There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 447 The imperial commander’s personal expedition
Yang Fang originally thought the Qing army was going to fight him to the death, and was also prepared to see the might of the Northern Eight Banners and the Solon army.

As a result, he even took off his pants, and the Qing army actually stopped fighting him?
Yinghe no longer dared to fight the Han army, who had somehow managed to collapse a section of the Xuzhou city wall.

Moreover, the Han army's siege warfare was so fierce that even his newly deployed firearms battalion on the Duancheng defense line was completely powerless against the Han army's firearms and was instantly defeated in a single encounter.

How can we fight like this?
Yinghe is not a reckless man. Even if he hadn't considered building up his army for self-defense before, he would never waste his main force on a war of attrition in Xuzhou, especially since victory is not guaranteed.

To cover his escape, Yinghe left more than 7000 Eight Banner soldiers he had gathered in the inner city as bait, and also sent 1000 Solon soldiers to supervise and assist in the battle.

Unfortunately, it was completely useless!
When the Han army's cannons bombarded the city, the Eight Banners soldiers fled in panic, while the 1000 Solon soldiers who remained simply opened the city gates and surrendered.

"You're saying your commander-in-chief, the puppet Qing governor of Jiangbei, Yinghe, has already fled?" Yang Fang asked the surrendered Solon general Hada (Yan Shi) with wide eyes.

Hada spoke in fluent Beijing dialect: "He has indeed run away. Not only has he run away, but he also expects us, the warriors of the Solon tribe, to risk our lives to cover his escape."

"..."

Yang Fang suddenly asked again, "You just said that you are the Solon tribe of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and now you want to pledge allegiance to my Great Han?"

What Yang Fang really wanted to ask was, how could the famous Solon tribe, as the elite force in the hands of the Manchus, surrender so easily, especially before the battle had even officially begun!

Hada seemed to understand, and his face immediately filled with resentment as he said, "General, the Manchus take whatever they want from our Solon tribe, forbidding us from farming or herding. We once had a good official who taught us how to farm, but the Manchu emperor was furious when he found out and ordered all our land destroyed. He even transferred (or killed) the good official who taught us farming." (From the Qing Dynasty's Veritable Records: "(The Solon) are solely focused on farming, but I fear that over time they will forget their original occupation, which would be of no benefit to the frontier.")
"Although our Solon tribe was incorporated into the Eight Banners by the Manchus, we Solon people were not allowed to participate in the Manchus' imperial examinations, nor could we freely set foot in the Han lands within the Great Wall. We could only wear animal skins and fish skins, live in thatched huts, and fight wild beasts while eating raw meat and drinking blood."

"Decades ago, the Manchu Emperor Yongzheng gave us Solon people firearms. The firearms were very useful and allowed us to hunt better, improving our lives. But later, the Manchu Emperor Qianlong, seeing that we were using firearms, feared that we would no longer dare to fight, so he took all the firearms back."

"Without firearms, the tribe's warriors not only had to eat raw meat and drink blood, but also had to fight wild beasts with swords. Countless warriors died in the mouths of wild beasts. These Manchus regarded my Solon tribe as slaves and tools, while only the Manchus were considered human beings."

"Now that the Manchus can't win on their own and want us Solons to fight for them, then we can naturally choose not to fight for the Manchus!"

Well, after saying all that, the real core point is the last one: the Qing Dynasty was failing, so the Solon tribe also quit.

Of course, the main factor was that the Manchus were inhumane. They treated the Solon tribe like dogs, and even made them live worse than dogs.

The Solon people aren't crazy; it would be strange if they didn't hate the Manchus.

In terms of population, during the early Qing Dynasty under Huang Taiji, the Solon tribe in Heilongjiang had a population of about 100,000. By the time of the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, the population had dwindled to less than 20,000, a sharp decrease of 80%.

This doesn't even take into account the population generated by the Soren tribe. If the consumption on both sides is offset, the number of people born can't keep up with the number of people sent.

That's how awesome my Great Qing Dynasty was; the elite Solon soldiers were almost wiped out.

Haha.

After listening to the other party's explanation, Yang Fang himself was not sure how to comment. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you want to surrender, that's not impossible. Just kill all the Manchu Eight Banner soldiers who surrendered with you, and I will allow your Solon tribe to surrender."

To put it bluntly, it was a pledge of allegiance. This was simply too outrageous. The Soren army, which Yang Fang had previously been somewhat wary of, had surrendered before the battle even began.

According to the rules of the Han army, when they encountered the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing army, they were all killed without exception. There was no need to keep prisoners, as keeping them would only be a waste of food.

The best use for these useless things is to cut them down and use them as fertilizer. If we leave some seedlings, what if they turn the tables and whitewash themselves in future generations?

Based on the principle of not wasting anything, Yang Fang simply decided to keep it for now, and then ask His Majesty to decide whether to keep it or not when His Majesty arrives.

Yang Fang sent the khata away to behead it, and did not pursue the Qing soldiers who had already broken through and escaped in the chaos.

On the one hand, his troops were simply not enough. He had to suppress the city of Xuzhou and put out fires and appease the people everywhere, so he simply couldn't spare enough troops to pursue them.

On the other hand, now that it was dark, even he himself felt it was somewhat inappropriate to lead his troops out in pursuit.

Yang Fang was a fierce general, not a reckless fool. If victory was assured, he would dare to charge into an army of tens of thousands with only a dozen or so riders. But to pursue tens of thousands of elite Manchu troops in the middle of the night, including more than two thousand Solon soldiers, required some careful consideration. He couldn't be too disrespectful.

Moreover, the Han army's strategic objectives have already been achieved.

With the capture of Xuzhou, the Han army now possessed a key outpost for its northern expedition. The strategic initiative in this major northern expedition was now firmly in the hands of the Han army.

……

Nanjing.

The Grand Canal has been largely opened up by the Han army and laborers in Huai'an Prefecture, allowing the Han army to finally use the Grand Canal to transport troops and supplies northward.

It was autumn, and most of the autumn grain tax revenue that was supposed to be stored in the granaries of various provinces this year was intercepted and taken out, and transported directly to the northern front through the Yangtze River waterway, in preparation for the upcoming Northern Expedition.

Nie Yu personally led two thousand imperial guards, along with some secretaries, female officials, and scribes, preparing to depart from Nanjing and travel north along the Grand Canal by boat.

The emperor has personally led the expedition!
For such a large-scale northern expedition, the emperor had to personally lead the troops. Not only did the various armies on the front lines need a nominal supreme commander to direct and coordinate them, but the emperor also had to ensure his control and influence over the army.

Moreover, this Northern Expedition was already ahead of schedule, and it was the kind of expedition that wouldn't stop until it achieved a result.

With such a feat of coming so close to destroying a country and changing a dynasty, even if Nie Yu dared to appoint or give up the position of supreme commander, which general would dare to accept it?

The famous historical tale of Zhong Hui's scheme that harmed three wise men was based on the fact that no one expected that Zhong Hui would inadvertently achieve the great feat of destroying a country, leaving him with no choice but to rebel.

The Han army launched a full-scale northern expedition ahead of schedule. Although the Ministry of Revenue kept saying that the financial burden was heavy and the food was not enough, the money and food were like a woman's cleavage, you can always squeeze some out.

Moreover, the Great Han Dynasty officially announced the opening of the sea last year. With the opening of free trade, customs revenue will increase several times over, and it will only increase every year, not decrease.

Because of the customs revenue and the trade volume of the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Commerce of the Han Dynasty jointly submitted a report to the emperor.

Please advise whether customs revenue should be allocated to the national treasury, the domestic treasury, or divided equally between the two?

Previously, the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou were always the private property of Emperor Qianlong. His policy of isolationism wasn't entirely about maintaining his rule; it was also about monopolizing and controlling the customs profits from trade with foreign merchants.

After all, the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou were the famous "Southern Treasury of the Emperor." When the old dog Qianlong was short of money, he could just take it from the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou.

Nie Yu's final imperial edict read: "Approved. Divide the portions equally according to the prescribed ratio, with nine parts to the national treasury and one part to the imperial treasury."

With a score of 91, the emperor seemed to have lost out, but in reality, he didn't lose any money at all.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, customs revenue already amounted to approximately 800 million taels of silver.

This was still subject to trade restrictions imposed by the closed-door policy, and one part of the 800 million taels was 80 taels. In the early days of the founding imperial family, 80 taels was more than enough to maintain the emperor's luxurious lifestyle and even allow for surplus funds to repair palaces and cultivate hobbies.

Meanwhile, Nie Yu boarded a dragon boat and traveled north along the Grand Canal. After passing through Huai'an Prefecture, he changed course and traveled along the Huai River, quickly arriving at Xuzhou City.

Because Xuzhou had just been captured, the Han army had to appease the people and was also busy fighting fires and rebuilding. Xuzhou was still in a state of wartime ruin, and even a section of the city wall had collapsed.

Bai Nan and Yang Fang, commanders of the Second and Fifth Divisions of the Xuzhou Garrison in Hanzhong, respectively, led their troops out of the city to welcome the emperor.

Nie Yu glanced around and saw Hada standing behind the two men, looking quite reserved: "Is this the Solon camp that wants to surrender to my Han Dynasty?"

Hada immediately knelt down before Nie Yu according to the Manchu etiquette, saying, "Hada of the Butha Solon tribe pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han!"

"Get up, get up! We Han people don't kneel!"

Nie Yu immediately ordered Hada to stand up, and then said, "The Solon people are also a minority group in Liaodong who have been oppressed by the Manchus. They are all our brothers and sisters from the Han Dynasty. Brothers should share a common hatred and fight against the Manchus together!"

In short, the Solon people are now considered a brotherly minority of the Han Dynasty.

Since we're brothers, we should fight the Manchus together.

(End of this chapter)