Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 294 Yi: Peace talks, development of Liaodong!
As soon as He Yun said this, Ruichang, Youfeng and others all showed a thoughtful expression on their faces.

Several people put down their wine glasses, as if they were thinking about the feasibility of He Yun's words.

After a moment, You Feng said with some doubt.

"That's true."

"But if we were to negotiate peace with the Tang thieves privately, I'm afraid the court would not agree."

Ruichang, who was standing by, shook his head when he heard this.

"maybe."

"Now the remnants of the Long-haired bandits are rampant in Henan and Shaanxi, threatening Shanxi and Zhili. If I am not mistaken, the court will definitely focus its main attention on the remnants of the Long-haired bandits."

"Not in Jiangnan!"

"If we can temporarily make peace with the Tang bandits and ease the military pressure the court is facing, the court should not object."

Yi is not Xianfeng. Xianfeng was very concerned about his face, but Yi put practical interests first.

If they can really accomplish this, Yi will most likely choose to default.

This is also the reason why the Qing government did not send troops to reinforce Jiangnan while the Tang Dynasty was concentrating its energy on dealing with the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Of course not because they don't want to.

But it was because the Qing court couldn’t do it!
First, in the Battle of Jiangning, the main force of the Qing court was completely wiped out, making it unable to send troops to the south of the Yangtze River.

Secondly, it was because Shi Dakai was causing great trouble in Henan. Most of Henan had been captured by the Taiping Army. Important cities such as Luoyang and Kaifeng had fallen one after another, and the Qing army was retreating step by step.

The vanguard of Shi Dakai's troops had already captured Zhangde Prefecture and were approaching Daming Prefecture, threatening Zhili.

In the eyes of the Qing court, Jiangnan is certainly important.

But no matter how important Jiangnan is, it can never be more important than Zhili, which is right under its nose.

Therefore, almost all the troops that the Qing army can mobilize are now gathering in the Damingfu area.

Naturally, it is impossible to withdraw more troops to go south to reinforce Jiangnan!

Under the current circumstances, if they could negotiate peace with the Tang Dynasty in Jiangnan, it would ease the military pressure faced by the South so that they could concentrate their main forces for a decisive battle with Shi Dakai.

For the Qing Dynasty, it was indeed a pretty good choice.

Shi Delu spoke up.

"My two generals, I think the peace talks are a matter of great importance. We should first report to the court and then make a decision."

He Yun heard this and spoke.

"My Lord, it is right to report this matter to the court, but I am worried that it may be too late!"

"Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces have all been taken by the Tang army. It is estimated that the Tang army will soon send troops to Zhejiang."

"We will report the peace talks to the court, wait for the court to make a decision, and then wait for the news to reach Zhejiang. By then, it is unknown whether Zhejiang will still belong to the Qing Dynasty."

He Yun is very pessimistic about the current situation in Jiangnan.

It can even be said to be pessimistic!

When everyone heard this, their faces darkened, their hearts became heavy, and there was a burst of discussion.

In the end, Feng made the final decision.

"In that case, let's focus on the peace talks and put the matter of asking the court for instructions aside for now."

"Immediately send someone to contact the Tang thieves to discuss peace talks."

"At the same time, we will send a fast horse to the capital to ask the court for instructions on peace talks."

"I am the general of Fuzhou and the governor of Minzhe. Since I am ordered by the emperor to guard a place, I naturally have some responsibilities as a frontier official."

"For the sake of the Qing Dynasty and the Eight Banners nation, I am willing to take the responsibility for making peace with the bandits without permission!"

When saying this, Youfeng's expression was very firm.

In his own opinion, he was simply too great at this moment.

At this moment, I must be surrounded by a halo in the eyes of everyone.

Upon hearing this, everyone started to speak.

"The general is wise!"

"I'll obey!"

……

Beijing!

Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart!
Yi summoned all the ministers of the Grand Council to discuss state affairs.

"There's urgent news from Jiangnan. After the Tang bandits ended the war with the foreigners, they immediately launched an offensive against Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces."

"According to the news that has been sent back so far, several provinces including Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, etc. have almost been completely occupied. Zhejiang Province has been surrounded by the Tang bandits."

"The situation in Jiangnan is critical!"

"Besides that, there is the situation in Henan."

"The Taiping remnants' offensive was very fierce. Kaifeng, Weihui, and Zhangde fell one after another. The vanguard of the bandit troops headed straight for Zhili."

"Zhili is also in danger!"

"Also, the grasslands are not stable right now. Except for a few tribes like Khorchin, all the banners on the grasslands have begun to disobey the Qing Dynasty and refuse to pay tribute or provide troops to the Qing Dynasty..."

You know, given the current situation of the Qing army, the Outer Mongolian soldiers who are good at riding are quite important troops.

Cavalry has always been one of the advantages that the Qing army relied on in building the Great Wall.

However, the various banners on the grassland now refused to provide troops to the Qing Dynasty.

The consequence is somewhat serious!

The Qing Dynasty today is nothing more than a dilapidated house with leaks everywhere.

It's visibly crumbling!
After saying this, Yi slowly exhaled a breath and then asked.

"Please tell me, my Lords. How should the Qing Dynasty deal with the current predicament?" When asking the question, the expression on Yi's face was visibly solemn.

Now he has a little regret that he should not have killed Xianfeng.

Otherwise, the current situation in the world would not require him to take over.

The Qing Dynasty today is really a mess.

Yi once complained that Xianfeng was a waste and that he had turned the world into that state.

But when he really took over the situation, he realized that things were not as easy as he had imagined.

When the Qing Dynasty was under Emperor Xianfeng, it kept losing cities and territories.

But now that it's in his hands, it's not much better, and the situation has even become more serious.

As Yi finished speaking, Shengbao stood up and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I think the most important thing for the Qing Dynasty at the moment is the war in Zhili."

"The Qing Dynasty must find a way to repel the Taiping rebels who invaded Zhili and recover Henan."

"Otherwise, the capital will be in danger!"

"As for the war in Jiangnan and the rebellions of various tribes on the grassland, in my opinion, they can be put aside for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Yi nodded.

"That's right."

Today, the Qing Dynasty lacks the ability to fight on two fronts.

To be on the safe side, it is only natural to concentrate the main forces to annihilate the Taiping rebels who pose a greater threat.

Yi can understand this!

Although in the long run, the war undoubtedly posed a greater threat to the Qing Dynasty from the Tang Dynasty, which controlled the entire fertile southern land.

However, if the Qing Dynasty cannot overcome the current difficulty, it will probably have no long-term survival.

The same is true of the rebellion on the grassland.

The Qing Dynasty didn't even care about the fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River, let alone the bitter and cold grasslands outside the Great Wall.

Unless the Mongols went south to raid the grasslands and reached the capital, it was impossible for the Qing Dynasty to send troops to the grasslands to play hide-and-seek with the Mongols at this time.

The current Qing Dynasty is no longer what it used to be!
After weighing the pros and cons, attacking Shi Dakai's Taiping Army first is indeed the best option for the Qing Dynasty at the moment.

Gui Liangshang was still a little confused about the situation and asked with a frown.

"What about Jiangnan?"

"The Eight Banners of Fuzhou have fallen into the hands of bandits. The situation in Zhejiang is critical, and the Eight Banners of Hangzhou are also in danger."

"If the Qing Dynasty doesn't do something, the entire Jiangnan region will be lost."

Wenxiang opened his mouth to refute.

"Lord Guiliang, in my opinion, the situation in Jiangnan is irreversible."

"What the Qing Dynasty should be more concerned about now is the long-haired bandits in Henan."

"If the Qing Dynasty can wipe out the Taiping rebels and then concentrate its main forces to march south to fight the Tang rebels, there may still be hope for revival."

"But if we rashly send our troops south before we wipe out the Taiping rebels, and let them take advantage of the situation and march towards the capital, then everything will be over!"

Baojun spoke up to second the motion and put forward his own suggestions.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, our Qing Dynasty might as well make peace with the Tang thieves in the south for the time being."

"We can use this to stabilize the Tang thieves and buy time for us to wipe out the Taiping rebels."

"Otherwise, I am worried that after the Tang thieves capture Jiangnan, they will choose to move north and threaten Lianghuai and Shandong..."

When Yi heard this, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

After a moment, he spoke and made the decision.

"Peace talks are an idea."

"Given the current situation of the Qing Dynasty, it is indeed the best choice to stabilize the Tang bandits and concentrate on the decisive battle with the Taiping rebels."

After another pause, Yi spoke.

"Besides, I think the situation in the world is so chaotic that the old system of our Qing dynasty that Han people were not allowed to leave the country is no longer appropriate."

"I intend to abolish the Willow Border and organize the Han people to go north to Liaodong to develop the land of Liaodong. What do you think?"

After Yi finished speaking, all the ministers in the Qing court couldn't help but look thoughtful.

They all understood the profound meaning of Yi's words.

I am afraid that our Qing Dynasty can no longer stay in this precious land of Central Plains, so let’s prepare to return to the outside of the Great Wall.

The reason why Yi organized the Han people to develop Liaodong was clearly to pave the way for the Qing Dynasty to retreat outside the Great Wall in the future.

Today's Liaodong is not the Liaodong of the late Ming Dynasty.

Since the Manchus entered the Pass, in order to protect their own birthplace, Dorgon ordered the establishment of a willow border and prohibited Han people from leaving the Pass.

In addition, there was the large-scale massacre of Han people outside the Great Wall before the Qing Dynasty entered the Great Wall, and the fact that the Qing Dynasty came out in full force when they entered the Great Wall, almost packing in all the people outside the Great Wall.

To the extent that after the Manchus entered the Pass, the area outside the Pass almost became a blank slate.

This meant that Liaodong, which had already been settled by millions of people in the late Ming Dynasty, directly regressed back to its original state of white mountains and black waters in the two hundred years before the Guandong Movement in the late Qing Dynasty.

Except for a few provincial capitals such as Shengjing, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and the surrounding banner villages, the rest of the place is almost deserted.

If it is not developed, the barren white mountains and black waters will not be able to support the current huge Qing Dynasty court by fishing and hunting alone.

Besides, with the current state of corruption among the Eight Banners, it is hard to say whether they still have the ability to fish and hunt in the land of white mountains and black waters.

Yi really wants to complain about Dorgon now!

It's really unnecessary to set up the willow branches border!

(End of this chapter)