Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 617 Emperor Daoguang: Suppressing the Rebellion!

The capital city, Xizhimen.

At dawn, a large fleet of water trucks from Yuquan Mountain arrived at the gate.

In cities with large populations, the extensive use of groundwater and the discharge and infiltration of various types of sewage have led to a gradual deterioration in water quality.

This led to the emergence of places like 'Sweetwater Lane' with good water, and water carts that specialized in selling good water.

Among the Qing emperors, the Qianlong Emperor was the most fond of enjoying life. He did not drink the well water in the city, but instead specially sent people to fetch sweet spring water from Yuquan Mountain every day.

These caravans delivering water to the palace would enter the capital city through Xizhimen.

The soldiers guarding the city were already used to it, yawning as they waited for the convoy to enter the city.

'Da da da da~~'

The crisp sound of horses' hooves echoed from the stone-paved streets of the city.

The city gate official on the city tower glanced over and immediately threw away his opium pipe in a panic, turning around and shouting at the water transport team outside the city.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry~"

"Make way! Everyone, make way!"

The caravan hurriedly led their horses and mules to the sides of the road to make way, creating a lively scene of shouts and neighing.

On the road inside Xizhimen, several messengers on horseback sped out of the city gate and headed straight for the northwest.

The people in the convoy immediately started discussing among themselves.

"Immediately by express courier, 400 li (approximately 200 km)."

"This is a station soldier, this is a military report."

"He's carrying a blue flag. Oh no, something big has happened in the area again."

"This scene looks like it did when foreigners were invading Guangzhou ten years ago!"

"They're heading to the Old Summer Palace."

The Qing Dynasty's post stations and relay stations were separate entities; the relay stations were specifically used for transmitting military reports.

The 400-li express courier service was known as "immediate delivery".

If it is a 600-li or 800-li urgent dispatch, it is called a flying relay.

As early as the time when the spendthrift Emperor Li Longji was indulging in lychees, the postal relay system had already begun to carry flags.

Flags of different colors represent different meanings.

A red flag is a sign of good news.

The blue flag is a military report.

As for the yellow one, it was a symbol of imperial power and was usually used for the transmission of imperial edicts, or for urgent dispatches over a distance of 600 or even 800 li.

Old Beijingers could deduce what was going on just by looking at the clothing and flags.

In movies, TV dramas, and novels, there are often scenes of urgent dispatches covering 600 or 800 li.

In reality, local government offices rarely use this.

The reason is simple: it can only be used in cases of extremely serious military emergencies.

This indicates that the local authorities are powerless to cope and can only request the imperial court to intervene.

This means that local officials are seen as incompetent and must take the blame.

For this reason, the early and middle stages of the mite-clearing treatment were mainly carried out by express courier.

The real change occurred after the Taiping Rebellion swept across various regions.

Local government offices, unable to cope any longer, resorted to urgent dispatches, sending urgent military reports to the capital like snowflakes.

It is said that Emperor Xianfeng was so shocked by the daily military reports that he developed a chronic illness.

Twenty li northwest of Xizhimen lies the famous Yuanmingyuan.

The Yuanmingyuan was first built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and was later expanded by Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong, eventually forming the Yuanmingyuan, Changchunyuan, and Qichunyuan.

At this time, the Qing emperor was Aisin-Gioro Minning, also known as the Daoguang Emperor.

As dawn broke, the Daoguang Emperor was awakened from his sleep.

The one who arrived was the Grand Councilor on duty, Sai Shang'a. Military reports are always sent to the Grand Council first.

Upon learning that an urgent military report had been delivered, he disregarded his illness and quickly tidied himself up before accepting the report.

After reading the military report, Emperor Daoguang felt dizzy and lightheaded, and a lump formed in his throat.

Having reigned as emperor for thirty years, he had long seen through the tricks of the officials.

The military report only stated that the Heaven and Earth Society and the God Worshipping Society had rebelled in many parts of Guangxi.

It is said that the rebels have been out of contact for a long time in many places in Xunzhou and Wuzhou, and that the rebels are powerful.

But Emperor Daoguang understood that the fact that Pi had been out of contact for so long meant that Pi had already fallen into enemy hands!
Especially Wuzhou, that's a big city, a famous city!

"Not a single useful word is written!"

The Daoguang Emperor was furious. "How exactly did Wuzhou fall? Was it due to collusion between insiders and outsiders, or by sending spies to seize the city gates, or perhaps...?"

If it's either of the first two scenarios, the situation isn't too dangerous.

However, if a large city like Wuzhou were to be captured with superior military strength and weaponry, it would mean that the rebels' strength and scale had reached a point where they had to be completely annihilated.

But the officials in Guangxi were spouting nonsense!
As for the county magistrate and deputy general, all of them were given the same nonsense: "unknown whereabouts" and "possibly trapped by bandits."

The specific details of the battle, such as the number of casualties and the amount of military equipment and supplies, were also glossed over in a vague manner.

hateful!

The military report only mentioned the rebels as the Heaven and Earth Society, and also some other organization I'd never heard of called the God Worshipping Society.
There is no information about the exact number of rebels, their armaments, heavy armor, firearms, provisions, or who their leaders were.

Especially the latter half of the military report, which was filled with all sorts of flowery language and flattering words, expressing the determination of Guangxi officials to eliminate the rebels.

Only at the very end did it become clear that a little bit of support from the imperial court was needed.

He was still an inexperienced young emperor, and he might actually be fooled.

An imperial edict was issued to urge the suppression of bandits, and some money, military expenses, and provisions were distributed, and the matter was considered settled.

Unless there is another large-scale defeat in the future, resulting in the loss of troops and territory, and the loss of officers and soldiers.

Unfortunately, this trick couldn't fool the Daoguang Emperor.

The general's report was slammed heavily on the table, and the Daoguang Emperor, panting heavily, instructed, "Raise them."

"Your servant obeys the decree!"

Mu Zhang'a, Pan Shi'en, Sai Shang'a, He Rulin and others rushed over.

"Let's take a look."

With a stern face, the Daoguang Emperor pointed to the military report, signaling to the Grand Councilors to review it.

After everyone had seen it, he finally spoke, "You all should come up with a plan."

"emperor."

At this point, according to protocol, the first to speak was the chief Grand Councilor, Mu Zhang'a.

He stepped forward and saluted, saying, "This servant believes that troops from neighboring provinces should be mobilized as soon as possible to urge the suppression of bandits and ensure that the threat is completely eliminated." When the foreigners arrived, Mu Zhang'a advocated for peace talks, falsely accused Lin Zexu and others, and presided over the signing of a series of unequal treaties. He can be considered a representative figure of the surrender faction.

But when faced with a local uprising, he was filled with murderous intent, and his first words were to eliminate the root of the problem.

The Daoguang Emperor, who did not look well, coughed twice and continued to ask the opinions of the Grand Councilors.

"Your Majesty~"

The chief of the military intelligence unit has already expressed his opinion, while the assistant Grand Secretary Qi Junzao is handling a case in Shaanxi and Gansu.

Pan Shi'en, a veteran in his late seventies, was dozing off with his head down, showing no intention of speaking.

Chen Fu'en was handling the case in Shanxi.

In this situation, it was He Rulin, the Minister of Rites, who stepped forward to pay his respects.

"I believe that military affairs in Guangxi are under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi."

"Now that the rebels in Guangxi have grown too powerful, we should urge the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi to suppress them."

"To rashly mobilize troops from elsewhere would be like sending water from a distant place."

Only Manchu ministers were qualified to refer to themselves as slaves in front of the emperor.

Han officials, on the other hand, could only acknowledge the title of "subject."

The Grand Council was divided into two factions.

The Manchu official believed that troops from various regions should be mobilized immediately to suppress the rebellion, while the Han official believed that Guangxi was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and should be handed over to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi to handle the matter.

Despite their differences, they share the same ultimate goal.

That means sending troops to encircle and suppress them!

After a moment's hesitation, the Daoguang Emperor made his decision.

"The local officials in Guangxi are incompetent, and the military is poorly equipped and vulnerable."

"The Governor of Guangxi is to blame and should be dismissed and investigated immediately."

"Xiang Rong, the commander of Guyuan, was appointed to succeed him as the commander of Guangxi."

Xiang Rong participated in suppressing the Zhang Ge'er Rebellion and the White Lotus Rebellion in Xinjiang, and was awarded the title of Huoqin Baturu.

Although his name sounds like that of a Manchu, he is actually a Han Chinese from Sichuan.

The Daoguang Emperor chose him because of his previous success in suppressing rebellions in various places.

"Troops from Guizhou, Hunan, and Yunnan provinces were dispatched to Guangxi to quell the rebellion."

"A further letter was sent to Xu Guangjin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, urging him to firmly defend the coastal defenses of Guangdong and not to act rashly."

Emperor Daoguang chose to mobilize troops from elsewhere rather than sending them from Guangdong.

The reason is simple: the foreigners are starting to get restless again.

Last year, the British consul, Ali, clamored for war to break out again.

The French were calling for missionary work throughout the country, while the Russians demanded trade and commerce in Xinjiang.

Even the Portuguese declared Macau a free port, suspended customs duties, and ordered the closure of the Guangdong Customs Office.

The threat from the foreigners was like a thorn in their side, so they dared not mobilize the troops in Guangdong.

Although they knew that the troops in Guangdong could not defeat the foreigners, there were still nearly 100,000 troops there, which should make the foreigners who were planning to go to war think twice.

After all, with an army of 100,000 (on paper), the foreigners would be exhausted to death if they were allowed to kill them.

The military commander, Mu Zhang'a, received the imperial decree and went to find the secretaries to arrange for the writing and printing of the document.

Emperor Daoguang coughed a few times, intending to go have breakfast.

Just then, a flustered and urgent report came from outside the hall.

"The Empress Dowager has passed away."

Upon hearing this, the Daoguang Emperor, who had just stood up, suddenly stiffened.

His head tilted back, a gurgling sound came from his throat, and then he fell headfirst to the ground.

In an instant, the Shende Hall was plunged into great chaos.

The distant city of Wuzhou in Guangxi.

Lin Dao was busy checking the list.

These are lists of gentry and local notables from various counties, towns, and villages in Xunzhou and Wuzhou prefectures.

This was not collected by Lin Dao's people, but was published by the Qing Dynasty court itself.

This thing is called the "Records of Officials".

Also known as "Complete Overview of Ranks and Titles", "Complete Book of Officials and Gentry", and "Comprehensive Mirror of the Central Government".

It details the names, titles, places of origin, backgrounds, courtesy names, and dates of appointment of officials from the imperial court to local officials in this province.

It also includes information on duties, taxes, etc., and functions as both an official record and a contact manual.

Just like the family genealogies of the Han and Tang dynasties, arrests were made according to the provincial gentry register.

Their names and addresses are all clearly written down.

"Get it done as soon as possible."

He handed the list of gentry to Yang Xiuqing and said, "The old rule still applies. First, mobilize the people to hold a public trial, and then hand them over to the people for disposal."

"We must bring back all the people's hard-earned money and use it for military purposes."

"We must always remember that only by fully mobilizing the suffering people can the cause of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty succeed."

"Leader!"

Despite being short, thin, and blind in one eye, Yang Xiuqing was a ruthless character.

It would be most appropriate for him to be the one to confiscate the property.

"Wei Changhui~"

Lin Dao continued to call for help.

"Chief!" Wei Changhui came over to greet him.

"I have revised the food standards."

Lin Dao handed over a stack of documents and instructed, "From now on, all departments should follow this."

Lin Dao, who has launched numerous uprisings across different times and spaces, is very familiar with this.

For the majority of the people who were illiterate, anti-Qing sentiment was not important; their main purpose in joining the rebel army was simply to get food.

They don't ask for enough to eat, just enough to have something to eat, rather than having to eat dirt or starve to death.

"The rations for regular soldiers from now on~"

Just as Lin Dao was about to give a detailed explanation, Shi Dakai hurriedly walked over.

His expression was strange, and he stammered out something.

"Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan have arrived!"

(End of this chapter)