There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 192 Rookies pecking each other
Chenzhou, Hunan.

This is the last directly governed prefecture in Hunan still under the control of the puppet Qing government.

Just last month, as Nie Yu declared himself king, Yuanzhou Prefecture and Jingzhou Prefecture in southwestern Hunan had already collapsed.

First, a major uprising of the Dong Miao (a ethnic minority group) broke out in Huangzhou, west of Yuanzhou Prefecture. Huangzhou was lost in an instant, and the Dong Miao rebels simply broke out of Wugong Pass and besieged the city of Yuanzhou Prefecture.

The prefect of Yuanzhou is giving up and doing nothing, while the assistant prefect of Yuanzhou and the magistrate of Zhijiang County, who do not want to die, are conspiring to ask the Han army to surrender the city for help.

The Han army used to look terrifying, but now compared to these chaotic troops, they are incredibly disciplined!
The situation was similar in Jingzhou, a directly governed prefecture. The Miao people of Shuangjiang Town in the south suddenly launched an uprising, swiftly capturing Tongdao County. They then joined forces with Lan Jinlong, the Yao (Guard) King of Baoqing Prefecture, to launch a strong attack and capture Jingzhou City.

Guidong County, valley.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, the rebels are coming!"

The magistrate was slumped on a rock to rest when his advisor rushed up to report.

Upon hearing this, the magistrate calmly issued the order: "Have Commander Wang inform the entire army to prepare."

Guidong County is located in the eastern part of Chenzhou. To its north lies Pingshui Mountain, which separates it from Ling County, forming a natural barrier.

Ling County was the territory of Shajin Wang, who, unable to defeat the Han army, dared not expand further to the east and north. However, if he did not attack in these two directions, Shajin Wang found himself blocked by the Han army.

The Han army is to the north, and also to the west. If we want to continue expanding and developing, we can only march east into Jiangxi or south to attack Chenzhou.

Jiangxi is separated by Wanyang Mountain, and one must cross the mountain first to attack Yongning County behind it. Being unfamiliar with the area, even Sha Jinwang dared not rush over there casually.

Chenzhou is slightly easier. By crossing Pingshui Mountain, we can first attack Guidong County. Even if we can't push through, we can retreat and use Luoxiao Mountain to block the government troops.

"Clang!"

"Soldiers, follow me and kill the enemy!"

Upon seeing the bandit army appear at the mouth of the valley, the magistrate immediately drew his sword and shouted an order.

Although they were called generals and soldiers, they were actually all civilian laborers and local militia, as well as the county's yamen runners. In terms of the quality and combat effectiveness of the soldiers, they were even inferior to the bandits ambushed in the valley.

But that doesn't matter. Although their fighting strength is insufficient, the morale of these laborers is very high.

Nothing more than protecting their hometown. The name of the king, who had been killed, was known to all the gentry and common people of Guidong County.

Who would be crazy enough to join the ranks of such a ruthless king who harbored extreme hatred for gentry and landlords and enjoyed indiscriminately killing innocent people and plundering their wealth?

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

At the magistrate's command, the suona player found by the county immediately took on the role of a temporary bugler.

Regardless of whether they can play the bugle or whether the soldiers can understand it, once the suona sounds, they just have to go and fight.

The boulders that had been transported up the mountain in advance were all pushed down into the valley by the laborers, directly burying the rebel vanguard below.

The King of Slaughter did not come in person; instead, it was his subordinate "Breakthrough Sky" who came.

Chuang Potian was also confused. He just felt that there was no point in living in Ling County and he couldn't get any territory, so he asked Sha Jinwang for a vanguard to go south and take over Guidong County.

This is also the current state of the rebel army under the King of Shajin: a loose alliance. Nominally a rebel army, they are in reality mountain bandits and thieves. Having been defeated by the Han army once again, no one dares to provoke them.

If the King of Slaughter cannot be suppressed and there is not enough territory for the bandits to divide, then the only option is to allow the bandits to expand outwards on their own, to seize territory from the outside world, and to take as much as they can get.

"Kill the thief!"

"Defend our homeland!"

The local militia, composed of hundreds of laborers and led by several constables, charged down the mountain towards the bandit army led by Chuang Potian. They were all fighting to defend their homeland. The reputation of Sha Jin Wang was too bad; as soon as people heard that Sha Jin Wang's bandit army was coming, landlords and commoners alike eagerly donated money to join the army.

The Han army wanted land; killing all the kings meant taking all the land, property, women, children, and lives. Ling County refused to surrender, but the entire county was massacred.

Even in Chaling Prefecture, where there was no resistance, the gentry and wealthy families were all killed, and the women were all raped and killed.

In contrast to the soaring morale of the Guidong militia, the thousands of bandits led by Chuang Potian were first stunned by falling rocks, and then hundreds of laborers and militiamen ran down the mountain with red eyes.

The people who broke through the heavens were stunned and actually forgot to gather troops to resist.

Without his suppression, these thousands of bandits, mostly a rabble, were suddenly bombarded with stones and encountered hundreds of menacing local militia.

Despite the fact that the bandits outnumbered the local militia by several times, they were still terrified and scattered.

"Run!"

"The government troops are coming!"

"Help! I don't want to die!"

It was utter chaos, complete chaos. In the blink of an eye, the army that had broken through the heavens collapsed.

Chuang Potian realized what was happening and, driving the oxcart, shouted, "Quickly gather the troops! Gather the troops! Those aren't government troops, they aren't government troops!"

It's useless, completely useless.

Apart from a few personal guards who heard him and instinctively ran over, the rest of the chaotic soldiers all treated what he said as nonsense.

They might not have heard it at all, mistaking it for a fart, and they all scattered and fled.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of local militiamen had rushed down the mountain, led by Wang Bantou, who had been instructed by the magistrate of Guidong County.

This Wang Ban Tou was originally a martial arts instructor from Guidong County. He had some martial arts skills and became a yamen (government office) shuguan (official) leader in order to make a living. He always thought that he could make a name for himself by using his martial arts skills.

Now, the opportunity has finally come.

Wang Ban Tou first swung his knife and killed several soldiers, then he saw Chuang Potian.

Even if you couldn't see him, this guy was driving an oxcart and surrounded by more than a dozen rebels with "superior" equipment. He was obviously the leader of this rebel army, or at least an important leader.

Wang Bantou led a group of local militia, fought their way through, and were about to attack Chuang Potian.

"Quick! Stop that soldier!" Chuang Potian ordered in alarm.

Two guards rushed forward, but before they could even get close to Wang, they were stabbed to death by two local militiamen with bamboo spears behind Wang.

This terrified the dozen or so guards around Chuang Potian. They abandoned Chuang Potian and hurriedly ran away with the chaotic army.

Wang Bantou was overjoyed and led the local militia towards the oxcart.

Chuang Potian was also stunned. Were these soldiers on the other side just greenhorns?

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he drove off on his oxcart.

Many people think that water buffaloes walk very slowly, but that's because they deliberately slow down when plowing fields, otherwise they might damage the fields. Real water buffaloes run incredibly fast.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

The oxcart that broke through the sky turned and sped away, knocking over several bandits in a row. It didn't care which direction it was going; it just wanted to run out of the valley.

Seeing this, Wang Ban Tou also disregarded the local militia behind him and immediately jogged to catch up.

Cows can run very fast, but they can't keep up. They need to rest after running a short distance, otherwise they might die from exhaustion.

The two sides chased each other and soon rushed out of the valley.

Chuang Potian tried to shake off Wang Bantou, but the oxcart's speed limit was limited, and the oxen weren't strong enough to run for long. Meanwhile, Wang Bantou, who was chasing him, remained far behind, impossible to shake off.

Seeing that the oxcart was getting slower and slower, Chuang Potian knew that this couldn't go on.

He suddenly pulled the rope, yanked the oxcart back, and rammed it into Wang Bantou, who was following behind.

Wang Ban Tou dodged easily with a quick movement.

Chuang Potian was out of his mind. When his attempt to break through failed, instead of trying to escape, he jumped down to fight Wang Bantou in close combat.

"when!"

The two sharp knives clashed, sending sparks flying.

Breaking through the heavens, his tiger's mouth went numb, and he was secretly shocked: What immense strength!

Before he could draw his knife, Wang Ban Tou suddenly kicked him with great force, knocking the knife handle away.

not good!

“Puff!”

With a single horizontal slash, Chuang Potian's arm was bruised, and the swift blade slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

Before he could grab the knife and run away, Wang Bantou dodged and slashed him in the back, knocking him to the ground on the spot.

Chuang Potian struggled to get up, but Wang Bantou leaned forward, pressed his body down, and stabbed him in the back with a knife, twisting it back and forth.

Now, it completely stopped struggling.

Wang Bantou stepped forward, cut off the man's head, tied it around his waist, and prepared to go back and capture a few prisoners to ask if they recognized him.

(End of this chapter)