Chapter 177
When the army was assembled, they also summoned relevant personnel to learn about the situation in Suihua and Hui'an Town. Although the current situation could not be immediately grasped, some of the news and clues sent back earlier could indirectly confirm the authenticity of what Ma Dajun said.
After all, Ma Dajun was from Suihua, so the possibility of him being a spy could not be ruled out. Although there was nothing wrong with Ma Dajun's words, actions, and narration, it was better to be safe than sorry. What if this was a trap, and their cavalry battalion fell into it and was surrounded?
As a general, you are responsible for the lives of your soldiers. Some sacrifices are necessary and unavoidable, but some are unnecessary. The responsibility of a general is to bring back as many soldiers as possible.
When the cavalry battalion set out, Yao Chunnuan asked Zhu Junlan to bring Zu Ning, Ba Yuan's first disciple. She insisted on this because she had a nagging sense of foreboding. She figured it was good to have an extra layer of preparation, just in case it came in handy. Of course, it would be best if it didn't come in handy.
Over there, after Zhu Junlan led his troops to set off, the general was also gathering his troops, preparing to go out. They had originally planned to attack Suihua after the New Year, and now they were just taking advantage of the situation.
This time, the large army led by the general confronted the army of Ganhua City head-on, and prepared to cooperate with Zhu Junlan who had penetrated deep into the heart of Suihua to capture Suihua as soon as possible.
The people in the City Lord's Mansion also began to get busy. War is a huge drain on resources, and they need to ensure logistical supplies and medical support.
While everyone was busy and orderly, Yao Chunnuan asked Han Chaosheng, "Are there no one from our group around Gan Huacheng?"
"Yes." Han Chaosheng said affirmatively.
"Then this happened, why is there no reaction from the other side?" At least pass some information back so that they can respond.
"There's only one person there. Maybe something went wrong." Han Chaosheng remembered that Qiu Shao and that person were quite capable. "But there might be follow-up news later."
Qiu Shaohe, mentioned by Yao Chunnuan and Han Chaosheng, was rushing to Hui'an Town. He had been sent out on a mission and was trapped by an avalanche on his way back. When he heard the news of Hui'an Town, he knew he couldn't wait any longer, so he took a detour to Hui'an Town.
For the nearly 20,000 civilians of Hui'an Town, this day was doom. Gan Huacheng and his army were like demons, their bloodthirsty and cruel appearance no less brutal than that of the Northern Di.
At that time, Hui'an Town could be called hell. Everywhere I looked, inside and outside the houses were filled with corpses, and the sounds of painful groans, wailing, and sobbing filled my ears.
Many even shouted loudly before their death, "God is my witness, we did not collude with the rebels!"
Shi Guangzhu was stabbed in the chest and he knelt on the snow. Blood from the wound dripped onto the snow, looking extremely strange.
"Daliang will eventually perish with such cruel and unreliable generals like you!" Shi Guangzhu was overwhelmed by the sorrow and anger in his heart. They were ordinary people of Daliang, yet they died at the hands of the imperial army.
Hearing this, Gan Huacheng could no longer tolerate it and kicked the man away, "Traitor!"
Shi Guangzhu died, his eyes wide open. As he lay dying, he had only one thought: "They just wanted to survive, and they didn't help anyone. Was that wrong?" No, they weren't wrong. The fault lay with this court and this emperor! Such a court should perish! It should perish!
When Qiu Shaohe arrived at Hui'an Town, his horse collapsed from exhaustion, foaming at the mouth. Unfortunately, he still couldn't catch up.
The corpses were scattered here and there, the snow was stained red with blood. Beneath his sleeves, he clenched his fists. He took a deep breath and walked forward, just in time to hear his mortal enemy Chen Ping'an making a veiled suggestion to Gan Huacheng, suggesting that the few remaining crying children be killed.
Qiu Shaohe suggested, "General Gan, since all the adults in Hui'an Town are dead, let's spare these children."
Chen Pingan disagreed, "General Gan, if you don't remove the roots, they will grow again in the spring breeze. Today, although General Gan's actions are loyal to the court, these children have witnessed the whole process. This scene will be deeply engraved in their memories. When they grow up, they will be a disaster. We must not leave any legacy of disaster."
Gan Huacheng looked at these children who were huddled together, crying and frightened. His hand gradually pressed on the hilt of the knife, and his eyes gradually became fierce. Should he rather kill the innocent than let them go?
Chen Ping'an looked at his mortal enemy proudly. See, General Gan finally listened to him.
Qiu Shaohe hurriedly said, "General Gan, no! If you leave these children behind, it might cause trouble in the future as Chen Pingan said, but that's just a possibility, and it's more than ten years from now. But if General Gan doesn't even let these children go now, then the trouble will come soon. I'm worried that General Gan will be branded as cruel because of this. Think about those pedantic scholars in the court? And the scholars in the world will definitely seize on General Gan's mistake of killing young children."
Gan Huacheng was suddenly hesitant. At this time, Gan Huacheng looked at his most trusted confidant, and the two moved to the side and whispered.
His confidants analyzed the situation and concluded that Zheng Shaohe's words made sense. Having massacred nearly 20,000 people in Hui'an Town, the people of Hui'an were guilty of colluding with the rebels, and his original intentions were good. If word got out, it would likely attract mixed reviews, but with the Crown Prince protecting him, nothing would happen. However, if word got out that he had also brutally killed children after the massacre, public opinion would likely be inflamed.
Chen Ping'an was unwilling to accept that the situation had taken a different turn. He asked maliciously, "Qiu Shaohe, you stopped General Gan from eradicating the rebels. Are you colluding with the Yichun rebels? Is that why you favor Hui'an Town? Well, I've suspected you for a long time. Now, you've finally revealed your true colors!"
Gan Huacheng also looked over.
Qiu Shaohe ignored him and said calmly, "General Gan, I know why you took such drastic action against Hui'an Town this time. However, killing only the civilians in this town, who are all ordinary people, probably won't have a deterrent effect."
Gan Huacheng touched his chin. Indeed, those who surrendered the city were all officials. "What do you mean?"
Qiu Shaohe said, "If we only kill the people of one town and let the officials of Suihua go, I'm afraid we won't be able to achieve our goal. General Gan has killed nearly 20,000 people. Why not go all out and kill all the officials in Suihua who might surrender the city or surrender to Yichun?" Few of the officials in Suihua are good people, so let them all die!
Now it was Chen Ping'an's turn to change his expression. Qiu Shaohe was trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife.
"That makes sense. Then, who should be killed?" Gan Huacheng hesitated. He couldn't chop off the heads of all the officials in Suihua at once. After all, Suihua still needed officials to govern it.
At this time, Qiu Shaohe gave him another idea, "General Gan, the soldiers have suffered a lot these days. We can check which officials have large amounts of food or wealth under their control, but rarely reward the soldiers or are the least concerned about rewarding the soldiers. We can kill them." They are all corrupt officials!
"No, no, no—" Chen Pingan was anxious. His backer was his uncle. His uncle was an official in the Suihua County Magistrate's Office. According to this standard, his uncle was in danger of being killed!
Qiu Shaohe asked coldly, "Chen Ping'an, are you against my proposal? Are you protecting those who are colluding with the rebels?"
Gan Huacheng looked over. He was thinking Qiu Shaohe's proposal was a good one. Chen Pingan was against him doing this? Was he really trying to protect someone?
Now Chen Pingan was really in a state of distress.
At Gan Huacheng's command, countless officials in Suihua were raided and executed. Officials who had previously lived in poverty were able to save their lives and families in this incident.
Suihua Governor Bai Ruisong was in the governor's mansion handling official business. He knew that Gan Huacheng had led five thousand elite troops to Hui'an Town, and he also knew the reason. But he did not stop them, nor did he offer any advice.
He understood Ganhuacheng. After months of suppressing the rebellion, he had made no progress and was severely suppressed by the Yichun army. His mood was very depressed and twisted. Even more depressing was that even if the two armies faced off in the near future, the imperial court still had little chance of victory against the Yichun army.
Under the pressure of layers of unfavorable circumstances, he could feel that the aura emanating from Gan Huacheng was becoming more and more dangerous, especially recently, as if it was about to erupt at any time.
At this time, the actions of the people of Hui'an Town irritated him, so he led his troops to Hui'an Town and massacred them, which did not surprise him too much.
In Bai Ruisong's opinion, it was worthwhile to use Hui'an Town to stabilize Gan Huacheng's emotions. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for him to have frequent contact with Gan Huacheng.
Bai Ruisong glanced at the clock and thought, it’s about time now, the matter of returning to An Town should be almost over, right?
At this moment, a commotion was heard at the gate of the prefectural government office. He frowned unhappily. He thought that after the noise quieted down, he would have to give the person who made the noise a good scolding.
But the clamor didn't stop as quickly as he'd hoped. Instead, it grew louder. He stood up, feeling a little annoyed, and peered out the door. He was so shocked by the scene before him that he stepped back. He saw armored soldiers slaughtering people in the prefectural mansion! Realizing something, his face paled. He regretted it. He should have stopped Gan Huacheng! Now the tiger was out of the gate, and it was too late.
Just as Bai Ruisong tried to lock himself up, a long knife stabbed directly into his chest.
"Gan... Gan..." Bai Ruisong opened his eyes wide. He didn't expect that he would die in this way.
"Yes, it was General Gan who wanted to kill you. Go to hell!" Qiu Shaohe drew back the sword expressionlessly.
Bai Ruisong fell straight down, his eyes wide open. Is this retribution?
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