Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 366 The biggest difference between humans and monkeys is that humans can use fire
Yu Yunhe looked at Guan Mingen, and Guan Mingen turned to look at Chang Huoyan.

Chang Huoyan, who looked like a butcher, gritted his teeth and said:
"Why are you all looking at me? Go, get that guy in the fake yellow jacket off his horse first!"

The officer of Cao Biao turned pale and looked at Guan Mingen.

Guan Mingen took a deep breath:

"Do it! Tell the brothers that there is a big reward. It is a huge reward that they can never earn in their lifetime."

"Whoo."

……

Looking at the officer's hurried back, Guan Ming'en finally regained his senses.

Start giving orders:
"Quickly dispatch 200 soldiers from the Caobiao Central Army, dressed in plain clothes and armed with bows, crossbows and firearms, to stand by and wait for orders."

"Old Chang, do you have absolutely reliable personnel?"

"Not many, there are still about thirty or forty." Chang Huoyan immediately ordered Master Zhou, "Go mobilize the troops!"

Yu Yunhe, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, his handkerchief was soaked and could no longer be used, so he used his official robe to wipe it.

He realized it for the first time.
My dad often lamented that "Beijing officials generally do things with propriety, but local officials are really...ah." If I were to expand on that last word of lament, "ah," it would take at least 10,000 words.

……

Bao Zhou, the imperial guard with blue feathers, leaned over the horse's back, holding the reins and whipping it hard.

He saw it out of the corner of his eye.

Those plainclothes men didn't dare to stop him, and he felt relieved.

Thinking:

"I'm wearing a yellow jacket. How dare these Huai'an bumpkins mess with me? Not at all, not at all."

Inside the cabin,
Except for Zheng Jinsheng himself, the rest of the 90-odd people on duty felt that there was no danger.

We are the imperial envoys who are sent by the Emperor to inspect the country!
Locals have to wait and see. We want to investigate your mistakes, do you still dare to use force?
The correct way to open it - shouldn't it be to ask for forgiveness and bring a few carts of gold over to discuss it?

Therefore,
Although Zheng Jinsheng was restless.

The rest of the people were still unconcerned and were still discussing how to make more money before returning to Beijing.

……

Bao Zhou rode his horse two steps forward and saw the entrance to the alley about ten feet away.

The hanging heart gradually let go~
Suddenly, a trip rope was pulled up.

The horse stumbled and the man flew out, unable to get up.

In his blurred vision,
A few pairs of combat boots appeared, and a cold blade was pressed against his neck.

"Don't move. If you move, you will die."

immediately,

He was tied tightly with hemp ropes, his mouth was gagged, and he was pulled into a carriage.

"Search this out."

A hastily folded piece of paper, covered with a bright red imperial seal, had the following words scrawled on it: "Help! Send troops immediately!"

The leader's face changed drastically and he hurriedly took it to tell his master!
……

Guan, Chang and Yu exchanged glances and sighed silently.

By now,

There is no choice but to move forward.

"Mobilizing troops to charge in directly will make too much noise, and the method is too crude, so let's just set fire!"

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

at dusk,

The sun went down and the view became dim.

The Imperial Envoy's Office,

The elm door was closed and Zheng Jinsheng was waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

He was completely unaware that at this moment, 200 soldiers were working hard to move bundles of firewood and pile them up in a reserve granary less than 50 feet away from the imperial envoy's residence.

Then they poured buckets of kerosene on the pile of firewood.

In the night,

The action was not noticeable.

In order to make the arson concealed and sudden, they did not even evacuate the nearby civilians.

……

Some curious people wanted to go out and see what was going on.

I was immediately asked by plainclothes men with knives on the street to keep the gate closed and not to peek, otherwise I would be asking for trouble and go to the government office.

Threats always work.

Half an hour later,
Master Zhou wiped the sweat off his face and lifted the curtain of the carriage.

"Dong Weng, it's done."

"Are you sure?"

"Not bad. I have estimated the wind direction and distance. Please allow me to temporarily control the soldiers."

"it is good."

The 300 soldiers present all received the promise.

After this incident,

Each person will be rewarded with 800 taels of silver. Those who are willing to stay in the army will be promoted, and those who are not willing can leave immediately.

……

As for,
In fact, everyone knows what to do next, but they still pretend to be ostriches.

Murdering the imperial envoy is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan.

But anyone who refuses now will be killed on the spot by his companions.

800 taels of silver, a huge fortune that one could not earn in a lifetime, who wouldn't be jealous.

Just because you are rational doesn’t mean your companions are rational.

In fact, everyone is trapped in a "prisoner's dilemma" and can only do it anyway!
Burn it, burn it, it’s all just following military orders.

The grudges between adults have nothing to do with us little soldiers.

……

Inside the Imperial Envoy's Office,
A guard on duty suddenly felt that the sky had become brighter.

I turned around and was stunned.

Not far to the east, a fire dragon soared into the sky.

"Oh no! The fire dragon is burning the warehouse! The fire dragon is burning the warehouse."

The headquarters was in chaos, and at the same time, the houses of the people nearby were also in chaos.

Chang Huoyan changed into civilian clothes and directed the arson on the spot.

far away,

The door of the imperial envoy's headquarters was closed.

He gritted his teeth and grabbed Master Zhou:

"You, go set fire everywhere. Even if it means burning Qingjiangpu to ashes, it's worth it."

"Don't worry, Dong Weng."

The area of ​​Qingjiangpu is actually not very big. To the north is the Inner Canal, to the west is the Grand Canal, and to the east is the Confucian Temple!
The madman Chang Huoyan ordered his men to set fire from the east and south, taking advantage of the summer southeast wind.

……

Wooden houses are particularly easy to burn.

The strong sun for three consecutive days made the land extremely dry and it would catch fire easily when exposed to fire.

Chang Huoyan's arms trembled with excitement.

Looking at the dazzling fire dragon rising into the sky, he suddenly remembered the origin of his name.

Shortly after he was born, his impoverished and skinny parents gritted their teeth and spent a huge sum of money (30 coins) to ask a passing fortune teller to give him a name.

The fortune teller looked at it for a long time.

Say:
"This child has a strong physique and a rare Fire, Thunder and Lightning Fate. He will definitely achieve great things in the future."

later,

He really became a legend in the surrounding area!
On the day when the provincial examination results were announced,

The county gentry came in sedan chairs, presenting money, land, oxen and maids.

At the age of 26, I was wearing a coarse cloth gown. I was not embarrassed at all and was calm and at ease, welcoming guests.

The villagers all praised that the Chang family had produced a literary star!
My parents, who had never worn shoes in their lives, burst into tears of joy and cried loudly in front of the ancestral tablets.

Even the county magistrate who came to congratulate him said with satisfaction:

"Who says that a little bit of grass can repay the kindness of the parents? You two old people, you can enjoy your life in the future~"

Young men were selected as tribute students, and young men passed the imperial examinations.

Although he was ugly, everyone within a radius of 50 miles boasted about his handsome looks. Many wealthy and beautiful girls in the village coveted him and flirted with him.

……

"My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of God! God is not qualified to judge me."

Chang Huoyan clenched his fists and roared at the fire dragon that pierced the night sky in front of him.

Inside the fire scene,
Even the most slow-witted person could understand what was going on.

The imperial envoy Zheng Jinsheng's boots had all fallen off, and he fled in a panic surrounded by his guards. However, he was trapped in the fire and had no idea where to go or how to find a safe path.

He held the imperial seal and yelled frantically:
"It was the officials and gentry in Jiangbei who wanted to burn this imperial envoy to death. It was them."

……

The fire in the south burned the entire camp, almost forming a wall of fire.

Zheng Jinsheng and his party were forced to squeeze among the people and run eastward.

To the east is the Confucian Temple!

The governor of the grain transport department, Guaerjia Guan Mingen, was riding on a horse, with his headband and court beads intact.

"The Jiangnan bandits have sneaked into Qingjiangpu to cause chaos. Sniper riflemen, fight them."

The Cao Biao Firearms Battalion, which was lined up in a mess, fired randomly, and a large number of civilians who were about to run away from the fire scene suddenly fell down.

"Archers, shoot your arrows."

Guan Mingen is ruthless enough.
He commanded his soldiers to shoot arrows and fire guns continuously, plowing the corpses, and then ordered them to continue bombarding the figures in the fire.

"Master, the gun barrel is overheating."

"What's the big deal about a bursting barrel? We have to fight and repel the bandits fiercely, only then can we rescue the imperial envoy."

Qingjiangpu is burning.

The Confucian Temple stood in the fire, but eventually it could not bear the weight and collapsed.

This was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that Fengji Warehouse, one of the four major warehouses for grain transport, also caught fire.

……

Fire is a symbol of civilization.

Humans ignite the fire, but God decides when to turn it off!
The temperature continued to rise and the air became thinner.

The instigators, the Jiangbei trio, could only retreat in a panic, again and again.

More than 100,000 people in Huai'an Prefecture were awakened at night, and countless people were clamoring to put out the fire.

distance,

The Han army's cavalry battalion, regardless of the risks of marching at night, broke camp and rushed to reinforce.

Hundreds of ships moored at the dock were fleeing, and ships kept colliding in the canal and the sound of ships falling into the water could be heard constantly.

It's chaos, it's all chaos.

The entire Huai'an Prefecture was in chaos. No one knew what had happened and everyone was trembling in fear.

……

"Old Chang, the Fengji granary is also on fire, and there are still 12 shi of grain in it."

"Burn it, hahahaha."

"How, how is this going to end?" Yu Yunhe's voice was filled with tears.

Chang Huoyan looked at this younger generation who had "good luck in reincarnation" with contempt, and thought to himself, if our backgrounds were switched, the grass on your grave would probably be three feet high.

Patted his shoulder and said:
"The bigger the noise, the more real it will seem. If the momentum is too small, it will not live up to the title of the fake King of Wu in Jiangnan."

"Old Zhou!"

"Dong Weng, I'm here."

"Find the Cao Gang members, and take advantage of the chaos to loot along the canal under the banner of the fake King of Wu. Tell them that whatever they can loot before dawn will be considered a reward from me. They won't lose out by recognizing me as their big brother."

……

Ten miles away,

You can see the huge fire rising to the sky in Qingjiangpu.

Liu Qian climbed up from the houseboat and opened the window:

"Immediately after daybreak, send a fast horse to Yangzhou to notify the four major merchants to retreat."

"Also, take this news back to Jiangnan. Tell His Majesty that the civil unrest in Jiangbei has made it more difficult for the Qing army to cross the river. But Chaohu must be guarded. I suggest that Your Majesty end the war in Jiangxi as soon as possible and shift the focus northward."

The subordinate complimented:
"Director, you have made a great contribution this time. I think it won't be long before the six ministers of our Wu Kingdom will become seven. In the battlefield behind enemy lines, our intelligence agency can be equivalent to a full-strength army."

Liu Qian waved her hand, tightened her silk robe and continued to watch the night view.

The beacon fire in the distance is a rare sight in the world.

The feeling of lying on the lap of a beautiful woman while drunk and holding a sword to kill while awake makes me intoxicated.

This year, the Intelligence Agency quietly recruited many martial arts masters and incorporated them into the Jiangbei Action Team.

Liu Qian did not think there was anything wrong with this move, because it was too cumbersome to always rely on temporary calls for professional musketeers to cooperate in the operation.

The Jiangbei Action Team has 300 people.

There are still 100 people on the Fujian-Zhejiang border.

He usually stays low-key and lives in an inconspicuous area.

The Intelligence Agency's action team has the best quality flintlock rifles, short handguns, and plate armor! They even have a few 3-pound cannons that are lighter than the military ones.

……

The fire burned all night and gradually died out at noon.

Only then did a large group of soldiers and civilians dare to enter Qingjiangpu to put out the fire and extinguish those small fires.

The main building of Fengji Warehouse is intact, but black smoke is coming out of every vent. People can't get in at all.
Zu Youen, deputy commander of the Han Army Banner of the Cavalry Battalion, had a dull expression and muttered:

"It's over, it's over~"

Guan Mingen burst into tears:
"One million shi of stored grain is gone, gone. Damn those Jiangnan Wu thieves, they will not have a good death."

Chang Huoyan knelt on the ground, covering his face and crying.

Yu Yunhe was sick, and he was not pretending. He really couldn't bear such a big thing and his psychological defenses collapsed.

There were two granaries, three reserve granaries and five warehouses in Qingjiangpu, all of which were burned.

along the way,

There were only charred and shapeless corpses.

Zu Youen took his personal soldiers to look for people everywhere.

The tragic scene before him made him shudder. Walls had collapsed, houses had fallen down, and corpses were seen every few feet.

……

He took out a half-melted brass waist plate from a charred, curled-up corpse.

The words and patterns on it can be vaguely distinguished. This once belonged to a second-class guard.
Zu Youen was also a descendant of aristocratic family and a descendant of Zu Dashou.

He was filled with emotion.
A nobleman from the Upper Three Banners with a distinguished family background and a promising career path died in Huai'an inexplicably.

"Looking for the Imperial Envoy! If he's alive, I want him. If he's dead, I want his body."

"Whoo."

Not long after,
Someone shouted: "Found it!"

Zheng Jinsheng was dead, curled up in a depression.

The entire back was burnt black, and when it was turned over, there were a few patches left on the front of the official robe.

More importantly, there was a relatively intact golden seal of the imperial envoy underneath.

……

Zu Youen confirmed the identity at just one glance.

Golden Pheasant patch, that’s right.

"Someone, come and find a good coffin to hold the Imperial Envoy."

The embarrassing thing happened again.
Zheng Jinsheng's body could not be lifted.

It's like burnt charcoal that falls apart at the touch.

finally,
The bodyguards took four shovels and dug up the dirt together.

Zu Youen's eyes twitched as he looked at the burnt ruins around him. His right hand nervously pressed the hilt of his knife.
Said in a bitter voice:

"Come on, find an open space along the river north of Huai'an and set up camp according to wartime standards. Patrols will be five miles away from the camp. Anyone who approaches the camp without permission will be killed!"

……

The next day,

The news reached the Jiangbei camp.

Hailancha was horrified and paced back and forth in the tent.

suddenly,

He shouted:
"Someone is coming."

"What do you want, Commander-in-Chief?"

"Have the official documents from Anqing arrived?"

"Just arrived, and he gave the same excuse as before. Lord Mingliang refused to send troops first, saying that he must wait for the official document from the Ministry of War or the military order from General Fuyuan. Otherwise, he would not send troops, and would not allow us to move the large ships in Chaohu Lake."

Hailancha was furious and kicked the heavy wooden table away.
He was like a wounded beast in the old forest, with red eyes.

"Send someone to Anqing again and tell him that if he misses this opportunity, he may never have it again. Huai'an is in chaos, and our backyard is on fire. It's not that I don't want to be the first to send troops, but since ancient times, the best places to cross the river, Yanziji and Caishiji, are both upstream of Yizheng, and I can't reach them."

"Whoo."

[Yanziji and Caishiji are the two fists of Jiangning's defense in the north. The 1st Corps has set up artillery positions and garrisons at these two islands.]

【There are three reefs on the south bank of the Yangtze River. They are Yanziji (Jiangning), Caishiji (Ma'anshan), and Chenglingji (Yueyang) from downstream to upstream. Yanziji and Caishiji have a small river surface, about 3 li wide, and the water flow is slow and the beach is shallow. It is easy to seize the beach. There is a large plain after crossing the river, which is convenient for the attacking party to establish a beachhead defense position, providing depth for the main force of the subsequent crossing of the river to deploy troops, so as not to be pushed down the Yangtze River by the southern army in one go. This is very important, and it must be met even if a landing battle is carried out hundreds of years later. 】

……

The two knights rode at full speed, galloped out of the camp and headed west to Anqing Prefecture.

Ever since Agui left, there has not been a senior official in Jiangbei who is important enough to jointly command all the Qing troops.

For a long time, the Qing court

The armies are not subordinate to each other, and the drawbacks of various constraints between superiors and subordinates are fully demonstrated at this moment.

(End of this chapter)