bullyxtreme Chapter 59 The Third Choice
Chapter 59 The Third Choice
May 18th, the second year of the Tianqi reign, at dawn.
The deathly stillness of dawn in Jinan was shattered by the mournful sound of galloping hooves. It was not a messenger bringing good news, but a raven announcing death.
A scout covered in mud rushed into the south gate, bringing news that was like a bucket of boiling oil poured into a pot of boiling oil—Teng County had fallen, Zou County had fallen, and Xu Hongru had personally led his main force of 30,000 men, claiming to be 200,000, with the vanguard less than 50 li from Jinan.
Fifty li is only a day and night's journey for a band of bandits on a forced march.
The news spread throughout the city within half an hour. The wealthy households who had been observing finally collapsed, and the streets were filled with servants scrambling for carriages and carrying valuables, their cries and curses mingling together. The government officials, having already removed their official robes, mingled with the crowd, vying for passage out of the city.
The entire city resembled a giant ship about to sink, with everyone frantically searching for lifeboats.
Meanwhile, in the underground vault of Lu Ji's camp at Luan Shi Gang in the south of the city, the atmosphere was oppressive and suffocating.
This is Lu Yan's "core decision-making room." The heavy stone door shuts out the noise from the outside world, with only a few whale oil lamps burning quietly, illuminating the mountains of silver chests and account books.
Hu Jingshui was squatting on the ground, frantically stuffing silver notes and land deeds into several large tin boxes. His hands were trembling so badly that he spilled the silver notes on the ground several times. His usually shrewd and shrewd face was now filled with fear.
"Boss! We can't hesitate any longer! If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave!"
Old Hu suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "Thirty thousand main force troops! And over a hundred thousand displaced people who have been coerced! This is just an anthill, capable of devouring our thousand-odd men until not even bone fragments remain! With so few men and so few guns, how can we defend? What can we use to defend?"
He pointed to the already packed luggage in the corner, his tone urgent, almost pleading:
"The boat is ready! It's right at Luokou Wharf, our fastest boat, escorted by Zhao Changying's personal guards. If we set off now, sailing downstream, we'll reach Tianjin in two days. That's Eunuch Liu's territory, and also our crucial rear base. As long as we're alive, we'll always have firewood to burn, sir!"
This is the most rational choice.
As businessmen, it's instinctive to seek profit and avoid harm. Jinan is a dead end right now; staying here would result in a negative return on investment, or even a risk of going to zero.
Zhao Changying stood at the doorway, his hand gripping the hilt of his goose-feather saber, saying nothing. The muscles in his face were taut, and his eyes held a hint of resentment as he looked at Lu Yan—the instinctive shame a warrior feels for "fleeing without a fight." But he understood obedience even more. If his master said to leave, he would unhesitatingly fight his way out for him.
Lu Yan sat on a grand chair covered with tiger skin, toying with the white lotus dominoes he had seized from Xu Hongru's followers.
The dominoes were cold and had an eerie feel to them.
He didn't speak, but just quietly watched Hu Jingshui busy herself.
escape?
Indeed, if he wanted to leave, with Lu Ji's current wealth and military power, no one could stop him. Once in Tianjin, he could still be a wealthy man, still able to follow Wei Zhongxian around and enjoy the spoils.
but……
Lu Yan closed his eyes, and the massive "engineering blueprint" appeared in his mind.
If he leaves, the foundation he built in Shandong over the past three years—those mines, the newly established logistics network, and the network of official connections nurtured with money—will all be wiped out.
More importantly, he will lose something that is most important in this era—his "persona".
In the eyes of Wei Zhongxian and the Tianqi Emperor, he was a "capable minister" who could do dirty work and quell chaos. If he ran away this time, he would just be a speculator who would cower in the face of danger.
There were plenty of speculators in the Ming Dynasty, but only one capable minister.
"Old Hu, stop pretending."
Lu Yan suddenly spoke, his voice so calm it was almost abrupt, echoing in the empty vault.
Hu Jingshui's hand froze. He slowly straightened up, looked at Lu Yan, and his eyes flickered.
"What will happen to Jinan if we leave?" Lu Yan asked.
"It will fall," Hu Jingshui answered honestly. "Those spineless cowards like Zhou Daodeng, without us holding them back, will probably abandon the city and flee today. After the city falls, there will be widespread devastation, and hundreds of thousands of people will suffer..."
"I can't worry about the lives of ordinary people. I'm talking about us."
Lu Yan stood up, walked to the center of the vault, casually picked up a fifty-tael ingot of snowflake silver, weighed it in his hand, and asked, "If we leave, how much influence will we have with Eunuch Wang?"
Hu Jingshui fell silent.
It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow. But to turn the tide in times of crisis is—a life-saving grace.
Lu Yan slammed the silver coins heavily on the table, making a dull thud, as if a heavy hammer had struck their hearts.
"This is a gamble. The stakes are our lives, and the odds of winning are—the qualification to go from 'pawns' to 'players'."
"I'm not leaving."
Lu Yan's voice was resolute, revealing a desperate determination: "Not only will I not leave, but not a single soldier or tael of silver from Lu's company will be allowed to leave."
"But..." Hu Jingshui wanted to say something more.
"No buts." Lu Yan interrupted him, turning his gaze to Zhao Changying. "Changying, are you scared?"
"What's there to be afraid of!" Zhao Changying grinned, the gloom in his eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by a fierce and courageous aura. "Brother, I've been waiting for you to say that! These guns aren't just for show. We've trained for so long, haven't we? This is the day! Those charlatans only have numbers; if they really run into our volley of guns, they'll just be a pile of mangled flesh!"
"it is good."
Lu Yan nodded, then looked at Hu Jingshui, "Old Hu, open the box."
Hu Jingshui sighed, but he knew his master's temper; once he made up his mind, nothing could change it. He silently took out the silver notes he had packed and rearranged them neatly.
"Since we've decided not to leave, we have to find a new way to live."
Lu Yan walked to the Jinan city defense map hanging on the wall and pointed heavily at the southern part of the city.
"Pass down the order: Lu Ji's camp is to immediately activate 'Level One Alert'. From now on, this is no longer a carriage yard; this is the 'Jinan Wartime Command Post'."
Before he finished speaking, a sudden uproar arose from the ground, and the faint sound of weapons clashing could be heard.
A bodyguard rushed down the steps, his expression tense: "Master! Something terrible has happened! A group of hooligans have come in, along with dozens of patrolmen. They say they want to 'requisition' our grain and carts, and they're banging on the door!"
"Requisition?"
Lu Yan sneered, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
This is a harbinger of the collapse of order. Before the big devils arrive, the little devils have already started acting like clowns. Normally, these patrolmen would bow and scrape before Lu Ji's men, but now that the situation is chaotic, they all want to take advantage of the chaos, grab a piece of the pie, and run.
"Perfect, let's use them as a sacrifice."
Lu Yan straightened his collar, took the flintlock pistol off the wall, and inspected the gunpowder bath.
"Let's go up and take a look. Since we've decided to stay and be the king of Jinan, we need to let these wandering ghosts know who the real master is here."
……
The entrance to the carriage and horse shop was now in complete chaos.
Dozens of burly thugs, their faces contorted with rage, were pounding on the heavy elm gate, brandishing cudgels and cleavers. Behind them stood a squad of patrolmen in uniform, led by a captain on horseback, brandishing a whip and giving orders.
"Ramp! Ramp it open!"
The captain stared greedily at the high walls of the carriage and horse stable. "That scholar Lu has made so much ill-gotten money all this time. Now that the bandits are here, it's the perfect opportunity to confiscate it! Brothers, everyone gets a share of the grain and silver inside, as long as you move them out!"
"Okay!"
Upon hearing that there was a reward, the ruffians worked even harder.
"boom!"
The gate finally gave way under the strain, letting out a mournful cry as it slowly opened to both sides.
"Charge! Grab it!"
The hooligans yelled and tried to rush in. However, when the smoke cleared, everyone stopped abruptly, like chickens being choked, and even instinctively took several steps back.
Behind the door, there were neither the panicked waiters they had imagined, nor mountains of gold and silver.
It was a wall.
A steel wall made up of 150 strong men.
They were all dressed in dark blue cotton armor, wearing dark brown Fanyang hats, and had conspicuous red cloth strips tied to their left arms. The first thirty men carried long, iron-clad hardwood shields as tall as a person, followed closely by sixty swordsmen wielding extended broadswords.
At the very back, forty crossbowmen knelt on a high place, holding their powerful birchwood crossbows level. The dark muzzles of the crossbows gleamed with a cold, eerie light, their eyes fixed on everyone at the doorway.
There were no slogans, no shouts, only a chilling silence.
"What...what is this?" The horse under the captain snorted uneasily and took two steps back.
Lu Yan slowly walked out from the crowd. He wasn't wearing armor, still dressed in a blue robe, but the composure and indifference that emanated from his very bones were more intimidating than any armor.
"This gentleman looks unfamiliar."
Lu Yan stood behind the shield wall, toying with the flintlock pistol in his hand, his tone as casual as if he were chatting, "I heard you say earlier that you wanted to requisition my things?"
The captain looked at the row of gleaming crossbow bolts, then at Lu Yan's face, which showed not only no fear but also a hint of mockery, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
"Ahem... Scholar Lu, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
The captain, his voice trembling with fear, roared, "I am here on orders from the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner to... to assist in the defense! Since Scholar Lu's forces are strong and well-equipped, then... then I will go and see somewhere else!"
He wanted to run away.
"Wait a minute."
Lu Yan uttered two words calmly.
Did I let you leave?
The captain stiffened and pulled on the reins: "Scholar Lu, what...what do you want to do? I'm an official!"
"official?"
Lu Yan sneered, then suddenly raised the flintlock pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger towards the sky.
"Bang!"
A crisp gunshot rang out, accompanied by billowing white smoke, startling the captain so much that he almost fell off his horse.
"From now on, the area within 500 paces of Lu Ji Carriage and Horse Shop will be designated as a 'Special Security Zone'."
Lu Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it could be clearly heard in the deathly silent street: "Within this area, anyone carrying a weapon, whether a bandit or a government soldier, except for my men, will be killed without exception."
"Zhao Changying!"
"exist!"
"Hang up the flag!"
"yes!"
With a command, a huge black banner with white characters slowly rose from the watchtower of the carriage and horse stable. Instead of depicting fierce tigers or flying dragons, it bore four large, square characters, bold and powerful:
Protect the borders and ensure the safety of the people
In this chaotic world, these four words are more effective than any imperial edict. Because behind them stand one hundred and fifty ruthless soldiers who dare to kill.
"Get lost." Lu Yan spat out a single word at the captain.
The captain, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, didn't dare utter a single polite word. He turned his horse around and fled in panic with his men. The ruffians, seeing that the government troops had all run away, were even more terrified, wishing they had fewer legs.
The locals and merchants who were peeking through the cracks in the door changed their expressions as they watched this scene.
What began as fear transformed into a fervent desire.
In a time when the government was completely corrupt, a strongman who could yell at officials to get lost and scare away bandits was their only lifeline.
"It's done."
Lu Yan looked at the empty street and gently blew away the gun smoke.
But this is only the first step.
Just then, Fan Fu came running in through the back door, panting heavily, his face pale, clutching a message he had just received by carrier pigeon.
"Master! Something terrible has happened!"
Fan Fu's voice trembled. "Our informant in the prefectural government reported that the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Daodeng... Lord Zhou is assembling a convoy at the North Gate, preparing to abandon the city and flee! And... and he's even transferred a thousand soldiers from the city defense battalion to escort him!"
Lu Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.
Zhou Daodeng not only wants to flee, but also wants to draw away the last defensive force of Jinan City?
If he escapes, the morale of the army in Jinan will collapse instantly. At that time, not only will it be impossible to defend the city, but Lu Ji's few hundred men will be trampled to death by hundreds of thousands of refugees.
"He wants to pull the ladder away and make us die in his place?"
Lu Yan's eyes instantly turned icy cold, a furious rage at being betrayed by his teammates.
"Zhao Changying!"
"exist!"
"Gather the cavalry, everyone mount up! Take all the thunderbolts!"
Lu Yan strode towards the stable, his blue robe fluttering in the wind.
"Come with me to the North Gate. Since we're all in the same boat, no one's going to get off first. If we die, we die together; if we live... you have to listen to me!"
A battle for supreme command of the city officially began on this chaotic morning.