1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 96 The Angry Governor Zheng

"Insect!"

Li Mengqun glanced disdainfully at Wang Ji, who was stumbling out of the signing room, and uttered two words with an unpredictable expression.

He fawns on his superiors and bullies his subordinates, deceives heaven and earth, and holds a position without doing any work.

The Qing Dynasty was ruined by these people!
The small county of Guiping harbored tens of thousands of religious cult members!

If he hadn't personally gone to Guiping County, the governor would still have been kept in the dark by these scoundrels, knowing only that there was a Heaven and Earth Society in Guangxi, but unaware that there was a God Society in Guangxi!
Faced with such a critical situation, even though Li Mengqun's authority was much higher than that of an ordinary county magistrate, he was helpless.

It would be wishful thinking to rely solely on the patrol offices, the county government's three shifts, and the local militias to wipe out this group of over ten thousand cult bandits.

The best course of action for Li Mengqun is to divide and conquer the enemy gradually.

After Zhong Ce and other deputy generals of Xunzhou wiped out Zhang Jiaxiang's bandit gang and returned to Guiping, they went on to suppress the Zijingshan religious bandits.

As for the worst-case scenario, the only option is to request Governor Zheng and General Min to mobilize the Green Standard Army from an entire province for a joint suppression.

However, if one were to mobilize troops from an entire province, one would have to request permission from the Emperor, thus disturbing His Majesty's presence.

This is an outcome that none of the Guangxi officials, including himself, wanted to see.

The resistance was so great that even the governor of Guangxi would have had difficulty overcoming it, let alone a minor magistrate like him in Guiping County.

The position of Governor of Guangxi was officially established in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1734). He was stationed in Guilin Prefecture and was the highest military and political official in Guangxi Province.

The Governor of Guangxi was in charge of civil affairs, justice, and finance for the entire Guangxi province.

As for military affairs, the Governor of Guangxi could only exercise limited military power. The Governor of Guangxi was under the control of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. In fact, the highest military and political power in Guangxi, especially military power, was in the hands of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Guilin is surrounded by ancient banyan trees and has stone bridges running through its streets.

The governor's office was adjacent to the examination hall (formerly the Jingjiang Prince's Mansion of the Ming Dynasty), forming a "government office in the east and school in the west" pattern.

The governor's office stands by the water, with a golden plaque hanging above the vermilion gate, stone lions glaring on both sides, and towering pines and cypresses in the inner courtyard.

This magnificent building is the brain center of Guangxi.

Governor Zheng Zuchen of Guangxi held daily political meetings in the front hall and held secret military discussions in the back hall. All important matters concerning Guangxi Province were issued from this hall.

The autumn rain in Guilin had just stopped, but in the main hall of the governor's office, water was still dripping from the eaves, while the hall itself was already shrouded in thick clouds.

The advisors, skilled at reading people, noticed that the governor looked unwell and felt a heavy atmosphere, so they didn't dare to make a sound.

To be precise, the governor's expression changed drastically after reviewing the urgent message sent by Li Mengqun, the magistrate of Guiping County.

"Send Min Zhengwen to see me!"

Zheng Zuchen slammed his hand on the table, the sound like an arrow shot from a bow, breaking the silence in the hall.

The Qing dynasty system often required the governor-general and the provincial governor to govern the same city together in order to facilitate military and political coordination.

The Guangxi Governor's Office was located in the southeast corner of Guilin City, east of the Jingjiang Prince's City, inside the Wenchang Gate, not far from the Governor's Office.

Before long, Min Zhengwen arrived at the governor's office in a sedan chair and alighted. He carefully carried a nanmu box containing a fine crab claw-patterned Duan inkstone into the office to meet Zheng Zuchen.

"Governor Zheng, I have found a fine inkstone. Let's go to the back room to test it. This Duan inkstone produces ink like clouds, smooth yet not seeping. It is a rare and excellent inkstone."

The elderly and thin Zheng Zuchen suddenly stood up, snatched the nanmu box from Min Zhengwen's hand, and slammed it onto the table, causing the teacups to overturn. Amidst the rising steam, he spoke each word as cold as a drawn blade:

"You son of a bitch! You, a provincial governor, don't even know that the God Society has over ten thousand followers in Guiping, Guixian, Wuxuan, Xiangzhou, and Pingnan?!"

Min Zhengwen was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud: "This humble servant failed in his duty... I was unaware that its power had become so rampant."

Zheng Zuchen, enraged, laughed coldly. He strode up to Min Zhengwen and roared, "You don't know? Even my spies can find out that they're wielding swords and guns day and night, firing cannons, distributing grain, setting up camps, and praying to the gods to mislead the masses. You, a military commander, think you can just brush it off with a simple 'I don't know'? What are you doing in Guilin? Are you here to see the scenery and write poetry?! Haven't you had enough after four years?" "Reporting to Your Excellency, those Christians usually hide in the countryside, their gatherings and dispersals are unpredictable. Even when the soldiers and local militias enter the villages, it's difficult to distinguish who are Christians and who are good people..." Min Zhengwen realized his mistake as soon as he finished speaking and quickly stopped himself.

Min Zhengwen was not unaware of the God Society's affairs; Li Dianyuan, the deputy commander of Xunzhou, had reported the matter to him several times.

The Heaven and Earth Society was already enough of a nuisance, and now there was another God Society. Min Zhengwen felt disappointed.

After inquiring further, he learned that the God Society was related to foreign religions and had not committed any atrocities such as looting and plundering. Min Zhengwen felt it was no big deal and selectively ignored the God Society.

Unexpectedly, less than two years later, the problem has arisen, and the number of followers of the God Church has grown to over ten thousand.

"I see you know quite a lot of details," Zheng Zuchen said coldly, his eyes practically spitting fire as he glared at Min Zhengwen.

"Take your 'Tibb' and go to Guiping to take charge right now. No matter what method you use, don't come back to see me until you've wiped out this damn God Society!"

“Your Excellency, my subordinate only has about seven hundred men, while the bandits number over ten thousand,” Min Zhengwen said in a trembling voice.

"His Majesty is unwell. Why don't you submit a memorial to His Majesty and ask him to send reinforcements for you?" Zheng Zuchen was so angry at Min Zhengwen's cowardly appearance and blockhead that he could hardly breathe. A military officer, indeed! I am a sixty-five-year-old man and I look more like a military officer than you!

"You don't have enough soldiers, so you can't just form a militia?! Haven't you ever fought bandits before?!"

“The group needs money and supplies,” Min Zhengwen muttered softly, head down.

"Find your own money and supplies!" Zheng Zuchen said angrily. "Remember! You're going to Xunzhou to suppress the Heaven and Earth Society bandits! That's what the official documents say too! Don't leave any evidence. If the Heaven and Earth Society's affairs are exposed, neither of us will be able to cover it up!"

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Before Wang Ji's official ship even reached Bitan Xun, Hou Jiyong, who was temporarily in charge of the Xun, hurriedly rode to Honglian Village and informed Peng Gang: "Wang Ji has arrived."

"how many people?"

Peng Gang frowned. The new official Li Mengqun's fire was burning quite fiercely. Could it be that the Dahuangjiang Patrol Inspectorate was going to launch a crackdown on the God Society ahead of schedule?
Does Wang Ji have the guts to do that?
“There were only eight or nine attendants, no one else,” Hou Jiyong said.

"Did you see it clearly?" Peng Gang asked Hou Jiyong to confirm.

“A longboat can only hold eight or nine people at most,” Hou Jiyong asked. “Should we inform Meng Chong? Rumors have spread from the Left Camp that Magistrate Li has his eye on you. If the Xunzhou Green Standard Army hadn’t been so weak, they would have already taken action against you.”

Hearing that there were only eight or nine people, Peng Gang finally felt relieved.

To wipe out Honglian Village, eight or nine of Wang Ji's close followers are not enough.

Wang Ji was probably acting as an intermediary for Li Mengqun.

“No need. Wang Ji is just a lobbyist; there’s no need to make a big fuss for now,” Peng Gang said to Hou Jiyong after a moment of contemplation.

"Tell Wang Ji that I have gone to Lema to suppress the boat bandits and will not be back for a month or two. If he wants to find me, he should go directly to Lema. If he wants to go to Honglian Village, let him stay at the gate and broaden his horizons."

Peng Gang currently commands 480 people in 40 groups, of which two groups have reached the advanced level, 24 groups have reached the intermediate level, and the remaining groups have reached the minor level.

Peng Gang doesn't really take the mere Huangjiang Patrol Office seriously anymore.

If the Qing court wanted to suppress him, it would have to mobilize the entire Xunzhou Green Standard Army to have any hope.

But if the Xunzhou Association really came out in full force, how could Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing's God Society of Zijing Mountain not take any action?

Xiao Chaogui and Yang Xiuqing had long coveted Jiangkouwei and Xinwei.

Peng Gang is now a force to be reckoned with, and the Xunzhou government cannot easily manipulate him.

If this young man, Li Mengqun, really dares to recklessly storm Pingzai Mountain, Peng Gang wouldn't mind teaching this privileged second-generation rich kid a lesson.

(End of this chapter)