Chapter 168 Will the Truth Hurt People? (I)
As a "virtuous prince", it was rare for Prince Lian to be considered ridiculous by both Yongzheng and the ministers. However, when Prince Lian said, "Since the government troops are surrounded by Huo Chong, we should consider what will happen after being surrounded," Yongzheng rebuked him, and the ministers also felt that Prince Lian's statement was too mediocre.
The Eighth Master was actually a little worried about the reactions of the ministers. However, he knew that he didn't understand military affairs, and that the Fourteenth Master had really led troops to fight in battles. Even though the Eighth Master thought this statement was indeed strange, he still insisted on this point of view that looked similar to that of a child.
In the next two days, when the Eighth Master went to court, he looked calm, but in fact, he was both expectant and anxious. After so many years of seeing so many people, at this critical moment, his confidence in Huo Chong suddenly wavered. Too many people were the type who would immediately fail at the critical moment, and Huo might also get carried away.
On the third day, from the moment Yongzheng entered the Golden Palace, the Eighth Master sensed something was wrong. Yongzheng's expression revealed a strange spirit, which was an extremely negative mental state. Looking at the ministers of the Ministry of War, from the Minister of War to several deputy ministers, they all looked like eggplants hit by frost, wilting.
The super meeting a few days ago had discussed the matter of exterminating Huo Chong every day, but today Yongzheng and his inner circle of ministers did not mention a word. They did not even discuss other matters, and just ended the meeting hastily.
At night, the channel that provided information to Lao Ba still sent news. The 20,000 government troops that were sent to attack Huo Chong were surrounded outside the city of Jinan and had been destroyed.
After reading it, Lao Ba let out a long sigh, and tears welled up in his eyes. He himself didn't know whether he was sad or happy at this moment. Thinking that his momentary decision actually determined the life and death of tens of thousands of people, Lao Ba couldn't control his emotions and sighed. Who could have thought that he, who had been suppressed for decades, would decide the fate of the Qing Dynasty in this way?
Compared with the intelligence Yongzheng had received, the intelligence was very simple. Yongzheng didn't know how to adjust his mood under the impact of the large amount of intelligence.
Shandong Governor Chen Shiguan was the chief official in Shandong and sent the most detailed intelligence. It started with the fact that the expeditionary army had poor discipline and was harassing the people everywhere. Chen Shiguan's memorial was organized completely according to Chen Shiguan's own views on the matter.
Because the punitive army harassed the people, the people fled far away and did not dare to approach the punitive army. When the punitive army was captured sporadically by the bandits sent by Huo Chong, the punitive army had no idea of the latest news and thought that the people who had been harmed by them were seeking revenge.
Chen Shiguan had already told the generals of the expeditionary army that this was most likely done by Huo Chong. However, the expeditionary army did not believe it, and finally they were attacked by surprise, trapped in a siege, and then destroyed.
At this time, the punitive army had been completely destroyed, and Chen Shiguan did not care that someone else would jump out to play against him. Although the actual situation was that neither the punitive army nor Chen Shiguan thought that Huo Chong's use of troops was so "elegant", and harassing the people was just an excuse and reason for the two sides to fight. But the message sent by Chen Shiguan was real.
Yongzheng was listening to his dear thirteenth brother privately telling his opinion at this time. The thirteenth brother did not unconditionally agree with Chen Shiguan's statement. In the view of the thirteenth brother, if Chen Shiguan was really as innocent and smart as he said, why not let the 20,000 Qing troops enter Jinan City. At least let them station under Jinan City. Wouldn't that be fine?
In Lao Shisan's opinion, the ultimate purpose of Chen Shiguan submitting such a memorial at this time was nothing more than to shirk responsibility.
The Thirteenth Brother's comments were insightful, and Yongzheng agreed with them. However, Yongzheng could tolerate this little calculation of human nature. He sighed, "Thirteenth Brother, no one is perfect. Chen Shiguan's behavior is understandable. He must have been thinking about the people of Jinan. He allowed the government troops to station under the city of Jinan. I'm afraid the people under the city of Jinan will be even more miserable."
The Thirteenth Elder replied, "Your Majesty, I just think that Chen Shiguan's words should not be tolerated. Will Huo Chong let the people under the city of Jinan go if the 20,000 government troops are destroyed?"
Yongzheng loved his thirteenth brother deeply, and when he heard his thirteenth brother say this, Yongzheng felt unhappy. If it were someone else, this unhappiness would immediately turn into anger, and then he would scold the person who said this.
But facing the Thirteenth Brother, Yongzheng just felt that what the Thirteenth Brother said was very right, and he hated it. It was just because of insufficient intelligence that he didn't know what happened.
He handed several secret memorials to his thirteenth brother. Yongzheng didn't even care whether his thirteenth brother could see who submitted these secret memorials.
The Thirteenth Brother certainly knew that the Fourth Brother had established secret agencies such as the Sticking Rod Office, and that he had also continuously improved the secret memorial system. This system had become a very effective surveillance system. The fact that the Fourth Brother could directly take out the secret memorial showed how much the Fourth Brother trusted him. As long as the Thirteenth Brother told the outside world a little about who wrote the secret memorial, it would be enough to make many officials become enemies forever.
So Old Thirteen didn't even look at the names of those people, but instead carefully read the contents of the secret letter.
These memorials were not intended to explain or describe anything, but to inform Yongzheng of what had happened. Therefore, the information in the secret memorials was simple and straightforward, without any pursuit of internal logical coherence. The descriptions were straightforward, just what was seen.
Old Thirteen was completely shocked after reading several secret letters.
It turned out that after Huo Chong wiped out the 20,000 Qing troops who were surrounded within two days, he first ordered more than 7,000 prisoners to dig a pit and bury the bodies of the Qing soldiers. Then he ordered the prisoners to be stripped down to only a pair of pants, and escorted them to the outskirts of Jinan. He asked Chen Shiguan to come out and pick them up.
Chen Shiguan was afraid of the enemy and was worried that there might be Huo Chong's men among the captives, so he closed the four gates and did not dare to open the city.
Huo Chong spread rumors outside the city of Jinan, saying that the government troops had been robbing the people and were all bad people. Although Huo Chong was kind-hearted and unwilling to kill the captives, he still warned the people of Jinan to be careful that the captives would scatter and rob and kill.
The reason why the captives were stripped down to their pants was because they were worried that these people had weapons in their hands and would harm the people more. Even if they were stripped so cleanly, Huo Chong could not guarantee that nothing would happen. If these people looted, the people could report it to Huo Chong. If the people really needed it, Huo Chong would come back and execute those officers and soldiers who looted everywhere.
In order to prove that these things were true, the secret letter also included Huo Chong's notice.
Some of the secret letters even contained news that shocked Old Thirteen. The Qing prisoners carried their pay with them during the battle. Although Huo Chong's army disarmed and stripped these people of their clothes, Huo Chong's men did not take the prisoners' pay away. Instead, they left it to the prisoners.
In other words, although these captives only had one pair of pants left, they were not short of silver...
Seeing this, Old Thirteen put down the secret letter and said quickly: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Huo Chong is so vicious!"
Yongzheng nodded. Huo Chong's viciousness was beyond Yongzheng's imagination. The release of the prisoners was clearly intended to stir up internal struggles in the Qing army. If Chen Shiguan did not dare to gather the prisoners, the prisoners would surely scatter and cause trouble. At this time, the military disaster predicted by Huo Chongxian's many notices would occur.
To act in such an upright and aboveboard way, yet do such a sinister and cunning thing. This viciousness is simply indescribable!
I once commented that Huo Chong "can make the truth sound like a lie", and now Huo Chong used the means to show malice as well as goodwill.
Seeing his thirteenth brother so excited, Yongzheng had to comfort him: "Thirteenth brother, I have sent someone to ask Chen Shiguan to quickly gather the people. Don't delay."
Old Thirteen wanted his head as much as a rattle, "Your Majesty, this is not what I am talking about. This is what I am talking about!" After saying that, Old Thirteen handed the secret letter to Yongzheng, which showed that Huo Chong did not take the prisoners' pay.
"Your Majesty, Huo Chong is so vicious that I have never heard of him! Your Majesty, if Chen Shiguan had confiscated the money from the defeated soldiers when he was gathering them, it would have led to a mutiny! People say that if a three-year-old child carries gold through the market, everyone will covet it. At this time, the defeated soldiers are holding money and are being taken in by the government army. How can there be no one coveting this money?"
Yongzheng's face immediately turned ugly when he heard this. This unhappiness and even anger was certainly not directed at his beloved Thirteenth Brother, but at those surrendered soldiers. Especially when he heard that these people, after being defeated, obediently handed over the weapons and armor that were enough to fight Huo Chong to the death, and yet they were still able to keep the money given to them by the court, he became even more angry!
The imperial court spent so much money to equip these surrendered soldiers with weapons and armor, so that they could fight Huo Chong to , instead of letting them obediently hand over these expensive equipment to Huo Chong for the sake of their lives.
Isn't the purpose of paying salaries to these surrendered soldiers so that they have no worries and can fight bravely?
Now that they have lost the battle, what's the point of keeping the money? It's better to let those officers and soldiers who have not surrendered and are still fighting for the court take it!
However, Yongzheng had worked for his father Kangxi for so many years, and when his anger subsided a little, he understood what his thirteenth brother was reminding him of. The surrendered soldiers now only had money in their hands, and they didn't even have the equipment to resist. Once the government troops in Jinan took away their money, they would have no way to resist.
But there are thousands of people here, and if someone doesn't know the general situation and starts a riot, it is indeed possible.
Thinking of this, Yongzheng responded: "I will send someone to tell Chen Shiguan to be careful."
Seeing Thirteenth Brother's anxious expression, Yongzheng felt his loyalty and felt warm in his heart, so he said, "Thirteenth Brother, I will issue an order now!"
At this time, chaos had broken out in Jinan. Almost without any coordination, more than a dozen groups of surrendered soldiers had begun to attack the defenders in the city.
