Transmigrating to the Chongzhen era, I started by confiscating the Donglin Party.

Chapter 24 Thunder Hand - Part 2

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), on the banks of the Dezhou River

The makeshift execution platform has been erected.

The structure, made of planks, wasn't high, but it was conspicuous enough. Eunuch Liu was dragged up and tied to a stake. Two other captured flag bearers were also dragged up and tied to the side.

Eunuch Liu was no longer able to speak; he was only convulsing, his eyes rolling back. One of the flag bearers wet his pants, while another screamed, "Innocent! We were just following orders..."

"Gag me." Shi Wenyi said coldly.

They stuffed rags into their mouths.

The executioner stepped forward—a seasoned veteran of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in his fifties, with a scarred face, carrying a small cloth bag containing rows of knives of varying sizes.

He first walked up to Eunuch Liu.

"First cut, between the eyebrows." The executioner's voice was hoarse, like a whetstone.

A flash of light.

Blood flowed down Liu the eunuch's nose and into his mouth, but he couldn't scream; he could only make muffled noises, his eyes wide open as if they were about to burst.

Everyone on the shore was watching.

The new army soldiers gripped their guns tightly, the imperial guards gripped their knives tightly, and the boatmen covered their eyes—but peeked through their fingers.

"Second incision, left cheek."

"The third cut, on the right cheek."

"The fourth cut, the chin..."

One cut at a time.

The executioner's movements were steady, neither fast nor slow. Eunuch Liu convulsed, blood streaming down his body and pooling on the execution platform. The other two junior officers had already fainted from fright, but were revived by being splashed with cold water and continued to be tortured.

Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) requires 3,600 cuts.

But Li Ce didn't have time to wait.

"Make a hundred cuts," he said, "and then behead him."

The executioner nodded and sped up.

The shore was completely silent.

After a hundred cuts, Eunuch Liu was barely recognizable as a human, but he was still breathing—that was the executioner's skill: inflict pain, but not kill. The executioner stepped back and switched to a larger knife.

"cut!"

A flash of light appeared.

Three heads fell to the ground, rolling off the execution platform and leaving three bloody streaks on the withered grass.

On the execution platform, three headless corpses were still convulsing, blood gushing from their neck cavities, spraying high into the air.

Li Ce turned around and looked at everyone.

"Load the head onto the cart," he said. "Preserve it with lime, put it in a wooden box, and send it to Nanjing by fast horse. Tell Han Zanzhou—the gift I sent has arrived."

"yes!"

The Imperial Guards stepped forward to dispose of the heads.

Li Ce walked to the riverbank, squatted down, scooped up a handful of river water, and washed the blood off his hands. The water was very cold, bone-chillingly cold.

He stood up and looked south.

"Issue my order," he said. "The entire army shall rest for half an hour, prepare food, and treat the wounded. Then—head straight for Yangzhou."

Shi Wenyi stepped forward: "Your Majesty, what about Nanjing..."

"Nanjing?" Li Ce smiled. "Some people have already gone to Nanjing."

Shi Wenyi was taken aback.

Li Ce took out a small seal from his bosom—made of jade, with a dragon-shaped knob and the four seal characters "Tianzi Xinbao" engraved on the bottom. This was the emperor's personal seal, which was seen as a sign of his presence.

"November 1st, Tianjin Wharf," Li Ce said. "When I sent you to deliver the imperial edict to the Phoenix Carriage, I also had you deliver a letter—remember?"

Shi Wenyi's pupils contracted.

He remembered.

That night at the Tianjin docks, the emperor did indeed send him a letter.

But it wasn't delivered through the Embroidered Uniform Guard's channels; instead, it was sent directly to Beijing via the Eastern Depot's secret passage, and handed over to Wang Zhixin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. He didn't know the contents of the letter; the emperor only said, "It's delivered; there's no need to ask any further questions."

"That letter," Li Ce said slowly, "contained three blank secret edicts."

"blank?"

"Yes." Li Ce nodded. "It was sealed with yellow silk and stamped with 'Emperor's Seal,' but not a single word was written on it."

Shi Wenyi was even more confused.

"The Ministry of War's troop deployment requires the Cabinet to draft the order, the Five Military Commissions to sign it, and the verification of military tallies... I can't wait for so many procedures," Li Ce said. "Therefore, I gave them a 'preliminary order'—a blank secret edict, just waiting for them to fill in the target and number of troops to be deployed."

He paused:

"But the anti-counterfeiting measures are not in the text, but in the details: the weaving method of the yellow silk, the formula of the ink, and the stitches of the mounting all have hidden marks. More importantly, there is a triggering mechanism—the person carrying the edict must present the other half of the tiger tally at the same time, as well as three coded phrases."

Shi Wenyi's breathing became rapid.

"The other half of the tiger tally is in Li Ruolian's hands. Three coded phrases..." Li Ce looked south, "I delivered it to three people through three different channels: Li Jizhen, Minister of War in Nanjing, the General of Fengyang Garrison, and the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner."

He turned to look at Shi Wenyi:

"The three coded messages are useless when separated; they only form a complete troop deployment order when put together. Now—Li Jizhen should have already obtained the other half of the tiger tally, verified the coded messages, and filled in the secret edict."

Shi Wenyi's voice trembled: "Your Majesty... how many troops have you mobilized?"

"The Nanjing garrison has 3,000 troops in the front camp, the river patrol force has 800, and the Yingtianfu garrison has 2,000," Li Ce said. "The Fengyang garrison has 12,000 standard troops on their way, and the grain transport army has 5,000 to assist in the outer defense."

He smiled:

"Judging by the time, Li Jizhen's troops should already be at the gates of Nanjing."

On the same day, at noon, at the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch's Residence

Han Zanzhou was sitting in the flower hall, drinking tea.

The tea was pre-Qingming Longjing, and the water was from Hupao Spring. The brewed tea was clear and fragrant. He took a sip, squinted his eyes, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sitting opposite him was Prince Fu, Zhu Yousong.

Zhu Yousong didn't drink tea; he was wiping his sweat. Although the flower hall was heated by an underfloor lamp, he was still sweating profusely, his chubby face shiny with oil, and his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty—since escaping the fall of Luoyang, he hadn't had a single good night's sleep.

"Eunuch Han," he said softly, his voice trembling, "there's still no news from Cangzhou?"

"What's the rush?" Han Zanzhou put down his teacup. "Three hundred elite soldiers, lying in ambush for three days, arrows coated with poison, two hundred barrels of oil prepared—with such a force, you think you can't kill a single person?"

"But two days have passed..."

"No news is good news," Han Zanzhou interrupted him. "Even if we fail, we still have Liu Dequan in Dezhou. Two hundred men, poison arrows, and oil are enough to finish them off."

He paused, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"Your Highness, please wait patiently. The news will arrive sooner or later. When it does, our 'Welcome Banquet' will have to be renamed."

Zhu Yousong swallowed hard: "Call...call what?"

"Let's call it the 'Establishing the Throne Banquet,'" Han Zanzhou said. "To establish the tripod of Jiangnan, to establish the tripod of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the Left General's army will sail down the river, and you and I will divide the country along the river. Your Highness... will be the first choice to oversee the country."

Zhu Yousong's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the teacup.

"Zuo...Zuo Liangyu...is he really coming?"

"General Zuo commands 200,000 troops and has long been impatient with orders from Beijing," Han Zanzhou sneered. "Once we succeed here, he can immediately 'purge the court of corrupt officials.' Then, Jiangbei will be his, and Jiangnan will be ours..."

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

It was very noisy and chaotic, like a lot of people were running, shouting, and banging on the door.

Han Zanzhou frowned: "What's going on?"

The steward rushed in, his face as white as a ghost: "Master! It's terrible! The soldiers...the soldiers have entered the city! They've sealed all thirteen city gates! They're heading straight for our mansion!"

The teacup in Han Zanzhou's hand fell to the ground with a "crash" and shattered into pieces.

He stood up, his legs feeling a little weak.

"Who...whose soldier?"

"Li Jizhen! Li Jizhen, the Minister of War in Nanjing, is personally leading the troops! There's also the Jiangnan Navy, the Yingtianfu Garrison... Our people, our people are all trapped at the Pukou camp!"

Han Zanzhou's mind went blank.

The Pukou Camp—that was the main force of the Nanjing Jingying (Nanjing Garrison) that he had transferred out three days ago under the pretext of "northward defense drills." Now it was stuck north of the Yangtze River and couldn't return.

In the city... only a few hundred elderly, weak, sick and disabled people remained.

They fell for the trap.

The thought was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, chilling him to the bone.

The emperor did not die.

The emperor knew about his plan all along.

The emperor... had already laid out his plan.

"Go!" he hissed, "Back door! Quickly!"

But it was too late.

Heavy footsteps, the clanging of armor, and the sound of swords being drawn echoed outside the flower hall. Then the door was kicked open.

Li Jizhen stood at the door, with a dense array of soldiers behind her.

He was dressed in a scarlet robe, with a sword at his waist and a roll of yellow silk in his hand—the very secret edict stamped with the "Emperor's Seal," now filled in with words.

"Han Zanzhou, the treacherous eunuch, receive the imperial decree."

Han Zanzhou stood there, frozen in place.

Li Jizhen unfurled the yellow silk and read aloud:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The investigation reveals that Han Zanzhou, the eunuch garrison commander of Nanjing, colluded with a vassal king, privately mobilized the Imperial Guard, and plotted to assassinate the emperor and his father. The evidence is conclusive. He is hereby arrested and escorted to the Ministry of Justice for trial. This is the imperial decree."

That's all.

The flower hall was deathly silent.

Han Zanzhou looked at Li Jizhen, at the soldiers, and at the knives in their hands. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked, and no sound came out.

Finally, he roared out:

"It's fake! This is a forged imperial edict! I want to see the Emperor!"

Li Jizhen sneered: "The Emperor is on his way to Nanjing. As for this edict..."

He raised the secret edict, and the bright red "Emperor's Seal" at the end stung Han Zanzhou's eyes.

"The seal is genuine," Li Jizhen said. "The tiger tally matches, and the code word matches too—'Cangzhou is on fire, Dezhou finishes the job, the Left Army sails down the river.' Eunuch Han, are you familiar with these three code words?"

Han Zanzhou's face turned deathly pale.

These three sentences... are from a secret letter he wrote to Liu Dequan!

How could the emperor have known?!

Unless... Liu Dequan is arrested.

Unless... the secret letter fell into the emperor's hands.

"Take it down." Li Jizhen waved his hand.

Two soldiers stepped forward and grabbed Han Zanzhou's arms. Han Zanzhou struggled: "I am the Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial! The eunuch in charge of the Nanjing garrison! How dare you..."

"Snapped!"

A slap landed on his face.

It wasn't Li Jizhen who hit him; it was a commander standing nearby. He was very strong, and the blow slapped Han Zanzhou so hard that half of his face swelled up and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"A traitor who murdered his emperor, dares to call himself a scribe?" The commander spat. "Take him away!"

Han Zanzhou was dragged out. As he crossed the threshold, he turned back and screamed:

"General Zuo's troops haven't arrived yet! You wait... wait..."

The sound faded into the distance.

Prince Fu, Zhu Yousong, slumped in his chair, his trousers soaked. He tried to stand up, but his legs were too weak. Two soldiers stepped forward and dragged him away like a dead dog.

The flower hall is empty.

All that remained were shattered teacups and tea stains scattered on the floor.

Li Jizhen stood at the door, looking outside.

The sky over Nanjing is a beautiful blue, and the autumn sun shines brightly. But starting today, this city is about to undergo a transformation.

At 1:00 PM, on the banks of the Dezhou River

Li Ce stood in front of the newly built grave mound.

Three new graves were buried to the two Imperial Guards who had just died in battle and one New Army soldier who had succumbed to poison. There were no tombstones, only three wooden planks with names carved on them.

Wang Laosan. Li Si. Zhao Tiezhu.

They all have ordinary names and are ordinary people.

Now it's just three piles of earth.

Li Ce squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and sprinkled it on the grave.

"Your Majesty," Wang Chengen said in a low voice, "it's time to set off. If we delay any longer, we won't reach Linqing before dark."

Li Ce didn't move.

He stared at the three wooden planks for a long time, then said, "Remember these three names. When we arrive in Jiangnan, find out who their families are, and triple their pensions. If they have children, the court will raise them to adulthood, grant them land, and exempt them from taxes."

"This old servant has remembered."

Li Ce stood up and turned to look at the fully equipped and ready-to-go team.

The new army numbered 139 (11 lost), the Imperial Guard numbered 290 (10 lost), and the boatmen numbered 67. Including the accompanying imperial physicians, clerks, and servants, the total number was less than 500.

Everyone looked tired, but their eyes were bright.

Because they had just witnessed a counterattack, a trial, and... the emperor's promise.

"Get on the boat," Li Ce said.

The team started moving.

The small boat re-entered the water, its oars cutting through the surface. Wounded soldiers were helped aboard, and the belongings of the fallen were packed up—to be sent back to their hometowns once they reached Yangzhou.

As Li Ce boarded the lead boat, a Jinyiwei captain rushed over, carrying a wooden box in his hands.

"Your Majesty, a message has been sent by carrier pigeon from Beijing."

Li Ce took it and opened it.

It's Li Ruolian's handwriting, very brief:

"The plum blossom symbol has been broken. Wang Dehai, the Imperial Kitchen Supervisor, confessed that the silk cloth was sent to Zhou, the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy. Zhou attempted to escape last night but has been captured. His confession has far-reaching implications, and His Majesty will decide on his next move upon returning to the capital. In addition, the first night raid on the northern front was a success, with two enemy hay storage sites burned and seven enemy soldiers killed."

After reading it, Li Ce held the note close to the charcoal brazier and burned it.

Ashes fell.

He looked south and slowly said, "Order the fleet to proceed at full speed. We must reach Linqing before sunset tomorrow."

"yes!"

The fleet set sail.

This time, there were no icebreakers to clear the way, and no oarsmen to pull the boats. The small boats had a shallow draft and relied on oarsmen to row by hand. They were not fast, but they were very steady.

Li Ce sat at the bow of the boat, with half of the jade pendant tucked into his arms.

The jade is cool to the touch.

But his heart was warm.

Because ahead lies Jiangnan.

Because there are people there who deserve to be killed, families whose property should be confiscated, and traitors who should be quelled.

And... countries that need saving.

At the same time, in the hills thirty miles away

Empress Zhou's caravan finally crossed the mountain ridge.

Ahead lay a valley with a stream, beside which lay a small village. The two guards sent to scout ahead returned, their faces grave.

"Your Highness," Yunniang whispered from outside the carriage, "there's...something wrong in the village."

"explain."

"There are about thirty able-bodied young men in the village, all with calloused hands, as if they've practiced with knives. And..." the guard paused, "they set up sentries at the village entrance, and we were spotted as soon as we got close."

Empress Zhou was silent for a moment: "Is it possible to get around it?"

"There's no way around it. This is the only way out of the mountains."

"Then let's break through."

Empress Zhou emerged from the hidden compartment, changed into coarse cloth clothes, and smeared ashes on her face. Gripping her dagger, she said to Yunniang, "Take ten men to protect the caravan. I'll take two others and charge forward on horseback. Once we make our move, leave no survivors."

"Your Highness!" Yunniang exclaimed anxiously, "That was too dangerous!"

"We have to take the risk," Empress Zhou said. "The news of the Emperor's attack in Cangzhou has already spread. These people lying in ambush... are not bandits, but assassins."

She paused:

"And I suspect they weren't coming for me—they were coming for the imperial carriage. We were just unlucky to run into them."

Yunniang gritted her teeth: "Then this servant will accompany Your Highness to bathe."

"No," Empress Zhou shook her head. "You protect the caravan. That booklet on the caravan is more important than my life."

She mounted the horse—an ordinary mule, but with good stamina.

Two guards mounted their horses and stood guard on either side of her.

"Walk."

Three horses burst out of the woods and rushed towards the mountain village.

Sure enough, the sentries at the village entrance moved—four men jumped out of the haystack, each holding a knife. But they didn't expect the enemy to charge straight at them, and they certainly didn't expect the woman at the front to be holding a dagger, her eyes as cold as ice.

"Stop them!" someone shouted.

Empress Zhou did not slow down; instead, she urged her horse to speed up.

Just before they were about to collide, she suddenly bent down, and the dagger drew an arc.

The man at the front collapsed, blood gushing from his neck.

The other three were stunned for a moment.

In that instant, the two guards' swords arrived.

Pfft. Pfft.

Two more fell.

He turned to run away one last time, but was pinned to the back of the head by a dagger thrown by Empress Zhou.

Three horses galloped past the village entrance and rushed onto the village path.

Sure enough, more people rushed out of the village—more than thirty, all carrying knives. But they had no horses and couldn't catch up.

Empress Zhou didn't look back, and rushed all the way to the end of the village, out of the valley.

Ahead, a plain finally appeared.

He Guandao.

She reined in her horse and glanced back.

The mountain village had been left behind, and Yunniang's convoy should be able to pass safely—those lying in ambush had all their attention on her.

"Your Highness," a guard panted, "where to next?"

Empress Zhou looked south.

"Xuzhou," she said. "From Xuzhou, we can cross the Huai River and go straight to Yangzhou."

She paused, then added softly:

"His Majesty... should be arriving in Yangzhou soon."

Beijing · Jinyiwei Northern Garrison

Li Ruolian looked at Zhou, the Director of Studies of the Imperial Academy, who was kneeling in front of her.

He was in his fifties, thin, with a goatee, and dressed in a scholar's robe—a typical scholar's appearance. But at this moment, his face was deathly pale, and he was trembling all over.

"Lord Zhou," Li Ruolian said slowly, "how many times have the plum blossom symbol and the secret letter from Su Juan been sent to Jiangnan?"

Zhou's lips trembled: "This humble official...this humble official doesn't know what the commander is saying..."

"Don't know?" Li Ruolian picked up a stack of silk cloths from the table—all of which had been found in a hidden compartment in Zhou's study, each with a plum blossom symbol on it. "Do you recognize these?"

Mr. Zhou collapsed to the ground.

"Commander... have mercy... I... I was forced into this..."

"Who forced you?"

"Eunuch Han... He said that if I don't pass on his message, he will ruin my reputation... I have something on him..."

"What leverage?"

"Three...three years ago...when I was at the Imperial Academy in Nanjing, I...I embezzled three thousand taels of silver intended for compiling books..." Zhou wept bitterly, "Eunuch Han caught me in the accounting...I had no choice but to comply..."

Li Ruolian's eyes grew even colder.

Civil officials were corrupt, eunuchs were in control, and they colluded with each other.

This is the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

"Who else but you?" he asked.

"And, and there's Wang, the former compiler of the Hanlin Academy; Zhao, the principal of the Ministry of Rites; Qian, the censor of the Censorate..." Zhou rattled off a string of names, "They're all... all of them have been caught red-handed by Eunuch Han..."

Li Ruolian noted it down.

"Take him away." He waved his hand. "Lock him in the imperial prison and wait for the emperor to return and decide his fate."

"yes!"

After Zhou was dragged away, Li Ruolian walked to the window.

Outside the window, dusk was falling over Beijing.

He recalled the emperor's words before leaving the capital: "When I return from Jiangnan—we will settle accounts all at once."

Liquidation.

almost.

When the Emperor arrived in Yangzhou.

Han Zanzhou in Nanjing was brought to justice.

Once the rebellion in Jiangnan is quelled.

Then... it's Beijing's turn.

Those who hide in the shadows, those who spread rumors, those who collude with Jiangnan.

None of them can escape.

Li Ruolian gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.

The knife is cold.

But his hands were very hot.