The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Faced with Liu Weiqing's question, the middle-aged scholar remained silent, but after a moment he still made a cupped-hand salute.

"Student Zhou Chang, courtesy name Peigong!"

Liu Weiqing didn't know Zhou Peigong either; he had only greeted him out of politeness.

However, Galdan's kindness towards scholars was quite contagious; Liu Weiqing followed suit and now greatly admires scholars, so he actively recruits them.

"Mr. Pei, His Majesty the Emperor of our Great Han Dynasty has ascended the throne on the grasslands, and the country is named Han!"

"Sir, you are also a Han Chinese. Why don't you come with me and become a military clerk? If you have real talent and ability, I will definitely take you to see His Majesty the Emperor!"

Upon hearing Liu Weiqing's offer of recruitment, Zhou Peigong showed an embarrassed expression, followed by a series of wry smiles.

The Qing Dynasty, which considered itself the legitimate ruler of the country, ignored the Han Chinese people in the outer city, while this Mongol tribe, which appeared out of nowhere, was raising the banner of the Han Dynasty.

"Since the general has a need, I will serve as a clerk. It will not be in vain that the general saved me for nothing!" Disheartened, Zhou Peigong stopped hesitating and agreed after making a self-deprecating remark.

Suddenly remembering that Liu Weiqing's troops were all Mongols, he feared that the killings would be excessive after entering the city, so he offered his advice.

"General, if you want your emperor to conquer the capital more easily, after pacifying the bandits in the outer city, please immediately order all the shopkeepers and scholars in the city to gather and count the grain in the city."

"Only in this way can we control the lives of these hundreds of thousands of people, and perhaps even help the army break through the city!"

Liu Weiqing only half understood, but he had no good solution himself and could only look at his two personal guards.

"You will take three hundred men and follow him. Do exactly what Zhou Peigong tells you to do!"

Just as Zhou Peigong was preparing to make his move, five thousand Mongol light cavalry had already entered the city. Although these were all new recruits, they were still considered elite compared to the rest.

These Mongolians, raised on the grasslands, were born with skills in horsemanship, archery, and sabers, and were quite capable of dealing with these Green Standard Army soldiers.

Several Green Standard Army soldiers gathered in the alley and looted a small tavern. The burly owner on the ground had his throat slit and was dead. Only the manager was left, handing out gold, silver and copper coins to the Green Standard Army soldiers.

As soon as the ten Mongols dismounted, they charged forward and began hacking and slashing wildly. Several Green Standard Army soldiers, still engrossed in the gold and silver, were quickly killed and fell to the ground, unable to get up.

Galdan divided those below the rank of 100 into junior officers and senior officers, each with 10 and 50 men respectively.

This was for the purpose of coordinating with firearms later. Behind each of these small flags, there was a small red flag with a Chinese character written on it and Mongolian script on the other side.

"We are soldiers of the Han Dynasty!"

"Do not kill the common people, do not be afraid!"

The broken Chinese spoken by the disheveled Mongolians startled the tavern owner, who, still reeling from the shock, thought he'd seen a ghost and immediately ducked under the counter.

These Mongolians didn't understand either. They simply picked up the gold, silver, and copper coins on the table and quickly ran out of the hotel.

This happened throughout Seoul. Large numbers of Green Standard Army soldiers either surrendered or died. By sunrise, Beijing had calmed down. Most of the Green Standard Army soldiers had been killed or captured, and the rest went into hiding.

Just then, the thunderous sound of hooves rang out, and Subutai led 30,000 iron cavalry directly to the outside of Desheng Gate, unleashing a volley of arrows.

Next, instead of attacking the city or trying to persuade them to surrender, Subutai led 30,000 cavalrymen to circle around Beijing.

Their orderly galloping horses, clad in khaki cloth armor with demonic faces, were no less impressive than the elite troops of the Upper Three Banners of the Qing Dynasty.

"Slay all the Manchu barbarians and restore our great Han lands!"

"Those who surrender live, those who resist die!"

"Roar roar roar!"

When they ran 300 meters, the 30,000 cavalrymen shouted in unison. This was a way to intimidate the ordinary Eight Banners soldiers and also to demoralize them.

On the city wall, Emperor Kangxi, now clad in yellow dragon-patterned cotton armor, watched as Subutai's army galloped past. A grave expression crossed his face. "These Dzungar cavalry are quite formidable; they are a major thorn in the side of our Great Qing!"

Beside him, a general who looked to be around fifty years old and was wearing a yellow-bordered armor shook his head.

"Your Majesty, apart from the Khorchin, the total number of Mongols in southern Mongolia is less than 400,000, while our Great Qing, possessing the Central Plains, has a continuous stream of troops. The mere Dzungars are nothing to fear!"

This man was Fei Yanggu, who was promoted from a bondservant by Huang Taiji in his later years. He was absolutely loyal to the royal family, and his words suited Kangxi's taste.

"Are you confident you can defend the inner city?" Kangxi asked again as he watched Subutai walk away.

"Your Majesty, I have confidence!" Fei Yanggu said, taking out a list from his bosom. "Now, all the Manchu, Mongol, and Han Eight Banners, including bondservants, aged fourteen to sixty, total one hundred thousand men."

"After opening the treasury, nearly 40% of the troops were armed, and the city had a million bushels of grain. The families of the other Eight Banners also had a month's worth of rations. We could easily hold out for a month!"

Faced with Fei Yanggu's confident words, Kangxi felt much more at ease and left Desheng Gate with his guards to inspect the other parts of the city wall.

……

Time passed quickly, and it was noon. Smoke was already rising from the inner city. The people of Han City, whose houses had been demolished, subconsciously licked their lips as they watched the Manchu soldiers eating their rice on the city wall.

Clang, clang, clang—the sound of an iron gong rang out.

Some night watchmen ran through the streets, banging gongs and shouting, "His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty has prepared delicious food for all the people! Those who wish to eat, go to Yongding Gate!"

Thanks to the night watchman's vigorous promotion, a large number of people gathered at Yongding Gate. When they saw the twenty porridge stalls, they were overjoyed and took their bowls to queue up.

"Is this all the food they give you?"

"Will that win the people's support?"

Watching the people happily drinking porridge, Liu Weiqing looked at Zhou Peigong in surprise and thought, "You're not some Qing army spy, are you? You're wasting food like this."

Even the Han Dynasty doesn't have enough food to eat now!

Zhou Peigong remained silent. After spending two hours together, he sensed that Liu Weiqing was a magnanimous person who wouldn't hold a grudge against him.

Beside the porridge stall, a storyteller was recounting the story of Yue Fei, describing how Hebei was captured by the Jin army and the people were driven and slaughtered like lambs.

The surrounding people were filled with compassion and wished they could immediately storm the palace, kill the Tartars, and restore the Han people's land.

The storyteller was naturally invited by Zhou Peigong.

Now it is the early Qing Dynasty. Although the legend of Yue Fei is not banned, the content has been skewed. It mainly tells the story of the incompetence and tyranny of the Song Dynasty emperor and the treacherous minister Qin Hui who ruined the country by using twelve gold tablets to recall Yue Fei and execute him.

The storyteller added a debate between the Chinese and the barbarians, explaining that the Manchu Qing dynasty's baojia system and the law against fugitives would turn Han people into slaves, and they would be slaves for generations to come.

Zhou Peigong was a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness.

Knowing that empty talk with the people was useless, he first treated them to a hearty meal, then invited storytellers to tell the tales, letting them believe for themselves that the Manchus had only been in power for thirty years and the older generation was still alive.