Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 60 Self-Defense Armed Forces

The north gate of Jinan Prefecture was shrouded in morning mist.

The city gates, which should have been tightly closed, were now wide open, and the drawbridge was lowered. Countless carriages and sedan chairs were crowded in the narrow passageway, like a clogged sewer.

Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Daodeng sat in the spacious four-wheeled carriage, lifting a corner of the curtain, sweating profusely as he urged, "Hurry! Hurry! Get those soldiers to clear the road for me! Anyone who dares to block the way, execute them on the spot!"

Behind him were more than a dozen large carts loaded with gold, silver, and valuables, along with several weeping concubines. On either side of the convoy, a thousand soldiers from the city defense battalion were wielding whips and scabbards, roughly driving away civilians who also wanted to flee the city.

"Make way! Everyone make way! Let Lord Zhou pass first!"

The cries of the people, the neighing of mules and horses, and the shouts of soldiers mingled together. This was a pre-apocalyptic carnival, and also an exhibition of the ugliest aspects of human nature.

Zhou Daodeng gripped the official seal tightly in his hand, his mind filled with only one thought: cross the river! Once he crossed the Yellow River and reached Dezhou, he would be safe. As for the hundreds of thousands of people in Jinan... that was the court's business, a matter of luck, and certainly not Zhou Daodeng's.

"Sir! There's someone blocking the road ahead!"

The coachman suddenly screamed in terror and yanked the reins. The carriage jolted violently, and Zhou Daodeng's head slammed heavily against the carriage wall.

"Insolence! Who dares to block my path? This is outrageous!"

Zhou Daodeng covered his forehead and angrily climbed out of the carriage.

The next second, his anger was extinguished as if by a bucket of ice water, and he froze on the carriage shaft.

Suddenly, a troop of fully armed cavalry appeared on the drawbridge at the city gate.

Twenty riders, in black armor and on black horses, silently blocked the only way out. They wore menacing iron masks and their sabers were not drawn, but the oppressive aura they exuded, as heavy as mountains, caused the thousand city defense soldiers to instinctively stop in their tracks.

The leader rode a tall, sturdy Liaodong horse, wearing a black cloak but no armor; he was still dressed in a simple, upright blue robe.

Lu Yan.

He held a riding crop that seemed somewhat out of place in the setting, and his gaze swept across the crowded people, coldly locking onto Zhou Daodeng.

"Lord Zhou, where are you headed so early?"

Lu Yan rode forward slowly. The horseshoes clattered on the stone pavement, each step sounding like a blow to Zhou Daodeng's heart.

"Brother Lu... Brother Lu..."

Zhou Daodeng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I...I'm going to...to Dezhou to urge the supply of grain! Yes, to urge the supply of grain! The city is short of food, and I'm extremely anxious!"

"Urging us to pay grain?"

Lu Yan rode his horse to the front of the carriage, looking down at the third-rank official who was full of lies. He glanced at the large carts behind him filled with mahogany boxes, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Does Lord Zhou need to bring his concubine and these dozen or so cartloads of valuables with him when he goes to collect grain? Or is it that the grain merchants in Dezhou only accept your family members as collateral?"

The surrounding civilians and soldiers all heard these words, and a commotion arose in the crowd. The city defense soldiers, who had previously held a sliver of awe for Zhou Daodeng, now looked at him with a strange expression.

Zhou Daodeng's face turned a deep shade of liver, and he was furious: "Lu Yan! You, a mere scholar, dare to question me? I am an official appointed by the court. Do I need to report to you where I go? Get out of my way! Otherwise, I will charge you with obstructing military affairs!"

"Men! Charge through! Anyone who dares to block our way, kill them without mercy!"

Zhou Daodeng roared hysterically, trying to intimidate the young man in front of him with his official authority.

However, the thousand city defense soldiers hesitated. Looking at the twenty iron-clad cavalrymen before them, and then at the composed and unperturbed scholar Lu, none of them dared to take the first step.

"Let's see who dares to make a move."

Lu Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling aura.

He suddenly swung the riding whip in his hand.

"Snapped!"

With a sharp crack, the whip lashed hard across the shaft of Zhou Daodeng's carriage, leaving a deep welt. The imperial horse pulling the carriage was startled, rearing up with a neigh, nearly throwing Zhou Daodeng off the carriage.

The entire room fell silent.

A mere scholar dared to publicly whip the carriage of the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner? This was an utterly outrageous act, unheard of in the Ming Dynasty!

"Zhou Daodeng!"

Lu Yan no longer addressed him as "Sir," but called him by his given name. He spurred his horse closer until the horse's head almost touched Zhou Daodeng's nose, and in those deep eyes burned a flame called ambition.

"You can leave if you want. Leave your official seal and these thousand brothers behind. You can get out of here on your own, and I, Lu, will not stop you."

"But if you want to take away the last bit of defense in Jinan, if you want to leave the people of this city to Xu Hongru as lambs to the slaughter..."

Lu Yan's hand slowly rested on the flintlock pistol handle at his waist, his voice extremely low, yet it sent chills down Zhou Daodeng's spine:

"The gun in Lu's hand doesn't recognize official robes or insignia. Today, this North Gate will be your burial ground."

"You...you dare to kill an official? That's treason!" Zhou Daodeng pointed at Lu Yan, his voice trembling and distorted.

"rebel?"

Lu Yan laughed, a laugh that was completely unrestrained.

"My lord, if we were to kill you now and throw you into the moat, when the imperial army arrives, I would say you were killed by rioters and died defending the city. Do you think the court would believe me, a righteous man who 'sacrificed his family for the country,' or you, a deserter who fled the battlefield?"

These words were like a sharp knife, precisely piercing Zhou Daodeng's most feared weak spot.

He didn't want to die, and he certainly didn't want to die with a bad reputation.

"What...what exactly do you want?" Zhou Daodeng slumped in the carriage, as if his spine had been removed.

"It's very simple."

Lu Yan put away his riding whip and pointed to the city gate tower behind him.

"Return to the government office. Hold court and reassure the people. Tell the entire city that you, Lord Zhou, have sworn to fight to the death and will live and die with Jinan."

"As for defending the city..." Lu Yan glanced around at the city defense soldiers with complex expressions, "This dirty and tiring work of killing, I'll do it for you. The credit is yours, but the lives are everyone's."

Zhou Daodeng looked at Lu Yan, then at the pairs of eyes staring at him from all around—angry civilians, bewildered soldiers, and the twenty cavalrymen who looked like the Grim Reaper.

He knew that the situation was hopeless.

In this chaotic world, whoever has a knife in their hand and dares to kill is the one who holds the truth.

"Back to...back to the government office!"

Zhou Daodeng gritted his teeth and forced out these words, as if using all his strength, "I... swear to defend the city to the death!"

"My lord is wise."

Lu Yan smiled slightly, turned his horse around, and made way for him. "Please."

The convoy turned around in deathly silence. Zhou Daodeng, like a defeated rooster, shrank back into the carriage. The soldiers of the city defense battalion, looking at Lu Yan, now held a hint of awe and... a certain sense of security in having found their leader.

This scene was witnessed by countless eyes.

The news spread like wildfire throughout every corner of Jinan: Scholar Lu had forced the fleeing Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner back! Scholar Lu had troops at his disposal, was willing to kill, and was determined to defend the city!

An hour later, Lu Ji Carriage and Horse Shop.

The lobby is no longer as deserted as it used to be.

Seven or eight portly gentlemen dressed in silk were sweating profusely and crowding in front of the counter, waving thick wads of silver notes.

"Master Lu! Here's five thousand taels! I want to buy that 'special security' service!"

"I'll offer ten thousand taels! Let my family members enter your inner courtyard!"

"Master Lu! This is the land deed for the Li family in the east of the city. As long as I can save my house, I'll leave the deed with you as collateral!"

These were the same people, including Master Li and Master Zhang, who had been observing the situation.

The scene at the North Gate completely jolted them awake. The government was unreliable, and money couldn't buy life. In this city on the verge of collapse, the only Noah's Ark was this scholar, Lu, who dared to whip a high-ranking official.

Lu Yan sat by the railing on the second floor, holding a teacup in his hand, coldly watching the farce below.

"Master, isn't this price... a bit too high?" Fan Fu asked in a low voice, his hands flying across the abacus. "Master Zhang offered a full ten thousand taels of silver. That's all the wealth we had before."

Is it high?

Lu Yan blew on the tea froth and said casually, "Fan Fu, remember this. Yesterday, our security was sold to people. Today, our security is sold to lives. Does life have a price?"

He put down his teacup and stood up.

"Tell those below that the current prices are 'wartime prices.' To enter the safe zone, in addition to silver, you also need to pay with grain, cloth, and iron. We'll take as much as you have, no bargaining."

"in addition……"

Lu Yan's gaze turned to the door, where a large green sedan chair was hurrying towards them. The curtain was lifted, revealing the prefect Wang's face, which was still shaken but full of obsequiousness.

"Looks like a real 'big order' has come knocking."

Lu Yan straightened his clothes, a calm smile playing on his lips.

"Go open the gate. Welcome our Lord Prefect."

"The dealer has changed this round."