There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 401 Three-Eyed Flower Feather
Chengde (Rehe), the Mountain Resort.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!"

When Emperor Jiaqing saw the report of victory from Henan, he was in high spirits and exclaimed "Good!" three times on the spot.

Since the end of the sixtieth year of Qianlong's reign, when internal strife broke out all over the Qing Dynasty, there had been no such good news for a long time.

Rebellions and uprisings broke out in various places, and the Qing Dynasty was exhausted from fighting them. After five years of war to quell the rebellions and suppress the bandits, the rebels were not eliminated at all, but instead increased.

Today, the pseudo-Han people in the south have already usurped the title of emperor, openly challenging the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty and the authority of Emperor Jiaqing.

The key point is that although Jiaqing was furious, he was also somewhat helpless after his anger subsided.

The pseudo-Han are really too powerful. Just look at how they refer to them now. They've gone from calling them "traitors" and "bandits" to almost calling them "pseudo-emperors of the Southern Dynasty."

Even a false emperor is still an emperor. Even if the Qing Dynasty eventually wins, it will be severely weakened. And no matter how much history books vilify or condemn Nie Yu, this anti-Qing fighter, will still be given the title of false emperor.

After all, so many local governors and viceroys who died in battle were not fakes; they couldn't deny it even if they wanted to. Among them was even Jue Luo Changlin, the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang, who was from the imperial clan.

Five Manchu cities were razed to the ground. Not to mention the Qing Dynasty, there were only a few Manchu cities in the south, and almost all of them were wiped out.

Don't ask Jiaqing how he knew, because every time this pseudo-Han finished massacring the Manchus, he would throw their heads towards the Han-Qing border and pile them up into a mound of heads.

The two officials, Tie Bao, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, and Kang Jitian, the Grand Canal Conservancy Commissioner, who were on the front lines, were both exhausted from the ordeal.

They were already in a state of redemption, but this fake Han was throwing heads at their front-line defense zone every now and then, and he was throwing them in big swagger, leaving them in a dilemma of whether to report it or not.

With a broad smile, Emperor Jiaqing held the victory report from Henan in his hand, read it three times before saying, "This Yinghe is indeed worthy of my high regard... I was right about him!"

Emperor Jiaqing originally wanted to praise Yinghe, but Yinghe's family, the Suochuoluo clan, was not that illustrious. The most successful member of the Suochuoluo clan was Yinghe, who had become a close confidant of the emperor.

Emperor Jiaqing was in a rare good mood. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly waved his hand and issued an edict: "Yinghe, the governor of Henan, has defeated the White Lotus rebels in Ruzhou. He is hereby awarded a three-eyed peacock feather to commend his merit!"

Upon hearing this, the Manchu and Han officials kneeling below, listening to the imperial decree, were all stunned.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, all stunned by Emperor Jiaqing's verbal edict, which could also be described as an imperial decree.

A three-eyed peacock feather!
What is this?
During the Qing Dynasty, this practice was only prevalent during the early Shunzhi reign. After Kangxi ascended the throne, he immediately reformed the system of awarding peacock feathers.

After the reforms, the peacock feather became a highly coveted honor for both Manchu and Han officials.

How top-tier is it?

Even if you are a high-ranking Manchu official of the first rank, you can't wear the official hat and peacock feather without making special contributions. But as long as you make great contributions and please the emperor, even a Han official has the opportunity to wear the official hat and peacock feather.

After Kang Youwei reformed the system, he did not issue a single three-eyed peacock feather during his 61-year reign.

It wasn't until the landlord's foolish son, Emperor Qianlong, came to power that three three-eyed peacock feathers were issued, which were bestowed upon Fuheng, Fukang'an, and Helin respectively.

Do you see the pattern? Fuheng and Fukang'an are father and son, and both are from the Fucha family. When Helin was awarded the Three-Eyed Peacock Feather, Heshen was at the height of his power, and Fukang'an had died in battle in western Hunan.

This clearly shows how valuable the three-eyed peacock feather was, and now, Jiaqing, in a moment of joy, simply gave it to him.

The position was given to Yinghe, a mere governor of Henan, whose family background was not as illustrious as that of the Fucha family when Heshen was in power.

In terms of military achievements, Fuheng and Fukang'an, though from the Fuca clan, were nonetheless distinguished warriors. Yinghe, on the other hand, had only won the Battle of Ruzhou and recaptured the city.

The White Lotus sect in Henan had not yet been eradicated; it was simply caught off guard by Ying He's surprise attack on a snowy night.

"Your Majesty, the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan has not yet been eradicated, and Governor Yinghe has only just recovered Ruzhou. Is it not a bit too hasty to bestow upon him the Three-Eyed Peacock Feather?" Fu Sen, the Manchu Minister of War accompanying the emperor, advised tactfully. Emperor Jiaqing shook his head and sighed, "Minister Fu, Yinghe's recovery of Ruzhou has restored the prestige and morale of our Great Qing Dynasty. Such a great achievement deserves a reward from me, and I cannot fail to do so!"

After hearing this, Fu Sen understood.

Emperor Jiaqing was simply somewhat bad at judging people and was rather impulsive and eager to make quick decisions when appointing them, but that doesn't mean he was truly foolish.

The reason he was so "happy" that he bestowed the three-eyed peacock feather was actually due to being forced by circumstances.

In short, the Qing Dynasty was broke!

With almost the entire Jiangnan region fallen, the Grand Canal transport had long been cut off, and without the last source of revenue from Jiangnan, the Qing government's finances were rapidly collapsing.

Leaving aside other places, even Beijing is currently experiencing a rice shortage. In the Jiangnan region, the highest price for rice is 50 wen per liter, almost reaching 60 wen, while the price of rice in Beijing has just broken through the 6 taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure).

Six taels of silver per shi (石) is roughly equivalent to sixty wen (文) per sheng (升) of rice, which is 20% higher than the highest price ever paid by rice merchants in Jiangnan.

Moreover, there is still room for further growth.

Not counting the Han Chinese, the Manchu bannermen were already experiencing food shortages and hunger. Many bannermen nobles in the capital had no choice but to release and expel a number of their household servants.

Currently, there is fighting in Henan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan. The governor of Shanxi recently submitted a memorial stating that due to the imperial court's imposition of taxes and natural disasters, some disaster victims in the province have already rebelled.

Just as Jiaqing was dispatching troops to Shanxi to suppress the rebellion, the Mongol banners in the north, seemingly seeing the weakness of the Qing Dynasty within the Great Wall, began to stir and disobey orders.

General Jue Luo Mianzu of Uliastai has submitted at least three secret memorials to the Jiaqing Emperor, stating that the banners of Outer Mongolia are becoming increasingly unruly and requesting instructions from the court on whether to send troops to suppress them or give them a little warning.
It can be said that in the entire northern part of the Qing Dynasty, only Shandong is currently relatively peaceful. Perhaps it is also the hometown of Confucius, and there is indeed a sage "protecting" it!

Emperor Jiaqing was now extremely annoyed. Although Yinghe had won a battle in Henan, the situation had not improved much for Jiaqing. On the contrary, he still had to find a way to generate money and grain to reward and reward the troops.

Where did Emperor Jiaqing get the money?
For now, I can only reward him with a worthless three-eyed peacock feather. As for the rest... I'll leave the rest to Ying and him to figure out himself!
After all, the Three-Eyed Peacock Feather wasn't given for nothing; one has to pay something in return for receiving it.

Having temporarily resolved the issue of rewarding the three armies in Henan, Jiaqing then issued two more imperial edicts.

The first imperial edict urged Na Yancheng, the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, to quickly suppress the rebels in Sichuan, reclaim Sichuan as a vital source of revenue for the Qing Dynasty, and alleviate the Qing Dynasty's financial deficit, which was on the verge of collapse.

The second imperial edict similarly urged the Yunnan-Guizhou region to quickly eliminate the local Miao bandits, stabilize the southwestern border of the Qing Dynasty, and then seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack against the puppet Han regime in the Hubei and Hunan rear areas.

The Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Na Yancheng, is finally about to lose control.

As for the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou... there was no longer a Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou. The capable general, Le Bao, had been sent to Beijing by Emperor Jiaqing on charges of harboring bandits to enhance his own power.

The Yunnan-Guizhou region is currently governed by two officials: Chu Pengling, the governor of Yunnan, and Yisang'a, the governor of Guizhou.

These two people are very interesting. Chu Pengling was a Han Chinese and a famous minister in the mid-period of the Qing Dynasty. He was very capable.

The other one, Yisan'a, was a Manchu official, and unlike Chu Pengling, he was completely incompetent and liked to claim credit for battles and flee without a fight.

Historically, this guy was accused of fraudulently claiming military merits and fleeing without a fight, which led to the deterioration of the situation in Guizhou and forced the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Jue Luo Langgan, to personally quell the rebellion. Later, he was impeached and reported by Chu Pengling.

Emperor Jiaqing was furious and had him executed!

Coincidentally, Guizhou is currently in chaos, and Le Bao, the backbone of the government, has been removed from his post and sent to Beijing.

……

(End of this chapter)