There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 237 Jiujiang City Falls
That night.

Fu Hongchang and Master Huang split up and suddenly raided the Ma and Wang families, imprisoning the entire Ma and Wang clans, including their servants.

The charge is that he colluded with rebels and plotted treason!

The wealth and grain of both families were confiscated and used by the government to resist bandits and defend the city.

In an instant, the wealthy and gentry in the city who had just secretly made contact were all shocked and terrified.

This prefect is utterly insane! In his quest to defend Jiujiang City, he's even targeting the local gentry and powerful families. The Ma family, in particular, has connections within the prefectural government and a deeply entrenched influence in the city. Yet, they've been falsely accused of treason and completely eradicated!

In the latter half of the night, these gentry members gathered privately again, but this time in smaller numbers.

"How many families have come?" a middle-aged gentleman asked.

Another local gentry member replied, "Including us, less than half of us came. The Ma and Wang families have already been ransacked by the magistrate, and no one dares to make a move anymore."

Another gentryman sneered: "What kind of high-ranking official is he? To defend Jiujiang City, he's framing innocent people like this. If Jiujiang can really be saved, I'll risk my life to use my connections to file a complaint with the Emperor and have this corrupt official dismissed and investigated."

The middle-aged gentry shook his head: "I'm afraid Jiujiang can't be defended. The prefect's actions have intimidated the people in the city, but they are definitely not convinced. The people's hearts are scattered. If the governor doesn't bring troops back to reinforce, Jiujiang won't be able to hold out."

A nearby gentry member asked, "Then what should we do?"

Another gentryman gritted his teeth and said, "What can we do? The prefect is always framing people for colluding with the enemy in order to defend the city. Since that's the case, let's just make the false accusation true and surrender the city."

Some gentry hesitated: "What about our land? The Han traitors want to divide the land!"

The gentryman frowned and said, "What time is it? Why are you still thinking about land? If the Han army doesn't take Jiujiang, and Jiujiang holds out for even one more day, we'll be in greater danger. If we're accused of treason, not only will we lose our land, but our families will also be in danger."

"But……"

"What else is there, but?"

"..."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

A middle-aged gentryman stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "The Ma and Wang families have just been raided, so the prefect shouldn't dare to take any further drastic action in the short term. Moreover, Jiujiang controls the throat of the Yangtze River, and the governor won't stand idly by. Let's wait and see!"

Two risky, clandestine meetings were held within a single day, but the result of the discussions was still to hold back for the time being.

Although these gentry were somewhat afraid and wanted to defect to the bandits, they were still weak and greedy at heart.

They dared not risk rebelling against the government, and were even more reluctant to have their land divided up after joining the bandits, preferring to give it to the former tenant farmers and lowly people.

Meanwhile, several local gentry families in the city were secretly conspiring to surrender the city to the rebels, while outside the city, the Han army camp...

"Report!"

Yang Fang was awakened by his personal guards. He was not wearing armor and asked, "What is it?"

"The night watchman just caught a spy!"

"bring it here."

"Yes."

Not long after, a “spy” who was tied up was brought into the main tent.

Upon entering and seeing Yang Fang, whose soldiers were clearly dressed differently from ordinary soldiers, he knelt down and cried out, "General, spare my life! I am not a spy! I am a pageboy from the Shen family in Jiujiang City. My young master wanted to surrender to the Han army!"

Upon hearing the other person's cries, Yang Fang was initially surprised, then immediately asked seriously, "Quickly, tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"

The pageboy hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the general, my young master originally intended to surrender to the Han army, but he had been struggling to find the opportunity. Just tonight, the prefect suddenly raided the homes of the Ma and Wang families in the city, accusing them of colluding with the Han army. The young master of the Wang family is a close friend of my young master. My young master said that this is a sign that the prefect's intentions are impure and that his own demise is imminent, so he told me to quickly leave the city and contact the Han army's heavenly soldiers."

The explanation was concise, but Yang Fang already knew most of the main information: the prefect of Jiujiang suddenly fell ill and actually ransacked the homes of local gentry and wealthy families in the city.

The Shen family probably already had the intention to surrender. Seeing that the prefect didn't care about gentry and wealthy families at all, he confiscated their property and falsely accused them of treason.

Yang Fang then asked, "In Jiujiang City, is it just your Shen family that wants to surrender, or are there several other families following suit?"

The pageboy said, "Young Master said that although the gentry in the city are dissatisfied with the prefect, most of them are timid and indecisive, and not worth discussing matters with. But General, rest assured, my young master has made proper arrangements. The prefect previously sent his advisor, Master Huang, to recruit soldiers from the various gentry families in the city, so that the local gentry would provide men to assist in defending the city. Tomorrow, my young master will personally ascend the city wall, and then launch a surprise attack to create chaos. General, you can then take advantage of the opportunity to launch a strong attack and seize the city from within and without!"

The method is rather clumsy, but its advantage lies in its simplicity and directness.

Jiujiang City has no elite troops; it is full of temporarily recruited young men and yamen runners. Even if the local gentry help recruit soldiers, the situation will not change much.

This garrison, composed of able-bodied young officials, was only good for fighting alongside regular troops when things went well, and it was enough to boost morale, but it was barely enough to defend the city.

If a riot breaks out in a section of the city wall, the entire defensive line can easily collapse.

Moreover, according to the Shen family, most of the gentry in the city were dissatisfied with the prefect. Although they were too cowardly to act, if Jiujiang were to fall, even if they still dared not act, they certainly would not continue to defend the city.

The next day.

As always, the Han army launched its siege in an orderly manner.

"boom!"

The Han army's cannons opened fire.

The fifteen red-coated cannons stopped firing all at once and instead adjusted their positions to fire one shot after another in rotation.

It was hard to say how many shells would hit, but the artillery fire was relentless, ensuring that the city of Jiujiang would never be at peace. Under the cover of the artillery fire, Instructor Wen led the laborers in shifts to fill in the moat.

Standing on the city tower, Fu Hongchang inspected the enemy situation despite the danger of Han army artillery fire: "We can't let the Han traitors keep bombarding us with cannons. Let our gunners go up and fire as well."

Master Huang hesitated, "The Han traitors' cannons are powerful, but our gunners are all new recruits..."

Fu Hongchang raised his hand to interrupt: "Anyone who dares to go up and fire a cannon will be rewarded with five taels of silver for each shot fired. If they can hit the enemy's position, they will be rewarded with another ten taels of silver."

Good heavens, a generous reward always brings forth brave men.

Master Huang fell silent and hurriedly went down to convey the prefect's order. Enticed by the high reward, someone indeed ran up to operate the cannons.

"boom!"

A cannon shot rang out, and the shell flew off somewhere unknown.

In a moment.

"Boom boom boom!"

It wasn't the cannons defending Jiujiang that fired simultaneously, but rather the cannons of the Han army that fired simultaneously.

The target was the Jiujiang city defense cannons that had just been fired.

Fifteen red-coated cannons fired simultaneously, and under the dense barrage, one shell was lucky enough to hit its target.

The shell crashed into the parapet of the gun emplacement, smashing it to pieces. A gunner was hit on the spot, his sternum was dented, and he was clearly going to die.

The other gunners, who were initially excited by the hefty reward without realizing it, instantly sobered up.

"Run!"

"The traitors have fired their cannons!"

The gunners scattered instantly, along with other gunners who hadn't had a chance to fire, fleeing the gun emplacement together.

Fu Hongchang immediately ordered them to return, and promised to double the reward.

Unfortunately, it’s useless!
No matter how much the reward is, you have to be alive to receive it. Besides, Fu Hongchang only gave the reward but didn't actually give it to anyone. It was just a verbal reward, and I didn't see a single tael of real silver.

This is not Fu Hongchang's fault, because he really didn't have much money left. He had used all his money to recruit soldiers to defend the city, and if he needed more silver, he would have to use his private treasury.

These are all silvers he embezzled and cheated over the years while he was an official. He only needed to give out a small portion as a token gesture. How could he really give them all away as rewards?
Otherwise, even if he managed to defend Jiujiang, he wouldn't have the money to pay the fine for his crimes, nor the money to cultivate his connections.

Just as Fu Hongchang was in a panic due to the failure of the cannons, a section of the city wall south of Ying'en Gate...

Shen Hongwen, as the person in charge of defending the city from the Shen family, is gathering his household servants, soldiers, and young men from the yamen.

"Gentlemen, the prefect is now acting against the will of Heaven, holding onto Jiujiang and resisting the Han army. The Han have risen up to overthrow the Qing and restore the Han, to expel the Tartars. I urge you all to join me in surrendering the city to the Han!"

As soon as Shen Hongwen finished speaking, the faces of the summoned yamen runners suddenly changed: "Are you trying to rebel?"

"What rebellion? This is restoring order!"

Shen Hongwen sneered: "Gentlemen, my Shen family has been to the Han lands of Huguang and knows some of the policies of the Great Han. Some of you are household slaves, some are tenant farmers, and some are vagrants. But as long as you can rebel against the Qing and surrender to the Han, then everyone can become a citizen of the Great Han. There will no longer be lowly people like tenant farmers, household slaves, and vagrants. Everyone can be allocated land and cultivate their own land."

After he finished speaking, the young and strong men among the Shen family's servants, tenant farmers, and vagrants around him indeed showed signs of longing and interest.

Taking advantage of the moment, Shen Hongwen, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, cut off his queue with a knife, then raised it high and shouted: "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Han! Long live the Great Han!"

Such a swift move left the able-bodied servants with no time to think.

"..."

"Overthrow the Qing and restore the Han! Long live the Great Han!"

There was only a moment of silence on the field. First, a servant of the Shen family followed suit, cutting off his queue and raising it high while shouting.

Then it was the tenant farmers, vagrants, and young men who followed suit, and even several yamen runners cut off their queues.

Those who refused to cut off their queues became the first blood to succumb to Shen Hongwen's defection.

Shen Hongwen quickly took control of the entire section of the city wall, and then led his group of young and strong servants to attack the main city wall of Ying'en Gate.

As he ran, he shouted loudly, "The Han traitors have entered the city! Jiujiang has fallen!"

Many of the constables, who were not willing to fight to the death, took advantage of the chaos to flee when they saw someone rebelling. Without the constables to suppress them, the able-bodied men had no idea what was happening. They only heard shouts rising and falling, and they really thought that the Han army had breached the city. They threw down their weapons and ran away.

"Don't run! Don't panic! The Han traitors haven't attacked the city yet!"

"Personnel unit, suppress the situation immediately!"

In his haste, Fu Hongchang could only send out all 400 of his personal guards, but it was still to no avail.

The prefect's personal guards had ample pay and were doing their best.

But the rout had already begun, and even 800 men couldn't hold it back, let alone 400 personal guards.

At this moment, the Han army outside the city had not even launched a full-scale attack on the city, and the laborers and instructors were still working hard to fill the river.

(End of this chapter)