Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 256 Burning Down the Barbarian Quarter
Zhu Wen did not send all his troops to attack the military governor's residence.

Instead, he ordered Zhu Zhen and Huo Cun to each lead a detachment to set fire to the two foreign quarters in the east and west of Guangzhou.

The ward-market structure of Tang Dynasty cities was highly effective in preventing fires. Each ward was separated by streets several meters wide, with the main north-south thoroughfare of Chang'an, Zhuque Avenue, even reaching a hundred paces in width.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Lu Xun, the leader of the Celestial Masters sect, attacked Guangzhou and set fire to all the government offices and houses in the city, killing tens of thousands of people. Such a thing would not have happened in the Tang Dynasty.

For the nomadic army, this was not a bad thing. The distinct living areas of the Han and nomadic peoples could minimize casualties among the Han civilians during the siege and achieve precise strikes.

There were over 20,000 non-Han people living in Guangzhou, residing in two separate wards, east and west. Each ward was further divided into nine smaller wards, separated by a grid of streets. Numerous shops and mansions were built within these wards, filled with a dazzling array of treasures.

A place for storing goods is called a "di" (邸), and a place for selling goods is called a "dian" (店). Since the beginning of the dynasty, di and dian, in addition to storing goods, also served as lodging for merchants. After merchants checked into di and dian with their goods, the di and dian owners and brokers would act as intermediaries to sell the goods or buy more goods. In this way, di and dian developed into places for merchants to trade, possessing multiple functions such as warehouses, inns, and shops.

Generals Zhu Zhen and Huo Cun led their troops to the east and west wards at top speed.

They first used arrows coated with pine resin and dry grass, lit them, and shot them into the ward wall. Then they charged towards the ward gate with swords, killing anyone they saw.

After capturing the gate, they used torches to set fire to the firewood and other flammable materials scattered throughout the neighborhood.

The Hu people of Guangzhou originally possessed considerable military strength, but in order to assist Li Tiao in his battle, they sent most of their capable soldiers outside the city.

Those who remained were no match for the brave and valiant rebel army led by Zhu Zhen and Huo Cun.

As they killed and burned, they sounded horns and gongs, proclaiming: "Tens of thousands of righteous soldiers have entered the city! Han Chinese men of Guangzhou who can kill the barbarian bastards and assist in this righteous cause are all my brothers. All the wealth and children obtained will belong to you!"

"For every head of a barbarian with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and a thick beard that is cut off, our army will reward you with two hundred coins!"

Setting a price for the heads of Hu people and rewarding them was a practice that King Ran Min of Wudao had used hundreds of years ago when he killed Hu people in Yecheng. The common army followed suit.

When Ran Min killed the Hu people in the north, he inevitably killed Han people by mistake. In a city as far south as Guangzhou, it's impossible to find a single Han person with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and thick beard like the Hu people.

During sieges, it was common for the poor to gather and take advantage of the chaos, robbing the wealthy. Moreover, the foreign merchants of Guangzhou had long been arrogant and domineering, oppressing the Han people; what good could come of this?
Normally, with the street officials leading the armed forces to maintain order, the vagrants dared not act rashly.

But the motley crew under the street envoy, when faced with the fierce warriors led by Zhu Zhen and Huo Cun, were like sheep seeing a tiger, and dared not go forward.

Huo Cun saw the group of people, laughed loudly, shot an arrow and killed one of them, and then pretended to swing his sword to chase and kill them.

The street envoy's procession panicked and fell into complete chaos. Amidst the frantic fleeing, some even sneaked into the foreign quarters to join the looting.

Both of these elite troops were composed of capable soldiers who had been richly rewarded before the battle. Once inside the barbarian quarters, they focused on arson and murder, occasionally grabbing a piece or two of jewelry and stuffing it into their pockets. As for large items of merchandise, they didn't even glance at them.

The fire started in the northwest of the foreign quarter and spread with the north wind. Thick smoke billowed from the windows and roofs of the beautiful buildings, and fire snakes leaped excitedly in the wind, with crackling and popping sounds filling the air.

Taking advantage of the chaos, countless Han Chinese people swarmed together to loot. Some Kunlun slaves and Sengqi slaves also turned against their masters, robbing and killing them. However, the Han people were disgusted by their skin color, and coupled with the language barrier, these people were often quickly killed by the ferocious Han people after they had looted their belongings.

Soon, both barbarian quarters were engulfed in flames, and the corpses and bloodstains, licked by the flames, turned into charred remains along with firewood and cloth.

Even before the main force of the rebel army entered the city, there were probably not many non-Han people left in Guangzhou, except for some beautiful women who had been abducted. Among those killed were not only the most common Arabs, but also followers of Judaism, Nestorianism, and Zoroastrianism.

Guangzhou residents have dealt with them for a long time and can distinguish between them, but when it comes to a direct confrontation, these people are no different from pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

Remembering the arrogant and haughty manner of the Hu merchants, the Han people gritted their teeth in hatred, feeling that even if they couldn't seize the gold and silk or receive any rewards, they would still kill these strange creatures who reeked of foxes.

Within the city walls, several more markets and wards caught fire.

These were wealthy households who had previously been secretly colluding with Huang Chao but had not been discovered by Li Tiao. Seeing the fires in the two foreign quarters on the east and west sides, they believed that the rebel army had entered the city and taken control of the situation, and that the overall situation was settled. So they mobilized their servants to set fires and create chaos to help the rebel army.

As the chaos spread, the entire city was engulfed in screams and clamor. The streets were filled with screaming and running crowds, and people were constantly being knocked down, trampled, and left with broken bones and bleeding from all seven orifices.

Besides robbing and killing Hu people, some ruffians also took advantage of the chaos to scale walls and break into houses to commit heinous acts of rape and plunder.

Given the size of Guangzhou, it was unrealistic to limit all casualties to the non-Han people during the conquest. The rebel army's task was to restore order as quickly as possible after the situation stabilized.

The wealthy families who secretly colluded with the rebel army could be seen as causing necessary chaos. As for the rogues who took advantage of the chaos to rob and kill Han people, Huang Chao would, as was customary, find them and punish them according to the law once the dust settled.

The chaos throughout the city made it difficult for the remaining defensive forces to gather together.

Zhu Wen led a group of elite warriors through the Wutou Gate and stormed into Li Tiao's military governor's office with overwhelming momentum.

The remaining guards, relying on the layers of courtyards, formed ranks to block the attack, firing arrows from the rooftops, and putting up a stubborn resistance.

Zhu Wen and his men were determined to win, their fighting spirit soaring, their shouts shaking the heavens and the earth.

The blood flowing from the fallen comrades around them did not frighten them in the slightest; on the contrary, it fueled their fighting spirit.

This war has already shed too much blood; it's time to end it in one fell swoop.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; all responsibility for death and destruction will be attributed to the losing side.

"That damned old thief Li Tiao has hurt so many of our brothers!"

The rebel soldiers roared and charged into the depths of the courtyard.

Li Tiao's personal guards fell like grass being cut down.

They finally couldn't hold on any longer and scattered to both sides, revealing an empty main hall without a south wall.

In front of the main hall, a tall and imposing figure stood alone, sword in hand, his half-white beard fluttering in the wind. Against the backdrop of several tall eaves pillars, he appeared particularly desolate.

Li Tiao, a powerful figure who dominated Lingnan for twenty years, is finally coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)