There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 443 The Full-Scale Northern Expedition
Kang Jitian's last sentence is the key point.

Yinghe's qualifications were too low, even lower than those of Na Yancheng, the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi who was being beaten by Zhang Zhengmo in Sichuan. He was able to lead a large army in the field only because of Jiaqing's appreciation and promotion.

Last year, they won another great victory in Henan, which pleased Emperor Jiaqing so much that he was awarded a three-eyed peacock feather hat as a special reward.

Although the three-eyed peacock feather had little practical use, it was the highest honor bestowed upon Manchu civil officials. It was roughly equivalent to an honorary title like "Shang Zhuguo" (a high-ranking official title). In the less than three hundred years of the Qing Dynasty's history, only a handful of people were awarded the three-eyed peacock feather.

The last person to be awarded the Three-Eyed Peacock Feather was Grandpa Fukang Anfu.

It can be said that Jiaqing's continuous favors and trust have left Yinghe with Jiaqing's political imprint.

Even if Yinghe were to genuinely pledge allegiance to Prince Cheng, Yongxing, who is now the de facto regent, he would not gain their trust. Instead, he would be marginalized for betraying his master and gradually stripped of his power.

"So, what you mean is?" Yinghe finally believed Kang Jitian and Tiebao's explanation, but he remained wary.

Tie Bao bluntly stated: "It's very simple. Only by having a large army and maintaining its own power can the British commander protect himself."

Good heavens, that's so blunt, it almost stumped Yinghe. After a long silence, he finally said, "As a member of the Eight Banners of the Great Qing, my Suochuoluo clan has received the country's favor for generations. How could I possibly do something like holding military power for myself and betraying the country for personal gain? Besides, why would I cooperate with you?"

Kang Jitian and his partner exchanged a glance, both secretly cursing Yinghe for deliberately playing dumb.

The claim that the Suochuoluo clan has received imperial favor for generations is false. Although the Suochuoluo clan originated from the Upper Three Banners, they were among the lowest-ranking Eight Banners. Currently, Yinghe is the most prominent member of the Suochuoluo clan in terms of official career and rank.

(After the Xinhai Revolution, the main branch of the Suochuoluo clan, who were Manchus, all changed their surname to Suo.)
Moreover, the second half of Yinghe's sentence is the core of the problem: he could have done the thing of having his own army and being self-reliant on his own, so why did he have to cooperate with Kang Jitian and Tiebao?

Kang Jitian suddenly laughed and said, "General Ying, we two officials are only suggesting that you hold onto your military power. Of course, we cannot do such a thing as selling out our country for personal gain. Even if we were to do it, how could the Southern Dynasty emperor tolerate and let us go, given the extent of his hatred for our Great Qing and the Manchus? It's not like history books haven't written that even if we really made countless great contributions, in the end, to be on the safe side, we might be able to say that we accidentally fell into the water or died of illness, which is not a very respectable thing... Hehe."

Upon hearing this, Tie Bao nodded slightly. This was also the main reason why he was willing to cooperate unconditionally with Kang Jitian and visit Yinghe late at night.

As the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner of the Qing Dynasty, and a Manchu by all accounts, if he were captured by the Han army, he would certainly face certain death.

Even after death, they cannot be buried; their heads are chopped off and turned into a mound of skulls.

The Han army had captured many Manchu cities in the south and carried out massacres in those cities, which had a tremendous impact.

In the north, none of the Manchu bannermen dared to surrender. Even the bondservants, when faced with the approaching Han army, would often choose to fight to the death if they had the means.

The Han army didn't care much about this. Whether the Manchus in the north were willing to surrender or not was irrelevant. It would only take a little more effort, and even if they surrendered, the Han army would still start killing them anyway.

This was not only an internal military order of the Han army, but also an imperial edict issued by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Whenever they saw Manchu bannermen, all men were killed, but women and children (under the age of 10) were spared and allowed to stay, but they had to change their surnames and given names to Han surnames and speak Han language.

Those who fail to learn within a year will not be killed by the emperor, but will all be punished by being sent to the mines as miners.

This represents the complete extinction of the Manchu people, both in terms of population and culture.

Tie Bao chimed in, picking up where Kang Jitian left off: "Marshal Ying, in the current situation, His Majesty is very likely in trouble, and Prince Cheng is now acting as regent. As His Majesty's man, Prince Cheng will certainly not trust you. So, to put it bluntly, if you want to survive, your only option is to amass a powerful army and become influential."

"Now we are in a time of chaos, and in such times, military power is of utmost importance!"

"As for what Marshal Ying said about why he should cooperate with us two, it's because you have no one else to rely on. These tens of thousands of Eight Banners and Solon elite troops need someone to share your burden. We two can't say we're any invaluable pawns, but we're still useful and can advise you on military affairs..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yinghe couldn't help but sneer: "Heh, share the burden? Share the burden of Xuzhou, or the predicament of my Great Qing losing Jiangbei?"

Tie Bao and Kang Jitian were immediately embarrassed by Ying He's sarcasm; they had indeed lost territory far too quickly. However, seeing that Ying He was willing to engage with them, they decided to go all out and said, "General Ying is right. We two were indeed careless in losing Jiangbei, but we also lost northern Anhui and the heart of Henan. This is enough to demonstrate the strength of the Southern Han army and the sharpness of their firearms."

"Furthermore... we two are the same as Marshal Ying; we two can also be His Majesty's men!"

The last sentence was a prepared statement by Tie Bao and Kang Jitian: as long as they were all in the same boat, there was a chance to cooperate and board the ship.

If their political affiliation is unclear, Na Ying and others might actually distance themselves from them in order to protect themselves.

However, if either of them were the Emperor's men, then everything would be much easier.

Although Tie Bao and Kang Jitian lost several major battles, they still possessed basic military capabilities. Even the major battles they lost were due to insufficient troop strength and poor combat skills.

Bringing these two under its wing would not be without its benefits for Yinghe.

Most importantly, Yinghe would not have to pay any price, as long as he was given some political asylum to prevent the two from being purged by Prince Cheng.

……

On the Han army's side, Bai Nan had recently captured Suzhou and established a supply line there before heading north to Xuzhou to join forces with Yang Fang.

The main forces of the Second and Fifth Divisions joined forces, and the Han army besieging Xuzhou now numbered nearly 10,000.

Moreover, it wasn't just the main forces of the Second and Fifth Divisions who had just completed the initial strategic objectives of the Northern Expedition; the Han court in Nanjing received urgent reports from spies in the north that Emperor Jiaqing might be seriously ill, and even power struggles might erupt within the puppet Qing regime itself.

The Han people finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Plans can’t keep up with changes!

The original strategic plan of the Han Dynasty was to first launch a small-scale northern expedition to recover the prefectures north of the Yangtze River, advance the battle line, and capture the outposts of the northern expedition.

Then, they would slowly accumulate strength and wait for the right time to launch a full-scale northern expedition to drive the Manchu barbarians out of the Central Plains.

However, a large-scale war like the Northern Expedition was destined to be incomparable to ordinary battles; it was not something that could be started or stopped at will.

Once a real fight breaks out, the consequences will be beyond your control.

Unless one side is completely driven out of the Central Plains, it will only be a matter of life and death, and there will be no absurd situation of harmonious coexistence or equal governance.

Moreover, the Qing Dynasty was already in a very bad situation. Although it seemed to still retain a large territory and be on par with or even slightly surpass the Han Dynasty, it had actually lost all its core tax-generating towns and major grain-producing areas. Even the northern half it retained was mostly occupied by war and famine.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they've reached a dead end.

Even if the Han Dynasty didn't want to fight, the situation with the Manchus would force the Han Dynasty to a decisive battle. If they didn't fight quickly, the Manchus would be overwhelmed by internal uprisings and famines.

Therefore, after receiving urgent intelligence from his spies, Nie Yu pondered for two days straight and finally made up his mind.

A northern expedition is imperative!
This is not the small-scale Northern Expedition we are currently undertaking, but a full-scale Northern Expedition against the Qing Dynasty!
He didn't have much time left. Not only was the Manchu Qing dynasty pressing closer and closer, forcing the Han dynasty to fight a decisive battle, but the global landscape was also changing rapidly.

The First Opium War was said to be forty years away from taking place, but that doesn’t mean that the Western colonial powers did nothing during those forty years.

The Gallic rooster was about to bring the shock of the Napoleonic Wars to Europeans. The Portuguese in Macau, which had just been forcibly reclaimed by the Han Dynasty, were facing the imminent destruction of their homeland, Portugal.

Luzon Island, south of Taiwan, is still a Spanish colony. However, after Portugal was destroyed, Spain experienced the Franco-French Revolution, which exhausted Spain's resources and weakened its control over its overseas colonies.

This year, the British also officially confirmed their plan for full-scale overseas expansion and the splitting and merger of the East India Company.

Even though the East India Company had just signed a treaty with the Han Dynasty, it was at most a delay. With the support of the Irish, Dai Ying was now brimming with confidence, feeling incredibly powerful.

Neighboring North Korea and Japan... those two are rather abstract.

The centuries-old era of factional strife in North Korea is finally coming to an end, and the next version will be "power politics" where the maternal relatives hold absolute power.

Japan isn't quite that bad, but it's not much better. The current Shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, is going from being single-minded like the previous Shogunate to being caught in a dilemma.

The reforms of the first two generations differed. One pursued economic reforms and urbanization at all costs, even hoping to strengthen the shogunate by opening the seas. The other resorted to any means necessary, suppressing all rebellions and progressive ideas, and using oppressive policies to maintain its rule.

Tokugawa Ienari felt that neither approach was feasible, so he simply gave up and enjoyed life. He neither allowed the opening of the country nor urbanization, nor dared to truly and bloodily suppress the Rangaku (Westernized Japanese scholars who advocated opening the country) among the common people.

In short, his strategy was to procrastinate. He would delay as long as possible, because he wanted to enjoy life. Even if the shogunate was about to fall, he would wait until he died before it fell.

Xuzhou, Xiao County.

Xiao County had long since become Han territory, and they were currently working day and night to build siege equipment, which was being continuously transported to the Han army camp in Xuzhou City, forty miles away.

"Hmm, it tastes good. The rolled noodles from Xiao County are really good, but they're not filling enough to be used as marching rations." Bai Nan finished a hot rolled noodle in a few bites and then gave his comment.

Yang Fang laughed and said, "It was originally just a local snack that the common people came up with. If we really use it as military rations, the officials in the court will probably scold us for wasting money."

Bai Nan smiled, then looked at the besieged city of Xuzhou and said with a bitter face, "Before I came here, I thought Xuzhou was an important town in the Central Plains and should be an easy city to attack on the plains. But after I arrived, what the hell is this terrain? It's backed by the Yellow River and surrounded by mountains on all sides?"

"No rush, no rush. We've been besieging it for almost two months now," Yang Fang said, her smile fading. "In a few more days, the labor camp should be able to break through. At that time, no matter how difficult it is to attack Xuzhou, they absolutely won't be able to stop us."

Bai Nan asked, "It can really be blown up? That's a city wall!"

“I’m not sure either, but this plan was proposed by His Majesty. Even if we can’t blow it open, we can still break through the city once the siege cannons and reinforcements arrive,” Yang Fang said.

The two men sat around the main camp, discussing and chatting about siege tactics, while outside, the civilian laborers were busily digging tunnels and trenches.

They dug for two months straight, and they had dug countless tunnels. They were not far from the Xuzhou city wall.

Such a large-scale tunnel digging operation could not be kept secret from the Qing army in Xuzhou.

On the city wall, Yinghe, dressed in cotton armor, was patrolling back and forth, scouting for enemy activity.

Through the telescope (a gift from Emperor Jiaqing), Yinghe saw that Han soldiers and laborers seemed to be digging trenches and tunnels: "Is the Southern army preparing to launch a siege from underground?"

Kang Jitian said, "That should be correct. The Southern Army launched a feint attack two months ago when they first arrived in Xuzhou. Seeing that it was difficult to take the city, they changed to besieging it and at the same time organized the recruitment of laborers to dig tunnels."

Tie Bao also said, "But don't worry, Commander Ying, I have made arrangements in advance. I have ordered the soldiers to set up water tanks in various parts of the city, and I have also ordered the laborers to stand by. Once the water tanks hear any movement, they will immediately dig in the opposite direction. After digging through, they will pour water in and drown those southern soldiers."

“That’s good,” Yinghe nodded and said, “but we still need to be careful. The Southern Army has sharp firearms and was able to take over Jiangnan and usurp the throne. They should not be underestimated. Double the number of laborers we sent before, and I will also allocate an additional 10,000 troops to be deployed at various city gates to deal with any sudden battle situations.”

"The handsome and wise man!"

Tie Bao and Kang Jitian quickly flattered him in unison.

Of course, these additional deployments made by the British are indeed sufficient to deal with ordinary siege warfare.

However, this time the Han army didn't come to attack the city from underground!
Two days later, the Han army's laborers worked day and night in shifts to excavate the site.

"when!"

"Dang! Dang!"

"No, why can't I dig anymore... Wait, I found it, I found it."

"Quickly, Xiao Liu, go and inform the Han army's commander!"

Before long, Yang Fang and Bai Nan hurriedly got up and were quickly putting on their armor.

Yang Fang asked anxiously, "How is it? What's the situation? Have they already dug down to the city wall?"

The messenger soldier reported, "Reporting to Commander Yang and Commander Bai, the laborers have indeed dug to the foundation of Xuzhou City and are asking whether to continue digging."

Having received a definite reply, Yang Fang remained expressionless: "No need. Have all the laborers withdraw! Leave only a few inside. Also, send an order to the demolition team to prepare to bring the coffins in!"

Yang Fang immediately sensed something very strange about bringing a coffin into the venue.

Since coffins are for the dead, when His Majesty issued the decree to him, he almost thought he had misread it.

Is His Majesty joking that Xuzhou City can be breached with a coffin lid?
However, His Majesty's decree also stated that he was only to give it a try, and even if it failed, Nanjing had already sent reinforcements, and had also brought siege cannons on large ships.

As soon as Yang Fang gave the order, a temporary demolition team responsible for blasting went down into the tunnel. They were originally artillerymen from the artillery battalion, and they were carrying gunpowder barrels used for firing cannons, as well as two coffin boards, as they ran inside.

One set is for demolition, and one set is a spare.

Lacking experience, they didn't know how much gunpowder to use, so they could only do it by the measure (Anhui dialect).

After closing the coffin lid, the makeshift demolition experts looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Shall we ignite it?"

"Stop talking nonsense, light the fire! Success or failure hinges on this."

"it is good!"

"Sizzle!"

"Damn, it's burning so fast! Hurry, hurry, don't get buried alive!"

(End of this chapter)