There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 372 The Two Yangs Gather
Guangzhou.

While the Han dynasty was still planning in Nanjing to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne, things were far from easy in Guangzhou.

The newly appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Hutuli, is almost driven mad.

Hutuli never imagined he would be so unlucky. Less than a year after taking office, he encountered the Heaven and Earth Society's rebellion and besieged Guangzhou.

Then, before they could even deal with the rebels from the Heaven and Earth Society, the puppet Han forces entrenched in Jiangxi in the north launched a large-scale southward offensive.

They joined forces with the Heaven and Earth Society rebels and attacked Guangzhou.

They then split their forces and headed east, blocking Chaozhou.

Guangzhou is now truly an isolated city; reinforcements are out of the question.

If it weren't for Yang Yuchun, Guangzhou would probably be finished by now.

Due to the shifts in the historical timeline, the sudden rise of the Han army brought about a dramatic butterfly effect. This resulted in heavy casualties among the local Green Standard Army and generals on the Qing side. Many Qing generals who should have shone brightly during the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion were either killed by the Han army or suffered defeats and were imprisoned and punished.

For example, Eledengbao, Mingliang, Ehui... and even Yang Fang, the foremost general of the late Qing Dynasty, who was also known as one of the "Two Yangs" alongside Yang Yuchun.

Yang Fang's surrender to the Han Dynasty had a very negative impact on Yang Yuchun.

There was no other way; Yang Fang had initially joined Yang Yuchun's camp, and Yang Yuchun, with his discerning eye, recognized his talent and appointed him as a general.

Now that Yang Fang has become a thief, even if he has already parted ways with Yang Yuchun, he is still a thief.

As his mentor who recommended and promoted him, Yang Yuchun is certainly to blame. Even Fukang'an, who initially mentored them, was mentioned by Emperor Jiaqing when he was purging Heshen and the Fucha family.

It wasn't as severe as exhuming and whipping the corpse, but it still involved stripping the deceased of their title and imposing various penalties and fines on their descendants.

Yang Yuchun was originally going to be punished, but the former Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ji Qing, knew his ability to suppress bandits, so he did his best to vouch for him.

Yang Yuchun was grateful and devoted himself to fighting the Green Standard Army in Guangdong against the rebel army that had marched south, and also against the Yao people of Liannan.

By now, Ji Qing has been dismissed, and the court has appointed a new governor-general to take over.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army continued to bombard the walls of Guangzhou with artillery fire, while Chen Younian was in charge of the central command of the Guangdong-Eastern Allied Forces.

The Guangdong-Eastern Allied Army consisted mainly of 4,000 Han soldiers, several thousand Yao soldiers from the Eight Yao tribes, and tens of thousands of righteous soldiers from the Heaven and Earth Society.

Although the Heaven and Earth Society had the largest number of troops, their combat strength was also the weakest. Moreover, the Han army and the Eight Yao tribes were one entity, so even if the Heaven and Earth Society was unwilling, they had to obediently give up command.

The Allied forces have been besieging Guangzhou for more than half a month, and have only filled in a few sections of the moat.

"Damn it, how come this little Guangzhou is so hard to conquer?" Chen Younian held up his binoculars, looking at the city of Guangzhou, which was managed like an iron barrel, and was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

After a two-week siege, Chen Younian, who initially underestimated the Qing army, has gradually become worn down and has lost his temper.

Despite having a clear advantage in troop strength and besieging the isolated city of Guangzhou, he managed to fight the Qing army in Guangzhou to a standstill.

The Qing troops in Guangzhou were not on the same level as the Qing troops the Han army had encountered before.

If it were an ordinary Qing army, their morale would probably have collapsed by now, and they would be preparing to surrender.

In reality, the Qing army resisted fiercely in Guangzhou. Chen Younian launched several surprise attacks, but each time he was almost pushed back.

Who exactly were these Qing soldiers?
Their fighting power is too strong!

Are these really Qing soldiers?

Not to mention Chen Younian was dumbfounded, Yang Yuchun, who was actually defending the city, was even more dumbfounded than him.

Previously, Yang Yuchun thought that the Han army was just an ordinary rebel, and that the Green Standard Army in the local areas was too corrupt, which was why a group of ordinary rebels had successively conquered such a large area.

If I were in charge of the area, we would never have been defeated so quickly. These were just local rebels; they could have been wiped out with a snap of the fingers.

Yang Yuchun certainly had that confidence, having never been defeated since his debut. While Yang Yuchun was still alive, Yang Fang, though gradually growing in prominence, still remained second only to Yang Yuchun.

To put it bluntly, Yang Yuchun was the number one general in the mid-period of the puppet Qing dynasty, a true tactical mastermind who surpassed all other puppet Qing generals.

It wasn't until Yang Yuchun passed away that Yang Fang began to become, like Sun Chuanting of the Ming Dynasty, the last pillar of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty.

In the years since the Han army rose up, it has defeated its opponents too weakly. In addition, the quality and combat power of the Han army's soldiers are too strong, so it has been almost a crushing battle, and there is no need for any tactical micromanagement.

Now, Chen Younian, leading his proud Han soldiers, has run headlong into Yang Yuchun, a tactical mastermind and the top general of the puppet Qing dynasty.

Even if they didn't completely mess things up, they were thoroughly worn down by the impenetrable defenses of Guangzhou.

“General Chen, the Qing general who guards Guangzhou, looks a lot like ‘Yang the Killer’ who fought against us Bapai Yao before,” Deng Tianxiang, the leader of the Bapai Yao’s troops, suddenly said.

Chen Younian asked in confusion, "Yang the God of Slaughter?"

Chen Zeshui, who was standing next to him, explained: "His name was something like Yang Yuchun. He was also a Han Chinese, but he was quite good at fighting. He was braver than all the young men in our Eighth Platoon and Twenty-Four Charges combined. I heard that he was even given the title of Baturu by the puppet Qing government."

Tang Chengyun quickly added, "I remember this. It seems to be called something like 'Jinyong Baturu.' The Han Chinese gentleman we invited to the village mentioned that it was something that the Eight Banners of the puppet Qing Dynasty would only use for exceptionally brave people."

"What bullshit Baturu! They're perfectly fine Han Chinese, why do they have to call themselves some bullshit Tartar Baturu?" Chen Younian was quite disdainful of this, but after his disdain, he had to admit that the other side was indeed quite good at fighting.

Of all the Qing generals I've encountered, this Yang Yuchun is the most formidable.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Younian summoned several righteous leaders from the Heaven and Earth Society's rebel army.

Seeing this group of Heaven and Earth Society rebels gave Chen Younian a great headache.

Although they were all brothers fighting against the Qing Dynasty, the military quality of this Heaven and Earth Society rebel army was too poor. They were called a rebel army, but they were no different from a bunch of bandits and rabble.

They were not even as strong as the bandits. Among the tens of thousands of rebels, there were dozens of commanders.

This made it difficult for Chen Younian to command. Fortunately, the discipline of these Heaven and Earth Society rebels seemed to be quite good, and they did not harass the people of Guangdong too much.

Of course, it's also possible that clan mentality is too strong in Guangdong. These rebels basically all have clan relatives in the local area, so who would dare to burn, kill, and loot in their own home? The Hakka people in Guangdong are mainly concentrated in the Chaozhou area, and they are quite powerful and very united. It's unlikely that the rebels would provoke the Hakka people and make enemies after their rebellion.

Chen Younian inquired about the situation in Guangzhou from these leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society. As the rebel army that arrived earlier than the Han army and the Yao people, they had a clearer understanding of the situation, but it was also more fragmented.

After repeated questioning and comparison, Chen Younian had a pretty good grasp of the situation in Guangzhou and was basically certain that the Qing army commander on the city wall should be Yang Yuchun.

Immediately afterwards, he sent a telegram back to Nanjing, informing him of the current battle situation in Guangdong Province and asking whether to send more troops to launch a strong attack on Guangzhou, or to prioritize taking the areas surrounding Guangzhou.

The reply from Nanjing came quickly; it was only three days later that a reply was sent to Chen Younian, who was far away in Guangdong.

Chen Younian glanced at it briefly, and his expression immediately turned strange and surprised: "Is Your Majesty appreciating talent again?" He shook his head, no longer caring about these trivial matters, and ordered, "Immediately arrange for someone to send the letter into Guangzhou City."

Soon a troop of cavalry rushed towards the city walls, shouting as they went, "Don't shoot arrows! We're here to deliver a message!"

"Shoot the arrows quickly!"

Yang Yuchun frowned slightly and immediately ordered the arrows to be fired.

On the contrary, Hu Tuli, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, who was also stationed on the city tower, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown when he heard that the rebel army outside had a message to deliver. He quickly raised his hand to stop them, saying, "General Yang, General Yang, don't shoot arrows yet. In war, envoys are not to be killed! Let's see what the other side has to say first."

Yang Yuchun frowned, but still ordered that no arrows be fired yet.

A basket was lowered down, and the cavalryman placed the wax-sealed letter into the basket.

The basket was hung on the city wall, and Hutuli personally took out the letter and went into the city tower to read it.

Yang Yuchun was also very curious, so he followed Hutuli into the city tower.

The letter was opened, and after reading only a few lines, both of them fell silent.

Because Guangdong is located in the southernmost part of China, and because the Han army launched attacks from both the north and south at almost the same time, and Cai Qian's pirate fleet blocked the Fujian navy of the puppet Qing, Guangdong was almost completely cut off from news from the north.

Therefore, up to this point, Guangdong is still unaware that Nanjing has fallen, and that most of the prefectures and counties in the Jiangnan region, except for Fujian, have fallen.

The letter sent by the Han army begins by discussing the progress of the war in the Han Dynasty this year.

Even Fujian, which had not yet fallen, was deliberately omitted in this letter, leading Hutuli and Yang Yuchun to mistakenly believe that Fujian had actually fallen as well.

Of course, even if it hadn't fallen, it would have been pretty much the same.

Almost the entire Jiangnan region fell, and even the most important city of Nanjing was lost. The southern half of the country under the puppet Qing dynasty had been completely lost.

How the hell are you going to fight like this?
Hutuli was already in tears, not only for the Qing Dynasty, but also for himself.

If he had held Guangzhou beforehand, he could have waited for the imperial court to send troops to its aid. Guangzhou, after all, was home to the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou, a vital source of foreign trade revenue for the Qing Dynasty and its only port for overseas trade after the Qing Dynasty closed itself off from the world.

But now, Jiangnan is gone, the Grand Canal has been cut off, and the imperial court is struggling to survive. How can it possibly have the resources to save itself?

Hutuli covered his face and wept bitterly: "Waaah, my Great Qing! How could this glorious Qing Dynasty have come to this?"

Yang Yuchun remained expressionless as he read the next page of the letter. The previous page stated that the Han Dynasty had conquered Jiangnan, while the next page contained a private letter from the King of Han to Yang Yuchun.

The private message was brief, consisting of only two sentences: "Surrender to our Han Dynasty and you will achieve great deeds. I would rather die than surrender and be infamous for eternity."

After reading the letter, Yang Yuchun clenched his fists tightly, as if struggling, but then relaxed them after a moment.

"Lord Hu!"

"Waaaaah... Hmm? What's wrong, General Yang?"

"Lord Hu, I already have a plan to repel the enemy."

"Oh? General Yang, what is your strategy for repelling the enemy? Tell me quickly. If you can truly repel the enemy, I will definitely recommend General Yang for merit and reward."

"This strategy to repel the enemy... is your head, Lord Hu."

"..."

"Mr. Yang..."

Pfft!

One swift and ruthless strike.

Hutuli, the newly appointed Manchu governor who had been in office for less than a year, was beheaded by Yang Yuchun before he could even react.

Hearing the commotion, the guards outside rushed in and saw a headless corpse lying on the ground, while Yang Yuchun held Hutuli's hideous dog head in his hand, his face covered in blood and grinning savagely.

Yang Yuchun sneered, "The Tartar governor is dead. Those who are willing to work with us can surrender and keep their lives. Those who are not can come and seek revenge on me, Old Yang."

These soldiers aren't fools. They're not just trying to avenge a newly arrived Tartar governor; this is Yang Yuchun!
A man even more ferocious than Yang Fang, Fukang'an described him as "unrestrained and decisive, whoever dared to oppose him would be defeated."

Such a fierce guy, let alone a one-on-one fight, even if all these personal guards joined forces, they might not be able to defeat him.

After only a moment's hesitation, the guards knelt down on one knee in unison: "We are willing to follow the General!"

Having recovered these personal guards, Yang Yuchun, without any hesitation, carried Hutuli's head and wandered around trying to persuade them to surrender.

As the top general of the puppet Qing dynasty, Yang Yuchun's military strategy and personal prestige were indeed strong enough that almost none of the soldiers guarding the city wall ran away; they were all willing to surrender with Yang Yuchun.

From Chen Younian delivering the message into Guangzhou to Yang Yuchun leading his army to open the city gates and surrender.

The whole thing took less than two hours.

Yang Yuchun subdued the Han Dynasty, and Nie Yu thus gathered together the two famous generals of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, the "Two Yangs".

This is not surprising. Although Yang Yuchun was a military officer, he joined the army on his own initiative, and his ultimate goal was to make meritorious contributions.

Seeing that the pseudo-Qing dynasty was on its last legs, the powerful Han dynasty extended an olive branch to him. Moreover, Yang Yuchun was very young, only forty years old this year, in the prime of his life.

Even a fool knows what to choose!
(End of this chapter)