Chapter 1: Wei Ze (I)
"Depart!" commanded Weize. The team of 26 individuals shouldered their gear and continued to advance in the northeast direction under Weize's leadership
Having personally killed these Qing soldiers, Wei Ze's once boiling killing intent had mostly dissipated. However, upon seeing the Qing soldiers' hairstyles adorned with golden rat tails, a strong sense of hatred still surged within him. This was not because Wei Ze had a bloodthirsty nature, but rather due to his unique background. Compared to the hundreds of men and women in the Taiping Army who held the title of "Sima" at that time, and in comparison to the more than twenty thousand soldiers of the entire Taiping Army, Wei Ze was undoubtedly the most special. This was because he was a time traveler. Compared to the hundreds of men and women in the Taiping Army who held the title of "Sima" at that time, and in comparison to the more than twenty thousand soldiers of the entire Taiping Army, Wei Ze was undoubtedly the most special. This was because he was a time traveler
In the arduous and extraordinary history of warfare in New China, that great army possessed military production capabilities and weaponry that were superior to those of the enemy. The predecessors fought tenaciously against the industrialized Japan from barren bases, continuously expanding the rear bases and reclaiming China's territory inch by inch from the hands of the invaders
Due to the intense exercise just now, Wei Ze was panting heavily. The temperature in Guangxi at this time was only 6 or 7 degrees, and the breath exhaled from his mouth and nose quickly condensed into puffs of white mist in the cold winter air. Bending down, Wei Ze unsheathed the knife from the corpse. Upon drawing the single-edged sword from its sheath, he found it to be nothing more than a very ordinary standard iron knife, entirely unremarkable.
China has a glorious past, and it also has a bright future. Therefore, the chief culprit behind China's century of decline and humiliation is undoubtedly the decayed and degenerate Qing Dynasty.
As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Wei Ze's understanding was limited to the essential content required for history exams. However, upon seeing the disgusting "money rat tail" on the heads of the Qing army, he immediately resolved to follow the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which he was not familiar with, in overthrowing the Manchu Qing dynasty.
Hearing his cousin and squad leader Wei Changrong ask this, Wei Ze laughed and said: "Who are we chasing? This time we are not here to confront the Yao people on the mountain. Hurry up, clean up the battlefield, and let's continue forward!"
Weize, like the ordinary youth of the 21st century, firmly believes in the unshakable righteousness of opposing the Qing dynasty during the Manchu era. Similar to the youth of 21st century China, Weize has many friends from various ethnic backgrounds, including friends from the Manchu ethnicity. Most of these young people belong to the industrialized generation born and raised in cities in the new China, and even the young friends from minority ethnic groups do not oppose the abolition of ethnic divisions. Therefore, Weize's intense hatred towards the Qing dynasty is quite general and does not target any specific individuals.
Weize stood by, watching the soldiers search. He originally wanted to see what they would find, but his attention was involuntarily drawn to the heads of the Qing soldiers. This was not the first time Weize had seen the heads of the Qing soldiers; these soldiers all sported the official hairstyle of the Qing dynasty from 1852, commonly known as the "money rat tail." This hairstyle involved shaving all the hair around the head, leaving only the hair at the center of the top of the head, shaped like a coin, while the central hair was braided and hung down, resembling a rat's tail. This was not the first time Weize had seen the heads of the Qing soldiers; these soldiers all sported the official hairstyle of the Qing dynasty from 1852, commonly known as the "money rat tail." This hairstyle involved shaving all the hair around the head, leaving only the hair at the center of the top of the head, shaped like a coin, while the central hair was braided and hung down, resembling a rat's tail. Moreover, this "rat tail" had to be able to pass through a copper coin.
The Manchu Qing's matchlock guns, while certainly not on par with the flintlock guns popular in this era, do not represent a gap as vast as that between the Eighth Route Army, which had only five bullets in a battle, and the enemy. In a situation where the disparity in weaponry is limited, the Qing still managed to be defeated and forced to sign numerous humiliating treaties that compromised national sovereignty. Such a Qing must be eradicated. Without eliminating the Qing, there is no future for China. Weize is unwavering in this belief. In a situation where the disparity in weaponry is limited, the Qing still managed to be defeated and forced to sign numerous humiliating treaties that compromised national sovereignty. Such a Qing must be eradicated. Without eliminating the Qing, there is no future for China. Weize is unwavering in this belief
"Do not linger on the road here; we are here to scout. After we finish searching, we can find a secluded ravine to dispose of them." Wei Ze replied
More than three months ago, Wei Ze, a technician of the 21st century, specialized in propeller design and manufacturing. After graduating from university, he was assigned to work at a large state-owned shipbuilding enterprise in the north. Under the arrangement of his father, a senior engineer, Wei Ze was allocated to grassroots work for over two years, first learning in various workshops to familiarize himself with different departments of the shipbuilding industry, and then being reassigned to the design department. After a week of returning to the drawing board and using CAD on the computer, Wei Ze found himself having "woken up" as a 19-year-old "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom warrior" at the end of 1851. After more than three months of torment, Wei Ze is now leading a team of five as one of the "Two Sima".
Guangxi is known as the land of a million mountains, with the Dayaoshan range covered in lush greenery, and there are valleys near the battlefield. The bodies of the Qing soldiers were thrown into the valley, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace. What remained on the battlefield were their weapons; among the weapons of a dozen Qing soldiers, half were long spears, while the other half were matchlock guns. This was another aspect that Weize found difficult to accept upon returning to this era. The Qing army of this time was surprisingly a firearm-equipped force. This was another aspect that Weize found difficult to accept upon returning to this era. The Qing army of this time was surprisingly a firearm-equipped force
A dozen or so Qing soldiers carried little wealth. After Wei Ze registered and cataloged the items, he instructed the logistics sergeant, Lin Asheng, to collect the valuables.
Engineering students studying shipbuilding must learn about the history of Chinese shipbuilding, which inevitably requires engagement with modern Chinese history. Young graduates of the 21st century learn from history about China's glorious past and envision a future where, in no more than ten years, they can surpass the United States and become the world's leading economic power. The era when China's shipbuilding industry was completely lagging behind the world was undoubtedly during the Qing Dynasty, a time when China suffered endless humiliation, imparting an unspeakable sense of pain to the young people like Wei Ze, who grew up in the flourishing era of China.
On the morning of February 6, 1852, beside a grove on a mountain ridge in the Dayaoshan region of Guangxi
"Fourth Uncle, should we go chase after that group of Yao people?" asked Wei Changrong, a sergeant of the Taiping Army, eagerly. This group of Qing soldiers was meeting with a group of Yao people when they were spotted by Wei Ze and his men who were marching through the area. Wei Ze set an ambush with his subordinates and stealthily led half of his brothers to launch a surprise attack. The dozen or so government troops, seeing a sudden charge of Taiping soldiers emerging from the woods, were immediately frightened and let out a shout, turning to flee down the mountain. The fleeing Qing soldiers ran straight into the pocket formation set by Wei Ze, becoming completely surrounded, and in the blink of an eye, the entire unit was annihilated. Meanwhile, the group of Yao people turned and ran up the mountain, having already disappeared from sight.
Returning to the year 1851, Weiser naturally experienced various intense feelings of discomfort. Among the many forms of discomfort, one of the most pronounced was a strong sense of aversion upon seeing this "money tail".
"Wei Sima, what should we do with these corpses of the Qing soldiers?" asked another Taiping soldier nearby. The speaker, named Zhang Yingchen, was a sergeant under Wei Ze.
Excited, more than twenty Taiping soldiers searched through the bodies of the Qing army, taking away the money and goods they held, as well as the weapons they carried. The cloth shoes from the feet of the Qing soldiers were also pulled off. In the end, the Taiping soldiers removed the waist tags and belts from the Qing soldiers.
The history textbooks state that the Qing army was poorly equipped and could not withstand foreign troops. However, they do not elaborate on the fact that the Qing army had already become semi-armed with firearms at that time. Weize and others traveled from Yong'an City, located to the south of the Dayao Mountains, to this place, where the Qing army was besieging Yong'an City, which was occupied by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Among the Qing troops besieging Yong'an, more than 60% of the soldiers were equipped with rifles, and there were a large number of cannons in both the northern and southern camps of the Qing army. This was completely different from Weize's imagination of a Qing army armed with broadswords and spears. Among the Qing troops besieging Yong'an, more than 60% of the soldiers were equipped with rifles, and there were a large number of cannons in both the northern and southern camps of the Qing army. This was completely different from Weize's imagination of a Qing army armed with broadswords and spears.
Beauty and ugliness are very easy to distinguish. The hairstyles and clothing of the Taiping Army are quite different from the traditional Chinese "Eguan Bodai". Historically, the Manchu Qing dynasty disparaged the Taiping Army as "hair bandits" and "long-haired thieves" because the Taiping soldiers did not shave their heads, but simply let their long hair hang down. In Guangxi, there has always been a custom of wrapping the head with cloth, and the long-haired soldiers of the Taiping Army wore various colored head wraps, giving them a very artistic youth vibe
A group of over twenty young warriors is on the battlefield, all dressed in the attire of ordinary people from Guangxi. They wear black coarse cloth short shirts and shorts, with white coarse cloth belts tied around their waists, white cloth leg wraps around their legs, and straw sandals on their feet. Due to the cold weather, the warriors have wrapped their feet in what might have originally been white cloth, now so dirty that the color is unrecognizable. The group does not wear the typical headscarves of Guangxi; instead, they have tied their long hair into a bun on top of their heads, secured with a white coarse cloth headband, giving the appearance of a mourning procession.
At first, Wei Ze even thought he had merely arrived on another planet similar to Earth. After three months, Wei Ze confirmed that he had indeed returned to the Qing Dynasty. The main armaments of the Qing army were undoubtedly these matchlock guns and cannons. This realization did not lead Wei Ze to exclaim, "The equipment of the Manchu Qing is not that bad after all," but rather deepened his despair towards the Manchu Qing and towards China in this era.
Deceived and misled by the film and television works he had seen in the past, Wei Ze, although he had heard of the term "money rat tail," had always believed that the hairstyle of the Manchu was actually the "yin-yang head" style, which involved shaving the front half of the head and braiding the remaining hair at the back into a large braid, as it was at the time of the fall of the Qing Dynasty. However, upon his arrival in this new world, he witnessed the true nature of the money rat tail: a pale scalp with a small tuft of hair styled into a clown-like braid. Wei Ze fully understood why the Han people had launched large-scale uprisings against the Qing Dynasty's "Hair Cutting Order" when they refused to accept such barbaric hairstyles. Upon his arrival in this new world, he witnessed the true nature of the money rat tail: a pale scalp with a small tuft of hair styled into a clown-like braid. Wei Ze fully understood why the Han people had launched large-scale uprisings against the Qing Dynasty's "Hair Cutting Order" when they refused to accept such barbaric hairstyles.
Although Wei Ze can now fully identify with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for only this one reason related to hairstyle, this reason is already sufficient for Wei Ze, who has long been determined to oppose the Qing dynasty
The body search had now been completed, and ultimately, only a pair of trousers without a belt remained on the Qing soldiers. Their jackets had also been stripped off; after all, it was winter, and an extra outer garment would help keep the Taiping soldiers warm. Wei Ze thought for a moment and then cut off the queues from the heads of the Qing soldiers. Seeing Wei Changrong's puzzled expression beside him, Wei Ze smiled and said, "The queues are not heavy; they will be just right to bring back as a token of merit"
A young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes stood in the center of the battlefield, his sharply defined face possessing the unique roundness characteristic of youth, appearing no older than 20 years. This young man was named Wei Ze, 19 years old, holding the rank of Sima in the Taiping Army. Wei Ze approached the corpse of a Qing soldier, who appeared to be a minor officer, equipped with a single saber at his waist. In the recently concluded battle, more than a dozen Qing soldiers had been eliminated by Wei Ze and his subordinates. The officer, upon seeing Wei Ze and his men charge out, turned and fled, only to be caught by Wei Ze, who stabbed him to death with a single thrust, without the officer even having the chance to draw his saber from its sheath.