Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 617 Taking Over Yizhou (Part 1)

Yuan Keli had no intention of lingering in Yizhou. Therefore, after a brief encounter, he led Zhang Changyin's central and right wing troops southward. Behind them, Commander Liu led five hundred fully armed Ming soldiers, entering the city through the south gate in a grand manner.

The Yizhou government was too busy to organize a grand welcoming ceremony, but after a brief moment of surprise, the ordinary people of Yizhou couldn't help but come to both sides of the road to watch the spectacle of this mighty army.

Although most of Zhang Changyin's soldiers were still drill soldiers who had never been on the battlefield, their neat formations and proud demeanor were still much better than those of the lazy and idle Korean conscripts.

"Long live the Emperor! Mighty Heavenly Soldiers!" someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.

Following the sound, Liu Qianzong looked and saw an old man with a full head of white hair kneeling down.

"Long live the Emperor! Mighty Heavenly Soldiers!" After the old man knelt down, the others around him also knelt down.

"Long live the Emperor! Mighty Heavenly Soldiers!" One person carried a piece, and the pieces stretched out into a sheet. Soon, all the residents of Yizhou who had been watching the spectacle on both sides of the road knelt down.

The spontaneous kneeling and worship of the people greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army. The soldiers even straightened their backs more unconsciously as they walked on the road.

As the Ming army's momentum grew stronger, the officials of Yizhou looked increasingly grim.

The Prefect of Yizhou, Zheng Zun, and those close to him all wore expressions of profound grief. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken; the king has been deposed by the emperor, so what good can come of it for these officials who have been favored by the king?
“Zhou Dalu,” Commander Liu pointed to the clock tower at the crossroads, then gestured westward. “Take your men and take over the defense of the West Gate. You are not to leave without my order.”

"Should we close the shop?" asked Bai Zong, who was called Zhou Dalu.

"No need," Commander Liu shook his head. "Just take the former garrison commander under control."

"Yes!" Zhou Dalu clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

"Jin Changnian, take your men and take over the defense of the East Gate," Commander Liu ordered another centurion.

“Yes!” Jin Changnian responded immediately.

"Xiao Ji, go and take over the defense of the North Gate." Commander Liu turned his hand back and pointed directly at the clock tower.

"Yes!" Seeing the bell tower approaching, Xiao Ji immediately led his men through the four archways of the bell tower. Seeing Xiao Ji move, Zhou Dalu and Jin Changnian also urged their soldiers to break away from the main force.

The column was divided into three teams. Soon, only about a hundred of his closest confidants remained around Commander Liu.

“Liu Youjue, we need to speed up too,” Commander Liu turned to his son who was standing beside him. “Go to the back and tell those North Koreans to walk faster so they don’t fall behind.”

"Shall we go to the yamen now?" Liu Youjue asked his father.

"No, let's go to the granary first." Commander Liu smiled silently. "I need to catch a few worms for later use."

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The granary of Yizhou City was located in the southeast corner of the city, which meant that Commander Liu and his men would have to backtrack. Yizhou City was very large, with a circumference of more than ten miles. Turning around in the city center would add several miles to the journey compared to going directly there.

These few miles were a short distance for the Ming army, taking only a quarter of an hour to walk. But for the officials of Yizhou, especially those in charge of grain, it was a difficult journey of hundreds or even thousands of steps.

"Open the gate!" Commander Liu ordered the North Korean soldiers guarding the granary from his horse, looking down at them.

"Who are you?" The yamen runner stationed at the granary approached and asked in barely understandable Chinese.

"Are you illiterate, you son of a bitch?" Liu Qianzong coldly retorted, pointing at the "Ming" flag.

The yamen official was immediately speechless. Since he could speak Chinese, he naturally knew Chinese characters. "I want to see Li Biejian's order."

"Go and bring that Li Biejian to me," Commander Liu ordered one of his close aides.

"Yes!" The attendant immediately pulled on the reins and turned the car around.

“I want you to open the door now,” Liu Qianzong said to the yamen runner, turning his head. “Otherwise, I’ll have someone smash the door down.”

"Even if it's the Emperor, even the Heavenly Generals of the Dynasty can't be this arrogant, can they?" The yamen runner was frightened, but still stood in front of the door.

"Go in and smash the door!" Commander Liu had limited patience and didn't waste any words. Pointing at the yamen official, he said, "Arrest this person as well. If anyone resists, capture them directly. If anyone dares to use a knife or gun, just chop them down."

"Yes!" The twenty-odd fully armed infantrymen immediately broke away from the ranks and ran towards the yamen chief and the Korean soldiers beside him.

Before the two sides even made contact, this single, synchronized running motion was enough to frighten the North Korean soldiers guarding the warehouse into retreating repeatedly.

"I'll drive, I'll drive!" The yamen runner was dumbfounded; he had never seen anything done this way before.

"Stop!" Commander Liu ordered his men to halt, a cold smile playing on his lips as he looked at the officials in front of him. "Damn it, they're just asking for trouble."

"Go and get the key," the yamen official said to a trusted aide beside him in Korean dialect, his face contorted with grief.

"Are we really going to open the gate?" a trusted constable whispered. "We're completely unprepared; we can't withstand an investigation!"

"Then go and fight them." The yamen runner nodded to the Ming soldiers in front of him.

The trusted yamen runner's eye twitched.

"What the hell are you chirping about?!" General Liu shouted.

"The key isn't on me, I told him to go get it!" The official was startled and quickly explained.

"You guys go with him. Pull out your knives." Commander Liu turned his head to look at his entourage on his right.

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the attendants immediately drew their swords.

"Go get the key!" The yamen runner looked desperate and was almost in tears.

"But..." The trusted yamen runner hesitated.

"Go now!!" the yamen runner shouted, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Yes!" The trusted yamen runner was terrified, but he could only run to get the key under the watchful eyes of several strong Ming soldiers.

When the key was brought over, Li Biejian, who looked to be around thirty or forty years old, was also brought over by Liu Qianzong's personal guards.

Li Biejian knew that once the Ming army took over the city's defenses, they would definitely inspect the warehouses. He had even begun to plan how to use sand to disguise grain in order to pass the inspection. However, to Li Biejian's surprise, the Ming army went straight to the warehouses as soon as they entered the city.

The moment the lock was removed by the Ming soldiers, Li Biejian felt his heart clench, as if it had stopped beating for a moment.

Liu Qianzong dismounted and casually tossed aside the reins.

"Li Biejian, let's go." Liu Qianzong said calmly, and without waiting for Li Biejian's response, he led a dozen personal guards toward the opened granary.

Li Biejian took only two small steps forward before his body went limp and he collapsed forward.

thump.

Commander Liu heard the commotion but didn't turn around: "Bring Supervisor Li in." ————————

"Explain yourself," Commander Liu said, standing with his arms crossed in a half-empty warehouse. Beside him lay an open grain sack. Before him knelt Li Biejian and the former yamen official. Outside the granary, all the Korean officials who had followed Zheng Zun out of the city to welcome the Ming army stood, but most of them also wore bitter expressions.

“Go, last year there was an unusual drought and rain, and the harvest was poor.” Li Biejian lay on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"Poor harvest? Poor harvest? How can you, a dead man, still be so fat?" Commander Liu stepped on Li Biejian's shoulder, but his eyes were on Zheng Zun at the head of the line. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the Ever-Normal Granary, right? How can it be so empty in early summer? And what is this stale, rotten millet? Are you going to eat it yourself, you son of a bitch?" As he spoke, Commander Liu grabbed a handful of rice mixed with sand from the grain bag and sprinkled it on Li Biejian's head.

"..." Li Biejian trembled so much that he couldn't speak.

"Hurry up and explain again, while I still have the patience to listen to you." Commander Liu nudged Supervisor Li's shoulder. Of course, he used his foot.

"Please, sir! Please grant me ten days!" Li Biejian shouted. "I will definitely fill all these warehouses!"

"Ha! Whose homes are you planning to take grain from to replenish the granary?" Commander Liu stared intently at the North Korean officials standing outside the door.

"..." Li Biejian was practically going crazy.

"Chief Quan!" Commander Liu shouted towards the door.

"Here!" Quan Huan took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and rushed into the granary.

"You're in charge," Liu Qianzong said with a smile, looking at Quan Huan. "Tell me what we should do."

"Prefect Zheng is the one in charge of Yizhou. I dare not overstep my bounds," Quan Huan said solemnly.

“Chief Quan,” Commander Liu said calmly, “you must have heard what Supervisor Yuan said, right?”

“I dare not ignore it,” Quan Huan said cautiously. “But does Guardian Yuan mean forbid me from posting the proclamation?”

"Do you think that's all Yuan meant?" Liu Qianzong asked rhetorically.

"Is there anything else you mean?" Quan Huan raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Didn't you yourself say those four words, 'commanding the entire prefecture'?" Commander Liu raised his voice slightly. "Why are you asking me that?"

"That's not what I meant." Quan Huan swallowed hard.

"Then what do you mean!" Liu Qianzong said in a low voice.

"What a petty person means"

"Hmph!" Commander Liu snorted, interrupting Quan Huan. "'If Heaven bestows something and you do not take it, you will suffer the consequences. If you do not welcome the opportune moment, you will suffer the calamity.' Chief Quan, some words, when spoken by others, are probably not good news."

"I dare to make this humble statement," Quan Huan said, goosebumps rising all over his body. He gritted his teeth and frowned, "Li Biejian has been corrupt and unscrupulous, emptying the treasury. His crimes are heinous and he should be executed according to the law!"

"Chief Quan!" Li Biejian immediately became excited. "Don't forget!"

boom!
"You bastard!" Commander Liu kicked Supervisor Li to the ground. "Did I give you permission to speak?"

“But it’s Prefect Zheng, the Chief of Staff.” Li Biejian turned around, ready to drag him down with him. But Liu Qianzong had his own ideas and didn’t give him a chance to speak.

"Guards!" Commander Liu shouted.

"Yes, sir!" The two attendants immediately responded and came over.

"Gag him!" Commander Liu ordered in a loud voice.

"Yes!" The two henchmen, one grabbing the man and the other tearing the cloth, quickly gagged Li Biejian.

"Really. He doesn't speak when he should, and he interrupts when he shouldn't. What an ill-mannered fellow." Commander Liu rolled his eyes at Supervisor Li, then smiled at Quan Huan. "Chief Quan."

"Yes, yes!" Quan Huan was already numb.

"You just said that 'Li Biejian is corrupt and unscrupulous, and his crimes are heinous. According to the law, he should be executed,' right?" Liu Qianzong asked with a smile.

"Yes, yes." Quan Huan nodded hurriedly, forcing a smile. Li Biejian struggled and sobbed beside the two of them.

“I agree with what you said. But I was only ordered to take over the defense of Yizhou; I don’t have the authority to kill,” Commander Liu said. “According to your rules, what should be done about this?”

Quan Huan was in a state of utter confusion and mechanically replied, "According to procedure, such a major corruption case should first be reported to the Circuit Inspector, who will then review and determine the sentence in conjunction with the Inspector of Justice. After that, it should be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for final decision. If the sentence is death, it should then be submitted to Your Highness for final judgment."

"Hmm." Commander Liu seemed quite pleased with this standard answer. He smiled even more broadly. "Then let's put these two in jail first." Commander Liu beckoned to his son, Liu Shoujue.

"Yes!" Liu Shoujue clasped his hands in response and quickly walked over with several close followers.

“Chief Quan.” General Liu then looked at Quan Huan.

"Yes," Quan Huan exhaled a heavy breath.

"Let's go to the government office." Commander Liu stepped out first.

"Yes." Quan Huan paused for a moment, then turned and followed.

Behind them, Li Biejian and the former yamen runner struggled painfully. Before them, the officials of Yizhou, both high and low, pondered with fear.

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About half an hour later, Commander Liu led most of the Korean officials to the Uiju Prefecture government office. Before that, many well-informed gentry and merchants had already gathered there, eager to know the current situation, and Commander Liu did not stop them.

"Silence!" Commander Liu shouted.

"Silence!" Before the response had even finished, the Ming soldiers lining up inside and outside the hall amplified Commander Liu's voice.

Not everyone can understand Mandarin, but everyone can see the situation clearly.

Soon, the yamen fell silent, and the whispering could no longer be heard.

"Ahem!" Liu Qianzong coughed lightly and said, "I am Liu Shifang, the left-wing commander under General Zhang Changyin, the guerrilla commander of the Liaonan reinforcement battalion! I am under the command of Yuan Zhijianjun to take charge of military affairs in Yizhou!"

"This is General Liu Shifang, the Left Division Commander under General Zhang Changyin, the guerrilla commander of the Liaonan reinforcement battalion! He is under the command of Yuan Jianjun and is in charge of military affairs in Yizhou!" A Ming soldier who could speak Korean dialect repeated Commander Liu's words in a loud voice.

The officials inside the hall didn't react much, but the gentry and merchants outside began whispering amongst themselves again. Some were speculating about who "Guardian Yuan" was, while others were discussing why the imperial court had sent Liu Shifang to take over the military affairs of Yizhou.

The whispers weren't loud, so Liu Shifang didn't shout "Silence!" to restore order. He turned to Quan Huan and shouted in a voice no less forceful than "Silence!": "Chief Quan!"

"Here!" Quan Huan answered instinctively, walking shakily to Liu Shifang's side.

"Read the proclamation aloud," Liu Shifang ordered.

(End of this chapter)