GBP Chapter 60: Mutiny (Part 1)
Chapter 60: Mutiny (Part 1)
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Li Jiucheng was also a former subordinate of Dongjiang Town, formerly a military commander. His son, Li Yingyuan, was a captain under Kong Youde.
He met Kong Youde midway through the journey. Sun Yuanhua gave him ten thousand taels of silver to buy warhorses in Xuanfu. With such a large sum of money in hand, he couldn't resist indulging in drinking, gambling, and whoring along the way, squandering a considerable amount. When he arrived in Xuanfu, he didn't even have enough money to buy the horses, so he had to slink back in disgrace. He was just thinking about how to escape punishment when this incident occurred to him. On a whim, he decided to instigate Kong Youde to rebel, so that no one would hold him accountable for his crimes.
Kong Youde was extremely frustrated: "Isn't this tantamount to rebellion?"
"So what if we rebel? We can still be granted amnesty. Once we're granted amnesty, this whole thing will be over."
That's true, but in Kong Youde's mind, bandits were not respectable people. As a military officer, he didn't want to go down that path.
Li Jiucheng was getting impatient. He took a few steps closer and raised his voice: "What are you still thinking about? Turn around now, fight back to Dengzhou, kill Sun Yuanhua, and the grain and provisions there will be inexhaustible. Are you still afraid of not having a good life?"
Kong Youde's expression changed, he gripped the hilt of his knife and said sternly, "General Sun has treated me well, I must not hurt him. If you say another word, I'll cut you down first!"
Li Jiucheng was already feeling guilty, and his suggestion to kill Sun Yuanhua was also to cover up the fact that he had squandered money on buying horses. Seeing Kong Youde's actions, he thought that Kong Youde was about to draw his sword, so he took the initiative and drew his waist knife and put it to Kong Youde's neck.
Upon seeing their master being kidnapped, Kong Youde's servants drew their swords and surrounded Li Jiucheng. Li Yingyuan reacted quickly, immediately leading his personal guards to protect his father. The two sides were on the verge of exploding into a fight.
Li Jiucheng said fiercely, "What are you doing? We're all brothers from Dongjiang Town. Kong Youde, tell them to put down their knives and join my son and me in this rebellion. We'll share the wealth and glory. If they refuse, I'll have your head chopped off right now!"
Kong Youde, a veteran of many years, possessed a ruthless streak. He glared at Li Jiucheng, showing no sign of backing down: "Try it, I won't even flinch." He then ordered his servants, "If he kills me, you will tear him and his son to pieces!"
Li Jiucheng's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He knew Kong Youde's temperament and that he would never back down in the current situation. But he had no way out either. He shouted to the soldiers around him, "We are all from Dongjiang Town. I don't want to fight you. The Tartars occupied our hometown, and we wandered all the way to Dongjiang. Marshal Mao led us to kill the Tartars. Yuan Chonghuan killed Marshal Mao without any evidence, and then we arrived in Dengzhou. I don't need to tell you what kind of life we had in Dengzhou. In the eyes of the gentry, we were worse than pigs and dogs. Now they are forcing us to go to Liaodong to die."
After his encouragement, the Liao soldiers around him shouted that they did not want to go, and some soldiers even cried loudly. Kong Youde thought to himself that things were going to get bad, but Li Jiucheng was telling the truth, and he had nothing to say in his argument.
Since arriving in Dengzhou, apart from Sun Yuanhua, officials at all levels, local gentry, and even ordinary people all disliked them. Not only were their rations and pay withheld, but they also suffered all sorts of humiliation. If the soldiers were treated like this, the rest of the Liao people were treated like beggars.
Seeing that the situation was favorable, Li Jiucheng shouted, "We don't want to rebel, but the court hasn't given us a way out. Think about it, we've traveled thousands of miles to Dalinghe, and we don't even have food along the way. When we get to Liaozhen, will those Guan Ning troops give us food? Will we even survive if we go to Dalinghe? This damn court isn't worth our lives. We're not rebelling, we just want to fight for a way out. At worst, we can go back to Dengzhou and take a boat to Dongjiang Town. It's better than risking our lives for the Guan Ning troops."
The soldiers clamored and sided with Li Jiucheng, leaving only Kong Youde's servants still surrounding Li Jiucheng, but even they were somewhat wavering.
Kong Youde looked around the room, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.
Now that the Wang family has been killed, if they continue to Liaodong, their fate is uncertain regardless of whether they win or lose the battle. Besides, given their current morale, they'll all flee before they even reach Shanhaiguan, and they'll face the same fate of beheading. With Mao Wenlong's example before them, they'll probably be beheaded without even a joint trial by the three judicial departments.
Seeing that Kong Youde was wavering, Li Jiucheng loosened his grip on the knife and whispered, "Brother Kong, we've been through thick and thin together for years. Listen to my advice: I've heard from the north that the Jurchens number over 100,000, with 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. In our current state, if we die in Liaodong, no one will even collect our bodies. Besides, the Guan Ning Army has received its Liaodong pay and is said to have over 100,000 strong soldiers. Why would they need us to rescue them? The court is a coward who bullies the weak. The Guan Ning Army dared to run away from the capital, and Zu Dashou wasn't even beheaded. If we plunder our fill on the road, go back and occupy Dengzhou, the court will have no choice but to offer us amnesty again. That's our only way to survive. Then we'll have money and men, wouldn't that be better than now? Even if we lose, we're going to die anyway, so what are we afraid of?"
Kong Youde's gaze slowly focused, staring intently at the man who had driven him to a dead end: "You son of a bitch, Li Jiucheng, did you squander all the money you had for betting on horses, and now you want to drag me down with you?"
Li Jiucheng was quite embarrassed and changed the subject, saying, "What's the use of saying all this now? You've killed the Wang family now, and these civil officials share the same honor and disgrace; they certainly won't let you, a mere warrior, off the hook."
Looking at the expectant soldiers around him, Kong Youde's heart began to waver. Now that the man was dead, he had no way out. He said fiercely, "Damn it, I've had enough! I'm not going to Dalinghe anymore! But let's make this clear: we can rob, but we can't call it rebellion! Do you think rebellion is so easy? If we raise the banner of rebellion, the Emperor will send all the armies from the nine border regions to beat me up."
Li Jiucheng chuckled wickedly, “We won’t raise any banners, we’ll just rob. At most, like Zu Dashou back then, the court will have no choice but to offer us amnesty. This killing will become a minor matter, and they won’t hold us accountable.”
Li Yingyuan immediately knelt on the ground and said, "General Kong, the lives of our thousands of Liao soldiers are in your hands."
Kong Youde sighed and said, "Given the current situation, there is no other way."
Li Jiucheng was overjoyed upon hearing this and offered a plan: "Dengzhou's military preparedness is lax, and the city is full of our old Liaodong people. They will definitely not fight for Sun Yuanhua. If we go back and attack, we will surely be able to take Dengzhou. Then we can live a life of luxury and enjoy ourselves. Wouldn't that be great?"
Kong Youde hesitated for a moment: "Do you think the prefectures and counties along the way are just for show? Fighting your way back to Dengzhou from Wuqiao is not as easy as you make it sound."
Li Jiucheng said dismissively, "These pampered soldiers in Shandong? How long has it been since they've seen blood? How can they compare to our Dongjiang soldiers? If the Shandong soldiers were capable of fighting, we wouldn't have had to endure the arduous task of reinforcing Dalinghe. Now that nobody knows we're rebelling, we can turn around and catch them off guard, and we'll surely take them in one fell swoop."