There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 431 The White Lotus Sect is also evolving

Yingzhou Prefecture fell in less than two days.

Emperor Jiaqing's plan was brilliant. Sending these Manchu lackeys to serve as high-ranking officials in the provinces would be a good way to replace the less loyal Han officials.

But he didn't consider one thing: these Manchu lackeys were hastily appointed to high positions, and although they did become officials in a prefecture or even a province, seemingly as stable as Mount Tai, they couldn't actually manage these places!

Even if one were to replace a Han official, given the inefficient transportation and deeply entrenched local power structures in ancient times, controlling a county within six months would be difficult, let alone a prefecture.
Unless the official who comes is originally from this prefecture, it will take a lot of time just to sort out the local gentry and local bullies.

Furthermore, Jiaqing only thought about replacing key officials and never considered placing some equally loyal assistant officials in these Manchu servants who bore heavy responsibilities.

Ultimately, his personal rule was too short. Two years is not enough time to accomplish anything. He lacked experience in governing the country and ended up cleaning up the mess left by Emperor Qianlong.

Unfortunately, Emperor Jiaqing himself was not very capable, and could even be described as quite mediocre. He ascended the throne entirely because of his young age, outliving several of his older brothers, and had almost no notable achievements during his 25-year reign.

Emperor Renzong of Qing!

Starting with the character "仁" (ren, benevolence), one's abilities are basically a matter of individual interpretation.

Therefore, Zhao Kui, the prefect of Yingzhou, unsurprisingly ordered the gentry of Yingzhou to raise troops to resist the bandits that very day.

On the third day, the prefectural city had successfully recruited more than 10,000 local militia.

Then, he was beheaded and surrendered the city by the three leaders—the Assistant Magistrate of Yingzhou, the Vice Prefect of Yingzhou, and the Magistrate of Fuyang County—who also joined forces with the gentry of the prefecture.

The city of Yingzhou was captured, and the prefect of Yingzhou was killed.

The remaining cities of Mengcheng, Taihe (Banmian), and Bozhou could not withstand the attack and sent envoys to surrender without the need for the Han army to come.

The Second Division's Western Route Army captured the entire territory of Yingzhou Prefecture.

The central and eastern armies are also advancing along the tributaries of the Huai River, attacking Suzhou and Sizhou respectively.

The Eastern Route Army faced little pressure and first captured Wuhe County on the north bank of the Huai River.

Then they switched to land routes and headed north to attack Sizhou City.

This was not yet the later period; the Sui River, a branch of Hongze Lake, did not pass through Sizhou at that time, but it would pass through Sihong County later.

The Sancha Sui River, where Sizhou is located, doesn't even have a channel yet. If the Han army wants to attack Sizhou, they can only go there by land.

Fortunately, the magistrate of Lingbi County next door was pragmatic and surrendered quickly.

Suining County in the north was also captured by Yang Fang in a swift attack. The prefect of Sizhou was a loyal slave to the Qing dynasty, but with Han troops surrounding him on all sides, he couldn't hold out for long.

The central army was personally led by Bai Nan, heading directly north along the Huai River, passing through Guzhen (now a small town) to Zilu Lake, with the intention of first attacking Suzhou, which is located on the shore of Zilu Lake.

We should capture Suzhou as soon as possible, then join forces with Yang Fang to besiege Xuzhou.

Xuzhou is extremely important, even more so than northern Anhui. It is here that a famous scene of "the advantage is in our hands" will unfold, and it will be a pivotal battle that will almost determine the course of Chinese history.

If Emperor Jiaqing had known about the crisis in Xuzhou, he would have come to its aid.

If Jiaqing were to come to the rescue with all his might, Yang Fang's forces would be limited and he might not be able to hold them off. Therefore, Bai Nan received orders from Nanjing to advance along the route from Suzhou.

The Han army has almost stopped regarding the puppet Qing as human beings. If they need to support a battlefield, they simply charge straight through and fight their way through.

……

While the Han army was advancing northward across the Jianghuai region, the Henan battlefield, which had been dormant for over a year, was also affected.

The White Lotus sect, which had previously been brutally defeated by the Eight Banners and Solon cavalry outside the Great Wall, finally regrouped this summer after the Qing army was drawn away by the Shanxi White-Headed Rebellion.

The Qing army had already taught them a bloody lesson during the winter in Henan.

Even in weather unsuitable for war, one can still grit their teeth and fight, and even achieve considerable results.

Taking advantage of the Qing army's lack of preparedness and depleted forces, Liu Zhixie suddenly launched a full-scale attack, sending over ten thousand of his followers to attack Luoyang via Ruzhou.

Luoyang is also known as Henan Prefecture. Although it is officially called Henan Prefecture, locals are more accustomed to calling it Luoyang. The prefectural seat was also located in Luoyang City.

The Henan prefect Cheng Ze was dumbfounded. He was a Manchu from the Eight Banners, and just from his name, one could tell that the government hoped he would be a stable second-generation Eight Banners member and properly inherit the blessings of his ancestors.

Luoyang is a strategically important and wealthy city, and it is not too dangerous. The White Lotus sect in Henan has just been defeated by Yinghe, so it should not be able to cause too much trouble.

So, how come the White Lotus Sect has reappeared so soon?

Chengze was at a loss for what to do, so he could only order his officials to do their best to defend the city while frantically seeking help from Kaifeng Prefecture.

The prefect of Kaifeng was also bewildered. The White-Headed Army in Shanxi had not yet been dealt with, so how did the White Lotus Sect, which had just been suppressed by the governor two years ago, reappear?

They even launched a siege on Luoyang.

The prefect of Kaifeng received the letter requesting assistance but had no idea how to handle it.

The governor is leading a large army to suppress the White-Headed Army, and the provincial governor just left at the end of last month. It's more likely that the provincial governor, Xianfu, is returning home to observe mourning for his mother, or perhaps to escape the corrupt and decadent land of Henan.

The new provincial governor has not yet taken office, so the provincial judicial commissioner, Wanyan Dai, is temporarily acting as governor.

But it's almost the same as having no one around, because this guy is actually seriously ill in bed, and he's not faking it, he's really terminally ill, and it's difficult for him to even go out.

The remaining official, Wang Linshu, simply shrugged and acted as if he didn't exist.

In other words, Henan right now has practically no officials in charge; they're either busy quelling rebellions outside the province or are sick and dying. No one can take charge… so let's just pretend we don't know!

What else can we do?
The Qing Dynasty was no longer the Qing Dynasty of the Qianlong era. The puppet Han dynasty had seized Nanjing and declared itself emperor. Even the Manchu nobles in the capital were, intentionally or unintentionally, referring to Nanjing as the Southern Dynasty.

Anyway, he was just a minor prefect of Kaifeng, and he didn't have the authority to mobilize troops, nor did he have any troops to mobilize.

The White Lotus Sect's army launched a fierce attack on Luoyang for nearly half a month, and during this period, the surrounding counties of Xin'an, Yiyang, and Yanshi were all captured by the White Lotus Sect.

Zhang Zhengmo, the Marquis of Shu during the Han Dynasty, integrated the White Lotus sect in Sichuan, bringing the White Lotus sect and other miscellaneous rebel armies towards unification and standardization.

Liu Zhixie from Henan was also constantly learning how to fight battles amidst the intense warfare against the Qing army and the Solon army.

The White Lotus Sect has also evolved, from religious fanatics at the beginning to now learning to use firearms, train troops, coordinate battle formations, and even use certain tactics.

Although the core doctrine of maintaining military control remained unchanged, and the method of recruiting soldiers was still based on the White Lotus doctrine, the White Lotus sect had begun to cooperate with gentry and scholars.

Liu Zhixie himself simply recruited a group of impoverished scholars as advisors to help him devise strategies. Even the current negotiations with the Han Dynasty have been handed over to this advisory group.

In order to win over these scholars and their followers, he distributed large tracts of land he owned to them, making them new landlords as well.

At the same time, in the name of the leader, he ordered the debts and loans of the people under his rule to be waived, and even taxes were reduced by several percent, returning to a level slightly lower than before the war.

This was the advice given by the newly recruited staff.

Because everyone is involved, and the Han people are involved too much, if the White Lotus Sect doesn't join in, the people will all flee sooner or later, and even the farmers will be wiped out.

Luoyang City, the White Lotus Sect's main camp.

Liu Zhixie's army has been surrounding this place for more than half a month, and he has remained very calm during this time.

First, following the advice of his strategists, he launched an attack on Luoyang while the Qing army was caught off guard. He then quickly followed up by capturing Yiyang, Xin'an, and Yanshi counties, expanding his territory very rapidly.

Even after the order was issued to forgive debts and reduce taxes, the local people still vied to help them fight the war.

In the past, this would have been unprecedented, if not extremely rare.

Inside the main tent of the main camp.

Several of Liu Zhixie's advisors were analyzing the situation for him.

"Master, Luoyang may appear strong on the outside, but even the strongest walls are bound to be vulnerable inside. If we continue the siege, it won't be more than a month before you can take this important city of Luoyang without lifting a finger."

"After taking Luoyang, the next step is to advance and capture Kaifeng and Guide, or retreat and conquer Shaanxi, eventually taking Xi'an."

"Even if we don't retreat, we must fight for Xi'an. The Qing troops in Xi'an are currently trapped in Sichuan. If we don't fight now, when will we?"

"If we take Xi'an and then Kaifeng, we can divide the country with the Qing government along the Yellow River and establish Xi'an as our base to build the kingship of our sect."

"..."

The moment Wang Ye was mentioned, these advisors and strategists, who had just been talking eloquently, instantly became excited.

This would be a great achievement, as it would be to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne!
In their eyes, the Qing Dynasty had entered a period of dynastic chaos. Regardless of who would ultimately rule, there were already two emperors.

If another prince were to appear, it wouldn't seem like such a big deal.

Although it might seem a bit presumptuous for Liu Zhixie to declare himself king, who the hell cares? Becoming king would mean that they could rise in status and shed their previous identities as cult officials.

"Traitor" might not sound good, but it's still much better than "cult".

Moreover, if they are destroyed in the future, they can surrender as former officials of the rebel king.

What if it works out...

The possibility is small, but that doesn't mean it's completely impossible!
Liu Zhixie's territory is small now, but his strength is not weak. He has an army of tens of thousands of followers who have learned to use firearms and tactics, and are gradually transforming into a regular army.

Upon hearing the name "Wang Ye," Liu Zhixie's breathing became somewhat labored.

Upon seeing Liu Zhixie's reaction, his subordinates and advisors quickly urged him to ascend the throne, their urging being very direct.

"Master, once we conquer Luoyang, we should declare ourselves king."

"Yes! Master, the world is in chaos now. It is not proper to declare oneself king without being a legitimate ruler."

"I consulted a fortune teller yesterday, and he said that the leader of the sect is destined for great fortune and should be known as King Jianye."

"May Your Majesty ascend the throne..."

Listening to these confusing and tempting advices, Liu Zhixie could almost see the dragon robe from the opera beckoning to him.

Liu Zhixie was about to feign modesty and indicate that he wasn't in the mood for that yet: "My strategists, our Liu Zhixie..."

"Report!"

"Master, a messenger from Han has sent an urgent letter."

"..."

(End of this chapter)