There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 297 After the War
Yang Fang looked at the corpses being guarded by the Qing soldiers, her feelings were quite complicated.

The Viceroy of Liangjiang, Li Fenghan, who had been in a standoff with him in Jiujiang for almost half a year, committed suicide so decisively. He didn't feel sorry for him; he simply felt that the man's death was too easy. He had dragged him out for so long, and in the end, he just died.

"Heh, you think you can become a loyal minister just by dying? Loyal ministers of the Qing dogs are still traitors. Traitors should be treated like traitors. Cut this guy's head off, tan it, and send it back to Jingzhou."

Yang Fang waved his hand with a cold smile and gave the order. He wasn't so pedantic as to respect someone just because they committed suicide.

He was willing to commit suicide for the sake of the puppet Qing dynasty, a Manchu regime, rather than surrender to the Han. What face should we give such a die-hard traitor?

When Li Fenghan's Qing troops heard that Yang Fang was going to cut off their master's head, a few loyalists tried to resist. But since their weapons had already been confiscated, the moment they made a move, the surrounding Han soldiers drew their swords and swarmed forward, hacking them to pieces.

After killing several Qing soldiers, the rest of them became obedient and just watched as the Han soldiers stepped forward and brutally cut off Li Fenghan's head, which resembled a rat's tail.

As for the headless corpses that had been decapitated, they were piled up with the other Qing soldiers' bodies and burned.

This wasn't Yang Fang scattering the ashes; it was simply that burying the corpses was too troublesome. Burying so many corpses would take too much time, and if the corpses on the battlefield weren't dealt with promptly, they could easily pile up and cause an outbreak of plague.

Therefore, burning them was convenient and quick; even when Han soldiers died in battle, they were cremated.

The difference is that the enemy soldiers' corpses were all burned in one place, and then buried in pits on the spot after the burning was finished.

After the Han soldiers who died in battle were cremated, their ashes and military tags were sent back to Jingzhou to be worshipped in the Martyrs' Shrine.

After Yang Fang finished collecting and burning the bodies, news came from the Balijiang Navy that they had intercepted a portion of the fleeing Qing troops along the river. These Qing soldiers not only maintained their basic organizational structure but were also all armored and mounted on horseback, clearly belonging to the elite of the Qing army.

The naval warships pursued along the river for almost an hour, eventually leaving behind one-third of the Qing army.

The remaining Qing troops scattered and fled into the mountains, making them difficult to pursue.

Yang Fang didn't care about this. Even if a few high-ranking Qing officials escaped, it wouldn't have much impact on the subsequent battle.

Li Fenghan's defeat was too devastating. The Qing army's Green Standard Army in Liangjiang was almost wiped out, and even he, the governor-general, died in battle. The strategic and political impact was enormous.

When Yang Fang arrived in Hukou County, she did nothing, and the magistrate of Hukou County voluntarily opened the city gates and surrendered.

The magistrate of Pengze County was far away. When he heard that the governor's 200,000-strong army had been wiped out and that the governor himself had committed suicide for his country, he was so frightened that he disguised himself and fled overnight.

With the capture of Hukou and Pengze counties, the Han Dynasty had completely taken control of the entire Jiujiang region.

This strategically important location, a crossroads of seven provinces, fell into the hands of the Han Dynasty.

Yang Fang was finally able to act without restraint and confidently send his troops south to conquer the entire territory of Jiangxi.

Upon learning of the Battle of Hukou, both Raozhou and Guangxin prefectures reacted swiftly, abandoning the city and fleeing. The Guangxin prefect, however, lacked such courage, daring neither to flee nor to defend the city.

Even if he dared to defend the city, he couldn't defend Guangxin Prefecture. From the prefectural and county officials to the local gentry, they all collectively gave up.

When the Han army arrives, they will surrender; at worst, they will simply change the dynasty and government.

Anyway, it's impossible to fight a war. The governor has already died in battle. If they dare to fight again, what if they anger the Han army?

Yang Fang's infamous reputation had already spread in a small area of ​​Jiangxi before, and now it's spreading again.

First defeating the governor, then killing the viceroy, it seems the Han Dynasty truly has a bit of destiny in its hands with such a fierce general.

Even if he doesn't conquer the world in the future, he'll at least be half a true dragon!

Yang Fang remained silent for almost half a year, but when she finally made a move, it immediately shook Jiangxi Province.

Yang Fang did not linger in Jiujiang Prefecture. Instead, he traveled south along Poyang Lake and casually took over Duchang County. The magistrate of Duchang County had already fled, leaving only the registrar and the wealthy families of Duchang to surrender the city.

After capturing Duchang County, Yang Fang did not continue south to Raozhou. Instead, he boarded a naval warship, crossed Poyang Lake, and prepared to travel south along the Gan River to attack Nanchang.

Once Nanchang fell, the other prefectures in northern Jiangxi had no choice but to surrender.

However, Yang Fang's army had just boarded warships in Duchang County and was on its way to cross Poyang Lake.

"Report!"

"The Third Division sent an urgent telegram."

"What telegram?"

Yang Fang quickly took the telegram translation from the telegraph soldier and read it carefully. It read: "Commander Chen (You Nian) of the Third Division has captured Nanchang Prefecture."

"Nanchang Prefecture has been captured?" Yang Fang was immediately surprised.

The telegram he had received earlier was from Chen Younian, who had sent him a telegram saying that the resistance in Nanchang was fierce and that he could not conquer it in a short time, and could only rely on a slow and insidious siege to wear it down.

Yang Fang thought the siege would last for at least a few more months, so she decided to go to Nanchang to meet with Chen Younian and see if they could launch a direct assault to capture the city.

"If we don't take Nanchang, their hold on Jiangxi will never be secure." Xia Yongqian stepped forward and asked.

Yang Fang laughed and said, "Go, of course we should go. Now that Nanchang has been captured, we don't need to waste any more effort. The remaining prefectures can basically be pacified by issuing proclamations. If we can't pacify them, we can send troops to capture them."

Xia Yongqian thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "That works too. Our army has been stuck in Jiangxi for too long, and the losses in money and supplies are too great. We do need to rest and recuperate first. Moreover, once Nanchang falls, the situation in Jiangxi will be in the hands of our Han people, not the puppet Qing. Even if there are still those who are not convinced, we control the Gan River waterway and Poyang Lake. The puppet Qing can't cause any trouble."

……

Yang Fang decisively defeated 100,000 Qing troops in Jiangxi, and Li Fenghan, the puppet Qing governor-general of Liangjiang, was killed in battle. Chen Younian then captured Nanchang.

This series of good news was quickly sent back to Jingzhou Prefecture by telegram.

Jingzhou, the Prince of Han's Palace.

These past few days have also been auspicious occasions, as the King of Han has taken two new consorts for the country, and the whole nation is celebrating.

Jiangxi sent back good news one after another, adding even more joy to this already auspicious day.

Nie Yu looked at the Jiangxi battle report but was not overly pleased. Instead, he unfolded the map of the Han Dynasty that the Ministry of War had brought him. The map had been updated in real time with the latest battle report on the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Although the territory of the Han Dynasty was still much smaller than that of the Qing Dynasty, the land occupied by the Han Dynasty had essentially encompassed the heartland of the Qing Dynasty.

The pseudo-Qing dynasty was quickly hollowed out by the Han dynasty.

Liu Jun, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement and exhilaration, declared: "The three prefectures of Jiujiang, Ji'an, and Nanchang in Jiangxi have all fallen, especially Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province. These three prefectures represent most of the essence of northern Jiangxi, and now they are all in the hands of our Great Han. The remaining prefectures, though not yet captured, can be settled with a mere proclamation. I congratulate Your Majesty! I congratulate the Great Han!"

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you! I congratulate the Han Dynasty!"

Once Liu Jun, the chief minister, took the lead, the rest of the cabinet ministers followed suit and bowed.

Nie Yu waved his hand and said, "This is all thanks to the bravery of our Han soldiers, the hard work of the Han people, and the dedication of all officials. Only then can we achieve today's results."

The opening line was a beautiful one.

"We dare not accept such praise!"

The ministers quickly bowed again.

Nie Yu said, "I may not accept this honor, but I will. My country has always been fair in rewarding and punishing, rewarding those who have made contributions and correcting those who have made mistakes. This is the national policy."

After speaking, without waiting for the other officials to respond, he looked directly at Wang Ruoyu and said, "Minister Wang."

"Your subject is here," Wang Ruoyu said, bowing.

Nie Yu said, "The soldiers have done their best in this battle, even spending the New Year in a foreign land. We must do a good job in rewarding those who have made contributions and providing compensation for those who died in battle. The rewards for the civilian laborers who participated in the battle should also be the same as those for the regular soldiers. There should be no delays or shirking. They should be rewarded as they are due. This should not be neglected."

"Your subject obeys the decree," Wang Ruoyu replied.

Nie Yu then looked at Lin Wenchang: "Lin Qing."

Lin Wenchang stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here."

Nie Yu said, "The Ministry of Revenue's money and grain allocation must also be done well. Wherever there is a shortage of silver, the compensation for meritorious soldiers and soldiers who died in battle must not be neglected. Do you understand?"

Lin Wenchang said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

After giving brief instructions and making arrangements for rewarding those who had contributed, Nie Yu, who was simply reiterating the points to prevent any unexpected mishaps, simply reiterated the relevant information, as the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue already had experience with such matters.

After discussing merits and rewards, we moved on to the main business.

The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Posts and Communications of the Han Dynasty are about to have a lot to do.

First, the Ministry of Rites was responsible not only for presiding over this year's Great Han Imperial Examination, but also for drafting the subsequent proclamation. At the same time, it was to send envoys to persuade the remaining prefectures and counties in Jiangxi to surrender. If they could not be persuaded to surrender, then there was no need to force it; the matter was directly handed over to the Third and Fifth Divisions to resolve.

The Ministry of Personnel's work was also not easy. It had to coordinate and arrange all the prefectures and counties that had been occupied and those that had not, including the prefects, county magistrates, town heads, land distribution officials, and key members of the peasant associations.

Nie Yu's task was to prioritize resolving the land redistribution issue in Jiangxi. Once the land was redistributed, the hearts of the people in Jiangxi would be at peace.

The Ministry of Posts and Communications was relatively relaxed among the three ministries. They only needed to write newspaper articles, detailing the Qing army's defeat in Jiujiang, how Nanchang was captured, and the fact that the situation in Jiangxi was settled. They had to compile these news items into articles that would arouse the interest of the Han people, and then publish them in the latest issue of the "Great Han Gazette".

It was easy, but not easy either. Just the process of writing articles, publishing them, printing the official gazette, and then promoting and selling them could exhaust the officials of the Ministry of Posts and Communications.

Several victories in Jiangxi prompted the entire Han court to work overtime.

Because once Jiangxi was captured, the territory of the Han Dynasty would increase by at least half. All the messy affairs of such a large territory, as well as the problems of different dialects and customs, would have to be resolved by the King of Han himself.

(End of this chapter)