Chapter 66: Nantou City

Huang Bingkun casually threw it down and sneered, “Truly a boor! The writing is crude, and the reasoning is forced. Since ancient times, the legitimacy of founding a country, besides Emperor Gaozu of Han, is the founding emperor of our dynasty. What is the Great Song? Emperor Taizu of Song bullied orphans and widows to get the throne, Emperor Taizong had the sound of axes in the shadow of candles, and Emperor Huizong frolicked and lost the country; Emperor Gaozong wrongly killed loyal and good officials! And they dare to criticize our dynasty! Even a village teacher’s writing is far better than this crude text!”

Wu Ming said leisurely, “Whether the Australians are descendants of the Great Song, I also have doubts. In the past, I have not seen any respect for the Great Song in their actions. I think this is just a pretext. As the saying goes, if you want to condemn someone, you can always find a charge.”

Everyone nodded and passed the manifesto around. What they were most concerned about was not the quality of the writing, but the specific content of the manifesto.

After a round of reading, Young Master Lin said in a deep voice, “It seems that the Australians are the second Eastern Captives!” After speaking, he let out a long sigh.

The originally lively room fell silent. It seemed that everyone present had just realized what had happened, and they were no longer in the mood to discuss the issue of “sharing the world.”

Their ancestors had lived under the rule of the Ming Dynasty for generations, and their lives were relatively comfortable. Now, with a sudden change of dynasty, everyone was still a little unaccustomed, not to mention that the people who changed the dynasty were from overseas!

The original excitement was gone, and everyone was a little depressed. Young Master Shi sighed, “We are the fish and they are the knife and chopping block. What is there to talk about right and wrong, loyalty and treachery? In a chaotic world, to be able to protect one’s family and life is the greatest fortune.”

“They won’t make everyone shave their heads, will they?” someone muttered.

Some people remembered the rumor that the Eastern Captive Tartars would make the surrendered officials, gentry, soldiers, and civilians shave their heads wherever they occupied. Thinking that when the Australians had not yet entered Guangzhou, all kinds of Australian things were already popular. This time they became the masters of Guangzhou, and their actions would be even more unscrupulous. I wonder if there will be any incidents of changing Chinese customs to barbarian customs in the future? And how should they deal with it?

“Probably not.”

“If they had to shave, wouldn’t everyone in Lingao have shaved long ago? Didn’t Young Master Huang also not shave his head?”

Huang Bingkun nodded, “The ones who shave are all the imitation short-hairs who beg for a living under the short-haired rebels. The short-haired rebels don’t ask the ordinary people.”

At this, everyone was somewhat relieved. However, someone else worried, “Although the short-haired rebels have strict discipline and do not plunder, Guangzhou is after all the most prosperous and bustling place in the world. Now that it has fallen into their hands, will they not exploit it greatly? Don’t forget that when they were in the countryside, they destroyed many large households.”

“That was those who were hostile to them. If they were submissive, besides extorting some reasonable burdens, they did not poison them.”

Seeing that their discussion was going back and forth, and there was no intention of “being loyal to the emperor and serving the country,” and they were all thinking about their own affairs, Huang Bingkun couldn’t help but feel a little stuffy. Just as he was thinking of finding an excuse to leave, another servant came in, whispered a few words, and handed over a roll of paper.

Everyone looked again. It turned out that this was a public notice in vernacular. The content was mainly to strictly enforce the laws: regardless of military or civilian personnel, anyone who robbed or committed arson would be executed on the spot. A curfew was imposed, and going out was prohibited after the first watch, and so on. The notice also mentioned that the current officials and gentry in Guangzhou would not be killed as long as they did not gather a crowd to resist the heavenly soldiers.

“What’s the situation outside?” Young Master Lin asked.

“The short-haired rebels have people patrolling. It seems to be another kind of troops, wearing gray jackets,” the servant gestured. “Now the four city gates are open for passage, and some shops on the street have also opened for business. It’s just that the area around the Tianzi Wharf outside the South Gate is all closed to traffic. I heard that a high-ranking official of the Australians has arrived on a huge ship.”

“Perhaps the Guangdong governor of the short-haired rebels has arrived. At the very least, the new Guangzhou prefect has come.”

“I think this Guangdong governor must be Dongzhu Guo. If so, it would be better!”

“What is the situation in the various government offices? How are the several masters?” Lin Zunxiu asked again.

“It’s very quiet. I heard that someone committed suicide, but there is no definite news,” the servant said. “The government troops in the city are now concentrating in the guerrilla training camp in the east of the city. I heard that they are going to be inspected there.”

“You may go.”

The servant left. A table of people chattered on for a long time. Seeing that they were all empty talk and all had the idea of waiting for death and submitting to adversity, Huang Bingkun couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed. He got up to leave. Lin Zunxiu did not try to keep him and personally saw him to the outside of the small courtyard. He said in a low voice, “At this time tomorrow, you come here again. There is an important person who wants to see you. Do not tell outsiders.”

Huang Bingkun was stunned and said, “I know. But how do I get in to find you?”

“I will send someone to meet you then.”

Huang Bingkun went out of the back door of the Fangchun Courtyard and walked back the way he came. He was not a local, and after a few twists and turns, he got lost. As he walked, he came to the main street. He saw that the market on the street had recovered. Most of the shops had opened their doors. Although there were not many pedestrians, the atmosphere of panic and tension was gone. He saw that many ordinary families had lit incense at their main doors, and the words “submissive people” were pasted on the door lintels. A pain of a lost country shot into his heart—is the Ming Dynasty going to perish like this?

No, he would never agree with his father’s “go with the flow” statement. He would continue to fight against the short-haired rebels! Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but quicken his pace and rush towards the temple where he was staying.

The sky was already bright. In Xin’an County, not far from Humen, the doors and windows of every household were tightly closed. Government soldiers and militia armed with swords and spears were running on the streets, creating a scene of solemnity and killing before a battle.

On the screen wall of the county yamen, a dozen or so bloody heads were hung. One of them was the head of the original garrison commander. The others were nothing more than his trusted aides and personal soldiers.

This place was also called Nantou City. Because it was a key point of coastal defense, the “Dongguan Defense Chiliarch Office” was established here in the 14th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1381). In the first year of the Wanli reign (1573), it was expanded into Xin’an County on the basis of the chiliarch office. The geographical location of Nantou was very important. Foreign ships going to Guangzhou had to go around Lantau Island and enter the Pearl River through Nantou and Humen. Therefore, Nantou was known as the “gateway to the whole of Guangdong.”

However, in the last battle in which the Senate invaded the Pearl River, Nantou did not play much of a role. The cannons on the city walls could not hit the sailing ships, and they were no match in naval battles. So they just watched the Pearl River detachment fleet pass by under their noses.

This time, the garrison of Nantou was still helpless against the invading Senate fleet. But it did not surrender the city as expected. The collaborators in Xin’an County encountered a strong opponent—the new county magistrate of Xin’an, Wu Guangzhi, had just taken office not long ago. He was young and strong, and had a strong desire to make progress. Seeing the Australians pressing forward step by step and the hearts of the people in the city wavering, he had not seen the power of the Australians, so his thinking of “being loyal to the country” was still very strong. Therefore, he made preparations in secret. The chiliarch who had already become a collaborator invited Wu Guangzhi to a banquet. He originally wanted to stage a Hongmen Banquet, but he was unexpectedly counter-killed and captured by the prepared County Magistrate Wu, who directly cut off his head.

Wu Guangzhi was transferred from Shaanxi, where the peasant uprisings were most rampant, and he had rich experience in “resisting thieves.” After killing the chiliarch and his trusted aides, he forced the large households in the city to contribute money to reward the garrison and stabilize the morale of the army on the one hand; on the other hand, he recruited able-bodied men to block the four gates and prepared lime pots and cannon stones. When the materials were not enough, he tore down many private houses.

By the time the sky was bright, the city walls were already “heavily guarded” and “strictly prepared.”

As a result, the National Army, which was originally prepared to enter Xin’an County, was blocked outside the city. Seeing that the city gate was not open, and the call for surrender was not heeded, and instead a few heads were thrown out, the leader of the team, the director of the county office, knew that something had gone wrong and quickly sent someone to Humen to report to Shi Zhiqi.

Shi Zhiqi knew that the National Army did not have heavy weapons and was not well-trained, so it was difficult for them to take on the heavy task of attacking cities and forts. He had no choice but to send a marine platoon and 3 two-masted patrol boats to reinforce Xin’an.

Nantou City was right on the Pearl River. The patrol boats sailed to the shore, dropped anchor, and used the 12-pounder cannons on board to bombard Nantou City. The two naval guns on the patrol boats opened fire together. In just a few minutes, the city tower on the Ningnan Gate in the south was riddled with holes and caught fire.

County Magistrate Wu Guangzhi was very calm. On the one hand, he commanded the militia to put out the fire, and on the other hand, he ordered the two cannons on the city walls to return fire. The top of the city wall of Nantou City was 1 zhang thick and the bottom was 2 zhang thick. The interior was rammed earth and the exterior was covered with green bricks. It was still somewhat effective in resisting the impact of solid shots. There were only 6 naval guns on the patrol boats in total, and they could not form a firepower advantage. The two sides exchanged a few rounds of cannon fire. Although they destroyed many of the battlements and sentry posts on the city walls, they failed to shake the defense on the city walls.

The marine platoon leader saw that the artillery fire could not shake the defense, so he prepared to attack the city directly. Although he only had thirty men, the marines were known for their excellent equipment and training, and they had done this kind of training of attacking cities and forts countless times. They had a complete set of tactics for suppressing with firepower, covering with smoke bombs, and delivering explosives to break the gate. A box of high-density black powder was enough to blow open most city gates.

However, the director of the county office was not willing to attack by force. After all, once the city was broken by force, it would cause great damage to the public and private lives and property in the county. Therefore, he advocated trying to persuade them to surrender again and strive to open the city without bloodshed.

The sound of the cannons had already stopped. Wu Guangzhi told the soldiers to take turns eating breakfast. There was still an outer pass outside the Ningnan Gate, called the Ying’en Gate. County Magistrate Wu was here to lead the resistance. He did not have many troops. The soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers of the chiliarch office he had recruited were only five hundred in total, and with the mobilized militia, there were less than two thousand in total. It seemed like a lot, but the short-haired rebels outside the city had excellent firearms and were well-trained, so he did not send troops out of the city to counterattack.

The short-haired rebels outside the city from time to time shouted to the defending soldiers and civilians, persuading them to tie up the county magistrate and the chiliarch and surrender, so that they could avoid being slaughtered. Many of the soldiers of the National Army were recruited from the Hong Kong Agricultural and Reclamation United Team. They often came and went in this area and were very familiar with the local people. Therefore, even if they got very close, the militia on the city walls and the local military household soldiers did not fire their cannons or shoot their arrows. Sometimes, when they saw that the county magistrate’s personal soldiers were not around, they would stick out their heads to look at the National Army. The bold ones would even talk to the people below.