Chapter 69: Wiping the Slate Clean

On January 11, 1633, the second day of the twelfth lunar month of the year of Gui Si, the day after the “population for grain” transaction between the rebels in Dengzhou and Qimu Island ended, the Second Fleet and the Northern Detachment suddenly launched an amphibious attack on the Miaodao Islands. They captured the large and small Changshan Islands in one fell swoop, killing and capturing more than 500 rebels under the command of Wang Bingzhong, the commander of Changdao, and took control of the sea gate of Dengzhou. The Second Fleet then patrolled the Dengzhou sea area, completely cutting off contact between Dengzhou and the various islands in the Bohai Bay.

Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde, who were defending the city, were greatly shocked when they heard the news. Kong Youde personally came to negotiate. Lu Wenyan immediately proposed the condition that they immediately abandon Dengzhou and hand it over to the Qimu Island side. In exchange, the Qimu Island side would allow them to take away all their soldiers, weapons, and supplies and leave by boat.

On the beacon tower on Dazhushan Island, the cold wind was biting. Lu Wenyan was wearing a thick cotton robe and a cotton hat, looking like an old country bumpkin. But compared to Kong Youde, who was wearing a helmet and armor and a cloak, he seemed much more at ease.

Kong Youde had roughly agreed to the request to abandon the city, but he repeatedly proposed that it was winter now and it was difficult to sail. He asked them to at least let them stay in Dengzhou until spring. But Lord Lu refused to budge and said that if they refused this suggestion, he would cooperate with the government army to besiege Dengzhou.

“…The general naturally understands that the government troops are currently staying in Laizhou because they lack food, not because they have no soldiers. Even if the general can cut off the food supply again, since I can supply General Kong with hundreds of thousands of catties of potatoes, can’t I also provide them to the government troops?” Lu Wenyan said slowly. “Zhu Dadian and Sun Yuanhua are both eager to have the general’s head to report to the emperor.”

“Doesn’t the master want the heads of Commander Li and myself to curry favor with the two lords, Zhu and Sun?” Kong Youde stared with bloodshot eyes and said in a deep voice.

“If I wanted the general’s head, why would I wait until today?” Lu Wenyan smiled slightly and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, waving it in the air.

The 130mm main guns on the four 901 gunboats of the Second Fleet, which were anchored at sea, roared at the same time. The shells flew across the vast sea and into Dengzhou City. Four huge explosions immediately sounded in the city, and black smoke rolled, and the rumbling sound came from afar.

Kong Youde’s face showed a look of shock. This was the first time he had personally seen the true power of the 901.

“The general now doesn’t think my words are empty, right?” Lu Wenyan said with a smile.

Kong Youde was silent for a long time, and finally said the question he had always wanted to ask, “Who are you?! What on earth do you want to do?!”

Li Jiucheng and the others finally yielded and agreed to hand over the city immediately. Since the rebels had limited ships, less than 20,000 people could board. However, Lord Lu was very merciful and said that he was willing to lend them some ships to transport the rest of the people. As for the destination of the sea transport, it was set as Guanglu Island.

Guanglu Island was the station of Chen Youshi. After Chen Youshi led his army to join the Dengzhou rebels, this island was still under the control of his subordinates. They temporarily stayed there to barely get through the winter. Thanks to the population for grain exchange, they had enough potatoes to get through the winter. Guanglu Island was also close to Lushun. Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde discussed that, taking advantage of the fact that they had grain in the winter, they would attack Lushun from Guanglu, drive away or kill the Dongjiang commander-in-chief Huang Long, reoccupy the old territory of Dongjiang, and integrate the various departments of Dongjiang. In this way, they would have a solid foundation for both advancing and retreating, whether against the court or the Eastern captives.

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the year of Gui Si, the rebel fleet set sail from Dengzhou Shuicheng. The northern detachment then entered Dengzhou City. They beat gongs and drums, posted and loudly read the notice to pacify the people issued by Sun Yuanhua. Thousands of civilians and soldiers who were left in the city and could not board the ships or were unwilling to follow the rebels and had hidden themselves came out of their hiding places to surrender. Zhu Mingxia ordered them to be all taken in and sent to Zhaoyuan for resettlement and screening.

The remaining materials in the city were also cleaned up. The cannons and military equipment that could not be taken away, except for the gunpowder, were all collected. The grain, supplies, gold, and silver were naturally not to be mentioned.

The sea was vast. More than a hundred ships carrying the rebel soldiers followed one after another, stretching for several miles. The main generals such as Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng, and Geng Zhongming were on separate ships, each in charge of a part of the fleet.

Although there was a risk of running into floating ice when going out to sea in winter, the wind and waves on the sea were much smaller, and the voyage was very smooth. It was just that the sea breeze was exceptionally biting, and it felt like a knife cutting on the face.

Kong Youde looked back at Dengzhou City getting farther and farther away, and felt a sense of bewilderment in his heart. It had been more than a year since the uprising in Wuqiao. He had won victories and suffered defeats. He had lived a “hearty” life that he had never lived before, but this kind of life always made him feel a sense of bewilderment, and he was at a loss about the future.

The various strategies that he had discussed with Li Jiucheng and others before had only turned into thousands of miles of scorched earth and hundreds of thousands of corpses. He could not see where the road ahead for him and his nearly 20,000 subordinates should go.

He had no feelings for the Ming Dynasty anymore. Although his official rank and status were given by the Ming Dynasty, he and his father, brothers, and fellow villagers had earned them by starving and fighting with their lives in a pile of dead people. As for the Eastern captives, they were enemies with whom he once had a deep-seated hatred.

However, his, and also Li Jiucheng and other Dongjiang military personnel’s efforts to seek a piece of territory for themselves had completely failed. Now, they had gone in a circle and returned to the starting point, the various islands along the coast of Liaodong where Marshal Mao had led them to flee.

These islands were very barren, and there was no way to supplement food and supplies. What should they do in the future? Should they seek amnesty from the Ming Dynasty, or should they secretly collude with the Eastern captives?

He was thinking when someone suddenly came to report:

“Deputy Commander! There are a large number of ships on the sea! They are approaching us!”

Kong Youde looked out and saw four black smoke columns rising straight into the sky. He couldn’t help but be stunned. This was Lord Lu’s ship!

Looking at the ships approaching on the sea, in an instant, he understood everything. Lord Lu had tricked them!

No, it was not accurate to say that he had been tricked. To be precise, Lord Lu had set up a situation where they had no choice but to take this step. Perhaps, they had no choice from the beginning!

Kong Youde’s hands clenched the railing tightly, almost digging his fingertips into the wood.

The Second Fleet had been ambushed near the Changshan Islands. As soon as they saw the rebels set sail, and the wind was right, the Second Fleet immediately set out in full force and began a pincer movement from both flanks.

The troops of Chen Youshi on Guanglu Island, who had received the news in advance, never waited for the rebel fleet from Dengzhou. The rebel fleet was held hostage by the Second Fleet. After using rockets to burn a ship that was trying to escape, the fleet sailed to Jeju Island under the “escort” of the Second Fleet.

At Chaotianpu Pier, the garrison, who had received the news that the prisoners were about to arrive, had all been mobilized. After all, these were 20,000 soldiers, and they were all armed. The number of regular troops on Jeju Island was limited, and it was quite challenging to effectively disarm 20,000 people.

Most of the armed forces on Jeju Island had already been concentrated near the pier specially built for the prisoners to land: two infantry companies of the Jeju Island detachment of the army’s northern detachment, two companies of the security army’s sword-drawing team, and two companies of the security army’s white horse team. In addition, there were three thousand militiamen selected from the Shandong immigrants—all of whom had a blood feud with the rebels. The navy sent several sailor companies and “typewriter” machine gun teams as support.

The pier was already surrounded by barbed wire fences and a passage that only allowed one person to pass through. The passage was surrounded by a forest of bayonets and spears. The muzzles of the cannons shone, and on the surrounding watchtowers stood shooters with sniper rifles… Everything was quiet, just waiting for the first batch of rebel transport ships to enter the port.

Feng Zongze personally went to Chaotianpu to command with his team. He brought not only infantry and security forces, but also artillery and a cavalry training team. The cannons of the former were all loaded with double canister shot. If the situation became uncontrollable by the infantry, he was prepared to follow Napoleon’s old trick and directly bombard the rioters with cannons, and then let the cavalry training team charge in. Of course, this possibility was extremely small. I’m afraid that before his cannons could “speak,” the typewriters would be enough to suppress these people.

“Chief, the fleet is here,” Park Chang-beom said respectfully.

“I see it,” Feng Zongze raised his binoculars and squinted for a while. “Order: all units on alert!”

At this time, the rebel fleet appeared on the horizon. One after another, they sailed close to the coast under the “escort” of the Second Fleet. The gunners on the patrol boats and forts watched these dilapidated ships vigilantly. They were crowded with soldiers in dirty and tattered cotton armor and rough iron armor. Their eyes were wandering, and their faces were pale.

The first batch of ships docked at the pier. The high-powered loudspeakers installed on the pier began to broadcast on a loop. The broadcaster was a former Dongjiang soldier:

“…Soldiers of Dongjiang and Shandong! You have come to the Jeju Prefecture of the Great Song. As long as you obey the command and follow our instructions, the Great Song guarantees your personal safety. You will disembark one by one, line up and walk forward, lay down your weapons at the designated place, and take off your armor. There must be no mistakes…”

After a moment of hesitation, the soldiers on the ships began to disembark. They walked in teams towards the passage surrounded by barbed wire fences. Along the way, under the command of the high-powered loudspeakers, they laid down their weapons, took off their armor, and entered the purification camp to wait for purification. Those who looked like officers were taken away locally.

The entire disarmament operation was quiet and swift. Occasionally, there would be some shouting, and then a gunshot would announce silence again. Any such behavior would be ended directly with a bullet from the watchtower.

The people who were killed were dragged to the open space under the barbed wire with hooks as a silent warning. After the disarmament was completed, each person received a vegetable and potato cake and a cup of hot tea boiled with sedative herbs. The potato cakes were made of steamed cabbage and mashed potatoes. For the hungry soldiers who rarely had a proper meal, it was no less than a delicacy.

As for the sedative herbal tea, it was just to make them listless.