There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 188 King of Han
"Build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king."

Liu Jun slowly said, "In the past, the Ming Taizu relied on these nine words of truth and with the assistance of many capable ministers and generals to finally overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty. However, our Great Han Army cannot follow suit."

There are three reasons:
First, the Red Turban Army, also known as the Little Ming King, was the first to rise up in the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Secondly, after the Red Turban Rebellion was defeated, other righteous heroes such as Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Ming Yuzhen, and Fang Guozhen rose up, and the former Ming Taizu was no exception.

Third, after the Little Ming King, only Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, and Ming Yuzhen claimed the titles of king or emperor, with the former Ming Taizu falling behind.

After analyzing the three reasons, Nie Yu quickly understood.

To put it simply, there were just too many rebel armies at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. They weren't countless, but you could easily count them all as kings or emperors.

Zhu Yuanzhang could certainly delay declaring himself king, stockpile grain, and develop his strength stealthily, gradually accumulating power, because there were plenty of righteous armies ahead to help him hold off and draw the Yuan army's firepower.

But the Han army was different. The Han army was the first rebel army to launch an uprising at the end of the Qianlong era, and it just so happened to be at the critical juncture of the sixtieth year of Qianlong's reign. It was tantamount to blatantly slapping Qianlong's old face, making his old face slap loudly.

How could Emperor Qianlong so easily overlook the Han army?

As for letting other rebel armies draw the Qing army's firepower?

That would be even more absurd.

The Wang clan, the Guiyang rebels, the Miao people of western Hunan, the Yao people of southern Hunan, and even the White Lotus sect from Sichuan and Hubei who rose up with the Han army are now almost considered as members of the Han army.

Having reached this point, the Han army, regardless of whether it declared itself a kingdom or not, could no longer afford to continue its low-key development. Especially since the Han army occupied a vital town in Huguang, a place renowned as the granary of the nation, the Qing court, unless it was foolish, would not stand idly by and allow the Han army to establish a separatist regime there.

"General, what are you waiting for?" Liu Jun asked.

Wang Ruoyu then said, "If we declare ourselves king now, we can establish a righteous cause and rally heroes from all over the world to rise up. If we retreat, we can also appease the people and eliminate the gentry's wish to remain neutral, so that they can wholeheartedly support our Han army."

Gu Jing said, "After becoming king, our Han army will be able to stand on equal footing with the pseudo-Qing in terms of law and right, and may even be able to surpass them. In this way, we can attract talented people from all over the world to join our Han army and work together to overthrow the Qing and restore the Han dynasty."

"May the Great General ascend the throne and become king!"

After everyone finished singing in unison, they knelt down before Nie Yu, kowtowed, and urged him to take the throne.

While Nie Yu, the "King," wasn't in a hurry to ascend the throne, his civil and military officials were rather impatient.

They followed the Han army in rebellion, and most of them had ulterior motives. Civil officials longed to be promoted and make a name for themselves in history, while military generals thought about making military achievements, getting promoted and making a fortune.

This is normal. Without enough benefits, who would risk their life to accompany you, the great general, to fight against the Qing dynasty?
Nie Yu is currently reluctant to declare himself king, not entirely unwilling, but simply remaining silent. He neither rebukes nor praises the officials who urge him to ascend the throne, and even the petitions they send to his subordinates urging him to do so have been ignored.

Having no other choice, Liu Jun and his group resorted to this desperate measure: gathering a few people together under the pretext of delivering a telegram, they jointly urged Liu Jun to take the throne.

It's done! That's great news!

If that fails, it will allow us to further test the general's attitude.

Honestly, they didn't want it to happen. It wasn't for personal promotion or wealth; it was simply because they had already fought to this point, and Huguang was about to be taken over. What were they waiting for if they didn't declare themselves king?
Are they afraid? Or do they just want to be complacent and live like local tyrants?

Nie Yu pondered for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "What you all said is right. I was too attached to appearances and too obsessed with delaying the declaration of kingship, completely ignoring reality."

Liu Jun and the others exchanged glances, all of them breathing a sigh of relief, while their expressions also betrayed their excitement and anticipation.

"Liu is in charge, and Gu is in charge."

"The minister is here."

Liu Jun and Gu Jing quickly bowed and stepped forward.

Nie Yu made a decision: "The matter of declaring oneself king shall be entirely entrusted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Rites, and all other departments must fully cooperate."

Nie Yu wasn't the type to be coy or indecisive; he had simply been too attached to appearances and too fixated on the experiences of his predecessors, neglecting his own actual situation.

He has already conquered two provinces. Even if he doesn't declare himself king, the Qing army won't ignore him. On the contrary, it might make the whole world look down on the Han army, thinking that the Han army is a cowardly and weak rebel army. They think that the Han army is so powerful, yet they don't dare to challenge the Qing court.

Conversely, now that he has declared himself king, he can not only be legitimate, but also further unite and appease the wavering hearts of the Han soldiers and civilians.

Despite the Han army's current winning streak and expanding territory, many gentry and scholars still consider them rebels, engaging in suicidal activities that will inevitably lead to their annihilation by the Qing court.

After becoming king, the idea might not change much, but the details will be different. The former rebels become rebel kings, and they might still be wiped out, but what if they succeed?

He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Becoming a king does not necessarily win the hearts of the people, but it will naturally make the gentry and scholars of the world have some reservations and awe.

The Han army's core support base is not in the gentry, but that doesn't mean the gentry's power is unnecessary; we must unite all forces that can be united.

Three days later, the Han army officially announced to the world in Jingzhou Prefecture that General Nie Yu, the anti-Qing and restoration-of-Han general, was preparing to ascend the throne and declare himself king.

After brainstorming among the Han army, the king finally came up with five options: King of E, King of Chu, King of Han, King of Ming, and King of Heaven.

The name "E Wang" carries a strong sense of regionalism, clearly indicating that some officials are pandering to Nie Yu's ancestral home in Jingzhou, and many of these officials are also from Jingzhou.

The King of Chu was slightly better. He also had strong regionalism, but at least his title was prestigious, encompassing the vast land of Huguang. It was also a title inherited from the Warring States period, which allowed him to maintain order.

The title "King of Han" echoes the title of the Han army, implying that the Han army is fighting against the Qing and restoring the Han dynasty, rather than pursuing the hegemony of one family or clan.

The Ming King was simply an official who wanted to ride on the coattails of the righteous cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, believing that the former Ming dynasty still held considerable political influence. Even the White Lotus sect's doctrines still included the banner of the Ming dynasty.

The title "Heavenly King" sounds somewhat unsophisticated, but upon closer examination, it is actually the most prestigious among the various titles.

The Heavenly King is the Son of Heaven.

After careful examination, Nie Yu finally decided on the title of King of Han. It should be said that this title was submitted by some of the officials after they received his hint.

Nie Yu knew that he was now a king and would inevitably become an emperor in the future, but he did not want to be just a feudal emperor.

Forty years later came the Opium War, followed by an unprecedented upheaval. China did not have much time left.

Nie Yu did not want to create another extremely powerful dynasty. In fact, if he participated in the struggle for world domination in the future, the more colonies he conquered, the stronger his imperial power would become. This was unavoidable, but he still had to leave something for future generations.

Liu Jun and the other officials were unaware of Nie Yu's intentions, and they did not object at the time. They obediently complied with the order and officially established the title of King of Han.

It's perfect because we don't even need to change the military structure much, and it can also show that the Han army is fighting against the Qing and restoring the Han, and that they are rising up for the people of the world.

Nie Yu's coronation as king was not celebrated with any grand ceremony because the treasury was really tight and the Department of Finance could not afford to carry out large-scale construction projects.

In addition, Nie Yu insisted that it was just a matter of being called a king, and there was no need to make it more grand than being an emperor. So they simply changed the title of king, slightly renovated the General's Mansion, and replaced the plaque with a brand new Han King's Mansion plaque.

On the day he was crowned king.

Officials from various departments went to the Han King's Palace to pay homage to the Han King, and Nie Yu also changed into a brand-new set of Han King's imperial robes.

"Long live the king!"

The officials shouted in unison to pay homage.

Nie Yu raised his hand: "All of you, no need for formalities!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The officials bowed again and then rose.

This kneeling in worship is a necessary etiquette. Besides this particular kneeling in worship, there are other solemn occasions as well. In other daily life, a simple bow is sufficient. The Han army does not follow the Manchu Qing practice of kneeling at the drop of a hat.

With the reign of kings over, the next step is to formally establish an institution.

The original framework of the various departments of the Han army has been established; now it is simply a matter of further standardization.

The Secretariat remains unchanged, not even its name. It still serves as an advisory body directly under the King of Han, and can only offer advice on major military and political matters.

The Ministry of Personnel was reorganized into the Ministry of Personnel, and Lü Zhihong, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, was promoted to Minister of Personnel.

The Department of Revenue was reorganized into the Ministry of Revenue, and Lin Wenchang was promoted to Minister of Revenue.

The Han Army Commandery was reorganized into the Ministry of War, and Wang Ruoyu was appointed Minister of War.

The Han Army Commandery's original Land Forces Office was split up and reorganized into the Grand Commandery of the Land Forces, and the Naval Forces Office was reorganized into the Grand Commandery of the Naval Forces, both directly under the jurisdiction of the King of Han.

The Industrial and Commercial Bureau was reorganized into the Ministry of Works, and Yao Hongyi became the Minister of Works.

The Criminal Law Department was reorganized into the Ministry of Justice, and Dai Yi, who was in charge of the Criminal Law Department, became the Minister of Justice.

The Department of Rites was the Ministry of Rites, and Gu Jing was the Minister of Rites.

The Postal Administration was renamed the Ministry of Posts and Communications, which also had a Minister.

The Censorate was renamed the Censorate, formally establishing its power to supervise officials who were corrupt or lawless.

The Civil Affairs Office underwent the most significant changes. Previously known privately as the "mini-cabinet," it has now been officially promoted and reorganized into the Cabinet Office.

(End of this chapter)