There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 452 Shandong
Jinan, Shandong.

"Report!"

"The Governor-General of Jiangbei and Commander-in-Chief of Jiangbei, Yinghe Ying, has arrived at the Governor's Office and has summoned the Governor!"

The Shandong governor, Yue Qi, was somewhat surprised to hear the news. He knew Ying, who had recently traveled south from Shandong to support Yang Hu, the scoundrel who was the prefect of Xuzhou.

Why did he suddenly come back to Shandong in person and specifically ask to see him?
Yue Qi was very puzzled. He had never doubted that Yinghe would lose. Not only were the troops Yinghe brought with him elite troops of the imperial court, but there were also a considerable number of Eight Banners troops from beyond the Great Wall and Solon troops, making their fighting strength arguably the best in the Qing Dynasty.

Moreover, the British had only been marching south for a few months, so even if they were to be defeated, it shouldn't have happened so quickly.

Yue Qi's many doubts were soon answered.

Upon arriving at the governor's mansion and seeing Yinghe's disheveled appearance, Yue Qi's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition rising within him. He cautiously approached and asked, "General Ying, why have you suddenly returned to Shandong? Is it because Xuzhou is short of supplies and weapons...?"

Before he could finish asking the question, Yinghe interrupted him coldly, saying, "Governor Yue, there's no need to talk about Xuzhou anymore. Xuzhou has already fallen into the hands of the Southern Army. I only managed to break through the encirclement and avoid being trapped by the Southern Army. Now that the Southern Army has taken Xuzhou, their next step is Shandong. I urge Governor Yue to immediately begin preparations for the defense of Shandong."

After Yinghe finished speaking, Yue Qi was completely dumbfounded. What had he just heard?
Xuzhou is gone already? How could it be so fast?
Yue Qi was surprised and quickly asked Ying He for details.

Yinghe didn't hide anything. Apart from some things that couldn't be said, he told Yue Qi all the details, including the absurd situation of the collapse of the Xuzhou city wall, without making any changes.

Yue Qi was shocked again after hearing this: "Commander Ying, you said the Xuzhou city wall suddenly collapsed... Is that true?"

"I know it's unbelievable, but it's true, the Xuzhou city wall has collapsed." Yinghe said helplessly.

If you hadn't experienced it firsthand, who would have imagined that such a massive and sturdy city wall could suddenly collapse? It physically turned Xuzhou's once impregnable defenses into a gaping hole.

Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, and visibility was so low that everyone could not see their own hand in front of their face, which made the fighting quite restrictive.

This gave Yinghe the opportunity to lead his army to break through the encirclement, but the price was quite heavy. Of the 50,000 elite troops he brought, seven or eight tenths were lost in the battle.

These are not "renewable" local Green Standard Army and Han Banner slaves; the losses are all genuine Manchu Eight Banners, the kind where every death is one less!

The Manchu Eight Banners system was indeed corrupt, and its fighting capacity had declined drastically. But even with its declining fighting capacity, it was still the true Eight Banners, the foundation upon which the Manchus relied to maintain their rule.

If the Manchu Eight Banners suffer too much loss, the Qing court will become outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

To put it bluntly, these Manchu Eight Banners were the power class that the Manchu Qing dynasty used to suppress Han Chinese officials and gentry. It was through these Eight Banners that the Manchu Qing dynasty suppressed Han Chinese officials and gentry, thereby gaining absolute power.

The fundamental reason for the Qing Dynasty's increasing weakness after the White Lotus Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion was that the Eight Banners in the economically important towns were wiped out by the rebel army, which greatly weakened the Qing Dynasty's control over these towns.

Yue Qi had recovered his composure. Seeing that Ying He's expression seemed genuine, he immediately asked with a serious expression, "Commander Ying, what do you suggest I do now?"

The provincial governor, who also served as acting commander-in-chief, actually referred to himself as "your subordinate."

Even though Yinghe was the Governor-General of Jiangbei and the Commander-in-Chief of Jiangbei, this was still too humble and clearly showed that he did not want to take the blame.

Yinghe saw through it, but he didn't care much. What he wanted was overall command of Shandong's military defense: "Alright, then listen to me. Immediately summon troops from all the towns in the province and coordinate their defense!"

Yue Qi reminded him, "General Ying, the Southern Army has just captured Xuzhou. Isn't it a bit too hasty for us to mobilize troops from the entire province now?"

Yue Qi not only reminded Yinghe that he was in a hurry, but also pointed out that Shandong was already very close to Zhili. Moreover, Shandong was currently Zhili's main financial center, and it also housed the Duke Yansheng's mansion.

What if we rashly withdraw all the troops stationed in each town and something goes wrong?
Yinghe said, "The Southern Army is not easy to fight. Even after the fall of Xuzhou, I estimated that the Southern Army must have mastered a special kind of firearm. Moreover, the Southern Army has already captured Xuzhou and is now bordering Shandong. Even if we don't gather our troops, the Southern Army will definitely move north quickly. Otherwise, we will be wasting a great opportunity. The commander of the Southern Army is not that stupid."

Yue Qi frowned, then relaxed, seemingly convinced.

Convince me my ass!

All Yue Qi wanted was for Ying He to give him an excuse. If Ying He gave him an excuse, the Han army wouldn't be stupid and would definitely march north quickly. Moreover, Ying He kept referring to himself as "this commander," implying that he was taking full responsibility and that if anything went wrong, it wouldn't be his responsibility in Shandong.

This is what the Qing court looked like during the Jiaqing era. It swept away the rampant corruption that had plagued the country during the reign of the old dog Qianlong, and the governors and high-ranking officials in each province were gradually replaced by "honest and incorruptible officials".

Yue Qi, the current governor of Shandong, was a well-known incorruptible official during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, and was even recorded in historical records as "honest and incorruptible".

Ten years ago, this guy was promoted to Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture. Because his predecessor was dismissed for corruption, upon arriving at the prefectural office, he immediately ordered the main hall, living quarters, and all the furnishings and utensils to be thoroughly washed, to show that he would not associate with corrupt officials. And then…

That was the end of it. Yue Qi insisted on being an "honest official" for his entire life, but governing the local area? That was none of his business.

Historically, the only verifiable achievements of this guy were his integrity and frugality. He was truly honest and frugal, and he left behind no family property or wealth after his death.

Emperor Jiaqing thought this guy was a really good official, and issued an edict to transfer him to Jiangsu to crack down on corruption there. Whether it had any effect is unknown, because after Yue Qi went there, he seemed to have done some things, but also seemed to have done nothing at all.

Influenced by Yue Qi, the Jiangsu officialdom did indeed refrain from extravagance, but local officials still engaged in corruption, and the people continued to suffer.

Once Yinghe gained command of the Qing army in Shandong, he immediately ordered the Green Standard Army of Dengzhou and Yanzhou, along with the Eight Banners troops stationed in Qingzhou, to come to Jinan Prefecture for unified assembly and mobilization.

Shandong, as the hometown of the Duke Yansheng, was a place with a rich literary tradition, a prosperous economy, and a major grain-producing province in the north. Therefore, the Green Standard Army had very few troops stationed there, only two towns, totaling less than 18,000 men.

Even the General of Qingzhou was dismissed in the mid-Qianlong period, leaving only a Deputy Commander of Qingzhou to be stationed there, because it was really unnecessary, as it was too comfortable there.

The only trouble that has ever occurred here so far is probably the Qingshui Rebellion that broke out more than 20 years ago during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.

The Qingshui Sect was a branch of the White Lotus Sect in Shandong. The uprising was not very large in scale and lasted for only a month, but it broke out during the most prosperous period of Emperor Qianlong's reign.

For Emperor Qianlong at the time, this was undoubtedly a humiliating uprising.

Enraged, Emperor Qianlong had the general of Yanzhou garrison killed for being too slow in suppressing the bandits.

This is also the only example of a general in Yanzhou who was executed for being too slow in suppressing bandits.

When Yinghe issued the order to mobilize troops, the Green Standard Army and Eight Banners troops stationed in various towns in Shandong dared not delay. Twenty years ago, a general was beheaded for being a little slow, and they hurriedly led their troops to Jinan Prefecture to assemble, without even taking much food or fodder.

In a short period of time, Jinan Prefecture assembled nearly 40,000 troops. At the same time, Yinghe ordered the use of money and grain to recruit and train soldiers in preparation for the defense of the city.

With so many troops, plus the local militias that needed to be recruited and trained, Jinan Prefecture's food supplies soon became quite tight.

There was no other way; after all, Shandong's grain supplies not only had to cover its own needs but also had to supply Beijing, so of course there wouldn't be enough.

What if we run out of food supplies?
Of course, we should go to Qufu County and ask the Duke Yansheng's Mansion for it.

The Duke Yansheng's Mansion has received so many favors and rewards from the Qing Dynasty. Now that the Qing Dynasty is in danger, it must repay them all with interest.

The current Duke Yansheng is named Kong Qingrong. He inherited the title at the age of seven and is only just over fifteen years old this year. He hasn't even grown his hair yet, but he is already facing repeated extortion and blackmail from the Qing court.

Even before all of Jiangnan had been lost, the Qing court was already demanding money and grain from the Duke Yansheng's mansion. After Jiangnan was completely lost, the Qing court intensified its demands for money and grain, even requiring the Duke Yansheng's mansion to provide military provisions when Yinghe marched south to Xuzhou.

It can be said that the Duke Yansheng's mansion has been almost emptied out by the Qing court. They can no longer produce grain, and much of what was given to them earlier has been converted into silver.

Yinghe sent people to Qufu to ask for grain, offering silver instead if they couldn't get any. Although the Duke of Yansheng's mansion had been crying poverty and was indeed impoverished, Yinghe didn't care. If they couldn't get silver, he would rob people, grain, and money.

The Duke of Yansheng's mansion dared not resist at all. Although they were located in the middle of Jinan and Xuzhou, the Han army had not yet entered Shandong, so they could only obediently accept their fate.

However, while accepting his fate, he was secretly making plans.

As soon as the Han army entered Shandong and reached Qufu County, they immediately surrendered the entire county to the Han.

That damned Qing Dynasty, let whoever wants to stay stay there!

Not only was the Duke Yansheng's mansion, which had been "hereditary in surrendering," forced into a corner and considering surrendering, but a group of people in Caozhou Prefecture, west of the Grand Canal, were also secretly plotting and planning.

On the surface, they all belonged to scattered farmers, laborers, and small workers, but in the shadows, they had a unified organization.

——Tianlijiao!

(End of this chapter)