CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE REBELS BEATEN.--ARTFULNESS OF THE TARTAR KING.--CHAGRIN ANDDISAPPOINTMENT OF NICHOLAS.
At daybreak the battle was resumed; and with such terrible bravery didthe troops of Woo-san-Kwei and his ally the Tartar king fight, thatbefore noon the rebels fled in all directions; the main body, under Lihimself, retreating into the province of Pe-tche-Lee, where for manyweeks they were followed by the Tartars; and although the latter beat Liin every engagement, and slew vast numbers of his troops, he managed socleverly that he reached Pekin; which city being well fortified andmanned by his adherents, he held out till the Tartars were reinforced bymany thousands of their brethren, who, now that the ancient barrier ofLeao-tong had been broken, flooded the empire like a mighty torrent.Then Li, brave and able as he really was, saw the necessity ofretreating from the capital. To do this with profit to himself, theartful rogue placed the whole of his troops upon and before the northernwalls; by this means he kept the soldiers employed and the enemy at bayat least eight days and nights, during which time his more immediatefriends and faithful followers were engaged in carrying from theimperial palace the vast treasures of jewels, gold, and silver,collected by the Ming Emperors during the preceding two hundred andeighty years, with which they escaped to Si-gnan, in the province ofChen-si. Then, when the Tartar army entered the capital, althoughterribly chagrined at the loss of so much treasure, they did but followLi-Kong a short distance, when they gave up the pursuit and returned toPekin, greatly to the vexation of Woo-san-Kwei, who, as you will see,soon found that his new friends were as bad as his old enemies.
No sooner was Li-Kong expelled, than Woo-san-Kwei proclaimed the PrinceYong-Li Emperor, and offered to pay the Tartar king an immense sum forthe use of his army, at the same time respectfully begging he wouldwithdraw his troops from the empire, as it was contrary to the sacredbooks that so many foreigners should remain in the sacred capital; towhich polite request the Tartar made an equally polite reply: "We donot," said he, "think it fit to leave yet, for there are many unsubduedthieves who may cause as much trouble as this Li-Kong; moreover, thisarch-rebel is himself established in his province, and would doubtlessreturn if he found that we, whom alone he fears, had quitted China;therefore, O noble Woo-san-Kwei, we are resolved to follow up ourvictory, and exterminate every rogue in the land, so that you maydeliver the empire to Yong-Li in full peace and prosperity; as for thepayment for our services, we are not poor, and can wait till the kingdombe settled. In the mean time, however, that which we chiefly desire is,that the great Woo-san-Kwei shall recruit his army from our own, andproceed to Chen-si to destroy the dog Li, while we, with our braveTartars, will endeavor to sweep from the southern provinces the roguesand thieves who are now settled therein."
Deeply chagrined that he had replaced dogs with tigers, Woo-san-Kweicould do nothing but obey--for in reality it was a command; and so heproceeded into Chen-si, accompanied by Nicholas, where, after a campaignof many months, he succeeded in destroying the power and army ofLi-Kong; as for the rogue himself, as his body was not found, it wassupposed that he had been killed, while endeavoring to escape in thedisguise of a private soldier.
Throughout the campaign in Chen-si, Nicholas had fought with terribleenergy, for he had hoped that when they took possession of Li-Kong'spalace, he should obtain at least some clue to the fate of the princessand Chow, both of whom, if alive, he believed to be in the power of therebels. As, however, notwithstanding the highest rewards and the mostvigorous search, he failed in gaining the slightest clue, he feltgreatly pleased when they returned to Pekin, where he was not withouthope that the princess might be concealed, and if so, she was safe; fordoubtlessly, by the time they reached the city, their Tartar allieswould, according to their promise, have proclaimed her brother, thePrince Yong-Li, Emperor.
So great and popular had been the successes of Woo-san-Kwei in Chen-si,that as he rode toward Pekin the people came out, and falling upon theirknees, almost worshiped him as the restorer of peace and order. Aboutmidway between Chen-si and Pekin, they were met by the great officers ofthe Tartar king, who brought with them a vast body of troops, in orderto augment the state of the general's triumphal entrance into thecapital. Now this was very gratifying to Nicholas, for seeing theTartars pay so much respect to the great Ming general, he doubted lessthan ever that, like faithful friends, if they had not already done so,they would speedily restore Yong-Li to his throne--a gratification whichwas considerably heightened, when, at the gates of the city, they weremet by a procession of great officers, both Tartars and Chinese, who, inthe name of the Emperor, greeted Woo-san-Kwei with the title of King ofChen-si; so with difficulty the procession passed through the masses ofpeople, whose hoarse voices clamored, "Long life, ten thousand years, tothe Emperor."
"This, then," thought Nicholas, "is indeed a fortunate day; for not onlyhave these brave Tartars restored the Prince Yong-Li to his right, butthe amiable prince commences his reign by an act of gratitude; for,forgetting his quarrel with Woo-san-Kwei, he rewards his great serviceswith the kingdom of Chen-si." Thus they rode onward till they came tothe palace, where the Emperor was waiting to do honor to the greatgeneral.
Then, as Nicholas passed through the courts of the palace, he staredwith surprise, not unmixed with indignation, at the disproportion of thenumbers of Chinese to those of the Tartars. Yet again, surely it was butgratitude on the part of the young Emperor to reward those who hadrestored him to the throne of his ancestors; still a strange fear creptover him, and he said, almost in a whisper, "Truly, O illustriousprince, these barbarians have taken possession of the empire."
"It is as wise, O youth, to make a virtue of necessity, as it ischildish to resist the decrees of fate," said the general; and then apang of disappointment shot through the youth's heart; his illusionvanished; moreover, he would have given his life to have avoided thescene before him. They had entered the great hall of audience; there,upon the golden dragon throne, surrounded by the warrior princes andchiefs of Mantchouria, sat the Emperor. The Emperor, indeed! notYong-Li, but a Tartar child of six years of age. Heartsick, enraged, hewould have spoken. The general perceiving his misery, clutched his arm.Nicholas checked his impatience, but nevertheless muttered, "Surely theheavens will fall, for the great Woo-san-Kwei has proved a traitor."