Chapter 314 Refugees

Zhou Shuai was in a good mood. Shi Lang stayed on board to command the fleet, while Zhao Xinhui left 10,000 Kenan troops to handle the defense of Tianjin. He led the remaining 20,000 Kenan troops towards the capital.

The army's journey was smooth, even smoother than when they first fled. There was no resistance along the way, and even when they encountered the Qing army, they surrendered at the first sight.

Originally, most of them were Ming Dynasty surrendered generals. Now, they'll side with whoever's more powerful. They're a bunch of fence-sitters, willing to follow whoever feeds them.

The solution was simple: take their weapons and send them to Tianjin to find Zhao Xinhui. Whether they found him or not was entirely up to them; there was food and silver there. However, General Zhou had instructed them not to let them down. Those who had killed civilians, raped, or looted must be brought to justice. They couldn't afford to support bandits and bandits. Who knew how many of these people would survive?

After seven days of marching, they arrived at the city of Huangzhou, west of Tongzhou. The Qing troops in Huangzhou put up a desperate resistance, and the artillery on the city wall fired at the attacking troops.

Unfortunately, it was useless. The Kenan Army's artillery could fire far, while the Qing Army's artillery could only reach two miles. The current situation was similar to the British army's battle against the Qing Dynasty during the Opium War. The gap in weapon generation was too great!

The only difference is that the Qing army's discipline and bravery at this time are a hundred times stronger than those of that period. They dare to fight and fight, are not afraid of sacrifice, and can fight with you with the courage to die with you.

There were obviously quite a few Jianlu Eight Banners on the city wall supervising the battle. When they saw soldiers retreating, they would kill them with their swords.

Zhou Shuai felt that this group of Han people were really pitiful and hateful. With so many of them, why can't you all be united and fight them to the death?

Seeing that the artillery on the city wall had stopped firing, it was probably because it had been too long and needed to cool down. General Zhou took advantage of this opportunity to order the artillery to fire!

Flames shot up into the sky, debris flew everywhere, and both the Han army and the Eight Banners of Jianlu on the city walls were blown away or took refuge below.

After the artillery fire, archers and musketeers rushed forward to cover the infantry as they climbed the city walls.

Seeing that the Kenan army had ceased fire, the enemy immediately climbed up the city wall again. Even the Han army who were unwilling to climb the city wall were forced to do so.

As soon as they climbed onto the city wall, they were driven back by a hail of arrows or gunfire. Several of the Eight Banners of Jianlu who were supervising the battle were killed by arrows. Seeing that the Jianlu who were supervising the battle were dead, the Han soldiers immediately became active.

General Zhou was busy directing the siege when he saw a white flag hoisted on the city wall. From time to time, he saw people on the wall starting to kill each other. General Zhou picked up a telescope and observed carefully, and indeed, they discovered that they were in a civil war. The Qing army began to kill each other, and it was obvious that the Han army was outnumbered, and they actually killed the Eight Banners of the Jianlu Army and pushed them back step by step.

Putting down the telescope, Zhou Shuai said to Mao Jiu, "It seems we won't have to lose too many people this time."

Mao Jiu was transferred to the Kenan Army and became an adjutant to General Zhou, which was considered a promotion for him. Mao Jiu naturally understood that the prince wanted to promote him, and after joining the army, he studied very hard.

"What a pity! We can't have a good fight with the Tartars!" said Mao Jiu.

"We will fight our way to their hometown sooner or later, and then there will be plenty of tough battles!" said Zhou Shuai.

"Your Highness still wants to attack Shenyang?" Mao Jiu asked.

"Of course, we can't keep the trouble coming forever, right?" Zhou Shuai said.

"That's true, but it's so cold outside the pass, we can't hold it even if we take it down?" Mao Jiu asked.

"We will find a way! Look at the distance, why are there so many people there?" Zhou Shuai pointed to a group of people slowly approaching not far outside the city.

Mao Jiu and Zhou Shuai picked up the telescope at the same time and looked around. They saw that there were men, women, young and old in the team. They were supporting each other and staggering towards them.

Mao Jiu put down the binoculars and said, "They're all refugees! Don't worry about them!"

"Send someone to find out what's going on?" Zhou Shuai said.

"Yes!" Mao Jiu put down the telescope and took people to inquire.

While Commander Zhou was commanding his men to seize the city gate, he sent his cavalry around the east gate to try to intercept the Eight Banners of the Jianlu Army. He wanted to capture them alive and inquire about the current situation in Tongzhou.

You say the Eight Banners are tough? Never mind. Zhao Xiaofei has already invented dozens of ways to get them to talk. Like, have one soldier watch another get doused in sulfuric acid, rendered half-human and half-ghost. Or torture you like in Saw. Or, the old-fashioned way: kill one soldier and show the video to another. Make them think they can take your soul and torture you! Anyway, I guarantee you'll enjoy it. If you don't believe me, you'll talk!

Mao Jiu finally returned with a group of people, an old man about 60 years old. Zhou Shuai asked, "Old man, where are you from? Why are so many of you outside the city?"

"Are you the Ming Dynasty army? Please save us! We are the common people of Huangzhou. The Tartars forcibly occupied our homes and drove us out. They robbed us of all our food and money! My son was captured by them and forced to repair the city wall. He was worked to death!" The old man burst into tears as he spoke.

Zhou Shuai learned from the old man that in order to build the city wall, the Jianlu had captured able-bodied men from the city and forced them to work for them without food or water. Those who died of exhaustion were buried, and those who showed any resistance were killed.

All the old, young, sick and disabled people in the city were driven out, and all the women with a little beauty became playthings of the Eight Banners soldiers of the Jianlu Army.

General Zhou asked Mao Jiu, "How many refugees are there?"

Mao Jiu said, "About 10,000 or so. Because so many died, only about 10,000 are left!"

"We are lucky enough, better off than those people in Tongzhou!" the old man interrupted.

"What's going on?" Zhou Shuai asked.

"We have people who escaped from Tongzhou, where the Tartars captured all the people in the city. The men guarded the city, the women made bamboo sticks, and the elderly and children dug traps. Those who really couldn't work were tied up. When the Ming army arrived, we would let them come out and stand under the city to stop the army from advancing!" said the old man.

General Zhou felt very unhappy after hearing this. The closer they got to the capital, the harder the battle would be.

At this moment, a cavalry soldier ran over and replied, "Sir, we have captured all the Eight Banners of Jianlu and none of them have escaped!"

"Interrogate him immediately! After the interrogation, directly..." Zhou Shuai looked at the old man and continued, "Cut the tendons in his hands and feet, and hand him over to the people for disposal!"

When the old man heard this, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, sir, for making a decision for us, the common people!"

By using some tricks, dozens of Jianlu surrendered. There were 20,000 enemy troops in Tongzhou, while the Jianlu Eight Banners only had 3,000 men.

General Zhou thought to himself: Once we take Tongzhou City, none of these traitorous soldiers will be able to escape. I'll send you all to the mines to dig, and you won't be able to get out until you die of exhaustion.

After the interrogation, dozens of Jianlu had their tendons cut by the Kenan Army and were thrown into the crowd of refugees.

Dozens of Jianlu were lying on the ground, looking at the refugees with fear in their eyes.

The old man was then supported and walked out, saying, "We can't beat them to death. We have to make them suffer alive! Cut open their stomachs and light them on fire!"