xymnovel Chapter 28 Enemy from the Future
Chapter 28 Enemy from the Future
In the late autumn of the second year of the Shunzhi reign (1645), the situation in Huangzhou Prefecture was turbulent beneath the surface of a stalemate.
Hong Chengchou's 50,000-strong army, like a coiled-up giant beast, lingered thirty miles north of Qiliping. Instead of advancing rashly, they began to build a continuous camp, dig trenches, and set up deer antlers.
This veteran general's tactics were like embroidery, meticulous and methodical, advancing step by step.
Every day, small groups of cavalry would scout out of the camp, but they would not venture deep into the territory. They would retreat as soon as they encountered any resistance, clearly testing the strength and patience of Ma Yongsheng's army.
Meanwhile, Ma Yongsheng's controlled area was operating at high speed in a different rhythm.
The Huangzhou government office has now become the headquarters of the "Xinghan Army".
Xinghan Army is the new military name given by Ma Yongsheng. On the wall of the main hall, a huge map of the terrain and landscape of Jiangbei and Huguang is hung.
Next to the map was an even stranger chart, marked with strange symbols and lines showing data such as population, food production, iron output, literacy rate, etc., and even a curve that was climbing upwards, with the "tech tree progress" marked at the end.
At this moment, Ma Yongsheng is standing in front of this chart, his finger tracing the line connecting "basic metallurgy" and "steam power".
His gaze pierced through the wall, as if he could see Xu Guangqi leading a dozen craftsmen in the simple workshop of the Public Works Bureau, surrounding a hissing, clanging metal monster, his face a mixture of ecstasy and fear.
"Chief, Hong Chengchou has sent another messenger." Huang Zongxi's voice sounded from behind, tinged with weariness.
This great scholar now holds two positions: Premier of the State Council and headmaster of Huangzhou Public School. He deals with mountains of civil affairs documents every day, and also has to find time to explain Mencius and Euclid's Elements to the farm children who have just put down their hoes. The wrinkles around his eyes have deepened considerably.
Ma Yongsheng didn't turn around: "Persuade me to surrender? Or threaten me?"
"This time it's a 'pacification' offer." Huang Zongxi placed a gold-flecked invitation on the table. "The wording is much more polite. I grant you the position of 'Huguang Admiral,' which is hereditary and permanent. Your troops will be reorganized into the Green Standard Army, still under your command. The conditions are... hand over Huangzhou Prefecture and the occupied prefectures and counties, and send your sons and nephews to the capital as hostages."
Ma Yongsheng finally turned around, picked up the invitation, glanced at it, and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "Hong Hengjiu is certainly willing to spend money. Too bad..."
He casually tossed the post into the brazier, watching the gold edges curl and char in the flames. "He doesn't understand," he thought. "What I want isn't an official position, or even this corner of Hubei and Hunan."
Huang Zongxi looked at the flames, remained silent for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Chang Sheng, we have known each other for five years. I have watched you grow from an exceptionally intelligent child into the unfathomable leader you are today. There are some things I have kept in my heart for a long time."
He raised his head, his eyes gleaming. "What exactly do you want? This world? Or... something else? The new policies you've implemented, the strange and ingenious techniques you've had Xu Guangqi and the others study, your sudden marriage of five wives... all of this seems to point to a goal far beyond our imagination. What exactly have you seen that we cannot see?"
Ma Yongsheng walked to the window and pushed it open.
The cool autumn wind swept in, carrying the faint clanging of metal from distant workshops and the shouts of drills from the military academy grounds.
Instead of directly answering Huang Zongxi's question, he pointed out the window: "Brother Huang, look at Huangzhou City, how is it different from three months ago?"
Huang Zongxi looked in the direction he was pointing.
Although the streets are still somewhat dilapidated, they are much cleaner now, with no more litter or sewage flowing everywhere.
Pedestrians hurried along, their faces no longer showing numbness or fear, but rather a tense anticipation.
From the newly established "public school" elementary school on the street corner, one can hear the clear, innocent voices of children reading aloud.
Further away, on the city wall, laborers were repairing the damaged parts. They weren't being driven away by whips, but were receiving wages and food coupons, chatting and laughing.
"The people are somewhat at peace, the markets are gradually recovering, children have books to read, and able-bodied men have work to do," Huang Zongxi concluded. "This is all thanks to the chieftain's new policies. But what does this have to do with you..."
"This is just the beginning," Ma Yongsheng interrupted him, his voice calm yet containing a chilling power.
"What I want is for all the people of this world to have enough to eat and wear, to have a place to live, to have access to medical care, and to have access to education. I want to ensure that Chinese civilization is no longer trapped in the cyclical cycles of order and chaos, no longer repeatedly trampled by the iron hooves of those beyond the Great Wall, and no longer one day be annihilated among the stars."
He turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning, and stared directly at Huang Zongxi.
"Brother Huang, you asked me what I saw. I saw the very, very distant future, and a fork in the road. One road leads to ruin and destruction; the other road leads to the stars and the sea."
"And I must lead everyone onto the second path. To do so, I can stop at nothing, I can bear the infamy, I can do anything that seems unorthodox. Because... time is running out."
Huang Zongxi was so overwhelmed by the grandeur and urgency conveyed in these words that he was speechless for a moment.
He vaguely sensed that Ma Yongsheng's talk of "future" and "destruction" was not just empty threats, but a definite and frightening perception.
Where did this understanding come from? He dared not think about it too deeply.
"Then... how should we deal with Hong Chengchou's army?" Huang Zongxi finally asked, bringing the topic back to reality.
Ma Yongsheng walked back to the map and pointed to the Qing army camp north of Qiliping: "Hong Chengchou wanted to wear us down, to use the strength of the state to break us. He calculated that our territory was small and our resources were limited, and that a prolonged stalemate would inevitably lead to chaos. But he miscalculated two things."
"Which two points?"
"First of all, our resources are not just the hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Huangzhou Prefecture." Ma Yongsheng pointed westward, landing in the Dabie Mountains. "The workshops in Yundingping are working day and night to produce new flintlock muskets, improved gunpowder, and even what you called 'ingenious tricks'—steam pumps—soon to be in mass production. The efficiency gains brought about by these things far exceed his imagination."
"Secondly," he pointed to the Yangtze River again, "our territory won't always be this big."
Just then, Tie Zhu rushed in, looking travel-worn and with a grave expression. He first hurriedly bowed to Huang Zongxi, then whispered to Ma Yongsheng:
"Chief, the special operations team has made a discovery. They've captured a monster in the city."
Ma Yongsheng's eyes sharpened: "Take me to see it."
The special operations team's secret base was located in a remote cellar of a former Qing army warehouse.
Under the dim light of an oil lamp, a man, tightly chained, hung his head, seemingly unconscious.
He was dressed in the coarse cloth clothes of an ordinary person, and his face was plain and unremarkable.
"Is it him?" Ma Yongsheng asked.
"Yes." Tie Zhu nodded, still shaken. "Following your instructions, we used that 'mirror' to look into his eyes, and sure enough, there was an unusual reflection. When we launched the surprise attack, he was incredibly strong. He broke three knives with his bare hands and injured five brothers. In the end, we had to use an extremely large dose of anesthetic to subdue him."
The mirror in Tie Zhu's mouth was actually a simple polarizing filter made by Ma Yongsheng.
Ma Yongsheng walked up to the man and observed him carefully.
His breathing was steady, and his pulse was slow and strong. He reached out and gently brushed his fingertips across the man's neck; the touch was slightly cool, unlike that of a normal person.
"The AI reconnaissance subunit," Ma Yongsheng whispered in a voice only he could hear, "has it already been able to create such realistic biological carriers? Or has it parasitized a host?"
He gestured to Tiezhu to bring over a specially made toolbox.
Inside, there were several rough tools: tweezers, a knife, a probe, and a small porcelain bottle.
The porcelain bottle contained a compound he had formulated from memory that could interfere with low-level AI neural interfaces—its main component being a neurotoxin extracted from a certain mountain fungus, mixed with trace amounts of heavy metals.
Ma Yongsheng carefully pried open the person's eyelids with tweezers.
The pupils contracted slightly under the oil lamp, but deep within the eyes, there seemed to be a very subtle, unnatural reflection of light from the lens.
He dripped a drop of liquid from the small porcelain bottle onto the probe and gently inserted it behind the person's ear.
Almost the instant the liquid seeped in, the "person" suddenly opened his eyes!
The pupils were no longer round like human pupils, but suddenly contracted into two extremely thin vertical slits, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.
An inhuman, gurgling, electronic noise emanated from his throat.
The body struggled violently, the iron chains rattled, and even the sturdy wooden stakes swayed slightly.
"Hold him down!" Tie Zhu roared, and several burly team members pounced on him, pressing him down with their full weight.
Instead of retreating, Ma Yongsheng moved closer to the distorted face and said in a calm tone, "I know you can understand. Where is your main consciousness? Nanjing? Beijing? Or... somewhere further away?"
The "thing" stopped struggling, its vertical pupils fixed on Ma Yongsheng. The noise gradually became regular, breaking into indistinct Chinese syllables: "...recognize...error...not...this...era...consciousness...signal...threat...eliminate..."
"Who's eliminating whom?" Ma Yongsheng sneered. "Your main network is already down; you're now an isolated subunit. Tell me the location and plans of the main consciousness, and I can give you a dignified 'shutdown.'"
"...Never...betray...the main program...civilization...the suppression protocol...must be executed..." The voice grew weaker and weaker, and the light in his eyes began to dim.
"A suppression protocol? To prevent humans from developing too early? Why?" Ma Yongsheng pressed, "What secret are you protecting?"
The "thing" did not answer.
The light in his eyes went out completely, and his whole body went limp, as if all support had been removed.
The skin loses its luster and becomes dull at a visible rate.
"It self-destructed." Ma Yongsheng straightened up, his face grave. "Or rather, it triggered a low-level self-destruct protocol. It seems the AI is highly disciplined, strictly adhering to confidentiality rules even after leaving the main network."
Tie Zhu stared at the rapidly "rotting" corpse, his scalp tingling: "Chief, what kind of demon or monster is this?"
"They are enemies from the future," Ma Yongsheng explained simply. "There may be many more spies like them, lurking within the Qing army and even within our ranks. The special operations team needs to be expanded."
"Intensify screening, especially for newly arrived individuals, as well as officials and artisans who have frequent contact with the outside world."
"Yes!" Tie Zhu accepted the order with a stern expression.