Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 32 Rebellion
At the East Gate of Zhaoqing, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats sounded
ta ta ta

A sturdy man in tattered military uniform rode past on horseback. People waiting to enter the city gate gave way to him. Several vendors were unable to dodge and fell to the ground. They were about to curse, but when they saw the military uniform on the man, they swallowed their words.
Five or six soldiers were guarding the city gate, checking the goods of the people entering the city and collecting taxes. The commotion in front of the city gate had obviously attracted the attention of several people.
The short and strong man in the lead looked forward and saw a strong man reining in his horse, jumping off the horse and rushing towards the city gate in a panic.
"Ma San, didn't you go home to see your wife? Why are you back so soon? Why are you so anxious? It's broad daylight now, and Xiao Taohong in Yichun Tower doesn't receive guests during the day."

The short and strong man Ding Wuyi saw that the man was his colleague who was guarding the city, so he smiled and said

As for the trouble caused by Ma San, that was nothing. The city gate was their territory.
If they want to enter the city, these unruly people have to line up obediently. If the line is messed up, they can just line up again.

"Stop talking nonsense, where is General Liu?" Ma San said anxiously.
"Oh, now that you've gone home to see your wife, your temper has become much tougher. You even dare to ask about the general's whereabouts. Do you think you can ask about General Liu's whereabouts?"

"Stop talking nonsense here. Where is General Liu? There are rebel troops coming outside the city to attack us," Ma San said in panic.

"Ah, what rebel army? General Liu is right on top of the city wall. Where did the rebel army come from?"

Ding Wu noticed the fear on Ma San's face and began to realize that something was wrong. When he heard what Ma San said, his expression changed drastically.

When Ma San heard that General Liu was on the tower, he rushed to the gate without saying anything. However, when Ma San wanted to leave, Ding Wu refused and held Ma San back, not letting him leave.
"What rebellious army? Where did the rebellious army come from? Please explain it clearly. Don't scare me."

Ding Wu's face was filled with shock, and he grabbed Ma San's sleeve tightly.

Although they are gatekeepers in name, they can only guard the gate. They are experts in collecting money, but they are absolutely unacceptable to let them fight in the battlefield.

If a rebellious army really attacks us, they will be the first to die.

"How would I know where the rebel army came from? When I found them, they were already more than ten miles away from the east of the city, and were about to rush towards our east gate."

"We are guarding the city gates. If the court wants to send a large army into the city, we will definitely be told by the higher-ups. However, we have not received any news. Is this a rebellion or something else?"

Ma San dragged Ding Wu towards the door, his face red.

"Lao Ding, quickly gather the brothers at the city gate, have a few brothers go pick up their families in the city, and gather at the gap in the east."

"I will report to the general first and see what he says. If the situation gets bad, we brothers will have to leave the city as soon as possible, but we must not lose our lives because of it."

"The army blocked out the sun and the sky when they marched. I saw there were thousands or even tens of thousands of people. This is no joke."

Ma San shook off Ding Wu's arm, gave him some instructions, and hurried upstairs.
Ding Wu looked at Ma Wu running away, his face blank and at a loss. After a while, he cried out and ran towards the city gate to inform his brothers.
The imperial court only gave them a few dollars a month. If they hadn't been guarding the city gates, they wouldn't even have enough to eat.
With just this little money every month, they still want them to fight to the death. Those people in the court are really blinding him.
Liu Yong sat at a table in a cool corner of a lookout tower at the top of Zhaoqing City. On the table were several opened oil-paper packages containing roast chicken slices, pork head, and fried peanuts. Next to the oil-paper packages was a small wine jar and a porcelain bowl.

Liu Yong threw a piece of pork head into his mouth, picked up the small porcelain bowl and took a sip, looking out of the city from time to time.

Outside the city, green mountains loomed in the distance. Merchants lined up at the foot of the city wall, waiting to enter the city, as if they were worshipping Liu Yong.

Liu Yong squinted his eyes and hummed a little tune. The landscape was picturesque. This was Liu Yong's landscape.
When Ma San arrived at the tower, Liu Yong was sitting at the table, playing with peanuts. He rubbed them with his palms, and the red skin fell off. He threw them with his right hand, caught them in his mouth, and took a sip of wine. It was a good day that even a god would not trade for.
"General, something terrible has happened. The enemy is coming from outside the city."

Ma San grabbed the wine bowl on the table, drank it all in one gulp, and then said to Liu Yong at the table with a panicked look:

"Next time you dare to steal my wine, watch out for your skin. What did you just say?"

Liu Yong looked at the empty wine bowl, his face was stunned, and then he glared at his trusted general with a bad look, and then asked again

"General, the rebels are coming outside the city, you must make a decision quickly," Ma San stamped his feet and spoke again.
"What? Luanjun, what the hell are you talking about?"

Liu Yong finally reacted at this time, with a look of astonishment on his face, and stood up from the table
"This is no joke. I went home to visit my relatives two days ago and was on my way back to the city to report for work at noon today. I ran into the rebel army on the way. Fortunately, I was smart, otherwise I would have been captured by the rebel army long ago," Ma San said anxiously.
"What banner did the rebel army fly under, and how many people were there?" Liu Yong asked subconsciously with a look of horror on his face.
"I don't know what flags they are flying. I only know that the rebel army is wearing the red uniforms of the imperial court. There is a lot of dust when they march. I'm afraid there are thousands or even tens of thousands of people. If it weren't for the general's care, I would have run away long ago," Ma San replied.
"Impossible, the imperial court has so many troops in Zhaoqing, what rebel army dares to come to Zhaoqing?" Liu Yong said to himself in a daze.
"The imperial army, you said that the rebels were wearing the imperial army uniforms?"

Liu Yong seemed to come to his senses suddenly, grabbed Ma San by the collar, and then said fiercely

"Yes, they are all wearing red uniforms like us." Ma San looked at Liu Yong, who suddenly looked fierce, swallowed his saliva, and answered

Liu Yong let go of Ma San, but a light flashed through his mind. He knew
Li Mingzhong, those chaotic troops outside the city must be Li Mingzhong!
A few days ago, General Yan Yun had told several of the city gate officers to guard the city gates and not let Li Mingzhong enter the city to cause trouble. That was why he had worked so hard to guard the city walls these days.
He was also a general in the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor's Army, and he vaguely knew that the Governor's Office and Li Mingzhong and others outside the city had had several disputes over food and wages.

Originally, he didn't take it seriously. Even if Li Mingzhong wanted to protest for pay, so what? They had seen protests for pay before. At most, a few dozen soldiers would sit in front of the governor's office to protest.

But now it seems that this is not the case at all. There are dozens or hundreds of people rioting for pay at most, but there are no thousands or tens of thousands of people rioting for pay. According to what Ma San said, Li Mingzhong must have mobilized all his troops.

Li Mingzhong is not asking for money, he is rebelling.

Thinking of this, Liu Yong's heart shuddered, and he immediately came to his senses. The fierce look on his face disappeared, and he became more and more panicked.
Li Mingzhong's military camp is in the east of the city. He is guarding the east gate. If Li Mingzhong comes, the first thing he wants is his life.

"Quick, get someone to close the city gates. I'm going to the Governor's Office to report to Lord Ding that Li Mingzhong has rebelled."

Liu Yong's voice trembled as he shouted and rushed towards the city.
Following Liu Yong's order, the originally peaceful city gate suddenly became a scene of chaos.

"Go away, go away now!"

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? Stop blocking the doorway and get out now."

Ding Wu led a few soldiers and pushed out several vendors who were entering the city through the gate. Several soldiers nearby also used their hands and feet to push the vendors' carts out of the city gate.

The cart was pushed out of the gate and tilted to one side. The pears and chestnuts on it were scattered all over the ground. Some people who were still outside the city gate had their eyes lit up. They immediately bent down and picked up the fruits and chestnuts on the ground.

"Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to do, this is my stuff, don't take it"

Several vendors looked angry, but how could they stop the looting crowd? The leading vendor stepped forward to argue with Ding Wu. They had paid the city gate fee, so what did this mean?

"Get out of here! The rebel army is coming to attack us. If you block the city gate again, you will die."

Ding Wu saw that some people were trying to sneak into the city, and more and more people were entering the city gate, so he shouted angrily, turned the long sword in his hand upside down, and smashed a peddler's head with the back of the sword.

Although it was a knife back, the blade was thick. After being hit by Ding Wu, the peddler fell to the ground immediately, with blood gushing from his head.

When the people in front of the city gate saw the peddler lying on the ground with blood all over his head, they were immediately frightened and retreated back with a bang, looking at Ding Wu with a ferocious look in fear.

"Close the gate"

Ding Wu stood at the city gate with a knife in his hand. All the people were frightened and retreated outside the city. At Ding Wu's command, the machine frame on the top of the city wall turned, and the thick city gate turned, instantly blocking the doorway.
The people in the rear watched the city gate suddenly close, not knowing why, and all rushed forward.
Near the city gate, some people just heard Ding Wu's words and saw that the soldiers in the city actually closed the city gate. Their expressions changed immediately and they wanted to flee.
The two figures, one in front and one behind, pushed and slammed into each other, and there was chaos in front of the city gate.

While the soldiers were busy closing the city gates, a figure had already ridden a steed and rushed towards the city.
In the study room of the Ding Mansion, Ding Kuichu sat behind the table, playing with a white jade inkstone in his hand.

The inkstone is like jade, but with a few black lines, faintly forming the pattern of rocks and ancient pines. From a distance, it looks like a mountain covered by clouds and mist, and it really has the flavor of ink and smoke.
Ding Kuichu was fond of inkstones. A few years ago, he mobilized thousands of soldiers to mine in an old mine in Guangdong Province for several months. Only then did he get this batch of good materials and make this top-quality inkstone.

In fact, he did not lose out. Most of the stones he mined were sold to merchants in Guangdong Province, making a lot of money. The best ones were kept for his own use. This inkstone is one of the best.

Ding Kuichu was enjoying the inkstone in the sunshine, when a burst of hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the study. Ding Kuichu frowned and looked towards the door.
Zhu Zhijian, the prefect of Zhaoqing, walked into the study with a panicked look on his face. When he saw Ding Kuichu sitting behind the desk, he immediately shouted:

"Master Ding, something terrible has happened. Li Mingzhong has rebelled."

"What did you say"

Ding Kuichu subconsciously stood up from the table, with a look of astonishment on his face.
The priceless inkstone in his hand fell to the ground with a loud bang and broke into pieces in an instant.
(End of this chapter)