Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Don't you all know that the foreigners from outside are actually Han Chinese in disguise?"

"That's old almanac. It's the barbarians trying to deceive everyone by using the Han people's future. They just didn't manage to fool the prefect, and he even got scolded. That proclamation they wrote was truly amazing."

"If you ask me, the Qing Dynasty is doing great. So what if Han Chinese come? We can still make money. It's all the same. Don't make such a fuss."

Inside the teahouse, a few wealthy patrons who often gathered together continued to drink expensive tea from Jiangnan, eat pastries wrapped in flaky pastries, and listen to local opera tunes on stage, as if the food shortage in the city had nothing to do with them.

After all, the common people might not know how thick the walls of Yulin were, but these people certainly did. Since their grandfathers' generation, these Dzungar barbarians had attacked Yulin, but each time they managed to get in, they always ended up with a weak and ineffective attack. This showed that Yulin was doing very well, and the Qing Dynasty was doing very well!

For the people outside who lost their wealth and even their houses in this fundraising campaign, and were also oppressed by high grain prices, life was not so easy. Before the Turkic invaders even entered, there were many people selling their children.

The people of the Qing Dynasty had a very distinctive characteristic: despite their large population and abundant resources, they were extremely vulnerable to financial hardship. Even a minor disaster could wipe out an entire family.

Therefore, the number of people who starved to death during the Qing Dynasty was more than the number who starved to death during wartime. This was only concealed by the high yield of crops, the increased agricultural production brought about by various land developments, and the hundreds of millions of people. The truth was just as the British envoy George Macartney saw: the so-called empire was nothing more than a huge illusion covered by false prosperity and the glory of the Eastern Celestial Empire.

"The enemy troops are encamped twenty miles north of the city. Could we send our cavalry from within the city to attack and kill them under cover of night, thus achieving a great victory?"

"Brother Zhongli, you jest. This isn't the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Night raids are extremely rare. Besides, the Hu cavalry are swift and heavily guarded Yulin. How could they possibly launch a night raid? Furthermore, our men aren't suited for it!"

Zhou Kaijie's words made Chen Tianzhi scratch his head repeatedly:

"If even this is not feasible, what if the Turkic bandits attack the city? Can the city walls be even slightly protected?"

"The Turks are all cavalry, not good at attacking cities. The fact that they have only besieged the city these past two days without attacking is clear proof of this. Brother Zhongli, you can rest assured."

"That's good, that's good----"

Chen Tianzhi sighed a few times, rummaged in his inner sleeve pocket, and pulled out a bill:

"The donations from within the city have just been tallied, totaling 11,204 coins, all of which have been packed into boxes. General Kewei can take them to reward the soldiers. Tell them that this is a token of our appreciation from Chen and the gentry and people of Yulin, so that they can focus on defending the city and waiting for the bandits to escape. Chen will then jointly submit a memorial to the Emperor to request that they be rewarded."

"Brother Zhongli is also a true national scholar!!"

Zhou Kaijie took the bill, his mouth twitching into a grin. He called him a national hero, but he was already planning to pocket half of it. He estimated that the remaining few thousand taels would be enough to give each soldier one or two taels of silver on average.

Well, on average, you'll always get something. As for whether it's this much or not, don't worry about it. One tael is money, and a few coins are money too. Just keep it safe, guard the city well, and don't overthink it.

--------

As night fell, the north wind carried withered leaves, scattering them on both sides of the campfire. Recently, due to the Turkic cavalry, the surrounding people dared not come out to collect firewood; otherwise, where would all these withered branches and leaves come from?

A fresh pheasant was roasting over the campfire, freshly coated with soy sauce, its aroma filling the air. The grassland soldiers, still munching on coarse flatbread, couldn't help but glance over. But when they saw who it was, they all turned their heads away.

Beside the campfire sat a middle-aged man wearing a long gown and a scholar's cap. He was looking at the pheasant, his throat moving constantly, but he sat very upright, looking like a scholar of integrity.

"Sir, you spoke wildly during the day, saying that if I wanted to enter the city, I would need your help. How come at night you only chatted with me and didn't offer a single suggestion?"

Li Yuanheng turned the pheasant over, then smeared it with another layer of sauce, which made the flavor even stronger with the help of the fire.

Luo Guisheng flicked his sleeves, his sparse brows relaxed slightly, and he answered softly:

"Neither stone nor iron, it is the highest good of Lao Tzu, which has the power to benefit all things, but also the evil of drowning all living beings."

"Water attack? This place isn't like the Jiangnan region, full of lakes and marshes. How can we use water attack here? That's a joke."

"It is not about attacking, but about being thirsty and exhausted."

Luo Guisheng's sleeves trembled again:

"Yulin has the Yulin River, which connects to the city. Although there is no danger of drowning, there is a reward of grace. If the grace is cut off, how can anyone live in the city?"

"In the past, when the Dzungar cavalry entered the country, they wanted to cut off the water supply, but due to limited time and insufficient preparation, they failed to do so. Now, the main force of the Qing army is engaged in a fierce battle in the northwest, leaving Shaanxi vulnerable. With only six or seven thousand reinforcements, how can they possibly save the situation?"

"At that time, the general will first cut off the Yu River, then defeat the reinforcements, besiege the city and attack the reinforcements. In less than seven days, the city will fall on its own."

"Yulin City is the heart of Yansui Town. If Yulin falls, there will be no reinforcements, and the surrounding cities will all fall to the general. The proclamation has already been issued, so why bother attacking the city?"

Li Yuanheng, peering through the firelight at the uninvited scholar who had arrived during the day, couldn't help but ask the same question he had during the day once more:

"Sir, you already possess the academic credentials of a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so why would you aid us, these Turks from beyond the Great Wall? Is it merely for the sake of the Han dynasty?"

Luo Guisheng shook his sleeves for the third time, rose, bowed, and answered in a firm tone:

"The Manchus in Xi'an made insatiable demands. One year, when they were short of firewood, they destroyed houses and evicted people, causing countless people to freeze to death. They killed Han people and only asked for cattle and sheep as compensation. Every time I passed through the Manchu city, I was ridiculed by children and splattered with chicken droppings. It was an extreme insult to my culture."

"But you can still become an official, sir. With your talent and learning, you are certainly capable of holding a position in a prefecture or county."

"That's precisely why we must rebel. If I were to be a muddle-headed official like Chen Tianzhi, the prefect of Yulin, or a traitor like Zhou Kaijie, that would be fine too. But I, Luo, am too stubborn and too bookish to bear humiliation."

Luo Guisheng had sharp eyes and a face as white as jade; every word and action exuded seriousness, which pleased Li Yuanheng.

"And share this pheasant with me."

After saying that, they each tore off a chicken leg and stuffed one of them into Luo Guisheng's hand across from them.

Looking down at the glistening chicken leg in his hand, Luo Guisheng disregarded all decorum and stuffed it down in one bite, wishing he could swallow even the bones. Li Yuanheng quickly handed him water.

After finishing the whole pheasant and a large piece of naan bread, Luo Guisheng finally recovered. As soon as he was full, he hurriedly spoke:

"The water supply must be cut off immediately, without delay; we should set off at dawn."

"know."

After answering, Li Yuanheng returned to his tent and slept fully clothed, while Luo Guisheng stayed up all night in a separate military tent.

--------

Gazing at the rolling Yulin River, Li Yuanheng stopped his horse to graze, while Luo Guisheng stared blankly at the river beside him.

"Brother, blocking this water is not difficult. We can bury gunpowder to blast open the red sandstone on both sides, or throw a sick horse into the water to spread the plague. I am sure that if the people in the city or even the surrounding areas drink it, five out of ten households will fall ill."

"Please don't do that, please don't do that—"

As soon as Hu Wu finished speaking, Luo Guisheng rushed out to stop him:

"We can just blow up the reservoir. If the plague spreads, not even one in ten of Yulin will survive. What's the point of breaking through the city then?"

Li Yuanheng picked up a pebble, weighed it in his hand a few times, and then skipped it seven or eight times in the Yu River.

"Bury explosives, build a high earthen dam, blow it all up, rocks and soil, so that not a drop of water can enter the city."

"Yes, sir!!"

Watching the retreating figure, so eager to kill the Han, Luo Guisheng spoke to Li Yuanheng with some worry:

"This general is truly ruthless and fierce; he is indeed a formidable general under Your Excellency."

Overnight, the general became a wise minister, but Li Yuanheng didn't mind, only giving a casual reply:

"This man's surname is Hu and his given name is Wu. He is as fierce and brave as his name suggests. He has killed sixty-four people. Although he is a killer of Han people, he is quite smart and has a good fighting ability. That traitorous good-for-nothing in Yulin City is no match for him."

"Sixty-four beads----"

Luo Guisheng muttered the frightening number, secretly marveling that even the professional executioners in the government offices probably wouldn't behead so many people in their entire lives. These Turkic barbarians from the grasslands were truly barbaric, killing people like harvesting wheat.

But killing alone is not enough; ultimately, we must focus on civil administration. With this in mind, Luo Guisheng made up his mind to properly assist this "Han general" from Jinshan in the future and build Jinshan beyond the Great Wall into a place as prosperous as the Jiangnan region of Beijing.

In less than half a day, with the efforts of a thousand people, a thick and tall earthen dam was erected in the middle of the Hongshixia section.

"Brother, Qing cavalry are coming."

"You lead your unit to block them, the rest of you continue to plant gunpowder, in preparation for detonation."

As the sun set, the distant roar of muskets and cannons echoed, and the detonation was now in its final moments.

"ignition----"

The fire wasn't started in one place, but in several places. First, there was the first explosion, then the second...

Hearing the continuous loud noises around him, Luo Guisheng hurriedly straightened his sleeves. At the first sound, his hat fell off, revealing the unglued hamster tail.

Feeling that gaze, Luo Guisheng remained calm, borrowed a soldier's curved sword from the side, and slashed the back of his head.

With a soft thud, a thick braid, accompanied by a bang, was blown into the Yushui River, marking the official end of Luo Guisheng's decades-long career of studying and taking the imperial examinations.

For Chen Tianzhi and Zhou Kaijie, who were still in the city plotting how to make another killing, the news of the Yushui River being cut off was like putting them in a hot oil pan.

"What should we do? The former prefect had said long ago that the Yushui River was important, but neither of us took it seriously. We only thought that the Dzungar Khanate had failed to break through last time. Now look what's happened. The Turkic traitors brought so much gunpowder into the pass. If the Yushui River is blocked, we'll really be trapped like turtles in a jar."

"The only option now is to send cavalry to Zhenbeitai to join forces with the other government troops in Yansui Town and fight the Turks. If we win, everything will be fine. If we lose, we will both be in trouble."

Zhou Kaijie was, after all, a martial man. Although he was greedy, he made a decisive move at the crucial moment and sent two thousand cavalrymen from the city to enter Zhenbeitai through the passage.