There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 70 The Most Painful Way to Die

Huarong County was destroyed, completely destroyed.

The Han army suffered almost no casualties, except for two who were unable to dodge and were drenched in gold juice. They were so disgusted that they lost their grip on the ladder and fell from several meters high, breaking their legs on the spot.

The two wounded soldiers have been taken away for bandages and bone straightening. Since they have no external injuries, they will not get infected, but they are temporarily unable to fight.

Groups of Han soldiers rushed into the county town and found that the city was in chaos.

Gangsters and thugs appeared everywhere, smashing, burning and looting shops and houses on the street. When they saw the Han soldiers entering the city, these gangsters were not afraid to run away. Instead, they gathered in groups of three or five and tried to attack and rob the Han soldiers.

The Han soldiers' attire was too non-threatening. They wore only a uniform red military uniform with no armor on the outside. They only wore stab-proof clothing on the inside, and held swords, spears, and other weapons in their hands.

They recognized swords and guns, but Lang Xian couldn't understand it. The thugs just thought that these rebels were even more of a mob than them, and they actually used bamboo as weapons.

It’s so funny!
Well, it was hilarious, literally hilarious. A group of dozens of thugs, led by a gang leader, rushed towards a group of Han soldiers who were trying to maintain order with knives in hand.

The two sides just met face to face.

"Lang Xian, stand up!"

"Kill the sword and shield man!"

"Spearmen, all lunge forward!"

A coherent and rigid set of mandarin duck formation fighting methods, the gang leader who led the charge, along with several core thugs, were all slashed and stabbed by the wolf branches. Then the sword and shield fighters swung their swords, and several long spears thrust forward in unison, directly sending the gang leader and his thugs to their deaths.

The boss was killed in the first encounter, and the thugs behind him were beaten soberly on the spot.

Why are you still fighting? Run away!

Seeing the county town in such chaos and even with multiple fires, the Han army officers responded quickly and switched from attacking the county government office to putting out the fire first, while suppressing the thugs and ruffians who were causing trouble and looting.

At the same time, the county government office on the other side was surrounded.

Those who surrounded the county government office were the wealthy families who had deliberately set the fire earlier. They brought their household slaves with them and recruited stragglers from the city to form a temporary army to surround the government office.

These wealthy families originally wanted to cooperate in capturing the city so as to win the credit of surrendering the city. However, they had just finished setting fire and were busy gathering troops, planning to wait for an opportunity to open the city and surrender. As a result, the next second, the city wall was breached by the Han soldiers.

There was no other choice but to settle for the next best thing and come to the county government office to arrest the master.

A servant stepped forward, sword drawn, and shouted, "Listen up, everyone inside! Come out and surrender immediately, and you can save your lives!"

These slaves are still willing to obey because their masters have promised that as long as the task is completed, their indentures will be returned to them and they will be free.

"You have no king or father, you are traitors and betrayers, you are selling out your country for personal gain, and you will be punished by heaven sooner or later!"

From the yamen came the county magistrate's hoarse and frantic curses.

"Alright, stop shouting and just knock the government office down. Don't worry about the life or death of the people inside!"

Some gentry could not bear it any longer. They had originally wanted to capture the county magistrate alive, but now every minute of delay would mean an extra minute of risk.

Surrender is surrender, but it is definitely safer to have merit than not to have merit.

As for the county magistrate, although a dead county magistrate is not as valuable as a living one, it is still a county magistrate's head after all.

Just make do with it!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several servants rushed forward and rammed the yamen together. Because Qing officials generally liked to establish an image of integrity, and also to please the Emperor Qianlong, the yamen were usually in a very dilapidated state. In a few seconds, the rotten wooden yamen was rammed open.

"Bang~da~!" As the yamen was broken into, more than a dozen yamen runners surrounding the county magistrate and the registrar scattered.

These yamen runners belonged to Luo Shixuan's last team. They were all his trusted confidants who were brought into the yamen by his personal grace. Among them were some mediocre martial artists.

It's a pity that no matter how trusted or skilled they were, it was already considered quite good if they could protect them and hold their ground in the yamen until the yamen was broken into and they could run away.

As he watched the rotten yamen fall to the ground, the yamen runners and guards around him fled, only Liu Dianshi stood beside him without moving (he was so scared that his legs went weak).

Outside, a large group of ferocious slaves came in with knives in their hands. When they saw him, it was as if they saw gold, silver and treasures in front of them.

"The Qing Dynasty... The Qing Dynasty..."

Luo Shixuan was so frightened that he actually had hallucinations. He seemed to see the Qing Dynasty like this rotten wooden yamen, with the mountains and rivers broken and the building about to collapse, and all the loyal officials in the court fled like the yamen runners around him.

Luo Shixuan was just about to commit suicide to sacrifice his life in the city, at least to leave behind a reputation as a loyal minister and protect his wife and children who were far away in another province.

"Ouch!"

A sneak attack came from behind, and Luo Shixuan fell to the ground in pain, with the sword in his hand falling to the ground.

Liu Dianshi, who was standing nearby, quickly picked it up and pointed at Luo Shixuan lying on the ground, shouting, "I've caught the county magistrate! I've caught the county magistrate!"

Oh my goodness, there are corrupt officials trying to steal people’s heads!

So many gentry and wealthy families took risks, set fire to the city and created chaos, just to surrender the city, and in the end the credit of capturing the county magistrate alive was gone just like that?
"Hurry up and grab it! That's the first reward!"

"Capture the county magistrate, dead or alive!"

"And the Dianshi..."

At the command of a few gentry, other gentry also reacted, and hurriedly gave orders, or even led their servants to grab the heads themselves.

It’s really a steal!

Liu Dianshi was knocked to the ground and several big hands were swinging towards him.

"Wait, I've caught the county magistrate, I'm going to fight back, I...ah!"

Before he could finish his words, two hands, each one from an unknown source, tore off his two ears.

Liu Dianshi, who had turned against his allies at the last minute, cried out in pain, and then several more feet stepped on him, almost suffocating him.

No, it would be better to die.

Because someone had snatched two ears, the other gentry and servants became anxious and didn't care that the county magistrate and the registrar on the ground were still alive.

Someone swung a knife and started chopping at his arm. With one strike, County Magistrate Luo Shixuan fainted from the pain on the spot, and then woke up again.

Because his other arm was also chopped off, along with the three legs of his lower body, those gentry and servants had gone crazy, just like in the Battle of Gaixia when Xiang Yu was dismembered and looted by the Han soldiers.

The only difference is that Xiang Yu at least committed suicide and was dismembered, so he died without pain, while Luo Shixuan and Liu Dianshi, who are now being suppressed, are still alive.

Being dismembered alive was such a painful death that they had never experienced before in their lifetime.

Liu Dianshi's face was twisted with pain. If he had known this would be the outcome, he would have surrendered at the beginning. Even if he had to fight to the death with the county magistrate, he would have suffered less.

After about an incense stick of time, the King of Hell finally succeeded in rescuing Luo Shixuan and Liu Dianshi.

Their heads were cut off and wrapped, and each gentleman received his share of "merit".

(End of this chapter)