There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 65 It’s so close!
into the night.

He Shunan was still looking at the map of Jingzhou in his hand. This map was given to him by the general before he went to war, and he and Bai Nan each had one. From cities to towns and rivers, everything was clearly drawn on the map.

"Commander He, the surrounding towns and villages of Gong'an County have all been taken by our Han army. Gong'an County should be captured in a few days."

The person who spoke was Wu Zimo, the magistrate of Gong'an County. He was born into a family of gentry and landlords in Yidu County. He passed the examination for student status but not for scholar status. His literary talent was not very good, but he was reliable and dependable in his work and was willing to do things himself.

When presiding over the land distribution and settlement in Yidu County, some people deliberately divided the land randomly, giving the good land to brothers with the same surname and the bad land to outsiders, which almost led to a conflict and fight between the villagers of the two villages.

This guy didn't care about the dignity of a scholar. He rushed to the ridge of the field and stopped two groups of people. Then he persuaded them to stay. After a thorough investigation and the testimony of the villagers, he confirmed that someone was deliberately doing bad things. He immediately reported the person to Nie Yu and went there in person to distribute the land fairly.

Nie Yu's impression of this man is that he has average ability, but he works hard and is truly fair and not corrupt. No matter what he thinks in his heart, as long as he can do so on the surface, he can definitely be promoted.

He Shunan smiled and said, "Haha, then wait for two more days. I'll also arrange for the construction of siege equipment during these few days. The bigger the noise, the better. If Gong'an County surrenders on its own, that would be great. If not, we can just storm and recapture the city. This will also be a good way to train the courage of those new recruits."

"Then I wish Commander He a great victory!" Wu Zimo said with a bow.

He Shunan also bowed: "County Magistrate Wu, you're too polite!"

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a commotion outside.

“Wow~Wow~~!”

He Shunan and Wu Zimo, along with their personal soldiers and accompanying officials, hurried out of the tent.

I happened to see a lot of flames above the city wall of Gong'an County, as if many people were rushing around with torches in their hands.

He Shunan took out the telescope that the general had given to their generals going to the battle, and looked towards the top of the city wall. Sure enough, there were many people running with torches in their hands. Some were even wielding swords and killing people. The light of the swords flickered with the light of the torches, making them easy to identify.

Wait, what's going on?
Is this an internal conflict among the Qing dogs?
He Shunan was stunned, not quite understanding the situation. He did not dare to attack the city in the middle of the night, for fear of being ambushed by the Qing troops.

In fact, He Shunan was simply too cautious. There was no ambush at all. It was really just an internal conflict among the Qing dogs in the city.

As mentioned earlier, the Dianshi and the County Magistrate were officials appointed by the imperial court, so they were serving in other places, with their wives and children all living in other places. They did not dare to surrender easily. The local clerks did not have such scruples. Although they did not dare to surrender, they did not want to be buried with the officials.
Although the Han army did nothing but buy grain from merchants in the outer city and asked them to deliver messages, it also made the county clerks interested.

Since the Han army promised not to kill people, and the reputation of the Han army seems to be really good, in short, they are much better than the rebels in our impression.

Even if they were landlords or gentry, as long as they handed over their land, even their floating assets would not be seized. At most, they would not be allowed to keep or hide slaves. That was not a big deal!
The landlords in the county town have no idea how much land and how many servants they have. As long as it can protect their lives and property, they will be given whatever they want!
Finally, under the Han army's continued siege tactics, these clerks no longer wanted to sit and wait for death.

Since the county magistrate and the registrar are not afraid of death, please use your heads to exchange for the lives of everyone in Gong'an County!
The trusted clerk, along with several yamen runners, broke into the Dianshi Hall (also known as the Patrol Office): "Sir, I'm sorry, but we are different from you. Our entire family is in the city, and they are all waiting for us to come and save their lives!"

The Dianshi was terrified, but he remained calm and said, "Even if you capture me and hand me over to the Han soldiers, do you think you can save yourselves?"

"The Han soldiers have said long ago that as long as we open the city and surrender, they will not start a massacre in Gong'an County!" said the clerk.

The Dianshi shouted at the top of his lungs, "They are traitors!"

"You said they were Han soldiers." The clerk said intriguingly.

"...Grandpa's side?"

"Someone has already passed by."

The Dianshi finally accepted his fate. He did not dare to take the opportunity to commit suicide. He just went back to his bedroom, found his official uniform, put it on properly, and straightened his clothes before following the rebellious clerk out.

Elsewhere, in the inner courtyard of the county government office, Magistrate Zhang Yi had also not slept. He thought the Han soldiers had finally broken in and was about to hang himself. To die with dignity, he even changed into the official uniform and hat of a seventh-rank civil servant of the Qing Dynasty.

But just as he was about to step on the stool, a large group of yamen runners rushed in from outside. Taking advantage of Zhang Yi's distraction, seven or eight of them rushed up and captured Zhang Yi alive. They even knocked the hat on his head off and his rat-tail braid swung around in disorder. He did not look at all dignified like a loyal martyr, but rather a bit ridiculous.

The county magistrate and the registrar were captured alive, and all the clerks and yamen runners rebelled. Those who refused to surrender were attacked and killed in the chaos.

the next morning.

He Shunan reorganized his troops and prepared to conduct a test. The gates of Gong'an County slowly opened, and a group of yamen runners emerged, escorting two leading men. They were all dressed in standard Qing Dynasty official uniforms and had pigtails. The rest of the accompanying clerks and yamen runners had shaved heads.

He Shunan was stunned for a moment before he realized that this was a direct surrender.

"Welcome the Han army into the city!"

These clerks knelt on the ground one after another. The Public Security County Magistrate did not want to kneel yet, so he was kicked over by the yamen runners behind him.

He Shunan glanced at the clerks and said, "I am He Shunan, the commander of the Great Han Army, under the command of the Anti-Qing and Restoration General. You can call me Commander He, and the person next to me is Wu Zimo, the magistrate of Gong'an County, appointed by my general."

"Greetings to Commander He, and to County Magistrate Wu!"

The clerks below heard it clearly and quickly changed their words to welcome him.

He Shunan didn't feel anything.

Wu Zimo also had a blank expression on his face, but he was almost overjoyed in his heart.

Thinking back to half a year ago, he was still a country boy, his family not very wealthy, barely able to pass the imperial examination. Forced into a clerkship by the Han army, he didn't complain like the others. Instead, he saw the strict military discipline and elite combat capabilities of the Han army, and the seemingly ambitious general, so he decided to take a chance.

Then, he has now become the magistrate of Gong'an County. Even the pseudo-Qing magistrate, whom he used to look up to, now has to crawl on his knees and curry favor with him in order to survive.

The official uniform of the seventh rank that Wu Zimo once envied, now became particularly unpleasant in his eyes. It was indeed the pseudo-Qing Tartars who made the official uniform so ugly, square and full of gloomy and decadent air.

Looking at the official uniform on themselves, it is said that this is the real Han clothing, which was issued to them by the general before they left. The style of the official hat is much better looking than that of the pseudo-Qing.

He Shunan waited until they entered the city before saying, "I have taken full control of the city defenses. I will leave you 500 soldiers and take the rest with me. We will march eastward to reunite with Commander Bai and strive to capture Shishou and Jianli counties as quickly as possible and unify Jingzhou Prefecture."

Wu Zimo nodded: "Five hundred Han soldiers are enough."

Then, he looked at the surrendered clerks and said, "You have contributed to the surrender of the city. We, the Han army, are not ungrateful and will kill rebels indiscriminately. From now on, you will work behind the officials I brought with you, starting from the grassroots level in the towns and villages. If you do a good job, you may be promoted to an official position based on your merits."

"Yes."

The clerks naturally obeyed the order after hearing it.

For them, it was a blessing to save their lives, and they could even be promoted to officials based on their merits.

Wu Zimo added, "As for now, let's gather the wealthy families in the city. I want to give them a lecture and explain the policies of our Han army."

……

He Shunan acted quickly. After sending out 500 soldiers, he still had 1,500 soldiers under his command, all of whom marched eastward by land towards Shishou County.

After a quick march, they arrived at Shishou County in just two or three days, only then did they learn the news that Shishou County had been captured.

It was almost the same as when he took over Gong'an County, or even easier.

Bai Nan led his troops to surround Shishou County, but deliberately did not attack the city. He only trained soldiers every day and built siege equipment. After several days, the clerks and wealthy families in Shishou County joined forces to capture the county magistrate and open the city to surrender.

The magistrate of Shishou County was even more resolute. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he committed suicide by cutting his own throat.

The body was buried on the spot, and the head was cut off, processed with saltpeter, and sent to Jingzhou.

A traitor who died for the Qing Dynasty, what's the point of talking about a grand funeral? It's good enough that his bones were not crushed and his ashes were scattered.

He Shunan did not follow to Jianli County. Jianli County was too far away and he probably would not be able to catch up if he went there now. He looked at the map for a long time and suddenly noticed the area south of Jingzhou.

It’s very close!
(End of this chapter)