Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 170 Surrender
In Huizhou City, more than 1,500 cavalrymen in red uniforms rushed straight towards Huizhou City without any concealment.
Dust rose from the official road, and the rumbling of horse hooves echoed throughout the fields.

On the top of Huizhou City, there was chaos at this time. The gentry in the city gathered together, staring at the soldiers outside the city with panic.

When they saw the red uniforms on the soldiers, everyone became even more panicked.

The cavalry stopped a few miles in front of the city wall, and then more than a dozen cavalry rushed out of the army formation and ran directly to the bottom of the city wall, suddenly speaking

"The Qing captives Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong were ignorant of destiny and invaded the Ming Dynasty. Now they have been killed by the army led by His Royal Highness Gui, the Regent. All 20,000 Qing captives have been captured under the city of Guangzhou, and the captive leaders Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong have been captured by the imperial court."

"Listen, all the gentry in Huizhou. His Majesty the Regent has ordered that if you do not open the gates and surrender within one hour, all the gentry in the city will be treated as traitors and all nine generations of their clan will be exterminated."

"In one hour, the imperial army will immediately attack the city. You gentry should take care of yourselves."

The soldiers shouted several times at the foot of the city, and then shot letters of surrender into the city with arrows, while other soldiers threw several Jurchen Tatar heads onto the top of the city wall.
When the Huizhou gentry on the city heard the soldiers shouting, their expressions suddenly changed. When they saw the head of the Jurchen soldier thrown onto the top of the city wall, their expressions became even more panicked.
It is now the 22nd. Seven or eight days ago, the Tartar army suddenly arrived in Huizhou. Huizhou was in chaos. There was no resistance at all. The gentry in the city surrendered directly.
To show their obedience, all the gentry in the city shaved their heads and kept their braids. Tong Yangjia was in a hurry to go to Guangzhou to seize the position of regent of the Ming court, and he had no time to care about these gentry in the city. After leaving his baggage in the city, he hurried to Guangzhou.
But they had only shaved their heads for a few days when they did not expect that the Qing invaders would be wiped out by the imperial court.
The gentry in the city had no doubts about what the Ming army outside the city said. These Ming soldiers outside the city were swaggering and had no scruples at all.

If the imperial court had not really wiped out the Qing invaders, how could they dare to do this? Besides, those Tartar heads could not be fake.
Some of the gentry looked terrified, took the swords from the servants on the top of the city wall, and cut off the whips behind their heads.

They are dignified gentry of the Ming Dynasty and sons of saints. If they had not been forced by those Tartars, how could they have kept braids? Those Tartars did not wear hats or belts, and had their hair loose and their clothes worn on the left side. They were truly barbaric beasts!
The magistrate of Guishan County, who was wearing a blue robe, looked even more terrified. He also took off his official hat and hurriedly looked for a knife to cut off his braid.
The prefect of Huizhou Prefecture disappeared after the Qing army entered the city, leaving only the magistrate of Guishan County who surrendered to the Qing invaders. After shaving his head, he was appointed by Tong Yangjia to guard the city.
At this time, there was a great chaos on the top of the city. All the gentry in the city looked for knives to cut off their braids. Suddenly, the top of the city was covered with hair, which was a mess.

The gentry cut off their braids, and their heads were suddenly bald. After cutting off their braids, they quickly put on Dongpo hats to cover their heads. The gentry looked at the hats on their heads, and their expressions finally calmed down.
"There are still two hundred Tartars in the city. We should kill them quickly and take back Huizhou for the court." A trace of ruthlessness flashed across Gui County Magistrate's face, and he spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes, we should quickly kill those Tartars in the city and recapture Huizhou for the court to atone for our sins."

When the gentry heard this, their eyes lit up, and then they led the servants on the city wall and rushed towards the city. Soon, there were roars and shouts of killing in the city.

Half an hour later, the west gate of Huizhou slowly opened, and a group of gentry, led by the magistrate of Guishan County, all dressed in Confucian robes and Dongpo hats, knelt at the edge of the city.

The servant beside him was holding a few trays with several angry heads on them.
Seeing the city gate open, the army in the distance did not march. Dozens of cavalrymen rushed to the city, ignoring the gentry kneeling at the edge of the city. They rushed directly into the city gate, then quickly climbed up the tower and controlled the top of the city.
The gentry knelt by the road, motionless.

Soon the soldiers on the top of the city waved their flags, and the army in the distance slowly moved towards the city wall.
Boom boom boom

A general in red cloth armor ran towards the city gate, followed by dozens of soldiers in red armor. At this time, dozens of riders were running, and the ground of the entire West City was shaking faintly.

When the Guishan County Magistrate saw the general approaching, he stood up with a flattering smile on his face and went forward to greet him.

"General..." The Guishan County Magistrate had just started to speak, but the leading armored general did not stop at all. He rode his horse directly through the city gate with his armored cavalry, completely ignoring the Guishan County Magistrate and a group of Huizhou gentry who were kneeling beside him, leaving only a cloud of dust on the ground.
"These warriors really don't know the rules of respect and courtesy!"

The Guishan County Magistrate's smile froze, his face looked grim. He looked at Liu Qijiao's back, snorted coldly, and then walked back to the side of the road and knelt on the ground.

After Liu Qijiao entered the city, hundreds of cavalrymen entered the city gate one after another. Not long after, a trumpet sounded in the city.

It was only then that the soldiers in the rear guard escorted a middle-aged man in a scarlet robe and began to march towards the city gate.
When the magistrate of Guishan County saw the peacock pattern on the red-robed man in front of him, his heart suddenly tightened, and he quickly stood up and walked forward to meet him.
"Sir, I am the magistrate of Guishan County..."

The Guishan County Magistrate knelt beside the road with a flattering look on his face, and the horses in front of him really stopped slowly.
Chen Bangyan looked at the blue-robed county magistrate kneeling on the ground, his face was indifferent, and he said to the side
"Capture all the traitorous officials in the city and prefectures who are wearing official uniforms."

Upon hearing this, the imperial guards stepped forward and knocked off the official hat of the Guishan County Magistrate. The hat fell to the ground, revealing a bald head.

"My Lord, please forgive me. I am a traitor who pretended to surrender. I have made great contributions in capturing the city. Please spare my life, please spare my life..."

The Guishan County Magistrate was captured by the soldiers. He was completely panicked and kept shouting, but he was eventually dragged away by the soldiers.
A group of soldiers walked up to the kneeling gentry and took away the officials in official robes.

There was a sudden howl of begging for mercy in front of the city gate, and the gentry turned pale and knelt on the ground trembling, watching the officials being taken away one by one.
After all the people in official uniforms were captured, the official in red robes on horseback headed towards the city, but he turned a blind eye to the gentry kneeling on the side of the road.

As the sound of horse hooves faded away, the gentry kneeling on the roadside finally raised their heads.

The gentry looked at Chen Bangyan's receding back and suddenly all of them heaved a sigh of relief, with a trace of relief flashing across their faces. It was only then that the gentry realized that their backs were soaked with cold sweat.

The gentry on the roadside suddenly relaxed, not caring about the dust on the ground, and all sat on the ground. At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard again in front of them. More than a hundred figures were seen on the official road, walking towards the city gate under the protection of a group of soldiers. All of them were wearing blue and green official robes.

The sound of horse hooves passed by, and a group of cavalry entered the city gate again

The gentry sitting by the gate looked at the more than a hundred officials who were marching into the city gate with high spirits, and their faces were filled with astonishment.

(End of this chapter)