20demayo Chapter 55 The Spark
Chapter 55 The Spark
The fifth day of the fifth month of the second year of the Tianqi reign (1623), the Dragon Boat Festival.
This year's Dragon Boat Festival should have been a time for eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), dragon boat racing, and hanging mugwort to ward off evil spirits, but instead, the air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood.
Yuncheng County, a small county in southwestern Shandong, was usually inconspicuous, but at this moment it became the most dangerous powder keg in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Inside the county magistrate's jail, heart-wrenching screams filled the air, sending chills down one's spine.
The newly appointed magistrate of Yuncheng was a young man surnamed Zhang, who had recently passed the imperial examination. He was ambitious and eager to make money. A few days earlier, his brother-in-law—who was also the county's tax commissioner—had detained a group of suspicious merchants at the city gate. The group was pushing more than a dozen large carts covered with thick straw, claiming to be transporting medicinal herbs, but the ruts were frighteningly deep.
When the tax collector went up to investigate, he found that under the hay was not any medicinal material, but bundles of beef tendons.
In the Ming Dynasty, beef tendons were a strategic resource, essential for making strong bowstrings. Private possession and sale were strictly prohibited, let alone in such a large quantity. Magistrate Zhang was overjoyed, thinking he had caught a major smuggler. He believed he could not only gain merit but also make a hefty profit, perhaps even securing his future career and wealth.
But what he didn't know was that his claw had scratched the tiger's rear end.
"Speak! Who are these beef tendons for? Where are your accomplices?"
Inside the prison cell, Magistrate Zhang personally oversaw the scene, watching as the jailers pressed a red-hot branding iron onto the chest of the merchant leader.
"Sizzle—"
The stench of burning permeated the air. The vendor, a tough man, was covered in sweat, his teeth grinding together, yet he refused to speak.
"Stubborn to the end, huh?" Magistrate Zhang sneered, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "Men, grab him and use the leg clamps! I refuse to believe he's made of iron! Also, raid his hideout! Make sure to dig out all his accomplices!"
Under torture, the merchant finally broke down. He wasn't some kind of suicide soldier, but merely a peripheral leader of the Fragrance Cult responsible for logistics.
"I'll talk...I'll talk..." The vendor weakly raised his head, his eyes unfocused, "It's...it's for Master Xu..."
"Which Master Xu?"
"Xu...Xu Hongru..."
Magistrate Zhang was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He had heard of Xu Hongru's reputation in Shandong; Xu was a "living deity" with tens of thousands of followers, and local rumors circulated that he possessed some magical abilities. Having caught him red-handed was an incredible feat!
"Good! So it's a heretical cult plotting a rebellion!" Magistrate Zhang stood up excitedly. "Quickly! Gather the three shifts of yamen runners, and then mobilize the garrison soldiers. Come with me to raid Xu Hongru's lair! This time, I'm going to get promoted and make a fortune!"
He had no idea what kind of enormous creature he was facing. He thought he had caught a mouse by the tail, but little did he know it was the forked tongue of a giant python.
……
Jinan Prefecture, Lu Ji's Camp.
late at night.
The door to the intelligence room was suddenly pushed open, and Fan Fu rushed in like a gust of wind, abandoning his usual composure, clutching a very thin piece of mulberry paper in his hand.
"Boss! It's blown up! It's blown up!"
Lu Yan was sitting under the lamp wiping the flintlock pistol when he heard this. He paused, looked up, and his eyes were frighteningly calm: "What exploded?"
"Yuncheng!"
Fan Fu, panting heavily, slammed the bloodstained carrier pigeon message on the table. "This is a message our informant in the Yuncheng County government risked his life to deliver. That stupid magistrate... he's really messed up!"
Lu Yan picked up the note and quickly scanned it.
The magistrate of Yuncheng subjected the county to severe torture, uncovering ox sinew, 300 cotton armors, and a counterfeit seal. Fearing exposure, Xu's henchmen had already gathered outside the city, claiming tens of thousands, and besieged the county seat. The uprising… had begun ahead of schedule!
"Snapped!"
Lu Yan slammed the note on the table, his eyes gleaming.
"really."
Lu Yan stood up and paced back and forth in the cramped room. "Xu Hongru originally wanted to wait until after the autumn harvest to take action, when there would be plenty of food and strong troops. But this stupid magistrate forced Xu Hongru to launch the uprising ahead of schedule for some petty gains."
"This is 'premature'." A cold smile curled at the corner of Lu Yan's lips. "Premature babies are born with deficiencies. Xu Hongru's preparations are definitely not complete yet, and the responses from various places have not yet arrived. This gives us an opportunity."
"Master, what should we do?" Fan Fu asked anxiously. "Yuncheng is only a few hundred miles from Jinan. If this fire spreads over here..."
"It would be better if it were burned."
Lu Yan stopped and looked at the Shandong map on the wall, pointing heavily with his finger on the line connecting "Yuncheng" and "Jinan".
"Chaotic times are the stage for heroes. If there's no chaos, who are we 'security business' people going to make money off of?"
Lu Yan turned around, his expression becoming solemn, with the majesty of a general facing battle.
"Pass on my orders!"
"First, activate the 'Level One Combat Readiness Response.' The Lu Ji camp is to be sealed off immediately; entry is permitted, but exit is not. All guards are to have their leave cancelled, be issued weapons and ammunition, and be on 24-hour shifts. Push those four breech-loading cannons onto the wall, remove their covers, and be ready to fire at any time!"
"Secondly, have Hu Jingshui immediately sever all commercial ties with Yuncheng and Juye. Those who can evacuate our branches and shops there should do so immediately; as for the goods that can't be taken... burn them! We absolutely cannot leave them to aid the enemy!"
"third……"
Lu Yan walked to his desk, picked up his pen, and quickly wrote a few lines on a piece of gold-flecked stationery.
"Send the fastest horse to deliver this letter to Liu Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the garrison. Tell him, 'The traitor Xu has rebelled, and Shandong is in chaos. Please make a decision as soon as possible.' This is the first major favor we've done for the inner court."
"Also," Lu Yan thought for a moment, then added, "send a message to that old fox Zhou Daodeng as well. Tell him that I, Lu Yan, observed the celestial phenomena last night and saw a murderous aura in the southeast, fearing a war. I suggest he quickly send his family away, or... send them to me for 'refuge'."
"Refuge?" Fan Fu was taken aback.
"Yes, seeking refuge." Lu Yan sneered, "Once you're in my door, you have to pay protection money. Zhou Daodeng has made so much money, it's time for him to give some back."
"Go! And be quick! After tonight, the weather in Shandong will be completely different."
"Yes!" Fan Fu accepted the order and left.
Lu Yan stood alone in the intelligence room, listening to the increasingly rapid wind outside the window.
He picked up the gleaming flintlock pistol and aimed it at the air.
"Xu Hongru..."
He murmured the name softly, "You lit a good fire. Burn this corrupt Ming Dynasty bureaucracy to the core, burn out all those incompetent and useless people. After you finish burning it down, this ruin will be the foundation for my grand building, Lu Yan."
"Bang!"
He made a mock gunshot sound and then sheathed the gun.
In May of the second year of the Tianqi reign, on this seemingly ordinary night, the death knell of the Ming Dynasty was tolled fiercely in a corner of Shandong.
Lu Yan, who had already sharpened his claws, stood in the darkness, quietly waiting for the moment of the hunt to arrive.