Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 243 Qianlong: I like his wildness

Group sentiment is angered,
All the guards were stunned at first and felt incredible, and then cursed loudly. He swore to capture the gang of shavers alive after breaking into Hangzhou City.

Li Yu was stunned for a while, then waved his hands to indicate that everyone should focus on the overall situation.

This is just a small episode, not worth mentioning in the face of the upcoming war.

"I will take action against this evil trend in Hangzhou."

……

After a while, Miao Youlin, his wife and Wei Jun boarded the boat to pay their respects. In just half an hour, we hurriedly disembarked and went back to count our troops and prepare to go south.

It’s not a long journey from Tongxiang County to Hangzhou.

On the same day, we arrived and set up camp 5 miles outside Hangzhou. The scouts investigated and saw that the gates of Hangzhou City were closed and soldiers were densely packed.

That night, the Eight Banners cavalry garrisoned in Hangzhou left the city for a sneak attack but failed. Discovered by a secret sentinel, a gong was sounded as a warning, and the Li army held the camp and bombarded anyone who dared to approach with guns and cannons.

The purpose is to enhance their sense of self-ethnic group awareness and remember that they are bannermen and not to think of themselves as Hangzhou people.

Ruiming succeeded his predecessor and was appointed by Qianlong because of his wild nature.

With a fiery personality, a stubborn mind, a strong and brave man, and half illiterate, he and Jiangning General Chongdao are almost not of the same species.

I am especially worried about the customs, clothing, and diet being in line with Hangzhou.

……

No matter how long it is in history and how many people it brings together, it is not as important as raising horses. Why Su Shi and Bai Juyi built embankments, composed poems, and planted weeping willows here have nothing to do with Lao Tzu.

The water quality of West Lake looks a little green. It is said that the excrement of the war horses all over the city was discharged directly into the lake.

In the eyes of General Ruiming of Hangzhou, West Lake is just a small pond, what's so valuable about it?

After returning to Beijing, he issued an order requiring Hangzhou bannermen to return to their roots after falling leaves, and be buried outside the capital and customs after death.

……

The Eight Banners garrisoned in Hangzhou has 4000 troops.

The coking coal and iron materials brought by ships were piled up like mountains, and the flames kept burning all night long.

"Master Rui, what is this?"

In order to complete these tasks, everyone spent 4 days cutting down all the trees outside Hangzhou and demolishing some noble manors by the lake.

Of the 7500 Wanbei soldiers in the Chongming recruit training camp, two battalions were organized into the First Military Battalion, one battalion was organized into Liu Wu's navy Lu Yongzhi, and the remaining 6000 were organized into the Second Army Corps.

Instead, they surrounded the city of Hangzhou, dug out official roads, set up traps to resist horses, and built a total of 21 gun towers and barracks in various directions, each with 100 to 300 troops stationed.

Hangzhou General Ruiming watched helplessly as the Li Jiajun Navy occupied two small islands in the West Lake, one was called Pinghu Qiuyue and the other was called Xiaoyingzhou Island.

Early the next morning, four battalions of the Second Army were dispatched to sweep the surrounding areas.

Li Yu looked at the warships that continued to sail into the West Lake with a calm expression.

"My lord, will Wang Danwang regret it?"

Miao Youlin Department was responsible for 6 of them.

When the third southern tour arrived in Hangzhou,
Qianlong was very dissatisfied when he saw that the bannermen and Han people in the city were living happily together.

The Eight Banners Navy had limited strength, mainly patrolling ships, and was unable to intervene.

A camp was set up only 6 miles away from Mancheng, Hangzhou. Zhang Manku cast cannons here and set up a blast furnace on site to melt the iron.

He even wrote a poem: After a hundred years of garrisoning, the trend of invasion has gradually become more and more popular. Concerns about the assimilation of Banners and Hans were expressed.

Clean up all the Qing troops, government offices, villages and towns within a radius of 10 miles around Hangzhou City.

Among them, there are 1500 horsemen, 54 artillery pieces, 6000 shotguns, 1200 pairs of bows and arrows, 3000 war horses, countless swords, shields, spears, lime jars and fire oil jars.

Ruiming was born in the Irgenjueluo family outside the customs. His time in the customs was too short, so he was not assimilated.

More than 300 soldiers were temporarily under the command of Lao Zhang, and the scene was extremely busy.

Only two months passed between them leaving their hometown and setting foot in Chongming, graduating from the new military camp, landing in Zhapu by boat, and then rejoining the Guards Corps.

Wearing a helmet and armor, he led a team of Gesheha into the Zhejiang governor's office, shocking Wang Danwang.

Li Yu stood outside the handsome tent, looking at the gunfire that cut through the night, and it was a pleasure to watch.

The Second Legion is relatively unfamiliar with the Lord Li Yu!

In the attack on Hangzhou, the Second Corps composed of recruits from northern Anhui was the main force, and the Guards Corps held the battle.

According to the agreement, Wang Danwang would make a command error at a critical moment and "fall" in a reasonable manner, Mancheng was not one of them.

However, the cost of transporting the dead thousands of miles was too high and the Ministry of Revenue could not afford it, so it gave up after two years.

This time, Li Yu doesn't plan to follow Jiang Ning's example.

Ruiming is a typical flag officer,

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, I will be prepared."

……

……

"Thieves have gathered outside the city. I, the general, shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending the city. I am here to tell Mr. Wang that the main city belongs to you and the city belongs to me. In addition, I have sent troops to occupy the arsenal in the city. I will take the weapons and move them into the city."

"Master Rui, you can't move them all!"

Without saying a word, Ruiming kidnapped 500 green camp archers in the city. As the general of Hangzhou, he directly ordered them to move to Mancheng.

Inside the governor's yamen,
Attached is the report from Magistrate Guo with an angry face:

"Futai, soldiers all over the city are demolishing the Han people's houses near their city wall."

"what?"

"They said that they need to clear enough safe areas to prevent the Han people in the city from making subtle moves and threatening the city from behind. Futai, this is slander!"

Wang Danwang slammed the table angrily and cursed.

Soon, the news of the discord between the two spread, and the officials and subordinates in the city were worried.

Ruiming's selfishness and arrogance made everyone in the city dissatisfied.

However, it was just dissatisfaction, and no one could check him. The garrison general is not under the command of the local governor. This is the rule of the imperial court.

……

That night, return to the study.

Wang Danwang couldn't help but secretly rejoice that Ruiming's actions of not understanding the overall situation would to some extent absolve him of future guilt.

Although the future is uncertain, there is no choice but to take one step at a time.

Lao Wang's psychological quality is still very good, and he can still sleep soundly under such circumstances.

Until early in the morning, I was woken up by the servant through the window:

"Sir, something happened."

"The thieves are attacking the city?"

"No, hundreds of merchants and people from Hangzhou City came to complain, and soldiers all over the city robbed them of their money and their female relatives."

Wang Danwang Yi Gulu got up and dressed neatly.

When I came to the lobby and listened to the cries of a group of people below, I gradually understood.

At three o'clock last night, Qi Ding suddenly rushed out from Chengqian Gate, his actions were swift and precise.

They looted dozens of shops along the street, looted all the cash, cloth and silk, blocked both ends of the street, and broke into people's homes to rob people and women.

"My dear fellow villagers, I can only report this matter to the imperial court and wait for the emperor's decision. I have no control over the affairs of Mancheng."

As he spoke, he covered his face with his sleeves, pretending to be sad.

What else could the people say, they could only go back crying.

The entire city of Hangzhou has been turned into a battle fortress, not only guarding the outside of the city, but also guarding the inside.

Wang Danwang looked at the city full of enemies and said with a smile:

"The great monk of Lingyin Temple is still spiritual!"

……

Old Summer Palace,
Qianlong and a group of military ministers circulated the military report of Li Shiyao, the governor of Liangjiang.

"Li Shiyao is quite capable of holding on to Jiangning City despite the day and night attacks by the bandits."

"The Emperor's Holy Might."

"Agui sent back an urgent report from Hubei. The siege of Wuchang has been lifted, and Bailian's main force of more than 100,000 people has been defeated. They are chasing people north. Before the New Year, the rebellion of the religious bandits in Hubei can be basically put down."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, His Majesty."

A group of ministers behaved as if they were celebrating the New Year, and were so happy that they shed tears. When you are in a high position, you should parrot more and speak less with strong subjective consciousness.

The wind in Beijing is strong, and it is easy to fill your mouth with windy sand if you talk too much.

...Yu Minzhong has been very worried recently. Hundreds of members of his old Yu family are trapped in Jiangning. If there is such a possibility, he dare not even think about it.

He had already sent a secret message to his eldest son, Yu Yunhe, who was the acting judge in Jiangning, and tried every means to send his family members to Jiangbei.

No matter what method you use, you cannot stay in Jiangning.

Qianlong asked again:
"How are the preparations for Jiangbei Camp going?"

"Back to the emperor, the first batch of Green Camp soldiers who arrived were more than 6200 people. Among them, 2000 were from Shandong Green Camp, 800 were from Henan, 2300 were from Shaanxi, and the rest were from the local Green Camp in Jiangbei."

"Where are the military pay and ordnance?"

"Qian Feng, the chief envoy of Jiangsu Province, is doing his best to raise funds, and the salt merchants of Yangzhou are eager to help. There is no need to worry about it."

"Okay, okay, Qian Feng is serious about his work."

"Your Majesty, please ask the Court of Governors for an order to summon Tuxie Tuhan and the princes and ministers of Turgut to the capital."

"The Ministry of War asked the two armies to mobilize troops. Do the two Khan kings have any objections?"

"Back to the emperor, the two Khans did not shirk the responsibility six days ago. They both sent their confidants back to mobilize their troops."

"Well, that's very good. I will host a banquet for them in the Old Summer Palace the day after tomorrow."

"According to the order."

He Shen suddenly stood up and delivered another piece of good news:

"Guangdong Customs once again handed over 90 taels of tax money, and the Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank enthusiastically submitted 40 taels. All of them have entered Beijing."

Qianlong was in a good mood after hearing this:

"All the merchants of the Thirteenth Rank of Guangzhou are given a yellow mandarin jacket, and the sixth rank of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also given to wear it."

"I thank the Emperor for their kindness."

……

Qianlong felt that the emperor's feeling of having everything under control was back.

I was in a good mood and couldn't help but write three poems in a row.

The accompanying poet immediately recorded it, and after returning home, he carefully polished it and took out a few more copies. Then he presented it to the emperor for review and personally selected the ones he was satisfied with for inclusion in the poetry collection.

Within the palace walls, everyone firmly believed that the emperor was the first poet of the Qing Dynasty, and Qianlong himself believed so.

Because every time there is a great celebration in the palace, ministers are ordered to compose poems to cheer for the occasion.

The art and science are not very fluent, and the artistic conception is even worse. I often write three and a half sentences, but I can't hold back the last half of the sentence.

If Qianlong couldn't understand it, he would help to complete the half sentence. The ministers who made a fool of themselves were all flattered and deeply impressed.

Sometimes, Qianlong himself felt quite puzzled:

"Every year at the Qionglin Banquet, the new scholars write poems at a very high level. How come they have exhausted their talents after being an official for a long time?"

He even asked He Shen, expressing confusion.

How shrewd He Shen was, he immediately gave a reasonable explanation:
"The courtiers were busy with official duties and did not know how to maintain their health. They greeted and sent guests to and from each other. Over time, people lost their pursuit of literature and lost their aura."

Qianlong was enlightened:

"It's reasonable, very reasonable. I am diligent in maintaining my health. I never put down the scrolls in my spare time. I am very good at all the Tang poetry and Song lyrics. Therefore, my aura has not diminished, but has become more abundant."

After figuring out the reason, he would even take the initiative to guide the scholar Ji Yun in reading the poems.

Ji Yun was dumbfounded every time, and it took him a long time to understand.

He was very unhappy and scolded this official who only knew how to eat meat every day and was self-degenerate. He was not worthy of being his imperial minister.

……

At this time, Jinling City finally entered its final madness.

More than a thousand members of the Chamber of Commerce and their families were ready to run away.

More than 300 carriages were hired, and 200 servants and guards were hired. They drove out of Yifeng Gate with a dozen customs clearance documents.

The Green Camp general guarding Yifeng Gate was notified in advance and received a lot of help, so naturally he had no choice but to comply.

"How can this group of people leave?"

"Because people have a lot of money and the road is hard."

A group of green soldiers stood on the city wall grumbling and getting jealous.

Everyone knows that Jiangning City can no longer be defended. However, ordinary soldiers cannot leave, and there are supervisory teams at every city gate. I could only watch the mighty convoy of horse-drawn carriages heading towards Xiaguan Pier.

However, there are two key figures missing from this team.

Someone asked:

"President Gao and Master Niu, why didn't they leave the city together?"

Someone immediately answered and said:
"Master Niu is ill. He will leave on the next trip. He transferred the place to go out of the city to me for 3000 taels of silver. I feel so sorry for him."

"Be content. Jiangning City will be finished soon. In a few days, you won't be able to go to Jiangbei even if you pay 1 taels."

Someone else asked:

"What's going on with President Gao?"

"Lao Gao is really nothing. He left early last night and chartered a big boat. I'm afraid he's already eating Huaiyang cuisine in Yangzhou City."

……

The convoy traveled 5 miles, and the environment became increasingly desolate and remote.

Suddenly someone said:
"Lao Gao won't sell us, right?"

Everyone's hearts instantly sank, and they looked around anxiously.

Murphy's Law has worked once again.

A group of green soldiers emerged from the deserted beach by the river, holding steel knives and looking evil.

The leader of the team was Li Shiyao's master, who said harshly:
"Kill and leave no one alive. Share the money you get."

The Green Camp soldiers immediately became confident and rushed forward like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep.

The screams were endless and there were corpses everywhere.

Some knelt down to beg for mercy and were hacked to death. Some Sayazi ran for their lives and were caught up and hacked to death. Some hid in carriages and were dragged out and hacked to death. Regardless of age or gender, Big Ear was executed fairly.

On the river, there is a red single boat.

Liu Wu held up the telescope to see clearly and said with a smile:

"Come over and join in the fun and fire some guns."

The river beach was like Shura Hell, with corpses stretching for miles.

Li Yu borrowed the help of Li Shiyao to kill all these people. The huge amount of money they deposited into Tiancheng Yuan's bank account turned into his own military expenses.

This is a huge amount, which is temporarily stored in the underground bank of Tiancheng Yuan Jiangning Bank.

……

Broken window effect: The first time will be followed by countless times, making it easier and easier.

Now that Li Shiyao has taken the first step of being unfaithful, he will not be able to do anything else later.

Hu Xueyu once again made an appointment with the Master of the Governor's Mansion and told him clearly:
"Reduce the garrison at Shuiximen and Hanximen by half, lock the treasury in the city in advance, and prevent any malicious fires. Then Governor Li can escape from Taipingmen and board a boat to cross the river at Yanziji. Our army promises not to pursue. Otherwise, we will search the mountains and inspect them. Hai, if we don’t take Jiangning, we will take your head.”

"Don't worry, I hope this will be kept confidential in the future."

Both of them are masters and communicate very efficiently.

When the news reached Li Shiyao's ears, he felt very complicated.

A good intention betrayed the emperor.

Secondly, he became suspicious again, wondering whether Li Yu let him go on purpose. This made him even more suspicious of whether there was any blood relationship.

The torture made him haggard and thinner.

The old fox General Jiang Ning Chongdao didn't know if he had smelled some rumors, but he always stayed in the Governor's Mansion.

Moreover, he changed from his usual elegant wide robe with big sleeves and coarse cloth, giving him an appearance that he could easily disguise himself and run away at any time.

In order to save his own life, Li Shiyao adjusted the city defense force and reduced the number of green camp soldiers at Hanxi Gate to 200.

On the appointed day,
Lin Huaisheng of the First Legion built a large number of siege equipment in advance, especially four siege ladder trucks, which were close to the height of the city wall and slowly advanced under the cover of dense artillery.

"Commander Liu."

"My subordinate is here."

"We are breaking through Jiangning today. Your mountain infantry battalion will be the vanguard and we will use the ladder truck to capture the Hanxi Gate and open the city gate for the entire army. Go ahead."

……

(End of this chapter)