The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 490 I also want to raise the flag, I want to be the flag bearer!
The snowfield outside Jining Prefecture was covered in ice and snow, and the cold wind was blowing like a knife. Hundreds of Mongolian cavalry, a thousand-strong Eight Banners New Army, and the two hundred or so men in yellow jackets standing in the wind and snow, staring at each other, the atmosphere was so tense that water could be squeezed out of them.

Look at the dozen or so large pots, the thick porridge inside is gurgling and bubbling, and it smells so good that it makes people drool. The hungry civilians and defeated soldiers who have been hungry for who knows how many days have green eyes like hungry wolves. They don't care about the tension between the two sides, and they line up to get porridge one by one, thinking in their hearts: Even if they are going to die in the chaos, they must eat first, and die with a full stomach! There are also some defeated soldiers and strong refugees, who are very active, holding a tattered bowl in one hand and a broken gun, a rusty knife in the other hand, or a wooden stick or brick picked up from somewhere, and they look fierce - rebellion! They have been looking forward to it for a long time!
As for Emperor Xianfeng, he was standing on a high platform made of several eight-immortal tables, facing the howling snowstorm, looking at the messy and bloody scene below, feeling so dazed, as if he were dreaming. He probably couldn't understand how the Qing Dynasty could become such a mess.
The yellow dragon flag fluttered in the strong wind, and the white mist from the horse's nose was mixed with the smell of blood. Shengbao's knife was still dripping with blood, and there were many blood-red ice crystals on his beard. It was probably because the hot blood of the lieutenant had just splashed out and was frozen into red coral-like ice by the north wind, which looked very creepy.

Shengbao's eyes were red, like a mad beast, staring at Emperor Xianfeng standing on the high platform in the distance. The anger in his eyes seemed to be able to burn people. He was definitely thinking in his heart that the Qing Dynasty had fallen to this point today, all because of this emperor's messing around! Now that Prince Gong finally ascended the throne, he still refused to die quickly. It was really not straightforward and undignified.

Thinking of this, Shengbao suddenly stretched out his left hand, and like a magic trick, he took out a small, yellow-sealed box.

At this tense moment, a long drawn-out "Minister Zeng is here --" pierced the snow like a sharp arrow. The eight-man green velvet sedan creaked on the snow. The curtain was lifted and Zeng Jia Guofan walked out with heavy steps. A middle-aged man in his thirties who looked 70% like him but was a little younger, with a black eye and a bleeding nose, came up to him. This man was Zeng Guohua. Zeng Jia Guofan nodded to his brother. He said "Don't worry", then stood in front of his sedan and shouted "Back off". The guards and personal soldiers who were blocking him in front of him dispersed to both sides like a tide. Now, Zeng Jia Guofan saw a chaotic and bloody scene. His brows were tightly knitted into the shape of a "川" character, which could pinch a fly to death.

He glanced around and first saw Emperor Xianfeng on the high platform, then saw the hungry people and defeated soldiers guarding before Xianfeng, holding broken bowls, rusty knives and broken guns. Then he sighed softly and shifted his gaze to Shengbao, who was riding on a horse with a knife in his hand.

"Sheng Ke Zhai, what do you mean?" Zeng Jia Guofan's voice was low and hoarse, and it sounded a little weak in the howling cold wind, but the majesty was not diminished at all. He stared straight at Sheng Bao, and his eyes were like questioning him why he pointed a knife at Emperor Xianfeng.

When Shengbao heard this, he suddenly laughed out loud, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. The laughter echoed in the air full of murderous intent and coldness, and it was particularly harsh, giving people goose bumps all over their bodies. "What do you mean?" Shengbao stopped laughing, raised the yellow-sealed box in his hand, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Grain Transport Governor-General and Acting Shandong Governor Zeng Jia. Guofan accepts the imperial decree!"

As he spoke, he thrust the scimitar, which was still covered in frozen blood, back into the scabbard. He freed his right hand and tore off the yellow seal on the box with a "hiss". He opened the box and took out a yellow-paper-covered folded book. He shook it in front of everyone and shouted at the top of his voice, "Look carefully, this is the secret order of Emperor Tongde, ordering Zeng Jia. Guofan to arrest the traitor, the fake Emperor Xianfeng, immediately, or he will be punished by military law! Zeng Jia. Guofan, why don't you accept the order?"

He held the secret decree in his hand high above his head. The bright yellow cover was particularly eye-catching in the snow and wind, like a death warrant. No one knew whose life it took in the end.

Zeng Jia Guofan clasped his fists towards the imperial edict in Yuan Bao's hand and said, "Forgive me, Guofan, for not being able to obey your order!"

"Zeng Jia Guofan, what did you say?" Sheng Bao stared at him and asked sternly, "Do you want to rebel?"

Zeng Jia Guofan pointed at Emperor Xianfeng standing on the high platform and said, "Ke Zhai, open your eyes and take a look. That is our emperor, the real Emperor Xianfeng!"

"Zeng Bu Tang!" Shengbao suddenly shouted, making the copper bells hanging on the saddle jingle. "Do you really want to rebel against Emperor Tongde? The emperor's secret decree clearly states that as long as you capture that tyrant, you will be a hereditary first-class duke!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden cry of surprise from the hungry people - he just said "take that tyrant"! Could it be that there really was an emperor Xianfeng who rebelled? The rebellion in the Qing Dynasty was really complicated. In the past, there were countless clones of Zhu San, who rebelled every year and could not be killed! Later, God and his family came down to earth to rebel against the Qing Dynasty! Now, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty personally rebelled against the Qing Dynasty. Is this Qing Dynasty still worth keeping?
A man holding a broken gun and who had just finished a mouthful of hot porridge shouted, "The emperor of the Qing Dynasty has rebelled, who the hell still cares about the first-class duke?" The defeated soldiers and strong hungry people next to him burst into laughter, and one of them even knocked on the broken bowl with a rusty knife to respond, "Lord Zeng has soldiers and territory. Whoever he supports is the emperor!"

This is the truth.
Zeng Jia Guofan's evil face looked even more evil. He stared at the secret decree of Emperor Tongde in Shengbao's hand and sighed, "Brother Kezhai!" His tone suddenly became softer and gentler, "We are all servants. The fights in the master's family can be solved by the master's family members in the Council of Ministers. How about that? The biggest enemy of our Qing Dynasty is the rebellious Guangdong bandits in the south! If our own people start killing each other again, wouldn't it be the Guangdong bandits who will reap the benefits?"

After hearing these words, Shengbao seemed to be a little moved, and his expression softened a little.

A thunderous gunshot tore through the snow, and Shengbao's hat flew up, drew a funny arc in the air, and then fell on the snowy plain with a puff. Zeng Guohua raised his smoking gun and shouted with gritted teeth: "Minister Zeng has an order to kill Shengbao, and Xianfeng will kill him!"

The snowfield boiled instantly.

Zeng Jia Linshu roared, picked up his sword and rushed forward. The "yellow jackets", hungry people, and defeated soldiers around him suddenly attacked, picked up their weapons, and rushed towards the Mongolian cavalry and the Eight Banners New Army under Shengbao. Several strong hungry people who had just drunk hot porridge worked together like crazy to pick up the porridge pot. After a few steps, they threw the porridge pot and the remaining hot rice porridge into the horse team not far away. A green camp soldier who came from nowhere picked up a fire stick and hit the Mongolian horse's eye socket with it. The beast stood up in pain and threw the Goshha on its back three feet away.

"Rebellion, rebellion, Xianfeng rebelled! Zeng Guofan also rebelled!" Shengbao drew his sword, pointed it forward, and shouted: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Mongolian cavalry and the Eight Banners New Army under his command were bewildered when they heard his order.

It is unheard of that the emperor would rebel!
What happened to the Qing Dynasty? How did it get to this point?

Just as they were hesitating, the Hunan Army led by Zeng Jia. Guofan also took up their weapons. Huang Shijie, a good student of Zeng Jia. Guofan, raised his sword and rushed forward with his men, shouting as he rushed: "Kill, kill all those bannermen."

His shout woke up the other Hunan Army officers and soldiers, defeated soldiers, and hungry civilians from their dreams. They shouted "Kill all the Bannermen" and rushed towards the Mongolian cavalry and the Eight Banners New Army in front of them, fighting with them.

Only after all the "bannermen" are killed can they become new bannermen! In this world, it seems that only by joining the system and becoming a bannerman can one live well!

Zeng Jia Guofan saw this scene and could only shake his head, then helped his old father Zeng Qishu out of the sedan chair, and walked towards the seat of Emperor Xianfeng under the protection of a group of Goshaha. Soon he arrived at Emperor Xianfeng's feet: "Your servant Guofan, I am late to protect you, please forgive me!"

Emperor Xianfeng on the high platform did not hear Zeng Jia Guofan's words at all. He just watched the chaos below, watching the Eight Banners soldiers in their official uniforms being mowed down like rice by the rising Hunan Army, hungry civilians, and fleeing soldiers. His pockmarked face twitched a little, and he just muttered in a low voice: "Ancestors, open your eyes and take a look. How did the world become like this?"

The battle outside Jining Prefecture was one-sided from the beginning. How could Shengbao's more than 1,000 new Eight Banners troops and Mongolian cavalry be a match for the Hunan Army, hungry civilians, and defeated soldiers with more than 10,000 people? They were soon completely overwhelmed. Shengbao still refused to give up, and led a group of Goshaha to charge left and right in the crowd, but he couldn't get out. Seeing the people around him fall one by one, he was completely at a loss, and just shouted loudly: "Hurry up, protect me and kill me!"

In the chaos, his newly recruited Geshaha personal soldier Zhao Sanduo suddenly jumped up, seized the opportunity, and pounced Shengbao off his horse, and tied a hemp rope around his neck: "I'm sorry, sir! I also want to carry the flag, I want to be a bannerman!"

(End of this chapter)