Chapter 148: Taking Baoding

When they captured the Grand Secretary who had left the capital to lead the campaign in the emperor's place, Liu Fangliang was initially quite pleased — after all, this man's status was not something an ordinary Grand Secretary could compare with. But who would have thought this fellow was a useless parasite who could do nothing at all!

After the capture, Liu Fangliang, fearing he might escape, specially assigned several men to watch him. Later, Guo Zhongjie, the surrendered mid-ranking Capital Camps commander, came to tell him that this Li Jiantai was extremely afraid of death, and even without guards watching him, he would never dare to flee.

Moreover, not long after Li Jiantai left the capital, he had been scared into illness by all sorts of news. He wanted to die for his country but feared the pain, and now lay on his bed unable to move. Having men watch him — wasn't that just wasting resources?

Liu Fangliang thought this made sense, but it was rather awkward. This Li Jiantai had become a chicken rib — letting him go was a pity, but keeping him was utterly useless. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

In the end, Liu Fangliang decided not to bring them along. He left Li Jiantai, Guo Zhongjie, and a small portion of troops in Baoding, while he himself led the bulk of his forces into the capital region as originally planned.

Chen Qiyu, who had just returned, only learned of this matter recently upon reaching Baoding Prefecture's borders, but it did not affect his intention to retake the prefectural seat.

Based on the rumors about Li Jiantai, Chen Qiyu wrote a memorial on the road and dispatched it to the capital. In sum, it recommended that the Chongzhen Emperor strip Li Jiantai of his office and confiscate his property. After sending the memorial off, Chen Qiyu immediately rushed to Baoding without pause.

"Your subject Li Jiantai, respectfully welcoming the Supreme Commander into the city!"

Chen Qiyu stood before the gate looking at Li Jiantai, whose face was wreathed in smiles, and was filled with dark lines. He thought to himself — wasn't this fellow supposed to be gravely ill? How did he look perfectly fine now?

When they heard of the court's great victory at military pay and provisions, Li Jiantai and Guo Zhongjie had found kindred spirits in each other, and planned within the city to betray the Dashun and return to the court.

Look at that Bai Guangen — he was just like himself, even worse in his conduct. Wasn't that sort of scum now being given important posts? If he surrendered, surely he too would be restored to his former office.

If possible, the Emperor might even approve his memorial requesting to escort the Crown Prince south, and then he could hold the Son of Heaven hostage to command the feudal lords, becoming a powerful minister of the Great Ming.

Li Jiantai was happily daydreaming, but when he saw that the arriving person was actually Chen Qiyu, he was startled — he had never imagined such a thing could happen.

He exchanged a glance with Guo Zhongjie beside him, whose expression had drastically changed, and thought to himself — things had come to this; it was too late to surrender now or to flee.

Dong Qi stood beside Chen Qiyu. Seeing Li Jiantai and the others with their shifting expressions, he exchanged a knowing smile — they all knew what these traitors were thinking. Dong Qi's hands were clenched tight, but he said not a word, and under Guo Zhongjie's gaze led his men into the prefectural seat.

Fortunately, that traitor Guo Zhongjie had not dared to make any move during the entry into the city.

After entering the city, the regiment camp troops swiftly took control of all the barracks in the city under Dong Qi's orders. Chen Qiyu, accompanied by Li Jiantai, Guo Zhongjie, and others, arrived at the government office — but his expression suddenly turned fierce, and he bellowed:

"Come! Bind these two traitors for this Commander!"

Li Jiantai was seized with terror. His legs trembled on the spot, and a puddle of thick yellow liquid flowed beneath his feet. He prostrated himself on the ground, shivering as he said: "Supreme Commander, this humble one knows not what crime I have committed that you would kill me?"

Hearing this, Chen Qiyu slapped the table. "You still have the face to ask this Commander? What treasonous deeds you have done — do you not know in your own heart?"

"Men, drag them out and execute them in the street! Hang their heads from the city gate beam!"

"Wait!" Li Jiantai was so terrified he could barely speak, but Guo Zhongjie's expression remained utterly unchanged as he raised his hand and said: "Supreme Commander, to execute Grand Secretary Li — do you have a sacred edict from His Majesty?"

"Heh heh." Before Chen Qiyu could speak, Dong Qi stepped forward to stare directly at Guo Zhongjie, sneering: "Before Governor-General Chen left the capital, His Majesty already gave instructions at the platform: except for the defense of Ningwu Pass, regardless of any local official's authority, Governor-General Chen may execute first and report afterward once he has verified the facts."

"Chief Grand Secretary Wei was also present to hear these words with his own ears. What more do you have to say?"

Guo Zhongjie looked carefully at Dong Qi, showing no sign of fear. "Dong Qi, back in the day when I was a Vice Regional Commander in the Capital Camps, you were still a common soldier! When did it become your turn to shout at me like this?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Dong Qi seemed to have heard the greatest joke. He advanced a few steps, shook the armor on his body, and laughed: "You've never seen this set of armor before, have you?"

Seeing Guo Zhongjie sizing him up, Dong Qi sneered: "Let me tell you the truth — His Majesty is wise and enlightened. The Duke of Ying reorganized the Capital Camps and long ago swept out useless nobles and relatives like you who occupy positions without doing anything."

"I, Dong Qi, have received His Majesty's great favor and am now Governor-General of the Jiazi Battalion. Guo Zhongjie, what more do you have to say?"

Seeing Guo Zhongjie's face fall in shock, Chen Qiyu also gave a cold snort and said: "At a time like this, the two of you still think of trying to muddle through. You truly deserve death. Drag them away!"

"You can't kill me, you can't kill me!"

Guo Zhongjie's face showed unwillingness. He wanted to resist, but was subdued on the spot by Dong Qi in short order. Seeing the two regiment camp soldiers flanking him, he too began to shout and yell.

"My Guo family's influence in the capital—"

But before he could finish shouting, the Jiazi Battalion soldiers roughly dragged him away by force. Before long, Guo Zhongjie's cries came to an abrupt halt.

A Jiazi Battalion soldier entered the main hall and reported with clasped fists: "Reporting to the two Governors-General, the criminals Li Jiantai and Guo Zhongjie have both been executed. How should the remaining former Capital Camps soldiers be dealt with?"

"Governor-General Chen, these men number no small amount — over eight hundred in total. If we kill them all, I fear it may provoke a mutiny. It would be difficult to handle." Dong Qi reminded him from the side.

Chen Qiyu nodded and waved to the soldier. "You may withdraw for now."

"This Baoding Prefecture is no longer the Baoding Prefecture it once was. The streets and markets are in ruins. These Capital Camps soldiers are a menace whether they stay here or are sent back to the capital."

"Indeed — these men could surrender to the rebels once, so there's no guarantee they won't do it again." Hearing Chen Qiyu's words, Dong Qi nodded, then suddenly seemed to recall something, his expression stirring as he said: "Does Governor-General Chen mean...?"

Chen Qiyu thought to himself that speaking with a man of understanding saved effort. He gave an imperceptible nod and continued: "After dealing with this batch, Vice Prefect Shao Zongyuan's son Shao Congwen and the local gentry Luo Wenyou hold considerable prestige in this area. We may have them temporarily manage military and civil affairs."

"The rebel soldiers originally in Baoding are few in number now. For the remaining prefectures and counties, we can first issue proclamations of the sacred edict to calm their hearts, promising local officials restoration to their former posts."

"You and I must set out tonight, leading troops day and night to retake Gu Pass, forming a northwestern screen for the capital, and thereby creating a posture of closing the door to beat the dog. Then we can purge the bandits in Zhending, Baoding, and other places one by one."

"If possible, next year we can even take advantage of the momentum to head south to Shunde. Shandong Regional Commander Mou Wenshou is stationed at Caozhou — once Shunde is taken, we can link up with Shandong, and then great things will be within reach."

Speaking of this, Chen Qiyu was once again deeply amazed by the Chongzhen Emperor's foresight. Could it be that the current Emperor had long known his plans, and that was why he had Mou Wenshou stationed at Caozhou?

It had to be said — Mou Wenshou being stationed at Caozhou truly did put Chen Qiyu considerably at ease.

Dong Qi nodded, but was somewhat hesitant. "The rebel Liu Fangliang is still at large, and the various prefectures have not yet captured him. This is a problem. Should we first stabilize Baoding before advancing step by step, building our position as we go?"

"That depends on where Liu Fangliang is." Chen Qiyu first sighed, then shook his head and said: "If he reaches Gu Pass before you and me, then even if we retake Zhending and Baoding, they will be lost in the blink of an eye."

"But if you and I take Gu Pass first, then even if Li Zicheng abandons Ningwu and tries to break out east through Gu Pass, his men will be weary and horses exhausted. You and I might even be able to set another ambush and win a great victory! Once Gu Pass is taken, recovering Zhending and Baoding will be the inevitable trend."

"What Governor-General Chen says is most correct. This officer will go handle it at once." Dong Qi suddenly understood, and realizing the importance of Gu Pass to the surrounding area, hurried out of the main hall to make preparations.