Agui sat in the main hall of the Taian Prefecture yamen. Zeng Cheng, the Prefect of Taian, stood below. The Jurchen soldiers, specially selected by Ke Zhiming, knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces. “Sir, the brothers had just passed the Qiuocheng Dam when they were ambushed by the Zhu rebels. It was too brutal!”
“We don’t know what firearms or sorcery that Zhu rebel used, but he wounded the Prince Consort from afar, and the Censor-in-Chief also died a martyr. The brothers reacted too slowly, and we suffered heavy casualties. In the end, only I managed to escape and return!”
Listening to the Jurchen soldier’s tearful account, the Prefect of Taian below dared not even breathe. Agui’s face turned ashen.
If it were merely heavy casualties, Agui would not have been so enraged.
However, the entire Firearm Camp, from Prince Consort Nawandorji and Censor-in-Chief Ahasi to the soldiers below, except for the one who had been released to report back, was annihilated! Even the cannons and firearms of the Firearm Camp had fallen into the hands of the rebels!
Damn it, how was this Imperial Commissioner supposed to report to His Majesty? Should he admit that Prince Consort Nawandorji and Censor-in-Chief Ashi were incompetent in leading troops? Or should he admit his own incompetence as the Chief Grand Secretary of the Hall of Valorous Martial Arts?
After a long while, the gloom on Agui’s face finally disappeared. He asked, “If those rebels were indeed lying in ambush at Qiuocheng Dam as you said, then did Prince Consort Nawandorji and Ashi fail to send out scouts during their march?”
The reporting Jurchen soldier replied, “Answering Sir, the Prince Consort and Censor-in-Chief were traveling on the official road, so they did not send out scouts.”
Agui grunted and continued, “In that case, they likely did not divide their vanguard and rearguard? The entire army was crammed together, which is why they were ambushed by the rebels, resulting in heavy casualties for the Firearm Camp, except for you?”
The Jurchen soldier’s body trembled. He kowtowed and replied, “Your Excellency the Imperial Commissioner is wise!”
Agui snorted and continued, “Since the casualties were so heavy, how did you manage to escape?”
The Jurchen soldier replied, “Our casualties were heavy, and we were no longer able to escape. However, that Zhu rebel intentionally let me go to deliver a message to you.”
Agui grunted again and asked, “What did that Zhu rebel say?”
The Jurchen soldier replied, “Answering Sir, that Zhu rebel said: ‘Find a Jurchen to release, let him go report to Agui. We will surely make Agui a good transport captain!’”
Hearing the Jurchen soldier’s vivid imitation of Zhu Xiaosong’s tone, Agui laughed in his rage and asked, “Did that Zhu rebel truly say that?”
The Jurchen soldier replied, “Yes! That Zhu rebel said exactly that.”
Agui grunted once more and, after pondering for a long time, suddenly looked up and scolded the Jurchen soldier who had returned to report, “You accompanied the Prince Consort on this campaign, and yet the Prince Consort died a martyr, and you have the face to return alive?”
After scolding, Agui shouted loudly, “Guards! Drag this coward out and behead him for public display!”
The Jurchen soldier who had returned to report was immediately terrified and cried, “Your Excellency the Imperial Commissioner, spare my life! I want to see His Majesty! I have contributed to the Great Qing! I have shed blood for the Great Qing! I want to see His Majesty!”
After the reporting Jurchen soldier was dragged out, Agui swept the divination slips on the table to the ground with his hand, cursing furiously, “Damn it! Since this mud-dweller wants this Imperial Commissioner to be his transport captain, then this Imperial Commissioner will show him!”
After cursing, Agui summoned his personal guards and ordered, “Issue an order to assemble the troops! Prepare for battle! This Imperial Commissioner will personally lead the troops to meet Zhu Xiaosong and see if Zhu Xiaosong truly has three heads and six arms as rumored!”
Zhu Xiaosong, of course, did not possess any magic spells of three heads and six arms. After all, he was a mortal, not some supernatural demon like those of the White Lotus Society, and thus did not have the ability to transform into three heads and six arms.
However, Zhu Xiaosong had mastered a special skill that ordinary people found difficult to learn.
Shadow Clone!
As soon as the furious Imperial Commissioner Agui ordered the various banner commanders to assemble their troops and prepare for battle, he received news that Anjiazhuang had been captured by Zhu’s rebel forces. When Agui ordered the army to march towards Anjiazhuang, he then received news that Loudeshuang had also been captured by Zhu’s rebel forces.
Agui was stunned.
The two pieces of news, arriving almost simultaneously, both reported the movements of Zhu’s rebel forces. One was Anjiazhuang to the west, and the other was Loudeshuang to the southeast.
This was truly remarkable.
Although Anjiazhuang and Loudeshuang were not too far apart, and a fast horse could make a round trip within a day under normal circumstances, could marching and fighting be compared to normal circumstances?
Normally, when traveling by fast horse, people would not carry much. With a lighter load on the horse and less expenditure of energy, the speed of travel would naturally be faster. However, marching and fighting required carrying provisions, weapons, and armor, and relied mainly on the soldiers’ legs, so the speed of travel could not be fast at all.
According to the soldier who was to be beheaded, Zhu Xiaosong’s rebel army possessed a large number of firearms, which would further slow down their marching speed.
Even if Zhu Xiaosong’s rebel group had acquired a large number of warhorses after ambushing the Firearm Camp, it was impossible, because warhorses had their load capacity, and they would have to stop to rest after running a short distance.
So, was the rebel surnamed Zhu capable of flying?
Of course, Agui, the Grand Secretary of the Hall of Valorous Martial Arts, was not entirely without reputation. After a simple analysis, Agui concluded that someone was impersonating Zhu’s rebels in Loudeshuang and then prepared to lead his army towards Anjiazhuang.
In fact, although Agui’s conclusion was not entirely correct, it was not far from the truth.
However, what Agui never expected was that before he could lead his army two li out, he immediately received news that Xintai, Yangliu Dian, and Huangcao Pass had been captured by Zhu’s rebel forces.
This made Agui somewhat uncertain.
Unlike Anjiazhuang and Loudeshuang, which had no city walls, the city walls of Xintai and Huangcao Pass, although not too high, would require siege weapons to capture. Ordinary rebel forces did not have such capabilities.
It was like the Qinglong thirty-ninth year when Wang Lun of the Qingshui Sect caused a great disturbance, but he struggled for a long time without being able to capture Linqing City.
So, which group of rebels were the Zhu rebels – those who occupied Anjiazhuang or Loudeshuang, or those who occupied Huangcao Pass and Xintai?
With two completely opposite directions, Agui faced two paths.
Either he would continue to lead his troops to Anjiazhuang, and it would be best if he encountered the rebel Zhu Xiaosong, but if not, it wouldn’t matter much. After passing Anjiazhuang, he would reach Jining territory. He would first lead his troops to kill Chen Tailai, and then go find Zhu Xiaosong.
Or, he would temporarily abandon Chen Tailai and lead his troops to Huangcao Pass and Xintai. Whether the ones who occupied Huangcao Pass and Xintai were the rebel Zhu Xiaosong or not, he would first recapture them, at least to give His Majesty an explanation.
However, after carefully deliberating for a long time, Agui ultimately decided to lead his troops directly to Anjiazhuang.
Agui’s reasoning was clear: even if Taian Prefecture was temporarily occupied by Zhu’s rebels, it would only affect His Majesty’s plan to tour Mount Tai. However, Chen Tailai’s existence would shake the capital and even cause suspicion and accusations among the Manchu and Han ministers in the imperial court.
Compared to the rebel Zhu Xiaosong, Chen Tailai’s threat was obviously greater.
However, Zeng Cheng, the Prefect of Taian Prefecture, did not think so.
For Zeng Cheng, no matter how great the disturbance caused by Chen Tailai, or how great the impact on the court, he was merely a rebel occupying Jining.
What does a rebel in Jining have to do with my Taian Prefecture?
However, it was different for the rebels occupying Huangcao Pass and Xintai.
What if they attacked Taian Prefecture next? That would be my fault!
However, what despaired Zeng Cheng was that even though he had picked up a pile of gold and silver treasures on the road, Agui only left five hundred patrol soldiers and indicated that the soldiers of the Mount Tai temporary palace could “discretionarily” help Zeng Cheng defend the city.
In Agui’s opinion, Taian City had high walls and deep moats, and there were several cannons on the battlements, which ordinary small county city walls could not compare to. Even if rebel armies attacked, as long as Prefect Zeng Cheng kept the city gates tightly shut, the rebels would not be able to enter Taian City.
However, in Zeng Cheng’s eyes, Agui’s act of accepting gold and silver treasures and only leaving five hundred patrol soldiers was like the behavior of visiting a brothel – ruthless and uncaring.
Helplessly, after Agui led his troops away, Zeng Cheng ordered the city gates of Taian to be tightly shut and sent all five hundred patrol soldiers to patrol the city walls. He himself sat in the prefectural yamen, sighing.
As he sighed, a bold idea suddenly emerged in Zeng Cheng’s mind.
Chen Tailai can rebel, why can’t I, Zeng, rebel?
Looking at the current situation, in Shandong Province alone, five prefectures and subprefectures – Taian, Yanzhou, Jining, Caozhou, and Yizhou – have been involved in the rebellion. It is said that the White Lotus Society in Hubei has also risen up, and there seems to be a drought in Henan. It is said that Gansu is also not very stable.
What is this?
This is the end of the Qing Dynasty!
Since this rickety ship of our Qing Dynasty is about to sink, and Imperial Commissioner Agui does not take me, Zeng, seriously, why can’t I think of a way out for myself?
Otherwise, why not surrender to Zhu’s rebels?
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. What if I can achieve merit by following the dragon?
Mr. Lu Xun once said that there are many things in this world that cannot even be thought about, because once you think about them, you will get stuck in a rut.
Zeng Cheng was now stuck in a rut, thinking of countless justifiable reasons for surrender.
Then, Zeng Cheng called over his trusted servant and asked, “Er Gouzi, how have I treated you?”
Er Gouzi replied, “My lord has certainly treated me very well. If it were not for my lord, my family would have long become wandering ghosts in a mass grave.”
Agui grunted and continued, “Then, if I instruct you to do something extremely dangerous, and if you succeed, there will be great benefits for you. If there are any problems on the way, you might lose your head. Do you dare to accept?”
Er Gouzi immediately patted his chest and pledged his loyalty, “My lord, please rest assured. If there are any problems on the way, I will die. I only ask my lord to remember my loyalty and take care of my blind old mother!”
Agui grunted again, took out a stack of silver notes from his懷, and gave a few to Er Gouzi, saying, “Here are five hundred taels of silver notes. Take them and find someone to exchange one hundred taels of silver for your mother, and let your mother hide the remaining four hundred taels of silver notes well.”
Five hundred taels of silver notes!
Er Gouzi took the silver notes, took a deep breath, and knelt down, kowtowing, “My lord, please give your orders! Even if I lose my life, I will never make a mistake!”
Agui helped Er Gouzi up and whispered, “Go to Huangcao Pass and find the rebels at Huangcao Pass. Tell them that I, Zeng Cheng, am willing to cooperate with them from the inside and open the gates of Taian City! However, this city gate cannot be opened for nothing, do you understand?”
Er Gouzi nodded and replied, “Yes, I understand. After opening the city gate, my lord must still be the Prefect of Taian!”
Zeng Cheng smiled with great satisfaction and praised, “Good, I have not misjudged you! Remember, if this condition is not met, it is fine to compromise. Just say that I, Zeng Cheng, sincerely wish to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming Dynasty. No matter what, you must let them know my determination to rebel against the Qing!”