The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 406: Exhausted and Dying
"The criminal Liang Guozhi pays homage to His Majesty!"

In Stone City, the army camp, Mo Zibu just found a small courtyard in the city as his temporary residence.

Seeing the thin old man crawling in front of him, Mo Zibu knew that he was not a simple person and the impact he would have after joining him would be very great.

Because Liang Guozhi was a very powerful person during the Qianlong period. He was the top scorer in the imperial examination in the 1748th year of Qianlong's reign, which was .

He served successively as Governor of Hunan, Governor of Hubei, Governor-General of Huguang, Minister of Revenue, Grand Councillor, and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.

The arrival of such a famous minister would have caused a shock to the Qing officialdom that would be at the level of a nuclear bomb.

Moreover, this person has been working in Huguang for many years, which is very helpful for Mo Zibu to take over Hunan and Hubei.

"Mr. Fengshan, please stand up." Mo Zibu personally helped Liang Guozhi up.

"The term 'criminal' seems a bit forced. I have no intention of considering serving the Qing Dynasty as a sin. As long as one can turn back from the wrong path, it is not too late."

What Mo Zibu was talking about was the policy he was about to implement towards the Han officials who had served the Qing Dynasty.

It has been more than 130 years since the Jiashen Incident. It seems too harsh to ask all Han people in the world not to come out and serve the Qing Dynasty.

After all, most people cannot be as loyal and resolute as Zhang Jiayu and Xia Wanchun. If everyone could do that, they would not appear so brilliant.

Moreover, Mo Zibu sometimes thought that if Zhang Jiayu was born in the era of Liang Guozhi, it would be hard to say whether he would definitely oppose the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, as long as there is no major crime, Mo Zibu is not planning to carry out a very strict purge that has the flavor of anti-counterrevolutionary activities.

But not pursuing the matter does not mean that the person is not guilty, so Mo Zibu used the word "reluctantly".

He now holds high the banner of nationalism. Under this theory, all those who have served the Qing Dynasty are naturally guilty.

But this sin is more similar to the religious concept of original sin, which is a kind of small problem.

In the future, if any gentry or noble family does not follow Mo Zibu's policies, this will become a reason to control them.

Liang Guozhi could tell that Mo Zibu had left a small secret, but he didn't care. Because for someone like Liang Guozhi, he had been in the highest position in the Qing Dynasty and was not young anymore, so he was not so keen on official positions.

Liang Guozhi's current goal is mainly to accumulate merit by sorting out the logistics for Mo Zibu and pave the way for his descendants to enter the new dynasty.

If the work is done well, it would be great if you can become a founding hero who restores the Han Dynasty, wash away the stain of serving the Tartars, and leave a good name in history.

"Mukden'a, the governor-general of the grain transport system and the military governor of Huaiyang Prefecture, also has an inland waterway navy under his command. The 200,000 grain transport workers under his control also have a certain level of inland combat capability.

This is my biggest threat. I wonder if Mr. Fengshan has any clever plan to help me destroy it?"

What Mo Zibu said was indeed what was more urgent for him at the moment than taking over the entire city of Jiangning.

Because Jiangning Mancheng is an isolated city that is trapped. Even if there is no attack at all, it will collapse in half a year at most. There is no need to worry at all.

But if Mukdena continues to control this inland water force and maneuver back and forth in the Grand Canal, it will be really troublesome.

Liang Guozhi chuckled, "Your Majesty's concern is not that you can't defeat Mukden'a, but that you're afraid that Mukden'a will stay in Yangzhou forever or retreat to Huai'an Prefecture or somewhere else."

"Mr. Fengshan is right. What I am worried about is that Mukden is playing hide-and-seek with me." Mo Zibu nodded.

"Then please rest assured, Your Majesty, Mukden will definitely take the initiative to attack." Liang Guozhi was quite confident.

When Mo Zibu heard this, he quickly asked someone to bring a brocade stool to Liang Guozhi so that he could sit down and talk, and ordered the kitchen to bring some hot tea and cakes.

"When we went south, Emperor Qianlong had already fallen ill." Liang Guozhi briefly recounted what happened, but of course he concealed the fact that it was them who made Emperor Qianlong so angry. After all, not from an ethnic standpoint, Emperor Qianlong was pretty good to Liang Guozhi.

But Mo Zibu understood immediately, "Qianlong seems to have a misunderstanding of the situation below.

When a person is surrounded by praise and adulation, even the wisest person will be enveloped in a cocoon of information and lose their judgment.

Liang Guozhi thought about it for a moment before he understood what the information cocoon meant. He smiled and agreed:
"Not only Qianlong, but also many bannermen generals have not yet realized the power of Your Majesty's Xing Tang army, as the Qing court tried to cover up the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Beihe and prevent people from becoming uneasy. Mukden'a is one of them."

"So this is why he will definitely take the initiative to attack from Yangzhou to relieve the crisis in Jiangning?"

"This is one of them." Liang Guozhi lowered his voice, "Qianlong is already sixty-seven years old this year. An ordinary person would have passed away long ago at this age.

Even if Qianlong rested properly, the sudden blow that caused him to become furious and vomit blood was still quite serious.

I know a little bit about medicine, and I think even if he doesn't die, he will at least have a stroke.

Qianlong's ability to control his subordinates all came from his strong personal abilities. Therefore, even if this stroke only caused unclear speech and inconvenient movement, his control power would be greatly reduced.

Once Qianlong's control power declined, all Han officials would try to find ways to force Mukden'a to fight.

Among the bannermen, the only one who truly knew how to deal with Your Majesty was Emperor Qianlong. The rest of the bannermen were unable to stop him, nor could they understand him.

Mo Zibu understood that at this point, many Han officials were waiting to place their bets. As long as Qianlong's control weakened slightly, they would encourage the bannermen to go all in.

Many bannermen, misled by their own propaganda, actually believed that Mo Zibu had also suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Beihe, and would not object to taking the initiative to attack.

"But, isn't there a single intelligent person among these Bannermen? How about Fukang'an and Hailancha?" Mo Zibu still had one last doubt. Liang Guozhi looked at Mo Zibu with some surprise. "Although Fukang'an is known for his bravery and is a noble Bannerman, he is only twenty-three this year. There are many Bannermen with more seniority than him. How could a young boy like him be the one to make the decision?"

As for Hailancha, he was born into a Tartar family outside the Great Wall. If it were not for his outstanding military achievements, he would not have been regarded as one of the Bannermen.

He is currently on his way to becoming the Governor-General of Huguang and General of Jingzhou, and he can't even enter the central government, so how can he have any say? "

"Hahaha, listening to Mr. Fengshan's words has suddenly enlightened me." Mo Zibu laughed. "Then I will immediately order the army to vacate one side of the city and let the envoys who came to ask for help from Hao Chun to go to Yangzhou."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Liang Guozhi bowed and flattered the emperor.

Mo Zibu smiled and said, "Mr. Fengshan was originally well-known in the Qing court for his expertise in financial affairs. Currently, there are so many things to do. I will first appoint you as the Minister of Revenue, in charge of financial and food supplies for the Northern Expedition. I will reward you after the war is over!"

Liang Guozhi was not here to seek an official position, so naturally he agreed.

. . . .

"Help! Cannon fire!"

In the dark night, a shrill scream woke up the sleeping Bannermen around.

Countless people got up and ran away in panic. It was impossible to see the situation clearly in the dark. I don’t know how many people were huddled together and fell all over the place.

Baoshan also jumped up, but after running a few steps, he found something wrong.

Because the night sky was so quiet, I didn't hear the roar of cannon fire, nor did I feel any shells hitting the ground.

Baoshan understood that someone must have been possessed again, which was why he was screaming in fear.

It's not their fault. The attack and defense battle in Jiangning City has been going on for eight days. In addition to the brutal battles during the day, they have no rest at night.

Those damn Han troops would bombard the city almost every half hour to an hour, and many people were killed in their sleep.

Under this kind of restless fear and pressure, many people suffer mental breakdowns. It is not uncommon for them to scream at the slightest disturbance or even in nightmares.

"You bastard, if you keep yelling and screaming, I'll chop off your head!"

However, just because Baoshan could understand it didn't mean others could understand it. When Baoshan returned to the shabby resting room, touching his bruised shoulder, the screaming boy had already been beaten by the captain with a stick, making him howl in agony.

After the captain finished firing, everyone could slowly close their eyes. But just as they were about to close their eyes, someone started to scream, "Cannons are firing! Cannons are firing!"

Even Baoshan couldn't bear it anymore. He got up angrily and was about to yell, then he heard the roar of artillery.

After a while, the shells also hit the ground with a thud.

This is real, someone must be possessed!
Baoshan quickly ran behind a big rock and hid. He had some experience and knew that the enemy's artillery could not completely cover the entire city and could only bombard a small area each time.

Then just find a sturdy shelter and don't stick your body to it and you'll be fine.

"Woo!" A ghostly sound like a shell breaking through the air was heard. The shell was very close. Baoshan was so scared that he curled up. He looked at a figure in the distance and shouted loudly: "Zuoling, come here quickly!"

The captain was about to run to another place, but when he heard Baoshan's shout, he hesitated and turned back.

But just as the captain turned back, there was a loud bang and the falling shell hit him. The unlucky captain turned into a ball of blood mist and disappeared.

Baoshan couldn't hold it in any longer. Thinking that he was the one who killed the captain and didn't know what was happening to his wife and children, he burst into tears.

"Cry, cry your mother off!" But he didn't cry for long, he was beaten unconscious by a stick. When he looked up, he saw that it was a lieutenant from the Nimacha clan who was beating him.

"Hurry up and put out the fire at the General's Mansion. The southern bandits' artillery has set it on fire!"

When dawn broke, Baoshan and others who had been fighting the fire until early morning only slept for a little over an hour before being immediately pulled to the top of the city wall to assist in the defense.

For eight consecutive days, he had less than one night of good rest and he really couldn't hold on any longer.

Not only could they not hold on, but the originally vigorous artillerymen, vanguard battalion, cavalry battalion, musketeers, etc. could not hold on either.

The combat effectiveness of the Jiangning Bannermen is declining rapidly.

Just as Baoshan was boiling the golden juice mechanically and numbly like a zombie, a cannonball flew over the long city wall and slammed into the enemy tower.

Amid the terrified screams of Baoshan and others, the falling shells hit the cauldron where the golden juice was boiling again in a very strange and accurate manner.

The sky was filled with sewage, which was nearly 100 degrees hot, and it splashed out like fairy flowers!
Baoshan was not so lucky this time. He was directly sprayed on the back by a ball of golden juice.

The piercing pain made him forget everything and he just kept rolling and tumbling on the ground. The intense friction soon caused the skin on his back, which was almost burned, to peel off in large areas.

The manure water laced with arsenic and the dust on the ground that was condensed with dirty blood smeared all over his wounds, and infection was inevitable.

Cheng De watched all this and said to General Hao Chun of Jiangning, who was standing nearby, "The enemy is ten times larger than us, and the area is vast. I can't rest for a moment, but the enemy can rest and recuperate in rotation.

"General, send more warriors to break out of the city and have Mu Zhitai of Yangzhou send troops to rescue us immediately. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold on in five days at most!"

(End of this chapter)