The cavalry that appeared outside Jinan was the personal guard of the 800 Yuhou Army led by Wu Sanjia, the Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xin Dynasty.
On the two scarlet dragon flags of the Great Xin Dynasty, the large character "武" (Wu, meaning martial/military) stood out prominently.
"Reporting to the commander, the cavalry outside the city are flying the battle flag of the Imperial Tiger Warriors!"
At this moment, on the city wall of Jinan, some sharp-eyed soldiers had already identified the uninvited guests outside the city by their battle flags and immediately reported to the commander of the garrison on the city tower.
snort!
"This commander isn't blind; he can read!"
The commander snorted irritably and issued another order: "Archers, listen up! Without my order, no one is allowed to fire arrows at the city walls!"
"Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
"Understood!"
drive!
drive!
drive!
Sigh—
Finally, Wu Sanjia's eight hundred personal guards reined in their warhorses about two hundred paces from Jinan City.
At Wu Sanjia's behest, his personal guard commander, Zuo Qianhu, once again rode forward alone to the moat of Jinan Prefecture, where he addressed the defenders on the city wall:
"Soldiers on duty atop the city walls of Jinan, listen up—"
"General Wu Sanjia, the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xin Dynasty who controls all the military forces in the land, is here. He requests that General Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture, quickly lower the drawbridge and open the city gates to welcome General Wu into the city!"
The city walls of Jinan were completely silent; no one responded.
Commander Zuo frowned and spoke again: "Who is on duty on the city wall of Jinan Prefecture? State your name."
Still no one answered.
Seeing this, Commander Zuo panicked. He immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow bearing the unique insignia of the Tiger Warriors onto the city wall of Jinan.
Whoosh!
Clang—
The arrow pierced the sky and embedded itself straight into the gatepost of the city wall of Jinan, producing a series of clanging sounds.
This time, there was finally a response from the city walls of Jinan.
A furious shout, as loud as a bell, rang out: "You audacious madman, how dare you attack Jinan Prefecture?"
"Archers, prepare!"
brush!
Suddenly, countless archers emerged from the crenellations of the city wall, all with bows drawn and arrows strung to full tension, their arrows aimed directly at the Left Commander who was calling for the gate below, as well as the cavalry two hundred paces away.
Left Commander was completely unafraid. Instead, he arrogantly rode his horse back and forth along the moat, and asked in a sharp voice, "Who is on the city wall, daring to order the garrison to assassinate General Wu, the commander-in-chief of the Great Xin Dynasty who controls all the military forces in the country?"
"You have some nerve!"
snort!
On the city wall, a general clad in gleaming armor and wearing a ring-pommel sword finally appeared, glaring coldly at the people outside the city and saying, "Oh, is that so?"
"When did he, Wu Sanjia, become the supreme commander of the Great Xin Dynasty, controlling all the military forces in the land?"
"Why wouldn't I know?"
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Furthermore, as the Commander-in-Chief and Grand General of the Great Xin Dynasty, how could Wu Sanjia not know the 'Great Xin Laws'?"
"Without orders from the Ministry of War, no troops are permitted to be transferred from their garrison to another city."
"Anyone who disobeys this order will be considered to have committed treason!"
"General Wu, it has been many years since we last met in the capital. The moment we meet, you start accusing me of all sorts of things. Isn't that a bit too inconsiderate of our past friendship?"
Suddenly, Wu Sanjia's voice came from below the city.
The general rode forward, unafraid of the arrows that could easily riddle him with holes from the city walls, and stood proudly beneath the walls of Jinan.
Looking at his "old acquaintance" Wu Qidong atop the city wall, he smiled and said, "General Wu, you may not know this, but half a month ago, by imperial decree of the Empress Dowager, I was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, in charge of all the armies of the Great Xin Dynasty."
"Upon the issuance of the imperial edict, the General-in-Chief shall immediately exercise his authority and may mobilize troops from all regions within the territory of the Great Xin Dynasty as needed!"
As he spoke, Wu Sanjia took out the imperial edict he carried with him and displayed it in front of the thousands of soldiers guarding the city wall of Jinan.
Then he continued, "General Wu, here is the imperial edict issued by the Empress Dowager on behalf of the current emperor. I hope that you will follow the edict and open the city gates to allow me to pass through Jinan Prefecture."
snort!
On the city wall, Wu Qidong, the garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture, snorted coldly again and said warily, "General Wu, if you are only leading these few hundred personal guards to request passage..."
"Even without the Emperor's decree, this general will not make things difficult for you. I will open the gates of Jinan and let you pass!"
"but--"
Wu Qidong suddenly changed the subject, saying sternly, "According to my scouts, General Wu, you have led an army of over 100,000 men south this time."
"The war in Ying and Mo prefectures is now critical, and the rebel army in Longcheng is advancing like a hot knife through butter!"
"General Wu, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xin Dynasty and the foremost military commander in the Northern Expedition to quell the rebellion, not only are you not fighting on the front lines in Ying and Mo prefectures, but you are instead mobilizing a large army to march south;"
"I would like to ask you, what is the purpose of leading this large army south this time?"
Ha ha!
Upon hearing this, Wu Sanjia, who was outside the city, burst into laughter.
He then stated bluntly without any hesitation: "General Wu, I am leading this army south on the orders of the current Emperor and Empress Dowager—"
"Marching to the capital to defend the emperor and execute the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui!"
brush!
Upon hearing this, the generals guarding the city walls of Jinan were all greatly alarmed.
Even Wu Qidong, the usually composed garrison commander of Jinan Prefecture, couldn't help but frown and feel a chill run down his spine after hearing Wu Sanjia's shocking words.
Jinan Prefecture is far from the capital city of Nanjing. Although the imperial court often uses the 800-li express route to travel to various places, Wu Qidong knows very little about what is happening in the imperial court.
Wu Qidong was somewhat aware of the conflict between Prime Minister Qin Ruhui and Empress Dowager Su, who ruled from behind the curtain.
In his view, however, this was merely an inherent conflict between imperial power and ministerial power that had existed for thousands of years, and it was something that could be coordinated and mediated.
Unexpectedly, Wu Sanjia, who led a large army to appear outside Jinan Prefecture and wanted to pass through Jinan Prefecture to enter the capital, actually intended to enter the capital to defend the emperor and kill the current prime minister.
This left Wu Qidong and his Jinan garrison commanders somewhat bewildered.
The garrison commander on duty on the city wall was the first to lean close to Wu Qidong's ear and whisper, "General, Wu Sanjia's actions are likely a trap!"
"If he falsely conveyed the imperial edict and had already surrendered to Chen Huai'an, then if you, General, open the gates of Jinan and allow Wu Sanjia to lead his army through, then you will truly become a traitor to the Great Xin Dynasty for all time!"
"Yes, General!"
"Jinan Prefecture is the only route the Longcheng rebels must take to reach the capital. Its city walls are high and easily defended, making it difficult to attack. If Wu Sanjia falsely conveys the imperial edict, the Longcheng rebels could capture Jinan Prefecture without bloodshed."
"General, please reconsider!"
"General..."
For a time, Wu Qidong, standing atop the city wall of Jinan, was surrounded by the various remonstrances of his subordinates, which made him feel troubled and unable to make a decision.
After pondering for a long time, Wu Qidong finally addressed Wu Sanjia outside the city: "General Wu, the matter of our army requesting passage is of utmost importance. I have never received any official documents from the court or the Ministry of War, which is sufficient proof of your authority to command the armies of the Great Xin Dynasty."
"Therefore, I am afraid that I cannot open the city gates of Jinan Prefecture to the Tiger Warriors!"
However—
Then, Wu Qidong changed the subject and said sternly, "If the general is willing to personally enter the city and present the imperial edict to me for verification, I may consider opening the gates of Jinan Prefecture to the general and allowing the army to pass through!"
"I wonder if General Wu has the courage to enter the city alone?"
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