Chapter 136: Surrendering to the Qing

Inside and outside Linqing Prefecture, crowds of panicked refugees filled the streets. Many of Liu's officers and soldiers were overjoyed upon receiving word that their commander was abandoning Linqing.

As they saw it, they had been stationed in Linqing for half a year, bored nearly to death every day, because the common folk were so destitute that there was nothing left to plunder.

Shandong Regional Commander Liu Zeqing had overestimated his own prestige and the discipline of his rabble soldiers—in truth, when they heard his orders, a full eighty percent couldn't have cared less.

To be fair, they had nothing much to pack anyway. Whatever they wore and whatever they held was their entire worldly possession. At most, they wanted one last grab before leaving.

It was precisely because these men stirred up chaos in the city with such intentions that the common folk feared the imperial troops more than they feared the bandits.

In times like these, even the capital region could no longer claim safety. Beneath the very feet of the Son of Heaven, ninth-rank petty officials abused their power and oppressed the people, directly causing prices to skyrocket across several streets—let alone in bandit-ridden Shandong.

To the common folk here, the imperial troops were no different from the bandits.

"Clop-clop-clop."

A burst of urgent hoofbeats sounded—it was the dispatch rider Zhang Shize had sent to deliver orders to Wuding Prefecture Assistant Regional Commander Qiu Lei and Yang Yufan's forces, now returning.

According to the dispatch rider, the remaining imperial troops—apart from those who had already gathered at Qinghe as planned in previous days—had all arrived outside the various gates of Linqing City, intending to surround and annihilate Liu's main force here.

The soldiers of the Capital Camps wore brand-new chainmail, gleaming Cloud-Wing helmets atop their heads, and carried standardized steel sabers and spears in their hands, standing tall with chests puffed out.

In addition, archers and arquebusiers flanked both sides of the formation. Among the surrounding imperial troops, the Capital Camps were clearly a sight to behold.

Many understood that the Capital Camps were no longer just a pretty facade. After the Chongzhen Emperor's personal rectification and Duke of Ying Zhang Shize's hands-on drilling, they could truly be said to have transformed beyond recognition.

Though their combat power still fell short of the bandits' veteran camps or the Jianzhou barbarians' armored soldiers, everyone had heard of the glorious name earned at the Great Victory of military pay and provisions.

"Duke of Ying, the traitor Liu is on the city wall and wishes to speak with you." A local roaming general hurried over and reported.

Zhang Shize initially wanted to refuse outright and order the attack, but recalling what the dispatch rider had said—that Mou Wenshou, Yang Yufan, and the others were still assembling their forces—he arranged matters with his subordinates, then nodded and personally rode to the south gate of Linqing Prefecture.

Liu Zeqing gripped a spear below with one hand while resting the other on the city wall. Seeing the man in deep crimson armor astride a white war horse stop just beyond bow range, he laughed loudly and said:

"You must be the Duke of Ying, commander of the Great Victory of military pay and provisions! I've long heard of your reputation!"

"And you must be that shifty-eyed little man, the so-called 'Traitor Liu,' who dares to defy the court and disobey His Majesty!" As he spoke, a mocking smile crept across Zhang Shize's face.

Hearing Zhang Shize's merciless words, Liu Zeqing flew into a rage. He gripped the spear in his right hand even tighter and forced a smile, saying: "Duke of Ying, I don't know where you heard such slander. This general's loyalty to the court and to His Majesty is witnessed by Heaven itself—how could I ever harbor thoughts of overstepping my station!"

"But that said, His Majesty hasn't issued pay in over two years. My brothers' clothes are all in tatters, and I've been hard-pressed myself, just waiting for the court to provide relief to solve our pressing needs."

"Yet who would have thought—not only does the court refuse to add pay or replace equipment, it treats us like this. It truly chills the hearts of us Shandong soldiers!"

As Liu Zeqing spoke, the rest of Liu's officers and soldiers also began buzzing with discussion.

These words struck a chord deep in their hearts. They didn't even have silver to support their families—who would risk their lives for this court? Only a fool.

Liu Zeqing smiled sinisterly, seemingly certain that Zhang Shize had no money to pay wages. After all, the accumulated arrears of over two years' military pay plus various equipment was no small sum. To pay it all at once, Zhang Shize would have to be carrying several hundred thousand taels of silver on his person!

"Heh." Zhang Shize's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, as if he had long anticipated Liu Zeqing using this as an excuse. He didn't rush to say anything, merely waving his hand to give orders and waiting quietly there.

Before long, a eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial stepped out from the formation, followed by a row of magnificently dressed Grand Guardians, who shouted in unison:

"Oral decree of the Great Ming Emperor: Having heard of the soldiers' hardships, I cannot sleep at night, nor eat in peace—I grieve for you all!"

"Does the court have money? The court truly has no money. But I, as Emperor, cannot simply stay in the palace feeling sorry like some old woman! Even if I must cut back on palace expenses, I will squeeze out the military pay and put it in your hands!"

"These five hundred thousand taels are my back-pay for the Eastern Depot Prefecture and all the arrears owed to you soldiers over the years—and this is only the first batch!"

"Beyond that, I give you all a promise: lay down your weapons, and before the Spring Festival, I will issue all back pay owed across the other five prefectures of Shandong, so that you all can enjoy a good New Year!"

"I understand your difficulties, and I do not blame you. Therefore, this time, 'only the chief culprits shall be executed; all followers shall be pardoned.' As long as you lay down your weapons, you remain subjects of the Great Ming, and my people!"

Liu Zeqing looked at the gleaming silver piled on the carts below the wall and secretly swallowed. Hearing the restless murmurs of the soldiers around him, his face changed drastically.

"Absurd! The Jiang family of Datong and the Wang family of Xuanfu were both military houses for generations, bleeding on the battlefield—but look at how the court treated them!"

"The capital has repeatedly launched great purges—how many people this very year alone have been executed along with their nine clans? If we naively believe these words, we will surely be settled accounts with later, and our descendants will never know peace!" Liu Zeqing had little confidence in his own men and feared a mutiny might break out, so he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Enraged by these words, Zhang Shize waved the eunuch away, spurred his horse forward, and rebuked: "Traitor Liu! Stop your grandstanding!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Liu Zeqing's expression shifted violently. He pulled a spear from below the city wall and roared:

"Die!"

Liu Zeqing knew full well in his heart that, judging by how the Chongzhen Emperor had dealt with Jiang Xiang and Wang Chengyin, once captured, he would surely not escape death. Since that was the case, he might as well gamble everything on one desperate strike.

Judging by the treatment Geng Zhongming, Kong Youde, and Shang Kexi had received after surrendering to the Qing, Liu Zeqing figured that as Shandong Regional Commander, even if he couldn't wrangle a prince title by defecting, a noble rank was all but guaranteed.

Of course, all of that depended on fighting his way out of Linqing City first.

The spear had been long in the making. Liu Zeqing, a cornered dog leaping the wall, hurled it with all his strength—it flew toward Zhang Shize below the wall like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

"Puh—" Caught completely unprepared, Zhang Shize could only instinctively dodge to the left, but the spear came with such ferocious speed that it still struck his right shoulder.

It all happened in a flash. Liu Zeqing couldn't make out the details from atop the wall—he only saw Zhang Shize struck by his spear, crying out in agony as he fell from his horse. The surrounding soldiers looked on in shock, and those who had been considering surrendering to the court dared not make a move.

Liu Zeqing slapped the city wall in excitement and drew his blade, shouting:

"Brothers! The court has no virtue! Follow me and fight our way out—cross the sea and surrender to the Qing, and we can still win ourselves fame and fortune in this lifetime!"