Part 274: Returning to the Trajectory
“We’ll talk about whether you did it or not later,” Kong Youde said in a low voice. “Everyone, get your armor on, assemble your men immediately, and don’t move without orders. For the brothers who have already gone out from the various battalions, send men to bring them back at once!”
“Yes, sir!” The generals knew something was amiss and that a major change was imminent. They dared not argue further and answered in unison.
Kong Youde stood up, instructed his personal guards to put on his armor, and then ordered his personal general to assemble his personal guards and retainers, preparing to set out.
“No banners, and no talking on the road!”
The personal general went out. Kong Youde then called back Li Yingyuan, who was about to leave. “You come with me.”
Li Yingyuan’s face turned pale, not knowing what Kong Youde had in mind.
At this moment, Kong Youde suspected that Li Jiucheng and his son were up to something. He was afraid that this was Li Jiucheng’s trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and that as soon as he left, they would incite the entire army to mutiny. Therefore, he preemptively took his son with him.
In less than the time it takes to eat a meal, Kong Youde had set out with fifty cavalrymen. He went personally, firstly to find out who was responsible. Since he had arrived in Dongguang, the reconnaissance cavalry that had been shadowing his main force had given him a premonition of imminent danger.
“Which force is stirring up trouble here!” Thinking of this, he involuntarily tightened his grip on the reins.
Kong Youde and his cavalry quickly reached the vicinity of the sluice gate. He did not charge directly into the fire, fearing a misunderstanding. Instead, he ordered his entire force to halt two li from the fire, and he himself, with a dozen or so retainers, carefully rode over.
The attacking force seemed to have withdrawn. There were no shouts of killing or sounds of hoofbeats. Many of the canal boats moored by the riverbank were on fire, the flames raging and the heat unbearable. The boatmen on the boats were scattering and fleeing. Some saw this small group of horsemen and, thinking they were with the attackers, all fled to avoid them.
On the riverbank, many bodies lay scattered about. By the light of the fire, it could be seen that most of them were boatmen from the canal boats. Kong Youde gasped. This was a robbery of the canal boats. Although the canal boats were dilapidated and the boatmen looked like beggars, they were still, without a doubt, “official boats” and “government soldiers.” Attacking the canal boats would be a major crime.
A personal guard used his spear to pick up an arrow from a corpse and presented it to Kong Youde. He took it and examined it carefully. He could see at a glance that it was an “official arrow,” and it was from Dengzhou.
Kong Youde clenched the arrow shaft in his palm, feeling a cold sweat on his back. Could these people be from Dengzhou? How dare they be so reckless!
The canal boats were in a mess, with various goods and canal grain scattered on the decks. Kong Youde saw the eyes of his retainers light up, and they were all eager to move. He quickly shouted at them to stop.
The street was empty. Every door was closed and every household was locked, in a deathly silence. Only a few large houses near the sluice gate had their doors wide open, and various valuables were scattered on the street.
Suddenly, his horse’s hoof clattered on something. He looked down and saw it was a human head.
Looking more closely, there were seven or eight headless bodies scattered on the street. They were not dressed luxuriously, but they were dressed like people from well-to-do families. One of his retainers, who had recently served as a scout and had been here before, whispered to him that these houses belonged to the sluice keepers and their staff.
Looking at the silk and cloth scattered on the ground, and the loose coins with their strings torn off, one could see how rich these households were. Kong Youde couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Damn it!”
He pulled on the reins, having no heart to look further. Although the attackers had been hasty, they were undoubtedly government soldiers.
As for which force they were, he didn’t know and didn’t want to know—although in his heart, he had already concluded that this was the work of Li Jiucheng and his men.
“You are forcing me to be Lu Junyi!” Kong Youde thought resentfully.
But things had come to this point, and it was useless to say more. Kong Youde knew very well that whether this was done by Li Jiucheng’s men or not, he would have to take the blame—or rather, the former Dongjiang men would have to take the blame.
“Alright, you’ve gotten what you wanted. I won’t stand in the way of your good fortune for the sake of my own future!” Kong Youde thought bitterly and shouted, “Go back!”
At this moment, he had made up his mind to raise the banner of rebellion, not only because he was now indefensible, but also because he realized how weak his control over his subordinates was. Li Jiucheng had, without showing his hand, won over most of the generals and soldiers and had done such a big thing behind his back!
If he continued to refuse, he would either be killed by the mutinying soldiers and generals, or he would have to abandon his troops and flee. Of course, given Sun Yuanhua’s attitude towards him, perhaps he would not be blamed and would even be protected. But from then on, he would be a bare-bones acting commander with only a few dozen personal guards and retainers.
Without soldiers, a military commander in this increasingly chaotic era would lose his capital. Whether it was to be an official, get rich, or even just to survive, he had to have soldiers under his command.
To regain control of his men, he had to participate in the rebellion and retake power in the midst of the chaos. This force was brought up by Kong himself. Now, they were only being swayed by Li Jiucheng and others because of their bleak future. He believed that as long as he went with the flow and used his skills, he would soon regain control of his men.
Although Kong Youde was unwilling to rebel, once he made a decision, he would see it through to the end. He suddenly reined in his warhorse and ordered his men, “Immediately order all battalions to come forward!”
Since they had already started, no matter who had done this, the matter was now on his head.
In that case, if they were going to do it, they should do it thoroughly!
This market was prosperous, and there were many ships moored here. Although the fattest sheep had already been slaughtered, the remaining wealth was still considerable. They could easily obtain a large amount of grain, provisions, property, and livestock, which was a much greater harvest than secretly robbing houses and wiping out a few villages.
With this large amount of capital in hand, he could stabilize the morale of the army. With grain and pay in hand, the soldiers would be willing to risk their lives for him. With soldiers, he would not have to be afraid of what to do next.
Even the court, as long as you had strength, would still count on you to fight for them with sword and spear. They would certainly not care how many common people you killed or how much property you looted.
Thinking of this, he turned his horse’s head and raised his whip towards the market. “Enter the town!”
Chen Sigen stood on a small hill at the edge of a wood a few li away, observing the town with his infrared binoculars. When he saw groups of cavalry begin to pour into the market, burning, killing, and looting on the riverbank and in the streets, his heart still sank. Although they had achieved their goal of forcing Kong Youde to rebel, the innocent people of this market had become the victims of the Senate’s “strategic objective.”
“He who begins the evil, shall he be without posterity?”
The thought of this sentence made him feel a genuine unease.
“Detachment leader,” the special reconnaissance team’s sergeant major called him softly.
“Hmm, what is it?” Chen Sigen turned his head.
“The government soldiers’ scouts are starting to come over.”
Chen Sigen secretly praised Kong Youde for being a veteran general. He did not forget to set up sentries around while his troops were plundering. It seemed that to be able to become one of the Three Vassal Kings among the many surrendered generals of the late Ming, besides surrendering to the Qing early, outstanding ability was also a crucial factor.
“We’re withdrawing!” he ordered. “The whole army will return to base.”
Since Kong Youde had already begun to let his troops plunder the market, it meant he had made up his mind to rebel. The next thing to do was to have the reconnaissance cavalry stick to him closely and keep an eye on his movements.
With the surprise attack by the special reconnaissance team as a trigger, an army that had long been discontented finally raised the banner of rebellion. The anger and resentment that had long been suppressed in the hearts of the Dongjiang army suddenly turned into a highly destructive torrent.
After Kong Youde’s troops rose in rebellion, they immediately returned to Wuqiao and launched a surprise attack on the city. The local county magistrate was prepared—he had heard about the “horse bandits” active in the neighboring Dongguang County—and had closed the city gates in time. At least the county seat was saved. Seeing that he could not succeed for the time being, Kong Youde did not linger under the city walls. After burning, killing, and looting in the local area, he immediately led his troops back to Shandong.
They had obtained a large amount of livestock, grain, provisions, and property in Dongguang and Wuqiao. They loaded the property and provisions onto the plundered horses, mules, and donkeys, and drove them along with the main force towards Shandong. The dust raised by the men and horses rolled on, visible from more than ten li away.
“They’ve rebelled!”
The terrible news spread along the main road. The urgent dispatches from Dongguang and Wuqiao counties were already being transmitted through the post stations. However, on the entire Shandong land, apart from the Senators in Longkou who were rubbing their hands and waiting in readiness, no one had yet anticipated how the situation would develop. In the slumber of the gentry and people of Shandong, the Liaodong iron cavalry of Kong Youde had already rolled in.
The Qimu Island trio nervously watched Kong Youde’s movements. They had successfully pulled Kong back onto the historical trajectory that the Senate needed. Now, it depended on whether his next move was consistent with that of the old timeline.
The news from the reconnaissance cavalry reassured them. After sweeping through Wuqiao, Kong Youde advanced rapidly to the southeast along the route of what is now National Highway 104. The local government was caught off guard and had no troops to use. Those who reacted quickly could close their city gates in time and escape disaster. Those who reacted slowly fell one after another. The rebel army successively captured Ling County and Linyi, seizing a large amount of grain, provisions, property, and livestock. Then, they followed the route of Provincial Highway 316, captured Shanghe, and then continued east from Shanghe, successively crossing the Tuhai River and the Yellow River, and capturing Qidong (now called Gaoqing). After that, they attacked to the southeast again, capturing Xincheng (probably now called Huantai).
Because his troops were almost all cavalry and they had plundered a large number of livestock to transport their supplies, and they did not get bogged down in any one place or city along the way, supplementing their supplies by plundering as they went, their advance was very fast.
In less than a month, on November 22, 1631, his forces had already reached the walls of Dengzhou city.
The rebel army had only passed through Huang County; Kong Youde had not attempted to attack the county seat. His main concern was to return to Dengzhou as soon as possible to get the support of the former Dongjiang subordinates and strengthen his forces.