Chapter 4: Fight Poison with Poison

"Are the Capital Camps fully mustered?"

Watching the Chongzhen Emperor sitting on the imperial carriage and asking him eagerly, Wu Xiang swallowed hard a few times, instinctively stammered "uh" a couple of times, but in the end couldn't refuse the warm and expectant gaze from above, and could only step forward helplessly, cupping his fists and saying:

"Reporting to His Majesty... the numbers, they're all here..."

"All here?"

The smile on the Chongzhen Emperor's face froze, and it took him a moment to react. He first glanced at the sparse and scattered soldiers below, then looked back with a puzzled expression.

Seeing the Emperor's meaning, as if asking whether what was before his eyes was really true, Wu Xiang felt quite helpless inside. He himself had only just learned that the Capital Camps had rotted into such a ghost of a state. He should have stayed in Liaodong in the first place—why did he come back to Beijing? He'd walked into his own death, and even if he had to kneel, he'd have to finish dying.

"Your Majesty, the people before you are the entirety of the Capital Camps at present."

"Calm your anger... Your Majesty must take care of the imperial body..."

After Wu Xiang and Dong Qi finished speaking, they didn't even dare raise their heads, fearing that the Emperor's thunderous wrath would strip them of their positions with a single decree. But they waited and waited, yet heard no sound from the Emperor.

Wang Cheng'en, the brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial standing nearby, was somewhat worried, afraid that this emperor of theirs would be angered into a stupor. If that really happened, the Great Ming would lose its last pillar. So he bowed and tentatively asked:

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~~?"

"Heh heh."

The Chongzhen Emperor's reaction surprised everyone. Not only was he not enraged, he actually chuckled a few times, and asked very calmly from his seat on the imperial carriage:

"The roster of the Capital Camps—bring it for me to see!"

The roster was originally in the charge of civil officials, but all those of sufficient rank had fled. Vice Regional Commander Dong Qi was about to hand it over to the newly appointed Commander Wu Xiang, but Wu Xiang had just taken office and hadn't yet had time to attend to this matter.

Dong Qi's mind was entirely focused on how to muddle through this affair, and he'd actually forgotten all about it too. In the end, it was he who had to steel himself and hand over the roster. He looked at the Chongzhen Emperor as if looking at a ghost, not daring to come a single step closer.

At first, the Chongzhen Emperor didn't bother with who held the roster, but after receiving it and flipping through it rapidly several times, he suddenly threw it to the ground and said angrily:

"Who is in charge of the roster?"

Dong Qi hadn't heard the Emperor's question and had been secretly sighing in relief, privately rejoicing, when he never expected Chongzhen's words to circle back around. He immediately trembled all over.

Hearing this, he immediately ran out from among the several officers and clerks behind him, knelt before the imperial carriage and shouted long live the Emperor, but couldn't say anything else—just lay prostrate on the ground in panic, his whole body shaking.

The Emperor is going to kill someone again—this was the thought of all the officials and attendants present.

By past precedent, at times like this, the Chongzhen Emperor would often fly into a thunderous rage, and then immediately have the officials involved killed or punished as appropriate—either way, none of them would come to a good end.

"Look for yourself. The roster states in black and white that the Capital Camps have an authorized strength of twelve thousand. And now? What I see before me can't even be five thousand, can it?"

"Your subject deserves ten thousand deaths, your subject's crime deserves ten thousand deaths..."

Faced with the Emperor's interrogation, the prostrate Dong Qi had grievances he couldn't voice, thinking to himself that this matter wasn't even his responsibility to begin with—the civil officials in charge had all run off clean. This really was being shot while lying down.

But these words were only for thinking in his heart; even a fool knew that saying them out loud would only make death come faster.

Wu Xiang was also breaking out in a cold sweat for Dong Qi. The Capital Camps now were nothing like before—basically, the nobles and relatives of the capital were fraudulently drawing pay under false names on the rolls. It was called training, but in reality they used their family power to eat empty salaries and drink soldiers' blood right under the Son of Heaven's nose.

Though he'd only been here a short while, Wu Xiang's many years as a militia-training Regional Commander in Liaodong hadn't been for nothing—he'd already figured out the most basic tricks of the Capital Camps.

By his most conservative estimate, the ones who hadn't shown up numbered at least a few thousand, but the forces behind them were surely tangled and deeply rooted—not the kind of thing the ordinary officers of the Capital Camps could afford to provoke.

Wu Xiang could somewhat understand Dong Qi. Anyone else in his position would also choose to swallow their anger, because at a time like this, anything said would count as quibbling, and worse, might offend the noble factions. Better to keep one's head down and stay silent.

Watching Dong Qi tremble prostrate on the ground, the anger that had just risen in the Chongzhen Emperor suddenly dissipated. He didn't really blame this Vice Regional Commander of the Capital Camps—some things truly weren't something one could manage just by wanting to.

The Chongzhen Emperor of history hadn't known these things, but the one now was perfectly clear on them.

Seeing that Li Zicheng was about to enter the capital, if he wanted to keep his own life and not be forced to hang himself on Coal Hill, he couldn't afford to worry about anything else—he could only gamble everything and use ruthless measures!

The Great Ming was already terminally ill. The worst outcome was still just total collapse, so why not administer a harsh dose of medicine—fight poison with poison. Perhaps he might even hit the jackpot and save the city of Beijing.

Thinking of this, the Chongzhen Emperor suddenly said:

"Wu Xiang, Dong Qi—hear the decree!"

The two named let out a mournful cry in their hearts. No matter how they tried to shrink back, what was coming had come.

Dong Qi had been shot while lying down—he'd had nothing to do with anything, and who knew the Emperor would suddenly get the whim to inspect the Capital Camps. He truly had zero preparation.

Wu Xiang even wished he could slap himself in the mouth, thinking that this was how his commandership went—he'd been in office less than two hours and was about to be stripped of his position, and this time probably stripped all the way down. Where would he put his old face?

The two each had their own thoughts, but the words they heard next made them suspect they'd misheard.

"Wu Xiang, I grant you the Imperial Sword, with the power to execute first and report afterward within the Capital Camps, and full authority to overhaul them!"

"Dong Qi, you take these people behind you—all those who haven't fled by now get promoted one rank. Verify the roster from beginning to end. Not a single noble or relative's son stays—all of them are to be cut by my order. Once you've sorted out who remains, come find me immediately."

Seeing the shocked expressions on the two men's faces, the Chongzhen Emperor stood up from the imperial carriage, waved away several Directorate of Ceremonial eunuchs who came forward to support him, and said with deep feeling:

"From now on, you need not care what other ministers or nobles think. As long as you overhaul the Capital Camps steadfastly for me, your backing is me—is the entire Great Ming!"

As he spoke, the Chongzhen Emperor signaled Wang Cheng'en with his eyes. Wang Cheng'en waved his hand, and the two Directorate of Ceremonial eunuchs nearby dared not be negligent, quickly taking tokens and handing them to Wu Xiang and Dong Qi.

At this moment, the Chongzhen Emperor helped both men up one by one, and said:

"No matter what happens, if you wish to see me, you may use this token to enter the palace directly. Anyone who dares to stop you or demand bribes—tell me of it, and they will be executed without pardon!"

Dong Qi had been dragged through ice and fire in turn—not only had he kept his life, he'd actually gained the Emperor's favor. This truly felt like a village appearing beyond the dark willows and bright flowers.

This fellow was rather shallow in his scheming, and immediately began kowtowing repeatedly to thank the Emperor for his grace, nearly digging out his heart and lungs to show his loyalty.

Wu Xiang stared wide-eyed, stunned for a long moment, then suddenly gave himself a hard pinch. After an "Ouch!" he discovered it was all real, and immediately began chuckling to himself, kneeling on one knee and saying:

"As long as Your Majesty trusts me, this old minister will go through fire and water for the Great Ming's altars of state, and never refuse!"

Wang Cheng'en beside the imperial carriage also found it unbelievable. How had the Emperor, who had always been irresolute and hesitant in the past, suddenly become so bold and free-spending, so decisive and ruthless in everything—it was as if he weren't the same person.

After all, what had been given to Wu Xiang was the power of life and death. This military man from Liaodong suddenly wielding such great authority—who knew what great deeds he might do.

And Dong Qi—merely a powerless little Vice Regional Commander—had now soared to the heavens in one flight. With the Chongzhen Emperor as his backing, he'd suddenly become a man above men.

"Wang Cheng'en, summon Fang Zhenghua and Li Ruolian of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to see me!"

Having done all this, Chongzhen clearly wasn't planning to stop there. He issued another imperial decree, and only then did he set off back to the palace.