There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 367 The Manchu-Han Conflict Triggered by Literary Inquisition
Emperor Jiaqing launched a literary inquisition centered in Beijing.

Although it was a literary inquisition, Emperor Jiaqing still restrained himself.

The original imperial edict clearly stated that only bookstores selling and publishing the novel "The Biography of the Erotic Monks of the Qing Dynasty" would be targeted, as well as some literati and readers who knowingly bought the book. Those who were genuinely unaware of the crime but had simply read the novel could be dealt with leniently at the discretion of the authorities.

After all, Emperor Jiaqing's reputation for benevolence and virtue is well-known in history. This may be because Jiaqing's mother was half Han Chinese, and Jiaqing's mentors were all Han officials and ministers with high moral standards, such as Zhu Gui.

However, although Emperor Jiaqing restrained himself, the presiding judge in this case was none other than the infamous Lord Ji Xiaolan.

what?
Is His Majesty going to instigate literary inquisitions?

Ji Xiaolan was an expert at this!

The Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), which Emperor Qianlong used to suppress culture, was edited and compiled by Ji Xiaolan.

The Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) was touted as a literary masterpiece by Qing dynasty enthusiasts, even compared to the Yongle Encyclopedia. It cannot be said that it was entirely without merit; rather, it can be said that the Qing dynasty was the root of all evil.

Emperor Qianlong first used the pretext of compiling a monumental work to collect and borrow rare books from all over the country. After completing the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), he immediately turned all the books into his private property. Even the Siku Quanshu was strictly sealed and not allowed to be read by anyone in the country.

This series of actions dealt a devastating blow to privately owned books and literature, leaving scholars across the land completely bewildered by Emperor Qianlong's shameless actions.

So, it's just a literary inquisition, and Ji Xiaolan was very experienced in it.

Not only was he experienced, but Liu Yong, who had already been sent to Henan by Emperor Jiaqing and wanted to avoid seeing the situation, was even more experienced.

Liu Yong, the upright official in later historical dramas, also gained favor and was given important positions by Emperor Qianlong by expanding the literary inquisition to arrest people and gain merit.

In conclusion, they were just two dogs!

With Ji Xiaolan presiding over the trial, and some people trying to "guess the emperor's intentions," they thought that since Jiaqing had just assumed power, it would be inconvenient for him to verbally launch a large-scale literary inquisition, so they had to act as his ministers.

If things go well, His Majesty might be so pleased that he'll elevate him to the rank of a bannerman and make him a servant.

In just a few days.

Emperor Jiaqing originally only intended to ban the spread of "The Biography of the Erotic Monks of the Qing Dynasty" and did not really intend to carry out large-scale criminal investigations. However, thanks to the intervention of the agent Xiaolan, more and more people were arrested, and the situation quickly escalated and expanded.

Originally, the outbreak mainly affected prefectures and suburbs near the capital, but within half a month, it quickly spread to the entire Zhili province.

First, printing shops were shut down, then a large-scale arrest of book buyers and readers was carried out. Later, even places that had heard novels or sheltered novel readers and listeners were all shut down by the government.

Their families were also implicated; all the behind-the-scenes owners of those bookstores were exposed, imprisoned, and brought to justice.

After arresting those who read and sold novels, it was the local officials' turn.

The reason given is that they condoned the spread of this heretical book under their jurisdiction. Even if they were unaware of it, it was still a crime of negligence, and they should be impeached, dismissed, and imprisoned.

By this time, the issue of heretical books was no longer important, and the first wave of factional strife and infighting in the Jiaqing reign officially began.

Every day, ministers attacked each other, first attacking the local officials in Zhili, and after bringing them down, they went on to attack their superiors and those who had promoted them.

Not only were the Han officials fighting amongst themselves, but the Manchu and Mongol officials were also busy. How could they let go of such a good opportunity for infighting?
Don't assume that the Eight Banners were necessarily united. Even among the noble Manchu Eight Banners and the Upper Three Banners, there were still unequal distributions of benefits.

The cake is only so big; if you eat more, I'll eat less.

Unfortunately, everyone is like a starving ghost who doesn't mind being stuffed, preferring to stuff themselves to death rather than share the extra benefits with others.

The first rule of Dacheng Winning: Losing on both sides is better than winning on one side!
As a result, after Emperor Jiaqing assumed personal rule, he deliberately avoided major political upheavals, only executing Heshen. The political situation in the capital, which had been barely stabilized, collapsed due to a literary inquisition.

This wave of factional strife, triggered by literary inquisitions, quickly evolved over time into a new Manchu-Han conflict.

Emperor Jiaqing realized the seriousness of the problem and wanted to step in to stop it, but his abilities were indeed limited. He was completely unable to balance or distinguish which of the Manchu and Han officials were telling the truth and which were truly loyal to the country.

The Han official spoke earnestly and presented evidence to impeach the Manchu official, who then wept and cried to Jiaqing about his kinship and his ancestors' military achievements.

The Han official used a desperate move to seek death, so the Manchu official volunteered to go to Ningguta to guard the border.

It’s messy, it’s too messy!
Not only was the political situation in the capital chaotic, but the local areas were also not doing well.

Take Zhili Province as an example. Too many local officials have been arrested. In Nanpi County, which is located in the south, both the county magistrate and the county assistant magistrate have been impeached and imprisoned. Now, Nanpi County only has a registrar and a clerk in charge.

The key issue is that Nanpi County is too far south, and the handling of those arrested and shut-down bookstore owners and novel readers has not yet been completed. These people are now all crammed into the county jail, with no idea how to deal with them.

Without a county magistrate or county assistant, the chief clerk would have no jurisdiction over anything, but this does not mean that the chief clerk could actually perform the duties of the county magistrate.

This is just Nanpi County. Nearly a third of the local officials in Zhili Province have either been implicated in the political struggles in the capital and fallen from their horses, or are on their way to being dismissed.

For a time, everyone in Zhili was in a state of fear, and no one had the will to do anything. Pang Wencai, who had just arrived in Zhili with his ** (likely a reference to a specific business or organization), ready to make a big splash, immediately sensed a business opportunity.

It is worth mentioning that the earliest copy of "The Biography of the Erotic Monks of the Qing Dynasty" was brought to Zhili by this guy, who sold it to a bookseller for a high price of two taels of silver.

……

Nie Yu was unaware of the current state of chaos in Zhili (Hebei) in the north.

The Han army had just taken control of the entire Yangzhou Prefecture south of the Huai River, and even Yancheng, which already belonged to Huai'an Prefecture, was captured by the Han army.

Because Yancheng has important sea salt fields, among the ten major salt fields in the country during the Qing Dynasty, the Lianghuai Salt Field was the largest. And among the Lianghuai Salt Field, the Yancheng Salt Field was the best, and even Huai'an rock salt could not shake the status of Yancheng sea salt.

Yancheng even built a canal specifically for salt transportation.

With Yancheng captured, even if the Han Dynasty immediately loses its salt production capacity, there will be no need to worry about the salt supply for officials and common people.

Meanwhile, the entire territory of Yangzhou Prefecture had fallen, and the southern region south of the Huai River had essentially been lost by the puppet Qing dynasty.

The reason it is considered fundamental is that while the puppet Qing army simply cannot cross over, some prefectures in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are still putting up a stubborn resistance.

There was also a particularly unlucky Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Jue Luo Changlin. This guy knew nothing about it and suddenly received news that there was a rebellion in Zhejiang. Before he could react, news came that Ruan Yuan, the Zhejiang governor who had quelled the rebellion, had been killed in battle, and he was ordered to immediately send troops to Zhejiang.

Jue Luo Changlin, filled with fear, was about to lead the invincible Fujian navy northward when he was blocked at the doorstep of Fujian by the pirate fleet of Cai Qian, the Marquis of Zhenhai of the Great Han Dynasty and also the pirate king of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Li Nanxin, the then admiral of the Fujian Navy, was a military officer who was capable and brave in battle. He emphasized "strengthening discipline, diligent training, strict orders, and clear rewards and punishments" in governing the army. Last winter, when he was transferred to the Fujian Navy, he donated his salary savings to help the navy build cannons and warships.

But this man has a fatal flaw, a really fatal one: he's too old, already 66 years old this year.

If there is no war, he could have lived for another year in history. But if there is a war, he probably wouldn't have survived until Cai Qian was in his prime.

Moreover, there's another point: Jiaying Prefecture, the hometown of this Fujian naval commander, is currently under heavy attack by the army of Zhu Wu, the Marquis of Chaozhou of the Great Han Dynasty, and it's estimated that it will soon be unable to hold out.

Jue Luo Changlin, the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, was indeed an unlucky fellow. Although the Han Dynasty did not intend to take Fujian for the time being, Fujian had already been effectively encircled by the Han Dynasty.

It's still surrounded by both land and water, making it impossible to escape; even reaching Taiwan would be a difficult task.

In any case, the Ministry of Rites on the side of the puppet Qing Dynasty was already vying for power on one side and submitting a list of posthumous titles and honors to Jiaqing, which included the name of Jue Luo Changlin.

In Jiaqing's eyes, this guy was already a dead man who had "died for his country," and he had "died" for his country as a member of the imperial family, so the rewards and honors he was given were extremely generous.

If Emperor Jiaqing knew that Fujian was still there, that not a single county had been lost, and not a single ship had been sunk, but that it had been surrounded by the Han army, I wonder if he would be furious.
The old office of the Viceroy of Liangjiang in Nanjing.

This place has now been converted into the temporary residence of the Prince of Han. The plaque of the Governor-General of Liangjiang has been removed, and a simple wooden plaque that reads "Prince of Han's Residence" has been temporarily hung up instead.

Nie Yu put down the telegram translation in his hand and said, "An urgent report came from Jingzhou: the puppet Qing dynasty finally couldn't hold back and has sent Solon troops into the pass."

"Solon soldiers!" Yang Fang was immediately shocked.

"They're actually Sauron soldiers!"

Not only was Yang Fang surprised, but Yuan Mingyao, who was accompanying Nie Yu, was also very astonished.

However, the Han army officers present at the meeting were all somewhat confused and bewildered.

They were all from the south, with varying levels of education. It was already quite good that they could recognize a few hundred commonly used characters and understand military orders and documents; there was no need to expect them to know what the Solon soldiers were.

Yuan Mingyao explained it to them, and everyone suddenly understood.

A burly-looking commander stepped forward, cupping his hands and shouting, "Your Majesty, they're just a bunch of Tartars from beyond the Great Wall! These Tartars are weaklings and paper tigers. Over the past few years, we've killed at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, of those Manchu Eight Banners Tartars! They still have heads on their shoulders, and they're dead after being cut off. There's nothing to be afraid of. If they dare to come, we'll kill them, we'll kill the damn ones."

Upon hearing this, all the officers couldn't help but burst into laughter, and the tense atmosphere instantly eased.

Nie Yu also joined in the merriment, laughing and saying, "That's right, what are the Solon soldiers compared to the soldiers of my Great Han?"

If it were the Solon soldiers from the Yongzheng era, Nie Yu might have had to be wary, as musketeer cavalry are not easy to defeat. But the Solon soldiers of today, after the reforms of the Qianlong Emperor, have all become cavalry armed with cold weapons.

Cold weapon cavalry? Rifled guns, mortars, and rockets will solve the problem.

The Qing Dynasty, times have changed!
However, despite the changing times, in the eyes of Jiaqing and the puppet Qing dynasty, the Solon army was still invincible and could not yet invade the territory of the Han dynasty.

The news reports sent from Jingzhou actually came from Han spies and messengers in Henan. They said they saw a mysterious cavalry unit on the Henan battlefield whose attire was clearly different from that of ordinary Qing soldiers, and after investigation, they suspected it was a Solon soldier.

(End of this chapter)