nucmednet Chapter 61 Mutiny
Chapter 61 Mutiny
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Thick smoke billowed into the sky outside Wuqiao County, and countless rebel soldiers roamed the streets and alleys outside the city, carrying large and small bags of goods. Their pent-up anger, which had been building up for many days, surged out, and they looted everything they could find outside Wuqiao City. The area outside Wuqiao City quickly turned into a hell. Once the army had looted everything, it was no longer under the control of Kong Youde and his men.
But this situation was exactly to Li Jiucheng's liking. At this moment, he stood outside Wuqiao City with his broadsword in hand, and the screams and cries coming from all around him were as beautiful as celestial music.
Wuqiao County was completely unprepared. There were only a few trembling local militiamen on the city walls. They lacked basic defensive tools such as battering rams, wooden stakes, and yakshas. A few days ago, after the mutinous soldiers killed the Wang family's servants, they stayed outside the city without moving. The county magistrate did not expect them to rebel. He only sent documents to the Provincial Administration Commission and the Shandong Provincial Governor's Office, waiting for Kong Youde to come and beg for his life. He never expected that it would turn into a huge chaos in the blink of an eye.
Behind Li Jiucheng were over a thousand soldiers who had hastily produced a large number of ladders for scaling the city walls. The rebels were all bloodthirsty, each wielding a Japanese sword of varying lengths. They were equipped with nearly two thousand Japanese swords, which were quite suitable for use as ladders to attack such weak fortified cities.
Located along the Grand Canal, Wuqiao County had already broadened their horizons with the wealth outside the city. Li Yingyuan found 30,000 taels of silver in the cellar of a gentryman alone, so the wealth in the city must be even greater.
Li Jiucheng waved his hand: "Attack the city! Those who retreat will die! Once we take it, we'll divide the money and the women among ourselves!"
The densely packed rebels shouted and swarmed forward. Rows of ladders were erected on the city wall, with wooden hooks at the front firmly attached to the top. Some fierce soldiers held their Japanese swords in their mouths and climbed up the ladders like ants.
Scattered stones were thrown from the city wall, only knocking down a few people before several fierce rebel soldiers climbed up. The local militia on the wall scattered in panic, and the city gates were quickly opened. Thousands of rebel soldiers poured in, shouting and slashing at anyone they saw. Soldiers carrying sacks broke into shops along the street, ransacking them for valuables. The city was plunged into chaos, with cries echoing everywhere.
On November 24th, in the Jinan Governor's Office, Shandong Governor Yu Dacheng held an urgent letter. It was sent by Wang Daochun, the Shandong Inspector. When Kong Youde rebelled, Wang Daochun happened to be on official business in Pingyuan County and received news of the Wuqiao Mutiny the next day.
Pingyuan County is only a few dozen miles from Wuqiao and more than twenty miles from Ling County. The information he received was very detailed. In his letter, he recounted the capture of Wuqiao by Kong Youde's troops and estimated that Kong would continue to attack nearby Ling County, Linyi, and Pingyuan. Dezhou was also in a dangerous situation and needed to be prepared as soon as possible.
When Yu Dacheng saw the words "military force to suppress" at the end of the letter, his hand trembled slightly. Although he was a governor, he had never directly participated in a war and was very timid.
He knew his own situation best. He was aware of the extent of Shandong's military weakness. Due to years of inactivity, the province only had a few thousand soldiers, some of whom were transport troops, making them far from sufficient for combat. If the battle failed, his official position would be in jeopardy. Ideally, these rebels would plunder and then retreat. Dezhou was on the border of Shandong, and perhaps these rebels would go directly to Beizhili (northern Zhili). He could then use the excuse of not being able to mobilize troops to deflect responsibility and instead impeach Sun Yuanhua.
So after some thought, he realized that the troops could not be mobilized for the time being. He called his clerk to write something down, and after careful consideration, he said, "First, send a letter to Governor Sun of Dengzhou and Laizhou, explaining that the rebels are causing trouble in Wuqiao, and then submit a memorial to the Ministry of War."
Knowing about Wang Daochun's letter, the clerk turned and asked, "Governor, the Imperial Inspector's words are very urgent. Should we reply to him first?"
“If I don’t go back, I’ll just tell the outside world that I’m seriously ill and can’t take charge for the time being…” Yu Dacheng thought for a while and felt that he should still be prepared. He said to his clerk, “Have the battalion prepare and be ready to be dispatched at any time.”
Kong Youde's mutiny at Wuqiao affected the entire situation in northern China, and the Sichuan troops stationed at Shanhaiguan were ordered to be ready to be redeployed to the capital at any time. Upon receiving the news, Emperor Chongzhen was furious. The siege of Dalinghe outside the Great Wall was still not lifted, bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi were rampant, and now another rebel army had emerged near the capital, and it was the Denglai Town, which cost 900,000 taels of silver a year.
Emperor Chongzhen was furious, and Minister of War Liang Tingdong had to quickly come up with a solution. However, the army was tied up in various places, and the Ministry of War could not mobilize troops in time. He could only order the governors of Shandong and Dengzhou and Laizhou to join forces to attack from both sides and eliminate the chaos.
Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng were seasoned veterans with considerable experience in military command. Knowing they lacked a stable territory, they had to leave the unfamiliar region before the court could react. Speed was the most crucial element. With the attack on Wuqiao, the rebellion was now a fait accompli, and they had to make their fortune and run.
Unlike their sluggish arrival, the rebels returned with lightning speed. Having tasted the success of attacking cities, they no longer wasted time along the way, but instead rushed straight to the next city. On November 21st, they captured Wu County, looted for two days, set it on fire, and then retreated eastward. On the 24th, they arrived at Ling County, which was also poorly prepared and fell in a day. The rebels looted extensively and opened the prisons, turning all the prisoners into fresh blood for their army.
When they left Ling County, their marching column was twice the size of the original one, with many more oxcarts and horse-drawn carts used to transport their loot. Their haul was growing larger and larger. The cotton cloth that they used to cherish was no longer of any interest to them and was constantly being discarded along the way. Instead, they filled their carts with silk and silver.
The army looted Ling County for only one day before continuing its advance. On the 27th, it captured Linyi, and on the 29th, it captured Shanghe. On the first day of the twelfth month, it divided its forces to capture Deping. On the fifth day, it regrouped and captured Qingcheng. These rebel troops, who had been tempered by the Liaodong war, were invincible and plundered extremely richly.
The small towns along the way had not seen war for a long time and were far from prepared for battle. There were no strong garrisons in the towns, and the rebels arrived quickly, taking the cities in one fell swoop. The northern part of Jinan Prefecture was in ruins, and the other counties were in a state of panic, especially those along the rebels' eastward route. They all expected the rebels to attack them on their way back to Dengzhou, and pleas for help poured into the Shandong governor's office.
Yu Dacheng's hope that the rebels would leave the country after looting was dashed. Seeing that the rebels were capturing more and more cities, he knew that if he did not take action, he would lose his position sooner or later. He could no longer be afraid and immediately ordered the standard battalion to march to the Changshan line in Zouping.
To the court's surprise, misfortune never comes singly. While the rebels were successively capturing prefectures and counties, Chen Youshi, the deputy general of Lushun in Dongjiang Town, and Mao Chenglu, the deputy general of Guanglu Island, who were on good terms with Kong Youde, also raised troops in response. Their forces quickly grew into an army of seven or eight thousand men, and at one point they occupied half of Dongjiang Town, attempting to coordinate with the Shandong rebels from the north and south. General Huang Long was left with only Pi Island and a few guerrillas struggling to hold on.