There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 323 The Three Families' Envoys

The situation in Anhui is clear now; it's only a matter of time before the remaining three prefectures and two counties in Huainan are defeated.

At this very moment, envoys from the Shizhu Ma family, the Liannan Bapai Yao family, and the Guizhou Zhongmiao family also arrived in Jingzhou.

Among them, Guizhou Zhongmiao and Dahan had a cooperative relationship, but it had always been a limited cooperation.

After all, everyone is rebelling, and no one is more noble than anyone else. Moreover, when it comes to such a major event as rebellion, everyone has to keep some secrets from each other.

Zhong Miao of Guizhou was responsible for providing funds and blocking the Qing army from Yunnan and Guizhou, while Da Han sold armor, food, and salt to Zhong Miao's rebel army.

This limited cooperative relationship finally began to change this year.

Because the Han army fought so fiercely, they first marched from Huguang into Jiangxi, then killed the puppet Qing governor-general of Liangjiang (according to rumors), and then seized the entire province of Jiangxi. It seemed that Anhui was also about to fall.

Moreover, the White Lotus sects in Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces have already submitted to the Han Dynasty and become its subjects.

This made Wang Nangxian, the leader of the Zhongmiao rebels in Guizhou, keenly aware that the situation in the south seemed to be about to change.

The reason why Zhong Miao rebelled against the Qing Dynasty was very simple: they could no longer survive. The Qing government was exploiting them too much, and if they didn't rebel, they would all starve to death.

Now, the situation in the south is becoming increasingly clear, and it seems that the King of Han is truly going to become the emperor of the Han people. They should also find an opportunity to make contact and see how this Han emperor intends to treat Zhong Miao.

Before the Zhongmiao envoy set off, Wang Nangxian, the nominal chief, had discussed with the various Miao leaders that as long as the Han emperor did not touch their villages and the taxes collected remained the same as before, without levying any extravagant levies, they would submit to the Han emperor.

As for other conditions, it wasn't that they didn't want to mention them, but rather that they dared not, for fear of inadvertently angering this Han Chinese emperor.

Moreover, besides coming to find out the situation so they could choose sides, they also intended to ask the Han Dynasty for reinforcements.

Le Bao was no pushover; he simply hadn't anticipated the secret alliance between the Han and Zhong Miao, which led to his unexpected loss.

Having learned his lesson, Le Bao immediately became extremely cautious in battle, even emulating the stubborn tactics employed in Sichuan, fighting a protracted war and never engaging in a direct confrontation with Zhong Miao.

This trick isn't particularly clever, but it's disgusting and effective.

Zhong Miao's rebel army instantly found itself in the same predicament as the White Lotus Sect. Faced with this rogue tactic, they had no way to break it and could only rely on sheer numbers.

Zhong Miao had so few men, while Le Bao controlled both Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. He could outlast Zhong Miao simply by wearing them down.

When Zhong Miao's envoy arrived in Jingzhou, he was first settled in the post station to rest. Also settled in the post station were the horse-drawn carriage from Shizhu and the envoy group from the Eight Yao tribes of Liannan.

The Yao people of Liannan, from the eight rows of twenty-four villages, each sent an envoy, totaling thirty-two people.

They did not come to join the side because of the great Han dynasty's reputation, but were invited by the Yao people of Yongzhou.

The Yao people of Bapai are skilled Yao people, as are the Yao people of Yongzhou.

The two sides were not only very close, but they were also both Yao tribes that "liked" to rebel.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Yao rebellions followed a pattern. The "civilized" Yao were mostly forced into rebellion by officials, not unlike Han Chinese uprisings. The "raw" Yao, on the other hand, descended from the mountains to plunder after encountering harsh environments, similar to nomadic peoples migrating south.

Historically, the Yao rebellion in Bapai would not have occurred until about thirty years later, when the Qing government, facing financial difficulties, implemented the "Yamada Shōko" (a system of tax reform for officials in charge of land sales).

Unable to endure the oppression, the Yao people of Bapai raised their banner in rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in Liannan Mountain Village.

It took the Qing government mobilizing heavy troops from five provinces—Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou—to finally suppress the Yao people of Bapai.

Now, the Han dynasty has seized Huguang, cutting off the Qing dynasty's granaries, and the Qing dynasty's finances are already stretched thin. In order to raise money, Emperor Qianlong simply launched the "land tax increase" nationwide thirty years ahead of schedule, which was even more excessive than the forced rebellion of the Eight Yao tribes.

Anyway, if the common people suffer even more, Emperor Jiaqing will bear the blame for him!

Now, the puppet Qing forces in various places are all tied up, so the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ji Qing, can only mobilize the Green Standard Army of Guangdong and Guangxi to quell the rebellion. Although Guangdong and Guangxi have a fierce general like Yang Yuchun, you can't cook without rice. No matter how good Yang Yuchun is, he is only one person with only 10,000 to 20,000 troops. He is not able to deal with the Bapai Yao at all, and even allowed the Bapai Yao to completely control the Liannan mountain area.

Ji Qing was so worried he was practically going to lose his hair, but his worries would soon be over. At the beginning of this month, Jiaqing saw his battle reports from Guangdong and Guangxi and immediately dismissed him from his post as governor-general for delaying the end of the war. Hutuli was appointed as the new governor-general.

Good heavens, the last time they changed generals at the last minute, before any problems even arose, and now this happens again.

Emperor Jiaqing was truly unafraid of problems arising in local areas!

Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on Jiaqing. He was an unreliable emperor, and his civil and military officials were even more unreliable.

Take Na Yancheng, who was forced to become the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi. He had good luck as soon as he arrived in Shaanxi and Gansu, just in time to see Wang Cong'er lead the White Lotus Sect of Xiangyang to withdraw from Shaanxi and retreat back to Hubei.

So, instead of telling the truth, he simply used the subtle writing techniques he had learned in the Ministry of Works to successfully claim all the credit for himself.

When Emperor Jiaqing saw Na Yancheng's seemingly perfect "victory report," he actually believed it. Not only did he commend Na Yancheng and award him a higher rank, but he also urged Na Yancheng to continue his efforts, quell the bandits in Sichuan and Shaanxi as soon as possible, and join forces with the court to destroy the Han bandits in Huguang.

The new Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Hutuli, was not particularly famous in history, but his political career included serving as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi twice. Then, after only one year, he was demoted to Governor of Guangdong and remained in that position for the rest of his life.

Whether this person is capable or not, Nie Yu can only say for sure.

The envoys from the Yao and Zhongmiao tribes, upon arriving in Jingzhou, secluded themselves in the post station, awaiting an audience with the King of Han.

But the man from Shizhu, accompanied by his entourage, went out into the street.

Ma Jia is the eldest son of Ma Youzhao, the current Tusi (local chieftain) of Shizhu, and will also be the next Tusi of Shizhu.

Like Hefeng Prefecture, Shizhu was abolished by the Qing government thirty years ago.

Of course, the Qing dynasty's "abolition of the native chieftain system and its replacement with direct imperial administration" was similar to that of the Ming dynasty; both were simply a change of title for the chieftains, with a slight weakening of their power. The chieftains remained chieftains in reality, and some powerful ones might not even relinquish their power.

Shizhu wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that well-behaved either.

Ma Jia personally went to the Han Dynasty on behalf of Shi Zhu to submit to the Han, and also on behalf of his father Ma Youzhao to negotiate with the Han.

As the horse-drawn carriage strolled along the main street of Jingzhou, it couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of the capital of the Han Dynasty, it is indeed much more lively than our Shizhu City."

The horse-drawn carriage circled back and forth twice before finally arriving at a teahouse to enjoy tea and listen to music.

Although he was not a Han Chinese, the chieftain of Shizhu had been completely Sinicized, and even his clothing was not much different from that of the Han Chinese.

"General Yang's easy capture of Ningguo Prefecture has truly boosted the morale of our Han army. Such a momentous occasion deserves a toast!"

"Haha, where did this big white thing come from? We're drinking tea. Besides, what's Ningguo Prefecture? If we're going to fight, we should take the whole of Anhui, then march into Jiangnan, and recapture Nanjing. That would be truly exhilarating!"

"No, no, you're all wrong. Anhui is too big. Our Han Dynasty can only take the area south of the Huai River at most this time. Taking too much will be difficult to digest. The only way is to take Huainan first, advance step by step, and then defend the Huai River. We can retreat to guard against the Qing army's southward advance, or advance at our own pace to launch a northern expedition, an eastern expedition, or a southward expedition!"

“That makes sense. We should take Huainan first, then Nanjing. At that time, our great Han will occupy half of the south, and the pseudo-Qing will be like a grasshopper in autumn, unable to hop for more than a few days.”

"I just don't know when the King of Han will take Nanjing. Huainan should be taken this year, but I don't know when Nanjing will be conquered."

"Nanjing has fallen, the Prince of Han should be about to..."

"Hehe, enough said. Come, let's drink tea instead of wine and first wish our great Han Dynasty a resounding victory!"

……

(End of this chapter)