Chapter 418: Conquer Wuchang Again
By the end of May, the Red Army had dug trenches. The city of Wuchang had been out of food for a long time, and the Qing army was on the verge of collapse.

Oboi was worried and went out of the camp to inspect military affairs early in the morning. However, he saw starving people everywhere in the city, no smoke from cooking, and the soldiers were pale and thin, almost pale.

Two months ago, when the Qing army just entered Wuchang, Oboi “prepared for a rainy day” and sent soldiers to rob everywhere, asking residents for food from house to house.

This kind of organized robbery was most popular among ordinary soldiers. They took the opportunity to rummage through boxes and cabinets, and looted gold and silver. When they arrived at the homes of wealthy gentry, the Qing army tore down floors and ceilings, pushed down walls, and dug deep into the ground to get the “silver cache”.

Wuchang City did not produce any grain of its own, and usually relied on grain transported from Hanyang, Hankou, etc. After the external aid was cut off, the food collected by the Qing army was quickly exhausted.

By early May, the Qing army began to eat medicinal herbs, dried goods from the north and south, and even cooked leather products such as saddles, suitcases, and quivers. Birds, mice, and rats were almost completely captured. Many soldiers disobeyed orders and slaughtered war horses to fill their stomachs.

Wusheng Gate overlooks the Yangtze River to the north, with Crab Cape and Phoenix Mountain lying on both sides. There is a bridge outside the gate, called Desheng Bridge. Business and travel are thriving nearby. It was once the most prosperous commercial district in the north of Wuchang, but now it has been reduced to ashes.

This place is close to the Yangtze River and was originally a commercial port, supporting countless porters, porters, and boatmen. The Qing army indiscriminately set fire to the city. The coolies lost their livelihoods and joined the Red Army one after another, helping the Red Army’s navy to besiege Wuchang, making the Qing army miserable.

Climbing up to Wusheng Gate, we saw the Yangtze River roaring and the sails of boats upstream were as white as snow, but unfortunately they were all flying the Red Army flags. Looking downstream, Jiangxingzhou was clearly visible, but it had changed its flag to a red one and was occupied by the Red Army.

“Ah!” Banbulshan sighed and said, “Arjin is blocked in Yuezhou, Zakana is blocked in Jiujiang, and the Xiangyang defenders are unable to take care of themselves. General, our army has been surrounded, we must break out as soon as possible!”

Aobai’s beard trembled, and he no longer had the charm of the past. He tried to remain calm and said, “The Red Bandits have already dug their trenches, and we will suffer heavy casualties if we break out. The court knows that I am defending Wuchang, and they will certainly come to rescue me. Ebilun has already led his troops to Henan, and they will reach Wuchang within ten days.”

Wuchang was of vital importance. If it was lost, the Red Army would probably go down the river and attack Nanjing. If Nanjing was captured, the Yangtze River would no longer belong to the Qing court. For this reason, the Qing court assembled another 30,000 bannermen, commanded by Ebilun, and rushed to Wuchang overnight to reinforce.

Ebilun, a member of the Niuhulu clan, was a member of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, the grandson of Nurhaci, and the sixteenth son of Eyidu, one of the “Five Founding Ministers”. He was a brave and good fighter. In the second year of Longwu, he followed Shuncheng County Prince Lekedehun to suppress Li Chixin in Wuchang.

Arriving at a parapet, Aobai saw no soldiers. He frowned and strode into the wall.

I saw three soldiers surrounding an earthen stove. The iron pot was emitting a fragrant aroma. The lid of the pot was tilted, revealing a piece of meat and bone, which turned out to be a human foot!
Seeing Aobai, the three of them knelt down in panic, saying, “They deserve to die!”

Banbulshan kicked the iron pot away and cursed: “Eat less of this dirty stuff, or you’ll be poisoned to death!”

“Yes Yes Yes!”

Manchus were born in the bitter cold land of the northeast, and lived on fishing and hunting since childhood, and liked to eat meat. Now that food is scarce, soldiers killed people for food, and Oboi did not want to investigate them. However, according to his military order, a parapet should be guarded by eleven people, and now there are only three left, isn’t it a joke?
“Where is your leader?” asked Oboi.

“In reply to the general, the leader has led his men down to the city to look for food.” An old soldier said carefully, “We originally had eleven men, but three of them died after eating Guanyin soil, leaving eight men. The superiors only give us five kilograms of brown rice every day, and we are not full, so we have to look for food everywhere.”

Eight people were only given five kilograms of brown rice a day, which was not enough to fill their stomachs. You know, the ancients did not eat oily food, and their appetite was much larger than that of modern people.

Soldiers on the city walls had to resist the Red Army at any time, so they were allocated the most food. The defenders inside the city had even less, and as for the common people, they were completely ignored and became food for the soldiers.

“Is the Guanyin soil taken from the White Horse Temple in the south of the city?” asked Banbulshan.

“Exactly.”

The food in the city was exhausted, and the people spread a rumor that the Guanyin soil in the White Horse Temple could satisfy their hunger. The people rushed to get food, and the Qing army was also starving, so they rushed to the White Horse Temple to grab the Guanyin soil.

Banbulshan and Oboi looked at each other and ordered the lieutenant on the side, saying, “Pass the order to burn down the White Horse Temple and confiscate all the temple property.” The old soldier, regardless of his humble status, knelt in front of Oboi and said, “General, the White Horse Temple is an ancient site in Wuchang and is very effective. The people believe in it without a doubt. We must not burn down the temple and anger the gods!”

“Nonsense!” Oboi kicked the soldier away and left the parapet impatiently.

As soon as I got off the city wall, I saw a horrifying scene: a civilian was walking on the street when he was suddenly besieged by Manchu and Mongolian soldiers. The soldiers chopped off his hands and feet, cut open his abdomen and took out his heart and liver. In an instant, the civilian was killed, leaving only a bloody skeleton.

“Beast! Beast!” A group of Green Camp soldiers passed by and although they did not dare to stop them, they rushed to curse.

The bannermen are hungry, the green camp is alienated, and the people are upset. How can we fight this war?
“The situation is hopeless! The situation is hopeless!” Aobai muttered to himself, and said to Banbulshan beside him: “Prepare to break out.”

Before the Qing army could break out, the Red Army had already decided to storm Wuchang.

At noon on June 2, a muffled sound came from under the Wenchang Gate. The Red Army dug tunnels to attack the city, and buried tens of thousands of pounds of gunpowder under the Wenchang Gate. The Qing army burned houses outside the city, leaving rubble on the ground with no grass or trees, providing cover for the Red Army to dig tunnels.

More than ten thousand kilograms of granular black gunpowder produced an extremely powerful explosion, which directly threw a twenty-meter-long section of the city wall into the air, and then smashed it heavily to the ground.

Such a large gap in the city wall was beyond the Qing army’s expectations and their ability to fill it. They could only bring fire bombs, blowguns, gun cotton and other firearms and throw them into the gap.

The Red Army poured into the gap like a tide, carrying wooden boards on their shoulders and covered with wet quilts. Although the boards were crude, they were quite effective in preventing firearms.

The Qing army was short of ammunition and the remaining firearms were running out, so they had no choice but to rush into the gap and fight the Red Army hand-to-hand. The Qing army knew the situation was urgent, but they had been short of food for a long time and their soldiers were exhausted. They were no match for the Red Army and gradually lost the upper hand.

The Red Army entered the city. The Huben Town Military Police also entered the city, urging the soldiers to fight enthusiastically and reminding them from time to time:
“Don’t leave any Manchurian or Mongolian Tartar alive!”

“Kill the Tartars first, then occupy the government office!”

“Skin Aobai alive!”

“Robbers will be killed without mercy!”

……

The Military Police is a new branch of the military established during the military expansion last year. It is responsible for enforcing military law, maintaining military discipline, supervising military orders, and recording military exploits.

When the city was captured, it was inevitable that some soldiers would take the opportunity to grab the spoils. With the military police supervising the battle, the Red Army fought more enthusiastically and enforced strict military discipline.

Aobai, Li Guoying, Banbulshan and other Qing army generals knew that their crimes were unforgivable, so they retreated with their cronies to the general’s headquarters, the governor’s office, the governor’s office, etc., attempting to resist stubbornly.

The Green Camp and the local militias rushed to surrender, and most of the Han soldiers dropped their weapons, cut off their braids, and held red cloth to beg for mercy. The Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners had lost their fighting spirit and were divided and surrounded by the Red Army. Although they resisted fiercely, the Red Army was more eager to make contributions.

A few bannermen broke out of the city, but were blocked by the trenches, and almost no one escaped. By noon the next day, the Qing army’s offices were successively captured, Oboi committed suicide, and Li Guoying, Banbulshan and others were captured alive.

(End of this chapter)