There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 134 Big Trouble
Yang Fang was indeed a formidable general. While others in their twenties were still toiling away on the imperial examinations, this fellow, failing the test once, simply joined the army and rose to the rank of garrison commander within a year, all thanks to his reckless fighting spirit and exceptional fighting ability.

However, this is also Yang Fang's shortcoming. Apart from his mentor Yang Yuchun and the generals Fukang and Anfu whom he promoted, no one is taken seriously by him at all.

This is not surprising. It's like playing a game. If you get a pentakill at the beginning, and the jungler in the confrontation lane comes to catch you, you would probably dare to fight him one-on-two.

Yang Fang fled back to Chenlong Pass in a panic, with a crossbow arrow stuck in his left shoulder and back. The one in his back was shot by a Han soldier from a long distance who didn't believe in evil. It only penetrated his armor and didn't go deep into his flesh.

The thing stuck in the left shoulder is really deadly. It is a crossbow produced by the mall. It is said to be for civilian use, but it is basically used for fishing. It has strong kinetic energy and is as powerful as a pistol at close range.

Fortunately, it was not a bullet but an iron arrow, otherwise Yang Fang's left shoulder would have been broken.

It didn't break the body, but the crossbow arrow penetrated deep into the flesh and pierced the shoulder blade. Coupled with the long period of riding, the half-baked military doctor in Chenlong Pass was completely helpless in the face of this complicated injury.

Yang Fang went out of the pass to pursue the Eight Banners soldiers, but was ambushed by Han soldiers and fled back seriously injured. This outrageous battle report was sent back to Chenzhou Prefecture at full speed.

Jiang Sheng was almost dumbfounded. "Why would Guard Yang abandon the pass and lead his troops to attack?"

The Qing soldier who reported the news replied: "At that time, several Eight Banner soldiers came from outside the Great Wall. Yang Shoubei didn't know what was going on at first. Later, those Eight Banner soldiers suddenly started to persuade us to surrender, saying that we couldn't win and would have to surrender sooner or later, so we might as well surrender now..."

Liu Junfu raised his hand to interrupt, coughed twice, and said, "Tell me the details. Why did Yang Shoubei leave the customs?"

The Qing soldier quickly said, "Those Eight Banner soldiers scolded Yang Shoubei, asking how many heads Yang Shoubei had for daring to shoot arrows at the Eight Banner soldiers. They also said that Yang Shoubei was going to betray the Qing Dynasty and that Yang Shoubei was a traitor. Yang Shoubei was so angry that he took his personal guards out of the city to pursue those Eight Banner soldiers. We don't know what happened next. Yang Shoubei didn't take us with him, but when he returned, his personal guards were gone, and he was seriously injured. Even the military doctors were unable to treat him."

Jiang Sheng now almost figured it out. It wasn't that Yang Fang was too stupid or too young, but that the strategy used by the Han army was too vicious.

Not only did they use the Eight Banners soldiers to persuade Yang Fang to surrender, but they also slandered Yang Fang, a Han general with no identity or background, saying that he dared to attack the Eight Banners and was plotting treason against the Qing Dynasty!
Not to mention Yang Fang, even if Jiang Sheng were to guard Chenlong Pass, he would also be at a loss if he encountered such a situation.

It is true that he was the Governor of Hunan and held the second rank (actually the second rank, the second rank was a customary title), but no matter how high the title was, it was all nonsense when the matter involved the Eight Banners, and the highest-ranking Manchu Eight Banners at that.

The saying that Manchus and Han are one family is just to fool the common people. Anyone who actually serves in the court or has some knowledge knows that this is bullshit.

Things were better during the reign of the late Emperor Yongzheng, because Yongzheng really wanted to be the emperor of China. He was not just the chief of the Eight Banners of Manchuria. Even the local governors and high-ranking officials were replaced by Han officials. He also granted Zhang Tingyu the qualification to enter the Taimiao according to his will.

Because of this incident, he was almost deposed by his good son Qianlong, because Qianlong felt that Zhang Tingyu was a Han official and was not qualified to enter the Manchu ancestral temple.

It can be said that if you were an official in the Qianlong Dynasty and were not a member of the banner, you would not even be qualified to be a servant of the emperor. The Han officials in the court had to keep their tails between their legs when facing the Manchu officials of the Eight Banners.

Jiang Sheng pondered for a while and asked, "Are those really the Eight Banners of Manchuria?"

"I don't know," the Qing soldier shook his head and said, "but two of Yang Shoubei's personal guards who came back early brought back an Eight Banners prisoner. He spoke the Eight Banners dialect (not standard Manchu) and said he was from the Bordered White Banner..."

Knowing the specific names of the Eight Banners and being able to speak the Manchu language of the Eight Banners, it seems that they are indeed the real Eight Banners, or the real Eight Banners of Manchuria. The Han Eight Banners cannot speak Manchu.

This is trouble!

After letting the Qing soldiers retreat, Jiang Sheng and Liu Junfu just sat there in the Chenzhou government office.

After a long pause, Liu Junfu still couldn't figure it out: "How could the Eight Banners of Manchuria surrender to the Han thieves?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head. "Who can know? But what is certain is that the Han thieves definitely have a Manchu banner army in their hands. Although we don't know the exact number, no matter how many, they are all Eight Banners. If we handle them improperly, even if we can stop the Han thieves, we will not be able to explain to the court, the His Majesty, and the Manchu ministers in the court."

"Then just ignore it?" Liu Junfu asked tentatively.

Jiang Sheng shook his head again: "That's too negative. If the court knew, they would take a dignified attitude. You and I would lose our jobs and be dismissed from our posts."

Liu Junfu frowned and said, "This won't work, and that won't work either. What can we do then?"

"..."

Jiang Sheng fell silent, for he, too, had no good solution. The troops in Chenzhou Prefecture had only just learned of He Lin's death, and their knowledge was far less detailed than that of the Han army. The Han army knew He Lin had died in battle, even down to the specific details, while Jiang Sheng and his men only knew the vague term "died of illness." Relying on speculation and empirical evidence, they felt that it might not be that simple.

Liu Junfu was silent for a moment, then suddenly cursed, "It's all Yang Fang's fault. As the garrison commander of the Taigong Camp and the commander of Chenlong Pass, the center of the three armies, he couldn't stand the provocation and led his personal soldiers out of the pass to fight the enemy. He was ambushed and seriously injured, which damaged our morale."

Jiang Sheng didn't say much, just sighed slightly, which was considered as his agreement with Liu Junfu's complaint.

This Yang Fang is still too young. If he were in charge of Chenlong Pass, there wouldn't be such a big problem. Can't you even hold your ground and refuse to leave?

Fortunately, Yang Fang was not in Chenzhou at the moment and could not hear the two people's complaints. If they really knew, they would probably curse on the spot.

These two bastards, it's so easy for them to say that!

He was afraid to guard Chenlong Pass because he valued his life, so he asked for help from the unlucky Yang Fang. The key point was that Yang Fang was a general from another province and could not speak the same dialect as the local Qing soldiers. Not only was it difficult to command him, but the Qing soldiers in Chenzhou also did not trust him very much and were not willing to obey his orders.

How can he stay calm and guard the gate?

There are even Eight Banners outside the Great Wall, holding a loud speaker to disrupt the morale of the army. If we don't drive them away personally, won't something big happen?
Liu Junfu asked, "How many troops do we have now?"

He and Jiang Sheng, one was the Governor of Hunan and the other was the Admiral of Huguang. They could be angry, but if they really didn't do anything, it would be difficult for them to report to the court.

Jiang Sheng said, "We have less than 2,000 combat-ready soldiers, all newly recruited militiamen. As for cavalry, we still have over 200, more than 20 small boats, and three large ships..."

In the end, even Jiang Sheng didn't know how to continue. He was really too poor, extremely poor.

The governor of a province had only two thousand combat-ready soldiers, all of whom were newly recruited militiamen, and less than two hundred cavalrymen, half of whom rode donkeys.

The more than 100,000 troops in Xiangxi are really too heavy a burden, and even the entire Hunan Province cannot support it. Now most of Hunan is gone, and the territories of several prefectures in Xiangxi are left. Governor Jiang Sheng is almost left alone.

"Only two thousand combat-ready soldiers?" Liu Junfu was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

He was the governor of Huguang, with a first-rank official rank, while the governor of Hunan was actually of the second rank, and only with the title of assistant minister could he reach the second rank. According to the principle that civil officials are noble and military officials are humble, he and the governor Jiang Sheng should be considered equal in rank.

But the reality is not like this. If it was in the early Qing Dynasty, the admiral did have great power and had direct command and jurisdiction over the entire province's army, while the governor only had the power of control. Control usually means supervision. Whether he could interfere with the command depended on whether the emperor wanted to grant the governor greater power.

Only the governor has the power to truly bypass the admiral and take charge of the army and administration.

However, this situation of mutual checks and balances between the governors-general and the provincial governors did not change until Emperor Qianlong's reign, because in order to strengthen his control over the local areas, he instituted the "year-end secret examination" system.

In simple terms, it means that in addition to the major assessments every three years, governors and governors-general in various places can submit additional memorials to the emperor to report any illegal or irregular activities by provincial officials, including the highest military commander, the admiral.

My goodness, if the governor gets this power, what will happen?

From then on, the admiral existed in name only and could only become a puppet of the governor. The military and political power in the province was also completely controlled by the governor. Only the governor-general could control the governor, and there was no admiral to restrain the governor.

Qianlong is truly a genius!
"Two thousand soldiers will probably be of no help!" said Liu Junfu.

Jiang Sheng said, "The Han bandit army is approaching Chenlong Pass, and Guard Yang is seriously injured. We must request the Xiangxi army to move north as soon as possible."

Liu Junfu said, "But General He just passed away. The Xiangxi army has no commander. Who will take charge of the overall situation?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "I don't know. Let's send a letter first. Also, didn't Chenlongguan capture an Eight Banners prisoner? Let them send him back to Chenzhou."

Liu Junfu nodded helplessly: "This is the only way!"

The two of them agreed privately, and no one suggested sending troops to rescue Chenlong Pass.

(End of this chapter)