There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 119 White Lotus Trivia

"General, a telegram has arrived from Jingzhou Prefecture."

Feng Xiuyong hurried to the Changsha government office to see Nie Yu with a telegram in hand.

Nie Yu took the telegram and took a closer look. It turned out to be about the White Lotus Sect in Hubei. "Have the Qing army finally given up and attacked the White Lotus Sect in Xiangyang?"

The telegram was forwarded to Zuo Guanlan and other civil and military officials for review. The content was very detailed and also integrated the oral information passed down by past merchants and travelers.

The war broke out a few months ago. This time, only a Qing army from Hubei was sent to fight the White Lotus Sect. None of the heavy troops from Sichuan, Shaanxi and Henan provinces that the Qing court had originally planned to send came.

There was no way. The Qing army in Sichuan and Shaanxi was already unable to take care of itself. The White Lotus Sect in Sichuan caused too much noise, not much less than the White Lotus Sect in Hubei.

First, Fozhu, deputy commander of the Eight Banners in Chengdu, died in battle. Then, Sun Shiyi, a famous Confucian general who was pursuing the White Lotus Sect, suddenly died of illness. Then, Yuan Guohuang, the general of Chongqing, and He Yuanqing, the general of Xinghan, who were ordered by Governor Yingshan to suppress the White Lotus Rebellion, were ambushed by the White Lotus Army and their entire army was wiped out because they were careless and underestimated the enemy.

The White Lotus Sect in Sichuan was so powerful that it was difficult to control. The leader of the Qinghao Army, Xu Tiande, simply named himself the Grand Commander of Dazhou, and the deputy leader, Wang Dengting, was the deputy commander.

Once this name was called out, it became more famous than that of Nie Yu, the great general of the Han army.

The Qing court was completely overwhelmed. If Sichuan were to be conquered by the White Lotus, the consequences would be disastrous. They could no longer care about the White Lotus in Hubei and hurriedly dispatched the army of Yimian, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, to the south to cooperate with Fu Ning, who had replaced Sun Shiyi, to suppress the White Lotus insurrection in Sichuan.

There is a high probability that there will be more fighting, because these two new governors are both the most powerful among the powerful!

Yi Mian, the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was a man of great talent in both civil and military affairs. He was defeated repeatedly in military battles. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he never personally commanded the battlefield. He was even more powerful in civil affairs. There was nothing he dared not to be greedy for, even the military supplies and food of his own army.

It highlights that the battle on the front line is tense and the commander in the rear is in a tight spot.

Fu Ning's resume was slightly better. He was extremely corrupt when he was the governor of Hubei. He was promoted to the governor-general of Liangjiang through connections. He managed military supplies for Fu Kang'an's army and used his power to extort money from the local people.

If we put these two powerful men in Sichuan and let them work together to suppress the bandits, I'm afraid it will take at least three to five years to finish this messy war.

Zuo Guanlan smiled and said, "Congratulations, General! The Qing troops in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei provinces have all been distracted by the White Lotus Sect. Now our Han army in Hunan can rest easy!"

"Congratulations, General!"

This flattery went quite smoothly, and the other civil and military officials around reacted and quickly followed suit, shouting.

Nie Yu waved his hand: "It's too much to be complacent. For the time being, we don't have to worry about the Qing troops in other provinces. We can focus on dealing with the 100,000 Qing troops in Xiangxi first."

The topic changed quickly and became a bit heavy. There are still 100,000 Qing troops in Xiangxi!

The Han army had been marching south for more than two months, and the results seemed great, but there were actually very few Qing troops capable of fighting. The reason for this was that most of the Qing troops in Hunan and Hubei were concentrated in western Hunan to fight the Miao people.

By now, Fukang'an had been dead for almost three months, and Helin had gradually been able to control the situation. All that was missing was an imperial edict from Emperor Qianlong to appoint him to command the hundreds of thousands of Qing troops in western Hunan.

If the Qing army of more than 100,000 in western Hunan is not destroyed, the Han army will never be able to truly control Hunan, let alone attack Jiangnan.

"hehe."

Seeing the somewhat solemn atmosphere, Nie Yu suddenly smiled and said, "Xiangxi only has 100,000 Qing troops. No matter how strong the Qing army is, my Han army has fought against them before. The Qing army has 100,000 troops, and my Han army also has 40,000 troops. This time, we have expanded to three prefectures and one state, so we can at least expand our army by another 10,000. These 50,000 against 100,000 may not be impossible to fight!"

Zuo Guanlan also laughed and said, "The general is right. The Qing army in western Hunan may appear to have 100,000 soldiers, but the actual number of soldiers capable of fighting is no more than 60,000 or 70,000. This is a 50,000 versus 60,000. Our army is well-trained, well-fed, and has a solid logistics system and the support of the people. The Qing army, on the other hand, is levying heavy taxes and extorting money. They have also lost the logistics of Changde, Changsha, and Hengzhou. In a few months at most, the Qing army will inevitably run out of food. Moreover, everyone should not forget that the Qing army does not only have to face us, they also have to face the Miao people in western Hunan!"

The last sentence hit the nail on the head. The Han army's civil and military officers immediately remembered that the Qing army was not only facing them, but also the Miao people in western Hunan!

These Miao people in western Hunan were not lambs to be slaughtered. They were able to fight against 100,000 Qing troops for a whole year without being defeated. Their fighting power and ferocity were enough to prove everything.

If the Qing army showed any flaws, it would inevitably be met with a fierce counterattack from the Miao people in western Hunan.

What Zuo Guanlan said was very simple and dark. It can be summed up in eight words: the Qing and Miao peoples fought, and the Han army gained the advantage!

Even if we take a step back, the Han army and the Miao people also have a common enemy, that is, the Qing army. The Han and Miao people can completely join forces to destroy the Qing army in western Hunan.

Nie Yu immediately made a decision: "Then everything will continue according to the original strategy. We will first expand the army in Changsha and Hengzhou by 20,000 troops to prepare for the upcoming decisive battle in western Hunan. At the same time, the Secretariat will prepare to send messengers to see if they can try to penetrate the mountains of western Hunan and contact the Miao people. We don't seek to subjugate them, but at least we can fight together against the Qing army."

"By the way, we can actively contact not only the Miao people in western Hunan, but also the various rebel forces in Yongzhou, Guiyang, southeastern Hunan, and Baoqing. Just say that this general has no intention of becoming an enemy of them. We are all rebel forces fighting against the Qing Dynasty. There is no need to kill each other for territory. We now have a common enemy, and that is the brutal pseudo-Qing court!"

"With the anti-Qing cause at hand, the Han army is willing to swear an oath of blood with them. Before overthrowing the pseudo-Qing court, the Han army will not initiate an attack on their territory!" Nie Yu's thoughts were clear. It was hard to say what the combat effectiveness of those anti-Qing righteous armies like himself was, or what they had done. But as long as they were all anti-Qing, they were all brothers. Whether they were true brothers or not didn't matter. The key was that they could at least help him draw some Qing firepower and block the Qing troops outside.

Even if he is a complete waste, he can still muddy the waters in the Qing Dynasty's territory!
Once the water is muddied, the Han army can take advantage of the situation.

As for the blood oath?

Anyone who believes it is an idiot. They are all rebels. Treaties are worth less than toilet paper.

Feng Xiuyong naturally understood this and quickly bowed and replied, "I obey the general's orders!"

"Is there anything else? Tell us all about it!" Nie Yu asked.

Feng Xiuyong presented the second telegram and said, "General, the Hubei White Lotus Sect has sent messengers to Jingzhou to seek an audience with you. The old master has received them on your behalf!"

"Oh? Let me see!"

After Nie Yu took the telegram and read it, his expression suddenly became amused.

According to the telegram, the White Lotus Sect that sent the messengers came from three places: Xiangyang, Jingmen, and Yichang.

Among them, the Yichang White Lotus Sect is also an old acquaintance of the Han army. Nie Yu’s biological father still holds the empty title of the leader of the Yichang White Lotus Sect.

Just half a year ago, Zhang Zhengmo, the actual leader of the White Lotus Sect in Yichang, officially usurped the title of "Guyuan Zhenren Tianwang", abbreviated as Guyuan Zhenwang, also known as Zhenren Tianwang and Zhang Tianwang.

This title is too famous, more famous than General Nie Yu, and his fellow White Lotus members, Commander-in-Chief Wang Cong'er and Grand Commander Xu Tiande. He is also the first White Lotus leader who dared to openly usurp the throne and declare himself king.

Although Zhang Zhengmo's title of king was inappropriate, he was still a king after all. Not only was the title loud, but the people could also understand it, just like the Killing King of Chaling in Xiangdong.

Upon hearing the news, the Han army civil and military officials once wrote a letter to persuade Nie Yu to ascend the throne, and even proposed several titles for him, such as King of Chu, King of Han, and King of Jing.

Looking back at Zhang Zhengmo's telegram, the other party first exchanged pleasantries with Nie Yu, reminiscing about the past, and then talked about a lot of other things before getting down to business:

"Brother Nie, how are you? I am Zhang Zhengmo, the Heavenly King of Guyuan Zhenren of Yichang. Half a year has passed since we last met, and yet Brother Nie's Han army has already taken over the three prefectures. Heroes truly emerge from youth! Now, the Qing demons are ruthless, exploiting and harming the people. You and I are each clearing our own troops, and with the brothers from Xiangyang and Chuanzhong rallying to support us, we should join forces and wipe out the Qing demons in one fell swoop. Then, the world will be conquered, and the Han Dynasty will be revived. Wouldn't it be wonderful for you and me to share this picturesque landscape with these brothers from Xiangyang and Chuanzhong?"

Nie Yu was almost laughing out of anger. Zhang Zhengmo kept calling him brother and did not forget to emphasize that he was now the King of Zhang.

Nie Yu put down the telegram and said, "It seems that the White Lotus Sect in Yichang is in trouble."

Zhang Zhengmo was indeed in trouble. He usurped the title of True Heavenly King with the intention of getting rid of the Han army and becoming independent, but also to satisfy his desire to be king and dominate the world.

But now that you, Zhang Tianwang, have become the king, what about your brothers?
You must know that the White Lotus Sect in Yichang was not a monolithic group. Zhang Zhengmo was just one of the more powerful factions, and he was the first to rebel against the Qing Dynasty, so he became the nominal leader.

Among them are Lin Zhihua, Qin Jiayao, and the leaders of each branch sect have considerable autonomy.

As soon as Zhang Zhengmo was proclaimed the Heavenly King, he was anxious to attack the city of Yichang. In addition to using it as the royal base, he also promised the leaders of the various sects under his command that after they captured Yichang, they would be given territories so that they would all have territories to preach and become Heavenly Kings.

A serious makeshift team!

Unfortunately, Zhang Zhengmo overestimated his own abilities and also overestimated the White Lotus Sect's ability to attack the city.

The county towns that were captured before either surrendered voluntarily or were taken with the help of internal and external forces. There was almost no experience in attacking real big cities.

It was impossible to sneak in as an insider because the Yichang prefect Wang Yeshan had sealed off the city for a long time.

Zhang Zhengmo was forced to choose a strong attack, but the walls of Yichang City were high and thick, and the leaders of various sects were more conservative in their strength and unwilling to consume their own troops. After several battles, not only did they not achieve any results, but it also inspired the officials and people in the city to defend the city.

The siege outside the city was unsuccessful, the people inside the city were united, and coupled with the huge consumption of food and grass, the leaders of the various sects were reluctant to fight anymore.

Zhang Zhengmo suppressed the rebellion again and again, and almost caused an internal conflict. In order to resolve the conflict, this guy decided to attack eastward.

Sending a messenger to drag the Han army into the water was only one step. He also wrote two other letters and sent them to Jingmen and Xiangyang respectively, inviting the coalition forces to march east together, destroy the Qing army, and rule the world.

Zuo Guanlan was speechless: "This Zhang Tianwang is really delusional!"

(End of this chapter)