Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 303: Man-Made Disasters Worse Than Natural Disasters
Under the attention of countless people, a rolling yellow dragon appeared at the end of the horizon.

The long turbid yellow dragon rolled, carrying with it huge waves, along the old course of the Yellow River, heading towards them.

Wherever the yellow dragon passed, wheat fields, houses, woods, even low hills and manors, everything was flattened in the blink of an eye.

In a moment, the rolling yellow dragon rolled forward, as if to swallow everything.

Huang Fengshou and others finally saw clearly what it was.

That is the rumbling and surging water of the Yellow River.

"Oh my god, the Yellow River has burst its banks!"

"Run! The Yellow River has burst its banks!"

"God is not giving us a way out. We finally had a good year, but why did the Yellow River burst its banks..."

"..."

Looking at the rumbling water in front of them, Huang Fengshou and others had despair and helplessness in their eyes.

They subconsciously turned around and ran away.

However, how could they outrun the roaring and surging waters of the Yellow River relying solely on their legs?

In just a blink of an eye, Huang Fengshou and others, along with the wheat fields beneath their feet, were swallowed up by the rushing Yellow River.

At this moment, it seemed that the only sound left in the world was the rumbling sound of the Yellow River flowing along its old course.

Blown by the breeze, a white cloud slowly floated by, blocking the big sun in the sky.

Even the sun couldn't bear to see the tragedy on the ground.

……

Shenzhou, the Taiping Army’s main camp.

After winning the Battle of Julu, Shi Dakai ordered his troops to station in Julu for a short rest.

Then, just the next day, the Taiping Army continued to march northward.

The Taiping Army attacked Xinhe, Hengshui, and even Shenzhou, and almost all of them were taken in one go without encountering any obstacles.

After the Battle of Julu, all the Qing troops were frightened, and when faced with the Taiping Army, most of them simply fled.

After taking Shenzhou, the Taiping Army had almost used up all of their food and logistics.

Shi Dakai ordered the Taiping Army to rest for a while in Shenzhou and wait for the grain transport team in the rear to deliver food to the front line.

Shi Dakai was sleeping soundly in the military tent.

In the past few days, battles had been going on one after another. As the commander-in-chief of the army, Shi Dakai had to make many decisions personally.

Therefore, he has not been able to get a good rest for several days.

This time the army was stationed in Shenzhou and there was temporarily no military duties, so Shi Dakai had time to get a good night's sleep.

However, not long after Shi Dakai fell asleep, a burst of chaotic footsteps was heard outside his tent.

Shi Xiangzhen, Huang Yukun, Chen Yun, Wang Zhan and other generals walked in from outside.

"King Yi, wake up quickly, something big has happened!"

Huang Yukun came to Shi Dakai's bed and called softly.

Because he was on the battlefield, Shi Dakai's sleep was not very deep, and he woke up when Huang Yukun called him.

Opening his eyes and rubbing his sore eye sockets, Shi Dakai asked while yawning.

"What? What happened?"

"Why did you all come to my tent together?"

Huang Yukun heard this and spoke quickly.

"King Yi, this time something serious has happened."

"In order to stop our Heavenly Kingdom from advancing towards the capital, the Qing demons sent people to blow up the Yellow River embankment. Now, the Yellow River has burst its banks to the north..."

"Under the surging river water, the northern bank of the Yellow River, Daming Prefecture, Dongchang Prefecture and other prefectures have all turned into swamps."

"Countless people were buried in the river, and countless families were torn apart!"

Huang Yukun's voice was obviously trembling when he said this.

He couldn't imagine how cruel and cruel Qing Yao had to be to do such a heartless thing!

Upon hearing this, Shi Dakai couldn't help but gasp.

The sleepiness on his face instantly disappeared and he muttered in disbelief.

"How dare Qing Yao..."

“That’s the Yellow River!”

"Blowing up the Yellow River levee, how insane is this?!"

Shi Dakai's heart is now filled with solemnity, anger, and fear.

The Yellow River broke its banks and flooded Daming Prefecture!
You know, he had just led his troops out of Daming Prefecture not long ago.

Fortunately, after the Battle of Julu, he decisively chose to lead his troops to continue the Northern Expedition instead of returning to Daming Prefecture to rest.

Otherwise, wouldn't Shi Dakai be buried in the swamp now?
It’s really just that little bit!
Shi Dakai really couldn't help but feel scared!
Shi Xiangzhen on the side spoke up.

"King Yi, there is one more thing."

"When the Qing demons blew up the Yellow River levee, our army's grain transport team had just arrived at Daming Prefecture. Now, the grain transport team has disappeared and we can't contact them."

"I suspect that our army's grain transport team may have been swept away by the bursting Yellow River."

"Besides, due to the raging waters of the Yellow River, it will be difficult for our army to restore its food supply in a short period of time."

"That is to say, our army is now at risk of running out of food!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Dakai's expression became even more solemn.

"King Yi, what should we do next?"

Chen Yun, Wang Zhan and others asked.

Shi Dakai's expression was solemn. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"Let's find a way to raise food first."

"Let's first collect some food and fodder to tide over the current food shortage crisis before we do anything else."

It is the summer harvest season now, and northern provinces such as Zhili, Henan, Shanxi, and Shandong should not be short of food. As long as the Taiping Army can put aside their shame and rob food from the gentry and the people, it will not be difficult to raise a batch of military rations to overcome the current difficulties.

But there is no stable source of food.

It would be difficult for Shi Dakai to march north to attack the capital next.

Shi Dakai felt extremely angry when he thought that he was about to capture the capital and become famous all over the world, but failed because the Qing Dynasty blew up the Yellow River dike.

Damn it, these dogs are really inhumane!
……

Soon, the Qing army in Baoding received news that Shi Dakai's troops were withdrawing via Shanxi.

Yi was very excited and summoned the high-level officials of the Qing Dynasty to discuss the matter.

"I have received the latest news that the Taiping rebels have withdrawn their troops after the Yellow River burst its banks."

"The capital is saved!"

Upon hearing this, the high-ranking Qing officials around complimented him in unison.

"Your Majesty!"

"Without the Emperor's presence at the front and command, our army would not have won the victory we have today."

"That's right, that's right. Your Majesty is wise and intelligent. It is a blessing for our Qing Dynasty and the world..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yi couldn't help but burst into laughter and was very excited.

After this battle, although it was difficult for the Qing Dynasty to stay in the interior and continue to abuse its power, it did buy enough time for the Qing Dynasty to withdraw from the outside of the Great Wall.

In this way, he Yi could almost be regarded as the leader of the Qing Dynasty's revival, and his throne was completely secure.

Yi was naturally happy.

As for how many people would die if the Yellow River dike exploded?

Haha, this is not something he needs to care about.

Let them die, anyway it’s not the Eight Banners people who are dying.

After everyone laughed, Yi continued.

"Pass the order down and prepare to withdraw the troops back to the capital."

Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison.

Soon after, the Qing army also broke camp from Baoding and marched towards the capital in a mighty manner.

……

Guangzhou, Tang Palace!

Li Yi was meeting with Fujian Governor Chen Zhaoan, Zhejiang Governor Xu Liang, Jiangxi Governor Zhang Fei and other Qing officials who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

In the reception room, Li Yi sat at the top seat, leaning back slightly on the sofa, crossing his legs with a relaxed posture.

Chen Zhaoan, Xu Liang, Zhang Fu and others also took their seats, but their expressions were inevitably reserved.

Although Li Yi gave them seats to show his respect, most of them only sat halfway with their buttocks filled, and their expressions were very correct.

Li Yi dared to appear relaxed in front of them because he was in a superior position and he dominated everything, so he could naturally relax.

However, Chen Zhaoan and his men had just surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and were very unsure of themselves. Naturally, they did not dare to act too willful in front of Li Yi.

Otherwise, if Li Yi misunderstood that they did not take him seriously, it would be troublesome.

Li Yi waved his hand and ordered someone to serve them tea, then spoke.

"All of you governors and admirals are talented. If you can lead your people to join the Tang Dynasty at this critical juncture, it will be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty, for you, and for the world."

"First, it will allow the people to be less affected by the war."

"Secondly, it can make more people in the world aware of the general trend."

"Thirdly, we have also received several talented people from the Tang Dynasty."

"I am very pleased."

After saying this, Li Yi raised his teacup and said.

"Come on, everyone please."

"I would like to offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."

When they heard this, they were a little frightened, but they didn't dare to refuse. They raised their glasses and drank the tea in the cups in one gulp, regardless of the fact that the tea was still a little hot.

Next, Li Yi continued to talk about the arrangements for Chen Zhaoan and others. Li Yi planned to arrange the two admirals Chen Zhaoan and Xu Liang to take up a sinecure in the General Staff.

To put it bluntly, it means giving them an official position first, but not giving them real power.

After a while, and when you are sure that they are okay, then give them actual official positions and power.

The same goes for the governor Zhang Fu. Li Yi plans to first throw him into the Ministry of the Interior to serve in an idle position, train him for a while, and then assign him a position.

This is how the Tang Dynasty has always arranged for surrendered officials and generals.

Basically it’s already customized!
However, at this moment, an official walked in hurriedly from outside the reception room.

Li Hongzhang walked up to Li Yi and leaned over to report.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Jiangbei, something big has happened!"

As he spoke, he handed a document in his hand to Li Yi.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi took the document and began to read it.

Soon, Chen Zhaoan and others saw that Li Yi's face suddenly darkened as he flipped through the documents.

The air pressure on the whole body dropped to the extreme point in an instant.

There was obvious murderous intent in his eyes.

"Blow up the Yellow River embankment..."

"Are these Qing monsters crazy? That's the Yellow River!"

Li Yi was stunned. The Yellow River is the mother river, which is related to the irrigation of several northern provinces. Blowing up the Yellow River dike, is this something a human can do?
If the Yellow River bursts its banks, how many people will die?
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Li Yi gave the order and spoke to Li Hongzhang expressionlessly.

"Go and pass on my order, ordering all the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Staff of the Tang Dynasty to come to the palace immediately to discuss matters."

(End of this chapter)