Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 88 You won’t let me farm? Then I’ll have to farm you!

However, in order to keep his own land, Zhao Tiegen had to let his son take over no matter how distressed he was.

Because he knew that once the Qing demons fought back, their land would once again belong to the landlords.

If it had never happened, perhaps he could still accept it.

But having it for a short time and then losing it again can really drive people crazy.

Even for the sake of these fields, Zhao Tiegen would never let the Qing army fight back.

Zhao He nodded vigorously and then spoke.

"Don't worry, Dad. I understand!"

"I will definitely make more contributions this time and try to earn a few more acres of military merit land for our family."

In the Restoration Army, not only those who joined the army could receive land.

You can also get land if you make military achievements!

Zhao Tiegen nodded when he heard this.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Come on, let's have another drink, father and son!"

The father and son clinked their glasses again and each took a sip of the wine.

Then, Zhao Tiegen continued.

"Second brother, you are already twenty years old this year, it is time for you to get married."

"Before, our family was poor and we couldn't afford the bride price, which delayed your marriage."

"But it's different now. We have our own land, ten mu of excellent paddy fields. Add to that your monthly military pay of one tael of silver, and we can earn at least sixteen or seventeen taels of silver a year."

"When you retire from the army in two years, our family should have saved up a lot of money. By then, we will build you three big blue brick and tile houses like Mr. Guo's, and then find Ganniang Wang to find a good marriage for you and give birth to a few big fat boys."

"When the time comes, your mother will help you to raise your child, and your father will help you to farm the land. Our Zhao family will surely live a more prosperous life..."

Ever since he got ten acres of land to settle down, Zhao Tiegen began to look forward to his future life and he seemed very energetic.

Now that I have drunk some wine, I have started to talk endlessly about the future.

Zhao He listened to his father's chattering and instead of feeling bored, he listened with great interest.

Who wouldn’t yearn for such a simple and happy life with a wife, children and a warm bed?
……

The next day, before dawn, Zhao He got up early, put on his military uniform, left home and prepared to return to the barracks.

Around the hour of Mao, Zhao He returned to the military camp. At the entrance of the camp, he met his squad leader Li Yiwen.

"Hello, monitor!"

Zhao He took the initiative to step forward and say hello.

Seeing this, Li Yiwen said with a smile.

"Zhao He, you came back early?"

"How's home? Is everything alright?"

Zhao Hehan smiled and scratched his head and said.

"Thank you for your concern, squad leader. Everything is fine at home."

"The harvest is good this year, and the crops are growing well. I think we can get a lot of food in the autumn."

Li Yiwen nodded, then called Zhao He to go with him to collect the rations needed for the army's expedition tomorrow.

While the two of them were queuing up to receive rations, the other members of the class were returning to the barracks one after another.

Inside the military tent, everyone gathered in groups of three or four, discussing enthusiastically the crops in their own fields and estimating this year's harvest. Everyone had a smile on their face.

Amid laughter, Li Yiwen pushed the door open and walked in with Zhao He, then began to speak.

"That's why we need to fight bravely!"

"Only if we defeat the Qing monsters on the battlefield can we have a safe autumn harvest and live a good life in the rear."

"If we are defeated on the front line and the Qing monsters reach Cenxi, the crops in the fields will not belong to us no matter how well they grow!"

"Everyone, if Qing Yao wants to fight back, can we agree to it?"

Everyone heard this and said in unison.

"cannot!"

"I will never agree to that!"

"Damn it, the land belongs to me. If anyone dares to take it, I will kill his whole family!"

"Aren't they just Qing monsters? If they dare to attack us, we'll kill them all and chop them into pieces and feed them to the dogs!"

"..."

This was also the reason why Li Yi gave his soldiers a holiday and allowed them to go home to visit their families before the army set out.

Because Li Yi knows that if you want people to fight to the death, you must first give them a reason to fight to the death.

And this is the reason given by Li Yi!

Look at your own fields and the food in them; all of this belongs to you.

If the Qing army fights back, all of this will be lost. Can you agree to this?

What to do if you don’t agree?
Of course, we had to fight the Qing army to the death!
Chinese people have always been simple people, they just want to farm peacefully.

But if you don't let me farm, then I'll have to chop you into pieces and plant you in my field!
……

On the sixth day of May in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, after several days of preparation, the Restoration Army, which had successfully completed its reorganization, marched towards Cenxi County in a mighty force.

Cenxi County Magistrate Jiang Wenming stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the black mass of bandits outside the city, his face full of bitterness.

Ever since the first day the bandits arrived in Cenxi, he knew that this day would come sooner or later!

However, what he didn't expect was that this day would come so soon!
"Your Excellency, the enemy soldiers are about to attack the city. What should we do? What should we do?"

County Lieutenant Qian Ruian stood beside Jiang Wenming, pacing back and forth, his face full of anxiety.

"Your Excellency, didn't you ask for help from the city a few days ago? Has the city responded? When will the reinforcements arrive?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wenming looked in the direction of Wuzhou Prefecture with a complicated expression and spoke in a complicated voice.

"Reinforcements? Haha, I want some too!"

"If the city doesn't respond, what can I do?"

Although Wuzhou Prefecture received Cenxi's request for help, it has been slow to respond.

This made Jiang Wenming wonder if he and others might have been abandoned.

But before that, because the Restoration Army had always surrounded Cenxi but did not attack it, Jiang Wenming still had some unrealistic fantasies about whether Cenxi could be defended.

Because of this, in order to maintain the morale of the Cenxi defenders, he kept telling the outside world that reinforcements would arrive "tomorrow."

However, the enemy army was approaching and Cenxi was in imminent danger. Jiang Wenming saw no hope of holding on to Cenxi, so he naturally gave up and was too lazy to hide the truth any longer.

Actually, Wuzhou Prefecture did not give up on Cenxi, but it really had to prioritize things.

After the defeat in Xiangzhou, Li Xingyuan withdrew a wave of troops from Wuzhou in order to block the Taiping Army in Yong'an.

Then, after the defeat in Yong'an, in order to rescue Guilin, Li Xingyuan withdrew another wave of troops from Wuzhou.

As a result, the city defense of Wuzhou is very weak now!

We are really unable to send troops to support Cenxi.

After all, you can't expect Li Xingyuan, the imperial envoy, to ignore the wars in Yong'an and Guilin and send troops to reinforce a small county like Cenxi, right?
How dare you think about such a beautiful thing? When the county lieutenant heard this, his expression changed for a while, and then he asked with a trembling voice.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

Jiang Wenming also looked bitter when he heard this.

Jiang Wenming, who is over 50 years old this year, just passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi last year. This post as the magistrate of Cenxi was his first time to be assigned as an official outside the capital.

But who could have imagined that he would have to go through such a thing his first time as an official!

Damn it, he just wanted to be an official, why is it so difficult? !
Jiang Wenming said with a bitter look on his face, shaking his head.

"I don't know what to do!"

"But officials like us who eat the emperor's salary should be loyal to the emperor. Since we wear this official robe and eat the imperial food, we should share the emperor's worries."

"For now, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate!"

Jiang Wenming had thought about just becoming a thief and finding a flexible job!

After all, it doesn't matter who you serve as an official.
But the problem is that Jiang Wenming is not a native of Guangxi. He came to Guangxi to serve as an official in a different place, and his family members are still in his hometown.

If he betrayed the country, his family would probably be killed as an example to others and beheaded in public by the imperial court.

Jiang Wenming is already fifty-three years old this year. In this era, he is half buried in the earth and has lived enough.

But his son just got married the year before last, and his grandson just held his full moon celebration last year, and he is still at the age of just learning to speak.

Even for the sake of his family and relatives, Jiang Wenming had no choice but to live and die with Cenxi County.

The day the city was broken was the day when Jiang Wenming would die for the city!
There is no other choice!

When Qian Ruian heard this, he began to think.

Jiang Wenming wanted to die in the city because he was an official in a foreign place.

But what about yourself?

I am a local official and my family is now in Cenxi City!
Even if Qian Ruian doesn't think about himself, he has to think about his family, right?
……

Li Yi rode on horseback and looked at Cenxi City in the distance.

Looking at the large Qing banner fluttering feebly over Cenxi County, Li Yi gave up the idea of ​​persuading the enemy to surrender and waved his hand.

"Send a message to our artillery unit, aim in the direction of Cenxi and fire with all your might!"

This battle is the first one fought by the Restoration Army after its reorganization, so it must be won cleanly and beautifully.

Cenxi, the soft persimmon right under our noses, is the best choice.

As Li Yi's military order was issued, the next moment, the roar of several artillery fire resounded throughout the battlefield.

Boom! Boom!
Amid the deafening sound of artillery fire, clouds of smoke rose from the ground. The gun carriage suddenly recoiled under the effect of recoil, and the tail of the gun carriage stuck on the ground left obvious grooves on the ground.

Several muzzle-loading artillery pieces imitating Napoleon guns began delivering fire.

Large iron balls weighing ten pounds were shot towards Cenxi County.

The shells were fired from the muzzle with terrifying kinetic energy, accurately hitting the city wall of Cenxi County and creating holes in the wall.

There were dense cracks around the pit, spreading like a spider web.

After the cannon sounded, Li Yi continued to give orders.

"Let the siege troops launch the attack under the cover of artillery fire!"

Soon, shouts of killing resounded throughout the battlefield. The siege troops of the Restoration Army shouted the slogan "Drive out the Tartars and restore China" and, under the cover of artillery fire, charged towards Cenxi County.

But just as they were about to reach the city of Cenxi and start climbing the city wall.

With a teeth-grinding sound of door hinges rubbing against each other, the gate of Cenxi city was opened from the inside.

A group of Qing soldiers escorted several Qing officials in official robes out of the city, and then knelt in a neat row outside the Cenxi city gate.

When Li Yi saw this scene, he couldn't help but look a little surprised. Is the Qing army going to surrender?
"Order the siege troops to suspend their offensive and send someone up to see what kind of medicine is in the Qingyao Gourd!"

Li Yi waved his hand to stop the attack, then gave orders.

Soon, the Qing army officer who led the surrender in Kaesong was brought in front of Li Yi, who knelt down and said.

"Reporting to the Grand Commander, Cenxi is willing to surrender!"

"Cenxi is a small city with few soldiers and generals. The city defense is not prepared. How dare we resist the might of the Grand Commander? Today, the people of Cenxi are willing to open the city to surrender. We hope that the Grand Commander will show mercy, withdraw the weapons, and stop killing people!"

Hearing this, Li Yi lowered his eyes and asked.

"Who are you?"

Upon hearing this, the Qing army officer forced a smile on his face and said.

"In reply to the Grand Commander, I am Bi Yuntao, the captain of the Cenxi County Defense Battalion."

Li Yi had a strange expression when he heard this. Bi Yuntao...

This name is quite interesting.

But he still asked.

"Tell me, if you are willing to surrender, do you have anything else to ask for?"

Upon hearing this, Bi Yuntao kowtowed immediately.

"In reply to the Grand Commander, I led my army to surrender only to stop the war and eliminate the disaster for the people of Cenxi. I hope the Grand Commander will treat the people of Cenxi well."

"If possible, we are willing to follow the Grand Commander and join the cause of anti-Qing!"

"Besides this, I dare not ask for anything else!"

After saying that, Bi Yuntao looked at Li Yi with a hint of expectation in his eyes, as if he was waiting for Li Yi to respond.

When Li Yi heard this, he suddenly understood the deep meaning of Bi Yuntao's words.

To follow him in the fight against the Qing Dynasty, to put it bluntly, means to join the Restoration Army.

And why did they join the Restoration Army?
Nonsense, of course it’s dividing the land!
Otherwise, could it be that he really has noble aspirations?

Li Yi nodded without hesitation.

"Of course you can. The road to the anti-Qing cause is long and arduous. Only with the help of heroes from all over the world can there be hope of success."

"Since General Bi Qian has great righteousness in his heart and is willing to contribute to the anti-Qing cause, how can this governor refuse?"

Hearing this, Bi Yuntao thought to himself that it was safe.

Now that the matter has been settled, I should not be betrayed by my brothers for the sake of justice.

Actually, as a captain of a thousand-man army, Bi Yuntao had a stable job in the Qing Dynasty, so he would definitely not be willing to surrender.

However, he didn't want to surrender, but his subordinates did!

It was no secret at all that Li Yi distributed land to the Restoration Army in Cenxi. Not long after he started doing this, the news spread to Cenxi City.

Then, those Green Camp soldiers in Cenxi City, who were originally living a miserable life, began to consider joining another wise leader.

As for who this wise leader is?
Of course it was Li Yi who was willing to distribute land to his soldiers.

Could it be Bi Yuntao, the feudal military officer who draws salaries without doing any work and sucks the blood of his soldiers?

They also want to divide the land!
Originally, when the Restoration Army did not launch an attack on Cenxi, Bi Yuntao was still able to rely on his previous prestige in the army to barely suppress the restless people among his troops.

However, as the Restoration Army launched its siege on Cenxi, Bi Yuntao was no longer able to suppress them.

Several captains were even forced by their subordinates to block his door!
Bi Yuntao knew that if he did not lead the team to surrender, his subordinates would probably kill him for the sake of justice, and then he would go to Kaesong to surrender.

……

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(End of this chapter)