Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 609 Green Standard Army

"They've given out chicken eggs! They've given out chicken eggs!"

"Everyone, young and old, come out! Chickens are being distributed!"

Under Lin Dao's strict demands, the core members of the God Worshipping Society all had their pig tails shaved off with electric clippers.

These people nowadays wear cloths around their heads and spread information in villages and towns throughout Guiping County while banging gongs and drums.

"At noon five days from now, gather at Rhinoceros Ridge, west of Jintian Village~"

"As long as people show up, regardless of gender or age, everyone gets an egg and a bowl of rice porridge."

"Guys, young and old, you absolutely have to go!"

Now that the autumn harvest is over, we have officially entered the off-season for farming.

Grain officials and tax collectors in various places have long since squeezed the people dry.

In particular, those who lent money, landlords, gentry, and monks, instigated local ruffians and scoundrels to beat up beggars and force them to pay their debts.

Countless tragedies have occurred.

Although the autumn harvest had just ended, the people were still destitute.

Almost all of the year's income, apart from growing grain, was wiped out.

They usually rely on sweet potatoes, potatoes, and wild vegetables to get by.

As we all know, eating too much sweet potato can cause gas, but the real discomfort is acid reflux, that acidic feeling that gets stuck in your throat.

The people, struggling to survive, were naturally very grateful to see the chickens being distributed for free by the God Worshippers.

They didn't eat the chickens themselves, but instead traded them for grains or even stale rice.

Although it's not tasty either, it's at least better than eating sweet potatoes every day.

Lin Dao distributes chickens for free every now and then, and the people in villages and towns throughout Guiping County have gradually gotten used to it.

Many people began making preparations, waiting to go to Jintian Village in three days.

The news quickly reached the ears of the government.

Inside Guilin, the Governor of Guangxi, Zheng Zuchen, hurriedly summoned Min Zhengfeng, the Commander-in-Chief of Guangxi, to discuss the matter.

"I am here to pay my respects to Your Excellency, Governor."

"Zhongtai Junan~"

Min Zhengfeng lifted his robe and gave a half-bow.

Although the admiral is a first-rank official, the governor is a second-rank official.

In terms of rank, the Admiral was higher than the Governor.

The problem is that since the rise of Confucianism, almost every dynasty has seen civil officials suppress military generals, with civil officials being valued more than military officials.

When they met, it was actually the higher-ranking admiral who had to bow to the governor, refer to himself as his superior, address him as "Sir," and inquire about his well-being.

Of course, this only applies to Han officials.

If it were the mite-clearing colonists, then it would be a master and a slave relationship.

"Runping, there's no need for such formalities."

After receiving a half-bow, the Governor of Guangxi, Zheng Zuchen, invited Min Zhengfeng to sit down.

A beautiful maidservant came forward to serve tea.

After the formalities were completed, Zheng Zushen finally got down to business: "Many local gentry from Xunzhou Prefecture have sent messengers with messages, saying that the God Worshippers have ulterior motives."

"Runping, do you have a solution?"

Min Zhengfeng knew what the governor meant.

After all, as the admiral, he was in charge of this matter.

But he had no choice; he had his reasons.

"Master Futai has a clear warning."

Min Zhengfeng immediately complained, "It's not that I'm ignorant, it's just that there are no soldiers left to send."

"There are not many troops stationed in Guangxi to begin with."

"Nowadays, the rebels of the Heaven and Earth Society are constantly gathering crowds to rebel, and have even sent a large army to besiege Wuzhou City."

"Almost all the troops that could be mobilized in the province, except those guarding Guilin, were sent to relieve Wuzhou."

"The White Lotus sect is still active in various places, and the government troops are already exhausted."

"The God Worshipping Society is said to have tens of thousands of members. In such an emergency, how could they possibly send out troops?"

That makes sense.

Guangxi already has few soldiers, and now there is the more important Wuzhou that needs to be rescued, so the rural God Worshipping Society can only be temporarily put aside.

After all, Wuzhou is a big city and a famous city.

If they fall into the hands of rebels, the Emperor and the officials in the court will not let them off easily.

As for the troops guarding Guilin, it concerns the lives and fortunes of these high-ranking officials, so of course they cannot be moved lightly.

Zheng Zushen glanced at him but didn't say anything.

That sounds nice, but do you think I don't know what kind of person you are?

Despite being a military commander, Min Zhengfeng considered himself a scholar-general well-versed in literature.

They were ashamed to talk about military matters in daily life and neglected to manage and train the Qing troops in Guangxi, resulting in weak troops and outdated weapons.

When the Heaven and Earth Society uprising occurred, Min Zhengfeng, as the highest-ranking military officer in the province, dared not lead the troops into battle.

The army that came to relieve Wuzhou was led by the deputy general.

This person is a complete waste!
The useless person doesn't even realize he's useless; he even offers suggestions.

"Master Futai~"

"How about we send a letter to the governor and ask him to mobilize the troops?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zushen immediately showed displeasure and let out a heavy snort.

The term "Zhitai" or "Zhijun" refers to the governor-general.

The governor-general is the one who oversees military affairs, supplies, and duties in various places, including the governor of a certain region.

The governor-general that Min Zhengfeng mentioned was Xu Guangjin, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

He was the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, so the affairs of Guangxi were his responsibility.

The problem is that Xu Guangjin and Zheng Zushen, the governor of Guangxi, were sworn enemies, the kind of enemies who would fight to the death.

Xu Guangjin deliberately withheld troops and funds from Guangxi, hindering Zheng's efforts and undermining him, just waiting to see Zheng suffer the consequences.

In this situation, wanting to ask him for help? Min Zhengfeng has absolutely no sense of propriety.

"How about—" the clueless Min Zhengfeng offered another unworkable suggestion, "We should submit a memorial to the imperial court?"

Zheng Zushen fell silent, rubbing his head and sighing.

He started as a seventh-rank county magistrate and spent forty years navigating the officialdom before finally rising to the position of governor.

Is there anything about the affairs of the imperial court that he doesn't know?
He had already informed his friends and associates in the court.

However, the emperor preferred to hear embellished accounts of a peaceful world, and the ministers in the court repeatedly warned Zheng Zuchen not to report the true situation in Guangxi, lest he anger the emperor.

After all, the emperor is currently recuperating at the Yuanmingyuan. If he hears bad news and something goes wrong, you won't be the only one affected.

Forget about foreign aid; Guangxi can only rely on itself.

Looking at the foolish military commander, Zheng Zushen felt a tightness in his chest and coughed repeatedly, even coughing up blood.

He has hemoptysis; he bleeds whenever he gets excited.

Several beautiful maids rushed forward to massage his chest and back, and brought out the medicine bowl that had been prepared, serving the master the medicine.

After a lot of trouble, I finally recovered.

Zheng Zushen stopped wasting words and directly gave orders and instructions.

"Li Dianyuan, the deputy commander of Xunzhou, is a capable fighter, so let him go to prepare for the Yao people in Dayao Mountain."

"A further letter was sent to the local gentry of Xunzhou Prefecture to assist in the suppression of the bandits."

"That's settled then."

Min Zhengfeng hurriedly asked, "Your Excellency, what about the funds for the troop deployment?"

The Green Standard Army was already completely rotten by this time.

Its various drawbacks were almost identical to those of the Ming army at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

To get them to send troops to fight and risk their lives, a large amount of money is needed for their deployment, and some of the back pay must also be made up.

Otherwise, we won't be able to leave Guilin!

Zheng Zushen covered his mouth, so angry that he almost coughed up blood again.

Having barely managed to restrain himself, all he could do was instruct, "Go and find the provincial governor and take 15,000 taels of silver from the provincial treasury to send troops."

Guangxi is very poor, but even though the autumn harvest is not long ago, there is still silver stored in the provincial treasury.

Of course, these deposited silvers all had their own destinations, and most of them ended up in the pockets of officials at various levels.

However, the situation is urgent now, so we have no choice but to use the funds temporarily.

After all, the Green Standard Army soldiers would never be mobilized without receiving silver.

"Your Excellency, Governor-General~"

Min Zhengfeng hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's too little."

"We also need to prepare military provisions, weapons, and artillery; repair swords, spears, and shields; and craft all sorts of other items."

"Shut up!" Zheng Zushen roared in anger. "These are items that your troops should provide themselves. Why are you coming to me for them?"

"There are only 15,000 taels of silver, not a single tael more!"

"If this fails, I will certainly report to the court and impeach you for being cowardly, incompetent, and for harboring bandits and supporting eunuchs!"

Having said that, he no longer held back and coldly picked up the teacup.

Serving tea and seeing guests off~
Min Zhengfeng had no choice but to slink away and leave.

The pro-independence camp is truly rotten to the core.

Embezzlement of military pay, rampant corruption, and the theft and resale of countless items.

Min Zhengfeng wanted to obtain more silver, perhaps even to cover the military's deficit.

Zheng Zushen would never suffer such a loss!

Do you really think he wasted his forty years in officialdom?

Upon returning, Min Zhengfeng first sought out the provincial governor and provincial treasurer for a written approval to collect his silver.

The note said 15,000 taels, but only 12,000 taels were actually collected.

After all, this is the rule, and only 20% was floated because of the urgency of military affairs.

It took three days to urgently deliver this money to the foot of Dayao Mountain.

When they arrived at the camp of Li Dianyuan, the deputy commander of Xunzhou, they only had 10,000 taels left.

After all, the officials in the Green Camp, starting from the governor, also have to follow the rules.

They were already being lenient because of the impending war; the gentlemen only received a paltry two thousand taels of silver.

Li Dianyuan's troops were actually Bei Yao's.

The "Yao" here refers to the Yao people.

Emperor Yongzheng promoted the reform of the chieftain system, which seized power from many chieftains, thus triggering numerous resistances and uprisings.

The resistance from the Yao people was extremely fierce and lasted for a very long time.

This gave rise to the practice of preparing for Yao uprisings, which meant being ready at all times to deal with any rebellion or resistance from the Yao people.

Despite being a thoroughly corrupt Green Standard Army, these Yao soldiers, who were constantly in a state of readiness for combat, still possessed some fighting ability.

Having received the money and the order, Li Dianyuan kept two thousand taels of silver for himself.

Afterwards, a military meeting was convened with the officers and soldiers, and everyone was given another two thousand taels of silver.

The remaining six thousand taels of silver were distributed among nine hundred Green Standard Army soldiers.

Each person receiving a few taels of silver would be considered a source of income.

As for food, guns, cannons, gunpowder, and military supplies, we can only ask the local gentry to "donate generously" after we arrive at the destination.

The Dayao Mountains are not too far from Jintian Village.

Li Dianyuan set off with more than 900 soldiers in uniform, and arrived at Jiangkou Town to camp in one day.

The Green Standard Army soldiers did not wear armor because they were Han soldiers.

The colonists used them to guard their homes, but they would never allow them to have the power to resist.

Therefore, the soldiers of the Green Standard Army only had one uniform.

They sent people to contact local notables, requesting supplies and asking them to bring their militia members to Jintian Village early the next morning.

The next day was the perfect day for Lin Dao to gather people from various villages and towns to distribute chickens!

(End of this chapter)