Chapter 82: You Dare Threaten Me?

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"

Lu Jiu and the others never imagined the Chongzhen Emperor would directly order their heads cut off; regret instantly gnawed at their guts, but no matter how they wailed and howled, they were still dragged out by the Divine Martial Army soldiers who had walked in.

During the wait for the execution, the Chongzhen Emperor said nothing more; the generals kept silent, not even daring to whisper to one another, until three abruptly cut-off screams came from outside, and only then did everyone's faces tighten.

A Hundred Commander of the Divine Martial Army walked into the central command tent, cupped his fists, and called out:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the execution is complete!"

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded and said:

"Today I came here in person to lead the campaign, to see with my own eyes the brave bearing of my Ming soldiers as they chastise the bandits. But I never imagined the imperial army would have rotted to such a degree!"

"The Duke of Ying is the Governor-General I personally appointed; if you won't even obey his orders, then I fear you don't hold my own decrees in any regard either!"

Hearing the shock and fury in the Chongzhen Emperor's voice, and smelling the faint scent of blood drifting in from outside the tent, the generals did not dare raise their heads, merely mumbling timidly without a sound.

Wang Cheng'en, standing at the Chongzhen Emperor's side, also wore an unpleasant expression; he stepped forward and whispered in the Emperor's ear:

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should return to the palace first—this is no place to linger!"

The Chongzhen Emperor naturally understood the deeper meaning in Wang Cheng'en's words; after a long silence he gave a cold snort and said:

"I will not return to the palace. Duke of Ying, assemble all the soldiers who have arrived at Huangzhuang—I wish to address them!"

Hearing this, Wang Cheng'en let out a silent sigh and acquiesced; he was an old servant from the Chongzhen Emperor's days before he took the throne, and naturally understood that once this master made up his mind, not even eight horses could pull him back.

The imperial troops gathered at Huangcun, plus the Divine Martial Army that had just arrived, numbered at least fifty or sixty thousand; given the current quality of the imperial army, even with the generals doing their utmost to cooperate with Zhang Shize, it took the better part of a day to assemble all the soldiers.

Following custom, Li Ruolian specially selected twenty big-voiced men from among the Grand Han Guard protecting the imperial carriage and lined them up in a row, to relay the Chongzhen Emperor's words to the surroundings.

As the Chongzhen Emperor walked out of the central command tent, he happened to see several wounded soldiers who had just arrived; they supported one another, clearly struggling even to walk, but still hurried into the formation.

Seeing that a Hundred Commander's foot was about to kick out at them, the Chongzhen Emperor could not bear it and raised his hand to call a stop. The Chongzhen Emperor's voice was not loud, and perhaps the Hundred Commander did not hear it, still preparing to kick.

But the Embroidered Uniform Guard around him heard it clearly; a quick-witted Chiliarch hurried forward to stop the Hundred Commander and say a few words. The Hundred Commander was startled, and immediately knelt on the ground with a terrified expression to beg forgiveness.

The several wounded soldiers saw the Emperor walking toward them, exchanged glances, and thinking they had committed some crime, struggled to perform the ritual salute.

The Chongzhen Emperor hurried forward a few steps and stopped one wounded soldier who was about to kneel, saying:

"No need for ceremony—the wounded and sick need not salute!"

Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor walk right into the middle of a group of common soldiers, the men of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were frightened out of their wits; the Chiliarch in charge of punishments, Li Youcheng, quickly, at Wang Cheng'en's signal, led several Eastern Depot agents forward to try to protect the Emperor.

Unexpectedly, Li Youcheng was shoved aside by the furious Chongzhen Emperor. "The men around me are all soldiers who fight bravely for my Ming—what need is there for such caution?"

Having said this, the Chongzhen Emperor turned and asked kindly:

"What are the three of you called, where are you from, and what happened here—how were you wounded?"

The three wounded soldiers had not expected the Emperor, so high above them, to be so kind; one of them had crystal tears welling in his eyes, and said with some embarrassment:

"In answer to Your Majesty, this humble one has no name—my late parents always called me Shunzi, Shunzi. As for this wound... it's nothing much!"

"I'm called Zeng Daniu; we're all from Wuqing County!"

"Your Majesty, I'm the third son in my family; everyone calls me Xiao San'er!"

The men chuckled foolishly, and for a moment seemed to forget they were all carrying wounds. The Chongzhen Emperor heard hesitation in Shunzi's words and immediately turned and called out:

"Where is the Assistant Regional Commander of Wuqing County? Summon him before me!"

The moment the Chongzhen Emperor spoke, Embroidered Uniform Guard officers immediately went to fetch the Wuqing Assistant Regional Commander. That commander, round and plump with a big belly, was having his first close encounter with the Emperor; he was as frightened as a child, standing rooted to the spot, trembling and unable to speak.

"Don't be afraid! I am here to see justice done for you—how exactly did these wounds come about?"

Looking at the commander, then at the Chongzhen Emperor before him, Shunzi ultimately could not bring himself to say anything. Just as the Battalion Commander was breathing a sigh of relief, Zeng Daniu let out a great shout and cried:

"Shunzi, what are you afraid of! His Majesty already said he'll see justice done for us—if you won't speak, I will!" This dark-faced, swarthy man squeezed forward a few steps and pointed at the Battalion Commander's nose:

"Your Majesty, we brothers haven't had a single full meal in days. The three of us, the night before last, were so hungry we couldn't stand it anymore, and we thought we'd risk danger to go find some tree bark and grass roots nearby to fill our stomachs."

"But guess what—when Shunzi passed by this fellow's camp tent, he found him eating and drinking to his heart's content, and there were women in the camp too!"

"That's right, women!"

Having said this, Zeng Daniu scratched his head, struggled to kneel down, and continued:

"Your Majesty, I did wrong—I shouldn't have left camp on my own at a time like that, and I accept punishment! But is what this Sun fellow, the commander, did right? It sits ill in my heart!"

Zeng Daniu's frank words moved the Chongzhen Emperor, who was used to hearing flattery and sycophancy; he immediately helped the three of them up, turned, and asked coldly:

"Sun Hu, what exactly is going on? If you cannot explain this matter clearly today, I will use you to consecrate the banners!"

This commander named Sun Hu was greatly alarmed at the words; he barely managed to kneel down, cupped his fists, and cried:

"Your Majesty, this humble officer is wronged! These three petty thieves are likely spies sent by the roving bandits. It was I who discovered their conspiracy, but out of compassion I spared their lives!"

Having cried this far, Sun Hu actually began to sob, lowering his head and trembling as he said:

"I never imagined... I never imagined they would repay kindness with enmity! Your Majesty, you must see justice done for this humble officer—otherwise, otherwise how will anyone dare to serve the court in the future?"

"How dare you!" Hearing these words, Wang Cheng'en's anger flared at once; he strode forward several steps and delivered a resounding slap to Sun Hu's face, shrieking:

"Speaking to His Majesty like that is enough to get you killed a hundred times over!"

Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor raise his hand, Sun Hu thought his performance had moved the Emperor and was just breathing a sigh of relief, when he heard the Chongzhen Emperor sneer and ask in return:

"Sun Hu, I did not hear clearly just now. Repeat your words—are you threatening me?"

Sun Hu's eyes went wide at once, and he waved his hands, about to say something, when he saw the Chongzhen Emperor's expression suddenly change drastically; the Emperor stepped forward and kicked him to the ground.

"Fine, Sun Hu—you really have the gall of a bear and the guts of a leopard! Fooling me wasn't enough, now you dare threaten me! Do you truly think the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were established for nothing?"

One kick was not enough to vent the Chongzhen Emperor's anger; he added another kick to Sun Hu's belly, then turned and called out:

"Zhang Shize, take the blade yourself and cut him down right here to consecrate the banners!!"