The night is deep, among the former YU WANQING's regiment barracks of the Qing army, a pile of campfires beside, two hundred and odd soldiers wearing numbers were looking at one of Yu Wanqing's dry sons while holding the "old eagle" in their hands.
Yu Dabao, a son of Yu Wanqing, is burly with a round waist, his face covered with rugged features and stubble, and his eyes shining with a menacing glint.
"Rebellion!" Yu Dabao shouted loudly. "If we don't rebel, we will be devoured by the surnames of Huang and Zhang! That guy with the surname Huang has almost lost all his wealth to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He's a poor guy himself, and how can he afford to set up a training team? Does he have any money for us?"
"A sure thing!" A "new son" of Yu Wanqing immediately took over the question.
"We didn't even get a few silver coins throughout the year when we were following Yu Junmen... and that was with regular troops! Now we're serving as militia, won't we be going hungry for nine days out of every three?"
This time, Yu Wanqing's old subordinates joined in, but judging by the tone of his words, it seems that Yu Daba is also a greedy official who takes advantage of the soldiers' blood.
Yu Dabao of course won't let the people below lead the topic astray. He quickly shouted: "Rather than this, it's better to follow the Taiping Army and eat and drink...... Taiping heavenly angle is very generous, giving each person 10 eagle dollars! After the success, give another 10! A total of 20! We have saved this 20 eagle dollars in two years for Xianfeng Emperor. Brothers, what do you say? To revolt or not to revolt?"
"Rebel!" A senior old Qing soldier with graying beard, looking fierce, said, "I've served the Manchu emperor's household for thirty years and never saved up twenty taels... I'm destitute! Now, if we rebel, we'll get twenty. What are we hesitating for? Rebel, damn it!"
"I'm also rebelling!" Another veteran in his forties, with a scar on his face, put the ten eagle dollars into his chest and bit his teeth, saying, "With the generosity of the Taiping Heavenly Army, I think they can succeed!"
"Anyway, I can't make a name as a green uniformed soldier. Better to revolt... maybe I can become a founding hero!"
These two veterans had a very high reputation among Yu Wanqing's banner troops who were left to guard Daozhou. With their lead, the more than two hundred subordinates were eager to try, and soon there was a chorus of calls for rebellion.
Yu Daba drew out his sword with a clanging noise and waved it, "All of you are good at it...... I'll give you another piece of news. The brothers of the Heavenly Way Society within the city of Daozhou will also join us in the rebellion! As long as we take the lead, there will be a chorus of calls for rebellion throughout the city!"
He pointed at the man in his forties with the scarred face, "Ji Dapao... You're a gunner, get a few men to set up the cannon and fire at the direction of the magistrate's office!"
"Cha...... Yes!" Ji Dapao waved his hand widely, calling some companions to help him set up the cannon.
The term "cannon" actually refers to a few small cannons weighing around two or three hundred pounds. They are usually loaded on a cart and require a gun base made of earth and sandbags to be set up before they can be placed and securely fastened with hemp ropes and wooden stakes.
This process was too cumbersome, so Yu Wanqing decided to leave the artillery team home that day to defend the place.
Today, these cannons were quickly set up at the entrance of the camp! Yu Wanqing's headquarters were located at the intersection of the drill ground in Daozhou city, occupying the former quarters of the city defense troops, with the prefectural government directly across.
However, when Ji Dapao led the people to set up the cannon at night, the sleepy guard soldiers at the gate of the Daozhou Prefectural Office didn't notice.
Ji Dapao was indeed bold and reckless, setting up the cannons and then loading the cannonballs and gunpowder with his old friends, about ten or fifteen of them. Then he pulled up his robe, knelt down, bowed to the cannon first and said: "Blessings to Grandfather Cannon!"
That cannon... it's a grandpa cannon!
This cannon was cast during the Qianlong reign, and has participated in the minor and major Sino-Tibetan wars! Ji Dapao's family have served it for three generations.
After bowing, Ji Dapao lit the fuse at the back of the cannon. As sparks drilled into the ignition hole, this grandfather cannon roared "boom" with a fury.
Then, a huge "clack" sound came from the opposite prefectural office, followed by unexpected cries of astonishment.
"My heavens! The door, the door has collapsed!"
"Hey, what the hell are you doing as the guard?"
"I, I, I don't know!"
Ji Dapao didn't care about the yelling on the other side. He just instructed his artillerymen to load ammunition for the "Grandfather Cannon" and the slightly younger "Dad Cannon," then sent two more rounds at the magistrate's office across the street.
"Honk... honk..."
"Oh, the wall has collapsed again..."
"What's going on?"
"How could such a solid wall collapse?"
"Hurry and report to the prefectural lord..."
The reactions of these gate guards are also truly sluggish, not realizing that someone is shooting cannons at their prefectural office by now!
However, Zhang Dingxiang, the commanding officer of the central hall where Wang Kuiyi and others were having their midnight snack, was well-informed and knew something was wrong as soon as he heard the "boom boom boom" of several cannon shots.
"Shooting cannons? Someone's shooting cannons!" Zhang Dingxiang stood up abruptly.
"What?" The slightly tipsy Huang Shijie immediately became nervous, "W...... are the bandits attacking the city?"
"No, not from so far away... It seems like someone is shooting cannons outside the magistrate's office?"
Wang Kuiyi looked at Zhang Dingxiang and said, "This is impossible, old Zhang. Are you drunk?"
"Honk... honk..."
Two more cannon shots!
Then, people outside started shouting, "Master, master, there's trouble... The gate of the magistrate's office suddenly collapsed, and the surrounding wall has caved in a bit!"
"Oh?"
"Somebody is shelling... the Prefectural Government?"
"There is a rebellion in Daozhou City!"
This time, Wang Kuiyi, Huang Shijie, and Zhang Dingxiang all knew that they were in trouble!
However, the Prefect Wang was relatively composed. He quickly reacted: "Ziying, Commander Zhang... Quickly, quickly summon the militia to suppress the rebels, and also come to protect me in a breakout!"
...
"Quickly listen... Someone is firing cannons!"
Inside the grand house that gathered more than thirty branch heads and hall leaders of the Heavenly Way Society from the Daozhou area, some had already heard the sound of cannons.
The sound of the cannon was the signal for the rebellion!
"This is Yu Dabao, his Green Standard Army has sounded the alarm!" Jiao Hong slammed the table and glared fiercely at the group of Hongmen brothers below who had already "dressed up"—they had all wrapped red scarves around their heads, but their queues were still intact... In case of an emergency, they could still pretend to be loyal subjects of the Qing Dynasty!
"It's our turn, brothers and sisters of the Heavenly Way Society!" Jiao Hong stood up and addressed Xu Yuegui next to him, "My sister, you become the three-army general, defend the central camp. I and Xianggui will be the left and right generals, respectively, to fetch the North Gate and South Gate to welcome the Taiping Army into the city!"
Xu Yuegui nodded and excitedly said, "Good! I'll stay in the central camp and wait for your victory reports!"
The three then discussed further and divided the "36 Fragrance Hall Militia" into three groups. One group followed Xu Yuegui to control the streets around the Daozhou Recruitment Hall headquarters, while the other two groups followed Xu Xianggui and Jiao Hong to occupy the North Gate and West Gate of Daozhou City.
The "36 Fragrance Hall Militia" claimed to have tens of thousands of men, but in reality, it was just several thousand strong, all of them sturdy miners and brothers of the Heavenly Way Society.
They are already ready. Everyone can see that they all have red scarves wrapped around their heads, holding long spears, and carrying short knives in their waists. Some even have homemade explosives on them, squatting in several alleys around the recruitment hall headquarters. Each man has received a few silver taels and learned the "Welcoming Taiping" song. They all know why the Taiping Army is fighting!
Jiao Hong left a few hundred miners to join the uprising and stay behind with Xu Yuegui to guard the home front. The remaining nearly three thousand men were split into two groups, carrying torches and rushing down two main streets towards the two city gates of Daozhou, shouting the "Welcoming Taiping" song as they ran.
"...... Kill the Qing demons, slay the corrupt officials, open the city gates to welcome the Taiping Army, and when the Taiping Army comes, distribute land! Distribute wealth, let everyone live comfortably. No rent, no debt, no place in the world where fairness is not everywhere......"
As the "Welcoming Taiping" song grew louder, so did the surging crowds of people heading towards the West and North Gates of Daozhou!
At the same time, Xu Yuegui, staying behind, lit a fire in a dilapidated courtyard filled with heaps of firewood and other flammable debris. The towering flames soon engulfed the area!
The entire city of Daozhou was soon like a boiling pot, filled with the sounds of people shouting and the smell of smoke.
"Taiping Army is entering the city!"
"My heavens! The hairies are here!"
"The Heavenly Way Society is also rebelling!"
"The Green Standard Army is also rebelling!"
"Kill the Qing demons, slay the corrupt officials, open the city gates to welcome the Taiping Army..."
Various cries, along with gunshots, cannon blasts, and explosions, quickly merged into a torrent of fury. It seemed as though this dark and fearful Qing Dynasty was about to be torn apart by the tumultuous wave!
