"Han Chinese Army General Kong, look, why is there nothing in this field? And what is this? It's as tall as a person, and the ears are empty. It's neither like wheat nor rice."
"Master, this servant doesn't recognize it either. I've never seen it before."
"Get lost, you Tartars, you don't know anything. What's the use of you?"
"Someone, go search the village for me! I want to see which scoundrels harmed the Garrison Commander. Bring out everyone in my family. Cut down all the men and take the women back."
"Yes, sir!"
However, after a while, these people came back one after another to report.
"Reporting, sir, the village is empty. There's no one there."
"How is that possible? Then expand the search area. Search the nearby villages as well."
Just like that, several villages were searched, and all were deserted.
Suddenly, hooves were heard in the distance. Looking far away, a child on horseback was galloping towards them.
"Feiyangtahoon, weren't you at home? Why did you come here?" "Father, the Ming army has invaded, and everyone is dead."
At this, not only was the Vice Commander stunned, but everyone who heard the news was also at a loss. Then, they clamored to fight back.
"All of you, shut up! Feiyangtahoon, you said the Ming army invaded, how many of them are there?"
"I don't know either, maybe a few hundred. But their leader is very skilled in martial arts. He killed several of us in a few moves. The rest of them all used firearms, killing from a distance. My grandfather told me to inform you. Anyway, less than half an incense stick after I came out, the gunshots stopped. Now I don't know what the situation is on Huludao Island."
Everyone's families were on Huludao Island, and now they were all as anxious as ants on a hot pan. They all clamored to go back.
The Vice Garrison Commander thought for a moment, "I have over two thousand men here. Even if these Han Army Banner troops don't count, our Qing army still has over two hundred men. Even if it's one-on-one, we're not afraid of these Ming people. It's not like we haven't seen firearms before. How can they be as powerful as a man's sword?" So he immediately gathered his men and rushed back to reinforce Huludao Island.
At the same time, Tianbao had also plundered a lot of money and valuables on Huludao Island. He immediately had the System exchange these funds for supplies with the other System. The most crucial issue now was weapons; the enemy would soon be fighting back. If they didn't quickly equip themselves with weapons, many people would surely die.
"Reporting, Leader, we've gathered some information. Among these slaves, over a thousand were once Ming army soldiers, but they were unwilling to serve the Manchu, so they were exiled here as slaves."
"Excellent! Then go ask them how many of them know how to use flintlock rifles."
"System, I remember you said they seemed to have developed machine guns over there, right?"
"Yes, Host. However, they don't have many themselves, and the price is relatively expensive."
"Then exchange two machine guns for me, 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Also, a thousand flintlock rifles and 20,000 rounds of ammunition."
I didn't expect these Qing army soldiers to be so rich. This is just Huludao Island, with only a few thousand people, and they actually have nearly 100,000 taels of silver. Indeed, I used to hear people analyze online that in the late Ming Dynasty, officials were rich, landlords were rich, merchants were rich, and the Tartars were also rich, only the emperor and the common people were poor. And some of the jewelry just searched out was clearly from the Central Plains. This clearly shows that they plundered it. Now that I've plundered it back, it can be considered returned to Original Host.
Those former Ming army soldiers who were unwilling to serve the Manchu were tough and had backbone. After Tianbao's persuasion, they were all willing to fight against the Qing army. Although they were not all musketeers before, they all knew how to use flintlock rifles. Soon, Tianbao distributed the weapons. He arranged for people to ambush at various strategic points. As for the other common people, he had people go back to get food and cook it. These common people had never eaten their fill since the day they became slaves. He wanted them to fill their stomachs first so they would have the strength when the battle started.
Not long after, the aroma of food wafted over. Tianbao sent a group of women to deliver the food to the ambushing soldiers. They waited until dusk when suddenly, a noisy sound came from a distance.
It seems that the Qing army has returned.
"Dabiao, go down and tell the brothers to get ready and listen for my gunshot as the signal. Remember our usual training, we must fire in volleys."
Not far away, a group of people hurriedly landed on Huludao Island. Wasn't this the more than two thousand Qing army soldiers who had fled? Looking at their disheveled appearance, even the over two hundred Bordered Blue Banner Tartars were in a sorry state.
This Huludao Island was originally easy to defend and difficult to attack. If they hadn't been careless, we wouldn't have been able to attack so easily.
But as that group of people approached the city gate, they suddenly noticed something was amiss.
"Why is there no one here?" Thinking this, the Vice Garrison Commander suddenly dared not move forward. So he looked at the Han Eight Banners general next to him.
"Han Chinese Army General Kong, you take your men in to take a look."
This startled the Han Army Banner general. He thought, "You're afraid of death, am I not afraid of death?" But there was nothing he could do; who told the other person to be the master and he the servant? If the master told him to go ahead and scout, he had no right to refuse.
On the city tower, Tianbao gripped his rifle tightly, his gaze sharp, locked onto the Tartar general.
With a crisp gunshot, a brilliant spray of blood bloomed on the Tartar leader's chest, and then his entire body plummeted straight to the ground. This sudden strike seemed to be the fuse of the battle, instantly igniting the entire battlefield.
In an instant, gunshots erupted everywhere, and dense firepower poured down like rain. From the city tower, rooftops, alleys, and inside windows, countless gun barrels simultaneously extended, weaving into an impenetrable net of fire, firmly trapping this group of enemies within it.
And on the street not far away, the group of people standing in three rows skillfully fired in turns, each shot incredibly accurate, and dozens of enemies fell to the ground. Their coordination was seamless, as if they had undergone countless drills.
After killing the general, Tianbao quickly pulled the trigger of the machine gun, and the deafening sound of "da da da da" echoed. The two machine guns on the city wall fired at full power, roaring like fire Dragons, mercilessly devouring the lives of the enemies.
The Tartars fell into chaos, fleeing in terror, trying to find cover. However, no matter where they hid, they could not escape this relentless firepower.
As time passed, the number of Tartars dwindled, and cries of surrender began to rise one after another. These people, who had once clung to life, finally bowed their heads in the face of the threat of death.
The surface of the battle was extremely bloody, with severed limbs everywhere. For Chen Xi, a Soul from a peaceful era in later generations, it was the first time he had witnessed such a scene. It was quite shocking. However, he quickly calmed down. He continued to pull the trigger of the machine gun and joined the battle.
The combat effectiveness of these two hundred Qing army soldiers was still very strong. And half of them had cotton armor. Although they were caught off guard at first, there were still some casualties. Fortunately, the machine gun had a fast rate of fire and quickly eliminated them. Otherwise, the consequences would have been even more serious.
As they surrendered, the surrounding people gathered around, holding their guns.
"Quickly arrange for people to guard them and confiscate all their weapons."
Just then, Zhang Dabiao walked over with a burly man.
"Reporting, Leader, we just discovered a talent."
"What talent?"
"Just now, ten Tartars rushed into a civilian house and killed several of our soldiers, but this brother here dealt with them all by himself."
"Oh, how should I address this brother?"