Chapter 109: Don't Eat Thieves' Millet
Upon hearing this, Wang An subconsciously turned his head to look at Wang Tiesheng, his eyes seeming to be burning with rage.
"Is this true?"
Wang Tiesheng nodded and said.
"It's true. Our surviving soldiers and the people of Pingnan all say so."
"The captured Qing soldiers also confessed something, and their statements were basically consistent."
"It can't be wrong!"
When Wang An heard this, the anger on his face became more obvious, and he said through gritted teeth.
"I'm going to kill all these Qing monsters, kill them all!"
"Tie Sheng, go and pass on my military order. Prepare to kill the Qing demon captives in this battle. I want them to be buried with Yong'er, the soldiers who died in the Restoration Army, and the people of Pingnan County..."
Wang An's heart is now full of murderous intent, and his eyes are filled with an irreconcilable murderous intent.
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiesheng began to persuade him.
"Commander, I think it would be best if we report this matter to the Grand Admiral and ask him to make the decision."
"There is no order to kill the prisoners. If we really do that, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to explain to the Grand Commander."
The military law of the Restoration Army is strict. Once someone kills prisoners of war without permission, even if the person is Wang An, he will probably be punished.
Upon hearing this, Wang An spoke with a cold face.
"Do it now, and don't make me say it again."
Wang Tiesheng opened his mouth and said with difficulty.
"Brother, I know you want to avenge Zhiyong, but Sen'er is still young. If you don't consider yourself, you have to consider Sen'er."
In order to persuade Wang An, Wang Tiesheng did not even call the brigade commander, but directly called his elder brother who was closer to him.
The Sen'er he was talking about is named Wang Sen. He is the only son of Wang Zhiyong and the grandson of Wang An. He is only three years old this year.
"Besides, even if this matter is reported to the Grand Admiral, he may not necessarily reject your request."
"Report it. It won't hurt."
Wang Tiesheng continued to persuade.
Wang An seemed touched when he heard this. Yes, although his son was dead, he still had a grandson.
My son is dead, so I have to think more about my grandson...
Wang An took a deep breath first, then said with a wry smile.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, everything you say..."
"You should report this now!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiesheng looked relieved and was about to leave.
Wang An suddenly called him and gave him instructions.
"Bring me some paper and pen. I will write the military report myself."
Upon hearing this, Wang Tiesheng nodded to show that he understood and agreed.
……
In the dungeon in Wuzhou city.
In the dim dungeon, Xu Guangjin was wearing prison clothes and sitting cross-legged on a pile of hay.
In front of him was a tray with a bowl of cold porridge and a pile of pickles on it, but it was obvious that they had not been touched.
His furrowed brows seemed to reveal his inner torment.
After being captured by the enemy soldiers, he had already made up his mind to sacrifice his life for his country.
Even facing torture from the rebel soldiers, he would never sell out any intelligence about the Qing Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, the bandit soldier just pricked him with a syringe, and he was in a daze and confessed everything he knew.
Xu Guangjin is really disheartened now.
With what I am doing now, am I still worthy of being called a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty?
However, no matter how much Xu Guangjin regretted it, he could not change what had already happened.
The only thing Xu Guangjin could do now was to face the food sent by the bandits. He was prepared to follow the example of Boyi and Shuqi who refused to eat Zhou's grain. He would not eat the bandits' grain, starve to death and die for the Qing Dynasty.
At this moment, the dungeon door was opened from the outside.
Li Liang came in from outside with a few people, holding a notice.
Li Liang strode up to Xu Guangjin and spoke with a smile.
"Master Xu still refuses to eat?"
"Why, are you dissatisfied with the food of my Restoration Army?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin still closed his eyes, said nothing, and did not respond to Li Liang's words at all.
Li Liang found himself embarrassed, smiled awkwardly, and then said.
"I came here today because I need your assistance. I have a letter here that I need your signature on."
"I hope Lord Xu will not refuse and make it difficult for me, Li."
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangjin remained silent and did not respond at all, not even bothering to look at Li Liang.
Li Liang was not angry when he saw this. Only losers would be helpless and furious, and as a winner, he just needed to remain calm.
Li Liang didn't take it seriously and continued.
"It's okay. It doesn't matter if Lord Xu doesn't want to write it himself. There is no shortage of people who are good at imitating handwriting in our Restoration Army. Lord Xu must sign this name whether he is willing or not."
"Someone, come and read the contents of this manifesto to Lord Xu."
Upon hearing this, a Restoration Army soldier unfolded the notice in his hand and spoke.
In August of the 4548th year of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Restoration Army Military Government issued a proclamation: xxxxx……
After the soldiers of the Restoration Army finished reading the manifesto, Xu Guangjin's expression, which had been stern, changed instantly.
"Traitor! Traitor!"
"How dare you humiliate the Qing Dynasty like this!"
"The Qing Dynasty will definitely wipe you out, it will!"
Xu Guangjin roared angrily through the iron bars of the dungeon.
He couldn't imagine what would happen if the bandit ordered someone to imitate his handwriting and sign such a manifesto.
How to say it, Xu Guangjin even suspected that once this manifesto was issued, he would probably be the main writer instead of a signatory.
Because the literary talent of this manifesto really doesn't seem like something that a group of bandits could produce.
Coincidentally, at this time, the signature of a former provincial governor who was a Jinshi degree holder appeared on the manifesto.
Well, there’s no way to escape now. If it’s not him, who else could it be?
This damn yellow mud falling down my crotch, it must be shit if not shit!
Hearing this, Li Liang continued speaking with a smile.
"Maybe!"
"But before the Tartars destroy us, they will definitely destroy Lord Xu's nine clans first."
After saying this, Li Liang, who had killed someone and destroyed his heart, turned around and left.
Before leaving the dungeon, he turned and spoke to several soldiers of the Restoration Army who were in charge of guarding the dungeon.
"I see the old fellow didn't touch the food brought to him."
"Don't just stand there and watch. Even if you have to use force, you have to feed him at least a little. Don't let him starve to death."
"I'm still waiting to see his reaction after hearing the news that Qing Yao has wiped out his nine clans." Upon hearing this, several guards looked at each other, and then clasped their fists in response.
Their boss's bad taste is really amazing!
After hearing this, Xu Guangjin in the dungeon's old face turned pale in an instant, and his eyes were full of despair.
These bandits are so vicious!
Killing people will hurt your heart, killing people will hurt your heart!
……
Li Liang left the dungeon and went to report to Li Yi with the manifesto.
"Grand Commander, the work has been done. Xu Guangjin's reaction was very strong, but I think he still has no intention of surrendering my Restoration Army."
Upon hearing this, Li Yi just nodded slightly.
"No, then no. I thought Xu Guangjin was a talented person and wanted to recruit him, but I never thought he would be so stubborn."
"In that case, there is no need to waste energy on him anymore. When our army marches east to Guangdong in a few days, we will use his head as a sacrifice."
Upon hearing this, Li Liang immediately clasped his fists in agreement.
Li Yi took the scroll of manifesto from Li Liang, unfolded it and began to read.
After looking at it for a while, he signed his name on it and stamped it with a big seal.
Then he gave the order.
"Okay, give the manifesto to our generals and have them sign it one by one!"
Upon hearing this, Li Liang nodded to show that he understood.
In fact, Li Yi had thought about fabricating the names of several famous officials of the late Qing Dynasty or renowned scholars to sign his own manifesto to increase its influence.
Such as Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Zeng Guofan and others.
However, Li Yi thought about it and finally gave up the idea.
Because it's inappropriate.
This is a manifesto, something that is to be spread throughout the world, not a toilet paper. Don't joke about it.
You can add any signature you want, but if one of the signatories publicly comes out and says that your signature is fabricated and refutes your manifesto.
Then this manifesto will become a joke!
This is something Li Yi doesn't want to see.
Therefore, the so-called asking Xu Guangjin to sign the manifesto was just a means for Li Yi to force Xu Guangjin to surrender.
Unless Xu Guangjin really surrendered, Li Yi would not let him sign the manifesto.
Li Liang nodded to show that he understood, then took his leave.
As a result, he just went out and came back to report to Li Yi.
"Grand Commander, good news!"
"The Qing demons besieging Pinghe Village have withdrawn their troops, and the threat from Xinyi has been lifted."
Upon hearing this, Li Yi was surprised at first, then asked in some astonishment.
"How come it's so fast? According to the time, Zhao Xiang and his men shouldn't have reached the front line of Pinghe Village yet, right?"
Upon hearing this, Li Liang also spoke with a somewhat strange expression.
"Replying to the Grand Commander, according to the news sent back from Pinghe Village, it was Ling Shiba's rebel army from Daliao who took action."
"Ling Shiba took advantage of the fact that the main force of the Qing army was besieging Pinghe Village and the rear was empty. He led his army to raid Xinyi County and robbed the Qing monsters of their food supplies, cutting off their food supply."
"The Qing Yao had no choice but to withdraw its troops from Pinghe Village!"
Li Yi suddenly understood after hearing this.
"That's it."
"I originally thought that since Ling Shiba had rejected my offer, he would keep his distance from my Restoration Army and would not help my army."
"Now it seems that I have been judging others by my own standards."
"Hahaha, this Ling Shiba is quite interesting."
"Now I want to recruit him even more."
No matter what the reason was for Ling Shiba and his men to launch a surprise attack on Xinyi County, judging from the results, they did help the Restoration Army a lot.
No wonder Li Yi is so happy!
After thinking for a while, Li Yi spoke.
"Send a message to Cenxi to get ten five-jin cannons from the arsenal and send them to Ling Shiba's unit in Daliao."
"Just say that this is a thank you gift from the governor to Ling Shiba, thanking him for sending troops to assist our Restoration Army."
Li Liang asked hesitantly after hearing this.
"Grand Commander, aren't ten cannons a bit too many..."
Li Yi heard this and waved his hand.
"Give it to me. If you want to fish, you have to be willing to put down bait and make a nest."
"After all, it was Ling Shiba's troops who took the initiative to help this time. Our Restoration Army cannot pretend that nothing happened."
Upon hearing this, Li Liang could only nod and say.
"I understand the humble position!"
Li Liang took his leave again, and Li Yi was obviously in a better mood.
With the support of Ling Shiba's troops, the outcome of the battle in Xinyi should be decided soon.
At that time, he would be able to transfer Zhao Xiang's troops back as soon as possible and then lead his troops eastward.
However, before Li Yi had time to be happy for long, he received a military report sent back by Wang An from Pingnan.
The Qing army drove the people to attack the city, and Wang Zhiyong's troops were forced to leave the city to fight. Afterwards, Wang Zhiyong died in the battle, and one of his regiments was almost wiped out.
If Wang An hadn't led the reinforcements to arrive in time, even Pingnan County would have fallen...
Wang An asked in the military newspaper how to deal with the prisoners of war!
After reading this military newspaper, the joy on Li Yi's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a gloomy look.
A group!
That’s a group!
Just like that, it was destroyed!
You know, since the establishment of the Restoration Army, there has never been such an incident where an organization was directly destroyed.
And there is Wang Zhiyong’s sacrifice!
The Li family and the Wang family are old friends, and he and Wang Zhiyong are of similar age. They are childhood friends who grew up together naked.
Now, upon suddenly hearing the news of Wang Zhiyong's death, Li Yi was truly sad and shocked.
Li Yi's hands were shaking a little. He wanted to pick up the teacup to take a sip, but half of the tea was spilled as soon as he picked it up.
With a bitter smile, Li Yi covered his face with his hands, his body twitched involuntarily, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
After a moment, Li Yi regained his composure, took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from his face, and then picked up a pen to make comments on the military newspaper submitted by Wang An.
One word.
kill!
Whether it was for the purpose of revenge for Wang Zhiyong or for the soldiers of the regiment who died in the battle.
In order to deter the Qing army from driving the people to attack the city again in the future, all the Qing prisoners of war captured by the Restoration Army in the Pingnan Battle had to die.
If they don't die, the people's anger will not be appeased; if they don't die, people's hearts will not be reassured!
However, although killing is necessary, the method and manner of killing must also be considered!
(End of this chapter)