nycdaug Chapter 116 You'll be scared to death
Chapter 116 You'll be scared to death
"Major General Fukushima Yasumasa of the Imperial Japanese Army surrenders to your army! May I ask which army you are?" Fukushima Yasumasa's face flushed red, and he helplessly lowered his head again to hand over his command sword.
"We are the First Division of the Shandong New Army!" Shen Xiaohu reached out, took the command sword, and began to play with it.
Fukushima Yasumasa felt a pang of heartache; this was his family heirloom sword.
"Please treat our surrendered soldiers humanely!" said Yasumasa Fukushima, bowing deeply.
"Of course, we're not your Japanese army! Those who surrender voluntarily will be treated humanely!" Shen Xiaohu nodded. Those who didn't surrender voluntarily... well, there's nothing we can do, right?
The Eight-Nation Alliance paid a heavy price for their arrogance, and the battle went even more smoothly than Shen Lian had estimated.
In less than two hours, all the key points in the city fell into the hands of the new army. The command posts of most of the countries were wiped out.
The capital was too large; the more than 10,000 allied troops scattered across the city were practically invisible. The soldiers, engrossed in looting, were scattered everywhere, and even when allied officers later realized something was wrong and wanted to resist, they were unable to muster their troops.
At this point, the first strategic objective had been achieved. Following orders, the various units did not immediately launch a mopping-up operation. Instead, they continuously strengthened the defenses of key points, trapping the allied forces in various courtyards.
Before nightfall, the central axis from Yongdingmen to Wumen was cleared out.
“Father-in-law, let’s go into the city together!” Standing in front of Zhengyang Gate, Shen Lian smiled slightly and said to Nie Gongting.
"Alright!" Nie Gongting suppressed his excitement and mounted his horse. Escorted by hundreds of cavalrymen, he and Shen Lian entered the inner city.
A small number of civilians along the roadside watched this scene with mixed feelings. No one cheered or spoke; they just watched this unfamiliar army with fear in their hearts.
The horses' hooves clattered loudly on the Heavenly Street! Normally, no one would dare to ride a horse here, but now clearly no one dared to come out and criticize Shen Lian.
Shen Lian had no choice but to dismount before reaching the Meridian Gate. This was the inner palace; it was best to keep a low profile for now! Shen Lian secretly vowed that next time he came, he would ride straight to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Although the Forbidden City had been looted by the Japanese army, they did not station troops there for fear of negative repercussions. No fighting occurred there.
Looking at the dragon throne at the highest point of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Shen Lian suppressed the urge to go up and sit down, and turned around and retreated with Nie Gongting.
"Send troops to search all areas, in case any allied forces are hiding!" Shen Lian instructed his advisor beside him. Then he and his father-in-law withdrew from the Forbidden City.
"General, the generals of the Allied Forces have arrived." As Shen Liangan and his father-in-law entered the temporary command post, a soldier came to report.
"Oh! Then bring him in!" Shen Lian gestured for his father-in-law to sit down, and the two of them lit cigarettes.
Soon, a dozen or so foreigners and several translators were brought in!
"No matter who you are, you only managed to defeat us by luck this time. You will surely face a united attack from all the countries in the world!" A group of foreigners entered and saw Shen Lian and Nie Gongting sitting high on the platform. A tall foreigner shouted loudly.
"Who is he?" Shen Lian asked casually, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"This is General Edward Hobart Seymour," a thin, elderly translator introduced.
"You must be the famous Gong Banlun, right?" Shen Lian looked at the gaunt old man with great interest.
This guy is infamous, not for a good reason, but for a bad one. He was the one who led the way when the Anglo-French allied forces burned down the Old Summer Palace, and this time he was the one leading the way for the British army and acting as their translator.
When Gong Banlun saw that Shen Lian recognized him, his face turned pale instantly.
"What a pity! It's truly tragic that such a great man as Master Ding'an would have such a wicked son. The Gong family is doomed because of this!" Shen Lian couldn't help but shake his head. Even if Shen Lian didn't kill such a traitor, the Qing court wouldn't spare his family.
“Oh! Seymour, the former commander of the Allied Forces! I’ve heard of him!” Shen Lian nodded.
"Seymour, have you forgotten who you are? You are my prisoner now!" Shen Lian smiled faintly.
"Hmph! Our captivity is only temporary. When the armies of the British Empire and other nations press in, General, you will be a prisoner just like everyone else!" Seymour said, head held high.
"Is that so? Maybe! But before that, you guys should be the ones worrying!" Shen Lian grinned crookedly.
"According to our country's custom, military leaders like you would be presented as prisoners of war to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and then dragged to Caishikou to be executed by slow slicing."
"Do you know what 'death by a thousand cuts' means?" Shen Lian asked kindly.
"It's like cutting flesh off you alive, slice by slice. To prevent you from dying, there will be doctors to stop the bleeding. Then the torture continues, and they will cut you thousands of times until all the flesh is gone before they can kill you."
As Shen Lian spoke, he picked up a pen from the table and gestured as if making a cutting pattern.
"NO, no, you can't do this! This is too cruel!"
Shen Lian's words terrified the foreigners, and Seymour, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was so frightened that he almost collapsed.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Gong Banlun if Hong Tianguifu was executed in this way. He was just a child, and he died after being cut a little over a thousand times."
“With General Seymour’s stature, I estimate it would take at least three or four thousand cuts, and at least ten days to half a month to heal him!” Shen Lian said, looking Seymour up and down with great interest.
"No, General! Please stop!" Seymour was so scared he almost wet himself; he felt pain all over his body.
"Hmph! Trying to act tough with me? I'll scare you to death!" Shen Lian sneered inwardly.
“General, this war was originally caused by your country; we were merely acting in self-defense. Since we have been defeated, I suggest we resolve this through negotiations. Continuing to escalate the war will not benefit anyone,” a tall foreigner stepped forward, speaking with great effort.
"and who are you?"
"I am the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, Count Alfred von Waldze of the German Empire!"
"Oh! Count Waldersee, hello!" Shen Lian nodded.
"Look at this, this is true awareness! In fact, Germany is the real victim, since their envoy was indeed killed."
"And what about you? You're nothing but robbers taking advantage of the chaos, yet you dare to shout here!"
“Count Waldersee, I personally regret the death of your country’s envoy, Mr. Ketteler! I also have great respect for your country and even have trade relations with your country.”
"No matter the final outcome, I will definitely report to the court. I will try to spare the Earl from the punishment of slow slicing; at most, he will be beheaded!" Shen Lian said earnestly.
Waldersee; ...