There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 125: Child Emperor

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, Prince Fu's coffin has returned, and Captain De Lin (son of Fu Kang'an) has just left the city to welcome the coffin." Heshen was kneeling in front of the prince and reported in a low voice.

"Yes, I understand."

Qianlong, who was already the retired emperor, nodded slightly, sitting high on the dragon throne, flipping through the detailed memorial handed to him by Heshen.

There was also a small chair on the lower left side, on which sat Emperor Jiaqing, dressed in a dragon robe and looking like a puppet.

Ha ha.

Qianlong had completely given up on pretending. Ever since the White Lotus Religion had become rampant in Hubei a few months ago, Manchu and Han ministers headed by Heshen had jointly requested the retired emperor to take over the government. They even found a reason and excuse, saying that the White Lotus Religion was a disaster for the country, the dynasty was in turmoil, and the new emperor had ascended the throne not long ago and his authority was unstable, so the retired emperor should help him.

My goodness, it happened so fast that Jiaqing didn’t even have time to react. He was turned into a puppet emperor on the spot, and Qianlong sat back on the dragon throne.

Before this, the Manchu and Han ministers below would prepare two copies of memorials, one for him and one for Qianlong.

Now, all memorials were sent to Qianlong, and Jiaqing was only responsible for sitting next to him during court sessions, declaring that Qianlong did not seize his son's throne, but was only helping his son to govern the country and quell the rebellion.

After reading the memorial in his hand, Qianlong could not help but lament, "I lament the loss of a virtuous minister, and cannot help shedding tears. Even if you bestow your kindness upon me, how can I repay your loyalty? Your Excellency Fu Ai was the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, yet now, unfortunately, you have passed away at the hands of a Miao from western Hunan. How tragic and lamentable!"

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences! Prince Fu was loyal to the Qing Dynasty and died on the battlefield. He devoted his life to the cause and should be posthumously honored as a meritorious official so as not to disappoint the Fucha family!" Heshen knew very well what Qianlong was thinking and said sadly.

As soon as Heshen said this, Jiaqing frowned instantly. The Fucha family was too powerful, and Emperor Jiaqing, who was bent on reform, had long wanted to liquidate and eliminate them.

Now that Fukang'an has finally died, Heshen actually said so openly that he would request posthumous honors for him. Isn't it said that Heshen and Fukang'an were political enemies? Could it be that these two have always been in cahoots?
What Jiaqing thought was irrelevant. Qianlong's face had brightened considerably. This Heshen always managed to get his words across to him. He then said, "Your Excellency He is right. Your Excellency Fu served the Qing Dynasty with all his heart and died on the battlefield. You hereby posthumously confer the title of Prince Jiayong on Fu Kang'an. He shall be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple alongside his father Fu Heng. A special ancestral hall shall be built for him to enjoy sacrifices. The title of Baylor shall be inherited by his son Fu Cha De Lin."

"I obey your order!" Heshen bowed.

"The Miao people in western Hunan are very powerful, and the White Lotus Sect in Sichuan and Hubei is also making trouble. Do you have any countermeasures, my dear minister?" Qianlong seemed to be completely unaware of Jiaqing's expression and asked Heshen.

He Shen had already prepared his plan. He said, "I think that the White Lotus Sect in Sichuan and Hubei provinces may seem powerful, but it is ultimately just a minor problem. It is the Miao people in Hunan and Guizhou who are the real threat to the Qing Dynasty. Even if we want to suppress them, we should first suppress the Miao people and then suppress the White Lotus Sect."

"Then how should we suppress it?" Qianlong asked again.

He Shen said: "We can send a trustworthy veteran of the Eight Banners to lead the army to first suppress the Miao people and then go north to suppress the White Lotus Cult."

"Is there anyone who can choose?" Qianlong asked with a smile.

He Shen bowed and said, "Eledeng Baosu has fought on the battlefield and made outstanding achievements. He is worthy of leading the army."

Qianlong waved his hand and said, "It is said that one should promote virtuous people regardless of their relationship with them. What are you doing, Lord He? I am not unaware of Helin's abilities. Now that Lord Fu has passed away and Helin is in the Xiangxi Army, I will issue an edict to promote Helin to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Miao Rebellion Suppression Army. I will swiftly put an end to the Miao Rebellion!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Heshen finally kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Jiaqing's face looked a little ugly. Heshen was a corrupt official in the Qing Dynasty. He controlled most of the titles in the Grand Council, the Southern Study, and the Six Ministries. The network of contacts of the "He Family Army" almost monopolized half of the court.

Jiaqing had long wanted to liquidate Heshen and carry out reforms. This was also the teaching of his teacher Zhu Gui and close minister Wang Jie. However, before he could take action, Heshen took the initiative. He first took the lead in inviting the retired emperor back to govern the country, thereby undermining his position as emperor. Then, he retreated to advance and sought the title of commander-in-chief of the front-line army for his brother Helin.

Now, unless Helin gets into trouble soon, it will be almost difficult for him to overthrow Heshen as he has both military and political power in his hands.

Just as Jiaqing was thinking deeply...

"Yong Yan!"

Qianlong called out softly, and Jiaqing came back to his senses. He quickly turned around and bowed to Qianlong.

"Khan Ama!"

"Tomorrow you will go with me to the Fucha family to offer sacrifices."

"Khan Ama, how can this be..."

"Ok?"

"My son, I know."

Jiaqing's expression remained calm, but a surge of inexplicable anger was welling up in his heart. He was really angry now.

Because Qianlong wanted him to go to Fucha's house to offer sacrifices to his ancestors. What is "offering sacrifices"? It means that as a younger generation, one should kowtow and offer sacrifices to the ancestors.

If this matter was done by De Lin's son, there would definitely be no problem. Even if Heshen's son Fengshen Yinde went, it could also reflect the younger generation's respect for the elder. But Jiaqing was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

No matter what, he is still Fukang'an's master. It is a great shame and humiliation to make the master kneel down and offer sacrifices to the servant!

……

After the court session, Qianlong stayed in the Qianqing Palace, while Jiaqing returned to his own Yuqing Palace.

Yuqing Palace, where the prince stayed and slept.

That's right, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty could not live in the Qianqing Palace, which was for the emperor emeritus. He could only live in the Yuqing Palace (where the princes lived) where he temporarily lived before he ascended the throne. Putting aside his position, Emperor Jiaqing could be ranked among the top in the competition of comparing the misery of emperors in all dynasties.

"Your servant respectfully welcomes His Majesty!"

"Zhang Jinzhong, please step back first!"

Zhang Jinzhong, the eunuch in charge of Jiaqing, obviously saw that Jiaqing was not in a good mood, so he immediately withdrew and told the eunuchs under him not to disturb the emperor.

After a while, there was a loud banging sound from deep inside the palace. The sound lasted for a while before stopping. Zhang Jinzhong knew what was going on. He silently waved to a young eunuch and waited for Jiaqing to come out. He then signaled him with his eyes to go in and clean up.

"emperor!"

"Is the Queen feeling better recently?"

"In reply to the Emperor, the Empress caught a cold a few days ago. The Imperial Physician prescribed some medicine, and she seems to be feeling better these past few days."

"Well, let's go to Jingren Palace and see her!"

"Whoo!"

……

Ling County, Hunan Province.

Since a previous battle in Anren County, they killed tens of thousands of Wang's men, but faced a thousand Han soldiers, but they didn't gain any advantage at all, and were defeated at the first blow without even engaging in combat.

This battle confused Sha Jin Wang Gan, but also made him completely sober.

After killing Wang, the rebel army hurriedly retreated to Ling County to rest and regroup. They no longer wanted Chaling Prefecture and You County. They had already robbed a wave of them, and the city was now empty. Moreover, it was too close to Anren County, and they were afraid that the Han soldiers would chase them.

"You said you were an envoy sent by your family's general, and the previous battle in Anren County was all a misunderstanding?" Shajin Wang Dama Jindao sat in the lobby of the county government like a bandit leader.

On both sides of him sat seven or eight people, all of whom were leaders of the various rebel forces that had gathered under the command of King Shajin.

Even though Wang had tens of thousands of soldiers, in fact, less than half of them were under his direct control, and the rest were all rebel bandits from various parties.

To put it bluntly, this is a thing similar to a bandit's den. The rebels in it all gathered under the king's command because he promised them benefits if they killed all the people. In name, they serve him as their leader and obey his orders.

In the hall, the Han envoy who was being questioned bowed and smiled, "King Shajin, my general has already written in the letter that the battle in Anren County was just a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, my general will swear a blood oath with King Shajin and promise not to attack you again. We are all anti-Qing righteous armies, there is no need to attack each other. As long as we can work together, the pseudo-Qing will be nothing but a grasshopper in the autumn, and can be destroyed in a snap. What do you think?"

"You have a point..." Upon hearing this, Sha Jin Wang nodded, but then immediately shook his head. "No, no, then what about my brothers who were killed or injured in Anren County? There's still no explanation for this."

The Han envoy suppressed his smile and said, "Kill the king! There is always death in war. Although it is all a misunderstanding, since it has already happened, we should not focus on the past. We should think about how to destroy the false Qing Dynasty."

Sha Jin Wang slammed the gavel on the table and said, "Don't treat me like Old Wang... Ahem, don't think I'm easy to fool. Doesn't your general just not want to admit his guilt?"

The Han envoy nodded and said, "My general has already said that if King Shajin does not agree to temporarily stop fighting, then the Han army will march forward to make you agree. Then I will not be able to speak to King Shajin in such a friendly manner!"

Kill King was stunned and immediately became furious: "How dare you threaten me!"

"No, no, I'm just stating the facts."

The Han envoy said this while glancing at the silent leaders of the various rebel factions sitting in the two rows below. "Furthermore, even if the king is not afraid of our Han army, we must still consider the interests of our rebel soldiers. The anti-Qing rebels are killing each other, and the pseudo-Qing army is taking advantage of them. This is not good at all."

"You're so damn..."

"Kill all the kings. I think what the scholar said makes a lot of sense."

"That's right, Brother Chuang Potian is right. Kill all the kings. We are all righteous soldiers. If we attack each other, we won't let the Qing dogs take advantage of us for nothing."

"That's right. This rebellion has to be decided by who comes first and who comes later. Since the Han army has taken Changsha and Hengzhou, it will not be good for us who come later to grab the territory."

"I think it's great to be able to swear an oath of blood and fight our own battles!"

"..."

Sha Jin Wang's face was almost as black as charcoal. He knew that these guys had not been obeying orders since the great defeat in Anren County, but he had never expected that these people would be so disrespectful.

After all, there was an outsider here, a scholar who always looked down on them, a peasant. So he sold him out in front of outsiders?
"King Jin has been killed. What happens now?" the Han envoy asked with a smile.

Not only was he asking, but the dozen or so rebel leaders below were also looking at him with burning eyes.

"...Haha, they're all rebels against the Qing Dynasty. Your general is right, I was confused. You, the scholar, tell your general for me that I've killed the king and am willing to swear an oath of blood with him!"

"Haha, Sha Jin Wang is indeed a true hero, taking it as his mission to fight against the Qing Dynasty!"

……

It was similar to the situation in Ling County. General Chen Hong of Guiyang, who was hiding in Jiahe County, was smarter than Shajin Wang and knew that he could not defeat the Han army.

Seeing the Han army envoys coming, Chen Hong immediately agreed and promised that he could even give up the three counties of Guiyang Prefecture, just asking the Han army to provide them with some weapons and food.

The envoy could not make a decision easily regarding this condition and could only return to ask for instructions.

However, there is a high probability that they will agree, because the Han army does have many idle weapons captured from the Qing army. These weapons are all broken pieces made of earthen steel, which the Han army does not like at all, but it would be a waste to leave them unused.

Using these idle weapons, we can exchange them for three counties for free, and also drive the enemy to attack the Qing Dynasty's territory. It's a good thing to kill two birds with one stone!
The Yao people in Yongzhou Prefecture are more troublesome. These Yao people do not even trust the Qing court, so naturally they do not trust the Han army.

Moreover, the Yao people from Yongzhou Prefecture went all the way north and have now joined forces with the Yao people from Baoqing Prefecture. The two sides actually fought in Xinning County over the issue of who would be the leader.

There was no way out. Lan Jinlong, a Yao man from Baoqing, called himself "King Wei" and was so bold that even Zhao Yunian, the leader of the Red Yao Army in Yongzhou, could not tolerate it.

These Yao people can no longer be relied upon for the time being.

(End of this chapter)