The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

As the first rays of sunlight shone on Yongding Gate, 56,000 Han soldiers from ten garrisons had already gathered below the city, their eyes fixed intently on the gate.

With a series of clicks, the city gate of Yongding Gate slowly opened, and three thousand imperial guards, riding tall horses, wearing even more exquisite military uniforms, black cloaks, and scimitars at their waists, galloped out of the city gate without the slightest sign of chaos.

After the Imperial Guards dismounted and lined up on both sides, Batel, as the commander of the Imperial Guards, roared with almost all his might.

"Welcome, Your Majesty the Emperor!"

"All troops salute!"

After Batel finished speaking, he raised his fist to his forehead, and nearly 60,000 soldiers saluted and shouted almost simultaneously.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

The shouts of tens of thousands of people were deafening and continued without stopping, causing ripples to appear in the moat around Yongding Gate.

At the height of the atmosphere, Liu Mu, dressed in a five-clawed golden dragon armor, wearing a gilded phoenix-winged helmet, and a bright red cloak, rode out of the city gate on a pure black Akhal-Teke horse with only a tuft of white hair on its chest.

This outfit is quite magnificent; on the battlefield, it would make one an easy target. However, as the emperor, he had to dress extravagantly; he couldn't be worse off than the general.

At this moment, Liu Mu also raised his fist to his eyebrows and glanced at the ten adjutants around him. They were the senior generals of this army, most of whom were former Green Standard Army generals, but had already passed many tests.

There was no other way; Liu Mu's men were all Mongolian men, and it really took a lot of skill for them to learn how to form battle formations.

"The Han army is mighty!"

When Liu Mu said those words, all the soldiers simultaneously drew their swords or raised their spears and muskets in response.

"Long live Your Majesty!"

After glancing at the sun, Liu Mu waved his hand dismissively.

"Set off!!!"

Although it was the dead of winter, the snow on the official road leading south had already been cleared by the people ahead of time, thanks to the arrangements made by the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

This was considered simple corvée labor, as the government only provided one day's rations. Almost everyone was eager to do it, since if a family had enough young and strong men to eat for one day, the children would be able to have enough to eat.

……

When the Han army marched south, the first to receive the news was Emperor Kangxi, since there were still Manchu bondservant or spies hidden in Beijing.

Today, after being ravaged by the Eight Banners troops stationed in Nanjing, the once magnificent Forbidden City is in ruins, and the three main halls are completely destroyed.

However, after Kangxi went south, he rebuilt several small palaces, the largest of which was still named Qianqing Palace and served as Kangxi's office.

Inside the main hall, the Eight Banners nobles and civil and military officials were all gathered together, their faces showing great distress, and some even revealing fear and unease.

As he sat on the dragon throne, Emperor Kangxi's pig tail hair had turned a little white. Looking at the intelligence from the capital, he couldn't help but frown and clench his fists!

After glancing around and seeing that everyone was silent, Kangxi looked helplessly at Nalan Mingzhu, the Minister of War.

"The Han army of 100,000 marched south, Prince An was still fighting Wu Sangui in Jingzhou, Hubei, while Chani's troops were in Ganzhou, locked in a stalemate with Shang Zhixin. Prince Kang's army was also in Taizhou, tied down by Geng Jingzhong. How many troops does the court have left?"

Upon hearing Kangxi mention the Han army, Nalan Mingzhu trembled instinctively, for he recalled the massacres outside Xianghe County.

If it weren't for his and Suo'etu's quick thinking in changing into Hanfu and blending into the crowd, they would probably have been captured and sent to Datong to mine coal, just like that stubborn old man Misihan.

"Your Majesty, apart from the 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers and 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers guarding the capital, there are truly no troops available to deploy, unless the 30,000 Green Standard Army soldiers surrounding the capital are withdrawn!"

After Nalan Mingzhu finished speaking, he lowered his head. He knew it was impossible. The other old ministers of the Eight Banners looked at each other and dared not speak. No one dared to stand up and refute him. After all, this was a last resort.

Just as the decision was about to be passed, one of the commanders of the Bordered White Banner sighed and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, this servant believes that the Green Standard Army around the capital should not be easily mobilized. Those gentry have long harbored rebellious intentions and are alienated from our Great Qing. If the Green Standard Army is withdrawn, they will dare to rebel!"

Kangxi nodded secretly upon hearing this. After all, he had just arrived in Jiangnan last year, and in order to quickly replenish his troops, the Eight Banners soldiers had almost plundered all the wealthy merchants and gentry around Nanjing through marriage alliances and bloodshed.

As for how to arrange marriages, it was naturally to force wives to those Manchu bannermen who had lost family members in Beijing.

This naturally angered the gentry of Jiangnan. Fortunately, the Jiangxi soldiers were able to suppress the unrest immediately by relying on the law against runaway slaves.

If the Green Standard Army were to be mobilized, those gentry who had outwardly submitted would definitely do everything in their power to rebel, since the two sides had already become irreconcilable enemies.

Suo'etu, who was standing to the side, knew that they were Manchus and that the fate of the Qing Dynasty was intertwined with theirs, so he quickly tried to smooth things over.

"General Tu Hai has 20,000 brave warriors from the Upper Three Banners and 30,000 elite Green Standard Army soldiers in Xuzhou. Defending Xuzhou and preventing the Han army from advancing south should not be a problem!"

Tu Hai was a veteran of countless battles, and everyone still trusted him. Just when everyone thought the time was up, Kangxi shook his head, got up from the dragon throne, and went to the center of the hall.

"Galdan is a treacherous and cunning man. He knew that Tuhai had tens of thousands of troops in Xuzhou, but he still chose to head south to Xuzhou, which shows that he was confident of breaking through the city."

"If Tu Hai's army is defeated, the capital will still fall. Therefore, I have decided to lead three thousand Eight Banners soldiers and ten thousand Green Standard Army soldiers northward!"

At this point, Kangxi glanced at his ministers, but his gaze finally settled on Mingzhu and Suo'etu.

"Mingzhu and Suo'etu will guard the capital, ensuring the supply of grain to Xuzhou. Anyone who dares to cause trouble at this time will be killed on sight, their family confiscated, and their clan exterminated!"

"At the same time, within a month, at all costs, recruit another 50,000 able-bodied men from the Green Standard Army, distribute weapons to them, and send half a year's worth of provisions to Xuzhou City!"

Kangxi's move was out of desperation. With the loss of Han Chinese officials, the only servants in the entire Qing Dynasty who could do anything were Nalan Mingzhu and Suo'etu.

However, Nalan Mingzhu and Suo'etu felt their scalps tingle and started sweating when they heard about this assignment.

Although Southern Zhili has a large population, it cannot stop the Qing Dynasty's constant turmoil. Now, the entire Southern Zhili has reached the brink of widespread suffering.

However, by providing wives for the Eight Banner soldiers and reclaiming land around Southern Zhili, Kangxi already held considerable power, and they dared not disobey him.

"My lord, I obey your order!"

The fact that the two men were willing to obey orders brought a sigh of relief to Kangxi. He really couldn't bear to kill them, as they were among the few capable men he had ever met.

Emperor Kangxi was not at ease entrusting this task to Han Chinese!

Just as the matter was settled and Kangxi was about to leave, a eunuch hurriedly entered the main hall.

"Your Majesty, an urgent report from the Ministry of Rites!"