NCCnovel Chapter 138 Slap in the face
Chapter 138 Slap in the face
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Standing beneath the city gate, Liu Ye looked up at a group of officials atop the city wall.
He has been in the Ming Dynasty for three years now and has seen officials of all ranks, from governors to county magistrates. He is quite familiar with their attire. Judging from the color and pattern of their robes, he knows that these officials are at least fifth-rank officials. The old man surrounded in the middle is probably Wang Zunde, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
As the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde would naturally not personally go out of the city to negotiate with the bandits. No one else could make the decision for him, and Liu Ye, as the "bandit leader," would not risk his life to come into the city to talk to them. Therefore, the two sides could only shout at each other at the city gate.
Given the Governor's advanced age, Yu Baocheng took over the physical task of making the announcement. He shouted down to the city walls, "Listen up, people below! The Governor, out of compassion for the people of Guangzhou, is unwilling to wage war again and is willing to grant you three conditions. Once you receive the silver, you must leave immediately."
Liu Ye smiled wryly. Officials are officials after all; even when stripped naked, they still need a fig leaf to cover themselves. They're clearly being beaten into a corner, yet they still try to find a sanctimonious excuse. But let them have their verbal advantage; he only wants the real benefits.
He shouted with a strong voice, "If you had agreed to my request yesterday, three conditions would have been enough. Today I have one more condition: Lord Wang must publicly announce his resignation as governor."
The officials became agitated and shouted:
"An dare, thief!"
"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"
"Greedy and insatiable, they just take the money and run. Thieves are ultimately shameless and despicable."
……
Although everyone knew that Wang Zunde's dismissal was imminent, being removed from office by the court was vastly different from being forced to resign by the rebels. The latter was a blatant insult, unprecedented in the dynasty. Everyone was united in their indignation over this matter; the rebels were not only insulting Wang Zunde, but the entire civil service.
Ignoring the officials' clamor, Liu Ye casually uttered a sentence: "Lord Wang values his reputation, so it's fine if you don't agree. There are still several thousand government troops trapped in Qiongshan County, and I will not let them return to Guangzhou alive. Once this force is wiped out, there will be no soldiers left to fight in Guangdong, and no one can stop me from entering and leaving Guangdong. From now on, I will come to the city of Guangzhou every three months to visit you all."
Upon hearing this, the city tower fell silent. Though the words were arrogant, no one could deny their truth. If He Rubin's army were to be utterly annihilated, indeed no one in Guangdong could stop his advance. The provincial capital would be like a woman stripped naked, to be used whenever and however many times they pleased. They could bombard it every few months—wouldn't that be enough to make life unbearable for any of the inhabitants?
Overwhelmed with grief, Wang Zunde realized that he, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, wielding immense military and political power over the two provinces, commanding tens of thousands of troops, and possessing the finest cannons in the country, had been driven to this state by a mere pirate from Qiongzhou Island. He deeply regretted not bringing the local chieftains' troops from Guangxi to Guangzhou; if those valiant soldiers were present, the bandits would never have been so arrogant.