There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 433 I Don't Understand
Chengde, the Mountain Resort.

Danbo Jingcheng Hall (Main Hall).

Emperor Jiaqing sat expressionlessly on the soft couch, flipping through memorials one after another, each marked with the word "urgent" on its cover.

Your Highness, led by the Grand Councilor Dong Gao, and including Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet such as Wang Jie and Fu Sen, as well as the Ministers of the Six Ministries (both Manchu and Han), all knelt on the ground, their heads, adorned with official hats, almost touching the ground.

Emperor Jiaqing flipped through several memorials in quick succession, reading them so fast he practically dropped one after another. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he slammed the memorials in his hand onto the prince, shouting, "They deserve to die! They all deserve to die! Kang Jitian and Tiebao, those two treacherous dogs, they both deserve to die, they deserve to die!"

Because Wang Jie was kneeling too far forward, he was accidentally hit squarely by a falling memorial, which knocked the hat on his head askew.

Wang Jie dared not say a word, quickly straightened his official hat, and continued to kneel down.

In his rage, Jiaqing was completely oblivious to Wang Jie's underhanded tactics. After berating Kang Jitian and Tiebao, he turned to the Manchu and Han officials in the hall and said, "And you too! You advised me to first quell the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan and the bandits in Shanxi, without having to worry about the pseudo-Han rebels."

"Now look what's happened! This traitorous Han not only declared himself emperor, but he's also launched a northern expedition! A northern expedition indeed!"

"It's one thing for me to lose Jiangnan, but the traitorous Han have already crossed the Yellow River, and most of Jiangbei has been lost. Xuzhou is also in grave danger."

"If Xuzhou falls, where will the traitorous Han rebels attack next? Shouldn't they come to my Zhili region?"

His hysterical rant startled the Manchu and Han officials in the prince, who immediately cried out in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

"Calm down? What good will calming down do?" Jiaqing continued, "If I calm down, the siege of Xuzhou can be lifted, the traitorous Han rebels can be destroyed, and the world can be at peace."

At this point, several Manchu and Han officials with keen political sense had almost realized what was going on.

Although His Majesty was angry, he was also asking them for a solution to the problem.

The siege of Xuzhou, in particular, was the number one problem among all. If Xuzhou were to fall, the Qing Dynasty would indeed be in a very passive position.

After all, Xuzhou is a crucial hub connecting the North and South, a vital town linking the Central Plains and the Jianghuai region. We can lose the south of the Yangtze River, and we can lose the north of the Yangtze River, but we absolutely cannot lose Xuzhou.

With the loss of Xuzhou, the battlefield between the Qing Dynasty and the puppet Han regime shifted.

Don't be fooled by what Jiaqing said earlier about the Han army already launching a northern expedition. That was just empty talk. The Han army was still a long way from a formal northern expedition. Not only was the size of the army insufficient, but the territory they had conquered was only north of the Yangtze River.

The Northern Expedition can be considered a Northern Expedition, but it can only be considered a small-scale Northern Expedition.

But if Xuzhou is gone, things will be very different. In the words of the commander-in-chief, Xuzhou has dominated the rise and fall of countless dynasties, and the struggle for the Central Plains all began in Xuzhou.

Even if Jiangnan is lost, the Qing Dynasty still has a chance; at worst, it will be reduced to the Northern Dynasty.

But if Xuzhou is lost, the Qing Dynasty will really be in trouble!

Dong Gao, a veteran official and the leading Grand Councilor, was recently promoted to a higher rank by Emperor Jiaqing. His grandson, Dong Lai, was also betrothed by Emperor Jiaqing to the youngest daughter of Fucha Tuojin.

Although Emperor Jiaqing had just purged Heshen and the Fucha family two years prior, the current Qing dynasty was in a precarious state, and Han officials were not to be trusted or given important positions. Therefore, the only option was to use Manchu officials and bannermen.

Tuojin's father was Boqing'e, a high-ranking official of the Fucha family during the Qianlong era. He served as Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and Resident Minister in Tibet. He did not have a close relationship with Fukang'an and died young, which made him a good candidate for promotion.

In February of this year, Emperor Jiaqing promoted Tuojin ahead of schedule to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and sent him to the Grand Council for training.

It is indeed earlier than expected. Although Tuojin was an important minister in the Jiaqing reign, he did not truly rise to prominence until the tenth year of Jiaqing's reign. However, this time it has happened four years earlier.

However, it didn't matter whether it was brought up in advance or not, because Jiaqing had successfully bound Dong Gao, a veteran Han official, to the Qing Dynasty through a series of appointments and political marriages.

Even if Dong Gao died immediately, his children and grandchildren would not be able to shake off their Manchu identity and would have no choice but to devote themselves to the Qing Dynasty until their deaths.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has something to say."

Dong Gao had already understood Jiaqing's intention, and immediately bowed his head, holding the court beads in his hands, and spoke.

(Note: According to the Manchu Qing dynasty etiquette, ministers were not allowed to look directly at the emperor; they had to hold the court beads with both hands and look down at the floor.)
Suppressing his anger, Jiaqing asked, "What does Minister Dong have to say?"

"Your Majesty, please issue an imperial decree immediately, ordering the Henan governors Yinghe and Liu Yong to lead their entire army south to relieve Xuzhou!" Dong Gao was only sixty-two years old this year, yet his voice was still full of vigor.

Emperor Jiaqing thought Dong Gao had some sound and mature advice to offer, but instead, he dropped a bombshell by ordering Yinghe's army to march south and directly support Xuzhou.

That's quite a grand gesture!
Yinghe and Liu Yong, who had previously served as prime ministers in suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan, already had 50,000 elite troops from the Zhili Eight Banners and Green Standard Army transferred there, plus 10,000 Eight Banners from Shengjing transferred from outside the Great Wall, and more than 2000 Solon soldiers.

With such a formidable force, if the entire army marched south to Xuzhou, it would be more than enough to not only defend the Xuzhou position, but also to wipe out the Han army besieging Xuzhou.

Emperor Jiaqing couldn't help but ask, "Minister Dong, the bandits in Shanxi have not yet been wiped out, and the White Lotus Rebellion has resurfaced in Henan. Is it too hasty to send Yinghe's entire army south to Xuzhou?"

“Indeed,” said Fu Sen, the Minister of War kneeling below, taking over the conversation. “Prime Minister Dong, although Xuzhou is in dire need of help, according to reports from Xuzhou, the southern army there numbers only a few thousand. Given Xuzhou’s advantageous and fortified terrain, even sending only ten thousand troops south would be more than enough. There is no need to send the entire army south and neglect the bandits in Shanxi and Henan. These two places are too close to Zhili and the capital. If they are completely destroyed, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Fu Sen had barely finished his rebuttal when the officials below, before they could even process what he was saying and take sides, were caught off guard.

Dong Gao suddenly shouted, "This is utter nonsense!"

After reprimanding him, Dong Gao stopped holding the court beads and instead knelt down and kowtowed, shouting, "Your Majesty, did you hear that? Even Minister Fu Sen has started referring to the false Han as the Southern Army!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Sen's expression changed drastically, and he immediately tried to kneel down to beg for forgiveness.

Ignoring Fu Sen, Dong Gao continued, "Moreover, as far as I know, there are now many Manchu and Han officials, princes and nobles in the capital who no longer regard the pseudo-Han as traitors, but as a Southern Dynasty that can rival our Great Qing. The pseudo-Han are no longer the traitorous rabble that our Great Qing could easily wipe out. If we want to deal with the pseudo-Han traitors, we must strike hard and exert all our strength!"

"If we don't go all out, our Great Qing will surely be utterly defeated!"

With these simple words, especially the last sentence, Dong Gao simply shouted them out in an aged tone.

The shouts, though unspoken, resonated so powerfully that they struck Emperor Jiaqing like a thunderbolt.

That wasn't all. Dong Gao added, "Your Majesty, please forgive my audacity, but the relationship between our Great Qing and the traitorous Han rebels is no longer that of the court and the rebels. There's even a saying in the South that Your Majesty may not have heard of: 'The Han rebels are less than ten thousand, but ten thousand are invincible.'"

The Han traitors number less than ten thousand, but are invincible if they number ten thousand!
Emperor Jiaqing had never heard of this before.

These two rumors are remarkably similar to the Qing Dynasty's ancestral saying, "If the Jurchens number less than ten thousand, they are invincible if they number ten thousand."

At first glance, it even sounds like a mockery of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, this was indeed a mockery of the Qing Dynasty, so when local officials reported it, they all tacitly deleted this sentence to avoid making His Majesty, who was busy with countless affairs of state, have to worry about this trivial matter.

After listening to Dong Gao's heartfelt words, Jiaqing's mind, which had been clouded by long-term use of elixirs, finally cleared somewhat. He began to seriously consider the necessity of sending the entire army to support Xuzhou.

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Jiaqing suddenly asked, "My dear Minister Dong, is it really necessary to send Yinghe's entire army south to Xuzhou? What should we do about the bandits in Shanxi and Henan? Should we just sit idly by?"

Upon hearing this, Dong Gao immediately offered his analysis: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Although the bandits in Shanxi and Henan seem extremely destructive, there is actually no need to worry about them too much."

"Let's talk about the Shanxi bandits first. Although the Shanxi bandits are powerful, their main force is a rabble. There's no need to waste the tens of thousands of elite troops and Solon army under Governor Yinghe's command. We only need to order the Green Standard Army stationed in various places to calmly encircle them, emulating the southwestern regions, building strong fortifications, and fighting a protracted war. It's a bit slow, but it's enough to deal with the Shanxi bandits. Even if we can't quell them, we can at least stop them from growing stronger."

"As for the White Lotus Sect in Henan, they had already been severely damaged. Now they are launching a hasty attack and immediately set their sights on Luoyang, but the White Lotus Sect is nothing more than a minor ailment. The Henan Provincial Education Commissioner and the Prefect of Kaifeng have already reported that the traitorous Han rebels have sent troops north to Henan and are suspected of having a conflict with the White Lotus Sect."

"In this way, the White Lotus sect in Henan no longer poses a threat to our Great Qing. They can be dealt with by the traitors and rebels who are our own people."

"Therefore, Henan and Shanxi are both rabble, like a scab, seemingly fatal but actually vulnerable. Only the traitorous Han rebels have long been sitting bandits, even... In short, we must concentrate our forces to first protect Xuzhou. If Xuzhou is protected, then our Great Qing can use Xuzhou as a front to slowly recover Jiangbei and Jiangnan and quell the traitorous Han."

This statement was very straightforward, especially the last two sentences, which were almost a direct statement to Jiaqing that the Qing Dynasty could not destroy the Han Dynasty in a short period of time.

Furthermore, the Han dynasty's capture of Jiangnan and Nanjing posed a significant challenge to the legitimacy of the Qing dynasty.

At first, Emperor Jiaqing thought that Dong Gao was going all in and would fight a decisive battle with the Han army in Xuzhou to decide the overall situation in Jiangbei.

Now that I've heard it, it's true that Dong Gao is going all in, but not to fight a decisive battle; his priority is to protect Xuzhou Prefecture.

Then, with Xuzhou as the center, we will wage a protracted war against the Han Dynasty.

Intuitively, Jiaqing was somewhat dissatisfied, but dissatisfaction was useless; the Qing Dynasty was no longer the Qing Dynasty it once was.

Not only had the south been almost completely lost, but the Qing Dynasty had also essentially lost control of the remaining provinces, such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Fujian.

Yes, this also includes Fujian, which the Han Dynasty has already conquered.

The Han dynasty had already conquered Fujian before Jiaqing learned of the news. Even then, he only learned of it because the head of the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang was sent to the Han-Qing border.

The remaining four provinces—Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi—were said to have not yet fallen, but Jiaqing's decrees could only reach Sichuan.

Right now, the north is in complete chaos. There's the White-Headed Army in Shanxi and the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan.

Shaanxi and Gansu seem to be relatively stable, but the Shaanxi governor, Taibu, just sent a report to Beijing last month, reporting a Hui Muslim rebellion in Gansu, which Taibu personally led troops to suppress.

Emperor Jiaqing had nothing else to bestow, so he could only grant him a two-eyed peacock feather.

"Ugh!"

After a long silence, Emperor Jiaqing finally sighed, "How could my Great Qing Dynasty have come to this!"

Dong Gao remained silent, as did the prince and his ministers, who waited for Jiaqing to continue.

Jiaqing shook his head, seemingly unwilling yet helpless: "Since Xuzhou is in grave danger, then everything shall be as Elder Dong has said. Immediately bestow upon Yinghe, the Governor of Henan, the title of Governor-General of Jiangbei and concurrently Acting Commander-in-Chief of Jiangbei, and lead the army south with all its might to rescue Xuzhou. Liu Yong will temporarily serve as Governor of Henan, replacing Yinghe, and go to Kaifeng to oversee the suppression of the traitorous Han rebels and the Bai... cough cough... cough cough cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiaqing suddenly started coughing violently.

Fu Sen, who had been kneeling and prostrating himself, hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

Fu Sen took the lead, and the other Manchu and Han officials followed suit and shouted in unison.

As everyone knelt down, Zhang Jinzhong, the personal eunuch of Emperor Jiaqing, handed over the calming pills he always carried.

After taking the calming pill, Jiaqing felt much better and his breathing became smoother in no time. However, his emaciated body under the dragon robe and his almost bloodless face looked abnormal no matter how you looked at it.

Unfortunately, due to the etiquette and rules of the Qing Dynasty when holding court, none of His Highness's Manchu and Han officials noticed anything amiss with Jiaqing at that moment.

Emperor Jiaqing then said, "The bandits in Shanxi are rampant and need to be annihilated as soon as possible. Immediately appoint Fu Sen, Minister of War, as Governor-General of Shanxi, to oversee the suppression of bandits in Shanxi!"

The position of Governor-General of Shanxi was clearly a temporary one given by Emperor Jiaqing; there had never been such a position before.

"This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace!"

However, Fu Sen still quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude.

This is a sign of His Majesty's high regard for him, appointing him to concurrently serve as Governor-General, and to fight against the relatively easy-to-defeat White-Headed Army in Shanxi.

Although these white-haired soldiers were miners, miners were still ordinary people. They had never fought a war and were just a mob. They certainly couldn't defeat the government troops.

Especially compared to the Han army and the evolved White Lotus sect, the White-Headed Army was far too mild and easy to defeat.

Fu Sen thanked him for his kindness, then suddenly asked, "When I go to quell the bandits in Shanxi, will I use both appeasement and suppression?"

This was a strategy proposed by Wang Jie: although the bandits were powerful, many of them were just civilians who had been coerced. If the Qing Dynasty wanted to quell the bandits' chaos, it only needed to kill the leaders, and the rest who were willing to surrender could be appeased.

Using both suppression and appeasement is a common tactic.

If we really kill them all, how long will it take to finish?

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jiaqing, instead of his usual benevolence, displayed a manic expression: "Why appease them? These rioters, I fed them, I let them live, yet they dare to rebel against me, against my Great Qing, over a mere piece of coal! Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

"Your Majesty!"

Dong Gao and Wang Jie spoke almost simultaneously.

However, Jiaqing's mind was already foggy and confused as the effects of the tranquilizing pills began to take hold.

Upon seeing this, the chief eunuch Zhang Jinzhong immediately shouted, "Court adjourned!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)