“Where’s Third Brother?”
Seeing Zhao Kuo, Han Laoshan, and other retainers arrive at Lanting Lane with his father and Feng Liao, but not seeing any trace of his third brother Han Daoxun, Han Daoming didn’t know what had happened at the Capital Prefecture offices and asked in shock.
“Inner Bureau Director Zhou Bin carried His Majesty’s handwritten edict, commanding Your Excellency to go see Wen Muqiao. We suspected His Majesty had already been controlled by the Anning Palace and that Wen Muqiao was not worthy of trust, but Your Excellency still insisted on going alone with Zhou Bin to see Wen Muqiao!” Feng Liao said.
“How could Third Brother be so pedantic? The commanders guarding the palace gates have all been replaced with Anning Palace’s people. Currently, the Bureau of Military Affairs is issuing new transfer orders to replace the Imperial City’s commanders! That old fox Shi Yandao has the keenest sense of smell—he found an excuse to leave the Administrative Hall this afternoon, and upon returning home immediately ordered his estate gates closed, forbidding anyone to enter or exit. Hu Huazhang, Shi Chonghai, and others were slower to react, but by now they’ve each returned to their estates, assembled their household guards, and are tightly defending their gates…”
Although Han Daoming had been persuaded by Feng Liao at the first opportunity to retreat to Lanting Lane with his family, as Vice Minister of Personnel, he had his own sources of information.
Moreover, the offices of the Six Ministries were all within the Imperial City. The abnormal changes in the defenses at the various Imperial City gates, as well as the guard changes at the palace gates near the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Administrative Hall, and the series of unusual reactions by Prime Minister Shi Yanshou, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, and other high officials in the evening—Han Daoming had arranged for people to investigate and could still confirm these matters at the fastest possible speed.
At this time, more and more secret agents from the Bureau of Geography had gathered to watch Lanting Lane, lurking at the various alley entrances. Han Daoming was worried that after nightfall, a large army would very likely come to forcefully attack Lanting Lane.
By this point, Han Daoming could also confirm that the Imperial Palace had fallen under the control of the Anning Palace. Although they didn’t know His Majesty’s true condition, the fact that Zhou Bin could easily leave the palace with an edict was itself problematic.
Han Daoming had never imagined his third brother would be this foolish, this pedantic!
Feng Liao and the others’ eyebrows twitched, but they held back from speaking.
“Does Lord Han think that by taking such a risk, His Majesty has already made a decision in the palace to pass the throne to the Crown Prince?” Marquis Liyang Yang En and Zheng Chang emerged from the anxious crowd and asked Feng Liao.
“Marquis Yang?” Feng Liao remembered he hadn’t arranged for anyone to fetch Marquis Liyang Yang En. He secretly felt that Yang En must have been together with Supreme Court Vice Minister Zheng Chang at the time, which was why Zhao Wuji had brought him along to Lanting Lane.
“My lord speculated as such, but as for whether it’s true, no one knows the actual situation inside the palace at this time,” Feng Liao said.
With the Imperial Palace completely controlled by the Anning Palace and no information able to escape, it was like a black box, making it difficult to fathom the specific circumstances inside.
“Did Lord Han go with Zhou Bin to Director-General Wen Muqiao’s estate, or to the Imperial City?” Yang En asked.
“He went to the Wen estate,” Feng Liao said.
“Donkey Egg, bring the horses over. We’re going to see Wen Muqiao!” Yang En said.
“Marquis Yang…” Han Daoming exclaimed in shock. He wanted to dissuade Yang En from acting impetuously.
“The Great Chu is still our Yang family’s for now at least. I, Yang En, have no face to flee the city with you all,” Yang En said with a bitter smile. Turning back and seeing that the household guards who had accompanied him today were cowering fearfully in the rear without moving, he cursed: “You donkey cowards afraid of death—bring me the horse. I’ll go see Wen Muqiao alone.”
Feng Liao was about to dissuade Yang En when he felt Han Wenhuan secretly tug at his sleeve.
He instantly understood. If Wen Muqiao truly had problems, with both his lord and Yang En falling into their trap simultaneously, even if they wanted to legitimately have the Crown Prince succeed to the throne, they wouldn’t launch a killing spree without any scruples.
Perhaps if they first retreated to Taowu Camp to await orders, leaving their lord and Yang En to negotiate with the Anning Palace, Wen Muqiao, Niu Gengru, and others, they might ultimately produce a compromise solution that everyone could accept.
Wasn’t his lord going to see Wen Muqiao precisely with this slender thread of hope in mind?
Now letting Marquis Liyang Yang En go as well would at least increase their chances of success somewhat, wouldn’t it?
…
…
“This is bad! Xu Anlan has led a contingent of troops and rushed to the Donghua Gate!”
Yang En had just ridden away from Lanting Lane alone when Han Jun and Han Duan rushed to the front courtyard in haste and said in alarm.
By this time, the sky had already darkened. According to regulations, Jinling City’s nine gates had all closed, but they held the official seal and command tokens of the Capital Prefecture. As long as the officers on duty at the city gates were willing to feign ignorance or willing to do the Third Prince’s faction a favor, they could open the city gates upon seeing the Capital Prefecture’s tokens.
As a direct descendant of the Xu clan, as Military Affairs Registrar and Standard-Bearer Commander of the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, as commander of the Crown Prince’s personal guards, Xu Anlan personally leading a contingent of troops to rush to Donghua Gate must certainly be to take control of Donghua Gate’s defenses, and must certainly be to cut off the nearest communication route between Lanting Lane and Taowu Camp at the first opportunity.
And the Shitang River’s water gate for leaving the city, which controlled the water passage, also fell within the defensive system under Donghua Gate’s garrison.
At this time, the combined family members and dependents of various households and officers gathered at Lanting Lane totaled over nine hundred people, mostly women and children. The estate guards and household troops that could barely be mobilized for combat numbered only twelve hundred men.
Under these circumstances, if a large group was to move through the streets and alleys to exit the city, their slow speed and chaotic state were not difficult to imagine. The rebel forces could simply dispatch a contingent to follow them and make them unable to advance a single step, easily routing them completely.
Using the two fast war sailing ships and other cargo vessels moored at the Shitang River docks to transport the various households’ family members out of the city was the most realistic choice.
Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian had also sent people this afternoon to escort his family to the River Fleet Army’s water camp. It was possible that Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian had received a warning, or that Yang Jian had detected the abnormality. Regardless of whether Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian had the courage to fight for Emperor Tianyou, at this moment they could be certain that Marquis Zhenyuan Yang Jian was not colluding with the Anning Palace.
This meant that the water camp combat strength directly controlled by the rebel forces in the city at this time was extremely limited.
Hiding over nine hundred women and children in the ship holds wouldn’t create any interference. With over twelve hundred combat troops boarding the ships, plus assembling over two hundred boatmen and sailors from the warehouses, leaving the city via the waterway to reach Taowu Camp was the safest and most convenient choice.
Now that the Donghua Gate water gate had been controlled by the rebel forces, besides Donghua Gate, Jinling City had two other water gates that could allow passage out of the city via waterways.
Han Jun and Han Duan couldn’t be bothered to ask why their Third Uncle Han Daoxun hadn’t returned with the old master, nor could they be bothered to ask where Marquis Liyang had ridden off to alone. They only wanted the old master, their father, and Zheng Chang to quickly decide that they should board ships and leave the city immediately.
If they delayed further, once the rebel forces controlled the other two water gates, they would become trapped turtles in a jar!
“What do you say—should we leave through Beisheng Gate?” Only now had Zheng Chang sorted through all the various matters. The panic in his heart hadn’t completely subsided, and he was somewhat at a loss. But among those at Lanting Lane who could make decisions, there were only him, Han Daoming, and the Han family’s old master, Han Wenhuan.
“The commander of Beisheng Gate water gate is Imperial Guard Deputy Commander Gu Huanyu. His father, Gu Ting, worked alongside me for many years. Gu Huanyu should be willing to give my old self some face,” Han Wenhuan said.
“Going through Beisheng Gate requires passing through Taohua Bridge, which is controlled by the Left Wuwei Army! If Wen Muqiao and his son Wen Bo have already been subverted by the Anning Palace, they’re most likely eager to demonstrate loyalty to their new master and might brazenly ambush us near Taohua Bridge!” Feng Liao said. “If none of the Imperial Guard generals can be trusted, the Young Master’s proposal is that we directly ram through the Donghua Gate water gate to exit the city!”
“Ram through the Donghua Gate water gate to leave the city? Do you think the warships built in Xuzhou can be more solid than the deeply embedded iron grate gates in the stone wall of the water gate?” Han Jun questioned incredulously.
“This is a map of Jinling’s waterways. Going through Beisheng Gate, there are four or five narrow water passages that are extremely vulnerable to ambush. And ships traveling through the city cannot go fast—at the fastest, it would still take two hours to get from Lanting Lane to the Beisheng Gate water gate. That’s enough time for the Anning Palace to calmly write transfer orders for the commanders and replace Gu Huanyu!” Feng Liao had a young Xi clan member bring out the Jinling waterway map and spread it before Han Daoming, Zheng Chang, and the old master Han Wenhuan.
Although the Han family’s main retainers, the Prince of Tan’s estate guards, and Jinyun Tower’s elite scouts were all under Jiang Huo’s command and directed by Feng Liao, this group numbered only over three hundred elite troops.
Beyond this, the household troops and retainers of the various families would, at such a critical moment, only obey the orders of the highest-ranking and most prestigious Old Master Han, Zheng Chang, and Han Daoming.
Feng Liao first had to convince Old Master Han, Han Daoming, and Zheng Chang about which waterway to take out of the city.
“But isn’t it more realistic than attempting to ram through the Donghua Gate water gate?” Han Jun said.
“The Qianyang war sailing ship that the Young Master left on standby in Jinling—besides the several-thousand-catty iron plow ram mounted at the bow, the entire bow section of the warship has been reinforced from the inside with twenty to thirty thousand catties of steel components. Although the iron grate gate at Donghua Gate water gate is as thick as an arm, it’s made of inferior iron. Having been submerged in water for several years without replacement, by now it’s already covered with rust. Although we cannot test it beforehand, there should be a reasonable chance of ramming it open!” Zhao Wuji said in his deep voice.
Zhao Wuji was quite dejected at this moment.
Han Qian had formulated various contingency plans for this moment, but it was he who had been too hesitant, allowing Zhao Kuo to outmaneuver him, failing to detain the family head at the first opportunity.
“Go see whether the warship can withstand severe impact!” Han Wenhuan was too old, and after experiencing today’s turmoil, his body was already feeling unwell. After Han Daoming and Zheng Chang deliberated for a while, they had Han Jun and Han Duan follow Zhao Wuji to first inspect the condition of that war sailing ship.
If the war sailing ship that Han Qian had arranged in advance to be on standby at Lanting Lane was truly as formidable as Zhao Wuji claimed, it would be worth the risk to ram through the Donghua Gate water gate.
After all, the rebel forces would absolutely never imagine they would directly drive a ship to ram the iron grate gate at Donghua Gate water gate.