Qing Yao

Chapter 315 The White Lotus is defeated!

Xuzhou, Xiao County.

Imperial bodyguard Ming Antai and Han official Xiao Jinglun from the Ministry of Personnel had been delayed here for two days. The two traveled south along the Grand Canal to Xuzhou. Originally, they were going to turn southwest through this place to deliver the imperial edict to Suzhou, since Zhao Youlu, who was temporarily acting as the Provincial Governor of Anhui, was in Suzhou.

Unexpectedly, the disaster victims from Suzhou said that there was a White Lotus Rebellion in Suzhou. So, not only was it impossible to safely go to Suzhou, but the "war preparedness" level in Xuzhou was also raised to the red line.

Xiao Jinglun was quite bold, demanding that Xiao County send troops to escort them to Suzhou, but Ming Antai was terrified and refused to risk going.

Local officials, fearing trouble, advised Ming'an Tai to take a detour and continue south along the Grand Canal to Huai'an, then westward to Sizhou to see how the situation developed. If the unrest in Suzhou was quelled, all the better; if not, they could at least reach Fengyang first. Although this was a roundabout route, it would undoubtedly be much safer.

Despite Xiao Jinglun's repeated insistence on going directly to Suzhou, Ming Antai, who was afraid of death, eventually adopted the local official's suggestion and went south to Huai'an.

As news of the White Lotus Rebellion in Suzhou spread, not only have various places in Huaibei raised their war preparedness levels, but even neighboring areas in northern Jiangsu have become tense.

Especially in states and counties adjacent to the canal.

The good news is that Anhui has not informed any "friendly provinces" of the situation. This indicates that although the White Lotus Rebellion has occurred, Anhui is capable of suppressing it. Otherwise, the urgent message from the Anhui governor would have already reached Jiangning and the capital.

Just as Zhao An guessed, the sudden outbreak of the White Lotus Rebellion energized Zhu Gui, who was already feeling frustrated, and he frantically mobilized troops into Sizhou. He even moved the governor's headquarters from Mengcheng to Luojiaji in southern Suzhou, which was less than a hundred miles away from Suzhou.

The governor's standard troops under Zhu Gui's command, along with the Green Standard Army who came from various parts of Huainan, frantically slaughtered the so-called "gathered" disaster victims. Although there were small groups of Nian rebels and White Lotus sect members among them, most of them were innocent disaster victims.

A Green Standard Army unit of less than four hundred men from Luzhou even killed more than four thousand disaster victims. The guerrilla leader proudly reported to the governor's office that all those killed were Christians and rioters.

Knowing that the guerrilla leader had killed innocent people and claimed credit for it, Zhu Gui still petitioned the court for him to do so, intending to encourage the Green Standard Army to be brave in "killing bandits" and to prove that he, Zhu Gui, had no connection with the White Lotus Sect.

Currently, the Qing army that has entered Suzhou consists of more than 700 troops from the Fu Biao garrison and more than 3,000 Green Standard Army troops stationed in Anqing, Ningguo and other places.

In order to wipe out the White Lotus rebels besieging Suzhou in one fell swoop, Zhu Gui ordered more than 2,000 Huainan Green Standard Army soldiers from Bozhou and its territory to advance eastward from Bozhou and southward along the Qia River, forming a pincer movement with the Qing army advancing northward from the south.

In addition to sending reports about the White Lotus Rebellion to the capital, Zhu Gui also truthfully reported the situation to the Governor-General of Liangjiang, but did not request the Governor-General's office to send reinforcements.

Zhao An conducted a pre-battle mobilization at Dadian Post Station, and led more than 800 people who volunteered to go with him to Suzhou to quell the rebellion, carrying dry food and weapons, and set off quickly.

Because they were impersonating White Lotus Sect reinforcements, all the officers and soldiers were in civilian clothes. Ye Zhigui, Qingyao and others were ordered to lead the team ahead. If they encountered Nianzi or White Lotus Sect scouts along the way, they were to deal with them using the sect's secret code.

The journey from Dadianyi to Suzhou was about 100 li. In order to seize the first merit before Zhu Gui made his move, Zhao An led his team to set off in the morning and was required to arrive in Suzhou by the early morning. This meant that all personnel were required to reach the "battlefield" at a speed of 100 li per day during a forced march.

Infantry could not march as fast as cavalry. The Eight Banners cavalry, being composed entirely of mules and horses, were highly mobile and could march about 100 li a day. During the Yongzheng era, the Eight Banners even set a record of marching 300 li a day in Qinghai, thus achieving the effect of surprise attack.

The average marching speed of infantry is only forty or fifty li. Zhao An led a "suicide squad" composed of Green Standard Army and Canal Gang members. Their physical fitness was better than that of the average Green Standard Army member. Even so, it was extremely difficult for them to march a hundred li a day.

Besides setting an example by himself and teaching these 800-plus people how to tie their leg wraps, Zhao An had no better way.

When they were less than 30 miles from Suzhou, the entire group had less than 500 people who could keep up.

The rest fell behind.

But here, Zhao An gained a fresh force, namely Xu Lin's troops who had been transferred from Chuzhou when he left Suzhou.

However, Xu Lin's force consisted of only 500 men. The other 500 men remained in Guzhen, southeast of Suzhou. This place was a necessary route from Fengyang to Suzhou and a transit point for transporting grain from Chuzhou and Fengyang to Suzhou.

Upon meeting Shaojun, Xu Lin complained bitterly, saying that Suzhou City treated their transport troops as White Lotus rebels and wouldn't let them into the city at all.

"If it weren't for you, sir, I would have taken my brothers back long ago!"

Xu Lin became angrier the more he thought about it.

"Alright, stop complaining later, let's focus on getting things done right now!"

Zhao An instructed Ren Chaoyang to tell Xu Lin the plan. Without saying a word, Xu Lin ordered his men to take off the uniforms with the character "Ding" on them, and they transformed into a "rabble".

After resting for a short while to replenish water and food, Zhao An ordered them to continue their journey.

Along the way, we encountered many disaster victims who had "escaped" from Suzhou, but we did not see any patrol teams from the White Lotus Sect. This shows that the White Lotus Sect was very loosely organized and that its leadership had low military skills, failing to even maintain basic vigilance.

It's also possible that the White Lotus sect focused its main efforts on the south and west, since there were far more Qing troops in those two directions than in the east.

For whatever reason, Zhao An and his group approached Suzhou City without incident. When they looked ahead from a hill, the campfire stretched as far as the eye could see, and they could vaguely see countless people gathered around the campfire, but there were not many tents.

Looking at the city wall of Suzhou, it is also covered with torches, as if it were embedded with countless LED lights.

"My lord, the White Lotus Sect members are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. They only know how to use disaster victims as cannon fodder. They don't dare to mess with anyone tough." Xu Lin said that when they were unable to enter the city and leave, the White Lotus Sect members just watched from afar and didn't dare to attack them at all.

They also said that the White Lotus Sect was useless, as they had been besieging Suzhou for several days but had not been able to take it.

Zhao An nodded and told everyone to prepare to sneak through the "decapitation" scene. To avoid accidentally injuring their own people in the ensuing fight, he also instructed them to tie the white towels they had prepared beforehand to their arms when they carried out the operation.

With everything ready, the group quietly left the hills and crept forward. Soon, someone spotted Zhao An and his group. However, these people were clearly starving refugees, lying weakly on the ground. No one asked Zhao An or his group where they came from or what they were doing.

Zhao An looked around, his mood somber. Among the disaster victims were the elderly and the young, men and women. If it weren't for the occasional cough, it would have looked like a pile of corpses.

The further you go, the more unpleasant the smell in the air becomes.

The stench of burning corpses was nauseating.

After walking three or four miles, all they saw were still lifeless disaster victims, and no one from the White Lotus Sect appeared. After walking another mile or so, they saw several tents ahead. Before Zhao An and his group could get to them, a group of men carrying knives suddenly emerged from the tents. Some of them were leading mules and horses, which were carrying either grain sacks or boxes.

Not far away, many people were approaching with torches, but due to the limited visibility from the campfire, their numbers were not immediately apparent.

The group of men with knives exchanged a few words outside the tent, and then a group of men approached Zhao An and his group. The leaders immediately noticed Zhao An and his party, and one of them brandished his knife and shouted warily, "Who goes there?"

"Maitreya is born, and the Wisdom King is born!"

It wasn't Qingyao who answered, but Ye Zhigui, who spoke with an Anhui accent, because Qingyao's accent was too Beijing-accented, making it easy for people to recognize his identity.

Standing next to Ye Zhigui, Qingyao's heart was in her throat, fearing that the other side would notice something was wrong and fire a gun or an arrow.

Hearing Ye Zhigui's reply, the person on the other end did not suspect anything, but continued to ask, "So, is your head a successor or a lotus seed?"

"Chuan Tou" were the core members of the White Lotus sect, similar to the leaders of the Grand Canal Gang. A "Chuan Tou" could usually control hundreds of followers, and in some places, the leaders of the Nian Rebellion could even pull together thousands of people as "Chuan Tou".

Above the "leader" is the incense master, who is usually a direct disciple of the sect leader.

Under the guidance of Liu Song and Liu Zhixie, the Sanyang Sect has grown to have over a hundred direct disciples, most of whom are active in Hubei Province.

"Lotus Seed" is equivalent to a leader of a religious group, with some in charge of hundreds of people and others in charge of dozens.

"We told Song Xuewu that a temple leader was attacking Suzhou City, and he asked us to come and help from Tiefo Temple."

The "Song Xuewu" mentioned by Ye Zhigui was a key figure in the White Lotus Sect in Huaibei, as confessed by Liu Bao.

Upon hearing this, the White Lotus Sect members opposite laughed: "Why didn't you come sooner? We need to leave."

"They were fighting so well, why did they suddenly withdraw?"

As Ye Zhigui spoke, he led his men forward.

The person opposite said, "Damn it, the Qing dogs' big group is coming from the west. The leaders are afraid of being surrounded by the Qing dogs, so they told the brothers to pack their things and leave first."

The sounds of mules and horses could be heard in the distance, and more and more torches were heading in that direction.

Zhao Anxin tensed up and quickly asked, "Where are the leaders planning to go?"

"Go to Sizhou, there are few Qing dogs there. Take Sizhou city, then cut off their canal, and turn the Tartars upside down."

The White Lotus Sect members arrived as they spoke, and seeing the long procession following Zhao An and his group, one of them couldn't help but ask, "How many people from your Iron Buddha Temple have come?"

Ye Zhigui hurriedly replied, "Not many, a few hundred people."

"Several hundred people?"

The White Lotus sect member who was asking the question glanced at Ye Zhigui by the firelight, then looked at Zhao An and the others, and suddenly made a gesture.

Zhao An and his companions couldn't understand the gesture. While they were still stunned, the White Lotus sect member who made the gesture changed color and swung his knife at Ye Zhigui, shouting, "There's a traitor! There's a traitor!"

Ye Zhigui moved quickly, dodging the man's knife with a sidestep and stabbing the man's chest with his dagger. The other White Lotus Cult members immediately drew their knives to slash at him.

Without a second thought, Zhao An drew his Ebilun sword and slashed at the face of a White Lotus Sect member in front of him, shouting at the same time, "The government troops are here! The White Lotus Sect has been defeated! Defeated!"

(End of this chapter)