Chapter 1070: Here They Come Again
Their minor clash quickly drew a crowd.
The Prince of Tang's guards surged forward, hands already resting on their saber hilts. Not to be outdone, the Gao Family Village Militia swarmed in, refusing to yield an inch.
Their flintlock rifles had been discreetly put away, but the militia soldiers were armed to the teeth. A lack of firearms was no issue; each man carried a hidden military knife, ready to be drawn and deployed against the Prince of Tang's guards without a moment's hesitation.
The two groups locked eyes in the center of the village, the tension between them instantly escalating.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuan and Prince of Tang Zhu Yujian, both men of refined manners, had been engaging in polite conversation. They were startled when a sudden clamor erupted nearby.
They turned to see their subordinates on the verge of outright battle.
It was an utterly mortifying sight for both of them.
Both men rushed towards the village center, speaking almost in unison: "Stop! What in the world is happening?"
The general from the Prince of Tang's guards pointed to his face, which was slathered in thick congee. "I just wanted a bowl of congee," he fumed. "This man wouldn't let me have any, and then he threw it in my face!"
Bai Yuan, however, had considerably more faith in his militia's discipline. He turned to the soldier involved and instructed, "Tell me what happened, precisely."
The militia soldier snapped to attention and saluted. "This man just walked up, didn't utter a word, and grabbed a bowl to help himself to food," he reported. "I was angered by his impudence, so I held onto his bowl. He then swung his fist at my face, and I retaliated with the spoon full of congee. That's how it all happened."
Bai Yuan surveyed the scene with a quick glance and immediately sensed the soldier was telling the truth.
But then the general roared, "He was the rude one! I, a distinguished commander of the Prince's guards, merely sought a bowl of his congee. He mumbled and grumbled at me, and even if I were to cut him down, it would be entirely justifiable!"
Bai Yuan's brow furrowed. He trusted his own men; justice undoubtedly lay with them.
But the guard commander's words filled him with a bad feeling. *When have officials ever extended courtesy to commoners?* This commander clearly wasn't interested in reason; he intended to use his rank to bully them.
Bai Yuan's hand, hidden behind his back, subtly made a gesture. His personal guards immediately understood, discreetly leaning in to whisper in a nearby soldier's ear: "Retrieve our hidden flintlock rifles. If the Prince of Tang tries any tricks, eliminate his guards right here."
The soldier nodded, slipping away unnoticed toward the cache of flintlock rifles.
Bai Yuan, meanwhile, fixed his gaze intently on Prince of Tang Zhu Yujian.
Zhu Yujian's stance was now paramount. If he chose to play favorites, sided with his guard commander, and sought to punish Bai Yuan's men, then Bai Yuan would have no choice but to strike "rites" from his cherished list of a gentleman's six arts.
In that tense moment, every eye in the village square was on Zhu Yujian.
Unbeknownst to Zhu Yujian, his very life hung in the balance, depending solely on his next decision. Should he choose to act like an arrogant, unreasonable prince, a thousand flintlock rifles would unleash a devastating volley upon his guards.
However, Zhu Yujian was, in truth, far from such a dissolute prince.
When he was merely a child, Zhu Yujian's grandfather, the former Prince of Tang, had doted excessively on the son of a concubine and sought to elevate him to legitimate heir. To achieve this, he had imprisoned Zhu Yujian and his father, intending to starve them to death.
Zhu Yujian was only twelve at the time, and enduring such a catastrophe had certainly served as a profound, if traumatic, education.
Fortunately, a minor official named Zhang Shutang secretly supplied them with coarse rice. For sixteen years, Zhu Yujian and his father subsisted on meager provisions in their prison cell. Confined to his cage, Zhu Yujian immersed himself in diligent study, poring over Confucian classics, never wasting a moment of his enforced solitude.
Later, his father was poisoned to death, and Zhu Yujian himself narrowly avoided being stripped of his heir apparent status. After countless twists and turns, navigating a life fraught with peril, he finally ascended to the title of Prince of Tang in the fifth year of Chongzhen.
He was truly no wastrel!
Zhu Yujian's gaze swept over the guard commander. He let out a scoff. "You claim he was disrespectful to you? I refuse to believe it! Dressed in your military uniform, what commoner would dare to affront you? It must be that *you* provoked him first, prompting him to defend himself and retaliate."
Bai Yuan blinked in surprise.
The Gao Family Village Militia soldiers exchanged baffled glances.
Even the soldiers discreetly preparing to retrieve their flintlock rifles paused, equally bewildered.
Even the Prince of Tang's own guards were momentarily dumbfounded: *The Prince didn't even take our side?*
Zhu Yujian pointed at the commander, whose face was still smeared with congee. "Since no one is actually hurt, let's end this matter right here," he declared. "Now, go and wash your face immediately. What sort of spectacle is this unsightly mess? You are an utter disgrace to the Prince of Tang's guards!"
The man flushed with embarrassment and quickly withdrew, desperately seeking something with which to clean his face. With a widespread drought plaguing the land, and Nanyang particularly hard-hit, finding water for a simple wash was proving quite difficult. Peering into the village well, he saw only a murky trickle clinging to the very bottom.
As he stood there, at a loss, a wet cloth was extended to him. It was the militia soldier who had been holding the congee spoon.
The commander took the cloth and wiped his face clean.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, unspoken words hanging between them, but the tension had slowly begun to dissipate.
The flintlock rifles were once again discreetly put away.
Bai Yuan clasped his fists at Zhu Yujian. "Your Royal Highness truly handles matters with impartiality," he praised. "You possess the demeanor of a true gentleman."
Zhu Yujian waved a dismissive hand. "You flatter me, you flatter me. I would hardly dare call myself a true gentleman."
Bai Yuan then voiced the concern he had previously held back. "Your Royal Highness," he began, "this endeavor of yours, raising an army to serve the emperor, requires further careful consideration."
Zhu Yujian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You, too, wish to dissuade me? The Nanyang prefect chased me for miles, urging me not to proceed. I see you're not a pedantic man, so why do you also advise against it? I lead this army to serve the emperor with not a shred of selfish intent, my heart is pure. Surely, His Majesty will recognize my profound loyalty and not hold me accountable for such a righteous act?"
Bai Yuan started, "His Majesty, the current emperor, his disposition..."
He hadn't even finished his sentence when two scouts arrived simultaneously, one from the Prince of Tang's guards and the other from the Gao Family Village Militia.
The two scouts spoke almost in unison: "Bad news! Meng Hu and Du Hu are attacking!"
Zhu Yujian expressed his astonishment. "Meng Hu and Du Hu are my defeated foes!" he exclaimed. "I just routed them, sending them scattering like frightened mice. Do those two scoundrels dare to return?"
Bai Yuan, however, frowned, a flicker of understanding crossing his face.
Meng Hu and Du Hu had previously been defeated by the Prince of Tang's guards because they hadn't known the true strength or composition of that government force and had instinctively retreated as a precaution.
But once the marauders had recovered their wits and conducted a fresh reconnaissance, they realized that what had routed them was merely a detachment of the Prince of Tang's personal guards.
To the common people across the land, the very title "Prince" was synonymous with "incompetent wastrel."
Meng Hu and Du Hu immediately regrouped their forces and were now returning to attack.
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