There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 162 Conspiracy
Several days later, at the gates of Xiangyang.

Dozens of donkey carts loaded with goods were parked in the middle of the official road outside the city. Each cart was sealed with a note written in vernacular Chinese.

The inscription reads: "General Who Opposes the Qing and Restores the Han Dynasty, a congratulatory gift presented to the newly appointed Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Huguang under the Puppet Qing Dynasty!"
The Qing soldiers quickly discovered the wagons, but they dared not make any moves. They hurriedly returned to their superiors for instructions. After reporting the matter up the chain of command, E Hui and Ming Liang led their men to the outskirts of the city, followed by Xiangyang Prefect Hong Shiquan and his officials.

Before he could even get close, E Hui smelled a strong, strange odor, somewhat like the smell of decay, mixed with the smell of blood and other odors.

E Hui immediately sensed something was wrong: "Move everything down first!"

Several Qing soldiers ran up and, just as they cut the ropes binding the cart with their knives, several round objects rolled down, one of which rolled all the way to E Hui's feet.

"Brain!"

"There seem to be words on its head?"

“I recognize those characters; they’re Manchu, and they also mention the Eight Banners…”

Ruined!
Several heads rolled down, and when we looked at them, we saw the character "Manchu" written on their foreheads and the characters "Eight Banners" written on each of their faces.

The meaning is obvious; it's a blatant message to E Hui that these heads belong to the Manchu Eight Banners.

The ropes on the trucks in front were also untied, and they were filled to the brim with heads of people who had long braids and whose faces were marked with the words "Manchu" and "Eight Banners".

The Qing soldiers behind them were too afraid to move. Anyone who saw that the trucks were full of people would be terrified.

"Traitor!"

As E Hui listened to the shouts and screams all around him, he felt a little dizzy and lightheaded.

Mingliang, true to his veteran status, reacted quickly, immediately shouting, "Quickly, pass down the order: impose martial law immediately! Arrest anyone you see with a head, and kill anyone who disobeys or resists arrest on the spot!"

"Yes, Commander."

Brightly dressed guards immediately accepted the order.

“And then there’s Prefect Hong!” Mingliang added.

"The subordinate is here."

Hong Shiquan, the prefect of Xiangyang, sensed something was wrong and stepped forward to greet him with a cupped hand.

Mingliang said, "Go and make the arrangements. Have someone secretly bring all the heads back."

Hong Shiquan hesitated, "This..."

E Hui had recovered by then, and frowned as he added an order: "Hurry up and go!"

"Yes Yes."

Hong Shiquan was inwardly groaning, but since the governor and admiral had already given orders and the situation was getting out of control, he had no choice but to obey.

How easy is it to secretly haul dozens of trucks filled with heads back to Xiangyang?
Although Mingliang ordered a news blackout immediately, it was already too late. Their head was only discovered in the morning, and by the afternoon, the news was already known throughout the city, and it was becoming more and more outrageous.

Originally, the Han army only sent a few dozen cartloads of heads to the Qing army, which totaled about two thousand Eight Banner heads. They also kept nearly two thousand as reserves, in case they needed them later.
However, after an afternoon of spreading and fermenting, it had become a story that the rebels had sent the government 100,000 Eight Banner heads, and that the rebels had already led hundreds of thousands of troops north, preparing to take Xiangyang.

Such outrageous rumors were spread with surprising accuracy, even causing many wealthy and powerful families in Xiangyang to harbor doubts.

Because the Qing army in western Hunan had indeed suffered a defeat of over 100,000 men, and was almost completely wiped out, Xiangyang, although in Hubei, was not entirely unaware of the battle reports from Hunan. In addition, the Han army outside the city sent over several thousand heads this morning, so it was really hard to say whether the Han army was already preparing to attack Xiangyang.

As for the hundreds of thousands of troops marching north, it may sound unbelievable at first, but what if it were true?
If it were any other prefecture's gentry, they certainly wouldn't believe this news, but Xiangyang had just been besieged by hundreds of thousands of White Lotus rebels for more than half a year.

Without E Hui leading troops, Xiangyang would still be under siege, locked in a protracted stalemate with Hui Ling's "hundreds of thousands" of troops, and the stalemate would likely continue.

In an instant, panic gripped the entire city of Xiangyang. The wealthy and powerful were terrified, but the officials and soldiers were equally bewildered. E Hui could only step in to appease them: "Xiangyang has high walls and thick defenses. Even after besieging it for half a year with hundreds of thousands of White Lotus rebels, they couldn't take it. Now, these Hunanese bandits have sent us so many Eight Banner heads; they clearly know I'm coming and want to take advantage of my unpreparedness to force me to surrender and send troops south for a decisive battle."

Mingliang continued, "We still need to send troops, but we can't do it right now. We're not fully prepared. If we send troops rashly, we're bound to suffer a defeat against the Hunan bandits."

E Hui nodded: "Therefore, we must speed up the training of our troops. Prefect Wang, you should first explain the advantages and disadvantages to the wealthy families in the city in the name of the government, and persuade them to donate more funds to the court. As for me, I will also jointly submit a memorial with the Governor of Huguang to request the Emperor Emeritus to send troops from Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangdong and Guangxi. When our new Hubei army is trained, the armies of seven provinces will join forces to annihilate these Hunanese bandits!"

Good heavens, after just a few words, Hong Shiquan, the prefect of Xiangyang, was no fool. He naturally realized that the two had discussed it beforehand.

The idea that we should first speed up the training of troops and then petition the court to send an army from seven provinces to suppress the bandits is utter nonsense!
Sending troops is absolutely out of the question. Don't be fooled by E Hui's near fainting from shock when he saw the head; it was all an act.

A veteran actor.

If I don't put on a convincing act, I won't be able to explain myself to the Emperor Emeritus!
These were the Eight Banners, specifically the Manchu Eight Banners. They were the Manchu family, the very foundation and lifeline through which our Great Qing controlled these Han and Mongol people.

It's one thing to die in battle, but to have your head sent back by the rebels and left exposed like this for passersby to watch like a monkey show is nothing short of blatant provocation.

It would be difficult for E Hui and Ming Liang not to send troops, but sending troops would be tantamount to sending their own heads. With their 20,000 troops hastily heading south, let alone suppressing the bandits, they would be lucky to escape unscathed if they were defeated.

E Hui and Ming Liang had already secretly discussed the matter at night. Sending troops would be tantamount to sending their own heads, but if they didn't send troops, they wouldn't be able to explain it to the retired emperor, nor to the many Manchu bannermen in Beijing. So, they could only try to smooth things over and stall for time.

Hong Shiquan saw through it, but he didn't say anything. He just secretly went back and wrote a secret memorial, intending to submit it to the retired emperor quietly.

On the one hand, they tattle on others; on the other hand, when problems arise, they claim it has nothing to do with them.

After finally managing to appease and appease the Xiangyang soldiers, E Hui accelerated the pace of training and recruiting troops. The tens of thousands of "armies" that Hui Ling had trained before were so bad that E Hui couldn't stand them anymore and had no choice but to dismiss them all to train new ones.

At the same time, they did not forget to send spies south to gather intelligence on the rebels' movements.

He soon received news from the prefect of Jingmen that tens of thousands of bandits had gathered in Yuan'an and Dangyang counties of Jingmen, all of them flying the banner of Han traitors.

Just as E Hui was filled with doubt and uncertainty, another letter came from the prefect of Anlu next door, saying that there had been a large-scale mobilization of grain and fodder in Jingzhou, and many civilian boats had also been requisitioned by the rebels, all seemingly heading towards the Yangtze River.

What's happening here?
There are rebel armies in Dangyang and Yuan'an, and rebels on the Yangtze River are also requisitioning grain, fodder, and civilian ships. Where exactly are these rebels going to raise their troops and attack?

Nie Yu's deceptive actions left E Hui momentarily bewildered. The White Lotus Sect in Dangyang and Yuan'an had already formally submitted, so the rebel army here naturally had to obey the Han army's orders as well.

The rebel armies in Dangyang and Yuan'an gathered in a grand manner, even displaying the banners of the Han army. This naturally led the prefect of Jingmen to make a misjudgment, believing that the Han army was about to march north to attack Xiangyang.

There was no need to hide anything here on the Yangtze River either. A large number of civilian ships and provisions were requisitioned, and the main force of the Han army was also gathering and being mobilized here.

If E Hui doesn't dare to act rashly, then Wuchang and Hanyang will fall to the Han army. These two prefectures are empty, and there's a traitor inside them, so they can't stop the Han army.

If E Hui were to lead his troops south, that would be even better. The Han army could travel along the Yangtze River and quickly turn back to launch a decisive battle against the Qing army, securing Hubei in one fell swoop.

This is a perfectly legitimate and open strategy!
Nie Yu is now relying on his superior troop strength and strategic initiative to force the Qing army to make a choice: either march south and fight a decisive battle with him, or watch him take Wuchang and Hanyang, dismembering Hubei and making it impossible for him, the Governor-General of Huguang, to control the course of the war.

Of course, E Hui could also rush to Wuchang's aid, but his speed could not keep up with the Han army's advance down the river, and by the time he reached Wuchang, he could only look at the city with longing.

Moreover, if he could rush to Wuchang's aid, the Han army could telegraph ordering the Jingmen militia to march north and forcibly capture Xiangyang.

Xiangyang's high walls and thick fortifications made it difficult to attack, but that was during the White Lotus Rebellion's siege. Now that the siege has been lifted, the morale of the officials and civilians in Xiangyang has collapsed, and it's impossible to expect them to fight to the death to defend the city.

The Han Chinese civil officials have already conducted a simulation and analysis. Given the current state of Xiangyang, if the Qing army dares to leave, Xiangyang will likely surrender without even a fight, upon seeing the Han army's banners.

The Han army did not win the hearts of the gentry, but that depends on the place and the people. For the gentry in Hunan, the Han army's division of their land and their requirement for scholars to start from the bottom was simply an insult to their culture!
Compared to the gentry of Xiangyang, the Han army only divided their land, didn't even want their family property, and still wanted them to be officials. If they did well, they could be promoted. This was simply the work of a great founding emperor!

The problem is that everything is subject to comparison; once you start comparing, the problem ceases to be a problem!

(End of this chapter)