Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 259: Vanguards

The most uncomfortable thing is that after entering Guizhou, you are basically walking uphill, which is very physically demanding.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Chishui could be used to transport military equipment, it would be easier to go through Zunyi, as it would be a shorter distance and save a lot of time.

Water transportation is always the most cost-effective mode of transportation.

The reason why the imperial court chose to launch the general offensive from Hubei along the Yangtze River was probably because water transportation was more cost-effective.

It took Chen Gu more than a month to reach Guiyang. At this time, in the direction of Hubei, the imperial court's 100,000 troops had already set out from Wuhan and deployed outside the city of Jingzhou. After sending 100,000 troops to Jingzhou, there were still 50,000 troops deployed in the three towns of Wuhan, and reinforcements were constantly being sent to Wuhan from all over the country.

With such a big scene, Lao Piao could still sit still in Yichang. Although Chen Gu asked him to defend Yichang strictly, he also gave him the power to take the initiative to attack.

So Lao Piao simply took a thousand soldiers and went directly to Jingzhou, but Yunhua didn't care.

At the west wall of Jingzhou, Lao Piao looked through the telescope for a long time before putting it down and saying, "Wow, there are 50,000 Eight Banners soldiers in a 100,000-man army. The emperor is really willing to spend money!"

The Eight Banners soldiers, especially the Manchu Eight Banners, were treated particularly well. Their weapons and equipment alone were more stylish in appearance, with bright armor, neat clothes, and brand new weapons, which formed a very sharp contrast with the Green Camp soldiers who wore tattered uniforms and straw sandals.

Yunhua also put down the telescope and said with a smile: "You can tell from their spirit that there are less than 5,000 soldiers capable of fighting among the 58 banners, and the rest are not as good as the Green Camp Army."

"Those five thousand who can fight should be the Eight Banners from Hangzhou and Nanjing, and those who are yawning should be the Eight Banners masters from the capital. I heard that the Eight Banners soldiers in the capital receive silver every month and have bondservants to serve them at home. All they need to do all day is walk their birds and listen to operas." Lao Piao said in a teasing tone.

Yunhua nodded and said with a smile: "According to the information collected by the Intelligence Department, it is indeed the case. Moreover, they are unwilling to leave the capital even if they have no money. The court has allocated farms to them many times but they are unwilling to do so. They are even unwilling to go to collect rent."

"I wouldn't want to leave the capital either. The rent is just a few cents. One acre of land can't even sell for one or two taels of silver for a hundred kilograms of grain. It's so good to be a master in the capital. Even if the silver given by the court is not enough, I can always get some silver to spend by bullying a few Han people. It's better than collecting rent. Anyway, in such a big capital, there is always a place to make money!" Lao Piao sneered.

The so-called "Manchus and Han are one family" was nothing more than a slogan shouted by the imperial court, and none of the Qing emperors really took it seriously.

This can be seen not only from the treatment of the Eight Banners and Green Camp armies, but also from the court, the law, and the specific implementation, the Manchus are superior to the Han people in all aspects.

Otherwise, why did the Eight Banners soldiers not want to be landlords and insist on staying in the capital? Even if they were given land and sent to local areas, they would still flee back to the capital.

It is because they can make money in the capital, bully others without being punished, and become the masters.

"Yunhua, what do you think will happen if we swallow this 100,000-strong army in one bite?" Lao Piao suddenly asked.

Yun Hua smiled and said, "If we really devour this army of 100,000, I'm afraid the whole world will be in chaos!"

"So serious?" Lao Piao asked in surprise.

Yunhua thought for a moment and said, "You have to know that this was a counterattack that the imperial court had prepared for a year before it could stop. These 100,000 vanguard troops are probably the most elite troops of the imperial court. The emperor is even looking forward to wiping out our entire Huaxia tribe. But if you swallow up these 100,000 vanguard troops in one gulp, do you want the Qing imperial court to think so, and do you want the people of the world to think so?"

“What will they think?”

"The entire Qing court will most likely lose all confidence, and the people of the world will see that the Qing is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Many ambitious people will probably take advantage of the situation and want to get a piece of the pie. Chaos is imminent."

Lao Piao raised his eyebrows and said, "Isn't that better?"

"It's hard to say whether it's better or not, I can only say that it has both advantages and disadvantages!" Yun Hua frowned and said, "The advantage is that the Qing court will be unable to take care of itself, and our Chinese generals will no longer have any rivals. The disadvantage is that the vitality of the entire Chinese nation will be rapidly consumed."

"What do you mean?" Lao Piao asked with a frown.

"Isn't that easy?" Yun Hua said with a wry smile, "Just think about how much money and grain we have plundered from Sichuan since we started the uprising.

The leader is selfless. All the money and grain he extorted is used for the salaries of officials and the development of the Huaxia tribe. He also distributes the land equally to the people. He does not seek quick success or advance recklessly, but stops to develop domestic affairs, which makes the Huaxia tribe more solid in stability.

But it is impossible for others to have the same bearing and composure as the leader!

Let alone other ambitious people, just think about it from your perspective. If I were in your shoes, would I stop at Yichang and not expand outward when the situation was so good at the end of last year? "

"If it were me!" Lao Piao raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "I'm afraid they would have already reached the capital. Who cares? Let's destroy the Qing Dynasty first."

Yun Hua smiled bitterly and said, "That's it. It's easy to destroy the Qing Dynasty, but it's hard to govern the world. If we just want to seize the world, our Huaxia tribe is still strong enough, but what can we do even if we seize the world?

Corrupt officials and gentry are still entrenched in the localities, and ordinary people are still living in dire straits. We do not have the strength to suppress the whole country, and if we force the equal distribution of land, rebellions will only occur one after another in various places. "

"I'll slowly clean up the country when the time comes!" Lao Piao said indifferently.

"Why bother?" Yunhua shook his head and said, "The leader told me that the world is very big. In addition to us Chinese, there are many foreigners. Although they are not important individually, their combined number is greater than ours, and their territory is larger than ours.

If China's overall heritage is depleted too much, it may give foreigners an opportunity to take advantage.

Rather than causing chaos in the world, it is better to let the Qing Dynasty rule temporarily. It doesn't matter if we move slowly, as long as we can ensure that we can conquer and govern each place well, and try to transfer the whole of China to our hands with the least casualties. "

Lao Piao frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Is this the reason why Xing Honghai, even though he conquered Chengdu, could only endure the cold in Dajianlu?"

"That's about right!" Yun Hua smiled and said, "Although Dajianlu is a very important place and it definitely needs someone to be stationed there, if Xing Honghai hadn't allowed his troops to plunder in Chengdu, he would at least be stationed there, or even in Jingzhou, instead of stationing in Dajianlu."

(End of this chapter)