At the intersection of Zhoucheng, the people who had just been incited by the gangsters to set fire to the city had already fled without a trace.
The soldiers of the first battalion of the Eighth Corps entered the main city and were wiping out the rebels one after another. The sound of guns and cannons was heard. From time to time, a rocket with an orange tail flame passed overhead. The ear-piercing roar and the neighing of men and horses made it feel as if they were in the same place. hell.
There were corpses strewn across the streets, including those who were screaming for death, as well as some common people who were running slowly.
The surviving defeated soldiers huddled together and were blocked in the middle of the street by the grenadiers and gunmen coming from the north and south gates. There was no way out.
"Brothers Qi Jun, we have no grievances in the past and no grievances in the recent days. Let's find a way to survive. I will let you rob all the shops in the city. If there is not enough money, I will give you money! Get out of the way and let's go our separate ways."
Fighting was like a frightened bird. The previous arrogance had disappeared, and he rushed forward to beg for peace with the soldiers in an almost pleading tone.
Before the Eighth Army entered the city to clear the battlefield, Lahu had never seen the serious Qi army. These people's impression of the Qi army still stayed in their previous understanding, thinking that the Qi army, like the Ming army, was a good killer. A soldier who takes credit for his money.
As mentioned before, speed, efficiency and economy are the operational principles of the Eighth Army, so this time the Qi army skipped the process of persuading them to surrender.
The two hundred gunmen who rushed in from the south gate raised their Type 36 rifles and started shooting freely.
Grenadiers coming in from the north gate threw grenades into the crowd.
Fighting monsters, bluffing ghosts, crying wolves, howling, blood and flesh flying everywhere.
Soon another order came from the rear, and the fire gun grenadiers moved out of the way.
Artillery appears.
The eight infantry cannons rumbled forward and stopped three hundred steps away from the target, their muzzles raised slightly.
"fire!"
The artillery that always waved the command flag and loaded with shotgun shells was bombarded at close range.
Boom boom boom!
The dense barrage swept across and poured into the crowd. Deadly shotguns tore the human body into pieces. The ground was littered with body parts. The living people were hit by limbs falling from the sky, and all of them were turned into bloody men.
After three rounds of shelling, more than a thousand people were beaten, and only more than 500 people remained.
Tang Zhentie's body was covered in blood, dead people were everywhere under his feet, and the iron stick in his hand had long since disappeared.
"Kill the Tatars..."
He yelled and ran away. After taking two steps, his body felt like being hit by a hammer and flew three or four steps away.
A mini bullet was shot from his chest, easily piercing through the strong chainmail, and blasting a bloody hole the size of a bowl in Tang Zhengtie's chest...
The trumpets of the infantry attack sounded again, and the artillery stopped firing.
One hundred pikemen, arranged in lines of twenty, formed a dense line, plowing through the streets again and again like sharp combs.
Those enemies who were not dead were killed one by one.
At the same time, the grenadiers stopped dropping bombs and took off their spears and lances. They formed a loose formation and drove the remaining enemies toward the pikemen like rabbits.
The last two hundred or so surviving men were quickly wiped out under the attack of grenadiers and pikemen.
Auxiliary soldiers came up to cut off the heads and clear the battlefield...
Instructor Lin Zhenbei entered the city from the north gate, escorted by two sword and shield soldiers.
Rapid bamboo whistles sounded all around, and the Qi army was still chasing the remaining enemies.
I am destined to have no sleep tonight.
Some houses on the street were set on fire by rockets fired by artillery. Several corpses of civilians were lying at the door, still burning. Auxiliary soldiers were busy carrying water to put out the fire.
There are ponds everywhere in Taicang City, so it is not difficult to put out fires.
"Really, what a waste of human life!"
There were shrill screams in the distance, and people were shaking in the street. It was unclear whether they were being bluffed or not.
The two sword and shield soldiers raised their sabers and stood in front of the instructor as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Lin Zhenbei said loudly: "Look for someone to ask for directions and take me to Jinglue Mansion!"
After saying that, he rushed forward. After taking two steps, he tripped on something under his feet and almost fell down.
Lin Zhenbei thought it was a dead body, but when he took a closer look, he found that it was actually a cannonball that had smashed into the ground.
The iron ball is still a little warm.
"Are they still bombarding the inner city?"
The sword-and-shield soldier holding his shield quickly replied:
"Sir, the bombardment has stopped a long time ago. This cannon was fired during the siege just now..."
Lin Zhenbei groaned and murmured to himself:
"Taicang was captured before the shells cooled down. It was so fast and economical..."
The first battalion of the Eighth Corps occupied the entire city in only half an hour.
This is an asymmetric war. From weapons and equipment to military morale and tactical actions, the enemy and us are two generations apart.
All that's left is to chop melons and vegetables, and hunt down the frightened ones.
The fighting continued until late into the night, until all the men holding weapons and acting suspiciously were killed (it was inevitable that civilians would be injured accidentally).
Also destroyed was the Taicang Wang family.
Just like dealing with Gao Hui, He Longzhou omitted the step of persuading surrender. He personally commanded the artillery and carried out a covering artillery bombardment of the Wang family's residence.
Considering that Wang Heng had already moved his family property in advance, He Yingguan ordered a thorough bombardment of the Wang family's sixteen-year-old mansion.
The whole battalion's thirty artillery pieces and two thousand divine fire flying crows poured down on the head of this ancient family.
The shelling and fire lasted for more than two hours. All kinds of artillery were like displaying firepower to the people of Loucheng. They did not stop for a moment. Half of the night sky of Loucheng was illuminated by rockets.
A group of family members of the Yang family, one of the three major families, spent the whole night playing horse-drawn funerals.
"Three loaves."
"All of them! What a fool!"
Gunfire rumbled outside the window.
Mrs. Yang said to everyone while shuffling the cards:
"Fight, fight, one of them will definitely die!"
~~~
At dawn, the gunpowder shells carried by the first battalion were exhausted, and the bombardment gradually stopped.
The first ray of sunshine in the morning illuminated the devastated city. The people who were good at watching the excitement were shocked to find that the Wang family in Taicang, which had stood in Loucheng for hundreds of years, was turned into rubble overnight.
The pavilions and pavilions are gone, the rockeries and ponds are gone, the princes and beauties are gone.
The Wang family became a mass of rubble and potholes, like pockmarked faces.
"It's good to beat the Wang family into pockmarks."
He Longzhou nodded with satisfaction, turned to Zhang Yunxiu, the manager:
"Zhang Jinglue, now we can talk to Taicang Haoqiang about clearing our parents-in-law."
Zhang Yunxiu looked at the unrecognizable city of Taicang Prefecture, at the blood-soaked streets, and then at the murderous He Longzhou next to him, with his mouth wide open and speechless for a long time.
Kang Guangxu, as if nothing was wrong, came to Zhang Yunxiu and whispered a few words.
Li Zicheng wiped the blood on his face and said loudly:
"There is no need to go to the powerful people, they will come by themselves."
Everyone looked up and looked into the distance. At the end of the street, several large sedan chairs fell to the ground, and the bearers fled in all directions as if they had seen a ghost.
Soon a few old men who looked like gentry stepped out of the sedan.
"They are the heads of the Huang, Yang, and Qian families, and Eunuch Cao from the Weaving Bureau."
Kang Guangxu explained loudly to everyone.
The most powerful bosses in Taicang Prefecture City, surrounded by their servants, staggered on the uneven rubble towards the Jinglue Mansion.
The servant seemed to be holding something in his hand.
After taking a few steps, they were blocked by pikemen guarding the roadside.
Servants are not allowed to come forward, otherwise they will be killed without mercy.
Several clan leaders did not dare to object and nodded repeatedly to express their understanding.
Kang Guangxu smiled and said, "What do you think these people are holding in their hands?"
Eunuch Zhang Bao said neither yin nor yang:
"What else could it be? Banknotes and land deeds. Now I know I'm giving in."
Zhang Yunxiu was deeply shocked by the scene before him and was speechless for a long time.
He came to Taicang with hundreds of people and worked hard for two months. In the end, he lost dozens of lives, his words were so bad that he couldn't even defeat a powerful man.
Within a day of entering the city, the Eighth Corps took back all the fields.
It seems that reform requires a river of blood.
The three clan leaders and Eunuch Cao had already arrived in front of everyone. Li Zicheng led the guards to search them before letting them come over.
"The sinner Huang Longhai has eyesight that does not recognize Mount Tai. He does not know the laws of Daqi. He is lucky and does not know the power of heaven. He deserves death. Today he has changed his past and is willing to take the initiative to hand over the 150,000 acres of land that he has concealed in his name. The imperial court will also pay an additional one million taels of various commercial taxes that Hongwu has owed for the past twenty-five years, and seek the Lord's permission to give the criminal a chance to reform."
"The sinner Yang Buyi was bewitched by the rebellious Wang Heng and almost made a big mistake. Now he is willing to offer 180,000 acres of newly cultivated farmland, pay back 150,000 taels of commercial taxes, and return 120 large and small watercrafts that were occupied ·····”
Kang Guangxu stroked his beard and smiled from ear to ear. Zhang Jing slightly suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and said loudly to these powerful and evil gentry who had "reformed their mistakes":
"The traitor Wang Heng fled to Songjiang. He Yingguan has sent cavalry to pursue him. Wang Heng is causing harm to the country and the people. There is no way he can escape! You are bewitched by him, finance his bluffing, act as an aide, and are enemies of this officer. Logically speaking, you are all I want to behead and kill the three tribes..."
Everyone immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Yunxiu. Yang Buyi's head hit the bluestone, causing it to bleed, and the others acted even more fiercely.
"However,"
Zhang Jing paused for a moment and continued:
"You are able to pull back from the brink and return from the lost route. You did not follow Wang Heng and fled to the Japanese country. In the end, you were able to support the New Deal with real money. You have merit. I will report to the emperor and persuade the emperor. If he is happy, he may not kill you. .”
"Thank you, Lord Jinglue, for not killing me."
All the wealthy gentry kowtowed like chickens pecking at rice. They all knew that the lives of their whole family now depended on Zhang Jinglue.
What happened last night, especially the tragedy of the Wang family in Taicang, left a deep impression on everyone.
A real aristocratic family like the Wang family is nothing in front of Qi Jun, who kills them at will.
The wealthy gentry thought that they did not have Wang Heng's ability to plan their escape to Japan in advance, so they gave up the idea of confronting Qi.
The so-called New Deal is a bottle of poison given to oneself. As long as you drink it, you will die sooner or later.
However, now that I'm dying of thirst, I don't care whether it's poisonous or not.
With the implementation of the New Deal, the lives of the wealthy families will become increasingly difficult. Their land and farmers will be snatched away by Daqi.
Everyone knows these truths, but what can they do now?
We can only entrust it to the virtual snake and deal with it for a while. After the Tatars withdraw their troops, go to the Confucius Temple to cry to Saint Confucius.
