My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 181: Are they not Jiannu? Are they crazy? They massacre their own city?

However, at this moment of chaos and life and death, some people in the crowd were not at all panicked, but appeared extremely calm.

They were none other than the Daming Yebushou that Zhu Cilang had secretly sent to Yizhou!

Their original mission was to act as an insider when the Ming army attacked the city, open the city gates, and cooperate with the outside forces to capture Yizhou City in one fell swoop.

However, the sudden change in the situation caught them off guard.

Who can think of it?

For unknown reasons, the 10,000 Jiannu defenders in the city suddenly withdrew, and even set fire to all the civilians before leaving!

The leader of this group of Yebushou was named Li Eryong, a burly Han Chinese from Liaodong.

At this moment, he was standing on a high ground, calmly observing the situation around him.

After a moment, he whispered to his companions:

"We can't just sit there and wait for death. We must keep the people safe and organize firefighting, otherwise the entire city will be reduced to ashes!"

In fact, with their abilities, it would not be difficult to escape from here, but they can't do that!

Because if they leave, all the people here will be burned to death!

And this city will be reduced to ashes!

In this way, their mission was considered a failure.

A night guard quickly climbed onto a rooftop that had not yet been engulfed by the flames, opened his throat, and shouted with all his strength to the people around him:
"Everyone calm down! Don't run around! Only by staying calm can we survive!"

His voice was particularly loud in the sea of fire, but the panicked crowd did not fully hear it and continued to run around in panic.

Seeing this, Li Eryong immediately ordered his companions to pick up the broken drums that had been discarded on the ground by someone, as well as anything that could make a sound, and then started beating them hard.

"dong dong dong"

"bang bang bang"

"Da da da"

As various sounds suddenly rang out, it finally attracted the attention of some people.

Soon, a group of people gathered.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Eryong immediately gave the order loudly:

"Everyone, listen to me. From now on, don't run around. Even though the fire is big, we still have a chance to survive!"

"Let's put out the fire together now. Only by putting out the fire around us can we survive!"

His voice was firm and powerful, as if it injected strength into the desperate people.

Immediately afterwards, other Yebushou also took quick action, gathering more people and arranging things for them.

Because of its large population, Yizhou City had many wells in the city, and the Jiannu did not block the wells when they evacuated, which provided a valuable source of water for firefighting.

At that moment, Ye Bushou led the people to rush to the nearby well and began to draw water to put out the fire.

The rest of the people used various tools to mark out a fire isolation zone to ensure that the flames would not spread.

Soon, more people began to join in, and everyone was trying to find ways to save themselves.

And their efforts finally paid off.

Soon, the fire in an area was finally put out.

Although the surroundings were still burning, the flames could not reach them because of the fire isolation zone set up.

At this time, there were as many as 30,000 people gathered around them!
As for the rest of the people, most of them were burned to death in the fire!

However, their current safety is only temporary, as the fire is still spreading everywhere, as if it is going to burn down the entire city.

But Li Eryong and others were helpless about this, because facing such a situation, it was not easy to save so many people.

To put out this flame that is enough to burn the entire city, it will take heavy rain!

There is no other way!
Just when Li Eryong didn't know what to do next, he suddenly felt a cold touch on his forehead.

this.
Li Eryong was stunned for a moment, then raised his head in disbelief.

Tick
Another drop of cold liquid fell on his face.

really!

It's raining.
Immediately afterwards, raindrops as big as beans began to fall down with a crackling sound. At first, there were only a few sparse drops, but in a blink of an eye, they gathered into a downpour.

The raindrops hit the burning houses and the scorching ground heavily, splashing layers of water and then rising bursts of water vapor.

Under the attack of rain, the raging flames gradually lost their arrogance and began to die out.

Faced with such a scene, not only Li Eryong and others were confused, but even all the people around were stunned.

It seemed as if he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes!
But as the rain got heavier, the people suddenly burst into deafening cheers.

They all raised their heads, letting the rain wash away the tears, sweat and dust on their faces, and laughed at the sky in the rain.

That smile was filled with relief at surviving the disaster and gratitude for this timely relief.

Some people knelt down excitedly, clasped their hands together, and silently thanked the gods for their protection!
Some people hugged each other and cried, feeling the joy of rebirth.

Many children cheered in the rain, as if they had forgotten the fear they had just experienced.

Soon, the fire that was enough to burn down the entire city was finally completely extinguished by the rain.

The heavy rain seemed to have completed its mission and stopped after the fire was extinguished.

Everything is so magical.

It was as if the heavy rain was sent by God to save them.
After cheering, the people sat down on the muddy ground exhausted, their eyes shining with joy of surviving the disaster.

Suddenly, at this moment, a Han Chinese citizen walked up to Li Eryong with a puzzled look on his face and asked curiously:
"Who are you anyway? Why are you so calm in the face of the fire and even leading us in putting it out?"

Li Eryong and his companions looked at each other and realized that there was no need to hide their identities anymore.

They are not fools. When the Jiannu retreated in a hurry and even wanted to burn down the city and kill all the people, they realized one thing!
That means the Jiannu were defeated!
Otherwise, the Jiannu would never have evacuated Yizhou overnight, and then destroyed everything before leaving, even not sparing the civilians!
This means that the Ming army is coming soon!
If that's the case, why do they need to hide their identities?
So, Li Eryong took a deep breath, then stood up, looked at the people around him and said loudly:
"Everyone, to be honest, we are Ming border troops. We were ordered by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to infiltrate Yizhou City. Our original plan was to act as an internal support during the Ming army's siege. However, the situation took a sudden turn, leading to what just happened!"

When the Han people who had asked the question just now heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes, and then they showed a look of surprise.

"Wait, the Ming army? You mean the Ming army is coming soon?"

Li Eryong smiled slightly and nodded:
"Of course! Didn't you realize that the Jiannu army evacuated Yizhou overnight and even burned it down because they were defeated?"

"They know they can't defend Yizhou City, nor can they take you away, so they want to destroy everything!"

"If they won, why would they evacuate at night?"

When the Han people in the crowd heard this, they cheered instantly.

For many years, they lived a life worse than death under the rule of the Jiannu people. They suffered long-term oppression and exploitation, and would be beaten to death if they were not careful.

I have long been looking forward to returning to the embrace of the Ming Dynasty.

Now, the Ming Dynasty has finally arrived!
Although they may not necessarily live a good life in the Ming Dynasty, it is definitely better than living with the Jiannu!

On the Jiannu side, they can hardly be called human beings.

They lived in shacks with hundreds or thousands of people in each, ate the leftovers left by the Jiannu, were all poorly clothed, and would be killed if they fell sick.

When necessary, they will even be used as meat shields!
But soon, all these expectations will be gone!

For a moment, the Han people cheered even more.

However, there were some people in the crowd who just couldn't be happy.

They are the Mongolian people and the Jiannu people.

Of course, it might be more appropriate to call them Jurchen people, because they were all Jurchens who were enslaved and abandoned by the Jiannu.

The situation of the Mongolian people was slightly better. Although they had occasional frictions with the Ming Dynasty, they were not mortal enemies in general. As long as they were willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, they could most likely save their lives.

But the situation of the Jurchen people was completely different.

Because this war is a life-and-death contest between the Jurchens and the Ming Dynasty, the two sides have long-standing grievances, and this time they are putting all their efforts into it!

Now that the Jurchens have been defeated, they are filled with worry that if they fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, their lives may be in danger.

At this moment, an old Jurchen man stood up tremblingly.

He was thin and his face was full of the vicissitudes of life. He walked unsteadily to Li Eryong, his eyes full of anxiety and fear.

Then he asked cautiously:
"Sir, may I ask what the Ming army will do to us Jurchens after they arrive here?"

When Li Eryong heard this, he fell silent.

Because he knew that the hatred between the Ming Dynasty and the Jiannu was already deeply rooted, and the two sides had reached the point of a fight to the death!

Although he did not participate in the previous war, he could imagine that this war would be brutal.

If these Jurchen people were really captured by the Ming army, they would most likely be massacred.

In fact, after spending some time with them, he felt that these lower-class Jurchen people were just like the Han people, working hard every day and not daring to slack off for a moment.

In fact, the Jiannu treated them far more cruelly than they treated the Han and Mongolian people.

If he had the final say, he actually hoped that the Ming Dynasty would accept these Jurchen people and give them a way out.

But he was just a small border army commander, how could he make the decision on such matters?

Finally, Li Eryong sighed helplessly, with a hint of helplessness and bitterness in his voice:

"I don't know about that either. We can only wait until the Ming army arrives."

When the old Jurchen man heard this, he felt a sudden surge of sadness in his heart.

He sighed deeply, and in an instant, all hope was gone. He could only return to the crowd and hug his three or four-year-old grandson tightly. He was not actually a Jiannu, but a Haixi Jurchen, also known as the Wild Jurchen in later generations, also known as the Solon people!

Originally, the family lived near the Songhua River, leading a relatively primitive tribal life. Although life was hard, they could survive.

Until one day, Nurhaci led the Jianzhou Jurchens to defeat his tribe. Their tribe leader was unwilling to surrender, and eventually everyone became Nurhaci's slaves.

Later, he and his son, daughter-in-law and grandson were forcibly taken to Yizhou, where they worked in the logistics department of the Jiannu army.

Unfortunately, his son and daughter-in-law died one after another, leaving only him, an old man, and his grandson to survive.

But he didn't expect that he would face the trial of the Ming Dynasty just after escaping the slavery of the Jiannu!

Although he had never done anything to offend the Ming Dynasty in his life, the Ming Dynasty and the Jiannu were hostile to each other and had just experienced a great war, so he estimated that their end would not be good.

If he were younger, perhaps he could take his grandson and escape during the chaos, and then find a deserted place to continue living.

But he was old, he couldn't escape, and he couldn't raise this grandson.

Hey!
Thinking of this, he sighed helplessly again, and then continued to hold his grandson, ready to face his final fate.
Soon, Wu Sangui, Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Shize led 20,000 cavalrymen to three miles outside Yizhou City.

Because they had Daming Yebushou, who was familiar with the place, leading the way, they arrived here smoothly.

However, a sudden heavy rain before that soaked them all, and their armor and clothes stuck tightly to their bodies, making them very uncomfortable.

Even the horses' manes were wet and stuck to their necks, and their hooves were muddy, splashing muddy water as they walked.

The soldiers' faces were also full of fatigue. After all, it was quite uncomfortable to travel in the rain.

But no matter how uncomfortable they were, they still arrived in Yizhou as quickly as possible!
However, before they got close to Yizhou, the surrounding scene suddenly made them realize that something was wrong.

Because at this moment, the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell, which was the smell emitted after something burned, and the smell was so strong that it was obvious that a lot of things were burned.

Immediately, a scout went to check.

Then a series of torch lights flickered forward in the darkness, and soon turned back.

"Reporting to the generals, there's wheat and other crops all around here. These crops haven't been harvested yet, but they've all been set on fire!"

"It's just because of the heavy rain before, so only a small part of it burned!"

The scout said to Wu Sangui and the other two while riding on horseback.

When the three heard this, they immediately frowned.

Wu Sangui could not help but curse:

"Have the Jiannu gone mad? They're even burning their own food supplies!"

Zheng Chenggong suddenly thought of something and said:
"Since the Jiannu burned the food supplies, it means they have already evacuated Yizhou City. Otherwise, they would never have wasted them like this!"

Zhang Shize next to him nodded in agreement.

I knew that in ancient times, food was one of the most important supplies for the army. After all, if there was no food to eat, how would the soldiers have the strength to fight?

There is only one situation in which food is burned!
That is, they cannot take these foods away and are unwilling to leave them to the enemy!
Fortunately, there was a heavy rain just now, which put out the fire in time, and only a small half of the food was burned.

Wait until tomorrow morning and then organize people to come and see how much food is available.

Suddenly at this moment, Zheng Chenggong's expression changed instantly. He looked at Wu Sangui and Zhang Shize and said:

"It's bad! Do you think the Jiannu might massacre the city?"

Massacre the city?

Upon hearing this word, Wu Sangui and Zhang Shize were both stunned, their eyes full of disbelief.

Because the massacres were always carried out on enemy cities, but before this, Yizhou City was the Jiannu's own city. Who would have nothing better to do than to massacre their own city?

But the next second, they realized something was wrong!

In order to avoid leaving all the food to them, the Jiannu people burned it. If they were unwilling to leave the people of Yizhou City to them, then massacring the city seemed reasonable.

It is even possible that the entire Yizhou City will not be spared.
After realizing this, the three of them were shocked, and then without any hesitation, they led the army straight to Yizhou City!

If Yizhou City was destroyed and the people were massacred, they would have a hard time explaining themselves when they returned!
Soon, they finally arrived at the city of Yizhou.

At this moment, the scene before my eyes is simply shocking.

The entire city was shrouded in thick black smoke, which seemed to swallow up the night and was even more terrifying than the deepest darkness.

Traces of fire were faintly visible on the city walls. The city gates were closed and the surroundings were silent. Only the sound of the wind mixed with the crackling of sparks that had not yet been extinguished made the city seem particularly desolate.

Wu Sangui saw this and cursed angrily:

"Damn Jiannu, they actually massacred their own city. Are they crazy?"

His voice echoed in the empty city, filled with barely suppressed anger.

Zheng Chenggong was also extremely angry.

"These beasts are worse than pigs and dogs!"

Zhang Shize didn't say anything, but judging from his expression, he was extremely angry at the moment.

This prince, who had been living a life of luxury in the capital, finally experienced the cruelty of war after this war.

In anger, Wu Sangui immediately ordered his soldiers to place explosives and prepare to blow up the city gate to find out what was going on.

After receiving the order, the soldiers acted quickly, took out the explosive packs wrapped in oilcloth, and then placed them in front of the city gate, ready to light the fuse and detonate them.

However, just as the bomb was about to explode.

Suddenly there was a 'squeak' sound.

Then, the city gate slowly opened.

The one who appeared in front of the three people was the Daming Yebushou led by Li Eryong!
Seeing this, although they still didn't understand what was going on, the soldiers who were preparing to detonate the explosives quickly extinguished the fire starters in their hands.

Then Li Eryong led the night guards out quickly and respectfully saluted Wu Sangui, Zhang Shize and Zheng Chenggong, saying:
"My three generals, I am Ye Bushou, a subordinate of General Cao Bianjiao. I was previously lurking in Yizhou City under the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Now that the Jiannu have withdrawn, I respectfully welcome you into the city!"

Wu Sangui and Zhang Shize did not say anything, but just looked at the people in front of them with inquiring eyes.

They did know that the Crown Prince had sent some people to lurk in Yizhou City, but how could they be sure that the people in front of them were the ones sent by the Crown Prince?
If this is a trick of the Jiannu, then aren't they in danger?
Then, just as they were about to check the identities of Li Eryong and others, Zheng Chenggong on the side said with a smile:
"I've seen you in the East Palace before. I think your name is Li Eryong, right?"

When Li Eryong heard this, he quickly raised his head and looked at the person who spoke.

Because it was night, he didn't see the appearance of these three people clearly just now. He only knew that they must be Ming army. But now he looks again, they are really familiar faces!
It was this person who distributed the reward money to them before they set off from Beijing!

They even introduced themselves to each other.

After coming back to his senses, Li Eryong hurriedly said with a smile:

"So it's Lord Zheng. I'm so sorry!"

When they saw this scene, the doubts in Wu Sangui and Zhang Shize's hearts disappeared instantly because the identity had been confirmed.

There was no need to say anything more, and everyone followed Li Eryong into Yizhou City.

As soon as they entered the city, Wu Sangui and others were shocked by the tragic scene before them.

The streets were littered with civilians burned to death by the fire, their bodies lying all over the place. Some were unrecognizable, with charred limbs twisted and deformed, making it unbearable to look at.

The air was filled with a strong smell of burning and blood, which was almost suffocating.

Li Eryong explained in a low voice:

"The Jiannu set fire to the city when they evacuated. We tried our best to save most of the people, but many still died in the fire."

When he said this, there was deep helplessness in his voice.

Wu Sangui and others gritted their teeth when they heard this, and their hatred for the Jiannu deepened.

After all, before they came, these people were the Jiannu's own people!

How could these beasts be so cruel?
Not even letting your own people go?

After walking forward for a while, they finally arrived at the center of the city and met the surviving people.

Seeing that it was indeed the Ming army, the Han people's faces were filled with joy of surviving the disaster, their eyes were full of hope, and they cheered the arrival of the Ming army.

The Mongolian people looked nervous, with anxiety and vigilance in their eyes. They talked in low voices, as if discussing what the future would hold.

Most of the Jurchen people looked pale, as if the shadow of death still hung over them and could take their lives at any time.

Some Jurchen people even huddled in the corner with dull eyes, as if they had given up struggling and were ready to face impending death.

Li Eryong approached Wu Sangui and asked in a low voice:
"General Wu, may I ask how the court will deal with these Jiannu people?"

Wu Sangui did not respond directly to him, but gave him a reassuring look, then raised his voice and said to the people in front of him:

"Don't panic, everyone. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty has ordered that no innocent people should be harmed, so you can rest assured that we will never harm you."

"But there is one exception, and that's the Jiannu! Also known as the Jianzhou Jurchens!"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order to annihilate the Jiannu people and not let any of them go!"

"But we also know that the Jiannu are only a part of the Jurchens and cannot represent all of them."

"So, if there are any Jianzhou Jurchens among you, please stand up now and wait for me to kill you so that I can complete my mission and return home."

"But if you are the Wild Jurchens or the Haixi Jurchens, there is no need to stand up. Not only will we not harm you, we will also properly resettle you."

"Now tell this general, are there any Jianzhou Jurchens among you?"

When these words were spoken, Li Eryong was dumbfounded.

Not
What the fuck is going on?

Even if you want to find the Jianzhou Jurchens among these people, you can't shout it out so openly, right?

The Jianzhou Jurchens are not idiots, how could they stand up and let you kill them?

(End of this chapter)