GBP Chapter 130 Bombarding Guangzhou
Chapter 130 Bombarding Guangzhou
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Before the cannons were fired outside the city, Prefect Yu Baocheng and Coastal Defense Commander Xu Ting were discussing the matter of going out of the city to meet the enemy in the prefectural government office. Xu Ting was not very enthusiastic about going out of the city to meet the enemy and declined, saying, "I am only responsible for coastal defense, and defending the city is not my job. Besides, I do not have enough troops under my command. The enemy has cannons and guns. We cannot afford to lose these troops. We cannot act rashly. It is better to hold the city and wait for the governor's orders."
"General Xu, rest assured, I will mobilize the able-bodied men in the city to help you. In addition, the garrison can also muster several thousand men. Surely more than ten thousand men can drive away such a small number of bandits?"
Xu Ting continued to evade the issue, inadvertently mentioning that the allocation of rations and pay had been insufficient in recent years, causing considerable discontent among the soldiers.
Yu Baocheng understood his meaning and said, "General Xu need not worry about the provisions. Although the official treasury is tight, the bandits have invaded Guangzhou, and the merchants in the city will naturally have to serve the court. We cannot let the soldiers fight the bandits on an empty stomach."
Upon hearing this, Xu Ting immediately said solemnly, "Since the bandits have invaded Guangzhou and there are no other troops available in the city, I naturally have no choice but to take responsibility."
Yu Baocheng's plan was driven by both public and private motives. With the enemy already at the city gates, the city's inhabitants would naturally contribute money and labor. Those without money would serve as laborers, while the wealthy would contribute money and provisions—he certainly wouldn't dare target the powerful and influential; the burden would fall on the powerless merchants. Xu Ting's forces were small; the cost of their deployment and accumulated back pay wouldn't exceed ten thousand taels. As for the able-bodied men, they were all temporary workers; a settlement allowance of one or two taels each would suffice. Even if they were injured or killed, only a token amount of compensation would be given, so the expenses wouldn't be significant. After deducting these expenses, the remainder would go into his own pocket.
Yu Baocheng was secretly pleased. This group of inexplicable thieves attacking Guangzhou had provided him with an excellent excuse to amass wealth. He glanced at Xu Ting, wondering if he should give him a share as well to keep him quiet.
Before he could think it through, a sudden explosion came from the direction of the south gate, like thunderclaps from the horizon, continuous and endless. The two jumped up simultaneously, Yu Baocheng exclaiming, "The city gate opened fire without orders?"
Xu Ting shook his head: "No, firing cannons wouldn't make such a big noise, and the sound would be inside the city."
Yu Baocheng was filled with doubt and sent people to find out what was going on.
Before the news could arrive, another series of explosions rang out. This time, both of them heard it clearly; it was indeed coming from inside the city.
The constable who had been gathering information returned and reported to Yu Baocheng in a panic: "The bandits fired cannons from outside the city, and the shells landed inside. They were all extra-large exploding shells that exploded upon landing, damaging countless houses and causing many casualties among the civilians..."
"Explosive shells! They can even hit inside the city? Have the city gates fallen?" Xu Ting pressed.
"No, that's not true. The bandits' cannons can fly over the city walls and fire directly into the city."
Yu Baocheng slumped into a chair, his mind blank, muttering repeatedly, "It's over, it's over..."
It was precisely because he feared the enemy would bombard Guangzhou that he forbade the defending troops to fire first. In his view, a few cannons posed no real threat to the thick, high city walls; the enemy was merely making a show of force. He believed that as long as troops were sent to disperse them, the political crisis of being driven straight down the Pearl River and besieging the city could be resolved. He never expected the enemy to have such capability, able to ignore the city walls and directly bombard the city with exploding shells. Now, regardless of how many people died or how many houses collapsed, his official position was in grave danger.
Xu Ting couldn't sit still any longer. The bandits were outside the city, so his responsibility wasn't great. But the bandits bombarded the city, and he was the only and highest-ranking military officer in the city. Now he couldn't escape the blame for failing to defend the city properly. If anyone was to be held accountable afterward, he and Prefect Yu would have to take the fall.
He hurriedly said to Yu Baocheng, "Prefect Yu, the only plan now is to send someone to negotiate with the bandits, use delaying tactics to buy time, and then gather able-bodied men and militia to organize troops to drive the bandits out of the city. If it goes smoothly, it might reduce our guilt."
Yu Baocheng regained his senses and nodded repeatedly: "That's exactly right." He quickly gathered his men and divided them into three groups. One group sent an urgent message to Zhaoqing, while the other recruited able-bodied men in the city and solicited donations from merchants. He also sent an advisor with a group of men out of the city to discuss matters with the bandits.
The bombardment was suspended after three rounds, not because of concerns about the cannon barrels overheating and exploding (the cannons, made of gray cast iron, could withstand higher firing rates), but because the ammunition was limited. Once all the ammunition was used up, they had to retreat and could not put enough pressure on Guangzhou City to achieve the desired effect.
After the shelling stopped, several people were lowered down from the city wall and waved in this direction to indicate that they had no ill intentions. Seeing that there was no intention to fire, they slowly walked over. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.
This man was Yu Baocheng's advisor, named He Chengzong. Because of his eloquence, he was sent out to mediate. He witnessed the devastation after the explosion in the city and, filled with fear, cautiously made his way to the guard's camp.
Liu Ye met with him and asked directly, "Who sent you? What brings you here?"
He Chengzong replied cautiously, "I am a retainer of the Prefect of Guangzhou. I have been sent by the Prefect to discuss matters with you."
"What are we discussing? What can a mere prefect like him promise? And what about Wang Zunde?"
"The governor is far away in Zhaoqing, and there is no governor in Guangdong. The governor is in charge of the affairs... Therefore, apart from the three departments, the only person in charge in the city for the time being is the prefect.
Liu Ye then realized that the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was not stationed in Guangzhou. He was sweating bullets, realizing he had made a huge blunder and that the real governor-general was not in the city. However, now that he was here, there was no reason for him to turn back so easily.
"Tell your prefect that if he can't make the decision, he should consult Wang Zunde. My demands are simple: First, withdraw your troops and return the army to Qiongzhou, and promise never to commit the same offense again. You have no choice but to agree to this, since He Rubin's army has already been decimated by me, suffering more than half its losses. In addition, the Humen Forts have been destroyed by me and must not be rebuilt in the future; second, restore my shops in Hangzhou and Guangzhou, and you must not touch a single hair on them in the future; third, compensate me for the corresponding losses, 100,000 taels of silver!"
He Chengzong nodded and agreed vaguely, then returned to the city to inform his master.
"One hundred thousand taels of silver? Absolutely impossible!" Yu Baocheng slammed his fist on the table; this was an outrageous demand. If the other party's conditions were not difficult to meet, he didn't want to resort to force; it would be best if they could leave on their own.
He Chengzong reminded him, "Prefect, these bandits claim to have crippled over 10,000 of your troops. Those were all elite soldiers from Guangdong."
Yu Baocheng sat down: "What do you mean?"
"How could a hastily assembled rabble possibly drive away a force capable of defeating ten or twenty thousand elite soldiers?"
"Perhaps the bandits were just exaggerating?" Yu Baocheng still didn't quite believe it, or was unwilling to accept the fact that the army had been defeated.