There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 108 The Han Army Enters Changsha

Chen Sanchen was indeed fine. His fainting before was due to blood loss from the wound, which was the body's self-protection mechanism.

It looked serious, but the wound was blocked by clothes and armor, so it was not actually deep. After timely treatment by the doctor, he woke up after a day of rest.

But alas, it was too late.

It should be said that the situation was irreversible from the moment he led hundreds of "elite" troops out of the city for a night attack, but was defeated and only a dozen people returned.

Although Chen Sanchen went to the city wall to inspect and calm the soldiers as soon as he woke up, he could see that the morale of the civilians and militia was low, and the servants of the Green Camp and the wealthy families were staring at him with eyes that seemed to want to swallow him whole.

When Chen Sanchen was halfway there, he was hurriedly helped down the city wall by his personal followers.

Changsha Lieutenant General's Office.

The original office was destroyed by a shell, and Zheng Yuanyun had moved the temporary office here. Anyway, it was idle for the time being.

"Prefect Chen, what is the current situation?" Zheng Yuanyun hurriedly asked.

Chen Sanchen thought for a moment and changed his words, "Don't worry, Governor. As long as I'm here, Changsha won't fall!"

"That's good, that's good!" Zheng Yuanyun breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "Prefect Chen is injured, why don't you go back and rest first? I'll take care of the rest."

Chen Sanchen shook his head: "No need. The rebels are just outside the city. If I go back to rest and recuperate now, I'm afraid the morale of the soldiers in the city will be shaken."

Zheng Yuanyun was just being polite. If Chen Sanchen really went back to rest, he really didn't know what to do.

"That……"

"The city is broken!"

Suddenly there was a commotion outside.

Zheng Yuanyun and Chen Sanchen heard it so clearly that they were almost unable to react for a moment.

what's the situation?
The city was broken, how was it broken?

Even Chen Sanchen himself didn't understand the situation clearly. He had just inspected the city wall. Although the unstable morale of the army forced him to leave the city wall, it was not the case that the Han soldiers would break Changsha right after he came down.

The Han soldiers' cannons had not yet fired, and he did not hear any sound of artillery fire.

"The city has been breached! Run!"

There was another shout and noise.

Chen Sanchen moved incredibly quickly, rushing out of the Lieutenant General's Office with his injured body in his arms without the need for his attendants to support him. He then saw that the outside was indeed in chaos, but it wasn't the chaos caused by the city being breached, but rather someone was deliberately shouting to disturb the soldiers.

He immediately guessed that someone had switched sides.

Those who defected were none other than the Green Camp and the militia composed of the retainers of the wealthy families. They had always intended to be fence-sitters. If Changsha City could be defended, they would be subjects of the Qing Dynasty. If Changsha City could not be defended, they would be obedient subjects of the Han army.

Now, Changsha is short of troops and its combat effectiveness is weak. Chen Sanchen, the only prefect who has some ability, has been seriously injured, and the "elite" who went out of the city for a night attack have almost all died.

What the hell can this do?
These wealthy gentry in the provincial capital were extremely well-informed and knew more than the two officials, Zheng Yuanyun and Chen Sanchen. They knew that the Han army was not as brutal as they imagined. The Han army was only interested in the gentry's land. As long as they handed over the land and released their slaves, they would not even rob their family property and wealth.

This is no ordinary rebel, he can be said to be a royal army in troubled times.

"Kill the clear dog!"

On the city wall, the shouts of the defecting troops were everywhere. The servants of the wealthy families mixed with the Green Camp and did not really attack people indiscriminately, but deliberately drove away and let the militia rush around.

Wait until the city wall is in chaos, then concentrate on opening the northern gate.

"General, the Xiangchun Gate and Xinkai Gate in the north of Changsha City are both open!"

In the Han army camp outside the city, the Han soldiers on the lookout tower hurriedly took out their walkie-talkies to report the news and blew the bugle.

In a short time, the Han army camp began to gather its forces, and the artillery was not in a hurry to fire. Layers of infantry formed the front, followed by musketeers and crossbowmen in the center, and grenadiers as the killing weapons in the back.

The cavalry battalion had already taken the lead and charged forward on horseback, trying to test whether Changsha City was feigning surrender.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

More than a hundred Han cavalrymen rushed to the city, then suddenly slowed down, deliberately revealing a flaw.

There were no traps or ambushes. Instead, many Qing soldiers in both casual and uniforms ran out of the city gate.

These Qing soldiers were the remnants of the Green Camp who had defected, as well as the servants of the wealthy families in the city. They didn't know who the high-ranking officers among the cavalry were, so they knelt and shouted, "Kill the Qing dogs! Long live the Han army! Long live the general!"

"Kill the Qing dogs! Long live the Han army! Long live the general!"

"Kill the Qing dogs! Long live the Han army! Long live the general!"

"..."

Their shouting was quite nonsensical, but they actually knew about the Han Army, unlike Zheng Yuanyun and Chen Sanchen, who knew little about the Han Army and even thought that the Han Army was just a branch of the White Lotus Sect not long ago.

These defected Qing soldiers survived and became guides in Changsha, leading the Han army to attack and capture the city.

He Shunan and Chen Younian led their troops respectively, entered the city through Xiangchun and Xinkai gates, and took control of the city wall first.

Then, they concentrated their forces to surround and sweep the General's Office.

It's too late!
There was no one in the General's Office. Zheng Yuanyun and Chen Sanchen had already fled.

Nie Yu quickly issued an order: "He Shunan, I order you to lead your troops to capture Changsha County and control the Changsha County government office, the county treasury, and the county school. Do not allow them to burn the granary and archives. Chen Younian, you will take Shanhua County. Do the same as you did with Changsha County. Do not allow Shanhua County to be destroyed."

"I obey your order!" He Shunan and Chen Younian responded with a bow.

After the two men took their troops away, Nie Yu personally led his troops to attack the Changsha government office.

In fact, there was no need to mobilize troops to attack, because the county magistrates of Changsha and Shanhua counties took the lead in surrendering.

The two's ideas were very simple. It was not because they saw the possibility of the Han army's success, but because they were simply afraid of death and did not dare to commit suicide. They did not care if their clansmen might be implicated. There is inherent terror between life and death.

In order to redeem themselves from punishment, the magistrates of the two counties simply acted as guides, leading the Han army to take over the archives in the county treasury and government offices, and then took the Han soldiers to the county school to capture those poor scholars who had no time to escape.

The two affiliated county towns of Changsha and Shanhua were almost swept away by the Han army without any decent resistance. Even wealthy families came out to donate food and support the army.

A grand scene of people preparing food and drink to welcome the royal army!
Changsha government office.

Zheng Yuanyun and Chen Sanchen, each with a dozen or so loyal servants, fled all the way back here. The officials in the government office seemed to have learned the news in advance and had already fled.

"Taiwanese Governor, we can no longer stay in the government office. The rebels could attack us at any moment. We should immediately take a detour to the west of the city, cross the river to the south from the dock there, and even reach Hengzhou before the rebels."

Chen Sanchen gritted his teeth and said that his wound had already burst open and he could only endure it now and deal with it after escaping the city.

Zheng Yuanyun pretended not to hear anything, staring at the empty government office, and suddenly sat down cross-legged.

"What is the governor doing?" Chen Sanchen was shocked.

"Bei Shu!" Zheng Yuanyun sighed softly and said, "You can escape on your own! Changsha City has been destroyed. I cannot shirk this responsibility no matter what. I can only follow the city."

These words were spoken calmly. Chen Sanchen was a little confused. After a moment of silence, he quickly said, "Why do you have to do this, Governor? Changsha City has been captured. Staying here will not help. It is better to stay and protect Hengzhou to prevent the rebels from gaining more power."

"Ha ha ha ha ha……"

Zheng Yuanyun smiled miserably. He clearly said nothing, yet it seemed as if he had said everything.

Chen Sanchen also fell silent.

Changsha was lost, and not only were their careers over, but the whole of Hunan was almost over as well.

If the Han army captured Jingzhou, it was equivalent to capturing a strategic point important to Huguang. Then, capturing Changsha was equivalent to seizing the political capital to annex Huguang.

Just say it!
There is not only a Gongyuan in Changsha City, but also a Yuelu Academy.

The former is for scholars from Hunan province to take the provincial examinations and obtain the title of Juren, which qualifies them to take the imperial examinations in Beijing. Without the Changsha Imperial Academy, Hunan scholars basically could not take the imperial examinations.

Unless the Qing court issued an order allowing Hunan candidates to squeeze in from other provinces.

This is not the point. The real point is that now that the Han army has the Changsha Imperial Examination Hall, the Han army can also use it to recruit talents!

As for the latter Yuelu Academy, its importance is even ranked before Changsha Gongyuan, which is the first of the four major academies in China.

The four major academies often change, and there are many opinions, and no one is convinced by the other. However, only Yuelu Academy is recognized as the best of the four. Whoever mentions the four major academies must include the eldest Yuelu Academy.

Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming and other great figures either served as principals or gave lectures here.

Although it has been damaged several times, every emperor has to find a way to restore it, if not for anything else, then for the hearts of scholars all over the world.

Emperor Qianlong carried out a large-scale literary inquisition and was worried about Han Confucian scholars. He also wrote the plaque "Daonan Zhengmai" for Yuelu Academy twice.

It is conceivable that once Changsha is lost, it will not just be the loss of a city, the consequences are almost unimaginable.

"Kill the dogs!"

Someone was shouting and killing as they approached from afar, but they were not Han soldiers, but Green Camp soldiers who rushed faster than the Han soldiers.

When these guys were defending the city, their combat effectiveness was low and they were like waste, but at this moment they seemed to be possessed by Lu Bu and were extremely brave.

"My men, follow me and kill the rebels!"

Chen Sanchen did not sit still and wait for death. He personally led a dozen loyal followers and went back to fight with them.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhhh!"

The Han soldiers didn't give Chen Sanchen any chance. They fired three bursts of musket fire, which was quite scattered. However, combined with the crossbow arrows of the crossbowmen, they still turned Chen Sanchen into a sieve.

Chen Sanchen died in the battle. Before he died, his eyes were wide open, as if he was still a little bit unbelievable.

"There's a high-ranking official in front of us!"

"I know him. He's the Governor of Changsha!"

Zheng Yuanyun still sat there motionless. He wanted to maintain his demeanor as a second-rank official. He even thought about meeting the rebel leader and using his knowledge of state affairs to silence him.

Even if you die a worthy death, you will win fame both before and after your death.

Bang~~!

Zheng Yuanyun was hit hard and was unable to react in time, and was pinned to the ground by two Han soldiers.

Zheng Yuanyun felt as if the bridge of his nose was broken, and he even smelled blood. His composure was gone in an instant, and he was left with a mouth full of dust and howling in pain.

"Hey~yo!"

"What are you yelling about? Seriously, be quiet!"

(End of this chapter)