Chapter 128 From Humen to Humen
At the gate of Guangzhou city, the execution ground!
Li Yi stepped onto the execution platform and looked around, only to see flags waving all around.
The soldiers of the Restoration Army, wearing neat military uniforms and red turbans, stood in the execution ground according to different organizational arrangements.
Everyone held their heads and chests high with a solemn expression.
In addition to these soldiers, many gentry and common people in Guangzhou city were also invited.
These gentry and common people gathered in groups of three or five, appearing a bit chaotic.
The sounds of people talking to each other merged together, like ten thousand ducks quacking together, very noisy.
Many people in the crowd have spontaneously cut their braids.
Some people put on Hanfu that they didn’t know they had dug out from their ancestors’ graves, while others put on stage costumes…
The entire execution ground seemed extremely chaotic and noisy.
But there is nothing that can be done about it. After all, the people are not soldiers, and they cannot obey orders.
When more people gather together, it is normal for things to be chaotic and noisy.
Li Yi retracted his gaze and spoke loudly.
"quiet!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards around him shouted in unison.
"quiet!"
"quiet!"
"quiet!"
After three loud shouts, accompanied by a few cannon shots, the execution ground quickly returned to silence, intimidated by the majesty of the army.
The Guangzhou gentry and common people who were invited to watch the performance all quieted down, no one whispered to each other anymore.
Li Yi nodded slightly, then continued speaking aloud.
"Since the Jiashen Year, China has been submerged, the world has been in turmoil, and the Eastern barbarians have been stealing from China for two hundred years."
"Fortunately, our Restoration Army rose up in Guangxi, fought bravely, raised the banner of justice, led the royal army, and conquered the Qing evil. The people cheered and followed their lead, and today we have the grand scene of the restoration of Guangzhou by our army."
"But if there are rebellious soldiers, who disobey military law and disturb the people, they must not be forgiven lightly."
"Now that the law is being passed here, military law should be implemented to enforce the law and punish crimes in order to correct people's hearts."
After that, Li Yi continued.
"Bring someone to commit the crime!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the gendarmerie immediately escorted a group of soldiers led by Luo Dingshan into the execution ground.
Li Yi looked around and then began to read out his crimes himself.
"Luo Dingshan, the 1st Regiment of the 6th Brigade of the Restoration Army, committed six serious crimes including setting up a private court, abusing lynching, killing civilians, raping decent women, looting civilian property, and resisting military police."
"He is guilty of aggravated crimes and is sentenced to death according to military law. The sentence is immediate!"
As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, the soldiers of the gendarmerie escorted Luo Dingshan out.
After verifying his identity, he reported to Li Yi.
Seeing this, Li Yi threw out a command arrow without hesitation.
Immediately, a flash of knife light appeared, and the head of Luo Dingshan fell to the ground.
There was silence in the execution ground, and everyone felt Li Yi's determination to rectify military discipline.
The reason is simple. The man who lost his head on the execution ground is no small character.
But he is Li Yi’s brother-in-law!
The fact that he was willing to take action against his own brother-in-law shows Li Yi's determination.
After Luo Dingshan was executed, it was the turn of the rebel soldiers who had joined him in causing trouble.
The rioters were brought out one by one, and the military judges from the Military Law Department read out their crimes one by one, and then pronounced sentences and carried out executions.
As heads fell to the ground one after another, the atmosphere in the entire execution ground became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone understands one thing: military law is as hard as a mountain and military discipline is as hard as iron, and no one is allowed to violate it.
This is the truth that Li Yi is telling everyone using the heads of these rebel soldiers!
After executing these rebel soldiers, the British prisoners of war captured by the Restoration Army in the Battle of Guangzhou were taken to the execution ground.
Then, according to the procedure, these prisoners of war were put on public trial.
It is worth mentioning that Li Yi brought several victims who survived the British army’s brutality to plead their case.
The miserable experiences of these survivors filled the people of Guangzhou with indignation.
"Kill the Yingyi, kill the Yingyi!"
The loud shouts almost echoed throughout the entire battlefield.
As the heads of these British prisoners of war fell to the ground, the people of Guangzhou began to feel truly loyal to the Restoration Army and accepted the fact that the Restoration Army had taken control of Guangzhou.
……
It was the seventh day of October in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty. Although it was early winter, the climate in Guangzhou was only slightly cool.
The sun hanging in the sky shines on people, making them feel warm.
After the capture of Hong Kong, prisoners of war including Wen Han, who were escorted all the way north to Guangzhou, finally arrived outside the city of Guangzhou on this day.
Wenhan's hands were tied with ropes, and he was tied together with Bao Ling and several others and locked in a prison van.
Looking at the towering Guangzhou city in the distance, Wenhan's eyes were full of complexity.
When he first came to the East, he looked down upon the Qing Dynasty, this ancient Eastern civilization that lagged behind the rest of the world.
He looked down upon this declining ancient empire from the bottom of his heart.
But who would have thought that such a short time had passed before he became a prisoner of a rebel army within the Qing territory!
This is really shameful for Wenhan!
The group walked along the official road towards Guangzhou.
When passing by the Guangzhou city gate, Wenhan saw a scene that he could hardly accept.
Many people gathered in an open space outside the city gate.
They were gathered together, watching the beheading with great interest.
Wenhan recognized at a glance that the people who were being beheaded were all British.
If he guessed correctly, they should be prisoners of war captured by the rebels in the Battle of Guangzhou.
The reason is simple: these British prisoners of war were still wearing military uniforms when they were executed.
Coupled with the obvious facial differences between Westerners and Orientals, it was natural for Wenhan to not recognize him.
Wenhan and others couldn't help but widen their eyes when they saw this scene.
"You...what are you doing? Why are you killing unarmed British soldiers?!"
Wenhan began to question.
Next to the prisoner van, Feng Zicai, who was in charge of escorting the prisoners of war, heard this, whipped him without mercy, and then said.
"Stop talking nonsense and behave yourself, or I'll chop off your head right now."
"You fucking foreign devil, you still have the nerve to ask why?"
"Why don't you ask these British barbarians why they killed, robbed and raped the defenseless Guangdong people?"
"These British barbarians have brought disaster to so many Guangdong people. In my opinion, beheading them would be too easy for them."
"They should be torn into pieces and tortured to death!"
Feng Zicai acted very angry.
The reason for this is, firstly, that he is still young, and is full of passion and impulse.
The second reason was that when he was leading his troops south to retake Hong Kong, he witnessed with his own eyes the tragic scenes of the villages and towns that had been burned, killed and looted by the British, and saw the corpses of people with various causes of death.
All these gave Feng Zicai a great shock!
The foreigners are really not human beings!
Wen Han was whipped by a whip, and it hurt, but he didn't dare to say anything. But he was still angry in his heart!
Because in his view, what the British army did during its march north to Guangzhou was nothing at all.
Isn't it just killing some natives and massacring a few villages?
Are indigenous people considered human beings?
They are just a group of pagans, so let them die.
It is only natural for the soldiers of the British Empire to do so.
What is this called?
This is called spreading civilization.
What if you dare to resist?
That is the harm that barbarism does to civilization, that is a terrorist attack.
As for Western countries, they have been like this for hundreds of years.
However, no matter how angry Wenhan was now, he was just powerless to rage.
Who says the victors now are the Restoration Army, not the British Army?
According to the West's own logic, the victor should naturally dominate everything, including the lives of the losers.
Wenhan and his entourage were brought into Guangzhou City, and a large number of ordinary prisoners of war were taken to prisons in the city.
Wenhan and several other important figures were escorted towards the Guangzhou General's Mansion.
Li Yi wants to see them!
After the Restoration Army captured Guangzhou, they changed the Guangzhou General's Mansion into the Restoration Army Grand Marshal's Mansion, and Li Yi chose to stay there.
Although after confiscating the property of the Eight Banners and Thirteen Hongs in Guangzhou, the Restoration Army would certainly not be short of money in the short term.
But Li Yi was not Hong Xiuquan after all, and it was impossible for him to do something like that while there was a fierce battle with the Qing demons on the front line, he would spend a lot of manpower and resources to build palaces for himself in the rear.
With the manpower and resources to build a palace, wouldn't it be great if he could build a few more arsenals and recruit more soldiers?
At this stage, the Restoration Army still focuses on military expansion!
As for other things, they will be put aside for later.
It is impossible to put too much manpower and material resources elsewhere.
Therefore, it was a very normal thing to change the Guangzhou General's Mansion into the Grand Marshal's Mansion as Li Yi's temporary residence.
The main thing is that the specifications, decorations, furniture and other facilities of Guangzhou General’s Mansion are all very high-end.
If Li Yi wants to live there, he just needs to check the general's mansion inside and out to make sure there are no secret rooms, secret passages, or traps, and then replace the plaque.
This thing really saves money and trouble.
Soon, Wenhan and others were brought in front of Li Yi. Li Yi smiled and asked with a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Minister Wenhan, I have been in a relationship with you for a long time."
"Now that I see him, his demeanor is indeed extraordinary. Even though he has become a prisoner, the demeanor of an old English gentleman has not diminished at all."
When Wenhan heard this, his face immediately darkened and he was obviously not in a good mood.
To be honest, Wenhan would rather Li Yi scold him directly than be treated with sarcasm by Li Yi.
It's so uncomfortable!
Taking a deep breath, Wenhan stared at Li Yi with burning eyes and asked.
"Grand Commander, don't you think it's too despicable for you to send troops to attack Hong Kong while negotiating with the camp?"
Hearing this, Li Yi sneered and continued to mock.
"Really? I think it's okay."
"It was not me who was negotiating and mobilizing troops at the same time."
"You British barbarians are also mobilizing troops while sending people to negotiate with me. Do you want to paralyze me and take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Guangzhou?"
"If we talk about meanness, who can be more mean than you British people?"
"I am only giving him back his own way!"
Wenhan kept taking deep breaths, adjusting his emotions so as not to get angry to death, and then questioned.
"The Grand Commander attacked Hong Kong and massacred the surrendered British soldiers outside Guangzhou. Isn't he afraid of revenge from Great Britain?"
Li Yi shrugged indifferently.
"What the Minister said, does it mean that if the Governor does not recover Hong Kong and execute those British soldiers who looted and massacred our Chinese people, you, Britain, will not come to retaliate?"
"Do you believe this yourself?"
Li Yi's words once again left Wenhan speechless.
Because he really had no way to refute Li Yi.
But in the end, he still stiffened his neck and spoke harshly.
"Daying will definitely make you pay the price, for sure!"
"Just wait for Britain to catch you, drag you to the streets of London, and hang you in front of Buckingham Palace!"
Hearing this, Li Yi sneered and spoke.
"maybe!"
"Sooner or later, I will capture that old whore Victoria and hang her in front of the Humen Fort!"
China's modern history originated from the Opium War.
The Opium War originated from the destruction of opium at Humen. The first battle between China and Britain was the Humen Battle.
If possible, Li Yi wanted to put an end to this national humiliation once and for all in Humen.
Starting from Humen and ending in Humen, it can be said to have a beginning and an end!
Wenhan was stunned when he heard this.
Then he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!"
"Do you want to listen to what you are saying? Haha, are you threatening Daeyoung?"
"Do you think that if you defeat the British troops stationed in the Far East, you can threaten Britain?"
"Hahaha, you have no idea about Daying's power!"
Wenhan was laughing at Li Yi's overestimation of his own abilities and his arrogance.
Li Yi was not angry when he heard this.
It is indeed a bit presumptuous of him to say this now.
Therefore, he would not get angry because of Wenhan's ridicule, and he was too lazy to refute.
Because the most powerful rebuttal in this world is facts, not words.
Li Yi took a deep breath and waved.
"Take all the people away!"
"Order your men to prepare. I will personally go to Humen to offer these British heads as a tribute to my father and to those warriors who fought bravely and died in Humen to defend their country and resist the invasion."
Li Yi wanted to pay tribute to his father, as well as Guan Tianpei and other heroes who sacrificed their lives fighting against the British.
That’s right, Li Yi’s father died in the Humen artillery battle.
Also, although Li Yi is now rebelling, he does not deny the legitimacy of the Qing regime.
This is an ironclad fact because his family had been hereditary Green Camp military officers of the Qing court.
There is no way to deny it!
Therefore, Li Yi did not have too many concerns about publicly commemorating the Qing soldiers who died fighting against foreign invasion.
Because Li Yi truly feels from the bottom of his heart that only those who sacrifice their lives to fight against foreign invasion, no matter what they have done before, will be praised as heroes after their death.
Personal details are not worth mentioning in the face of national justice!
……
On the tenth day of the tenth month of the first year of the Xianfeng reign, Li Yi met with envoys and representatives from the United States, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries in his own Grand Marshal's Mansion.
Although China's capital is in the north at this time, Guangzhou is the first city in China to open to the outside world, and due to its historical status as a traditional commercial port, the current ministers of various countries all live in Guangzhou.
……
PS: I’m afraid that you may accuse me of being a eunuch, so I’ll just update one chapter first. There will definitely be the next chapter, but it will be later, at least after 11 o’clock.
(End of this chapter)