The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 127 Why fight? Only reduce rent, interest and taxes! (Happy National Day, please give me a monthly pass!)
After hearing Zuo Zongtang's plan, Luo Bingzhang and Luo Raodian were speechless.

Because Zuo Zongtang not only revealed the key to the victory of the Battle of Changsha, but also the key to the victory of the Taiping Rebellion!
Whoever can control the countryside will win the final victory!

Although the Taiping Rebellion was a peasant uprising in history, the so-called peasant regime of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not have the ability to control the countryside after leaving the Zijingshan base. On the other hand, the Qing Dynasty still controlled most of the rural areas and rural population through the gentry and landlords.

Therefore, the war potential of the Qing Dynasty was far greater than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
However, with the first volume of "Anti-Scripture" and the new "Tianchao Land System" being used to guide the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's rural work, and with the reconstruction of the God Worshipping Society organization and the promotion of land distribution in rural areas, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom already had the power to compete with the gentry and landlords for rural areas.

So far, in the struggle for rural Hunan, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has gained a clear advantage!
If the gentry and landlords of Hunan were at a disadvantage in the struggle for the countryside, and if they concentrated their forces to defend Changsha city, and were surrounded by a powerful force of the Taiping Army, then everything would be over. There would be no Changsha, no Hunan, and no Hunan gentry!
"But how can we, the Hunan gentry, fight for the benefit of the common people in the countryside?"

After a moment of silence, Luo Raodian, a big shot in the Shilin community in Hunan, finally asked a question.

Zuo Zongtang smiled and said, "Nothing special, only reducing rent, interest and taxes! The common people are deceived by the bandits, not because they have bad intentions, but because they really have no clothes and no food! If the gentry and the government do not give in, they will all follow the bandits sooner or later. If the common people all follow the bandits, how can there be gentry in Hunan? Rather than the bandits coming to benefit the people and causing us to lose our lives, it is better for us to reduce rent and interest ourselves, so that we can still save our foundation. After the bandits are annihilated, everything can be back to normal!"

Luo Raodian smiled bitterly when he heard this: "Reduce the rent, reduce the interest, and reduce the taxes. Are you willing?"

Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "Changsha has been lost, and disaster is imminent. If Su Weng and Zeng Disheng come to the top to call for it, maybe they will agree! If they still don't agree, even heaven will not tolerate it, and neither will I!"

When Zuo Zongtang said the four words "I won't tolerate it either", his tone was cold.

"But Changsha must not be lost." Luo Bingzhang quickly interrupted.

Zuo Zongtang could only nod his head and said with some regret: "If Changsha is not lost, then Wuchang and Jiangning will be lost!"

Luo Bingzhang looked at Zuo Zongtang and said, "Ji Gao, as long as Changsha is not lost, I will be a famous official and a leader of the literati! Wuchang and Jiangning... it's okay for them to lose them!"

Luo Raodian also nodded: "With Ji Gao here, we can definitely protect Hunan!"

Zuo Zongtang nodded and said, "I understand what Master Ru and Master Su meant. There is no time to lose. You two should leave immediately. I have arranged for Luo Luoshan to escort you. Let's go to the Iron Buddha Temple for shelter first!"

Luo Bingzhang asked again: "Is Ji Gao going with us?"

Zuo Zongtang shook his head, his face as hard as steel: "I have to go to Chao Zongmen, where the Xianghu rice market is located. There is still a lot of rice left, and it must be burned!"

This Hunan Governor's Yamen was where Wang Kuiyi's business of renting official positions began. His first county magistrate was "rented" from here. The business of "renting an official" usually involved two rentals of one official. One could rent a candidate official by renting once from the Ministry of Personnel. Then, when he arrived at the local area, he could go to the governor's or governor's yamen as a candidate. Then, he could rent again and get the actual vacancy.

When Wang Kuiyi first arrived in Hunan as an alternate county magistrate, he "waited" obediently in the governor's office. Although he had no salary, and had to deal with the errands assigned by the governor's office every day, and had to pay for various official expenses (mainly entertainment and pomp) out of his own pocket, he still dreamed of one day sitting in the lobby of the governor's office and becoming a frontier official. However, considering the expenses of "renting" all the way, this was ultimately just a dream.

But unexpectedly, this dream of "sitting in the lobby" can now be realized through "reversal".

It is not easy to be the Governor of Hunan, but he can "sit" in the lobby of the Governor's office and enjoy himself.

Just as Luo Zenan escorted Luo Bingzhang and Luo Raodian to quietly leave the Hunan Governor's Office and Zuo Zongtang went to Chaozong Gate, Wang Kuiyi was leading hundreds of Hongmen heroes through the streets and alleys, going around a side door of the Hunan Governor's Office. Changsha City was becoming more and more chaotic at this time, because most of the offices had been attacked by Zhu Jiu's disciples. The soldiers who were originally scattered outside to maintain order either joined the rebellion on the spot or retreated to the office to protect the adults. There was no trace of the Qing army on the street.

There were many beggars, unemployed dock workers and boatmen in Changsha. They had heard about the earth-shaking changes in several prefectures in southern Hunan and had been waiting for a rebellion. Now they had finally waited, so they joined the rebel team heading for the Hunan Governor's Office.

When the Governor's Office, which symbolized the supreme ruling power of the Qing Dynasty in Hunan, appeared in Wang Kuiyi's eyes, the rebel group behind him had swelled to two or three thousand people!

"Bang."

With a loud bang, a side door of the Hunan Governor's Office was knocked down by several Tiandihui disciples who were holding a log.

The road leading to the governor's hall was right in front of Wang Kuiyi.
"Kill the Qing monsters! Go to heaven!"

Wang Kuiyi raised the dagger, pointed it at the open side door, and shouted the slogan that he had not dared to shout even in his dreams before today.

Although he had already been familiar with the "Anti-Scripture", he had only read Volume 2 and Volume 3 of the "Anti-Scripture". The "anti" in Volume 2 and Volume 3 of the "Anti-Scripture" is different from the "anti" in Volume 1.

The "rebellion" in Volumes 2 and 3 does not necessarily mean breaking with the Qing Dynasty. You can imitate the heroes at the end of the Han Dynasty, the feudal lords at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the northern tyrants at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, who had their own troops and dominated the states and occupied the prefectures. In name, you can still respect the Qing Dynasty, or even respect the Qing Dynasty in the north and Taiping in the south, one minister and two masters, and be a loyal minister to two dynasties. If you still have strength when you die, you may be "Wen Zhong" or "Wen Xiang" in the north, and you can even go to heaven as an official in the south. You can do both!
But the "anti" in Volume 1 of "Anti-Scripture" is thorough!

There is no possibility of coexistence with the Qing Dynasty anymore!

Wang Kuiyi defaulted on his debts to the capital, killed someone and escaped from prison, which had offended Prince Dun to death! Prince Dun was the fifth son of Emperor Daoguang, the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng, and the good brother of Gong Laoliu. Although he was a kind person, no matter how kind he was, he could not tolerate a person like Wang Kuiyi.

So Wang Kuiyi once again raised his voice to the top of his lungs and roared, "Kill the Qing monsters! Go to heaven!"

After the roar, Wang Kuiyi didn't wait for the Tiandihui righteous men behind him to follow him, and rushed into the Hunan Governor's Office alone with a dagger in hand! This shocked the Tiandihui disciples behind him.

When they heard Wang Kuiyi shout "Kill the Qing demons and go to heaven", they thought he was a member of the God Worshipping Society. When they saw him rushing towards the heavily guarded Hunan Governor's Office with a dagger, they secretly gave him a thumbs up - the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom members were really fearless and unafraid of death. No wonder they were able to make such a big splash. Our Tiandihui was really not as good as them!

Zhang Tianzuo, the eldest disciple of Master Zhu Jiu, was still a little hesitant at first, but now seeing how fierce Wang Kuiyi was, he mustered up his fighting spirit, raised the axe in his hand, and shouted: "Red flags are flying, heroes are recruited, the overseas emperor, come and destroy the Qing monsters!"

When the hundreds of Hongmen disciples and more than two thousand poor people who followed the rebellion heard the order from the big boss, they all plucked up their courage, shouted loudly, and rushed into the Hunan Governor's Office.

After rushing into the Hunan Governor's office, the group discovered that they seemed to have broken into the office's back kitchen. There were a lot of firewood piled in the yard, as well as baskets of vegetables, fresh fish, half a whole pig, and several cooks kneeling on the ground shouting "My lord, please spare my life."

When Wang Kui saw Zhang Tianzuo had arrived with his men, he hurriedly said to him, "Brother Zhang, this is the kitchen of the governor's office. There is a firewood room and a hay room nearby. It is not far from the third hall where Luo Bingzhang, the corrupt official, eats and sleeps. Leave some people to guard the kitchen as a retreat, and send some people to set fire to the firewood room and the hay room. The rest of you go together to kill Luo Bingzhang!"

Zhang Tianzuo was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately followed Wang Kuiyi's instructions and sent people to set fire to the woodshed and hay shed. He also left 20 to 30 people to guard the kitchen. The rest of them rushed along a long corridor and rushed to the third hall of the governor's office, where Luo Bingzhang usually lived but was now empty.
(End of this chapter)