Chapter 81: Settling the Militia

The Prefectural Office.

Chen Yucheng was currently organizing men to extinguish the raging fire. He wore iron armor, and one could see a dent in the chest plate.

This was the spot where Nalan Yuanshu had struck him.

Although separated by the iron armor, he had still suffered significant internal injuries, which was why he had allowed Nalan Yuanshu to escape.

After all, he was getting on in years and could not afford to push himself too hard.

Of course, he let Nalan Yuanshu escape also because he was confident the man could never get away; the entire Shaoxing Prefecture would soon be under his control, and whether the man could even make it out of the city was another matter.

Given Nalan Yuanshu's injuries, a dozen elite soldiers surrounding him would be enough to take his life.

Suddenly, dense gunfire erupted from the direction of the east gate.

Chen Yucheng's expression changed instantly, and he barked, "Go to the east gate immediately and scout the situation. Find out exactly what is going on."

Although his subordinates had firearms, they were nowhere near this dense.

"Yes, General!"

A soldier ran off quickly upon hearing the order.

Not long after he left, another soldier rushed over, his face full of panic, and said urgently, "General, many government troops have entered the city! They are all equipped with firearms, and they are fast and accurate. Our brothers have all been scattered."

"What!"

Chen Yucheng was both shocked and furious. He roared, "What is going on? The garrison outside the city should have been taken down long ago! Where did these Qing demons come from, and why are they all equipped with firearms?"

The soldier said urgently, "General, it's true. They are the Hangzhou New Army. General, their advance is too fast. It won't be long before they reach here. We should retreat quickly."

"Go!"

Although Chen Yucheng was shocked, angry, and confused, he was decisive enough.

He knew that if he stayed any longer, he would be a turtle in a jar. Only by retreating out of the city as quickly as possible and regrouping his forces could he fight the Hangzhou New Army to the death.

……

Chen Yucheng led his men and retreated from Shaoxing City in a hurry.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Shi Zhongkui also fled in a panic.

With their departure, the Taiping rebel forces inside the city completely collapsed.

They either fled the city, ducked into the homes of commoners, or simply went back to their own houses.

This was because many of them were members of the Caohe Gang, and their homes were right there in the city.

Meanwhile, at the army encampment outside the city.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebels, who had just taken the garrison, had not yet figured out what was happening when they were met with a fierce attack from the Hangzhou New Army. The main camp was broken through very quickly.

Under the fire of countless guns, the rebels, most of whom were still using swords and spears, collapsed instantly.

Fortunately, it was night, and the Hangzhou New Army was limited by visibility, so they could only rout them and were unable to organize an effective pursuit. Therefore, when Chen Yucheng arrived near the garrison, he saw his men fleeing in all directions.

He quickly grabbed someone to ask and only then learned that the main camp had been broken.

"Go!"

Chen Yucheng was very decisive; he turned around and headed for Kuaiji County.

He prepared to gather the remnants in Kuaiji County, reorganize his troops, and fight again.

But his plan was destined to fail, because Nalan Yuanshu had also deployed troops outside Kuaiji County, intending to wipe out the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one fell swoop.

……

The Prefectural Office.

Nalan Yuanshu had regained control of the prefectural city.

Because visibility was obstructed at night, many things could not be carried out, so he could only order a portion of the Hangzhou New Army to impose martial law on the streets, organize firefighting, and clean up the battlefield.

The situation inside the city was quickly brought under control; those hooligans were either beaten to death or scared into hiding back in their homes.

The fires everywhere were also brought under control and extinguished one by one.

However, as the battlefield was cleaned up, one piece of bad news after another arrived.

"Sir, we have found the Prefect's corpse!"

"Sir, we have found twelve corpses of foreign devils; they seem to be the so-called Twelve Knights of England!"

"Sir, the Japanese Budokan has been slaughtered; over a dozen people are dead!"

"Sir, the Chen family has been wiped out!"

……

For a wealthy and influential clan like the Chen family, being wiped out was just that—wiped out. Nalan Yuanshu didn't care at all; he was even happy, because with these families gone, their assets would naturally be taken over by the government.

He had no intention of embezzling, but these assets could be used to provide relief to the people or to train the New Army.

He didn't even care much about the Prefect's death.

In the vast Manchu Qing Dynasty, the one thing they never lacked was people to serve as officials.

But the deaths of the Westerners and the Japanese gave him a headache.

Although he didn't like foreigners, the entire imperial court feared them. The previous case of the murdered foreigners hadn't been solved yet, and now so many more had died. How was he supposed to explain this to his superiors?

Looking at Nalan Yuanshu's cold expression, a sharp glint flashed in Yin Qi's eyes. He cupped his hands and said, "Sir, are you worried about the foreigners?"

Nalan Yuanshu nodded and said in a deep voice, "Although these foreigners are ambitious, if we want to reform and strengthen ourselves, we will eventually have to expel them. But right now, the imperial court is very wary of them, and we are far from being their match."

"So many foreigners were killed before, and we haven't even caught the culprit. Now, so many more have died."

"I am worried that if this isn't handled well, it will give the foreigners another excuse to start a war and extort the imperial court."

"The reform that was so hard to brew will be forcibly interrupted."

Yin Qi chuckled and said, "Sir, you are too close to the situation. It is obvious that the previous killings of foreigners were all done by the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, intended to provoke hatred between our Great Qing and the foreigners. As for those who died tonight, they were of course killed by them as well. After all, the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are not friendly toward foreigners."

"Eh, that's a good idea!"

Nalan Yuanshu's brows lifted, and he said happily, "Pushing everything onto the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not only give the imperial court an explanation, but perhaps we can also use this as an excuse to get the court to increase its support for the Hangzhou New Army."

Since the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, the imperial court had also been trying to find ways to become stronger.

Training a New Army was one of those methods.

The famous Xiaozhan Training began during this time, which also paved the way for the later Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Army.

As the Zhejiang Provincial Commander, Nalan Yuanshu had also trained the Hangzhou New Army.

However, due to various reasons, the Hangzhou New Army only had a scale of ten thousand men, which was far from enough to garrison the entire Zhejiang province.

Yin Qi's heart stirred, and he took the opportunity to say, "Sir, could my Yin family organize a militia to share the burden for the imperial court?"

"Oh, your Yin family wants to organize a militia?"

Nalan Yuanshu was somewhat surprised.

One had to know that because there was no support from the imperial court and funding had to be solved by oneself, organizing a militia now was a thankless task.

Yin Qi nodded and said, "Yes, Sir. You also know that my Yin family's business is quite large, and because of that, we have been coveted by others. Some time ago, we were forced by the Caohe Gang to give up water transport and take the land route, which was time-consuming and laborious."

"They opened their mouths like lions, wanting thirty percent of our family's annual profits."

"And like the rebellion tonight, if my Yin family hadn't happened to be locked up in the prefectural jail, I fear we would not have escaped the disaster."

"Therefore, for our own safety, my Yin family wants to organize a militia."

"First, we can protect ourselves;"

"Second, we can also maintain the safety of the village."

When talking to a smart person like Nalan Yuanshu, saying things like serving the country were just empty words with little persuasive power. It was better to speak the truth, which was easier for people to believe.

Nalan Yuanshu pondered for a moment. He nodded and smiled happily, "Good. I agree. Not only that, I will also appoint you as the Shanyin Prefecture General, and you may recruit up to five thousand men yourself. I can also help you purchase all the necessary weapons and send people to assist you in training the troops. I only hope that you will remember that while protecting your family business, you must also think about serving the country."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 82 =====