Chapter 52: The Wheel of History Turns, the Death of Wei Zhongxian

"Wei Zhongxian wanted to redeem his crimes with meritorious service, but after failing to persuade Tu Wenfu to surrender, he was killed by the enraged Tu Wenfu."

Listening to Zhang Weixian's words, Zhang Zhiji was first startled, then fell into deep thought.

As the Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, Wei Zhongxian had murdered countless loyal and capable generals. Under his leadership, the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guard had kept numerous officials in constant anxiety and fear.

With him around, it was practically a sword hanging over the heads of all civil and military officials, capable of falling at any moment.

Such a person absolutely could not be kept alive—both to avenge the loyal subjects who had died unjustly and to leave a path for themselves.

Although killing Wei Zhongxian would result in His Majesty appointing a new Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, people were different, and recreating the absolute dominance Wei Zhongxian held would be practically impossible.

"The remnant troops of the Inner Training Division are stubborn and unrepentant. Kill them!"

Without answering his son, Zhang Weixian waved his right hand, and the signal flags were raised.

Boom!

Boom!

Several roaring explosions echoed as solid cannonballs and "Ten-Thousand-Enemy" fire-carts plunged into the encampment of the Inner Training Division.

In an instant, tents within the camp were shattered to pieces, and warhorses neighed in terror.

The soldiers of the Inner Training Division who had just surrendered watched this scene with trembling bodies, secretly rejoicing that they had surrendered in time; otherwise, not even a whole corpse would have been left of them.

"Attack!"

With another command, a thousand pikemen charged forward in formation.

Moments later, the pikemen withdrew.

"Marshal, there are no survivors left in the camp."

"Zhiji, take your men to inspect and tally the camp once more. Cut off the heads of Wei Zhongxian and Tu Wenfu; I am going to see His Majesty. Afterward, divide these six thousand men and interrogate them separately, making them mutually inform on Wei Zhongxian's accomplices, and then..."

Zhang Weixian did not finish his sentence, but Zhang Zhiji understood completely.

Cut the weeds and eradicate the roots.

An hour later, Zhang Weixian entered the inner city of Beijing alone, heading straight for the Warm Pavilion in the East to report the detailed situation.

"Your Majesty, I captured Wei Zhongxian inside the central army tent. Most of the Inner Training Division surrendered, except for Tu Wenfu, who put up a stubborn resistance. Wei Zhongxian claimed he wished to redeem his crimes by persuading Tu Wenfu to surrender, but who could have known that once he entered the camp, he colluded with Tu Wenfu to resist stubbornly? I had no choice but to order a bombardment. In the shelling, Wei Zhongxian, Tu Wenfu, and all their die-hard followers were killed. I have verified their identities, and I have brought their heads with me."

Chongzhen was initially quite satisfied, but upon hearing at the end that Wei Zhongxian was dead, his expression darkened slightly.

How Wei Zhongxian died—there was bound to be trickery involved.

If he sent men to investigate, the findings would undoubtedly match Zhang Weixian's account.

Originally, he had intended to spare Wei Zhongxian's life so he could supervise the civil officials, yet in the end, the man still died.

Historically, Wei Zhongxian hanged himself in an inn at the southern pass of Funan County on the sixth day of the eleventh month of the seventh year of Tianqi. Today was also the sixth day of the eleventh month, the only difference being that he was blown to death by a Red-Barbarian cannon.

After twisting and turning, he had died after all; it could be considered a cycle of history.

Chongzhen waved his hand. "Dead is dead. You have worked hard, Duke of Ying."

"By the way, Qin Liangyu will arrive in the capital tomorrow. How does the Duke of Ying think I should reward her?"

Faced with Chongzhen's inquiry, the Duke of Ying was slightly startled before replying, "This subject dares not presume to discuss imperial rewards!"

"Dares not? Or doesn't want to?"

"Your Majesty, rewarding officials is the prerogative of the Son of Heaven. This subject begs Your Majesty to make the ultimate decision alone!"

Chongzhen inwardly cursed the old fox.

He knew all too well what scheme Zhang Weixian was playing. If Zhang Weixian suggested a meager reward, he wouldn't be pleased; if he suggested a generous one, it would easily bring trouble upon himself. Thus, he simply gave no suggestion at all.

"Very well, go attend to your matters. Have the rewards for the White-Pole Troops prepared; I will use them tomorrow."

"Also, tomorrow, lead the generals of the capital garrison to attend the ceremony!"

After Zhang Weixian departed, Chongzhen paced slowly back and forth inside the Warm Pavilion in the East. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Fang Zhenghua, send men to Nanjing and order Cao Huachun to return to the capital posthaste."

Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua felt a shock in their hearts.

Recalling Cao Huachun at this time undoubtedly meant appointing him as the Superintendent of the Eastern Depot—this was the number two figure among the eunuchs, second only to the Directorate of Ceremonies' Seal-Holding Eunuch.

The function of the Eastern Depot was to investigate treason, seditious rumors, and major wicked deeds, as well as to supervise the civil officials. It could only be held by eunuchs who depended entirely on imperial power.

If a civil official were appointed to the post, it would be like setting one's own exam questions and grading oneself, completely losing the meaning of supervision.

Having made these arrangements, Chongzhen sat behind the dragon desk and began to ponder how to reward Qin Liangyu and the White-Pole Troops.

In this battle to seize power and resolve the political factional strife, it might have seemed that the White-Pole Troops did not participate in the actual operational maneuvers, but their role had been monumental.

This was akin to nuclear weapons in later generations; having them versus not having them carried entirely different meanings.

Without the White-Pole Troops, Duke of Ying Zhang Weixian would never have shown goodwill toward him. That ten-thousand-strong Inner Training Division was a ticking time bomb; until Wei Zhongxian was removed, he could never have calmly set about dealing with anyone else.

Their deterrent significance far outweighed their tactical battlefield significance.

After thinking for a moment, Chongzhen pulled over a blank imperial edict and began to write.

When he finished, he paused to think, then wrote out two more in succession, leaving Wang Chengen, who was waiting nearby, utterly bewildered.

"Your Majesty, you've been busy all day. Please rest for a while first; if anything comes up, this servant will wake you."

Seeing that the sky had gradually grown dark, Wang Chengen stepped forward to advise.

Not speaking of it was fine, but the moment it was mentioned, Chongzhen felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion wash over him. He immediately said, "Very well, then I shall sleep for a while."

"Oh, right, send some braziers and cotton quilts to those ministers in the Hall of Imperial Supremacy. Make sure they don't freeze to death."

With that, he collapsed onto the soft couch and fell into a heavy sleep.

The Warm Pavilion in the East grew quiet, and Beijing, busy for an entire day, also quieted down. The city of a million residents grew as silent as a city of the dead.

Only the night patrolmen holding torches bore testimony to the majestic grandeur of the ancient city.

Chongzhen slept until the hour of *Mao* (around 6:00 AM). When he woke up, he felt refreshed and clear-headed—it was the most peaceful sleep he had experienced in over a month.

"Your Majesty, news came from the White-Pole Troops at the hour of *Yin* (around 4:00 AM) that the main army has broken camp and will arrive outside Beijing at the hour of *Si* (around 10:00 AM)."

"Good!"

Chongzhen was overjoyed. "Pass down the order to Li Banghua: once Qin Liangyu and her White-Pole Troops arrive outside the city, open the Zhengyang Gate. And order Qin Liangyu to lead them directly into the city to the Chengtian Gate (now Tiananmen Square); I shall personally reward them there."

Hoping against hope for over a month, he had finally welcomed the most formidable army in the Ming Dynasty.

Although this army was composed of infantry organized by local peasants, their combat prowess was so formidable that even the iron cavalry of the Jianzhou Jurchens felt a headache upon encountering them.

For infantry to face cavalry head-on and drive the cavalry back—aside from General Qi Jiguang's Qi Family Army of the Jiajing era—only these White-Pole Troops had ever achieved this.

With the White-Pole Troops stationed in the capital for half a year, he would be able to completely reorganize and take control of the Four Imperial Guard Divisions, the Brave Cavalry Camp, and the Twenty-One Garrisons. By then, with tens of thousands of troops in hand, every faction in the Ming Dynasty would obediently bow and submit as subjects.

Otherwise, he would demonstrate to them the meaning of "those who submit shall prosper, and those who resist shall perish."

"Big Companion, change me into my armor!"

After the surge of excitement passed, Chongzhen gave the order to Wang Chengen.

A quarter of an hour later, Chongzhen was dressed in the armor belonging to the Emperor.

It was truly magnificent. Feeling the chill emanating from the metal plates, Chongzhen's heart was filled with soaring ambition—what man could resist such a suit of armor?

Yet, to be entirely honest, it was damn heavy.

Another half-hour later, Chongzhen arrived outside the Zhengyang Gate. Looking at the soldiers standing as straight as green pines and the stern, killing aura they exuded, goosebumps instantly rose across his skin.

He was finally about to meet the most formidable woman in the Ming Dynasty.

"This subject, Regional Military Commissioner Qin Liangyu of Shizhu, leading the White-Pole Troops, pays respects to Your Majesty! Long live, long live, long live Your Majesty!"