There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 457 Spy Seizes the City (National Day Holiday Ends)

Jinxiang.

Jinxiang County is located on the south bank of the He River and has a very long history.

As early as the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Jinxiang County was established here. After several dynasties, it changed hands several times, and in the forty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, it was finally placed under the jurisdiction of Jining.

As a strategically important frontline location, Jinxiang County naturally had a battalion of Qing troops stationed there for defense. However, with Yinghe's troop buildup, all the available soldiers in the county had been withdrawn.

In Jinxiang County today, there is not a single soldier left who can fight.

Wang Ying, the magistrate of Jinxiang County, was a tough guy. He did not surrender upon hearing the news. Instead, he urgently summoned his yamen runners to climb the city wall and personally took charge of the city tower. In the end, he managed to stabilize the people's hearts.

An inconspicuous house in the city.

"Old Li, how about it? When are we going to make our move?" an old man with a face full of wrinkles asked with a smile.

Another middle-aged man, dressed in coarse cloth and with a calm expression, said, "It will be in the next two days!"

Another young man frowned and said, "The magistrate of Jinxiang County, Magistrate Wang, has already set up the city wall defenses. What if we launch a sudden attack now and fail to capture the city wall? Should we wait until the imperial army arrives, and then coordinate an attack from within and without to seize the city?"

The middle-aged man sneered, "Once the imperial army arrives, they will definitely be able to take Jinxiang County, but our intelligence division will be much less useful. Moreover, when the imperial army comes, it will be a major siege, a complete waste of time. Jinxiang County seems to have solid defenses now, but those used to solidify the defenses are just the three shifts of yamen runners in the county government. Yamen runners are fine for bullying the common people on ordinary days, but for defending the city? Heh!"

The old man with wrinkles agreed, saying, "Old Li is right. Don't be fooled by those fierce-looking yamen runners. We've seen them before; they're experts at bullying the common people, but when it comes to fighting, they're all trash. Besides, the imperial army has already marched north, and there's the rebel army that Director Chen and his men have recruited in the west causing trouble. Jinxiang County is in dire need of chaos. As long as we launch a sudden attack, that Tartar dog magistrate surnamed Wang won't be able to stop us!"

The Great Han Intelligence Bureau had deployed many spies in the north, mostly in Shandong and Henan provinces, and fewer in Zhili province.

Shanxi just sent people north this year, they should be arriving at their destination soon.

These three men from Jinxiang County were all spies who had arrived last year. Their job was to gather intelligence and act as a relay station connecting the North and South for the Northern Intelligence Bureau.

As a result, upon hearing that the Han army had marched north, he actually thought of imitating Chen Xingye of the neighboring Caozhou Prefecture and wanted to help the Han army take Jinxiang County ahead of schedule.

Seeing that both of them had made up their minds, the young man decided to do the same: "In the past six months, I have made many friends in the county and identified forty-eight scholars who are dissatisfied with the puppet Qing dynasty. They all come from good families or have connections in the government."

The young man was the first to speak up, and the old man with wrinkles followed suit: "I've joined the third largest cattle and horse guild in the county. If we start an uprising, they can bolster our morale, and I can even persuade the guild leader to lead the charge for us."

Both of them had people they could use. The middle-aged man was very pleased and added, "I can't muster many people here, but I have a few acquaintances in the strongmen and fastmen in the yamen."

"Okay, let's do it!"

"Dry!"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

The three made a hasty decision, and then immediately dispersed to secretly contact their respective "people" in preparation for an uprising to seize the city.

Two days later.

On the city tower, Wang Ying, the magistrate of Jinxiang County, was wrapped tightly in his clothes and drinking hot soup from his bowl.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the city gate, caused by the yamen runners.

Wang Ying grew impatient and, after tightening her collar, went out to investigate herself: "What's going on? Why are you making such a racket?"

"Sir, someone has posted this on the city wall!"

The constables looked at each other in bewilderment, then handed over a large-character poster.

Wang Ying took the poster, glanced at it twice, and immediately rebuked it, saying, "This is utter nonsense!"

The report was written entirely in plain, easy-to-understand language, with only one main point: stop serving the Manchu Tartars.

Serving the Tartars not only means your own death, but it may also bring ruin to your family, causing them to lose their parents, brothers, and children.

Even if they risked their lives for the Tartars and helped them preserve their empire, these Han Chinese commoners who died in battle received no benefit whatsoever. In the end, their wives and children were humiliated and starved to death, and all their land was seized by the Tartars.

Even the compensation for those who died in battle... no, these Han commoners were just expendable material in the eyes of the Tartars, so where would they get compensation?

That's not all. The text then goes on to explain the strength of the Han army, stating that even the Manchu government troops couldn't defeat them, let alone these lowly yamen runners. It was like throwing an egg against a rock.

If they simply surrendered and submitted to the Han Dynasty, they would not only avoid serving the Manchus for nothing, but they could also share land with their parents, wives, and children. All previous taxes and loans would be waived, and they wouldn't even have to pay taxes for the first year. Subsequent taxes would also be lower than those collected by the Manchus.

In short, following the Tartars is always bad, while joining the Han is always good. This whole big-character poster, though short, is full of veiled criticism!

After reading it, Wang Ying first rebuked the poster for spreading rumors, and then immediately ordered all the posters to be confiscated.

However, they were ultimately a step too late; there were simply too many of these big-character posters. Although most of the yamen runners were illiterate, there were a few literate ones who took the posters and read them aloud to the others.

After reading through them, almost half of the yamen runners were moved by what was said in the big-character posters.

The other half weren't interested, but they also had strange expressions, and it was unclear what they were thinking.

Wang Ying felt a chill run down his spine, but he forced himself to remain calm and said to his attendants, "These posters and rumors must have been deliberately spread by someone to disrupt morale. Help me down from the city wall first; I need to return to the yamen and thoroughly investigate who is behind these rumors!"

"Yes, sir!"

The attendants reacted quickly, instantly understanding Wang Ying's meaning, and then tried to help Wang Ying prepare to leave the city.

The two had just stepped out of the city gate tower and had not yet stepped onto the stairs leading down to the city.

Suddenly, a constable rushed in, shouting, "Sir, it's terrible! The rebels are attacking! The rebels are attacking!"

"..."

After several heavy gasps for breath, Wang Ying didn't think twice, grabbed his official robe, and fled down the city walls.

He lost his grip on one of the attendants and was thrown to the ground.

"Hey!"

While the constables were still in a daze, it was the middle-aged spy's acquaintance who suddenly shouted, "Oh no! The rebels are attacking! The lord is trying to escape! Quickly, capture the lord and hand him over to the rebels... no, to the Han army for a reward!"

"Yes, yes, grab the adults!"

"Sir, don't run!"

"..."

Almost all the constables from the three shifts near the city wall rushed down the stairs to capture Wang Ying, who was trying to escape alone.

Hearing the commotion behind her, Wang Ying wished her parents could give her two more legs. She even lost one of her official boots while running so fast.

He had already taken off his official robes to avoid being recognized, and his official hat was nowhere to be found.

Looking back into the city, three burly spies had just rallied the cattle and horse handlers, gentry, and servants to launch an uprising.

When they arrived at the city wall shouting battle cries and wielding crude clubs, knives, and spears, there were only a few people left on the wall.

Upon questioning, the middle-aged spy learned that the county magistrate had fled, and the constables had all gone to arrest him.

For a moment, everyone was speechless.

They thought it would take some effort, at least a fierce battle, to capture the city.

As a result, a few provocative big-character posters were enough to resolve the issue of Jinxiang County.

Unfortunately, they overestimated the stability of the Qing Dynasty's rule. The Qing Dynasty was already in decline, and its decline was still visible. In addition, in order to wage war, the Qing Dynasty levied exorbitant taxes and levies in various provinces and regions, and officials, gentry, and common people had long wanted to rebel.

The so-called big-character posters were nothing more than giving them an excuse to rebel.

Yinghe then transferred the troops stationed in various prefectures and counties of Shandong to Jinan, preparing to gather superior forces to fight a decisive battle against the Han army, thus eliminating their worries about the rear during the rebellion.

So why don't they rebel?
Good heavens, Jinxiang County was taken over by just three people, and the city's defenses were seamlessly integrated.

Since there was no one available, the city's defenses were temporarily entrusted to the local gentry and merchants. They were also given a three-point agreement: they must not disturb the people before the Han army arrives, or they would bear the consequences.

As for the magistrate of Jinxiang County, he couldn't escape at all. All three shifts of yamen runners were mobilized, and he was found in less than a day.

The city gates were all sealed off; where could they escape to? Those yamen runners might not be good at fighting, but they were first-rate at finding people. As local strongmen, they certainly knew better than the county magistrate, an outsider, where people could hide.

(End of this chapter)