There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 223 Talks Among Ethnic Groups
Before the news of the great victory at Yunyang Prefecture could be sent back to Jingzhou, De'an Prefecture was captured by the Han army.

Zhang Zengchi, the prefect of De'an, was just as unlucky as Bai Peixiang.

He took office in the fifty-eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, but after serving as prefect for less than two years, a rebellion broke out in Huguang, making it impossible for him to resign and transfer. He could only grit his teeth and wait for the governor and the viceroy to quell the rebellion.

Then, he successfully outlived the governor, and the provincial governor stopped caring about him.

Bai Peixiang was surrounded on three sides and didn't want to move. Zhang Zengchi was in an even worse situation, completely blocked on all four sides, surrounded by rebels. To the south were Han troops, to the east were Han troops, to the west were also Han troops, but to the north, finally, there were no Han troops, but rather Liu Zhixie, the White Lotus rebels who occupied Ruzhou.

Zhang Zengchi wanted to defend the city as best he could, but unfortunately, he was not given the chance. The Han army had only besieged the city for ten days when the Tongzhi of De'an colluded with the wealthy and powerful families in the city and surrendered.

Zhang Zengchi was powerless to reverse the situation and could only commit suicide to defend the city.

It is, after all, a prefecture-level city. There must be one or two high-ranking officials who die for the city. Otherwise, the more than one hundred years that the Qing Dynasty has nurtured scholars would have been in vain.

……

Changsha Prefecture City.

It was already the end of March, and the leaders of the Miao people in western Hunan, the Yao people in Yongzhou, the Hua Yao people in Baoqing, and the Dong and Miao people in Jingzhou—basically all the ethnic minority leaders from these prefectures—were invited to the governor's office for a meeting and talks.

There were many people, at least forty or fifty in total, all dressed differently, and even their accents were slightly different.

These representatives from various ethnic groups did not know each other. After arriving at the government office, they did not communicate with each other. Instead, they found places to sit separately and formed several small groups.

When Nie Yu, the King of Han, arrived, all the representatives turned to look at him.

My first impression: young, so young!
This Han King, who defeated the Qing army and unified the vast land of Hubei and Hunan, is so young and handsome. He is indeed a true hero!

"Greetings, King of Han!" The crowd rose to greet him.

Most of these representatives from various ethnic groups were naturalized citizens who knew how to greet officials, and they were all able to speak and understand Mandarin.

Nie Yu smiled and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat! I am the King of Han, not only the King of Han people, but also the King of all ethnic groups, including the Yao, Miao, Dong, and Tu. I have come south to Hunan to invite you all to this meeting. I hope you can put aside your prejudices and have a frank and open discussion!"

"King of Han, you said you want us to put aside our prejudices, but the question is, if I, Hua Yao, can put aside my prejudices, will the Great Han really treat us equally?" Hua Yao's representative immediately stood up and asked in a tone that showed no politeness whatsoever.

As soon as the representative of the Hua Yao finished speaking, the representative of the Dong and Miao people spoke in an unfriendly tone: "King Han, we Dong and Miao people have heard about your reputation from those Han people. We know that you are good to the poor, but those poor people are still Han people after all, and they are different from us Dong and Miao people. When the government was still in power, they discriminated against our Dong and Miao villages. We Dong and Miao people had to pay three times the taxes that Han people had to pay, and we also had to do hard labor for those Han officials and were extorted by those Han officials."

"We Huayao people are the same."

“Our Miao villages in western Hunan used to be like this, but the Han government was different from the original government; their officials were all good officials.”

"Yes, these new big men, their officials are indeed quite different. They are not greedy for money, nor do they discriminate against or exploit us. They even help us distribute land and help us sell our goods."

"Which family are you from?"

"We are the Yao people of Yongzhou."

"Heh, so you're just a lackey of the government!"

Who are you calling a lackey?

"..."

The representatives of the various tribes exchanged a few words, but the conversation quickly turned tense, ultimately because the reputation of the pseudo-Qing dynasty was too tarnished. The pseudo-Qing's "reform of native chieftains and replacement of native officials" was not a true reform of native chieftains and replacement of native officials; it was nothing more than deliberate exploitation and oppression, forcing the minority tribes in a region to rebel and slaughter them, and then taking the opportunity to annex the land, which they called "reform of native chieftains and replacement of native officials."

If things are done this way, who wouldn't hate the fake Qing dynasty?

Moreover, this was not the way the Qing dynasty dealt with the ethnic minorities in the southwest. There were also the Mongols in the north and the Solon people in the northeast, who were just two pieces of meat on the Qing's chopping block.

To what extent were the Mongols tormented by the puppet Qing dynasty?

In the early Qing Dynasty, there were two million Mongolian households, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 1.9 million households. The population did not grow at all for more than two hundred years, and even experienced some negative growth.

The Sorens were even more formidable; they were nearly wiped out.

It can only be said that hatred and prejudice are not formed overnight, and they cannot be eliminated in just a few words.

Then let's just not talk about it.

Nie Yu's expression suddenly turned serious, and he rebuked, "I have said that I am the King of Han. I am here today to negotiate with you frankly and openly. If you do not wish to talk, then I may choose not to!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the representatives of the several tribes who were about to fight realized the inappropriateness of their behavior and quickly sat back down in their original seats.

The representative of the Miao tribe in western Hunan had the closest relationship with the Han Dynasty and was also the first to submit, so he spoke up to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. We came here because we wanted to talk to the Han Dynasty."

Nie Yu said, "Since you want to talk, then listen to what I have to say. I won't explain further. What you perceive as government corruption is the work of the Qing dynasty. My reason for raising an army is the same as yours: the Qing dynasty's greed and cruelty drove me to revolt. So, when you ask whether the Han dynasty will be like the Qing, I can only say absolutely not!"

"How can the King of Han prove it?" The Dong and Miao representatives exchanged glances and asked stubbornly.

Nie Yu retorted, "How do you intend to prove it? You are the Dong and Miao people of Jingzhou, aren't you? You have occupied Tongdao County, preventing the county magistrate from passing through, and also preventing the town head and land allocation officials from entering. My Great Han cannot even provide you with land, help you establish schools, form farmers' associations, or help you implement tax reductions. How do you expect me to prove it?"

The questioning tone was very impolite, leaving the Dong and Miao representatives speechless.

The Dong and Miao people refused to let the Han officials, including the county magistrate and the town head and land distribution officials, go through the area because they distrusted the Han government.

Without these Han officials, they wouldn't know anything about Han policies; they could only glean information from the surrounding Han villages during trade and transactions.

For example, the King of Han was a benevolent ruler who treated his people well, giving them land and reducing their taxes, etc.

The Hua Yao representative couldn't help but ask, "But what if those corrupt officials side with the Han people and discriminate against our ethnic group?"

Nie Yu sneered, "You keep calling me a corrupt official, then why don't you come down the mountain, or let my Han 'corrupt officials' come up the mountain to help you? You're unwilling to settle down or let people into the mountain, so you isolate yourselves and then blame my Han for closing the mountain and restricting your trade with the outside world?" The Hua Yao representative was speechless, because Nie Yu, the King of Han, was right despite his rough words. They wouldn't even let people up the mountain, yet they kept saying that the officials of the Han were bad.

Nie Yu was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I should take a Miao concubine in a few months."

Upon hearing this, the representatives of the various ethnic groups were somewhat taken aback.

The representative of the Miao tribe in western Hunan suddenly realized what the Han king was talking about and hurriedly asked, "The Miao concubine? The Han king... is what Your Majesty said true?"

The Tu Miao are not Miao, but they are also a minority group. For the Miao people in western Hunan, they are all in the same boat, all "lowly people" discriminated against and exploited by the Han government.

Now, the King of Han wants to take a Miao woman as his concubine. How is this any different from the Miao chieftains of the past marrying slaves and wild men as wives?
Nie Yu laughed and said, "I am a man of my word, and I would never lie. This concubine of the Tu Miao came from Hefeng, Hubei. To me, there is no difference between Tu Miao, Miao, Yao, and Dong Miao. Although you are not Han Chinese, you are all citizens of the Han Dynasty and Chinese people. So what difference or discrimination is there?"

After these words were spoken, the representative of the Miao people in western Hunan was speechless.

Not only them, but the Hua Yao and Dong Miao who had originally been clamoring and expressing their dissatisfaction all shut up without prior agreement. They now truly believed that this Han King did not seem to discriminate against them, otherwise why would he marry one of their people as a concubine?
After all, this was almost no different from the chieftains above them marrying their slaves.

Slaves were so lowly, how could the chieftains, with their noble status, marry slaves? They wouldn't even bother with them.

Nie Yu continued, "I told you about this so that I would like to show you that I have no prejudice against you. So you'd better not embarrass me or cause me any more trouble. My patience has its limits."

At this point, Nie Yu's expression turned extremely gloomy. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The Yao people of Yongzhou are not too resistant to our Han Dynasty, but your Yao villages are still too conservative. Our Han Dynasty's land distribution officials have difficulty intervening in establishing farmers' associations and must make adjustments within a specified period."

The representative of the Yao people in Yongzhou was somewhat embarrassed: "But Your Majesty, our Yao village has not affected the Han Dynasty. Can we not make any adjustments?"

“Okay.” Nie Yu nodded.

Before the Yao representatives of Yongzhou could even begin to rejoice, Nie Yu added, "But if no adjustments are made within the specified timeframe, the land you have been allocated will not be taken back, but you will no longer enjoy the tax reductions and exemptions afforded to the people of our Great Han."

The representative of the Yongzhou Yao people stiffened for a moment, then gritted his teeth and agreed, "Alright! We, the Yongzhou Yao, are willing to obey Your Majesty's command!"

Nie Yu was relatively lenient towards the Yao people of Yongzhou because the Yao people of Yongzhou were indeed obedient. However, they were all united in one place, making it difficult for the Han government's town officials and land distribution officials to take action, which was not conducive to the Han government's management of the Yao people of Yongzhou.

As for allowing the Yao people of Yongzhou to have complete autonomy?

Stop joking. We're still in the Qing Dynasty era, more than two hundred years ago. If we let a small ethnic group gather together and be completely autonomous, a Yao king will inevitably emerge eventually and lead a rebellion.

Having discussed the Yao people of Yongzhou, let's move on to the Flower Yao people of Baoqing.

Nie Yu's face was not only gloomy, but his tone also became more severe: "You Hua Yao people have refused to come down the mountain to settle down time and time again, and you have also refused to let the land distribution officials of my Great Han Dynasty intervene in the establishment of the peasant association. Then you can't blame me."

"From this day forward, all trade between the Huayao villages in Baoqing Prefecture and the outside world is prohibited. Anyone who dares to trade with the Huayao people in the mountains will be exiled and their allocated land will be confiscated."

The representative of Huayao could not hold back upon hearing this and angrily said, "King Han, you are discriminating against the people of Huayao."

Nie Yu laughed in anger: "I have said that I have never discriminated against you Hua Yao. Besides, how could I have the time to discriminate against this or that? If you Hua Yao are unwilling to obey orders and unwilling to submit to the management of my Great Han, then we should simply leave you alone. If you Hua Yao are not satisfied, you can rebel as you please. I will not only be merciful to you, but also have a knife."

“Ordinary Huayao people would definitely prefer to live a peaceful life and settle down in the mountains to be allocated land. Only a fool would choose to live a hard life in the mountains. I would also like to remind you that if any of your Huayao leaders dare to incite the Huayao people to rebel, I will not hesitate to kill a few more people to establish my authority.”

"Moreover, every time you rebel, the land you receive when you settle down in the mountains will be one acre less, and the taxes you are entitled to will be reduced by one cent. You should weigh the pros and cons carefully!"

It was a blatant threat, but it was indeed very effective. The Hua Yao knew they couldn't defeat the Han army. When Lan Jinlong was still alive, they had just clashed with the Han army once, and were utterly routed.

The Han army didn't even use cannons, because they really didn't dare to use them, for fear that they might accidentally inflict too much damage on the Hua Yao and create an irreconcilable blood feud.

The Hua Yao representatives dared not speak out in anger, and they were seriously considering what to do after receiving such an ultimatum. Should they continue to fight against the Han, or should they submit to the Han, move down the mountain, settle down, and have the Han's land distribution officials come to the village to help them form a farmers' association?

From a practical standpoint, if the Han government truly does not discriminate against or oppress them, then settling down in the mountains and receiving land would indeed be beneficial for the Hua Yao people. Who would want to stay in the mountains, farming and struggling to survive, when they can live a peaceful and comfortable life?

The Hua Yao representatives fell silent. Nie Yu then turned to the Dong and Miao representatives: "You Dong and Miao people of Jingzhou, I will not impose economic sanctions on you for the time being, because you do not yet understand my Great Han. However, Tongdao County must be handed over first. Otherwise, even my Great Han officials cannot enter, so how can you tell whether my Great Han is good or bad?"

The Dong and Miao representatives hesitated: "It's not that we don't believe in you, King Han, but what if the new county magistrate mistreats or discriminates against us?"

Nie Yu said, "If that's really the case, then you can go to Jingzhou City and file a complaint with the prefect of Jingzhou. If the prefect of Jingzhou also sides with the county magistrate, and you have no way to file a complaint, then rebel! As long as it is indeed a case of officials forcing the people to rebel, I will grant you a pardon in advance. How about that?"

Good heavens, they directly allow the officials to force the people to rebel. Such magnanimity is indeed quite different from the previous government.

The Dong and Miao representatives were convinced and said with their hands clasped, "We Dong and Miao are willing to believe in the King of Han."

"Brothers of the Miao people in western Hunan..."

When Nie Yu spoke of the Miao people of western Hunan, his tone became slightly more intimate, because the Miao people of western Hunan were the first ethnic minority to submit to the Han Dynasty and even helped the Han Dynasty defeat the remnants of the Qing army in western Hunan. In essence, they joined the group with their own resources.

The representative of the Miao tribe in western Hunan was very perceptive: "Our Miao tribe in western Hunan is willing to obey Your Majesty's command. However, after hearing what Your Majesty just said, our Miao tribe in western Hunan suddenly has a condition to request, which is that Your Majesty may also marry a Miao concubine from our Miao tribe in western Hunan."

Upon hearing this, Nie Yu was stunned for a moment, his face turning somewhat embarrassed.

The other representatives of the various clans present were stunned for a moment before they came to their senses.

These Miao people beat them to it!

Why make all these demands? Nothing beats simply sending a concubine to the King of Han. Although they aren't Han Chinese, the tactic of influencing someone's husband through marriage is common among all ethnic groups. If a concubine could speak to the King of Han, what would make the local Han officials so foolish as to mistreat and discriminate against them?
Seeing that the representatives of the other tribes were somewhat eager to try, Nie Yu quickly raised his hand and said, "I went south in a hurry this time, and I need to go back and discuss this matter."

The Miao representatives from western Hunan were somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but at least the King of Han did not reject it outright, and they also needed to go back and discuss it, so it should be acceptable.

After the representatives of the Miao people in western Hunan were dismissed, the other representatives of various ethnic groups were not given a chance to speak before the meeting was declared over. The dozens of representatives from various ethnic groups were then sent to their respective rest stations.

Nie Yu only breathed a sigh of relief after everyone had left. Using the Tu Miao concubine to reassure the representatives of various ethnic groups was effective, but it also had significant side effects.

If things continue like this, he fears that before he can unify the country, his concubines from the fifty-six ethnic groups in the harem will have already unified the country.

(End of this chapter)