Chapter 132: Overbearing

Liu Zeqing and his men had put on quite a show, bluffing Wang Gongbi into a daze.

But everyone in officialdom knew the game — Liu Zeqing's little schemes were hardly a mystery. Dang Chongya, who had come out of the deep waters of the capital, was merely biding his time now that his fortunes had fallen; he could only keep his mouth shut.

"There are so many places across the realm; back pay for the troops must naturally be distributed bit by bit. Shandong is also a part of our Great Ming, and His Majesty is benevolent and sagacious — how could he forget? Marshal Liu worries overmuch." Dang Chongya wiped his sweat and forced himself to speak.

Liu Zeqing smiled lightly, as if casually remarking:

"This matter — your subordinate has heard of it as well. But my understanding is one thing; making those rough fellows under my command understand is quite another. These men have never known anything of court law and discipline."

With that, Liu Zeqing's tone shifted. "If those fellows refuse to obey orders over the matter of military pay, I fear your subordinate can only stand by helplessly, with nothing to be done."

Dang Chongya naturally caught the threat in Liu Zeqing's words, but regarding military pay he truly knew nothing of the inside story. In other words, he was himself a man who had been pushed out of the capital due to factional defeat — what intelligence could he possibly obtain?

"On my journey here, your subordinate did hear some rumors. When Marshal Liu's men coerce the common folk, does that accord with court law and discipline?" Suddenly, Dang Chongya spoke with a smile.

At these words, the atmosphere in the hall instantly grew heavy. Liu Zeqing's face darkened. The three men sat in silence for a long moment, until finally Liu Zeqing said:

"I wonder where His Honor the Censor heard such rumors. How is it that I, your commander, know nothing of them? Hah — if His Honor the Censor heard them from some rustic villager, then I would be at a loss to defend myself."

"The local man surnamed Zhou—" What Dang Chongya had heard was naturally not from ordinary commoners. Subconsciously he began to retort, but barely halfway through his words he stopped abruptly.

Liu Zeqing's face changed drastically. He rose abruptly and, without another word, led his men rushing out of the official hall.

For Liu Zeqing, the business of killing innocents to pad his own coffers was hardly unfamiliar. Having been stationed in Linqing for so long, he naturally knew well the circumstances of the great and minor households in the area.

By Dang Chongya's account, the words had not come from the mouths of peddlers or laborers, and the surname was Zhou — the answer was obvious, for in Linqing Prefecture there was only one great household surnamed Zhou.

"Foolish, I've been truly foolish!" Seeing Liu Zeqing charge out of the official hall with his household retainers in tow, Dang Chongya was beside himself with regret.

Wang Gongbi, the Governor of Shandong, was after all a senior official of Shandong itself, and he knew Liu Zeqing's temperament well. That fellow was certainly racing off without pause to seek revenge on someone.

At once, Wang Gongbi spoke with some reproach: "Lord Dang, what have you—?"

Knowing he had committed a grave error, Dang Chongya dared not say more.

He had first witnessed with his own eyes in the capital the execution of Gao Qiqian, then come out to see the heart-wrenching scenes along the road. Arriving at Linqing, he had thought that with a court Regional Commander stationed there, conditions should be somewhat better.

But who would have thought the officers and soldiers would behave even worse than the roving bandits. All of this had long since thrown Dang Chongya's mind into turmoil — and only now did remorse begin to grow in his heart.

Had he known earlier that conditions in the provinces were like this, then as a high minister at court, he should have devoted himself to the public good and offered sound counsel to the emperor — why engage in factional strife at all!

He wondered whether it was still too late to resolve himself to do real things for the court and the people.

"Bang!"

That very evening, the gates of the Zhou residence were indeed kicked open without the slightest warning, and Liu Zeqing came charging in with a batch of household retainers, bristling with menace.

Seeing these officers and soldiers each bearing blades and spears in hand, clearly ill-intentioned, the servants dared not step forward to block them and all retreated at once to the inner courtyard.

"You, you—" The Zhou steward, hearing the commotion, hurriedly threw on an outer robe and ran out. Seeing that it was that villainous Regional Commander Liu Zeqing again, he stepped forward at once to stop him.

But this time Liu Zeqing had not come to seek pleasure with the young lady of the Zhou household. Burning with rage, seeing the steward approach, he showed no mercy and struck out with his blade.

"Men! Zhou Ding has secretly colluded with the roving bandits — kill all the males and seal up this residence!" Liu Zeqing brandished his blood-stained steel blade and bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Liu's household retainers were no ordinary soldiers — they were essentially a private army raised with Liu Zeqing's entire fortune. Hearing their master's command, they did not hesitate, charging into every gate and courtyard, kicking up a cacophony of shouts and screams.

"Liu Zeqing, you dog villain! You have defiled my wife and daughters, unleashed your troops to attack the city and persecute Regional Commander Liu and the Prefect — a military man wielding power like this, how are you any different from soldiers and bandits! You will die a horrible death!!"

Zhou Ding, wearing a green silk robe, was dragged out by Liu's retainers. Facing Liu Zeqing and his men, seemingly knowing his time was short, his usual simple demeanor was gone as he burst into furious curses.

"Hahaha." Liu Zeqing kicked straight at Zhou Ding's face, then planted his other foot on his chest, pressing down with force as he said:

"So I defiled your wife and daughters — so what? Not just the other day — in a moment, after I kill you, I'll have my officers and men join in the fun as well. What can you do about it!?"

With that, Liu Zeqing drove his steel blade into Zhou Ding's lower abdomen. Seeing the man's powerless and furious expression, much of his earlier anger seemed to dissipate as he said viciously:

"Reporting me to the Censor? Fine! Then let me see whether this Son of Heaven you so eagerly await actually dares to touch a single hair of mine!"

Just then, a platoon officer of Liu's retainers dragged Zhou Ding's wife out from the inner chambers, tore off her clothing in one motion, and laughed loudly:

"Zhou Ding, after all these years, you still haven't learned such a simple truth — even the emperor himself wouldn't dare provoke our great marshal lightly!"

Liu Zeqing kicked Zhou Ding's corpse aside in disgust, scooped up the fainted Zhou daughter in his arms, and walked toward the inner rooms, waving his hand: "Kill all the males, take their heads as proof of merit, and divide the remaining women among yourselves!"

The retainers, who had been waiting for precisely these words, burst into jubilation, shouting in unison:

"The Marshal is wise!"

Three days later, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong.

"What a villain!" Mou Wenshou, the miscellaneous-title Regional Commander of Yanzhou, heard of what had happened in Linqing three days prior and was immediately beside himself with fury, resolving to lead troops to Linqing to demand an explanation.

"For years I have endured him! This villain refused the summons to defend the capital, and now he dares to commit such deeds before the Son of Heaven's own Censor — how is he any different from that bandit Li or bandit Xi'an?"

"It is precisely because of this villain that Shandong has come to its present state!"

Mou Wenshou's clansman Mou Wenju was as loyal to the court as he was. In the past few months, the two brothers had gathered troops in Yanzhou to march north, but it was precisely Liu's forces that had blocked them from coming to the capital's aid.

Mou Wenju was shaken by shock and fury, but knowing his elder brother well, he understood exactly what he would do in his rage, and so he urged:

"Brother, Yanzhou has only three thousand troops, while Liu's forces number tens of thousands. However much we chafe, we must endure. We've gotten through so many years like this — we haven't even been paid our wages in a long while. Can we really expect the court to send troops and silver?"

The reason Mou Wenshou had endured Liu Zeqing shitting on his head all these years was simply that his power was inferior. Liu Zeqing had operated in Shandong for many years, and his forces were already spread across all six prefectures.

Even not far north of his own Yanzhou there was a camp of Liu's troops stationed — few in number, its main purpose being to keep watch on Yanzhou's movements.

Moreover, Liu Zeqing had tens of thousands of soldiers and bandits at his side — how could his three thousand Yanzhou troops possibly contend with that? At this thought, Mou Wenshou could only slam his hand on the table in fury, unwilling to say more.

"General, Chiliarch Li of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived."