Chapter 007: Impulse

Yongling is the burial site of Nurhaci's sixth ancestor, great-grandfather, grandfather, father, as well as his uncle and paternal uncle, ranking first among the Three Tombs outside the Pass. In the eighth year of the Tiancong era of the Qing Dynasty, it was referred to as Xingjingling, and in the sixteenth year of the Shunzhi era after entering the Pass, it was honored as Yongling. Since the original owner of the body had previously transported stone blocks into Yongling, Zhao Qiang was not unfamiliar with its architectural layout. Like most royal tombs, there is a spirit path in front of Yongling, paved with yellow sand and measuring eight hundred and forty meters in length, with a stone tablet at each end for dismounting. The tablet is inscribed in five scripts: Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan, stating "Officials below the kings shall dismount here." The northern end of the spirit path leads directly to the Zhenghong Gate in front of Yongling, which houses the main tombs and halls of Yongling. In Zhao Qiang's view, the layout of Yongling appears quite rustic and shabby, perhaps as later historians have said, this Yongling symbolizes the ethnic characteristic of the Manchus "settling villages as fortresses." The northern end of the spirit path leads directly to the Zhenghong Gate in front of Yongling, which houses the main tombs and halls of Yongling. In Zhao Qiang's view, the layout of Yongling appears quite rustic and shabby, perhaps as later historians have said, this Yongling symbolizes the ethnic characteristic of the Manchus "settling villages as fortresses."

In other parts of the forest, the Qing soldiers had already charged into the crowd, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks to the standing young men of the Wu army. Some even struck them on the head with the sheaths of their swords. Unable to fight back, these young men could only endure the humiliation and crouch back down to the ground. Soon, there was no one left standing in the forest except for the Qing soldiers.

The young man, at the moment of his death, was crying out, "Spare my life! I don't want to..." Unfortunately, before he could finish the phrase, "I don't want to die," his head rolled off with a thud from his neck, landing on the ground and rolling twice, face down towards the forest, his eyes wide open, staring in death. At the same time, another ninety-five individuals also had their heads severed by the Qing soldiers, blood splattering everywhere, and the decapitated bodies twitched a few times on the ground before finally coming to a complete stop.

Chen Zhao saw Zhao Qiang, Wu Si, and others still standing, and rushed over to slap Wu Si across the face: "Did you not hear the command of the General? All of you, squat down!"

"Why aren't you crouching down yet? Do you want to die!"

You Han barbarians, you really put in the effort, always resorting to deceit and trickery. Let's see if I can beat you to death!

What are you looking at? Hurry up and squat down!

Chen Zhao saw Wu Si glaring at him with a flushed face and a thick neck, and he pretended to raise the whip in his hand. Wu Da, upon seeing this, hurriedly gestured to Chen Zhao while pulling Wu Si down along with Wu San. Meanwhile, E Ha and the Qing soldiers also gathered around, coldly observing Zhao Qiang and the other ten or so individuals who remained standing.

Beast! Zhao Qiang was furious. He had seen dead bodies before, but he had never encountered a living person whose head was so brutally severed! Looking at the ninety-six heads rolling on the ground, the burning anger in his heart nearly drove him insane. He felt an overwhelming urge to fight back, yet his legs would not allow him to stand. All he could do was clench his fists tightly.

Wu Si's face was flushed, yet he was unable to confront Chen Zhao desperately, as Wu San was holding him by the waist and pulling him down to the ground

As the Qing soldiers raised their large blades, Old Du and a dozen or so men shouted loudly, their bold voices echoing through the woods, drifting along the riverbank, resonating in everyone's ears, especially making Zhao Qiang's heart feel as if it were in turmoil.

Zhao Qiang, are you still a man or not! Are you! Why do you not dare to stand up, why do you not dare to fight those beasts, why do you have to watch helplessly as your fellow countrymen have their heads chopped off! Why!

You

Zhao Qiang's jaw trembled with anger, wishing he could step forward and punch Eha down. However, Pan Changqing's earlier pull had already brought him back to his senses. Just as Eha and the Qing soldiers were about to rush forward to beat them, he suddenly crouched down.

Chen Zhao, holding a whip from mhetushucom.com, lashed out at several members of his team before the front cart began to move slowly. Seeing that they were not pushing quickly, Eha disregarded the large logs piled on the cart and snatched the whip from Chen Zhao's hand, striking those people mercilessly.

Crouch down! Crouch down!

They are leaving, they are leaving, stop looking, hurry up and push the cart for me, do you think the beating is too light!

Having just experienced a bloody and impulsive scene, the young men of Wu Jun were filled with pent-up anger, and their efforts in work were not particularly vigorous. The overseers then began to whip them, constantly urging them to work faster

A true hero does not suffer immediate losses. Zhao Qiang understood at a glance why Pan Changqing wanted to pull him in. Looking to his side, he saw Wu Si and a dozen other men standing there, while Aha led dozens of Qing soldiers, watching them with a fierce gaze.

After Zhao Qiang and others exerted all their strength, the cart was finally pushed onto the road. Under the whip of the driver, the two horses began to quicken their pace and run forward. Eha then took the whip and stepped aside, watching the cart pass by in front of him. Wherever his eyes landed, regardless of whether the others were truly slacking off, he would strike without a word. After passing seven or eight carts, he was finally satisfied and led his mount forward, while Chen Zhao climbed onto a cart to sit with the driver and return.

Tashike did not intend to kill all the young and strong men of the Wu army who dared to stand up and showed signs of resistance, as Yongling was in urgent need of Da Mu and these young men to work. He could not afford to kill them all. Moreover, one hundred heads as a warning were already sufficient; if more were to be killed, it could very well cause these individuals to relax their tense nerves, leading to a situation where they might fight to the death, which would be unmanageable and impossible to report back to the higher-ups. Therefore, seeing that the young men of the Wu army had become obedient, Tashike ordered the foremen to immediately take their respective teams back to Yongling.

After asking countless questions in his heart, Zhao Qiang could no longer contain himself and shouted out. He then leaped up from the ground, just as he was about to charge towards the nearest Qing soldier, when suddenly he was yanked back. Looking down, he saw it was Master Pan.

Uh! ... ... ''

Pan Changqing paid no heed to Zhao Qiang's puzzled and angry gaze, instead pointing to Zhao Qiang's left. Zhao Qiang turned his head and saw that in the woods, there were about one to two hundred young men standing up like him, yet none of them moved further. This was because the Qing soldiers' swords and firearms, including matchlocks and bows, were already aimed at them. It was evident that any movement on their part would result in immediate execution. The Qing soldiers' swords and firearms, including matchlocks and bows, were already aimed at them. It was evident that any movement on their part would result in immediate execution

Anyone who stands in the way will be executed without exception

Master Pan, how are you?

Qi Zhuang was also at the back of the first carriage. He was a fellow townsman of Zhao Qiang, having surrendered together with the Qing army in Sichuan years ago. After being transferred to Yongling, he was placed in the same unit as Zhao Qiang, and the two maintained a very good relationship. When Zhao Qiang saw him being whipped by E Ha, he felt a bit sad but could do nothing about it. He could only rush to the back of the carriage and help Qi Zhuang and the others push with all their might, but as a result, he also received two lashes from E Ha.

Having endured for so long, I must continue to endure; otherwise, I will die in vain. Zhao Qiang, you may vent your impulses out of momentary anger, but such actions are futile. People have already died, and you cannot bring their lives back. What you can do now is to endure, endure, and endure again. One day, you will have the opportunity for revenge! Gritting his teeth as he watched Eha and those Qing soldiers mock him, Zhao Qiang took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger that had just surged within him. Zhao Qiang, you may vent your impulses out of momentary anger, but such actions are futile. People have already died, and you cannot bring their lives back. What you can do now is to endure, endure, and endure again. One day, you will have the opportunity for revenge! Gritting his teeth as he watched Eha and those Qing soldiers mock him, Zhao Qiang took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger that had just surged within him. Meanwhile, over a dozen other men, unwillingly, squatted down under the pull of their companions. Pan Changqing, Wu Da, and others continuously spoke well of them in front of Eha and the Qing soldiers.