NCCnovel Chapter 581 Careful work
Chapter 581 Careful work
The Qionghai Navy spent several hours cleaning up the battlefield, collecting the bodies of their own men, burying the Tartars, and then pushing heavy boxes onto carts to the shore to load onto ships. Soldiers boarded the ships one after another, preparing to head to the next battlefield. The massive fleet left the shore and headed north.
On the shore, after burying the bodies and moving the boxes, the able-bodied men began to plead with the soldiers around them: "Sir, we've done what we were told to do, can you let us go back now?"
The soldier in charge of escorting them shook his head. "You are being ordered by the general to go to Dengzhou and follow the governor's instructions."
Upon hearing the governor's name, these able-bodied men cowered and dared not say another word. However, when the soldiers took out ropes to tie them up, the men cautiously stepped back and asked repeatedly, "Sir, what are you doing? It's one thing not to untie the villagers, but we've done so much work, why are you tying us up?"
An officer who looked like a company commander stepped forward and said loudly, "You have all just been rescued from the Tartars. It is inevitable that there are Tartar spies among you. Tying you up is for your own good. If anyone does not allow us to tie them up, then they are Tartar spies. They have a guilty conscience."
The soldiers raised their guns, warily aiming them at the group of young men.
With guns pointed at them and the excuse of being Tartar spies brought up again, the young men looked at each other, feeling that they had no reason to refute it, so they lowered their heads and prepared to let the soldiers tie them up again.
In fact, the soldiers in charge of escorting the goods never expected that the so-called Tartar spies were just an excuse to suppress the people. They never expected that there were actually spies in the place, and the leader was named Zhao Si.
Zhao Si was from Liaodong. In the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, he was captured by the Tartars and became a bondservant of a bannerman named Bayara in the Plain Blue Banner. Because of his diligence and flattery, he gained his master's trust and was assigned lighter tasks. He was also twice taken into the Central Plains to plunder with the army, assisting his master in the massacre of his fellow countrymen. While his master ate the meat, he drank the soup, and he also received some benefits, becoming increasingly loyal to him. The second time he went out of the Central Plains was the previous year when Huang Taiji personally led a large army to attack Datong, Xuanfu, and other places. In one battle, he happened to take an arrow for his master and even personally beheaded a seriously wounded Ming army officer, thus making a meritorious contribution. After returning, he was rewarded for his merits and even raised his banner, allowing him to flaunt his power among the other bondservant men.
This was Zhao Si's third time accompanying his master into the pass. He had originally thought he could make a fortune, but unexpectedly, the seemingly invincible Jin army suffered a setback in Shandong, not only losing the battle but also abandoning all their spoils and fleeing in panic. Before leaving, Abatai instructed that several loyal Han Chinese bondservant be selected to stay behind, blend in with the common people, and find an opportunity to infiltrate the Qionghai Army as spies. This was a strategic move, perhaps useful in the future. Zhao Si, who had been elevated to the Manchu banner, was naturally one of the most suitable candidates, so his master recommended him without hesitation as the leader of these spies.
To be honest, Zhao Si was extremely unwilling to stay. But since his master had spoken, he didn't dare utter a word—even if he was elevated to a higher status, he was still a servant, albeit a servant of a higher rank, with the power of life and death in the hands of his master. So, he, along with a Han Chinese named Liu Neng and a Korean named Park In-yong, stayed behind. Liu Neng was also from Liaodong, and had only been a bondservant for two years, so he was relatively inexperienced. As for how Park In-yong, this Korean, was also mistakenly kept behind as a Han Chinese spy, who knows? Perhaps it was a hasty mistake, because this guy could speak fluent Chinese and looked no different from an ordinary Han Chinese.
Watching chests filled with gold, silver, and valuables being carried away by boat, Zhao Si felt a pang of anguish. If the army hadn't been defeated, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, a small portion of these spoils would have been his. "Damn Ming army!" Zhao Si cursed inwardly, seething with resentment.
With the gold and silver treasures taken away and the main force of the Ming army leaving by boat, Zhao Si felt that his so-called undercover mission had lost its meaning. He didn't want to go back to Dengzhou with these Shandong bumpkins and thought he should do something to create an opportunity to escape, then find a way to escape back to Liaodong, make up some excuse to fool his master, and continue to be a Manchu.
He saw that under the coercion of the Ming army, these young men gave up their protest and prepared to surrender, then be bound hand and foot and taken to Dengzhou. His eyes darted around, he took a few steps, and came to the crowd. Taking advantage of the fact that the Ming soldiers were not paying attention to him, he whispered, "Brothers, we are all law-abiding citizens. Why should we suffer like this? It's fine if we are bound by the Tartars, but they are government soldiers. What's the difference between us and the Tartars doing this? Let's just beat these soldiers to a pulp and go home."
The able-bodied men hesitated, and one of them replied, "They are government soldiers, and we are unarmed civilians. Wouldn't doing this be tantamount to rebellion?"
Zhao Si scoffed, "It's precisely because they are government soldiers, and there are so many of us, that they don't dare to actually make a move! In broad daylight, would they dare to slaughter innocent civilians? Unless they have the ability to kill all these nearly ten thousand people, so many mouths can't be silenced, and the truth will eventually come to light."
The young men were somewhat tempted and asked, "Brother, what do you suggest we do?"
"It's very simple. There are fewer officers and soldiers than we are. We'll split up and go into the crowd to untie the ropes off the others. Then we'll climb up to a high place and shout, 'Kill these dog soldiers!' Everyone will rush in, and we'll trample over a hundred soldiers to death!"
"This guy is right, that's how we should do it!"
After stirring up the emotions of the able-bodied men, Zhao Si called Liu Neng and Pu Renyong over and instructed them, "I'll go to the east, and you two go to the west. Take these people and untie all the bound civilians, then kill these government soldiers. We'll then figure out how to get a boat back to Liaodong..."
Liu Neng hesitated for a moment. He didn't move and said in a low voice, "Brother Zhao, now that we're free, why go back to be slaves to the Tartars? Why don't we stay?"
Zhao Si was taken aback, then hissed in a low voice, "What are you doing? Are you going to go against me? Don't forget last year when the master got drunk and wanted to kill you, who pleaded for you? Besides, your son is still in Liaodong, are you going to abandon your son?"
When his son was mentioned, Liu Neng lowered his head and said, "Okay, I'll listen to whatever you say, brother."
The able-bodied men split up and rushed toward the other people who were tied up, trying to untie some of them. Then these people would untie the others, and in the end, more than 10,000 people regained their freedom. At that time, the hundred or so soldiers would be no match for them.
This unusual behavior quickly caught the attention of the soldiers, who raised their guns and shouted, "Stop! Don't move! Hands above your heads, or we'll shoot!"