There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 222 The mob
More than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, during these two weeks, the King of Han waited in Changsha for envoys from various ethnic groups to meet and hold talks, while the Han army's expansion plan in Hubei also progressed rapidly.

Before the King of Han's southern tour, the three armies had already been mobilized, all in accordance with the Grand General's planned strategy.

The northern army split into two routes, attacking Yunyang and De'an prefectures respectively, while the eastern and western Han armies waited for an opportunity to move.

Under such a rapid offensive, the White Lotus Sect in Yunyang Prefecture to the west, which was directly connected to the Han River waterway, was the first to suffer a major setback.

Before the White Lotus Sect in Yunyang could even react or break out, the Han army crossed the river and surrounded the city of Yunyang, preventing even a fly from escaping.

Bai Peixiang, the leader of the White Lotus Sect in Yunyang, was completely dumbfounded: "We are all righteous troops, and the Han army has already taken Xiangyang, yet they are not giving us any way out and are really coming to attack Yunyang!"

"Master, why don't we surrender?" The leader of his followers cried out in panic.

"Lowered? Lowered my ass!"

Bai Peixiang was immediately enraged: "Don't you know what these Han soldiers are saying to the outside world? Those who abuse the people will have to pay back with interest. I can surrender, leader. At worst, I'll give my life back to the Han army. Anyway, I've enjoyed everything I'm entitled to. But what about you? Do you all want to die?"

As soon as he said that, the room fell silent.

After a moment, a leader of the cult said, "But the city is already surrounded by the Han army. The food in the city probably won't last for more than a few months. We can't hold it."

At this point, Bai Peixiang frowned again, unsure of what to do.

Before the rebellion, Bai Peixiang thought about how to rebel every day, thinking about overthrowing this corrupt government and creating the vacuum hometown that the leader of the sect had mentioned, so that all the brothers and sisters in the sect could live a carefree and happy life.

But on the eve of the rebellion, a traitor within the sect betrayed them, leading to the arrest of the sect leader, Wang Yinghu. Bai Peixiang, as the sect leader's personal disciple who was fortunate enough to escape capture, thus inherited the sect leader's mantle.

Shortly after his disciple Zhang Zhengmo launched an uprising in Changyang County, Bai Peixiang followed suit and launched an uprising in Fang County. He then relied on the large number of refugees in Yunyang Prefecture, whose people were known for their fierce and valiant nature, and the fact that the Qing army was preoccupied with Jingzhou and Hunan, which allowed him to quickly and successfully expand his power in Yunyang Prefecture.

He first swept through the counties of Yunyang, and then captured the city of Yunyang. The prefect of Yunyang abandoned the city and fled. He became the second major rebel in Hubei to control the city.

Then, he couldn't play anymore.

Yunyang Prefecture has an excellent geographical location. To the northwest lies Shaanxi Province, where people and people are unfamiliar with the area. The believers have just successfully rebelled and most are unwilling to leave their hometown. To the southwest, they are also blocked by the Bashan Mountains, making it impossible to leave the capital.

To the east lies the territory of the White Lotus Sect brothers in Xiangyang. Although one of them is the Yuan-Gathering Sect and the other is the Western Heaven Mahayana Sect, they are still one family and cannot possibly attack each other.

Bai Peixiang was thus cornered in Yunyang Prefecture. During this time, he briefly joined forces with the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang, attempting to first take down Xiangyang City and then find a way to divide the territory and plan for greater things.

But before they could capture Xiangyang, the 200,000-strong army of the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang was completely wiped out.

Bai Peixiang was so terrified after being defeated that he almost fled into Sichuan with the White Lotus sect in Xiangyang. Fortunately, the Qing army did not pursue their victory but instead went south to fight the Han army, only to be completely annihilated in one fell swoop, with the governor-general dying on the battlefield.

Bai Peixiang thought he was safe, so he neither attacked outside nor submitted to the Han Dynasty. He stayed in his small territory of Yunyang Prefecture, enjoying his wealth and status without any conflict with the world.

But who could have imagined that he wanted to live a life of peace and quiet, but the Han army came without warning, giving him no chance at all!
……

Bai Peixiang was already terrified of the Qing army, so he naturally dared not provoke the Han army, which was even more powerful than the Qing army, nor did he dare to venture out of the city to fight.

And so, the two sides remained deadlocked in Yunyang Prefecture.

No, it should be said that only Bai Peixiang was stuck; the Han army was much smarter. Seeing that Bai Peixiang intended to stay in the prefectural city and not come out, the Han army simply took advantage of the night to divide its forces and head north to take Yunxi and Baihe counties.

Meanwhile, the southern counties of Zhushan, Zhuxi, Baokang, and Fangxian telegraphed the Western Route Army of Yichang Prefecture, ordering them to send a detachment north to retake the county seat. Having lost news of the prefectural leader, the leaders of these county branches were already panicked. Seeing the Han army swaggering in to retake the county seat, they immediately assumed the prefectural city was lost and the leader and several high-ranking officials were dead.

The Han army then took the opportunity to spread the word that only the ringleaders would be executed, and that those lower-level followers who were willing to surrender would be spared.

In less than half a month, the six counties of Yunyang were captured by the Han army without any effort.

Bai Peixiang sat foolishly inside the city of Yunyang, completely unaware that the Han army had already divided its forces, and only a little over a thousand Han soldiers remained outside the city. Meanwhile, he commanded several thousand bandits, all seasoned veterans who had seen blood. A direct field battle might not be feasible, but a breakout would be more than enough.

More than half a month later, the news that the Han army had captured six counties in Yunyang had already reached the Yunyang prefectural city.

Many seasoned thieves, sensing the danger, chose to sneak away at night.

Bai Peixiang, the leader of the cult, discovered this and tried to order a crackdown, but he couldn't suppress the troops at all. On the contrary, the more he tried to suppress them, the more the morale of the army wavered.

After much deliberation, Bai Peixiang realized this situation wouldn't work. He summoned his followers and leaders, saying, "You should all know what the Han army said: all six counties of Yunyang have fallen. Now it's either fight to the death or surrender. If you surrender, the Han army will execute the ringleaders, and I am one of them. As for whether any of you will be included, you can decide for yourselves. So, whether you fight or surrender is your decision. In any case, I am determined to leave the city tomorrow and fight the Han army to the death!"

After he said this, all the leaders of the sect stared at each other in disbelief; they really had no other choice.

The Han army said they would only punish the ringleaders and spare the lower-ranking bandits, but the problem is that they are the ringleaders!

Surrendering would certainly mean certain death, and even if they did survive, they wouldn't be willing to give up their wealth and status. They had long since forgotten about their hometown and its surroundings; wealth and beautiful concubines were far more appealing to them.

If you can't surrender, then fight alongside the leader!
Fight to the death with the Han army!

The next day.

Bai Peixiang personally led five thousand bandits out of the city. These five thousand bandits were Bai Peixiang's last remaining elite bandits. They had been given gold and silver treasures in advance, and were promised whatever rewards they wanted if they won this battle.

Such empty promises are truly... utterly useless.

No sooner had they left the city than many old thieves fled with the gold and silver they had just received, and the leaders of the cult above could not stop them.

The Han army had long since discovered this rabble. The commander leading the group only had a thousand Han soldiers under his command, but he completely disregarded the five thousand bandits on the other side.

"All troops, prepare!"

"Form ranks and prepare for battle!"

"Long live the Han Dynasty! Long live the Han Dynasty!"

With several shouts of military orders, the Han army marched in neat infantry formations, advancing towards Yunyang Prefecture with an invincible momentum.

"The Han army is coming! Run!"

Without Bai Peixiang giving any orders, the five thousand bandit followers he had managed to stabilize were instantly terrified and scattered.

Because there were too many people and they were running too fast, many bandits were trapped inside the city before they even left. The bandits inside wanted to get out, while those outside were also pushing and shoving, and the chaos quickly escalated into infighting.

These old thieves had all killed people and seen blood before. Seeing that they couldn't escape, they actually drew their swords and started slashing their own allies to clear a path.

Bai Peixiang was completely dumbfounded. He had finally mustered up the courage to fight a decisive battle with the Han army, but before the battle even started, he had already been defeated.

(End of this chapter)