The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 166: Changes! (Climax, the Fourth Crossing of the Xiangjiang River Campaign begins!)
Iron Buddha Temple, Changsha, Hunan.

"Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible. How could Zeng Disheng be in contact with Taiping? You must have seen it wrong! No, you didn't see it wrong. It was a trick of the false angel Luo Ni, who intended to alienate the Manchus and the Han people and frame Zeng Disheng!"

"What is this "Exhortation to Suppress the Invasion of the Invaders and Revive the Confucianists"? Nonsense! Even if it is still like the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it would still be the beggars, salt smugglers, fishermen, pirates, and shamans who would all rebel together. Scholars are still unlikely to rebel! Alas, you don't understand this, I know it best!"

The person who saw through Luo Yaoguo's carefully arranged trick was none other than the Horqin Prince Senggelinqin. Not only did he read through the memorials that contained the truth, he was also the person who understood the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty the best in the Qing court. He was a member of the Borjigit clan, and the Yuan Dynasty was his ancestral business! How come he didn't know it was a failure?
In addition, he also finished reading the first volume of the Anti-Scripture in the Iron Buddha Temple. Combined with the second and third volumes of the Anti-Scripture, which he had already read, he had a deep understanding of Luo Yaoguo's insidiousness and cunningness. He had suffered a lot as a prince. When he was a child, his family was poor and he lived by herding sheep for the rich. He did not go to school before he was 12 years old. Later, the old prince of Khorchin had no children, so he was selected as the candidate prince because he was more handsome.

He not only understood how the Yuan Dynasty fell, but also understood "poverty"! Naturally, he could see at a glance how dangerous Volume 1 of "Anti-Scripture" was to the Qing Dynasty today!

After hearing Sushun, Shengbao and him mention that they had encountered a "Zeng Guofan" in Changsha who swaggered into the city to visit Luo Tianshi, he immediately concluded that this was another plot to sow discord!
He paused, then whispered to Sushun and Shengbao, "Yuting, Kezhai, you two didn't tell Luo Ruzhai and Luo Suxi about this, did you?"

"No, of course not. We came to see you, Your Majesty, as soon as we arrived at the Iron Buddha Temple."

"Your Highness, Yu Ting and I know what's going on in Hunan. The situation is very complicated, and those Han officials and gentry are not very reliable."

Upon hearing that Shengbao and Sushun had not disclosed Zeng Guofan's suspected entry into Changsha, Senggelinqin heaved a sigh of relief and thought to himself, "These two Manchu nobles who are capable of reincarnation finally have some brains. They didn't disclose this matter. Otherwise, how would it end?

It's just that they have become stupid because of reading too much, and have forgotten how their ancestors drove the Han people to help them conquer the world. Do they really expect those traitors to conquer the world for their Manchu masters wholeheartedly? "

"Yuting, Kezhai," Senggelinqin said with a smile, "Do you two still remember how our Qing ancestors entered the pass and established their empire?"

"I remember," Sushun nodded, "our ancestors were very powerful. They were invincible in archery and horsemanship. They beat the Ming army and the rebels so hard that they fled in panic. That's why we conquered the world!"

Shengbao said with some emotion: "It's a pity that my descendants are not good enough. Eight out of ten Eight Banner soldiers smoke foreign cigarettes. They are really difficult to lead!"

Senggelinqin shook his head and said, "Yuting, Kezhai, you are only half right! Our ancestors' proficiency in archery and horsemanship is only half the reason why our Qing Dynasty ruled the Central Plains. No matter how proficient our ancestors were in archery and horsemanship, did they conquer Shanhaiguan? Did they conquer Beijing?
You two both know what the Beijing city wall looks like! This Shanhaiguan is truly the most powerful pass in the world! If Wu Sangui hadn't opened Shanhaiguan, and if Li Zicheng hadn't first conquered Beijing and then abandoned the city and relied on our ancestors to fight hard, 20,000 people would have died in Shanhaiguan and 20,000 in Beijing. Not much, right? How many of the Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers are left? Are they enough to conquer the world?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit risky!"

“I guess it’s not enough.”

Sushun and Shengbao both shook their heads.

Senggelinqin asked with a smile: "Why did Wu Sangui and those surrendered generals from the Ming Dynasty want to fight for the Qing Dynasty? Yuting, Kezhai, do you think Wu Sangui and his ilk are really loyal to the Qing Dynasty?"

"It's definitely not true!"

"That group of people later started the Three Feudatories Rebellion!"

"That's right!" Senggelinqin said, "Those traitors who helped the Qing Dynasty fight against the King of Rebellion and the Southern Ming Dynasty, if they lived long enough, would have joined Wu Sangui in the Three Feudatories Rebellion. Who the hell can believe that these people are truly loyal to the Qing Dynasty?
But did our ancestors use these two-faced and ambitious people correctly? Did they use them well? "

"This"

Shengbao couldn't answer.

He already understood what Senggelinqin meant, but this is a different time!
"Of course it's right to use it, and it's good to use it!" Su Shun said with a look of sudden enlightenment, "I understand what the prince means. Even if Zeng Disheng, Zuo Jigao, Jiang Minqiao and others want to become Wu Sangui in the future, we have to use them now!"

Senggelinqin stroked his beard and said, "That's right. If we don't use it now, the Qing Dynasty will have no future!"

Shengbao frowned and said, "But can they be trusted? What if they turn against us at the last minute?"

Senggelinqin smiled and asked, "Why didn't our ancestors fear that those treacherous ministers would turn against us in battle?"

"But don't we have our Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers standing behind us to deter them?" Shengbao blurted out.

"That's right!" Senggelinqin glanced at Shengbao, "The Eight Banners Heavenly Soldiers are used to intimidate! Not to be placed in front to fight the enemy!"

Shengbao's cheeks turned red when Senggelinqin said that. He lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, I am confused."

Sushun also glanced at Shengbao and sighed, "Those elite troops of the Beijing Banners did not die in vain. At least they injured that demon. Your Majesty, do you think the Eight Banners soldiers we spent a lot of money to redeem can still be used to deter others?"

Senggelinqin frowned and said, "I'm afraid it's impossible." "What should we do?" Sushun asked.

Senggelinqin scratched his head and said, "In the long run, of course, we have to make great efforts to rectify the situation, but for now, the only solution is to mobilize the Eight Banners Cavalry of Jingzhou!"

"Are you going to move the Eight Banners stationed in Jingzhou?" Shengbao was shocked. "During the Three Feudatories Rebellion, the Eight Banners stationed in Jingzhou were not easily moved!"

The Eight Banners soldiers of Hubei were not stationed in Wuchang Prefecture south of the Yangtze River, but in Jingzhou Prefecture north of the Yangtze River, and there were quite a few of them! There were 4,400 soldiers of the Eight Banners stationed in Jingzhou, and they were stationed in the city of Jingzhou with their families. If Ding Yu and his family were included, the total number was 25,000 to 26,000.

The number may not seem large, but for the Qing Dynasty where military power was extremely dispersed, the 4,480 Bannermen were definitely a "strategic deterrent force"!

Senggelinqin is now actually going to mobilize the Eight Banners of Jingzhou. If this fails, not only will the Qing Dynasty lose Hunan, but even Hubei will be in danger.

"Yuting, Kezhai, of course I know that the Eight Banners of Jingzhou cannot be moved lightly," Senggelinqin said, "but now is indeed a good opportunity to reverse the decline of Hunan. The day before yesterday, the Hunan Governor's Office sent a detailed map of Hunan's military affairs and a compilation of the bandits' situation. After a careful look, I found that there are still great opportunities on the Hunan battlefield! To seize this great opportunity, we must mobilize the Eight Banners cavalry stationed in Jingzhou and the main force of the Hubei Green Camp to enter Hunan!
As long as we can use the Eight Banners Cavalry to fight a good battle in Hunan, we can intimidate the likes of Zeng Disheng, Zuo Jigao, and Jiang Minqiao!"

After saying this, Senggelinqin stood up, walked to the bookshelf beside him, took out a map, unfolded it on the desk, and called Shengbao and Sushun to come and look at it.

On this map, the Taiping Army and the Qing Army were roughly divided into two major war zones, the North and the South. The "Northern War Zone" was composed of two main battlefields: Changsha City and Zhuzhou-Lukou Town.

The "Southern War Zone" was centered on Lingling and Quanzhou, where an offensive and defensive tug-of-war was launched.

In addition to these two war zones, the Qing army also had the Governor of Huguang Cheng Yancai's Governor's Standard stationed in Hengshan County, the Hunan Brave Army under Zeng Guofan, the Minister of Hunan Militia, which retreated to Changde Prefecture, and Zuo Zongtang's Gaozi Tenth Battalion, which was training in Yiyang and Xiangyin.

The Taiping Army included the Southern King Feng Yunshan's troops, which were distributed in Chenzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and the southern part of Yongzhou Prefecture.

"Your Highness," Shengbao had led troops before, and after observing for a while, he had already discovered the problem. "The battlefield in Hunan seems a bit chaotic. How come the battles are fought from the south to the north? And the north is fighting the north, and the south is fighting the south. The two sides are fighting their own battles, and there is no response?"

"More!" Although Sushun had never led an army, he had been accompanying Emperor Xianfeng in discussing military affairs, and had gained a lot of experience and discovered many problems. He pointed to the area around Zhuzhou on the map and said, "Your Highness, there are not many of our people in this area, but there are many Taiping people. It seems that the Taiping people are being held back by several of our strongholds."

Senggelinqin smiled and nodded, saying, "Kezhai, Yuting, you two are indeed talented people from Manchuria. You are incomparable to those Han people. You saw at a glance the key to turning around the declining situation in the Hunan battlefield on the map!"

Senggelinqin took out a compilation of information about bandits from the Hunan Provincial Governor's Office and placed it in front of Shengbao and Sushun, saying with a smile: "According to this compilation, there are four major factions within the Taiping Rebellion.

The first group was the pseudo-Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan and the pseudo-Eastern King Yang Xiuqing. The pseudo-Heavenly King did not seem to be in charge of anything, so the pseudo-Eastern King had the final say in this group. Now, they were the ones fighting against the various groups under Sai Zhongtang in Lingling and Quanzhou.

The second faction was the pseudo-Southern King Feng Yunshan's faction. It was said that he was ordered to occupy southern Hunan and eye Guangdong. Chenzhou Prefecture, Guiyang Prefecture, and the southern part of Yongzhou Prefecture were all his territories.

The third mountain is the lineage of the pseudo Western King Xiao Chaogui, and Hengyang Prefecture seems to be his territory.

The fourth faction is the pseudo-angel Luo Yaoguo, and he should be in charge of Changsha Prefecture.

Kezhai, Yuting, have you seen where the opportunity is?
Tell me, is the current Hunan battlefield a place where our Eight Banners troops can show their prowess?"

Sushun and Shengbao nodded at the same time, and both pointed their fingers between Zhuzhou and Changsha.

Su Shun said: "Your Highness, as long as we can concentrate our forces here and cut off the connection between Zhuzhou and Changsha, isolating the Taiping rebels in Changsha, we can force the false angels in Changsha to abandon Changsha!"

Shengbao said: "Maybe we can win a big victory near Xiangtan!"

Senggelinqin nodded and said, "Well, just looking at the map, it seems so. But..." He pointed to the compilation of memorials on his desk, "But according to this compilation, since the appearance of the false angel, he has been able to conquer every attack and win every battle!

Moreover, the two of you also heard in Changsha that the gentry east of the Xiangjiang River south of Changsha were either exterminated or entered the city, and the peasants in that area have all become supporters of Taiping.

Do you think our Eight Banners soldiers are that powerful? Can they defeat the Taiping rebels’ most capable fighters, who may even have some magic skills, in the territory where the Taiping rebels have already taken root? "

Sushun and Shengbao looked at each other and shook their heads together.

(End of this chapter)