Liaodong. Shengjing.
Inside the Great Iron Cart Manufacturing Workshop, in the section reserved for the Korean craftsmen.
Today was the day the Korean royal hostages, Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim, were scheduled to come and "inspect the work."
Ever since Hong Taiji adopted Binsheng's suggestion and ordered the two Korean princes to supervise the workshop, the Korean slaves working there had clearly become more efficient.
Under Binsheng's guidance, the Korean craftsmen had finally forged a beautifully made bearing shaft.
Hong Taiji was extremely pleased.
In his mind he could already see the future: a fleet of Great Iron Carts rolling across the battlefield, clashing head-on with the Ming Empire's own iron machines.
But of course, a single bearing shaft was far from enough.
Hong Taiji immediately ordered Binsheng to speed up production even further. At the same time, he instructed Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim to supervise the Korean craftsmen more closely so that none of them would dare slack off.
So Binsheng picked an "auspicious day" and arranged for the two princes to visit the workshop together with their wives.
Binsheng walked in front, acting as their guide.
Behind him followed the two royal couples.
And trailing behind them were the Qing soldiers responsible for guarding the hostages.
The group wandered through the workshop, drifting from one room to another.
Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim occasionally called over a craftsman, praising him a few words or scolding him lightly to keep up appearances.
The Qing guards behind them were bored stiff.
Guarding hostages was already the dullest assignment imaginable. Guarding hostages who were merely inspecting workshops was dullness beyond dullness.
Besides, this was Shengjing, the capital of the Qing.
What could possibly happen here?
There was absolutely zero pressure.
Eventually the group followed Binsheng into a room containing a huge furnace.
The furnace was used for smelting iron.
The heat pouring out of the room was intense and suffocating.
Even before reaching the doorway, several of the Qing soldiers grimaced in disgust.
Binsheng turned and smiled at them.
"Gentlemen, it's unbearably hot inside. You'd better stay outside the door instead of suffering in there. Just keep watch from here. The room only has one entrance anyway. Besides," he added with a casual laugh, "with me inside, what could these two useless princes possibly do?"
The soldiers thought about it.
The reasoning sounded perfectly reasonable.
After all, Binsheng was one of the elite fighters of the Ujen Coohari corps. His blade skills were excellent and he was known for being clever.
Even if Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim attacked him together, ten of them wouldn't be enough to defeat him.
If Binsheng was watching them inside, what was there to worry about?
So the guards really did remain outside the door.
Inside the room, Binsheng quickly led the four royal hostages to the far corner where an unused furnace stood cold and dark.
Without hesitation he crouched down and crawled inside.
He swept aside the coal ash and slag on the ground, then tugged hard at a hidden iron plate.
The plate lifted open.
Underneath it appeared a narrow underground passage.
Inside the tunnel was another man.
One of Binsheng's ten trusted subordinates.
One of the Top Ten Model Workers of Chang'an Factory.
One of the Ten Outstanding Young Workers.
Currently the director of the armored vehicle workshop.
His face was filthy black from hiding in the tunnel for so long.
When he saw Binsheng he grinned and gave a confident thumbs-up.
Everything was ready.
Binsheng turned back to the princes.
"Quick. Get in."
The two women frowned slightly.
But the two princes immediately urged them.
"Don't worry about appearances. Our lives are at stake."
The women nodded.
Then all four of them crawled into the furnace.
Coal dust smeared all over their clothes.
But none of them cared.
They dropped to their hands and knees and began crawling desperately through the tunnel.
The worker guided them forward through the cramped passage.
Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim had lived sheltered lives since childhood. They had never suffered like this before.
But now they gritted their teeth and endured.
They had already crawled quite far when Binsheng was still standing outside the furnace, loudly calling out:
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please take a look at this furnace. This is where we smelt the iron."
Then he immediately changed his voice and imitated Crown Prince Sohyeon.
"Mm."
The guards outside heard the voices and remained relaxed.
They had no intention of entering the furnace room.
Binsheng chuckled softly.
Only then did he finally jump down into the tunnel and close the iron plate behind him.
The group crawled forward through the darkness.
And crawled.
And crawled.
No one knew how long they had been moving before light finally appeared ahead.
The tunnel ended at the inner wall of a water well, the exit positioned slightly above the waterline.
A ladder had already been placed inside the well by another of Binsheng's men.
One by one they climbed up.
When they emerged, they found themselves inside a small private courtyard.
The courtyard was located not far from Shengjing's city gate.
Clean clothes were immediately brought to them.
No explanation was needed.
The princes instantly understood.
They rushed into separate rooms and quickly changed.
Moments later they emerged looking like four ragged peasants.
Their faces were already smeared with mud from crawling through the tunnel. All they had to do was mess up their hair a little.
One of Binsheng's subordinates approached them dressed as a merchant.
He handed each of them a carrying pole.
The baskets hanging from the poles looked heavy, but they were actually filled with light, fluffy materials.
Even spoiled nobles like the princes and their wives could carry them easily.
"Lift the poles and follow me," the disguised merchant said quietly.
"Don't speak along the way. Just bend your backs as if the load is crushing you."
He stepped out of the courtyard first.
Behind him walked Binsheng and the worker from the tunnel, now disguised as bodyguards carrying swords.
Behind them came the two royal couples, each carrying a pole across their shoulders.
They reached the city gate.
The merchant calmly handed the gate guards a large silver ingot.
"I've got some local goods to sell in a nearby village. Hired a few porters to carry them for me. Please make it convenient, officers."
The guards barely glanced at them.
Caravans like this passed through the gate every day.
Nothing suspicious.
One wave of the hand.
"Move along."
And just like that…
They walked straight out of Shengjing.
After traveling two or three li from the city gate, Crown Prince Sohyeon and Prince Bongrim could barely continue.
Even though their loads were light, their shoulders were aching terribly.
They dropped the poles and rubbed their shoulders.
"Finally…"
But Binsheng shook his head.
"Don't celebrate too early."
He pointed behind them.
"The real escape is only beginning."
The hostages turned around.
From the direction of Shengjing came the sound of alarm bells ringing loudly.
The city gates were being slammed shut.
Large numbers of soldiers were flooding toward the gates, searching everyone entering or leaving the city.
Binsheng grinned.
"The Qing soldiers guarding you have realized you're gone. They'll send pursuers soon."
"They'll chase south first."
"After a while, when they realize they've gone the wrong way, they'll spread out east, west, and north."
He clapped his hands.
"We're betting on that time difference."
Then he waved forward.
"Quick."
"We need to start running."