There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 319 Huizhou Taken
Upon learning of the Huizhou merchants' rebellion, Wang Zhi and Enming initially refused to believe it, but then immediately prepared to leave their seats and return to mobilize the Huizhou garrison to quell the rebellion.

However, just as they were about to leave the private room of the restaurant, they heard a commotion outside.

One of the attendants looked out of the restaurant through the window and was instantly terrified, collapsing to the ground.

Wang Zhi ran quickly to the window and saw that the area around the restaurant had been basically cleared out, and the street was in a mess.

Dressed in silk, Wang Xingyao was surrounded by a large number of oxen and horses wielding clubs and broadswords.

"Quick! Quick! The puppet Qing prefect and the provincial judge are both in this restaurant!"

Xu Jie, the magistrate of Shexian County, dressed in his official robes, personally led three shifts of yamen runners over.

Upon seeing this scene, Wang Zhi immediately understood that the magistrate of Shexian County had also joined the rebels. He was so angry that he cursed loudly, "Xu, you are an official of the imperial court, yet you rebel with merchants. How can you face the Qing Dynasty and the Emperor?"

No sooner had Wang Zhi uttered his curses than Xu Jie downstairs, instead of showing the remorse he had expected, excitedly pointed to the second floor and shouted, "That's the prefect of the puppet Qing dynasty, and next to him is the provincial inspector of the puppet Qing dynasty!"

"A reward of one hundred taels of silver will be given to anyone who captures the prefect alive!"

"Capture the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner alive, and you will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Wang Xingyao promptly offered the reward amount.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

"Capture the Prefect alive! Capture the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner alive!"

"One thousand taels! One thousand taels!"

The three shifts of yamen runners and hundreds of cattle and horses, howling, rushed into the restaurant.

Wang Zhi's expression suddenly changed. He no longer cared about whether he was being fair to the Qing Dynasty and turned to run away.

But can they escape?

The restaurant was only so big, and more and more thugs and hooligans were surrounding it, to the point that not even a fly could get out.

Wang Zhi, the prefect of Huizhou, and Enming, the provincial inspector of Anhui, were two high-ranking officials whose combined value exceeded one thousand taels of silver.

If they don't catch them, those thugs, constables, and yamen runners won't give up.

Wang Zhi and Enming tried to rush out of the private room, but before they could get out, they heard a "thump thump thump" of people coming upstairs, which sounded like quite a few people.

"Oh!"

The door to the next room was kicked open with a bang, followed by the screams of the women and the pleas of the men, accompanied by the lewd laughter of the thugs.

Seeing that they couldn't escape and couldn't jump out of the window, Wang Zhi and Enming had no choice but to hide under the table together.

Meanwhile, the clerks and attendants who brought the news all found places to hide.

But this is just a private room in a restaurant. The space is quite large, and there's probably almost no place to hide someone.

Even at that table, it was not only very crowded when Wang Zhi and Enming squeezed in, but it was also obvious at a glance that there were two people squatting underneath, and they were two high-ranking officials dressed in pseudo-Qing official robes.

"Oh!"

The door was kicked open, and the advisor's attendant, with nowhere to hide, was taken prisoner on the spot.

The constable who led the charge in breaking down the door spotted the two men still deceiving themselves under the table and, with a grin, ordered them dragged out.

A prefect of Huizhou, an inspector of Anhui, and a Manchu Eight Banners official were captured alive by a few constables.

When the thugs who came later saw that the person had been intercepted, they immediately rushed up to snatch him away.

Several constables immediately drew their swords. The thugs gripped their clubs tightly, and neither side would give way, almost leading to a fight.

Xu Jie and Wang Xingyao rushed up just in time: "No fighting allowed! Everyone who participates in surrounding the restaurant today, whether or not they catch anyone, will receive a reward. Anyone who dares to fight will get nothing!"

Thanks to Wang Xingyao's financial power, this clash over money was barely averted.

Wang Xingyao acted swiftly, immediately taking Wang Zhi and Enming to the military camp to persuade the Qing army of Huizhou to surrender.

Then, Hui merchants led a "righteous army" composed of their servants, accomplices, cattle, and horses to attack Jixi and Xiuning counties.

Both counties had inside agents of Huizhou merchants, and even the magistrate of Xiuning County had been bribed by Huizhou merchants with silver.

In a single day, the Huizhou prefecture city, Kuanxian, Xiuning, and Jixi—the entire prefecture and three counties—were seized by the Huizhou merchants in their rebellion, giving Chen Lin, the burly spy, a powerful demonstration of just how much influence the Huizhou merchants had.

Then, the rebellious "righteous army" quickly spiraled out of control.

These "righteous armies" were a mixed bag. In addition to the servants and guards of the Huizhou merchants, there were also thugs, ruffians, hooligans, and constables from the city. Basically, anyone that could be thought of was brought over by the Huizhou merchants, or they simply joined the "righteous army" on their own initiative in order to take advantage of the chaos.

In the early stages, the micro-business owners could control this chaotic "rebel army" with money, but once they had taken all the territory, the "rebel army" immediately went out of control and began burning, killing, raping, and looting everywhere.

Even in Huizhou Prefecture, the stronghold of Huizhou merchants, almost all the common people and gentry suffered.

Those gentry with some power were better off, as they could rely on their servants to protect their homes. But those gentry with less power simply had their doors broken down by the rebel thugs, who then committed murder, robbery, rape, and all sorts of atrocities.

On the city gate tower of Huizhou Prefecture, the bright red Han flag has already been hung.

Inside the city, however, "righteous troops" were taking advantage of the chaos to wreak havoc, commit rape, and plunder.

The common people did not understand the difference between the "righteous army" and the Han army. They only knew that these "righteous army" villains were in cahoots with the Han army. Therefore, even before the Han army arrived in Huizhou, the people of Huizhou were already full of resentment and anger towards the Han army.

Chen Lin saw this but could only remain outwardly calm while secretly sending a telegram to the Han army in Chizhou, requesting them to move south as soon as possible.

Before the Han army from Chizhou could march south, Wang Bing and Chen Anbang, who had escaped and broken through the siege of Chizhou, arrived first with two hundred personal cavalry.

Looking at the large Han flag hanging high on the city wall of Huizhou, both of them were bewildered. Had the Han army from Jiangxi marched north to attack?
Before they could figure out what was going on, the "righteous army" that had taken control of Weizhou Prefecture also discovered the Qing army outside the city.

Although the Huizhou "righteous army" was a mixed bag, it was confident in its large numbers, totaling at least several thousand men. It also had eight hundred Huizhou Qing soldiers who had already surrendered, while the Qing army outside the city numbered only about two hundred.

How the hell can a few thousand people fight against two hundred?
The gates of Huizhou were opened wide, and about two thousand “righteous soldiers” rushed out of the city, shouting and charging at Wang Bing and Chen Anbang’s two hundred cavalrymen.

The two men were immediately terrified, and the two hundred cavalrymen they had brought were also frightened.

Although these "righteous troops" who broke out of the city were generally unarmed and looked like a rabble, they could not withstand the great intimidation of the large Han flag on the city wall.

Wang Bing and Chen Anbang dared not engage in battle at all, and even struggled to maintain their basic formation.

The two armies clashed, and the two hundred cavalrymen were almost immediately routed.

These standard cavalrymen who followed their own military commanders and generals in their breakout attempt finally couldn't hold on any longer.

As subordinates of the standard battalion, they watched helplessly as their masters suffered defeat after defeat and retreated again and again.

The earliest instance was last year, when they followed the governor from their hometown of Jiangsu to Jiangxi to quell a rebellion and fight.

Unexpectedly, the rebels were so powerful that they suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Jiangxi. The governor was killed in battle, and the army was wiped out. Only two thousand of their own troops survived by sheer luck and followed General Wang and General Chen all the way north to escape to Chizhou.

After that, they suffered another defeat in the Battle of Chizhou, losing 90% of their 2,000-strong battalion, leaving only 200 cavalrymen who were able to successfully break through the enemy lines.

Now, after two days and nights of relentless marching, they finally reached Huizhou Prefecture, only to find that the city had already fallen to the rebels. The morale of the two hundred cavalry battalions had completely collapsed.

They either scattered and fled in cries, or simply rushed into the "rebel army" as if they had lost their minds, only to be completely overwhelmed by the "rebel army" without even a splash.

Wang Bing and Chen Anbang had only a dozen or so loyal riders left to protect them. "Run!"

Wang Bing made a quick decision and led more than ten riders to flee north.

Chen Anbang, who was behind, quickly spurred his horse to follow.

They couldn't go to Zhejiang, and they couldn't even go to Ningguo Prefecture. They suffered a series of defeats, lost all their troops, and didn't even get any money.

The "righteous army" dispatched more than a hundred men to pursue the enemy. After chasing for more than an hour, they found the carcasses of dozens of warhorses abandoned on the banks of the Liangjie River.

"Scatter and keep an eye on them, they can't have gone far!" The leader was Wang Xingyao's servant, Wang Er.

He was conscientious and dutiful, and knowing Wang Xingyao's instructions, he basically did not participate in the burning, killing, raping and looting in Weizhou City. At most, he killed a few gentry and wealthy households who resisted and refused to surrender.

According to what Wang Xingyao told him, those "righteous army" scoundrels who burned, killed, raped, and looted would probably be purged as soon as the Han army arrived.

Wang Er led his righteous army of slaves, who had been freed from slavery, along the riverbank where the warhorse carcasses had been found, searching for clues in the surrounding area.

As soon as they reached a village on the riverbank, several villagers rushed over with pitchforks.

Wang Er hurriedly shouted, "We are not government soldiers, we are the righteous army of Weizhou Prefecture, fellow villagers, please don't misunderstand!"

The villagers from Yangcha stopped when they heard the shouts, and one of them came up to talk to Wang Er.

After a brief exchange, Wang Er understood the situation: the village had recently encountered Qing soldiers, about a dozen of whom had been defeated by them.

The Qing soldiers killed the village chief and attempted to plunder and rape, which enraged the villagers.

In the fierce conflict, the Qing soldiers left behind eight corpses, and more than 20 villagers were killed or injured. Almost every family wore mourning clothes.

When Wang Er entered the village, he saw that the corpses had already been collected, but the eight Qing soldiers' corpses were still lying exposed outside, and no one paid any attention to them.

Wang Er stepped forward to identify them one by one. One of the Qing soldiers was wearing armor that was clearly different from the others, so he should be an officer.

"Are you going to chase after them? I can take you there; I know the mountain roads to the north."

Just as Wang Erzheng was hesitating whether to continue the pursuit, a young village boy stood up, his eyes filled with intense hatred.

Huizhou Prefecture is separated from Huangshan in the northeast, and Chizhou Prefecture is separated from Jiuhua Mountain in the southeast. The intersection of the two mountains forms a natural boundary between the prefectures, creating Ningguo Prefecture (Xuancheng).

Those Qing soldiers who fled did not go through Jixi County, so they could only run towards Huangshan and try to cross Huangshan to reach Ningguo Prefecture.

At this moment, Wang Bing, with his only two remaining personal guards, was running along the mountain path, and they were getting close to Huangshan.

"Snapped!"

Wang Bing turned pale and suddenly collapsed to the ground.

He never expected that he would be defeated by a bunch of lowly peasants. Just half an hour ago, he and Chen Anbang killed their exhausted warhorse and then found a village along the river, intending to go in and rob some food before leaving.

result……

Among the eight Qing soldiers who died was Chen Anbang, the garrison commander of Langshan Town.

A dignified second-rank military officer of the Qing Dynasty died a miserable death in a small village in Huizhou Prefecture, killed by the villagers.

No matter how high one's official rank, one is still made of flesh and blood. And since one is made of flesh and blood, one can still die if killed.

Wang Bing wanted to rest for a while before running again, but less than a quarter of an hour after he stopped, he heard rustling sounds coming from down the mountain.

"The road ahead is the only way to cross Huangshan Mountain. Those Qing soldiers who escaped must be here too."

The sound wasn't very loud, but it seemed unusually out of place in this desolate wilderness.

Wang Bing was terrified and immediately got up to run away.

He had just gotten up when he made a huge commotion, knocking down a lot of rocks, which was immediately noticed by Wang Er and the others below the mountain.

"Hurry up the mountain, Qing Gou is on the mountain!"

After a few words were shouted, Wang Bing's two personal guards were so frightened that they scattered and fled, no longer caring about Wang Bing, the military commander.

Wang Bing scrambled and crawled, heading straight up the mountain.

The villagers, acting as guides, led Wang Er and his group in pursuit from the foot of the mountain.

Both the chase and the escape took place along mountain paths.

Wang Bing ran aimlessly, traversing mountain paths overgrown with weeds. To run faster, he had long since taken off his cotton armor, and his clothes were torn to shreds by tree branches, making him look like a beggar.

The village guides at the foot of the mountain were clearly quite familiar with the mountain paths, leading Wang Er and his group along shortcuts that were free of weeds.

Wang Bing looked at Wang Er's pursuers, whom he could now vaguely see behind him, and his heart suddenly raced with anxiety. He lost his footing and fell flat on his face, knocking out his front teeth. His mouth was full of blood, but he didn't have time to cry out in pain. He tried to get up and run again.

"Oh!"

A rock was thrown, and Wang Bing's head was split open on the spot.

Wang Er, not wanting to be chased fast enough, seized the opportunity when Wang Bing fell and picked up a stone to throw at him.

The rock isn't big enough to kill anyone, but it can injure someone, causing them to fall to the ground in pain.

Wang Bing, who had just managed to get up despite the pain, was hit on the forehead by a stone and fell down again instantly.

This time, he couldn't get up.

Because the village guide rushed up in three steps, straddled Wang Bing, and started punching and kicking him.

"Corrupt official! Corrupt official!"

"Why did you kill my grandfather? He already promised to give you food, why did you still kill him?"

Why did you kill him?!

Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Punch after punch, each one landing squarely.

When Wang Er and his men rushed up, Wang Bing had been beaten beyond recognition. They reached out and checked his breathing; he was still alive.

However, they take in little air and exhale a lot, so they won't live long.

Seeing the man's miserable state, before Wang Er could even speak, the village guide asked, "Are you the Han soldiers who killed the Qing dogs?"

Wang Er was stunned for a moment: "You also know about the Han army?"

The man nodded: "I've heard of them, but they're all infamous. But it doesn't matter. If you're the Han army, I'll follow you. The Qing government killed my grandfather and my sister, and I'll kill them to avenge them!"

Wang Er scratched his head: "I'm not a Han soldier, but I can introduce you. You led us to capture a high-ranking Qing official, and we won't take the credit from you. By the way, what's your name?"

"Chen Qinhu".

"Wow, what a great name!"

……

(End of this chapter)