Chapter 10: The Extermination of Demons in Fengtian

Following the nine riders, more than ten additional riders galloped forth. At the forefront was a man wearing a yellow headscarf, a yellow long robe, and a red cloak. Behind him, a standard-bearer followed, holding a square yellow silk flag that fluttered in the wind. The yellow silk flag was bordered with white, and it bore numerous red characters.

Zeng Shuiyuan looked at Ji Wenyuan with some astonishment, gazing at the Western King flag that had vanished into the darkness, and thought to himself: "Could it be that you can even calculate the strengths and weaknesses of the Liling Qingyao?"

Although he did not know, he still smiled broadly like a twisted doughnut, clasping his fists in salute to the more than ten people, and then inquired about how many members the Brotherhood would have and whether they were willing to pledge their allegiance. At that moment, Zhou Zhaoyao pulled over a man in his forties, a rather small fellow, and said: "Your Highness, this is our Liling Brotherhood's helmsman, He Bin from Sichuan"

Zhou Zhaoyao, with a mournful expression, said: "After I left the city at night, I hurried northward, intending to take the route through Liling to my relatives' home in the countryside of Liuyang to seek refuge. However, upon arriving in Liling, several guards at the city gate saw the few valuable antique porcelain items I was carrying and falsely accused me of being a spy for the Longma. Not only did they seize my belongings, but they also threw me into a dungeon, claiming that I would be executed the next day. Fortunately, the prince saved my life."

Su Ji whispered, "Brother Li, who is this person?"

Xiao Chaogui no longer held back, ordering Tang Erniu to lock these few yamen runners in the prison, and then commanded Li Zuoche to take his men to collect money and grain from the prominent families in the city. After giving his orders, he remained alone in the main hall of the government office, sulking under the prominently displayed plaque.

Xiao Yungui widened his eyes, wondering what the Brotherhood was. He knew about the Tiandi Society, but he had never heard of this Brotherhood. Could there be a society for picking up girls as well? He was unaware that the Brotherhood was another name for the Sichuan Ge Lao Society, which, along with the Tiandi Society and the Qing Gang, was one of the three major secret societies during the late Qing Dynasty.

Su Ji's eyes lit up, and she stood on tiptoe, stretching her neck to get a better look at Xi Wang Xiao Chaogui's face, but the darkness of the night persisted; despite the beautiful moonlight, she still could not see clearly.

As expected by Ji Wenyuan, over a thousand Taiping New Army soldiers charged to the foot of Liling City, with the low earthen city wall, only two men high, completely unguarded. Many new soldiers directly climbed over each other to scale the wall. Once the city gate was opened, the Taiping New Army cheered as they rushed into the city. Indeed, Liling was not defended by Qing troops, and the siege turned into a simple act of climbing over the wall to enter the city.

Xiao Chaogui was actually possessed by the wealthy young man Xiao Yungui. He vaguely remembered having seen information while writing a thesis that the Taiping Army in Liling City had also taken the city without a fight. Thus, he boldly led a group of untrained peasants to attack the city at night, and indeed, they succeeded in one fell swoop, which instilled some confidence and courage in the new army. Moreover, it made the new army believe that their leader, the Western King Xiao Chaogui, was indeed renowned, and following him was undoubtedly the right choice

Unable to find money and weapons, Xiao Yungui was extremely frustrated. With over 1,000 people following him to eat, the gains from capturing places like Chaling and Youxian were minimal, and in Liling, he did not obtain a single grain of food. This is why Xiao Yungui became ruthless and began to target the wealthy gentry in the city, as they were also Qing demons, and the Taiping Army would not hesitate in taking action against them.

After smoking a bag of cigarettes, the hall suddenly became noisy. I saw Tang Erniu leading more than ten disheveled men into the hall. Tang Erniu, with a joyful expression, stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, I took people to the prison to detain those yamen runners, but instead rescued a group of people from the prison, one of whom is an old acquaintance of ours."

Upon arriving at the government office, only a few elderly and weak officials and subordinates were captured. After inquiring, it was learned that Li Guoshan, the county magistrate of Liling, had heard of the arrival of the bandits and had already fled to the provincial capital, Changsha. The soldiers within Liling City had long since dispersed.

Xiao Chaogui shouted a phrase in the local dialect of Guangxi, and amidst the fluttering of the large flag behind him, the Taiping Army's knife-wielders and the New Taiping Army let out a piercing roar. Xiao Chaogui's words truly stirred the blood, and the crowd began to surge forward, following his great banner. Over a thousand people, holding torches, rushed towards Liling City, the multitude of flames advancing densely.

Only then did Xi Wang Xiao Chaogui draw the large knife from his waist, causing the Taiping army's knife bearers to immediately fall silent, and the shouts of the Taiping New Army gradually diminished.

A curse escaped his lips, and the Taiping New Army erupted into a low chuckle. Xiao Chaogui then shouted sternly: "I, Xiao Chaogui, tell you that from the moment you joined Taiping, we are brothers, we are one family. I, Xiao Chaogui, trust you, which is why I personally lead you into battle. I, Xiao Chaogui, will never risk the lives of my brothers! So please rest assured and entrust your lives to me! I, Xiao Chaogui, will personally lead you to capture the cities of the Qing demons! Follow my banner, and the Qing demons will naturally collapse without a fight! Charge!"

He could only cry out, "Your Highness, it is thanks to your arrival that I would not have starved to death in the prison."

Su Ji and the group of new troops felt a chill in their hearts. They raised their eyes and saw several bright red characters on the enormous apricot-yellow flag, which were particularly striking. Su Ji, unable to read the characters, quietly asked, "Brother Li, what does it say up there?"

Li Yiwen's expression was solemn, and he spoke with great conviction, raising his head: "It is written here to eradicate demons and eliminate evil while preserving righteousness! This is the handwritten decree of our Heavenly King! The Qing demons flee in terror at the sight of this great banner!"

When the Taiping New Army occupied the city walls, shouting and cheering, they began to firmly believe in the reputation of the Western King, Xiao Chaogui. The Qing demons truly feared the banner of Xiao Chaogui, and following him into battle was undoubtedly the right choice

Zhou Zhaoyao wiped away his tears and said: "Your Highness, since you have saved me, I will no longer conceal the truth. In fact, I am a member of the Brotherhood from Hunan. These individuals are our brothers from the Brotherhood in Liling, who were captured by the Qing officials. The Qing official, Su Guoshan, stated some time ago that he intended to pacify the region, fearing that various secret societies would respond to the call for peace. Therefore, he sought to eliminate the bandits of the secret societies and arrested more than a dozen of our Brotherhood's leaders, imprisoning them. Fortunately, we were rescued by the West King, and we have come together to express our gratitude for the life-saving grace of the West King."

Behind the standard bearer were eight flag bearers, each holding a large flag. Together, they rushed to the center of the formation and stood firm. Although there were only nine riders, their imposing presence was awe-inspiring, prompting a loud cheer from the new troops. These new soldiers had not yet shed their civilian nature; they seemed to be watching a performance, cheering whenever they saw something favorable, which drew a reprimand from the veteran soldiers of the Taiping Army in the formation, causing everyone to quiet down.

These broadswords and spears were all found in the warehouses of Chaling and Youxian, and they are covered in rust. Originally, there were dozens of bows and arrows, but many of the bow bodies and bowstrings have long since decayed, breaking into two pieces at the slightest pull. Therefore, many of the New Army soldiers still used weapons they found themselves. This also indicates that Hunan has not experienced warfare for many years, and the Qing court's military preparedness has deteriorated to an extreme degree

Xiao Yungui let out a light sigh, not expecting that the discipline of the Qing army was so severely compromised. To them, killing the innocent and taking credit for their deeds seemed to be a common occurrence. Old Zhou was indeed quite unfortunate; the root cause of this misfortune was the exposure of his wealth. After offering a few words of comfort, he looked at the ten or so individuals behind Zhou Zhaoyao and asked, "Who are these people?"

Under the cold moonlight, the large saber was raised high, and Xiao Chaogui laughed heartily, saying: "You don't need to say insincere words; in battle, who isn't afraid? No one is fearless! You must think that these officials only send us new troops to take the lead, clearly not considering us as their own, intending to send us to our deaths! What a damn misfortune!"

Xiao Yungui was somewhat surprised; this chef was quite interesting. He immediately got up, descended the steps to help him up, and asked, "How did you come to be here?"

Su Ji tightly gripped a wooden stick in his hand, feeling the sweat pooling in his palm. However, glancing at Li Yiwen and the group of companions beside him, all holding torches and standing by his side, he felt an indescribable sense of peace in his heart

Suddenly, the sound of drums echoed, and dozens of cavalrymen surged out from the left wing of the formation. At the forefront, a knight rode bare-chested, his bulging muscles rippling, while a massive apricot-yellow flag seemed weightless in his hand

In the end, only a batch of weapons was found in the armory, consisting of decayed sabers and spears, but it nonetheless addressed some of the issues regarding the new army's weaponry

Unable to find money and weapons, the expression on the face of Xi Wang Xiao Chaogui seemed rather unpleasant. He seized a local official and pressed him to inquire whether there were any prominent families in the city associated with the flag. The official had already wet his pants and stammered out a clear account.

The two hundred elite swordsmen of the Taiping Army in the array shouted in unison: "Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid!" Upon hearing this synchronized shout, the entire new Taiping Army could not help but join in the shouting.

Ji Wenyuan shook his head and smiled, saying: "Brother Zeng, you are overestimating the Qingyao. Throughout our journey, has there ever been a proper formation from the Qingyao? Moreover, I suspect that the Western King must be fully confident to have sent the new army into battle. Let us also prepare to enter the city."

After entering the city, Xiao Chaogui urgently ordered the sabermen in the new army to restrain their troops, commanding the entire army not to disturb the civilians. He instructed Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Ji Wenyuan, and Zhu Xikun to take charge of the four gates with the Taiping Army, while he himself led the new army directly to the Liling Prefectural Office.

Li Yiwen shouted in a low voice: "Everyone, perk up! The Banner of Extermination of Demons from the Heavenly Court has arrived!"

In the delayed Taiping army formation, the valiant general Ji Wenyuan of the Taiping army remarked in astonishment: "I did not expect that the Western King, despite his rough exterior, possesses such finesse. He personally leads the new troops at the forefront, which not only bolsters the morale and courage of the new army but also ensures their absolute loyalty to the Western King."

Su Ji felt a surge of blood boiling in his chest, unable to resist raising the wooden stick and shouting along with Li Yiwen

After occupying the government office and treasury, Xiao Chaogui ordered a thorough search of the treasury and government office, but very little was found. Su Guoshan, this Qing traitor, was quite clever; he had emptied the treasury early in the morning, transporting the money and grain to the provincial capital, under the pretext of sending supplies to assist in the defense. In this way, he avoided the blade of the Long-haired bandits, and even if the Qing court were to investigate, he would not be sentenced to death.

Brothers! I am the Right Assistant of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Chief Military Strategist, and the Western King, Xiao Chaogui!" A burly man wearing a yellow headband, accompanied by more than ten riders, arrived before the banner of the Yellow Turbans and shouted loudly: "Ahead is the city of Liling. If we capture it, we can spend the night in the city tonight! To seize the city and plunder the land, we must engage in a battle with the Qing demons. Are you afraid?!"

Li Yiwen said in a low voice: "This is His Highness the Western King of our Heavenly Kingdom, and what is written on the flag is the Right Assistant and Chief Military Strategist of the Heavenly Kingdom, Western King Xiao!"

Under the cover of night, over one thousand members of the Taiping New Army stood quietly in the bright moonlight, holding torches. The weapons in their hands were a hodgepodge, including sickles, hoes, and bamboo spears, with some even wielding stones and wooden sticks. Only a few possessed large sabers and spears.

Zeng Shuiyuan frowned and said: "With the escape of the Qingyao in Youxian, capturing them without bloodshed, it is likely that Liling will not be so easy to conquer."

Only to see a corpulent figure come forward, crying and prostrating on the ground. Upon hearing this person's accent, Xiao Yungui recognized him; this person was none other than Zhou Zhaoyao, the cook from Chaling.