There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 289 Chinese New Year
The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

New Year's Eve.

The heated debate among Confucian scholars from various schools of thought, which had been raging for almost half a year, was forced to cease today.

It was no use in stopping them, because the Han Dynasty Gazette was closed for the New Year, and the common people were all celebrating the New Year, so no one was listening to their arguments and lectures.

Arguing while lecturing, as the name suggests, means promoting one's own school of thought while arguing.

Originally, the Confucian scholars from various places who came to Jingzhou to participate in the debate were indeed there to try to persuade the King of Han to abide by the traditional Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues. They could tolerate the abolition of foot binding, but women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children, which was an ironclad rule of ethics.

However, with Deng Xianhe's strong initiation, although he initially became the target of public criticism, the Confucian scholars who were originally united against him instantly changed their tune after he was summoned to the Ministry of Rites by the Prince of Han.

No matter how great a scholar or Confucian master may be, deep down they still think about how to please the monarch.

It's all about getting an official position, and there's nothing shameful about that.

Learn to achieve success and fame, then sell your goods to the emperor.

An immutable law!
Although Nie Yu did not explicitly reveal that he admired Deng Xianhe, Deng Xianhe had already become famous in the gentry of Jingzhou after publishing those articles.

No matter what the slightest movement was, it could not escape the eyes of these Confucian scholars.

In their view, the Prince of Han must have already read Deng Xianhe's article. However, instead of blaming him for such a heretical and skeptical article that criticized Confucian classics, the Prince of Han summoned him to the Ministry of Rites.

No one knows exactly what he was recruited to do at the Ministry of Rites, but the Confucian scholars couldn't help but speculate!

Could it be...

If the King of Han enjoys deviating from established doctrines, then it's not unreasonable for them to criticize Confucian classics. If the King of Han so desires, they too can deviate from established doctrines, denouncing Confucian classics and Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as filthy and vulgar.

The more one reads, the more pragmatic one tends to become. This is especially true in feudal dynasties, where the emperor's word could essentially determine the rise and fall of Confucianism over a century.

The Western Han Dynasty's policy of dismissing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism was the first strong intervention by imperial power in the development of academic thought, which successfully made Confucianism the dominant school of thought in the world and has been passed down for more than two thousand years.

Thus, the Confucianism of the Western Han Dynasty was transformed by Emperor Wu of Han into the shape needed by the Han Dynasty through imperial power, and it had basically no relation to the Confucianism left by Confucius.

If we had to put it in perspective, the relationship between the later Confucian school and Confucius was roughly equivalent to that of a stepfather and stepson; apart from sharing the same surname, they had absolutely no connection.

After Deng Xianhe initiated the debate, the Confucian scholars quickly split into several schools of thought. The original debate about whether women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children, and whether they should follow the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, had long since become irrelevant.

Now they are debating the right to interpret Confucian classics, whereas in the past they only dared to follow the rules. Because they were all terrified by the literary inquisitions of the pseudo-Qing dynasty, they were very restrained even in the territory of the Han. Nie Yu's attitude toward Deng Xianhe gave them hope. It seemed that the Prince of Han would not be punished for his words, but rather appreciated strange and unconventional theories.

It can be said that Deng Xianhe's main contribution was not so much in spreading Wang Chuanshan's scholarship, but in revitalizing the Han Dynasty Confucian school.

Nie Yu had been following the official gazette for several issues. Although he couldn't understand many things, judging from the writing style, it was indeed much bolder than a few months ago, even a bit audacious, daring to quote even the emperor's taboo words.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites even submitted a memorial requesting instructions on whether some restrictions should be imposed.
Nie Yu wrote two words in vermilion ink on this: "No problem."

A flourishing of diverse academic ideas is a good thing. The shift from extreme literary persecution to an open academic environment will inevitably provoke a certain degree of fierce backlash.

As long as no major problems arise, such as malicious attacks on the Han Dynasty's land administration, tax laws, and household registration system—these three are the foundation of the Han Dynasty's founding and resistance against the Qing Dynasty—let them argue about the rest.

It may be chaotic at first, and there may even be many opportunists and sycophants, but it will gradually be weeded out and the good will remain.

The Han Dynasty Gazette temporarily suspended publication during the Lunar New Year. The Gazette debate had been going on for almost half a year, but it finally quieted down for a few days.

Nie Yu, the King of Han, also gave himself and his officials a half-day off. After finishing their official duties in the morning, they could go home in the afternoon to have a New Year's Eve dinner with their families.

Giving up half a day off for the Lunar New Year isn't because Nie Yu, the King of Han, is too stingy; it's simply that time is of the essence.

He is currently rebelling, and the entire burden of the Han Dynasty rests on the shoulders of him, the King of Han, and his civil and military officials.

Want a vacation?
Of course you can, but then you might as well quit your official post.

Now that I've become an official of the Han Dynasty and tied myself to this founding chariot, I'll serve the Qing Dynasty as long as it survives.

Then they can't stop to rest.

Otherwise, even a single day's delay could lead to utter ruin.

Moreover, at least they had half a day off, allowing them to go home and have New Year's Eve dinner with their families. But the Han soldiers in Anhui and Jiangxi couldn't go home; they were still in other provinces preparing for a major battle at the start of the year.

Nie Yu hadn't forgotten them. He sent a verbal message directly via telegram, without much preamble, simply stating, "The soldiers have all worked hard!" It seemed like just a verbal greeting, and indeed it was, at most a verbal greeting from the military camp today.
An exception can be made to have a small drink, but there will be no monetary reward.

But that was enough. The Han army's pay was already very high, almost 1.5 times that of the puppet Qing Green Standard Army. The puppet Qing Green Standard Army's pay was not actually paid, while the Han army's pay was completely paid. Anyone who dared to embezzle a single penny would be beheaded and their head sent to their respective camps.

In addition to the high military pay, there was also abundant food. There was meat soup and meat dishes every day. Although the meat dishes were only served once a day, the meat soup was served three times a day, which was enough to support the daily training of the Han army.

After all this calculation, the amount of money and grain spent was unimaginable, and even the officials of the Ministry of Revenue of the Han Dynasty had to spend a long time carefully calculating in order to save a single tael of silver.

Military pay and food provide material support, daily drills provide combat effectiveness, and military instructors provide spiritual support.

These military instructors were almost all students of the Prince of Han, having all received his lectures. They then passed on what the Prince had taught them to the soldiers, explaining to them why they were fighting and why they were fighting against the Qing.
At the Jiujiang military camp, Yang Fang was watching from afar the bonfire party set up by the military's Chinese instructors.

He had recently received his official appointment by telegram and was now the commander of the Fifth Division of the Han Army, while also concurrently leading the newly formed Sixth Division Corps.

"General, it's so lively, shall we go and take a look?" Staff Officer Xia Yongqian invited with a smile.

Yang Fang smiled helplessly and said, "Forget it! The King's decree of condolence has already been read out, so I won't go. Since it's a bonfire party that the instructors have arranged for the soldiers, if I, the commander of the three armies, go, the soldiers will probably be too shy to let loose."

Xia Yongqian didn't insist and went to a campfire on his own, where an instructor was singing military songs to the soldiers.

His singing was a bit awful and he was tone-deaf, but his enunciation was very clear, and the soldiers could understand what he was singing. Then they laughed and joked around.

People would occasionally clap and shout, "Mr. Liu, one more song!"

"Yeah! One more song!"

"One more song!"

"..."

The instructor surnamed Liu in the middle wasn't embarrassed at all, and actually sang another song on the spot.

The singing became even worse, but the pronunciation remained clear. The soldiers were so brainwashed that they almost forgot the original melody of the military song.

Xia Yongqian arrived in the crowd and had just sat down when Liu Wenjiao, who had just finished singing, recognized him.

then……

He was singled out by name, and they deliberately egged him on to perform a show.

They can perform anything—singing, dancing, boxing, or even just cracking jokes.

The Jiujiang military camp was filled with laughter and merriment, while the Qing army camp across the river was the complete opposite.

Since the Viceroy of Liangjiang, Li Fenghan, personally commanded the army to cross the river in three routes to attack Jiujiang, he suffered a great defeat.

The Jiangnan navy was almost completely wiped out, the Green Standard Army of the Qing Dynasty also suffered losses of over 10,000 men, and the number of local militia and laborers lost was countless.

After this battle, the Qing army was utterly terrified.

Although they still have more than half of their army, they no longer have an absolute advantage over the Han army.

Or perhaps they still had a numerical advantage, but the Qing army had lost confidence and will to fight.

First, on the Xiangxi battlefield, 100,000 Qing troops were defeated and scattered. Then, on the Hubei battlefield, tens of thousands of Qing troops surrounded and suppressed the Han traitors. There were also two veteran generals, Mingliang and Ehui, but they were defeated and their numbers were reduced to zero.

One of the two veteran generals died of illness, and the other died in battle. The entire Hubei province fell into the hands of the enemy.

Now it's the same again. They have an army of 100,000, which they claim to be 200,000, but they are fighting against more than 10,000 Han bandits. After several major battles, they have lost nearly half of their troops, while the Han bandits have only grown stronger.

The Qing navy had been completely destroyed, and Jiangzhou Town and Hejiadun had been lost.

The Han army's navy openly sailed into the Bali River, beginning to block the Qing army's escape route.

There are even rumors circulating in the Qing army camps that the Han traitors are invincible if they number less than ten thousand, but if they number ten thousand.

Good heavens, they've turned the tables on the Heavenly Gang!

(End of this chapter)