Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 12 Reality in the Late Ming Dynasty

After Zhu Cilang expressed his stance, Zhou Shixian, Chang Denggui, Lin Changfeng and others all let go.

In this era, there is no such thing as "close relationship between the military and the people". If it weren't for the Crown Prince, whose temperament has not been fully understood, and Li Banghua, who has always loved the people like his own children, these Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers would probably have started massacring the village long ago.

After all, it was a small earthen fort with an outer earthen wall less than seven feet high. It was impossible to stop these elite soldiers who were wearing two layers of armor and armed to the teeth.

The development of the matter was exactly as Zhu Cilang had expected.

Li Banghua volunteered again, bringing a bag of gold, silver and jewelry to the village entrance to shout, hoping to avoid the outbreak of this conflict, but the villagers behind the earth wall still responded to him with the wooden arrows shot "whoosh whoosh".

They have no trust in any officers, soldiers or outsiders. Otherwise, they would not have survived in this chaotic world.

In the chaotic times of the late Ming Dynasty, there was no such thing as peace and harmony. There was only the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest. Even these self-protective villagers could turn into robbery gangs at any time. This even became common sense among officials, soldiers and civilians in the late Ming Dynasty.

Although Zhu Cilang wanted to build a new world, he had to face reality first. He knew very well why the villagers were afraid, but he had to do this, even if it was wrong.

Every day he delays, the more difficult his situation will become.

You know, it is impossible to carry too much food and fodder when riding long distances by relying on horses, especially since their horses are not well-equipped to begin with, and they also need to carry life-saving weapons and armor.

Therefore, when Chang Denggui proposed to go to Qing County to find the Cao Gang and go south along the canal, he specifically mentioned the convenience of the Cao Gang in obtaining supplies along the canal.

This is the reputation that the latter has accumulated over the years. Without it, even if you have money, you can't buy anything.

But now, Qing County is still more than 200 miles away. Even if Zhu Cilang wants to take the canal, he must first obtain more than three days of supplies to avoid any accidents on the road.

Zhu Cilang had no experience in marching and fighting during this period. In less than two days, he realized that the difficulty of traveling south by land in the chaotic situation was far greater than he had imagined.

Therefore, he must go south to Qing County as soon as possible to find the Cao Gang, otherwise these twenty or so people will most likely not be able to cross Shandong due to insufficient supplies.

Soon, under Zhu Cilang's order, Zhou Shixian and Chang Denggui led their twenty soldiers and lined up in two rows about sixty steps away from the earth wall. They loaded gunpowder and bullets, lit the fuse, drew their bows and arrows, and prepared to attack.

Meanwhile, many heads popped up from the earthen wall, cautiously peering out at the soldiers outside. Beside their heads, many held up spears and swords, some were whispering to one another, and even two middle-aged men, who seemed to be leading the charge, were arguing.

At the same time, the villagers on the earth wall saw that the officers and soldiers on the periphery were so close, and the only dozen or so archers began to draw their bows and arrows, taking the lead in attacking these hateful officers and soldiers.

Most of the homemade bows and arrows of these villagers were not powerful enough, and the archers selected by the villagers were also not strong enough. Most of the arrows they shot "puff" into the ground about ten steps away from Zhu Cilang's soldiers. Even the few arrows that accidentally hit the armor of the first row of soldiers only made a tinkling sound and did not cause any casualties at all.

There were even a few villagers holding old muskets such as three-barreled guns that they got from somewhere, shooting stone bullets from the battlements of the earthen wall, but at such a distance, the three-barreled guns had no hit rate at all.

However, this thing was originally used to scare people. They had used it many times before when facing bandits and even soldiers. It also scared passing caravans and extorted a fortune. They didn't expect that this time, these soldiers were so powerful and they were not moved at all.

Soon, a shrill military bugle sounded, and the elite archers under Zhu Cilang used their bows to shoot powerful heavy arrows at the earthen wall where the villagers were.

Twenty arrows whizzed out with the sound of bowstrings vibrating like cotton, drew graceful parabolas in the air, and rushed towards the earth wall in dense groups.

These arrows with armor-piercing spikes were extremely powerful. Even after hitting the earth wall at a distance of fifty or sixty steps, they still made muffled sounds and raised clouds of dust.

Of course, Zhu Cilang didn't want to kill innocent people. He specifically instructed Chang Denggui to command his soldiers to control the direction and force of their arrows, aiming all twenty heavy arrows at the top of the earthen wall or below. The villagers on the earthen wall hid the moment they saw the arrows coming, but some were still unlucky enough to be hit. A wailing sound came from behind the wall, followed by a burst of screams and noises.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang immediately stopped the next two rounds of volleys and asked Lin Changfeng to go up and shout for help.

However, the villagers still wanted to bargain, continue to argue, and even wanted to reason with Chang Denggui.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang did not tolerate it. He was doing this by force and had no intention of being reasonable.

Moreover, his current situation was not the time to reason, but the education of the soul in his body did not allow him to do anything without any bottom line.

Zhu Cilang immediately ordered the twenty soldiers in front of him to change into muskets, then checked the ammunition and fuse, and prepared for the first round of volleys.

"preparation!"

"aim!"

Twenty muskets were placed flat at the same time, with their black muzzles pointed at the earthen wall where no one had raised their heads to look.

Chang Denggui stared closely at the earthen wall that made the noise and shouted:
"shooting!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"

Twenty long white dragons rose up in an instant and soon merged into a wall of smoke. Orange-red flames flashed through it, and the sound of gunfire exploded.

Twenty lead bullets whizzed into the earth wall, making a louder muffled sound and vibration. More than a dozen small holes appeared on the earth wall in an instant, and earth flowers exploded immediately.

The earthen wall behind it also exploded instantly, and some villagers began to run down, shouting, completely out of control. The Rumi guns could be considered heavy muskets, and even though there were only twenty of them firing simultaneously, the shock they brought to the villagers was still enormous.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang became even more confident in his guards. Although this time they were dealing with villagers who had built a village to protect themselves, it also proved the strength of this guard.

You know, if the number is the same, the fighting power of these villagers may be better than that of local officers and soldiers. This is the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty!

At the same time, Zhu Cilang did not forget his purpose and immediately sent Chang Denggui to negotiate. He did not want to attack by force, not only because he did not want to kill innocent people, but also because he did not want his guards to be damaged.

This time, the leader of the villagers on the earth wall even stuttered when speaking, and did not dare to make any more requests. He directly agreed to supply food and salt.

However, although the village leader was extremely frightened, he still hesitated and asked whether the money for buying food and fodder would still be given.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately rode forward and said loudly:

"Fellow villagers, we are decent people, not bandits. We don't rob. Not only will we give you the silver for buying food and fodder, but we will also compensate all the villagers we just injured. Twenty taels of silver per injured person, but you must come out for a medical examination."

As soon as these words were spoken, the earthen wall fell silent, and soon the sound of murmurs of discussion could be heard. When the village leader spoke again, his tone was no longer tense, and even gentler. He directly discussed the details of the grain and fodder transaction with Zhu Cilang over the air.

(End of this chapter)