After Zhu Xiaosong left with the artisans and a large amount of gold and silver, a sharp voice rang out on the open ground outside the main gate of the Quanlin Imperial Villa: "Quickly help this old servant up!"
Liu Cheng, the参将 (cānjiàng - Brigadier General) of the outer guards, who had been lying not far from the chief eunuch, quickly got up, helped the chief eunuch, and said with a fawning smile, "Are you alright, Eunuch? Your humble servant will immediately send people to seek reinforcements, and we will definitely capture those rebels to vent your anger!"
However, the chief eunuch did not appreciate it at all. Instead, he was so angry that his whole body trembled, his hands and feet turned cold. In the middle of winter, a surge of anger went straight to the top of his head.
Seek reinforcements? Was this the kind of thing a参将 responsible for guarding the imperial villa should say?
The chief eunuch slapped Liu Cheng across the face and cursed, "Are you a fool? If you send people to seek reinforcements, what will you say? That of our more than two thousand men, some are dead and some are injured, but Zhu the rebel bandit didn't even lose a hair?"
"If it's really like this, not only will the brothers who died and were injured underground have died in vain, but we two will also lose our heads!"
Scolded by the chief eunuch, Liu Cheng immediately realized. Looking at the chief eunuch trembling with anger, Liu Cheng covered his face and asked, "Then what does Your Highness mean?"
The chief eunuch snorted coldly and suddenly shouted loudly to the dead and injured guards: "The imperial villa has been breached by thieves, and we are all deserving of death! However, for the sake of your parents, wives, and children, this old servant can think of a way for you. Now it depends on how you choose!"
Liu Cheng hurriedly bowed and said, "Naturally, we want to live. Please, Your Highness, be merciful and save us!"
The other surviving guards and the eunuchs and palace maids who had just rushed out also knelt and shouted, "We beg Your Highness to be merciful!"
The chief eunuch coughed a few times, looked around at the guards, and said, "If you want to live, it's not difficult—"
"The enemy is numerous and powerful. When they attacked us by surprise, we were caught off guard, and it was inevitable that we would suffer heavy casualties."
"However, all the soldiers are grateful for His Majesty's great favor and are willing to die. Under the leadership of this old servant and参将 Liu, we fought desperately against the enemy."
"Fortunately, with His Majesty's blessings, we were able to repel the enemy and defend the imperial villa for His Majesty."
The guards were all dumbfounded, staring at the chief eunuch. Liu Cheng wished he could swap his brain with the chief eunuch's—
What kind of crime was it for the imperial villa to fall? Death! What kind of merit was it to repel the rebels? Great merit!
Did they fight bloody battles? Yes. Did the imperial villa fall? It fell, but it was not damaged. Did the rebels retreat? They retreated!
With just a few words, a great crime that would have cost them their heads turned into great merit that could lead to promotion and wealth. What was this? This was wisdom!
As Lieutenant General Liu and the guards were secretly admiring him, the chief eunuch said sinisterly, "If anyone here says anything different from what this old servant has said today, don't blame this old servant when your heads fall off later!"
Liu Cheng immediately agreed, "Your Highness, rest assured, if anyone dares to speak out of turn, your humble servant will absolutely not let them off!"
Only then did the chief eunuch hum in a high-pitched voice and say, "Alright, you can all disperse. Lieutenant General Liu, please follow this old servant."
When they reached a secluded place, the chief eunuch said, "Find some artisans. They don't need to be skilled grand masters, just ordinary artisans from the folk."
Liu Cheng was stunned and asked, "Your Highness, the outer perimeter of the imperial villa is not lightly damaged. If we don't find some grand masters, it will be difficult to restore it easily, right?"
The chief eunuch glared at Liu Cheng and cursed him with frustration, "Why are you so stupid? Not to mention that the artisans of the imperial villa have been captured by the rebels, and we can only rely on artisans from the folk. Even if the artisans of the imperial villa were still here, would we have to repair these places to be exactly like they were before?"
"If we repair them to be exactly the same as they were before, how can we prove that we repelled the rebels after a bloody battle? How much of the original ten parts of merit will remain?"
Liu Cheng finally understood and bowed sincerely, "It is my humble servant's fault for thinking too simply. Your Highness is still more brilliant. My humble servant admires you, admires you."
However, after saying this, Liu Cheng became a little hesitant.
When those rebels left earlier, they didn't just take the artisans. Many rebels were carrying packages on their backs, and it was likely that they were filled with gold and silver treasures.
And this was precisely the most fatal loophole.
It didn't matter that the outer perimeter was destroyed, and it didn't matter that the guards suffered heavy casualties. The key was how to explain the lost gold and silver treasures—saying that the rebels had already broken into the imperial villa? That was courting death!
As for Liu Cheng's question, the chief eunuch just snorted and said, "When those rebels left earlier, this old servant had already noticed. Those rebels from peasant backgrounds only picked some gold and silver to take away, and they didn't know what the truly valuable good things were."
"These yellow and white objects are ultimately just dead things. Not to mention the vast expanse of Yanzhou Prefecture, even if we consider the Si River, it is enough to make up for these things."
"By the way, when you go to Sixian County, remember to arrange all these matters regarding gold and silver. It must be completed before the second day of the second lunar month. If His Majesty arrives at the imperial villa and it is not completed, you should know the consequences."
Speaking of this, Liu Cheng was no longer sleepy—these were just some peasants, and they didn't have carts or oxen. How much gold and silver could they carry with just their backs?
There were still more than half a month before the second day of the second lunar month. As long as he worked hard, he could not only make up for the lost gold and silver but also perhaps make another profit!
However, after thinking about it, Liu Cheng felt a headache again: "Your Highness, it is said that the rebel Zhu kills the local magistrate and all officials wherever he goes. This Sixian County..."
The chief eunuch really wanted to pry open Liu Cheng's head and see how much paste was inside.
The chief eunuch said, "What does it matter to you, the参将 guarding the imperial villa, whether the Sixian County magistrate is dead or not? Huh? Without the Sixian County magistrate, won't you find the baojia leaders? Without the baojia leaders, won't you find the local gentry? Even if they are all gone, don't you still have soldiers? Idiot!"
Being scolded by the chief eunuch like this, Liu Cheng's heart became even more ardent.
His Highness scolded correctly! What did it matter if the magistrate was dead or not? I have soldiers!
With this thought, Liu Cheng immediately cupped his hands to the chief eunuch and took his leave, preparing to clean up the mess outside and then lead his men to Sixian County to make a fortune.
However, after Liu Cheng left, the chief eunuch muttered to himself: "These rebels are really strange. Not only did they not set fire to the imperial villa, nor did they kill indiscriminately, but they are quite different from the rebels we usually hear about? Is it possible that there are really fools in this world who act on behalf of heaven?"
...
The chief eunuch was not the only one who couldn't figure this out. Zhu Erdan and Liu Erniu also couldn't figure it out.
After thinking for a long time and not understanding, Liu Erniu simply walked up to Zhu Xiaosong and asked, "Boss, it's understandable that you didn't want to burn down the imperial villa, but those guards were all serving the Tartars. Why didn't you let us kill them all?"
Zhu Xiaosong glared at Liu Erniu and asked, "Besides killing and arson, is there anything else in your head?"
Zhu Xiaosong was really impressed with Liu Erniu. From the beginning, he wanted to burn down the imperial villa with a single fire. When they were about to retreat, this guy wanted to kill all the guards. All he thought about was killing and arson, and nothing else!
Seeing that Liu Erniu was silent, Zhu Xiaosong continued, "Killing all the guards of the imperial villa is certainly not difficult, but this matter will eventually spread. In the future, when the Qing soldiers know that we kill prisoners, will anyone surrender when they know that surrender is also certain death?"
"Even if you don't know the idiom 'fighting like a cornered beast,' you must at least know 'a cornered dog will jump over the wall,' right? Don't forget, we are rebelling against the Qing, and rebellion means war, war means death. The only consequence of pushing the government soldiers to desperation is to increase our own casualties."
"The Tartar court has tens of thousands of Eight Banners soldiers plus over a million Green Standard Army. If we also count the various patrol soldiers, it's more than a million! And how many people do we have? If we really force the government soldiers to fight us to the death, can we afford it?"
These words were not only said to Liu Erniu but also to Zhu Erdan and Zhu Laosan.
Whether it was ambushing the Yanzhou Defense Command last time, or breaking through county yamen several times after that, these actions basically resulted in minimal or zero casualties. Coupled with this attack on the imperial villa being another zero-casualty operation, Liu Erniu and Zhu Erdan couldn't help but feel a bit arrogant.
Zhu Laosan was somewhat better, knowing that the Tartar government was not easy to deal with. But Liu Erniu and Zhu Erdan were different. These two fools now wished they could directly kill their way to the Forbidden City and slaughter Qianlong.
This was a very dangerous signal.
Emperor Taizu once said that one should despise the enemy strategically but take the enemy seriously tactically.
Although the combat effectiveness of the Tartar court and its soldiers was declining year by year, the sheer number of Tartar soldiers was far beyond what the Jade Emperor Mountain rebel group could compare to at present.
Even though Zhu Xiaosong never seemed to take the Tartars seriously, whether it was killing corrupt gentry, killing magistrates, or ambushing the Yanzhou Defense Command and attacking the Quanlin Imperial Villa, it was as easy as slicing vegetables. But who knew how much effort Zhu Xiaosong had put in behind the scenes?
Calculation after calculation, deduction after deduction, was all to consider every possible situation, striving to inflict heavy damage on the Tartar government and its forces while minimizing his own casualties.
When it was time to lie low, one had to lie low.
Zhu Xiaosong's current plan was to take the artisans captured from the Quanlin Imperial Villa to Menglianggu, and then use Menglianggu as a base to slowly develop firearms, while fighting corrupt gentry and accumulating strength.
However, someone once said that ideals are full, but reality is hollow. When Zhu Xiaosong wanted to lie low and develop slowly, Qianlong the old dog became enraged.
A mere hundred or so rebels wiped out over a hundred households of virtuous gentry? All officials from four counties were killed? The Yanzhou Defense Command and its five hundred soldiers were killed? How could such fierce bandits appear in the peaceful and prosperous reign of my Great Qing?
Of course, if it were just this, Qianlong the old dog felt he could tolerate it. After all, impatience leads to a breakdown of plans, and it wasn't worth affecting his plan to go south for a few rebels.
But what Qianlong could not tolerate was that Zhu Xiaosong's group of rebels dared to attack the Quanlin Imperial Villa!
When has Emperor Qianlong ever suffered such humiliation?
Although these fierce bandits had been repelled by the Imperial Household Department's bondservants and the defending 参将, such behavior was absolutely intolerable! If he tolerated this, wouldn't everyone dare to slap my Great Qing twice!
Therefore, in his rage, Qianlong the old dog directly summoned the Commander of the Nine Gates, Fuk'anggan, into the palace.
Looking at Fuk'anggan kneeling on the ground, Qianlong the old dog said with a cold expression, "I want to see the head of the rebel Zhu at the Duke Yansheng's Mansion. I hope you can do what that servant Mingxing could not."
Fuk'anggan bowed his head heavily and said, "Yes!"