There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 246 Both Counties Submerged
Midnight watch.

A side gate was secretly opened in De'an County, and more than two hundred elite soldiers were sneaked out from inside.

They were described as elite and fierce soldiers, but in reality they were just physically strong. They were among the first batch of villagers recruited by the county government, fed well every day, and had some strength and were willing to obey orders.

Chen Xu did not fully trust Chen Jincheng, and the local militia assigned to him were all his own "old soldiers." The local militia recruited by the Yimen Chen clan were still defending the city walls, and were led by other members of the Chen family.

Chen Jincheng didn't say much about it. He led more than two hundred elite local militiamen, with chopsticks in their mouths, and stealthily approached the Han army camp.

The Han army's camp was located next to Boyangchuan (Fuqianshui), and it was easily visible even at night.

As Chen Jincheng approached, he quickly racked his brains for a solution. He already felt that De'an County was doomed when the Han army brought over a thousand prisoners.

It's not that we can't hold out for long, but rather that we simply can't hold out at all.

Since that's the case, then let's follow his father's previous plan. If the government troops can hold out, then the Chen family will remain a righteous family. If the government troops can't hold out, then the Chen family can only protect the clan first.

Just as he was thinking this, the bugle suddenly sounded loudly in the Han army camp.

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

They've already been exposed before they even got close!
Chen Jincheng was somewhat taken aback, while his more than two hundred local militiamen were all in a panic.

Before they could react and escape, several Han troops marched out of their camp, with sentries outside providing cover for an ambush. More than two hundred De'an militiamen were quickly captured and taken prisoner.

Chen Jincheng quickly said, "I am from the Chen family of De'an Yimen. I have urgent military information to report to your general."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Han soldier responsible for binding him dared not delay and grabbed him to report to his superiors.

When Commander Wang heard about Chen Jincheng's identity, he didn't know what the Yimen Chen Clan was at first. It was only after the military instructor asked a few questions from the locals that he realized just how powerful the Yimen Chen Clan was.

When Commander Wang saw Chen Jincheng, he looked him up and down and asked, "You, a weak scholar, actually dare to lead troops out for a night raid?"

Chen Jincheng said, "A gentleman is as gentle and refined as jade. But a gentleman must also be proficient in the Six Arts. He cannot be a useless scholar. This is the teaching of the Chen family!"

Commander Wang remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. It wasn't that he was convinced, but rather that Chen Jincheng had touched on a blind spot in his knowledge.

There's nothing we can do, this guy is uneducated!
Commander Wang asked again, "So, you're planning to surrender to our Great Han? Our army's Mr. Zhang said that your so-called Yimen Chen family owns tens of thousands of acres of top-quality land in this area. Are you really willing to give it up?"

Chen Jincheng replied, "Land is just property, an external possession. Moreover, these are not the most important things. The most urgent matter is for the general to immediately send troops to seize the city. If we delay, it will be too late."

As he spoke, Chen Jincheng revealed to Commander Wang the entire original plan of the county magistrate for tonight.

Upon hearing this, Commander Wang was utterly speechless: "How did you come up with such a flawed plan? And how could your magistrate have agreed to it?"

Of course, it was full of loopholes, but let's put everything else aside for now. What struck him as the most absurd thing was that if these guys were planning a night raid to win a small victory and boost morale, had they even bothered to investigate where the Han army's provisions were stored?
Burning down the granary? Do you even know where the granary is?

Furthermore, they only brought two hundred soldiers with them. They really don't take the trenches they dug and the wooden palisade defenses they built during the more than half a month of siege seriously!

Chen Jincheng said anxiously, "Please send troops to seize the city as soon as possible, General. I have led the troops out of the city for some time now. If we do not see any movement soon, the magistrate of De'an County will definitely realize that something is wrong, and then it will be too late."

Commander Wang did not listen to only one side of the story. One must be cautious when marching and fighting. This guy is just a prisoner. No matter how famous he is, he cannot be completely trusted.

Seeing that the other party was still hesitant, seemingly unable to trust him, Chen Jincheng immediately said, "I know the general certainly cannot trust me, but I am willing to stay and serve as a hostage for the general. I am the son of the patriarch of the Chen clan of De'an, the future patriarch of the Chen clan, with a bright future ahead of me. I would never dare to deceive the general. If things really fail, the general can kill me to vent his anger. Moreover, De'an County has been besieged by the general for half a month, and the morale of the troops has already plummeted. Otherwise, the magistrate would not have agreed to my plan and allowed me to lead troops out of the city for a night raid."

Commander Wang was finally somewhat moved when he heard this, because De'an County was indeed on the verge of collapse. Even if he were ambushed, he could still escape unscathed. At worst, he could wait for the friendly forces from Jianchang County to arrive, and they were even willing to risk their lives.

"Your Chen family wants to surrender, is this all the arrangements you've made?" Commander Wang asked.

Chen Jincheng finally showed a look of joy and said, "Our Chen family has thousands of local militia in the city. These are all local militia composed of our Chen family members and servants. As long as the general can launch an attack on the city, they will immediately rise up in response and disrupt the situation on the city walls. Also, if the general can trust me, please set fire to the camp to create the illusion that we have succeeded. Perhaps this can trick the general into opening the city gates."

"Good!" Commander Wang laughed.

Since the decision has already been made, let's go all the way and make it a complete charade.

He immediately untied Chen Jincheng and replaced 200 local militia with 100 of his own Han soldiers, who also wore the enemy's plain clothes and short weapons. He then set fire to several riverside locations within the camp so that any fires that might get out of control could be extinguished in time.

This is also common sense for ancient armies setting up camp: setting up camp near a water source allows them to obtain water nearby, preventing the army from running out of water, and also allows them to extinguish fires nearby, preventing the camp from burning their supplies in dry weather.

In De'an County, after handing over his soldiers to Chen Jincheng, Chen Xu was restless and would come to the city wall every now and then to look out into the distance.

Unfortunately, it was too dark at night, and we couldn't see anything.

"Sir, there's a fire!" a soldier exclaimed.

Chen Xu quickly looked in the direction of the sound and indeed saw that the place that should have been the bandit camp during the day was now ablaze. The fire wasn't very strong, but it was enough.

"Excellent! Ziyuan has indeed lived up to the county's expectations." Chen Xu was overjoyed, even addressing Chen Jincheng by his courtesy name. The Han army camp suddenly caught fire at night, and the defenders on the city walls all assumed their night raid had succeeded, burning the bandits' granaries. Even if they hadn't burned them down, it would still be a huge blow to the bandits' morale.

The Han army camp caught fire, and within half an hour, an army of more than two hundred men fled in panic to the city wall.

Because it was dark, nothing could be seen at all. Chen Jincheng shouted, "Open the city gate! I am from the Yimen Chen clan. The county magistrate ordered me to launch a night raid outside the city. I have already burned the Han traitors' supplies. Let me into the city!"

The garrison did not recognize Chen Jincheng, but they knew of the Chen family of Yimen and the county magistrate, so they immediately went to report.

Before long, the city gates opened quickly, and Chen Xu hurriedly brought Chen Jincheng and the more than two hundred "warriors" back.

Chen Xu personally took Chen Jincheng's hand and said, "Ziyuan, you've worked hard! If De'an County can be defended in this battle, I will definitely write a letter to recommend Ziyuan for merit."

The magistrate said that he would petition for merit for Chen Jincheng, a scholar without any official rank, even if it might be of little use, but Chen Jincheng, a commoner, still had to pay his respects in gratitude.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!"

"Hehe, this is not a favor, it is what Ziyuan deserves."

"..."

While the two men were exchanging pleasantries, the more than two hundred local militiamen on the other side huddled together, unsure of what to do.

They were fine outside the city, but once inside, they were so nervous they were almost afraid to speak.

Others may not know, but they are unaware that the people around them are all bandits, and that they themselves were forced into banditry, with even their braids shaved off, so they can't see clearly in the dark.

"Hey, Xiao Wuzi, you're back now. Why are you still huddled here? I spotted you right away." A villager who seemed to know him well ran over and greeted him with a smile.

Snapped!
A slap came over and accidentally knocked off Xiao Wuzi's braid that was tucked behind his head.

The braid fell to the ground, revealing Xiao Wuzi's bald head.

The village militia hadn't actually noticed anything unusual yet, because the light was too dim and their attention wasn't entirely on the back of the person's head (the rat's tail was on the back of the head).

But Xiao Wuzi reacted to the provocation and suddenly drew his sword, slashing forward: "Kill!"

With a single, powerful strike, the village militiaman was caught completely off guard and fell to the ground.

The scene fell silent instantly; this was a mix of shouting and slashing.

Everyone was stunned, even Chen Xu was captivated.

Before Chen Xu could investigate what had happened, Chen Jincheng suddenly drew a short knife from his waist and stabbed it into the magistrate's chest.

Pfft!

"You scoundrel, how dare you..."

The county magistrate standing nearby was shocked. He was about to raise his hand to question him when Chen Jincheng slashed him down with his sword again.

Magistrate Gao was slashed to the ground, unable to speak.

Only then did the magistrate's personal guards come to their senses, and they all instinctively tried to kill the suddenly attacking Chen Jincheng.

But Chen Jincheng turned around and shouted, "The county magistrate and the county assistant are both dead, and the city of De'an is about to fall. My Chen family has already surrendered to the Han army. Now lay down your weapons and follow me to control the city gates. Not only will you live, but you won't have to serve in the army, and you can be given land to farm. Do you want to do it?"

This statement wasn't particularly persuasive, but when combined with the fact that over two hundred local militia members had fully mobilized, including more than one hundred Han soldiers, it became much more convincing.

The Qing troops around the city gate had been completely slaughtered and were powerless to resist.

The magistrate's personal guards were, in the end, just local militia and commoners. They were simply recruited by the magistrate first and had a few more days of good food. They were not so much expected to fight to the death for the magistrate.

The guards and local militia knelt down and shouted in unison, "We are willing to surrender with the Chen family!"

Having averted the crisis, Chen Jincheng immediately led his men to the city wall to retake the city. The Chen family militia, who had been secretly preparing, decisively turned against him when they saw their young clan leader make his move.

The local militia and garrison troops were completely caught off guard; they were either routed or simply joined the enemy.

The situation at the city walls quickly turned one-sided, with Chenjia's militia and the Han army, who had infiltrated the city, working together to open the city gates. The Han army, which had been waiting outside for a long time, swiftly launched a full-scale attack on the city, and De'an County fell.

"Welcome the heavenly army into the city!"

Commander Wang glanced around the city and said to Chen Jincheng, "Take your local militia and go into the city immediately to maintain order. Don't let anyone take advantage of the chaos to burn, kill, and loot."

(End of this chapter)