Chapter Ten Entering the City

  Wang Pu stared at Zhen Youcai, beginning to fall into intense mental struggle. What to do? Believe or not believe? If believed, that would mean putting his own life and the lives of over a thousand servants in the hands of this guy Zhen Youcai, but could he be trusted? If not believed, was there a better way out? If they couldn't take Shengjing, escaping back to the Ming would also be a dead end.

  "Zhen you cai!" Wang Pu suddenly asked with a gloomy tone, "What kind of person are you after all?"

  Zhen Youcai replied in a low voice: "A petty man, a petty man is just a clerk."

  "Nonsense!" Wang Pu slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "You were kidnapped to Liaodong three years ago, but Lao Nuyan's conquest of Liaodong was decades ago! How did you know that he relied on the tactic of deceiving the city gate to seize all of Liaodong? Can a small clerk like you know the core secrets of Jianzhou? Even Jianzhou's night shifts and defense matters are known to you? Can a small historian like you lead a grain transport team in and out of the imperial city? Do Jianzhou and Suda trust you so much?"

  "This... this..."

  Zhen Youcai's eyes rolled around in confusion, and for a moment, he couldn't think of anything to say.

  "Speak quickly!" Wang Pu slapped his palm heavily on the table again and shouted loudly, "What kind of person are you?"

  Zhen Youcai was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground, knocking his head and trembling with fear: "I said, I said everything. The humble surname is Zhen, named Youcai, not fake, but the humble one is not the one who was captured by Jian Nu three years ago and brought to Liaodong. In fact... in fact, the humble ancestors have lived in Liaodong for generations, making a living by selling ginseng, but later Jian Nu became powerful, Liaodong fell, and the humble one had no choice... had no choice but to enter the flag."

  "Alright, he's actually joined the enemy's side." Xiao Qi stepped forward and grabbed Zhen Youcai's small braid on his forehead, saying to Wang Pu, "General, this guy doesn't even care about his ancestors, what's the point of keeping him alive in this world? I'll take him out now and let those Han people outside beat him to death."

  "No... don't say that." Zhen Youcai said hastily, "Although I have entered the banner registry, my heart is still with the Great Ming. Moreover, being a slave of the Jianzhou banner is not as good as being a commoner of the Great Ming in the Central Plains. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked my life to come and persuade you today, General. You must believe me, my intentions are pure and clear as day and night."

  "General." Xiao Qi also urged, "You mustn't believe him at all."

  Wang Pu stared straight at Zhen Youcai, his eyes as deep and dark as a thousand-year-old ice block. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Alright, General Wang believes you, let's do it your way!"

  "Ah."

  Zhen Youcai let out a long breath and fell backwards onto the ground, using his sleeve to wipe away the cold sweat that was dripping down from his forehead.

  ■■■

  The next morning, Wang Pu and Knife Scar Face led fifty elite house servants disguised as Ah Ha, escorting forty carts of grain and ten carts of vegetables and mountain goods prepared before dawn, under the guidance of Zhen Youcai, they marched towards Shengjing City with a big fanfare. This trip to Shengjing is crucial to the success or failure of the surprise attack, Wang Pu did not dare to take it lightly, he didn't trust anyone else to go, so he had to take action himself.

  Xiao Qi, Da Hu Zi and the majority of the troops were left in Changyong Fortress by Wang Pu.

  Until after dark, the Big Beard would lead the main force of his family to quietly approach Shengjing City under the cover of night. The Longyong Fortress was already very close to Shengjing City, and there were Jurchen manors everywhere here, with people coming and going on the official road, making it impossible to conceal their movements during the day. Only at night could they sneak up on Shengjing City without being detected.

  From Changyongbao to Shengjing is only thirty miles away. Before two hours, the grain team arrived at the outskirts of Shengjing City.

  The city gate of Shengjing was wide open, and two teams of Jian Nu were listlessly guarding the outside. People and horses came in and out of the city gate, but they didn't see them go up to ask questions. It seems that Zhen Youcai didn't lie, and the defense of Shengjing City during the day is indeed slack. In fact, it's not that the Jian Nu who guarded the city were lazy, because since Nurhaci occupied Liaodong, the Ming army had never launched a decent counterattack, let alone attacking Shengjing City. Who would have thought that the Ming army would come to launch a surprise attack on Shengjing?

  Jian Nu and Zhen Youcai, who were guarding the gate, indeed knew each other well and started waving at each other from a distance.

  Zhen Youcai turned back and glanced at Wang Pu, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Zhen Youcai then ran up hastily, while Wang Pu stopped the grain cart and pretended to lean against it to rest. His hands had already slipped into the grain sack and grasped the handle of the three-eyed gun. The servants behind Wang Pu also stopped their carts and began "resting" against them.

  At this distance, if Zhen had the guts to betray him, Wang Pu would have enough confidence to turn him into a beehive before he could escape into the city! Of course, on the other hand, if things really came to that point, Wang Pu's life would also end here today. With just these fifty household guards he brought with him, even if the slaves in Shengjing City were old, weak, sickly and disabled, they could still bite them to death.

  Zhen Youcai went forward and exchanged a few pleasantries with the gatekeeper, Jian Nu, in Manchu. He secretly turned his head back and saw Wang Pu and his fifty men standing there, which made him shiver involuntarily. In fact, Zhen Youcai didn't have any intention of revealing secrets, so he honestly told Jian Nu: "Several military officers, I was ordered by Su Dala to deliver these dozens of carts of grain, vegetables, and game to the palace."

  As he spoke, Zhen Youcai also stuffed the two silver ingots into Jian Nu's hand, and Jian Nu laughed so hard that his face bloomed. He turned around, waved his big hand and said: "Hurry up and go in, don't miss the time."

  "Can't be wrong, hehe, can't be wrong." Zhen Youcai smiled and quickly turned his head to wave at Wang Pu and others, "Did you hear that? Hurry up and drive the team into the city!"

  Wang Pu responded with a nod and beckoned the convoy to enter the city.

  When entering the city, Wang Pu left a heart eye. According to his visual measurement, this Shengjing City is not large, and the circumference will not exceed ten miles. There are two city gates in the south, and other directions are not clear. The height of the city wall is about 12 meters, and the thickness is about 6 meters. There is a small jar-shaped city inside the city gate. There are hidden soldier caves on both sides of the wall of the jar-shaped city, and there is a slope that can be ridden to enter the city.

  There is no enemy at the gate now, and all the hidden caves on the wall are empty.

  Wang Pu estimated that taking the city gate would be relatively easy, but the problem was the garrison inside the city. Although most of the Qing's Eight Banners elite were in Songshan at the moment, and those left in Shengjing City were mostly old, weak, sickly or disabled, it was always better to be cautious, so if they could quietly eliminate the garrison inside the city, why not?

  Zhen Youcai quietly approached Wang Pu and asked in a low voice: "General, are you looking for the military camp of the garrison troops inside the city?"

  Wang Pu looked at Zhen Youcai coldly and nodded slightly, which was equivalent to consent.

  "General, don't look around anymore. There are two military camps inside the city, both located on either side of the Daqing Gate. The Daqing Gate is the main entrance to the imperial palace. We will be passing by it soon, and you can take a good look at the terrain then. For now, let's not arouse any suspicion from the Jian slaves."

  Wang Pu hummed in response.

  "General, you should believe me now. If I wanted to betray you, the city gate would have been a good opportunity earlier. You should understand that my life and family are now tied to yours, General. Hehe, I still hope to follow you back to the Ming Dynasty to get promoted and rich."

  "It's easy to say." Wang Pu said in a low voice, "As long as you serve the imperial court well, I will definitely recommend you to His Majesty."

  Zhen Youcai smiled and said: "That little one will thank General first."

  The city of Shengjing is not big, and the two of them chatted all the way to the front of the Daqing Gate. Wang Pu also saw the two military camps, which were not large in scale, and could accommodate about 2,000 people together. The sound of killing shook the sky on the drill ground, and a team of young Jurchen slaves were practicing, with a strong murderous aura.

  Actually, Wang Pu did not know that the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing dynasty were not allowed to be stationed within the city of Shengjing. Only the 2,000 Imperial Guards directly under the command of Huang Taiji could be stationed in the military camp in front of the Great Qing Gate. This time, Huang Taiji led the army in person, and the 2,000 Imperial Guards naturally followed him to the expedition, leaving the heavy responsibility of defending Shengjing City to the young sons of the Zheng Huang and Xiang Huang Banners.

  Although these young men were only half-grown, Wang Pu did not have the slightest contempt for them in his heart. He would rather treat these more than 2,000 Jianluo children as the most dangerous enemies to deal with. Now they were isolated and deep in enemy territory, surrounded by enemies but without any friendly forces. The only thing that Wang Pu and his thousand or so retainers could rely on was themselves.

  In such a harsh environment, we must be cautious and absolutely cannot be careless.

  The procession stopped at the side gate of the imperial palace and didn't move any further, as going forward would be the inner palace, and Han people like Ah Ha who hadn't purified themselves certainly couldn't enter casually. Zhen Youcai, although he had entered the banner registry, also couldn't enter. Soon eunuchs came out to take over the carriages, and Wang Pu's task was considered complete. Next was to leave the city and find a place to settle down, then wait until tomorrow to re-enter the city and retrieve the empty carriages.

  Zhen Youcai led Wang Pu and the others to a secluded corner, saying in a low voice: "General, I know a banner man whose house is inside the southern city. It has two courtyards and is relatively quiet, so no one will disturb us. We can hide there safely."

  "Go."

  ;