Seeing Mingxing, the Governor of Shandong, almost driven mad, Wu Zude and Yan Xiangqing, ignoring the sting from being slapped, quickly scurried to Mingxing's side and knelt down, shouting, "Your Excellency, please calm your anger!"
Their attempt to stop him only made Mingxing angrier!
However, Mingxing was still just and fair. He kicked Wu Zude and Yan Xiangqing, one after the other, and cursed, "I curse your ancestors! What time is it, and you two scoundrels still want to stop me? And you few idiots, get me soldiers! Soldiers! I'm going to crush that surname Zhu fellow!"
Wu Zude dared not resist or retort, only clinging to Mingxing's leg and pleading, "Your Excellency, please calm your anger! If you mobilize troops to quell the rebellion now, where does that leave His Majesty? You might just fall into that surname Zhu fellow's trap!"
Yan Xiangqing also held onto Mingxing's other leg and urged, "Your Excellency, please be calm. Magistrate Wu is right. That surname Zhu fellow chose this moment to attack the county seat precisely to speak ill of you. If you send troops now, wouldn't that play right into his hands?"
"Lanshan County is my jurisdiction. The rebel Zhu surrounding Lanshan is entirely my fault. If Your Excellency, in anger, mobilizes troops, I will be guilty of a thousand deaths and will not be able to atone! Moreover, this place is hundreds of miles away from Lanshan County. By the time Your Excellency arrives at Lanshan County, that surname Zhu fellow will likely have long vanished without a trace!"
Mingxing, unable to break free from their grip and hearing Yan Xiangqing babbling incessantly, grew even more furious. He immediately threw punches at Wu Zude and Yan Xiangqing, cursing as he struck, "I curse your mothers! That surname Zhu fellow is currently surrounding Lanshan, and we are all facing the death penalty, do you understand that?!"
"Damn it, now is the time! Either we take troops to crush that surname Zhu fellow before His Majesty arrives at Wuqiao, or we get slaughtered by him, or we just clean our necks and wait to die! Wait to die!"
Wu Zude and Yan Xiangqing, in pain, were momentarily careless and were pushed away by Mingxing. Mingxing no longer paid them any attention and rushed to the entrance of the hall, shouting, "Get me soldiers! Arm yourselves and go to Lanshan County! No! Go to Mengyin! Mengyin!"
Wu Zude and Yan Xiangqing were both terrified by the frenzied Mingxing. After regaining their senses, they no longer dared to block him. Instead, they rushed out, stood beside Mingxing, and shouted, "Hurry! Muster troops! Prepare horses!"
...
Outside Mengyin County, a large flag with a white background and red characters bearing the surname Zhu fluttered in the wind. Hundreds of young men in grey military uniforms, each wielding a saber or spear, moved back and forth within the county seat of Mengyin. Meanwhile, the common people inside Mengyin County were going about their lives as usual, showing no signs of an impending battle.
Zhu Xiaosong sat in a chair in the main hall, resting with his eyes closed. Ke Zhixing, the intelligence chief, stood beside Zhu Xiaosong, acting as his personal guard. Zhu Lao Er and other leaders from Liangshan all stood on either side of the hall.
In the days since their arrival in Mengyin County, Zhu Xiaosong had already dispatched men to distribute the county's money and grain to the people. The coal that needed to be transported had also been moved. All that remained was to wait for Magistrate Yan Xiangqing.
However, Magistrate Yan's speed was unexpectedly slow. It had been a full four and a half days since they captured Mengyin County, yet Magistrate Yan Xiangqing had still not appeared with his troops.
As the sun once again began to set in the west, and the imperial troops remained nowhere in sight, Zhu Xiaosong sighed in frustration and cursed, "These damn Tatar soldiers are as slow as turtles, crawling way too slow!"
Zhu Xiaosong had sent people to open the gates of Mengyin County early four days ago. If nothing unexpected had happened, Magistrate Yan Xiangqing and Governor Mingxing of Shandong should have received the news three days ago and should have arrived by now. But neither Mingxing nor Magistrate Yan had arrived!
This made Zhu Xiaosong extremely eager to make a phone call to hurry Magistrate Yan.
Ke Zhixing bowed and said, "The Tatar troops are so slow. Perhaps they are transporting artillery, or perhaps they are engaged in some unsavory business along the way. Young Master, you must not underestimate them."
Zhu Xiaosong grunted and then turned his gaze to Zhu Lao Er, asking, "Are you sure they are all buried properly?"
Zhu Lao Er replied, "Brother, rest assured. I have led men to verify repeatedly. I guarantee they are all buried securely, enough to give those Tatars a good taste."
Zhu Xiaosong nodded and said, "That's good."
In terms of taking the Tatar troops seriously, Zhu Xiaosong was likely the most serious of them all, perhaps even more so than Ke Zhixing, who had been a leader of the Tiandihui.
To welcome Magistrate Yan Xiangqing, Zhu Xiaosong had not only brought over three thousand grenades but also over five thousand simple landmines he had produced during this period. He had already instructed Zhu Lao Er to bury them all around Mengyin County.
These landmines were originally intended by Zhu Xiaosong to be planted around Liangshan when the Qing army came to suppress them. Bringing them out now demonstrated Zhu Xiaosong's seriousness towards the Qing troops.
And the Manchu Governor Mingxing of Shandong and the Prefect of Yizhou Yan Xiangqing, who were also highly valued by Zhu Xiaosong, also showed great importance to Zhu Xiaosong.
Although it was not yet certain whether the rebel Zhu Xiaosong was in Mengyin County, adhering to the principle of using full force even against a rabbit, Governor Ming brought all the forces he could muster.
This included his own governor's guard of fifteen hundred men, plus eight thousand Green Standard Army soldiers he could mobilize, two thousand Manchu Banner soldiers, four hundred infantry banner soldiers, plus three thousand patrol soldiers from the Grand Canal Governor of Jining, and over ten thousand patrol officers mobilized by the prefectural subordinates, totaling over twenty thousand troops.
If more than half of the troops from the Dengzhou, Yanzhou, and Caozhou garrisons had not been taken by Fu Kang'an to quell the rebellion in Dan County, and the remaining half were not responsible for patrolling the southern expedition of the Qianlong Emperor, Mingxing would have even brought all forty thousand troops from these three garrisons.
Therefore, Governor Ming Xing felt he was taking Zhu Xiaosong very seriously. Regardless of whether they found Zhu Xiaosong in Mengyin or Lanshan County this time, Governor Ming had prepared to slaughter them all. In any case, it was better to kill wrongly than to let go, and they were determined to perfectly implement Qianlong Emperor's instruction to "always prioritize severe suppression and extermination."
However, upon thinking of "always prioritize severe suppression and extermination," Mingxing's already gloomy face became even gloomier.
The last time Qianlong Emperor issued the order "always prioritize severe suppression and extermination" was against the Galdan tribe.
At that time, Zhaohui, Qianlong's subordinate, had crushed all the military forces of the Dzungar tribe and then sent a letter to Qianlong Emperor saying: "Your Majesty, the Dzungars whom your grandfather, father, and you have been fighting have finally been defeated by your humble servant! How should the Dzungar people be dealt with? Awaiting your reply, my most loyal servant, Zhaohui."
Then, Qianlong Emperor issued an order to Zhaohui to annihilate the Dzungar tribe, killing all men, women, and children, "always prioritizing severe suppression and extermination." From then on, the once powerful Dzungar tribe became a memory of history, and the name Dzungar became a prefix to a basin.
Now, Mingxing felt it was also necessary for him to implement the policy of "always prioritize severe suppression and extermination."
However, Zhaohui was suppressing the Dzungars, while Mingxing, the Governor of Shandong, was about to suppress his own people.
This made him feel somewhat disgusted.
Yan Xiangqing, who was following Mingxing, saw Mingxing's face getting gloomier and gloomier. He wanted to distance himself from Mingxing but, due to his position as the Prefect of Yizhou, he could not. Helplessly, he could only step forward and say, "Your Excellency, we are not far from Mengyin County. How should we proceed? Please instruct."
Mingxing, with a dark and gloomy face, snorted, "How else should we proceed? Naturally, we should prioritize severe suppression and extermination."
Upon hearing the words "prioritize severe suppression and extermination," Yan Xiangqing was immediately startled. What Mingxing knew, Prefect Yan Xiangqing knew perfectly well.
However, Mingxing was of the Fucha clan. Even if he carried out the policy of severe suppression and extermination, it would not be considered excessive and might even be a great achievement in the eyes of His Majesty. How could he, a Han official, compare to that Manchu official of the Fucha clan?
He feared that in the end, it would be he, the Prefect of Yizhou, who would have to bear the brunt of this matter!
Thinking of this, Prefect Yan wished that Mingxing would just change his name to Zhu Mingxing and be done with it.
However, before Prefect Yan could figure out how to persuade Mingxing not to adopt the "always prioritize severe suppression and extermination" approach, he saw Mingxing holding a spyglass, observing the Mengyin County city walls in the distance, and then a smile appeared on his lips.
Yan Xiangqing was filled with surprise and uncertainty and tentatively asked, "Has Your Excellency discovered something?"
Mingxing put away the spyglass in his hand, stroked his beard, and said with a smile, "Heaven truly helps me! The city walls of Mengyin County are flying the rebel Zhu flag. Perhaps that rebel Zhu is right here in Mengyin County!"
Yan Xiangqing's heart immediately settled.
Slaying a county, and slaying an entire prefecture without finding the rebel Zhu, these two things were worlds apart!
After secretly letting out a sigh of relief, Yan Xiangqing cupped his hands and saluted Mingxing, "Congratulations, Your Excellency! You are about to render a great service to His Majesty!"
Mingxing snorted, "When has this governor ever thought of rendering any merit? It is simply that the rebel Zhu has gone too far. Not only does he not appreciate His Majesty's great kindness, but he has also repeatedly provoked the court. He deserves to die!"
After speaking, Mingxing waved his hand at the subordinates behind him and ordered, "Guards! Carry out my order! Surround Mengyin County completely, and do not let a single one escape!"
The many subordinates behind Mingxing immediately cupped their hands and responded with a "Zhe." Then, each of them led their soldiers towards the Mengyin County city walls. When they were about an arrow's flight from the city walls, the many Tatar soldiers stopped, awaiting Mingxing's orders.
Mingxing snorted, urged his horse forward for a distance, stopped behind the Tatar soldiers, and shouted, "Guards! Beat the drums!"
However, before Mingxing's subordinates could beat the war drums, drumbeats echoed from the Mengyin County city walls. They sounded three times before stopping.
Zhu Xiaosong, wearing a newly made Ming-style armor, stood on the Mengyin city walls and laughed loudly at the Qing soldiers below, "Good grandson, your Grandpa Zhu has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Yan Xiangqing suddenly felt like laughing. Mingxing said that if he couldn't defeat the rebel Zhu, he would recognize him as his father. But the rebel Zhu, as soon as he opened his mouth, called himself Grandpa Zhu. Wasn't this a generational issue?
However, upon further reflection, Yan Xiangqing suddenly felt something was not right.
If this surname Zhu fellow called them good grandsons, wasn't he also cursing this Prefect?
Thinking of this, Yan Xiangqing could not help but become enraged. He stepped closer to Mingxing, cupped his hands, and saluted, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the person on the city walls is likely the rebel Zhu. This fellow is so arrogant; he cannot be tolerated!"
Mingxing was also furious. However, whether it was the Manchu Banner infantry or his own governor's guard, Chen Tailai's river guard, or the Green Standard Army, none of them were equipped with artillery. Otherwise, Mingxing would have already ordered to bombard Zhu Xiaosong to death!
Mingxing, with a dark and gloomy face, said, "He is merely a fellow who only knows how to mouth off. To be so arrogant, where is Chen Tailai!"
Chen Tailai immediately dismounted, performed a courtesy bow, and said, "Your subordinate is here!"
Mingxing said, "You shall lead your river guard of three thousand troops to attack the city! If you succeed in entering the city, this will be considered your foremost merit!"