Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 504: Solving internal problems is always 100 times more difficult than solving external problems~
Zeng Di and his entourage were as panic-stricken as a lost dog. They went upstream along the Yuan River and after arriving in Chenxi County, they turned west and entered the southern range of Wuling Mountain.

The moment you are in the dense forest,
His nerves finally relaxed, and he took a deep breath of the oxygen-rich air, and sighed:

"Xiangxi, I'm back."

The ninth son of the Zeng family who was standing next to him also had tears in his eyes.

Among the eleven sons of the Zeng family, except the tenth and eleventh sons who stayed at home and never went out to the war due to their young age.

The other nine brothers all came out of the mountain~
There are also more than 10,000 brothers in militia.

Now there are only a few of us left, and even a small boat can’t be filled.

It's too awful.

……

As we go further into the mountains, the trees become denser and the place becomes quieter.

Some branches had dried heads hanging on them, swaying in the wind.

This is a warning!

We have entered the territory of Fenghuang Tusi.

The four once glorious chieftains of western Hunan - Yongshun, Baojing, Sangzhi and Maogang.

now,

It has become a bubble.

The most powerful chieftain of the Yongshun clan, Peng, was demoted to an official position during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.

The so-called reform of the natives into officials
To put it nicely:
Send in officials to abolish the chieftains, retaining the chieftain families' wealth and status, but from then on they had only a name but no power.

To put it bluntly:
The army is ready. If you are willing to obey, we will keep a false title for you and treat you well. If you are not obedient, the army will attack you, confiscate your property and exterminate your clan.
Yongzheng spent a lot of energy on the policy of converting native peoples into officials in the southwest region.

Objectively speaking,

It cleared the way for later comers (including Wu Ting).

If the four great chieftains were still around, and the Qing government offered them generous rewards and united them, Hunan's resistance would be several times more intense than it is now.

……

"Brother, there are people nearby."

"Show your identity!"

The followers shouted, and several soldiers came out of the woods, holding short swords and homemade crossbows.
Zeng Di raised a waist card,

When the soldiers saw this, they were terrified and knelt down immediately.

"The prince consort is back."

A simple sedan chair carried Zeng Di to Fenghuang Tusi City.

……

The mountain is steep and the road is narrow, making it very difficult to walk, but the sedan chair is still stable.

These guys can cross mountains and hills as if they were walking on flat ground.

The abundant physical strength shocked the farmers in the east.

but,

If the natives in Jinchuan area saw this, they would only laugh at the natives of western Hunan for being weak and powerless.

In the physical strength contempt chain, the plateau natives always rank first.

Natural Laws:

The worse the living environment, the stronger the physical strength of the residents, and the weaker ones will be eliminated~
"Prince Consort, someone from the imperial court has arrived."

"Oh? Who? Where?"

Zeng Di was so surprised that he even forgot to correct the slightly "presumptuous" title of "son-in-law".

……

Fenghuang Ancient Town is located on the bank of Tuojiang River. It is a typical border town integrating military defense, residence and commerce.

Before the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, it was an earthen city, and later it was built into a brick city.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, it was renamed Shicheng.

In order to prevent the Tusi from causing chaos, the Qing government set up Fenghuang Hall, Zhenganzhen Chenyuan Yongjing Military Preparation Road and stationed 1000 troops here.

As the war situation gradually worsened,

Not only did Qianlong step on the brakes and put the chariot into reverse gear, he also stepped on the accelerator.

The chariot accelerated and retreated, no matter what it hit, as long as it could cause some trouble for the Wu army.

……

The dusty Zeng Di simply washed and tidied himself up~
"Prince Consort, which one are you wearing?"

The maid was holding an official robe, a blue dress with a double-breasted collar.

Zeng Di rolled his eyes:
"No, I wear a long gown."

Not long after,

He walked quickly into the heights of the ancient city of Fenghuang.

In the flower hall, the chieftain and two officials were seen chatting and laughing.

……

"My dear son-in-law, you came just in time."

"Your subordinate greets the governor."

Zeng Di bowed and stared at the two of them.

"You are?"

Before the two of them could speak, Phoenix Toast interrupted them:
"They are from the Ministry of Rites, here to reward and confer titles on the young prince on behalf of the Emperor."

One of them smiled and said:

"What the chieftain said is absolutely right. From today on, the imperial court will abolish Fenghuang Hall and Yongsui Hall. From now on, these two places will be governed by the chieftains. Military and civilian affairs will be managed together."

……

Zeng Di twisted his goatee:
asked:

"What are the conditions of the court?"

"You only need to pay tribute every three years to show your submission."

"well."

Zeng Di picked up the tea bowl and drank tea leisurely.

In the eyes of Fenghuang Tusi, this kind of behavior made him feel that his son-in-law was a rare talent with extraordinary bearing.

The official from the Ministry of Rites could not help but speak:

"Master Zeng, I wonder how the war is going in Hunan?"

"Don't you know?"

"I have been sent by the Emperor to travel through the mountains in the southwest for two months. I really don't know what the situation is outside."

Zeng Di put down the tea bowl,

He said calmly:
"So that you two officers can know that the main force of the Wu bandits is gathering in Hunan. Changsha, Changde, and Yuezhou have all fallen. If I am not mistaken, the important cities of Hengzhou, Baoqing, and Yongzhou may also have fallen into the hands of the enemy."

……

Clang,

The tea bowl was broken into pieces.

Zeng Di stared at the messenger with his triangular eyes and spoke in a cold tone:
"Such a disastrous defeat was unexpected, but reasonable. The imperial court organized two major battles in the Huaiyang and Jianghan regions, and sent out all the elite troops. What was the result? A crushing defeat. The Eight Banners Brigade couldn't stop them, the Firearm Battalion couldn't stop them, and the Solon Cavalry couldn't stop them. Hunan is small in area and weak in troops, so how could the militia be stopped?"

"Yes Yes."

The official from the Ministry of Rites kept wiping his sweat, wondering whether he should leave the country quickly.

It is possible that Wu’s army will attack western Hunan at the next moment.

Their previous resentment towards the emperor for "changing people's lives to natives and granting titles to many people" disappeared in an instant.

No one is more wise than the Emperor.

It was a great idea to award the land to the chieftains first and let the Wu army and the chieftains fight to the death.

……

Zeng Di stood up:

"My Lords, please step outside the door."

The suspicious official from the Ministry of Rites walked out of the door and was instantly horrified.

outside the door,

A row of people in mourning clothes and hats hold tablets in their hands, and the ink on the tablets has not yet dried!
"Master Zeng, what does this mean?"

"In order to defend Hunan, the second, third, fourth, seventh and eighth sons of the Zeng family were killed in succession, all at the hands of the Wu thief."

Zeng Di took two steps forward.

Full of oppression:
"You two, please tell the court and the emperor that the Zeng family is full of loyal and brave people and cannot coexist with the Wu thieves. I hope the court will give Xiangxi the greatest support."

"Yes, yes. I will definitely convey it~"

……

The two envoys left in a hurry. For safety reasons, they avoided Huguang, headed west into Tongren Prefecture in Guizhou, and then changed their route to return north.

They were somewhat moved by the experience of the Zeng brothers.

Loyal ministers are revealed in times of national crisis, and people’s hearts are revealed in times of turmoil.

In Phoenix,

The father-in-law and son-in-law overlooked the city and chatted casually.

"Old Taishan, how are you?"

The 60-year-old toastmaster laughed heartily:
"Good, very good. I can eat 2 kilograms of meat and 1 kilogram of rice every day. Hehehe, every few days, I can have sex with a woman."

Xiangxi is so unrestrained~
If the people from the Ministry of Rites heard this, they would definitely cover their faces and run away.

Where is the morality?

Where are the moral principles?

Where's the secret recipe? Give it to me.

……

"what is this?"

"The imperial envoy said it was a secret recipe for making a military weapon."

Zeng Di took it and looked at it, and his brows instantly lit up with joy.

nice one!
The emperor finally decided to give the Han people real good things.

"My dear son-in-law, is this pile of scraps of paper useful in fighting a war?"

"Yes, that's great."

"Oh, come on, tell me quickly?"

"This stack of paper talks about how to build watchtowers, fortifications, how to make guns, and how to cast various cannons~"

Toast spread his hands awkwardly:
"My dear son-in-law, Phoenix City doesn't have the craftsmen you want, nor does it have enough iron materials."

"It's okay, Mayang has it." Zeng Di finally smiled.

The best thing he did as governor was to order all prefectures and counties to escort food, salaries and supplies to his hometown of Mayang in Yuanzhou.

Regrettably,

The court did not give him the governor's hat earlier.

If he had been put in charge of Hunan half a year earlier, he would have at least emptied out half of Hunan to enrich Xiangxi.

……

Thinking of this,

He couldn't help but complain:

"The imperial court is still stingy. They are willing to give us power only when the house is on fire. You are not our kind~"

Toast nodded:

"My dear son-in-law, what you said is true. If we had known this would happen, we would not have done it in the first place. The damned used to suppress us desperately, but now they come to praise us. They are wavering between left and right, forward and backward. Do the six ministries and nine officials make decisions based on their brains?"

Zeng Di smiled:

"My father-in-law is wise."

Judging from his experience working in the Ministry of Industry, this is true.

The people below thought that the court was solemn and dignified, and countless top smart people discussed and considered repeatedly, and finally came up with a wise "plan".

Actually,
Those who knew the inside story laughed their heads off.

……

Discussion among the people in Beijing:

if,

If the court had ignored the Jinchuan, it could have saved 7000 million taels of military expenditure.
Now take it out and offer a reward to all the chieftains in the southwest:
No matter which chieftain soldier they are from, if they can chop off a head of a Wu soldier, they will be rewarded with 1 taels of silver.

7000 million taels are enough to exchange for 7 heads of Wu thieves.

That's it!

then,

Once Jiangnan was settled, beauties, grain and silk could be transported to Beijing via the Grand Canal, and everyone's life immediately became better.

This set of logic is clear and concise.
Everyone applauded after hearing it~
Then he sighed and lamented, why did he fight for Jinchuan in the first place? Is there gold on the plateau?

The reputation of Agui, the commander who pacified Jinchuan, also plummeted as a result.

The flag officers are very smart in this regard.
Zhang Jia. Agui was enfeoffed in Yunnan and Guizhou, thousands of miles away, and could not govern the capital. The emperor was far away, and it would be difficult to tell whether he was loyal or treacherous in the future.

So, feel free to criticize.

……

Phoenix,
Zeng Di followed the imperial court's order and gathered the powerful people from western Hunan to set up a western Hunan alliance.

Recruiting soldiers!

Casting cannon!

Build a strong fortress!
Blood oath!

A total of 83 people, including gentry, local tyrants, tribal chiefs, and bandit leaders from various counties and cities in western Hunan, participated.

The leader of the alliance is Fenghuang Tusi and the deputy leader is Zeng Di.

A salary of 12 taels of silver was distributed on the spot, and defense zones were divided among the leaders.

Witnessed by the great wizard, the leaders swore:

If the Wu army attacks, all units will accept the unified command of the alliance leader and send troops to support and will never go back on their word.

In the Xiangxi region, people attach great importance to oaths, especially this kind of collective oath.

The consequences of betraying your oath are serious. You will not survive and everyone will find an opportunity to kill you.

Great wizards can also use Gu to take people's lives from a distance.

……

"Is Lao Liu back?"

"No."

Zeng Di looked gloomy, and it seemed that he was in great danger.

Now, the only two young boys left around are the fifth and ninth brothers, and the tenth and eleventh brothers, who are still childish.

Thinking of this,

A cold light flashed from his triangular eyes, and he vowed to make Wu Jun pay with blood.

On the surface,

Zeng Di worked desperately to build the Xiangxi defense line to serve the Qing court.

But in fact everyone understands that there is a prerequisite here - autonomy.

Only by working hard for yourself can you have such great motivation.

The chieftain of Fenghuang had no sons, so the chieftain's lineage would definitely be passed on to his grandson in the future.

Zeng is the future King of Xiangxi.

……

Zeng Di was a director of the Ministry of Industry. He immediately set his sights on the "mortar".
The casting process and launching procedure were written in great detail, and the signature at the end was - He Guozong, the Minister of Works.

This person was one of the only two ballistics experts during the Qianlong period. He once led his team to Jinchuan to command the mortars.

The other was a French missionary serving the court.

but,
Zeng Di was not popular in the Ministry of Works and had little contact with his superior He Guozong.

However, he still wrote a letter hoping to get guidance from his superiors. The key to the mortar is not to imitate it, but to understand the strange parabolic trajectory.
The entire Xiangxi region was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

Many people are facing the leaden sky,
Silent prayer:

Winter is coming quickly, and it is snowing quickly, heavy snow.

……

The 800-li Dongting Lake is filled with biting cold winds.

The Qing navy began a new round of transfer.

As the largest freshwater lake, Dongting Lake has not shrunk in area at this time and is still vast, boundless and endless.

It is precisely because the lake is large enough,

The Qing navy escaped destruction.

As the dust on the Huguang war gradually settled, Wu’s navy concentrated its forces and stationed in Yuezhou.

after that,

With the Hell as the vanguard, they sailed into Dongting Lake to seek out the Qing navy for a decisive battle.

……

General Wang Lin had a few big bubbles at the corners of his mouth and his face was full of worry.

Standing at the bow, looking out silently.

"Brother, our food supply can only last for 20 days at most."

"Eat sparingly, and send some men to fish after we drop anchor in the evening."

"Whoo."

Every two days, Wang Lin led the fleet to move.

There was no regular pattern to the transfer routes, and no subordinates were informed in advance.

They were so alert in order to avoid being searched by Wu’s warships.

Avoid fighting!

……

Half a month ago,
Wang Lin sent people to contact Wu Jun to discuss the terms of surrender.

Lin Huaisheng refused outright and told the messenger coldly:
"The unconditional surrender of the Dongting Lake Navy can save the lives of officers and soldiers, and they can also keep their personal property after landing."

at this time,

Wu's army has not yet entered Hunan.

Wang Lin was furious and fumed. He cursed Wu Zetian for going too far.
Since ancient times,

How can you treat someone who surrenders voluntarily like this? Aren't you afraid that those who come after you will be disheartened?

……

In fact, there were many officials in the Wu court who held the same idea.

But Your Majesty was determined to "treat the surrender harshly", so no one dared to dissuade him.

When the army first started,

The State of Wu absorbed a group of surrendered officials who pledged their allegiance.

Later we played against Guangdong.

The attitude of "being harsh towards surrender" was quite obvious, and few local officials who surrendered were appointed.

Now they are attacking Huguang and are even too lazy to cover up.

I won’t pretend anymore. I’m going to reveal my cards now.

You won't be given an official position if you surrender, but I can guarantee your life and property.

You can get angry and shut the door to resist.

Big deal,
My army will spend more gunpowder and more time.

……

Positive governance is the art of compromise.

but,

The extent of compromise depends on the strength comparison of both parties and the future positioning.

Li Yu judged the situation and

It is believed that allowing former Qing officials and gentry to lay down their arms and return to their hometowns to become wealthy men is just the right level of compromise.

Make more concessions,

It’s impossible.

……

If a large number of former officials and gentry were allowed to enter the Wu court, the resistance to promoting "industrialism and colonialism" in the future would be as great as Mount Tai.

The old conservatives will definitely form alliances, oppose and counterattack.

This is terrible.

It is more terrifying than being invaded by an enemy country's 20-strong army.

Even if he wins, he will lose to his son.

This is a matter of inertia.
Solving internal problems is always 100 times more difficult than solving external problems.

(End of this chapter)