Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 45
The defeat of Yangzhou made He Gang feel unwilling, but since the city was broken, he wanted to kill the thief and was powerless to recover.

He Gang wanted to throw himself into the well, but was rescued by the defeated soldiers, charged all the way, and finally hid in this small courtyard.

The Manchus wanted to live in the Central Plains and control the big clan with a small clan, so they had to rely on brutal killings to suppress the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, after Duoduo broke through Yangzhou, he ordered the massacre of the city on the grounds that he would not listen to the surrender.

The killing was still going on in the city, and the courtyard where He Gang was located was not safe, and sooner or later the Qing soldiers would find out.

At this time, he looked at the more than 50 officers and soldiers who were guarding him and killed them all the way. Hearing the screams in the city, he slowly let go of the desire to seek death in his heart, and what he waited for was the flame of revenge.

"My lord, some Qing soldiers have entered the courtyard!" An officer stood at the crack of the door, watching more than a dozen Qing soldiers entrusting five Han women into the courtyard, about to commit violence, he was immediately furious.

When He Gang heard this, he quickly got off the bed, and before he reached the door, he heard bursts of obscene laughter and the woman's begging for mercy, and his heart immediately burned with anger. .

He Gang originally wanted to take the fifty officers and soldiers in the room and look for opportunities to fight out of the city, but following the scene in front of him, he decided to give up his plan to leave the city.

"Beast!" As a civil servant, He Gang was also enraged by the atrocities of the Qing soldiers at this time. He angrily took a saber from the hands of the officers and soldiers on the side, kicked open the door, and shouted loudly: "Kill all these animals!" !"

After receiving the instructions, the officers and soldiers in the room poured out their unbearable anger, kicked open the doors and windows, and came out with their sabers.

The group of Qing soldiers was surrounding a few women and preparing to commit violence. Many of them had already taken off their belts, and their weapons and stolen baggage were also thrown aside.

Facing the sudden Ming army, these people were shocked, raised their trouser legs in panic, and took up their swords to fight.

More than 50 Ming soldiers shouted and attacked in anger. Naturally, more than a dozen Qing soldiers could not respond in a hurry. They were killed by the Ming army as soon as they fought.

Amidst the screams, more than a dozen Qing soldiers were hacked to death by the Ming army in a panic, and the Ming army also paid the price of one death and two injuries.

He Gang looked at the corpses on the ground, and looked at the five women who were curled up in a corner, trembling with fright, and quickly ordered: "Zhang Youde, take them into the house, Dai Zhifan, go and close the courtyard door, and let the rest do it together." , and entrusted the corpses of the Qing soldiers away."

A group of Ming soldiers heard the words and acted immediately. The women were obviously from a wealthy family in Yangzhou. , saluted He Gang slightly, then followed the soldier named Zhang Youde and walked into the house.

There were robbery and murderous Qing soldiers everywhere in Yangzhou City. The corpses of the Qing soldiers in the courtyard would be found at any time. The remaining people quickly dragged the corpses to the backyard.

The soldier named Dai Zhifan quickly went to close the gate, but as soon as he reached the gate, an arrow hit him, he was not in a hurry to dodge, and was immediately hit by the arrow.

"Ah~" Dai Zhifan screamed, his eyeballs burst, but he endured the heart-piercing pain, and suddenly closed the courtyard door, and pushed the courtyard door with his back, shouting loudly: "My lord! There are Qing soldiers! "

A group of Ming soldiers who were busy cleaning up the corpses quickly picked up their weapons and rushed to the door.

"Swoosh~swoosh~swoosh~"

At this moment, another rain of arrows hit outside the courtyard, shooting several Ming soldiers to the ground immediately.

Seeing this, He Gang couldn't help but turn cold, and quickly asked everyone to pick up the scattered wooden boards and shaukes in the courtyard to block the rain of arrows.

From the feather arrows thrown in from outside the courtyard, He Gang could already tell that there were no less than a hundred Qing troops outside the courtyard, and as they were exposed, there would inevitably be Qing soldiers coming to encircle and suppress them.

He Gang couldn't help sighing in his heart, he didn't hesitate to die, but he suffered for the five women he had just rescued, and he would fall into the clutches of the Qing soldiers again.

At this time, he looked at the Ming army beside him, and said to them: "We are trapped here, and sooner or later we will be broken by the Qing soldiers. Kill one, fight one is one!"

The city of Yangzhou has been destroyed, and the Qing army is everywhere in the city. The Ming army in the courtyard also understands that they are already in a dead end. If they don't resist, they will be slaughtered by the Qing army. If they resist, they can drag a few animals to die together. They said in unison: "We are willing to follow the adults and kill the captives together!"

At that moment, all the Ming soldiers stood against the rain of arrows and leaned against the two sides of the courtyard. Dai Zhifan, who was resisting the gate, also retreated to He Gang's side. He pulled out the feathered arrow from his right eye and threw it aside with his eyes. .

Everyone saw him sweating coldly in pain, but they were also touched by his courage and bravery, and immediately felt a sense of pride.

The door was creaked by the Qing soldiers outside the courtyard. He Gang asked someone to remove the latch. The Qing soldiers slammed it hard, but they didn't expect the door to open wide, and they immediately lost their balance and fell down a large piece.

"Kill the captives!" He Gang and the others swung their sabers at once, hacking several people to death in an instant.

The Qing soldiers outside the courtyard also reacted at this time, and quickly rushed towards the courtyard gate with knives and guns. There was a bloody battle between the two sides at the gate.

The Ming army blocked the door, and although there were many Qing soldiers, they were unable to perform their duties. However, as some Qing soldiers entered the courtyard over the wall, the disadvantages of He Gang and others gradually emerged.

They fought and retreated, and the Qing army forced them out of the room step by step from the gate of the courtyard.

The five women in the room who had just regained their strength and thought they were saved suddenly became frightened again, and several of them had already started sniffling.

"Miss, what should we do!" A woman cried.

The woman called Miss looked at the Ming army who were constantly being hacked to death outside the door, and then at the trembling women around her, a sad smile suddenly appeared on her face: "Qiuxiang, you can't let those beasts If you touch our bodies, Miss will take you to die, okay?"

"Miss!" The girls burst into tears upon hearing this.

At this moment, the young lady stood up suddenly, walked to the side of the bed, took off the top quilt cover, and then tore it vigorously.

Seeing this, the weeping women hurried over to help.

After all, He Gang was a civil servant, and he couldn't fight the battle-hardened Qing soldiers. At first, the Ming army protected him from time to time, but as the Ming army fought less and less, his form suddenly became dangerous.

Holding the saber to block the left and the right, he looked very embarrassed, but finally he couldn't beat the Qing soldiers in front of him, and was kicked flying.

He Gang's body was kicked directly into the room, and a mouthful of blood spewed out immediately. Enduring the huge pain in his chest, he wanted to support his body and fight again, but suddenly saw the scene in front of him, and he was stunned.

In the room, five ropes torn from sheets were suspended above the beams, and below were the shaking bodies of five young women.

For a moment, He Gang burst into tears, and his heart was filled with grief and indignation.As a scholar, he turned the anger and unwillingness in his heart into the first rough words in his life: "God damn Jiannu!"

He roared, picked up the knife, and frantically rushed towards the Qing soldiers again.

(End of this chapter)