Chapter 114: Beheading the Commander

As soon as they entered the Yongwei Camp, the assembled generals could not help but murmur in admiration — the soldiers of the Yongwei Camp were all finely armed and armored, clad in iron armor and iron helmets, their overlapping scales gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight, a most imposing sight.

Meng Ruhu, Regional Commander of Shanxi, smacked his lips and said, "This kit is truly extravagant — far better equipped than our Shanxi troops!"

Zu Dale, Regional Commander of Shanhai Pass, merely stroked his beard and smiled without a word. Of all the Nine Border Garrisons of the Great Ming, only the armor of the Shanhai Pass soldiers could rival that of the Capital Camps.

"Who knows if they're just flower vases." Liu Zeqing, Regional Commander of Shandong, curled his lips. The armor worn by the Shandong troops was shabby, with few soldiers fully equipped — compared to the Yongwei Camp's gear, it was beggar's clothing, and it made his face lose all luster.

Huang Degong shot him a glance, gave a cold snort, and said, "Whether they're flower vases, you'll know soon enough!"

Several of the Yongwei Camp's officers also stared at him coldly, which made Liu Zeqing quite uncomfortable. He gave a light snort and turned his head away.

Soon enough, the group first entered the great tent where the severed heads were stored. Gazing at the Tartar heads piled up like a small mountain, exclamations of astonishment could not help but rise from the assembled generals.

"This number of heads must be more than four thousand!" Zu Dale could not help saying.

"Inspect the heads!"

Cao Huachun gave the order, and several officials of the Ministry of War began their work, proceeding exactly as before, examining with equal care.

It was not only the Ministry of War officials who inspected — even several of the Regional Commanders could not resist joining in to rummage through them. Li Zhongzhen, Regional Commander of Miyun, said, "This hair is smooth and soft — they were shaved long ago. And these faces differ from us Ming men — these are truly slave heads!"

The Crown Prince had led the army to retake his garrison at Miyun, and Li Zhongzhen admired Zhu Cilang from the bottom of his heart. He knew how formidable the Tartars stationed at Miyun were — far stronger than the roving bandits of the Central Plains.

The assembled generals wore looks of wonder, moving back and forth through the great tent, occasionally picking out a Tartar head and tossing it into a water bucket. Even Wang Pu, bound up like a zongzi, craned his neck to look, silently praying that the heads would land face-up.

However, to his disappointment, not a single head lay face-up — all floated in the buckets with their faces turned down.

In the end, the Ministry of War officers announced that all the heads were genuine Tartar heads — not one was that of a woman or a Han Chinese killed to fake merit.

"The Crown Prince truly commands troops like a god!" Meng Ruhu could not help exclaiming in admiration.

At this moment, shock filled everyone's eyes. Even Zhou Yuji, who had remained calm all along, was shaken inwardly — could the Crown Prince truly have slain over fourteen thousand enemies in just a few days?

Seeing the assembled generals looking like country bumpkins entering a city for the first time, the Yongwei Camp officers all wore smug expressions — their prestige was shining bright!

Liu Zeqing's expression turned somewhat ugly, while Wang Pu, Regional Commander of Datong, went even paler. He had killed innocents to fake merit and slandered the Crown Prince — he was done for.

"Compile the records, verify all those listed for merit in the documents, then make the register and submit it to the Ministry of War." Zhu Cilang continued, "Transmit this prince's order: Wang Pu, Regional Commander of Datong, for killing innocents to fake merit and preying upon the people, shall be executed on the spot immediately!"

Hearing that the Crown Prince wanted to kill him right now, Wang Pu shouted, "I am a second-rank Regional Commander appointed by the court! Without His Majesty's decree, you cannot kill me!"

Several Eastern Palace personal guards ignored Wang Pu's shouting and dragged him straight to the entrance of the field headquarters. Zhu Cilang personally drew the imperial sword and handed it to Huang Degong.

Huang Degong took the imperial sword without a word and directly chopped off Wang Pu's head — he did not even fire the execution cannon. After the deed, he wiped the bloodstains off the blade and remarked with feeling, "This sword is truly sharp — I barely used any strength!"

Having said this, Huang Degong walked over to the several Datong officers whom the common folk had identified as killers of innocents faking merit, and soon heads were rolling at the entrance of the field headquarters.

After settling the matter of the Datong officers killing innocents to fake merit, Zhu Cilang on the spot appointed Sun Yingyuan to temporarily hold the post of Regional Commander of Datong, with Zhou Yuji assisting, to take over Wang Pu's troops. The permanent appointment for the Datong Regional Commander post would be reported to the court after the war for further assignment.

The generals felt a chill in their hearts, thinking to themselves that this young Crown Prince had quite ruthless methods — executing a Regional Commander on the spot, right in his own camp, and even appointing a new Regional Commander on site for fear the Datong soldiers would mutiny! Many officers even suspected that the lad had come specifically to deal with Wang Pu.

And indeed, Zhu Cilang had come specifically to deal with Wang Pu. As a clansman of the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, Wang Pu commanded heavy troops and was quite troublesome. Taking advantage of his leading troops to defend the capital and his crime of killing innocents to fake merit, it was the perfect chance to eliminate him — solving a potential problem while also killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, cowing the various Regional Commanders.

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze over the assembled generals and continued, "Hang Wang Pu's head from the city gate of Tongzhou as a warning to others. Henceforth, any soldier of the Great Ming who kills innocents to fake merit — this prince will behead him, confiscate his property, and show no mercy!"

Hearing these words, the generals felt quite uneasy, a faint chill creeping over them — after all, Regional Commander Wang Pu of Datong's head was still lying askew on the ground!

Amid this solemn scene, Zhu Cilang suddenly chuckled and said, "Since you have all come to the Yongwei Camp, why not take a look at the camp's military bearing? You can offer your corrections!"

The generals did not know what new trick this Crown Prince was up to with his sudden change of expression, but then they heard Huang Degong bellow, "Beat the drums! Full camp assembly!"

The drumbeats sounded, and the soldiers — whether busy or resting — all stopped what they were doing and fell into formation before their own tents.

The generals began to file into the Yongwei Camp's drill ground. No sooner had they entered than they heard squad after squad of soldiers trotting in with orderly steps.

They formed neat square formations by squad unit. Though the midday heat was sweltering, every soldier stood ramrod straight holding his spear, not one of them moving a hair.

Such a stern military bearing caused a killing atmosphere to pervade the very air, making many officers from the various garrisons feel ill at ease. This kind of aura they had only ever seen in the Tartars — and even the Tartars' bearing fell short by comparison.

Zhou Yuji was astonished inwardly. He had prided himself that his own Zhou Banner Camp was strictly ordered, yet compared to the Yongwei Camp, it still fell somewhat short — though as for where exactly the difference lay, it was hard to say.

"That was only the time of one drum call, wasn't it?" A general exclaimed in surprise.

Huang Degong said proudly, "Indeed! Every time the Yongwei Camp assembles, daytime is measured by one drum call, nighttime by two. Those who exceed the time are dealt with by military law!"

The generals were shocked inwardly. They all knew that many Ming armies could not even complete assembly within three drum calls, with dragging and dawdling being the norm. That the Yongwei Camp, as Capital Camp troops, should have such strict requirements!

Meng Ruhu sighed, "An army like this, over three thousand strong — truly remarkable!"

Sun Yingyuan laughed, "The Yongwei Camp at full strength numbers six thousand. This is only one part of it. Another two thousand Yongwei Camp tiger warriors are stationed at Miyun, to prevent the Tartars from doubling back!"

"Can only two thousand hold it?" An officer voiced his doubt.

Zhu Cilang spoke up, "Two thousand of the Yongwei Camp is more than enough! If the Tartars wish to take Miyun, they will need to die twenty thousand strong!"

Hearing him say this, the crowd was startled, yet still somewhat disbelieving, feeling that the Crown Prince was bragging and gilding his own face.

Seeing their expressions of disbelief, Huang Degong bellowed, "Attention!"

"Shua!" — in one motion, the three thousand-plus armored soldiers of the Yongwei Camp in the drill ground, all wearing identical eight-petal iron spike helmets, stood ramrod straight at once.

Huang Degong continued to shout, "Shoulder arms!"

Another "Shua!" — the sound of spears coming together rang out continuously, the soldiers' movements perfectly uniform as if completed simultaneously. These warriors' faces radiated confidence and pride.

Zhu Cilang stepped up onto the review dais of the drill ground, took the imperial sword that Xu Sheng handed over, and suddenly drew it. As a crisp sword-chime rang out, Zhu Cilang pointed the long blade diagonally toward the sky.

The officers at the front of the Yongwei Camp formation likewise drew their swords, pointing them diagonally skyward, and shouted in unison, "Ten thousand victories to the Great Ming!"

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

From within the Yongwei Camp's ranks rose cries like ocean tides, wave upon wave, each louder than the last — a majestic aura of ten thousand men as one, a heaven-filling momentum that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path.

Seeing such military might, every officer present stared dumbfounded at the shouting Yongwei Camp soldiers. They were veterans of many campaigns — the strength of such an aura was evident at a single glance.

At this moment, everyone's expression turned grave. It seemed they had all underestimated this young Crown Prince. With such military might and iron discipline, no wonder he had achieved such battle results.

Zhou Yuji watched with stirring emotion and could not help blurting out, "Now this is the bearing of a truly strong army!"