Qing Yao

Chapter 302 Obey me, and I'll give you an official position.
Zhao An did not choose to return to Fengyang, nor did he go to the nearest Green Standard Army garrison. Instead, he resolutely entered Suzhou City.

To place oneself directly above raging fire, in the vortex.

This is a responsibility, a courage, and a wisdom.

Responsibility was for the disaster victims, courage was for the White Lotus Sect, and wisdom was for the old man.

The saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold."

If Zhao An chooses to return to Fengyang to observe, and if the White Lotus Rebellion really breaks out in Suzhou, he will definitely lose face in the old master's eyes.

It's important to understand that the Ebilun knife wasn't just something Zhao An was given to use to clean up corrupt officials in Anhui; it was also a way for the old master to "delegate power" and show his trust in Zhao An.

The power was granted, but Anhui still descended into chaos; therefore, this is Zhao An's responsibility.

Once an uprising occurs, Zhao An is forced to suppress it, which will cause the death toll to rise sharply.

The horrors of war are never less than those of natural disasters.

The surviving victims are already pitiful enough. Almost every family has lost a relative in this disaster. They barely managed to survive until now, and then they were hit by an unwarranted war. They were left with no way to survive, not even a straw to grasp.

Therefore, Zhao An's first choice was to personally go to the front line and use all means to prevent the uprising from breaking out and minimize the losses.

Suzhou is currently facing greater military pressure than disaster relief pressure, because not only are large numbers of disaster victims migrating to Suzhou from Bozhou and Mengcheng, but disaster victims within the prefecture itself are also eager to move.

All intelligence indicates that the sudden gathering of disaster victims in Suzhou is inextricably linked to the White Lotus Rebellion.

A Green Standard Army garrison stationed at Yuanjiaji, west of Suzhou, sent an urgent message to the city, saying that a large group of Nian rebels had crossed the Fei River and were heading east. These Nian rebels were originally disaster victims, but when they became large, they became bandits, and their core members were all desperate criminals.

Although the Nian rebels who have entered Suzhou have not clashed with the government troops, they are clearly being met by others. In addition, rumors of "the impending annihilation of the Qing dynasty and the restoration of the Ming dynasty" are spreading widely in Suzhou. Folk songs openly refer to the Qing dynasty as the "Tartar gang" and call on the disaster victims to unite and overthrow the Qing dynasty.

This kept Li Wenchou, the prefect of Suzhou, awake at night, fearing that the disaster victims would soon rebel. He implored Zhao An, the acting provincial governor, to close the city gates and stop distributing food and porridge to the victims, concentrating all resources to ensure the city's survival. At the same time, he urgently requested the governor and viceroy to dispatch troops to Suzhou as a precaution.

In Zhao An's view, the so-called "Nianzi" was a military organization of the White Lotus Sect in Anhui, or a prototype of an uprising army that combined the White Lotus Sect with local forces in northern Anhui.

Zhao An was very familiar with the "Nianzi" because in a few decades, the "Nianzi" in northern Anhui would develop into the "Nian Army"—a powerful local armed group of Han Chinese who took over the banner of resistance against the Qing Dynasty from the Taiping Army.

This Han Chinese armed group also marked the last glorious moment for the Huaihai Entrepreneurship Park.

The Nian Rebellion not only annihilated the last Qing cavalry force, Senggelinqin's group, but its western route army even crossed the Yellow River from Shaanxi and fought all the way to Lugou Bridge in Beijing, which shocked the Qing government so much that it almost had to move its capital again.

Therefore, to be honest, Zhao An was a little nervous about the sudden appearance of "Nianzi".

Senggelinqin's cavalry couldn't even deal with the Nian Rebellion, so how could he possibly deal with them?
My impression is that the Nian Rebellion was a semi-mobile force with a large number of mules and horses for transportation.

He couldn't even muster fifty horses from the Qing army he could control; their weapons and equipment were poor, their combat effectiveness was even worse, and their armor coverage was less than one percent.

They are not even as good as local militias.

However, a careful examination of past history leads to the conclusion that the White Lotus Rebellion did not reach Anhui, but rather broke out in Hubei in the first year of the Jiaqing reign. This indicates that the White Lotus sect's activities in Anhui were suppressed, or that the White Lotus sect's activities in Anhui did not achieve the desired results, which is why they turned to the border area of ​​Hubei, Sichuan, and Henan provinces, where the government's power was weaker.

Previous intelligence indicated that the White Lotus sect was active in northern Anhui, but it was always scattered. Apart from a few incidents of conflict with government troops, the White Lotus sect did not organize its followers to attack cities and seize land, nor did it plan to organize disaster victims to move to a certain area.

It seems that the White Lotus Sect operates in a very low-key manner, probably because they don't want to be exposed too early.

Therefore, a large number of disaster victims suddenly poured into Suzhou from Bozhou and Mengcheng, and a large number of "Nianzi" members of the White Lotus sect were active among them. The local governments and garrisons did not inform Zhao An, the acting governor, of this. In addition, the Fubiao soldiers that Zhao An requested from Zhu Gui were sent to Bozhou. This gave Zhao An reason to suspect that Zhu Gui was using a borrowed knife to kill him and wanted to use the White Lotus sect to get rid of him.

If Zhu Guizhen does this, then he is playing with fire.

This move could very well lead to the White Lotus Rebellion breaking out in Anhui ahead of schedule!

Zhao An did not judge Zhu Gui by his own petty standards, but he had to be wary of Zhu Gui playing with fire. Factional strife sometimes doesn't follow any logic or right and wrong.

The Donglin Party of the former Ming Dynasty was not without morally upright individuals, nor were there any great Confucian scholars praised throughout the land. However, once it came to factional strife, even the most virtuous people would do shameful things, and even the most compassionate people would disregard the loss of countless lives.

Factional strife is a shadow that the scholar-official class can never erase.

Emperor Jiaqing's killing of Heshen was essentially a result of factional strife.

It was simply that the emperor himself took charge.

Regardless of whether Zhu Gui was behind this, Zhao An was prepared to use someone else to do his dirty work.

Hong Bao, a member of the White Lotus sect who was imprisoned in Fengyang Prefecture, once confessed that the name of the leader the White Lotus sect wanted to elect, "Niu Ba," combined with the character "Zhu," meant "red."

We must follow the example of Zhu Liu Taizi and restore the Ming Dynasty.

The day of the uprising was the day the so-called "Lotus of Calamity" descended.

Zhao An was too lazy to investigate what Zhu Liu Taizi was all about; he only knew that Zhu Gui also had the surname Zhu.

What a coincidence.

This connection is obviously far-fetched, and no one would believe it if it were said, because Zhu Gui and his brother Zhu Yun were both famous scholars during the Qianlong era, and were known as the "Two Zhus" in academic circles.

If Zhu Gui and his brother were descendants of the Ming dynasty, how could they possibly hold high positions?

How could Zhu Gui possibly be appointed as a key minister to assist the crown prince by his naturally suspicious and fanatical father who was obsessed with guarding against the Han dynasty?

However, Zhao An did not say that Zhu Gui was "Niu Ba". He only told the old man that the White Lotus Sect was now causing a great disturbance in northern Anhui. It had started to spread throughout Anhui as early as last year. Previously, Zhu Gui had not reported the disaster situation in Anhui or the activities of the White Lotus Sect to the court in a truthful manner.

This constitutes deliberate concealment.

Why was the report concealed? Why was "Niu Ba" suddenly about to appear in the world? Why was the Ming Dynasty about to be restored? Why did Zhu Gui suddenly want to organize local militias in Anhui? Why did Zhao An request him to transfer troops to Suzhou, but the troops were sent to Bozhou instead? Why did a large number of armed Nian rebels appear among the disaster victims?
Zhao An made no subjective judgments or personal speculations, but simply told the old man what had happened.

What the old man thinks is none of his business.

Even if the old master still doesn't doubt Zhu Gui's loyalty, Zhu Gui's abilities will inevitably be halved.

If we trace the root of this mess in Anhui, isn't it simply the incompetence of Governor Zhu Gui?

After sending the memorial, Zhao An did not rest. He sent two urgent letters to the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang, requesting the Governor-General's Office to dispatch elite troops to Suzhou. At the same time, he used his concurrent position as the Circuit Intendant of Huiqingchi to mobilize the Green Standard Army troops of these prefectures and states to go north.

He also ordered the Green Standard Army troops stationed in Fengyang to assemble in Suzhou. After the order was issued, two battalions and three regiments were ordered to enter Suzhou City, with more than 1200 soldiers. Adding the 400 Green Standard Army soldiers guarding Suzhou City, the total force was less than 1700.

Although Prefect Li Wen mobilized three shifts of able-bodied men to enter a "wartime" state, he could only use about 1000 men. With a total force of less than 3,000, it was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean when facing hundreds of thousands of disaster victims.

Xu Lin's troops also received the order, but it would take at least six or seven days to reach Suzhou, and only a thousand men could come, because half of the troops had to be left behind to ensure the supply lines remained open.

Therefore, Li Wen repeatedly requested Zhao An to order the city gates to be closed. However, Zhao An did not take Li Wen's advice and still ordered people to distribute food and porridge to several disaster relief camps outside the city every day to ensure that the disaster victims had a mouthful of porridge to live on.

If we simply let it go unchecked, it will only exacerbate the conflict and completely push the disaster victims to the White Lotus Sect.

In order to cope with the impending influx of disaster victims, wave after wave of messengers carrying Zhao An's handwritten letters, instructions, and notes rushed to various places.

For just one thing—food!
At the same time, Zhao An also ordered Li Wen, the prefect, to send a large number of constables to infiltrate the disaster victims, track the source of the rumors, and monitor the "organizational" tendencies within the disaster victims.

To ensure that the disaster victims were not "won over" by the White Lotus Sect, Zhao An implemented the "Brigade System," which organized disaster victims from the same area into brigades, which were then further divided into squads and teams. He appointed respected and senior members of the disaster victims as captains and team leaders, and gave the brigade leaders the privilege of direct contact with the government.

That is, if a squad has a problem, they should contact the brigade; if the brigade has a problem, they should contact the prefect; and if the prefect has a problem, they should contact the provincial governor.

He also posted notices at various disaster relief camps, encouraging disaster victims to expose the "treacherous villains" who were involved in internal activities. Anyone who made a report would receive ten catties of millet.

Ten pounds of millet wouldn't normally be considered a reward, but right now it's something more precious than human life.

At the height of the disaster, three pounds of millet could buy a young, unmarried woman!

The various measures and the daily supply of porridge that kept them alive did, to some extent, appease the local disaster victims. Although the spread of rumors could not be effectively contained, as long as they could still eat, most of the disaster victims did not dare to follow the White Lotus Rebellion.

The reward system for reporting White Lotus sect activities began to show results, with the state government arresting more than sixty White Lotus sect members who were active among disaster victims in just one day based on reports.

Zhao An instructed Prefect Li Wen to investigate further.

Dig up the network, dig up the network, and expose and sever the White Lotus Sect's organizational structure among the disaster victims.

To reassure the disaster victims that the government would not abandon them, Zhao An disregarded the advice of Prefect Li Wen and set up the temporary residence of the Provincial Governor at the disaster relief camp in the south of the city. He would always appear in the sight of the disaster victims when distributing porridge every day, and he would also lead people to inspect each camp every evening, showing the disaster victims great care and concern.

The disaster victims have witnessed, more than once, the dignified provincial governor carrying a sick child on his back and rushing to the clinic set up next to the disaster relief camp.

Another thing Zhao An did touched the disaster victims even more: he ordered local governments to conduct a unified investigation into the situation of disaster victims selling their children, and after registering the cases, the provincial treasury would use funds to send people to redeem them.

Although this action could not truly redeem all the women and children who had been sold, it made Zhao An's reputation as an upright official resound throughout northern Anhui.

On this day, when Zhao An was receiving several elderly "battalion commanders" in the camp, he was suddenly informed that the Green Standard Army had caught a big fish.

A man named Liu Bao was captured by a patrol team of soldiers. He spoke with a non-local accent and was carrying seven thousand taels of silver notes. He couldn't explain what he was doing in Suzhou, so he was immediately sent to Zhao An.

Liu Bao was initially very stubborn, insisting that he was just a businessman, but he couldn't explain what kind of business he was doing. Zhao An lost patience after interrogating him for half an hour, knowing that this kind of person couldn't be dealt with without a major memory restoration technique.

Therefore, Huan Qingyao and others were tortured.

To be honest, Liu Bao is a real man; no matter how Qingyao and the others tortured him, he wouldn't utter a single word.

Baili Yunlong, who was standing nearby, took a dagger and walked up to Liu Bao. He pulled Liu Bao's pants down to the ground and held the dagger to his vital spot, coldly saying, "This is your last chance. If you don't confess, I'll make sure you have no descendants."

Liu Bao was not the kind of tough guy who would sacrifice everything for the White Lotus Sect's beliefs. Just as the dagger was about to strike, he confessed that he was a member of the Three Yang Sect and had come to Fengyang to contact the salt bandits Xie Hongyi and Yang Biao on the orders of their leader, Master Liu Zhixie. The seven thousand taels of silver notes he had were the funds that Xie and Yang had given to the sect.

Yang Biao was also a disciple recruited by Liu Zhixie in Fengyang. He and Xie Hongyi had more than 3,000 men under their command, all of whom were desperate criminals who smuggled salt.

Previously, the Fengyang government had sent troops to besiege the two men, but they were ambushed and defeated.

After receiving the report, the Governor-General of Liangjiang organized troops to encircle and suppress the two traitors again, but the operation was abandoned because the two traitors had received word of the plot and fled.

He also confessed that Liu Zhixie and other key members of the Sanyang Sect may have moved to the Suzhou area because the government troops in Bozhou were launching a major crackdown.

However, he did not mention any collusion between his teacher Liu Zhixie and the government. He only said that Liu Zhixie had sneaked back to Anhui last year and he did not know what he had done before, because he was only recruited as a disciple by Liu Zhixie at the beginning of the year and served as a "liaison" in the sect.

After listening to Liu Bao's confession, Zhao An asked him curiously, "How did you contact Yang Biao and Xie Hongyi? Where are they now?"

Liu Bao dared not hide the truth and told the truth, and also revealed the secret code used for rendezvous within the sect.

"Take it down."

Zhao An ordered Qingyao and the others to take Liu Bao away and detain him properly. Afterwards, he pondered at the desk and then looked at Baili Yunlong: "Yunlong, do you dare to go and meet Xie and Yang?"

Upon hearing this, Baili Yunlong replied without hesitation, "Yunlong will risk his life to wipe out these two traitors for Young Master!"

"I'm not asking you to lead troops to wipe them out, but to persuade them."

Zhao An shook his head, got up and walked to Baili Yunlong. "Go and tell Xie and Yang that as long as they bring their men to join me, not only will their previous crimes be wiped clean, but they will also be allowed to sell all the salt in the northern Anhui region under my jurisdiction. In addition, I will recommend them to the court, one as a garrison commander and the other as a battalion commander. Their men will be placed in a separate battalion called the Huai Battalion."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If the two of them are unwilling to serve me, as long as I am the governor of Anhui, I will make sure they have no peace."

(End of this chapter)