There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 270 Broken City
Several more days passed, and the Han cavalry came to the city almost every day, using loudspeakers to urge the city to surrender.

Fortunately, after the initial psychological warfare tactics were dispelled, Liu Ding urgently increased the soldiers' pay and resettlement allowances, and then provided them with extra food and drink every day. Every other day, he had the soldiers disperse and rotate shifts.

After all this back and forth, the morale of the troops was finally temporarily calmed down.

But this was only a temporary measure. The Han army was not bothered at all and came to the city every day to shout and persuade them to surrender.

Because those shouting were all cavalrymen, and they were wearing stab-proof vests and leather armor, they were completely unafraid of arrows and had high mobility.

Liu Ding had no way to deal with the Han cavalry, and could only try to win over the soldiers by frequently changing troop deployments and providing them with extra food and drink.

After several days of this, Liu Ding was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

On this day, Liu Ding was inspecting the situation on the city wall when he suddenly saw smoke rising from the city.

The merchants from Linjiang, who had been secretly discussing things late at night, were finally preparing to take action.

The merchants spared no expense, burning down several large houses in one fell swoop.

The simultaneous fires in so many mansions were bound to arouse suspicion. But suspicion was useless; the fires were too large, and the people were already in chaos.

Faced with the raging fire in the city and the chaos among the people, the government officials had completely lost their composure.

Zhou Zongli, who led the arson, seized the opportunity to gather his servants and men, saying, "Your master is going to join the Han army and surrender Linjiang Prefecture to the Han. You are all my servants and men, and you have all signed indentures. If I fail, you will not escape responsibility either, but if I succeed, all your indentures will be returned, and the Han will even give you land so that you can all live in peace."

After a series of threats and inducements, the servants and helpers looked at each other in bewilderment, still not understanding the specifics of the situation.

Fearing that retreat might lead to unforeseen complications, Zhou Zongli summoned his personal servant, who brought over the indenture and burned it all with a torch.

"The indentures have been burned. Now I'm just asking you one question: are you in or not? If you don't, we'll all die together. If you do, good days are ahead."

Having said all that, the servants and waiters no longer hesitated and followed Zhou Zongli.

Although Zhou Zongli was a wealthy merchant, he was unable to recruit soldiers. Zhang Chengji and Liu Dingke were both wary of the merchants of Linjiang Prefecture, as well as the powerful families and clans in the city.

The fact that he couldn't recruit soldiers didn't mean Zhou Zongli couldn't spend money to bribe those local warriors.

We're all just working for money, so it doesn't matter whose money we're paid.

Zhou Zongli did not ask the local militia to rebel against him directly. Instead, he gave them a sum of money and told them to just run away when necessary.

Zhou Zongli, along with his servants, quickly met up with the other merchants who had agreed to set fires and create chaos.

They had no weapons, only various sticks and torches, but their numbers were certainly enough.

If several merchants joined forces, they would have two or three hundred servants.

With so many people rushing towards the city wall, it was impossible to break through. But as they charged haphazardly, they shouted things like "The city has fallen!" and "There are Han traitors and spies in the city!"

Coupled with the sudden fire in the city, Linjiang Prefecture was thrown into chaos.

Liu Ding stood atop the city wall. He had already sensed something was wrong, but he was powerless to quell it. The Han army had launched an attack at this very moment; the fire was so intense that the thick smoke billowing from the city could not be contained.

Chen Younian was no longer a newcomer; he was a veteran of the Han army and knew that something major must have happened in Linjiang Prefecture. Even if nothing had happened, it was about time for him to launch an attack and test the waters.

The moat of Linjiang Prefecture has been almost completely filled in after half a month of hard work by the Han army and militia, and it can now accommodate a large army attacking the city.

"Boom boom boom!"

Before attacking the city, the Han army fired a few shots with their cannons.

Whether the shots hit or not doesn't matter; the important thing is to disperse the Qing army artillerymen on the city wall and prevent them from having a chance to fire.

After a round of bombardment by the Han army, the Qing artillerymen on the city wall of Linjiang fled in panic without firing a single shot.

"Personnel unit, suppress the situation immediately!"

Liu Ding immediately dispatched his personal guards, hoping to bring the artillerymen back.

However, this time the Han army's artillery was serious; it was no longer just firing in rotation to create pressure, but actually launching a full-scale siege.

Just as several Qing artillerymen were driven away and captured by Liu Ding's personal guards, another round of cannon fire came from below the city.

A shell hit the pillbox squarely, and Liu Ding's personal guards were unable to dodge in time; their heads were smashed open like watermelons by the shell.

Red and white splattered everywhere, and the gunners who had just run back were instantly terrified and scattered.

Now, even Liu Ding's personal guards dared not arrest anyone and fled with him.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army continued to bombard the enemy with artillery fire.

The soldiers guarding the city wall all lay prone behind the parapet, and no one dared to peek out.

Hundreds of Han soldiers pushed ladders and rushed towards Linjiang Prefecture.

when!
when!
when!
After hearing several sounds of iron hooks catching on the wall, the soldiers on the city wall finally realized what was happening and, in their anxiety, tried to push the ladders down.

But the two heavy iron hooks on top had already hooked the wall firmly in place, and even cutting with a knife was useless.

The Han soldiers below, with knives in their mouths, quickly climbed up the ladder.

Several Qing archers took the opportunity to fire arrows, but the Han soldiers who climbed the city wall were all wearing leather armor and double-layered stab-proof vests.

In addition, the Qing army archers were not professional archers; they were all temporarily recruited.

Therefore, their arrows caused almost no damage when they fell.

"Use logs! Use stones! Quickly boil the molten gold!" Liu Ding was still anxiously giving orders.

The defending soldiers, upon receiving orders, frantically threw stones and logs down the ladder. Caught off guard, several Han soldiers were hit and fell down the ladder. Meanwhile, the soldiers boiling the molten metal, their fire barely lit and the pot not yet hot, hurriedly poured the pot down on the Han soldiers as they climbed up.

Whoosh!
A large pot of yellow soup was poured in. The Han soldier who was first crawling on the ground thought it was a rock or a rolling log and tried to dodge it, but he was immediately drenched in it.

It's hot, but it's disgusting!

"Damn it!"

Enraged by the splashing, the Han soldiers roared and scrambled up the mountain in three quick steps.

The city walls of Linjiang Prefecture are actually not high, and are even a bit short. The shortest section is less than six meters high, and the highest section is only eight or nine meters high.

Because Linjiang Prefecture was a key waterway hub connecting the Gan River and the Yuan River, with numerous waterways and a thriving merchant fleet, it didn't really need tall city walls. In fact, building walls that were too high would have been detrimental to Linjiang Prefecture's status as a major commercial and industrial center.

The city walls of Linjiang Prefecture were too low, so even if Liu Ding, the General of Southern Jiangxi, was busy running around, he could not defend every aspect of the city. At most, he could only cover one or two city gates.

Linjiang Prefecture, however, had ten city gates, and the Han army launched a near-total offensive. This was both a test of the Qing army's defensive limits and an attempt to breach the city in a single battle.

The Han soldier, covered in yellow soup, was now wreaking havoc on the city wall.

The surrounding soldiers weren't entirely afraid of him; it was just that he stank so badly that he was practically pickled, making it impossible for them to get close.

Even if these garrison soldiers were just local militia, they would be driven away by the stench.

With this guy quickly establishing a foothold on the city wall, the situation opened up. Although the Han soldiers who followed dared not approach, they quickly formed battle formations, using this sworn brother as a shield, and thus rampaged through the city wall.

Wherever they went, the Qing troops either fled at the mere sight of them or were slaughtered and retreated in defeat.

After years of formal training, even in hand-to-hand combat, Han soldiers were not the kind of militia that could be easily outmaneuvered by villagers who had only trained for two or three months.

Moreover, the Qing army's armor and equipment were far inferior to those of the Han army. When the two swords clashed, the Qing army's sword would chip and break, while the Han army's sword would hardly be damaged.

Even when the blade finally managed to strike, it only managed to pierce the leather armor; the inner lining of the vest provided complete protection.

Unless the arm is slashed, these undefendable areas are almost always the site of a one-sided massacre.

"Don't retreat! Kill them! Kill the traitors!"

Liu Ding led his personal guards forward, intending to forcefully boost morale.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhh!"

Suddenly a volley of gunfire and crossbow bolts came at him.

Liu Ding was at the forefront and was immediately riddled with bullets from a rifled gun.

The guards following behind were either killed by rifled guns or impaled by crossbow bolts.

The Han army wasn't just made up of infantry; riflemen and crossbowmen also climbed ladders to scale the city walls.

Liu Ding's armor was too distinctive, as were his personal guards. Among so many Qing soldiers, only a few of you were wearing the same armor. If we don't attack you, who will we attack?
Liu Ding died in battle in a confused state. Without his command and control, the soldiers defending the city walls could no longer hold out and began to collapse and scatter in large numbers.

On the top floor of the Daguan Tower in the city, Zhang Chengji stood watching as fires broke out everywhere in the city, the people were in chaos, and the Han army was charging and fighting on the outer city walls. It was clear that the defending troops could not hold out and began to flee.

Beside him, Ye Hekan was already pale: "Commander, what... what should we do?"

He was the prefect of Linjiang. If the city of Linjiang fell, he would have no choice but to commit suicide to save his family.

Zhang Chengji appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was in complete turmoil.

He had a rough idea of ​​what was going on: Han traitors must have infiltrated the city and were taking the opportunity to set fire to it in an attempt to cooperate with the rebels and surrender the city.

Otherwise, how could they have seized the opportunity so perfectly? The moment the fire started in the city, the people began to riot, and then the Han traitors launched an attack on the city.

Zhang Chengji stared blankly for a long time before making a decision: "Immediately assemble all the soldiers and local militia in the city to defend the Daguan Tower and the Bell and Drum Tower. Then go and inform General Liu to abandon the city walls and retreat to defend the city!"

After several orders were issued, the officials of Linjiang Prefecture hurriedly ran down from the city wall.

However, they had only gone halfway when they heard shouts coming from the street, such as "The city has fallen!" and "The Han traitors' army has entered the city!"

These creatures, like startled birds, were terrified and scattered in all directions, unable to distinguish between the real and the fake.

Where to escape to?

Of course, he fled back to his private residence, packed his banknotes and valuables, and prepared to run away.

They completely forgot about assembling local militia and guarding the inner city.

In reality, even if they had gone, it would have been too late. The local militia left behind in the city were already in chaos and were scattering and fleeing.

They didn't want to fight in the first place, but the government forced them to join the army. In Linjiang Prefecture alone, 20,000 local militia were recruited. How many of them were forced into military service?

The key point is that even after joining the army, there was still not enough food. They only got to eat during training sessions; otherwise, they were often hungry, and there was no such thing as having enough to eat.

Merchants like Zhou Zongli were the final straw that broke the camel's back. They gave them money and let them run away without having to risk their lives.

Who wouldn't be happy about that?

Almost all of the more than 10,000 local militia, who were supposed to be the main force, deserted. The defenders of the city wall also lost their commander, Liu Ding, and were unable to withstand the fierce attack of the Han army. They suffered repeated defeats.

……

……

(This is so abstract!)

(End of this chapter)