Chapter 32: Breaking the City

As the Kunzei ranks drew closer, periodically halting to fire a volley, bullets began to whistle past Zheng Zhilong’s position, and men fell with each passing moment. The human pillar of his Japanese guards in front of him had already lost four or five men. He watched as the enemy, a mere two or three hundred strong, rendered his own forces completely powerless. Not only could they not fight back, but they couldn’t even make a desperate charge. He was overcome with grief and indignation. He knew that to fight now would be to die in vain. He had no choice but to order the city set on fire while he, under the protection of his black and Japanese guards, fled towards the docks opposite Gulangyu.

Tōtarō knew that once an army began to flee, it was a total collapse. Without a capable and fearless general to act as a “human pillar” in the rear, the enemy could easily catch up to the main force and take the commander’s head. He immediately summoned a capable subordinate and ordered him to take fifty soldiers to form the rearguard, while the rest escorted Zheng Zhilong to safety.

The garrison left in the city, upon receiving the order, hastily lit torches and threw them everywhere. They quickly set fire to the city’s yamen and granaries, then burned a few residential houses before fleeing in panic. Because there had been no prior plan to burn the city, no firewood, oil, or other combustibles had been gathered, so the fire did not spread widely. However, a fire set at the docks, where large quantities of flammable goods like sugar, cloth, and silk were stored, quickly grew into a large blaze.

The routed soldiers, seeing that all was lost, took the opportunity to loot and rape throughout the city and at the docks. Before Zhongzuosuo had even fallen, the city was already in chaos, with cries of terror filling the air.

Shi Zhiqi had been given two tasks. One was to capture Zhongzuosuo, which was no longer a problem now that Zheng Zhilong had abandoned the city and fled. The other was to annihilate the main Zheng army and, if possible, capture or kill Zheng Zhilong.

These two tasks were originally sequential. The staff had estimated that they would first defeat the Zheng army below or within the city walls and then capture the city. But now, they had become parallel objectives. Shi Zhiqi had to either immediately lead his troops into the city to restore order, extinguish the fires, and secure the spoils of war, or ignore the city and continue to pursue the fleeing Zheng forces.

There was no time for hesitation. Zheng Zhilong was escaping amidst the routed army, and Zhongzuosuo was burning. After a few seconds of indecision, Shi Zhiqi ordered the artillery, assault engineers, and the Third Company to advance and occupy Zhongzuosuo, while he himself led the First and Second companies in pursuit of the Zheng army.

He summoned the radio operator and contacted Ming Qiu on the Lichun, reporting his decision. Although pursuing a routed army with only two hundred men was risky, it was a golden opportunity to wipe out the Zheng forces. The more Zheng commanders killed in this battle, the more devastating the blow to the Zheng clan would be.

Ming Qiu approved his decision over the radio. “…The special reconnaissance teams have observation posts nearby. Pay attention to the signals on the mountains. They will contact you with signal flags or mirrors! Also, there is a special search team from the special reconnaissance force currently hunting Zheng Zhilong. You need to coordinate with them! Their contact frequency is 921, call sign ‘Hornet’.”

In contrast to Xue Ziliang’s detachment, which was conducting an indiscriminate bombardment of Anping, the Hornet team, composed of elite members from Qian Shuixie’s detachment, had a specific mission: to find and kill Zheng Zhilong on Xiamen Island.

Zheng Zhilong was the head of the Zheng clan. If he could be killed in Xiamen, the burgeoning Zheng clan would be left leaderless. The “Eighteen Shiba” would likely fall into internal strife. Coupled with Zou Weilian, who harbored ill intentions towards the Zheng clan, the internal and external pressures would tear the Zheng clan apart until it was on its last legs.

In the original timeline, after the Qing army captured Zheng Zhilong, the once-powerful Zheng clan immediately fractured. Zheng Chenggong’s later reunification efforts were not entirely successful. Not only did a number of key commanders defect to the Qing, but there were also deep divisions among those who remained, leading to frequent rebellions and disobedience. Zheng Chenggong’s early death was undoubtedly related to the exhaustion caused by the internal strife he faced.

It was clear that Zheng Zhilong was not just the leader of the Zheng clan; he was its backbone and its glue. Therefore, eliminating him was the best option for the Senate.

“Understood!” Shi Zhiqi said, then called for a messenger.

“Go, bring Transmigrator Lu here!”

A few minutes later, the messenger brought over Transmigrator Lu, who was wearing a Type 80 steel helmet and a heavy steel plate body armor, and was already sweating profusely from the walk.

Although the Senate now had professional armed reconnaissance teams to do all the dirty work, and a wealth of information at their disposal, they still lacked a direct, intuitive understanding of Xiamen Island. Therefore, Transmigrator Lu, who had been idling in Shandong, was urgently dispatched. Transmigrator Lu was very familiar with Xiamen Island. Although he was not from Xiamen, he used to run laps around the ruins of Zhongzuosuo every day, and his footprints had covered every mountain and stream on the island. More importantly, Transmigrator Lu had fought in battles, seen blood, and was, at the very least, an experienced officer.

“Old Lu, I’m going after Zheng Zhilong. You lead the team into the city!” Shi Zhiqi said, his words concise and to the point.

“Yes! Don’t you worry. I will deliver the city to the Senate intact!” Lu Zeyang snapped to attention and saluted.

“I’m counting on you. They say there are mountains of gold, silver, grain, and silk in there.”

Lu Zeyang, of course, understood what he meant and said no more, just giving a solemn nod. The two men then parted ways.

Watching Shi Zhiqi lead the First and Second companies in pursuit of the fleeing Zheng army, Lu Zeyang summoned the commander of the Third Company, the platoon leader of the assault engineers, and the artillery company commander. He briefly outlined their respective tasks and points of attention after entering the city, with a particular emphasis on suppressing the routed soldiers and organizing the civilians to fight the fires.

“Important warehouses and government offices must be guarded,” Lu Zeyang said. “If the routed soldiers want to flee the city, don’t stop them. Just let them go.”

He did not want to get bogged down in street fighting. If the routed soldiers couldn’t escape, they would fight like cornered beasts, which would not only increase casualties but also cause great damage to the city. The Senate had high hopes for the spoils of war from Zhongzuosuo, and he could not let those hopes be dashed.

“The Morning Star flag flies over Wulao Peak, under the phoenix tree, I get drunk with a foreign beauty!”

Standing on the beach, looking at the familiar yet strange Wulao Peak in the distance, Lu Zeyang, wearing a camouflage uniform that made him look more like a road construction worker, recited a poem. Although it wasn’t very good, poorly written poems and songs were commonplace in the Senate.

The location of Zhongzuosuo was where Xiamen University would later be. With Wulao Peak at its back and facing the sea, from a feng shui perspective, it was a classic ideal configuration of “mountain to the north, water to the south.” The five peaks of Wulao Peak were shaped like a grand armchair, and the city was like a high official sitting in it. Zheng Zhilong must have been very pleased with this auspicious “promotion” symbolism, which was why he had unceremoniously taken over the city as his base after occupying Xiamen Island.

“A pity, this time, you, Zheng Yiguan, are going to be dismissed and investigated by our Imperial Senate!” Transmigrator Lu pointed his axe at the city gate before him.

“Assault engineers, advance!”

The assault engineers were all stout men from Shandong, wearing steel helmets. Their equipment was excellent: a Lingao-made double-barreled shotgun slung across their backs, a revolver and a multi-purpose machete at their waists, and in their hands, a long-handled fire-fighting breaching axe, a replica made by the Lingao Machine Works.

The three battalion guns fired simultaneously at the east gate. After a few shots, the gate tower collapsed in a cloud of dust and rubble, and the gate itself was blasted open.

Under the covering fire of the Third Company’s rifles, the assault engineers charged through the east gate of Zhongzuosuo—the future Baicheng gate of Xiamen University.

The expected street fighting did not occur. The Zheng army in the city had already collapsed. Those who remained were scattered soldiers looking to take advantage of the chaos to burn, kill, and rape. Seeing the Kunzei enter the city, they quickly grabbed their loot and fled.

Lu Zeyang, fully armed and carrying a Browning Hi-Power pistol made by Li Yiwo—the raw materials for this gun, from the steel to the springs, were all from Li Yiwo’s personal stash from the original timeline; otherwise, Transmigrator Lu wouldn’t dare to use it as a weapon—walked unhurriedly behind the main force. He was surrounded by four or five elite soldiers, who protected him closely, giving him the air of a “leader.”

“First platoon, straight ahead, climb the mountain towards Lingyun! Take the high ground!”

“Second platoon, take the right fork and attack! Go to the law school and the art… uh, no, go to Haiyun! Be careful, it’s all uphill from here. Pace yourselves, don’t be exhausted like dogs when you get there!”

Of course, the layout of Zhongzuosuo, with its buildings and waterways, was different from the later Xiamen University campus. For example, after walking for a while, Transmigrator Lu still hadn’t seen the Furong Lake where the black swans would later be kept. But the general topography was the same, so much so that Transmigrator Lu subconsciously issued orders using the names of the later university campus…

After giving his orders, Transmigrator Lu led his team menacingly towards their destination: the yamen of Zhongzuosuo. The streets were deserted, except for the scattered bodies of civilians and their belongings. Fires had broken out in many parts of the city, and the air was filled with smoke. Occasionally, a ghostly figure would flash past in a street or alley. The soldiers rounded them up along the way, killing or capturing many routed soldiers who hadn’t escaped in time. Several who had been raping women were caught before they could even pull up their pants, tripped, and captured alive.

Although they had killed and captured many, they encountered no real resistance along the way. The routed soldiers were just trying to escape. Soon, they reached the yamen. Since Xiamen Island had fallen to the Zheng clan, the yamen had been the center of Zheng Zhilong’s rule on the island. He spent more than half his time here, issuing orders, managing trade, and suppressing other maritime forces. There were bound to be many of his documents and treasures here.

The main hall of the Zhongzuosuo yamen was empty, with various ceremonial objects and decorations scattered about. Some of the buildings were already on fire. Lu Zeyang ordered his soldiers to extinguish the fires and set up a perimeter. At the same time, he ordered the drum tower to be beaten and used a megaphone to command the local paijia (a unit of household registration) heads to report to the yamen. “Any jia that does not report within a quarter of an hour will be slaughtered to the last man!”