Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 161 This isn't stupidity, this is malice.
For the next two weeks, the Qing army remained encamped.

Moreover, various departments arrived one after another.

However, since they were all encamped, the area outside Kaifeng was soon filled with Qing army camps.

Because the provincial capital was captured by rebellious peasants in a way that even Ma Ge (the emperor) probably found absurd, everyone in Kaifeng, from the governor to the prefect, both civil and military, was directly ordered to commit suicide or executed by Ma Ge, who was in a state of mental collapse.

From Ma Ge's perspective, it's indeed easy for his mentality to collapse.

Henan!
My Great Qing has conquered for nearly seventy years, and this province, which is generally considered one of the most docile, suddenly has a sorcerer appearing just a few dozen miles from its capital. Leading a group of unruly commoners who barely possess any proper weapons, he rebelled and captured the provincial capital in less than five hours. To Ma Ge, the memorials he submits sound like something out of a novel, a fantasy novel at that. There are descriptions of the sorcerer flying and disappearing, the rebels being invulnerable to swords and spears, and even claims that the sorcerer wields the Imperial Seal of the State, with demonic clouds rising and lightning following his every move…

Ma Ge is a scientific man; this thing might fool Daoguang, but it's not enough to fool him.

In his view, these were simply a bunch of good-for-nothings who had become too pampered.

It's not shameful to be unable to beat a troublemaker.

There are plenty of people who can't beat the common people. If the Ming Dynasty hadn't been unable to defeat the common people, the Qing Dynasty wouldn't have been able to conquer the country. It's also common practice to blame the "demon" for the defeat. Since ancient times, local officials who have been beaten by the common people and fled in terror have always been used to blaming the "demon" for the defeat. After all, if the "demon" is so powerful, then the defeat can be forgiven.

but……

Losing the provincial capital in a single day!
Not killing the entire family is already a sign of a wise and benevolent ruler!

Therefore, the new general in charge of suppressing bandits in Henan has been replaced by the newly established Kaifeng General, Yan Xin, a third-class Fengguo General and descendant of Hauge. He is leading 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers south from the capital. After all, Ma Ge (the Qing emperor) knows that such matters must be resolved quickly before they cause destructive consequences. However, without the Eight Banners supervising the battle, the Green Standard Army will not exert its full effort. At the same time, a new governor of Henan has been appointed. Zhao Hongxie, the son of the famous Qing general Zhao Liangdong and former governor of Zhili, has been promoted to Governor-General of Zhili and concurrently governor of Henan, to assist Yan Xin, just in case. After all, the combined strength of three provinces should be sufficient. In addition, the new Henan commander-in-chief is Garbi, the former deputy commander of the Plain Yellow Banner Manchu. This means that the main commanders are all staunch supporters, including one with a yellow belt (a symbol of high rank).

This configuration is sufficient; Yanxin's identity is already adequate.

After all, it was just a rebellion of unruly people; we couldn't very well send a prince to lead the army, could we?
Outside Kaifeng city.

Yang Feng calmly looked at the vast army opposite him.

He finally saw the Eight Banners warriors again.

However, these are significantly different from their ancestors. The most important change is that most of these Eight Banner warriors actually carry muskets on their backs. They do carry bows and arrows, but most of them do carry muskets.

Moreover, the cannons were lined up in front of the formation. In addition to the light Hongyi cannons, or those miscellaneous general cannons, there were still a large number of breech-loading cannons, or more accurately, mother-and-child cannons at this time. Looking at the Eight Banners, it can be said that they were full of firearms, accounting for about 70%. It can be said that the Eight Banners, which used to dominate the battlefield with strong bows and heavy arrows, now relied entirely on firearms.

Have no idea!

After all, as conquerors of a foreign race, having enjoyed the enormous wealth of tens of millions of taels of silver offered by the conquered people every year, they were no longer able to draw the powerful bow of their ancestors.

They could only maintain their fighting capacity by relying on firearms.

In fact, the Eight Banners not only relied on firearms, but also prohibited the Green Standard Army from using any advanced firearms, and also prohibited the Green Standard Army from establishing organized firearm battalions. Ma Ge even prohibited the Green Standard Army from using mother-and-child cannons. When the General of Datong applied to build more than twenty mother-and-child cannons, Ma Ge flatly refused, claiming that mother-and-child cannons were Eight Banners firearms and absolutely unacceptable.

So stop mocking the Ming army's Portuguese; our Qing army's Portuguese weren't even worthy of being used by the Green Standard Army.

Only the Eight Banners elders could use it.

As for the pro-independence camp...

They acquired some immobile cannons from the previous dynasty, along with smaller cannons that fired grapeshot, and then played with bows and arrows, broadswords, and spears. During the Fourth Prince's reign, he specifically ordered the nationwide promotion of Yue Zhongqi's Weiyuan cannon. That thing was 1.7 feet long and weighed 54 jin (approximately 22 catties). Keep in mind that even the smallest Ming dynasty Portuguese cannon weighed 70 jin (approximately 35 kg), yet the new cannons the Qing Dynasty provided to the Green Standard Army weighed 40-50 jin (approximately 20-25 kg). Didn't Ma Ge (the Qing emperor) know these cannons were just toys? Of course he knew; he could build the Wu Yonggu cannon, how could he not know what a good cannon looked like? But the ones promoted to the local Green Standard Army were still these. The Weiyuan cannon, ridiculed by Zhejiang soldiers as being inferior to the mother-and-child cannon, was entirely composed of various sand cannons, dove cannons, and all sorts of miscellaneous old cannons left over from the Ming Dynasty, all developed from Portuguese designs. These were the mainstays of the Green Standard Army's equipment.

Meanwhile, the Eight Banners carried muskets and cannons that were truly comparable to those in Europe, such as the Divine Might Invincible General and the Everlasting Martial General. In the end, the core of the Qing Dynasty's ruling strategy was just one thing.

We cannot give the slaves a chance to rise up.

We must do everything possible to weaken the pro-independence camp; the weaker the core supporters become, the weaker the pro-independence camp must be.

flintlock musket...

I know!
Not only do they know, but they also have other things to offer!
The palace even had a workshop specifically for manufacturing flintlock muskets.

But it was created for the emperor to hunt.

Heavy artillery...

The Chengwu Yonggu General Cannon was a mainstream heavy artillery piece in the world at that time.

However, the Green Standard Army was still given the 54-jin Weiyuan Cannon. This cannon was equivalent to the weight of two shells from the Chengwu Yonggu General Cannon. In the end, in the design of our Great Qing, the Green Standard Army was nothing more than to suppress unruly people and deal with troublesome chieftains. The 54-jin cannon was enough. We gave you the Chengwu Yonggu General Cannon.
Do you want to emulate Wu Sangui?

"This isn't stupidity, this is wickedness!"

Yang Feng looked with emotion at the cannons opposite him that were already aiming at him.

Immediately afterwards, a cannon, which should be of the level of the Divine Might Invincible General Cannon, spewed out flames.

The shells came whistling in.

shotgun.

Large shotgun shells.

So two one-ounce shotgun shells struck him simultaneously, creating ripples on his robe.

Then more cannons opened fire.

Shotgun pellets kept hitting him.

He strolled forward leisurely amidst the impact of the shells.

The Eight Banner warriors opposite were stunned, as were their commanders. Clad in red-embroidered armor, he brandished his sword from horseback, berating his soldiers, clearly believing they hadn't aimed properly. The soldiers frantically loaded their cannons and opened fire on Yang Feng, shells repeatedly striking him, yet he remained unperturbed. Finally, the commander realized he hadn't missed, and he too panicked. However, the Eight Banner warriors of this time were still stronger than those of the late Qing dynasty, so despite Yang Feng's increasing proximity, they didn't flee; instead, they switched to cannon fire.

But it didn't work.

Even when a heavy artillery shell hit Yang Feng, it only created a small ripple before bouncing away.

He didn't even sway his body.

He walked all the way to the Qing army's artillerymen amidst the barrage of cannon fire. He even stood at the muzzle of a cannon and quietly looked at the Qing soldiers holding torches opposite him. The latter looked at him tremblingly, and the other Qing soldiers also looked at him tremblingly, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"ignition!"

Yang Feng shouted.

The Qing soldier trembled as he held the torch. Although he could easily light the fuse and fire a cannonball capable of blasting down houses, he simply dared not move.

"Light the fire!" Yang Feng shouted again.

"what……"

The Qing soldier suddenly screamed, threw down his torch, and turned to run.

But the next moment a golden light fell.

His body split in two instantly and fell to either side.

"Run! The demon is killing people!"

The surrounding Qing soldiers screamed in terror.

Then all the Qing soldiers turned and fled without hesitation.

Yang Feng swept his energy blades left and right, instantly and neatly slicing the Qing soldiers in front of him in half like felled wheat. Their bodies fell in sections, the upper halves of those still alive screaming and crawling on the ground. Yang Feng walked past their fallen lower halves and then towards the general who was also turning to flee. The latter, turning his head, looked at Yang Feng in terror. Yang Feng extended ten-meter-long energy blades from both hands, sweeping them left and right repeatedly, slicing all the fleeing Qing soldiers in half at the waist. The general frantically whipped his men on either side with his blade, trying to get them to clear a path for him, but it was useless in the chaos. He could only curse in a trembling voice, but the screams behind him grew closer and closer.

He stopped very quickly.

Because those two strange golden lights were splitting apart on either side of him.

The Qing soldiers who were scrambling to escape with him were cut in half at the waist and fell from their horses.

"what's your name?"

A voice sounded behind him.

He turned around shakily, then forced a fawning smile...

“My divine lord, your humble servant is Nara Garbi.”

He said.

The next moment, two golden lights flashed past his eyes.

Then, frozen in astonishment, he fell off the horse, and as he fell, he saw his feet still in the stirrups.

"understood."

As Yang Feng spoke, he stepped on his face.

By this time, the Eight Banners warriors had completely collapsed. In fact, most of them didn't even know what had happened ahead. They only saw their commander's banner fall, and then the Qing army in front collapsed, so naturally they collapsed as well. Behind them, Yang Feng continued to stroll forward leisurely, using his energy blade to continuously slaughter the Qing soldiers within his attack range, like driving a herd of pigs and sheep to slaughter. Not a single Qing soldier dared to attack him; they were desperately fleeing, even trampling each other as they ran, just to escape his attack range.

Meanwhile, the Green Standard Army on both flanks, who were originally prepared to be cannon fodder to attack the city walls, watched in shock.

After all, he was a Manchu nobleman.

The scene of thousands of Manchu bannermen being chased by one person was quite spectacular.

Driven away by Yang Feng, the Eight Banner warriors were completely unleashed, some even fleeing in panic towards the Yellow River. With them gone, the Green Standard Army naturally wouldn't continue the siege. The plan was for the Eight Banner artillery to bombard the city walls to cover their assault, and those who dared to retreat would be killed by the Eight Banner supervisors. But now that the artillery and supervisors had fled, what use were these cannon fodder? The Green Standard Army soldiers who had carried ladders and pushed siege ladders, amidst laughter and jeers on the city walls, calmly abandoned their equipment and hastily retreated.

Yang Feng was still driving out the Qing army.

However, what he was focusing on now was only those few hundred running towards the Yellow River.

But he changed his weapon.

Yang Feng, who had taken to the sky, held his Maxim gun and aimed it at the Qing army. He immediately opened fire on those who tried to turn away, and fired at those who stopped as well. Hundreds of Qing soldiers cried as they looked at the demon in the sky. Some even dismounted and knelt down to kowtow and beg for mercy, but unfortunately, bullets continued to fall from the sky.

The surviving Qing soldiers had no choice but to continue their escape on horseback.

The villagers along the way, and even the Green Camp members on guard, all watched this scene with obvious delight.

Amidst the constant barrage of bullets raining down from the sky, hundreds of Qing soldiers fled towards the Yellow River like sheep herded by sheepdogs. A golden, winged figure followed leisurely in the sky, while the number of onlookers on the ground grew, including members of the Green Standard Army who came specifically to watch. Of course, it was a rescue operation; their commanders, when reporting to Ma Ge, certainly said it was a rescue, only that the demons were too powerful to save them. Soon, the Eight Banners warriors saw the Yellow River embankment. One soldier broke down, frantically throwing his sword at Yang Feng in the sky, before collapsing amidst the flying bullets, his flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

The others continued forward, crying.

Then, as they rushed up the levee, they saw the surging Yellow River before them.

Bullets fell behind them.

The last few Eight Banner warriors were immediately beaten until their flesh and blood were splattered. They fell off their horses and let out desperate screams on the embankment. The Eight Banner warriors in front cried as they moved forward, some collapsed and ran to the side, and some simply knelt on the ground and refused to get up, but not one of them fired at Yang Feng.

They all had muskets.

They all have bows and arrows.

Although it was useless, at least it showed some courage.

But there wasn't one.

They would rather wait to be beaten to death and be driven towards the Yellow River while crying than dare to attack Yang Feng.

Whether they fled or begged for mercy, they were all killed. Those driven towards the Yellow River cried as they entered the raging waters, only to be swept away and disappear into the waves. And all those driven there were the same; even when they saw their companions being submerged, under the threat of the demon above, they still cried as they walked into the Yellow River.

At most, they would break down crying and sit on the shore waiting for the bullets to fall.

A Green Camp general, who was also watching the spectacle from the shore, revealed a meaningful smile.

He then turned around and left.

The Green Standard Army soldiers beside him also turned around and left happily.

Yang Feng didn't bother with them. These Green Standard Army officers were clearly deliberately trying to trick the Eight Banners. They were already well aware of his situation. Before Kaifeng was opened, the city gates weren't closed, and Yang Feng even allowed merchants to enter and exit, which ultimately benefited the city. The Green Standard Army had surrounded the city for over half a month, yet they tacitly allowed merchants to enter because it made it easier for them to gather intelligence on the city's situation. Yang Feng himself also frequently appeared within the city.

The Green Standard Army generals probably already found out everything they could, but the Qing army's blunder in setting up their formation today clearly shows that they failed to warn the Eight Banners.

This is also normal.

After all, this is a skill passed down through generations within the pro-independence camp.

Moreover, the weaker the Eight Banners were, the higher the status of the Green Standard Army. What they liked to see most was the Eight Banners elders falling one by one.

(End of this chapter)