There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 318 The Huizhou Merchants Rebel
Bai Nan kept his promise and spared the death penalty for all Qing soldiers who surrendered and defected. Even the officers were considered to have redeemed themselves by performing meritorious service.

Because so many people surrendered, the Han army took less than an hour from launching the siege to completely capturing the outer city of Chizhou Prefecture.

Moreover, most of the fighting was spent on the siege route, and there was hardly any actual combat on the battlefield, resulting in almost zero casualties for the Han army.

Only one of them, while attacking the city, ran too fast and didn't see the road clearly, slipped and fell into the moat.

Although he was rescued by friendly forces, he still caught a cold and got sick. He would have to stay in the wounded soldiers' camp for at least two days to recover, and he would also be laughed at by his comrades for two days (or more).

Zhang Zengxu, the prefect of Chizhou, only learned of the battle situation on the other side of the city wall when the Han army was halfway through the siege.

Then, this fellow ran very fast, took the silver notes and valuables he had prepared beforehand, took off his official robes, and disguised himself to escape in the chaos.

Although Wang Bing and Chen Anbang ran faster than him, they only thought of fleeing when they saw that Chizhou could no longer be defended.

Zhang Zengxu, the prefect of Chizhou, was clearly prepared in advance. If there was any problem with the defense of Chizhou, he would immediately take the silver notes and valuables and run away.

All the Qing officials and military officers who were defending the city fled, and the gentry and powerful families in the city also jumped out and set fires everywhere to act as inside agents for the Han army.

Even the Qing soldiers guarding the city walls either opened the city gates and scattered in panic, or simply cut off their queues and defected.

With such a wealth of talented people, Chizhou Prefecture was naturally not going to hold out.

The Han army arrived in Chizhou Prefecture in less than half a day.

By noon the following day, the fire in the city had been completely extinguished, and the three thousand Qing soldiers captured 1,800 people, with fewer than one hundred casualties.

More than a thousand Qing soldiers took advantage of the chaos in the city and scattered in all directions.

The Han army dispatched a cavalry battalion, equipped with muskets and crossbows, and is pursuing the enemy in all directions.

The Han army easily captured Chizhou Prefecture. Bai Nan immediately summoned the surrendered magistrate of Guichi County and had him write a letter of persuasion to surrender. Then, he stamped the letter with the seals of the puppet Qing governor of Anhui, the prefect of Anqing, and the prefect of Chizhou.

Afterwards, carrying these letters of persuasion to surrender, troops were dispatched to take over the three counties of Tongling, Qingyang, and Shidai.

In particular, Bai Nan directly dispatched two thousand troops to Tongling County, with Commander Lin Yong personally leading the troops to take it over.

Because Tongling County is rich in copper mines and has a copper minting bureau that was once set up by the puppet Qing dynasty, if the Han dynasty could take over the area, it would be able to mint copper coins directly in Anhui without having to transfer copper coins from Huguang.

The basic currency of the Han Dynasty is currently transitioning to a two-tier system of copper and silver coins. The steam engine used for minting coins has been manufactured by the Steam Engine Bureau and is now in mass production.

Nie Yu established a mint specifically to be responsible for the minting, issuance, and circulation of copper and silver coins of the Han Dynasty.

As for the gold coins, the mint did produce samples, but they were not put into circulation and were only kept as samples. Hanwang also took five of them.

Copper and silver are the main circulating currencies in China at present. Gold currency is not that it cannot circulate, but the reserves are too small, and its circulation is far from meeting the needs of the Han Dynasty.

In fact, the circulation of silver as a mainstream currency only began in the late Ming Dynasty. Before that, silver existed in China, but it was used as a luxury item rather than as a circulating currency.

China began using silver primarily because silver from the Americas was smuggled into the Chinese market in large quantities starting in the late Ming Dynasty.

At its peak, one-third of the silver mined in the Americas flowed into the Chinese market.

How did Sir Isaac Newton die?

He died in frustration. Until his death, Lord Bull, as the Master of the Royal Mint, was still puzzled about where the kingdom's money had gone.

Of course, the British now know that their money has flowed into China.

To resolve this crisis, the British East India Company sent Lord Macartney to China several years earlier, hoping to open up the Chinese market and then use opium and other special commodities to reverse the trade deficit between China and Britain, thus reclaiming silver from the Chinese market. Unsurprisingly, the British failed, and the East India Company was dissolved shortly thereafter.

……

Huizhou.

"Chizhou is gone, Anqing is gone, and the Anhui governor, Zhu Gui, has been captured. Gentlemen, it's time for us, the Huizhou merchants, to make a decision."

Wang Xingyao, carrying the message given to him by Manager Chen Lin, arrived at the Huizhou merchants' gathering and spoke.

When the Huizhou merchants heard the news, although they had expected it, they were still quite shocked. The Han Dynasty was not one to remain still, but when it did move, it immediately seized the two prefectures of Anqing and Chizhou, and even captured Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui.

Wang Xingye, the chief of the Huizhou merchants, coughed twice and said, "Gentlemen, Anqing and Chizhou have already been taken by our Great Han. Next, it's our turn to take Xizhou Prefecture. I believe that everyone who has come to this meeting has already decided to participate. Those who don't want to participate shouldn't even think about withdrawing now. Because I won't allow it. Anyone who tries to withdraw at this time, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Upon hearing this, all the Huizhou merchants sensed a faint but palpable murderous aura emanating from Jiang Xingye.

Anyone who says they won't do it now might actually kill someone.

However, that's unlikely; their arrival here today clearly indicates they were well-prepared.

Those who could secure a place among the Hui merchants were naturally daring and enterprising. The Han dynasty's dominance over the world was already halfway there, and the Southern Dynasties' control of the other half was a foregone conclusion.

At this time, exchanging a Huizhou prefecture for the protection of the new Han Dynasty for the Huizhou merchants was a very worthwhile deal.

As for whether or not they can take Huizhou Prefecture?

Let's put it this way! If all the wealth of the Hui merchants, excluding real estate, were put together in cash, it would be enough to arm and raise an army of 200,000 in a short period of time.

The saying "rich enough to rival a nation" perfectly describes these Huizhou merchants. Even though they had begun to decline, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

The Qing army in Huizhou Prefecture consisted of only two battalions, the left and right of Huizhou. The imperial court's quota was 500 men per battalion, but in reality, it was definitely not full. At most, they could only muster 400 men, which would amount to more than 800 Qing soldiers, and their combat effectiveness would be reduced.

The fact that Huizhou Prefecture was wealthy and Huizhou merchants were wealthy did not mean that the Qing army in Huizhou was also wealthy.

The battalion commanders and centurions above had to cultivate relationships and curry favor with the prefect, so they always received salaries without working. After they finished eating, they could at most leave a little soup for the two battalions of Qing soldiers below to share.

Such extortion and bribery will definitely lead to trouble, but it doesn't matter if trouble comes. Huizhou Prefecture has a complex terrain and is located in the heart of Jiangnan, making it extremely wealthy. As long as no one rebels, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Wang Zhi, the prefect of Huizhou, was currently entertaining Enming, the provincial inspector of Anhui, with drinks and a meal, while also taking the opportunity to offer him money to curry favor.

The position of prefect of Huizhou was a lucrative one. Not only did Huizhou merchants offer tributes every year, but local officials also engaged in various forms of corruption and profit-sharing.

It's fair to say that this guy could earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year without doing anything, or even embezzling money himself.

As they were enjoying their drinks, Wang Zhi was about to take out his silver notes when his advisor suddenly rushed into the private room. Both of them were startled and quickly covered the silver notes.

When Wang Zhi saw that the person who came in was his advisor, he immediately scolded, "Didn't I say that you can't come in without my order?"

The clerk cried out in terror, "My lord, no...it's terrible! They've rebelled, they've all rebelled!"

These words seemed nonsensical, so Wang Zhi frowned and asked, "What do you mean by 'rebellious'? Explain yourself clearly."

The clerk gasped for breath, "The Huizhou merchants...it's the Huizhou merchants, those lowly merchants! They've rebelled with their servants and guards!"

(End of this chapter)