mtl008 Chapter 626 The Tartars Are Coming
Chapter 626 The Tartars Are Coming
Faced with Yan Guang's offer of service, Liu Ye agreed after a moment's thought. Perhaps Zhang, the Minister of Works, was more responsive to gentle persuasion than force?
"Alright, you can go with Qin Tian then."
After the two set off, Liu Ye glanced at the city gate and sneered. No matter how favored Yang Sichang was, he was still only a Vice Minister; no matter how incompetent Zhang Fengyi was, he was still a Minister. Now that the other side had played a minor card, and he had a major card to counter it, according to the rules of officialdom, he had a greater chance of winning.
Escorted by the guards, Qin Tian and Yan Guang headed straight for the central command tent between Datong Town and Shanxi Town. Wang Pu, seeing this, instinctively wanted to send men to intercept them, but seeing no movement from Shanxi Town and then from the distant city walls—Yang Sichang was just a tiny figure, barely a bean—he figured any orders wouldn't reach them. He thought, "If they don't move, I won't either; I won't be the first to stick my neck out."
Yang Sichang saw it from afar and inwardly cursed, realizing he had forgotten about Zhang Fengyi, the commander-in-chief of the army and his temporary superior. Unfortunately, it was inconvenient to issue orders from the city wall, and distant water could not quench immediate thirst; he could only watch helplessly as the enemy approached their target without any obstruction.
Thus, right under the noses of the two border armies, the Imperial Guard successfully approached the central command tent. How could dozens of guards possibly stop the menacing soldiers? They were all pushed and shoved, and Qin Tian and Yan Guang entered the tent without any hindrance.
As soon as the two entered, they smelled a strong medicinal odor. After searching around, they found Zhang Fengyi slumped in a corner, his face ashen and unconscious. Medicine had been spilled on his beard and clothes. Yan Guang leaned closer and smelled it, then exclaimed in surprise, "This is rhubarb. With such a strong smell, how much did he eat?"
Qin Tian asked, "Isn't rhubarb a medicine? It's okay to eat some, right?"
Yan Guang, who had some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, explained, "Rhubarb is indeed a medicine that can purge heat and toxins, break up stagnation, and promote blood circulation. However, if taken in excess, it can cause severe diarrhea, damage the spleen and stomach, and in severe cases, even death!"
"How can he give orders to the army in this state?"
"We have to wake him up." Yan Guang told Qin Tian to help Zhang Fengyi up, then stretched out his fingers and pinched his philtrum hard.
After a while, Zhang Fengyi groaned twice, opened his cloudy eyes, and looked around blankly. "Where is this? The Bridge of Helplessness? Why does it look so much like my central command tent?"
"Wake up, this is not the underworld, you are still alive."
Zhang Fengyi struggled to focus his unfocused gaze, looked at Yan Guang and Qin Tian, and asked, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
"Minister, we are from the Qionghai Army. Now Yang Sichang has overstepped his bounds, bypassing you to issue orders and order his army to besiege our Qionghai Army. A great war is imminent. Only you, Minister, can turn the tide and stop this war. Otherwise, more than 100,000 loyalist troops will kill each other, allowing the Tartars to gain an advantage. How can we face His Majesty?" Yan Guang succinctly explained his purpose.
"Let him be. Anyway, the Emperor favors him, and the position of Minister will be his sooner or later. I'm a dying man, why should I care so much?" Zhang Fengyi was uninterested and unmoved.
Unexpectedly, this Minister was a hopeless fool, lacking any backbone or courage!
Qin Tian's face was so dark it seemed to drip water. He reached for his sword, but Yan Guang stopped him with a look. This Minister Zhang was desperately consuming rhubarb, already contemplating suicide. Threatening him would likely be useless; only strategy would work.
"Minister, you can't say that. As long as you haven't lost your official hat, you're still the Minister of War. If you handle this matter well, avert a disaster, protect the hundreds of thousands of troops outside Yongding Gate who came to the emperor's aid, and impress the Emperor, you might just keep your position..."
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Fengyi finally raised his eyelids slightly, showing a hint of reaction, but remained silent.
Just as Yan Guang was patiently persuading Zhang Fengyi, the troops of the three towns, urged on by several officials from the Ministry of War sent by Yang Sichang, began to move forward again, surrounding the Qionghai Army in the narrow space outside Yongding Gate like three walls. They had already entered the range of the cannons, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
The artillery battalion soldiers nervously calculated the distance, adjusted the firing angle, and prepared for firing; the infantry battalion soldiers, under the orders of their officers, checked their weapons and took out their ammunition, preparing to load. The opposing troops pushed their archers forward, ready to unleash a hail of arrows once they were within range, followed closely by large groups of spearmen and axemen, waiting for the enemy to falter under the barrage of arrows before launching their charge. At the rear were the cavalry, primarily composed of retainers, waiting to be deployed at the crucial moment to reap the rewards of victory.
The vanguard of the officers and soldiers drew ever closer to the Qionghai Navy. One thousand paces, nine hundred paces, eight hundred paces… They were approaching the optimal firing range of the 10-pound field guns. The artillery battalion commander raised his command sword and shouted, “Prepare for two volleys of solid shot…”
Liu Ye stared in the direction of the central command tent, somewhat puzzled. Why hadn't Yan Guang and Qin Tian made a move after all this time? Was this internal strife orchestrated by Yang Sichang inevitable?
Wang Pu looked at the cannons less than a thousand paces ahead, their dark muzzles exposed, and couldn't help but swallow hard. "Damn it, this Lord Yang is really something. Of all people to attack, he had to pick on the Qionghai Navy! If you're going to squeeze a persimmon, you have to pick the soft one. Good heavens, if these cannons come at us, my soldiers will be riddled with holes! And the Qionghai Navy is so stubborn. What's wrong with pleasuring Lord Yang? It won't cost them anything. Why fight to the death?"
On the city wall, Yang Sichang watched smugly as the armies drew ever closer. With a major battle imminent and Zhang Fengyi's forces remaining completely still, it seemed no one could stop the fight. Once the Qionghai Army was wiped out and Xia Tiannan killed, his secret plans for peace negotiations would once again remain a dark secret. Given time, his political agenda would be realized: using peace negotiations to restrain the Tartars, concentrating forces to suppress the bandits, and stabilizing the Ming Dynasty. The glory of being a renowned minister who revitalized the Ming Dynasty would be within his grasp, a feat that would ensure his place in history.
At this critical moment, a muffled thunderous sound faintly came from the north, and the ground trembled slightly.
Both sides, who were preparing to engage in battle, froze. An experienced cavalryman dismounted, lay prone on the ground, listened for a moment, then rose and shouted, "A large force of cavalry is coming this way, at least tens of thousands, and they're moving very fast!"
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Tens of thousands of cavalry coming from the north—it was undoubtedly the Tartars. Wang Pu and his men panicked, unsure what to do. Should they continue their attack on the Qionghai Army as ordered, or turn and face the Tartars?