There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 241 A sudden turn of events
The situation in southern Jiangxi took a sharp turn for the worse. The Qing army suffered a major defeat, with heavy losses. The city of Ji'an was besieged by the rebels, and the news was quickly relayed back to the city of Nanchang.

Zhang Chengji was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan: "How is this possible? Didn't Ji'an Prefecture gather an army of 50,000? How could they be defeated by a group of bandits who only occupied a few counties? Aren't they just defeated generals of the Han traitors, a rabble?"

Wan Ning couldn't help but roll his eyes: "My governor, if these bandits are really just a rabble, then what is my Jiangxi Green Standard Army? How could a rabble of bandits occupy several counties and even defeat an army of 50,000? Are you going to say that in your memorial to His Majesty as well?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengji immediately understood what the other party meant.

That's right, even if the bandits in Ji'an Prefecture were truly a rabble, they couldn't say that directly. They even had to coordinate their narrative in the memorial to His Majesty, explaining how formidable the Jiangxi bandits were, how the government troops fought valiantly, but were still outnumbered.

Otherwise, if the Qing army in Jiangxi could be defeated by a motley crew of bandits, then what were the two Jiangxi governors and the Jiangxi provincial treasurer doing?
Oh, and along with him was the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi. As the judicial and criminal law enforcement office of Jiangxi, he was bound to be charged with negligence given the extent of the corruption within the local Green Standard Army.

Let's leave the matter of the Qing army's crushing defeat in southern Jiangxi aside for now. Wan Ning said with a grave expression, "The defeat in southern Jiangxi has crippled the Green Standard Army in Jiangxi. We must find a way to remedy the situation as soon as possible. Otherwise, not only will we lose Nankang Prefecture, but we will also lose Ji'an Prefecture. Once Ji'an Prefecture is lost, the bandits in Ji'an can advance north to attack Linjiang and threaten Nanchang, or retreat south to Ganzhou and advance into Fujian and Guangdong."

In short, the Battle of Southern Jiangxi has completely ruined the situation in Jiangxi.

How the hell can this be salvaged?

As the governor and commander-in-chief, Zhang Chengji was the only official present with the authority to mobilize troops, and he remained silent.

Emperor Qianlong valued Zhang Chengji's military achievements and considered him a man of both literary and military talent, as well as a governor knowledgeable in military affairs. However, Zhang Chengji was actually a fraud. His achievements in civil administration were questionable, but his military merits were all bought by killing innocent people and falsely claiming credit.

When he first arrived in Jiangxi last year, he personally led troops to suppress the "White Lotus Rebellion" in Ningzhou countryside, killing dozens of "White Lotus rebels".

Unsure of Zhang Chengji's true abilities, Yan Jian immediately asked, "Your Excellency, what should we do?"

"..."

Zhang Cheng originally didn't want to talk, but now that Yan Jian had asked him, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Now the bandits in Ji'an have completely corrupted the region. I hereby order all prefectures and counties to quickly raise money and grain and recruit soldiers to resist the bandits."

This statement was watertight; as governor, he did indeed have the power to expedite matters, allowing the prefectures and counties under his jurisdiction to recruit soldiers to suppress bandits during wartime.

Of the 50,000 troops that suffered a major defeat earlier, less than 30,000 actually belonged to the local Jiangxi Green Standard Army; the remaining 20,000 were all young and able-bodied laborers recruited from various places.

In fact, the defeat of the Qing army was also largely due to the presence of more than 20,000 able-bodied laborers.

These able-bodied laborers had almost no fighting ability. They usually fought alongside the Qing army's Green Standard Army, serving only as cannon fodder and grain transport laborers.

They might be fine when things are going well, but once the situation takes a sharp turn for the worse, these able-bodied men will be defeated even faster than the poorly trained Green Standard Army.

Yan Jian frowned and asked, "But Ji'an Prefecture has already been besieged by bandits, are we just going to abandon it?"

Zhang Chengji remained silent, as did Wan Ning, and the remaining officials all remained silent.

Saying they can't just abandon the land is definitely not an option, as that would be tantamount to voluntarily giving it up, but they can't control it even if they wanted to.

The crushing defeat not only led to the complete collapse of the situation in Ji'an Prefecture, but also made it difficult to maintain the situation throughout Jiangxi Province.

Jiangxi Provincial Education Commissioner Li Huang suddenly roared, "General Deng Rui of Nanrui Town underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly; he deserves to die!"

Yes, this Li Huang is also a legendary figure. He was born into an official family, then his family fell into decline, and he was framed and imprisoned by powerful figures who plotted to seize his family's property.

As it happened, Li Yinpei, the newly appointed governor of Hubei, was a rare "good official" who was somewhat honest and loved his reputation. Upon learning of Li Huang's wrongful conviction, he helped him overturn the verdict and get him released from prison. In the same year of his release, Li Huang participated in the provincial examination and passed with flying colors, becoming the top scholar. He then went on to pass the metropolitan examination, the palace examination, and the imperial examination, directly becoming a probationary official and entering the Hanlin Academy.

In just twenty years, Li Huang had already become the Vice Minister of War and concurrently the Education Commissioner of Jiangxi.

Don't think this official position is low. Li Huang is a Han official, not a Manchu. It's already impressive that he was promoted, let alone that he was promoted so quickly. He's only fifty years old this year.

This is equivalent to taking the civil service exam, passing it on the first year, and then working your way up to the vice-ministerial level within twenty years, all while only just turning fifty.

"That's right. General Deng Rui of Nanrui underestimated the enemy. If he had been a little more composed, the situation wouldn't be like this now."

"It's a pity that this man has already died in battle, otherwise I would definitely report him to the authorities."

"..."

The officials in Nanchang were chattering not out of anger, but to quickly shift the blame.

The local pro-independence camp suffered a major defeat, and someone definitely has to take the blame!
It just so happens that General Deng Rui of Nanrui has died in battle, so let him carry the load.

Anyway, His Majesty is very lenient about this matter. As long as someone dies on the battlefield, any crime they committed will be forgiven.

After these people had finished shifting blame and blaming, Wan Ning said, "General Deng Rui of Nanrui underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, resulting in a great defeat in southern Jiangxi. I will submit a memorial to the throne together with Governor Zhang to report this matter truthfully. As for Ji'an Prefecture, I will first order the prefect of Ji'an to recruit soldiers as soon as possible, and the same applies to the three prefectures of Linjiang, Fuzhou, and Yuanzhou. We must not allow the bandits of Ji'an to advance north."

These words were tantamount to acknowledging that Ji'an Prefecture should be left to fend for itself. Otherwise, instead of ordering the three prefectures of Linjiang, Fuzhou, and Yuanzhou to guard against the northward advance of the bandits, they would have recruited troops to go south to rescue and suppress the bandits.

Wan Ning then said to Zhang Chengji, "Governor Zhang, you should immediately dispatch the Nangan Garrison northward, and at the same time, order the Poyang Lake Camp to quickly blockade the area from Poyang Lake to the mouth of the Gan River. We must not allow the Han traitors' warships to enter the Gan River from Poyang Lake, otherwise Nanchang will be in grave danger!"

The puppet Qing dynasty already knew that the Han army had a navy. Although the Han army's navy was very rudimentary, consisting of just a few civilian ships equipped with a few cannons, it was still a navy.

Moreover, Jiangxi doesn't have a navy. Even the Poyang Lake camp is a landlubber with few troops, consisting of only one garrison commander and one battalion commander.

Upon hearing Wan Ning's instructions, Zhang Chengji dared not disobey. Although he was the Governor of Jiangxi and the Commander-in-Chief of Jiangxi, he held both military and political power.

But he doesn't know how to fight!
Moreover, he was a newly arrived governor who had only arrived in Jiangxi last year. His familiarity with the province was far less than that of the governor who had served for several years and was a Manchu from the Plain Yellow Banner, a member of the Upper Three Banners.

He had insisted on refusing to listen, wanting to overpower the other party, so as not to lose face too much, otherwise he would be at the mercy of others during his tenure in Jiangxi.

But right now, who cares about taking control? The most important thing is to find a way to stop the Han traitors and make up for our mistakes.

The agreement was reached in Nanchang, and the Qing army responded quickly.

Within two days, the Qing troops in Poyang Lake Camp received orders to immediately recruit laborers along the river to block the mouth of the Gan River.

Specifically, they set up iron chains and wooden fences at the mouth of the Ganjiang River and placed a large number of heavy objects with iron hooks and chains underwater.

Any ship that dared to cross would inevitably run aground and sink.

(End of this chapter)