The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 399 Jiangnan and Northwest

Jiangnan Province, which is the approximate area of Jiangsu Province and Shanghai in later generations, has always been a place of key surveillance by the Qing Dynasty.

Among them, the two Manchu and Han generals, General Jiangning and Admiral Jiangnan, were the main garrison military commanders.

Therefore, for the Qing Dynasty at this time, the Governor of Jiangnan was definitely the most powerful person in the Green Camp.

Moreover, the post of Jiangnan Governor was established before the Jiangnan Province was split, so his jurisdiction was very large. He was in charge of the Green Camp soldiers of the Seven Prefectures of Upper Jiang (Anhui) and the Seven Prefectures of Lower Jiang (Jiangsu).

Historically, it was not until the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803) that the Qing court gave the governor of Anhui the title of Anhui governor-general, and the governor-general of Jiangnan became responsible for only the military affairs of Jiangnan Province.

However, the residence of the Qing Dynasty's Jiangnan Governor was very strange. He was in charge of the military affairs of the entire Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, but his residence was in Songjiang Prefecture, which is near Shanghai.

The reason for setting it up in this way was that the biggest threat to the entire Jiangnan region did not come from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, but from the southeast coast, so the powerful Jiangnan Governor was placed in Songjiang.

Firstly, it is convenient to suppress the rebellion nearby, and secondly, it is convenient to cooperate with the admiral of the Fujian Navy.

Because the Jiangnan Governor also has a near-shore fleet, and even an inland navy in the Yangtze River, he can also go to the near sea to provide support when necessary.

But that was no longer possible. Mo Zibu had destroyed most of the Qing navy in the Battle of Bailongwei Island. Without a real inland navy under the control of the Jiangnan Admiral, it was even more impossible to go out to sea and engage in a head-on confrontation.

Therefore, there was no need for the Governor-General of Jiangnan to be stationed in Songjiang anymore. Under the order of Emperor Qianlong, the Governor-General of Jiangnan was moved to Changzhou.

The intention was, firstly, to prevent the Xingtang Army from advancing towards Nanjing by land, and secondly, since Changzhou was not far from Jiangyin, artillery batteries could be set up in Jiangyin to block the Xingtang Navy from going upstream.

The arrangement seems to be really good. In addition to making full use of the warships of the Yangtze River inland navy, the Eight Banners soldiers of Jiangning can also be used to push the Han Army Green Camp to the front as cannon fodder.

If we ignore some things that Qianlong simply could not understand, this arrangement can be regarded as first-class.

This also shows that the Qing emperor did have some skills.

But if you want to say how powerful he was, that is not necessarily the case, because Qianlong overlooked the most important place, the key fortress guarding the Yangtze River, which is called Jiangyin.

It's called Jiangyin!
Qianlong, with his almost senile brain, must have forgotten what happened here!

How could the Bannermen try to stop the Han army from reviving the country in Jiangyin, a place soaked in the blood of loyal ministers and righteous people!
The first county of Changzhou Prefecture is Wujin.

Under the protection of his personal guards, Jiangnan Governor Yu Jinao came to a secluded house where there were only two people.

One is Qian Rucheng, the nephew of Yu Jinao, and the other is Zhao Yi, a famous writer who is well-known in Changzhou Prefecture, the whole Jiangnan region, and the world.

Yu Jinao was about fifty years old and was from Tianjin County, Tianjin Prefecture, Zhili Province. He was of strong physique, heroic, and strong character. He was able to win the hearts of his soldiers and was considered one of the most powerful generals in the Green Camp of the Qing Dynasty.

When he saw his nephew Qian Rucheng, who was seven or eight years older than him, he sighed deeply.

"Lizhi, you are still ill. Why don't you take care of yourself? Why do you have to travel thousands of miles to this dangerous place? If something goes wrong, how will I explain it to your mother?"

Qian Rucheng, whose courtesy name was Lizhi, was a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He was the 27th generation grandson of King Qian Liu of Wuyue, the kind with a real record of inheritance. His father, Qian Chenqun, was a famous minister during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods and died four years ago.

Strictly speaking, Yu Jinao was not Qian Rucheng's biological uncle, because Yu Jinao's sister was just the second wife of Qian Rucheng's father Qian Chenqun who married in the north.

But Qian Rucheng was a very filial man. Even though his uncle was not related to him by blood, was younger than him, and was a warrior, Qian Rucheng still respected him very much and behaved very respectfully, treating him as his own uncle.

"Uncle, my little illness is nothing, but you are in great danger right now. If you make a mistake, you will regret it forever!"

"It's the same excuse again!" Yu Jinao waved his hand a little impatiently.

"My Yangtze River Navy has over 200 warships. Although Mo Guangzhong's navy is strong, his large ships cannot enter the Yangtze River and must sail upstream. He may not be able to win.

Moreover, Jiangyin's defenses are strong, and the artillery positions along the river are hidden in the hills. There are more than 30 cannons over 3,000 jin, which are more than enough to block the river. Even if Sun Wu were resurrected, he would not be able to get through easily.

Zhao Yi picked up the tea bowl, took a sip, and then looked at Yu Jinao coldly.

At this time, Jiangyin was under the jurisdiction of Changzhou. As a Changzhou native, Zhao Yi naturally couldn't stand Yu Jinao's appearance. He couldn't help but say:

"General Yu has said a thousand words, but have you forgotten one thing? The place your troops are stationed in is called Jiangyin.

One hundred and thirty years ago, Yan Yingyuan, a mere official, performed a heroic and extraordinary feat. One hundred thousand people in Jiangyin died for him, and the city was soaked in their blood.

"One hundred thousand Han heroes are guarding this city, yet the general actually thinks he can use the desperate traitors of the Green Camp to resist the Han army that will reopen the Ming Dynasty!"

When Yu Jinao heard the name Yan Yingyuan, an awkward and uncomfortable look flashed across his face. He stammered twice and slowly said:
"Over a hundred years have passed since the Jiangyin Incident, and the loyal and righteous people of Jiangyin have long since perished. Does Zhao Tanhua want to use the past to scare people today?"

It would have been fine if Yu Jinao hadn't mentioned the word "Tanhua", but once he mentioned it, Zhao Yi's anger could no longer be suppressed.

Because in history, Zhao Yi was originally the top scholar, but at the last moment, Qianlong came out to force a balance. He said that since the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, there has never been a top scholar from Shaanxi, so he ordered people to swap the test paper of Wang Jie from Shaanxi with that of Zhao Yi.

So, in the end, Wang Jie won the top spot with Zhao Yi's paper, while Zhao Yi became the third place.

This was his lifelong grudge, and he would be devastated if anyone mentioned it.

How great was his resentment? Zhao Yi even dared to curse the palace examination presided over by Qianlong as a cheap race and Wang Jie as a corrupt scholar in his own works when Qianlong was launching a literary inquisition. It can be seen how deeply he was hurt.

Of course, this was also an important reason why Zhao Yi was quickly instigated by Dayu. As for other reasons.

Besides being a Han Chinese, the reason for this was that the Emperor of Dayu, Mo Tianci, greatly admired Zhao Yi's literary talent and poetry, and even sent someone to Changshu secretly to ask Zhao Yi to write an inscription for his painting.

Who the hell can resist the feeling of being chased by the emperor?

So when Zhao Yi heard Yu Jinao say that this was something that happened in ancient times, he, who was already a bit conceited and extreme, refuted it mercilessly on the spot.

"It's been over a thousand years since Zhang Xun defended Suiyang. Has he been forgotten? All 100,000 people died in Jiangyin. Did all 2 million people in Changzhou Prefecture die?

Where did the people in Jiangyin City come from now? They are the distant relatives of the Han heroes who moved into Jiangyin City from the countryside.

How do you know they have forgotten the blood feud of their ancestors? How do you know there are no loyal and righteous people in Jiangyin today?

In the Qing Dynasty, military men were inherently inferior. Zhao Yi was a renowned literary figure, having served as the prefect of Guangzhou. Yu Jinao found it difficult to retort. Seeing his uncle's frustration, Qian Rucheng calmly explained, "I served in the Central Government as Vice President of the Siku Quanshu. I witnessed firsthand how Emperor Qianlong edited and burned precious books to cover up the shameful past of these Tungusic barbarians."

As for my Han family, even Qin Shi Huang, who burned books and buried scholars, could not do such a cruel and inhumane thing. When my nephew thinks about it now, he still feels extremely regretful and feels sorry for his ancestors.

On the other hand, Mo Guangzhong ordered his nephew to come and persuade his uncle, not because it was really as his uncle said that the navy of the Xing Tang Army could not reach Jiangning.

But during the process of recovering the lost territories, in big cities like Fuzhou and Hangzhou where bannermen were stationed, incidents occurred where bannermen attempted to kill Han people.

Your Majesty is concerned about the safety of the six or seven hundred thousand Han people in Jiangning and hopes that my uncle can lead his troops back to Jiangning before the Xing Tang army, trick the city gates into opening, and prevent the Manchus from slaughtering the city."

Yu Jinao remained silent, but Zhao Yi became even more unforgiving, glaring at Yu Jinao fiercely.

"You are just a soldier, and the few grains of rations you eat from the Qing Dynasty are all earned with blood and sweat. You are like a guard dog, eating a few mouthfuls of leftovers, but you think you are a family with your master and even call yourself a loyal minister. Isn't that ridiculous!

Moreover, as a Han Chinese, at this moment, we should be more aware of the national justice.

Your Majesty has given you this opportunity out of kindness, so that you can transform yourself from a guard dog into an upright man. If you still don't learn from this, you will live in confusion and die in frustration, and your name will be remembered as a traitor in history."

Although he is a great writer, Zhao Yi's scolding is really poisonous, and he directly scolded Yu Jinao to the point of breaking his defense.

But Yu Jinao was also a straightforward person in history. As an old soldier of the Green Camp, he dared to contradict Heshen, who was at the peak of his power. In the end, even though he was still capable of leading troops, he was driven back to his hometown to eat dirt.

He became stubborn and wanted to argue with Zhao Yi, but he suddenly found that his nephew Qian Rucheng was looking at him with a very distant and strange look, and he was stunned for a moment.

Seeing that Yu Jinao did not lose his temper, Qian Rucheng finally persuaded him: "Uncle, your nephew has been in the central government for a long time, and my father has also been a minister of two dynasties. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of the Manchus and the Eastern Tartars. The current Manchu Qing Dynasty is far inferior to the Mongols.

In the past, we had no choice but to serve the Tartars as dogs against our conscience. But now that a hero of the Han Dynasty has emerged and Emperor Tianshengguang has saved the Han Dynasty like Emperor Hongwu did, why should we continue to serve the Tartars as dogs?

Anyway, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been settled, and my Qian family has already followed the emperor. If you have any difficulties, please tell me now."

Qian Rucheng almost said "Isn't he born lowly?", but considering that he couldn't provoke Yu Jinao anymore, he held it back.

In fact, Qian Rucheng and Zhao Yi were both wrong. Mo Zibu wanted to surrender Yu Jinao and prevent the Jiangning Bannermen from killing people in Nanjing, which was just a small reason.

It's very simple. Mo Zibu is fighting a war. His life and property, as well as a hundred thousand soldiers, are in his hands. His main goal is to win a complete victory. Apart from this goal, how could he have the energy to take everything into consideration?

Especially if his concerns were discovered by the Qing Dynasty, he would be in trouble. Every time the Qing Dynasty captured a big city, they would threaten the lives of local people.

This will not only fail to save many people, but will increase their danger.

Therefore, the reason why Mo Zibu wanted to subdue Yu Jinao the most was this guy’s resume.

After passing the military imperial examination in the seventh year of Qianlong's reign, this man served as the commander of the Xining City Defense Camp in Gansu, a guerrilla in the Lanzhou Camp, the lieutenant general of the Suzhou Town Flag Camp, the lieutenant general of the Xining Town Zhenhai Camp, the deputy general of the Xifeng Association in Shaanxi, the general of the Suzhou Town in Gansu, and later was in charge of the Ili Presidential Garrison Affairs, the general of Barkol, the admiral of Barkol, the admiral of Urumqi, etc.

It can be said that Yu Jinao basically held all the Green Camp official positions in the northwest of the Qing Dynasty, from Dusi to Admiral, from Suzhou, Liangzhou to Urumqi to Yili.

Among Yu Jinao's personal soldiers, there were also a large number of Hui and Han people from Hebei and Gansu.

Among all the Green Camp officers of the Qing Dynasty at that time, no one who understood the Northwest could fight as well as he did, and no one who could fight understood the Northwest as well as he did.

In history, Fukang'an suppressed the Hui Rebellion mainly by relying on Yu Jinao as his vanguard and adviser.

How important is it to have such a talented person who knows the Northwest so well when the Hui rebellion in the Northwest is about to break out? Let me put it this way.

It is said that in the early years of the reform and opening up of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of cunning soy milk sellers took advantage of the fact that the national policy was willing to compromise with them and give them special care, and came from the Western Regions to Fanyang City and other places to sell skewers and cakes.

They force purchases and sales, not only charging exorbitant prices, but also cutting off the goods and leaving them there. Mainland law enforcement officers dare not do anything about it.

Once they were controlled, they would attack en masse, with foreign journalists snapping photos. This brought public security and order to a complete mess in major cities like Fanyang.

Finally, there was no other way, so a smart person came up with a clever idea and specially transferred a group of law enforcement officers of the same ethnic group as Dounai from the Western Regions.

When these people arrived in Fanyang, they did not tolerate these Dou Nai. They knew Dou Nai's character very well, so whenever they met anyone who dared to make trouble, they would drag him to a corner and beat him until his mouth and nose bled.

There was no language barrier. After asking about their place of origin, they sent them directly back to their hometown to study in a study class.

This time, within a few months, they relied solely on their big dick to perfectly solve the problems that the Fanyang law enforcement officers could not do.

Later, other major cities followed suit and quickly suppressed this unhealthy trend.

This is the advantage of having knowledgeable people on hand.

Yu Jinao is exactly the kind of person Mo Zibu needs.

I, Emperor Mo, am a Cantonese and have no idea about the Northwest. If I don't recruit a group of talents now, I will be completely unable to take action in the future when I enter the Northwest where the people are extremely conservative and ethnic conflicts are serious.

For Yu Jinao, his greatest reliance is the Qian family.

Otherwise, in a court where civil officials are valued and military officials are looked down upon, without the support of a powerful family like the Qian family at the top of the officialdom, how could he have had a successful career, landed in that impoverished tiankeng in Gansu, and even traveled all the way to Guangdong and Jiangnan to serve as an admiral?

He was hesitant before because he didn't know whether the Qian family's attitude was firm. Now seeing that the Qian family was really going to vote, Yu Jinao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

In fact, Lan Yuanmei's lobbyists had already arrived at his military camp, but they had not made a final decision and wanted to see the situation.

But the Qian family had already surrendered, and if he didn't, the Qing Dynasty would no longer trust him.

Yu Jinao did not say that his family was in Tianjin or anything like that. At this time, his family could just hide in the countryside, or go south to the sea to find someone to pick them up. The Qing Dynasty might not have the mind to look for his family and persecute them.

"I, Yu Jinao, have been able to hold the high position of Jiangnan Governor thanks to the support of my brother-in-law and the Qian family over the years. Now that the Qian family has made the decision to establish him, I, as your uncle, must support you."

Qian Rucheng was overjoyed. For him, who would be willing to be a dog for the Bannermen if he could serve the Han emperor? Unless he had no choice.

"Lieutenant Colonel General Chen Guangzu and Wang Wuchu of the Yuan Cong Imperial Guards of the Great Yu Imperial Army have already arrived in Changzhou. They are your Majesty's confidants. Please ask my uncle to be the vanguard and lead them in a surprise attack on Nanjing!"

(End of this chapter)