The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 403: Your Majesty, please don’t let anything happen to you (Excited

Qianlong had been stationed in Linqing Prefecture, Shandong, a key point on the Grand Canal, for four months, and most of the Beijing court had been moved here.

This is enough to prove that although he made the strategic decision to abandon Jiangnan and fight a decisive battle with Mo Zibu in Huaibei and southeastern Henan, he still found it very difficult to let go in his heart.

Because in Linqing Prefecture, he can also remotely control the Governor of the Grand Canal and the Governor of the Rivers, maintaining the ability to respond quickly to the battles in the south of the Yangtze River, especially the Battle of Nanjing.

However, what he never expected was that as the situation changed, more and more people became pessimistic about the Qing Dynasty, which greatly affected the confidence of Han officials within the Qing Dynasty in the Qing court.

As their confidence began to decline, the Qing court's ability to operate began to decline rapidly.

After all, no matter what political system the Qing Dynasty implemented or what form the bureaucratic system took, the real people who did things, or the foundation, were still the huge Han bureaucrats.

If the operating speed of the Qing court was 55 before Mo Zibu ascended the throne in Guangzhou, then by the time Mo Zibu ascended the throne, it would be at most 45, and now, 30 is considered good.

Therefore, although Qianlong was defending Linqing Prefecture, by the time he learned the battle plan of Jiangning General Hao Chun and Deputy Governor Cheng De to only defend Mancheng, it had already become a reality.

Of course, Qianlong didn't know this yet. He took Hao Chun's report and threw it to the ground in anger. Looking at the Manchu and Han ministers and veteran generals in the room, he roared loudly: "Hao Chun is incompetent, and Cheng De is also confused!"

"How can we only defend Mancheng? If Mo mobilizes hundreds of thousands of people from Jiangning, how can we resist with only these few tens of thousands of people in Mancheng?"

After Qianlong finished shouting, he paused as usual and took a sip of tea, because in the past, after he finished shouting, it was the turn of his ministers to offer their opinions.

However, at this moment, no one came out of the house as usual, and it fell into deathly silence.

Those who can be in this room are all the smartest people among millions of people. They know exactly what Qianlong is thinking.

Qianlong's plan was simply to let Hao Chun, Cheng De and Yang Kui control the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangning City, and then use various methods to force them to defend the city, or even fight against the Xing Tang Army.

Even if this is not possible, at least we must treat these hundreds of thousands of people as hostages and let them die in large numbers at the hands of the Xing Tang Army.

In this way, the most dazzling halo of Mo Guangzhong, who came up with the theory of righteousness, loyalty and treachery, proposed new words such as nation, national hero, and traitor, and claimed that he was the restorer and protector of the Han nation, and the tool that was most effective in inciting the people's hatred towards the Manchu nobles, would immediately be desecrated and polluted.

But it seems that Hao Chun, Cheng De and Yang Kui did not understand this meaning, did not think about the political impact at all, and directly considered the military aspect.

So Qianlong paused at this time, hoping that the ministers below would take the initiative to suggest this to him, and then Qianlong would be forced to agree to this policy with tears and pain under the strong advice of his ministers.

The people of Jiangning will suffer, and the minister who proposed it will bear the blame.

At this time, Qianlong was still thinking about winning the hearts of his subjects, so he could not do something like directly ordering the killing of Han people.

But these are hundreds of thousands of lives. In the past, some people might have done this for their future, but anyone who does this now is simply a fool.

Moreover, among the four Han Chinese grand secretaries and military ministers that Qianlong paid special attention to, Cheng Jingyi was from Wujin, Changzhou, Jiangsu; Dong Gao was from Fuyang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Liang Guozhi was from Kuaiji County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang; and only Yuan Shoutong was from Zouping, Shandong.

Although the three brothers in front looked calm and composed, they probably had the same voice in their hearts.

'No, buddy, are you losing your mind or something?
The three of us brothers have lost our hometown, and our entire family is in the hands of Mo Guangzhong. At this time, we can still sit here and act like a clay Buddha to support you instead of running away. We are already the most loyal ministers in the world, okay!

What are you thinking? You still want us to take the blame at this time?
And you are still being blamed for this kind of cruel and infamous behavior. I call you "Jun Dad", and you really think you are my dad!

Cheng, Dong and Liang didn't move at all, and Yuan Shoutong, a Shandong native, was even less likely to move.

He is now a banner of the entire northern scholars. As long as the Qing Dynasty does not want to lose the north immediately, it has to coax him. He is not afraid.

In the awkward silence, even the Bannermen ministers kept their mouths shut. This pot was too big, and without a big head, it would be impossible to bear it.

At this moment, Qianlong suddenly thought of a person whom he had always despised, that is, the former Ming Emperor Chongzhen.

I think Chongzhen must have faced the same situation back then. If he wanted to let these cunning ministers take the blame, he would have no chance without absolute control over them.

It was unknown how long it took before Sa Zai, a Manchu from the Plain Yellow Banner and the Governor of the Jiangnan River, whispered:

"Jiangning is a city with high walls and dozens of cannons. Chengde is also a brave general. Since they have proposed a plan, they will definitely be able to hold on. Now that the war is approaching and the situation ahead is volatile, it is not advisable to change back and forth.

I believe that the most important thing now is to unite the Green Camps of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei provinces in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Caobiao and Hebiao troops stationed in Yangzhou, so that we can unite our forces when the old soldiers of the Mo bandit army are exhausted."

Sa Zai's original intention was good. Although he did not want to take the blame for harming hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangning, he still wanted to rescue Qianlong from embarrassment. At the same time, what he said were real problems that needed to be solved.

But Sa Zai could never have dreamed that Emperor Qianlong did not want to rescue the tens of thousands of bannermen in Jiangning City at all, because there was no way to rescue them. Qianlong knew that Mo Zibu would definitely mobilize the people in the south of the Yangtze River, and there would be no time when the army was old and the soldiers were tired.

However, just as Qianlong was about to speak, Yuan Shoutong, a key official from Shandong who had been silent, immediately jumped in and agreed, "Governor Sa is right, the most urgent task is to coordinate our actions.

In particular, the Governor of the Grand Canal has over 200,000 canal workers along the river. If they were organized, they would immediately become an elite force. They are also familiar with the Yangtze River and inland river warfare. The southern bandits' offshore navy would certainly be difficult to resist."

This sentence completely blocked Qianlong's retreat.

Qianlong was anxious and angry. He knew what Yuan Shoutong was thinking. No! This was most likely what the Han officials in the world were thinking.

That is, it was difficult for them to place a bet at this time because the Qing court still had an army.

Therefore, the best way to make the future as clear as possible is to fight a decisive battle.

Even if the Qing court wins the battle, they will still be high-ranking officials. And since the Mo rebels cannot be defeated in one battle, their next step will be to organize militia to further seize power.

If the Qing Dynasty was defeated, they would immediately bet on Mo Guangzhong, and the Qing Dynasty would probably not be able to keep the area south of the Yellow River soon.

"Yes, I agree with Governor Sa's opinion. This is the top priority!"

"In the 41st year, my army marched to the North River and still achieved a tragic victory. Now the Xing Tang army has taken the initiative to send troops south of the Yangtze River. I have the advantage of time and place, and they are doomed to fail." Liang Guozhi, already certain that his entire family had been arrested, even knelt down with a plop. "Your Majesty, I beg you to go to Yangzhou to supervise the battle. I want to watch as our Qing army annihilates the enemy!"

Amazing!
Cheng Jingyi and Dong Gao both gave a thumbs up in their hearts. Damn, if they go to the Yangzhou front, it will be even easier to escape.

After hearing the three brothers' words of taking advantage of his misfortune, Qianlong suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe, as if something was blocking his chest. Then his vision began to shake, and his head felt inexplicably swollen and painful, as if it was about to explode.

Qianlong was furious. This guy was just waiting for him to go all in and reveal his true colors! When he thought about the fact that he had promoted all these people, he felt despair.

He took a strong breath and stood up suddenly, opening his mouth to curse, but suddenly he felt a fishy-sweet taste in his mouth and his stomach churned.

Qianlong shook twice, opened his mouth involuntarily, and with a "wow" sound, a stream of blood spurted out of his mouth, and then he fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" The eunuch behind Qianlong cried out and quickly supported Qianlong before he fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty!" Cheng, Dong and Liang also rushed over quickly, pretending to be very sad on their faces, but when their eyes met, they found that they all had an indescribable excitement.

Qianlong was about to turn 67 years old. If he got too angry, he might even have a stroke.

If he, the backbone of the Manchus, were not there, even if his actions and words were restricted, the overall situation in the world would immediately become clear.

The three old kings pretended to be busy, pinching the Ren Zhong point, stroking the chest, and calling the imperial physician. The room was in chaos.

Among them, Liang Guozhi performed the best, with tears streaming down his face as if his father had suffered a stroke.

At this moment, Yuan Shoutong, who was not so busy on the side, handed Liang Guozhi a handkerchief to wipe his tears.

Liang Guozhi took it and took a look at it quietly. Sure enough, there was a note stuck in the handkerchief. Liang Guozhi immediately slowed down and did not join the team shouting and cheering to send Qianlong off.

After everyone left, he returned to his room and quickly opened the note, "The stars are divided into Yi and Zhen, the sky is full of military medicine, and the Duke should return south."

Liang Guozhi immediately understood what it meant. Yizhen is the southern constellation among the twenty-eight constellations, and Que means missing. Jun and Yao are Liang Guozhi's specialties.

Among the four Han ministers under Emperor Qianlong, Yuan Shoutong was impartial and ruthless, serving as an important member of the Discipline Inspection Commission. Dong Gao was a master of both calligraphy and painting, skilled in writing and drafting. Cheng Jingyi was good at personnel management.

Only Liang Guozhi was a true official. During the Battle of Jinchuan, Liang Guozhi served as Yu Minzhong's deputy and "managed military equipment, manufactured ammunition, and raised military funds, with outstanding performance."

In other words, this person is proficient in military equipment and gunpowder, can supervise craftsmen in production, is familiar with the collection and overall arrangement of military rations, etc., and is a real candidate for the Chief of Logistics.

At the same time, this is also the talent that Mo Zibu lacks the most. Among the Fujianese in the three Guangxi provinces under the command of my great emperor Mo, there are very few people who can do such comprehensive logistics work.

No, I should say no!

Wu Shixiu was just a servant of the Mo family, and now he is unable to manage the Five Military Commandery. The others, Pei Jiannan and Chen Taili, are either incompetent or too old.

Lin Tong is better at personnel management and diplomacy.

As a result, Mo Zibu has now set up a vertical management department to do a lot of work himself.

Liang Guozhi thought about it for a while and he understood why Yuan Shoutong took the risk.

Because no matter from the perspective of status or benefits, no Han official in the world would be willing to have a group of bannermen nobles above him.

In particular, most of the people in this powerful group are uneducated and greedy.

From a personal point of view, who would want to have a pig's tail? Isn't it good for the Han people to have their own golden hair crowns and neat clothes?

Moreover, Yuan Shoutong's younger brother Yuan Shoucheng and Ji Yun are in-laws, and Ji Yun has now boarded the ship, so there is not much point in Yuan Shoutong insisting on it.

After figuring this out, Liang Guozhi took out another letter from the box. This was a secret letter from Huang Jue of the Yuyao Huang family.

This descendant of Huang Zongxi had already fled to Dayu and was currently serving as the principal of the Danhua Academy of the Dayu Imperial College. He was also granted a Taoist temple and was honored as the Heavenly Master. He was mainly responsible for improving and manufacturing gunpowder for Dayu.

Yuyao and Liang Guozhi's hometown of Kuaiji both belong to Shaoxing Prefecture. The Liang family and the Yuyao Huang family have been intermarried for generations. In terms of seniority, Huang Jue is still his nephew.

Liang Guozhi is proficient in firearms and is particularly familiar with gunpowder because he is also a follower of the Sun Tao School of Taoism. He is not good at practicing spiritual dual cultivation and inner alchemy, but he is very experienced in playing with gunpowder and outer alchemy.

"Let's go, let's go. I'm only 55 years old. If I hurry up, I can still become a founding hero like Liu Qingtian."

After muttering a few words to himself, Liang Guozhi took the letters away without any luggage.

Then, not far away when he went out, he saw Yuan Shoutong's nephew, Yuan Xu, Ji Xiaolan's second son-in-law, not far away.

Liang Guozhi understood what he meant and followed him. Now, apart from the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing, the main guards in Linqing Prefecture are the Green Camp of Shandong Province.

Although the current governor and admiral of Shandong is the Manchu Guotai, as a long-standing local tyrant in Shandong, even if he can't do anything else, he can still send a few people away.

Yuan Xu had already brought a set of clothes commonly worn by merchants and a melon-shaped hat. Liang Guozhi quickly changed into them. Under the cover of a Green Camp captain, they soon arrived at the outskirts of the city, where mules, horses and a merchant caravan had already been prepared.

They would take Liang Guozhi by land to Tongzhou Prefecture (Nantong).

Liang Guozhi nodded to Yuan Xu and said, "After I return south, I will definitely explain your intentions to His Majesty."

Yuan Xu bowed in thanks. His father-in-law had also joined the movement, so he was the most supportive person in the entire Yuan family.

"Have a safe trip, my lord. Please tell His Majesty that my Yuan family is willing to cooperate with us to the best of our ability, no matter what intelligence we can obtain."

(End of this chapter)