The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 214 Recognizing the Headband, Not the Person

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), which was considered late at night in this era, most residences had already sealed off their doors and extinguished their fires. Only Jiang Muning's residence remained brightly lit.

At this moment, Jiang Muning was wearing Wu Jun's dark blue cloth armor, but his head was wrapped in a yellow turban, as were all the captains and lieutenants under his command.

In the chaos of battle on the city walls, without any distinguishing features, friendly fire was common. The yellow headscarf was used to differentiate the soldiers.

These were all talented individuals who dared to fight and were willing to sacrifice. They had risen through the ranks alongside him, sharing both glory and loss, and were people Jiang Muning absolutely trusted.

Even though Jiang Muning only told them now, they still stood tall and none of them backed down.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the other eight captains arrived as promised, each leading their subordinate captains.

Without further ado, Jiang Muning took a struggling rooster from his personal guard, slit its throat, and let the blood drip into the wine bowl on the table.

Jiang Muning stretched out her finger, smeared the blood on her lips, and then raised her right hand, extending two fingers.

"Brothers, tonight we swear a blood oath to kill the Wu army and welcome the Han army. If we succeed, we will share wealth and glory. If we fail, we will still be brothers in the next life. Anyone who breaks the oath and betrays his brothers will be worse than a pig or a dog in the next life!"

We're just common soldiers; we'll just drink blood wine as the first to receive the offering. Do we really need to make such a big fuss? This is almost like the eighteen warlords gathering in Zaozhuang.

These captains were all Jiang Muning's longtime mahjong partners. People who believe in luck are always more inclined to believe in supernatural things, and they all trembled at the sight.

But since they were already there, they had no choice but to do it, so they all stretched out their fingers, dipped them in chicken blood, and smeared it on their lips!

Seeing this, Jiang Muning nodded. It wasn't that he had many tricks up his sleeve, but that at times like this, all that was needed was to press on with one burst of energy. If he hesitated even slightly, he would be surrounded by the army and ultimately die tragically in Fangcheng.

As previously agreed, several captains each led their men to set fire to the other three city gates, while Jiang Muning led the remaining three thousand men to attack the north gate.

Their troops had already been mobilized in advance, and the soldiers would not suspect anything. Normally, if they were caught by patrol officers, they would be killed without mercy.

One of the captains was the first to arrive at the South Gate, and the first place he set fire to was there, because Wu Sangui's government office was located there, and the troops inside the city would definitely come to his rescue, especially Wu Sangui's central guards.

Seeing that the agreed time was approaching, the captain knew it was almost time, so he had a basket brought up.

"Brothers, I, Li Lao Er, have always worked hard without complaint, but since Wu Sangui declared himself emperor, we haven't received any rations or pay for three months, while his loyal followers are eating their fill. Are we some kind of stepmother?"

"This operation isn't just me alone. There are over a dozen other generals in other places. Tonight, we'll open the city gates and welcome the Han army into the city. Anyone who doesn't want to come can get lost. I, Li Lao Er, will not stop them!"

"Those who are willing, hurry up and collect your money!"

These days, those who can be commanders are the cream of the crop. The first sentence expresses empathy, while the second sentence tells the soldiers not to worry, as we still have others.

When the red cloth covering the basket was lifted, the soldiers swallowed hard upon seeing the densely packed silver ingots inside.

"Take it!"

Li Lao Er grabbed a three-tael silver coin and slapped it into the hand of a soldier who stepped forward.

Seeing that they could actually get money, the soldiers stopped thinking and rushed forward to sign up. It didn't matter who they fought, so they might as well fight for the richer ones!

Seeing this, Li Lao Er breathed a sigh of relief and secretly admired the generosity of the Han emperor, who was willing to give so much silver to a common soldier.

If he were a general, even without paying his soldiers, they would still obey him, and those who disobeyed would be beheaded. Unfortunately, he was only a centurion; without any incentive, the soldiers would not risk their lives for him.

Seeing that the forces were roughly equal, Li Lao Er immediately gave the order.

"set fire!"

The soldiers who had received the silver became even more energetic, and they picked up the oil canisters they had brought with them and smashed them at the government office where Wu Sangui lived.

Before long, the entire government office was engulfed in flames.

Their whereabouts were exposed, and a large number of Wu's elite troops, armed with weapons, pursued Li Lao Er.

Li Lao Er was quick-witted. After ordering everyone to go their own way, he hid himself, took off his headscarf and the Qianzong cloth armor, picked up his weapon, turned around, and followed the other soldiers to put out the fire.

At this point, the soldiers did not know their general, and the general did not know his soldiers.

Perfect for taking advantage of troubled waters!

"Fire!"

"Quickly, put out the fire!"

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

Amidst shouts and chaotic commands, and given that it was nighttime and many soldiers suffered from night blindness, the entire south gate descended into complete chaos.

At this time, Wu Sangui, under the protection of his personal guards, arrived outside the yamen. Seeing that the newly renovated yamen had been burned down, he was furious.

"After extinguishing the fire, immediately conduct a military search!"

"Find those traitors and kill them without mercy!"

Just as Wu Sangui finished giving the order and was about to move to another place to rest, Ma Bao rode up from the street.

Just as Wu Sangui finished giving the order and was about to move to another place to rest, Ma Bao rode up from the street.

"Your Majesty, a fire has broken out at both the East and West Gates. Judging from the timing and scale, several hundred people were injured in each fire!"

"This humble general has already ordered the central army camp to come and protect Your Majesty!"

After Ma Bao finished speaking, he showed a smug look on his face. Capturing the king and rescuing the emperor is always the highest level of treatment. Look how proactive I, Ma Bao, am!

Snapped! ! !

To his surprise, instead of praise, he was met with Wu Sangui's whip. However, since Wu Sangui was his beloved general, he only lashed him on the shoulder.

"Foolish, Jian Shou is truly foolish! This is a feint by the Han army. Galdan couldn't have only intended to set a couple of fires after causing such a commotion!"

"By my decree, all soldiers of the Central Army Camp are to immediately return to their posts at the North Gate and guard it without fail!"

"Guards, prepare my armor!"

……

At this moment, the north gate was eerily quiet. Seeing that a thousand soldiers had left the nearby camp again, Jiang Muning immediately drew his sword.

"Brothers, we recognize those who wear headscarves, not those who are people!"

"kill!"

After Jiang Muning finished speaking, he was the first to rush out.

At this time, the troops stationed at the North Gate were the elite troops of Wu Sangui's central army camp. Even though two thousand had already left, there were still more than three thousand soldiers.

Even if Jiang Muning, who had no powerful connections, was a formidable fighter, he could only assist the garrison in defending the city and transporting equipment and supplies.

The adjutant stationed at the north gate clearly recognized Jiang Muning. Seeing him rushing in with so many troops, he arranged for his soldiers to stand guard and immediately shouted at them.

"Jiang Pai Gow, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Do you know that this is treason?!"

Upon seeing the garrison commander, Jiang Muning immediately wore a look of despair, for this man was none other than Ma Bao's deputy general, Gao Qilong, who was not only incredibly brave but also quite skilled in troop deployment.

With this man leading three thousand elite troops, even if he risked his life, he couldn't defeat him, so he immediately raised his right hand.

"Stop! Stop!"

"Stop!"