Evacuate

Over Gaoyang, dark clouds filled the sky, pressing black and heavy upon the city walls.

In the main hall of the Sun Residence's rear courtyard, only Sun Chengzong and Sun Qian were present.

At midnight, Sun Qian had ordered the kitchen to cook noodles and brought them to the Ming troops who had entered the city to warm their stomachs, taking the opportunity to glean some news.

"Father, His Majesty favors peace negotiations. He has already sent someone to convey word to Huang Taiji!" Sun Qian said.

At this, Sun Chengzong's face went deathly pale. He rose and hastily seized Sun Qian's arm, demanding confirmation. "Peace negotiations? Truly? How could His Majesty make such a decision?"

"I asked several officers and soldiers. They all said the same thing."

"What folly..." Sun Chengzong sighed and sank into his chair, then abruptly said, "It must be that scoundrel Yang Sichang. Ever since he joined the Grand Secretariat, he has constantly urged His Majesty to negotiate peace with the Jurchens. Given the present situation, this must be his idea!"

Seeing Sun Chengzong so agitated, Sun Qian quickly reached out to rub his back and soothe him. "Whoever proposed it, His Majesty still remembers you, Father. Since those are his orders, let us evacuate!"

In his heart, Sun Qian wanted to leave Gaoyang. The Sun family numbered more than forty people, old and young, men and women. Were they really all to die with the city merely to uphold loyalty and filial duty?

Before, there had been no choice. His father intended to defend the city, so they had to stay. But now that orders had come down from above, what was there left to defend?

"If you want to leave, then leave. I am staying!" Sun Chengzong slammed the table in fury. "Peace negotiations, my ass! I shall wait right here in Gaoyang for the Jurchens. Not everyone in our Great Ming is a coward!"

"Mind your words, Father!" Sun Qian glanced behind him. Walls had ears. His Majesty wanted peace negotiations-just whom was his father calling a coward?

If such outrageously treasonous words reached the emperor's ears, the Sun family would have to stay even if they did not wish to leave anyone behind.

"Go tell General Yang that I, Sun Chengzong, am staying in Gaoyang. If he wants me to leave, he will have to carry out my corpse!" With that, Sun Chengzong snorted angrily, swept his sleeves aside, and returned to the inner chamber.

Meanwhile, at the government offices, several officers and soldiers stood beside Yang Tinglin, giving him a detailed account of Sun Qian's inquiries the previous night.

"Did you make everything clear?" Yang Tinglin asked.

One of the soldiers nodded. "Yes. We told him everything, just as you instructed!"

"Good. Act as the situation requires!" Yang Tinglin tapped the table. The soldiers took a bulging paper packet from it, turned, and left.

The people of Gaoyang were gradually evacuating, but the Sun family alone showed no sign of moving. Sun Qian came to the government offices once more to convey Sun Chengzong's words and make it clear that if Sun Chengzong stayed, his sons and grandsons would not leave either.

Yang Tinglin went to the Sun Residence in person. He coaxed and pleaded, finally resorting to threats and inducements, but Sun Chengzong would not change his mind. Yang Tinglin glanced at the sky; it was already noon. Smiling, he urged, "Elder Sun, even if you intend to stay, you still have to eat. You need your strength to defend the city, don't you? Look at the hour-I am hungry myself!"

At this, Sun Chengzong waved a hand toward the servants outside. "We have only plain tea and simple fare. If you do not mind, General Yang, have a little with us!"

"Not at all!" Yang Tinglin nodded with a smile, rubbed his belly, and added, "The noodles your son brought last night were excellent. I expect the food here will suit my taste as well!"

Soon, the kitchen brought the meal. Halfway through eating, Yang Tinglin was interrupted by a soldier from the government offices, who said he was needed on business. Yang Tinglin had no choice but to lay down his chopsticks, apologize, and hurry out of the residence.

The moment he passed through the main gate, Yang Tinglin's expression changed, all trace of urgency vanishing. Standing at a corner of the wall, he asked, "Did you put it in everywhere?"

The soldier raised his eyebrows smugly. "Rest assured, General. We put it in throughout the inner and outer courtyards. I guarantee they will all be asleep in a quarter of an hour!"

"Good. This should make enough of a stir. Pack up and prepare to leave the city!"

The stir Yang Tinglin spoke of was something Lu Xiangsheng had specifically instructed him about before he set out: Gaoyang's evacuation had to cause a great commotion. They were not to slip away quietly.

When Yang Tinglin asked why, Lu Xiangsheng said those were orders from above and told him not to ask so many questions.

Orders from above-did that not mean His Majesty's orders?

As for why His Majesty had given such instructions, Yang Tinglin naturally dared not inquire further.

A quarter of an hour later, everyone eating at the table in the Sun Residence's main hall duly slumped over. The servants attending them were shocked and frightened and wanted to find a physician, but the people of the city had already evacuated. Where could they find one?

With no physician available, they sought out Yang Tinglin instead. Entirely unhurried, he said, "Asleep? All the better. Pack up, then, and leave the city with me!"

Elsewhere, the force led by Lu Xuan was having a much smoother time in Jinan.

Zhu Youshu, the Prince of De, had been worrying day and night, terrified that the Jurchens would march south and threaten Jinan. The city had only two thousand troops. If the Jurchens reached its walls, how could they possibly hold them off?

But he was a vassal prince enfeoffed in Jinan. Without an imperial decree, he could not take a single step beyond it. If he fled, even if he escaped the Jurchens' blades, the emperor would still have his head.

Just as he was agonizing over his predicament, men suddenly arrived from the court, saying that the people of Jinan were to evacuate-including him. For Zhu Youshu, it was as though a bright village had appeared beyond the dark willows. Facing toward Beijing, he poured out endless thanks, tears streaming down his face.

It was only a shame to lose his princely residence. Zhu Youshu gazed at its pavilions and towers, then toward Pearl Spring and Zhuoying Lake. The lake covered several mu, its waters flowing from south to north around an artificial hill before emptying into Great Ming Lake.

Zhu Youshu's gaze fixed on something beneath the lake's waters. He hesitated for a long while before painfully tearing his eyes away.

Let it go, let it go. As long as I keep my life, there will still be a chance to return!