Chapter 1065 - Persuasion (Continued)

His mentor, Xu Guangqi, had originally placed high hopes on this New Army of the Great Ming in Dengzhou and Laizhou. Now, not only was the New Army gone, but it had transformed into a rebel army committing every conceivable atrocity—tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Dengzhou had been massacred. Though the Liaodong insiders bore significant blame, as Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, Sun Yuanhua could not escape responsibility.

"It is all because Sun employed people blindly!" Sun Yuanhua sighed heavily. "Kong Youde should have simply killed me with a single stroke, allowing Sun to fulfill his loyalty."

"Sir dying in an instant is certainly loyal—but it is merely a small loyalty and a small righteousness." Because Lu Wenyuan had positioned himself as a junior, it was inconvenient to speak too sharply. "The world of the Great Ming has reached a boiling point. The plan for today can only be to save the nation from extinction and rescue the millions of people from fire and flood. That is the righteousness Sir should uphold."

A person like Sun Yuanhua, though inevitably possessing various habits typical of late Ming bureaucrats, was generally a pragmatic official willing to take responsibility and accomplish things—one with a strong sense of duty toward taking the world's affairs as his own concern. Therefore, Lu Wenyuan began with this point to persuade him to cooperate.

"Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng, and the other owls not killing Sir is probably also intended to trap Sir in a position of disloyalty and injustice," Lu Wenyuan said softly.

These words struck like five thunderbolts to the head; Sun Yuanhua froze where he sat.

Indeed, just the night before, Kong Youde had come to see him. Besides pressuring him to write a letter to Shandong Governor Yu Dacheng urging "amnesty," he had also tentatively inquired whether Sun Yuanhua was willing to merge with the rebel army—even suggesting that the old Dongjiang troops and Liaodong people in Dengzhou all admired him greatly and were willing to support him "as King."

Sun Yuanhua had naturally refused—he had a family plus dependents, and was a high official who had received "Imperial Grace." Of course he was unwilling to join the rebel cause.

The conversation had been entirely confidential; he had not expected this young man to know of it. This person was truly unfathomable.

"Sir, please do not blame me for speaking bluntly," Lu Wenyuan continued. "Though this matter is my speculation, given Sir's relationship with Kong Youde and the Liaodong faction, as long as Sir remains trapped in Dengzhou City, such rumors will sooner or later emerge."

Sun Yuanhua nodded slowly. Upon reflection, the reasoning was perfectly sound. He was not afraid of death; he had merely refused to commit suicide because of religious doctrine. But outsiders could not understand this. He had treated the Liaodong people generously in the past and employed them extensively. It would hardly be surprising if such rumors spread when the time came.

The current Emperor was not one who could tolerate even a speck of sand in his eye; his suspicious nature ran deep. One could readily imagine what would follow once such rumors broke out.

"Sir, please consider. Even if Kong Youde feels gratitude for past grace and does not kill Sir—even if he releases Sir to return home—Sir probably will not escape the disaster of the Imperial Prison."

Sun Yuanhua's face changed instantly. The cruelty of the Imperial Prison was infamous from the Tianqi era when Wei Zhongxian held power. Though Wei Zhongxian was gone now, it remained far from a benevolent place. Even if his teacher and friends managed to save him and the Emperor was wise enough to spare him the death penalty, he would emerge from the Imperial Prison a broken man.

Anyone willing to accomplish things invariably possessed a strong desire for fame and merit. Being dismissed from office was tolerable—fortunes in the Imperial Court turned like a wheel. He was not old, and his health remained sound. As long as he maneuvered actively, there would always be opportunities for reinstatement in the future. But if his body was shattered, then there would be absolutely no chance whatsoever.

"Sir is a pillar of our Holy Church in China." Lu Wenyuan's expression turned pained. "If anything happens to Sir, the millions of lambs across this vast land of Huaxia will suddenly lose their reliance..."

This appeal genuinely moved Sun Yuanhua. He was in his prime and intended to accomplish something meaningful—whether for the country, the people, or the Church. Of course he was unwilling to withdraw from the stage just like this.

But contemplating his current situation, he felt as if he had plunged into an ice cave. He had lost all his subordinates and was utterly penniless. Apart from the two young servants who claimed to have been rescued alongside him, there was not a single person he could command.

This Master Lu before him was certainly young and promising, and unknown methods had been employed to spirit him out of Dengzhou City—but he was merely a country gentleman after all. Even if he had trained local braves, at best they could barely defend themselves.

However, he still had some troops remaining in Laizhou. Though the force was small, as long as he could reach there and reopen his yamen, he could regain control over the local prefectures of the Three Eastern Prefectures that had fallen into chaos. He could also reconnect with Shandong Governor Yu Dacheng. Yu Dacheng had always been friendly toward him, and once the rebel army grew powerful, the Three Western Prefectures would also find it difficult to remain secure. Yu Dacheng would certainly support him strictly.

But speaking was one thing. To travel from Huang County to Laizhou with only two young servants in the midst of this wartime turmoil, without even a small detachment for protection, would be suicide—he would not survive past Huang County's borders.

Of course, he could also try reaching the nearest Huang County seat first. The magistrate knew him and would surely offer assistance—but there would not be many troops in the county seat. There had never been a garrison there originally. Whatever forces the magistrate commanded amounted to nothing more than a hundred or so mounted and foot constables, plus temporarily rallied village braves.

The rebels were mostly cavalry. Foot-traveling village braves had no power to resist at all. Once pursued by cavalry, the braves could neither fight nor flee.

There was another path: escape to the sea. The garrisons on the various islands under the Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou's jurisdiction would obey his orders. As long as they could be rallied in time, he would not lack the means to counterattack toward Dengzhou.

If he could retake Dengzhou at the fastest possible speed, Grand Secretaries Xu and Zhou at the Imperial Court would have some room to maneuver—even if he ended up with a dismissal as punishment, it would be far better than being shackled and hauled to the capital for interrogation.

The only problem was that fleeing to the sea required a ship. He wondered whether this Manor Lord Lu had vessels available.

He was inclined to ask, but then he recalled how he had been extracted from Dengzhou City—the details remained unclear to him.

Though Lu Wenyuan was a fellow believer, his years of experience and lessons as an official counseled him against revealing his true intentions too readily.

Thinking thus, he adjusted his attire and cupped his hands. "Mr. Lu, great kindness requires no thanks. You saved Sun, which is also saving the people of these three prefectures of Dengzhou and Laizhou. The merit is boundless. Someday, if Sun can return to the Imperial Court, I will certainly petition for a title on Sir's behalf..."

Lu Wenyuan felt a twinge of disgust in his heart, thinking you officials always habitually appoint yourselves as representatives. But he smiled with admirable modesty.

Sun Yuanhua suddenly felt a stirring within. Since this Manor Lord Lu could rescue him from Dengzhou, he was certainly no ordinary person. He refrained from saying more for the moment.

Observing the shift in his expression, Lu Wenyuan understood he had not yet fully gained his trust. This was also expected—anyone who could rise to high office was a shrewd individual and would never trust him completely based on mere words. He said nothing further, simply asking Sun Yuanhua to rest well first. If he needed anything, he should speak up. Then he instructed Cheng Lingsu to escort Sun Yuanhua back to his residence.

"I would like to walk around the manor," Sun Yuanhua said suddenly. "Does Sir permit it?"

"Sir is the parent official of this locality—why not?" Lu Wenyuan smiled broadly. "Only the sea breeze here is quite biting. I will have someone send outdoor clothing immediately."

Sun Yuanhua returned to his residence and found his two young servants and Sun Yuan all present. The reunion of master and servants inevitably brought a wave of sadness. Sun Yuanhua had originally kept many maids and servants in Dengzhou—scholars in the Ming Dynasty employed large numbers of servants. When a Juren from Jiangnan went out, he would be accompanied by more than ten servants, and that was considered quite frugal. As a Governor, not counting the personal soldiers and family retainers selected in Dengzhou, Sun Yuanhua had maintained seventy or eighty male and female slaves. After the city fell, some had died, some had fled. To demonstrate good treatment, Kong Youde had specifically sought out his scattered servants—but in the end, only these three had been found.

Seeing that all three had changed into clean new clothes and had rosy complexions, it was obvious that Manor Lord Lu had treated them well too. He felt quite gratified.

"You have suffered!" Sun Yuanhua said. "I never gave you any particular benefits, yet you shared adversity with me." He sighed endlessly as he spoke.

Sun Yuan replied: "The master's well-being is our blessing, and also the blessing of the people of Shandong."

Sun Yuanhua smiled bitterly and said nothing more. Sun Yuan was just one of his family retainers—he had two or three hundred such personal soldiers and retainers, selected from the battalion soldiers of Dengzhou and Laizhou and the Liaodong population.

Now these personal soldiers and family retainers had probably all defected to the rebel army. Thinking that his New Army, which he had painstakingly cultivated for years, was reduced to just one Sun Yuan, Sun Yuanhua could not help but feel profoundly dejected.

He returned to his room and asked about the events of the previous night. The young servants and Sun Yuan hid nothing, recounting their experiences in detail. The three of them spoke all at once, taking nearly an hour to finish.

Sun Yuanhua remained silent throughout. Warriors dressed entirely in black, scaling walls and entering from outside the city silently in the dead of night, coming and going amidst a great army as if passing through an empty land... No matter how he considered it, these seemed like sword-heroes from fantastical tales. If it were not for the fact that all three told the same story and it was difficult to find inconsistencies, he might have simply thought they were fabricating everything.

Though half-believing and half-doubting, Sun Yuanhua now understood in his heart: this Manor Lord Lu, introduced by Father Pantoja/Guo Jujing, was certainly no ordinary person. Connecting this with the fact that he came from Guangdong, he began to form certain vague ideas.

He put on the sheepskin vest that Cheng Lingsu had brought—the Lingao Clothing Factory had produced a batch of leather vests using Persian sheepskin imported by the Dutch, specifically for the northern troops to block wind and retain warmth. The quantity was limited, reserved for night sentries.

The door curtain rustled, and Cheng Lingsu entered to report: "A friend of Manor Lord Lu wishes to see Sir, saying he will accompany Sir for a walk in the manor."

"Please invite him in."

A young man who appeared to have just reached adulthood entered. Though he wore a Unity Hat, the hair roots visible at his temples told Sun Yuanhua something about who the visitor probably was.

The dashing youth was indeed Lu Yang. Seeing Sun Yuanhua wearing the sheepskin vest, he could not help but feel it looked rather incongruous—but of course, he showed nothing, lest he appear excessively rude.

Lu Yang bowed. "Mr. Huodong, I have long looked up to your great name." Huodong was Sun Yuanhua's literary name. "Looking up to his great name" was not mere politeness either. Though he had not held a deep impression of Sun Yuanhua before, as a member of the Northbound Detachment who needed to be cold-resistant, Lu Yang—who had grown up in Ningxia—had been promoted to Navy Lieutenant ahead of schedule. Officers of the Northbound Detachment were required to read materials on the Rebellion of Dengzhou, so he possessed some understanding of Sun Yuanhua.

(End of Chapter)