Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

As the moon sets and crows cry, the valley, which should be gloomy and dark, is now filled with noise.

He Mingqiu successfully annihilated the Jin army and rescued tens of thousands of civilians.

The few Jin soldiers who managed to escape were either killed or captured by the Restoration Army lying in ambush at the crossroads, but they had no way to deal with the Jin soldiers who had infiltrated the civilian population.

Because the valley was pitch black, the people didn't stay quietly inside; instead, they cried, shouted, and made a ruckus, creating chaos.

Fearing that something might happen to the people in the chaos, He Mingqiu's top priority was to maintain order and calm them down. So he ordered the Xingfu Army to enter the valley in platoons, carrying torches.

After entering the valley, the Restoration Army shouted, "We are the Restoration Army, we have come to save our fellow villagers, everyone be quiet!" while dividing the people into more than a dozen areas.

Upon seeing that it was the Restoration Army entering with torches, the people in the valley gradually quieted down.

These people were fine during the day, either working in the fields or helping with farm work at home. Then a group of people came and drove the whole village together. Except for the very old and the very young who couldn't walk, everyone else was driven here.

Before these people left their homes, some witnessed their belongings and food being looted, some had their infant children forced to stay at home, and some had their wives or daughters raped in public by the Jin army because they were beautiful.

What the Restoration Army saw was tens of thousands of people being driven and imprisoned in this valley, but behind these people, countless human tragedies were unfolding or had already unfolded.

He Mingqiu saw that although the people were no longer terrified, their expressions varied, some were worried, some were resentful, and some were numb. Perhaps they had experienced some tragic events before they came here.

The Restoration Army rescued people but not their lives. He Mingqiu expressed sympathy for the people's previous experiences, but felt helpless about what had already happened.

It's midnight now, and without torches, it's practically pitch black. These undisciplined people shouldn't be allowed to move around too much; any movement will cause chaos, and chaos will lead to trouble. So, keeping them where they are is the best option.

And so, He Mingqiu and a thousand soldiers of the Restoration Army stood guard over the people and maintained order until dawn.

At daybreak, the Restoration Army soldiers woke up the people and questioned them one by one, with the aim of finding the Jin soldiers hiding among them.

The decision not to locate the Jin soldiers before dawn was also to avoid alerting them and forcing them to fight to the death, causing chaos among the people.

As for how to distinguish Jin soldiers from ordinary people, the method is actually quite simple.

By this time, the Jin soldiers had all shaved their heads and grown queues, but the Jin soldiers themselves probably thought the gold-rat tails were ugly, so they usually wore military caps or headscarves, making it difficult to tell whether they had shaved their heads or not.

The Restoration Army ordered everyone to remove their hats and headscarves, at which point it became immediately clear who the Jin soldiers were.

This action led to the discovery of more than 500 Jin soldiers.

It can only be said that there were quite a few quick-thinking Jin soldiers.

The captured Jin soldiers all had ugly, shaggy queues. He Mingqiu was annoyed by their appearance, so he first ordered their queues to be cut off, and then told the people to stand up. It was time for revenge!

Anyone whose house has been ransacked, whose daughter or wife has been violated, or whose family has been beaten to death or injured can come forward and identify the perpetrators.

More than 500 Jin soldiers were bound hand and foot and lined up in a long row. People walked in front of them and pointed them out one by one.

Any Jin soldiers identified were immediately stabbed without questioning or verification by the Xingfu Army.

Some Jin soldiers struggled to escape, but the Restoration Army didn't tolerate them and killed them on the spot!

It cannot be ruled out that some people might maliciously accuse others, but He Mingqiu didn't care about that. Since these people dared to plunder the people, none of them were innocent.

In the end, all the Jin soldiers were identified, and the identified Jin soldiers were all killed on the spot by the Restoration Army. None of them survived!

More than two thousand Jin soldiers were all killed. Not a single one was captured this time, all because they dared to attack the people right under the noses of the Xingfu Army.

If it hadn't been discovered in time and the Restoration Army hadn't rescued them in time, these tens of thousands of civilians would have been driven to the battlefield. At that time, the unarmed civilians would either have died under the Restoration Army's artillery fire or under the swords and spears of those who didn't care.

If they went to the battlefield, the vast majority of civilians would die, with only one in ten surviving. This is why He Mingqiu was so ruthless towards this group of Jin soldiers.

Unfortunately, much of the money and grain belonging to the people was looted. Except for a small portion that was secretly kept by the Jin soldiers, the rest was transported back to the Jin army's main camp.

With no money or food left, it will be very difficult for the people to get through this winter!

He Mingqiu reported the situation to Li Chengming, saying that when in doubt, the captain should figure out a solution.

At the foot of Qianshan City, the people who should have been driven away after dawn were nowhere to be seen. Jin Shenghuan waited for a long time without any news and became anxious, so he quickly sent people to investigate.

The scouts who were sent out rode their horses at breakneck speed all the way to the valley where the people were being held, only to find that the valley was already empty.

Upon arriving at the valley, we found a spot that had been excavated, with raised patches of soil on top, clearly freshly covered with new earth.

Several Jin scouts sensed something was wrong, dismounted, and used their broadswords to dig up a patch of fresh soil.

When they dug to a depth of about two feet, the scouts were shocked to find the ground filled with the corpses of Jin soldiers!

The scouts rose in horror to look at the area covered by fresh soil, spanning several hundred square meters. If it contained the corpses of Jin soldiers...

To prove their suspicions, the scouts dug up several more places and found them full of corpses!

Preliminary estimates suggest there are over two thousand Jin army corpses here.

If that's the case, then the Jin army that was originally guarding the people here has been completely wiped out!

And they were all killed, with no survivors!

The scout returned to the Jin army camp with this astonishing news and reported it to Jin Shenghuan.

Jin Shenghuan was shocked. His 2,300 elite soldiers had been wiped out silently overnight, with not a single one escaping. Who could have done this?

The Restoration Army of Qianshan City?

Qianshan City was under the close surveillance of the Jin army. Jin Shenghuan was confident that it was possible for a few people to sneak out of the city, but it was absolutely impossible for an army of several hundred or a thousand people to sneak out of the city without being discovered!

Sending troops from Xinzhou City? That's unlikely, because Xinzhou City is too far away.

If the Restoration Army were to send troops to rescue the people, there would be one more suitable place to send troops: Ehu Town!

Just then, a scout reported that a force of a thousand men had just entered Ehu Town.

Upon hearing this news, Jin Shenghuan was furious: those people originally came from Ehu Town!

The troops from Ehu Town have been dispatched. Such important news, yet so many scouts were deployed and none of them noticed.

Enraged, Jin Shenghuan kicked over the table and personally beat up the scout who had come to deliver the message.

Not satisfied with the beating, he ordered his men to drag the scout out and beat him to death with sticks.