There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 320 Killing

The Prince of Han's Mansion.

"As expected, you can't count on merchants to start a rebellion!" Nie Yu put down the telegram translation in his hand and rubbed his temples as he spoke.

Having already read the translated message, Liu Jun said, "We really didn't consider this carefully. We only thought that the Huizhou merchants could act as inside agents for our army, but we didn't expect that they would actually be able to capture Huizhou Prefecture."

Wang Ruoyu said, "The main force of the Qing army in Anhui was defeated by General Bai's Second Division. There were not many Qing soldiers in Huizhou Prefecture to begin with, and the Huizhou merchants suddenly launched an uprising. The Huizhou government was caught off guard and it is normal that it was taken over by the Huizhou merchants."

Lin Wenchang also said, "It's not surprising that the Huizhou merchants took over Huizhou Prefecture, but what we need to be wary of is the financial power they have displayed. Judging from the telegrams sent back from Anhui, the combined wealth of these Huizhou merchants is enough to mobilize an army of 200,000 in a short period of time, which is truly worrying!"

"Wealthy enough to rival a nation" used to be just an adjective, but today, these Han Chinese cabinet officials truly felt, through the telegrams sent back from Anhui, just how rich the Huizhou merchants really were.

Although the Huizhou merchants did not actually gather 200,000 people, they were able to gather 90% of the cattle and horses of Huizhou Prefecture in a single day, and at the same time bribe the county magistrate and his yamen runners, catching the Huizhou government off guard.

The saying "wealth can move mountains" perfectly describes these Huizhou merchants.

The wealth accumulated by these Huizhou merchants was probably comparable to that of the Han Dynasty's national treasury.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the Huizhou merchants were actually richer than the Han Dynasty's national treasury. No matter how wealthy a group of merchants were, they couldn't possibly be richer than the national treasury.

However, the Han Dynasty's national treasury was used for either construction or military purposes, leaving very little spare money.

"The wealth of Huizhou merchants is indeed a cause for concern."

Yao Hongyi said, "But the most urgent task is the problems of Huizhou Prefecture itself, which must be resolved as soon as possible. Huizhou merchants seized the prefecture by raiding cattle and horses, and the rebel army composed of these hooligans has terrible discipline. They are also burning, killing, raping and looting everywhere under the banner of our Great Han. The people of Huizhou hate the house because of the crows, and have already misunderstood our Great Han."

This is the crux of the matter, and also the core issue clearly stated in the telegram in Nie Yu's hand.

Chen Lin, the commander of the Great Han Intelligence Division of Huizhou Prefecture, was unable to restrain and control the rebel army. Even the Huizhou merchants, the organizers, could not control them. They could only watch helplessly as the rebel army grew rapidly and became out of control, almost like bandits and outlaws.

After a moment's thought, Nie Yu made a decision: "Jiangxi has been basically unified. The Fifth and Sixth Divisions do not need to remain stationed in Jiangxi. Send a telegram to Yang Fang, handing over Jiangxi to the Third Division for garrisoning. The Fifth and Sixth Divisions will head north to Huizhou to quickly suppress the mutinous troops there."

The phrase "chaotic soldiers" defined the rebel army in Huizhou Prefecture: they helped the Han army capture Huizhou Prefecture and indeed made a contribution to the city's capture.

After capturing the city, they began burning, killing, raping, and looting, committing all sorts of atrocities, completely treating Huizhou Prefecture as a good place to plunder and make a fortune.

The Han dynasty wanted Huizhou Prefecture City in a complete and largely undamaged state, not one that would be robbed and turned into a ghost town by these hooligans and thugs.

If that's the case, why don't the Han army just plunder it themselves instead of going to all the trouble of contacting Huizhou merchants to act as inside agents?

After Nie Yu finished speaking about mobilizing troops to suppress the rebellion, he added, "The Huizhou merchants have done a good job in capturing Huizhou Prefecture for our Han Dynasty. I can let bygones be bygones regarding the mutinous troops and the harm done to the people. However, the Huizhou merchants must be disbanded and can no longer identify themselves as the Huizhou merchant guild, nor can they continue to maintain the old network of relationships among the Huizhou merchants."

Using this as an excuse, they dismantled the Huizhou merchants.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers immediately understood the King of Han's intentions and shouted in unison.

……

Jiangxi.

Yang Fang received orders from Jingzhou and quickly handed over the defense of Nanchang to Chen Younian.

Then, he led his Fifth Division and the Sixth Division (an unofficial division), a total of 20,000 troops, across the Gan River via Poyang Lake, and then along the Chang River into Huizhou Prefecture.

When the magistrate of Qimen County, which was directly connected to Huizhou Prefecture via the Changjiang River, saw the Han army marching north, he was so frightened that he immediately surrendered.

Following the news, Yixian County, located north of Qimen County, also surrendered.

Yang Fang captured two counties in succession without stopping or resting, and rushed to Huizhou Prefecture City day and night.

In just one day, Yang Fang's army arrived in Huizhou.

Wang Xingye of Huizhou Prefecture City, although he had known the news in advance, was still caught off guard by Yang Fang's sudden arrival.

He could only hurriedly lead a group of Huizhou merchants out of the city to welcome them, and had his servants bring a lot of gold, silver, wine and meat as a gift to the troops.

"This humble subject pays respects to the General!"

Wang Xingye adopted a very humble posture; if Wang Xingyao hadn't explicitly stated that the Han people did not have a kneeling ceremony, he would have knelt down directly.

Yang Fang, all smiles, seemingly unaware of the situation in Huizhou Prefecture, stepped forward to help the other man, saying, "No need for formalities. You Huizhou merchants have rendered great service to our Han Dynasty, capturing Huizhou Prefecture. Does His Majesty wish for me to come to Huizhou to see for myself and whether this prefecture is as prosperous and flourishing as rumored?"

It sounded like a compliment, but Wang Xingye's expression suddenly changed.

Others may not know, but as the chief of the Huizhou merchants, he was also a cousin of Wang Xingyao.

Wang Xingyao had already warned him that the Han Dynasty definitely knew about the situation in Huizhou Prefecture, and it might even have reached the emperor's ears.

The King of Han loved his people like his own children. The foundation of the Han Dynasty lay in the common people, followed by merchants and landlords. Their rebel army's chaotic behavior had crossed the bottom line of the Han Dynasty.

Wang Xingyao's advice to Wang Xingye was to try to control the Wang family's servants and rebel army. If they couldn't be controlled, he should disband them and not get involved with them anymore.

Once the Han army arrives, these righteous armies that have committed evil deeds will surely be purged.

Now, Yang Fang's arrival immediately made Wang Xingye wary, as she acted as if she knew nothing.

Looking at Yang Fang's smile again, it's just chilling no matter how you look at it.

Just as Wang Xingye was about to speak, Wang Xingyao, who was standing next to him, reacted quickly and said, "The prosperity of Huizhou Prefecture is an exaggeration by outsiders and should not be taken seriously. Moreover, although we merchants have been fortunate enough to take over Huizhou, we are really not good at governing it. We can only wait for the royal army to arrive and take over this important task of governance!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xingye immediately understood that Wang Xingyao was implying that he should quickly relinquish power.

If he doesn't relinquish power soon, he might not be able to escape once the Han army starts its purge.

“That’s right,” Wang Xingye responded quickly, “We Huizhou merchants are just ordinary businessmen and really don’t know how to govern a prefecture. Now that the general has come here, we can finally put down our burdens. Please do not refuse and save the people of Huizhou Prefecture.”

They're not even pretending anymore; they're practically saying outright that Huizhou Prefecture has been utterly ruined by the rebel army they recruited themselves.

Yang Fang nodded without any politeness: "In that case, this general will accept the offer without hesitation."

Seeing that Yang Fang agreed, Wang Xingye breathed a sigh of relief, and then led Yang Fang into the city to host a banquet.

The Huizhou merchants offered gold, silver, wine, and meat, but Yang Fang only accepted the grain. He returned all the wine, silver, and gold, and even wrote a document for the grain, which was considered as the grain that the government had borrowed from the Huizhou merchants.

The military regulations and systems of the Han army were basically complete. An army is an army. As long as it does a good job of fighting, it doesn't need to worry about other things such as money and food.

Otherwise, if the Huizhou merchants voluntarily contribute money to support the army today and the Han army accepts it without any qualms, but if the local merchants and people do not contribute money to support the army when other regions are recovered tomorrow, will the Han army then have to take the initiative to demand it?
The emperor was far away and the heavens were high, so there were always places that the Han emperor could not govern.

If this continues, the morale of the army will inevitably deteriorate. Therefore, no loopholes should be opened. Even if the Hui merchants voluntarily contribute money, the Han army must draw up a written IOU.

Whether or not the promises are fulfilled is not important; clarifying the rules is more important. Two days later, Wang Xingye completed the transfer of power and immediately closed his doors to visitors upon returning to his residence.

That afternoon, the Han army launched a sudden attack, giving them no time to react, and swiftly cut through the chaos.

Huizhou Prefecture was a large city; the total number of cattle and horses transported there was at least eight or ten thousand, if not ten thousand.

With so many thugs and hooligans gathered together, they constitute a formidable force. If Bai Nan were to come, dealing with them would be quite troublesome.

Of course, this is just about solving problems, not about fighting a war.

In a war, even if we multiplied these thugs and hooligans tenfold, we still couldn't defeat Bai Nan's six thousand Han soldiers.

The Han army that Yang Fang brought consisted of two divisions, totaling about 18,000 men, plus 8,000 civilian laborers as his followers.

That adds up to a force of over 26,000, but less than 30,000. This large Han army force certainly wasn't just for suppressing the Huizhou rebellion, but it could also be used to quickly resolve the problem.

The entire Han army was mobilized, including a civilian labor battalion of 8,000 men, to enter Huizhou city and arrest people.

The cattle and horses were completely unaware of what was happening when the Han army captured them all without explanation. Only a few escaped, but not many escaped.

Because the city gates were already closed, the Han army secretly imposed a city curfew in order to arrest people. Even if they hid, they had no way to escape the city and could only be searched out by the Han army from house to house.

Some of the thugs and hooligans quickly realized something was wrong. Recalling the evil deeds they had committed before, they felt guilty and wanted to resist.

All the thugs and ruffians who resisted were killed on the spot by the Han army!

They slaughtered over a hundred scoundrels, and the remaining thugs finally surrendered obediently.

It took two days to arrest all the "righteous army" members who had participated in the uprising, and then they were brought together for a public trial.

On the third day of the arrest operation, at Caishikou in Huizhou Prefecture.

Yang Fang held a public trial here, and the people of Huizhou came to watch.

Many of them had been abused by the "righteous army," and upon seeing the "evil people" kneeling on the public trial ground, they were immediately filled with indignation, wishing they could rush up and tear them apart on the spot.

Without a word, Yang Fang immediately instructed Instructor Wen to announce the charges: "Second Master, real name Li Er, leader of the Black Tiger Gang in the west of the city, once led his gang members and thugs to rob and kill thirteen families in the city under the banner of the Great Han. The evidence is conclusive, no further trial is needed, he is sentenced to immediate execution!"

"Hei Biao, real name Xu Gou, leader of the Hei Yundi gang in the west of the city. He once led his gang of thugs to violate the banner of the Great Han, rape and humiliate innocent women, resulting in 38 deaths. The evidence is conclusive, and he is sentenced to immediate execution!"

"Wang Laohu, his real name is Wang Maodan..."

"..."

One by one, names were read out, and their crimes were also read out.

There are definitely more crimes than this, but there are too many other evil deeds. If we read them all out, we won't be able to finish them off today.

The instructor in charge of reading the order originally wanted to execute Yang Fang by shooting, but she opted for beheading instead.

Because people like to watch beheadings, and beheadings are more shocking and cruel than shootings.

In ancient times, when people were considered conservative, a death by dismemberment meant that even in death one would not find peace.

After the charges were read out one by one, the anger in the eyes of the onlookers was completely ignited, and they shouted "Kill them!" and "Chop them up!"

Some who lived nearby even wished that the executioner would use less force when beheading them, so that these villains who had committed countless evil deeds could suffer more torment.

The executioner could only pretend not to hear it.

It wasn't that they didn't want to agree, but they had already received advance notice that a lot of heads would be chopped off today, so they had to save their energy, which benefited these guys.

"cut!"

"Snap!"

Seeing that the emotions had been stirred up enough, Yang Fang threw out a token.

The executioner downed a bowl of strong liquor, sprayed it onto the executioner's blade, and then chopped it down on the executioner's head.

“Puff!”

With one slash, a head fell to the ground, and blood gushed out.

"it is good!"

The onlookers cheered loudly.

Some people bought several steamed buns from a vendor who carried them on a shoulder pole to sell. They dipped the buns in the blood on the spot to stain them red, intending to take them home to eat.

After the slaughter was finished, the bodies were dragged away, and the heads were put into baskets.

Then replace it with the next batch.

The next group, their faces filled with terror, their mouths stuffed with rags, desperately tried to stay, but were forcibly pushed forward by the Han soldiers and kicked to their knees.

"Liu Mazi, real name..."

They chopped off heads for a whole day, at least a hundred heads in total.

From gang leaders down to mid-level bosses, anyone involved in murder, rape, or robbery was killed if they could be.

Even the less guilty gang members were dragged up and publicly whipped with canes.

On the first day, they slaughtered the gangsters; on the second day, they slaughtered cattle and horses; on the third day, they slaughtered local thugs; on the fourth day, they slaughtered Qing soldiers; on the fifth day, they slaughtered household servants…

Over the course of a few days, heads rolled in.

They chopped off over a thousand heads and then punished and exiled several thousand more.

The thugs and ruffians in Huizhou Prefecture were almost completely eradicated.

Several other Huizhou merchants, who indulged their servants and even took advantage of the chaos to plunder and seize the property of other powerful families, were also punished by Yang Fang as well.

In just a few days, the Huizhou merchants had completely behaved themselves.

At first, they thought the big man was easy to fool and even tried to take advantage of the situation to make demands and pull him along. Now, they finally dared not underestimate him at all.

The Han army was truly ruthless when it came to killing people!

(End of this chapter)