“Wuya?” the Emperor asked. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then we are indeed doomed. Wuya is the head of security for the entire Forbidden City. All three thousand soldiers report to him.”
“Uh-oh,” ShaoShu said.
“Uh-oh, indeed. To think, I fully trusted Wuya. Apparently another of my many mistakes. When are Tonglong’s main forces supposed to arrive?”
“I heard the soldiers say that local squadrons are already arriving at the stronghold, but the troops from the south and east are not supposed to be here for at least another few weeks.”
“That is good news. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“Well, there is the key that I stole from Tonglong and gave to Ying.”
“A key?”
“Yes, sir,” ShaoShu said. “Tonglong had a key that he claimed opened a back gate or door to the Forbidden City, he wasn’t sure which. Just before I ran off, I stole the key and gave it to Ying.”
“Do you know where Tonglong got the key?”
“His father, sir.”
“What does it look like? A normal key?”
“No, it is entwined with dragons.”
“This is great news,” the Emperor said. “I knew Tonglong’s father. If the key is what I think it is, we just might have a chance. That is to say, Ying will get another chance at Tonglong. Now, listen carefully… .”
Seh sat at the meeting table inside the secret room above the kitchen at the Jade Phoenix. He and the bandits had only been in Kaifeng a few hours, but the proprietor, Yuen, had told them that rumors were flying thanks to propaganda from Tonglong. She said that locals were saying Tonglong’s elite force had killed the bandits, crushing their so-called Resistance.
Seh hated to admit it, but the propaganda was more or less accurate.
Around the table with Seh sat Mong, Hung, Bing, Sanfu, and the Governor; plus Fu, Malao, and Hok. The mood was somber. They were deep in conversation, determining their next course of action.
The Governor cleared his throat and looked at Mong. “I don’t know how to say this, but our best next step may be surrender.”
“Never!” Fu growled, slamming his fist on the table.
“We have to be realistic,” the Governor said. “No one has worked harder for the autonomy of this region than I have, and no one knows better than I what is at stake. If we had the means to fight, that would be a different story. However, what we have just seen all too clearly is that a volunteer army of well-intentioned men cannot compete against those armed with pistols and muskets.”
“We killed some of them,” Fu said.
“We killed about twenty horsemen, compared with more than a hundred bandits lost,” the Governor said. “That ratio is unacceptable. It will not change significantly unless we have firearms—”
“Did someone say firearms?” a voice called out from the opposite side of the meeting room’s trapdoor.
Seh did not recognize the voice right away, but Fu, Hok, and Malao did.
“Charles!” Malao squealed. He jumped out of his chair and pulled the trapdoor open, dropping a rope ladder down into the kitchen. A moment later, Charles’ head popped up through the trapdoor.
“I came to ask Yuen where to find you, and here you are!” Charles said. “This must be a sign. I have news.”
“Please tell us that your pirate friends are on the way,” Malao said. “We could really use the help. Besides, I love boat rides.” He giggled.
Charles shook his head. “My news is not that good. In my quest to find my countrymen, I sailed all the way to the sea before I learned that Tonglong has positioned warships up and down the seacoast. I could not attempt to travel by that route. The Grand Canal turned out to be out of the question, too. There are soldiers everywhere.”
“So, what is your good news, then?” Hok asked.
“I sailed back up the Yellow River to Jinan and went to see HukJee, the black market dealer. He has realized that Tonglong as Emperor would be bad for his business, so he offered to help. He will give us firearms.”
“Yes!” Fu said.
Mong shook his head. “Not so fast, Fu. Charles, what quantities are we talking about, and what is the timing?”
“HukJee said that he could get two hundred pistols and one hundred muskets to Jinan in five days. He might be able to secure a few cannons, too, plus black powder and shot. I could make a run to Jinan and pick up whatever my sloop can carry, then proceed to the Forbidden City. There is a long canal that links the Forbidden City and the Yellow River. We could meet somewhere along there.”