There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 92 White Lotus Revelry
The troops from Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei provinces joined forces to suppress the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang.

This was a decision made by Qianlong after careful consideration.

Xing Zhao reported that the Han army had occupied Yuezhou and Lizhou. At first glance, the chaos seemed quite serious, but compared with the merger of the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang and Yunyang and the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of followers, it was nothing.

However, Qianlong still sent an edict to Xing Zhao of Changde, giving him the temporary title of Governor-General of Huguang, ordering him to prepare troops in Changde and quickly wipe out the White Lotus rebels roaming in Hunan.

Well, in Qianlong's view, these Han troops were nothing more than the remnants of the rebels who had fled into Hunan.

There was no way around it. Hunan was too far from Beijing, and most local officials resorted to the Spring and Autumn style of writing in order to shirk responsibility. Governor Huiling even took the lead in fishing in troubled waters and deliberately diverting the court's attention. Even the content of the memorial polished by Xingzhao himself was far from the actual situation.

Taking all factors into consideration, it is not surprising that Qianlong made such a misjudgment.

It should be said that during the White Lotus Rebellion in history, Emperor Qianlong was deceived by the local authorities from beginning to end and believed that everything was under his control. Until his death, he still felt that the White Lotus Rebellion was nothing more than a minor infestation that could be destroyed in a snap.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, the retired emperor had just issued an imperial decree to mobilize the armies of four provinces to jointly wipe out the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang.

Thousands of miles away in Hubei, the White Lotus Sect was growing even faster than reported in the memorial. First, the Xiangyang White Lotus Sect army led by Wang Cong'er and Yao Zhifu joined forces with the Yunyang White Lotus Sect army, and the number of soldiers and horses quickly grew to hundreds of thousands.

Afterwards, Wang Cong'er did not choose to lead his troops into Sichuan, because there was a powerful Han army in Jingzhou, which defeated the Hubei governor and Hunan's anti-bandit army, greatly boosting the morale of the White Lotus rebels.

Even if some smart people in the White Lotus Sect guessed that the Han army in Jingzhou were not their brothers, but were just flying their banner, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the Qing army was defeated!
If the Qing army is defeated, they will no longer be a threat!
What to do if there is no threat?

Of course they turned around to attack Xiangyang. If they wanted to get the Huguang area, they would definitely get Xiangfan. They would first attack Xiangfan, then Yunyang, and then march north to the Central Plains, seize the world in one fell swoop, and establish their own vacuum hometown.

Hundreds of thousands of White Lotus soldiers suddenly turned back and made a move to attack Xiangyang, which almost frightened the Xiangyang prefect Hong Shiquan to death.

"This... How could the White Lotus rebels come back? Are they really going to attack Xiangyang City?" Hong Shiquan asked with horror on his face.

Is not this nonsensical?

The rebels on the other side of Fancheng alone were almost able to submerge the city. Fortunately, they were cautious enough and did not rebuild the pontoon bridge in an attempt to restore traffic to Xiangfan.

Otherwise, the rebels would have already crossed the river using the pontoon bridge and captured the city of Xiangyang.

Hong Shiquan's advisor said, "Master Futai! If we hold on for too long, we will lose. We should immediately send a messenger to Wuchang to ask the governor to send troops to rescue us!"

"I will go back and write a letter, asking the Governor-General to send the troops as soon as possible!"

After his initial panic, Hong Shiquan calmed down and said to his subordinates, "And you, immediately recruit local militiamen to defend the city. Tell them that those outside the city are White Lotus rebels, not Han troops. They will only kill and burn, and will steal your land and property, and even your lives."

"The gentry and wealthy families must donate money and grain and open the government treasury and granary. Normally, I would turn a blind eye to your corruption, but now the situation is critical. If anyone dares to intervene at this time, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"

After such a rough and detailed arrangement, the originally somewhat chaotic Xiangyang City instantly returned to order. The gentry and wealthy families donated money and grain, and were no longer as stingy as before. The common people also rarely shared the same hatred of the government and went up the city walls to serve as laborers to guard the city.

There is no way. If the Han army came here, there might be many people who would have ulterior motives and want to fight for wealth and glory. At worst, they would bet on both sides to protect their lives and families.

The family is greater than the individual, greater than the land, greater than the property, and greater than the imperial court.

But what is the reputation of the White Lotus Sect? They killed all the landlords, robbed all the landlords' property, and robbed all the landlords' land. If they surrendered, I'm afraid they would not be able to save their family's lives.

Hong Shiquan looked at the White Lotus Sect outside the city and felt extremely miserable. Was this the retribution for the Yingdu Hong family? Well, the Yingdu Hong family, the Hong in Hong Chengchou's name. If Hong Shiquan was a little shameless, he could also claim to be a descendant of Hong Chengchou.

This year is the first year of the Jiaqing reign, and it has been exactly twenty years since "Bi Chen Zhuan" was published to the world.

Scholars all over the world already know that the famous Hong Chengchou was actually a traitor who betrayed his master.

Qianlong even issued several decrees pointing out that these "traitors" had fallen on hard times and failed to serve their master in times of crisis, which was a serious breach of integrity. Although these people had made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty, their merits could not offset their shortcomings. Even if their descendants were still officials in the court, they were still "traitors" who betrayed their master and should be spurned by loyal officials.

Good guy, it is thrown away after use, just like toilet paper.

Is this book "Bi Chen Zhuan" useful after it is published?
It is useful, let’s just say that!

Hong Shiquan's blood relationship with Hong Chengchou was actually quite distant, but he was the last Jinshi of the Yingdu Hong family. Furthermore, throughout his life, he only achieved the position of prefect of Xiangyang, relying on bribes and outstanding political achievements to gradually rise to that position.

The situation in Xiangyang was critical, as the White Lotus Sect besieged it with hundreds of thousands of troops. To the south, the White Lotus Sect in Dangyang, though weak and unable to capture the provincial capital, also seized the opportunity to send troops northward, aiming to seize Yuan'an County and expand their sphere of influence.

In the southwest of Hubei, the White Lotus Sect in Yichang and Shinan prefectures had merged together at some point and raised the banner of "Gu Yuan Zhen Wang".

The one who proclaimed himself king was Zhang Zhengmo. The title "Gu Yuan Zhen Wang" came from the White Lotus Sect's classics. Because the White Lotus Sect's classics all began with "Gu Fo" and "Hun Yuan", Zhang Zhengmo combined the two words and called himself "Gu Yuan Zhen Wang", commanding tens of thousands of followers in southwestern Hubei by royal decree.

Nie Yu had previously agreed with Zhang Zhengmo that his father Nie Jieren would be the chief leader, while Zhang Zhengmo would be the chief military commander. This agreement was obviously no longer valid.

Damn Zhang Zhengmo even usurped the throne and proclaimed himself king. Even if the title is weird, he is still a king!

After proclaiming himself king, Zhang Zhengmo became very proud and complacent, as if he was really blessed by destiny. In addition, the Han army successively defeated the governor and the Qing army in Hunan and occupied three states, which also gave Zhang Zhengmo confidence.

If the father and son of the Nie family were able to conquer such a vast territory, then as the dignified "True King Gu Yuan", with the blessing of heaven, I can naturally do it too.

The White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang attacked Xiangyang, and the White Lotus Sect in Dangyang attacked Yuan'an, so Zhang Zhengmo went to attack Yichang. He wanted to capture the Yichang Prefecture City and make it the capital of his kingdom.

The area west of Hubei is in chaos!

……

At this moment, Sichuan, which is adjacent to Huguang.

Under the influence of the White Lotus Rebellion in Hubei, the story, particularly the Han army's impressive achievements, was distorted by word of mouth (and embellishments) among merchants and travelers before it even left the province. By the time the news reached the people of Sichuan, the versions were not only diverse but also increasingly outrageous.

In Hubei, it was only the Han army that defeated the governor, but when it arrived in Sichuan, the governor, the prefect and others were killed in battle, and the 100,000 Qing troops were completely wiped out.

No matter where the 100,000 Qing troops in Hubei came from, the poor people in Sichuan who were oppressed by the government believed them, and the lower-class White Lotus Sect members also believed these outrageous rumors.

The original plan was that they should have raised their troops in September to respond to the anti-Qing White Lotus Sect in Sichuan, but they could no longer bear it and decided to revolt in advance to respond to their White Lotus brothers in Hubei.

However, in early summer of April, Xu Tiande, the leader of the Dazhou Zhili Prefecture, took the lead in rising up against the Qing Dynasty, and then the leaders of the Dongxiang (Xuanhan) sect, Wang Sanhuai and Leng Tianlu, also led the people to launch riots.

The White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan broke out ahead of schedule!

(End of this chapter)