Chapter 67: Deception City

  He was tied to the war horse, Yue Po broke his reins and galloped wildly. He could only throw his legs and run after him. Without running a few steps, he fell to the ground. The war horse did not stop at all, continuing to gallop wildly. The armor on his body was crushed, his helmet fell off, and the sand, stone, and grass scratched his body. His face was full of blood.

  The red stains remained on the sandy ground. The pain on his body was nothing compared to what he saw along the way, which made He Luo truly terrified.

  The soldiers of the Anqing army were sweeping the battlefield, all the Qing troops had been beheaded, and even the wounded who still had a breath left would not be spared. The severed heads were all loaded onto carts, like a cart full of watermelons.

  He Luo has been through many battles and can be said to have killed countless people, with new tricks emerging one after another. However, just like any executioner, he can be extremely ruthless towards others, but when it comes to himself, he becomes unusually fragile!

  Yue Po Xu let his soldiers drag He Luo to the front of Gu Zhenhua. Not far away, the soldiers were piling up the heads of the Qing army, like a small mountain.

  Every single head was stained with blood, their faces twisted in a gruesome manner, piled together in a scene that seemed to belong only in hell. He Luo's legs went weak and he fell directly to the ground.

  Yue Po broke the vulgar and contemptuous gaze at him, then turned to Gu Zhenhua and said: "Seventh brother, this guy is the leader of the Qing army, named He Luohui, was captured alive by us!"

  Gu Zhenhua was shocked as soon as he heard the three words "He Luo Hui". He hastily took two steps forward and stood in front of the guy, looking him up and down carefully.

  It's no wonder that Gu Zhenhua was surprised. This person is actually connected to a historical unsolved case, the Sichuan massacre.

  At the end of Ming and the beginning of Qing, Sichuan lost tens of millions of people, countless compatriots were slaughtered, and finally had to fill Sichuan with Huguang!

  In the revised history of the Qing dynasty, as well as among orthodox historians, without exception, the blame was shifted to Zhang Xianzhong, who was regarded as a murderous demon king.

  However, it is intriguing that Zhang Xianzhong died heroically in the fourth year of the Qing dynasty's entry into the Pass, which was 1647. He had been in Sichuan for less than four years before that. The anti-Qing struggle in Sichuan continued for over a decade after his death. If Zhang Xianzhong really killed so many people, were the Qing troops fighting ghosts? Obviously, this is an elaborately fabricated scam.

  Moreover, Gu Zhenhua also counts as having dealt with the bandits and is very clear about them. Whether it's Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong, they are cruel, but their targets are bureaucrats, landlords, and scholars. As for ordinary people, not only do they not slaughter them, but they also propose equal land distribution and tax exemption.

  In the end, the peasant army is a class contradiction, and their slaughter is only against the vested interest groups. The Manchu Qing dynasty is an alien tribe, and they are the ones who will indiscriminately slaughter the Han people!

  There is no doubt that the real culprit is Manchu, and this He Luo Hui is likely to be the assistant who assisted Hao Ge in entering Sichuan, and it is very possible that he is the main culprit of the massacre in Sichuan!

  Having thought of this, Gu Zhenhua was also filled with anger, staring fiercely at He Luohui. This guy also felt uneasy under Gu Zhenhua's sharp gaze.

  "What do you want to do? My Great Qing has tens of thousands of elite soldiers entering the pass, your small force is not even worth looking at. Even if you win by luck once, it's hard to escape death, I advise you to surrender quickly, with your skills, becoming a king is not impossible!"

  Gu Zhenhua burst out laughing: "He Luo Hui, you're still so glib even when death is staring you in the face. However, you've miscalculated - I won't follow Wu Sangui's example. And let me tell you, one of these days, I'll wipe out the Tartars and make you regret entering the pass!"

  He was frightened pale by these few words, but he still forced himself to say to Gu Zhenhua: "The Han people always emphasize leaving a way out for everything, and your officials often say that they think about danger and retreat. You should also think about the future and not walk to the end of the road. Jingguan is so cruel, both sides are brave warriors, why do you need to provoke my Qing dynasty? In the end, it will only be a fight to the death."

  "Put away that threatening and tempting set, I don't care about it. Now I'm thinking of how to make you die more comfortably."

  Just as they were talking, the soldiers brought over the captured banner. Gu Zhenhua took a look at the flagpole and suddenly lit up. He smiled and said to Yue Po Xu: "After we pass by Jingguan Hill later, set up the flagpole in the middle, let He Luoqi sneak in from behind, wear a sugar gourd, and then poke his head out of the flagpole with his mouth, and use him as the banner face!"

  Yue Po Xu clenched his fists and nodded repeatedly: "Seventh brother, this move is too ruthless, I'll go now!"

  He also heard clearly, and his buttocks tightened instantly. This guy was clear that this method of killing would not die temporarily, but could only endure the pain of piercing through the body. He had done so before, putting escaped slaves on wooden stakes, letting them wail in pain, intimidating other slaves.

  He didn't care about killing others, but when it came to himself, he couldn't bear it. He suddenly opened his mouth and wanted to bite off his own tongue.

  He was staring at Gu Zhenhua, seeing everything clearly. He quickly swung his hand and threw the cleaver in his hand, hitting He Luohui's mouth with the handle of the knife, instantly knocking out all his front teeth, and blood gushed out.

  "Keep an eye on him, don't let him get away with it."

  Very soon, the two city-watching platforms were set up, with nearly two thousand heads piled up like small hills. Moreover, the soldiers also arranged eight characters in front of the city-watching platform using fresh blood and broken swords according to Gu Zhenhua's order.

  The Uighurs have fallen!

  A traitor's mirror!

  Blood-soaked and shocking to behold. Undoubtedly, this would infuriate the Qing court and even prompt Dorgon to recklessly aim his spearhead at the Anyang Army.

  But Gu Zhenhua did not regret it, he had to give the Qing dynasty a heavy warning, and also set an example for those bureaucrats. The Qing dynasty was so small, how could they occupy the Central Plains? Wasn't there a large group of Wu Sangui-like Han traitors leading the way, serving as vanguard, and many landlords following behind, wagging their tails and begging for mercy, willing to do things for the Qing dynasty?

  They only care about their own glory and wealth, using the excuse of the rise and fall of heaven's will to cover up their own shamelessness.

  Gu Zhenhua wants to use bloody facts to tell these guys that surrendering to the Qing is not only shameful, but also likely to lose their heads, and in the most miserable way. Let every guy who wants to surrender unconsciously think of Jingguan and their possible fate!

  He was stripped naked, and the tip of the flagpole slowly entered his body. The man let out a mournful howl, like a night owl, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it. The soldiers present couldn't help but whisper to each other, "This Lord Gu is indeed ruthless!"

  At this moment, Guo Yunlong also brought a person over, and the soldiers under his command were carrying things like the Seven-Star Sword and the Wu Character Large Flag.

  Gu Zhenhua's eyes lit up instantly, could it be that they had caught Wu Sangui?

  If this big traitor falls into our hands and we cut him down, it would be equivalent to having one less knife in the hands of the Qing dynasty.

  "Seventh brother, I'm ashamed to say that we've been deceived by Wu Sangui. We only caught a decoy."

  As he spoke, he pushed a man in front of Gu Zhenhua. Gu Zhenhua took a closer look and found that he also knew him, it was Deputy General Yang Kun.

  Gu Zhenhua smiled slightly: "Deputy Commander Yang, I didn't expect that we would meet like this. Unexpected, isn't it?"

  "It's indeed unexpected." Yang Kun said with a bitter smile: "Lord Gu, I really didn't think you had such skills. My surname is Yang, I don't ask for anything else, just hope that you can see our acquaintance as a favor and give me a quick death."

  "Delightful? You wish! " Zhou Yingjie also rushed over and shouted loudly: "You bunch of shameless guys, as Han people, you surrendered to the Manchu Tartars, are you still human? I think He Luohui is a bit lonely, just prepare a flagpole for him, and let him follow suit!"

  Yang Kun was so frightened that his soul left his body, and he sat down on the ground with a thud. He stared blankly at the people around him, then suddenly crawled to Guo Yunlong's feet and burst into tears.

  "Brother Guo, Brother Li, Brother Yue, just a few days ago we were comrades-in-arms in the Guards' Army, and now you can bear to see me suffer like this? I beg of you, grant me one stroke of your sword!"

  Yang Kun knocked his head, Li Xu frowned and said to Gu Zhenhua: "Seventh brother, Yang Kun has not done much evil in these years, surrendered to the Qing dynasty, and has not had time to do anything bad. I think it's better not to make things difficult for him!"

  Gu Zhenhua glanced at Yang Kun and suddenly sneered: "Yang Kun, you don't need to beg for mercy. I can spare your life, but you have to agree to do something for me!"

  "Lord Gu, please speak, I will not be ambiguous."

  "I want you to go back to the Ganning Army and keep a close eye on Wu Sangui for me!"

  "Are you asking me to be a spy?"

  "Yang Kun, Manchu Qing dynasty is a rabbit's tail that can't be lengthened. You've already made one mistake, are you going to miss this last chance?"

  ……

  "My lord, the spoils of war have also been counted. The Qing army had one man to two horses, and we captured over 3,600 warhorses alone, as well as 1,800 sets of armor. There are countless bows, arrows, knives, and guns. However, Wu Sangui's men were in a hurry during the pursuit and didn't bring much food or silver."

  Xia Shouli reported the situation to Gu Zhenhua, who frowned: "The spoils of war are indeed not small, but what we lack most now is people! With a thousand brothers gone, it's hard to attack Tianjin."

  The people present were also at a loss, Tianjin not only has a port but also relies on the canal. To go south, they must pass through Tianjin. However, they had been marching continuously and had just fought another battle, their men and horses exhausted to the extreme. Wanting to seize Tianjin was indeed too difficult, even saying it was an impossible task!

  "Lord Gu, I must remind you that we are not far from Shanhai Pass." Li Jizhong said with a smile: "You'd better think of a way quickly, otherwise Wu Sangui will escape and return. Within three days, the Manchu cavalry may catch up, and at that time, just a few thousand more people will be enough to wipe us out!"

  "Old Li, can't you say something nice for once?"

  "I'd like to say something pleasant, but the dry rations we brought out have been almost used up and our gunpowder has been exhausted. If you don't come up with a good plan, I'm afraid we'll have to disband and return to Gaolao Village!"

  What Li Jibo said was all true, and the people present temporarily forgot the joy of victory, one by one casting their eyes on Gu Zhenhua.

  Gu Zhenhua was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and smiled: "True or false, virtual or real, I think more than half of the defenders in Tianjin still don't know about this battle. Why don't we pretend to be the Guanning Army?"