Chapter 218: The Governor-General of Two Provinces Surrenders

In the afternoon, the sound of cannon fire resumed.

Lei Sanxiang ordered the army to sweep the outer city from east to west, setting up a street barricade at every cleared street, each guarded by a fifty-man squad. The new army advanced steadily through the outer city, meeting almost no resistance.

Around dusk, Youlan Gate had already fallen, and the defenders at the remaining outer city gates had all withdrawn.

Lei Sanxiang took the entire outer city without lifting a finger.

According to the battle plan, the new army's main force and primary artillery were deployed south of Guide Gate and Zhengnan Gate — tomorrow's main axis of attack. Entering through Guide Gate and following the street would lead straight to the Provincial Administration Commissioner's yamen and the Governor's yamen, allowing them to wipe out Guangzhou's entire command structure in one stroke.

After nightfall, squads of new army soldiers carrying iron-sheet megaphones patrolled the city, announcing a strict curfew and declaring themselves the Min-Yue Righteous Army, come to rescue Guangzhou from the Ming court's oppressive taxes, with no intention of disturbing the people.

At the same time, small teams of military police patrolled the city, and anyone caught looting or forcing their way into civilian homes was taken away and dealt with on the spot.

If any miscreant seized the opportunity to cause chaos, setting fires or plundering, they would be sent on their way to meet their maker as well.

In the outer city stood Huaiyuan Post Station, where foreign merchants in Guangzhou gathered. The new army also sent dedicated personnel to call on them, reassuring them in both Chinese and Spanish. Outside Guide Gate, Lei Sanxiang organized surrendered Ming soldiers and merchant representatives to shout up at the gate tower through iron-sheet megaphones.

"Brothers on the wall! The ones entering the city are our Min-Yue Righteous Army. The army's discipline is strict — no looting, no arson, we don't even enter civilian homes! The army's general has said: open the gates and surrender, and every soldier will be released to return home. Those from hereditary military households will be freed from military registration forever; those from farming households will have the Liaodong levy waived; and those with far to travel will be given travel money!"

"Brothers on the wall! You've been fighting all day — hungry? The Righteous Army has fine sesame sweet crisps here, made with roasted sesame mixed with sugar water and honey — fragrant and sweet! Come on down and have a taste! The general said we're all one family — come over and eat your fill!"

"Cold up on the gate? Every man in the Righteous Army has a thick quilt — cover yourself with it and the wind can't blow through, the cold from the ground can't reach you, it's so warm…" On Guide Gate, Ming soldiers gnawed dry flatbread and drank cold water, huddling beneath the crenellations to escape the wind, listening to the round after round of surrender entreaties below. Their hearts were truly a mess of mixed feelings — they felt tears about to fall.

On the city wall, the Battalion Commander's men patrolled constantly, barking: "Stay alert, all of you! The rebels might launch a night attack. Anyone caught sleeping on watch will face military discipline!"

Below the gate, the man urging surrender had been shouting for a long while and grown tired, so another took his place.

The new voice spoke with excitement: "Brothers, it's all true! I was just a common soldier under Battalion Commander Zhao — they really do hand out food, and quilts too!

Brothers, stop fighting — to hell with it all! What are we fighting for? To win that surname-Zhao ape-bastard a promotion? Zhao Sanxiong, I curse your ancestors! Hahahaha…"

Then the soldier launched into a torrent of abuse against Battalion Commander Zhao, cataloguing his every misdeed — pocketing pay for phantom soldiers, bullying his men, oppressing the common folk. On the wall, seeing how things were turning, Battalion Commander Zhao's men slipped away quickly.

In the Governor-General's residence, the three provincial commissioners gathered in full.

Hu Yingtai sat at the head, leaning on a walking stick, his legs unsteady — the result of a fall from a ladder.

But with the situation so dire now, there was no time to worry about his leg.

Hu Yingtai said: "General Li, how goes the fighting in the city?"

The Guangdong Regional Commander, face smeared with dust and grime, clasped his hands and reported: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the outer city has entirely fallen to the rebels. At present, three Battalion Commanders hold the southern wall, and two hold the eastern, western, and northern sides…"

"How many troops do we have in total?"

"Fewer than… three thousand…" The Guangdong Regional Commander's voice was barely audible, yet it stirred an uproar in the hall.

The assembled officials panicked like ants on a hot pan.

Someone asked: "How many are the enemy?"

"Er…" The Guangdong Regional Commander fell silent.

During the day, the outer city had fallen too fast, too disastrously — the Ming army had never even had a chance to see the enemy's formation, so naturally they didn't know their numbers.

Judging from the ships, the enemy fleet stretched beyond sight from bow to stern, nearly damming the entire Pearl River to a standstill.

Their numbers must be between five and ten thousand.

With the meager forces in Guangzhou, there was no way to hold them off.

Not to mention the rebels had cannons.

Cannons were bad enough, but at night they launched psychological surrender appeals, each word stabbing straight into the soldiers' hearts.

The Fujian Righteous Army, they kept saying, would treat prisoners well, hand out food and bedding, give travel money for the journey home, and waive the Liaodong levy.

On the Ming side — pocketing phantom soldiers' pay, bleeding the troops dry, threatening with the whip, promising two qian of silver per man for victory in empty words. General Li truly had no idea how to fight this battle, or how to lead these troops!

To be honest, he himself didn't know why the soldiers hadn't mutinied already.

Seeing General Li's silence, the three commissioners understood his meaning and urged Hu Yingtai: "Your Excellency, please make your decision early!"

The Provincial Administration Commissioner advised: "Your Excellency, if we fight to the limit and cannot prevail, abandoning the city and fleeing — though it is a crime — still leaves us a chance to atone through future merit.

The enemy crossed the sea to strike Guangzhou by surprise; their grain and supplies cannot last long. Protracted war must end in their defeat!

Once we leave Guangzhou, we can temporarily station in Conghua County, marshal the province's forces to besiege them — Guangzhou is but one isolated city; the rebels must abandon it and come and go. Thus we can preserve…" At these words, the other officials echoed their agreement one after another.

The rebels were powerful now, and the city's fall seemed imminent — no one wanted to lose their life inside these walls.

Seeing Hu Yingtai silent and wordless, the surrounding officials' urgings grew louder.

General Li also said: "Guangdong has the Pearl River as a natural barrier, but our forces in the city are few — only some four thousand camp soldiers and Your Excellency's two thousand personal guards…"

The implication was clearly an accusation that Hu Yingtai had fallen for Lin Qian's scheme of luring the tiger from the mountain.

Hu Yingtai had transferred his personal guards to Chaozhou, leaving Guangzhou's defenses hollow — that was what had led to today's situation.

General Li continued: "South of the Pearl River there are no shortage of guard station commanders, but from mobilization to reaching the city walls, the fastest would still take a day or two.

Moreover, even if they reached the Pearl River's banks, they could not cross the rebel navy's line of shipboard cannon fire. There is no way to relieve Guangzhou's crisis in a short time…" General Li gritted his teeth and said: "Your Excellency, you must not be stubborn any longer. This officer begs Your Excellency to withdraw from Guangzhou!"

For a military officer to lecture his civilian superior was an extreme breach of propriety in the Ming officialdom. Had the situation not been so dire, and had Hu Yingtai's various actions not destroyed his authority, General Li would never have dared speak so.

Though the civil officials present shared the same thought, the rule of civilians commanding the military could not be broken, and they all spoke up to refute General Li.

Seeing the hall devolve into louder and louder quarreling, Hu Yingtai slammed the table: "Enough!"

Leaning on his walking stick, he rose to his feet and swept the crowd with a cold gaze: "We have received the emperor's grace for generations, unworthily holding the posts of provincial grandees, entrusted with the weighty duty of defending the land and protecting the people. Now that the bandits' blades press against the city walls, if we abandon our posts and flee in secret, to whom shall the people turn? How can this vital stronghold of Lingnan be lightly lost?

To act thus would betray His Majesty's kindness above and shame the common folk below — where would loyalty and righteousness be?

Since ancient times, good and evil cannot coexist; obedience and rebellion are judged by Heaven. Though our army has temporarily lost its edge, we hold the city on principle and righteousness. If we can hold out for ten days, however great the bandits' force, how can they endure? They must collapse from within!"

In the hall, some sneered at these words, some were dumbstruck — but not one dared voice a rebuttal.

Hu Yingtai then ordered the recruitment of righteous volunteers within the city, distributing weapons to assist in the city's defense.

At the same time, he sent a letter to the bandit leader, feigning surrender to slow their assault.

At dawn, a letter was shot by arrow from Guangzhou's walls, addressed to the Righteous Army's commander.

In the Tianyuan's officers' mess, Lin Qian opened it to find it was written in Hu Yingtai's own hand, in a very courteous tone.

The content said that Guangzhou's officials were prepared to surrender, but that court regulations required a city to hold out for at least thirty days before surrendering in order to mitigate the crime and spare one's family.

Therefore Hu Yingtai hoped Lin Qian would slow his attack and not harm innocent civilians.

Lin Qian read it and gave a light laugh, had his men put the letter away, then ordered the messenger: "Send word to Lei Sanxiang — attack the city precisely at the first quarter of the Mao hour. Also, pass along a message to him…"

On the Gui-de Gate, several hundred civilian militiamen climbed the city wall holding long spears, each one full of spirit and burning with fervor — yet the garrison soldiers looked at them as if they were watching fools.

Below the wall, the new army had spent the entire night trying to persuade them to surrender, exhausting every kind word imaginable.

The first quarter of the Mao hour was nearly upon them, and still the Ming army refused to surrender.

Just then a messenger ran up from the south and whispered something into Lei Sanxiang's ear.

After hearing it, Lei Sanxiang broke into a satisfied smile, snatched the tin megaphone, and bellowed: "Listen up, you bird-shitting gutter scum and mother-fucking bastards on the wall! I fuck your grandmothers!"

The soldiers had listened to a whole night of gentle persuasion; this outright cursing was a first, and they all pricked up their ears.

The militiamen who had just come up the wall, however, were furious, saying one after another: "These bandits are truly arrogant — shoot them dead with arrows!"

An old soldier cursed: "You think the righteous army are stupid pigs? Shut up!"

Lei Sanxiang put all his strength into his cursing: "See those cannons down here? In one more stick of incense, I'm opening fire, and you mother-fucking bastards will all be dead as doornails!

I truly fucking admire you — you actually seem to believe that useless gate tower and those crenellations can stop cannonballs!

The Helmsman himself gave the order to treat you well, practically ready to worship you like ancestors.

But you mother-fucking bastards are making me waste my breath.

Half a stick of incense from now, you'll be a pile of minced meat. Lighting the fuse on my cannon is a damn sight easier than shouting at you dead men! Even that surnamed Hu sent word that he wants to come out of the city and bend over waiting to get pounded.

What the hell are you after?

Once you bastards come over, you'll eat better than I fucking do!

Stop throwing your lives away, and get the hell over here!"

Lei Sanxiang finished his speech to the stunned stares of the new army's officers and men, tossed the tin megaphone aside, and roared at the artillerymen: "First quarter of the Mao hour — commence bombardment!"

Lei Sanxiang's roar was loud, and the soldiers' answering shout was equally thunderous, so much so that everyone on the city wall could clearly hear the order.

In an instant, the Ming soldiers' faces all turned deathly pale.

A militiaman asked hesitantly: "S-Sir soldier… is what the rebels said true?"

The camp soldiers guarding the gate remained silent.

After a moment, one man walked down from the city wall.

"Where are you going?" the squad leader asked warily.

The man said: "To take a shit."

The squad leader waved him off. Before long, they saw the man toss away his weapon, strip off his uniform tunic, and run into the city — disappearing into the alleys of the inner city after a few steps.

To surrender, one had to leave the city, and one man alone clearly couldn't open the gate — so running was his only option.

The Ming soldiers and militiamen on the wall watched this scene, all utterly dumbfounded.

After a moment, two more men stood up and said: "Squad leader, I want to take a shit too."

The squad leader cursed in fury: "Damn it, get back here — we're opening the gate ourselves!"

The moment those words were spoken, the other soldiers responded at once, and together with several other squad leaders they all surged toward the gate tunnel.

Only a few hundred militiamen were left on the wall, having no idea what was going on.

Battalion Commander Zhao saw over a hundred soldiers storming down from the wall with murderous intent, and stood up in a rage: "What are you doing? All of you get the hell back up there!" The soldiers paid him no heed — some had already gone straight to open the gate.

Battalion Commander Zhao flew into a rage and sneered coldly: "Fine, you worthless bastards want to rebel, do you? Men, kill them!"

"Shluk!"

Battalion Commander Zhao's sneer turned to shock as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and searing pain shot through his abdomen. He looked down and saw a blood-stained spearhead protruding from his upper belly.

In disbelief, he tried to see who had stabbed him, but before he could, five or six more spears came thrusting in, piercing him until he was like a sieve, blood gushing from the wounds and pooling into a bright red puddle on the ground.

Behind him, the soldiers pressed forward one after another, each eager to get in a stab, not stopping until Battalion Commander Zhao had been reduced to a pulp of flesh.

The soldiers and militiamen near the Gui-de Gate all witnessed this bloody scene — and then, without a word, everyone surged toward the gate together.

Outside the gate, the artillery squad leader checked the sky, judged that the time had come, and requested orders from Lei Sanxiang.

Lei Sanxiang's face was grim: "Open fire!"

"Yes sir, load the shell!"

"Hold on!" Lei Sanxiang suddenly said.

There, beyond the moat, the gate of the barbican began to open a crack, then was pushed wide with astonishing speed.

A flood of Ming soldiers poured out of the gate cheering, discarding their weapons as they came.

Lei Sanxiang murmured to himself: "The Helmsman's method… it actually worked?"

After a brief moment of astonishment, Lei Sanxiang ordered his men to gather the prisoners and distribute dry rations and other supplies, and commanded the infantry to advance into the city, with the field cannons pulled by Jeju horses following behind.

The new army stepped onto the bridge over the moat without the slightest resistance, passed through the barbican, entered the inner city, and headed straight for the government offices.

Along the way, they set up street barricades at key intersections and high points.

Soon, the new army arrived outside the gates of the Provincial Administration Commission.

The street here was wide, and over three hundred Ming soldiers stood in formation guarding it.

The new army marched in formation to a hundred paces away and halted. After a moment, the ranks parted down the middle, and a cannon was pushed forward.

Seeing this, the Ming soldiers' eyes went wide.

The artillerymen, having trained for over half a year and gained combat experience, completed their loading quickly.

"Fire!" the gun captain commanded.

The gunner brought the fuse to the touchhole — with a sharp hiss, white smoke rose as the gunpowder ignited.

A red flash burst from the muzzle, a cloud of smoke blasted out, and the cannon lurched violently backward from the recoil.

Through the smoke, a cluster of grapeshot iron balls shot forth, and amid the Ming formation, a mist of blood erupted.

Seven or eight soldiers in the fan-shaped area of the front rank were struck as if by a tremendous force and toppled backward.

A gap opened in the middle of their formation, the stench of blood and sulfur raging through the air.

The Ming soldiers who narrowly survived around them were splattered with blood and flesh, scared into mental collapse. Over a dozen fled from the formation, and only after the squad leaders cut down two or three did the formation gradually stabilize.

Seeing the new army's cannons continuing to reload, the Ming squad leaders roared orders, commanding the soldiers to charge forward.

The Ming soldiers raised a battle cry that shook the heavens, charging forward swiftly over the blood and corpses of their comrades.

The new army's line infantry formed into columns and began rotating fire, dense matchlock muskets firing in rhythmic succession.

With each volley, the front ranks of the Ming army erupted in clouds of blood mist—at least five or six men fell, at most over a dozen.

Enduring heavy casualties, the Ming army finally charged to within twenty paces of the new army.

"Fix bayonets! Form spear ranks!" the new army squad leaders shouted.

The soldiers ceased rotating fire, removed their matchcords, and pressed shoulder to shoulder together, all bayonets pointing forward, forming a gleaming forest of steel. The Ming army's weapons were also primarily long spears, and they collided head-on without fear. The two sides grappled together, and along the entire battle line, soldiers were being gutted open, blood quickly flooding beneath both sides' feet—the scene was extremely bloody.

The moment combat began, the Ming spears were longer and held some advantage, but the new army's formation was denser and more disciplined, and on the street less than ten zhang wide, they had more men at the front.

Moreover, new army soldiers wielding cold weapons like wolf-brush spears, long spears, and sword-shields assisted from the flanks.

A single Ming spearman had to face two or even three bayonets at once, with wolf-brush spears waving overhead—he quickly became overwhelmed and was viciously thrust through by bayonets.

The new army's bayonets were all made of Su steel and Guangzhou steel, with hard blades shaped like pyramids, fitted with blood grooves and reinforcing ribs—extremely strong with tremendous penetrating power. Never mind that the Ming soldiers only wore cotton armor or cloth armor—even lamellar armor, mail armor, or scale armor could easily be pierced straight through. Only plate armor could withstand the force of that thrust.

Moreover, during the new army's training, they had a balanced daily diet with meat and fat at every meal, so their soldiers' physiques and strength surpassed those of the Great Ming camp soldiers who were habitually shorted on their pay and provisions.

Thus, after barely the time it takes to burn one joss stick, the Ming army's decline was fully apparent—gaps in their formation grew larger and larger, casualties grew ever more severe.

Finally, the entire army collapsed, weeping and screaming as they discarded their weapons and fled in all directions.

By this time, nearly half the street was stained red with blood. The dead and wounded soldiers from both sides together numbered at least a hundred corpses.

The new army's squad leaders reorganized their troops, ordering military medics to treat the wounded, while the remaining men stepped over the corpses of Ming soldiers and continued advancing toward the Provincial Administration Commissioner's office. Inside that office, the officials were running around in a panic.

The Provincial Administration Commissioner was currently at the Governor-General's residence discussing military matters—with the pillar of support absent, the remaining officials had no ideas.

With a boom, the main gate was blasted through by a solid cannonball.

The assembled officials no longer had the slightest will to resist—they all obediently became prisoners.

The Governor-General's residence, one street away, had already been surrounded by five hundred soldiers personally led by Lei Sanxiang.

At this moment, including Governor-General Hu Yingtai of Guangdong and Guangxi, all the high officials of the Three Offices were inside the Governor-General's residence, like a school of yellow croaker caught in a net. No one had imagined that Gui'de Gate would fall so quickly—there hadn't even been the sound of cannon fire. The rebel army had descended like divine soldiers and simply appeared before the Governor-General's residence. Everything had happened too fast.

Just as no one had imagined Lin Qian would rebel so quickly, would reach Guangzhou so quickly, would breach the outer city and inner city so quickly.

By normal reasoning, three or four days was just enough time for border friction to occur, for frontline troops to clash with mixed results, and for Guangzhou officials to report to the court. But in reality, within three or four days, all of Guangzhou was nearly lost.

The Governor-General and the Three Offices had made almost no preparations whatsoever, and now they were on the verge of being caught in one sweep.

Think of Huo Qubing's Hexi Campaign back in the day—crossing the Yanzhi Mountains, slaying King Zhelan and King Luhu, capturing the Xiongnu's golden statue for heaven worship—that took six days! The Xiongnu were on open grasslands with nothing to block them, yet Guangzhou had walls over three zhang tall, with both an inner and outer city.

And what was the result? From the start of battle until now, how much time had passed? Two days!

If the rebel army truly took Guangzhou in two days, that would be the greatest joke imaginable! Enough to leave a stinking name in the history books for ten thousand years.

"How is it?" the Provincial Administration Commissioner asked anxiously, looking at the guard who had come down from the wall.

The guard shook his head: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the entire Governor-General's residence is surrounded—not a single gap anywhere...

Furthermore, the Provincial Administration Commissioner's office seems to have already fallen to the rebel army..."

The Guangzhou Provincial Administration Commissioner's body swayed, and his colleagues around him hurried forward to support him.

In the main hall of the Governor-General's residence, Hu Yingtai sat in the seat of honor, beard and hair trembling, eyes shot through with blood vessels. He cleared his throat and, straining every effort to maintain his dignity, asked: "What of Battalion Commander Zhao's troops?"

A messenger said cautiously: "Gui'de Gate didn't fire a single shot—it seems his entire unit has already surrendered to the rebel army."

Hu Yingtai's voice grew increasingly parched: "What of Battalion Commander Wang?"

"An hour and a half ago, Battalion Commander Wang led his troops to block the enemy on Gui'de Direct Street. His unit was utterly defeated and scattered. It seems... Battalion Commander Wang either died for his country or fled..."

Hu Yingtai's voice was hoarse and dry, like a gambler with red eyes: "Then what about the battalion commanders on the other three city walls? Why haven't they come to reinforce the city?"

A staff officer said in a low voice: "The orders were sent out an hour ago, but the battalion commanders on all three walls said they had to guard against a rebel sneak attack and could not come to reinforce."

Hu Yingtai, fury overwhelming him, roared: "That was my military order! Military orders are as immovable as mountains—how dare those base soldiers disobey!" Since taking office, Hu Yingtai had valued scholarly bearing above all and had never once lost his composure like this. Thus, when he erupted in anger, every official and soldier in the hall fell silent, staring at him in disbelief.

Hu Yingtai continued to bellow: "Send word to Regional Commander Li—order him to lead his troops to rescue us!"

The messenger lowered his head and said quietly: "Regional Commander Li was stationed with his army at the main south gate. His whereabouts are now unknown..."

Hu Yingtai roared: "Then go find him! Search the whole city for him, on my orders!"

Everyone looked at him, understanding full well that this was meaningless emotional venting—the Governor-General's residence was completely surrounded. How could anyone go out to search?

Were they going to rely on these provincial grandees—frail civil officials decades old—to fight a bloody path out?

Hu Yingtai said bitterly: "Civil officials love wealth, military officers fear death, and common people chase profit! The affairs of our Great Ming have been ruined by exactly this!"

The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner said with displeasure: "Battalion Commander Wang fought a bloody battle against the enemy for his country—Your Excellency's words are far too biased!"

Hu Yingtai slammed the table: "Who knows whether he's dead or fled!"

With the great enemy at the gates, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner no longer cared about rank or position, and spoke directly: "If not for Your Excellency's stubborn insistence, how could we have fallen into this situation?

Now that things have come to this, instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you spout useless nonsense—is this the bearing expected of a governor or grand coordinator?"

Hu Yingtai pointed at him: "Fine then, you want to rebel too? You want to go join the rebel army?"

Before the argument in the hall could erupt, a voice sounded from outside the Governor-General's residence: "Your Excellency, surrender!"

Everyone fell silent and their faces changed in unison—for that voice was unmistakably Regional Commander Li's.

Regional Commander Li outside the residence said: "The righteous army's discipline is extremely strict. They do not mistreat the common people, nor do they abuse surrendered soldiers.

Your Excellency, fellow officials—for the sake of sparing the people of Guangzhou from the ravages of war, surrender!"

The officials in the hall were all quite moved.

Regional Commander Li continued: "To speak frankly with you all, I have already ordered my troops to lay down their weapons. Furthermore, Commander Lei has already set up cannons around the Governor-General's residence. Those guards of yours cannot stop them. If you don't surrender, you'll be reduced to ashes in an instant!"

Hu Yingtai slammed the table and rose, furious: "Outrageous! You treacherous rebels, how dare you—mmph—"

Before he could finish, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner stepped forward in one stride, covered Hu Yingtai's mouth, and pressed him to the ground. The other officials, seeing this, all came forward together and, working frantically, pinned Hu Yingtai down and tore off his official robe to stuff into his mouth.

Then the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner shouted toward outside the residence: "We are willing to surrender!"

Yahei

Pink Circle

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