Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 555 Qianlong was forced to abdicate, and the new emperor intended to hunt in the west~
The city of Chuzhou in Anhui fell amid heavy artillery fire, and the armed forces of Jiangpu Town, under the banner of the "Self-Defense Army of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui", rushed into the city gate with cheers.

The prefect of Chuzhou was a bannerman and knew that even if he surrendered, he would not have a good ending.

Witnessing the collapse of the city's defenses, he ran to the government office and hanged himself to sacrifice his life for the Qing Dynasty.

……

Hu Zhihuang summoned the gentry and merchants of Chuzhou to a meeting and encouraged them to donate money on the spot to pay for military expenses.

Mr. Dong sat at the top, enjoying the surprise and flattery in the eyes of his acquaintances.

The Dong family had long been stealing copper mines in the mountains of Chuzhou, fighting openly and covertly with local gentry. Now, when I revisit the old place, I feel a lot of emotion.

After taking Chuzhou, the Fengyang prefect, who knew the current situation, directly opened the city gates and surrendered.

As a result,
Luzhou Prefecture was caught in an awkward situation. To the south was the Anqing Wu army, to the north was the Jiangpu Town of unknown quality, and to the west was the rapidly expanding White Lotus Army of Lu'an Prefecture.

Liu Huangtong, deputy general of Luzhou, withdrew his troops and sent people to ask for help from Fu Chang'an stationed in Huai'an.

……

Jiangsu Governor Fu Chang'an was very conflicted and on the edge of a cliff.

Enemies everywhere~
There were at least a dozen peasant uprisings active in the Central Plains, with numbers ranging from a few hundred to several thousand.

After consulting with his staff, he decided:
"Contract the troops and heavily guard the Huanghuai line."

"Leave the mess north of the Yellow River to Wu Zetian."

The cavalry from Huai'an City went out in all directions, and the general's orders were passed on to all prefectures and counties, causing extreme chaos in northern Jiangsu and Anhui.

The Qing troops in various places rushed all the way, turning retreat into flight. The gentry and powerful either moved their families north or stayed in the fortresses.

There was a complete breakdown of order.

……

Luzhou City,
Liu Huangtong and his 3000 new troops faced a choice: retreat or defend?
Obviously it can't be defended.

He had no choice but to abandon his hometown and lead the Luzhou soldiers to leave their hometown and retreat westward to Xuzhou.

"Sir, that Zheng Hean has sent someone here."

"not see."

"Whoo."

Liu Huangtong was unwilling to surrender because he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart, and he was also unwilling to abandon his troops.

However, he told the Luzhou gentry who came to inquire about the news in a very honest manner:
"After I leave, send someone to Anqing to contact Zheng Hean and surrender to him."

"After all, we are from northern Anhui, so I won't embarrass you."

"Give up some wealth, and you can keep everything else."

……

As Liu Huangtong said, the Second Army Corps stationed in Anqing
They successively took over Qianshan County, Taihu County, Tongcheng County, Lujiang County, Shucheng County, and Luzhou Prefecture without bloodshed and with little killing, taking the friendship of fellow villagers into consideration.

The people of Anhui have a sense of fellowship.

The 2nd Army, which has always been fierce, is quite gentle.

Wherever Zheng Hean went, local gentry kept visiting him along the way.

He also confessed:

"The new dynasty is not bloodthirsty. But you need to be sensible and try to sell the extra land and invest the silver in industry and mining. If that doesn't work, you can deposit the silver in Sihai Piaohao and make a living."

"You have to listen to advice. Otherwise, I can't protect you."

The gentry were silent, and most of them listened.

……

After Liu Huangtong led 3000 new troops equipped with pure firearms out of Luzhou, he first headed west into Lu'an and forced back the White Lotus Army of Zheng Chunshou that was collecting grain near the city.

Then head north and enter Yingzhou Prefecture.

Passing through Fuyang County~
No robbery, no killing.

He even took the initiative to leave 10 carts of food and informed the local people:
"Wu Ting's 2nd Corps will be here soon. They are all Anhui soldiers. The general leading them is Zheng Hean, who is from Fuyang."

There was joy in Fuyang.

Many people couldn't wait to go south to greet their fellow villagers.

Join the army by the way.

Carrying a gun, eating a salary, and wearing official clothes is a hundred times better than farming at home.

Similarly, Zheng Hean did not arrest the families of the new army in Luzhou Prefecture, and even ignored Liu Huangtong's family.

In a word:

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing; Jianghu is about human relations.

The people of Anhui are far ahead in terms of unity.

On the battlefield, everyone serves their own master. Death in battle is fate, and you cannot blame others. At other times, fellow villagers do not kill fellow villagers.

……

Anhui Province has extremely rich coal reserves, second to none in East China.

Its coal resources are mainly distributed in three areas: around Suzhou, around Shouzhou, and along the south bank of the river.

The riverside area (Tongling-Chizhou) has been developed long ago, but its reserves are several levels lower than those of the first two.

Located near Suzhou, it was named Huaibei Coal Mine.

Located near Shouzhou, it was named Huainan Coal Mine.

At the instruction of Your Majesty, the Coal Bureau and the Ministry of Finance unanimously agreed to give the five-year contract rights of Huainan Coal Mine to the four major salt merchants at a package price of 60 taels.

Even the Suzhou Coal Association, which has a close personal relationship with Your Majesty, returned in disappointment.

……

Your Majesty is so concerned about the four major salt merchants, Jiang, Su, Huang and Mi, because their business style is radical.

Dare to invest, dare to go all in.

They integrated their industries and set up the Yangtze River Company, a name that sounds very reactionary.

The Yangtze River Company first invested 300 million taels to integrate the entire Jiangxi ceramic industry, and then invested 250 million taels to acquire and integrate Guangxi's sugar industry. It also set up an office in Guangzhou specializing in the export of high-end porcelain.

Today, Yangtze River Company owns more than 600 porcelain kilns, 20 steam sugar mills, 30 large ships, and 2 small coal mines as supporting facilities.

If we give them the Huainan coal mine, there is a high probability that we can achieve a rapid increase in production in the shortest possible time.

His Majesty is very dissatisfied with the overall pace of industrial development and has repeatedly told Minister of Industry Du Ren that the pace should be accelerated and further accelerated, and that bigger steps should be taken so that nothing would go wrong.

Even if something happens, I will take care of it.

……

The North was in a state of panic, and one word popped up in everyone's mind:

Northern Expedition!

However, the 2nd Corps stopped in Bozhou and Suzhou and began to build fortifications and stockpile food and fodder.

The Qing army deployed defenses along the Yellow River and built bastions.

The two sides entered into a confrontation.

The area of ​​dozens of miles in the middle became a no-man's land. People fled one after another to avoid the war.

……

The atmosphere in Yanjing City is tense.

Inside the Forbidden City,

Yongyan shouted angrily at the court meeting:
"The Fucha family is a criminal of the Qing Dynasty."

The ministers were so frightened that they knelt down and dared not say a word.

Qianlong's face turned pale and he clenched his fists, feeling extremely humiliated.

Shouting in my heart:

Rebellious son, rebellious son.

However, Yongyan stood in front of him and shouted to the ministers:
"Fu Chang'an was so audacious that he dared to give up six prefectures and two states in Jiangsu and Anhui without permission. The court lost a large area of ​​territory, and he deserves death for his crime."

"Fucha should also be held accountable for his disregard for the emperor's grace."

……

Yu Minzhong stepped out tremblingly:

"I agree."

The Minister of Works and the heads of the three judicial departments also came out to express their agreement.

Minister of War He Guozong remained silent.
Heshen seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

Yongyan looked around at everyone and said loudly:

"I ask the Emperor to issue an imperial decree to execute Fu Chang'an and appoint a new front-line commander to lead the military affairs of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan provinces to turn the tide."

"What do you think, my ministers?"

Inside the hall, all the ministers knelt down and echoed loudly.

"The prince is wise."

Yongyan turned around, squatted next to Qianlong, and spoke earnestly:
"Father Emperor, what do you think?"

……

Qianlong felt pain in his toes and wanted to scream:
"You rebellious son, you are stepping on my toes. I can't pull them out."

however,
Yongyan, with a sincere look on his face, was completely unaware and put all his body weight on his toes.

Said softly:
"Father, I am heartbroken watching the frontline losing ground. The 130-year foundation of the Qing Dynasty must not be destroyed by our father and son. Don't you feel sad?"

As he spoke, big tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

Qianlong gasped in pain and asked tremblingly:
"what do you want?"

"I, your son, dare to restore order in the government, remove incompetent officials, promote capable officials, and save the Qing Dynasty." "Okay, okay. All is up to you."

……

Yongyan then took off his boots and looked back at the ministers:

"Everyone, the emperor is old and weak, and I am young and ignorant. I will have to rely on you in the future."

The ministers replied in confusion:

"At the prince's command."

Yongyan waved his hand:
"Let's disperse."

When Qianlong stood up, he staggered and fell on the carpet, feeling severe pain in his toes.

The chief eunuch Qin Si shouted:

"Quickly, call the imperial physician."

In the East Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Palace,
The emperor's big toe was swollen and bruised, and also had a fracture.

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Everyone was confused. What was going on?
The imperial physician lowered his head to bandage and apply medicine, not daring to ask which accursed person had stepped on the emperor's toe in the Golden Throne Hall.

……

That night, the 16-year-old Shu Ying came to the Yangxin Palace crying again.

As soon as he came in, he knelt down and cried bitterly:
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince touched me."

"Rebellious son, rebellious son." Qianlong tried hard to get up, but everything in front of him was spinning.

After a long while, he calmed down and looked at the bowl full of medicine in front of him, sighing.
Whispered:

"Qin Si."

"The slave is here."

"I grant you the death penalty. Send out an edict to inform all the princes, ministers, and nobles of the Eight Banners in Beijing that I have a sudden foot disease, which is very serious and I am unable to govern. The fifteenth son of the emperor, Yongyan, is loyal and honest, with high moral character, and he will be succeeded as emperor on an auspicious day."

"Your Majesty, what are you going to do?"

"I will go to be the emperor."

Qin Si fell to his knees and burst into tears.

The 16-year-old Shu Ying also cried uncontrollably. If she had known this would happen, she would have obeyed the young prince right away. The old man was indeed unreliable.

……

In the city of Sijiu.

The news that the new emperor ascended the throne and the old emperor became the emperor emeritus spread like wildfire.

Everyone felt that the era of Emperor Qianlong was over. The news of the defeat in the south spread widely and everyone knew about it.

Inside Yutai Teahouse,
A group of bannermen talked in low voices:
"Have you heard? Yunnan and Fujian are both lost."

"So fast?"

"There was no resistance at all. I just gave in."

"Where's Agui?"

"Hey, they are so smart. They didn't even fight and just ran away with their army. They can live a comfortable life in Southeast Asia and be a local emperor."

"Don't want to be the King of Yunnan, but the King of Burma?"

"Yes."

The tea drinkers were filled with emotion and their voices were sad.

……

Suddenly someone said:
"I'm afraid our iron-clad crops are no longer iron-clad."

"Can't you?"

"Everything south of the Yellow River has been lost. There is even a rebel king in Zhili. Do you think the crops in Tieli can be saved? Where will the food come from?"

There was deathly silence in the teahouse.

The old man's hands couldn't stop shaking as he held the tea bowl, and the lid made a rattling sound.

However, no one laughed at him.

Everyone's eyes were filled with panic. The Central Plains was in chaos, how far was the war from reaching the Forbidden City?

"My lords, go home and prepare food and gold."

In an instant, everyone in the teahouse scattered.

Hurry up and take the calligraphy and paintings, land deeds and antiques to the pawn shop to exchange them for gold and silver, and then for food.

……

This is the second time that the city has been in such a panic since entering the Pass.

The last time was the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, when the King of Chahar led the Mongolian cavalry to 200 miles away from the capital, and Kangxi was so scared that he wanted to return to the outside of the Great Wall.

this time,

The war has spread to the south bank of the Yellow River.

There is no strategic location to defend in the Central Plains.

Field battle? Is he a match for the Wu army?

If they can’t even defeat Hailancha, what can the Jingqi use to fight?

There were rice robberies in many rice shops in the capital, and the Infantry Commander's Office was busy suppressing them.

Soon, a curfew was enforced.
Fu Shou, now the right-wing general of the Infantry Commander's Office, was riding on a horse, looking at the once bustling Qianmen Street, which is now empty.

The sun is shining brightly, but it looks like a ghost town.

……

He was secretly delighted:
"Voting Wu is the right choice."

"Look at this, the Qing Dynasty is doomed."

East Palace,

Yongyan paced back and forth with mixed feelings. Xiao Xiaoqi, his favorite concubine whom he had snatched away, sat quietly beside him, stroking the guzheng with her slender hands.

The song is very appropriate for the occasion - "House of Flying Daggers".

The song is over,

Yongyan stood at the window, looking at the autumn scenery, muttering to himself:
"Logically, I should be happy now that I have finally become the emperor. But I am not happy at all~"

"My Lord, I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it."

"speak."

"You can act as an emperor, but you shouldn't assume the title of emperor too early. Delay ascending the throne."

……

Yongyan was stunned and turned his head in surprise.

"It seems to make some sense."

"Let's negotiate peace with the south and cede territory and pay compensation. Regardless of success or failure, we must try to buy time. The Qing Dynasty is now like a seriously ill and weak person. It needs time to recuperate. If we continue to make trouble, it may fall apart."

"..."

"A real man can bend and stretch. The prince doesn't have much time left~"

"Xiao Fei, you are so bold!"

Yongyan roared in anger. However, the woman in front of him was not afraid at all and stared at him calmly.

After a while,
Yongyan rubbed his face in pain:

"You are telling the truth. You are a man who dares to speak."

……

Xiao Xiaoqi now looked more graceful than before, and her makeup also looked more mature. She walked slowly to Yongyan and gently stroked his cheek.

This action is obviously overstepping the bounds~
It seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it was actually long-planned.

"Prince, since ancient times, those who have accomplished great things must be clear-headed enough. It is not advisable to hide one's illness and avoid seeing a doctor. You must first accept a reality. Now the enemy is strong and we are weak."

"Yes."

Yongyan was shaking with pain.

It was like being stripped naked and whipped in public, with his crimes listed.

Xiao Xiaoqi keenly caught this psychological change, squatted down and whispered:
"The weak have their own way of survival. If they choose a way of survival that suits them, they may not be unable to survive. The Central Plains is the hunting ground for the strong. Why don't you consider hunting in the west, Prince?"

……

Yongyan stared at this beautiful woman known as the "Female Zhuge".

asked:

"I can't even defeat the enemy when I occupy the rich land. How can I survive if I occupy the barren land in the northwest?"

"No, quite the opposite. At least I can survive."

"How to live?"

"Li Yuanhao of Western Xia, Yeli Dashi of Western Liao, Shi Jingtang of Later Jin, and Attila of Xiongnu were all at a disadvantage, but they were still heroes at the time. Each of their choices is a way to survive. It all depends on whether the prince is willing~"

Yongyan stood up suddenly with a gloomy face.

He picked up Xiao Xiaoqi horizontally.

"Are you done?"

"It's over."

"It's my turn."

After saying that, he strode towards the couch.

(End of this chapter)