The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 428: Please ask the emperor to follow the will of the people and hold a political meeting (seeking subscription and votes)

Emperor Xianfeng waved his hand to the ministers and said, "Lao Liu, Duanhua, Senggelinqin, Qi Junzao, Sushun, Duhan, Muyin, Guofan, Shengbao, the others can leave first. We need to hold a small meeting here to discuss it. You can go back first." Emperor Xianfeng, who led the precarious Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for three or four years, had a sense of confidentiality. After reading Zeng Guofan's "six-way attack on Mao", he did not announce anything on the spot in the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall, but sent most of the people away first, leaving only a few military ministers, Zeng Guofan who gave advice, and Senggelinqin and Shengbao, the two ministers who trained and helped the troops.

Emperor Xianfeng glanced at Shengbao and said, "Shengbao, your loud voice must be put to good use. Come and read Zeng Guofan's memorial to everyone." Emperor Xianfeng saw that all the ministers who were not named had left, so he handed Zeng Guofan's memorial to Shengbao and asked him to read it to those who stayed behind. Shengbao responded with a crisp "yeah", then took the memorial from An Dehai and read it word by word with his head shaking. The more he read, the more excited he became, and his expression was simply beaming with joy. Why? It was because Zeng Guofan's military strategy written in this memorial was so amazing that he really admired it.

Zeng Guofan really put a lot of effort into this plan of "attack Mao from six directions". He also discussed it for a long time with his two trusted aides Guo Songtao and Zhang Yuzhao. It was definitely an extraordinary effort.

First of all, this "six-way attack on Mao" plan was not intended to swallow up the nearly 300,000 Taiping troops of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in one go. It was really not that big of an appetite. If it really did so, it might force the Taiping troops into a corner, and they would fight the Qing army together. Then the Qing army would be miserable and might be wiped out. Therefore, Zeng Guofan's "six-way attack on Mao" actually wanted to achieve two small goals: to take down Jiangbei Province controlled by the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing or the eastern part of Hubei controlled by the Western King Xiao Chaogui. It was not necessary to take both of them. As long as one was taken, it would be a great success.

Secondly, although Zeng Guofan planned six armies, the real main force was only one, which was the Eight Banners New Army commanded by Senggelinqin and Shengbao! The remaining five armies were either used as "bait" to be beaten, or they were held back by the side, or they were used to assist the Eight Banners New Army.

The Qing army in Guangdong and Guangxi was responsible for luring the enemy to be beaten. Guangdong and Guangxi were now almost becoming "enclaves", and it was difficult for the Qing Dynasty to defend them, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would definitely want to take them down. So Zeng Guofan thought about letting the loyal Qing officials in Guangdong and Guangxi provoke them, sharpen their knives, and kill a group of Tiandihui traitors who were in collusion with the Taiping Army. The Taiping Army was originally thinking about Guangdong and Guangxi. If they encountered the loyal Qing officials in Guangdong and Guangxi who were killing people, the newly-appointed Luo Yaoguo would have to do something big to establish his authority.

When Luo Yaoguo sent troops to attack Guangdong, the Qing troops in Zhejiang and Fujian would have to move and attack Jiangxi and southern Anhui. However, they were not really going to occupy the territory, but just to harass and annoy Luo Yaoguo. It was clearly a feint to relieve some pressure on Guangdong. If Luo Yaoguo was angered and sent troops to attack Zhejiang and Fujian, most of the Taiping Army's forces would have to be sent out, and the remaining forces would have to guard important cities such as Jiangning, Shanghai, Suzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Huzhou, and Jiaxing, and it would be difficult to move.

At this time, the third, fourth, and fifth armies in Zeng Guofan's plan began to be dispatched to assist, and they launched some tentative attacks on the territories of Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing respectively, and slowly approached Hanyang or Yangzhou by building strongholds and fighting stupid battles. Then we would see how Luo Yaoguo would react. If he sent reinforcements in a certain direction, the real main force of the Qing army - the 80,000 Eight Banners New Army - would be sent to another direction, and try to kill one of Yang Xiuqing or Xiao Chaogui first. Even if they could not be completely wiped out, as long as they could be forced to Jiangxi or Jiangnan, it would be considered as achieving the goal.

If Luo Yaoguo used the little force he had to rescue Xiao Chaogui, hey, the Qing Dynasty might be able to create a situation where the river was divided and ruled separately. If Yang Xiuqing crossed the river to Jiangning and Zhenjiang, he would most likely collude with Hong Xiuquan and rebel against Luo Yaoguo, and civil strife in the Heavenly Kingdom would be inevitable.

On the other hand, if Luo Yaoguo crossed the river to aid Yang, the Qing Dynasty would have the opportunity to recapture Wuchang and Hanyang, and at the same time cut off the water transportation between Jiangnan, Jiangxi and eastern Hunan. It would not be impossible to then recapture the lost territory in Hunan.

"This 'Six-Way Attack on Mao' is really what I want! Unless Luo Yaoguo still has the ability to calculate, how could he not be fooled? No, even if he can calculate, he may not be able to break Guofan's arrangement! If I were Luo Yaoguo, I would not save Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui. Saving them is not as good as taking over the remaining eight prefectures in Zhejiang and Fujian Province to expand my own territory... Hehe, if I were Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui, instead of fighting head-on with the heavenly soldiers and generals of the Qing Dynasty, it would be better to turn the guns around and go to Jiangning to purge the court! Guofan and that Tu Lama are right. Now the Mao people are at their weakest. People are panicking. Those princes all have their own ulterior motives, just like the Southern Ming Dynasty back then. They have a million troops, but they can't stop the tens of thousands of Eight Banners troops and 200,000 new Green Camp soldiers of the Qing Dynasty!

The more Xianfeng thought about it, the more proud he became, and he shook his head. He felt just like Dorgon, who led the Eight Banners to conquer the Central Plains and sweep across the world.

However, Prince Gong Yixin, Senggelinqin, and Shengbao, who were all insiders of the Eight Banners New Army, were not as optimistic as Emperor Xianfeng. Although there seemed to be signs of division within the Taiping Rebellion, the Taiping Rebellion was not an old and decayed dynasty that had been in operation for nearly 300 years and had long been rotten. The Taiping Rebellion had only been in business for a few years, and everyone from top to bottom was energetic, and they were also blessed with faith. Don't underestimate their fighting power!

Look at the Qing Dynasty... It has been more than 200 years since the founding of the country. The Eight Banners, which were once regarded as the backbone of the country, have long become a group of difficult-to-serve soldiers... In the Eight Banners New Army that the emperor and Zeng Jia Guofan relied on, there were more than 30,000 such soldiers! Although they are now carrying foreign guns and practicing foreign exercises, can they really play line-up shooting and bayonet fighting with the elite Taiping Army armed with the belief in the God Worshipping God on the battlefield?
Thinking of this, Yi Xin, Seng Gelinqin, and Sheng Bao could not help but frown. Xianfeng also saw the lack of confidence on their faces, and his pockmarked face slowly darkened. He looked at his sixth brother and asked, "What's the matter? Sixth brother, what do you want to say?" Hearing Emperor Xianfeng's question, Yi Xin quickly said to Emperor Xianfeng, "Your Majesty, this 'six-way attack on Mao' strategy is of course very smart, but now what the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping rebels are fighting for is not only swords and spears, but also people's hearts!"

"Winning the hearts of the people?" Xianfeng's brows were twisted even tighter, like a knot. "Are you talking about reopening the Council of State Affairs?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Prince Gong Yixin said hurriedly, "Look, now the officials from the Council of State from all over the country have arrived in the capital one after another, and they are eagerly waiting to enter the court to discuss politics. If the matter of reopening the Council of State can be done smoothly, the hearts of the scholars in the world will surely be gathered on the side of the Qing Dynasty again. You also know that from ancient times to the present, whoever wins the hearts of the people will win the world... As long as the people's hearts are on the side of the Qing Dynasty, our Qing Dynasty can keep fighting the Taiping Rebellion!"

As for Xianfeng, his face was so gloomy, just like the sky covered with dark clouds, and he said nothing. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he wanted to back off on the matter of reopening the Council of Political Affairs. He was heard mumbling quietly: "The National People's Congress held by the Taiping rebels was such a disgrace, so how can we reopen the Council of Political Affairs and make it a success?"

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s National People’s Congress “drove” Hong Xiuquan away!
The Qing Dynasty reopened the Council of State...would it accidentally "talk" Emperor Xianfeng into a ditch?

No matter how incompetent Hong Xiuquan was, he was at least the founder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. But Xianfeng now looks like a king who would lead to the fall of his country!
"Your Majesty, rest assured!" Qi Junzao, the chief military minister of Emperor Xianfeng, also fully understood the emperor's thoughts, but he was not worried at all. "The reason why the Long Hair National Congress was smashed was because of two reasons. First, those Long Hair people were too superstitious and believed in ghosts and gods, so that the National Congress became a magic meeting; second, those people were ultimately unruly rebels. Luo Yaoguo, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, all of them had their own troops and were all vassal kings. Hehe, how many vassal kings who founded a country in history could have a good end? They took the initiative and sidelined Hong Xiuquan half for self-protection."

"Look at the administrative department of the Qing Dynasty's Council of State Affairs. They are all scholars and local gentry. They did not come to serve in the Council of State Affairs because of rebellion, but to oppose Taiping's method of dividing land, and..." He paused and glanced at Prince Gong next to him, and said with a wry smile, "and to oppose Westernization, so they came to Beijing to serve in the Council of State Affairs. What they want in their hearts is to maintain the status quo and do not want any changes.

Think about it, maintaining the rules of the world unchanged is just maintaining our Qing Dynasty.

So, Your Majesty, as long as you insist on one thing, that is, you want foreign guns but not foreign affairs, I guarantee that all the scholars in the world will sincerely stand on your side and support our Qing Dynasty!"

"We want foreign guns but not foreign affairs..." Xianfeng frowned slightly after hearing this. "Isn't this what Woren advocated?"

Qi Junzao smiled bitterly and said, "That's right. This is also the opinion of most gentry and scholars in the world. Your Majesty, please follow the public opinion and hold a political meeting to tell everyone that you support 'Western guns but not Western affairs'."

(End of this chapter)