"Your Majesty need not panic. I have not entered the capital. However, it is almost there." As if seeing through Zhu Youjian's thoughts, Lu Xuan said in a slightly helpless tone.
He was still utterly exasperated. The current situation was truly beyond his imagination. It could only be said that the integrity of these officials at the end of the Ming Dynasty was beyond his comprehension. There was no limit to how bad it could get. They had actually sent Zhu Youjian (Emperor Taizong of Tang) directly to them as a target for their service.
"This is...your camp?!" Zhu Youjian finally came to his senses and exclaimed in horror. He never dreamed that he would wake up to find himself captured by the traitors. And the capital hadn't even fallen yet, so how could he have been captured already?
Seeing his expression, Lu Xuan didn't say much, but simply took out a large stack of 'secret letters' and handed them to Zhu Youjian.
"We'll see, I'll come back after dawn."
As Lu Xuan stepped out of the camp, he spoke to the guards outside.
"Keep an eye on him, don't let him commit suicide." Seeing the expectant eyes outside, Lu Xuan nodded. The soldiers cheered immediately. The battle hadn't even started, and they had already captured the emperor. Wasn't victory already assured? Lu Xuan also looked helpless; his reputation as the emperor's killer was now truly well-deserved.
Several close advisors gathered around.
"Sir, it turns out you had this planned all along. We were worried for nothing."
Lu Xuan: "...Let's say that's true. Give them a heads-up that we'll enter the city in two days. Zhao Jingzhong, you take a team and go into the city to make arrangements. Although the overall situation is settled, we still need to be cautious."
"Yes, General."
Zhu Youjian spent most of the night in his tent, finally realizing a crucial truth: he had never truly eradicated the so-called rebels. In reality, he had only apprehended a few insignificant figures. The cruel reality was that ninety percent of the court officials were, in fact, rebels. He had merely purged a tiny, insignificant fraction.
Zhu Youjian felt as if the sky had fallen. He couldn't understand what he had done wrong. He had only been on the throne for less than ten days, and already he was deserted by his people. Even he himself had been captured by a traitor and handed over to the enemy. Throughout the vast history of China, there had never been such a humiliating emperor.
At this moment, Lu Xuan walked in.
"It seems His Majesty has finished reading those letters. How does he feel?"
"If you've come here to humiliate me, then you might as well just kill me. I am the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty; how can I tolerate such humiliation?"
"If I really wanted to humiliate you, I would have ordered the attack on the city on the first day and then hanged you in public. But I didn't. Do you know why?"
Zhu Youjian raised his head. He was also very curious as to why Lu Xuan hadn't actually launched an attack.
"Come with me, I'll show you something."
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Chapter 171 How much does an egg cost? (Third update, please subscribe)
Zhu Youjian initially wanted to refuse, but after thinking for a moment, he followed Lu Xuan out. Along the way, he felt that the soldiers around him were looking at him with strange eyes.
Thinking he couldn't lose face for the emperor, he forced himself to stay strong and followed Lu Xuan through the entire camp. Zhu Youjian hadn't been to a real military camp many times. But these days, for the sake of defending the city, he had spent most of his time in the military camp. He had to admit that the city's garrison was far inferior to these soldiers in every aspect.
The brand-new, uniform armor, the delicious-smelling rations, and their confident demeanor—all of this revealed a fact he could hardly believe: these soldiers were not afraid of the war; they even carried a sense of anticipation, as if they had already won.
Lu Xuan noticed his appearance and took the opportunity to explain the layout of the camp to him.
"We're passing through an artillery battalion. Believe me, it's the most advanced artillery battalion in the world. Their muskets can fire in just three to five breaths. There are 20,000 musketeers here. If they line up and fire, even an army of 100,000 wouldn't be able to get close to them."
Those over there are cannons. The big ones are Hongyi cannons, specifically designed for siege warfare. Two hundred cannons firing simultaneously could breach a city in less than an hour. Neither the city gates nor the walls could withstand them. The shorter ones are tiger-squatting cannons, the kind used in General Qi Jiguang's army. Their range is only a little over a mile, and they're generally used to fire volleyballs in conjunction with muskets.
Those in the distance are swordsmen and shieldmen. They are responsible for the outer defensive line of the firearms battalion. After all, although muskets are fitted with bayonets, they are still not as effective as spears. Therefore, the firearms battalion will not engage in close combat unless absolutely necessary. The swordsmen and shieldmen around them will protect them with a shield wall, giving them space to fire.
Further out are the cavalry on both flanks. The cavalry are primarily responsible for clearing out any enemy cavalry that manage to break through the blockade, and for pursuing any remaining enemy troops. The biggest limitation of the firearms battalion is its lack of mobility. This problem cannot be solved at present. Only cavalry can provide support.
Zhu Changlu remained silent, utterly at a loss for words. The Ming army possessed a considerable number of firearms, in a wide variety of styles, but never before had they employed such a firearm-centric fighting method. Moreover, the traitor's firearms were firing at an alarming rate.
After traversing the entire camp, they arrived at the logistics corps' tents. Lu Xuan casually waved away the soldiers who came to greet them. He led Zhu Youjian to the vicinity of the granary. In the distance, they saw a large number of able-bodied men continuously transporting grain, vegetables, meat, eggs, and other supplies into the military camp.
No wonder this traitor was so calm; he's been constantly plundering supplies from the surrounding area. I wonder what has become of the poor people around the capital.
Judging from Zhu Youjian's expression, Lu Xuan knew that he had misunderstood.
"Your Majesty, do you have answers to the questions I asked earlier?"
"I've got it! The reason why the Ming Dynasty is so corrupt is because of those corrupt and treacherous traitors who steal from the country and betray it. With disloyalty within and enemies like you outside, it's truly a case of Heaven not protecting the Ming Dynasty."
"It has nothing to do with Heaven. Don't blame everything on Heaven. Heaven is high above and has no time to concern itself with us mortals. The decline of the Ming Dynasty was not caused by one or two corrupt officials. Too many people need to be held responsible. You only see the so-called treasonous behavior of those ministers in the capital, but have you seen the situation outside the capital? Do you know that all these able-bodied farmers coming and going are voluntarily bringing grain here?"
"That's impossible. The capital is the legitimate capital of the Celestial Empire. How could a traitor like you possibly..."
Zhu Youjian was interrupted by Lu Xuan before he could finish speaking.
"Whether it's true or not, Your Majesty should be able to tell."
Zhu Youjian fell silent. He had actually seen it all long ago. These able-bodied young men and farmers showed absolutely no sign of being forced. They even possessed a remarkable drive, diligently transporting grain for the rebels. They knew that every extra cartload of grain they transported could indirectly increase the likelihood of the capital falling. The people under his rule were helping their enemies destroy his dynasty, and willingly at that. Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian felt a profound despair and resentment welling up within him.
"This is impossible. Why is this happening? Do these fools even know what they're doing? They're committing treason and colluding with the enemy."
"Treason and collusion with the enemy is too much. Believe me, they have no concept of patriotism whatsoever. They come here to work hard because I not only buy grain at a high price, but also provide two full meals. Just these two full meals alone have already made all the able-bodied men in the towns and cities around the capital come to work voluntarily. There are also villages far away, dozens of miles away, to sell their grain to me because I offer the highest price."
"Impossible! Where did you get so much money? Even if all the annual Liaodong military pay ended up in your hands, it wouldn't be enough to cover such expenses."
"Why isn't it enough? That's twelve million taels of silver! Does His Majesty know how much that is? Do you know what twelve million taels of silver means every year?"
Zhu Youjian instinctively felt that Lu Xuan was about to say something he didn't want to hear. Just then, he suddenly noticed an old woman carrying a basket of eggs, selling them to Lu Xuan's army camp.
A quartermaster gave the old woman a small piece of silver. She left happily. Zhu Youjian felt he had discovered something. He rushed over and snatched the silver from the old woman's hand.
"Hmph, so this is what you call never exploiting the people. You gave such a small amount of silver for such a big basket of chickens."
The old woman was furious when she saw someone trying to steal her silver. She grinned, sat down on the ground, and began to wail loudly.
"Help! Someone's robbing us in broad daylight!"
Several soldiers rushed over upon seeing this, intending to seize Zhu Youjian. Lu Xuan waved them away. He then went to Zhu Youjian's side, took the silver from his hand, and placed it in the old woman's hand.