Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 242 Li Yi: I am willing to make an exception for you...

After giving these instructions, Li Yi changed the subject and spoke again.

"Oh, go and bring Yiliang and other Qing prisoners to me."

After the battle, it is a very satisfying thing to meet the captured enemy commander and to show off like a victor in front of the defeated generals.

Li Yi naturally wouldn’t miss it!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tai immediately nodded to show that he understood, then turned around to convey Li Yi's order.

Soon, he brought Yiliang, Senggelinqin, Qishan, Aliguo, Taylor and others to Li Yi's military tent.

Then he ordered someone to go in and report.

Yiliang raised his head and looked at the military tent in front of him, his eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.

Senggelinqin and others mostly looked disheartened.

The two British men, Aliguo and Taylor, were filled with fear.

You know, their predecessors were publicly executed after being captured alive by the Tang Dynasty.

Now that it is their turn to be captured alive, how can they not worry about their own fate?

Soon, after being informed, these people were brought into Li Yi's tent and forced to kneel on the ground.

Li Yi sat in the main seat, looked down at the prisoners, and said with a sneer.

"Yiliang, when you were resisting the royal army and setting fire to the city, did you ever think that you would fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty today?"

Li Yi stared at Yiliang, with murderous intent evident in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Yiliang asked back with a disdainful expression.

"Oh, I heard that you, a thief, were once a general in the Qing Dynasty, a hereditary military officer of the Green Camp."

"But you are ungrateful, betraying the court and causing chaos in the world. Have you ever thought about what will happen to you?"

Facing Li Yi's accusations, Yiliang had no awareness that he had done anything wrong.

In his opinion, he did nothing wrong.

As long as it is for the Qing Dynasty, let alone burning the city, what would it matter even if it is a massacre?
When has our Qing Dynasty ever cared about the lives and deaths of a group of Han Chinese untouchables?

Li Yi heard this and just sneered.

"You, the Qing demon, are good at making up stories. After you set the fire, I don't know how many people in Jiangning will be displaced, their families will be broken up, and I don't know how many people will be buried in the sea of ​​fire, with no remains left."

"You really don't feel guilty for doing such a bad thing?"

"The souls of the Jiangning people who died in the sea of ​​fire are waiting for you in the underworld to settle accounts with you!"

Li Yi understood that the most taboo thing when arguing with others is to fall into the other person's rhythm.

Once you fall into someone else's rhythm, you will fall into the trap of self-justification, and you may not be able to win the argument even if you are right.

So, when you are arguing, don't care what the other person says, just express your own opinion.

Well, the louder the better!

This is what Li Yi thought and did.

Faced with Yiliang's question, he did not respond, but only denounced his brutal act of setting fire to the city.

Yiliang obviously understood this truth as well.

But Li Yi did not give him the chance to speak again. He ordered his men to remove Yiliang's jaw and block his mouth, and then continued to speak on his own.

"Today, you have fallen into my hands. It is God's will. I can give an explanation to the people of Jiangning."

"I am now sending people to search for a master who is proficient in the art of lingchi in Jiangning City. I believe there will be results soon."

"You, Yiliang, just wait and enjoy yourself! I believe the people of Jiangning won't mind treating you well!"

In the past, Li Yi killed people by beheading or shooting.

Even those damn opium dealers were mostly sold out in one stroke.

Because, in Li Yi's opinion, torturing and killing criminals is a very unnecessary thing.

However, in the case of Yiliang, Li Yi was willing to make an exception.

He must be skinned alive!

Damn it, he set fire to the city, and the city he burned was as important as Jiangning. How could Li Yi let him off easily?

Upon hearing this, Yiliang glared at Li Yi with a look as if he wanted to kill someone.

However, his mouth was blocked and he couldn't say anything.

Li Yi waved his hand and ordered his men to take Yiliang away and keep him under good watch.

Before taking the person out, Li Yi specifically gave instructions.

"Order someone to take good care of Yiliang and treat his wounds. Don't let him get too skinny by starving him. Otherwise, he won't get much power if he's tortured to death. Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

After Yiliang was taken out, Li Yi looked at Senggelinqin, Qishan and others. The murderous look on his face faded a little, and then he asked.

"Now is a time of turmoil, the world is changing drastically, the Qing Dynasty is doomed, its national destiny is coming to an end, and its demise is only a matter of time."

"You are all outstanding people of your time. Isn't it a pity to be buried with the corrupt Qing Dynasty?"

"I wonder if you are willing to abandon the dark and join the light, and serve me?"

It doesn’t matter whether Manchu and Mongolian ministers such as Senggelinqin and Qishan are talented, but their identities are very important.

If the Tang Dynasty could obtain the surrender of these Manchu and Mongolian ministers, it would play an extremely important propaganda role at the political level.

So, Li Yi started to recruit them.

Upon hearing this, Senggelinqin spoke immediately.

"I, Senggelinqin, was born a Qing Dynasty man and will die a Qing Dynasty ghost. How could I be afraid of death and surrender to the enemy?"

"You thief, if you want to kill me, just kill me, don't waste your time talking nonsense!" Senggelinqin was born into an ordinary herdsman family, and he even herded sheep for others when he was a child. It is easy to imagine what his family background was like.

However, he was lucky enough to be adopted as a stepson by the Jasakdoro Prince Tenamu Dobuji, who had no heirs. This allowed him to emerge and become a Jasak Prince, becoming an extremely important figure in the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty.

He Gelinqin was able to transform himself from a poor herdsman into a prince, which shows that he was deeply favored by the emperor.

Whether out of his own heart or for reputation, it was almost impossible for Senggelinqin to betray the Qing Dynasty.

Li Yi could understand why he would make such a choice.

Qi Shan, who was standing by, looked conflicted upon hearing this. He originally wanted to surrender to save his life.

During the Opium War, this country, out of fear of the British military power, was able to negotiate with the British army on its own, sign the Treaty of Chuenpi, and cede Hong Kong on its own.

When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom broke into the Jiangnan camp, he was able to escape from Yangzhou without a fight and retreat to Huai'an.

In order to save his life, Qishan can do anything!
However, Senggelinqin expressed his position too quickly and too firmly, which directly put Qishan in a difficult position.

But after hesitating for a while, Qishan finally spoke.

"I, my humble servant, am willing to give up my evil ways and surrender to the Tang Dynasty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive my past sins..."

In the end, Qishan's desire to survive outweighed his reputation.

He didn't want to be taken to the execution ground and be executed by slow slicing like Yiliang.

Senggelinqin turned his head instantly when he heard this.

He looked at Qishan with disbelief, his eyes seemed to be saying.

Are you a horse or a human?
I, a Mongolian, am willing to die for the Qing Dynasty, but you, a Manchu, are greedy for life and afraid of death, and you kneel down to surrender to the enemy. Do you still have any shame?
"Qishan, you want to surrender to the enemy? Are you doing this to the Qing Dynasty and the emperor?!"

Senggelinqin glared at Qishan and started to scold him.

When Qishan heard this, he felt ashamed, but he still spoke with a thick face.

"I, Qishan, have worked hard for the Qing Dynasty for half my life. Now that we are defeated and captured, it is not my fault."

"I should think about myself too!"

After speaking, Qishan looked at Li Yi again, his eyes full of expectation.

Seeing this, Li Yi said with a smile.

"Congratulations Qishan, you made the right choice."

"I believe that the Tang Dynasty will not mistreat talents like you..."

Although there is a high probability that Qishan will be hung up high as a mascot in the future, this does not prevent Li Yi from saying a few good words to him in front of him.

Anyway, this thing doesn't cost any money, so there's no need to be stingy.

After speaking, Li Yi looked at Senggelinqin again and said.

"I hope the monk king can reconsider surrendering to the Tang Dynasty."

"If the monk king is willing to surrender, I can guarantee that he will not be treated unfairly in terms of official positions and titles. In the future, when the Tang Dynasty goes north to attack the grasslands, the Khorchin tribe will also be treated well..."

Although Li Yi did not like Senggelinqin, a loyal dog of the Qing Dynasty, he had even less affection for the Khorchin tribe, a die-hard lackey of the Qing Dynasty.

But politics is all about interests, not likes and dislikes.

If Senggelinqin, the Zasak Prince, could serve as a guide for the Tang Dynasty, the resistance it would face during its northern expedition to the grasslands would be much smaller.

Moreover, it could also deal a huge blow to the Qing court politically!

Therefore, Li Yi was willing to be patient and persuade Senggelinqin to surrender.

However, Senggelinqin remained unmoved after hearing this and just snorted coldly.

"Tang thief, if you want to kill him, just kill him. Don't make any more noise and humiliate me."

"I would rather die than be like Qishan, a thief!"

Senggelinqin's attitude was very firm. Seeing this, Li Yi no longer insisted and just waved his hand and ordered people to take Senggelinqin and Qishan away.

Then, he turned his gaze to Aliguo and Taylor standing aside.

Before Li Yi could speak, A Liguo took the initiative to speak.

"Your Majesty, I am the new British Minister to China, Alcock. I think what happened before was probably a misunderstanding."

"For the sake of the traditional friendship between Great Britain and Great Tang, we should abandon hostility and move forward hand in hand into the future..."

A Liguo was obviously talking nonsense, trying to ease the atmosphere, fearing that Li Yi would kill him like he killed Wenhan.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi just sneered.

"is it?"

"Misunderstanding? I don't think so, do I?!"

"Haven't you, the British, organized a coalition to launch an expedition against the Tang Dynasty?"

"Don't tell me that you, Britain, have gone to great lengths to unite European countries to form a coalition force, and then sent the coalition force across the ocean to East Asia just to play a joke on me!"

Li Yi really doesn't like the British.

After the dumping of opium, a harmful substance, into China was banned, they chose to go to war with China and launched the Opium War.

When the Battle of Guangzhou broke out, he chose to stand on the side of the Qing Dynasty against the Tang Dynasty.

Now he is personally helping the Qing Dynasty fight against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty, and is even preparing to send an expeditionary force to East Asia to conquer the Tang Dynasty.

The two sides are now in a state of complete hostility.

However, even so, after being defeated and captured, Aliguo still had the nerve to say that it was a misunderstanding.

This shows how shameless and disgusting these Angus are!
Li Yi was really fed up with them.

(End of this chapter)