My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 275 What I carry on my shoulders is the entire Qing Dynasty!

Tianjing, the Heavenly King's Palace.

Inside the luxurious yet oppressive palace, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan sat on the dragon throne, his face so somber it seemed to drip water. He clutched a crumpled copy of the *Guangfu Xinbao* (Record of Restoration) tightly in his hand, his gaze fixed on the last line of small print at the end of the third article—

[Article written by: Qin Yuan]

"Qin Yuan..."

Feng Zhaokun's pupils suddenly contracted; in the "Business World" scenario, he retreated.

But this time, can he back down?
He can't back out.

Subconsciously, he crumpled the newspaper into a ball.

Prince An, Hong Renfa, and Prince Fu, Hong Renda, who were standing to the side, were startled by the Heavenly King's sudden and violent reaction. They looked at each other, puzzled.

Hong Renfa asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with this name? Chen Yucheng, the messenger who delivered the newspaper, said that 'Qin Yuan' is just an alias of Shi Ni Dakai, a deliberate attempt to create mystery!"

Hong Renda quickly chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty! This traitor Shi is now holed up in the two prefectures of Fujian, instead of expanding his territory, he's engaging in these mind-blowing tactic. He's practically courting disaster! This newspaper is utterly useless!"

"Useless things?" Feng Zhaokun suddenly raised his head, his icy gaze sweeping over his two stupid cousins ​​like a sharp sword. His voice was filled with suppressed anger and extreme contempt. "Calling you stupid pigs is an insult to pigs. Open your eyes and take a look!"

"This newspaper is as powerful as a million-strong army; it's not attacking cities, it's attacking hearts and minds!"

He stood up, walked to the hanging map, pointed heavily at Fujian, and said solemnly, “You only see that Shi Dakai occupied Jianning and Shaowu prefectures? Haven’t you seen that his military might—no, his voice—has spread throughout northern and western Fujian through this newspaper, and even reached our Nanjing, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang!”

"The hearts of 12 million people in Fujian are being eroded and shaken little by little by him!"

"Winning the hearts and minds of these people is a hundred times more important than capturing one or two cities. As long as he can absorb the population and resources of Jianning and Yanping and win the hearts of the majority of Fujian people, he can at least control a province. He can then advance to conquer the world or retreat to protect himself with an army!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit, with a distinctive air about him, smiled slightly and spoke.

This man was Hong Rengan, Hong Xiuquan's cousin.

According to the original history, he should have arrived in Tianjing the following year, but at this moment, he has been logged in by a player named "Qianyi". After recognizing the situation, he took advantage of his identity to arrive in Tianjing ahead of time, intending to assist Hong Xiuquan in achieving hegemony.

Before coming to Tianjing, he had just traveled north from Hong Kong via Guangzhou and was quite familiar with the situation along the coast.

"The words of the Heavenly King are as clear as day."

Hong Rengan first affirmed Feng Zhaokun's judgment, then changed the subject and said casually, "However, Fujian is known as 'eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland.' Its terrain is closed off, easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is easy to get in but difficult to get out."

"Shi Dakai betrayed the Heavenly Kingdom and established the banner of the 'Restoration Army.' He was morally corrupt, and the people's hearts were not necessarily with him. His momentum seemed overwhelming, but in reality, he was trapped in a corner of the southeast."

"Unless... he can open up a route south to Guangdong. But Guangzhou has the Thirteen Factories, which are the interests of the great powers. Britain, France and other countries will never allow a powerful anti-Qing force to set foot in this place. If Shi goes south, he will be met with a head-on attack by the foreigners."

"Qianyi, you underestimate this Qin... Shi Dakai."

Feng Zhaokun turned around, his expression unusually grave. "This person is far more terrifying than you see now, far more terrifying than you can imagine!"

Hong Rengan was surprised, but he didn't show it on his face. He continued, "The Heavenly King is right. If these three articles in the newspaper were indeed written by him, then this person's insight into the Qing court's problems and his understanding of the Western powers are indeed frighteningly clear and profound."

"During my stay in Hong Kong, I personally witnessed the British's strong ships and powerful cannons, their strict system, and their well-trained marines, which were far superior to the corrupt Qing army. In the past two years, the Anglo-French allied forces have repeatedly invaded our territory, first occupying Guangzhou, then forcing Tianjin to sign the Treaty of Tianjin, and seizing huge profits. All of this is exactly in line with the analysis in this person's article."

Hong Xiuquan said in a deep voice: "The Qing court is corrupt and its attempt to gain the support of foreign powers by selling out national interests is obvious. Shi Dakai has exposed this, and more and more people will see the truth. The most urgent task is for us to expand our base, consolidate our existing territory, and emulate the traitor Shi... no, surpass him! We must also vigorously publicize the evil of the Qing demons and win the hearts of the people!"

He traced his finger across the map. "The Jiangbei camp has been breached, and the gateway to northern Jiangsu is wide open. The next step is to take over the entire Jiangsu! Once Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng defeat the Jiangnan camp, the prosperous lands of Suzhou and Hangzhou will be in our hands! If we have the lands of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces, our great cause will be accomplished!"

Just as the four were discussing their strategy, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. Meng De'en, who was in charge of the Heavenly King's Palace's secrets, rushed in and reported with a panicked expression:
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! We just received an urgent report that Cheng Xueqi, a subordinate of Chen Yucheng, Tan Shaoguang, a subordinate of Li Xiucheng, and Huang Chengzhong, a subordinate of Li Shixian, all led their troops away from the main camp last night and headed towards Fujian!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Renfa, Hong Renda, and even Hong Rengan were all stunned!

Cheng Xueqi and Tan Shaoguang were both valiant generals in the army, and Huang Chengzhong was no ordinary man either. Why did they suddenly defect to Shi Dakai, whose strength was far inferior to that of the Heavenly Kingdom, at a critical moment in the war?

Only Hong Xiuquan's gaze returned to the two words "Qin Yuan" on the newspaper, and a tidal wave of emotion surged within him.

"Just because of a name? Just because he's Qin Yuan? He had this kind of magic in the last instance... Could it be that all the players in this instance are flocking there too? I control several provinces and have hundreds of thousands of soldiers, yet I'm not as powerful as him, who only has two prefectures to rely on?!"

A strong sense of resentment and jealousy burned within him.

"Qin Yuan, oh Qin Yuan..."

Hong Xiuquan took a deep breath, his gaze gradually regaining its composure: "This time, I will never lose to you again!"

He forcefully suppressed his turbulent emotions and gave a stern order:
"Immediately issue an edict to Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng, and Li Shixian! Strictly regulate their troops and eradicate military discipline! If any generals desert again, they will be severely punished! Tell them that I want to hear news of the complete annihilation of the Jiangnan Camp before the end of the year!"

Then, he looked at Hong Rengan, "Furthermore, I appoint Hong Rengan as the Chief Justice, in charge of all financial and tax matters of the Heavenly Kingdom! My dear brother, the Heavenly Kingdom's purse strings are entrusted to you!"

Hong Rengan suppressed a trace of doubt in his heart, bowed and accepted the order: "Your subject will do his utmost to repay the Heavenly King's trust!"

He even began to doubt whether he had chosen the wrong side.

But at least, having control of the finances makes it easier for him to realize his ambitions.

Jiangxi, Nanchang, the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang.

Compared to the upheaval in Tianjing, the Hunan Army headquarters appeared more subdued and vigilant.

Although no high-ranking generals defected, small groups of soldiers deserted due to the influence of the *Guangfu Xinbao* newspaper, which greatly alarmed Zeng Guofan. Although Zeng Guofan had been promoted to Governor-General of Liangjiang, his actual control was still mainly limited to Jiangxi. Faced with the vast occupied areas of Anhui and the unreachable distance of Jiangsu, he felt an immense burden on his shoulders.

At that moment, he was staring at the location of Fujian on the map, his brow furrowed.

The younger brother, Zeng Guoquan, strode in and reported: "Elder brother, Zhou Tianshou of Zhejiang has gathered 70,000 troops and deployed them at Fenshuiguan. They will soon be able to advance on Fuzhou. If we add the troops under Qingduan in Fuzhou, the Qing army in northeastern Fujian can reach 100,000."

Zeng Guofan shook his head and sighed, "I'm afraid only half of Zhou Tianshou's troops are capable of fighting. The Green Standard Army in Fuzhou is in disarray, and the navy is hardly useful for land warfare."

"It would be extremely difficult to defeat the Restoration Army with this!"

"Moreover, judging from his movements, this Shi traitor... his ambition is probably not to flee, but to establish himself in Fujian!"

He had originally thought that Shi Dakai would head west to Jiangxi and Hunan, but now the other side's strategy had suddenly changed, and they were holding firm in Fujian, which made him feel very troubled.

Zeng Guoquan, however, did not have so many concerns: "Why should we boost the morale of others, elder brother? Although Shi Dakai is a capable fighter, he is trapped in Fujian and is still a sitting duck for our Xiang Army."

Zeng Guofan sighed, "Logically speaking, I would also prefer to fight Shi Dakai. This bandit with bound hair is more dangerous than the Taiping Rebellion."

"After all, the Taiping Rebellion was good at commanding campaigns and battles, emphasized mobile warfare, and liked to use mobile warfare methods. Although they captured many towns, it was like a monkey picking corn, losing as they fought, but they had no overall strategic planning."

"Therefore, to deal with the Taiping Army, we should just proceed steadily and compress their area of ​​operation, and we can gradually recover the territory."

"But this Cantonese bandit with his hair tied up has a grand strategy!"

Zeng Guoquan was puzzled, and he was full of arrogance: "Brother, it's not like we haven't fought against Shi Dakai before. Although he is good at fighting, he hasn't risen to the level of grand strategy, has he?"

"He can't even take Quzhou, and now he only occupies two prefectures. Even if Zhou Tianshou and Zhou Tianpei's 100,000 men can't wipe him out, they can at least hold him off, right?"

"Once we have swept through Jiangxi and Anhui provinces, we can easily encircle and annihilate them."

“Yuanfu,” Zeng Guofan did not directly refute, but pushed a letter on the table toward him, “Take a look at this.”

"Whose letter is this?" Zeng Guoquan asked, taking the letter with a puzzled look.

"What the Prefect of Guangxin, Shen Baozhen, forwarded to him were copies of newspapers and some observations sent to him by his family in Fuzhou," Zeng Guofan said with a complex tone.

Zeng Guoquan unfolded the letter and quickly scanned it.

At first, he was relatively calm, but the more you looked at his face, the worse it became. By the end, his face was ashen and his breathing was heavy.

"Big brother! This...this written on it, is it all true?!"

His voice was hoarse, filled with barely suppressed anger.

The letter completely overturned their belief in the hierarchical relationship between ruler and subject, and thoroughly refuted the "legitimacy" of the Qing Dynasty's founding.

“It’s true.” Zeng Guofan said in a heavy tone, “Shen Baozhen said in his letter that the contents of this newspaper have been widely circulated in Fujian and are poisoning people’s hearts.”

Zeng Guoquan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "What exactly does Shi Dakai want?! Does he really think he can turn the world upside down and seize the entire country with just this small corner of Fujian?!"

"Surrounded by powerful nations, instead of working together to serve our country, we rebel and cause chaos. Do we have no sense of morality or ethics?"

Unlike his brother's indignation, Zeng Guofan was strangely calm at this moment.

He slowly stroked his beard, a complex light flashing in his eyes: "Shi Dakai, such a traitor, naturally deserves to die a thousand deaths, and even being slowly sliced ​​to death would not be too much."

"However... some of the points mentioned in the report are not entirely without merit."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "For example, the arguments of the Western powers..."

"What about Fujian?" Zeng Guoquan asked urgently. "If the people of Fujian believe in his heresies and their hearts turn away, what will happen then?"

Zeng Guofan didn't speak, but slowly and carefully folded the letter, one fold at a time.

While doing it, he said slowly and deliberately:

"Land contaminated with poison naturally needs to be thoroughly tilled."

"The poisonous weeds that grow on this land, naturally, must also..."

He raised his head, his gaze calm.

The voice, however, was chillingly cold, radiating murderous intent:
“Slay them one by one, until they are all gone.”

He fought the Battle of Jiujiang for two whole months, and then massacred the city for three days, killing tens of thousands of its inhabitants.

His hands were already stained with blood.

He didn't mind letting the blood stain the mountains and rivers of Fujian again.

After all, he did it to save this crumbling empire!

"On my shoulders rests the weight of the Qing Dynasty, a dynasty that has lasted for over two hundred years!"

(End of this chapter)