Qing Yao

Chapter 316 The Great Victory at Suzhou
Hearing Zhao An shout this, Xu Lin and the others followed suit without hesitation, shouting, "The government troops are here! The White Lotus has been defeated!"

Instantly, shouts of "The government troops are here! The White Lotus has been defeated!" resounded throughout the area outside Suzhou City.

The refugees closest to Zhao An, who had been lying on the ground like corpses, suddenly found the strength to rise up in fear of the arrival of the government troops. They cried and ran in all directions. This run was like throwing a stone into a calm pond, the ripples spreading rapidly in all directions, and then panic swept through the entire White Lotus Camp.

"Run! The government troops are coming!"

Desperate to escape, the refugees stumbled and knocked over piles of bonfires, running aimlessly without knowing which way to go. Pushing and shoving each other, the most terrifying scene in the darkness unfolded as countless refugees, unable to distinguish directions, collided with one another. Wave after wave of people surged forward, and those caught in the middle were like "sandwiches," suffocating. Tragedy inevitably occurred.

Those who were slightly exhausted were immediately pushed to the ground.

A woman, knocked down by the crowd, hunched over, desperately protecting the baby in her arms. Despite her cries and screams, merciless feet continued to trample on her body until her back was completely broken. The crying baby was silenced the moment its mother's body was crushed.

Some of the starving disaster victims, too weak to even get up, watched helplessly as countless crowds surged toward them. When they were trampled to death due to prolonged hunger, their parched throats couldn't even utter a sound.

Those calling for father, those calling for mother, those calling for child.
Screams and cries echoed everywhere outside Suzhou City, and hundreds of thousands of disaster victims collapsed.

The sudden chaos interrupted the White Lotus Sect's planned evacuation. Before hundreds of wheelbarrows and horse-drawn carts loaded with grain could even set off, a dense crowd of disaster victims surged forward, screaming in terror.

Armed with weapons, the White Lotus "divine soldiers" attempted to drive away the disaster victims, while the leaders of the procession continuously whipped their horses, trying to break through a path.

But the disaster victims who poured in from all directions in the dark were like unconscious zombies, no longer afraid of the armed "divine soldiers", and swallowed them up in the blink of an eye.

There are no roads, only people, people whose hearts are completely consumed by fear.

When the disaster victims who were knocked to the ground discovered the food scattered all over the ground, they grabbed it and stuffed it into their mouths without any regard for the consequences. Even when their ribs were broken and they coughed up blood, they continued to frantically stuff rice into their mouths and chew it. Some of them died on the spot from being trampled, while others choked to death on the raw rice and noodles.

The overturned wheelbarrows crushed countless disaster victims, but they couldn't stop more from surging in. Soon, one by one, with red eyes, they fought over the food without a care in the world.

When a disaster victim who had buried his head in a sack was carried out at dawn, his face showed a strange satisfaction, and his belly was swollen into a large round ball.

The statue of the Eternal Mother, which had once been carried to the city of Suzhou to empower countless believers, was now broken apart, and the lotus flower in the mother's hand was embedded forlornly in the soil.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Before Gong Shengzu, the leader of the White Lotus sect in Suzhou, could even mount his horse, it was startled by the frightened crowd and ran wildly. If Gong Shengzu hadn't acted quickly, one of his legs would have been pulled off by the reins, and the scriptures bestowed by the sect leader Liu Zhixie on horseback would have been scattered all over the ground and trampled underfoot by pairs of bare feet.

Disregarding his mount and the cult leader's true scriptures, Gong Shengzu, along with dozens of divine soldiers, quickly disappeared into the night amidst the shoving of the crowd.

Inside the large tent where they had been standing, two rather attractive young women were huddled up naked, watching in horror what was happening before their eyes.

Each of the two girls had a blooming lotus flower prominently displayed on their foreheads.

Behind him, a fat, big-eared monk, not even having time to pull up his pants, ran after the incense master with a dagger in his hand.

The terrified disaster victims were like a mountain that had suddenly collapsed; unless a god came, no one could stop the massive boulders from rolling down.

"It's over!"

Li Jie, the leader of the Nian Rebellion, whose fellow clansmen were assigned to the second batch of evacuation, looked at the scene before him and felt a chill inexplicably rise in his heart, even though he had never been afraid of the Qing army.

The mules and horses were scattered, and in the darkness, no one knew how many Qing soldiers had arrived; all they knew was that there were people fleeing everywhere.

In the distance, shouts of battle could be heard, but who cared?

"go!"

Knowing that all was lost, Li Jie stamped his foot in anger and led his few clansmen in the opposite direction of the crowd. Along the way, they were surrounded by terrified refugees. In order to avoid being caught by the Qing army, Li Jie had no choice but to take the lead and swing his long sword at the refugees.

In order to survive, the disaster victims had no choice but to fight back. Whether they were soldiers or guerrillas, they inevitably began to kill each other in the darkness of night.

At this moment, many more soldiers and soldiers were in despair, because there was nothing they could do. All they could do was be swept along by the tide of people, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west.

At this moment, even the most powerful person feels so insignificant.

The Qing troops on the city walls of Suzhou were also stunned by the sudden scene outside the city. Guerrilla Zhou Ku realized that reinforcements had arrived. His subordinate, seeing that the White Lotus Rebellion was in chaos, was so impulsive that he wanted to lead his men out of the city to join the reinforcements in attacking the rebels.

As a result, Zhou Ku suppressed the matter on the grounds that it was too dark to distinguish friend from foe.

Zhou Ku's approach was correct. There were simply too many refugees outside the city. If the Qing army rashly went out of the city, they would easily be overwhelmed by the panicked refugees. The only solution now was to keep the city gates closed and wait until dawn before going out to clean up the mess.

Relying on the martial arts foundation honed by his predecessor, Zhao An slashed down the White Lotus cultist in front of him with a single blow. Before any other cultist could strike, he swung his sword at the cultist closest to him.

The old soldier who taught Zhao An martial arts had fought against the Hui people in his early years, so what he taught Zhao An was not some fancy moves, but real killing techniques, the experience that many people had learned by sacrificing their lives on the battlefield.

Seeing Zhao An swing his sword down, the cultist instinctively tried to block with his waist knife. However, when the two swords clashed, the waist knife in his hand broke in two with a "bang." The sudden change made the cultist pause for a moment. Before he could dodge backward, Zhao An struck him on the leg with a rolling slash. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding thigh and howling in pain.

"kill!"

Ye Zhigui, Xu Lin, and others had already rushed forward and were fighting with the White Lotus Cult members who wanted to retreat.

"Protect your lord!"

Several members of the Canal Gang, acting as his personal guards, stood in front of Zhao An with knives drawn, fearing that something might happen to the young master.

The "suicide squad" composed of Green Standard Army soldiers and members of the Canal Gang followed closely behind Ye Zhigui and Xu Lin, charging forward and utterly destroying the White Lotus sect members who were packing up to escape.

Seeing that the front was overwhelmed and the refugees were in a frenzy, the followers behind dared not stay any longer and ran back shouting.

The army was in complete disarray; even a few Qing soldiers could probably keep the chaos going until dawn.

"Chase!"

Zhao An brandished Ebilun's sword and ordered his men to beat the drowning dog mercilessly. They were determined to eliminate the White Lotus Sect's command structure, because he couldn't possibly use the lives of disaster victims to gain credit.

Coming to his senses, Zhao An glanced around and felt a chill run down his spine. Many refugees had already perished in the trampling, and a young man, emaciated and barely recognizable, had even had his chest caved in from being trampled. He hesitated for only two breaths before throwing himself back into the pursuit of the White Lotus cultists. Only by ending the battle quickly could he minimize his losses.

Upon learning that reinforcements had arrived outside the city and the White Lotus rebels had been routed, Prefect Li Wen quickly led a group of minor officials to the top of the city wall. Upon closer inspection, he saw that countless White Lotus rebels had indeed been routed in the darkness. Overjoyed, he excitedly pounded on the battlements and cursed the White Lotus rebels, saying they deserved to die.

Seeing that some disaster victims were running haphazardly to the city wall, he ordered the Green Standard Army to shoot and kill them.

"Sir, those below are all refugees who were coerced by the cult leaders. They have no weapons. Since the cult leaders have already been defeated..."

Tongzhi Cui Xiu advised Li Wen to stop indiscriminately killing innocent people. He said that as long as people were sent out to appease them after dawn, these disaster victims would still be good citizens of the Qing Dynasty and could provide the Qing Dynasty with money and food in the future.

"Once a thief, always a thief! If we don't kill these thieves, we'll have to guard against them every day!"

Despite the earnest advice of Tongzhi Cui Xiu, Li Wen, who was well-versed in Confucian classics, insisted on ordering the shooting of the disaster victims below. However, Zhou Ku, the guerrilla commander and the highest-ranking Green Standard Army commander defending the city, disagreed with Li Wen's approach. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to shout to the people below the city walls, warning them not to get too close. He assured them that as long as they stayed obediently outside the "safety line," they would not be attacked.

Seeing that the Green Standard Army refused to do as he said, Li Wen could only snort and planned to file a complaint against the guerrilla after the governor arrived.

Lord Li was confident that the reinforcements were sent by the governor, and that they were mostly elite troops from the Green Standard Army of the province; otherwise, they would not have been so bold as to launch a night raid on the religious bandits.

With white towels tied around their arms, Zhao An and his group had already broken through the White Lotus camp. Along the way, they overturned and set fire to thirty or forty tents. Judging from the supplies left behind in these tents, they were clearly the White Lotus Sect's command post.

Apart from two small groups of Nianzi offering some resistance, there was no further resistance. However, due to the chaotic situation, it was impossible to know where the leaders of the White Lotus Sect's command center had gone.

After a moment's thought, Zhao An ordered Ye Zhigui to lead his men to continue the pursuit, and instructed Xu Lin to lead his men to shout loudly, urging the panicked disaster victims to sit down on the spot. He assured them that after dawn, the soldiers would not only not slaughter them, but would also provide them with relief grain.

"Lord Zhao has ordered that the disaster victims should not panic, but sit down on the spot, and the soldiers will not kill them!"

"Listen up, White Lotus Sect members! Lay down your weapons and sit down where you are, and we will spare your lives!"

"."

To ensure more people could hear, Xu Lin and his group urged the obedient disaster victims who had already sat down to join in the shouting. As more and more victims obediently sat down and joined the chanting, the entire city of Suzhou was filled with the cry: "Lord Zhao has given the order!"

When dawn finally broke and the east was bright, the soldiers guarding the city of Suzhou saw tens of thousands of civilians sitting motionless in place.

A group of Qing soldiers, led by guerrilla Zhou Ku, carefully opened the city gate and searched for the governor in the crowd, but they could not find him.

Because Lord Zhao was leading his men in a fierce battle with a group of Nian rebels a few miles west of the city.

This group was Li Jie's troops who escaped during the night. Originally, there were only a few dozen people, but some more joined along the way, increasing the number to more than two hundred.

Because the mules and horses had all scattered, the Nian rebels could not use them for transportation. In addition, they lost their way and did not realize until dawn that they had not yet left Suzhou. Exhausted, they were caught up by Ye Zhigui and others sent by Zhao An.

Upon learning that Ye Zhigui and his men had caught up with a Nian rebel group, Zhao An, fearing for his safety, disregarded Qingyao and others' advice and led several hundred more men to join the fight.

The band of thugs, though surrounded, were quite fierce. Knowing they had no way out, they fought like cornered beasts under Li Jie's command, causing considerable losses to Ye Zhigui and his men.

Upon arriving, Zhao An immediately brandished his blood-stained Ebilun sword and charged forward.

Seeing Lord Zhao leading his men up, the morale of the soldiers besieging the Nian rebels soared, and they charged forward wave after wave with the Canal Gang members.

Zhao An joined the battle, and with several bodyguards, he cut down four Nianzi members in succession. He then rushed directly in front of the Nianzi leader, Li Jie, and swung his sword down without giving the other party any chance.

Li Jie's skills were no less than Zhao An's, but after a series of desperate escapes and battles, he was already exhausted. He couldn't even block Zhao An's knife when he swung it. By the time he reacted, Zhao An's long knife had already slashed hard at his neck. The speed, force, and precision of the movement left Li Jie, a notorious bandit who had robbed and killed countless innocent merchants, with nowhere to hide.

With a sizzling sound, the soft flesh on Li Jie's neck was instantly sliced ​​open by the long knife, the red flesh turned up, and a spurt of blood gushed out.

Zhao An's strike was too forceful, causing the Ebilun sword to become stuck in the opponent's neck. With a shout, he forcefully lifted the sword again, and before the opponent could scream, the blade was back in his neck.

This time, Ebilun's knife truly cleaved Li Jie's neck through, and with a "thud," the head of this notorious Nian bandit rolled to the ground.

The rest of the Nianzi were stunned by what they saw, and before they knew it, more than a dozen of them were cut down.

Zhao An put down the Ebilun sword, looked at the remaining trembling and collapsing Nianzi, and suddenly shouted: "I am Zhao Youlu, the acting provincial governor of Anhui. As long as you lay down your weapons, I will guarantee your lives! If you resist to the end, you will be killed without mercy!"

Upon hearing this, the Nian soldiers looked at each other, then threw their knives to the ground and knelt down.

Ye Zhigui hurriedly ordered his men to take away the Nianzi's weapons. He originally thought that Shaojun wanted to eliminate them completely, but unexpectedly, Shaojun really didn't kill these Nianzi. He only asked them to honestly tell him where the White Lotus Sect's "leader" had gone.

After asking several people, no one knew. When asked again, one person, though unsure, suggested that the incense masters might have fled north.

I don't know how many people were there, because it was too chaotic last night.

Zhao An nodded and instructed Qing Yao: "Notify Suzhou City to send men to guard these Nian rebels, and also have them gather all the mules and horses in the city. In addition, send a guard brother to the capital to report the victory!"

"Whoo!"

Qingyao quickly agreed, eager to ride to the capital and report the victory.

This is a great achievement in defeating hundreds of thousands of cult bandits!

Just when everyone thought that Lord Zhao was also going back to Suzhou, he unexpectedly pointed his Ebilun sword to the north and said, "Brothers who can move, rest for half an hour. When the mules and horses come, ride them and continue chasing the enemy with me!"

Qingyao was stunned and exclaimed, "My lord, your sword!"

"what?"

Zhao An looked down and his face turned green: Damn it, the Ebilun knife had a big gash in the middle!

It's become a defective product.

(End of this chapter)