Ma Sen was, after all, a provincial governor. He considered that although this was just talk, it wasn't impossible. After all, the Yan family had few usable people left. The positions mentioned earlier, such as Governor-General of Jizhou and Liaodong, Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Admiral of the Fujian Navy, were all particularly important. The former officials like Zhang Jing, Yan Maoqing, Guo Pu, and Yuan Wei had long since faded from the scene, which showed it wasn't entirely baseless talk.
He thought, having something is better than having nothing, and immediately bowed deeply, saying:
"Many thanks, Young Senior Cabinet Grand Secretary, Lord Luo!"
The three bowed in thanks one by one and left immediately.
After they left, Luo Longwen walked alone in the small courtyard, gazing at the gentle white clouds, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. He murmured to himself, "You are helpless, but where can I possibly fare any better... If this venture fails, at most you will be dismissed and stripped of your rank. For me, however, there will be no life left..."
...
The next day,
More than ten li north of Zhenbei, the new settlers deeply felt the danger of the situation. They had already pushed the stockade gates forward by more than a li. Here, there was a ravine, and behind it were low, rocky hills, making defense more advantageous. Once the stockade gates sounded the alarm, there would be enough time to mobilize.
Lu Kun had been reinforcing the defenses with the new settlers during this period. Xu Chuan, Wang Shengcai, Wang Wei, and others, along with some of the previously used informants and spies, such as Lu Hao, also rushed over. In the surrounding new settler villages, although very tense, there was no panic. All these people knew they were fighting a desperate battle; without defending themselves, they had no way to survive.
At this moment,
Lu Kun walked along the deep trench, inspecting the palisade. He felt that relying on the ravine, combined with a palisade nearly a zhang high, should offer some resistance. Inside the palisade, the terrain was slightly higher, so by placing wooden tables, they could expose half of their bodies and resist enemy attacks.
It was a pity, however, that at critical moments, there were few capable people. Zhang Han and Liu Yingjie had not come, both having made excuses! Liu Yingjie was slightly better; the defensive method of the deep trench and palisade was his idea, but he himself did not come. Zhang Han was even more cunning, directly claiming to have matters at the Governor-General's office and hiding with Tan Lun. Currently, only He Xinyin, Yan Shan Nong, and a few disciples were assisting, but these were scholars, and when it came to manual labor, they were truly useless.
Thus,
This enormous burden fell upon Lu Kun's shoulders. Fortunately, Xu Chuan, Wang Shengcai, and the others were also decent; besides being simple, they were also dutiful. If not for the fact that more than a dozen new settlers had been arrested earlier, and three or four of them had been beaten into confessions, they would not have built stockades for self-protection.
Lu Kun knew well that this method was extremely dangerous and could easily be construed as sedition. Therefore, he had been persuading Xu Chuan and the others to focus on work and farming, and only to defend themselves if large groups appeared and the matter involved a major rebellion case. Furthermore, they had to declare that some villagers had been unjustly beaten and that the imperial court should send an imperial envoy to handle the matter. Otherwise, it would violate the Great Ming laws, and once considered rebellion, the imperial army could suppress it.
At this moment, gazing at the distant smoke from the porcelain kilns, and feeling the approaching dusk's melancholy, Lu Kun had never felt things to be so difficult; it was truly living a year in a day.
As he reached the stockade gate, about to rest, he heard a thunderous sound of gongs and drums.
Dong dong!
Dong dong dong!
Kuang!
"They're here!"
"So many people!"
Hua!
Inside the stockade gates, countless villagers returned from the fields. The able-bodied men gradually hurried towards the stockade gates.
Lu Kun had been very cautious lately, fearing that Shen Chun and his ilk would seize any excuse of rebellion. He ascended to a high vantage point to survey the scene. He saw a vast expanse of imperial troops, seemingly not the supervisory guards but rather troops transferred from elsewhere. These soldiers wore shining armor, were solemn and quiet, and truly looked like they were here for battle.
He suddenly realized, thinking, "This is bad!"
Yan Shifan had already become the Right Minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Fan Yingqi had also arrived in Jiangxi. How could nothing happen? It was he himself who was too overconfident, or perhaps too cautious. These were clearly wolves and tigers, yet he still talked about laws and regulations.
He immediately called for Xu Chuan and shouted loudly:
"The imperial army is likely here to suppress us this time! Call everyone! Quickly!"
Xu Chuan had been confronting them and could naturally see this. He immediately sent people in a hurry to call all the strong men from the villages.
On the opposite side,
A dark mass of troops, about four to five thousand men, led by Lu Wen, the General of Jiangxi, with Governor Ma Sen by his side. Shen Chun had gone to handle another matter. At this time, the army was only seventy to eighty meters away from the trench. On one side of the palisade, Lu Kun and Xu Chuan stood at the forefront, tightly guarding the stockade gate, and had dragged some large wooden stakes to block it. The two stood at the top of the gate, exposing half their bodies, their palms already covered in sweat.
Ma Sen had been thinking carefully all the way. Although the crime of rebellion already had a royal artifact as evidence, three or four witnesses had confessed, and other corroborating witnesses had also testified. Moreover, the two sides had confronted each other multiple times, with casualties on both sides. By rights, it was acceptable to determine that they had fortified the stockade and were in rebellion. However, whether troops could be dispatched to suppress the rebellion and banditry remained a question. After all, these new settlers were attacked by the imperial army, and they kept crying out their innocence, without displaying any rebellious banners. It was difficult to definitively classify them as rebels.
"Ru Cheng, do you think we should proceed? Once we act, it will be difficult to stop... The accumulated grievances between the two sides will deepen, and in the end, suppression will be inevitable. By then, it will be hundreds or thousands of lives..."
He initially didn't want to ask, but after careful consideration, he still felt Luo Longwen was too cunning. If he went back on his word, this enormous case would fall on both of them.
Lu Wen had always been a trusted subordinate of the Yan family. Yan Shifan had also given him secret instructions earlier. When Luo Longwen came, he had also personally instructed him to tie Ma Sen together in this endeavor. How could he back down now? He immediately smiled and said:
"Lord Ma, fighting, indeed, will bring trouble, but, Your Lordship, think about it, if we don't fight, the trouble might be even greater..."
Ma Sen was stunned for a moment, thinking it was true; if Yan Shifan blamed him later, he wouldn't fare any better...
After much hesitation, he finally said:
"Ru Cheng, I am a civil official and have never understood military tactics. You, proceed with the attack on the stockade now!"
"Good!"
Lu Wen had been waiting for these words. He immediately reined in his horse, turned back, and shouted loudly:
"Soldiers! You have all seen it; these new settlers have formed a stockade and are in rebellion, suspected of sedition! Imperial Censor Lin, Governor Ma, have thoroughly investigated the case... These people! Do not think they are ordinary civilians; they are all indentured servants lured by Zhu Mo! Their Lordships have all found out that Zhu Mo is a fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Jianwen, wanting to be the King of Wu, and wants to fight until the sky turns dark and rivers run with blood! He wants to be emperor! What is this? This is rebellion!"
With a clang,
He drew his saber and shouted:
"The state raises soldiers for a thousand days and uses them at the opportune moment! Brothers, annihilate this bandit stockade! Charge!"
Hua!
Hua!
The soldiers had been transferred from the Gannan region. Although they had heard some rumors, they were completely unaware of the actual situation. Seeing their provincial general so agitated, they immediately became high-spirited.
Amidst the rustling sounds,
The soldiers drew out their gleaming weapons, reflecting the setting sun, and immediately a surge of killing intent arose.
Although Lu Kun was a scholar, he had spent two years in Datong and had served as an instructor for the local militia. He was also accustomed to soldiers and battles. Knowing now that there was no turning back, he immediately said:
"Xu Chuan, this battle today is probably unavoidable. Though the world is vast, does anyone know us? Will anyone speak up for us... What do you all think?"
Xu Chuan, Wang Shengcai, and several others also felt a sudden, inexplicable grief. They felt that despite the vastness of the Great Ming Dynasty, there was no place for unfortunate people like them to survive. Originally, most of them had some land, but later, it was gone for some unknown reason, and they sold themselves into servitude. They had finally found a young master, Zhu Mo, and their good life had lasted only a year before reaching its end...
At this moment,
Wang Shengcai saw He Xinyin, Yan Shan Nong, and a few other scholars in the ranks behind them. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with sorrow, choked with emotion, and said, "Mr. Lu, you are a friend of Young Master Zhu, and Mr. He, Mr. Yan, and the others are all first-class good people. We understand the principles of Yao and Shun that you speak of... But alas, heaven does not grant our wishes, and today it seems to be the end..."
He wiped away his tears and said in a deep voice:
"Mr. Lu, please take the gentlemen and leave! We common folk are but lowly lives; if we die, we die! If they want to falsely accuse us to death, it won't be that easy!"
It should be known,
These indentured servants had not believed that Shen Chun or Ma Sen could do anything to them. But seeing the army approaching today, they no longer held any illusions. In fact, it could be said that from the very beginning, Shen Chun and his ilk had not treated these people as human beings. They would casually arrest a few people and beat them severely, inexplicably labeling them with the grave crime of rebellion; now, they were even more ruthless, coming directly to suppress bandits!