Chapter 2298: The Watch is Struck
The night grew darker. The watchman's clapper rang out—the first watch had been struck. In the fields outside Wuzhou city, a small detachment moved quietly toward the city.
This team was dressed entirely in black, their faces smeared with pot soot—indistinguishable from the bandits active in the countryside. Such small bands were a common sight; the village braves in the areas they passed were accustomed to them. As long as there were no hostile actions near the villages, no one would raise an alarm at night.
This team was Song Ming's men. According to prior arrangement, they had set out at nightfall from their daytime hiding spot in the mountains, making straight for Wuzhou.
Per the plan, Jiang Suo would lead the insiders to receive them on the city wall—at the most secluded location, the Dayun Gate neighborhood. This area had been heavily bombarded during the Australian assault on Wuzhou, causing severe damage to the walls. Though Xie Erren had later organized refugees and able-bodied men to repair them, restoring their basic integrity, the original watchtowers, guard shelters, bastions, parapets, and battlements remained largely unrepaired or had been fixed only sloppily. The repairs at some large breaches hadn't reached the original height, and the north-facing wall had only a moat below it; crossing the moat or scaling the wall was relatively easier there.
Most critically, Yi Haoran and the others had intelligence from within the city: the defensive strength at Dayun Gate was the weakest. It had originally been garrisoned by the Second Squadron. After the Second Squadron departed to receive the grain convoy, security responsibility fell to a single squad of the Fubo Army and a small team from the Detective Team—fewer than fifty men total. At night, the garrison strength was halved.
This meager force was concentrated at Dayun Gate and its immediate surroundings. The sections of wall between the various gates were essentially unmanned, patrolled only by roving sentries and scheduled patrols. As long as one moved quickly and had a bit of luck, one could easily surmount the wall without being discovered.
At this moment, on the wall between Dayun Gate and Yangming Gate, two roving sentries from the Detective Team were on patrol. Wang Ken and Mai Dang were both routed Ming soldiers who had been taken in around the time of the Wuzhou campaign. They had been placed in the Detective Team to do odd jobs and earn a meal.
The two had been in the army for a long time. Though they didn't share a surname, they hit it off and had become sworn brothers. After being reorganized by the Australians, they served together.
The pay in the Detective Team was meager—just enough to eat. Determining they were unwilling to accept this, the two naturally harbored thoughts of "making a big score" and then fleeing.
Old soldier ruffians with such thoughts naturally couldn't escape Yi Haoran's keen eyes. Through Jiang Suo and others, he tested them several times and, deeming them usable, lured the pair aboard with the tempting bait of "capture and behead the True Kuns, achieve extraordinary merit."
Yi Haoran hadn't developed many internal agents within the city. Though Gou Er had provided many potential contacts among the former Ming remnants in the city, Yi Haoran was extremely cautious. Since ancient times, most conspiracies failed due to internal betrayal. The more people pulled into a plot, the greater the likelihood of leaking secrets.
Therefore, after joining the group, Yi Haoran had established a clear principle: recruit only people in key positions; ignore general personnel of no consequence.
Because Wang Ken and Mai Dang were stationed at Dayun Gate, they were key figures. Early this morning, they had received word: the move would be made today, and they were to facilitate it during their night patrol.
On ordinary days, when the Second Squadron was garrisoned around Dayun Gate, the night roving sentries consisted of one National Army soldier paired with one from the Detective Team. To coordinate, one would either have to drag the National Army soldier into the scheme or kill him midway. Both carried significant risks. Tonight, by comparison, presented no difficulties.
Due to the shortage of manpower, the Detective Team not only had to patrol alone, but the length of their patrol route had also increased, making the probability of discovery even lower.
When the city watch struck the second watch, third point, the two exchanged a glance and raised their lanterns high to expose the bastion, repeating this three times. This was the reception signal.
According to the agreement: they would signal starting at the second watch, second point. If there was no response, they would repeat after one point. If there was no response after three consecutive attempts, the operation would be called off.
Shortly after the signal was sent, the sound of frogs croaking came from below the wall: three fast, three slow, and finally three fast again.
The two exchanged glances—they were here! Immediately, Wang Ken raised the lantern again to confirm receipt. Mai Dang took out several bundles of rope buried in a pile of defensive supplies nearby, tied them to the battlements, and threw them down.
Moments later, two men in black carrying swords and shields climbed up through the crenels. Without a word, the men on the wall lowered the ropes, rappelled down the city wall, and quickly vanished into the streets below.
The two watchers were secretly alarmed: What kind of troops were these? So bold and agile! While they were still marveling, the last person to climb the wall beckoned and whispered, "You two, come here!"
Terrified, the two hurried over, bowing and scraping involuntarily. "Greetings, Master..."
"Guard this place. Soon there will be chaos in the city—don't be afraid, just wait quietly. No one will come here!" Having said this, he leaped agilely, grabbed the rope, and slid down.
Several hours earlier.
"Are these the opera chests from the Three Headquarters?" Liu Youwang watched as strong laborers, under Chang Qingyun's direction, carried in eight large chests.
"Precisely!" Chang Qingyun laughed. "Master, your words to Chief Xie did the trick!"
Liu Youwang stuck out his belly and beamed. "Not bad, not bad. Quickly, carry the chests to the back. I want to take a careful look later and see what treasures they hold!"
He was in excellent spirits today. Not only had he sweet-talked Chief Xie into granting him the opera chests, but the Chief also seemed to view him favorably. A few opera chests were nothing—mere playthings for amusement. But the Chief's high regard was rare indeed! Over the years, he had served under several chiefs. None had given him a good face. He had seniority, yet his position never rose; even relying on tenure, he remained several notches below others.
This had always rankled him. He hadn't expected to prosper in this prison warden job! Not only was he enjoying endless wine, women, and wealth, but he had also raked in a fortune. What pleased him most was acquiring such a fine advisor as Chang Qingyun!
In the past, he had no fondness for advisors, thinking them merely scholars full of scheming ideas who whispered in officials' ears. But once he actually used one, he discovered the value—truly invaluable! Compared to those "training classes" he had attended that made him doze off, this advisor was what really worked. He spoke pleasantly and was genuinely talented!
It seemed the Australians overestimated themselves. For some things, the Great Ming's methods were still better.
Chang Qingyun, however, said, "Master, you'd best not go look..."
"Oh? Why not?"
"These opera chests have been sitting idle for decades. They looked intact from the outside when we moved them, but who knows their condition inside. Things this old, stored in a large warehouse for so long, might harbor evil spirits," Chang Qingyun said solemnly. "Let me send someone to fetch women's chamber pots and menstrual cloths to perform a ritual to dispel them..."
Liu Youwang laughed loudly. "Old Chang, you really can spin tales! There are no evil spirits in this world. We of the Senate don't believe in such things..."
Chang Qingyun insisted, "Better to believe they exist than to believe they don't. You're an official now, Master. If you clash with something, it might hinder your official fortune."
The phrase "hinder your official fortune" struck a chord. Liu Youwang had been passed over for promotion for years and had many frustrations in his heart. Now that there was some hope, there was no need to fight over this moment—what if there really were evil spirits?
"Fine then, I'll leave it to you. Let me know when it's done!"
"More than just letting you know," Chang Qingyun laughed. "Once these items are in hand and the ritual is done, we'll take out the costumes and headdresses and have the troupe sing a few plays tonight—they've rehearsed several times; finally, they won't have to perform a cappella."
"That... isn't very appropriate," Liu Youwang said. "The grain fleet arrives tomorrow. If we're singing opera with great fanfare, it won't sound good if word gets out..."
In truth, his heart was itching terribly, unable to hold back.
"The grain fleet business has nothing to do with you, Master. Besides, I have another plan. Tomorrow, after the grain fleet finishes unloading, go see Director Xie and say this is a great joyous event for the people of Wuzhou—it would be fitting to set up a stage in the city for the opera troupe to perform and celebrate..."
"That could work!" Liu Youwang thought. This Advisor Chang was truly formidable; a different framing changed everything. But he still didn't understand:
"That's a matter for tomorrow, though..."
"If we're to perform opera tomorrow, mustn't we have a dress rehearsal today?"
Liu Youwang laughed heartily. "Well said! Well said! Advisor Chang, you truly are a talent! Work hard with me, and when I've made my fortune, I'll get you a cadre position too!"
"Many thanks for the Master's patronage!" Chang Qingyun laughed along with him and hurried away.
He returned to the courtyard where the opera troupe was housed. The opera chests sat in the storehouse in the backyard. He quietly opened one of them. It was indeed piled with messy costumes and headdresses, but beneath them, it was stuffed full of gunpowder and sulfur. The eight chests were eight large bombs.
The gunpowder and sulfur had been secretly collected by Jiang Suo over the past days—after the Battle of Wuzhou, quite a few firearms and gunpowder had been scattered outside. They had been swapped in during the transport from the Three Headquarters. The porters this time were all their own men.
Chang Qingyun removed all the costumes and headdresses and piled them on a table. He tore open the gunpowder packets and sprinkled them all over the chest—when the time came, throwing a torch on the chest would ignite it.
With everything arranged, he locked the chest and let out a sigh of relief.
He ordered men to carry the chests under the eaves of the corridor and set up the newly acquired menstrual cloths and chamber pots—counting it as performing the ritual. He also instructed that no one was allowed to touch or open the chests tonight.
Chang Qingyun returned to the front and saw several porters drinking water and wiping their sweat. Several of them exchanged glances. Chang Qingyun knew that everything in the Sanhezu camp was ready, waiting to launch.
At that moment, Liu Youwang's small kitchen was steaming and bustling with figures—probably cooking delicacies for his enjoyment tonight. He heard the watchman's clapper strike the first watch from the watchtower in the camp.
The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile. This would likely be Liu Youwang's last meal.
(End of Chapter)