Hearing this, Zhao Qiang glanced at Yuan Shijie with a smile, took a few steps noncommittally, and suddenly turned around and asked Hubu Shangluo: "Master Luo, you used to be Hubu Lang, and now you are Hubu Shang. Tell me, this Beijing city
How many bannermen are there in the inner city?"
Luo Mang bowed slightly and said respectfully: "Replying to the Commander-in-Chief's words, there are as many as 240,000 bannermen in the inner city. []"
Zhao Qiang asked again: "How many men and women are there?"
"this…"
Luo lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said: "The lower officials only have records from the fifteenth year of Kangxi's reign, which record that there were 113,000 men of the Eight Banners living in the inner city, and the rest were women, old and young, women and children."
After a pause, he continued: "In recent years, there have been many changes in the Beijing flag. The specific number of people is ominous. People from Shuntian Prefecture have already logged in from door to door. I estimate that the number of people will not increase by more than 10,000. The exact number will be waited for by Shuntian Prefecture."
Only after reporting to the next official can we confirm." After saying this, he stood there uneasily, not daring to look Zhao Qiang in the eye.
Zhao Qiang said "hmm" and said lightly: "So, there are no fewer than 100,000 men of the Eight Banners in the inner city."
Luo hesitated for a moment, nodded and said, "Yes, that's roughly the number."
Yuan Shijie, Zhang Yu and other officials didn't know what Zhao Qiang's intention was, but they didn't dare to interrupt, so they had to make a sign of respect. They were all forced to do it now, but for the sake of their family and their own heads, they still had to do it.
They hope that the Guan Ning Army can gain a foothold in the capital. Therefore, considering the overall situation, they have to dissuade the massacre that is taking place outside the palace. Otherwise, if word of these atrocities spreads, the Guan Ning Army will surely gain a foothold.
, Manguan bannermen from all over the country will no longer follow the orders of the new king, and kings of Qin will emerge from all over the country. How will it end then?
Different from a group of pedantic officials and students in the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College, although Zhang Yu and the others were important ministers of the imperial court and were deeply favored by the "late emperor", they were not human beings. Those who understand current affairs are heroes. This is not just a saying, butcher's knife.
Under the circumstances, they still understand the principle of being wise and protecting themselves. Perhaps, it is said that they are holding a wait-and-see attitude, but they are in the Cao camp and their hearts are in the Han Dynasty.
Zhao Qiang doesn't care whether these officials are really willing to be loyal to him. He only knows that these people must be used at the moment, because they are all veterans in handling government affairs. The ones he brought to the capital are all rough and treacherous people. They can kill people and set fire to calm and govern the people.
There is no place for them to make decisions about the court, so they can only be used for now. But there are some things that they are not allowed to interfere with. Otherwise, they will not be used, but they will be used.
"The Eight Banners, horses serve as soldiers, and dismounted horses serve as civilians. Any adult male can serve as a soldier at any time. The Eight Banners began when Liaodong was founded. Therefore, in my eyes, the bannermen in this capital are not ordinary people.
It’s soldiers, a group of soldiers who haven’t bitten anyone yet!”
After a pause, Zhao Qiang's expression suddenly changed, he glanced at these officials coldly, and asked sternly: "My lords, you said that there are hundreds of thousands of Eight Banners under my nose, staring at me with eagerness. I am like this."
Can your heart be at peace?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the new minister of the Ministry of Industry, Wu Peizhong, the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, shouting excitedly: "The commander-in-chief said yes! How can we allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the collapse! This bannerman in Beijing is a soldier.
, they have never been kind people. If you give them a knife, they will kill! The commander-in-chief gave the order to massacre people well. These Eight Banners soldiers just want to kill them. If you don’t kill them, one day, they will be harmed by them!" After finishing speaking,
He stood there very excitedly, turning a blind eye to the glances from the people next to him, as calm as a mountain.
Wu Peizhong's statement made Yuan Shijie, Zhang Yu and the others curse in secret. They had said it well before they came. A group of Shang came together to ask for orders from Commander Guan Ningjun. But now he is changing the direction of the army. He is really a wallflower. He has no idea.
Very shameless.
The meaning of Zhao Qiang's words and the murderous intent revealed were so obvious that Yuan Shijie and the others did not know how to remonstrate.
However, Zhao Qiang said again: "Master Yuan asked me to follow Cao Cao's example and hold the emperor under his control to command the princes. Considering the overall situation, I took the emperor of Manchuria under his control. But I am not Cao Cao, and Xuantong is not the Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. I am clear about this."
Let me tell you, as long as I calm down, Emperor Xuantong will not be able to stay! Moreover, I have always been magnanimous in doing things, taking the emperor under his control, but I can't keep any of the emperor's wings! I think I have already
It's very clear. Sir, you should just run your own errands in peace and quiet. It's best not to worry about other things. Although I am easy to talk to, the tough guys under me are murderous. If you let
Whatever they heard, I can't protect you sirs." These words already contained an implicit threat.
"General, your army's military discipline has been corrupted. It burns, kills, loots, and commits no evil. How can we accomplish anything if we continue like this!"
Yuan Shijie was a little unwilling. He really didn't know what the commander Guan Ning in front of him was thinking. After conquering the capital, he should first consider how to gain a foothold and how to obtain the greatest benefits. How could he enter the city during the day and kill people at night? Even if he wanted to kill, he would pick up the enemy.
It's enough to kill the chief ones. The remaining ones can't rebel with swords and can't tell the news. As long as they are controlled, why do they need to commit murder and arouse the desire of all the bannermen to fight to the death?
It would also be detrimental to the reputation of Guan Ning's army. Who would be willing to submit to an army whose brutality is comparable to that of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty?
Zhao Qiang didn't want to hear Yuan Shijie's words, but he laughed and said: "It is said that my Guan Ning army has corrupted military discipline and burned, killed and looted. Have you ever seen it with your own eyes?"
"this…"
When all the officials heard this, they stared at each other. They had never seen Guan Ning's army killing people all over the city, because they were all under control now. Apart from the Yamen and the palace, they could not go anywhere, even to return home.
The family was not good either. They knew that Guan Ning's army was massacring the Manchus. They only knew it by listening to the cries all over the city and the "Order of Massacre of the Manchus", but they didn't see it with their own eyes. Therefore, they really didn't know how to reply to Zhao Qiang's question.
Seeing this, Zhao Qiang waved his hands and said with great dissatisfaction: "Our Guan Ning army is an upright Han army. The burning, killing and looting are all the slanderous words of the thief Man Nihu. My lords, please do not listen to the rumors. Please ask Ansheng from the Yamen of our headquarters to serve as a duty."
The commander has something important to do, so I won’t say any more to you." He was already very confident in his words. When he saw Yuan Shijie’s mouth moving, he waved his hands impatiently and shouted: "Come here, escort all the gentlemen back."
"Yes, handsome!"
At that moment, the guards rushed over and asked these officials: "Sir, please!"
Alas, Yuan Shijie sighed, glanced at Zhang Yu and the others, shook his head, and said helplessly: "Since the commander-in-chief insists on doing this, then I will leave first!"
"I'm sorry that my commander is busy with military affairs and cannot send him far away."
Zhao Qiang smiled slightly and turned around with his hands behind his hands. Yuan Shijie and the others had no choice but to go back to the Yamen respectively under the escort of the guards.