There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 255 Changes in Jiangxi
Emperor Qianlong suffered a stroke.

Emperor Qianlong was 88 years old this year, which would be considered an elderly person even in modern times. Given the sudden and enormous shock, it was indeed inevitable that he would suffer a stroke.

The Han dynasty's successive annexation of the entire Huguang region, occupying this granary of the nation, had already brought heavy psychological pressure to Emperor Qianlong.

When Hui Ling, the governor of Huguang, abandoned the city and fled, Emperor Qianlong forcibly refrained from punishing him. He knew that issuing an edict to punish him severely would only reveal to the world that his "Qianlong Prosperity" was merely a facade, rotten inside.

Emperor Qianlong was far too concerned with saving face. He was even willing to grant Nie Yu a fiefdom and the title of king if the Han Dynasty would merely agree to a temporary cessation of hostilities for a few years.

Although Liu Yong's peace negotiations had failed, he had managed to gather information about the internal situation of the Han Dynasty, which could be described as a period of political stability, social harmony, and popular support. The Qing Dynasty, however, could not achieve this. Liu Yong's strategy was to first eliminate the corrupt practices in the bureaucracy so that the people could at least survive, in order to completely eradicate and prevent the expansion of the Han traitors.

Emperor Qianlong's reply was to first focus all efforts on suppressing the bandits, then let the people suffer a bit more, and finally clean up the officialdom after the bandits were eliminated.

To put it bluntly, this old man didn't want to suffer; he wanted to continue accumulating wealth and enjoying life, while leaving the difficult task of reform to his son, Emperor Jiaqing.

Now...

It was clear that the matter didn't need to be handed over to Jiaqing, because the speed at which the situation was deteriorating had completely exceeded Qianlong's control.

Yang Fang only captured parts of Jiujiang and Nankang, and defeated Zhang Chengji's tens of thousands of troops outside Nanchang. However, the political impact was quite severe, almost as much as giving the puppet Qing dynasty and the aging and senile Qianlong a severe wake-up call.

Leaving aside other places, at least in the area radiating from Nanchang Prefecture to Poyang Lake, almost everyone in the prefectures and counties of northern Jiangxi knew the name Yang Fang.

Some opportunistic individuals even spread rumors that the Ming Dynasty had first defeated Chen Youliang, seized Poyang Lake and Jiangxi Province, thus shaking the Yuan Dynasty's imperial lineage.

The former Ming Dynasty is the present-day Han Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty is obviously a veiled reference to the pseudo-Qing Dynasty!
Whether the rumor is outrageous or not is irrelevant; in any case, many officials and gentry in Jiangxi already firmly believe it and are even prepared to move their entire families to follow the emperor at any time.

Occupying Huguang was one thing; at most, it meant establishing a regional power, which the Qing court could easily overcome with considerable effort. But entering Jiangxi was a different story. Despite Wu Sangui's massive antics, he never actually conquered Jiangxi in his entire life.

This news spread throughout the land. It might be too early for a change of dynasty, but a change of regime in the south was certain.

Emperor Qianlong was too overwhelmed by the shock. The moment he saw the urgent memorial, he suffered a stroke and fainted. It took dozens of imperial physicians taking turns to examine and treat him, exhausting their medical skills and the bonds of their entire family, to barely pull Qianlong back from the brink of death.

Upon waking, Emperor Qianlong managed to utter only four words: "Traitor! Traitor!"

After that, his speech became slurred and he couldn't say anything at all.

Another butterfly effect brought about by Nie Yu's time travel has arrived. Qianlong's premature illness, or rather, his sudden stroke, did not give him time to make final arrangements. Jiaqing was completely unable to take over power before Heshen, who reacted even faster, took over first.

With Heshen in power, Emperor Jiaqing became a complete puppet.

Everything happened so naturally!
……

Ji'an Prefecture.

This place should now be called Chengtianfu, the Palace of the Prince of Gan.

Prince Zhu Wu of Gan was drinking and eating in his simple palace. The person eating with him was his advisor and military strategist, Zhou Ji, who was also the prime minister of Gan.

That's right, Zhu Wu is the real name of Sha Jin Wang. Because he was so common and would be laughed at if he said it out loud, Sha Jin Wang almost never revealed his real name when he rebelled.

Even now, he has almost abandoned his original name. Zhou Ji, as his advisor, gave him a new name, Zhu Mingyue.

The character "明" (Ming) is the same as "大明" (Da Ming), and "月" (Yue) is the same as "日月" (Ri Yue). The meaning is very simple: it's just trying to piggyback on the name of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhou Ji even suggested to Zhu Wu that he simply claim to be a descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang, since outsiders couldn't prove it anyway, and it would indirectly raise his status and win over other anti-Qing forces.

However, Zhu Wu shook his head and refused: "Mr. Zhou! The most important thing in a person is to know their own limitations. We were indeed lawless before, thinking that all the righteous armies under heaven were one family, and that we were some kind of big shots. But back in our hometown of Chaling, that big man surnamed Nie really opened our eyes. Rebellion is not so easy to create. Even if we really are descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang, we can't just say that casually!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ji was first surprised, then quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is right. I was being presumptuous! If Your Majesty really claims to be a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, then even the heroes and righteous armies of the world will have to be wary of Your Majesty."

Zhu Wu laughed heartily: "Come on, Mr. Zhou, let's drink! We're in a good mood today, let's drink until we drop!"

The two were drinking and chatting when a soldier suddenly entered.

"Report! Your Majesty, there is urgent military intelligence."

"What military intelligence?"

Zhu Wu's mind cleared instantly. He quickly took the letter from the soldier and handed it to Zhou Ji, asking Zhou Ji to read it to him.

There was nothing he could do; he was illiterate and couldn't understand the letters even when they arrived.

Zhou Ji hadn't drunk much. He took the letter and quickly scanned it, but soon he was stunned and forgot he was supposed to read it.

Zhu Wu was somewhat displeased and asked, "Mr. Zhou, what did the letter say?"

Zhou Ji came to his senses and said, "Your Majesty... the Han... the Han have invaded Jiangxi."

"The Han Dynasty...the Han Dynasty?"

Zhu Wu didn't react at first, and after repeating it twice, he suddenly jolted awake, knocking over the wine jars on the table.

"Quickly...quickly read the entire contents of the letter to me."

Zhou Ji dared not delay and quickly read: "The letter says that tens of thousands of Han troops have entered Jiangxi, the puppet Qing governor of Jiangxi, Zhang Chengji, has been defeated, Jiujiang and Nankang prefectures have fallen, and Nanchang prefecture is under siege and is in imminent danger!"

Zhu Wu was completely stunned when he heard this. He had finally made a name for himself in Jiangxi, defeated the Qing army in Jiangxi, and captured Ji'an City. He had also changed his title to the King of Gan according to the advice of his advisors.

But now, in the blink of an eye, the Han army has actually come to Jiangxi. While they were attacking Ji'an, they had already captured Jiujiang and Nankang in succession, and are now besieging Nanchang.

Zhu Wu remained silent for a while, then suddenly said to Zhou Ji, "Mr. Zhou, immediately summon all the generals in the army to the palace for a meeting! Also, include Winged Tiger and Chaos Demon, and be quick about it."

Zhou Ji was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but wisely refrained from asking further questions: "Your subject obeys the order."

Before long, all of Zhu Wu's generals had arrived.

It was called a large group of generals, but in reality there were only a handful of them, and they were all old thieves brought by Zhu Wu. There wasn't a single newcomer from Jiangxi.

Winged Tiger and Mischievous Demon also arrived, but they were very impolite, carrying swords with them and having their personal guards follow them closely.

Before Zhu Wu could speak, the old scoundrel general below couldn't help but curse: "Winged Tiger, Chaos Demon, what do you two dogs mean? The King summoned you here for a meeting, and you even brought your personal guards with swords. Do you even respect my King?"

The winged tiger remained silent. The mischievous demon sneered, "What are you anyway? Just a dog of your king. Your master hasn't given any permission, so who gave you the right to bark like that?"

The old thief's veins bulged, and he was about to draw his sword: "You son of a bitch..."

Upon seeing this, the bodyguards of the Demon King immediately drew their swords as well.

It seems that the situation is already tense and about to escalate into a full-blown conflict, even though it has only just begun.

"Stop it, all of you!" Zhu Wu roared.

The scene fell silent instantly. The many old thieves who were about to draw their swords, as well as the personal guards of the Mischievous Demon and the Winged Tiger, all stopped instinctively.

Zhou Ji, who was serving as the chief advisor and also the prime minister of Gan, stepped forward to smooth things over: "Generals, and Generals Chi Chi Hu and Hun Shi Mo, please calm down. We are here to discuss matters, not to curse and fight. Put your swords away."

Upon hearing Zhou Ji speak and seeing Zhu Wu staring at them from above, these old thieves and their generals immediately and obediently put away their swords.

Seeing this, Winged Tiger and Chaotic Demon naturally didn't want to actually fight each other here. Their forces were insufficient and not as capable as Zhu Wu's. If they really fought each other, their chances of winning would be very small.

Seeing that everyone had sheathed their swords, Zhu Wu said, "I have gathered you all here today because I have something important to tell you. You should all remember that Han soldier surnamed Nie who drove us to Jiangxi back then!"

A Han Chinese soldier surnamed Nie?
Of course they all remember that. Every one of them here was beaten down by the Han army and forced to run around until they had nowhere else to go, which is why they gathered under the command of the King of Slaughter and came to this foreign land of Jiangxi.

Even so, they were already very lucky, because at least they were still alive, and now they had even captured Ji'an Prefecture, so they could continue to enjoy their wealth and status. On the other hand, Mantianfei and Yitiaolong died one after another in a more tragic way.

Zhu Wu continued, "We just received an urgent military report. The Han army has invaded Jiangxi. Jiujiang and Nankang are already lost. The corrupt official governor of Jiangxi was defeated by the Han army in Nanchang. Nanchang has not yet fallen, but it is estimated that it is only a matter of time before it falls."

Upon hearing this, the scene fell silent once more, as everyone was so stunned that no one dared to speak.

After a while, the group of old thieves started making a ruckus in the lobby.

"What? The Han army has invaded Jiangxi."

"Holy crap, what the hell do we do now?"

"King of Slaughter, you must be joking, right?"

"Your Majesty, the Han army has invaded Jiangxi. What should we do? Should we pack our things and run away immediately?"

"How are we going to clean this up? I have tens of thousands of acres of good farmland here. Are we just going to throw all of that away?"

"What time is it? You're still thinking about those tens of thousands of acres of land. I'm even prepared to abandon my wife. Those are Han soldiers!"

"That's right. Even Master Long and Master Fei couldn't beat them and died at the hands of the Han army. If we hadn't run away quickly, we would probably be dead by now."

"..."

A large group of old thieves chattered and shouted, but without exception, they all wanted to run away.

What if they don't run away?
Those were Han troops! They killed tens of thousands of their soldiers, and also killed several of their prominent and well-known bandit leaders. Even their king was chased and forced to flee to Jiangxi.

Zhu Wu raised an eyebrow. His original intention was to gather these old thieves so that they could discuss with him how to protect the territory of Ji'an Prefecture.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

He was able to decisively abandon Chaling and flee before because Chaling was in ruins, and at that time he was a nouveau riche bandit, so he didn't care about losing the city.

But now, his mindset has changed, "inspired" by Zhou Ji's continuous storytelling. This guy genuinely wants to use Ji'an Prefecture as a base to compete with the pseudo-Qing and the Great Han. Even if he can't win the throne, at least he'll be content with dividing the world into three!
Unfortunately, before Zhu Wu could even make grand promises to his old scoundrel generals after uttering this idea, one of the old scoundrels cried out, "Your Majesty, we can't defeat the Han army. We'd better run!"

His complaint immediately drew noise and commotion from the others.

"That's right! Your Majesty, the Han army are all heavenly soldiers, they all possess magical powers. Our brothers are just mortals, how can they possibly defeat heavenly soldiers!"

"The Han army's heavenly soldiers are impervious to swords and spears. I've seen it with my own eyes before; our men tried to cut those Han soldiers with swords, but they couldn't even hurt them..."

"I've seen it before..."

"I think I've seen it before..."

"We can't fight the Han army's heavenly soldiers! If we do, we'll lose..."

"..."

They chattered and made noise for half a day again.

Zhu Wu was getting fed up with the argument and was about to speak up to stop it, forcefully overruling everyone's opinions and expressing his own thoughts.

Zhou Ji suddenly said, "Your Majesty, and all the generals, I have a solution."

Zhu Wu was taken aback and quickly asked, "Mr. Zhou, what brilliant idea do you have?"

The old thieves who were arguing in the hall also quieted down and listened to what the only literate scholar in the room had to say.
Zhou Ji laughed and said, "It's very simple. In fact, Your Majesty and all the generals, you don't need to consider being enemies with the Han Dynasty. We and the Han Dynasty are both anti-Qing rebels, so why should we be enemies with each other?"

Winged Tiger didn't think much of it and reminded him, "Mr. Zhou is joking. We were driven to Jiangxi by the Han army back then, and we're not with them. You know, even brothers have to keep clear accounts."

Zhou Ji shook his head: "General Chizhihu, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that the Han army and we are both anti-Qing rebels. As long as we are not the puppet Qing government, there is still room for negotiation."

The Demon of Mischief shook his head and said, "Mr. Zhou, you're mistaken. We talked with the Han army when we were in Hunan, but they still drove us to Jiangxi. If we hadn't been quick enough, we would probably be buried somewhere by now."

Zhu Wuyi raised his hand: "Alright, don't interrupt Mr. Zhou. Since Mr. Zhou dares to say he has a way, then he must have a way!"

Zhu Wu is different from other old thieves. Zhou Ji is his advisor and strategist, and also the only scholar under his command, so he trusts him unconditionally.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ji solemnly replied, "Your Majesty, my plan can be summed up in twelve words: petition the King of Han, offer up Ji'an, take southern Jiangxi, and establish the kingdom."

"What?" Zhu Wu was shocked.

The many old traitors and generals below the hall were not truly stupid; they all understood what Zhou Ji meant, and their expressions immediately changed in surprise.

(End of this chapter)