Fan Yingqi and Pan Sheng rode their horses, ordering the government troops to split to the sides, then they quickly surveyed the scene, shouting loudly at some of the household guards:
"Are you government troops? Are you under General Lu, or led by Captain Shi? Speak!"
However, Shi Fu had already fled, and there were strict orders in advance not to reveal their identities, so everyone just stood there, frozen, not a single person speaking.
Fan Yingqi naturally knew what was going on and cursed them hundreds of times in his heart, but he was helpless. He had no choice but to ride with Pan Sheng towards the front of the battlefield. He saw bodies strewn all over the ground, and below the opposing fence, forty to fifty cannons were still mounted, guarded by musketeers, with several thousand villagers behind them, yet they had suffered no casualties.
When Pan Sheng couldn't find Zhu Mo at the scene, and saw that Lu Wen and Shi Fu were also absent, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Could such bizarre events occur in this Great Ming dynasty? It was clearly an internal conflict, yet everyone pretended as if nothing had happened...
The two men counted briefly and found that the Yan family was at a disadvantage, with at least eight to nine hundred dead and another five to six hundred injured, while the opposing side had only a few dozen casualties. They naturally knew that the cannons and muskets belonged to Zhu Mo, but they were nominally under the jurisdiction of the Zhoushan Public Office, claiming to be investigating a case, but in reality, they were protecting those villagers.
Fan Yingqi was very grateful for Pan Sheng's timely notification and said:
"Lord Pan, the situation has escalated. How should we report this to the imperial court?"
Pan Sheng sighed:
"Lord Fan, we are a step too late. Seven to eight hundred people have died. Although most of them are household guards, your subordinate believes there must be government troops among them. Once they return to the camp and are counted, it should be possible to find out who they are and who ordered them out. As for the imperial court, we can only say it was a conflict between the new and old potters..."
Conflict, conflict...
Fan Yingqi sighed and murmured:
"It can only be so... Fortunately, Lord Pan is present and has investigated, otherwise, I alone truly couldn't explain it clearly."
After speaking,
He clasped his hands in greeting to Pan Sheng.
Pan Sheng, who naturally wanted to downplay the matter, immediately called over a registrar from the Surveillance Office and said:
"You lead your men to investigate the scene, count the numbers, this conflict was caused by the accumulated grievances between the new and old potters! You must handle this properly and not make any mistakes!"
"Yes!"
The two registrars led the yamen runners and some soldiers, and then went to different sides to inspect the scene.
Fan Yingqi ordered all the household guards to retreat, to fall back beyond the small grove, and then had his captain, Wang Yucai, lead men to count, to distinguish which were government troops in disguise, so that they could register them and use them as leverage against Lu Wen and Ma Sen.
But after a short while, he heard a sound of heavy and dense footsteps. Turning the grove, he saw four to five thousand government troops arriving from a distance. Lu Wen, wearing armor and with an anxious look on his face, led the way, rushing forward quickly. Upon seeing Fan Yingqi, he shouted:
"Lord Fan, I heard there was a rebellion here! As it is my duty, I dared not be careless, so I mobilized troops to come here. Please forgive me, Lord Fan!"
He was acting the part, pretending to have just gotten out of bed and rushed here without stopping.
Fan Yingqi cursed him in his heart, but could only say helplessly:
"General Lu, you have arrived at a good time. There is no rebellion here; it is a conflict between the new and old potters..."
Oh?
Lu Wen reined in his horse, waved his whip, and pointed at the chaotic battlefield in the distance, shouting loudly:
"Lord Fan, there are cannons! How can it be a conflict? Your subordinate was at home just now when scouts returned with a report saying that Zhu Mo's rebels have revolted! Now that I see it, it is indeed so! Lord Fan, how can you say it was a conflict?"
Fan Yingqi wished he could slap him, but looking around, he saw that he had at least four thousand men under his command, while he himself only had two thousand. If Lu Wen truly attacked the village opposite, what then?
As he hesitated, he saw another person arriving from the rear, it was Governor Ma Sen, along with several registrars from the yamen.
Ma Sen naturally knew what was going on and said at this moment:
"Lord Fan, why haven't you attacked yet? Zhu Mo's rebels have revolted, and you, leading the government troops, arrived first. How could you have missed the opportunity to attack?"
"Very well, Lord Ma, please you and Lord Shen carefully conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain who instigated the potters and household guards to engage in this conflict! This way, it will be easier to report to the imperial court!"
Yes, yes,
Ma Sen did not look back, and Lu Wen immediately took away their men, thinking of having the government troops return to the camp after they got back, and providing compensation for the casualties. As for those household guards and potters, they would find a few ringleaders among the kiln owners who had past grievances and frame them.