The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 390 The Head Bears the Hero

Yu Minzhong died. His fate was doomed since he treated Emperor Qianlong as a fool and played him in the palm of his hand.

However, in this time and space, the appearance of Mo Zibu made Qianlong even more embarrassed.

In order to pull back the Han army flags that had been on the march in the past forty years, the Qing court had to re-activate the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Camp, hoping to suppress Mo Zibu like it had done in the past when it suppressed the Three Feudatories.

All of these require a lot of money to settle.

So Mo Zibu chose a good time. If he chose to start the rebellion before the Jinchuan War, the Qing court would have had tens of millions of taels of silver in savings at that time. It is estimated that the second war would have started in Guangdong by now, which would be a great test for Mo Zibu.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty was facing a huge void after the Jinchuan War. They were extremely short of money, and the best choice was naturally to start with the fat pigs they had raised in the past.

For example, the salt merchants in Yangzhou, and corrupt Han officials like Yu Minzhong.

Therefore, Yu Minzhong, who could not escape Emperor Qianlong's cup of poisoned wine in history, had no reason to escape it at this time, it was just that the time was more than two years earlier.

However, Qianlong had no idea how great a shock killing Minzhong at this time would have on the literati in Jiangnan.

Qianlong also felt that Yu Minzhong had betrayed him first, and he did not hand over the crime of such a treacherous minister and corrupt official to the officials, but only executed him secretly, and even issued a special edict to cover it up for him, which was already a great favor.

However, in the eyes of the Jiangnan literati, Yu Minzhong served the Qing Dynasty for thirty or forty years, and among the Han officials after Liu Tongxun, he was the one who worked the hardest and made the greatest contributions.

From the four expeditions to Burma to the Jinchuan Campaign, although Yu Minzhong was greedy, he could be said to have worked tirelessly when he was in office.

Especially in the second battle of Jinchuan, all the baggage, food, laborers and military pay had to be mobilized. Without Yu Minzhong, the Qing court would not have been able to carry out such a large-scale mobilization of laborers.

Not to mention anything else, even the account books of more than 60 million taels of silver were incomprehensible to no one in the Qing Dynasty.

As for Yu Minzhong's corruption, if it were in Mo Zibu's Dayu Dynasty, it would indeed be an extremely terrifying corruption.

But Qing Dynasty, do you want to take a look at the moral character of the bannermen officials under you?

None of you Bannermen have half the ability of Yu Minzhong, and none of you doesn’t embezzle money whenever you have the chance.

If there was a bannerman like Yu Minzhong who had the opportunity to control tens of millions of taels of silver at any time, and only embezzled three million taels in thirty years, he would definitely be an honest official.

Therefore, he felt that he had shown special mercy and leniency to Emperor Qianlong.

But in the eyes of the scholars in Jiangnan, this is like the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dogs are cooked, and the good bows are put away after the birds are all gone.

Of course, in Mo Zibu's view, Yu Minzhong's death was not unjust. It was not because he played tricks on Emperor Qianlong or engaged in corruption, but because he revealed the Achilles' heel of the Qing Dynasty to Mo Zibu.

When Yu Minzhong asked Yu Dong to take a letter to Mo Zibu for the last time, he told Mo Zibu that after the battle of Beihe destroyed the invincible Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus would be blind, deaf and lame even though they had all their organs.

Now it has come true. Lin Qiaoyin is active in Jiangnan with dozens of people. The people below may not know him and think he is a scholar who fled from Fujian, but the top leaders of the entire Jiangnan scholar community definitely know who he is.

But no one reported it to the Qing Dynasty, and no one attempted to use Lin Qiaoyin's head in exchange for wealth and honor.

The reason is simple. Throughout the Qing Dynasty, there has never been an official with the kind of integrity as in the Song and Ming Dynasties.

Of the only two people, Yu Chenglong could only show sympathy to his subordinates and did not dare to touch the rules of the Qing Dynasty officialdom at all, so he could only be considered half-hearted.

Lin Zexu, also known as Lin Wen Zhong Gong, based his decision entirely on national sentiment. Between the two pieces of shit - the Qing Dynasty and imperialism - he chose the relatively better Qing Dynasty.

And why does this happen?
That’s because dynasties like the Song and Ming were truly dynasties of scholars, and the glory of civil servants was so great that even later generations who read history still find it exaggerated.

In this environment where the emperor absolutely shares the world with the literati, naturally a large number of officials with integrity and ability will emerge to clean up the officialdom and serve the emperor and the court sincerely.

Because protecting the officialdom and the emperor is also protecting themselves.

This even led to the emergence of people like Hai Rui who were almost morally perfect.

So if it were the Ming Dynasty, a hundred Lin Qiaoyins would have been caught and beaten to death a hundred times by officials like Hai Rui.

But this did not happen in the Qing Dynasty, because Han officials, both high and low, were just idling around. When they got ahead, they would engage in corruption, and when they were investigated, they would go home and eat rice.

Anyway, even if you report Lin Qiaoyin, it will only upgrade him from a watchdog to a pet dog. How much significance will it have?

Haven't you seen the treatment of people like Shen Deqian and Yu Minzhong? Or do you want to emulate Liu Tongxun, who was denied permission to retire eight times and ultimately died of exhaustion in his sedan chair on his way to court?

Therefore, the officials who are more informed are now waiting for the outcome of the second war between Yu and Qing. Once the Qing Dynasty cannot win, or even if the Qing Dynasty wins miserably, they will immediately defect.

After all, the phrase "The world belongs to all people in the world" is too lethal to Confucian officials, making them unable to help but always associate it with the phrase "Our dynasty and the scholar-officials share the world."

So when Ji Xiaolan was compiling the Siku Quanshu while secretly copying and imitating books and illustrations that should have been destroyed, the Han officials around him not only did not report it, but also tacitly helped cover it up, and even did it themselves.

Their idea is very simple. If the Han court really returns in the future, then all these things today will be considered as merits.

This is the Achilles' heel of this semi-slave and semi-colonial regime. The high-ranking colonizers are out of touch with the masses below. At the same time, the extremely small population and large number of upward channels make it difficult for them to produce a large number of high-quality talents through extreme internal circulation.

So they had to use the smart people among the ruled people to play this intermediary role.

However, as the strength and knowledge of these intermediate roles continue to increase, it becomes very painful for them to only be able to choose one role among stray dog, watchdog and pet dog.

Of course, as dogs, they have no way to resist independently. However, when another option appears, and it is one of their own people, everything changes and they have hope.

Therefore, even if no one comes out to unify the thoughts of Han officials and literati, he will tacitly cooperate spontaneously.

Without these people actively conveying information upwards, the Qing court would indeed have become deaf and blind to a certain extent.

The current Qianlong is not even as clear about the specific situation in Jiangnan as Mo Zibu, so it is not surprising that he has gone astray step by step.

. . . .

Qian Dazhao and his fifteen-year-old son Qian Dongyuan squeezed into a small ship. The rough waves made him feel a little seasick.

Qian Dazhao saw many people in the cabin. Some of them were familiar to him, and of course others were familiar to him, but they did not greet each other.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty still rules Jiangnan, and the future is still unclear. At least before they see the Great Yu Dynasty with their own eyes, they cannot be sure who the future belongs to.

The small ship was swaying from side to side. When Qian Dazhao was already seasick and almost unable to bear it, he suddenly heard the captain's shout.

"We've arrived in Zhoushan, we've arrived in Zhoushan. Everyone, please disembark here. A large ocean ship will be here to pick you up soon."

Qian Dazhao breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he didn't have to sit in this narrow boat and row all the way to Guangzhou.

"What is that? Is that the big ship from the West mentioned in the book?" Qian Dazhao's son Qian Dongyuan shouted excitedly as more than thirty people got off the boat.

A group of people looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a huge multi-masted warship entering Dinghai Port on the sea in the distance.

"It's really big, and the soft sails of the West are indeed different from ours." Looking at the big ship sailing on the sea, Qian Dazhao couldn't help but observe it carefully.

"That's a lot of guns! There are at least eighteen on one side. No wonder the Zhoushan navy is no match for them."

Another scholar screamed in surprise. Qian Dazhao glanced sideways and felt that the man looked familiar. He seemed to be from the Zhang family of Yin County. The Zhang family of Yin County was the family of the famous loyal minister Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Cangshui. Historically, Zhang Huangyan's wife Dong and son Zhang Wanqi were rescued by Qian Qianyi in the 1658th year of the Yongli reign ().

Although Zhang Wanqi was subsequently killed together with the captured Zhang Huangyan in the 1664th year of the Yongli reign (the rd year of the Kangxi reign ()), Zhang Wanqi had offspring.

The Zhang family of Yin County claimed that both of Zhang Wanqi's sons had died young, but that was just a cover-up to prevent the Qing Dynasty from continuing its settlement.

The scholar named Zhang also recognized Qian Dazhao. The two of them bowed to each other awkwardly and were about to answer each other when the captain spoke again.

"More than a hundred warships of the Tartar Fujian Navy were completely destroyed. How could the Zhoushan Navy possibly resist?

This is the Xia Wanchun-class fifth-class sailing cruiser, carrying 300 officers and soldiers, and equipped with 42 guns, including the 3,000-jin 36-pound howitzer you mentioned.

These are among the largest ships in Dayu. Aside from the main battleships of the Western Kingdom, they naturally have no rivals on this sea."

Qian Dazhao was horrified, and the scholar surnamed Zhang also had an expression of disbelief on his face. "General, what is the name of this ship?"

The captain of the ship was a retired naval guard, originally a pirate brought by Li Xianwen. When he heard Qian Dazhao call him general, a rare look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Xia Wanchun! I heard from my son that he was a great hero. He was taught about this in elementary school. A few months ago, when I went home, my son told me the story of Xia Wanchun."

The captain retired with the rank of Lieutenant Guard and made military achievements during the siege of Hue. After retirement, he was awarded the civilian title of Lieutenant of the Auxiliary State for his merits, so his children could enter the royal primary schools established in various provinces.

He was proud that a pirate's child could read and write in a royal school, but Qian Dazhao's attention was not on this at all.

The name Xia Wanchun kept echoing in his mind. Qian Dazhao had not vomited despite all the ups and downs along the way, but at this moment, he suddenly felt so excited that he felt like vomiting.

"Does His Majesty Guangzhong also know Xia Wanchun?"

For the scholars in Jiangnan at that time, the benchmark of anti-Qing resistance and the person most admired by the world must be Zhang Huangyan.

But the most heroic, the most heartbreaking, the one that makes people sigh even in their dreams at midnight, is Xia Wanchun.

Xia Wanchun was a child prodigy. At the age of fourteen, he followed his father Xia Yunyi in the uprising against the Qing Dynasty. He went through many hardships along the way and never lost his national integrity.

When he was less than sixteen years old, his father Xia Yunyi was defeated in battle. He then committed suicide by drowning because he did not want to be captured by the Qing government.

Shortly after he turned sixteen, his most respected teacher Chen Zilong instigated Wu Shengzhao, the governor of Suzhou and Songjiang, to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. However, Wu Shengzhao was not careful enough and was killed by the Qing government.

Chen Zilong led a volunteer army from eastern Zhejiang to support Wu Shengzhao, but was ambushed by the Qing army as soon as he arrived. Seeing that there was no hope of saving the country, Chen Zilong committed suicide by drowning.

Xia Wanchun had just turned sixteen at this time. In grief, he was preparing to go to Zhoushan to join Zhang Huangyan. Before leaving, he wanted to go home to see his stepmother and biological mother, but he was reported and captured.

Eighty days later, he cleverly cursed Hong Chengchou and left a suicide poem, "Three years as a traveler, today I am crowned the king again. Tears flow over the endless mountains and rivers, who says the world is vast! Knowing the road to the spring is near, it is hard to leave my hometown. When my spirit returns, I will see my spirit flag in the sky." Then he died bravely.

Executed with him were his uncle Xia Zhixu, his father-in-law Qian Zhan, his father-in-law's brother Qian Bing and more than 30 others.

My mother-in-law, Xu, was filled with grief and anger and also committed suicide by drowning on the same day.

Before this, Xia Wanchun's father-in-law's eldest son, Qian Xi, had been killed by the Qing government while recruiting local militia. In addition, Xia Wanchun's brother-in-law, Hou Wenzhong, and his sons, as well as his cousin-in-law, Hou Zhihan, had also died for their country.

Xia Wanchun's wife Qian Qinzhuan was so grief-stricken that she unfortunately lost the fetus. Xia Wanchun's only posthumous child died at birth. Qian Qinzhuan then became a monk and never left the temple for the rest of her life.

At the age of fourteen, Xia Wanchun was burdened with the hatred of the country and family, and was at the risk of being attacked. Hong Chengchou tempted him with high positions and generous salaries, but he did not change his loyalty to the country and the nation.

When the Qing army entered the pass, there were countless people who resisted, but there were very few people like Xia Wanchun, who resisted until his own family, uncle's family, father-in-law's family, brother-in-law's family, and his teacher all died for the country, and he himself sacrificed himself at the age of sixteen.

Even if people hundreds of years later heard about his deeds, they would shed tears for his heroism and loyalty, let alone now.

When the captain heard Qian Dazhao's doubt, he immediately became unhappy. He patted Qian Dazhao's arm and said, "My son knows everything, so how could His Majesty not know? Come with me."

Then the captain of the ship brought twenty or thirty scholars to a cliff not far from Dinghai County, where a statue that was about to be completed was standing.

This was a young and vigorous scholar. He held his sword with his left hand and pointed his halberd in the north, toward Songjiang Prefecture. He tilted his head slightly back, a smile on his face, and a look of determination between his eyebrows, as if saying to the people behind him, "Gentlemen, set sail and return home in honor."

Qian Dazhao's eyes welled up with tears. He saw a stone tablet under the statue, with a line of words engraved on the front: "May my people remember Xia Wanchun forever in their lifetime."

The back is inscribed with four lines of poetry: 'A tragic song of generosity, a thousand years of blood, a literary talent that will last a lifetime. I am now thirty-nine years old, and my head bears the weight of a hero.'

The signature is Hexian Mo Zhao. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the Jiawu year (1774), he was inspired by the loyalty and heroism of Xia Jun and his son.

This was a poem written by Liu Yazi in later generations to commemorate Xia Wanchun. Mo Zibu took it and modified it slightly, and passed it off as his own.

Qian Dazhao fell to his knees with a thud, tears gushing out like a spring. He kowtowed to the unfinished statue of Xia Wanchun continuously until his forehead was bleeding.

"I never expected to see the statue of my ancestor again today. There are still people in the world who remember him for his loyalty to the country before he even reached adulthood."

Qian Dazhao raised his bloodshot forehead and wailed, beckoning his son Qian Dongyuan to come over, "My son, come quickly, come and pay respect to our ancestors!"

Qian Dongyuan gave his father a strange look and asked, "Is Xia Zhongmin my ancestor?"

Qian Dazhao cried and said, "Mr. Qian Yanlin, the father-in-law of Mr. Xia, was from the same clan as us. After he and Mr. Xia were executed, Mr. Xia's wife was heartbroken over the death of her posthumous child and she became a nun.

Before she entered the Buddhist monastery, she entrusted Lord Xia's eldest daughter to the care of the Qian family of Jiading. When she grew up, she married into the Qian family and is your sixth-generation grandmother.

After his son knelt down and kowtowed, Qian Dazhao stood up and shouted to the Jiangnan scholars behind him, whose eyes were red:

"I am Qian Dazhao of Jiading. The Tartars killed my ancestors and harmed my people. From today on, I will follow the true Lord of the Han Dynasty and drive out the Tartars. Anyone who wishes to report this to the Qing Dynasty, please do so immediately."

At this moment, the scholar who had just stood next to Qian Dazhao suddenly came out. He took out a pair of scissors and cut off his braid with a click.

"I am Zhang Fu from Yin County. Zhang Cangshui from a hundred and twenty years ago was my great-uncle. Today, I will submit to His Majesty Guangzhong. I will fight the Tartars to the end!"

"Brother Qian, I am Chen Qiuze from Huating, and Young Master Chen Long is my ancestor. If you and I go together today, even if we die in battle right now, we will have the face to see our ancestors in the afterlife."

"Let's go together, let's go together. If my ancestor Xu An Gong knew about this, he would surely be able to smile in his grave!"

These descendants of loyal ministers, who were selected by Yu Dong, a servant of Minzhong, in cooperation with Lin Qiaoyin, finally became excited and cut off their braids in front of Xia Wanchun's statue.

At this moment, the blood of their ancestors was resurrected from them.

　According to records, before Xia Wanchun died, he already had a daughter who was about one year old, and his wife Qian Qinzhuan was also pregnant. After Xia Wanchun died along with his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Qian Qinzhuan was heartbroken and gave birth to a son, but the son died soon after.

　　Later, before Qian Qinzhuan became a monk out of despair, he gave his eldest daughter to be raised by his own clan members.

　　The record ends here. It is unknown whether she gave her daughter to be raised by the Xia family in Huating County or by the Qian family in Jiading County, a relative of her natal family.

　　Considering that almost all members of the Xia family died for their country at that time, it is very likely that the Qian family raised Xia Wanchun's only bloodline.

　　The stories in this book are just Tiger's guesses, and I don't know whether they are true or not. It is simply wishful thinking, hoping that this heroic orphan girl can have a peaceful life in that turbulent era.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)