There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 196 Taking Over the State
"Hehe, the Governor's Office has come up with a good plan this time. They eliminated the King of Slaughter and gained two new territories in return," Nie Yu said with a smile, taking out a translated telegram.

The translated telegram was passed around to civil and military officials in various cabinet ministries for review.

After reviewing the document, Liu Jun smiled and said, "Chenzhou is adjacent to that bandit King Shajin, and previously faced the Guiyang rebels to the west, so it was caught in a pincer movement. Even if it wanted to surrender, it didn't know who to surrender to. Now that the Guiyang rebels have moved south, Guiyang has come under the control of our Han Dynasty, and Chaling Prefecture has been pacified by General Chen, it's just that King Shajin has escaped. As the prefect of this region, it's naturally time to make a decision."

Nobody wants to die needlessly if they can live.

Pan Boyong, the prefect of Chenzhou, saw it very clearly. He could barely hold off the enemy by using the terrain to his advantage, but the Han army was too powerful and he couldn't stop them.

Moreover, in the eyes of the Qing court and Emperor Qianlong, Chenzhou and Yuanzhou, the last remaining prefectures in Hunan, should have been taken over by the rebels long ago.

How can it have existed for so long?
Could it be that the prefects and governors of these prefectures all joined the rebels, which is why they were able to survive under the siege of the rebels and not be swallowed up and destroyed?
Regardless of what others do, Pan Boyong simply couldn't hold on any longer. The ruthless and bloodthirsty King of Killing All Kings meant there was no way out even if he surrendered. That's why he was still able to rally the landlords and common people to fight desperately.

But if the Han army arrives, then there's no need for that.

The Han army did not kill indiscriminately, followed the rules, and respected scholars. Among so many rebels, they could almost be considered an anomaly.

Pan Boyong even heard that recently the Grand General of the Han army had ascended the throne and declared himself king, establishing the Han dynasty and formally establishing laws and regulations.

This means they've grown strong and influential, making them worthy of being bets by high-ranking Qing officials.

“If Pan Boyong, the prefect of Chenzhou, surrenders, we can grant him a high-ranking but nominal position, but without real power,” said Lu Zhihong, the Minister of Personnel.

This suggestion is perfectly reasonable. The prefect of Chenzhou has made a great contribution by surrendering the prefecture, which means that the prefecture city and all the counties under its jurisdiction surrendered together. This is a significant achievement.

In addition, the prefect of Chenzhou was caught between two rebel armies and unable to move, so he had few opportunities to embezzle or commit evil. He was already exhausted just from trying to stop the rebels from attacking from both sides.

He could easily atone for his crimes with good deeds, so he was given a nominal high-ranking position, but without any real power.

This could subtly influence Qing officials through external propaganda, implying that if the Han army besieged the city one day, they could be pardoned and even receive official titles and rewards simply by surrendering the city instead of defending it.

Since that's the case, why bother defending the city? Just surrender and you'll enjoy wealth and honor.

It's like spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones!

They might as well sow internal divisions, which is despicable, but this is a rebellion. The Han army did not harm the people, but instead distributed land and reduced taxes to protect their livelihoods. They were already a very benevolent and righteous army.

Nie Yu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's do it this way!"

Wang Ruoyu, the Minister of War, suddenly handed over a letter and said, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, Ding Yunjin, the prefect of Yongzhou under the puppet Qing regime, sent a messenger to us with a letter requesting our Han army to rescue Yongzhou."

Speaking of Ding Yunjin, the prefect of Yongzhou, Nie Yu still has a deep impression of him, because this guy had asked him for help once a year ago.

However, despite claiming to be pleading for help, his words were filled with arrogance, as if he were the one asking the Han army for alms, not the other way around.

The gist of it is that as long as the Han army relieves the siege of Yongzhou, he can help the Han army submit a memorial to the court, ask for their merits and praise, and help the Han army obtain amnesty and official positions.

Nie Yu was so angry he laughed when he saw the letter, and then replied with two words: "No time!"

Now, almost a year has passed, and this prefect of Yongzhou has shamelessly come to the Han army for help again. The letter he sent is much more formal now, and it is said that the messenger is Ding Yunjin's own son (born to a concubine). Nie Yu took the letter, glanced at it a few times, and immediately chuckled: "After a year, this Prefect Ding's writing skills have improved quite a bit, and he's become much more adept at flattery!"

Upon hearing this, the officials wanted to laugh, but they kept a straight face and dared not laugh.

Nie Yu then asked, "What did the Yao tribe say?"

The Yao tribes mentioned here refer to the Yao people's militia in Yongzhou and Baoqing prefectures.

Wang Ruoyu said, "Zhao Yu Nian, the leader of the Yao tribe in Yongzhou, is not hostile to us, but he is not particularly respectful either. We sent our letter of surrender, but it completely disappeared without a trace, and the other party did not give any reply. However, Lan Jinlong, the leader of the Yao tribe in Baoqing, gave a clear reply. He can give up his title of king and is willing to respect the King of Han, but he will not allow us to send officials or troops to Baoqing Prefecture."

Nie Yu remained silent, but Liu Jun couldn't help but say, "Impossible. If they want to take over Baoqing and Yongzhou, how could they not send officials and troops to garrison them? If they don't send anything, wouldn't that be no different from before?"

Minister of Rites Gu Jing also chimed in, “Your Majesty, if you want to take over the two prefectures of Baoqing and Yongzhou, then you cannot agree to the conditions of Yao King Lan Jinlong. But Yao King is Yao King, and Yao tribe is Yao tribe. Yao King cannot fully represent Yao tribe. For example, the Yao tribe in Yongzhou is not under the jurisdiction of Yao King of Baoqing, so it is entirely possible to divide them.”

"How do we differentiate?" Nie Yu asked.

Gu Jing replied, "First, we will send a general to lead troops to the two prefectures to coerce the Yao people there into not making any rash moves. Then, we will send several village peasant associations to the area in batches. Although the Yao people in these two prefectures are called Yao, they are actually no different from the Han people. They can speak Han language, have Han names, and live among the Han people. It's just that the Qing dynasty doesn't treat them as Han people and exploits and abuses them, which is why the Yao people are united in their hatred of the enemy and have started an uprising against the Qing."

That's true. Starting around the time of the Yongzheng Emperor, various ethnic minority uprisings in the southwest, including those of the Miao and Yao people, were all caused by officials forcing the people to rebel. Those local officials didn't treat the Miao, Yao, and other ethnic minorities as human beings at all.

This was also the policy of "replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials" formulated by Emperor Yongzheng for the entire Qing Dynasty. It involved exploiting and abusing local officials to force ethnic minorities to revolt, and then taking the opportunity to send troops to quell the rebellion, eliminate local chieftains, and replace all ethnic minorities with centrally appointed officials.

It was a bit brutal, but it was incredibly effective. Over the course of the thirteen years of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the number of local chieftains who were replaced by centrally appointed officials was countless. They were all forced into rebellion by the local chieftains and ethnic minorities before being violently suppressed.

It's fair to say that the ethnic minorities in the Qing Dynasty were so unruly, it's no wonder they were so rebellious. They were truly forced to rebel, or they would have to wait to die.

Gu Jing's strategy was actually a variation of what the Han army had been doing since the uprising began.

Since the Yao king, the chieftain of the Yao tribe, couldn't be dealt with, the solution was to start from the bottom up. The Yao people at the bottom surrounded the chieftain, established a peasant association among the Yao people, and then had the Yao people overthrow the Yao king and lead the Yao tribe to submit to the Han Dynasty.

Good heavens, the countryside is surrounding the city... cough cough.

Nie Yu nodded slightly: "This method is acceptable. Let Xu Yuan lead the army over there! Also, transfer a group of land distribution officials from the local area to help the Yao tribes of the two prefectures to establish farmers' associations and distribute the land of the Yao tribal leaders and chieftains."

Xu Yuanrang was Xu Sanlang. After becoming a general, he felt that his name was a bit too rustic, so he asked the military clerk to change his name.

The scribe wasn't very literate, so he simply used Xiahou Dun from the Three Kingdoms period. Xiahou Dun knew when to advance and retreat, and was a skilled and courageous warrior, which suited him quite well.

To show respect for his general, Nie Yu, the Prince of Han, specifically changed Xu Sanlang's name to Xu Yuanrang in his official document reviews, and also referred to him as Yuanrang in public.

Chenzhou surrendered entirely, while Baoqing and Yongzhou were to be conquered and assimilated by Xu Sanlang's army. Yuanzhou and Jingzhou had not yet surrendered, but were close to doing so.

Yuanzhou and Jingzhou are truly besieged from all sides. The prefect of Yuanzhou has completely given up, and the prefect of Jingzhou is also just getting by.

I reckon that once Baoqing Prefecture is captured by the Han army, some people in Jingzhou will get anxious and want to surrender the city.

(End of this chapter)