MLMD -Chapter 377 Tang Hu, Ruthless and Merciless

Leaving aside the fact that the Xinglong Rice Shop resumed business as usual, the thousand-household commander whose arms and legs had been broken by Tang Hu, along with the more than one hundred soldiers under his command, were thrown out onto the street and left completely unattended. Watching their commander lying on the ground wailing in agony, the soldiers wanted to carry him back—but all of their arms had been broken as well, so there was no way for them to lift him. In the end, they could only beg the idle onlookers nearby, promising a heavy reward, before finally managing to have the commander carried back to the Duke of Cheng’s residence.

When Zhu Chunzhen, who had been waiting inside the duke’s residence for good news, saw his men—arms shattered—and the thousand-household commander carried back on a stretcher, barely clinging to life, he erupted in fury just as expected.

“Wang Chong, what on earth happened? Who did this to you people? Tell me at once!”

Wang Chong was the very thousand-household commander who had first been shot through the legs by a short musket, bleeding profusely, and then had both arms broken. Having lost too much blood, he was still extremely weak, utterly devoid of the arrogance he had displayed earlier at the rice shop. Before he could even speak, tears streamed down his face as he sobbed:

“Your Grace, I followed orders to confiscate those rice shops that didn’t know their place. Who would have thought that Tang Hu would suddenly appear, bringing dozens of vicious lackeys with him. They… they pointed short muskets at me, then ordered their men to break the arms and legs of me and all my soldiers. They even threatened that this time they were only breaking limbs—if anyone was sent again, it wouldn’t be just broken arms and legs anymore!”

Clang!

As soon as Wang Chong finished speaking, Zhu Chunzhen smashed the teacup in his hand onto the floor. The expensive Chenghua-era imperial kiln teacup shattered into pieces.

“Outrageous! Is there no law left in this realm?”

As expected, Zhu Chunzhen flew into a rage. He jumped to his feet, his square face flushed crimson, and roared angrily:

“Outrageous! A mere rice merchant dares to injure my soldiers—does the Great Ming have no law anymore? Steward, immediately mobilize the capital garrison! I will flatten Tang Hu and every single rice shop run by Shanxi men!”

Blinded by fury, Zhu Chunzhen lost all reason. He felt his dignity had been trampled upon, and he was determined to slaughter everyone who dared challenge his authority, believing only then could his rage be appeased.

Strictly speaking, Zhu Chunzhen was not a fool; on the contrary, he possessed a bit of cunning. But years of indulgent living and constant flattery had elevated him to such heights that he began to believe he truly was the leader of Beijing’s noble clans, responsible for seeking justice for his friends and underlings. And so he continued down this path, drifting farther and farther away.

Soon enough, Zhu Chunzhen led more than a thousand capital garrison soldiers straight toward the rice shop. This was already the largest force he could muster at the moment. Some might ask: the capital garrison supposedly numbered three hundred thousand—how could Zhu Chunzhen, as its commander-in-chief, mobilize only so few? But one must understand that those three hundred thousand existed only on paper. After more than a century of decay, the actual strength of the capital garrison was barely a tenth of the roster, and most of those were merely household servants and slaves from noble estates used to make up the numbers. Being able to pull together over a thousand men in such a short time was already no small feat. Had the capital garrison not rotted to this extent, Zhu Chunzhen would not, in history, have hurriedly opened the city gates to surrender when Li Zicheng’s rebel army surrounded the capital.

“Make way—make way now!”

“Clear the road for His Grace! Anyone who blocks the way, beat them to death!”

Zhu Chunzhen led his thousand-odd troops in a menacing advance toward the rice shop. Soldiers at the front violently drove the civilians off the street, while Zhu Chunzhen, clad in a python-patterned robe, sat astride a fine horse. His expression was dark, his posture rigid as he rode in silence. In his heart, he had already sworn to slaughter everyone in the rice shop—from the shopkeeper down to the clerks—using the most brutal methods. As for that man Tang Hu, he would meet the same fate. Zhu Chunzhen wanted everyone to know that anyone who opposed him would meet a miserable end.

Just as the teeth-gnashing Zhu Chunzhen and his troops, weapons in hand, pushed through the fleeing crowd and reached Qianmen Street, a group of men in plain clothes suddenly appeared ahead of them. Without a word, at a distance of over a hundred paces, they raised their muskets and opened fire.

White clouds of gunpowder smoke erupted alongside dull gunshots. The front row of Zhu Chunzhen’s soldiers fell into pools of blood.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunfire continued. In less than two minutes, nearly a hundred capital garrison soldiers in front of Zhu Chunzhen lay dead on the ground. The rest instantly descended into chaos.

After three or four volleys, the gunfire abruptly ceased—but the street immediately filled with shrieks and wails. The common people had never witnessed such carnage. Children cried, adults screamed, women shrieked; the entire street dissolved into chaos. In just a few minutes, not a single civilian could be seen on the street—only Zhu Chunzhen and his utterly disordered troops remained.

And what was Zhu Chunzhen doing at this moment? This duke, like a man-eating demon only moments ago, had already been thrown from his horse and lay on the ground. His troops were in complete disarray, countless men running about like headless flies. If not for the dozens of fiercely loyal household guards surrounding him, Zhu Chunzhen would likely have been trampled into a bloody pulp by the panicked soldiers.

Those who had opened fire were clearly seasoned hands. After firing several volleys, their leader let out a sharp whistle, and they vanished without a trace. All that remained were the heart-rending cries of wounded soldiers who had not died, and the frantic shouts of the survivors.

Supported by his steward and several guards, Zhu Chunzhen shakily stood up. Staring at the apocalyptic scene around him, his face turned deathly pale, as if coated with white lime. Stammering incoherently, he asked the guards beside him:

“What… what’s going on? How could someone suddenly attack us with muskets?”

“Your Grace… we were ambushed! Those damned bastards actually used firearms! Curse them—so many of our brothers are dead. What should we do?” The steward, supporting Zhu Chunzhen, wiped away tears as he sought guidance.

The steward, along with the surrounding guards and the soldiers who had not yet fled, all looked toward Zhu Chunzhen. But how could he possibly have any ideas now? Born into luxury, he had been scared witless, standing there dumbly, staring at the corpses strewn across the ground and the wounded wailing in pain, his eyes vacant like a soulless fool.

“Your Grace… Your Grace…”

Seeing that Zhu Chunzhen remained silent for a long time, the steward grew anxious. Forgetting all notions of propriety, he grabbed Zhu Chunzhen by the arm and shook him hard. But no matter how much he shook him, the terrified duke remained unresponsive. Finally, the steward panicked and slapped him across the face.

Smack!

Zhu Chunzhen finally snapped out of it. The very first thing the newly awakened duke did was scream:

“Oh no—the barbarians have broken in! Run!”

With that, the dignified Duke of Cheng broke free from the steward’s grip and fled backward.

Seeing this, the steward could no longer worry about anything else and hurriedly led men in pursuit. The already terrified capital garrison soldiers, seeing even the duke run for his life, naturally had no intention of staying behind to die. They abandoned even their wounded comrades on the ground and fled en masse, disappearing without a trace. Thus, what had seemed like a grand revenge expedition devolved into a complete farce.

A large-scale massacre involving firearms had occurred in the streets of the capital, leaving over a hundred casualties—such a tragedy had not happened in the Ming capital for over a century. The Prefect of Shuntian was immediately scared out of his wits.

The current Prefect of Shuntian was named Lin Qi. Upon receiving the report, he dared not delay and immediately rushed to Qianmen Street with dozens of constables. When he saw the corpses covering the ground and the wounded groaning in the cold wind, cold sweat poured from his entire body.

Since ancient times, the position of Shuntian Prefect had never been an easy one. Ranked as a full third-rank official—two ranks higher than local prefects—and equivalent to a modern mayor, party secretary, and police chief all rolled into one, it seemed immensely powerful. But anyone who knew the truth understood that this position was like sitting atop a volcano—one misstep, and your backside would get burned.

Elsewhere, a prefect governed his territory with absolute authority. But this was the capital, under the emperor’s feet. Toss a brick in the street and you might hit a seventh-rank official; some random old man on the corner could belong to a princely household. To be an official here, one needed a heart with seven apertures—otherwise, the job wouldn’t last long.

“Have you identified who carried out the attack?” Lin Qi turned and asked the constable beside him.

The Shuntian constable, a middle-aged man nearing forty with rich investigative experience, had already gathered most of the details on the way. He quickly replied:

“Reporting to Your Excellency, it’s been confirmed—the attackers were all subordinates of Tang Hu, Deputy Director of the Shanxi Fiscal Office. They used muskets to suddenly attack Duke Cheng’s party in the street, which led to this tragedy.”

“Hmph… don’t try to fool me. I want the whole story, not your selective account!” Lin Qi snapped. Having spent years in office, he was well-versed in official tricks and immediately saw through the constable’s attempt to downplay certain aspects.

“Yes!”

The constable, seeing Lin Qi’s anger, dared not conceal anything and recounted everything he had learned in full. As Lin Qi listened, his head began to ache. The waters here were far too deep—if a mere Shuntian Prefect like him waded in recklessly, he’d be drowned without even a bubble surfacing. Yet he couldn’t simply ignore it either. As Prefect, he bore unavoidable responsibility; if he shirked it, the punishment would fall squarely on him.

“Forget it—one step at a time,” Lin Qi muttered, hardening his resolve as he followed the constable toward the Xinglong Rice Shop.

When Lin Qi arrived at the shop, the scene before him left him dumbstruck. In front of the modestly sized rice shop, countless civilians stood in a long vertical queue, each holding rice sacks. Calling it endless might be an exaggeration, but “a sea of people” was no overstatement.

At the entrance, more than a dozen clerks bustled about nonstop, scooping rice for customers at a rapid pace—nearly one transaction every minute or two. Beside the shop, dozens of sturdy young men armed with clubs maintained order, beating anyone who tried to cut in line or force a purchase without hesitation, until they howled in pain.

Taking in the scene, and then glancing at the large blackboard hanging high at the entrance, which read “Today’s rice price: 1 tael 2 mace per dan,” Lin Qi sucked in a sharp breath. At last, he understood why the Duke of Cheng had flown into such a rage and led troops to smash the place—this Xinglong Rice Shop was cutting off his financial lifeline. No wonder the duke had gone berserk.

Lin Qi desperately didn’t want to get involved in this mess, but duty bound him. With no choice, he slowly stepped forward and shouted loudly:

“Who’s in charge here? Come out and speak!”

As his voice fell, a young man with a prosperous-looking face, dressed in a plain long robe, stepped out and cupped his hands:

“Greetings, Your Excellency. I am the chief manager of the Xinglong Rice Shop. My humble surname is Tang, given name Hu… may I ask what business brings Your Excellency here?”

Seeing him, Lin Qi was quietly startled. He hadn’t expected this young man—who looked more like a merchant than an official—to be so ruthless. This was the man who had ordered over a hundred capital garrison soldiers shot dead and their bodies left in the street. His audacity knew no bounds.

Lin Qi immediately hardened his expression and asked, “You are Tang Hu?”

Tang Hu cupped his hands calmly and replied without servility or arrogance, “Indeed. May I ask what business Your Excellency has?”

Lin Qi suddenly shouted, “Tang Hu! Why did you instruct your lackeys to slaughter capital garrison soldiers? Do you know that killing official troops amounts to rebellion?”

Having served as Shuntian Prefect for many years, Lin Qi had some skill in interrogation. Ordinarily, being shouted at unexpectedly might cause someone to panic and blurt out the truth. But to his surprise, his tactic completely failed.

Tang Hu replied unhurriedly, “Your Excellency Lin, food may be eaten carelessly, but words cannot be spoken carelessly. You say I ordered my men to kill—did you witness it personally? Hear it yourself? Or did someone inform you? As the saying goes, catch an adulterer in bed, catch a thief with stolen goods. If you have witnesses and evidence, I have nothing to say. But if you intend to slander me without proof, then even though I am merely a minor official, I cannot allow myself to be falsely accused.”

“You—”

Lin Qi hadn’t expected Tang Hu to be so sharp-tongued. The incident had happened less than an hour ago, with hundreds if not thousands of witnesses, yet this man denied everything outright. Lin Qi quickly sank his face and said coldly:

“Don’t deny it, Tang Hu. Many civilians witnessed your men using firearms to kill people in the street. Don’t force me to summon witnesses before you admit it. And if I’m not mistaken, the murderers were precisely these young men standing in front of the rice shop, weren’t they?”

Tang Hu smiled faintly and cupped his hands again. “Your Excellency Lin, I’ve heard about the tragedy on the street as well, but it truly was not my doing. Moreover, although I’ve only just arrived in the capital, I know that any movement of more than fifty capital garrison soldiers must be authorized by the Ministry of War and the emperor’s edict. The commotion earlier was enormous—may I ask, on whose orders were those troops deployed? Without an imperial edict, mobilizing the capital garrison is itself treason.”

“This…”

Lin Qi was rendered speechless. Such a regulation did indeed exist. Though the capital garrison had long since degenerated into a den of thugs and hooligans, and the rule had been ignored for over a century, a rule was still a rule. Until the court officially abolished it, it remained an unbridgeable line.

Seeing Lin Qi fall silent, Tang Hu continued, “Your Excellency Lin, I understand that as Shuntian Prefect you must apprehend someone after such a major incident. But fairness matters. Why not go to the Duke of Cheng’s residence and ask him whose orders he followed in mobilizing the capital garrison? Then we can take this case straight to the Golden Hall and argue it before His Majesty.”

Looking at the smile on Tang Hu’s lips and the menacing youths behind him, Lin Qi knew he could not handle this matter today. Though, in an emergency, he could call upon the Five City Military Command, or even the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot to arrest Tang Hu, he had no intention of doing so. That would mean going head-to-head with Tang Hu to the bitter end.

Tang Hu was merely a sixth-rank official—offending him alone wouldn’t matter. But standing behind Tang Hu was a towering figure, a man whose reputation now echoed throughout the Ming court. If that person learned of what Lin Qi had done today, a mere flick of his finger could see Lin Qi die inexplicably in some quiet corner one day. This was far beyond what a minor Shuntian Prefect like him could bear.

“Forget it… whoever wants to handle this can do so,” Lin Qi thought bitterly. “On one side are the Duke of Cheng and the capital’s noble clans; on the other, regional lords who command armies like local emperors. I can’t afford to offend either. I’ll just toss the problem to the boss. If His Majesty is displeased, I’ll resign—won’t that do?”

With that, Lin Qi stopped wasting words. He nodded to Tang Hu and turned away in silence, leading his men back.

Although Lin Qi left, the matter was far from over. At the next morning’s court session, censors and remonstrating officials brought the incident up before the throne, and another fierce debate began…