Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 294 Geng Ruqi: Guards, behead me!
Geng Ruqi clenched his fist and said dejectedly, "The adopted son of Cao Wenzhao, the general of Jinzhou, returned to Yangqu County, Taiyuan Prefecture to visit relatives during his leave. He had been married to his wife for three years, but they were often separated and had no children. So his wife went to the famous Shuangta Temple in the area to pray to Guanyin for a child."

The following day, his wife died. The monks of Shuangta Temple insisted that she died by suicide, citing the ligature marks on her neck as evidence. The coroner of Yangqu County found evidence of forced intercourse, confirming that she died from a ruptured anus! What a son of a bitch!

Geng Ruqi continued through gritted teeth: "Zhao's adopted son searched for his wife all night without success. That night, he went to Shuangta Temple, where the monks lied to him, saying that his wife had already slowly returned home. The next day, Zhao's adopted son learned that he had been deceived and was heartbroken."

Knowing they were in the wrong, the monks of Shuangta Temple offered a small sum of money as compensation, even resorting to threats. Zhao Zi refused, and the argument escalated into a verbal altercation.

Zhao Zi was a seasoned veteran, but he was unarmed and outnumbered. He was beaten until he vomited blood and was thrown out, his shinbone and ribs were broken. He was so angry that he took his case to court.

The coroner accepted a bribe and confessed wrongly in court; the magistrate of Yangqu County accepted a bribe and falsely accused the emperor's son of murdering his wife, coercing a confession under torture. The son was imprisoned for three days, after which he died of poisoning!

“That damned official has defiled the sacred texts. I don’t know how such a scoundrel passed the imperial examination. I wish I could chop this beast into pieces and feed him to the dogs!” Geng Ruqi’s lips began to tremble as he spoke. “After Zhao Zi died, his widowed mother hanged herself. His brother-in-law had nowhere to turn and appealed to Zhao Zi’s adopted son’s comrades.

Enraged, the crowd gathered fifteen elite cavalrymen and launched a hundred-mile raid on Shuangta Temple, leaving no one alive. They then killed the coroner and beheaded the county magistrate in the streets of Yangqu County, before binding themselves in court!

"Hiss!!!" Zhang Honggong gasped. "This, this, well done!" Zhang Honggong suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Such a hero, I wish I could drink three hundred cups with him!"

Zhang Honggong's sudden outburst startled Geng Ruqi. Already on the verge of a breakdown, he couldn't withstand the shock and, enraged, glared at Zhang Honggong with a death stare.

“Well, the ringleader has already been executed, hasn’t he? That’s gratifying! And the murderer is willing to confess and accept punishment. The case is clear, and you, sir, have no direct involvement. You can simply record the facts in the case file. Why are you worried, sir?” Zhang Honggong said, blinking his eyes.

"You're already in your fifties, are you really that clueless or just pretending? His Majesty loves his soldiers more than his people, and even more than his officials. If the monks of Shuangta Temple were still alive, and the magistrate of Yangqu County were still alive, His Majesty could kill them to vent his anger; but now that they're all dead, His Majesty has nowhere to vent his anger. Who do you think he'll hold accountable?"
Cao Wenzhao's nephew is the current emperor's son-in-law, the husband of His Majesty's most beloved youngest sister. These are so-called servants and adopted sons, who risk their lives for the general, and the general repays them with kindness and protection. If the two Caos petition for leniency, will His Majesty execute them or not?

If we kill him, we will greatly lose the morale of the army, and the justice of this matter is in the hearts of the people; but if we do not kill him, his rebellion will be intolerable under the law of the country, and if we do not kill him, it will only embolden the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals, and the lesson of how military men harm the country is not far away!

Can you imagine how troubled and frustrated His Majesty must be?! Tell me, who will he hold accountable first?! We're in the same boat now; if I die, you'll suffer too!
"This is my bad luck. I was so engrossed in border affairs that I forgot to clean up these parasites in Shanxi. I can die, but I still have unfinished business. I'm damned not satisfied!"

Geng Ruqi was on the verge of a breakdown. His composure had vanished completely, and he was now so irritable that he wanted to grab a knife and kill someone. But as he said, the guilty party was already dead, so who would he kill? If he was like this, how irritable would His Majesty be? Geng Ruqi couldn't even imagine the scene.

It's almost the end of the year, and His Majesty's birthday is just around the corner. He is trusted by His Majesty and governs a region, yet he's causing His Majesty trouble. He himself can't stand it and even wants to kill himself!

"Then...then this humble official will lead you, sir, to abandon your post and flee?!" Zhang Honggong said with a strong sense of loyalty. It's unclear what he was thinking; when he abandoned his men and fled, sending his personal guards to their deaths to cover his retreat, he certainly hadn't considered loyalty.

"Fuck your mother! Come with me to the capital to plead guilty!" Geng Ruqi's mind was exploding. "Can't you use your brain for once? Your father and grandfather were once renowned figures, how could they have given birth to a worthless son like you?"

This matter has absolutely nothing to do with you, not even a penny. If you run away for no reason, you'll be in deep trouble and won't even know how you died!

Are we all alone? We have dozens, even hundreds of family members, where can we go?

"I...I was just worried that you'd run off alone without anyone to protect you!" Zhang Honggong said, sounding aggrieved.

Geng Ruqi stretched out his right hand and gripped his chest tightly, repeatedly telling himself: Don't be angry, don't be angry, it's not worth getting angry to death over this stupid thing.

He smiled and said to Zhang Honggong, "You don't need to come to the capital with me, I can go by myself. You stay here to guard the city, okay? I'll go take care of this matter first, organize the files, and then set off. You're busy, I'll be going now."

"Hey?! Your Excellency the Governor!" Zhang Honggong wanted to say something, but saw Geng Ruqi leave quickly as if avoiding a plague.

Geng Ruqi returned to Taiyuan at noon, and that evening he led his troops to Yangqu County. Shuangta Temple is a local scenic spot. Its original name is Yongzuo Temple, but it is commonly known as Shuangta Temple because of the two towering ancient pagodas in the temple.

The temple was built in the 27th year of the Wanli reign. Initially, it consisted of only one Wenfeng Pagoda, which was built by Fu Shan and other gentry to supplement the insufficient "literary fortune" of Taiyuan.

Nine years later, Empress Dowager Cixi, the mother of Emperor Wanli, donated funds to build the Xuanwen Pagoda, thus the two pagodas stood side by side and were hailed as the "Wonder of Jinyang".

As the sun set, Geng Ruqi could see the two dark towers in the distance. The most crucial one, the Xuanwen Pagoda, had been burned down and collapsed—it was clearly a brick and stone imitation wood structure!
Another tower still stands, but it's blackened by smoke. Tempering weapons increases their toughness, but tempering bricks will ruin them, making them brittle. There have been earthquakes in Shaanxi and Shanxi recently; perhaps one day the heavens will turn upside down and this tower will collapse.

Thinking about the origin of this tower, Geng Ruqi almost had a heart attack. He didn't want to kill anyone else anymore; he thought he should just kill himself to avoid implicating his family!

The Empress Dowager's tower was destroyed for such a ridiculous reason that Geng Ruqi was going crazy and couldn't even forgive himself.

Geng Ruqi mustered his courage and entered Yangqu County. At this time, the entire county was under martial law, but it wasn't really a big deal. The soldiers guarding the city were dressed in tattered clothes and stood awkwardly. They were local garrison soldiers, and the garrison system stipulated "three parts city defense, seven parts farmland." If the imperial court didn't conscript them, they wouldn't receive military pay. Originally, they were self-sufficient through farming, but Taiyuan was a godforsaken place, teeming with all sorts of monsters and demons; it was no wonder their local garrison lands were barely protected, let alone their seven parts of farmland. These three hundred soldiers from Yangqu County, including the commander, constituted the entirety of the 6,500-strong Taiyuan Left Garrison!

The Taiyuan Left, Central, and Right Guards were originally the three great guards of the Prince of Jin, but Zhu Zhanji found an excuse to strip them of their power. "This little fat guy is also ruthless. You could say that his second uncle was courting death by barbecuing, but he didn't seem to be any lenient with his cousin either!"

Li Shimin was terrified that his son would rebel. When the Prince of Yan succeeded to the throne, he made guarding against the princes his top priority. He even went so far as to abolish the system of border guards, which increased the pressure on the Ming Dynasty's border defenses tenfold and made military expenditures unbearable. As a result, the Ming Dynasty had no choice but to shrink its borders.

Zhu Di, obsessed with saving face, recklessly expanded the territory, wasting resources and manpower, all to prove himself right. Once he died, Zhu Zhanji, free from historical baggage, immediately returned all the territory Zhu Di had conquered, with interest. The decline of the nation was caused by the selfishness of the ruling class, which gradually corrupted it!

From the emperor to the lowest official, no one considered the future of the nation; they only cared about their own gain. If even a single white lotus flower bloomed in the cesspool, it would be an unbearable sight for these maggots, who would then swarm and relentlessly destroy the only hope within that cesspool!
Back then, Prince Jin was even stronger than Zhu Di. The three guards of Taiyuan were fully equipped and composed of battle-hardened elites. After they were stripped of their positions, they were transformed from guards into soldiers.

Although the official system still exists, it has become a neglected and unloved entity. Nowadays, it is even more miserable than the garrisons in remote border areas, and it is not even as good as the Daizhou Town Wuwei, Sun Chuanting's hometown.

When Geng Ruqi entered the city, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard burst into tears upon seeing him. This matter had nothing to do with Geng Ruqi, the governor, but they were responsible for guarding Yangqu County, yet fifteen horsemen stormed in as if it were empty, witnessing them kill the county magistrate and burn the pagoda without daring to stop them.

Others could be excused, but he was truly willing to die a thousand deaths.

He really didn't know how to deal with it, so he bypassed the nearby Taiyuan city and directly notified Geng Ruqi, the head of the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission.

Taiyuan still had a Provincial Administration Commissioner, although he didn't have much power. The garrisons were not under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office, but theoretically under the jurisdiction of the local Military Commander's Office. However, the Military Commander's Office's power was basically squeezed out by the Governor-General and Governor.

The position of Commander-in-Chief of Taiyuan had been vacant for many years, and the imperial court might not even remember it, so he could only turn to Geng Ruqi.

"What did you do with those people?!" Geng Ruqi didn't believe in tears; he himself wanted to cry, and he couldn't care less about the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard.

“How dare we take action against them! They’re stuck in the county government office, trapped in their own web. We’re treating them to good food and drink, but they’re only drinking water and not eating. They’ve been on a hunger strike for seven days.”

At this point, the commander leaned close to Geng Ruqi and lowered his voice, "We tried to persuade these heroes to sneak away quietly at night, but they said they couldn't implicate their own general and refused to leave no matter what."

"Are you crazy!" Geng Ruqi stared wide-eyed. It wasn't that he wanted to startle people; he simply couldn't control his manic behavior these past few days.

The commander was startled and stammered, "They did nothing wrong. That beastly magistrate deserves to die, and those bald monks who are even worse than beasts deserve to die even more! The brothers don't want them to die."

"It's shameful to admit, but my position as commander was earned through my ancestors' bloodshed of Tartars. Now I'm practically on my deathbed, and I've never even seen what a Tartar looks like. These brothers of mine have killed countless Tartars; I deeply admire them!"

Geng Ruqi ignored the man and led his horse quickly toward the county government office. Riding a horse was faster, but he feared the sound of hooves would cause a misunderstanding with the border soldiers. Commander Gong, seeing that Geng Ruqi ignored him, wasn't angry.

Even when the county magistrate was still alive, he didn't even look at him properly. Why should the governor, such a high-ranking official, give him a good face? He caused so much trouble, why should he be treated well?

"If only I hadn't gone to the brothel that day... ugh, that's not good either!"

Don't be fooled by the fact that he has three thousand-household officers and a dozen or so hundred-household officers under his command, totaling three hundred men. If a real fight breaks out, he'll probably be chased by a dozen or so of them, and he might even lose his life. Taiyuan has been too well protected and has been peaceful for too long. Even when the Tartars invaded Shanxi, they didn't manage to reach Taiyuan.

"Your name is Gong Xilong?!" Geng Ruqi suddenly asked.

"You have a good memory, sir! Gong Xilong is my father, and my name is Gong Qiong!"

Geng Ruqi was speechless. He opened his mouth, then said helplessly, "Go register when you have time. Your military rank is not recorded. Your position as commander is fake. By the way, why did your father give you this name? Are you very poor?!"

"Uh! Qiong, the Qiong of Qiongjianglu... not the Qiong of poor ghost! I went, but I didn't spend enough money to get registered, but the brothers all recognized me, and the magistrate didn't ask me to check the documents, so it's fine now." Gong Qiong said somewhat uneasily.

Geng Ruqi suddenly stopped, and Gong Qiong's chin bumped into the back of Geng Ruqi's head. The man was terrified and hurriedly knelt down, saying repeatedly, "This humble general has offended you, sir. This humble general did not mean to. Please forgive me, sir!"

Geng Ruqi had really gone mad. He slapped himself twice, leaving Gong Qiong dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)