Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 576 Scapegoat

When Wu Jinkun decided to take the risk alone and rush to Qufu to quell the civil unrest, he sent a fast horse to Dezhou that night to inform Bai Yongfu and ask him to go south as soon as possible.

When Bai Yongfu was ordered to leave Beijing, he thought he was going south to serve as a stabilizing force. Therefore, when he first went south, he moved very slowly. It was not until he received urgent reports from Wu Jinkun and Lu Ping that Bai Yongfu quickened his pace.

The weather at the end of June was still sultry even though it was almost dusk. Inside the city gate of Jinan, the defenders were exhausted by the sultry weather. The world was already peaceful, and everyone inevitably lost some of their vigilance.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose on the distant horizon, and the sound of horse hooves and the sound of a marching army could be heard faintly. As the sound got closer, a majestic army was seen rushing towards them like a rolling torrent.

The defenders immediately shouted to be on guard, and the defenders on the city wall also perked up. Many people looked outside the city and talked to each other, all wondering why there was an army coming to Jinan City when the world was already at peace.

The leader was none other than Bai Yongfu, who was riding on a tall warhorse. Although Bai Yongfu had increased the marching speed, he was still not in a hurry. After all, the world was unified, and the elite army of the Qian Dynasty was not yet old. Bai Yongfu believed that Qufu would only cause a minor disturbance at most, and it was impossible to cause any major chaos.

As the scouts in front rushed to the city of Jinan and informed the defenders in the city of the news of the army's passage, the defenders in the city felt a little more at ease.

Bai Yongfu yawned and ordered the army to set up camp outside the city of Jinan, preparing to set out south tomorrow. Anyway, the army was not far from Qufu now, and it would only take three or four days at most.

At night, bonfires were lit in the military camps outside the city of Jinan. The wind was quite strong tonight, making the tents rustle, but the strong wind seemed to blow away some of the stuffiness.

Bai Yongfu had already closed his eyes in the tent and was snoring loudly.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds broke the silence of the night. The sound came from far away and stopped abruptly in front of the camp.

Soon, a personal soldier hurried to Bai Yongfu's tent and reported anxiously, "General, there is an urgent military order from the capital!"

Bai Yongfu opened his eyes suddenly, and his sleepiness instantly disappeared. He sat up and ordered his personal guards to come in. After receiving the military order from the personal guards, Bai Yongfu unfolded it by candlelight and saw the emperor's will written on it: "The situation in Qufu is critical, the imperial envoy Wu Jinkun is in danger, and the Kong family is inciting riots. Bai Yongfu is ordered to lead the army to Qufu to quell the riots at night and night. There must be no mistakes!"

After reading the secret order, Bai Yongfu's face became solemn. Bai Yongfu originally thought that going south, although not just for sightseeing, would not require the use of troops in the mainland. But now it seems that he might really have to mobilize troops.

He stood up and paced back and forth. After a while, Bai Yongfu stopped and gave a loud order: "Pass the order down, the rear camp will set up the pots and cook, and the whole army will gather. At the end of the Yin hour, the army will move out!"

Bai Yongfu's original leisurely mentality of traveling south had long since disappeared, replaced by a sense of urgency.

…………

Qufu, Confucius Mansion.

With an extremely grim expression, Kong Fangyou narrated to Tao and a group of Kong family members about the siege of the post station the day before yesterday and Wu Jinkun's escape from Qufu. Everyone present had already received the information and asked Kong Fangyou to repeat it just to see if there was anything wrong or missing.

After hearing what Kong Fangyou said, Tao's face turned pale, her eyes were full of panic and fear, and her body was trembling slightly. Tao said anxiously: "Now we besieged the imperial envoy and let him escape. Then our Holy Palace will no longer be able to justify itself. The court will surely be furious and punish the Holy Palace."

At this time, some people began to accuse Kong Fangyou of being too reckless. The court was already dissatisfied with Kong Yinzhi's surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and now such a big thing had happened. If they were not careful, the Holy Palace would be destroyed.

One of them said, "In the past, the Holy Palace was blessed by the past dynasties and enjoyed prosperity and wealth. However, this action today has really angered the majesty of heaven. Those who go against the dragon's scales rarely have a good end."

Everyone had their say, and in short, they all blamed Kong Fangyou for the heinous crime of besieging the post station.

Kong Fangyou's face was gloomy to begin with. Hearing such excuses, he could not help but fly into a rage. He glared and scolded, "How dare you say such nonsense! What I did was not for my own selfishness? If the court was allowed to carry out the decision without any obstruction, how could the Holy Palace survive? Moreover, you all agreed to what I did that day, and it has only been a few days. Don't you admit it?"

When everyone in the mansion heard what Kong Fangyou said, many of them looked disapproving. After all, the siege of the imperial envoy was something Kong Fangyou did alone and had nothing to do with them. Of course, if Kong Fangyou succeeded, it would be better and everyone would benefit together. If he failed, it wouldn't be anyone's fault.

When Kong Fangyou saw the expressions of the crowd, how could he not guess what was in their minds? Kong Fangyou was furious and said bluntly that if the Holy Palace could not protect him, he would blame everyone for the siege and killing of the imperial envoy.

Kong Fangyou said that he was now a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. If they did not let him live, then let everyone die together. Even though other members of the clan said that as long as Kong Fangyou took the matter alone, Kong Fangyou's lineage would always inherit the position of Guangouting in the future, Kong Fangyou still did not want to die like this.

Just as everyone was arguing, an urgent report came in, like a thunderclap, which left everyone speechless for a long time. It was that Bai Yongfu's army had arrived in Jinan and was now on the way to Qufu.

Tao was shocked and said anxiously, "Looking at the current situation, I'm afraid the court will not let us off easily. They are sending troops here to either encircle and suppress us or to severely punish our clansmen. By then, the Holy Palace may face a catastrophe. Now that things have come to this, how should we respond?"

At this point, Tao stood up and bowed to everyone, saying, "I am at a loss right now, and it is difficult for me to come up with a perfect plan. I hope that the wise and capable people in the clan can quickly come up with a good plan to resolve the current crisis of the Holy Palace and ensure the continuation of the Holy Palace."

Some people suggested submitting a petition to apologize as soon as possible, hoping for leniency from the court, and putting the blame on Kong Fangyou alone. Some also suggested hiding their whereabouts and letting their clansmen escape from Qufu to temporarily avoid the limelight.

In short, people said all kinds of things, but no one said that they could compete with the imperial army. After all, they still remembered clearly the siege of Qingluan Guard at the post station the day before yesterday.

Kong Fangyou did not want to take the blame, but Tao knelt down in front of him and said that the safety of the Holy Palace was entrusted to him. Someone repeatedly assured that the Holy Palace would certainly provide great support to Kong Fangyou's descendants. Someone nearby said gloomily that if he was unwilling, they would not care about the feelings of family members for the sake of the Holy Palace's plans.