Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 241 Someone has to pay the price!

Beep beep! Beep beep beep!

The shrill sound of the charge horn resounded all around, and the Tang army infantry raised their bayonets and launched a bayonet charge.

"Kill!"

"Kill the clear demon!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"..."

Amid earth-shaking shouts, the Tang army soldiers charged forward in a mighty force.

On the ground, a rolling black tide surged, carrying with it a force like a raging wave hitting the shore, and rushed towards the enemy in front of them.

In an instant, the Qing army in front of them was like a pile of sand hit by a raging wave, and was shattered in the blink of an eye.

Faced with the aggressive Tang army, the Qing army wanted to escape, but with the Yangtze River behind them, there was no way to escape.

Under the siege of the Tang army, these Qing troops could only keep jumping into the Yangtze River, floating up and down in the water.

Although some lucky ones managed to escape with their lives, most of the Qing soldiers who fell into the water turned into floating corpses in the river.

Some Qing troops also tried to surrender to save their lives, but the Tang army remained unmoved and continued to attack decisively and fiercely.

Because before the Tang army attacked, Li Yi had specifically instructed that no prisoners should be taken in this battle.

All the Qing troops under Yi Liang were killed, leaving no one alive!
The reason for doing this is not because Li Yi is cruel and enjoys killing people.

But Li Yi needs to give an explanation to the people of Jiangning!
If these Qing troops had not set this fire and instead directly withdrew from Jiangning, Li Yi would not have minding accepting their surrender in the subsequent pursuit.

You have to know that these Qing troops are basically young and strong adults, and they are all excellent laborers.

And they are the kind that can be treated like animals as long as they are fed.

Who called them prisoners of war?

As for prisoners of war, it is lucky enough to be able to keep their lives. There is no need to talk about human rights with them.

Whether it's mining, building bridges and roads, repairing water conservancy projects, or cultivating crops, there are many places where prisoners of war are needed.

But who could have told these Qing troops to be so cruel as to set a fire before evacuating Jiangning?
This fire set Jiangning City on fire, killing and injuring countless Jiangning residents and leaving countless people homeless.

Someone has to be responsible for this matter!

In addition, Li Yi needed to kill a group of Qing troops ruthlessly to warn them not to do things like massacring and burning cities.

Otherwise, you must be prepared to pay the price with your life!
……

It was dawn, but the fire in Jiangning City was still burning.

The billowing black smoke is much more conspicuous during the day than at night.

In Jiangning City, countless black smoke columns shot straight into the sky like black dragons.

No matter if you live in an ordinary brick and tile house, a large courtyard, or even a manor villa, there is no difference before the fire.

When the fire comes, everything will turn into ashes and burn into a white ground!
At this time, the main building structures of Jiangning City were still made of wood, and once such wooden buildings were ignited, the fire would be difficult to control.

Moreover, because the Qing army set the fire late at night, many civilians had no time to react and turned into charred corpses in their sleep.

Of course, faced with the raging fire, the people in Jiangning City did not sit idly by, but actively tried to save themselves.

The people from every neighborhood and village began to put out the fire under the organization of the neighborhood and village head.

Wang Liao carried a bucket of water and strode to the Qinhuai River.

After fetching water from the river, he strode towards the fire scene.

The river water in the bucket was poured onto the burning house. With a loud bang, smoke filled the air, and the fire first subsided and then suddenly rebounded.

The scorching heat wave hit Wang Liao's face, almost making his hair curl up. His eyes were filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Hurry! Move faster, the fire is about to reach our workshop, everyone move faster."

"We must put out the fire, otherwise when the fire really comes, everything will be over!"

The head of the neighborhood shouted at the top of his voice, directing the men in the neighborhood to take the lead.

Everyone's pace obviously quickened a lot.

Wang Liao picked up the bucket of water again and ran towards the Qinhuai River.

With him were many men from the neighborhood.

Even many women and children participated in the firefighting work.

They either carried buckets or basins, constantly fetching water and then pouring the water on the burning buildings.

But the effect is minimal!
The fire was still advancing, and was about to burn their workshop.

But at this moment, someone suddenly shouted.

"Tang soldiers are coming, Tang soldiers are coming!"

Everyone looked towards the person who was shouting, and following the direction of his finger, they saw a group of Tang soldiers carrying wooden barrels, shovels and other tools appear at the end of their sight.

Although these Tang soldiers were still wearing Green Camp military uniforms, the people of Jiangning could tell their identities just from their bald heads.

He probably didn't have time to change his military uniform.

But those without braids are definitely Tang soldiers.

After arriving at the scene, these Tang soldiers did not waste any time and immediately started to put out the fire.

Some were fetching water, some were digging isolation zones, and their movements were quite efficient.

The leading officer found the head of the neighborhood and spoke.

"We are ordered by the king to enter the city to put out the fire. I hope the mayor can organize people to assist us."

Upon hearing this, the head of the neighborhood nodded vigorously.

"My benefactor, my benefactor, I will definitely cooperate with you to the fullest extent possible."

"Without the help of you, the soldiers, our houses would have been reduced to ashes..."

The officer just nodded.

"If you want to thank someone, thank the king." "This is the king's order, and we are just following his orders."

After saying this, the officer turned around and spoke to the soldiers under his command.

"Hurry! Hurry up!"

"A fire scene is like a battlefield. On the battlefield, we cannot let the enemy advance any further. Today, we cannot let the fire advance any further!"

"Brothers, follow me!"

As he spoke, even the officer personally rushed to the fire scene carrying a bucket of water.

When the people of Jiangning around saw this scene, many of them couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Master Wang, this is Master Wang!"

"Jiangning City has been in the hands of the Tartars for two hundred years. Our Han Dynasty's royal teacher has finally returned..."

"Oh my God, you finally opened your eyes."

"..."

The people of Jiangning were very moved by the Tang army's assistance in putting out the fire.

Especially compared with their previous experiences under the rule of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty, the contrast is stark.

After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom entered Jiangning, they only massacred the entire city and did not burn, kill or loot the Han people in the outer city of Jiangning.

However, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had separate camps for men and women!

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Jiangning for nearly two years, and separated the couples and families of the people of Jiangning for nearly two years. How could the people of Jiangning be satisfied with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?

Not to mention the Qing army. After retaking Jiangning from the Taiping Army, they burned, killed and looted the city.

Although there was no massacre in the city, many civilians suffered!

But what about the Tang army?

After entering the city, instead of burning, killing and looting, they helped them put out the fire and resist the fire.

How could the people of Jiangning not be grateful?!
Only by comparison can you see the difference!

The head of the temple stood there blankly, saying with tears streaming down his face.

"I am still alive to see the Han army recapture Jiangning. I have no regrets in my death. I have no regrets in my death!"

Taking a deep breath, the head of the neighborhood suppressed his excitement and continued to direct the young and strong men in the neighborhood to assist the Tang army in putting out the fire.

As time passed, with the joint efforts of the military and civilians, the fire in Jiangning City began to be gradually brought under control.

Although it has not been completely extinguished, at least the fire has not spread further.

……

Outside Jiangning City, Yuhuatai, the Tang army camp!
Central military tent!

Li Yi stood in front of a map hanging high in the tent holding a cup of coffee, taking a sip from time to time.

The bitter taste exploded in his mouth, making Li Yi frown.

Even though the coffee he was drinking was of top quality, Li Yi couldn't taste the aroma. It only tasted bitter and astringent.

If it weren't for refreshing himself, Li Yi would usually not drink this stuff.

As for why you don’t go to sleep if you are sleepy?

The result of the Tang army's pursuit has not yet been reported, and the fire in Jiangning City is still burning. How can Li Yi dare to sleep peacefully?
These days, fighting a war is really a very exhausting thing.

The overall planning of food and logistics before the war, the formulation of combat plans, on-the-spot command during the war, the control of the war situation, and the statistics of the results after the war...

All of this needs to be considered by coach Li Yi.

Once you get busy, it's normal to not sleep for days and nights.

Looking at the map hanging in the tent, Li Yi's eyes were obviously bloodshot and he looked a little sleepy.

Ordering his servant to bring a basin of cold water, Li Yi washed his face with the cold water to sober himself up.

Just as Li Yi was about to continue studying the Tang army's next military strategy, Zhang Tai ran in from outside with a happy face and found Li Yi to report.

"Your Majesty! Great victory! Great victory!"

"Our pursuit troops sent back news from the front lines that they successfully caught up with the Qing army retreating eastwards in the Baohua Town area east of Jiangning City and defeated them."

"In this battle, our army almost completely wiped out the main force of the Qing army in Jiangnan, beheading tens of thousands of people."

"In addition, they also captured alive the Qing Dynasty's Liangjiang Governor Yiliang, Zasak Prince Senggelinqin, Jiangsu Governor Jierhang'a, Jiangbei Camp Envoy Qishan, as well as the new British Minister to China Alcock and the British Shanghai Concession Garrison Commander Taylor, etc."

"Our army won a great victory in this battle, our army won a great victory!"

When Li Yi heard this, the fatigue on his face disappeared immediately, and was replaced by considerable excitement.

"Hahaha, okay, okay!"

"The war in Jiangning has finally come to an end."

"Also, if I can capture Yiliang alive in this battle, I can give an explanation to the people of Jiangning."

After thinking for a while, Li Yi continued.

"Send a message to all our troops, and have them begin repairs immediately."

"After a brief repair, immediately go into Jiangning City and put out the fire in Jiangning City as soon as possible."

"The fire in Jiangning City cannot continue to burn!"

Since the Qing troops fleeing eastward were completely wiped out, the most important thing facing Li Yi next was the fire in Jiangning City.

Li Yi really wants to curse now, your mother Yiliang deserves to die!

It was easy for him to set the fire, but it was unknown how much it would cost for Li Yi to rebuild after the war!

In addition, how to resettle the people affected by the disaster in Jiangning City is also a big problem...

……

PS: I had something to do today and was not at home, so I did not have time to write, so there is only one chapter, sorry!
(End of this chapter)