When Liu Heming exchanged cannon fire with Agui and Fu Huan, Zhu Jinsong, the arch-rebel, was contemplating how to construct a Jingguan.
As is widely known, structures like the Jingguan, to some extent, can suppress national destiny, thus requiring extremely high standards for their construction methods and materials. Ordinary artisans or common materials simply cannot meet the building demands of a Jingguan.
For Zhu Jinsong, the matter of artisans needed for constructing the Jingguan was easily resolved, as he had over ten thousand at his disposal. The sole problem was the lack of sufficient building materials.
Therefore, after Agui and Fu Huan had engaged in a prolonged exchange of artillery fire with Liu Heming and entered a halftime break lasting over an hour, Zhu Jinsong led several hundred cavalrymen towards the Tatar troops led by Agui and Fu Huan.
Following the usual tactic, they first fired their flintlock guns. Whether they hit or not was irrelevant. After firing, they slung their flintlocks onto their horses and then drew their sabers, using the momentum to slash down as they neared the materials for the Jingguan.
Agui and Fu Huan were initially enraged by this audacious act of several hundred cavalry charging at their Qing army of over twenty thousand. They then dispatched their ten thousand cavalry.
Agui and Fu Huan were confident. After the desertions from the Green Standard Army in the past few days, they were left with only about twenty thousand men: ten thousand cavalry, eight thousand infantry, and three thousand laborers. Following Agui and Fu Huan's re-education of the last ten thousand eight hundred Manchu Bannermen cavalry, these Bannermen soldiers had indeed ignited a spirit of either victory or death on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, despite these ten thousand cavalry charging with the mindset of either winning or dying on the battlefield, and having repeatedly prayed for protection from the old boar-skin ancestor, when these ten thousand cavalry began their charge on horseback, the warhorses beneath them began to defecate uncontrollably.
Even more disastrously, not only did the warhorses start defecating, but the armored cavalrymen themselves also began to suffer from diarrhea.
While the simultaneous diarrhea of men and horses might be insignificant in normal times, even during Emperor Qianlong's inspections of Manchu banner archery skills in the capital, it becomes a fatal issue when it occurs just before an engagement.
When warhorses defecate and cannot run, and men defecate and cannot wield their sabers, the accompanying smell is secondary; the critical point is that their lives are at risk.
Of course, the simultaneous defecation of the Manchu cavalry and warhorses also presented significant trouble for Zhu Jinsong, the arch-rebel. Zhu Jinsong had not anticipated the severity of the odor, so he could only press forward with his men while suppressing the urge to vomit.
What was even more infuriating was that there were ten thousand Manchu cavalry suffering from simultaneous diarrhea. With these ten thousand men and ten thousand warhorses all weakened by diarrhea, and Zhu Jinsong only having five to six hundred cavalrymen...
In any case, it caused considerable trouble for Zhu Jinsong, even leading to a momentary halt in the charge. Some cavalrymen were even vomiting while slashing, making the battlefield's aroma even more pungent and unpleasant.
Fortunately, as Zhu Jinsong's forces began their charge, Liu Heming, on the east bank of the Xiaofu River, also dispatched his men to charge, intending to sandwich Agui and Fu Huan from both the east and west.
The original Xiaofu Bridge had been destroyed, making crossing the river a problem?
No, no, no. Crossing the river might be a problem for the Qing army, but for Liu Heming, who was well-prepared, it was not even a fart.
First, they pushed the pre-prepared small boats into the water, then laid down the pre-prepared wooden planks on the boats, thus forming a temporary pontoon bridge.
Crossing to fight? Easy!
When this situation arose, Agui and Fu Huan had also noticed something amiss early on. However, by the time they reacted and ordered the artillery units among the Manchu infantry to fire at the enemy, the soldiers in the artillery units also began to suffer from diarrhea.
Good heavens, approximately twenty thousand men suffering from simultaneous diarrhea – the scene aside, the smell alone was life-threatening.
At this point, Agui and Fu Huan finally understood.
Fu Huan drew his saber, placed it at his throat, and looked at Agui, saying, "With the battle lost to this extent today, neither of us can account for ourselves to His Majesty. Rather than be captured and humiliated, wouldn't it be better to die?"
Agui shook his head and asked, "It's simple for you and me to die, but what about our families? You, Fu Huan Grand Academician, are in a better position, after all, your surname is Fucha. Even if you cause great trouble, His Majesty, out of consideration for the late Empress Chun, will not do anything to you."
"But I am different from you. Your surname is Fucha, mine is Zhangjia. Even though I was elevated to the Upper Three Banners, I know in my heart that the esteemed gentlemen of the Upper Three Banners do not regard me, a bondservant from the Lower Five Banners, as anything. Even Heshen, the Zhongtang, who also hails from the Lower Five Banners, looks down on me."
"Therefore, we cannot die, especially I, I still..."
Before Agui could finish speaking, Fu Huan pointed his saber at Agui and shouted, "Do you want to surrender?"
Agui paid no mind and merely chuckled, saying, "Grand Academician Fu Huan, can you listen to me finish before deciding whether to kill me?"
Fu Huan let out a cold snort, stared intently at Agui, and shouted, "Good! Speak!"
Agui chuckled again and said, "Let me put it this way: neither of us will surrender, nor do we need to surrender. Think of Ming Xing, and then think of me. Both of us have been defeated by Zhu the Rebel, yet we are still alive, aren't we?"
"The reason we are still alive is not because we had long surrendered to Zhu the Rebel, but because that Zhu the Rebel was arrogant and regarded me, the Imperial Commissioner, and Ming Xing, the Governor of Shandong, as mere supply captains."
"According to Zhu the Rebel, our repeated suppression efforts were merely to transport supplies for him."
"So, it should be the same this time. He will not kill us, but will only humiliate us severely, and then release us, so that we can transport more supplies for him."
Fu Huan was stunned again and asked, "Why didn't you ever mention this?"
Agui retorted with a cold laugh, "What, is such a thing glorious? Do I have to publicize this matter? Besides, even if Zhu the Rebel does not release us this time, we can still choose to die rather than surrender after being captured. If you wish to be loyal to His Majesty, you don't need to die now."
After saying this, Agui did not say anything further to Fu Huan. Instead, he sat down on the ground.
As the old saying goes, even the smallest ant desires to live. Now that there was a chance to live, who would want to die immediately?
Fu Huan threw his saber to the ground and, like Agui, sat down with a sigh, saying, "If we go back this time..."
Upon hearing Fu Huan's words, Agui, who had just closed his eyes, suddenly opened them and said through gritted teeth, "If we manage to return alive this time, then this matter certainly cannot be let go."
"Now we are left with only eighteen thousand Manchu Bannermen cavalry and a few thousand laborers. As for the Bannermen cavalry, I don't need to say anything more; they are our own people. They would never poison their own food. Do I need to say more about the rest?"
Indeed, Agui did not need to say more, as Fu Huan had already realized the reason behind it.
The only explanation for over ten thousand people suffering from simultaneous diarrhea was that the food had been poisoned. And whoever could poison the food must be among those laborers.
Could there be secret agents of Zhu the Rebel among these thousands of laborers? Such an absurd notion, who could believe it?
Thinking of this, Fu Huan couldn't help but sigh, "Who in the world isn't a rebel! If we can return alive, I must find a way to lead troops again. This time, whether it's cavalry, infantry, artillery, or laborers, we will use Manchu banner descendants."
Agui softly hummed in agreement and closed his eyes again to rest.
Firstly, whether they could return alive was still uncertain. Secondly, even if they returned alive, he, as the Imperial Commissioner, would surely not be in a good position. Even if he used up all his accumulated wealth over the years, it would at most secure his family.
As for his own life, it would ultimately depend on His Majesty's will. If His Majesty did not wish to kill him, even if everyone in the world thought he deserved to die, he could still live a carefree and comfortable life. If His Majesty wished to kill him...
Thinking of this, Agui couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly.
However, just as he finished sighing, Agui felt his stomach start to ache. Just as he was pondering what to do, he saw Fu Huan beside him had already stood up, stripped off his clothes, and began to defecate.
...
"Ugh~!"
"Ga~!"
The scene of eighteen thousand men and horses simultaneously suffering from diarrhea was too spectacular, and the smell too pungent. Even the soldiers of the First Division of Menglianggu could not help but vomit.
Before enlisting in the First Division of Menglianggu, these soldiers were all thorough farmers. They had cleaned their own cesspits many times over the years, and sometimes they had to clean pigsties for the landlords. Their tolerance for bad smells was already quite strong. Yet, after rounding up the Tatar officers and soldiers, they all vomited profusely. Even Liu Heming, the Commander of the First Division, could not hold back.
Liu Heming felt that he should use senna beans less in the future, otherwise, he would eventually die from the stench.
Similarly, Zhu Jinsong, the arch-rebel, could not hold back either. While he was wielding his saber and fighting, it was somewhat bearable, as the act of fighting would subconsciously make one overlook the smell, allowing for some tolerance. However, after the fighting was over, the smell was simply unbearable.
After also vomiting profusely, Zhu Jinsong quickly led the soldiers of Menglianggu to retreat from the battlefield. As for the captured Tatar officers and soldiers like Agui and Fu Huan, they were also taken to a ventilated area.
Zhu Jinsong had no good antidote for substances like senna beans. The only thing he could do was to take them to a more ventilated place and wait for the effects of the senna beans to naturally dissipate.
Of course, the reason for moving all these Tatar officers and soldiers away from the battlefield was not due to Zhu Jinsong's benevolence. It was because those few thousand laborers were mixed in with the more than ten thousand Jingguan building materials, and there were also members of the Tiandihui among them. Zhu Jinsong would not stand by and watch them suffer the same fate.
It took more than half a day for these Tatar officers and soldiers to gradually recover. Agui and Fu Huan, the two Tatar Qing Grand Academicians, were brought before Zhu Jinsong.
At this moment, Agui still believed that Zhu Jinsong would release him. Therefore, upon seeing Zhu Jinsong, Agui let out a cold snort and spoke first, "Falling into your hands today, I, this Imperial Commissioner, have nothing more to say."