come to Fengyang to provide support. The two sides reached an agreement on key issues, and the meeting proceeded in a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

Dispatched by the Ministry of War in Nanjing, Assistant Regional Commander Guo Tai, stationed in Xuzhou, had led over three thousand of his men to arrive in Fengyang two days prior.

Chen Qiyu ordered the Fengyang Left Guard, which had the greatest shortage of personnel, to vacate barracks to house the Xuzhou reinforcements, and in the name of the Governor's yamen, produced two thousand taels of silver and one hundred dan of grain to reward the troops—in truth, this was to buy their loyalty and prevent the Xuzhou officers and men, who had come from afar, from harboring grievances and refusing to obey orders should trouble arise. As for what the Fengyang guard stations thought, Chen Qiyu did not concern himself, for a large piece of fat meat would soon be awarded to them, and by then all resentment would dissipate completely.

The reward silver naturally delighted the Xuzhou troops from top to bottom, and they unanimously agreed that the Governor was considerate of his soldiers and knew how to handle people. The Xuzhou officers and men would naturally obey the Governor's commands and follow his lead in all matters—of course, the common soldiers did not understand the meaning of such words, nor could they utter such refined phrases.

These words were spoken by Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander Guo Tai, and they did indeed come from the heart; Chen Qiyu believed them without the slightest doubt.

For the two had known each other for several years, and Chen Qiyu could even be considered Guo Tai's patron.

In the fifth year of Chongzhen, Chen Qiyu served as Governor of Yansui with the rank of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. It was under his deployment and command that Guo Tai, then serving as Garrison Commander, led his troops into battle on several occasions, beheading in formation the fierce bandits Tiao Shanhu, Xin Laijiang, Jiudi Gun, and others, slaying over a thousand bandits in total. In the end, on the merits of his achievements, he was promoted to Mobile Corps Commander.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, when Chen Qiyu was Governor-General commanding troops from five provinces to suppress the bandits, Guo Tai served under Shaanxi Governor Lian Guoshi, accompanying him in the southern Shaanxi region to intercept the roving bandits attempting to return to Shaanxi from Huguang. In every battle, Guo Tai was always the first to charge, and his subordinates, spurred on by their commander, vied with each other to be first in courage, repeatedly defeating bandit leaders such as Cha Chi Hu and Man Shan Fei, slaying over five hundred bandits—truly accumulating repeated military merits.

Later, Chen Qiyu was arrested and imprisoned over the matter of the Cart Canyon incident. Though Guo Tai felt indignant on Chen Qiyu's behalf in his heart, a mere Mobile Corps Commander like himself was powerless in the matter. Afterwards, Guo Tai used the heavy spoils gained from bandit suppression to bribe Minister of War Zhang Fengyi, securing a transfer to Xuzhou as Assistant Regional Commander—promoted in rank while also escaping the bandit-suppression front. At least he had something to show for himself, for becoming a marquis or general was too distant a dream; better to be realistic.

When he received the order from the Nanjing Ministry of War to lead his troops to Fengyang and await the commands of Governor Chen of Fengyang, Guo Tai only then learned that his former superior had been reinstated and was once again a grand official governing a province. This filled Guo Tai with joy. After arriving in Fengyang, he spent two days settling various affairs, then immediately came to the Governor's yamen to pay his respects to his old superior.

Chen Qiyu still had an impression of Guo Tai. Though over the years he had commanded countless regional commanders and great generals, he retained a deep impression of the several relatively major victories from his early days in Yansui. Guo Tai's name had appeared several times in the victory reports, and they had met a few times at merit-celebration banquets. After years apart, meeting again, Guo Tai showed him extraordinary respect, and Chen Qiyu was likewise filled with emotion.

Just as the two were chatting freely about old times, Chen Qizhi hurried in from outside the hall. In his daily capacity as a member of the Governor's staff, he moved through all manner of occasions, and all major and minor affairs of the Governor's yamen passed through his hands—this had greatly honed his ability to handle official matters.

Chen Qizhi entered with a face full of tension and hastily clasped his hands in salute, reporting: "Your Excellency, a mutiny at the Longxing Temple construction site! Several hundred soldiers of the Fengyang Central Guard have killed eunuch Hou Dingguo of the Imperial Tomb Directorate along with several of his attendants. They have now gathered and are heading for the Imperial Tomb Directorate, vowing that Yang Ze and Guard Commander Chen Hongzu and others must come out and give them an explanation—otherwise they will storm the Imperial Tomb Directorate!"

Chen Qiyu was startled at the news, but immediately relaxed. He rose to his feet and ordered: "Saddle a horse! I shall go to the Imperial Tomb Directorate at once to see for myself! Yukun, go inform Li Qimei and have him summon the local gentry to come forward and pacify the common people, so that they do not become involved!"

Guo Tai rose and clasped his hands in salute: "Your Excellency, this subordinate will return to camp at once to deploy troops to protect you. As long as Your Excellency gives the order, I will immediately lead troops to suppress the mutineers!"

Chen Qiyu laughed aloud: "I have commanded vast armies and clashed head-on with roving bandits numbering in the hundreds of thousands! A mere few hundred guard station soldiers are hardly enough to make me afraid! Guo Tai, to be safe, return to camp and muster a thousand elite troops to proceed to the vicinity of the Imperial Tomb Directorate and act as circumstances dictate. I shall go alone!"

Chen Qizhi could hardly rest easy. If those mutinous soldiers lost their heads, they wouldn't care whether you were a Governor or a Governor-General—if weapons proved blind and harmed his second elder brother's life, he would become a sinner before the entire clan.

He hastily urged: "Second Brother, you must not! Better to wait until General Guo has brought troops over to escort you there!"

Chen Qiyu strode toward the exit of the yamen, saying in a low voice as he walked: "Do as I have instructed! Say no more on the matter!"

At this moment, the gates of the Imperial Tomb Directorate were tightly shut. Within the compound, several dozen personal guards of Chen Hongzu and Chen Qizhong gripped swords, spears, bows, and arrows, watching the gate nervously. Outside the gates, a crowd surged, with soldiers of the Central Guard and the Imperial Tomb Guard continuously joining the ranks of Li Shuchun and his men. What had originally been a force of several hundred had now reached over a thousand, and the number was still growing. Around them, many common folk had gathered to watch, the noise of the crowd as clamorous as a market fair.

In a hall in the rear courtyard of the Directorate, Yang Ze, Zhu Guoxiang, Chen Hongzu, and Chen Qizhong paced about like ants on a hot pan. Faced with this sudden calamity, these useless fellows were all at their wits' end, now only able to hope that the mutinous soldiers merely sought an explanation rather than truly storming the compound to take their lives.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at Yang Ze, who sat in a chair with a pale face, muttering something under his breath, and secretly felt contempt: A eunuch is a eunuch! On ordinary days he swaggers about, lording over Fengyang like an emperor, ordering everyone around, not even deigning to visit the Fengyang Governor; but when trouble comes he's as timid as a mouse. How did I end up associating with such a man?

With this thought, he spoke up: "Eunuch Yang, the mutinous soldiers outside claim that their superiors have embezzled their military pay and provisions, and that they have come today to demand an explanation. To prevent them from taking desperate risks, in my view, it would be best for the two Guard Commanders to go out personally and negotiate with them. What do you think?"

Yang Ze found this reasonable at once: The mutineers are after you two—I'm merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire! He immediately spoke: "Right, right, right! Director Zhu speaks sense! These mutineers are both your subordinates—the two of you should go out at once and negotiate with them properly. If it truly comes to it, take out some silver and give it to them; once the mutineers get their silver they'll disperse obediently! Go quickly, go quickly!"

Chen Hongzu and Chen Qizhong were both secretly furious: The silver we've gained from padding the payroll and docking our subordinates' pay—at least half of it has gone into your pocket. Now you want us to go out and negotiate, and even produce silver to settle this matter, while you act as if you have nothing to do with it. How can things be so easy!

Chen Hongzu said with a bitter face: "Eunuch, we've paid you no small tribute over these years, and you know well where this silver comes from! These mutineers hate us to the bone on ordinary days. If the two of us walk out that door, we'll likely be devoured alive! Can you be so heartless, Eunuch, as to send us to our deaths?"

Chen Qizhong continued with a mournful face: "Eunuch, think about it—if the two of us die at the hands of the mutineers, will you and Director Zhu come out unscathed? If these people truly develop murderous intent, they won't spare anyone inside this compound!"

Yang Ze, already at a complete loss, had his last shred of resolve shattered by their one-two performance, and could only collapse back into his chair with sighs.

Zhu Guoxiang, who stood to one side, pondered for a moment before speaking: "I think it should be done this way: send someone outside to tell the mutineers to select their ringleader to come in and negotiate terms, then seize the opportunity to cut him down! Dispatch a brave and trusted man to carry his head out of the compound to intimidate the remaining soldiers! Then produce a modest amount of silver to compensate the rest. As long as this rabble is leaderless, won't they be ours to manipulate at will?"

Yang Ze was overjoyed at this. He perked up at once, leaping from his chair and shouting: "Excellent! Director Zhu's plan is most ingenious! What do the two of you think?"

Chen Hongzu and Chen Qizhong pondered for a moment, exchanged a glance, and nodded in succession. Today's affair could not be settled peacefully; they could only take things one step at a time.

Li Shuchun stood at the foot of the steps before the Directorate's main gate, surrounded now by soldiers and low-ranking officers of both guards. Beside him were still the Central Guard soldiers who had first beaten Hou Dingguo to death.

By now he had completely calmed down, and after the initial impulse had passed, he felt a faint trace of regret. But the deed was done, and he was now on a tiger's back with no way down—he could only go with the flow. He only hoped this would not truly become a mutiny. Should such a situation arise, the consequences would be beyond anyone's control.

He and the vast majority of the soldiers had no desire to become rebels. The thought of loyalty to the sovereign, formed over generations, had penetrated to the very marrow of every man's bones. Most people, so long as they had food to eat, would never betray the Emperor and the court—they were a godlike existence in their hearts.

Several dozen furious soldiers were slamming against the gate with all their strength, but the thick gate did not budge under the continuous assault. Someone shouted: "Use a roof beam! Go fetch a roof beam!"

Immediately, a dozen or so soldiers shouted and ran off to fetch a roof beam from farther away. Li Shuchun did not speak out to stop them—at this point he was powerless to stop them anyway. First, his rank was not high; second, under the psychological effect of "the law cannot punish the multitude," the overwhelming majority of soldiers wanted to vent their long-suppressed emotions through violence. As for the consequences, ordinary men's minds simply did not consider them.

A head suddenly poked out from atop the wall beside the Directorate's gate, which stood a full zhang high. It was one of Chen Hongzu's personal guards. Seeing so many soldiers gathered outside, he was startled for a moment, then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly: "Listen, you people outside! The Guard Commander has ordered that you select your ringleaders to come inside and negotiate! We're all from the same guard station—anything can be discussed! Once you've chosen, come in from here!"

A rope was lowered from the wall, evidently so that after those outside made their selection, those inside could haul them up. Clearly, they feared that opening the main gate to admit people would allow the rioting soldiers to surge in all at once.