The Reversal of the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 60: Prisoners “You two corrupt officials, get down on your knees before Sixth Brother right now.” Behind Hong Hu, a squad of scouts dragged two men with their hands bound behind their backs to Zhang Rui’s rear. With a few kicks, they forced them to their knees on the ground, and Hong Hu angrily shouted at the bound men: At that moment, Zhang Rui—who had been giving post-battle instructions to Zhang Zhishan, Du Mu, and others nearby—heard the commotion. He turned his head and, upon seeing the scene, asked Hong Hu: “ “Captain Hong, what’s going on here?” Hong Hu clasped his fists toward Zhang Rui and said, “Reporting to Sixth Brother, these two are the Governor and General who came to surround and suppress us this time. They were trying to flee when their convoy blocked them at the intersection. Later, the squad behind me spotted them and captured them.” “The Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the General in Charge of Guangzhou’s Garrison?” Upon hearing Hong Hu’s words, Zhang Rui was immediately thrown off balance. It wasn’t just him; even those around him—Zhang Zhishan, Du Mu, and the other two thousand-man commanders from the Wuzhou Green Camp’s current bandit-suppression squad, Li Muming and Feng Mingge—were all visibly unsettled. Only Li Niushi, Li Si, Wu Lei, and the others showed no sign of surprise, it was unclear whether they simply didn’t understand the significance of these titles or had already reached the point of blind adoration for Zhang Rui. Zhang Rui wasn’t sure what rank the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Garrison General held in the Qing Dynasty. Before his time travel, he hadn’t made a special effort to study the Qing dynasty’s official ranks, but just hearing those titles, he knew they weren’t minor positions. If Zhang Rui’s memory served him correctly, the Qing dynasty—from the Three Feudatories Rebellion to the present day of the Qianlong era—had likely never seen such high-ranking civil and military officials captured before. Looking at these two men, their noses swollen and faces bruised and purple like pig heads, Zhang Rui knew that this squad of scouts must have gone through quite a bit of trouble to capture them. After listening to Hong Hu’s words, Zhang Rui clasped his fists in a bow toward the squad of scouts behind Hong Hu and said, “Brothers, your contribution this time is invaluable. Please allow me to reward you for your service later.” “Not at all.” “Sixth Brother, you’re too kind…” The men all stepped back from Zhang Rui’s bow and replied. “The battle has just ended, and everything is in disarray. I must ask all of you brothers to help clear the battlefield first.” Zhang Rui bowed to them once more and said “Yes, Sixth Brother, we’ll go right away.” After the squad members had all left, Yang Yingju—who had been kicked to his knees by Hong Hu—stared at Zhang Rui, the rebel personally selected by Emperor Qianlong from thousands of miles away, with his right eye now ringed with black. Young, sturdy, of average height, cunning yet intelligent… Ever since he’d laid eyes on Zhang Rui, these words seemed to have sprouted wings, silently fluttering into his mind and etching themselves into his heart. A man like this—no matter how one looked at him—didn’t seem like the kind of peasant our Great Qing Empire could produce; rather, he resembled the capable offspring of some distinguished family. Is he really the rebel personally designated by His Majesty the Qianlong Emperor? He’s quite handsome, though his skin is a bit dark. Otherwise, he’d be a fine young talent—if only his head… Huh? His head is actually missing the queue? Yang Yingju took a closer look; Zhang Rui’s head was indeed devoid of a queue. The head that should have been shaved all around, with only a small tuft of hair on top braided into a queue, was now completely bare? Moreover, extremely short hairs had begun to sprout from what should have been a completely bald head. Somehow, this actually looked rather pleasing... Hmm... What am I thinking? “He really is a rebel,” Yang Yingju confirmed once again deep in his heart, murmuring with a hint of fear “It seems Emperor Qianlong truly possesses far-sighted vision and insight that spans ten thousand miles—a feat that is simply beyond the imagination of us subjects.” “Are you Zhang Rui?” Yang Yingju stopped scrutinizing Zhang Rui and instead raised his head to look at him as he asked. As Yang Yingju moved, the coin-shaped rat-tail on his head suddenly swung in front of his face, blocking his view. Just as Yang Yingju reached out to adjust the plait, he remembered that his arms were bound. He could only shake his head forcefully, flinging the plait behind him. Then he stood up from the ground. “Get down on your knees this instant!” Seeing Yang Yingju stand up, Hong Hu roared at him again. Just as Hong Hu was about to kick Yang Yingju again, Zhang Rui stopped him, saying, “Captain Hong, forget it. Leave him like this!” “Yes, Sixth Brother,” Hong Hu replied, clasping his fists in salute to Zhang Rui. “You dog of an official, you’re lucky you ran into Sixth Brother. Otherwise, I’d have beaten you to death.” With that, Hong Hu stepped aside. “You lot, go help clean up the battlefield! Remember, don’t leave a single usable item behind—not even half a knife or a piece of armor.” Zhang Rui turned back to the men who had been by his side earlier and spoke to them, while also instructing them once more to pay close attention to the proper burial of the dead. Although the men were eager to stay and hear what Zhang Rui had to say to the two of them, they could only agree and leave. Hong Hu was about to follow the others when Zhang Rui held him back to keep watch. Afterward, Zhang Rui untied the ropes binding the two men and led the Governor and the General to a spot under the shade of a nearby tree, where they sat down on a rock. Watching the Governor and the General—both beaten to a pulp—follow quietly behind him, Zhang Rui couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. It seemed they’d been beaten into submission; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so docile. “This has turned into quite a mess. I might not be able to keep things under control. If the Qing court finds out that the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the General have both been captured by me, will they spare me? Will they even give me time to ‘lay low and regroup’? I need to figure out a way to handle this.” As soon as Zhang Rui sat down on the rock, he began to calculate in his mind “What are your names?” “Rebel! How dare you ask the name of this Governor?” Yang Yingju flew into a rage the moment he heard Zhang Rui’s words. It turns out that in ancient times, literati observed certain etiquette and generally wouldn’t ask someone’s name directly. Asking someone’s name outright was considered extremely rude. “Is it really necessary to get so worked up? You’re a rebel now—do you really expect anyone to treat you like a governor? I didn’t see you acting this tough when you were facing your own soldiers earlier.” Sitikou couldn’t help but think to himself as he watched Yang Yingju’s expression. At the same time, Sitikou looked down on Yang Yingju. If it weren’t for Yang’s poor judgment, he wouldn’t have been captured. At that thought, Sitiku couldn’t help but want to curse under his breath, but moving the corner of his mouth only made the wound in his mouth—which had been beaten until it bled—ache again. “Smack…” A crisp sound of a slap Yang Yingju, who had been standing straight and furious in front of Zhang Rui just moments ago, was sent flying to the ground by a single slap from Zhang Rui. “Stop putting on a show in front of me, you bastard. If you were really that tough, you’d have died for your master long ago instead of cowering here.” Zhang Rui said to Yang Yingju, who was sprawled on the ground. At that moment, Yang Yingju, lying on the ground and clutching his face, glared back angrily and retorted, “Nonsense! Don’t slander this commander. I’m only clinging to life for the Emperor’s sake, so I can watch you, a rebel, meet a miserable end.” “Is that so?” Zhang Rui looked at the man sprawled on the ground, refusing to get up, and said, “So you’re the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi? Since you’re in charge of Guangdong, have you heard of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan from the late Ming Dynasty?”