Qing Yao

Chapter 300 The White Lotus Can Be Commanded

Yingzhou.

The night was deep, but the governor's headquarters remained brightly lit. Reports of the disaster from various regions poured in from day to night, and officials lined up to seek instructions from Governor Zhu Gui. Some officials were anxiously pacing back and forth, unable to get an audience with the governor, but one after another, they received the same reply: "Please wait a little longer."

Because the governor was meeting with a very important person at that moment.

He was not an official, but a middle-aged man with only the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

This man was named Chen Ning. He was a student from Fuzhou who was admitted when Zhu Gui was in charge of education in Fujian in the forty-fifth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. Later, Chen Ning had no interest in taking the imperial examinations and followed Zhu Gui around.

After Zhu Gui took office as the governor of Anhui, Chen Ning was put in charge of contacting various people in Beijing, which was Zhu Gui's "sitting in the capital". Because Chen Ning was very clever, he was highly valued by Zhu Gui and secretly acted as his liaison with Prince Jia.

The reason Chen Ning left the capital for Yingzhou was because of Prince Jia.

To be precise, it was Prince Jia who specially sent Chen Ning to seek instruction from his master.

"The list of those accompanying the emperor was drafted by Heshen, Su Ling'a, and others. Prince Yi and Prince Cheng were both among those who were to accompany him."

According to Chen Ning, the Emperor had appointed his eldest grandson Mian'en and Prince Jia's eldest son Mianning to accompany him on his trip to Rehe for summer retreat. Since Mianning was still young, Prince Jia, as his father, should naturally go to Rehe as well.

"The list that Heshen and Su Ling'a drafted included Prince Jia, but for some reason, after the list was submitted, the Emperor crossed out Prince Jia's name and ordered Prince Jia to stay in the capital to familiarize himself with the affairs of the ministry. This move caused a lot of rumors in the capital."

At this point, Chen Ning stopped.

Zhu Gui adjusted the lamp wick and asked calmly, "What kinds of rumors are there?"

Chen Ning hurriedly said, "They say that the Emperor has no intention of making Prince Jia the Crown Prince, otherwise he would not have refused to allow him to accompany the Emperor. In addition, there are rumors in the capital that the Emperor may abandon his son and establish his grandson as heir, otherwise why would he specially allow the eldest grandson Mian'en to accompany the Emperor? They also say that the Emperor intends to promote Mian'en's Prince Ding to Prince Ding, which is causing him great distress, so he sent me to come to you by fast horse."

"Your Highness's ability to cultivate inner peace is still insufficient,"

Zhu Gui shook his head and said to Chen Ning, "When you go back, tell the Prince that those who are favored are not necessarily destined for greatness. The Emperor's apparent coldness towards the Prince may be a test of his character. The Prince must remain calm and composed as always. As for the idea of ​​abandoning one's son to establish one's grandson, it is utterly absurd. The Prince need not take it to heart. He only needs to observe quietly in the capital."

Chen Ning nodded and then said something else: "The Prince is also worried about you, Teacher. Zhao Youlu was granted the Ebilun sword because of Heshen's slander. The Emperor has also been deceived by the Heshen faction in recent years. The Prince said that you should not be tolerant here and should not clash with Zhao Youlu again, so as not to give the Heshen faction an opportunity to take advantage of you."

Upon hearing Zhao Youlu's name, Zhu Gui, who had been calm, subconsciously glanced at the urgent report from Fengyang Prefecture on the desk.

Zhao Youlu, relying on his Ebilun sword, actually killed Li Yuan, the prefect of Fengyang, and Ding Musan, the general of Shouchun Town. Both of them were people promoted by Zhu Gui. This move undoubtedly broke Zhu Gui's control over the Jianghuai officialdom and greatly reduced Zhu Gui's influence in the Huaibei region.

However, Zhao Youlu had executed the two men for their poor disaster relief efforts, and the disaster in Fengyang was indeed severe. This made it difficult for Zhu Gui, despite his anger, to submit a memorial impeaching them.

The Emperor's bestowal of the Ebilun sword upon Zhao Youlu was itself a warning to Zhu Gui, a fact that Zhu Gui understood better than anyone else. Even without his student Prince Jia's reminder, he knew that he could no longer contend with Zhao Youlu at this time.

Given the current power of Heshen's faction in the court and the emperor's biased reliance on Heshen, continuing to fight against Heshen's faction would be extremely detrimental to both Zhu Gui and Prince Jia.

Rumors are rampant, especially in the capital.

The only hope for a complete overthrow of Heshen's faction at present is the abdication of the emperor three years from now.

Once the emperor abdicates and becomes the retired emperor, Heshen's faction will lose the support of imperial power, and the new emperor will be able to deal with them with ease.

There has never been a case of an emperor emeritus still holding power.

When Emperor Gaozong of Song abdicated to Emperor Xiaozong, Xiaozong immediately exonerated Yue Fei and was determined to launch a northern expedition. Even though Gaozong opposed it, he could do nothing about it.

Therefore, "cultivating the mind" was not only Zhu Gui's teaching to his students, but also a requirement for himself.

However, Chen Ning's long journey from the capital to Yingzhou was probably not solely motivated by the rumors circulating in the capital.

Sure enough, Chen Ning hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Furthermore, Your Highness wants to know just how severe the disaster in Anhui is. Zhao Youlu, through Heshen, presented the Emperor with a report on his observations in the disaster area, stating that many people starved to death and that cannibalism was rampant. But why did you, Master, describe the disaster situation in your memorial to the court?"

At this point, Chen Ning paused.

This matter puzzled not only Prince Jia, but also Prince Jia himself.

Zhu Gui frowned. Only after arriving in Yingzhou did he realize how severe the disaster was in Anhui. Although no specific data had been reported from below, it was conservatively estimated that hundreds of thousands of people had starved to death. As the governor of Anhui, he was certainly involved in this matter.

However, it was not that he deliberately concealed the truth; rather, he was misled by his subordinates, which put him in a difficult position. Now, he can only do his best to make amends and hope that the disaster will end soon.

This is why, despite knowing that Zhao Youlu had killed Li Yuan and Ding Musan, the governor remained silent.

The deaths of Li and Ding had a positive effect on motivating officials to actively participate in disaster relief.

Ding Musan was alright, just a martial artist, but it was a pity about Li Yuan.

On the desk lay a handwritten letter from Li Yuan to Zhu Gui from last month. In the letter, he said that there were many refugees in northern Anhui and that they could not be resettled for the time being. Therefore, the priority should be to protect the prefectures, counties, and cities. Unexpectedly, this letter became Li Yuan's last will and testament, which made Zhu Gui quite sad.

From the court's perspective, Zhu Gui, as governor, was clearly derelict in his duties. Not only Zhao Youlu had submitted a report on the specific details of the disaster in Anhui, but Sun Shiyi, the governor-general of Liangjiang, had also submitted a report, making it seem as if Zhu Gui was deliberately concealing the truth.

The emperor appointed Zhao Youlu, whom he had "removed from the list of officials," as the temporary governor and bestowed upon him the Ebilun sword, which was clearly a consequence of the "concealment."

Now that things have come to this, Zhu Gui has no way to defend himself. All he can do now is to do his best to help with the disaster relief, make amends for his mistakes, and keep his position as governor.

It wasn't that Zhu Gui was power-hungry or overly concerned with personal gains and losses, but rather that the situation in the court was extremely unfavorable for Prince Jia. As his teacher, he couldn't afford to get into trouble; otherwise, who else in the court could offer advice and strategies for Prince Jia?

However, this incident also made Zhu Gui even more convinced that Prince Jia was the emperor's chosen heir apparent; otherwise, he, as the teacher, would have been dismissed from his post long ago for concealing the disaster.

Now, as long as teachers and students work together, act carefully, and wait patiently for three years, that will suffice.

No matter how much suffering or humiliation he endured, he had to bear it all. Thinking of this, he gently touched the Lu'an melon seed tea in his bowl and wrote the two characters "Zhuang Wang" on the table.

Chen Ning saw it clearly and understood that his teacher was encouraging Prince Jia by citing the story of King Zhuang of Chu, who remained silent until he made a stunning debut.

"Tell the prince that those who aspire to great things must first and foremost be patient!"

Zhu Gui gently wiped the water stains off the table with a flick of his sleeve. The door was gently pushed open, and Zhu Gui's eldest son, Zhu Xijin, entered, holding an official document in his hand.

The official document was sent by Dong Zhengrong, the prefect of Bozhou, saying that recently, a band of red-bearded thugs has been running rampant in the countryside of Bozhou. The leader is extremely vicious and lawless, and it is very difficult for the local authorities to apprehend him. Moreover, it is rumored that this red-bearded bandit is a member of the White Lotus Sect.

"The bandits were scattered before, but now they have gathered together. It is found that Hong Hu was originally a member of the White Lotus Rebellion who escaped the net. He occasionally stole and carried a small knife for self-defense. People named him after a character in drama who was brave and fierce and had a red beard on his face.

However, the bandits, knowing this, were still angered. They moved in without suspicion, forming groups that roamed freely in broad daylight, each group called a "twisted band." Smaller bands consisted of several or dozens of people, while larger bands ranged from one or two hundred.

After carefully reading Dong Zhengrong's official document to his father, Zhu Xijing thought of something: not long ago, he had also received a report from Mengcheng saying that there were Nian bandits in the area. Combined with the report from Bozhou, he suspected that these Nian bandits were the White Lotus sect.

"Fengyang once reported the capture of Hong Bao, a member of the White Lotus sect. He confessed that the White Lotus sect leader Liu Zhixie and others were active in Huaibei and colluded with salt bandits. Now this new trouble has emerged. Father, could it be that the White Lotus sect really intends to use the disaster victims to start an uprising in Anhui? If so, Father must quickly deploy troops to Bozhou and Mengcheng to prevent chaos."

"White Lotus Sect?"

Chen Ning also spoke up: "I heard earlier that the White Lotus Sect is also called the Hunyuan Sect or the Shouyuan Sect. In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, they took advantage of the great disaster in Shandong to start an uprising in Linqing. Now the disaster in Anhui is also very serious. It is hard to guarantee that the old story of the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign will not be repeated."

Zhu Gui was aware of the resurgence of the White Lotus sect in Anhui Province, but more than a decade ago, Anhui had investigated and prosecuted Liu Song, the leader of the White Lotus sect, arresting many of its followers, while the rest fled to other provinces.

Therefore, it is believed that even if the White Lotus Sect were to infiltrate Anhui again, its power base would be limited. After all, Anhui had cracked down on the White Lotus Sect severely in the past, which destroyed its operations in Anhui.

On the contrary, the refugees who fled due to the disaster posed a greater threat than the White Lotus Sect, which prompted the prefectures and counties to establish local militias to prevent unforeseen events.

However, it now seems that the White Lotus Sect may have merged with the refugees to form the so-called Nian Rebellion.

Small groups consist of a dozen or twenty people, while large groups have one or two hundred. The leaders are all fierce cultists wielding knives. They are easy to deal with individually, but it would be troublesome if these various groups of cult members gathered together.

After a moment of contemplation, he was about to draft a document to allocate the Green Standard Army to Bozhou and Mengcheng to suppress the Nian Rebellion when he received an urgent official document from Zhao Youlu, who was temporarily in charge of the Anhui Provincial Administration Commission.

It is said that activities of the White Lotus sect have been discovered in Suzhou, and that they are bewitching the disaster victims with the promise of "the annihilation of the White Lotus and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty." It is hoped that the governor will quickly dispatch elite troops to Suzhou to cooperate with the local troops in suppressing the White Lotus sect.

"Is Zhao Youlu in Suzhou?"

Zhu Xijing found it a bit strange. Wasn't Zhao Youlu supposed to be directing disaster relief in Fengyang? How come he suddenly went to Suzhou?

However, Suzhou, Mengcheng, and Bozhou are not far apart. Given that the White Lotus sect was active in Bozhou and Mengcheng, it is reasonable for the White Lotus sect to appear in Suzhou as well.

In his haste, he believed that the White Lotus Sect, which openly used the slogan of restoring the Ming Dynasty, was no longer an ordinary bandit but was aiming to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. He thought that it was necessary to quickly dispatch heavy troops to suppress them, and if necessary, even report to the Governor-General of Liangjiang and request that the Eight Banners of Jiangning be sent to assist the Green Standard Army.

However, Chen Ning suddenly said, "Teacher, I have heard in the capital that the White Lotus sect members are active at night and hide during the day. Their actions are neither those of bandits nor ordinary people. I fear they are being driven by someone else."

"Is there another driving force behind it?"

Zhu Xijing didn't understand what it meant. The White Lotus Cult had always been a major enemy that successive dynasties guarded against with utmost vigilance because these people were dedicated to rebelling against the court. What was the ulterior motive behind this?

Zhu Gui glanced at Chen Ning, his gaze somewhat complicated. His son might not know the ulterior motives behind this, but how could he not?

In fact, many people believed that the White Lotus Sect was a folk cult that was irreconcilable with the imperial court, but in reality, the imperial court had been secretly using the White Lotus Sect all along.

During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, the "Zeng Jing Case" occurred. In order to eradicate the remaining ideological followers of Lü Liuliang, Emperor Yongzheng secretly allowed members of the White Lotus Sect to spread rumors that "Lü's disciples colluded with sorcerers." After public opinion boiled over, the court then sent troops to suppress the rebellion under the pretext of "pacifying evil spirits," thus eliminating dissidents and winning the hearts of the people.

After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out in Linqing. After the rebellion failed, the remaining members moved to the Grand Canal. Just then, the court was cracking down on the canal gangs because the gangs had grown too powerful under Li Wei and were seriously threatening the imperial power. It was rumored that the death of Wang Jiangzu, the then leader of the canal gangs, was caused by members of the White Lotus Rebellion.

However, when Zhu Gui was walking in the Imperial Study, he saw in the "Records of the Grand Council" that Liu Tongxun, the Grand Councilor at the time, said that the death of the leader of the Grand Canal Gang was "due to the instigation of the people and bandits, and the act was carried out in accordance with the trend".

The memorial bears Emperor Qianlong's vermilion comment: "The dirty water should be thrown out, but don't dirty my hands."

Based on this analysis, it is highly likely that the White Lotus Sect's southward expansion and conflict with the Grand Canal Gang were the result of guidance from the imperial court.

The reason was that the canal gang had been "incorporated" by Li Wei, and all the gang members and key members were "officials". The tens of thousands of transport troops were also under the control of the canal gang. On the surface, it was difficult for the court to take action against the canal gang, let alone execute the gang leader.

But with the White Lotus Sect as a weapon, they can kill without leaving a trace.

However, the imperial court was also wary of this weapon, and therefore constantly demanded that local authorities suppress the White Lotus Sect, investigating and arresting every case they discovered. But some local officials seemed to be "using" the White Lotus Sect in private, since most of the White Lotus Sect's followers were only acting for their own benefit, rather than really risking their lives to rebel.

Previously, Hong Bao, a member of the White Lotus sect, confessed that the two leaders of the White Lotus sect, Liu Zhixie and Song Zhiqing, had a falling out over the division of spoils. This led Song Zhiqing to go north to Henan and recognize a blind man as his master, accusing Liu Zhixie, the "orthodox" leader, of usurping the throne. The two sides accused each other and refused to cooperate.

Most of the White Lotus followers currently active in Anhui are Liu Zhixie's men.

Whether Liu Zhixie is really planning a rebellion is hard to say right now, but those Nian rebels must be suppressed immediately, otherwise, if they cause any major chaos, it will be even harder for him, the governor, to explain to the court.

but
In response to the discovery of White Lotus Religion activities in Bozhou, Mengcheng, and Suzhou, Zhu Gui pondered for a moment and finally decided to send his elite troops north, but instead of sending them to Suzhou as requested by Zhao Youlu, the acting provincial governor, he sent them to Bozhou.

He personally wrote a secret letter and ordered it to be delivered by fast horse to Dong Zhengrong, the prefect of Bozhou. In the letter, he requested that Dong Zhengrong eliminate the Nian rebels within his territory. If he could not suppress them on the spot, he should at least assist the governor in driving the Nian rebels eastward.

To the east lies Suzhou.

It means to drive people to one place and exterminate them.

(End of this chapter)