The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 205: The Progressive Serfdom System of the Qing Dynasty

Jingzhou Prefecture, Jiangling County, Shashi Town.

The sky gradually brightened, but the snowflakes were still falling from the leaden clouds, and there was no sign of stopping. After a night of heavy snow, the whole town of Shashi seemed to be covered with a layer of silver. No snow accumulated on the Shashi pier, but the coolies in thin clothes, wearing straw sandals and carrying large bags trampled the snow into a mud puddle.

Huang Shijie, wearing a warm fur winter coat and a fur hat, was surrounded by a dozen "Yingziying" soldiers wearing thick cotton coats. He stood at a corner of the dock with an umbrella, looking at an official ship slowly approaching.

Soon, his eyes passed through the flying snowflakes and he saw clearly a flying flag with the word "Zeng" on it on the official ship.

"It's Master Di!" Huang Shijie exhaled, turned around and said to Zhang Dingxiang, who was also wearing a warm fur winter coat and a fur hat, "An Chu, let the irrelevant people stay away, and tell the brothers to be more energetic."

"twitter!"

Zhang Dingxiang agreed, and then he opened his throat and yelled to the Yingzi Camp soldiers behind him: "Master Zeng is here, you all should pay more attention and drive away the irrelevant people."

With the loud shouts and crackling sounds of whips from the Ying Battalion's trainees, the originally busy dock was quickly cleared out. Soon, another team of about fifty trainees from the Shan Battalion followed a fourth-rank civil servant into the dock. The trainees were on guard all around, and the civil servant stood next to Huang Shijie. It was Wang Kuiyi.

When the official ship docked, Zeng Guofan, wearing mourning clothes over a cotton robe, came out of the cabin, followed by his brother Zeng Guoquan, who also looked like a filial son.

Zeng Guofan couldn't help but look nervous when he saw the people at the dock looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"It's the Ying Camp and the Shan Camp."

Zeng Guoquan stepped forward and whispered, "In addition to the 1,500 men from the Ying Camp, Shashi Town also has 1,500 of my own men and Wang Pushan's 500 men from the Shan Camp."

"Oh," Zeng Guofan nodded gently, "Zuo Jigao from the Shanzi Camp is here too?"

"He's here!" Zeng Guoquan said, "He entered Jingzhou City yesterday. Wang Bowen came with him."

"Okay!" Zeng Guofan forced a smile, "Then let's go ashore!"

"My Lord, Jiangxia, Hanyang, and Hankou have all fallen!"

In a carriage that was wide enough for three people, Wang Kuiyi informed Zeng Guofan of the news that the three towns had fallen. After a pause, he added, "Chang Zhengfu has offered Jiangxia City!"

"Chang Zhengfu actually..." Zeng Guofan was stunned for a moment, then his expression darkened, and he muttered in a low voice: "He is also from Hunan, and his second son is my staff member!"

Chang Dachun was from Hengyang County, Hengzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province. His hometown had long been conquered by the Taiping Army. His second son, Chang Yu, fled to Changde Prefecture with his family and became a disciple of Zeng Guofan.

"So what?" Huang Shijie snorted and laughed, "Now that the three towns have been lost, Hubei only has two important towns left, Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Xiangyang is still quite strategic, but Jingzhou now depends entirely on our Xiangyong to guard Shashi Town for protection. If the emperor does not use our Xiangyong, then there will be no Huguang in the Qing Dynasty!"

Wang Kui nodded slightly and said with a smile: "It is a good thing that Chang Zhengfu joined the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Now the emperor should know that we Han scholars are not without places to go!"

Zeng Guofan stroked his beard and nodded slightly, but he did not continue talking about what Wang Kuiyi said. Instead, he changed the subject and asked about the "distribution of land outside the Great Wall."

"Master Di, I have asked the monk king about this. He said that the land is for us! It will be divided according to the number of people. As long as the Hunan soldiers go out of the province, they will get a share. The farther they go, the more they will get. If they make contributions, they can get more! He will discuss the details with you and Zuo Jigao later."

Wang Kuiyi snorted with disdain: "Outside the Great Wall is a bitter and cold place. There is land but no one living there. What's the point of giving it to us? We can't even rent it out!"

Zeng Guofan laughed and said, "You are wrong. Nowadays, the most numerous and least valuable thing in the world is people!" His tone sank and he said, "There are too many people in the world. What's the difficulty in catching some and sending them to the border areas to help us reclaim wasteland?"

Huang Shijie nodded and said admiringly: "Teacher is right! There are too many people in the world today, and we can't kill them all. We can capture some and send them to the manors outside the Great Wall to be serfs. They will thank us for not killing them!"

Wang Kuiyi frowned slightly and thought: "Zeng Guofan and Huang Shijie are a good match. Both of them are ruthless people! However, it is feasible to capture people from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's territory and send them to the outside to farm as serfs. Not only is it feasible, it seems that they can really produce more food and save more lives. For the Qing Dynasty, it can also be regarded as a good policy!"

Just as he was thinking about informing Luo Yaoguo of this as soon as possible, Zhang Dingxiang's voice suddenly came from outside the carriage: "Master Zeng, Master Huang, Master Wang, the monk king, Master Guan, and Master Zhang are here to greet us!"

At the same time, in Jiangxia, the capital of Wuchang Prefecture, the snow fell even heavier than in Jingzhou. The snowflakes rolled down, turning the area between the three towns on both sides of the Yangtze River into a silvery white. The boundary between heaven and earth seemed unclear in the flying snowflakes.

A large group of knights were marching along the streets of Wuchang amidst the snow and wind. The horses were snorting loudly, and the knights on the horses were wrapped in thick cotton clothes, wearing hats and straw raincoats. Both the horses and the riders were breathing out white air, and everyone was complaining in their hearts about the cold winter in the "northern".

Luo Yaoguo was in the team. He was riding on a horse with his face covered by a fur scarf, leaving only a pair of bright eyes exposed as he looked around the streets of this majestic city of Jingchu.

Now it is near the end of the year, which is the most prosperous time of the year. More than 100,000 Taiping troops suddenly entered Jiangxia City. In addition, Chang Dachun's "surrender of the city" preserved the vitality of Jiangxia City.

However, Hong Xiuquan had not yet decided to take the entire city's population to Jiangnan to build a small paradise.

So now the streets are bustling with people coming and going, all of them are people going out to buy New Year's goods. Whether they are local people in Jiangxia or male and female Taiping Army soldiers from Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong, they all have a relaxed and happy expression.

It seems as if a new era of peace and prosperity is really about to arrive.

However, Luo Yaoguo frowned slightly, and his piercing eyes looked calm and deep, as if he was thinking about something all the time. And his body standing upright on the horse's back was sitting straight, and his military temperament was becoming more and more complete.

Since crossing over, his luck has been very good, and it is no exaggeration to say that he has been rising rapidly. The reason for this, in addition to the benefits brought to him by the "sky-dropping" welfare of crossing over, is that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom he is in is now rapidly moving towards its peak.

Being in such a fast-expanding team, it was easy to rise. Moreover, Luo Yaoguo was also an "angel" and a "time-traveling prophet."

But he also understood that the growth potential of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a "shaman-jumping" regime itself, was almost at its limit. The contradictions and problems that had been covered up due to rapid growth would begin to be exposed one by one in a few months.

These contradictions and problems were both within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom itself and came from outside.

After all, the great fortune of the entire Chinese nation is in a rapid decline. The biggest difference between the present world and the chaotic world at the end of the Yuan Dynasty is the existence of imperialist powers!

In their eyes, the great China is already a piece of fat meat on the chopping board.

And all the powerful countries miss "our Great Qing Dynasty"!

These powers, especially the British Empire, have encountered many "foreign regimes" similar to the Qing Dynasty in their three or four hundred years of colonial history, and have long understood the approach of "preferring to be friends with foreign countries rather than domestic slaves."

Anyone who has studied history knows that this kind of people is not unique to the Qing Dynasty!
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could not have any illusions about these great powers.

Therefore, the road ahead will be more difficult than before!

"Your Highness, we have arrived at the Western Prince's Palace!" Su Sanniang's voice interrupted Luo Yaoguo's thoughts.

Luo Yaoguo looked up and saw a magnificent mansion in front of him. He didn't know who it belonged to. Now he only saw the sign of "West King's Mansion" hanging on the wide main gate. Dozens of Taiping Army soldiers wearing red robes made of thick silk fabrics and red cotton hoods on their heads, each holding a sword and a spear, stood solemnly in the wind and snow.

"What a grand ceremony!" Luo Yaoguo muttered in a low voice.

"Who is coming?" A junior officer of the Taiping Army walked out of a small door next to the main gate with his sword at his waist, pointing at the cavalrymen escorting Luo Yaoguo and asked.

"His Royal Highness the Angel has arrived!" Luo Yaoguo's chief guard Xiang Xun answered loudly.

The young officer was stunned for a moment: "Why is there no sedan chair and ceremonial guards?"

"Why so much nonsense?" Su Sanniang rode her horse forward and took off her hat, revealing a beautiful and heroic face.

The young officer knew Su Sanniang and also knew that she was the "Angel Lady". He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I respectfully welcome the Angel Lady, the Angel Lady!"

(End of this chapter)