Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 658 Jumping horizontally
Sujing Gate, commonly known as the "North Gate," is one of the four major city gates of Hanyang. It was first built in the 29th year of the Hongwu reign and was originally named "Suqing Gate."

In the ninth year of the Yongle reign, King Taejong of Joseon, Yi Bang-won, believed the words of a feng shui master and thought that the location of Sukcheong Gate was "not conducive to the stability of the royal aura". Therefore, he moved the North Gate to its current location and rebuilt it. He renamed it "Sukjeong Gate" to "suppress the evil and pacify the four directions" in order to "stabilize the royal aura".

This renovation slightly increased the distance between the north gate of the capital and the palace, but the two are still not far apart. Even after the renovation, Sukjeongmun Gate is less than three miles from Gyeongbokgung Palace, and less than two miles from the rear garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace (Blue House), where Ryongmudang and Gyeongnongjae are located.

To ensure the safety of the palace, Sukjeongmun Gate was usually kept closed and not opened easily. In addition, the Joseon court also set up a sentry post called "North Gate Defense Post" half a mile east of Sukjeongmun Gate as the vanguard of Sukjeongmun Gate.

During the Imjin War, Gyeongbokgung Palace was completely destroyed by fire, forcing two generations of kings to relocate after returning to the capital. However, the Bukyeong guard post was not abandoned as a result. Sukjeongmun Gate also maintained the tradition of not being opened except for sacrificial rites and funerals.

Sujing Gate is situated on the steep ridge of Beiyue Mountain, a treacherous location unsuitable for carriages and horses. Furthermore, it is separated from Woniu Mountain, where Yanfo Temple is located, by an entire city of Hanyang. Therefore, even though the donkey cart carrying Li Erzhan and the Cui family servants who risked their lives to escort it set off before dawn, they still did not reach the vicinity of the Beiying outpost until after noon.

Sujing Gate had been peaceful for years, and even after the fall of the country, it had not suffered any damage. Therefore, the garrison at the North Camp outpost was always lazy, and if no one was watching, they might not even bother to go up the watchtower. However, the Ministry of War had issued a martial law order, and the palace had also sent a supervising eunuch to Sujing Gate, which was not far away. So, even if the North Camp commander was just going through the motions, he still had to make the sentries stand on the tower.

"Ah!" The sentry on the tower was yawning repeatedly when he suddenly saw a gray figure appear before him. At first, the sentry assumed it was just an ordinary villager and didn't pay much attention. If the man hadn't walked straight towards him, he wouldn't have even bothered to shout, "Halt! Go somewhere else!"

"I am Li Erzhan. Tell your battalion commander to come out and see me!" Although the North Gate defense post was officially under the command of the Training Supervisor, Li Erzhan didn't even remember the name of the officer in charge of the post.

"What's all the shouting about?" The sentry didn't quite hear him. "Get out of here! No business today!"

To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, Cui Mingji and his men deliberately removed Li Erzhan's conspicuous first-rank official robe before setting off. Therefore, the sentries on duty were completely unaware of the important figure the old man in the distance was.

"I am Li Erzhan!" Li Erzhan shouted as he continued forward, "Tell your battalion commander to come out and see me!"

"You little bastards! Didn't you hear me? I told you to stop going any further!" This time, the sentry finally heard Li Erzhan's words, but the three syllables could be interpreted in far too many Chinese characters. This was nothing new to a low-ranking soldier like the sentry, who was neither literate nor politically astute. Seeing Li Erzhan still advancing, he simply picked up his bow and arrow from beside him and assumed a aiming posture.

"Ha!" Li Erzhan stopped and rolled his eyes at the sky. "I am Li Erzhan, the Prefect of Guangchang, the Judge of the Ministry of Rites, and the Chief Supervisor of Training! Tell your battalion commanders to come out and see me!"

"Huh?" With the titles "Lord of Guangchang Prefecture," "Minister of Rites," and "Supervisor of Training," the sentry finally understood what the old man meant. However, he didn't believe it at all. In the sentry's mind, it was impossible for such a high-ranking official to be dressed in dirty, tattered burlap clothes and walk alone to such a place. "What joke are you talking about, you old dog? Get lost, or I'll shoot you with an arrow!"

"If you have the guts, then shoot! If I lose a single hair here, your whole family will die!" Li Erzhan was enraged by the repeated calls of "bastard" and "old dog." He stared intently at the tip of the arrow, walking step by step toward the watchtower.

The sentry was intimidated by Li Erzhan's imposing presence. After a moment's hesitation, the sentry lowered his bow and arrow and rang the alarm bell.

clang!clang!clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the valley, startling several birds in the forest into flight.

Soon, Xu Ding, the deputy commander of the Northern Camp, arrived at the scene with several close followers.

Li Erzhan had no recollection of Xu Ding, but Xu Ding recognized Li Erzhan's cold, stern face from afar. He paused for a moment, then abandoned his personal guards and quickly ran to Li Erzhan's side.

"May I ask if you are Li Erzhan, the Chief Supervisor?" Xu Ding asked, bowing.

“It’s me.” Li Erzhan didn’t even bother to take out his name tag. “What’s your name?”

"This humble official, Xu Ding, a lieutenant general of the Northern Camp, pays respects to the Prefect of Guangchang!" Xu Ding, without suspicion, immediately knelt down. "May I ask..."

"Stop talking nonsense." Li Erzhan interrupted him, pointing at the terrified sentry. "Your soldier spoke rudely and pointed an arrow at me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Xu Ding was startled. He looked up and followed the direction, only to see a face that was almost deathly pale and two trembling lips.

"Get down!" Xu Ding shouted.

The sentry, "I," was panting heavily, his whole body trembling violently.

"Get down here right now!" Xu Ding's eyes widened. "Don't force me to call someone up and throw you down!"

The sentry trembled as he climbed down the watchtower, only to be immediately pinned to the ground by two of Xu Ding's personal guards.

"How does the Prince of Guangchang intend to deal with him?" Xu Ding asked, his head bowed and his voice filled with barely concealed fear.

“He’s your soldier, shouldn’t you be the one to decide how to deal with him?” Li Erzhan asked with a smile.

Xu Ding was startled and immediately ordered his personal guards: "Slap him for speaking rudely! Slap him hard!"

"Yes." The two guards exchanged a glance, then cast a sympathetic look at the sentry.

"No, no! I was blind! Please, please spare me!" the sentry pleaded, trembling. The guards hesitated to act.

Li Erzhan didn't respond, only glancing at Xu Ding.

That glance sent chills down Xu Ding's spine. He strode forward and slapped him hard across the face. "What are you standing there for! Slap him already! If you don't slap him, I'll slap you all!"

The two guards had no choice but to swing their arms at the sentry with sympathy and apology.

After watching the sentry get slapped a few times, Li Erzhan seemed to have calmed down. "Watch your mouth next time," he said coldly, then turned and headed towards the sentry camp without looking back.

"Give him a good beating!" Xu Ding said, increasing the force of his words, but still gave the guards who were administering the torture a look that said, "That's enough."

"Yes!" The guard nodded in understanding. When he waved his hand again, the force was much less.

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"Is there any instruction for transferring them all to my camp?" In the main stone barracks of the North Camp outpost, Xu Ding, a fifth-rank general in charge of 120 soldiers, brought his superior, whom he could hardly reach, a cup of fine tea that he himself usually couldn't bear to drink.

"How much do you know about things in the capital?" Li Erzhan could tell from just one sniff that the tea wasn't of very good quality, but he was thirsty, so he didn't particularly mind.

Seeing that Li Erzhan was willing to drink the tea he had served, Xu Ding felt a little relieved. "The palace has issued a martial law order, but it hasn't said why."

"Is that all you know?" Li Erzhan raised an eyebrow.

"Hehe." Xu Ding chuckled awkwardly and said tactfully, "My official rank is only fifth grade. It is already a great honor to meet you today."

"You have a sweet tongue." Li Erzhan put down his teacup, chuckled, and patted Xu Ding's shoulder. "Better than that sentry."

Xu Ding didn't know how to respond, so he could only smile awkwardly.

“I’ve been kidnapped,” Li Erzhan said abruptly but calmly, “so I’ve escaped here.”

"What?" Xu Ding was taken aback at first, then shocked. "You've been kidnapped!" "That's right." Li Erzhan yawned, his face showing no sign of the tension or panic one would expect from someone who had been kidnapped.

"Who did it?" Xu Ding asked quickly.

“We don’t know yet, but he’s definitely a treacherous rebel.” As soon as Li Erzhan said this, Xu Ding’s eyes lit up.

"Where are they?!" Xu Ding's eyes gleamed with barely concealed eagerness. Capturing rebels and protecting the emperor—this was an unparalleled act that could elevate one to the highest ranks of society!

"It's on a small hill about two miles from here. It's very close to the road," Li Erzhan said casually.

"They're nearby!?" Xu Ding was startled and couldn't help but look Li Erzhan up and down. It was one thing for Li Erzhan to be fearless in the face of danger, but how could he escape from the bandits without even breaking a sweat?

“They brought me here.” Li Erzhan seemed to see through Xu Ding’s doubts.

"Huh?" Xu Ding's eyes widened.

"What 'ah'? Hurry up and catch them!" Li Erzhan took another sip of tea. "If you can catch them, I'll personally recommend you for credit."

"Yes! I'll go right away!" Xu Ding didn't suspect anything and rushed out.

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Half an hour later, a panting messenger ran to the low-ceilinged Sujing Gate.

"What's going on!" Zhang Rangning, the gatekeeper of Sujing Gate, stood under the high-hanging plaque, one hand resting on the wall. "Why is the sentry post ringing the alarm bell?"

The messenger paused for a moment before raising his head, clasping his hands in greeting, and said, "Reporting to General Zhang, Lord Li Erzhan, the Prince of Guangchang, is currently in the camp. He requests that you go to see him immediately!"

"What? Lord Li has arrived here?" Zhang Rangning's expression froze, and he subconsciously glanced at the supervising eunuch beside him.

The supervising eunuch raised an eyebrow, and a fine layer of cold sweat quickly appeared on his forehead.

“That’s right,” the messenger said, catching his breath. “He’s in the camp right now, please go see him immediately!”

"How many people have come!" the supervising eunuch asked in a shrill voice.

"What did you say?" The messenger didn't quite understand.

"I'm asking you how many men Li Erzhan brought!" The supervising eunuch was panting heavily, just like a messenger.

Beside the supervising eunuch, Zhang Rangning quietly placed his other hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Lord Li came alone, without any men with him," the messenger replied.

"Where is your General Xu? Call him over to speak with us," the supervising eunuch asked.

"General Xu has left the camp to arrest people!" the messenger said.

"Who are you arresting?" the supervising eunuch then asked.

"I'm not entirely sure either," the messenger said. "They're probably the thieves who kidnapped Prince Guangchang."

"Kidnapping." The supervising eunuch breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Manager Jin," Zhang Rangning released his sword hilt and turned to ask the supervising eunuch, "Do you think I should go to the northern outpost?"

"Or should we ask Li Erzhan to come himself?" Manager Jin paused for a moment, then abruptly changed his mind and said, "How about we ask Lord Li to come in person?" If Li Erzhan had no intention of rebelling, then Manager Jin would never want to offend him.

"Manager Jin wants you to go and invite Lord Li over," Zhang Rangning shouted as he turned to the city walls.

"You!" Manager Jin's eyes widened immediately.

"Where did I say something wrong?" Zhang Rangning asked with a smile.

"No," Manager Jin said through gritted teeth.

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About half an hour later, a dejected Xu Ding returned to the main barracks.

Inside the barracks, Li Erzhan was still sitting in his original spot. Beside him was a freshly refilled cup of tea and a plate of the best food they could find in the camp.

"Didn't catch them?" Li Erzhan seemed to have expected this.

“When I arrived, those rebels had already fled.” Xu Ding walked to Li Erzhan’s side with his head down and was about to kneel down.

“Not surprising.” Li Erzhan smiled gently and helped Xu Ding up. “They only saw you, not me, so they must have run away.”

"Lord Li, what exactly happened?" Xu Ding was quite familiar with the surrounding area. He quickly found the small mound Li Erzhan had mentioned and discovered traces of human activity, even running, there, which made Xu Ding completely believe Li Erzhan's account. However, Xu Ding racked his brains but still couldn't understand why Li Erzhan would be kidnapped in this area. What puzzled him even more was why the kidnappers, after successfully abducting Li Erzhan, inexplicably sent him to their camp.

“Some things are better left unknown than known.” Li Erzhan slowly stood up and said with a smile, “Since you failed to catch the person, I won’t tell you. It would only cause you trouble.” Although Li Erzhan’s words sounded nice, in reality, he just found it troublesome and was too lazy to waste his breath on Xu Ding.

"Thank you for your consideration." Xu Ding was secretly eager to thank him, but since Li Erzhan had already said so, he could only put on a grateful expression.

"Your tea is quite good." Li Erzhan patted Xu Ding on the shoulder again. "But I have even better tea. I'll have someone send it to you another day."

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate thanks you in advance for the promotion!" Xu Ding was truly flattered.

“It is impolite not to reciprocate. I have received your hospitality, so I should at least return the favor.” Li Erzhan smiled and walked past Xu Ding.

"Are you leaving?" Xu Ding immediately chased after him.

“I’ve been out all day, it’s time to go back. His Highness and the Crown Prince must be worried about me.” Li Erzhan started walking, no longer looking at Xu Ding.

(End of this chapter)