Chapter 2187 - Recovering Guangning

Just as troops marched ten kilometers through mountains carrying ammunition, transporting shells and gunpowder to artillery positions outside Guangning City, the scout team sent back a message: Guangning City appeared devoid of enemy defense.

The city wall top sat completely empty, without a single guard. Scouts observed the city from nearby hilltops with telescopes, finding no signs of enemy troops gathering near the walls.

Yang Zeng, who'd arrived at the forward command post, was secretly puzzled, thinking are they playing the "Empty Fort Strategy"? Just as he prepared to instruct scouts to "reconnoiter closely," suddenly the always tightly closed Guangning gates opened by themselves. A large group of commoners emerged beating gongs and drums, walking toward the confused Sui River Detachment. A middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian scholar at the front bowed with tears and mucus flowing, shouting something like "The whole city's people invite the Great Song Celestial Troops to enter the city."

"Could this be enemy trickery, to lure us into the city for a 'Burning of Xinye'?" Huang Chao muttered.

Yang Zeng sent people to bring over the lead "Elders." He'd seen quite a few "local Elders," but this was the first time seeing such wretched ones. Each had a bruised nose and swollen face, and clothes torn in several places.

The "local Elders" were searched before being brought before Yang Zeng and the others. Several all prostrated themselves, each reporting their names, "inviting the Celestial Troops to enter the city quickly."

Such eagerness was truly suspicious. Yang Zeng ordered a company to occupy various gates and gate towers, and a company to enter the city searching, while questioning the "Elders" about the county seat's fall.

It turned out Guangning had fallen three days ago. At that time, bandits troubled the county. The Guangning County Director sent the 2nd Squadron to suppress the riot. Guangning County's original establishment included only one National Army squadron, and the 3rd Platoon was deployed at Shijian. With this arrangement, only the 1st Platoon and the newly formed "County Militia Team" remained in the county seat—about two hundred people total.

Given Guangning's sturdy city defense, closing the gates meant two hundred people sufficed to resist general bandit and chaotic soldier harassment, not to mention there was a fully armed National Army platoon. So when news arrived that a large bandit and chaotic soldier group was coming from Hezhou, the County Director and Squadron Leader weren't overly nervous. They sent people to Shijian to contact them about watching for enemy movements, while closing city gates and preparing for battle.

However, three days ago, part of the militia team in the city suddenly mutinied and opened the gates. The bandits outside swarmed in. The National Army Squadron Leader hurriedly led the platoon to counter-attack, but suddenly died in battle. Part of the National Army surrendered on the spot, and the rest fought and retreated, finally breaking out and escaping with some militia by opening the gates.

"How many escaped?" Yang Zeng asked.

"About a hundred or so." The middle-aged Confucian scholar said tremblingly. "This lowly one didn't see, just heard people say so."

"Where are the cadres in the county?"

"Heard... heard..." The middle-aged Confucian scholar was afraid, in case this "Hair" chieftain vented anger on his head, he'd be eternally doomed.

"Heard what? Speak quickly!"

"Yes, yes, the cadres in the city—rumor says some fled with the Celestial Troops. The Magistrate and six others were trapped—that day... that day..."

"Killed?"

"Yes, right at the Cross Street intersection." The middle-aged Confucian scholar shrank his neck, fearing thunderous anger would descend. "...Student, Student and the gentry in the city have collected the corpses, now all resting in the temple..."

Yang Zeng and others inquired carefully and learned that after the bandits entered the city, they caught seven naturalized cadres headed by the County Director. All were beheaded and executed at the intersection. They also beheaded all captured militia and wounded National Army soldiers, allegedly to "report merit." The next day, they killed several County Consultative Council committee members and merchants, and caught quite a few "treacherous people" who "attached to the Hair" to behead. In total, over a hundred people were killed.

Though the incoming bandits claimed to be "government troops," their military discipline was extremely poor. Besides demanding various "offerings" after entering the city, stragglers committed all crimes: arson, murder, rape, and money looting. Almost all merchants and gentry in the city were harmed. Ordinary commoners were also trampled considerably.

Last night, the bandits suddenly started looting the whole city and captured many women. Early this morning, they opened the gates and fled.

"...We awaited the Celestial Troops like withered fields awaiting sweet rain." After the middle-aged Confucian scholar finished "crying his complaint" with snot and tears, Huang Chao and Yang Zeng's faces were already iron-blue. Yang Zeng said, "Let's go. We enter the city!"

Entering the city, it was a mess inside. Every household had doors wide open; shops along streets were all smashed and looted empty. Corpses still lay on the streets.

Survivors gathered on both sides of the road with fear on their faces to "welcome the Celestial Troops." These days they'd suffered enough from the bandits' poisoning. Whether poor or rich, they all had great goodwill toward this regime they didn't understand before and only accepted passively—the contrast was simply too stark!

Though they'd suffered heavy losses from bandit looting, the commoners still set wine and food by the roadside to show their intentions.

Yang Zeng and others came to the Cross Street intersection, only to see spots of blood on sandstone slabs, a large black patch. Thinking of comrades killed here days ago, indignation filled his heart—if only we knew the situation here earlier! Even if the whole army force-marched until legs broke, we would have come.

Huang Chao's feeling differed from his. Besides anger, an inexplicable fear welled from the bottom of his heart. Though there were no corpses, the cold reality and blood all over the ground reminded him the situation he had to face was a hundred times more difficult than "Pacifying the Li" in Hainan back then, and the cruelty unprecedented. He took a deep breath to calm down, but somehow felt the air was full of blood's smell. He couldn't help retching twice.

The killed cadres' and National Army soldiers' corpses had been collected by local "Elders" using simple coffins. Yang Zeng sent people to look; they said all were missing heads.

"Where are the martyrs' heads?" Yang Zeng pressed the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

"The heads were originally hung at the County Yamen and the four city gates. All were collected last night; probably taken away."

Heads were important props for recording merit—unsurprising they were taken. Yang Zeng was helpless. He instructed people to find high ground outside the city to bury the victimized cadres and soldiers. Hearing people in the city suffered heavily, Huang Chao instructed setting up porridge sheds locally to dispense porridge and clothes. He also personally went to offer condolences to the killed County Consultative Council committee members. Some members' homes were looted empty, and surviving family members were cold and hungry; he instructed taking all these people in and sending them to Lingao for support.

From them, they learned the one commanding this force was a scribe named Li Cungu. Though a scribe, he was bloodthirsty like a maniac. Once entering the city, not counting killing captives and "pro-Hair" local commoners, he also slaughtered their families, not even sparing the old and young, killing off more than ten households in one breath. Only because gentry and big households jointly pleaded were the families of several Consultative Council members, originally to be killed off, saved.

As for the militia team acting as insiders to open the door and part of the National Army surrendering, which Huang Chao and others cared about most, locals knew very little. They knew only that those who opened the gate were a few young men in the militia team, all idlers in the county. As for their subsequent fate, it was unclear; presumably, they fled with the bandits.

"The names of these people must all be recorded and wanted forever!" Huang Chao said indignantly.

However, relying only on these few plain names, without photos or fingerprints, and in an era of constant war, the possibility of catching them in the sea of people was extremely small. The only thing Huang Chao could comfort himself with was that since they ran with the bandits, maybe they'd already lost their lives in battle.

To ensure Guangning's safety, the Sui River Detachment built another stockade on the Sui River bank north of Baoding Mountain to choke the road to Huaiji. The brought-along Guangning Battalion was responsible for the county seat's and surrounding transportation nodes' safety with the 1st Squadron and remnants of the original Guangning Squadron. Meanwhile, an infantry company was sent to Huaiji to establish contact with the local garrison, especially to gather back troops and cadres who fled from Guangning.

Of the Guangning Battalion's other two squadrons, one patrolled the interior line between Guangning and the Sui River to ensure smooth communication with the main force; the other maintained order among villages outside the city, gradually expanding reconnaissance range to guard against enemies from the north.

The Sui River Detachment's main force immediately set out for Huaiji. Originally, whether Huang Chao or Yang Zeng, both intended to conduct large-scale "Public Security Rectification" in Guangning and Huaiqing (Huaiji) to ensure communication lines' safety. But judging from the current situation, it no longer allowed them to advance gradually and fight steadily. Troops must reach Lianzhou as soon as possible to suppress the riot.

The Wuzhou Squadron was also left behind as National Army, but acted as a mobile team, responsible for carrying out Public Security Rectification between Guangning and Huaiji, and simultaneously supporting various squadrons—the Wuzhou Squadron's combat power had been recognized.

Internal line Public Security Rectification's content was very simple, nothing more than circling back and forth on fixed routes. The main purpose was maintaining military presence and deterring potential enemies. If there were small-scale riots, they could also be extinguished promptly. Doing it was safe with timely supplies. What was relatively dangerous was the outer line patrol. North of Guangning was after all outside the control zone, plus the surroundings were all mountainous areas prone to ambush. The main work was actually following guides along the road from village to village. At each place, they posted printed notices, summoned villagers to preach, called village elders to explain policies and assign tasks... Because civil affairs cadres were insufficient and Guangning wasn't in the recent occupation plan, these jobs were makeshift done by officers. Staff Officer Li Song was sent to the Wuzhou Squadron to guide work and compile documents, to avoid errors during future handover.

If locals cooperated, they could be granted power to organize militia for self-defense. Local militia would be included in the county militia sequence. Simultaneously, they were required to pay "Reasonable Burdens." If they didn't cooperate, the village would be broken, and elders and big households arrested as local tyrants and evil gentry resisting the Celestial Troops, sent to the Guangzhou Court for trial—usually sentenced to fines or exile to Kaohsiung.