Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 175: Cleanup Must Be Complete and Tidy

"what on earth is it?"

Finally awakened by the chaos within the city, Gali watched in despair as the entire city fled in panic behind him.

Hundreds of thousands of troops were running; whether Manchu bannermen or Green Standard Army soldiers, everyone was rushing towards the south gates of the city without regard for their own safety…

Of course, it can't be said that everything was done recklessly; at least looting was still necessary.

From his vantage point, he could even see a group of Green Standard Army soldiers vying for the Eight Banners banners, which were also fleeing in disarray.

The latter resisted fiercely, but were immediately overwhelmed by the overwhelming numbers of the Green Standard Army. Then, amidst their cries of pain, these bastards quickly looted their gold and silver, and even stabbed them in the back before leaving. As for the officials in the city who were equally bewildered, they suffered even more at the hands of these chaotic soldiers. The Revenue Department Director in charge of his logistics had just escaped with his family when he was overwhelmed by a group of fleeing soldiers. His newly acquired concubine was directly lifted onto a horse by an officer.

Meanwhile, the clerk and his belongings, who were still trying to pull back, were instantly overwhelmed by the chaotic soldiers, who looted them in the shortest possible time. After the soldiers passed, all that was left was the clerk, stripped naked, lying on the ground with his bloodied arm outstretched...

It looked like a dead tree branch swaying in the wind.

Governor Ga really didn't understand what was going on; he was still fighting a bloody battle with demons.

Although the style of this bloody battle is rather unconventional, with piles of corpses on one side and women dancing on the other, it has a postmodern feel.

But the situation in the battle remained stable.

The enemy did not attack the city, and even the losses inside the city were not significant. This kind of exchange of fire would not kill many people. Although the enemy's artillery fire was vicious, they still had the city walls to protect them.

Of course, they didn't cause any damage to the enemy either; at most, they cratered the ground around the palace.

The situation wasn't good, but it wasn't critical either. So how did it suddenly start collapsing from within the city?

"General, the situation is critical and only you can quell it. Please move to the south gate, and I will protect you with my life."

The two Green Standard Army generals stepped forward anxiously and said...

Gali was stunned at this point and didn't have time to think much. He was about to go down with them when he was suddenly pulled back by the servant next to him.

“My lord, if things go wrong in the city, my world will collapse.”

said the latter.

He then winked at him.

Gali paused for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses. After all, he wasn't stupid; he had fought against Ge Erdan with Brother Ma. He retreated into the bunker as quickly as possible.

"You two must quickly go to the south gate and stop the fleeing soldiers. If you fail to stop their escape, you shall be punished according to military law."

He shouted at the two Green Standard Army generals.

The latter laughed along with them.

"General, I believe you should go in person."

One of them said with a smile.

At the same time, a large number of defeated Green Standard Army soldiers swarmed in, led by the troop of personal guards. They shouted that the city had fallen and rushed straight for the silver at the foot of the city wall. The Eight Banner soldiers guarding the silver tried to stop them, but were instantly overwhelmed. Then, countless Green Standard Army soldiers pounced on the silver, fighting for it like hungry wolves scrambling for food.

Moreover, more Green Camp soldiers kept pouring in to join the crowd robbing the silver.

Gali stood trembling on the city wall, looking at the scene that resembled a horde of corpses. He knew perfectly well that these two bastards were the masterminds, but what could he do? If these two bastards shouted now, the Green Standard Army soldiers who had looted the silver would rush up and tear him to pieces. Of course, if he listened to these two bastards and went down to suppress them, he would be torn to pieces anyway, except that the two of them would become loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty, reporting to the Emperor with deep sorrow that he had died for the country. But now, it was difficult to play the role of loyal ministers.

Of course, that would be a bad way to act.

Therefore, no matter what choice he makes, it will be difficult for him to have a good outcome. In fact, his trip north this time has already predetermined this outcome.

He knew, of course, that this wasn't something two generals could pull off; behind them was a huge interest group.

What they wanted was for demons to occupy Xuzhou, thereby severing the connection between the north and the south.

Meanwhile, the guards, their pockets stuffed with silver, had already rushed onto the city wall. They stood there, looking at Gali and the Eight Banners beside him with ill intent.

"Since that's the case, then I will listen to you. If you can stop the fleeing soldiers this time, I will recommend you for credit."

Gali said with a cold face.

After saying that, he walked straight toward the two Green Standard Army generals.

The latter bowed with satisfaction.

But the next moment, Gali had a flintlock pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger without hesitation at the leading general.

As the gunshot rang out, the latter fell backward in shock, vaulting over the city wall, while Gali simultaneously hurled his pistol at another general...

"Fight these bastards to the death, don't let your master down!"

he shouted.

however……

There was complete silence around him.

He turned his head in astonishment, and the man in the coat behind him pointed shakily to the sky. He immediately looked up at the golden figure in the sky.

"So, what exactly are you doing?"

The figure spoke slowly in a cold voice. The remaining Green Standard Army general was the first to regain his senses, and he knelt down on the city wall without hesitation.

"This humble general pays his respects to the Immortal Venerable. We are all from the Green Standard Army of Jiangnan. The Qing demons slaughtered Jiangnan back then, and to this day, the people of Jiangnan still hate the Qing demons. The Immortal Venerable has descended to save the people from suffering, and the people of Jiangnan are all eagerly awaiting his arrival. We dare not oppose the Immortal Venerable. Moreover, this Ga Li is a notorious corrupt official who embezzles, perverts the law, levies exorbitant taxes, and commits all kinds of evil. Jiangnan has long been angered by the heavens and the people. Therefore, we deliberately instigated the Green Standard Army to flee, hoping to make the Immortal Venerable come to Xuzhou and then south to Yangzhou."

He lay on the ground and said.

"So you've done something good?"

Yang Feng said.

"Uh, this humble general dares not claim credit. My family is still in Jiangnan, and I cannot abandon my family to follow the Immortal Venerable. How dare I claim credit?"

The general quickly replied modestly.

"This bastard's ancestors followed Dodo in the massacre of Yangzhou. He was just instructed by someone to have you cut off the north and south, so that those bastards in Jiangnan would no longer have to pay taxes to the Qing Dynasty. I am indeed greedy, but I embezzled for the Emperor. The Emperor is to be a wise and benevolent ruler, so of course he cannot make the gentry pay taxes. But these bastards are all wealthy and do not lack money, so I embezzled and forced them to pay money. The Emperor is my master, and my money belongs to the Emperor. If the Emperor needs money, he can just ask me for it."

"This entire world belongs to the Emperor; I'm just taking some of his own money on his behalf."

Gali sneered.

The general turned and looked at him with resentment.

"In that case, let's go to Yangzhou together. I happen to need one of these!"

Yang Feng said.

The general knew what would happen if he went to Yangzhou. Without hesitation, he got up and rushed towards his personal guards as fast as he could.

"Come on!"

he shouted.

however……

Several knives suddenly appeared in front of him.

He stared in astonishment at the guards who were blocking his way with swords.

“Lord Zhen, the Immortal is a deity, and we subordinates will obey the deity. Moreover, you are right, we are indeed eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Immortal.”

The latter said with an apologetic expression.

"You dogs."

The Green Standard Army general spoke with trembling lips.

Gali was laughing there, but he soon met his downfall.

"Take down this corrupt official as well. Since he is hated by both the people and the heavens in Jiangnan, let's take him to Yangzhou and skin him alive."

Yang Feng said.

The Green Standard Army soldiers charged toward Gali without hesitation.

None of the Eight Banner soldiers dared to resist. They stood there trembling as the Green Standard Army kicked their commander down and tied him up. Gali tried to rouse their courage, but it was no use. These Eight Banner soldiers, who had enjoyed a life of luxury in Jiangnan for too long, were already worn down, let alone facing a deity. They even knelt on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, letting the Green Standard Army tie them up as well. Not one of them stood up to resist.

Meanwhile, the Green Standard Army inside the city was still in disarray. After all, with an army of over 100,000, it would take some time to escape.

Behind them, at the open city gate, people from outside the city were already pouring in, returning to their city.

Xuzhou was opened in less than twelve hours.

The Governor-General of Liangjiang of the Great Qing Dynasty mobilized the elite forces of three provinces, only to have it all turn into a joke.

And what Ma Ge feared most also became a reality: his grain transport was disrupted. Under normal circumstances, at most another month would have passed before ships carrying grain from the south to the north would have continuously transported millions of bushels of grain to the capital, ensuring the food security of his hundreds of thousands of loyal farms. Every spring was the grain transport season. Grain harvested in autumn would flow from the entire south along the Yangtze River system to Zhenjiang, awaiting the opening of the Jingkou Lock in spring, and then travel north along the thawed canals to replenish the capital, which had been depleted throughout the winter.

But now, this lifeline that can be said to be Ma Ge's lifeline has been cut off.

The hundreds of thousands of Green Standard Army soldiers who fled Xuzhou all flocked to Huai'an. Lang Tingji, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, was unaware of the truth and believed it was simply a military defeat. He hastily crossed the river to try and rally the routed troops at Qingkou, only to be surrounded and severely beaten by them. He escaped only thanks to the desperate protection of his bondservant soldiers. However, the routed troops then crossed the river and occupied Huai'an, which had been left without leadership due to his departure. They then ransacked the city, and salt merchants suffered a devastating blow. After plundering the salt merchants in Huai'an, these locusts continued their southward advance.

Then they disappeared without a trace.

Or rather, they broke up.

After all, they had robbed tens of millions of taels of silver in Huai'an alone. Firstly, the salt merchants had plenty of silver, and secondly, some of the tax silver to be transported to the capital was also in Huai'an. In short, these defeated soldiers who had made enough money quickly dispersed between Huai'an and Yangzhou. Since they were all from the two rivers region, they had many ways to go home. Those from Anhui took boats along the Huai River, those from southern Jiangsu took the Grand Canal and the Salt River, and those from Jiangxi entered the Yangtze River as if they were returning home.

After Yang Xianzun went south from Xuzhou, nothing could stop him anymore.

When he arrived at Qingkou, the officials and gentry of Huai'an had already sent boats to wait for the Immortal Venerable on the north bank. However, they certainly would not welcome the Immortal Venerable; they had simply given up the resistance.

The entire army of Galidu was wiped out. They had no soldiers or generals, so how could they resist? They were all loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty, devoted to the Emperor, but they could not fight a losing battle and bring disaster upon the people!

Do not resist, do not welcome, do not cooperate, and let it pass.

Just like more than two hundred years later.

Lang Tingji, however, was offered to the Immortal Venerable by the people of Qingkou.

(End of this chapter)