Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Yansui Garrison has been defeated??"

"More than a thousand riders survived and fled to the northwest, heading this way. The rest either died or surrendered, and even those who surrendered were reportedly boiled in oil."

"The Hu people can't get into Guanzhong, can they?"

"They can't get in, they definitely can't get in."

The Shaanxi governor Zhang Kai and Qingfu stared at each other, neither saying anything more threatening, only continuing to reply to the memorial:

"Chen Tianzhi and Zhou Kaijie are guilty, utterly guilty!!"

"Those who are sentenced to death should be sent back to the other garrisons in Yansui who have not surrendered, to fight the enemy. Their leaders should be detained and await further orders."

"What if the imperial court orders us to lead the troops from Guanzhong back to reinforce Yulin, or even to march north?"

Zhang Kai's words struck a chord with Qingfu, who then tossed his fading white braid and gave a utterly shameless reply:

"The loss of Yulin is inevitable, and the war in the Northwest is still raging. At this time, we can collect another batch of autumn grain from Guanzhong in advance, not too much and not too little. Half of it should be sent to the front line, and the other half should be sent to Zhili later. If we need to recruit soldiers later, we can say that there is no grain. All the grain has been sent to the Northwest, and the people in Guanzhong are starving to death. Where will we find grain to feed the army? What do you think, Brother Zhanshi?"

After a moment of silence, Zhang Kai spoke:

"We need to add one more thing: strip those soldiers from Yansui Town of their armor and leave them in Xi'an. If they go back and rebel, without their armor, they won't amount to anything. If they stay in Xi'an, someone in the court might impeach us for harboring remnants of a defeated army, and then things will become very complicated."

"Brother Zhanshi's words make sense!!"

Qingfu clapped his hands in agreement and immediately drafted a memorial impeaching Chen Tianzhi and Zhou Kaijie. One out of every twenty characters in the memorial was related to killing. The so-called colleagues and subordinates who sent piles of gifts every year were now so unimportant in the eyes of Qingfu and Zhang Kai. They even wished that these two would die sooner so that their dirty blood would splatter on their superiors.

As for the news of the defeat in Yansui Town, the two kept it tightly locked in the mansion. Although there were some rumors outside, there was no evidence. Although people's hearts were still a little confused, it did not take any real effect.

---------

Inside the Yulin Prefectural Government Office, the place was eerily quiet. Since the water supply was cut off, the price of a bowl of water in the entire city of Yulin, while not skyrocketing, was still frighteningly high. The saying "a bowl of water is half a bowl of rice" is somewhat exaggerated, but it reflects how expensive water is now. For many families with wells, it has become a gold mine for making money. They can buy several tiled houses just by reselling some water. Before the Turks came, this was something they would never have dared to dream of.

However, keeping this water in your hands is actually a problem in some ways.

On the third day after the water shortage in Yulin City, a murder occurred. The culprit was the word "water." Even when government troops patrolled, the situation remained unchanged. People died for water, were beaten to death for food, suffocated in rice jars, or drowned in wells. There were all sorts of ways to die.

"The army has been defeated, and the water supply has been cut off. Are we left with no choice but to surrender?"

"If the land is surrendered, I'm afraid even the ancestral graves won't be preserved."

As a staunch traitor, Chen Tianzhi knew all too well the Qing government's methods. Even if he surrendered and saved his life, his clan would not fare well, and their ancestral graves might even be destroyed.

What's even more terrifying is that if these Turks break their promise and kill them the moment the city gates are opened, they will not only bear the stigma of being traitors, but also implicate their families. That would truly be a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, and dying would be in vain.

Compared to Chen Tianzhi, Zhou Kaijie was even more conflicted. After all, as a general from the Han Banner Army, it could be said that he enjoyed the benefits of his status, but when facing Han officials of the same rank, he could gain a great sense of superiority and an advantage in promotion.

This duality—being seen as Han by Manchus and Manchus by Hans—made him a traitor to the Han people in many eyes. Yet, he was able to climb to the position of commander of Yansui Town precisely because of this ambiguous misconception of identity.

He could deal with the Manchus above him and use his name to give his Han Chinese subordinates a sense of closeness. In essence, he was able to please both sides. Although he sometimes ended up pleasing neither side, he was still much better than the average Han Chinese general.

However, this duality that had lasted for decades vanished after the crushing defeat at Yansui Town. As the commander-in-chief, even if he did not lead the defeat, he had appointed Wang Tingji, who was said to have rebelled against the Qing court. At the time, he was just trying to shirk responsibility, since he could not escape responsibility for the loss of troops, let alone the defeat.

Now that's the case, all the troops in Yansui Town are gone. Not to mention whether the emperor in the capital will cut off his head, even if he isn't cut off now, the people in Yulin City who are without water will have to cut off his head.

"Brother Zhongli, do you think surrendering will offer a way to survive?"

"They are nothing more than Wang Tingji, who groveled and served the Hu people with his body."

Chen Tianzhi frowned and asked stiffly:

"If we choose to live, what will happen to our families? If we live, our families will die. Is this a worthwhile trade?"

Zhou Kaijie's mouth, which was about to open to speak, was instantly choked by these words. The fear in his heart spread throughout his body like a virus. As a member of the Han Eight Banners, his family was all outside the Great Wall. If he rebelled, his family members in Liaoyang would at least be exiled to the armored men as slaves. Even worse, they would not even be able to be slaves and would suffer the tragic fate of being executed along with their entire family.

Chen Tianzhi, who came from a family with three Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and five Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations), was even less able to completely sever ties with his family in his ancestral home in Zhejiang.

Despite his greed, a significant portion of the money he embezzled was eventually sent back to his hometown, used to buy land, or used to repair bridges and roads and build private schools.

Everything, in fact, was for the benefit of the Chen family of Haining.

If the Chen family of Haining surrendered to the Turks to save their lives, they might not survive, but they would likely find it difficult to even die!

Only then will he truly be the family's eternal sinner.

"The best course of action now is to ensure that Yansui Town is defeated. We will face death or be punished. If we surrender, our families will surely be lost. But if we defend to the death, let alone whether we can hold out now, even if we try to hold out, how long can we last?"

"In my opinion, if the city falls, we will die. If we defend it, we don't know how we will survive. It's better to defend it to the death. Either way, we'll die. If we hold on, we might have a way out and our families might be treated leniently by the court."

Although Chen Tianzhi's idea was difficult, Zhou Kaijie had no choice but to agree now.

"Go back and reorganize the soldiers, and send more troops to patrol the city to prevent a peasant uprising."

Throughout history, what city defenders feared most was not the enemy troops outside, but the people inside, or more accurately, the spies mixed in with them.

"But there's no water, I'm afraid—"

"Kill them! Fewer people means more water!"

After Zhou Kaijie turned and left, Chen Tianzhi thought it over and over again, and finally opened the letter hidden in his sleeve again. Looking at the promise on it, he just couldn't make up his mind.

In the end, he had no choice but to use copper coins to divine the future. He tried several times, and the result was always the same.

-------

The frenzy for water in Yulin City has temporarily subsided. After all, the heads hanging on the city gate towers are so conspicuous that it is difficult to suppress them for the time being. The government then ordered all the wells in the city to be confiscated and water to be distributed according to the number of people. It also ordered the price of rice to be stabilized in order to temporarily maintain the situation in Yulin City.

Water is easy to manage; you just need to seal the wells. But grain is impossible to manage at all. After all, each family's granary is the territory of a local powerful clan or wealthy household, guarded by servants at the gates, and they also have relatives and friends in the army. How can you quell the situation? In the end, all you get is a superficial reputation for boasting, which only exacerbates the tense atmosphere in the entire Yulin City.

Late at night, inside the General's Mansion in Yansui Town, behind a screen, two hazy figures could be heard whispering among themselves:

"Chen Tianzhi really wants to save his own life with my head."

"It's absolutely true. The envoy just told me that two copies of the letter of surrender were prepared. The first copy was sent to Prefect Chen, who gladly accepted it and even said that he would give several thousand soldiers in Yulin City as a gift, including your head, sir."

"It's not some kind of provocation?"

"But this servant has been keeping an eye on Prefect Chen these past few days. The Turkic envoy did indeed go to the prefectural office first, and only came here this morning."

Behind the screen, Zhou Kaijie and his servant Zhou Wu paused their conversation for a long time before speaking again:

"This morning, when that scoundrel Chen was discussing things with me, he was still talking about his family. Now it seems he already has a way out, and he even wants to use my head as a means to advance his career. What a worthwhile deal!!"

"It's totally worth it!!"

Zhou Kaijie gritted his teeth and muttered "Chen the traitor," and Zhou Wu across from him chimed in:

"The envoy also said that if the general is willing to lead all the thousands of Yansui garrison troops in the city to surrender, he can still be a general in Jinshan, with a mansion and residence to choose from, and a generous reward will be given."

"I don't need any silver or mansions. Just tell that envoy one thing: how to protect my family. If that can't be done, I'd rather perish together with the enemy than lose my reputation as a loyal subject."

On Friday, he nodded hurriedly and was about to take his leave when Zhou Kaijie added:

"Have someone keep a close watch on the government office. If even one person goes missing, the guards will be equally punished!!"

"Yes, sir—"

Just a few breaths after Friday stepped out from behind the screen, a low shout came from within:

"No matter what, I absolutely cannot let that old scoundrel Chen die before me!!"

Night after night, Zhou Kaijie opened the armor he had worn for many years, which had been locked in the cabinet, as well as the iron spear passed down through generations. These were the proof that his family had established themselves outside the Great Wall, and the source of his courage in many years of fighting.

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"Anbian Camp, Huaiyuan Fort, Boluo Fort, and Sanjun Town have all surrendered."

[Later generations later, this area became Anbian Town in Jingbian County, Hengshan District, and Boluo Town in Hengshan District.]

"Shenmu Camp surrendered this morning as well."

"The entire Jingbian County has surrendered—"

"The remaining towns have all surrendered or are preparing to surrender."

As soon as Lu Heng finished speaking, Luo Guisheng, who had been listening the whole time, immediately chimed in:

"Now that the military towns around Yulin have been pacified, we should lead our troops north as soon as possible and not linger."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him, and Luo Guisheng then offered his explanation:

"The fall of Yulin is inevitable. The main force of the Qing army will surely converge here. We should leave one army to defend it, and the rest should march north overnight to join the Dzungar army. Only in this way can we ensure stability. If we are greedy for the city's wealth and forget about the greater good, this is not the behavior of a military strategist, but rather that of a bandit seeking profit!"

"But we haven't even taken Yulin City yet. What if we leave and our rear is cut off? We've finally got our hands on this prize; are we just going to throw it away like that?"

Hu Wu's rough breathing went straight to Luo Guisheng's face, his fierce expression filled with accusation:

"You bastard, you're useless in battle, but you're good at gossiping. We fought tooth and nail to wipe out Yansui Town, how can we just leave without taking anything? How are we going to explain that to our brothers?"

"Shut up!!"

Just as Luo Gui was about to angrily curse them as scoundrels, a loud shout was like a bucket of cold water, calming both of them down.

"We should have news by tomorrow. Let's go back and rest first."

"Tell the brothers that robbery is permissible, but if they wantonly take lives, don't blame Yuan Heng for not warning them beforehand."

After Li Yuanheng finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving the two men staring at each other, both filled with indignation.

The next morning, a secret report shattered everyone's peace.

"A mutiny broke out in Yulin City. Some treacherous soldiers rebelled, taking hundreds of people hostage. They killed dozens of people in the government office. Zhou Kaijie, the commander of Yansui Town, led his troops to rescue the city, but he was also wounded by the mutinous soldiers and his whereabouts are still unknown."

"Unknown whereabouts, indeed, unknown whereabouts!!"

Luo Guisheng grabbed the secret report and immediately began to speak:

"My lord, your plans are excellent, but where is Zhou Kaijie now, and what is his name?"

Li Yuanheng chewed on the fine tea leaves he had just seized, his fingertips tracing the painting of Yulin presented by Wang Tingji on the table:

"He changed his name from Zhou to Gu, and is now called Gu Chuanjie. He has cut off his beard and is currently in the camp."

Where is Chen Tianzhi??

"Of course he's really dead."

Luo Guisheng's left eye twitched, and he asked in a surprised tone:

"Your Excellency does not employ him as a lackey, but instead seeks to win over the literati?"

"Hounds and lackeys, humph. In my opinion, such Han slaves are not as useful as Zhou Kaijie, that iron-fisted traitor. As for scholars, use them if you can, and get out if you can't. That's all there is to it."

"I am a Jinshan Turk!!"

Luo Guisheng remained silent, simply standing to one side, lost in thought.

While the two were talking, the gates of Yulin City were opened by someone with ulterior motives. The first thing to enter the city was not anything else, but a large banner with the character "Li" symbolizing Jinshan.

As the northwest winds swept across the city walls and the soft sunlight caressed the flags, this city, which had been ruled by the Qing army for nearly a century, once again welcomed a new master.