There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 473 The Shanxi Uprising
Shanxi.

Shanxi is located at a strategic point in the north, right at the crossroads where Shaanxi leads east to the Central Plains.

As long as the Manchus firmly controlled Shanxi, not only would the White Lotus sect find it difficult to advance eastward from Shaanxi into the Central Plains, but even the Han army would have to deploy a large number of troops in the Central Plains to defend against enemies coming from Shanxi.

However, the Qing court now has no time to attend to such an important strategic location.

Shanxi is indeed important, but its terrain is really unpleasant, making it a military disaster zone.

Geographically, Shanxi Province is almost entirely surrounded by mountains. To its east are the Taihang Mountains and Niangziguan Pass, to its south are the Zhongtiao Mountains and Wangwu Mountains, which together form the southern barrier of Shanxi. To its north are the Hengshan Mountains, Wutai Mountains, and the Great Wall, and to its west are the Lüliang Mountains, which form the boundary between the Loess Plateau and the Fenhe River Valley.

It truly lives up to its name of "mountains and rivers inside and out," as its terrain is even more enclosed than Fujian, with mountains covering an astonishing 70% of the province, making farming extremely difficult.

The only advantage might be that Shanxi is rich in coal mines, and geographically it runs east to west, blocking Shaanxi's eastern exit while also providing a military barrier for the northern nomadic tribes.

However, Shanxi, which was originally a bulwark for the north, has been in turmoil since the Qing government forced coal prices down two years ago, disregarding the lives of Shanxi coal miners, which provoked a mass uprising among the coal miners.

The coal miners' uprising not only disrupted the situation in Shanxi, but also the coal mining industry in Shanxi. The uprising also affected Zhili, Henan, Shandong, and Shaanxi, causing large-scale coal shortages.

The coal shortage triggered a surge in prices, to the point that even the Manchu nobles in Beijing could barely afford fine rice and grains.

The Qing court initially reacted quickly, urgently mobilizing a large army from Henan to Shanxi to suppress the rebellion. However, only halfway through the suppression, the Han army suddenly marched north and besieged Xuzhou.

Having no other option, the Qing army had to leave Shanxi and head south to Xuzhou to provide relief.

The main force of the Qing army marched south, and the Qing army that was still besieging the Shanxi rebels was left with only the local Green Standard Army of Shanxi. The fighting power of these local Green Standard Army soldiers was completely inferior to that of the Eight Banners and Solon Battalion under Yinghe's command.

After a year of fighting, the Shanxi rebels were not weakened or wiped out; on the contrary, their numbers only increased.

The Qing Dynasty was the Qing Dynasty; it was rotten to the core. Even though they knew the rebels were forced into rebellion by officials, they still suppressed the rebels while taking the opportunity to levy exorbitant taxes and levies.

The destruction of the anti-righteous army benefits the Qing Dynasty and the imperial court, while only the blood-stained wealth obtained through extortion and plunder truly belongs to them.

Now, with the successive defeats on the three major battlefields of Xuzhou, Shandong, and Henan, and the annihilation of tens of thousands of Eight Banner troops, the Qing court had no choice but to make a strategic retreat.

The political impact quickly spread to Shanxi. The Shanxi Green Standard Army had been dealing with the rebels in a perfunctory manner, but now they were suddenly told that the Qing Dynasty had suffered a crushing defeat, and even the Eight Banners officials in the capital were preparing to flee.

Yes, it was an escape. The Qing government's strategic retreat was directly interpreted by Shanxi as an escape.

This is not surprising, because the Qing court did indeed plan to flee. Where would they flee to? Naturally, to the area outside the Great Wall. The retreat was merely a fig leaf.

Moreover, in order to better pack up and escape when the time came, Yongxing deliberately did not inform the local officials in Shanxi. Even Bolin, the governor of Shanxi who was a Manchu, was unaware of the specific situation.

It wasn't until the Qing court's hasty withdrawal, which left southern Zhili in chaos, that the civil and military officials who were still standing dumbfounded in Shanxi suddenly realized that the court... bah, the Eight Banners dogs were abandoning them and running away.

As the news spread, the various garrisons of the Shanxi Green Standard Army, which had been supporting bandits to make money, no longer cared about suppressing the bandits or the imperial military orders. They all hurriedly led their troops back to their hometown garrisons.

Why run back? To take advantage of the chaos and raise the flag, of course!

However, they merely raised a flag, not openly rebelled. At most, they killed the prefect, seized power, and established their own independent regime.

Because the Green Standard Army, which had been suppressing the rebels, ran back to seize power and territory, the remaining prefectures in Shanxi also heard the news of the Qing court's defeat and flight, and even Zhili (present-day Hebei) was abandoned.

In less than half a month, most of Shanxi province has fallen into the hands of the authorities.

In various prefectures and counties, dozens of rebel armies of different sizes and with different slogans sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

Some of their teams consisted of only a few hundred people, while others numbered in the thousands or even tens of thousands.

These ragtag militias, operating under a motley crew, included coal miners and peasants who, like the White-Headed Army, were forced into rebellion by officials; mountain bandits and outlaws who took advantage of the chaos; and even local militias funded by gentry for self-defense.

Bo Linren, the governor of Shanxi, was dumbfounded. Looking at the war reports and documents from various places that he received almost three times a day, he could hardly believe his eyes: "This... how is this possible? Shanxi is such a small place, where did so many rebels and traitors come from, and they are all against our Great Qing? What about the Green Standard Army stationed there? Are they just sitting around doing nothing?"

Shanxi Provincial Governor Su Na reminded him, "Your Excellency, have you forgotten? The Green Standard Army has already retreated to its respective posts..."

I can't say more about what happened next, or I'll just be asking for trouble. Those Green Standard Army generals were too audacious; they actually dared to kill the prefect and seize power.

Although these guys claimed that the prefect had died of illness and they had been appointed to manage all affairs of the prefecture and protect the people, the people in Taiyuan weren't stupid. They thought all the prefects had died at the same time and left the government to these military men.

What the hell are you talking about?

After Suna's reminder, Bolin calmed down instantly and began to think about his recent situation.

Winter has arrived, and winter in Shanxi is not easy. So although rebel forces have emerged in various places, they are only staying within their own small territories and have not yet threatened Taiyuan City.

But when spring comes next year, the situation will be hard to predict!
Faced with rebels roaming the entire province, and only he, the Manchu governor, still considered a "loyal subject" of the Qing Dynasty, the question of who the real rebels were became a real problem.

Because only those with little power are considered rebels, and currently, the least powerful person in Shanxi Province is Bo Lin, the Shanxi governor, who can only control the city of Taiyuan. Those rebels are called rebels, but in reality, they have all raised the banner of Han characters, although under the Han banner, they have their own separate banners.

Bolin carefully studied the map and discovered that Taiyuan had been completely surrounded. Except for a few counties and prefectures, most of the remaining areas had nominally been given the surname "Han".

Even in the few prefectures controlled by the Shanxi Green Standard Army, the banners wavered.

If the Han army really marches into Shanxi, these guys will probably immediately change their allegiance and defect to the Han.

The situation deteriorated too quickly, giving Bolin no time to react.

After pondering the map for a long time, Bo Lin said, "Issue the governor's order: Taiyuan shall immediately be placed under martial law! No one, whether official, civilian, or gentry, is allowed to enter but not leave. Furthermore, order all gentry and wealthy households in the city to donate grain to assist the government in resisting the rebels!"

"Subordinate to obey!"

At the governor's command, all the officials of Taiyuan City, including Su Na, immediately bowed and agreed.

Jing An, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, asked, "Your Excellency, should we call on wealthy households to contribute money to recruit soldiers?"

Bo Lin shook his head and said, "No need. Not only should they not be allowed to recruit soldiers, but a notice should also be issued that anyone who dares to recruit soldiers on their own will be punished for treason!"

Bolin was very cautious, fearing that if he allowed the gentry and wealthy families to raise their own troops, they would not only be unable to help defend the city, but might also turn against him at a critical moment.

However, even without the gentry and wealthy families recruiting soldiers, Bo Lin himself had to find a way to do so. At present, his only means of controlling Taiyuan Prefecture was his more than 3000 loyal Fu Biao Battalion.

He spent a lot of money to cultivate these local officials, providing them with ample food, pay, and resources, and even allowing them to plunder and harm the people.

The situation is not yet at its worst, so the Fubiao Battalion is willing to obey and support the orders of Bolin, the Manchu governor.

But when the Han army actually reaches Shanxi, it's hard to say whether the Fubiao Battalion will still obey orders. But Bolin has no choice but to take it one step at a time.

Although the officials in Taiyuan City outwardly obeyed Bo Lin's orders with utmost respect, it was hard to say what they truly thought.

The reason they are now obedient is mainly because Bolin has 3000 Fubiao troops.

If things really turn sour, these 3000 Fubiao Battalion soldiers could completely take over Taiyuan City.

……

Meanwhile, in the southeastern part of Shanxi Province, in the territory of Lu'an Prefecture bordering Zhangde Prefecture in Henan Province, the leader of the White-Headed Army was meeting with an envoy sent by the Han Dynasty.

"Lin Xin, the envoy of the Great Han, greets Heavenly King Chen!" Lin Xin, dressed in the elegant robes of a scholar, bowed to Chen Shan, the leader of the White-Haired Army opposite him.

Chen Shan, without presuming upon his status, returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, then eagerly asked, "Enough with the pleasantries. I came to see you because I heard you were willing to provide us with food and weapons. Is that true?"

Chen Shan's bluntness startled Lin Xin for a moment, but he quickly recovered and laughed, "The Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty is a man of his word, so of course I mean it, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Shan interrupted him, saying, "Just state your conditions! Don't waste time."

Lin Xin stopped being polite and said, "Coal, our Great Han needs the coal mines controlled by your White-Headed Army!"

"Sure!" Chen Shan readily agreed.

"If that doesn't work, we can talk again..." Lin Xin started to say, then suddenly realized something and asked incredulously, "Wait, what did you just say? You said it's possible?"

Chen Shan said, “I know what you’re trying to say, but we’re not the kind of people who like to argue. We’re all brothers in the anti-Qing army. The Qing dogs haven’t been wiped out yet, and we don’t want to fight among ourselves. That would only benefit the Qing dogs. You want coal, and we’ll take our food and weapons. We’ll each get what we need.”

At this point, Chen Shan paused, then added, "However, let's make this clear beforehand: we don't understand the current situation, and neither do our brothers in this remote corner of Shanxi. In any case, we will not surrender to your Han emperor with our men until your Han army has captured the capital!"

Goodness, that's quite a blunt statement, but it's also reasonable.

The White-Haired Army seemed to have withstood the Qing army's encirclement and suppression for more than a year, but in reality, they were already exhausted and lacked food, weapons, and everything else.

The Han Dynasty only wants their coal in exchange for food and weapons, which the White-Haired Army is naturally willing to do. After all, when they were coal miners, the coal they mined was transported to other provinces, so they were just going back to their old profession.

As for the White-Haired Army refusing to surrender to the Han Dynasty, that's not a problem. They said they wouldn't surrender to the Han Dynasty until Beijing was captured by the Han army, but that also meant they wouldn't be enemies of the Han Dynasty.

If they are not enemies, then everything is fine. The Han Dynasty will unify the world, and it will only be a matter of time before the Manchus are destroyed.

After learning the initial results of the negotiations, Nie Yu did not take the opportunity to extort money from Bai Toujun. Instead, he decided to cooperate with them normally.

Shanxi is not easy to conquer. If things really fall apart, it will probably take the Han army a lot of effort to get into Shanxi.

Therefore, the best approach to dealing with the White-haired Army is to maintain good relations and win them over. They are all poor souls forced into rebellion, and it would be best if they could be persuaded to surrender. If they cannot be persuaded to surrender, it is best not to antagonize them for the time being.

(End of this chapter)