Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 357 Li Yi: I really want to improve!
Feeling the pain of the sharp bayonet piercing his flesh, Yi said with a pale face.

"I...I surrender!"

When talking about surrender, Yi was careful and did not reveal his identity by saying "Zhen" but "I".

However, a Tang army officer came forward, took a look at Yi's clothes, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Fuck, it's a dragon robe!"

"This time we caught a big fish!"

Although there were several holes burned in Yi's clothes by the flames and they were covered with black scorch marks from the smoke.

But the bright yellow material and the vivid dragon pattern on the clothes are still obvious.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a dragon robe!
And on the battlefield today, there is only one Yi wearing the dragon robe.

Well, although Li Yi can wear it, when he was in the army, he generally liked to wear military uniforms.

In private, I like to wear casual clothes.

Li Yi doesn't like to wear a crown unless it is a very formal occasion.

Upon hearing this, all the Tang army soldiers around were filled with ecstasy.

The expressions on every face were very excited.

Everyone realized that they had really accomplished a great feat this time.

This is Yi, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty!
Although it was a lucky coincidence, the achievement of capturing the emperor alive was enough for them to rise to the top in one step.

……

At the same time, the fire on the Yellow River embankment continued to burn.

Amid the blazing flames, Qing soldiers kept letting out shrill and desperate screams, then jumped into the river in an attempt to save their lives.

But not everyone has Yi's luck, who can be rescued after falling into the water.

Most of the Qing army soldiers were from the north and were complete landlubbers. After entering the water, they sank to the bottom immediately.

Can't even show up!
Even if it managed to emerge, it might not be picked up by the Tang army's gunboats.

The main purpose of the Tang army's gunboats towing the Yellow River upstream was to ensure that the Qing army could not break through.

They also had to divide the people when they fished out prisoners from the Yellow River.

The reason why Yi was rescued was because the Tang army sailors noticed that his clothes were very gorgeous and his identity was probably not simple, so he was worth being captured.

Otherwise, the Tang army sailors would not have gone to the trouble.

Just stand on the deck and shoot him, wouldn't that be easier than using a fishing net to fish him out?
If you want to be rescued, it depends on whether you have the value.

At this moment, a loud bang was heard from the Yellow River embankment.

This was because the gunpowder left by the Qing army on the Yellow River embankment was ignited by the incendiary bombs thrown by the Tang army, causing a chain reaction.

Amid the explosion, several burning firemen were blown into the sky.

In the sea of ​​fire, the thousands of Qing soldiers gathered together were engulfed by the flames in the blink of an eye, and almost no one survived.

Li Yi put down the telescope in his hand, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and was in a very good mood.

He gave the Qing troops the opportunity to surrender.

But instead of cherishing it, they used the safety of the Yellow River embankment to threaten him, Li Yi.

Haha, in that case, then Li Yi shouldn’t be so cruel and send them to death.

As for using incendiary bombs, will it cause the fire to spread and cause irreversible consequences?
Li Yi is really not afraid!
Because there is basically open space on both sides of the Yellow River embankment.

When the Tang Dynasty was building the Yellow River levee, in order to prevent the levee from collapsing, a fairly large open space was planned in advance on both sides of the levee specifically for flood discharge.

To put it bluntly, the area within a certain range near the Yellow River embankment is almost entirely white.

In such an environment, there is no flammable material, the gasoline will burn out, the fire will naturally stop, and the fire will most likely not spread.

Of course, it’s okay even if it spreads.

The people around the battlefield had already been evacuated.

Even if the fire spreads, at most it will burn some houses and farmland, which can be rebuilt afterwards. There will be no irreversible consequences.

As for whether the Yellow River embankment will be breached by the fire?
This is indeed risky.

Under the intense and rapid alternation of hot and cold, it is not impossible for the levee to collapse.

However, no matter how great the harm caused by fire is, it will not exceed the harm caused by the Qing Dynasty's direct use of gunpowder or the Tang Dynasty's heavy artillery bombardment.

Turning his gaze away from the Yellow River embankment engulfed in flames, Li Yi spoke in a calm voice without the slightest disturbance.

"Have the soldiers prepare in advance. Once the fire stops, we will send people to the levee to clean up the battlefield."

"Confirm the damage to the Yellow River embankment!"

"Once we find any signs of a levee breach, our troops will immediately go in to rescue and provide disaster relief!"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Zongtang, who was standing by, immediately clasped his fists in agreement, then turned around and went to make the arrangements.

Li Yi turned his gaze to the north again.

However, what he was looking at this time was not the Yellow River embankment, but the majestic city in the north.

Li Yi began to think about the next move of the Tang army.

In the Battle of the Yellow River, the main force of the Qing army was completely wiped out.

It was only natural for the Tang army to launch an expedition to the north to recover Zhili and the capital.

After regaining the capital, it was almost time for Li Yi to be promoted to emperor.

Well, there is no doubt about that.

Even if Li Yi himself doesn't want to make progress, the people below him have to push him forward!

Not to mention that Li Yi actually wants to improve.

Being an emperor, 99% of men in the world cannot resist such a temptation.

The same is true for Li Yi.

What Li Yi is really considering now is the next move of the Tang army after taking over the capital.

Should the Tang Dynasty give priority to recovering Liaodong or solving the problems within the Great Wall? Logically speaking, the Tang Dynasty should give priority to the problems within the Great Wall.

This is because, if he could not unify the world, even if Li Yi ascended the throne, he would only be a lame emperor, without any legitimate reason.

Only when unification is truly achieved can Li Yi become emperor with justification.

Moreover, of the eighteen provinces within the Great Wall of the Qing Dynasty, twelve of them, namely Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui and Shandong, are now controlled by the Tang Dynasty.

Next, when the Tang army conquers the capital in the Northern Expedition, the three provinces of Zhili, Shanxi, and Hubei controlled by the Qing court will also be conquered.

All in all, the Tang Dynasty had taken over fifteen provinces.

In other words, at present, the Tang Dynasty only lacks Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces to take over the entire interior of the country and achieve the unification of the traditional Han areas within the Great Wall.

But the problem is that now the three provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu are controlled by Shi Dakai.

Shi Dakai was nominally an ally of the Tang Dynasty.

Directly attacking allies is not a good thing after all.

And this is also the reason why Li Yi was a little hesitant.

After thinking for a long time, Li Yi finally made a decision: give priority to those inside the pass!

The main force of the Qing army had been defeated by the Tang Dynasty, and even if its remnants retreated outside the Great Wall, their threat to the Tang Dynasty would be limited.

As for Shi Dakai, who was in the three provinces within the Great Wall, he was a real threat.

If this internal worry is not resolved, Li Yi will not be able to feel at ease even if he expands outward.

However, just as Li Yi was thinking silently in his heart, the raging fire on the Yellow River embankment was finally extinguished.

The Tang army began to send people to climb the levee to investigate the damage.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves was heard.

A Tang army communications soldier ran all the way to Li Yi and began to report.

"Report, Your Majesty, a military report has arrived from our fleet on the Yellow River."

"After jumping into the river, the fake Qing emperor Yi was captured alive by our soldiers!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help but smile.

"Hahaha, OK! OK!"

"We have captured the fake emperor of the Qing Dynasty alive and annihilated the main force of the Qing Dynasty. Our army has won a great victory in this battle and has accomplished everything we have hoped for!"

Li Yi now really feels a little surprised.

He had originally given up on using Yi's identity for political propaganda.

Unexpectedly, in a twist of fate, Yi was captured by the Tang army!
How could this not be a surprise?

It was quite a surprise indeed!
After laughing, Li Yi said.

"Pass the order down, have someone bring the fake Emperor Yi to see me immediately!"

The battle was over, and Li Yi could not wait to ridicule Yi, who dared to threaten him with the Yellow River embankment, in the posture of a victor.

As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, the communications soldier immediately took the order.

Zuo Zongtang on the side asked.

"I wonder how the king plans to deal with the Qing Yao false emperor?"

Hearing this, Li Yi stroked his chin and began to think.

After a moment, he uttered a word expressionlessly.

"kill!"

Although Li Yi wanted to use Yi to make some political use of him, this did not prevent Li Yi from wanting to kill Yi.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but speak up to persuade him.

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, since our Tang Dynasty has captured the false emperor of Qing alive, why not confer a title on him and raise him with honor?"

"First, it is to show the generosity of our Tang Dynasty."

"Secondly, if we treat the Qing Demon Pseudo-Emperor well, when our Tang Dynasty launches a northern expedition to Liaodong and the grasslands in the future, we may use this as propaganda to make the barbarians outside the Great Wall come to us on their own initiative, thus reducing the cost of our Tang Dynasty's expedition to the outside world."

"Third, if Your Majesty treats the Last Emperor well, you can inherit the lineage of the Qing Yao..."

Zuo Zongtang spoke with some earnest words.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi shook his head.

"What Zuo Qing said makes sense."

"But I have my own ideas."

"When I started my rebellion, I fought under the banner of 'expelling the Tartars and restoring China'. Even if I want to inherit the legal system, I will inherit the Ming Dynasty, not the Qing Dynasty."

"Yi, there's no point in keeping him!"

"Besides, the Qing demons blew up the Yellow River levee, causing the Yellow River to change its course, killing hundreds of millions of people, and leaving their families and homes. They have cut themselves off from the Central Plains and the world."

"Killing Yi will not alienate the people of the world, but will make everyone applaud."

"So, there is no need for you to persuade me any further. I have made up my mind!"

"Yi, I will kill him!"

"If I don't kill him, how can I give an explanation to the hundreds of millions of people who were affected by the Yellow River bursting its banks?"

In fact, for Li Yi, it doesn’t matter whether he kills or not.

There are reasons for killing or not killing, and each has its own advantages.

However, if he is not killed, it would be hard to imagine that Yi, a beast who blew up the Yellow River dike, causing countless victims to be displaced, their wives and children to be separated, and their families to be destroyed, could still have no worries about food and drink, hold a title, and enjoy the preferential treatment of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yi was upset.

Even if it is not to give an explanation to the victims, it is just to vent my anger.

Li Yi must also kill Yi!

Skin him alive!

(End of this chapter)