The homemade hand grenades have served their purpose! The homemade hand grenades have served their purpose!
They gave those ruffians no chance! The magnificent homemade hand grenades, they inherited the long-standing insufficient firepower syndrome of the Central Plains hall!
The East Wind, the Guardian, Miss Qiu, their souls possessed them at this moment! A mere hundred or so homemade hand grenades, they represented the "big blaster" attribute of the Central Plains hall throughout history!
They were not just homemade hand grenades!
They were also the hammers striking the death knell for the Manchu Qing!
When they first appeared on the battlefield, they directly eliminated dozens of yamen runners brought by Captain Liu and Captain Wang, along with over a hundred ruffians, while the remaining hundred-plus were all injured and captured.
This meant that the entire Ningyang County was like a petite, soft, and easily pushed-over loli who had voluntarily shed her clothes, defenseless.
Zhu Xiaosong chuckled as he weighed a hammer in his hand, secretly pondering whether he should take the opportunity of Ningyang County being unprepared and strike it with the dark and thick hammer in his hand.
The hesitation stemmed from the pros and cons of striking, and the pros and cons of not striking.
If he struck Ningyang County, he could not only quickly win over the hearts of the people there but also raise the banner of rebellion against the Qing, the Jade Emperor Mountain, and find an organization for all those who wished to rebel against the Qing and restore the Ming.
This meant that Zhu Xiaosong's strength would quickly snowball.
As for the drawbacks, they were equally obvious.
Although Ningyang County was under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Prefecture, it was not far from Mount Tai. With rebels appearing in Ningyang County at a time when the Qianlong Emperor was about to make his sixth tour of the south, wasn't this poking the Qianlong Emperor in the heart?
If Zhu Xiaosong poked the Qianlong Emperor in the heart, then from Ningyang County to Yanzhou Prefecture and then to Shandong Province, wouldn't the Manchus and their bondservants, big and small, have to圍剿 Zhu Xiaosong like mad dogs?
The reverse was equally true.
As long as he didn't strike Ningyang County and raise the banner of rebellion, even if Zhu Xiaosong destroyed ten or a hundred more local tyrants and evil gentry, the Qianlong Emperor and his bondservants could continue to feign deafness and dumbness, continuing to indulge in the dream of a decadent age.
This meant that Zhu Xiaosong would have more room to maneuver and more time to develop.
Then Zhu Xiaosong decided to act first, after all, with the Qianlong Emperor as a divine helper&
As everyone knows, the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banner soldiers themselves was really nothing special. The Manchus were able to enter the Central Plains and occupy it precisely because of the dog Wu Sangui inviting the Qing troops into the pass.
And the so-called Eight Banner soldiers, after entering the pass, had quickly degenerated into pampered lords who carried cages and walked birds. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the farce of them preparing to retreat beyond the pass upon hearing that Wu Sangui had rebelled against the Qing.
By the Qianlong era, the Eight Banner soldiers had become even more corrupt, and carrying cages to walk birds no longer satisfied their spiritual needs. Many Eight Banner soldiers even resorted to smoking opium.
During the Kangxi era, in suppressing the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, and later in attacking Taiwan, and during the Qianlong era in campaigning against Burma, and conquering Daliang Jinchuan, the main forces of the Manchu Qing court were the Han Chinese banner soldiers and the Green Standard Army.
Therefore, if it were just the corruption and degeneration of the Eight Banner soldiers, Zhu Xiaosong would not have been so arrogant as to attack Ningyang County. What truly made Zhu Xiaosong inflated was the divine-level reverse assistance from the Qianlong Emperor, who actually crippled himself—
In the seventh year of Qianlong, the "Ten Perfect Dog" issued the "Edict on the Return of Han Banner Soldiers to their Registered Households and Resettlement," stating that Han banner soldiers were allowed to withdraw from the banners and return to the Han.
This policy, which outwardly allowed voluntary withdrawal from the banners, was in reality a swift and decisive one-size-fits-all approach. Regardless of whether you were willing or not, you had to withdraw from the banners and become a civilian.
By later, the Qianlong Emperor no longer cared about the last shred of "voluntary" fabric, and directly reiterated multiple times in the twelfth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-seventh years of Qianlong, demanding that the Han banner soldiers withdraw from the banners as soon as possible.
Well, the capable and fighting Han Chinese banner soldiers and the Green Standard Army were expelled from the Eight Banners by the Qing, leaving only those decadent noble scions who carried cages and walked birds. What kind of combat effectiveness could they have?
Even more strangely, the Qianlong Emperor was very much like his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi. Both father and son felt that the Manchu Eight Banners should rely on archery and horsemanship for their foundation, and did not want to develop firearms, so the Qing soldiers had very few firearms to use.
Coupled with factors such as local governors and prefects not having the power to deploy troops, etc., if he didn't seize the opportunity to strike Ningyang County, it would be unbearable for heaven itself!
Having made up his mind, Zhu Xiaosong immediately summoned Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Liu Erniu, Liu Huaiwen, and others: "Uncle Huaiwen, take your men to clean up the battlefield and make sure to keep these prisoners under control."
"Everyone else, hurry up and pack up, bring all the hand grenades you've made in the past few days, and we're going to attack the county town!"
Zhu Lao San stepped forward to stop Zhu Xiaosong and said, "Brother, I don't object to you attacking the county town, but our heads behind are all bald, and our scalps have grown stubble. If we go to attack the county town like this, I'm afraid we'll be discovered before we even reach the city gate?"
Zhu Xiaosong was startled, reached up to touch his head, and found that it was indeed as Zhu Lao San had said, feeling a bit prickly.
Zhu Xiaosong was momentarily unsure whether to laugh or cry—to laugh, because he no longer had to wear the queue and swagger around; to cry, because it was too conspicuous…
Zhu Lao San pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "How about we shave our heads again? It'll grow back in a couple of days anyway."
Zhu Xiaosong, however, was reluctant to part with the stubble on his scalp, so he decisively refused: "No! We finally grew this little bit of hair, and you want to shave it off? It's just a bit of stubble, this is easy to handle."
After speaking, Zhu Xiaosong called over Liu Erniu and instructed him, "Go, bring that Captain Li and his yamen runners here, and find a long rope."
"It's just that our scalps have grown stubble, anyway, with Captain Li and his yamen runners, as long as they pretend to be escorting rebels, can't they escort us into the county town?"
Zhu Lao San asked doubtfully, "Will that work? Will Captain Li listen to us?"
Zhu Xiaosong ignored Zhu Lao San's question. Only after Captain Li and the other yamen runners were brought over did he point to the frozen Captain Liu lying on the ground and say sternly, "Are you going to obey my orders, or are you going to go down and accompany these ruffians?"
Captain Li shivered as he looked at the dead-eyed Captain Liu and other ruffians lying on the ground, and quickly said, "This humble person is willing to obey the good hero's orders!"
Zhu Xiaosong smiled noncommittally and said, "I never like to be autocratic, so I can give you a chance—you can sincerely obey my orders, or you can pretend to obey now, and then suddenly turn hostile when we reach the foot of the city."
"If you sincerely obey my orders, after it's over, I'll let you go. After all, we all came from humble backgrounds, there's no need to kill people at every turn."
"If you dare to play any tricks of outwardly obeying but inwardly opposing, then you can only hope that my blade is slower than yours."
After all the young men were ready, Zhu Xiaosong leaned next to Captain Li and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, I don't eat people."
Captain Li almost peed himself from fear—you really don't eat people, I discovered that during the few days I was imprisoned, but you kill people without batting an eye, don't you? Captain Liu, Captain Wang, and those ruffians on the ground all died with their eyes wide open, you scoundrel!
For a moment, Captain Li's mind conjured up an image of himself trying to put on a show but being easily killed by Zhu Xiaosong.
Captain Li suddenly shivered, forcibly drove these images out of his mind, and quickly said obsequiously, "Good hero, please rest assured, this humble person guarantees to obey your orders and will have no ulterior motives."
Zhu Xiaosong's expression softened a little. He led the group of young men behind Captain Li and the yamen runners towards Ningyang County town. It wasn't until they were not far from the city that they casually draped the ropes over their hands, pretending to be bound.
Captain Li suddenly stopped, forced himself to calm down, and looked at Zhu Xiaosong, asking, "Good hero, can you let me and my brothers follow you and join the rebellion against the Qing later?"
Zhu Xiaosong looked at Captain Li with a half-smile and asked, "Why do you suddenly want to join the rebellion against the Qing instead of continuing to be a yamen runner?"
Captain Li said with a mournful face, "Good hero, please be clear, after today's events, this humble person will definitely not be well-received by the government. It's better to follow you and join the rebellion against the Qing."
Zhu Xiaosong chuckled and said, "If you are willing to join the rebellion against the Qing, we welcome you. If you are not willing, we will not force you. If you feel that you cannot continue to work in the government, you can also just be an ordinary citizen."
Captain Li was quite honest and said obsequiously, "This humble person dares not deceive the good hero. This humble person privately thinks that if the rebellion against the Qing is successful, this humble person can at least achieve some merit by following the dragon, right?"
Zhu Xiaosong responded with a noncommittal "Mm." In Captain Li's ears, it sounded like heavenly music. He immediately cheered up and walked ahead, shouting orders towards the county yamen.
Captain Li swaggered and "escorted" Zhu Xiaosong and the group of rebels through the streets and alleys. News quickly spread throughout the county town. Not only did the people of Ningyang County rush to watch the excitement, but even Advisor Liu was waiting outside the county yamen early.
However, upon seeing Captain Li and Zhu Xiaosong and the others behind him, Advisor Liu frowned and asked, "Where are Captain Liu and Captain Wang?"
Captain Li chuckled, leaned close to Advisor Liu, and whispered, "My lord advisor, Captain Li and Captain Wang are probably…"
As he was speaking, a gleaming dirk was suddenly pressed against Advisor Liu's waist. Captain Li then grinned and said, "They're probably dead!"
Advisor Liu did not react for a moment, his face darkened involuntarily, and he yelled, "Are you crazy? Do you know what you're doing?"
Captain Li ignored Advisor Liu and instead looked at Zhu Xiaosong, saying obsequiously, "Good hero, this is Advisor Liu of our Ningyang County."
Zhu Xiaosong burst out laughing. Under Advisor Liu's horrified gaze, he threw the rope in his hand to the ground and waved his hand fiercely, shouting, "Action!"
As Zhu Xiaosong's words fell, the dozens of young men behind him threw away the ropes they were holding. They then split into two groups. The smaller group rushed directly to the county yamen with Captain Li's yamen runners, while the larger group headed straight for the granary.
At this moment, the bewildered Advisor Liu finally came to his senses. He pointed at Zhu Xiaosong, then at Captain Li, and stammered, "You! You! You all!"
Zhu Xiaosong frowned and reprimanded, "What 'you'? What are you pointing at? Has no one told you that when you point one finger at others, three fingers are pointing at yourself?"
After reprimanding Advisor Liu, Zhu Xiaosong turned around and looked at the surrounding people who were still looking bewildered, and shouted loudly, "I am Zhu Xiaosong, who kills corrupt gentry and distributes money and grain! Fellow villagers, don't be..."
Before the last word "afraid" could be uttered, the surrounding people scattered like startled birds. Someone even shouted as they ran, "Bandits have entered the city! Bandits have entered the city! Murder!"
Zhu Xiaosong's face turned visibly darker.
He had calculated everything before setting out, but he had never expected the people to react this way.
Bandits? I am clearly a rebel! Do you understand what a rebel is! I am a rebel, not a bandit, you scoundrel!
Murder? Captain Li's knife was only at Advisor Liu's waist, it hadn't even pierced him yet, you scoundrel!