There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 467 Beggar
(Good news, the all-Chinese team finally beat Faker; bad news, it was the bald guy's central army.)
Although only half of the Kaifeng city wall collapsed, the collapsed wall happened to press down, forming a slope that was not very steep.

In the Han army camp, Wei Xinrong, the commander-in-chief who had been observing the battlefield with a telescope, immediately issued the order: "Pass on my command, the entire army is to attack the city!"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

The bugle call for the general offensive sounded, and all 30,000 Han soldiers were mobilized.

"Kill the clear dog!"

"The great man is victorious!"

The continuous shouts boosted the morale of the army. Of the more than 30,000 Han soldiers, at least 20,000 were absolute new recruits.

This was the first time since they joined the army that they had ever been on the front lines, and it was the first time they had ever attacked a major provincial capital like Kaifeng.

Seeing that the Han army had launched a general offensive, the Qing troops defending Kaifeng City did not hesitate at all and all scattered and fled.

The Qing army was already outnumbered by the Han army. The Green Standard Army, which could barely be considered a regular army, had only a little over three thousand men. In the night raid a few days earlier, they had lost a thousand men. Their morale had long since collapsed.

As for the remaining recruited and trained troops, under Liu Yong's personal supervision, their pay and food rations were not significantly reduced.

However, these recruited militias had too short a training period, less than a month at most, and their combat effectiveness was even more worrying than that of the Green Standard Army. Moreover, their numbers were not much greater than those of the Green Standard Army, at most a little over 10,000.

More than 10,000 cannon fodder militia members and more than 2,000 Green Standard Army soldiers whose morale had collapsed made up 12,000 weak soldiers with questionable combat strength.

They went to fight 30,000 highly motivated and well-trained new recruits, including 10,000 veterans.

The winner and loser are already obvious.

"Don't leave! Don't leave! Come back and kill the traitors! Kill the traitors!" Liu Yong tried his best to stop the soldiers from fleeing, but it was no use. The fleeing Qing soldiers completely ignored Liu Yong, the governor.

It should be said that this was already giving Liu Yong a lot of face. Because Liu Yong gave them full pay and did not treat them too harshly, they were grateful and did not arrest Liu Yong to gain merit.

After shouting for a while, Liu Yong realized that he could not control the trend of the defensive line collapsing, so he simply stopped struggling and fled with the fleeing soldiers.

The governor led the escape, and the prefect of Kaifeng, the education commissioner of Henan, and even the magistrate of Xiangfu County, who had no say in the matter, all abandoned their troops and fled with their personal guards and attendants.

The already crumbling defenses on the Kaifeng city wall finally collapsed completely, with more and more soldiers running amok as flags and numbers were knocked down and trampled by the fleeing troops.

By the time the Han army reached the city walls, most of the defenders on the Kaifeng city walls had already fled.

The Han army entered Kaifeng City along the slope and spent some time controlling the city walls on both sides of the slope, as well as the two nearby city gates.

If they encountered any ignorant fleeing soldiers, they would fire a volley of rifled guns.

"Bang bang bang!"

The fleeing soldiers offered little resistance before being scattered by a single shot.

The disparity in combat strength between the two sides was too great, and coupled with the widespread chaos in the morale of the Qing army, so many of the routed soldiers didn't even remember that they could defect and surrender on the spot.

After the Han army entered the city, they first took control of each section of the city wall as quickly as possible, and then divided their troops to detour around the north gate, gathering all the ferries along the Yellow River and blocking the Qing army's routed soldiers from escaping across the Yellow River.

Attacked from both sides and surrounded, the routed soldiers had no way to retreat and most of them had no choice but to surrender when they saw the Han army.

Many local militias recruited soldiers and even volunteered to act as guides, helping the Han army capture the remaining Qing soldiers from other areas.

As locals of Kaifeng, no one knows better than them where the Tibetans are most suitable.

Meanwhile, Liu Yong, who had fled the city, saw that the north gate was blocked and the entire city was surrounded by the Han army, making it impossible for him to leave.

His personal guards had somehow gotten separated during the escape, so he decided to stop worrying about it and headed straight for a beggar's den in the city while taking off his official robes.

While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone.

Even in a prosperous metropolis like Kaifeng during the Qianlong era, there were still beggar burial grounds, and it was common for people to die there every now and then.

Liu Yong took off his official robe, leaving him only in his undergarments. If he entered the beggar's den like this, he would surely be found out.

Just then, I passed by a emaciated old beggar lying on the side of the road. I went up to check his breathing, and he was dead.

In the frigid autumn and winter in the north, beggars, especially old beggars, are most likely to freeze or starve to death.

Ignoring his nausea, Liu Yong quickly stripped off the old beggar's filthy, tattered clothes, smeared mud and ash on his body and face, and even untied his pigtail braid. Having successfully disguised himself, Liu Yong nearly vomited on the spot, but he forced himself to endure it and ran to the beggar's den to hide.

The beggar's den in Kaifeng has already sheltered many beggars and vagrants, all of whom fled there out of fear of war.

Although beggar slums are usually very lowly and inhabited by beggars and vagrants struggling to survive, they are actually safer than wealthy households during times of war or man-made disasters.

After all, which army, when it comes to massacring and looting, specifically targets beggar's burrows and slaughters indiscriminately? The disgusting stench inside would drive away even the soldiers.

Liu Yong hid in the beggar's den without attracting much attention from the other beggars. He casually found a spot to squat down and rest against the wall.

Liu Yong, who is over eighty years old this year, first defended the city for nearly a month under tense pressure, and then fled for his life with his old legs after the city fell. He also had to endure the filthy and smelly clothes of dead beggars. He was already exhausted and was only able to keep going by his will to survive.

Now that he was finally a little safe, he relaxed instantly and soon fell asleep against the wall.

The night passed.

The next day, Liu Yong got up very early.

This old servant is really healthy. At his advanced age, he was dressed so thinly and slept on the cold stone floor all night, yet he didn't catch a cold.

Liu Yong got up and looked at the sky. He realized it was just getting light and was preparing to take the opportunity to go out and see if he could find a chance to escape the city.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Suddenly, amidst the sound of orderly marching, many Han soldiers in red robes and armor entered the entrance of the Beggars' Cave.

"Mr. Liu, this is the beggar's den south of Kaifeng City," said Wang Jue, the magistrate of Xiangfu County, who was leading the way, in a fawning manner.

Liu Song, the instructor leading the Han army, nodded slightly, then took out a megaphone and stepped forward to shout: "Fellow villagers, don't be afraid. We are the army of the Han Dynasty, not the bandits and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty. We are here to help you, so that you no longer have to be beggars and live a life of uncertainty, where you could freeze or starve to death at any time."

After a few simple words, the beggars and vagrants in the beggar's burial ground didn't immediately believe him, but their initial fear was instantly calmed down.

As long as they're not here to kill them, that's fine. As for letting them live a good life and not have to continue begging, basically no one thinks that's really true.

Liu Song knew that words alone were not enough, so he added, "I know that my fellow villagers don't believe me, so let me tell you the truth. My name is Liu Song, and before I became this instructor, I was a beggar."

"Five years ago, I almost froze and starved to death in southern Shaanxi while fleeing famine. Later, I escaped to Hubei and joined the Han Army, where I was able to barely get enough to eat. Later still, because I knew a few words, I became a literary instructor in the army."

"We won't say anything grand or strange. If you believe in us or the Han people, you can go to the South Gate. There are several registration points there. As long as you register there within this month, you can officially become a resident."

“Once you officially settle down and have a household registration, as long as you are physically able, you are guaranteed at least three acres of land. Even if you are disabled, you can transfer to a nursing home if you register for household registration. The nursing home can provide you with food and clothing and help you with sewing and mending. It is definitely better than being a beggar.”

At this point, Liu Song paused deliberately before continuing, "Moreover, let me be honest with you all, even if what I'm saying is false, at most you'll just go back to your old ways. Those who are meant to be beggars will be beggars, and those who are meant to be vagrants will be vagrants. It can't get any worse than it is now, can it?"

If the previous words were all nice talk, then this last sentence really hit home for them. Even if everything Liu Song said was a lie, they were just beggars and vagrants, with nothing but their worthless lives, and had nothing to scheme for.

Even if I'm really cheated and don't get any land, I'll just continue being a beggar. It can't be worse than my current precarious existence, right?

Liu Song didn't even force these beggars in the slums; after he finished preaching to them, he would move on to the next place to preach.

There was absolutely no coercion throughout the entire process, which only deepened the doubts of the poor beggars.

Perhaps we should really go to the South Gate and take a look. If we could really get land, who would want to be a beggar?
It's important to know that beggar gangs have existed throughout history, and they are not benevolent entities. When beggars obtain money or valuables, they must hand them over to the gang's management (such as the gang leader or elders).

Many "leaders" and "elders" of the Kaifeng Beggars' Guild even achieved upward social mobility by expanding the number of members of the guild, transforming themselves from beggars into moderately wealthy individuals, and even buying property in the outer city of Kaifeng, getting married and having children.

Standing inside the beggar's den, Liu Yong completely scoffed at Liu Song's remarks outside. He, however, believed that the Han Dynasty could truly redeem the land for the people.

But are beggars considered ordinary people?
Throughout history, there have been very few monarchs who considered beggars as human beings, and he did not believe that the Han emperor was one of them.

To be precise, it's not that they don't believe it, but that they dare not believe it.

Even the Han emperor's compassion for the people was forcibly interpreted by him as a way to win people's hearts in his struggle for the world.

If even beggars could be treated the same and given land and household registration, that would be truly terrifying.

This means that, in terms of popular support, the Qing Dynasty had absolutely no chance of competing with the Han Dynasty for supremacy.

As a staunch lackey of the Han Eight Banners, Liu Yong could hardly imagine what he would do if the Qing Dynasty were to fall.
After a moment's thought, Liu Yong, with faltering steps, followed the large group of beggars, intending to first go to the South Gate to take a look.

(End of this chapter)