There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 67: I Live or My Wife and Children Live
The next morning.

Luo Shixuan stared with his panda eyes wide open all night, at the rebel camp outside, or rather at the big flag with Chinese characters stationed in the center of the tent.

"A traitor, he really is a traitor!"

Luo Shixuan's eyes were bloodshot and his heart was filled with infinite fear.

A Dianshi, who had been up all night, saw the Han flags outside and couldn't help asking, "Why would the Han thieves come to Huarong County? Could it be that all of Jingzhou has fallen into their hands?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Shixuan couldn't help but give this guy a blank look. Isn't this nonsense?

The governor has run away and the entire city of Jingzhou has been massacred. How can the Jingzhou Prefecture be saved? It is only a matter of time.

Now that the Han thieves had reached Huarong County, Jingzhou Prefecture must have been completely lost. Luo Shixuan didn't even bother to offer hypocritical condolences to his colleagues in Jingzhou. He immediately ordered, "Quick, summon all the civilians we've recruited these days to the city walls, and distribute all the money and food. Have them come and defend the city."

The Dianshi was shocked: "Sir, this is against the rules!"

Luo Shixuan flung his sleeves and angrily said, "It's time to talk about being against the rules. If we don't defend the city now and it falls, you and I will both die. On the other hand, if we hold the city, we'll have a chance to escape punishment and maybe even gain meritorious service."

The Huarong County Magistrate was indeed much more intelligent than the previous Jingzhou officials. His private recruitment of soldiers to defend the city was indeed suspected of exceeding his authority. However, the reason for this suspicion was that the matter could be serious or minor. At the most serious level, it could be described as rebellion, while at the least, it could be considered an emergency measure, which could be considered as meritorious service while serving a criminal offense.

Luo Shixuan issued an order to defend the city. Although the Dianshi was frightened and hesitant, in order to save his life, he simply gave up and hurriedly went down the city wall to make arrangements.

Outside Huarong County, the Han army camp.

He Shunan's current military strength has been reduced from 1500 to 1300. When passing through Wanyu Town in the north of Huarong County, the Han army separated 200 soldiers and united with local refugees and tenants to fight against the local tyrants and divide the land.

Because it was a risky expedition and no grassroots officials were brought along, in order to distribute the property quickly, no distinction was made between bad gentry and good gentry, and all the large landlords had their property confiscated and their land divided.

The matter of property confiscation was left to the refugee tenants who participated in the land distribution to handle themselves. This was not because they were afraid of tarnishing the reputation of the Han army, but because they had to make sure that they all had blood on their hands.

We must ensure that these tenants and refugees have no way to retreat and firmly follow the Han army.

He Shunan was so naive that he dragged all the tenants and refugees into the water, but the tenants and refugees were completely unaware of it. Instead, they felt that the Han army was benevolent and righteous, and was completely different from what the government claimed, that they ate raw meat and drank blood, killed people like crazy, and even helped them fight the landlords and divide the land.

Many tenants, who had been bullied so badly in their daily lives, became bloodthirsty and rushed into the landlords' houses, killing all living things they could see, including the elderly, children, slaves and livestock.

It was precisely because of the collective riot of the tenants and refugees in Wanyu Town, coupled with the attack of the Han army, that the landlords were completely unable to escape, let alone inform the county authorities.

He Shunan seized all the landowners in Wanyu Town and assigned 200 soldiers to help the rebellious tenants and refugees to divide the land, while also preventing the riots from getting out of control and causing a fire in the backyard.

"It seems that Huarong County is not planning to surrender, but is planning to defend to the death." He Shunan, holding a telescope in his hand, could already see many soldiers on the city wall, who were obviously temporarily recruited defenders.

He Shunan even spotted two corrupt officials wearing fake Qing official uniforms, who should be the county magistrate and the registrar of Huarong County.

"Prepare to attack the city!"

After the military order was issued, the Han army did not attack the city immediately. Instead, they sent troops to cut down trees. At the same time, some troops went to the city and forcibly recruited civilians to help with the hard labor of building siege equipment.

Luo Shixuan could see clearly from the city wall. He saw the rebels starting to cut down trees, and some even selected a few houses and started to remove door panels. It was obvious that they were going to attack the city.

The surroundings were filled with soldiers defending the city who had been temporarily forced and bribed to come forward. At this moment, they all had terrified expressions on their faces, and there was a hint of chaos.

"What are you all standing there for? Stop the rebels quickly and don't let them continue to demolish the house." Luo Shixuan immediately gave a loud order.

Although the recruitment was hasty and most of them could hardly be considered soldiers, but only young and strong civilians, at least there was some order. At least the defense equipment was relatively complete. Some people were making fires and boiling gold juice, while others were preparing rolling logs and boulders.

Before the golden juice was ready, rolling logs and boulders were thrown down in twos and threes. It was impossible for them to hit anyone because they were all in a panic and didn't aim at all. They just threw them down with their eyes closed.

After a few waves of attacks, the Han army dismantled the door panels and left without any injuries. Some of them even picked up a few rolling logs to take back and use as firewood.

The Dianshi began to criticize the emperor again: "Sir, this won't do! If we can't defend it, the soldiers will lose their will to fight."

Luo Shixuan almost drew his sword upon hearing this: "Shut up! This is a taboo in defending the city. If you dare disrupt our army's morale again, I will execute you without mercy."

The Dianshi was not frightened at all. Instead, he gave up and said, "Our soldiers defending the city are not even soldiers. They are just a bunch of young and strong civilians. They are not even as numerous as the Han bandits. How can we defend this city?"

Of course, Luo Shixuan didn't dare to really kill the other party. They were all officials appointed by the imperial court. Now he was forcibly defending the city and had to discuss with the other party to take the blame. If he killed them, not only would there be no one to take the blame, but he would also offend an even greater degree.

Luo Shixuan consoled him, "Don't worry. We have the county town to rely on. The Han rebels don't have any cannons. If they want to break the city, they'll have to outnumber us tenfold. We have plenty of money and food, so we just need to hold on and wait for the governor and General Fu to come to our aid."

Help? Help!
Given their situation, they were lucky to be able to hold on for three days, and they were still waiting for the governor and General Fu to come to their rescue.

Throughout the day, the Han army was busy demolishing houses, cutting down trees, and building siege equipment.

The rolling logs and falling rocks thrown by Huarong County hardly caused any obstruction. Instead, the large pots of golden juice boiled on the city wall for a whole day, filling the wall with a foul stench that not only choked many people but also made Luo Shixuan unable to bear the fumes and had to go down first.

Now, without the county magistrate personally supervising and taking charge, the soldiers guarding the city walls either hid far away or went in groups of three or four, just throwing logs and stones to get by.

That night, in the Dianshi Room.

A group of clerks surrounded the registrar, not to force him to abdicate, but to ask him anxiously what to do.

The trusted clerk asked, "Master, the rebels are now demolishing houses and cutting down trees. When most of the houses outside the city are demolished, it will be their turn to attack the city. Has the master said what to do?"

"What else can we do? We can only hold on and wait for help." The Dianshi also looked helpless.

The clerk was a little bit incredulous: "We still have to defend it to the death. You saw what happened during the day, Master. We are defending the city from the civilians. How can we compare to the ferocity of the rebels?"

Some clerks were even blunt and said, "We'll just hold on and wait for help. Who knows if the prefect will send troops? If he can send troops, and if he can defeat the rebels?"

"Yeah! If we don't get reinforcements, are we all going to die?"

"..."

The official suddenly sneered, "What? You want to join the thieves?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the clerks fell silent.

Not only was their thoughts touched upon, but they were also afraid and hesitant, fearing that the registrar would suddenly arrest them, and they were also hesitant as to whether they really wanted to follow the thief.

As soon as he saw these people's reactions, the registrar understood what they were thinking.

The registrar did not order the arrest, mainly because he was not sure whether the yamen runners thought the same way. Moreover, he also wanted to live, but he did not want to die himself and bring trouble to his wife and children in other places.

In short, it is very contradictory and I don’t know how to choose?
Do you live or do you want your wife and children to live?

(End of this chapter)