novelAbuy Chapter 59 How could these Qing soldiers be so weak?
Chapter 59 How could these Qing soldiers be so weak?
Chapter 59 How could these Qing soldiers be so weak?
The Cossack cavalrymen who had just charged over looked at each other in bewilderment. When they first heard the commotion, they thought it was just some petty thieves who had come to the village again. But as they charged over, they realized that these people seemed to be the local government troops.
Although this was their first time seeing Qing soldiers, Rock had already described what they looked like to them before.
Moreover, in the Guandong region, apart from the Luo family army, which can achieve uniformity, the only other forces that can probably do this are government troops. Even if other bandits could do it, they wouldn't bother with such things.
To be honest, they initially thought the government army should be very powerful. After all, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and they were still a regular army!
But when the Cossack cavalry actually saw what these Green Standard Army soldiers looked like, they suddenly began to doubt their judgment.
Looking at these Qing soldiers, whose faces were withered and bodies thin, and whose cotton-padded clothes were very thin, they were really worried that a gust of wind could blow them away.
What kind of enemy can such a force possibly defeat?
I'm afraid that the bandits they encountered before, even with roughly the same number of soldiers, could easily defeat these Green Standard Army soldiers.
Just as the Cossack cavalrymen were busy sizing up the Green Standard Army soldiers, the Green Standard Army soldiers, while kneeling on the ground and kowtowing for mercy, also slightly raised their heads to carefully examine the cavalrymen.
Without a doubt, these are definitely foreign cavalry!
Neither their appearance nor their uniforms showed any resemblance to Han Chinese, and their fierce temperament and arrogance, consistent with other foreigners, were indistinguishable.
However, the Green Standard Army soldiers couldn't understand when these foreign devils had come here. What were they doing in the Guandong region?
Could it be that even after the imperial court ceded so much land in the north, the foreign devils are still not satisfied?
"Fellow villagers, do you know what these soldiers are here for?"
A Cossack cavalryman looked at the villagers who were gathered there watching the commotion and asked them a question.
The Qing soldiers kneeling on the ground were utterly shocked. Not only could this foreigner speak Chinese, but the villagers around him showed no fear whatsoever when they heard him ask questions. Instead, they greeted him as if he were their own neighbor.
"Hey buddy, we were wondering the same thing. These soldiers suddenly barged into the village and demanded food and wine from us, shouting and yelling. We didn't even have a chance to ask them a question!"
Wow, I never expected this foreigner to know how to win people's hearts!
The Qing soldiers kneeling on the ground were shocked to see the foreign cavalrymen getting along so well with the villagers. They had heard before that the Luo family army might have foreign support, but they didn't know that there was a group of foreigners in the Luo family army itself!
What they never expected was that these villagers could be so close to the fierce foreign cavalrymen. They had clearly been bought off by the foreigners without even realizing it and had betrayed the imperial court!
"Hey, you guys, what are you doing?"
Suddenly, the leading Cossack cavalryman shouted at the Qing soldiers kneeling on the ground, speaking very rudely.
However, when these Qing soldiers heard the foreigner's impolite tone, they breathed a sigh of relief and did not feel ashamed at all.
Isn't it normal for foreigners to be rude to you?
It would be abnormal if these foreigners suddenly became polite to people!
Since they're asking where they're from, it seems our lives should be safe for now. These guys shouldn't be so quick to pull out knives and attack.
"Gentlemen, we've come here to—"
Several Green Standard Army soldiers quickly explained the purpose of their visit. Upon hearing that these men were visiting the Luo family army on behalf of the imperial court and had brought with them an imperial edict from some high-ranking official, the Cossack cavalrymen nodded, each of them picking up a man and tying him to their horses, then carrying them back together.
After seeing the soldiers being taken away by the Cossacks, the villagers dispersed.
When the soldiers arrived, they were initially at a loss, since it seemed that these soldiers were there to cause trouble for the Luo family army.
On the one hand, they were indeed unwilling to clash with the officers and soldiers, because they knew that once they started fighting with these officers and soldiers, it would be tantamount to rebellion, and most of them were not psychologically prepared to rebel.
On the other hand, they were undoubtedly closer to Luo's army than to the officers and soldiers.
After all, these soldiers only cared about collecting taxes and nothing else. They were nothing like the Luo family army, which could help them guard a region and protect the peace of their villages.
Seeing these officers and soldiers being taken away by Luo's army, they breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they couldn't help but feel a sense of worry.
The Cossacks, who were running back, had no idea of the complex thoughts in the villagers' minds. They looked at the Green Standard Army soldiers lying behind them, each one like a helpless bride who had been tied up, with their faces full of grievances. They didn't know what to say.
"Damn it, is this what they call officers and soldiers? They don't look like a regular army at all!"
"Who knows? Their bodies have been ruined by opium addiction. They're all skin and bones. I could lift them up with one hand like they're rabbits. How can they possibly fight a war like that?"
The Cossack cavalrymen communicated with each other in Russian, their faces full of disdain. The reason they didn't communicate directly in Chinese was because they were worried about hurting the pride of these Green Standard Army soldiers and making things difficult for their commander later.
They didn't know how their commander would deal with these officers and soldiers. What if their commander had to cooperate with these people?
At this moment, the Qing soldiers, who were tied to the backs of the horses by the Cossack cavalry, dared not move at all. They listened in fear to the foreign devils chattering in their gibberish, but none of them could understand a word.
Damn it, these guys are real foreign devils, and the fiercest Rakshasa at that!
For these Qing soldiers who were stationed outside the city year-round, although they had heard of the infamous reputation of the Anglo-French allied forces, they really had no concrete idea of just how ferocious they were.
In contrast, neighboring Tsarist Russia was a behemoth that they could see as soon as they looked up. In particular, Tsarist Russia's pace of aggression never stopped, and Cossack cavalry would often come out to burn, kill, and plunder.
This is Liaodong, so the situation is relatively better. Most Cossack cavalry, even if they ventured deep into the region, wouldn't have to come all the way here.
If it were north of Heilongjiang, that area would have been a major disaster zone for the Russian invasion. Even if the government ceded territory and paid reparations, it still wouldn't have been enough to satisfy the appetites of those Russians!
The Qing soldiers couldn't understand what the Cossacks were saying, but it was precisely because they couldn't understand that they were even more afraid.
Who knows if these Cossacks are going to take them to see the leader of the Luo family army, or if they're going to find a place and just chop them up with a knife?
In this desolate wilderness, if you were to kill them with a single blow, you wouldn't even have to worry about disposing of the corpses. In the dead of winter, a bunch of starving wild animals would devour the freshly dead bodies in no time.
The thought that they might suffer a terrible fate, or even end up in the stomachs of tigers or bears, made them even more desperate, and some Qing soldiers even suddenly burst into tears.
Damn, once one Qing soldier started crying, the others were infected and began to cry too, and their cries grew louder and louder.
They had assumed that this mission would be as lucrative as before, since bandits generally wouldn't dare to do anything to them and would even have to treat them to good food and drink.
But to their utter surprise, they ended up dealing with fierce-looking foreigners!
If they had known that the Luo family army had foreigners, they would have preferred to feign illness rather than come. These days, dealing with foreigners never ends well!
"Shut up, all of you! What are you all crying about?"
"Look at the state of you all! Is this appropriate? Do you deserve the uniforms you wear?"
Annoyed by the crying of the group behind him, one of the Cossack cavalrymen turned around and cursed in Chinese.
He was also puzzled. Why were all the Manchu soldiers like this?
The Cossack cavalry's shout silenced the Qing soldiers who had been crying. Some even hiccuped as they forced themselves to hold back their sobs, making the scene even more comical.
As for whether it looks realistic or not, whether it's worthy of the skin they wear?
Please, they only receive three or four coins a month, not even enough to buy rice for themselves. How can you expect them to be worthy of you?
If it weren't for the fact that Green Standard Army soldiers couldn't just quit whenever they wanted, and that deserting without permission was tantamount to being a deserter, these guys would have disappeared long ago!
To put it bluntly, there is so much land outside the Great Wall, and there are plenty of places that can be cultivated. Even if they were to cultivate the land themselves, they could live a much better life than they do now!
After a long journey, the Qing soldiers were finally led by the Cossacks to the foot of Black Dragon Mountain.
Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar bandit stronghold above them, the Qing soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at how things had changed.
Just over six months ago, they came to Black Dragon Mountain to find the local bandits and reminded them to be more restrained when they were robbing other people's caravans and not to rob caravans that they shouldn't have.
Unexpectedly, more than half a year later, the bandits of Black Dragon Mountain had been wiped out, and the area had been occupied by Luo's army and these foreigners!
Looking at the large red banner with the character "Luo" in black characters hanging at the top of the mountain stronghold, the Qing soldiers couldn't help but feel a chill. Remembering the oral message Wanfu had given them, they began to tremble.
"Brother, this is bad! You said the Luo family army could even subdue and use foreigners, so why would they be willing to submit to our lord?"
"What if they hear our superiors' conditions and, in a fit of rage, chop us up?"