Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 280: Shenyang Incident (Part )

Father Mendoza was clearly insane. He wasn't frightened off by the murderous intent in He Shixian's eyes, which had almost solidified into a tangible form. Instead, he slowly walked towards He Shixian.

He Shixian didn't move, but his guards drew their swords. "Back off!" the guards shouted at the fanatical missionaries.

"Don't be nervous. He's just a fake Confucian scholar with a broken brain." He Shixian stopped the guard who was about to take further action, and grabbed the handle of the knife to take it into his own hand.

Then, He Shixian raised his sword horizontally in front of his eyes, and then let go in front of everyone.

The knife fell to the ground, metal hitting the ground. But the sound of metal clashing was drowned out by He Shixian's shout: "Everyone, put down your knives!" He shouted while spreading his arms and exposing his chest.

You Shiwei's cavalry division was already a standard-bearer under the command of the general. The commander had given the order, and they had no reason not to obey. Over five hundred sabers were sheathed, and the sound of metal rubbing against metal was almost tooth-aching.

At this point, even if the mercenaries didn't understand Chinese, they knew the general was expressing goodwill. So they dropped their sabers and lifted their already meaningless state of alert.

He Shixian took two steps forward, grabbed Father Mendoza's shoulders, kicked him, leaned sideways, and pulled him, and finally captured the fake Confucian scholar who was rumored to have slandered the monarch.

"Take him away. Take him to the government office." He Shixian handed Father Mendoza over to his personal guards. Then he turned around and put his hands behind his back.

"Are you going to capture us?" Miguel Zavala, the mercenary lieutenant, asked Commander Fernando Vega in Spanish.

"I think so." Fernando imitated He Shixian and put his hands behind his back.

"Then why do they do this to us?" Miguel asked again.

"I don't know. Just do as we are told and follow them." Fernando said, "We are sent by His Majesty the Great Emperor of China. We have not rebelled and the matter will be clarified." Until now, Commander Fernando did not know why the Ming cavalry suddenly surrounded them.

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Outside the north gate of the Acropolis, Shenyang's Inspector General Sun Chuanting was overseeing the construction and reinforcement of the outer city defenses. His original plan had been to visit the barracks housing the Tatar refugees shortly before the city gates were closed.

"Master Sun!" The messenger sent by He Shixian pulled the reins to stop his horse, then galloped to Sun Chuanting on foot, clasped his fists and reported, "The commander-in-chief requests that you go to the yamen immediately."

"What's wrong?" Sun Chuanting asked, "What happened?"

"The Semites have rebelled! The commander-in-chief has suppressed them. He has sent me to invite you back to the yamen for a meeting." The news that the Semites were slandering the emperor and attempting to incite rebellion had already spread as a "fact." The messenger didn't think twice and simply told Sun Chuanting this as a fact.

Sun Chuanting was stunned for a moment, then he mounted the horse led by his attendant.

"Gee!" Sun Chuanting did not return to the city immediately, but drove his horse to the side of the deputy general of the auxiliary town, You Shigong.

"Deputy General You, General He asked me to return to the yamen to discuss matters. I'll leave the evening's matters here to you." Even with these few words, Sun Chuanting took the trouble to dismount and speak to You Shigong at eye level. This almost instinctive approach to people earned Sun Chuanting the favor of officers at all levels of the Shenyang Central Guard in a remarkably short time.

The incident happened suddenly, and You Shigong was inevitably suspicious. But seeing Sun Chuanting's anxious expression, he didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded slightly and said, "Okay, go ahead. I'll watch over here."

"Goodbye." Sun Chuanting bowed and said goodbye, stepped on the stirrups of his horse, and ran towards the city gate.

In February, General He Shixian increased the level of security in Shenyang, deploying additional personnel to each city gate and significantly increasing the intensity of inspections. However, Sun Chuanting, wearing the iconic uniform of a sixth-rank civil servant, was one of those who did not need to be stopped.

He returned to the yamen unhindered, and as soon as he entered the main hall, he saw the general He Shixian sitting in the main seat.

Since the "mutiny" had subsided and the alert had been lifted, He Shixian took off the armor that affected his movements. However, he did not change into his officer's uniform. Instead, he sat in his linen padded jacket and yawned continuously.

He Shixian's relaxed state made Sun Chuanting, who had been lost in thought, realize that the situation was not urgent. He walked up to He Shixian, bowed, and then asked, "The messenger said that the Semites had mutinied. Is that true?"

"You're here. Sit down." He Shixian did not reply immediately. Instead, he asked Sun Chuanting to sit down and waved his hand to signal others to leave.

"What's going on?" This action of dismissing the people around him made Sun Chuanting nervous again.

"This matter can be big or small." At this point, He Shixian's eyes suddenly showed a hint of amusement. "I can help you get away with this, but you have to buy me a drink."

"What are you drinking?" Sun Chuanting was furious. "What the hell is going on? Are the Semites really mutinying?"

"Whether it's a mutiny or not remains to be seen." Seeing Sun Chuanting's anger, He Shixian quickly stopped joking and said seriously, "At present, all we know is that the interpreter in Confucian robes is a mentally ill charlatan. He believes that the Ming Dynasty must believe in Japanese spiders to exorcise evil spirits. The charlatan openly spread this news in the camp, and the scouts were suspicious and accused him of inciting a mutiny, so I took the troops to suppress it."

"Japanese spider? What is that?" Sun Chuanting asked in confusion.

"I don't know. It might be some kind of foreign, barbarian ritual. Aren't all those devious ways that don't offer sacrifices to heaven, earth, or the ancestral temple like this?" He Shixian only worshipped the emperor, his ancestors, and the Martial Saint Guan Erye. "Did anyone die?" Sun Chuanting nodded slightly and asked.

"Of course not. If someone died, it would just be a mutiny. But right now, it's just a farce that could be big or small." He Shixian asked seriously, "What are you going to do?"

"No matter what happens, just report the truth." Sun Chuanting said.

He Shixian stared at Sun Chuanting. "Do you really want to report the truth? You've been in charge of this unit. If you report it, how will you handle it?"

He Shixian only wanted artillery capable of defending the city. He had no interest in dealing with the Semites, and even less in listening to the murmurous southern dialect. So he placed all three artillery units, including the apprentices, under the command of Sun Chuanting. Sun Chuanting held the title of Director of the Ministry of War, so it was common for him to lead a small force alone. If the artillery achieved success while defending the city, it would be credited to Sun Chuanting. As long as the city held, he would essentially be taking the credit. However, if the Semites were proven to have incited a mutiny, the responsibility could easily fall on Sun Chuanting.

He Shixian's words warmed Sun Chuanting's heart. But he continued, "Don't worry. Since we've already used military force to suppress the rebellion, this matter cannot be concealed. Whether we report it or not, the higher-ups will eventually find out. By then, the truth will be clear, and we'll be accused of knowing the truth and not reporting it, or of harboring ulterior motives. Anyway, I have a clear conscience! There's nothing I can't handle."

"Tsk!" He Shixian smacked his lips, shook his head, and chuckled, "Although you're smart, you're still a novice after all. After surviving for decades, I've come to understand one thing: Leading soldiers is leading soldiers, and being an official is being an official. For an official, the truth comes second at best, or even not even second. Whether it's clear or not is simply not important."

"What do you mean?" Sun Chuanting asked.

He Shixian did not state his intention directly, but said: "Except for upright and honest officials like Yang Zhongcheng, most of the censors and writers in the court are people who do not care about facts. For their own calculations, they can say white is black and black is white. Even a pillar of the country like Xiong Zuotang can be called a parasite of the country by them. If it were not for the wisdom of the emperor, I am afraid that Xiong Zuotang would have been dismissed from his post and returned to the court last year amid the attacks of the petty people. And even now, there are still constant noises in the court. Xiong Zuotang is like this, how can you stay out of it?" He Shixian began to get emotional.

"Think about it. If this matter were reported to the higher authorities and other interpreters were sent to assist in the investigation, they would immediately know that you had been in charge of this unit. Then, this so-called fact would become a 'problem' for certain people in the court to exploit. Whether you have a guilty conscience or not is irrelevant. They would definitely lead this matter to you and use you as an excuse to attack others, such as the person who recommended you. Then you would be dismissed from your position, and all these decades of study would have been in vain!"

"What should I do? Can I still suppress this matter? I can't." Sun Chuanting said.

He Shixian narrowed his eyes and said sinisterly, "The court's pen-wielders can manipulate facts, and so can we. Release the Semites. That mentally ill charlatan will undoubtedly spread his heretical 'belief in the Japanese spider' doctrine everywhere. If they start to stir up trouble again, you will personally lead the troops to quell the rebellion and then report your initial success. As long as the Semites are all dead, I can suppress the 'custodial management' incident. When the higher-ups come to investigate, they will only learn from the mouths of those who witnessed it that they publicly slandered the emperor."

Sun Chuanting exclaimed, "This is destroying the bridge after crossing it! I cannot, for the sake of my own future, kill these righteous soldiers who have come thousands of miles to help our dynasty."

"A kind heart cannot command an army!" He Shixian said angrily. "And they've already slandered the Emperor. They're receiving nearly three times the amount of imperial grain, yet they're claiming the Emperor is blinded by evil spirits. What kind of righteous army is this?"

"What do you mean by 'they'? Who can possibly understand what those Seljuq soldiers are saying? Even before the trial, I know that the only person who can be confirmed to have slandered the emperor is that Seljuq interpreter." Sun Chuanting firmly refused, "I absolutely disagree with you! If I did that, what difference would that make me different from animals? And what difference would that make me different from the so-called court officials?"

"Are you finding new ways to scold me?" He Shixian's old face turned cold.

"I'm just scolding you. It's not what you said that a kind person cannot command an army." Sun Chengzong said.

"How can you be like this! I'm doing this for your own good." He Shixian's face turned purple with anger.

"Leave me alone." Sun Chuanting's blood boiled, and he turned and walked away. "I'll report it right away! If the court abuses power like this, I'll just go back home and live in seclusion!"

"Come back here!" He Shixian slammed the table and stood up, but Sun Chuanting did not turn back.

Watching Sun Chuanting's receding figure, He Shixian suddenly recalled his younger self. Back then, He Shixian was passionate and enthusiastic, but after fighting for half his life, he was still just a guerrilla fighter, promoted to Lieutenant General just before the battle. If he hadn't been assigned to Li Rubai's army during the Battle of Sarhu, he would probably be dead by now.

He Shixian fell back to his original seat. He wanted to laugh, but in the end, he could only sigh. "Alas!"

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As the sun was about to set, a messenger from Shenyang arrived at the outpost outside Liaoyang's north gate and was stopped by cavalry sent by the outpost. The soldiers stationed at this outpost belonged to Li Huaixin, the general who had moved from Jizhen to Liaozhen in the 47th year of the Wanli reign.

Li Huaixin, originally the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, was transferred to Liaodong because Li Ruzhen, the last hope for the Li family's revival, was a military idiot with no military experience. In the 46th year of the Wanli reign, the Qing army captured Fushun and Qinghe, putting Liaodong in imminent danger. Naturally, the court sought to intimidate the Qing army by leveraging the Li family's prestige. Consequently, they simultaneously appointed the brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhen.

In the 47th year of the Wanli reign, General Yang Hao launched a four-pronged campaign against the Jiannu in the north. He appointed Li Rubai as commander of the southern convoy and ordered Li Ruzhen to garrison Shenyang. In March, three of the four convoys were defeated, with only Rubai's convoy surviving. Subsequently, Li Rubai was impeached and dismissed, while Li Ruzhen remained in Shenyang.

However, Li Ruzhen "spent the whole day in vain, unable to make any move." When the Jiannu attacked Kai and Tie, Li Ruzhen, with his troops, did not provide support, leading to the fall of Kai and Tie.

Later, Xiong Tingbi arrived at the critical moment and personally visited Shenyang to inspect Li Ruzhen. He questioned Li Ruzhen about how to set up camp and relay signal fires, but Ruzhen was clueless, completely ignorant of military matters. Furthermore, Li Ruzhen was unable to control the servants left behind by his second brother, Li Rubai. Over a month, seven or eight hundred of Li's relatives, fearful of war and slavery, deserted. Xiong Tingbi, left with no alternative but to impeach Li Ruzhen, dismissing him with "Ten Unbearable" charges, and replacing him with Li Huaixin, the Shaanxi general.

This was because Li Ruzhen was different from his older brothers, Rusong and Rubai. He had no experience leading troops in battle, having spent the majority of his first half of his life in Beijing serving in the Imperial Guard, serving in the Southern Division, the Northern Division, and the Western Division. If Liaodong hadn't been corrupted and the Li family hadn't suffered, Luo Sigong would have been the next step in the process.

The fact that a so-called son of a general who had "never experienced battle and knew nothing about military affairs" was sent to the front line to serve as a garrison commander was enough to show how corrupt the court was at that time.

Xiong Tingbi urged Li Huaixin three times a day. Li Huaixin had the Ministry of War detained in Jizhen to defend the capital, and Xiong Tingbi even went so far as to denounce the Ministry of War in a memorial. In the end, it was only the dying Emperor Shenzong who intervened to bring Li Huaixin to Liaodong.

When Li Huaixin first arrived, he thought that Xiong Dajinglie thought very highly of him. But before they had been together for long, Li Huaixin saw Xiong Dajinglie's bad temper. He pulled his ears and scolded him all day long, as if the corruption in Shenyang and even Liaodong was caused by him. Li Huaixin was not as thick-skinned as He Shixian, and he had never suffered such a great injustice before. He cried several times after being scolded, and repeatedly petitioned to leave. But Shenzong only listened to Xiong Tingbi at this time, and did not report anything else. After Shenzong finally passed away, the new emperor who took over the power of the country still did not let him go. But the emperor was still wise, at least he sent people to Liaodong who were willing to speak for them.

(End of this chapter)