The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 431 Who said you can't rebel if you're kneeling? (Please subscribe, please vote)

The whip was fired three times and the air was filled with smoke.

The magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony was suddenly bustling again today. Eunuchs, palace maids and guards, in three layers inside and outside, had already taken their seats, waiting for a grand meeting to begin.

According to the Qing Dynasty system, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was a place for ceremonies, such as the emperor's enthronement, the empress's appointment, and the ordering of generals to go to war. It was also used for the three major festivals of the Emperor's birthday, New Year's Day, and Winter Solstice. In the early Qing Dynasty, the palace examination was also held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. However, it was later changed to "doing the test" in the Hall of Preserving Harmony, and the roll call in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. At other times, this majestic and magnificent hall was deserted.
But today was an exception. It was neither one of the three great festivals nor any ceremony, but the most majestic palace in the Forbidden City was used. Before dawn, outside the Meridian Gate, there were rows of sedan chairs and carriages, dotted with white lanterns, and neatly dressed princes, ministers, and some officials below the third rank and above the seventh rank, all gathered, waiting to enter the Meridian Gate.

The identities of these officials today are a bit special. They are not the so-called court officials, or in other words, they are not here as court officials, but as the King of State, the Minister of State, and the Minister of State. And what they are going to attend is not the court meeting, but the meeting of the King of State and the Minister of State, which is referred to as the "Parliament"!
It was really advanced. If Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao from another time and space came through, they would be stunned by the scene before their eyes! What they dreamed of decades later was realized here more than 40 years ago, and it was "rolled up" by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom next door.

The National People's Congress with shaman dance has already been held next door, so why is the Qing Dynasty giving us a kneeling "parliament"?

Although the Qing Dynasty's "parliament" discussed politics on their knees, it was still a great progress. Well, progress on one's knees is also progress, isn't it? Just like the south moving forward while performing shaman dances, it is also progress, and it is very fast!
You can't make slow progress, as both sides are competing with each other. Slow progress can be life-threatening!

In addition, the Qing Dynasty's princes, ministers and councils would not only kneel when discussing politics, but would even kneel when rebelling!

At this moment, the Prince Regent, the Ministers of State Council, and the Council of State were still walking and had not entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The lame Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty had already arrived in advance and was sitting upright on the throne. With the light from the whale oil lamp, he was flipping through the "State Council Papers" piled in front of him.

The so-called political papers were prepared by the Prince of Political Affairs, the Ministers of Political Affairs, and the Council of Political Affairs before the start of the Political Affairs Meeting. They were submitted to the Council of Political Affairs, which was then reviewed by the Council of Political Affairs, and then classified by importance and urgency, and by joint signatures and non-joint signatures. Generally speaking, papers with more signatures would be placed in a more conspicuous place so that Emperor Xianfeng could easily get them.

The petition with the most signatures this time was the "Petition to Revitalize Confucianism and the Law to Resist the Guangdong Bandits" signed by more than 300 princes, ministers, and officials, led by Minister of State Weiren.

"I have heard that in a prosperous era, the government, civil and military achievements complement each other. At this time when the world is in turmoil and the Guangdong bandits are rampant, I dare to express my loyalty and risk my life to make suggestions. I hope that the Confucianism of our Chinese nation will be revived to resist the fierce rebellion.

The Guangdong bandits and rebels, pretending to be the father of heaven and the brother of heaven, are treacherous and changeable, confusing the people of Guizhou and harming people far and wide. As a result, the common people are deceived and bewitched by them, and they follow them and run around to serve them. Millions of people are united in hatred, regardless of life and death, and gradually become a difficult situation to control. The current situation is precarious! All they can rely on are 200,000 Eight Banners troops and trained braves. Although they have Western guns and cannons to assist, and the soldiers are willing to fight, they still have the regret of not being able to rely on them to repel the enemy.

In this critical time, it is advisable to reform Confucianism into a prominent religion and lay out a plan for the spread of the religion. A holy temple should be built in the capital to set an example for the world; each province should establish a "general government" to take charge of the key points; each prefecture should set up a "big government" to make plans; and each prefecture and county should set up a "small government" to widely spread the grace of the religion. Each province should appoint a chief priest, a great priest, and a priest to be responsible for spreading the religion and command the scholars in the Confucian community so that they can spread out and obey the same purpose. We must make the seeds of learning in the world unite as one, rely on the holy teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and resist the fallacies of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother. Only by doing so, can we raise troops in six directions to conquer the rebels and win the victory and secure the golden bowl forever, which is a blessing for the country and the people!"

When a large group of princes and ministers, led by eunuchs, filed into the hall, Emperor Xianfeng had already finished reading in a low voice the "Petition to Revive Confucianism to Fight against the Rebellion of the Guangdong Bandits" led by Weiren, and then his brows were furrowed like a knot.

What Woren said in this petition seemed to make sense at first glance, but when Emperor Xianfeng thought about it carefully, he felt that it was not right. Why do names like "Zongfang", "Dafang", "Xiaofang", "Zhitou Jijiu" look so familiar? Oh, aren't these names similar to the names used by the Yellow Turban bandits in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"! According to Woren's meaning, could it be that he wanted to turn the Confucianism of the Qing Dynasty into the Taiping Dao? It seems that he wanted to use the Taiping Dao to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Why is he competing with "Taiping"? If Confucianism is really changed to the Taiping Dao, what if the "Taiping Dao" becomes bigger and stronger like it did in the past, will it also rebel?

But if we don't use this reform method to transform Confucianism into the Way of Peace, the "millions of people" who claim to "share the same hatred and disregard life and death" can't be dealt with by just 200,000 Eight Banners and trained warriors. If we lose the war, the Qing Dynasty will be finished! This matter is really a headache. How did we end up in such an embarrassing situation?
Just when Xianfeng was worried, hundreds of councilors, ministers, and officials had already entered the hall, knelt down in accordance with their shifts, and began to shout "Long live the emperor" at the top of their lungs. Xianfeng raised his eyes and looked at the ministers kneeling in the hall, seemingly submissive. After a moment of silence, a smile appeared on his pale face, and he said, "I called you all here today to hold a meeting of councilors and ministers. You are either councilors, ministers, or officials in the council. I called you to the Hall of Supreme Harmony because I want to discuss state affairs with you. Even if I don't tell you what the current situation of our Qing Dynasty is, you all know it clearly in your hearts, right? As for how to deal with it, here is a "Petition to Revitalize Confucianism to Resist the Rebellion of Guangdong Bandits". It looks quite interesting. Why don't we discuss this first today? Woren, this is the petition you are leading. Read it to everyone!" "Yes!"

Woren responded and swiftly took the "Petition to Revitalize Confucianism and Laws to Defend against the Rebellious Bandits in Guangdong" from a eunuch. He read it aloud at the top of his voice and finished it in a short while.

In fact, most of the Prince Regent, Ministers of the Council of State, and people in the Council of State have read Zeng Guofan's "Promoting Confucianism and Resisting Taiping Theory". That is the original work, and it is written in such detail that it is comparable to "Anti-Classics".

"Don't just stand there, tell me something." Xianfeng frowned and said with a troubled look on his face, "According to the method proposed by Weiren, do you think it is reliable to change Confucianism into a famous religion? The princes and ministers, please tell us first!"

"Your Majesty," Prince Gong was the first to speak, "I think that we must now concentrate all our forces to encircle and suppress those Guangdong bandits who are rebelling. As long as we can wipe out these rebels and recapture Jiangning, we can do anything! Even if there are any sequelae afterwards, the harm is nothing compared to the Guangdong bandits' rebellion."

"Your Majesty," Prince Zheng Duanhua also said, "I agree with Prince Gong's opinion. Time waits for no one! The Guangdong bandits have just caused a big commotion in Jiangning. It is a time when they are divided and on guard against each other and cannot cooperate well. Our court has already trained 200,000 new Eight Banners troops and trained braves. This is a great opportunity to wipe out the rebels... However, 200,000 against 1 million seems a little insufficient. If we can mobilize all the Confucian scholars in the world to fight against the rebels together with the court, then the hope of wiping out the Guangdong bandits will be much greater!"

"Your Majesty," Senggelinqin was also a councilor, and he immediately continued with Prince Duan's words, "Now is the time for us to try our best. We must use all our strength, and we can't hide it anymore. It's like a lion fighting a rabbit, we must go all out! If Your Majesty thinks Woren's idea is too radical, it won't be too late to change it after we defeat the Guangdong bandits..."

"Your Majesty, I think the same as Prince Senggelinqin. As long as we can defeat the Guangdong bandits, even if we have to tear down the cathedral and restore it to its original state later, it all depends on your Majesty's words. The most important thing right now is to win! If the court does not show that it will rule the world together with scholars, it will be very difficult for us to get enough food and money from the gentry and recruit young men!"

"That's right, Your Majesty. I've also been thinking about Woren's idea and think it's a good idea. If Your Majesty has doubts and feels it's inappropriate, we can try it out in a few provinces, such as Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian, which are adjacent to the rebellious territories of the Guangdong bandits..."

A bunch of ministers who were "deliberating on politics" below were talking to each other as if they had discussed it beforehand, and they all intended to support the measures proposed in Woren's memorial.

Although Luo Yaoguo was determined to dilute the Western religious flavor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and replaced the Western God with Haotian God, the impact of the God Worshipping Society and the Datong Society on traditional Confucianism was like a strong wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Let alone other things, just say that the God Worshipping Society, oh no, the Datong Society, is still engaged in the land distribution. This alone has made the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the landlords and gentry in those territories that have not yet been taken by the Heavenly Kingdom! In order to remove this thorn of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, what can't they do? In their eyes, changing Confucianism into a famous religion is not a big deal!

Xianfeng knew that he couldn't compete with these kneeling ministers... Who said that kneeling ministers can't rebel? These kneeling ministers have militias behind them or in their hands! However, Xianfeng also had his own stubbornness. He frowned, looked at the councilors below with burning eyes, and asked, "Then... who will be the leader of this religion?"

"Of course it's you, Your Majesty!" As soon as Xianfeng finished speaking, Zeng Jia Guofan immediately took over the topic and shouted at the top of his voice.

(End of this chapter)