Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 480 Qianlong wants to follow the example of Emperor Suzong of the old Tang Dynasty~
That night,

Meet up with the Lin brothers.

As soon as the secret room door was closed.

He Lin asked anxiously:

"Brother, I was almost scared to death today in the court. What do you think of the words you taught me?"

"I have been in the presence of the emperor for a long time and I understand the old man's thoughts. If you try to understand the emperor's intentions and take a gamble, you will be able to go further in the future."

"What does delegating power to the southwestern provinces have to do with me?"

He Shen smiled.

While picking up the wick, he whispered:

"Even if the imperial court agrees to allow the Han people in the southwestern provinces to raise their own military pay and build their own armies, they will plant some nails in advance. I want you to go to Sichuan to be the nail and seize the military power."

"Sichuan?"

"Yes. Huguang is definitely not an option, it's more likely to be dangerous than good. Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi are too poor, it's hard to develop there, and with Ah Gui in charge, you won't be able to make the decision. After thinking it over, Bashu is the best."

……

"Brother, now that things have come to this, I also want to ask you a truthful question. What do you think the imperial court's chances of winning are?"

"6%."

"Have it?"

"Yes~"

"Even if the Wu Rebellion is quelled, it will be like the An-Shi Rebellion, with various local warlords fighting for power."

He Shen smiled triumphantly:
"So, here's your chance."

"You have made Sichuan's business so difficult that no one can get in. In the future, we two brothers will be one civil and one military, one inside and one outside. This is called the Qing Dynasty and the family party."

He Lin widened her eyes in surprise.

I didn't expect that my eldest brother would be so ambitious?
but,

Heshen only wanted to be a powerful official.

He believed that the Qing Dynasty would repeat the past of the Tang Dynasty.

Decades later,

The imperial court had to work hard to suppress the Wu rebellion, but from then on it was severely damaged and could never recover. In the days to come, it had to survive alongside the cancer of the feudal lords.

It cannot be removed. If the tumor is removed, the host will die.

In this case,

I cannot be satisfied with being a favorite in the inner court.

The He family also needs to occupy a vassal state, and step on both the central government and the local areas, to ensure that its position is as solid as Mount Tai.

……

"I've been away from Beijing for too long. Is there anything new happening in Beijing recently?"

"Rice is expensive, tea is expensive, everything is expensive, the flags in Beijing are complaining. By the way, many people in Beijing are starting to think about moving their property back to their hometowns outside the Great Wall."

"What is Prince Jia doing?"

"Seizing power. He instigated the Censorate to impeach and remove the Nine Gates Governor, and replaced him with a retainer from the royal palace. He also changed many of the heads of various departments."

"Prince Jia's every move is under the control of the Emperor. He can't make any waves. By the way, where is that cunning Old Yu?"

"Old Master Yu is still the same, kowtows and bows every day and pretends to be deaf and dumb, but Prince Jia has a good impression of him and often summons him to the palace to seek advice. They can chat for half an hour at a time."

He Shen sighed deeply.

Said:

"The rain is coming and the wind is blowing all over the building."

"The world is really going to be in chaos."

……

At last,
He Lin couldn't help but ask:
"Brother, why are you so confident in the imperial court? Is it because Zhu Yuanzhang was the only one in history who won a war from south to north?"

"Yes, but there are other reasons as well."

"what?"

"Foundation. Our Great Qing has been defeated frequently since we were outside the Great Wall. After so many defeats, everyone from top to bottom has gotten used to it. But the Wu Kingdom has never been defeated. Don't underestimate this difference. Our Great Qing can handle things, but the Wu Kingdom may not be able to handle things~"

He Lin nodded seriously.

He seemed to understand a little bit.

The defeat of the Three Feudatories, the defeat of the Hetongbai Campaign, the defeat of the Burmese Expedition, the defeat of Jinchuan, and now the total defeat of the South~
The Qing Dynasty fought again and again after repeated defeats!
But none of those former glorious rivals had the last laugh. The Qing Dynasty was really strong enough to hold its own.
He Shen slowly uttered two words:
"toughness!"

"Look through the history books and you will understand. Our Qing Dynasty is the dynasty that is best at absorbing experience and correcting mistakes, no one else!"

……

This time,
Qianlong, who was always decisive in killing people, was unusually hesitant in making up his mind.

Take this step forward.

If we imitate the An-Shi Rebellion of the old Tang Dynasty, the cost will be very high.

In irritation,

Qianlong found the New Book of Tang.

"~Emperor Suzong borrowed troops to recapture Chang'an and promised that on the day of the city's capture, the land and commoners would return to the Tang, and the gold, silk, and women would all return to the Huihe."

Seeing this passage,

Qianlong's first reaction was not shame, but a crazy idea.

Great Qing, do you have any troops that can be borrowed?

now,

The Wu army completely seized the initiative on the battlefield, mobilizing troops and supplies at will, and attacking wherever they wanted.

if,

With the addition of foreign troops like the Huihe, the situation of the war would probably be different, right?
Western Mongolia? Rakshasa Cossacks? Red-haired barbarians? French barbarians?
Neither works well.

A flash of inspiration,
Qianlong trembled with excitement.

He thought of a perfect choice - Southwestern toast!
……

The eighth day of September,

The Wu army's light cavalry corps and two guest regiments captured Liling County, Changsha Prefecture.

Afterwards, he led his troops north.

The city of Changsha was shocked three times in one day.

Xiaowu Gate is a city gate on the east side of Changsha City.

at this time,

A fierce argument broke out between Governor Sun Shiyi and Minister of Militia Zeng Di.

"Governor, the militia is short of food and firearms. With the enemy at hand, there is no time to lose."

"I can only give priority to protecting Changsha's 3 Green Camp soldiers~"

"Changsha Arsenal clearly has extra muskets, why does the governor think that people like me from Hunan are fools?"

"you!"

"Mr. Sun, the walls of Changsha have not been repaired since the Three Feudatories Rebellion. The walls are low and the city is dilapidated. The elite cavalry of the Wu bandits has arrived outside the city, and you are still guarding against our Xiang militia? What is your intention?"

Sun Shiyi sneered:
"The local militia is a motley crowd. How can we expect them to defend the city? It would be better to just open the city gates and hand it over to us."

……

Zeng Di retired as the head of the Ministry of Works. His official rank was not high, but he was quite domineering.

because,

The Zeng family was a prominent family in Yuanzhou, and had intermarriage with the chieftains of western Hunan.

Zeng Di suddenly laughed and said:

"I understand. You, Sun Shiyi, are from Hangzhou, Jiangsu. You and Li Ni are definitely from the same hometown! Are you trying to take Changsha City to your hometown to seek credit?"

"You're talking nonsense. Hangzhou is undoubtedly the only provincial capital in Zhejiang!"

Sun Shiyi also exploded.

The two men rushed together and started punching and kicking each other.

The red tasseled hat fell to the ground and rolled away.

The people around were stunned and then drew their swords.

It seemed that even before the Wu army could enter the city, fighting and internal strife would break out inside the city.

……

Sun Shiyi was obviously no match for Zeng Di.

Although both of them are not young, in their early 50s and under 60s.

But Zeng Di was obviously fierce.

It makes people wonder whether he took the exam for the civil or military title.

Anyway,

Sun Shiyi's nose was bleeding from the beating from Lao Quan.

A relatively calm general tried to pull the two men apart, but was hit by Zeng Di's punch and quietly dodged, covering his eyes.

He has dark eyes.
Stop people around:
"Stand back, the adults are fighting, why are you waiting for the soldiers to interfere?"

The armed guards on both sides breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, it's very difficult.

……

Zeng Di rode on Sun Shiyi and beat him violently with arrows from both sides.

suddenly,

Someone is running along the city wall~
Shout:

"The court has issued an order."

Sun and Zeng, who were fighting, quietly let go and took advantage of the situation to get off the ground.
Kneel down and listen to your orders.

"Order Hunan Governor Sun Shiyi to be transferred to Sichuan Governor effective immediately. Leave immediately on the day the decree arrives without delay."

"Zeng Di, the former head of the Ministry of Works and the current Hunan militia minister, is loyal to the country, has a good character, and is quite insightful. He is given the title of Hunan Provincial Governor and temporarily acts as Hunan Governor. From now on, all taxes and grain from Hunan will be retained in the local area, and Zeng Di can make all matters on his own."

The two looked at each other,
An expression of surprise overflowed.

Then they all kowtowed to express their gratitude.

"Your servants Sun Shiyi and Zeng Di thank the Lord for His great grace."

……

The atmosphere was awkward.

Finally, it was the rude Zeng Di who broke the awkwardness and took Sun Shiyi's arm:

"Congratulations, Brother Sun. Congratulations, Brother Sun."

"Young people should not go to Sichuan, and old people should not leave Sichuan. Brother Sun is old, and it is just the right age to go to Sichuan. By the way, before you leave Changsha, I must prepare a table for you. Let's go downstairs."

Sun Shiyi still had a cold face.
He couldn't understand how there could be such a shameless person in the world!
At the banquet,
He drank three cups reluctantly, and felt pain in his ribs.
On the one hand, it’s because that’s his nature, a scholar in appearance but a warrior in heart.

On the other hand, he had 3000 chieftain soldiers in his militia.

……

Anyway,

Zeng Di sent Sun Shiyi across the Xiangjiang River like throwing away garbage.

The official ship sailed away,

Looking at the gradually blurred Yuelu Mountain.

Sun Shiyi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Cursed:

"Bandits from western Hunan."

but,

Zeng Di couldn't hear it, as he was eager to implement his plan to destroy Changsha.

First thing,

They took down the plaque of Xiaowumen and smashed it to pieces.

Then open the arsenal,

Let each of his militiamen have a musket. If there are not enough, transfer them from the Green Camp.

……

Zeng had many descendants.

Excluding those who died young, there were 11 brothers who survived.

Zeng Di called his brothers over:

"Fifth brother, you personally supervise the packing and transportation of all the silver from the Changsha Armory and the foreign warehouse."

"Brother, where should we transport it back to?"

"Of course, we will ship it back to our hometown."

"Whoo."

Zeng Di thought for a moment and then instructed:
"There are many beautiful women in Hunan. We are going to collect 2000 of them and take them away."

"what?"

"Hurry up, hurry up. If you're late, it will benefit Wu the thief."

"Whoo."

……

Zeng Di is rough, but not stupid.

He inspected Changsha’s defenses again as governor.

Shaking my head and sighing all the way~
As the head of the Ministry of Works, he was no stranger to building city walls.

With the incomplete city defense in front of them, they thought it was nonsense to think they could withstand the sharp guns and cannons of Wu thieves.

He opened the telescope and looked around, and occasionally saw patrolling cavalry of the Wu army passing by. The main force was camped 6 miles away.

on the city wall,
A fierce general came hurriedly, his armor clanging.

"Brother, the Wu bandit army has been here for 5 days, why haven't you attacked yet?"

"I sent people to investigate. The Wu bandits sent not many soldiers, at most 1. They should still be waiting for reinforcements~"

"Reinforcements from Jiangxi?"

Zeng Di shook his head.

Pointing to the rushing water of Xiangjiang River.

"If Hubei can't hold on, we will be next. According to the official document of the Ministry of War, the main force of the Wu bandits should be in Hubei, but we cannot rule out the possibility of troops coming from Jiangxi."

……

The Xiangjiang River,

Busy all day long.

Acting Governor Zeng ordered the six largest-caliber heavy artillery pieces in the city to be unloaded and shipped to Yuelu Mountain across the river.

This move,

Discovered by Wu army scouts.

then,

Wu Simai, the commander of the Light Cavalry Corps, decided to launch an attack in order not to let Wu Ting's assets be lost in vain.

Simultaneously,

Send people to urge the north to speed up the process.

Quickly end the main battle in Hubei and send reinforcements south.

otherwise,
The military forces I have are really limited. I can't let the cavalry attack the city, right?
……

To the sound of golden drums,

The two infantry regiments composed of Hakka recruits quietly formed their battle formations.

The walls of Changsha are in ruins.

Since the Qing government put down the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, it has not allocated money for repairs.

This has to do with the Qing court’s military philosophy.

Hunan is located inland, not on the coast or on the border.

At best, the chieftain tribes in the mountains of western Hunan were dissatisfied with the government's tax collection, so they spontaneously went down the mountain to cut off some heads and capture some children.

Scabies
The Qing government had been carrying out the policy of transforming the natives into officials, taking drastic measures and using both kindness and force.

In the first half of the Qianlong reign,
The southwestern chieftains were very obedient in front of the imperial court.

Therefore,
Compared with the solid and tall city defenses of coastal provincial capitals such as Guangzhou and Fuzhou, Changsha’s city walls are simply a mess.

……

The Light Cavalry Corps had no artillery.

The two guest groups also lacked heavy artillery due to their location.

When Wu Simai sent troops from Pingxiang, he temporarily borrowed 20 cannons.

Therefore,
Zeng Di’s judgment was correct. The Wu army was delaying the attack on the city because they were waiting for reinforcements.

There are not enough troops and artillery.

When attacking a city, you cannot attack from all directions, you can only break through a single point and focus on the attack.

In the past few days, the service battalion has rushed to produce more than 100 ladders, 6 trench vehicles, and 2 lookout vehicles.

……

The horn sounded~
Changsha City Head,

Zeng Di was dressed neatly and looked at the square formation of red and black military uniforms marching in an orderly manner towards him in the distance.

"Each soldier defending the city will be given 5 taels at first, and if they win, they will be given 10 taels."

"We are now recruiting a death squad to leave the city. Each person will be given 50 taels first, and those who come back alive will be given another 100 taels."

The reward is so high.

As a result, there were many applicants.

The barefoot and shirtless soldiers had short swords on their waists, muskets on their shoulders, and excited expressions.

quickly,

A group of 800 crazy people were gathered together.

……

Throughout the dynasties, wars have always cost money.

This was especially true during the Qing Dynasty!
This has to do with the starting model.

The essence of the Qing army was an armed robbery group.

If they don't get enough benefits, the gang will disband immediately.

From its rise in Liaodong to the founding of the country more than a hundred years ago, the Qing army has never been able to get rid of the background, or genes, of an armed robbery group.

The background of Wu’s army is the armed forces of the merchant corps.

So did the Saxon Royal Navy.

……

Compared with armed robbery groups, merchant groups are more expensive to arm.

Generally speaking,
The merchant corps' armed forces were very powerful because of their clear goals, advanced weapons, and professional officers.

From the perspective of the conquered,

They often prefer to be ruled by powerful merchant groups.

Because the merchant group only wants money, but not life, while the armed robbery group wants both money and life.

……

The silver stored in Changsha's treasury was emptied by the Zeng family.

The remaining silver was barely enough to provide pre-war incentives, but there was nothing left to provide after the war.

For this,

Zeng Di knew it well, but he didn't care.

He believes that only winners have worries, and losers don't deserve to have worries.

When the time comes, we will search the whole city and collect the reward.

It's not enough.
He could tacitly allow this group of people to go to the west bank of the Xiangjiang River to rob, or even massacre an entire county town.

……

Zeng Di is a typical backbone member of an armed robbery gang, and he is saturated with strange thoughts from the inside out.

When I was working in the Ministry of Industry,

He once wrote a great article:

On Reducing the Population and Securing the Country.

The content was so appalling and the ideas were so unorthodox that even the most conservative and aggressive Censorate dared not say a word.

The article is full of pitfalls.

It is easy for others to step on a minefield when criticizing or praising his argument.

The Censorate organized elite troops and studied this "big bomb" 18 times, and decided to give up and replace it with another one.

Anyway,

Qianlong's standards for employing people were complex and abstract.

There is a kind of beauty in a PhD in philosophy becoming the director of a mental hospital.

(End of this chapter)