Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 385 Infiltrating Dengzhou

Seeing that the prisoners were all cooperative, Liu Ye nodded in satisfaction: "Those who know when to yield are the heroes. As long as you do as I say, I can recommend you to the governor for a better future after the war."

Wang Qinian said to the prisoners, "Actually, what you need to do is very simple. Just take two of my men back to Dengzhou City and pretend that nothing happened. You don't need to trick the city gates open, nor do you need to gather any information."

Upon hearing this, the rebel prisoners realized there was absolutely no risk involved! They had initially thought that opening the city gates would be an impossible task, given the current level of security in Dengzhou. They were surprised to find they could save their lives with almost no effort, and immediately nodded in agreement: "We'll definitely do it."

Wang Qinian summoned two unremarkable young men, dressed them in the same clothes as the rebels, and had them stand among the prisoners. Once he felt there were no flaws, he waved his hand and said, "Time is of the essence. Get into Dengzhou City before dark and remember how to make contact."

The two scouts left with the rebel prisoners. To prevent them from being ambushed by other friendly forces along the way, Liu Ye specifically ordered a company of soldiers to escort them.

After the prisoner group left, Liu Ye asked, "Old Wang, how did you arrange things this time? You know, after the siege, with the two armies facing each other, it would be almost impossible for Dengzhou City to send messages out."

Wang Qinian pointed to the north: "Dengzhou faces the sea to the north. The besieged areas are the east, west, and south gates. All the rebel forces will be deployed in these three directions. Only the north gate is undefended, so we can make our move from there."

Liu Ye's eyes lit up: "You mean sending messages out from Shuicheng?"

Wang Qinian dipped his finger in some tea, then drew a simple diagram on the table, explaining, "Shuicheng is the only way in and out without alerting the rebels. The two men I sent this time are employees from the Zheng family's old residence in Anping. They are excellent swimmers and can escape Dengzhou by diving from Shuicheng. If they're lucky, they can find a small boat to go directly to Changdao. This time, we need to find out when and in what direction the rebels escaped, so we only need to send out one message. Once the scouts come out, they don't need to go back."

Liu Ye looked at the diagram he had drawn, understood his meaning, and nodded, saying, "This idea is correct. As long as we notify Gao Jie of Long Island by sea from Shuicheng before the rebels flee, this operation will be considered a success. However, after these two buddies infiltrate the city, won't they be exposed?"

"That depends on their fate. But one of them is from Shandong and the other from Liaodong. They can speak a few words of Shandong dialect and Liaodong dialect, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

Zhang Geming, whose ancestral home was Shandong, and Chu Shengchang, whose ancestral home was Liaodong, were currently mingling among the rebel prisoners with their heads down, following the march towards Dengzhou City. The Qiongzhou garrison soldiers escorting them turned back ten miles outside Dengzhou City to avoid being spotted by the rebel scouts and having their secret revealed.

The two men were nervous, worried that the rebel prisoners might suddenly change their minds, and dared not say a word lest they provoke them. The prisoners, having just escaped death, were now facing the test of whether they could enter the city, and had no time for idle chatter; the group walked forward in silence.

At this moment, the imperial army had not yet formed a siege around the city, so they went directly through the nearest south gate. By the time they reached the city gate, it was almost dark. The leader of the prisoners shouted at the top of his lungs toward the city wall: "Brothers at the city gate, please open the gate! We are under the command of General Wang Zideng. We went out of the city today and fought a battle with the government troops. We were scattered and barely managed to escape back."

The soldiers on the city wall lit torches and peered down by the dim light. They could only make out blurry figures and couldn't make out faces. Someone shouted, "Who knows if you're one of us? Maybe you're spies from the government troops, trying to sneak into the city by just giving the name of General Wang."

"Bullshit! I came all the way from Dongjiang. I joined the army when Marshal Mao was still young, and you were probably still playing in the mud with your open-crotch pants!"

Other rebels chimed in, saying, "If you're afraid we're spies, just tie us up and examine us slowly. We won't resist. That should put your minds at ease!"

"If General Wang finds out that you've been making things difficult for him, he'll chop off your heads!"

The prisoners' chatter put the defending soldiers in a difficult position. They spoke with such conviction that they didn't seem like spies. Moreover, with Geng Zhongming, Li Jiucheng, and others dying either at the hands of treacherous individuals or on the battlefield, the number of veteran rebel generals was dwindling. Wang Zideng was already one of the top-ranking generals, second only to Kong Youde by a handful of others. If they offended him, their days would likely be numbered.

Below the city walls, Chu Shengchang whispered to Zhang Geming, "Brother Zhang, what if these prisoners sell us out in order to get into the city?"

Zhang Geming shook his head and replied softly, "No. If these prisoners tell the truth, it will only arouse the suspicion of the garrison. As long as they are not out of their minds, they will not betray us. At least we are safe before entering the city. However, it is best not to mingle with them after entering the city, lest some of them change their minds."

The captain in charge of guarding the south gate hesitated for a moment, then called over one of his men, "Go to General Wang's residence and ask him to send someone over to verify whether these people are his soldiers."

Just as the subordinate was about to set off, the other soldiers advised, "Boss, we heard that General Wang suffered a defeat today and returned looking disheveled. He's probably in a bad mood right now. If we let him identify his defeated soldiers at this time, we might get into trouble. It's better not to go."

The captain hesitated and said, "Then what should we do? We don't know any of these people down below the city. Who will take responsibility if something happens?"

"There are only twenty or thirty people under the city walls. They can't cause any trouble. Why not do them a favor and let them in?"

After considering it for a while, the commander felt that there was no risk in letting a few dozen people in, but insisting on not opening the gate would offend Prince Deng. So he waved his hand and said, "Alright, open the city gate and let them in."

The city gate creaked open, and the prisoners rushed in. The leader rushed over and kicked the soldier who opened the gate, shouting, "I risked my life at the front, and now I have to put up with your bullying? If you're so tough, go out and fight the government troops!"

The guards at the city gate were furious. If they didn't open the gate, they'd complain; if they did, they'd get beaten up. They were caught in the middle! They surrounded their leader, brandishing their weapons, and yelled, "You've lost a battle and you're still so arrogant? You think I won't beat you up?"

Taking advantage of the conflict, Zhang Geming gently tugged at Chu Shengchang's arm, signaling him to slip away quickly. Chu Shengchang understood and, together with Zhang Geming, slowly retreated into the darkness, disappearing around the street corner under the cover of night.