The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 68 Whose fault?
Just as Zhang Nian was trying to escape capture, the city wall at Andingmen had already fallen.

Dong Erzhu and Hei Zi are leading their soldiers in pursuit of the government troops.

The leader, Zheng, was covered in blood and led his remaining two or three hundred soldiers in a fighting retreat. He was now preparing to retreat into the city and engage in street fighting with the bandits.

As he swung his sword to slash away the approaching bandits, he roared hoarsely:
"Where is the commander?! We can't hold on much longer! Why hasn't anyone come to our aid yet?"

A bodyguard beside him, holding a long shield, casually deflected a stray arrow, letting out a cold laugh, his tone full of mockery:
"Lord Wu? He's probably already run away!"

"Let's get out of here quickly, or we'll really be dead!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Baihu's expression changed. He was about to reprimand Zheng when he was interrupted by the sound of rapid hoofbeats.

A fast horse galloped up from behind, carrying a messenger who was covered in sweat and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Lord Centurion, the Prefect has ordered us to retreat to the Prefectural Government Office. He will lead us to fight the enemy soldiers to the last man!"

This order was like a ray of dawn, giving the officers and soldiers present a glimmer of hope.

Commander Zheng had thought they had been completely abandoned, but to his surprise, the prefect was still holding out, determined to live and die with them!

His eyes lit up, a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart, and he raised his long sword, giving an order to the nearby soldiers:

"Brothers, follow me to the yamen!"

"As long as the prefect is still alive, we still have hope!"

Upon hearing this, the morale of the surrounding soldiers soared, and they fought their way out, heading straight for the prefectural government office.

However, when they arrived at the prefectural government office, they were dumbfounded.

Under the cover of night, the government office gates were tightly shut, and the interior was as quiet as a dead house, with not a single human voice to be heard.

A group of people waited and waited, but no one came to the yamen, and no one answered when they knocked on the door.

The shouts of the bandits grew closer and closer. Zheng, the centurion, became anxious and hurriedly sent men to rush in and check. However, they found that the yamen was already deserted and Zhang Nian was nowhere to be found.

Commander Zheng was dumbfounded. Wasn't it agreed that they would fight to the last man? Where were they?!

Before he could think any further, Jiang Han and Hei Zi's army had already rushed to the entrance of the government office and surrounded them.

Commander Zheng looked around and saw that his soldiers were all ashen-faced and had no will to fight.

He sighed deeply, threw down his long sword, and knelt on the ground:
"General, we are willing to surrender!"

There was nothing he could do; all the officials in Yan'an had fled, leaving him the only one struggling to keep things afloat.

Disheartened and unwilling to fight a desperate battle any longer, he decided to surrender to the enemy and make plans for the future.

Although his two or three hundred remaining soldiers were not elite troops, they were still able to fight to this point, which shows their strong will.

I suppose these rebels will take them in?
Joining the bandits might just lead to becoming a leader, ruling the mountains, and plundering everywhere – it could be a viable way out.

To his utter surprise, Jiang Han, the leader, refused without hesitation when he heard that he wanted to surrender:
"Wait!"

Jiang Han's voice was cold and firm.
"If you want to surrender, fine, but first point out all the people who slaughtered Ma Family Village!"

"Once I've rounded up and killed all those who massacred the village, the rest will surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Baihu's face turned deathly pale, a look of terror flashed in his eyes, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

He orchestrated the massacre of the village; he was the mastermind behind it all.

Jiang Han's gaze was sharp as he swept over the group of remnants of the army. He waved to his personal guards to step forward and subdue them.

He said in a deep voice:

"Listen up, all of you! If you can name all the people who massacred the village, I might spare your lives!"

"If you dare to hide anything, don't blame me for unleashing a massacre!" Commander Zheng suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse:
"General, it's just a village, why take it so seriously?"

"Which of my officers and soldiers isn't more useful than those displaced people?"

“Those people are just a waste of food, while we brothers can work as soon as we're full. As long as the general gives the order, we'll go wherever you point!”

But Jiang Han ignored him, not even glancing at him, and had no desire to listen to his fallacies and heresies.

He was determined not to tolerate the murderers who massacred the village.

This wasn't because Jiang Han was overflowing with sympathy, nor was it because he wanted to avenge the villagers of Majia Village; he simply didn't have that much free time.

There are two reasons for this:

First of all, although Jiang Han doesn't consider himself a good person, he would never do something like massacring a village.

Furthermore, this group's massacre of the village was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather an organized, disciplined, and hierarchical massacre aimed at looting.

For this purpose, they even brought along tax collectors from Yan'an Prefecture.

Secondly, if Jiang Han really takes these people in, what will his old brothers think?
Even these people can join, it seems that in Lord Jiang's eyes, massacring a village is not a big deal at all.

Will they one day, on a whim, massacre a village or even a city?

If they behave well afterwards, admit their mistakes, and hand over some of the spoils, Lord Jiang will surely forgive them.

After all, if you, Jiang Han, can forgive these people, then you should be able to forgive us, your old brothers who have followed you for so long, right?

We've fought so many battles for you, big and small, and risked our lives for you. Can't you even tolerate this little thing?

What? You say it's intolerable?

Alright, let's find someone more tolerant to come up!
Wasn't that how the Wei Bo soldiers came to be? Jiang Han didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

Therefore, for the sake of the team's future, Jiang Han would never let these people surrender so easily.

Seeing that Jiang Han was determined to kill them, Zheng Baihu also became anxious:

"A village massacre? What happened with the village massacre?"

"My soldiers are starving, can't I at least find a way for them to survive?"

He was emotional and hysterical.

"My great-grandfather fought against the Tartars, my grandfather went to Korea, my father died in Liaodong, my whole family was loyal and brave, and all I got in return was a tiny hereditary centurion!"

"To defend this Yan'an Prefecture, which of my brothers and I didn't fight and bled?"

"Now the commander has run away, the prefect has run away, and all that's left are us peasants at the bottom, struggling to keep going!"

"If I am utterly wicked, then what are these high and mighty lords?"

He was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot.
"General, I heard that you also came from the government army. You should know that if the imperial court issues a thousand shi of grain, how much of it will actually end up in our hands?"

"After the 1,000 shi of grain was approved, half of it was lost before it even left the capital. Once it reached the garrison, the commander took half, and the prefect took the other half. Where would we have anything to eat?!"

"Without food, I can't just stand by and watch my men starve to death, can I?"

"Tell me, was it my fault for massacring the village?!"

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(End of this chapter)