Chapter 212: The End of an Era (Part 2)
When it was dark, the troops led by Huo Chong finally got rid of the pursuit of the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty. Or perhaps the Eight Banners Army that had been chasing Huo Chong could no longer catch up.
It started snowing again at this time. Under the light of the snow, Huo Chong led the team and finally arrived at the designated resting point.
This was a place protected from the wind, and there was no shortage of firewood, grass, and food. The guards took out the tents and the prepared cotton clothes, and the troops were finally able to take off the heavy Eight Banners cotton armor weighing more than ten kilograms.
Huo Chong had already gotten used to this weight, and the cotton armor had also helped Huo Chong block two arrows. When he finally took it off, he felt relaxed all over, as if he could fly.
The rest area has been stockpiled with two thousand kilograms of solid alcohol, as well as straw and firewood. In addition to making fires for cooking and keeping warm, everyone also took the time to boil hot water to soak their feet.
The fatigue of the whole day finally came to an end, everyone felt their eyelids begin to droop, ate their fill, spread straw mats on the hot ground, and fell asleep together.
"Sir, what should we do next?" Lei Hu couldn't sleep. Today's events were so exciting that Lei Hu recalled it as if it was a dream. Lei Hu even suspected that he was still dreaming and had to chat with Huo Chong to figure out whether he was asleep or not.
"Lei Hu. An era has ended." Huo Chong sighed.
"What era?" It was the first time that Lei Hu heard Huo Chong use such words.
Huo Chong sighed, "Yongzheng saved the Qing Dynasty from decline. Without him, the Qing Dynasty would have been a barbarian country with no future for a hundred years. It would have been over soon. Only with Yongzheng could the Qing Dynasty survive this crisis."
"...Sir, can you explain it in more detail?"
"I'm sleepy. I can only talk a little. I might fall asleep while talking." After saying that, Huo Chong yawned loudly.
"It's okay, it's okay." Lei Hu responded quickly.
"This is my opinion. By the end of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the entire Qing Dynasty had reached a state of each doing its own thing. As long as many things were not excessive and did not arouse public anger, Emperor Kangxi's words did not count. We could only discuss them. Ah..." Huo Chong was really sleepy and yawned loudly.
"Are you talking about the debt?"
"The debt is just a superficial phenomenon. The key point is whether Kangxi has the final say. If Kangxi says that debts are not allowed, then the people under him will do whatever they want. Does this mean Kangxi can really make the decision?"
Lei Hu suddenly realized. Thinking about it again, he even had an understanding, "Sir, are you saying that Yongzheng's ability to clear the debts means that he revitalized the government?"
"That's about what I mean. Ah..." Huo Chong yawned again, "Yongzheng was killed by many people working together. We are just knives in their eyes. Without us, those people would be at the mercy of Yongzheng. If Yongzheng wants to kill or chop them, all these people have to obey. It really is the emperor's grace."
“…Isn’t this…too cruel?”
"Cruel? Compared with the brutality of the Qing Dynasty after entering the Shanhai Pass, Yongzheng's brutality is nothing but a gentle breeze and drizzle. The problem is not brutality or not, but discipline. If you want to establish discipline, it is impossible to make everyone happy. Not to mention that everyone is happy, under strict discipline, I am afraid that no one will be happy."
Lei Hu's mind was attracted by the general direction described by Huo Chong, but he couldn't figure it out after thinking about it. The relationship between discipline and the times seemed to be understandable, but not understandable.
When he wanted to ask again, he saw Huo Chong had fallen into a deep sleep. Lei Hu thought for a while and fell asleep unknowingly.
In the middle of the night, Lei Hu was woken up and struggled to get up to join the night patrol. Lei Hu felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, and he couldn't help but talk about this with his team. The team members felt the same way, and after thinking about it, he said, "Chief of Staff Lei, is it too cold these nights? Are you frozen?"
"Huh?" Lei Hu didn't understand it at first, but after thinking about it again, it actually made sense.
The brothers here continued, "We were in Shandong, and the barracks were so big that so many people slept there. There was a coal stove inside, so it was warm. This time we were out, we were freezing for so many days!"
This reminded Lei Hu of something. Although the air often smelled unpleasant, the big house was really warm in winter.
After the patrol, we started to make breakfast. At this time, we didn't care about the so-called consumption at all. We cooked with a high fire, fried, stir-fried, and deep-fried. We just wanted to restore our strength as much as possible.
Cooking at 4am, eating at 5am. Lei Hu even took a short nap after eating. When he woke up, he found that there were many people doing the same thing. It was bright at this time, and under the dark sky, the team picked up their bags and started to move forward.
These were all arranged, no nonsense, no shouting. Everyone wore masks and glass flight goggles. They wore thick cotton hats, rabbit fur-lined pants and military coats. Even the cowhide boots were covered with a layer of rabbit fur for warmth.
After everything was ready, the troops dragged the sleds, put the luggage on the sleds, and continued to move forward holding special trekking poles for snow.
In the evening, the enemy appeared behind them. It was not the infantry, but the cavalry. According to the plan, the Eight Banners cavalry of Miyun Camp should arrive in the morning instead of in the evening. The fact that they caught up with us at this time proved that these people had no fighting power at this time.
The troops did not even set up a circle, but marched straight ahead. The Eight Banners cavalrymen of the Qing Dynasty behind them were so tenacious that they chased them for seven or eight miles in the snow.
Huo Chong was shocked. Were the brains of these Eight Banners frozen? Or were they deprived of their functions by the news of Yongzheng's death?
Chasing for so long in the snow, are you thinking your life is too long?
The loyal Eight Banners cavalry paid the price for their loyalty. Four hundred cavalrymen left more than three hundred bodies in the charge, and the rest were forced to flee. The troops did not clean up the battlefield, nor did they gather their horses. They picked up their weapons and continued to move forward.
As the speed was beyond imagination, the troops did not stay at the next scheduled stop for long, but just made a fire to cook.
Pancake, meat, green onion, noodle dumpling soup. In addition, the potato and cabbage stew with meat also received widespread praise. Another dish that received widespread praise was the thin steamed bun with jam.
The hot steamed bread slices are smeared with thick sweet and sour jam, which has flavors such as strawberry, hawthorn, and apple. There is also thick fruit pulp inside, which is really refreshing to eat in this winter.
After dinner and foot bath, the troops pulled out the sleds that were parked here and continued to move forward in the night. If the plan was correct, they might reach the next point before midnight. They began to rest there.
The Han commandos acted exactly as planned.
The situation was different in the eyes of the pursuing Manchu Eight Banners. These rebels walked thirty or forty miles in the snow every day. They still maintained strong fighting power in the snow. They were not afraid of the severe cold and marched forward bravely. Whether it was cavalry or infantry, they could not catch up after chasing for a long time.
After completely losing sight of the rebel group, the pursuing troops from the Miyun camp had no choice but to withdraw.
There are still places where they can be used in the capital. Whether the Eight Banners of the Beijing Camp are willing or not, they are destined to become important tools or bargaining chips in the new power struggle.
