Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 344: How can a soldier let his surname stand in front of him?

Chapter 344: How can a soldier let the people stand in front of him?

"Now, all the Green Camp soldiers that the Qing Dynasty can mobilize have been gathered in Wuqing and are under the command of the Governor-General of Zhili."

"But it can't stop the Tang army from advancing westward!"

"In this case, if the Qing Dynasty wants to reinforce Wuqing, it can only mobilize the Eight Banners New Army to join the battle."

Ruilin continued.

When Yi heard this, his expression was conflicted for a moment, but he finally nodded in response.

"Well, that's fine."

"Then send out the new Eight Banners Army!"

"Since the Battle of Julu last year, the Eight Banners New Army of the Qing Dynasty has been undergoing repairs."

"Now that it has been repaired for such a long time, it is time to send it out to experience some wind and rain."

Yi was thinking about using the Tang army to train the Qing Dynasty's new Eight Banners Army.

This will improve the combat effectiveness of the Qing army!
After saying this, Yi pondered for a moment, then continued.

"Then how about you, Shengbao, lead the troops in this battle?"

Among the high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty, Shengbao is the only one who has some military capability.

Therefore, Yi could only be the tallest among the short ones and let Shengbao take over when there was a problem.

When Shengbao heard this, his expression was a little bitter, but he still bowed in response.

"The slave obeys the order!"

Seeing this, Yi nodded slightly.

However, he was still curious why the Tang army suddenly moved westward from Tianjin!
He always felt that the Tang army's sudden westward advance must not be accidental.

I’m afraid that what’s going on here isn’t simple.

At this moment, An Dehai came to ask for a meeting outside the imperial study, his tone quite anxious.

Yi looked up and ordered someone to bring An Dehai in, then asked.

"What's wrong, Xiao Anzi, is there something wrong?"

An Dehai came before Yi, bowed, and then said.

"In reply to the emperor, there is urgent news from Shandong that the Yellow River has burst its banks again."

As he spoke, An Dehai handed over a report in his hand.

Yifan looked at the report and frowned at first, but then he suddenly understood.

He finally understood why the Tang army suddenly moved westward from Tianjin.

It turned out that it was because the Yellow River burst its banks!
Thoughts kept pouring into Yi's mind.

After a moment, Yi suddenly spoke.

"My dear nobles, the Yellow River has burst its banks again. If I am not mistaken, given the hypocritical benevolence of the Tang thieves, they will definitely focus their main efforts on disaster relief."

"The Tang bandits in Tianjin suddenly moved westwards. They must be trying to distract the Qing Dynasty so that the Qing Dynasty can't take advantage of the Tang bandits' lack of troops to move southwards."

"If so, is it possible for the Qing Dynasty to take advantage of this opportunity to send troops southward and attack the heart of the Tang thieves?"

"As far as I know, the leader of the Tang bandits is currently in Jining."

"If the Qing Dynasty can take this opportunity to send troops south and attack Jining directly, is it possible to capture and kill the Tang bandit chieftain in one battle, wipe out the Tang bandits, and eliminate the trouble forever?"

As soon as Yi said this, all the officials in the Grand Council showed a thoughtful expression on their faces.

As their eyes met, many people were moved.

Seeing this, Shen Guifen, who had been silent, couldn't help but speak.

"Your Majesty, the Qing Dynasty is sending troops south at this moment. It is indeed possible to strike directly at the heart of the Tang bandits and capture and kill the Tang bandit chieftain."

"But what if the Tang thieves in Tianjin take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Qing Dynasty is heading south and continue to move westward, or even threaten the capital?"

"Once the capital falls, the Qing Dynasty will really not be able to stay in the interior."

Yi couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

"It's definitely a possibility."

"But for our Qing Dynasty, this is indeed a rare opportunity."

"If the Qing Dynasty can take this opportunity to march south and attack Huanglong, capture and kill the Tang bandit chieftain, the Tang bandits will be leaderless and will inevitably fall into internal turmoil."

"At that time, my Qing Dynasty can take the opportunity to move south and recover Shandong, Jiangsu, and Jiangnan..."

"If we can win this battle, then our Qing Dynasty will surely be able to overcome the current crisis and even usher in a revival."

Yi’s idea is actually not wrong.

Because, in the current Tang Dynasty, Li Yi is the absolute core.

Although he had a son, he was too young and did not have the ability to take charge.

As for the others, their reputations were not legitimate and they failed to surpass everyone else's prestige.

If anything happens to Li Yi, given the current situation in the Tang Dynasty, civil unrest is bound to occur.

By that time, the Qing Dynasty, which had been forced into a corner, theoretically had a chance to counterattack with a sliver of health left.

It is obvious that Yi's gambling nature has now come out.

I want to go south and take a gamble!
In Yi's opinion, even if the Qing Dynasty retreated beyond the Great Wall, the Tang bandits would probably not give up the pursuit.

The so-called withdrawal from the Great Wall is, in the final analysis, nothing more than a slow death.

If the Qing Dynasty simply withdrew from the Great Wall, it would be doomed to destruction!

In this case, why not take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, while the Qing Dynasty still has a fighting chance?

If they win, the Qing Dynasty will be revived.

Even if we lose, the only thing we can do is to withdraw from the border early.

Although the land reclaimed outside the Great Wall is not enough to feed the millions of people in the Qing Dynasty.

But in any case, it is better than doing nothing and waiting for slow death to come.

When everyone saw this, although they had some doubts in their hearts, they still nodded in agreement.

Seeing that no one objected anymore, Yi excitedly began to arrange the military affairs for the southward campaign.

……

The Yellow River! The turbid yellow water surged and flowed eastward.

As time passed, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dissipated.

The heavy rain turned into drizzle.

People standing outdoors in the rain can only feel a little bit of wetness.

On the levee, a group of laborers were standing loosely with shovels and hoes in their hands, and fatigue was visible on all of their faces.

They had been fighting on the dike for a day and a night, and everyone was exhausted.

An official in a green robe stood in front of everyone, pointed in the direction of the Yellow River burst, and shouted loudly.

"I need people now. I need thirty skilled boatmen to sail and plug the gap in the dike."

"Are there any volunteers? Come forward! The court has a great reward."

"Anyone who survives will be rewarded with 200 silver dollars."

"If you are injured or disabled, the court will provide pensions. If you die, your name will be recorded in the county annals. The court will pay to raise your children until they reach adulthood, and to take care of your parents until they die!"

The Yellow River dike broke, and because the water was rushing too fast, it was not easy to plug the gap.

Throw sandbags and stones into the river one by one, but the sandbags and stones will be swept away by the surging river.

The only way is to drive a boat filled with sand and sink it to the breach to block the breach, and then throw sandbags and stones into it to block the breach.

However, if you do this, the person driving the boat will most likely not survive.

The moment the ship sinks, the sailor will be swept away by the surging river. It is optimistic to be optimistic even if there is a chance of death.

Therefore, in order to get someone to drive a boat to block the breach, the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to offer a huge reward.

We hope that with a huge reward there will be brave men willing to stand up and fight.

However, after the official finished speaking, the crowd in front of him fell silent.

And no one spoke!

The reward offered by the court may be very high, but who doesn’t want to live?
When the official in charge of disaster relief saw this, his expression froze and he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

But at this moment, someone in the crowd stood up.

This was a man with a thin build, but his tone was quite firm when he spoke.

"Chen Guanzhuang, Chen Yan, sign up!"

"I don't want any reward, nor do I need the court to support my wife and children."

"Last year, the Yellow River burst its banks and my father was swept away by the river. My mother starved to death, my brother was eaten alive, and my wife died of illness..."

"My whole family died in this disaster, and even I almost starved to death."

"It was the court that gave me food to eat and saved my life. It was the court that gave me, Chen Yan, a chance to live again."

"Today, since the imperial court needs people to plug the gap in the Yellow River, I will return this life to the Tang Dynasty."

"Nothing else, just pray that the Yellow River will not burst its banks again. Just pray that no one else will end up like me, with their entire family wiped out!"

Led by Chen Yan, several more people stood up from the crowd.

"I'm signing up too. My home was flooded and my parents are trapped in the disaster area. If the breach in the Yellow River cannot be blocked, they will die too."

"And I!"

"Me too."

"Fuck the Yellow River! I'll risk my life to stop you!"

"..."

A group of disaster victims expressed their opinions, and soon, they gathered the thirty people needed to steer the boat.

But at this moment, a group of soldiers came running onto the Yellow River embankment.

Platoon leader Liu Jinyang strode up to the official and spoke.

"No need to choose anyone anymore, just let us do it!"

"Soldiers have the duty to obey orders."

"We were the ones who received the order to block the gap in the Yellow River at all costs. In this case, the task of blocking the Yellow River will naturally be left to us soldiers."

"We, the soldiers of the Great Tang Dynasty, have never had the habit of letting the common people stand in our way!"

The ideological education among the Tang army was not in vain.

Even in the current situation where death is almost certain, there are soldiers willing to stand up and sacrifice themselves to complete their mission and protect the people. This is the most powerful proof.

At this time, these soldiers actually don't need to stand up.

Even if they don't come forward, no one can say anything.

After all, no one would be willing to do something like committing suicide. Even Li Yi would not force anyone to die.

However, they finally chose to stand up.

Choose to complete this mortal mission on behalf of those people.

The reason is simple, because they are soldiers!

They must be worthy of the military uniforms they wear.

Zhou Cheng opened his mouth when he heard this, and began to look at the soldiers in front of him with some admiration.

Not everyone has the courage to face challenges even though they know they will die.

Zhou Cheng nodded vigorously.

"In that case, I'll trouble you soldiers!"

"I am here to wish you all a successful completion of your mission and a triumphant return!"