Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 643 No matter where you are, kill any Qing soldiers you see!
‘Buzz buzz~’

In the tributaries of Dongting Lake leading to the Yangtze River, the roar of engines is like thunder.

"Chase after them! We must not let the Qing demon escape!"

Several large airships, common in the waters of Guangdong and Guangxi, sped through the river branches at an incredible speed for this time of year, chasing after a few wooden boats that were fleeing ahead.

The people on the wooden boat rowed desperately, but they could only watch helplessly as the speedboat caught up.

The spotlights mounted on the speedboat locked onto the hull, and the fixed anti-aircraft machine gun sprayed bullets in a hail of bullets.

Everyone on board, whether on deck or hiding in the cabins, met the same fate in the face of the 14.5 caliber.

Even the thickest ship planks cannot stop large-caliber bullets.

The large airship gradually slowed down and approached. After throwing more than a dozen grenades onto it, they finally jumped aboard with their guns in hand.

Faced with this level of firepower, the ship was completely powerless to resist.

Before long, a faint roar could be heard from the ship.

They're just small fry~

'There were no dog envoys! Nor were there any butchers!'

After much struggle, the wooden boat, which had been hit by bullets and grenades, finally gave way and slowly sank into the water.

Before Dafei sped away, he threw several grenades into the water.

To ensure that, in the unlikely event that a Qing demon possesses extraordinary talent, it can hide underwater and hold its breath to survive.

A few grenades were thrown, and the shockwave killed them all.

The AFK machine roared again, and blinding spotlights swept across the surroundings.

The large airship continued its patrol and interception at a leisurely pace.

A short distance away, on a low-lying boat, Xiang Rong pressed Mu Zhang'a down with his hand, and they lay motionless on the boat.

Fortunately, they were far enough away that the searchlight only swept across the area and did not spot them.

"grown ups."

As the large airship gradually disappeared into the distance, Xiang Rong lowered his voice and whispered, "The long-haired man is gone. Let's continue our journey."

That's right, I personally experienced the fury of Lin Dao from Yueyang Tower.

These two Qing Dynasty escape champions, with their extremely keen sense of smell, realized that the Taiping Rebellion was coming with overwhelming force and could not be resisted, so they once again chose to abandon their allies and flee.

"How about..."

Mu Zhang'a was clearly frightened; these Taiping rebels were too brutal. "How about we take the land route, ride horses to Linxiang, and then travel overland to Wuchang Prefecture?"

"My lord!"

Xiang Rong instructed his trusted men on the boat to row, then turned back and said, "The Taiping rebels have already laid so many ambushes on the waterways, there must be even more on land."

"If we don't take the main road at night, who knows where we might run off to?"

"Stop talking, let's leave under the cover of night. Once we're in the Yangtze River, we'll be safe if we go straight downstream."

Xiang Rong didn't want to run away and become a deserter, especially since he was always playing heart-pounding games right under the noses of the Taiping Army, but he had no choice.

The Taiping army was too brutal.

Since the Taiping Rebellion began, the imperial court has fought against them many times. Except for the lucky success of the surprise attack on Xiangyin, the court was defeated every time.

Especially when a city is besieged, once it is besieged, no one can escape.

And they never leave anyone alive.

Who wouldn't be afraid?
Having already gained experience, Xiang Rong arranged for several of the accompanying boats to first explore the waterways near Chenglingji, where the flames had not yet been completely extinguished, and row towards the main river.

Unsurprisingly, Taiping soldiers ambushed almost every waterway.

They sailed their strange, fast-moving ships, chasing after any vessel attempting to enter the great river.

These strange ships are extremely fast; once discovered, they face certain death.

As dawn approached, the group finally found an extremely secluded and narrow waterway.

The great river is less than a mile ahead.

Just as they were about to escape, a searchlight shone from not far away on the shore, illuminating the small boat.

"This is a trap!?"

Xiang Rong, who had covered his eyes with his hands, instantly understood.

So many waterways are patrolled, but this one is the only one without.

Before, I was only focused on escaping, but now I realize that this was a trap deliberately set.

He reacted extremely quickly, covering his eyes and flipping over, falling from the boat into the water.

At this moment, the remaining people on the ship—the Imperial Commissioner Mu Zhang'a and his staff of Goshha, as well as Xiang Rong's trusted elite troops—were all caught off guard.

Despite the intense light, it continued to run around and shout.

The next moment, a barrage of gunfire erupted.

The next morning, Lin Dao, who had just returned from the time and space of Dream of the Red Chamber, received good news as soon as he came out.

"Have you captured Mu Zhang'a?"

"Good, very good! Excellent!"

Who is leading the team?

Li Kaifang, who led the ambush last night, hurriedly stepped forward to greet the leader, saying, "Commander Li Kaifang greets the leader!"

"Commander?" Lin Dao laughed loudly. "Guerrilla General Li Kaifang, I order you to lead your troops and take Mu Zhang'a to the outskirts of Yueyang City to be executed by slow slicing for the Qing demons in the city to see!"

"Leader!"

Inside Yueyang City, the situation was just as chaotic as it had been in Changsha before.

Upon learning that the imperial envoy had fled overnight, the morale of the garrison collapsed, and everyone began to curse loudly.

Among them, Jiang Zhongyuan's criticism was the harshest.

When they fled from Changsha, they even remembered to take him with them.

But this time, when they ran away, they abandoned him.

One can imagine the rage in Jiang Zhongyuan's heart.

Fortunately, not long after, the Taiping army outside the city tied the disheveled Mu Zhang'a to a stick and brought him over.

In front of all the guards, this imperial envoy, the chief Grand Councilor, endured the ordeal for more than two hours before finally passing away.

There was nothing he could do; he had been shot on the ship before.

He then fell into the water and drowned, only managing to survive for a little over two hours thanks to various medications. Lin Dao also felt sorry for him.

It only lasted for a little over two hours, which is far too short.

Even if I don't expect him to endure three days and three nights of being cut three thousand times, he should at least suffer torture for one day.

The tragic death of the imperial envoy greatly provoked the garrison in the city.

Some people couldn't take it and broke down, trying every possible way to escape.

But many more people choose madness when faced with dire circumstances.

"The Taiping rebels outside the city are all watching!"

The Qing soldiers, their eyes gleaming with ferocity, pushed many naked women onto the wall, laughing loudly, "These were all captured from Xiangyin, and we've already had our way with them!"

"You traitors, take a good look!"

"Hahahaha~"

He ripped off his prison uniform, laughing wildly as he roughly assaulted the weeping woman in his arms, intending to commit an immoral act.

When Zuo Zongtang arrived outside the city, his eyes were bloodshot and he burst into tears.

'boom! '

With a muffled thud, the Qing soldiers who were laughing wildly on the city wall suddenly had their skulls explode, like watermelons smashed by a heavy hammer.

'boom! boom! boom! ’

Lin Dao, with his arm outstretched and sniper rifle at the ready, continued to reap the lives of those arrogant Qing soldiers.

He was extremely experienced in shooting and could be said to never miss a shot.

After being hit by more than ten dog heads in succession, the frenzied Qing soldiers finally calmed down and retreated back inside the city walls.

"What are you howling about?!"

Lin Dao sheathed his gun, turned to Zuo Zongtang and scolded, "A real man should avenge his wrongs and kill them all. Why act like a little woman!"

Zuo Zongtang's crying gradually subsided. He stood up through gritted teeth, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Dao. "Chief, let's attack the city!"

"Ah."

"Quickly finish this battle and bring all the artillery up!"

The easily controlled mortar corps has now expanded to over a hundred pieces.

The training of artillerymen is also showing initial results.

Basically, just keep firing direct fire, practice makes perfect.

A large caravan of mules and horses struggled to drag more than ten extremely heavy 130mm cannons, pulling them along with the riders, before finally getting these heavy behemoths out of the city.

The Qing soldiers, who were peeking through the wall, became visibly agitated.

The long, large pipes outside the city gave one a sense of oppressive pressure, as if facing death head-on.

These are all old items that Lin Dao's friends found for him in the warehouse.

Although it's an older model, after careful maintenance and refurbishment, its power remains considerable.

In addition, there are rockets with fixed guide rails.

The rows and rows of them are enough to make one's scalp crawl.

Lin Dao didn't waste any words. After everyone was in place, he gave the orders decisively.

"Bomb the XX!"

More than a hundred cannons of various types, plus hundreds and thousands of rockets, fired with a deafening roar that even made Dongting Lake tremble!

The fierce firepower quickly destroyed the thick city walls that the Qing army had used as a shield.

A direct hit from a 130mm cannon would truly cause the earth to shake and houses to collapse.

The defenders hiding on the city wall were simply swallowed up by the collapsing wall.

Swarms of rockets and mortar shells rained down on the city.

This wasn't a random shot; the firing table had already been created using a terrain map generated by a drone and input into a computer, where specialized software was used to generate the firing table.

Government offices, barracks, official residences, county schools, government academies, the homes of wealthy merchants and gentry, warehouses, and other places were all clearly marked and subjected to firepower.

Lin Dao really didn't want to say a word to these vicious enemies.

Just kill them!
After firing a basic load of ammunition, the deafening roar finally began to dissipate.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder.

Lin Dao took off his headphones and instructed Zuo Zongtang, "Go, go into the city to take revenge."

Wearing steel helmets and bulletproof vests, and carrying muskets fitted with bayonets, the Taiping soldiers poured into the city in droves.

They received only one order from the military.

'Wherever you are, kill any Qing soldiers you see!'

The Qing troops here included, but were not limited to, officials, yamen runners, jailers, constables, and patrol inspectors.

However, in private, the generals of each unit warned their soldiers to capture high-ranking officials alive if they encountered them.

Especially He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan and others, killing them with a single shot would be too lenient for them.

The fighting within the city was fierce.

The Qing army was numerous and knew that the Taiping army did not want their prisoners, so many people were willing to fight to the death in desperation.

However, if you can't beat them, you can't beat them.

Arrows were fired at bulletproof vests and helmets fitted with ceramic composite plates, but to no avail.

The same applies to slashing with a knife and thrusting with a spear.

The only weapons that could have some effect were various artillery pieces and muskets, but their numbers were so small that the damage they caused was negligible.

The only time the defending troops inflicted large-scale casualties on the Taiping army was when they attacked the government office, and the desperate Qing troops ignited the gunpowder they had buried beforehand.

Apart from that, most of the resistance consisted of waves crashing against the embankment.

After the battle, some prisoners were still captured.

This included He Chun, Jiang Zhongyuan, and others who were injured in the attack.

Lin Dao didn't even look at them, but only gave instructions to Zuo Zongtang.

"Go and take revenge; they are yours now."

"Just tell me what kind of torture instruments you want."

(End of this chapter)