The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 402: Jiangnan Righteous People Recover the Capital
Whenever rumors are at their most powerful, people are also most fearful, just like Nanjing now.

Everyone knows what will happen if a large city of 700,000 to 800,000 people is besieged, and people at this time are also more aware of the morality of the army.

Therefore, there were already scattered citizens fleeing to the countryside in Nanjing. After the impact of the half-true and half-false rumors spread by Yang Kui and others, the people's hearts in this thousand-year-old capital finally collapsed.

More than 300,000 people rushed out of Nanjing like a tide within three or four days.

The scale of the situation was so large that ships carrying military supplies from upstream did not dare to approach the dock for fear of being used as a tool for escape by these people.

There was chaos everywhere, with trampling, falling into the water, and robbery incidents happening all the time.

General Hao Chun of Jiangning, who was in the entire city, watched all this happen with no other options. He could only close the six city gates and watch Nanjing collapse within a few days.

Deputy Governor Cheng De had beads of sweat rolling down his face. This was completely different from the plot he had discussed with Hao Chun.

Although they also planned to drive the people out of the city, they couldn't do it that way!
They had not yet stored enough food and wood in Mancheng, and were still short of a few ships of gunpowder and lead from the river. Their plan to forcibly conscript about 5,000 young men into Mancheng to do hard labor had not even begun.

The most important thing is that the government troops' planned dispersal or evacuation of the people from the city is completely different from their random escape from the city in panic. This has dealt a severe blow to morale.

Sure enough, on the third day of the chaos in the city, the 1,500 Green Camp soldiers of the Anhui Taiping Association who were initially guarding the Stone City simply dispersed without a fight. After looting the people, they ran back to Anhui.

As the Green Camp soldiers of the Taiping Association retreated, the morale of the Liangjiang Governor's Banner and the Jiangnan Governor's Banner stationed on Lion Mountain northwest of Nanjing also began to waver.

It was under such circumstances that Yu Jinao, Chen Guangzu and Wang Wubing approached Nanjing from the Taiping Gate area in the north.

Along the way, they traveled day and night, and relying on the transfer order of General Hao Chun of Jiangning, they easily passed through key cities such as Zhenjiang.

But now, the three of them suddenly realized that someone had already done the work they were supposed to do.

Because the order Mo Zibu gave to the three of them was to occupy the outer city of Nanjing, to prevent Hao Chun from organizing the people of Nanjing, and to prevent Hao Chun from holding these hundreds of thousands of people as hostages.

The three of them looked at the city of Nanjing, which seemed to have been breached by the army once. After staring at each other for a while, Chen Guangzu spoke first.

Although he and Wang Wuchu were both powerful generals in front of Mo Zibu, Chen Guangzu was still half a royal family member after all, so the three of them usually took him as the leader.

However, Chen Guangzu knew that he, a Cantonese guy, didn't know anything about the situation and couldn't even speak the language, so he was not suitable to make a decision. So he said to Yu Jinao:
"General Yu has been in Jiangnan for a long time. Although we have completed our mission, if we can go one step further, the achievement will be even greater.

You make the decision. If anything goes wrong, the three of us will shoulder the responsibility together. If we achieve any success, we will definitely not forget you."

Yu Jinao was delighted by these words. He pointed to the Lion Mountain in the northwest and said:
"Nanjing's city is the largest in Jiangnan. It currently has a full complement of 5,500 soldiers, and with the men able-bodied, there are around 12,000 men. The city walls are incredibly strong, and it's said there are 60 or 70 artillery pieces alone.

Moreover, the Eight Banners stationed in Jiangning were no different from those stationed elsewhere. During his two southern tours in the 1757nd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1765) and the th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), he personally went to Jiangning to review the banner troops throughout the city.

Although he did not come in person in the 1762th year of Qianlong's reign (), he specially sent princes and clan ministers to inspect the event.

Emperor Qianlong attached great importance to this place. He used it on a small scale during the four expeditions to Burma and the Jinchuan Campaign. Therefore, the Jiangning Banner Army was basically fully staffed, well-equipped, and had good combat effectiveness.

Chen Guangzu saw Yu Jinao pointing to the northwest, and recalled the map of the General Staff Office in his mind. "So General Yu meant that we should go to attack the Green Camp soldiers on Lion Mountain."

Yu Jinao was shocked. The Xing Tang Army's intelligence was really accurate. They even knew that there were Green Camp soldiers stationed on Lion Mountain. So he nodded and said:
"General Chen is indeed knowledgeable about military affairs. With only a thousand of us, it is impossible to attack Mancheng. So why not attack Lion Mountain and defeat the Governor's and Governor's troops there?

Then we took them under arrest and made a loud noise, so that the people in the city would think that our army was approaching and would not dare to come out, thus blocking them in the city."

"I agree." Wang Wuchu nodded, "And we can also start to restore public order in Nanjing.

This is the Southern Capital of the Ming Dynasty, and it will likely be the capital of Dayu in the future. We must preserve as much vitality as possible."

After the three men finished their plan, they immediately launched an attack on the Green Camp Governor's and Pacification Banners on Lion Rock in the early morning.

These Green Camp soldiers were already in a panic, and Yang Kui, who was supposed to lead them, ran away. Fu Bao, who was a third-class guard, was unable to control the situation at all.

At this moment, Wang Wuchu personally led 500 elite soldiers to attack the top of the mountain from the east.

Chen Guangzu set up two twelve-pound mortars and fifteen tiger squat cannons halfway up the mountain, and fired upwards at the Qing army's commander-in-chief's tent set up in the Yuejiang Tower on the top of Lion Mountain, almost collapsing this famous tower.

The Qing army reacted and prepared to fire back, but Wang Wuchu had already approached. The Qing army wanted to fire in a panic, but the Xingtang army fired a volley of gunfire, and the almost unarmed Green Camp soldiers fell to the ground.

Then they followed the fleeing soldiers and began to chase them. Although there were four or five thousand people on the entire Lion Mountain, everyone was in panic and did not dare to carefully judge how many people had come. What's more, most of them were still asleep, and those who got up did not even have weapons.

Although the governor Fu Bao is a so-called imperial guard, he knows nothing except how to move with a knife.

Thousands of soldiers shouted in terror. Instead of raising the flag and beating the drum to rally them, he rushed out wearing only a single garment with a few personal soldiers, intending to stop the chaotic soldiers with his body in the darkness of the early morning.

As a result, the chaotic soldiers could not recognize him as the red-belted nobleman of the governor, and immediately knocked him down without knowing the truth and stepped over him.

Poor Fubao, he had good skills, but how could one person withstand hundreds of people? After being knocked down, he couldn't stand up again and was trampled to death by the terrified crowd.

After Wang Wuchu's continuous driving, most of the Qing troops panicked and ran to the west where there was no sound of fighting.

These Green Camp soldiers, like headless flies, had just run to the west when they heard the sound of gongs and drums. They looked up in panic and saw a large flag of the Admiral of Jiangnan Military Affairs standing tall.

A captain of the Fubiao army immediately recognized Yu Jinao and shouted excitedly: "General Yu is here, General Yu is here!"

The Green Camp soldiers seemed to have finally found their organization. Within twenty minutes, thousands of people gathered together.

Seeing that most people had arrived, Yu Jinao immediately asked the officers in the crowd to come over to discuss the matter. These officers did not know it was a trick and rushed over one after another.

Yu Jinao had his men surround them quietly, then slowly took off his official hat, revealing a bald head.

Only then did these Green Camp officers discover that not only did Yu Jinao lose his braid, but all the soldiers under his command had a white cloth wrapped around their arms.

A guerrilla outside tried to run away, but Yu Jinao raised his hand and with a bang, the guerrilla was killed instantly by his pistol.

"General Yu, what are you doing? What are you doing?" Lieutenant General Zhang of Fu Biao shouted in a trembling voice.

"Commander Zhang, I'm sorry, but I have already surrendered to Emperor Guangzhong of Dayu, and now I am the commander-in-chief of the Han Dynasty Dayu.

Everyone, please surrender your weapons. We've been comrades for many years, and I don't want to engage in a bloody encounter. The Xing Tang army has already passed Zhenjiang, so you'd better be tactful."

Lieutenant General Zhang swallowed hard, and a smile suddenly broke out on his face. "General Yu, if you had such a solution, you should have told me earlier. I am also a Han Chinese, and I am willing to fight for it."

Yu Jinao chuckled, "You want to keep your wealth and status, right? It's not impossible, but His Majesty Guangzhong is not wanted by everyone. It depends on whether you are dedicated." "Dedicated, I will definitely do my best, I will definitely do my best." The voice of Lieutenant General Zhang's reply was immediately drowned out by the unanimous voices of a large group of comrades.

"Yu Jin'ao, you shameless bastard, don't forget that your family is in Tianjin. The Emperor will definitely kill your entire family." A Bannerman officer stood up and cursed loudly.

Yu Jinao snorted coldly and gave Brigadier General Zhang a look. Brigadier General Zhang gritted his teeth and his eyes immediately became ferocious. He and several officers rushed over and immediately pinned the Bannerman officer to the ground and stabbed him to death.

At the same time, the other officers also began to take action, and all the Banner Han officers and generals who were unwilling to surrender were killed.

Afterwards, Chen Guangzu led more than 2,000 people who had been subdued and entered Nanjing City directly. He raised more than three flags, pulled a three-pound field gun and fired at the entire city, and deliberately let Yu Jinao show up.

Hao Chun and Cheng De were indeed frightened. They realized then that the entire area below Nanjing had been basically captured. Even important officials like Jiangnan Admiral Yu Jinao and Susong Town General Lan Yuanmei had surrendered. How could they dare to leave the city?

Seeing that the Qing army was frightened, the three men began to occupy the streets of Nanjing in batches, and raised the three large flags belonging to the Han people: a red background with a golden sun, a blue background with a yellow sun, and a white background with a red sun.

The grassroots officials who were still in Nanjing were found, and cavalry were sent to read the notices posted along the streets to reassure the people, which basically stabilized the situation.

The huge city of Nanjing did not experience any fighting at all, and only the entire city was left.

. . . .

In Songjiang Prefecture, Lin Tong, the second assistant and Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, came to the former site of the Xia family in Songjiang Prefecture on behalf of Emperor Mo Zhao.

According to Mo Zibu's order, he built the Xia Family Three Loyal Temple here for Xia Yunyi, Xia Wanchun and his son, as well as Xia Wanchun's uncle Xia Zhixu, and ordered five families of Xia Wanchun's distant relatives to guard the temple for them.

Lin Tong, wearing a scarlet robe, handed a red-lettered iron certificate to the keeper of the temple.

"This red-lettered certificate was specially commissioned by Your Majesty for the loyal ministers and righteous men since the Jiashen Incident. From today on, the five of you and your respective lands will be permanently exempted from land tax."

The thirty-one members of the five Xia families were overjoyed. They suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction of Nanjing, "We, the humble people, thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

Lin Tong nodded. The Xia family had been extremely poor since Xia Wanchun, his son and his uncle died for their country. When Lin Tong found them, the five families had only three acres of land in total and relied on doing odd jobs for large mulberry silkworm breeders in Songjiang Prefecture to make a living.

Therefore, Mo Zibu not only built the Xia Family Three Loyal Temple on the old site of the Xia family, but also specially granted them 75 acres of land.

This is a lot. In a place like Songjiang where every inch of land is valuable, 75 acres of land is almost the same as 750 acres in other places, and they never collect land tax here.

"But you must remember that these 75 acres of land can never be sold or divided. The Three Loyalties Temple must always be lit with lights and incense. If there are any omissions, be careful that your eligibility will be revoked."

Lin Tong gave a loud lecture, and some of the Xia clan members who were not selected immediately stared at their relatives fiercely, as if they hoped that something would happen to these five families soon.

Then, Lin Tong looked at Qian Daxin who had rushed over from Jiading County and said, "Sir, your family carries the blood of the Xia family. His Majesty wants to separate a branch from your descendants to inherit the bloodline of Xia Wanchun. Does the Qian family have any objections?"

Qian Daxin was overjoyed and had no objections at all. "Your Majesty is so thoughtful. I am deeply grateful to you. The spirit of my maternal grandfather, Lord Xia, would also be grateful in heaven."

Lin Tong nodded. "The heroes who resisted the Eastern Tartars during the Jiading Massacre must be counted as soon as possible. Not a single hero's name or deeds should be forgotten. Your Majesty attaches great importance to this. A temple should also be built to commemorate these loyal officials and righteous people."

Upon hearing this, Qian Daxin prostrated himself on the ground, tears streaming down his face. "Today, I finally understand what it means to be a Han emperor and to be a fellow tribesman. Please rest assured, Lord Lin. I will do my best!"

Chen Qiuze's younger brother, Chen Qiuduan, and others also prostrated themselves on the ground and said to Lin Tong, "We, the people of Songjiang, are overjoyed to hear that Your Majesty has led the warships to recapture Nanjing.

Therefore, we have spontaneously organized 30,000 civilians, raised 50,000 dan of grain, and 30,000 jin of gunpowder. Please allow us to go to Nanjing to support you and witness your majesty's recovery of the Han capital!"

Lin Tong laughed, "Well, it really is the hometown of a loyal minister. Come with me to witness it!"

. . . .

The former governor of Suzhou Prefecture, Wutai, was divided into five parts and hung at the head and end of the Xintang Bridge in Huqiu.

These days, countless passers-by have spat at him, oh no, at them, and it has now become smelly, but Suzhou people are still unwilling to take it off.

Today, Qian Dazhao, the governor of Susong and the pacification envoy, stood at the bridge head, holding a thick long whip. He looked at the hundreds of people kneeling below and shouted loudly:
"In Guangzhou, the descendants of Qu Dajun were unfilial and sold their father's collected works. Your Majesty personally used this whip to severely punish the Qu family members and only then pardoned their crime.

Now, all members of the Xu family, except for the women, will be whipped thirty times each.

If you are beaten to death, your life will be short. If you are not beaten to death, it means that Xu Yi and Xu Fang, father and son, have forgiven you, and only then can you become a Han Chinese again."

What did these people do? Xu Fang never shaved his head and lived in seclusion in the mountains. After he died in poverty, the Xu family members refused to allow him to be buried in the family cemetery.

They even wanted to move the tomb of his father, Xu Yi, who committed suicide at Xintang Bridge in Huqiu, out of the family cemetery.

That was not all. Later, some members of the Xu family even wanted to sell the shabby thatched cottage left behind by Xu Fang, and not even leave this last shelter for Xu Fang's daughter-in-law and grandson.

What a beast!
After Qian Dazhao finished cursing, he said to a simple-minded middle-aged man beside him, "Please be patient. After you have avenged your great-grandfather today, His Majesty will reward you. At least you will be promoted to a thousand households in the Jinyi Guards."

Xu Fang's great-grandson fell to his knees with a thud and burst into tears. The people around him exclaimed in amazement and envy.

The faces of the kneeling Xu family members were filled with endless regret.

Snap! A soldier with a whip lashed out at the back of an old man from the Xu family like lightning.

The clothes on the old man's back instantly shattered, and he screamed in agony, "Hate it! Hate it! How could I have such a foolish ancestor? Don't learn from me!"

"Ah, ah! It hurts so much, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"

Amidst the screams, Yang Qingsun, the sixth-generation grandson of Yang Tingshu, came over and advised, "The descendants of the Xu family are indeed hateful, but that was also what their ancestors did. Please, Governor, temporarily exempt the old men over fifty years old and the young men under fifteen years old.

Your Majesty, restoring the Han Dynasty is a great joyous occasion. Don't let this little bit of blood taint the atmosphere."

Qian Dazhao finally agreed, "Have the righteous citizens of Suzhou Prefecture gathered yet?"

Hua Zan, the former chief clerk, replied, "We have 50,000 civilians, rice, vegetables, live chickens, ducks, pigs, and fresh fish, enough to feed the army for ten days. In addition, we have 1,000 brave young men from Suzhou who are willing to serve in the army."

"Okay, then I'll go to Nanjing immediately."

In addition to these places, Tongzhou (Nantong), Jiangyin, Changzhou, Danyang, and Huzhou and Jiaxing prefectures in Zhejiang, all the places that were recovered, organized a large number of volunteers and huge amounts of supplies.

The people of the entire Jiangnan region were mobilized. They wanted to witness with their own eyes the revival of the Han Dynasty in Nanjing!

(End of this chapter)