Chapter 54 Vicious

After repelling Wu Sangui, the hundreds of men under Li Yutian naturally fell under Gu Zhenhua's command, bringing Gu Zhenhua's total troop strength to nearly three thousand. While this might not be enough for a pitched battle between two large armies, it was more than enough to turn Shanhaiguan upside down.

Whether it was the Ningyuan Army, the Dashun Army, or the Later Jin (Manchu) forces, the best-case scenario for all of them was a three-way mutual destruction. The more who died, the more advantageous it would be for Gu Zhenhua's rise.

"Mr. Li, the Manchu Eight Banners are already formidable. If they absorb the Ningyuan Army, they will become truly invincible. If we don't take this opportunity to weaken the Ningyuan Army as much as possible, we will be in deep trouble later!"

"Gu Zhenhua, do you really have the confidence to defeat the Manchus? The Ming Dynasty has fought against the Manchus for decades, spanning three eras and four emperors, yet none of them could eliminate the Manchus. Now that the situation has reached this point, is there still any room to salvage it?"

"Hahaha, Mr. Li, I never expected you to be a coward as well. Whether we can defeat the Manchus does not depend on how strong the Manchus are, but on whether we can cure the Ming Dynasty's illness! The Ming has hundreds of millions of people; as long as we unite our strength, we will be a hundred times stronger than the Manchus!"

"How could this old man not know that? But let me ask you, who in this world still possesses the abilities of the founding emperors Taizu and Chengzu?"

"To measure truly great heroes, look to the present day!" Gu Zhenhua said without hesitation.

Seeing Gu Zhenhua brimming with imposing momentum, Li济伯 (Li Jibo) was stunned for a moment. He stared at Gu Zhenhua for quite a while before nodding slowly: "This old man will go crazy with you just once!"

"A few days ago, this old man advised Wu Sangui to arrest the gentry and press them for military pay. Wu Sangui has already squeezed out over a million taels of silver, all of which are stored in the treasury."

Hearing that there was money, Gu Zhenhua immediately perked up and laughed, "What are you waiting for? Charge with me!"

The soldiers also regained their vigor and, following Gu Zhenhua, launched a mad charge forward.

Along the way, the roads were filled with chaotic troops—some from the Ningyuan Army, others from the Dashun Army—all in utter disarray. Gu Zhenhua and his men showed no courtesy; whenever they encountered a smaller group of either faction, they would devour them, and whenever they ran into a large main force, they would disguise themselves as friendly troops.

Li Xu had already surrendered to Li Zicheng, expressing his willingness to act as a vanguard, while many in the Ningyuan Army still did not realize that they had already parted ways. This provided Gu Zhenhua with a golden opportunity, and they successfully rushed into the warehouse district.

Here, there were not only silver, but also grain, fodder, and armory supplies, forming a vast, dark expanse. The man in charge of guarding the area was none other than Shanhaiguan Garrison Commander Gao Di.

This fellow was useless at fighting, but Wu Sangui had assigned him three thousand soldiers just to keep watch over these most crucial supplies. When Gu Zhenhua and his men charged over and saw the heavy defenses, they were momentarily startled.

Gu Zhenhua prepared to charge straight through, but Li Jibo grabbed his arm.

"Use wits, not brute force. I suspect Wu Sangui hasn't had time to notify Gao Di yet. This old man will go trick him."

"Mr. Li, you must be careful."

"Rest assured!"

With that, Li Jibo had a few men protect him and spurred his horse toward Gao Di.

Gao Di knew that the city was in absolute chaos, so he had been acting like an ant on a hot pan. When he suddenly saw a band of men charging over, he was startled and hastily prepared for battle. However, when he recognized that the leader was Li Jibo, he immediately relaxed.

"Old Li, what could have possibly alarmed you enough to come out?"

"Commander Gao, do you think this old man wants to be here? It's all because Changbo forced me to show my face. The rebel bandits have just broken through the Western Outer City, and Changbo is putting up a desperate resistance, ordering me to come fetch gunpowder to lay an ambush in the streets and blow the rebels to pieces."

"A brilliant idea!" Gao Di said with a smile. "You few, hurry up and guide Mr. Li to the armory!"

Li Jibo had lived in Shanhaiguan for decades, and Gao Di never dreamed in his wildest dreams that this old scholar would betray Wu Sangui at such a critical juncture. In truth, this was a failure of judgment on the part of both Gao Di and Wu Sangui. Li Jibo was a man who appeared yielding on the outside but possessed firm principles within; although the old man seemed crafty, eccentric, and intellectually brilliant, loyalty to his country and the world was deeply engraved in his heart, and he could never tolerate the Manchus devastating the realm. As it happened, he ran into a wildly audacious fellow like Gu Zhenhua, and the Battle of Shanhaiguan gradually veered off the rails of history.

Several men escorted Li Jibo inward, closely followed by the rest of the soldiers. Gao Di paid them no mind, but suddenly, among the soldiers, he noticed a tall fellow who looked extremely familiar. He immediately shouted, "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Commander Gao has a sharp eye! I am Lord Gu Zhenhua!"

As the shout rang out, the saber in Gu Zhenhua's hand slashed directly toward Gao Di.

Startled, Gao Di hastily drew his treasured sword to parry. Yet how could his ornamental sword withstand Gu Zhenhua's fury-driven strike?

The saber deflected the sword and, like lightning, slashed toward Gao Di. Gao Di tried desperately to dodge, but he was a split second too late; his left arm was cleanly severed by Gu Zhenhua's blade, and blood spurted into the air.

With a cry of agony, Gao Di tumbled off his horse. Showing no mercy, Gu Zhenhua raised his hand and brought his blade down, severing Gao Di's head.

"Brothers, Gao Di and Wu Sangui have forsaken their ancestors, surrendered to the Manchus, and want to sell you out. If you want to live, surrender to the Prince of Chuang at once, or death is the only road left!"

Hearing the chaos in the city already, the soldiers had been gripped by anxiety. Upon hearing these words, they scattered in all directions, and some simply surrendered to Li Zicheng on the spot.

Ignoring those deserters, Gu Zhenhua led his men surging into the warehouses. Once inside, Gu Zhenhua was dumbfounded: the various supplies in Shanhaiguan were overwhelmingly abundant, piled up like mountains, endless and countless.

A rough estimate showed at least three hundred thousand dan of grain, over a hundred thousand swords, spears, and weapons, alongside a staggering quantity of firearms and gunpowder.

"Damn it, with this much wealth and materiel, if they still couldn't defeat the Manchus, were they all a bunch of good-for-nothing rice buckets?"

"They aren't rice buckets; those people are simply too cunning!" Li Jibo said bluntly. "From the Tianqi to the Chongzhen reigns, the military pay for the Liaodong region alone exceeded four million taels. Coupled with local apportionments and transfers, the total exceeded five million taels—more than the Ming Dynasty's entire annual revenue in the past, and equivalent to twice that of all other Nine Border regions combined. With so much silver, for them to have accumulated only this little nest-egg is the truly absurd part!"

"Graft, embezzlement, and squeeze! If even half of it reached the army, it would be a miracle. After the commanders at every level took their cuts, the fraction actually used in combat was probably barely one-tenth. This is what they call 'fostering the enemy to secure one's own position'! Gu Zhenhua, you were right: as long as the Ming cures its own illness and clears out all the蛀虫 (parasites/borers), crushing the Manchus will be as easy as squashing a stinkbug. Back then, Emperor Chengzu launched five northern campaigns against the Mongols—how awe-inspiring was that!"

Li Jibo spoke with deep grief and indignation, but Gu Zhenhua hurriedly waved him off. "Old Li, save your grand speeches for after we've escaped. You can lecture me for three days and three nights if you like, but right now, looting is our primary objective!"

Nodding in agreement, Li Jibo led the way as they rushed into a newly built warehouse. When the doors were thrown open, the interior was filled with boxes of all sizes, piled across the floor, forming mountains of gold and silver.

"All of this was just recently extorted by Wu Sangui from the gentry. There's around one million five hundred thousand taels here. Moving it all out is probably going to be a bit troublesome," Li Jibo said worriedly.

Just as they were speaking, Yue Polu ran over with a laugh. "Lord, there are plenty of grain carts over there. Do you think we can use them?"

"Use them? Of course we can use them!" Gu Zhenhua laughed. "Right on time, have Zou Tong drive the pack horses over here and load all this stuff up promptly!"

At Gu Zhenhua's command, the soldiers sprang into action. However, Gu Zhenhua noticed everyone rushing toward the silver vault, scrambling to haul gold and silver, with some stealthily stuffing silver into their clothes when they thought no one was looking!

Li Xu noticed it too; his brows locked together instantly as his heavy hand rested upon the hilt of his saber. Just as he was about to erupt, someone stepped directly in front of him—it was none other than Gu Zhenhua!

"Brothers, I have a rule: no matter what we acquire, it belongs to everyone and must be distributed fairly. This silver belongs to every single one of you; it's the money you'll use to buy land, build houses, and take wives. Keep your eyes open—if someone ends up with three wives and four concubines while the rest of you can't even afford a bride, I won't lift a finger to help you."

Gu Zhenhua could not have made it plainer: the money was theirs, and if anyone took more, everyone else would get less.

Fairness!

Everyone held a scale in their hearts, and in an instant, the soldiers found themselves eyeing one another suspiciously. Those who had just hidden silver in their clothing hastily fished the money back out under the scorching gazes of their peers.

Of course, such an arrangement could not guarantee absolute zero hoarding, but it successfully restricted the problem within manageable limits, which was a remarkable achievement.

Li Jibo nodded inwardly. Gu Zhenhua truly possessed genuine ability; if he had overly indulged this newly formed unit, it would have fallen apart instantly. Yet harsh punishments would have chilled their hearts. Gu Zhenhua's method of having the soldiers mutually supervise one another not only controlled the issue but also increased unit cohesion—truly a stroke of genius!

The old fox rolled his eyes, unwilling to be outdone by Gu Zhenhua.

With that thought, Li Jibo walked up to Gu Zhenhua and smiled. "Wu Sangui arrested over a hundred gentry members and threw them all into the dungeons. They've been subjected to brutal torture these past few days, teetering on the edge of death. Do you think these people are of any use?"

"Useful? Extremely useful!"

Gu Zhenhua's eyes lit up instantly. "Quickly take me to see them. The gentry are the foundation of the state; how could I allow Wu Sangui to bully them like this?"

Gu Zhenhua spoke with righteous indignation, prompting Li Jibo to burst out laughing. "Which side are you planning to push them toward, you rascal?"

"With Wu Sangui and the Manchus joining forces, their military strength already surpasses Li Zicheng's. Naturally, we'll push them toward Li Zicheng's side."

"Then you must be careful. Ordinary people might fear the queue-cutting and changing of attire, dreading the betrayal of their ancestors. But those gentry care only about money and land. If they realize the Manchus are strong, they might just throw themselves at the Manchus."

Gu Zhenhua laughed heartily as well. "Old Li, you are truly wicked!"

Escorted by their soldiers, the two men hurried directly to the dungeons not far from the warehouse. After scattering the prison guards, Gu Zhenhua charged in, assaulted instantly by a pungent, foul stench that turned the stomach.

Gu Zhenhua strode deep inside to find several spacious cells where over a hundred men lay sprawled about, groaning in continuous, miserable agony.

"Listen up, everyone: the Prince of Chuang's grand army has broken into the city, Wu Sangui is finished, and I am the vanguard officer of the Prince of Chuang, specifically here to rescue you esteemed gentry."

"Long live the Prince of Chuang! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!" The gentry all shouted out in overwhelming joy, unable to contain their elation.