There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 50: The White Lotus Rebellion
Xiangyang Prefecture, Yellow Dragon Pendant.

The local White Lotus Sect held a secret meeting here. Although it was called a secret meeting, it was actually semi-public. All the believers wore white clothes and white headscarves, and they also openly erected a large white lotus flag at the entrance of the village.

And in an open space in the village, a high platform has been built. On the platform there is a seat, and on it sits a beautiful girl.

This is not quite accurate. It would be more accurate to say that she is a young woman rather than a girl, because she has her hair in a bun that only married women have, and a white cloth tied on her forehead.

This is mourning!

Moreover, she was still wearing mourning for her late husband Qi Lin (the word Qi Lin sounds arrogant, no wonder he died so quickly), who was also the former leader of the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang.

This young woman... this widow is none other than the famous Wang Cong'er.

Wang Cong'er had a miserable life. She lost her father at a young age and had to travel with her mother, making a living. One day, while performing in Xiangyang, she was spotted by a local ruffian because of her beautiful appearance. She was framed and only escaped with the help of Qi Lin, a member of the White Lotus Sect. Unable to repay him, she married Qi Lin as his concubine and joined the White Lotus Sect.

"Master's Wife, it is the 60th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign in the Demonic Qing Dynasty. It has been more than a year since Master (Qi Lin) was killed by the Demonic Qing Dynasty."

Yao Zhifu, the second-in-command of the White Lotus Sect and Qi Lin's direct disciple, was kneeling before Wang Cong'er. He clasped his hands together and made an impassioned speech, "The Qing Dynasty is now tyrannical and brutal. The White Lotus brothers in Jingmen, Yichang, and Jingzhou have all risen in rebellion against the Qing. We, the White Lotus Sect of Xiangyang, should join them in the uprising. This is for the greater good of resisting the Qing and saving the people from disaster, but we also want to avenge our master!"

His voice was so loud that more than ten believers in the front row could hear it clearly.

For a moment, the believers in the front row raised their right hands and shouted in unison.

"Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

The three simultaneous shouts made the believers' faces flush and their blood boil.

Liu Qirong and Wang Tingzhao, who were also Qi Lin's disciples, also spoke one after another at this time.

"Master's Wife, what Brother Yao said is right. I've also been inquiring with the merchants who have passed by recently. The Qing demons in Jingmen, Yichang, and Jingzhou are all outwardly strong but inwardly weak, with only a facade to show for themselves. Especially the White Lotus brothers in Jingzhou, they even broke through the Jingzhou capital, killed the Jingzhou prefect, and slaughtered everyone in Jingzhou (rumor). It is said that even the Qing demon's governor was captured alive."

"The Qing demon is just a useless paper tiger. It looks like it's baring its fangs and claws, but it will be exposed if the wind blows. Even the White Lotus brothers in Jingmen, Yichang, and Jingzhou have already started the rebellion. We in the Xiangyang White Lotus Sect cannot afford to show any weakness or be afraid. What do you think, brothers in the sect?"

At the end of his speech, Wang Tingzhao turned around and raised his hands to shout at the believers behind him, which caused the White Lotus followers gathered below to make another commotion, and even laughed at him.

Who were they mocking? Of course, they were mocking the Qing government.

The prefect of Jingzhou was killed, the governor of Jingzhou was captured alive, and the usually arrogant Eight Banners Manchu lords were also slaughtered, no matter how much of it was true.

Even if one of them comes true, it would be enough to completely tear off the fig leaf of the Qing Dynasty's "prosperous age"!

Yao Zhifu, who spoke first, saw the atmosphere had reached this point and took the opportunity to say, "The Qing demons have caused great wrath and resentment in this land of Jingchu. The brothers of the three sects in Jingmen, Yichang, and Jingzhou have all raised the banner of anti-Qing resistance, and the brothers and people of my sect have also suffered greatly from the Qing demons in Xiangyang."

"Master's Wife, rebel! Overthrow this damned Qing Dynasty and avenge the 'Master'!"

Liu Qirong also knelt down and saluted: "Master's Wife, you are rebelling!"

Wang Tingzhao raised his hand directly: "Hometown of the True Vacuum, Mother of the Unborn!" "Hometown of the True Vacuum, Mother of the Unborn!"

"A vacuum hometown, a birthless mother!"

"..."

Wang Cong'er didn't say a word from beginning to end, until the last slogan "True Vacuum Hometown, Unborn Mother" was shouted out, and all the believers became excited and wanted to kill the officials and fight against the Qing Dynasty immediately.

"Yao Zhifu, Liu Qirong, Wang Tingzhao, and all of you brothers and sisters in the sect, my husband brought you into this sect. We originally wanted to live a good life with you, even if we weren't rich, but this Qing demon just wouldn't let us live. Every year, there are harsh policies and miscellaneous taxes. My husband was unwilling to speak up for you, and he was slandered and killed."

"Now, the Qing demons are becoming more and more brutal and ruthless. The Miao brothers in southern Hunan, and the brothers and sisters of the three religions in Jingzhou, Jingmen, and Yichang have all lost their patience and have successively rebelled against the Qing. As a woman like me, Wang Cong'er, I will not say anything else. Even if it is just for the sake of my brothers and sisters' lives and to avenge my dead husband, I still have to get involved!"

Wang Cong'er stood up from his seat and drew his sword from his waist (a prop he once used for street performances), and the sword suddenly caught fire.

Yao Zhifu, Liu Qirong, and Wang Tingzhao all knelt in a row, and then bowed and shouted: "Revenge against the Qing! Vacuum my hometown, the Mother of No Birth!"

"Revenge against the Qing! Vacuum hometown, the mother of no birth!"

"Revenge against the Qing! Vacuum hometown, the mother of no birth!"

"..."

First, Yao Zhifu and the other two heated up the atmosphere and tried their best to belittle the fighting power of the Qing army. Then, Wang Cong'er, as the wife of a religious teacher, talked about the brutality of the Qing court and its oppression of the people like them.

There is no need to go into too much detail, because anyone who joined the White Lotus Sect has experienced the Qing Dynasty's "oil-pressing" methods.

The people are like sesame seeds, the more you squeeze them, the more oil you remove!
This series of guidance finally completely ignited the anger in these people's hearts, and was also blessed by the religious spirit of the White Lotus Sect's long-term missionary work.

At the end of the 60th year of Qianlong's reign, the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang officially launched an uprising against the Qing Dynasty!
It was three months earlier than in history, but it was not a big deal. With the joining of the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang, the White Lotus Rebellion that swept across the southern provinces of the Qing Dynasty for ten years finally began.

Just as in history, the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang, because the "former teacher" Qi Lin had been killed, with the support of the second-in-command such as Yao Zhifu, elected Wang Cong'er, the master's wife, as the new "chief teacher".

The White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang was much more powerful than Zhang Zhengmo's White Lotus Sect in Changyang. As soon as they started the rebellion, they quickly gathered tens of thousands of troops, and there were as many as four to five thousand strong and capable fighters.

Wang Cong'er did not attack Xiangyang Prefecture either. Xiangyang Prefecture was an important city in Hubei Province with high walls and thick walls. It was almost impossible to take it down by force. So he turned around and attacked Fancheng on the other side of the Yangtze River.

The moat of Fancheng was narrow, not as wide and deep as the moat of Xiangyang, nor as high and thick as the city walls of Xiangyang. Caught off guard, it was quickly conquered by the rebels.

Wang Cong'er killed corrupt officials, strictly enforced discipline on the rebel army, opened government warehouses, and distributed grain to poor people. By winning over the hearts of the people, countless young and strong people joined the White Lotus rebel army.

Within a few months, the White Lotus rebel army in Xiangyang had grown to as many as 40,000 to 50,000 people. In order to facilitate command, the rebel army was divided into eight armies using yellow, green, blue and white as their numbers. Wang Cong'er took the opportunity to become the commander-in-chief of the eight armies.

The prefect of Xiangyang was horrified, but could do nothing. He could not even keep Xiangyang Prefecture, so he could only transfer all the remaining green camps in the outer city barracks into the prefecture city, and destroy the Yangtze River floating bridge between Xiangyang and Fan to prevent the rebel army from crossing the river and attacking the city.

The White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang caused quite a stir. After they captured Fancheng, they fled all over the place, inspiring the White Lotus Sect in the neighboring Yunyang Prefecture to follow suit and revolt.

The area west of Hubei has fallen into complete chaos!

(End of this chapter)