No need for General Cao to make a move!
Just then, a voice came from outside the drill ground, and everyone instinctively looked in that direction.
At some unknown time, a troop had appeared outside the drill ground.
This troop was composed of the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot, numbering no less than five hundred!
A Imperial Guard, dressed in a dou niu uniform, had his right hand on the hilt of the embroidered spring saber at his waist, holding a token high above his head with his left hand, and slowly walked into the drill ground.
Zhao Gu, the Imperial Guard Commander, acting on imperial decree, is here to arrest!
Wu Sangui, Bai Guangen, Ma Ke, Wang Pu, Tang Tong, where are you!
*Swish!*
There was no need for an answer. As he asked the question, the gazes of the Liaodong forces all fell upon the five men he had named.
Take them down!
Seeing this, Zhao Gu drew his embroidered spring saber with a *swoosh*, pointed at Wu Sangui and the others who were being stared at by everyone, and roared.
Yes, sir!
The Imperial Guard riders and the Eastern Depot agents behind him, upon receiving the order, instantly charged in from outside the drill ground.
The Imperial Guard is investigating on imperial orders, all unrelated personnel are to retreat immediately!
The Eastern Depot is arresting on imperial orders, make way!
The two factions, which were originally confronting each other at every turn, were now working in unison to carry out the order.
Wu Sangui and the others were utterly bewildered. They had just achieved a great victory, and now they were suddenly being arrested?
The captain, chiliarch, and personal guards they had brought immediately drew their weapons, protecting the five men in the center.
Why are you arresting our commander!
Exactly! After a great victory, instead of rewards, you want to lay hands on our commanding generals. What kind of logic is this!
Commander, the Emperor is unjust. Why don't we simply rebel!
They owe me half a year's salary, and now they want to arrest people without rhyme or reason. I quit being a soldier of the Great Ming!
*Bang bang~!*
As those men were shouting their indignant words, two clear gunshots were heard, followed by two men falling to the ground, each with a bullet hole in their forehead.
The person who fired was Wang Xuance, who was standing on the table!
Although he didn't know why the Imperial Guard wanted to arrest the five commanders, the words of the two officers just now made him very uncomfortable. He looked at those men coldly and said,
Come on, rebel, rebel for this general to see!!
As soldiers, to openly speak of rebellion, if I don't kill you, I'm letting down the gun in my hand!
Anyone who is not afraid of death, step forward and rebel!
The scene instantly fell silent again. Wu Sangui and the others glared at him hatefully, but they didn't dare to utter a single word.
The Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot, upon seeing the gun in Wang Xuance's hand, knew whose person he was.
Zhao Gu walked to the table, cupped his hands in a salute, and asked, "May I ask which general under Duke Fang you are? I am Zhao Gu, the Imperial Guard Commander!"
Wang Xuance, a special forces soldier of the Great Tang's Skyfire Army and Torch Unit!
Wang Xuance stood at attention and returned the salute.
Zhao Gu had heard about this special military salute from colleagues who served in the palace, and this was the first time he had seen it. So, he imitated him and returned the salute.
Greetings, General Wang. This arrest was proposed by Duke Fang himself, and approved by His Majesty. I have an imperial decree here, would you like to see it?
His colleagues had all said that Duke Fang's people were not to be trifled with, and if one could curry favor with them, it would be a great fortune!
At that time, Duke Fang would say a single word to the Emperor, and it would lead to rapid advancement.
The newly appointed Grand Secretaries were the best proof of this.
Wang Xuance casually took the imperial decree, glanced at its contents, and then frowned.
Did my Duke really propose this matter?
Zhao Gu nodded repeatedly, "That's right. Duke Fang said that these people remaining are not a blessing to the Great Ming."
Such prophetic words immediately reassured Wang Xuance. Besides his own Duke, who else had such capabilities?
Then let's arrest them! With this general here, let's see who dares to resist!
Zhao Gu was overjoyed and signaled his men who were confronting Wu Sangui and the others, saying, "Take action!"
Yes!
The Imperial Guard riders shouted loudly and then said to the men opposite them.
If you don't want to die, get out of the way, otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!
Seeing the fierce demeanor of the riders and the dark muzzle of Wang Xuance's gun, those men quickly moved aside.
This is Liaodong, they were not afraid of the Imperial Guard, nor the Eastern Depot agents.
But they were afraid of Wang Xuance!
Someone had previously tried to grab the gun from Ak, but Wang Xuance had sensed his intention and single-handedly defeated a hundred-man unit, and that too, without using his firearm!
Wu Sangui and Wang Pu were fine, but Bai Guangen, Ma Ke, and Tang Tong panicked.
What are you doing!
I haven't committed any crime, why are you arresting me!
There must be a reason for the arrest! His Majesty doing this, isn't he afraid of alienating the soldiers of the nine border garrisons?
Zhao Gu merely sneered at them, then stared at Zu Dashou beside him.
Commander Zu, please ask their respective five divisions to assemble. I need to inspect the personnel!
The corruption in Liaodong was common knowledge.
Padding payrolls and embezzling military rations were almost unwritten rules.
Even worse, as Cao Bianjiao had mentioned, was killing civilians to claim merit.
Each Tatar head was worth two taels, and five heads could result in a promotion!
And the Ministry of War would inspect the soldiers based on their hairstyle and their molars.
The nomadic peoples who ate meat year-round had much more worn molars than the Han people.
Some people, unable to defeat the Tatars, turned their attention to the descendants of the Bohai kingdom and Mongolian herders, who were also nomadic peoples. After killing them, they would shave their hair into the "money rat tail" style and present it to the Ministry of War as stacks of silver!
Even more heinous were those who didn't hesitate to kill their Han compatriots, using their heads as Qing armored soldiers!
The five divisions, each with over ten thousand men, were successively assembled outside Yizhou City.
The first division was under Ma Ke's command.
Ma Ke was arrested, and his chiliarchs and centurions were detained within the drill ground.
Zhao Gu simply scanned the military formation and got a rough estimate of the numbers.
He looked at Ma Ke beside him and said with a cold smile, "Commander Ma, according to the Ministry of War's roster, your division has thirty thousand men. Why are there less than half that number here?"
Falsifying troop numbers was a common method used when padding payrolls.
For someone like Ma Ke, who had over ten thousand men but received rations for thirty thousand, the excess portion would go into his pocket.
Ma Ke quickly replied, "We just experienced combat, and those brothers died at the hands of the Tatars~"
*Bang!*
Wang Xuance immediately kicked him to the ground and berated him, "Are you saying I'm incompetent?
Come, tell me where the missing ten thousand men died!
If you can't find any remains, don't blame me for blowing your head off with a shot!"
Ma Ke was speechless, large beads of sweat dripping from his chin, unable to utter a single word.
Zhao Gu signaled his subordinates. The Imperial Guard riders and Eastern Depot agents walked towards the army. They moved through the ranks, selecting individuals every so often and taking them away for questioning.
The subordinates knew best what their commanders had done.
It took half an hour to assemble the ten thousand men, but the questioning only took a short while.