nucmednet Chapter 726 Feast of Fortune and Prosperity
Chapter 726 Feast of Fortune and Prosperity
Anxi Gate had been burning for almost half an hour, revealing a huge hole in the thick gate. The rebel army hadn't expected their shouts to be so effective, causing their enemy to collapse without a fight. They were overjoyed and rushed inside before the fire on the gate was extinguished, eager to burn, kill, and loot as soon as possible.
Liu Jianyi led his personal guards and shouted, "Rebellion! Rebellion! We welcome King Chuang into the city!" The city gates were controlled by the rebels, and the rebel army entered the city without any difficulty. Like hungry wolves released from their cages, they howled and charged into the city.
Liu Jianyi said ingratiatingly, "Please follow me, everyone. I know that the wealthy families in the city are very rich, and the government offices have large treasuries..."
Led by Liu Jianyi and others, the rebel army stormed into various government offices and wealthy households. The city was filled with shouts of battle, and fires soared into the sky. The entire city of Luoyang was in chaos, and the rebel army's verbal promise of "not disturbing the people" had long been forgotten.
Wang Shaoyu, who was on his way to relieve the enemy, saw flames soaring into the sky to the north and the sounds of battle growing louder as they approached. He cried out in alarm, "Damn Liu Jianyi! The bandits couldn't have broken in so easily. That old bastard must have betrayed us!"
He hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran, with the soldiers behind him following suit.
Seeing that Anxi Gate had been breached and the army had entered the city smoothly, Li Zicheng couldn't help but laugh heartily. He patted Liu Heizi on the shoulder and said, "Brother Liu, what a brilliant plan! You deserve all the credit for capturing Luoyang. Tomorrow I'll reward you with a few good girls."
Liu Heizi humbly replied, "This is all thanks to the brilliance and prowess of the Rebel King; it has little to do with me. Besides, these ideas were all taught to me by our general; I was merely a messenger..."
"Hehe, Brother Liu is too modest. But General Liu's strategies are truly ingenious and admirable. After the battle of Luoyang, I am completely convinced and will follow his lead from now on. If he tells me to go west, I will never go east."
Seeing the deafening sounds of battle emanating from the city, Liu Zongmin felt an urge to join the fight and volunteered: "King Chuang, please let me in. I've been idle all day!"
Li Zicheng waved his hand with a smile: "Go ahead. Remember, you can rob as much money and grain as you like, but don't kill too many people, lest it cause a backlash from the army and the people."
"Understood." Liu Zongmin turned and left, but in his heart he thought: Damn it, breaching a city without killing anyone? Are you kidding me? Do you think people would just stand by and watch us steal their money and sleep with their women? Only killing is the right thing to do. It was you, King Chuang, who promised not to disturb the people, not me, Liu Zongmin.
Like wolves and tigers, the rebel army rampaged through the streets and alleys of Luoyang, burning, killing, and looting. The city's wealthy households and government offices suffered greatly; the lucky ones had their wealth plundered, while the unlucky ones lost their families, their homes burned to the ground. The night sky was illuminated by the fire as if it were daytime, and the entire city became a hellish place. Screams and savage laughter echoed everywhere. The streets were littered with corpses, and blood flowed like rivers. Many women were stripped naked and lay dead in the streets; their pale bodies were everywhere.
Surrounded by his trusted men, Li Zicheng entered the city, looking triumphantly at the city ablaze with fire. From this moment on, this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties was in his grasp.
Fortunately, the joy of victory did not cloud his judgment. He understood that the most important thing now was not looting, but eliminating the resistance forces within the city. He ordered: "Flag waver, Yi Gong, each of you take 10,000 men, one to the east of the city, one to the west, and I will personally go to the south. Before dawn, I will ensure that there is not a single person in Luoyang who dares to stand before our army with a knife!"
"Yes, King Chuang!"
After entering the city, the rebel army quickly surrounded it, killing any Ming soldiers they encountered without exception. After a night of searching and looting, General Wang Shaoyu, Deputy General Luo Tai, and other military officers were all killed in battle, and the government troops were almost completely wiped out. No wealthy family in the city escaped; their property was seized, and their wives and daughters were abducted. Officials in the city were also arrested one by one, from former Minister of War Lü Weiqi to Henan Governor Li Fengxian and Councilor Wang Yinchang, all were captured. Even Prefect Kang Menghui, who was hiding in the Laozi Cave of Yuxu Temple, was captured. With the situation under control, Li Zicheng set up his command camp in the Zhougong Temple, four miles west of the city, to direct the army's movements.
With the outer obstacles cleared, all that remained was the biggest target of their mission—Prince Fu. Li Zicheng led his main force straight to Prince Fu's residence, only to find the once-luxurious mansion deserted, with only a few eunuchs remaining in the inner palace. After some interrogation and torture, they learned that Prince Fu usually resided in Yanfu Palace in the northeast of the mansion, and that he and his heir had entered the palace after the city was breached the previous day and had not emerged since.
Li Zicheng personally led his men to search Yanfu Palace carefully. They found messy footprints in the sewers behind the palace and concluded that Prince Fu had escaped from there. He then sent men to pursue him along the way.
After several twists and turns, the pursuers captured Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, who was hiding at Ying'en Temple, and took him to the Zhougong Temple.
Zhu Changxun, weighing over 300 pounds, was carried into the main hall by seven or eight people and slammed heavily to the ground. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted and he couldn't breathe. He saw Li Zicheng sitting upright and knew that this was the real boss. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to Li Zicheng's feet and kowtowed, begging for mercy.
Li Zicheng had seen many emaciated refugees, but this was the first time he had seen such a large, fat man. He circled Zhu Changxun a few times, shook his head, and said, "How much meat and wine must one eat to become like this?"
Gao Yigong asked, "Chuang Wang, what should we do with him? Kill him with one stroke?"
"No, this scoundrel, as a prince, has amassed immense wealth by exploiting the people. In this year of famine, he refuses to spend a single coin to relieve the people, not even a penny for the resettlement of the city's militia. To kill him would be too lenient..." Li Zicheng's eyes darted around, and he came up with a plan. "I've got it! Boil him and share his flesh with the soldiers. Isn't his title the Prince of Fu? Go to the Prince's garden and catch a few deer. I want to make a 'Fu Lu (Deer) Feast'!"
Soon after, Zhougong Temple Square was bustling with noise and flames. In the center of the crowd was a "thousand-person pot" brought from Ying'en Temple. Inside the huge iron pot, ginger, scallions, garlic, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and countless broth ingredients were sprinkled, emitting a wonderfully fragrant aroma.
Amidst the raging flames, the most horrifying sight was Zhu Changxun, stripped naked and shaved, thrashing about like a blind swimmer, besides seven or eight skinned and dehorned sika deer. He would sometimes surface, sometimes sink, howling and screaming in utter misery. Occasionally, Zhu Changxun would grab onto a floating deer carcass to catch his breath, but the hundreds of rebel soldiers watching around the cauldron would immediately stab his arms with spears, forcing him to scream and release his grip, returning to the slightly boiling water to "swim."
An hour later, the thoroughly cooked Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, and several sika deer were chopped into pieces, and the world-shaking Fu Lu Banquet was thus prepared. It was eaten by thousands of soldiers and became everyone's delicious dinner.