Chapter 1278: Unwilling to Accept

"These rebels truly have no regard for law or heaven," Hu Wang cursed as he walked over, stuffed the gold ingot into his bosom, and ran a finger across it—the gold was of fine quality, he could tell at once.

The eunuch Hu Wang made his decision quickly. He understood one thing clearly: in a critical post like guarding the city gate, how could he possibly not have factory-branch spies watching his every move? If he kept silent and Wei Zhongxian later asked about it, that would be a calamity beyond measure. The future might change hands, but for now, Wei Zhongxian still held great power in his grasp.

Hu Wang ordered his men to hold their post strictly and keep the city gates shut tight, then rode hard toward the imperial palace. Once darkness fell, every gate in the imperial city would be locked and barred, though a side gate remained open for urgent, unexpected matters. After his waist-token was checked, Hu Wang was led to the duty room where Wei Zhongxian was stationed.

With the situation so urgent, Wei Zhongxian no longer kept to his regular duty room in the Directorate of Ceremonial but attended the Tianqi Emperor at all times, so this duty room lay just outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Guarded by the inner-court trained eunuchs, it could be called heavily fortified.

"Old Ancestor, as soon as your child received the letter, I rushed over at once. I didn't dare open it or read it," Hu Wang said, then respectfully presented the letter. As he handed it over, he glanced and saw that on the desk before Wei Zhongxian lay a dozen or so letters, all much the same as the one he had brought.

Wei Zhongxian took the letter, opened it, swept his eyes over it casually, and set it on the desk. "Yours is the seventeenth letter," he said. "Today, letters have reached me from every quarter of the capital. Some say they found it lying around, some say it was beside their pillow when they woke, some say a black-clad masked man handed it to them face to face. How did yours come?"

Wei Zhongxian's voice was somewhat hoarse—fatigue and anxiety were plain to hear. Hu Wang was already stunned. He had thought his own deed was a matter of the highest secrecy, something that touched the very fate of the realm, brought by him alone. He had never imagined there were a dozen more. At that thought, Hu Wang felt both deflated and deeply chilled. Just how vast an operation had these Xuzhou rebels built, to have planted so many threads inside the capital?

Whatever his thoughts, Hu Wang dared not conceal anything from Wei Zhongxian. He recounted the day's events in full detail, not even daring to omit the schemes he used to profit from people passing in and out of the capital. Hearing his account, Wei Zhongxian's face remained impassive. He laid the letter on the desk and said, "I've long known about your affairs over there. The reason I never investigated or punished you was to keep an opening at that spot. Otherwise, with news unable to come in or go out, it would only add endless complications."

At these words, Hu Wang could only kowtow heavily. Wei Zhongxian gave a cold, self-mocking laugh. "What I didn't expect was that these Xuzhou bandits had long since made arrangements inside the city, and in one stroke sent so many letters. Go back to your post. I won't stop you from making your fortune, but don't let it interfere with proper business. Do you understand?"

The already trembling Hu Wang rose and left. Wei Zhongxian raised a hand and beckoned a middle-aged eunuch over. In a muffled voice, he said, "Read this letter and see if it differs in any way from the dozen or so before it. My eyes aren't so good once night falls."

"Gonggong toils for the state—you must also look after your health," the middle-aged eunuch said politely. He took the letter and read it carefully. Before long, he confirmed that the handwriting on these letters varied, but the content was identical in every case. Wei Zhongxian nodded, then sighed, took the letter, and walked toward the Tianqi Emperor's bedchamber.

As Wei Zhongxian left, the middle-aged eunuch turned the matter over in his mind. In the past, someone like Hu Wang, who neglected his duties and exploited chaos for profit, would hardly have escaped a death sentence. Yet now he had gotten a "don't let it interfere with proper business, don't miss out on your fortune" kind of answer. It seemed Eunuch Wei's authority was far from what it had been; he could only rely on bestowing favors to keep those below him in line.

The Tianqi Emperor sat slumped in his study. The several young eunuchs attending him hardly dared to breathe. A favored one had stepped forward earlier to offer comfort and had been dragged out and beaten to death on the spot. No one had ever seen the Tianqi Emperor like this. He was ordinarily so amiable, never putting on airs even with the young eunuchs closest to him. No one had expected him to be so violent today.

"Banban, what am I to do?" Seeing Wei Zhongxian enter, the Tianqi Emperor seemed to clutch at a straw, blurting out his question. His voice was far hoarser even than Wei Zhongxian's.

Wei Zhongxian sighed inwardly, waved a hand to dismiss all irrelevant persons, then approached with the letter and said earnestly, "My lord of ten thousand years, the only course now is to negotiate peace with those Xuzhou rebels—let them withdraw first, then plan our next steps."

Seeing the Tianqi Emperor remain silent, Wei Zhongxian held up the letter to illustrate his point and said with a bitter smile, "My lord, the Xuzhou rebels' hand has already reached inside the city. Today they sent over a dozen letters to press the matter. They are extremely anxious for these peace talks."

"Banban, if they're so desperate to negotiate, there must be some reason they have no choice. We have so many troops in the capital, and grain enough to spare. What if we simply defend with all our strength and force them to retreat on their own—how would that be?" The Tianqi Emperor suddenly grew animated, staring at Wei Zhongxian.

"My lord, if the rebel army could not breach the capital's defenses, then of course we could hold fast. But according to the reports that came back earlier, the cannons in the rebels' hands are truly devastating and fierce. The capital's walls cannot withstand their bombardment at all. Once the walls are breached, the situation will be utterly beyond salvaging. My lord, we cannot afford this risk. The realm and the altars of state cannot afford this risk!" Wei Zhongxian spoke with the utmost earnestness.

Hearing Wei Zhongxian say this, the Tianqi Emperor slumped once more. Wei Zhongxian glanced around, then lowered his voice. "My lord, the most urgent thing now is to make those Xuzhou bandits leave. As long as they leave, we have a chance. If they don't, the danger and trouble will only grow. Does my lord know? Today, who knows how many people inside the city have gone out to sue for peace. In the mouths of those scoundrels, I fear they've already sold my lord out a hundred times over."

The Tianqi Emperor's eyes widened, his expression shifting from dejection to a stern chill. At first his face was full of disbelief, but it soon turned to utter despair. At first hearing, such things seemed unbelievable, yet judging by the usual conduct of those nobles, civil officials, and military officers, it really wouldn't be surprising at all.

"But… but… I've done nothing wrong. Why should I have to cede territory and sue for peace, to forfeit sovereignty and humiliate the state? Banban… Banban… let us wait a little longer. Perhaps there is still a turn of fortune!" The Tianqi Emperor finally spoke through gritted teeth, yet a sob had already crept into his voice.

This was truly reckless—refusing to see the facts laid out before him, clenching his teeth and waiting for some turn of fortune. Wei Zhongxian looked at the Tianqi Emperor and, in the end, sighed. In the end, the true master was still the Son of Heaven. Throughout the Ming dynasty, no matter how autocratic the eunuch faction became, that autocracy existed only by the emperor's leave and support. Without the emperor's backing, everything was an illusion. Only the civil officials possessed a will of their own.

"If my lord wishes to wait, then this old slave will wait together with my lord. Please rest assured, my lord—whoever means my lord harm will have to step over this old slave's corpse first!" Wei Zhongxian knelt and spoke with solemn gravity.

After the Zhao family army's three-thousand-strong cavalry force outside the capital had demonstrated its battle strength, the capital's troops no longer dared to engage. However, a force of just over three thousand riders was, after all, too small, and the capital was far too large. Though neither side engaged, deployments and maneuvers continued as before.

Troops in the encampments outside the city were redeployed, and there were rotations between the garrison inside the city and the troops stationed outside. Broadly speaking, the elite core forces controlled by the eunuchs entered the city, while those outside that system were sent out. The troops sent out gathered at two points north and south of the capital—the so-called Southern Capital Encampment and Northern Capital Encampment.

According to the Ministry of War and the Chief Military Commission, these two great encampments would act like iron pincers, forming a pincer attack against the rebel army. When the time came, a two-pronged assault would surely crush the rebels to pieces. Everyone understood, however, that no one now dared count on the government troops making another move. Maintaining an even stalemate, neither war nor peace, was fine enough. One misstep, and there would be no troops left to use at all.

But after the initial two days of panic, the various factions inside the capital had more or less grasped the attitude of the Xuzhou forces outside the city. These three thousand riders had come solely to pressure the court into peace talks—much like someone coming to the door to demand an answer—not to actually do anything with those three thousand troops. This realization allowed everyone to relax a little.

The capital's troops were no longer as cautious as at first. They began sending scouts beyond the walls, and the city gates far from the Xuzhou cavalry encampment were kept half-open. There was time enough to react and shut them, after all.

According to the scouts returning to the city, the rebel encampment saw a steady stream of people coming and going—perhaps treacherous elements from around the capital seeking to make contact. But that was merely a polite fiction for the emperor's sake. The slightest scrutiny revealed that these were all people sent out by various figures inside the capital. Everyone knew perfectly well what they were going to discuss with the rebels. With the situation as it was, who knew how much longer the Ming's sky would remain overhead? It was better for everyone to keep one eye shut.

This state of affairs did not last long. That afternoon, scouts raced back to the city with urgent reports: another Xuzhou force was approaching along the canal. It was not large—around two thousand men—but the carts and horses they used were on the scale of a five-thousand-man force. Though the carts and horses were numerous, infantry surrounded them. The scouts also brought back word: the government troops garrisoned at Tongzhou, seeing the rebel infantry advancing, had thought to seize an easy advantage. They had sallied out over three thousand strong, only to be scattered in a single clash. They were no match at all.

The atmosphere in the capital tightened abruptly, and with it came a general sinking of spirits. More lice don't make you fear the bite—with the situation already what it was, another two thousand rebels outside meant little. But that skirmish at Tongzhou proved the rumors of the rebel infantry's ferocity, and that was what truly disheartened everyone. The three-thousand-strong cavalry outside being formidable was no surprise—Tartar horsemen were the same. But the might of their infantry was what truly chilled the blood. A rough calculation showed that the Great Ming had almost no chance of victory left.

"These people have such enormous mouths! Saying that as long as we're willing, they can collaborate from within to seize the city gates and let us in. Even saying they'll capture the Emperor for us. Aren't they all supposed to be high officials? Have they no shame left at all!" Speaking of those who had come to negotiate, Ji Xiang's face was full of contempt. Shi Manqiang and Xu Yong wore much the same expressions.

Thanks to old friends "Wu Liulang," "Duan Yichen," "Kuding Piaoxiang," "Qi Sanwen," "Yuan Heng Li Zhen," "Ai Ku Ai Xiao Kuai Le Xiao Yao," "Huaji," "Guang Tianshi De Zhufu," and "Feng Zhong Long Wang" for their gifts. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you, everyone.