There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 15 Let’s negotiate terms!

Yidu military camp.

Although it was called a military camp, there were actually only a few soldiers. Especially after the Miao rebellion broke out in Hunan, most of the soldiers were transferred to Hunan to quell the rebellion.

It can be said that in the entire area west of Jingzhou Prefecture to the east of Yichang Prefecture, including the three counties of Yidu, Zhijiang and Changyang, there was only one captain, Wang Qilong, and a dozen Qing soldiers under his command.

The two provincial capitals of Yichang and Jingzhou are slightly better.

Yichang City was commanded by Zeng Pangui, the general of Yichang Town. His troops included fifty personal soldiers and one hundred Miao soldiers from the Hefeng Camp. Jingzhou Prefecture was even more powerful, with the governor Hui Ling personally commanding it and three hundred elite soldiers from the Eight Banners of the Manchus.

Yes, that’s right. The regular troops in the two prefecture cities of Jingzhou and Yichang totaled less than 500 people.

There were even fewer Qing troops in other prefectures such as Xiangyang, Yunyang, De'an, and Hanyang.

It is no wonder that the White Lotus Sect in Hubei Province, despite its poor combat effectiveness and the fact that they were fighting on their own, could still cause such a great deal of trouble.

Although the White Lotus Sect had not yet launched an uprising, Wang Qilong had already deeply felt the pressure from the rebels.

"What's going on? Traitors... Where did these traitors come from?"

Wang Qilong mounted his horse in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to put on his armor.

The equally hurried personal guard shook his head and told only what he knew: "I don't know either, but the county government suddenly sent someone saying that rebels have broken through the county gates, and they want you to go to the government office immediately to provide assistance and suppress the rebels who have entered the city!"

Wang Qilong's face darkened. "Damn it! These civil servants are all idiots. If a bunch of rioters rushed into that shabby government office, they could destroy it. And they didn't even run away?"

The personal guard then asked, "Sir, should we save him?"

"Save him! Of course I have to save him. If we don't, both you and I will be in trouble!"

Although Wang Qilong was full of resentment, what he said was the truth.

Even though he was only a captain of the Qian army and of the sixth rank, two levels higher than the deceased Magistrate Shen, under the official order of the Ming and Qing dynasties, no matter how low the rank of a civil official was, he could not be easily offended by a military officer.

During the Qing Dynasty, the situation was even more serious. There was even a joke: "Although the governor is of the first rank, his power does not exceed that of a prefecture or county."

Later, Zuo Zongtang, even as a staff advisor, dared to scold the Second Rank General Fan Xie: "You bastard, get out!"

If Wang Qilong dared not to rescue the county magistrate, and the county magistrate died, but he, the garrison commander, was alive, the court would definitely punish him, and the civil officials would not let him go.

"Dudududu da da da..."

"Kill...kill the Qing dogs..."

Wang Qilong had just put on his light armor on horseback and had no time to tie his waist when he heard a commotion outside the camp, accompanied by bursts of shouts and cries of killing.

After a while, personal soldiers came rushing over on horseback.

"Oh no, sir, the rebels are coming to attack our camp!"

Wang Qilong's face was gloomy and cruel. He held the reins in his hand and said, "How brave! My men, mount your horses immediately and follow me to kill the rebels!"

"Wow~~!"

At Wang Qilong's command, sixteen personal soldiers quickly mounted their horses. The horses they rode were all locally produced southern horses.

Southern horses are too short at the shoulders and lack endurance, so to be honest, they are not suitable as war horses. However, the Mongolian horses in the north are not adapted to the southern climate, so in the middle and late Kangxi period, the model of using Mongolian horses in the north and southern horses in the south was basically adopted.

Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong and Guangxi are the main areas for producing southern horses.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Wang Qilong personally led the team and his personal soldiers to rush towards the rebels at the gate of the camp and attack them in a dispersed manner.

He could already imagine that he would kill all these "rabble" of rebels as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

On the other side, He Shunan naturally also heard the sound of cavalry galloping. Having once served as the commander of a border town in Shaanxi, he issued military orders calmly.

"All teams, disperse and change formation! Push forward with your palladium!"

Although Nie Yu was only practicing a low-end version of the Mandarin Duck Formation and did not have chariots to deal with cavalry, he still practiced some necessary formation changes.

The Mandarin Duck squad in front of them dispersed almost reflexively, not even seeing the Qing soldiers running towards them. Four spearmen, two wolf gendarmes, and two sword and shield soldiers scattered, and the two hammermen at the end of the team held their hammers with a bewildered look on their faces.

"Hand of the hammer, thrust forward!"

"Pfft!"

“Chirp~Chirp~!”

Wang Qilong rushed too fast, and by the time he saw the two sharp, shining hammers, it was too late to tighten the rope.

The sharp point of the hammer directly pierced the horse's chest, and then the horse struggled wildly and fell back.

While Wang Qilong was still in shock, he was thrown off his horse and fell heavily to the ground.

Because he had no time to react, he felt as if all the bones in his body were about to break, and there was a fishy and sweet taste in his throat.

After struggling to stand up, he saw that the sixteen personal soldiers under his command had suffered the same treatment. Some were thrown off their horses by hammers, while others were knocked off their horses by four long spears and wolf spears.

No, why?

How could a bunch of peasant rebels, who didn't even have a decent set of armor, knock off the horses of his dozen or so cavalrymen in just one encounter?

Well, it's not based on anything else, it's just that Nie Yu spent a lot of money and food, and he had modern weapons and armor, sufficient food and meat supply, and the training methods of the Qi family army.

Nie Yu's low-profile version of the Mandarin Duck Formation certainly cannot fight against a large cavalry regiment on plain terrain, but Wang Qilong only has a few people, and they are charging in a dispersed manner. If he still cannot win, then there is no need for him to continue rebelling.

Wang Qilong looked down upon the rebel army. In his eyes, they were just a group of rioters. What could rioters accomplish? They would disperse after being killed indiscriminately.

Wang Qilong tried to struggle to get up, but he had no chance. Four spears stabbed at him the next second.

"Pfft!"

He was stabbed to death on the spot.

The garrison commander of Yidu County died, and his head was cut off by the captain of the Mandarin Duck Squad.

He Shunan quickly took over the military camp and cleared out any possible remaining enemies in the camp. He then went to the yamen with seventeen heads to meet up.

……

At the yamen, the battle to attack the yamen had just ended.

The rebel army and the government office fought a battle. Not a single rebel soldier was killed, but more than a dozen government officials were killed. Then the county magistrate and the registrar were beheaded by Zhang Zhengmo, who rebelled against the government.

Now, both parties are sitting in the lobby of the county government office.

Zhang Zhengmo's expression was complicated. He looked at the young man opposite him, who looked familiar yet also surprised him. "...My dear nephew, you are really generous. You actually made it into the county town like this?"

Nie Yu smiled as he sat in the main seat in the hall, which had previously been the county magistrate's office. "Uncle Zhang, you're too kind, but times make heroes. If it weren't for the two officers from the yamen coming this morning to investigate the White Lotus Sect, I wouldn't have been so hasty in raising an army."

"Luckily, Uncle Zhang took action in time, otherwise my nephew would have had a hard time breaking into this government office!"

"..."

Zhang Zhengmo kept silent after hearing this.

Liu Hongduo, who was standing behind, frowned.

A few days ago, they were still thinking about how to use the government office to put pressure on Nie Jieren.

As a result, today the man's son led his troops into the county town and forced them to hastily kill the county magistrate as a bargaining chip with the other party.

Times make heroes, how dare you say that!
"However, Uncle Zhang, given the current situation, I won't play tricks on you. Let's be frank and discuss the terms!"

　There are still 8 days of work to go, and there is overtime, happy (ˊωˋ*)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)