There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 154 Qianlong's Anxiety

The resurgence of Guizhou Zhongmiao is also closely related to the battle in Chenzhou.

Because of the Battle of Chenzhou, 100,000 Qing troops in western Hunan were defeated and disintegrated by the Han army. Those 100,000 Qing troops did not come out of thin air, but were heavy Green Camp troops from seven provinces including Huguang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangdong.

As it happened, among the seven provinces' heavy troops was a unit called the Green Battalion of Nanlong Town, commanded by a general named Hua Lianbu, a member of the Eight Banners of Mongolia. Due to his bravery in battle, he was nicknamed the Flower Tiger and was given the title of "Gang'an Baturu" by the Qing court. He was also promoted to the rank of Admiral of Guizhou (an acting position, not a real title).

He did not follow Eldengbao to Chenzhou, but because Eldengbao withdrew too many troops, the Qing army left behind in Qianzhou was short of troops and was suddenly attacked by Shi Liudeng's army.

Although Hua Lianbu led his troops to resist stubbornly, they were outnumbered and eventually died in battle.

The general was killed in battle, and the Green Camp in Nanlong Town was defeated, with heavy casualties.

Without the officers and soldiers of Nanlong Town, the military strength of Nanlong Prefecture in Guizhou would naturally be empty.

Wang Nangxian (Wang Acong) and Wei Chaoyuan of Nanlong Zhongmiao were originally waiting for an opportunity to plan an uprising. Now they heard that the Green Camp in Nanlong Town had disappeared and it was impossible for them to come back.

What are you waiting for?
Winter, the first year of Jiaqing.

Just as Nie Yu was busy building the Martyrs' Shrine and setting up temples to worship the Han army officers and soldiers, in the neighboring Nanlong Prefecture of Guizhou, Wang Nangxian and Wei Chaoyuan used wooden carvings as signals to notify the Zhongmiao people in various places to gather in Dongsa and Dangzhanger Village. The Zhongmiao people followed their lead, and the poor refugees of Miao, Han and Yi people also came to respond.

Thousands of people gathered in the two camps and elected Wang Nangxian and Wei Chaoyuan as leaders. At the same time, they established an army and appointed Sang Hongsheng, a Han Chinese who had fled to the city, as military advisor, Wang Baoyang as prime minister, and Pan Chengde as the Immortal King.

Then they built wooden fences and stone cities in Dongsa and Dangzhang villages, gathered food, fodder, military equipment and other armor and supplies, and at the same time drafted a proclamation to plan the uprising.

The fifth day of the first lunar month, the second year of Jiaqing.

Wei Chaoyuan asked the prime minister Wang Baoyang of Mafangzhai in Beixiang (Longshan Town) to join forces with the great prince Huang Baoliang to launch the uprising. Thousands of Zhongmiao volunteers raided the Beixiangtang soldiers, killed the garrison officer, captured Puping, Lugou, Banpotang, and Banongtang, and cut off the escape route of the Nanlong soldiers to the north.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the rebel army approached the outskirts of Nanlong City and surrounded the prefectural city. The prefect Cao Tingkui panicked and fell to his death by hitting a pillar.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the rebel army captured Cehengzhou and killed Zeng Ai, the governor, Yang Wenhai, the captain, and Liang Guozhang, the deputy commissioner. They then successively captured Huangcaoba, Xincheng, and Annan, occupying Yongningzhou (Huajiang), Guihuating (Ziyun), Puding County, and Zhenningzhou in Anshun Prefecture, killing Li Huachun, the captain of the Yongning grain station.

In fact, almost at the time when Emperor Qianlong asked Guizhou Zhongmiao what to do, the Guizhou Zhongmiao rebel army was about to reach Guiyang.

Moreover, it was not just Guizhou, but also Sicheng, Yagaozhai, Xilongzhou in Guangxi, Pingyi and Qujing in Dali in Yunnan, where rebel armies rose up in response.

The reason why Qianlong was so angry was not only because Eldengbao was defeated, but also because Zhongmiao of Guizhou surrendered and rebelled again.

"Why can't Zhong Miao from Guizhou be more content?"

Qianlong angrily said, "During the prosperous Qing Dynasty, I have already pardoned their sins. Why do they still want to rebel against my court?"

It's impossible to accept what he said, and it's not easy to accept it.

What can they say?
Could it be that Your Majesty's Qianlong prosperous era was all bullshit, and the people were almost starving to death, so there were so many rebellions.

After venting his anger for a while, Qianlong gradually subsided and asked, "Agui, what do you think we should do? Who should we send to suppress the Zhong Miao in Yunnan and Guizhou?"

Ah Gui thought for a moment and said, "Governor Le Bao of Yunnan and Guizhou is a skilled warrior and is familiar with the terrain of the mountains and forests of Yunnan and Guizhou. He can be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the suppression of the bandits. We can also transfer Governor Ji Qing of Guangdong and Guangxi and Governor Jiang Lan of Yunnan to help quell the rebellion."

Seeing that no one objected, even Heshen remained silent, Qianlong nodded and said, "That's it!"

The Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Le Bao, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ji Qing, and the Governor of Yunnan, Jiang Lan, three local officials, cooperated to fight the rebel army in Guizhou. It can be said that they were a luxurious lineup.

From a historical perspective, the Guizhou rebel army is unlikely to be able to hold on, but this is good for Nie Yu because at least for the time being he doesn't have to worry about the Qing army attacking Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

The matter had been nearly finalized when Liu Yong, a Cabinet Scholar and Minister of Personnel, suddenly said, "Since Nie, the White Lotus rebel in Hunan, is so powerful and difficult to control, could we first recruit him and have him join forces to help suppress the Miao rebellion in Yunnan and Guizhou?"

The Manchu and Han officials in the front row who could hear it were all shocked, but then they felt that there was nothing strange about it.

Because this is indeed the case with Liu Yong. Since he became the highest-ranking official ten years ago, he has been making mistakes continuously and has been repeatedly reprimanded by Emperor Qianlong. His reputation as an official is no longer as clean and upright as before.

In the two imperial examinations presided over by this guy alone, either major cases of cheating and bribery occurred, or the marking was not rigorous, resulting in a large number of illegal and unqualified papers.

Of all the officials in the court, few were truly foolish enough to kneel in the Qianqing Palace and serve under the Emperor Qianlong's watchful eye for so many years. It was obvious that Liu Yong was deliberately trying to protect himself in the face of Heshen's wrath, using his mistakes to draw Heshen's attention.

Of course, Liu Yong's boldness in doing so clearly came with Emperor Qianlong's tacit approval. Despite his repeated misdeeds, he received no serious punishment and remained a minister of the six ministries and a cabinet scholar. Emperor Qianlong even hinted that he might reinstate Liu Yong as a Grand Secretary of the Ti-Ren Pavilion.

Qianlong looked at Liu Yong and suddenly threw a memorial. The memorial was thrown very accurately, hitting Liu Yong on the forehead and almost knocking his hat off. He said: "You dog-like slave (Liu Yong was promoted to the Han army flag under the influence of his father), take a good look at what this is."

Liu Yong's face was filled with fear. He had been cautious and hadn't gotten involved in the Manchu-Han factional struggle, all with the tacit approval of Emperor Qianlong. Normally, when someone made a mistake, he would just verbally reprimand them, just for show. Why would he suddenly resort to violence?

Liu Yong scrambled to pick up the memorial and took a look. It contained a lot of content, but three parts were circled in red by Emperor Qianlong: "Town officials, land distribution, and tax laws?"

hiss~!

Liu Yong gasped in shock and horror. If we only consider the nature of the rebellion, this White Lotus Sect thief Nie can be called the biggest rebel in the world.

Because the Han army had taken a different path to rebellion than other rebels who simply rebelled. The three axes of suppressing officials, dividing land, and taxing laws were as effective as a dragon-slaying sword. Even if the Han army was truly destroyed by the imperial court in the future, other rebels could follow suit and emulate the Han army's rebellious line and policies.

Liu Yong carefully read the contents of the memorial. It recorded very detailed information, many of which had never been reported before. What shocked Liu Yong the most was that this thief Nie not only divided the landlords' land, but also kept 100 acres for himself to pay taxes.

It doesn’t matter whether taxes are paid or not, it’s just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other. The key is that the leader of the rebels can actually set an example by himself.

Look at the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty...

No, this is extremely disrespectful to the master. As a servant, I cannot think like this.

The town officials changed the local administrative divisions, which was tantamount to usurping the emperor's power, and the land distribution and redistribution of land benefits. The final tax law was a complete overhaul, equivalent to rebuilding the foundation of the dynasty.

Moreover, this thief Nie also built roads and dug canals in the local area, encouraged land reclamation, registered refugees as citizens, and treated scholars with respect. The "harmony between the monarch and his subjects" at Yuelu Academy has been widely used by the Han army as political propaganda material.

Unfortunately, Zuo Guanlan, the protagonist of the story of "harmony between the monarch and his subjects", and Luo Dian, the president of Yuelu Academy, were both from Hunan, and their families and clansmen were all in Hunan, which was the territory of the Han army.

Otherwise, how could Luo Dian, such an experienced and wise man, be "forced" to surrender to the Han army?

Seeing all these things, Liu Yong was sweating profusely. There was no way he could persuade this White Lotus Sect thief Nie to surrender!
They are here to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. No, what kind of White Lotus Sect is this thief Nie? With such great ambitions, can he be a cult that fools the people like the White Lotus Sect?
"I deserve to die!" Liu Yong prostrated himself on the ground.

Qianlong cursed: "You dog slave, you really deserve to be put to death!"

After cursing, he ignored Liu Yong and announced his withdrawal from court.

Heshen did not leave, but was kept by Emperor Qianlong together with Jiaqing to await his imperial edict.

After all the Manchu and Han officials had left, and even Agui had retired to the Grand Council to work, Qianlong suddenly sat upright on the dragon throne and said to Heshen, "Bring it here."

Heshen immediately handed a memorial wrapped in silk cloth to Qianlong. Qianlong personally opened the cloth bag and turned over the memorial inside. He squinted his eyes and muttered a few words after reading a page, and his reading was obscure and difficult to understand.

Jiaqing was very close to Qianlong, but he couldn't understand what Qianlong was reciting. Moreover, not only Qianlong was reciting, but Heshen was also reciting with his head down.

Jiaqing wanted to ask, but he remembered his teacher's warning and didn't say much.

After a moment, Qianlong suddenly widened his eyes and asked, "Who are they?"

Jiaqing looked bewildered: "What Khan Ama is asking is..."

Heshen immediately answered: "Nie Yu, Nie Jieren."

Qianlong nodded, then narrowed his eyes and began to mutter. He read for a long time before suddenly stopping and closing the memorial.

"Heshen, kneel down and pay your respects!"

"Slave, please resign!"

Heshen knelt on the ground, then stood up, lowered his head and walked away.

Jiaqing suppressed his doubts and did not ask. Two days later, he found Heshen again and asked him what happened that day.

Heshen seemed to be trying to ease the relationship between himself and Jiaqing, so he told Jiaqing that these were all secret techniques from the Western Regions. Through special methods, by attaching the name of the person to be cursed, he could bless the soldiers on the front line and the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.

Oh my goodness, the Western Region Killing Curse! ?

Qianlong had indeed tried every possible means. Although he appeared calm in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, in fact, he was more anxious and panicked than any other court official.

Agui boldly recommended E Hui as the Governor-General of Huguang, and Mingliang to be the Admiral of Huguang for his meritorious service in spite of his crime. Qianlong agreed without hesitation.

Agui then recommended Lebao as the commander-in-chief to command the military forces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi and suppress the Miao rebellion in Yunnan and Guizhou. Qianlong still did not hesitate and approved it directly.

Qianlong even reflected privately that his biggest mistake during his sixty years of ruling the country was his six trips to the south of the Yangtze River, which consumed too much national strength of the Qing Dynasty, making this bandit suppression campaign seem inadequate and allowing the rebels to grow to such a size.

Historically, it did have some effect. Lebao won successive victories in Yunnan and Guizhou, successfully blocking the expansion of the White Lotus Sect.

Qianlong was overjoyed and immediately promoted Lebao to the title of Duke.

In order to eliminate the bandits as quickly as possible and prevent the Qianlong era from collapsing completely and destroying the image of a "sage monarch" that he had painstakingly built for sixty years, Qianlong tried every possible method and dared to try every possible method.

Although he could not agree to recruit the Han army openly, if the Han army surrendered voluntarily now, Qianlong even felt that he could endure it for the time being.

As long as he doesn't mess around, can land safely, and continue the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty, he can compromise on anything.

But how is this possible?
The Han army was out of their minds and only surrendered and tried to appease the enemy.

(End of this chapter)