Chapter 286 The Only Path to Choose (Part 2)
Huo Chong was not in Shandong, so the important task of leading Shandong naturally had to be handed over to the person Huo Chong trusted the most. Looking at the entire Han regime, from position to prestige, Qian Qing naturally took on this responsibility.
Qian Qing did not show any pressure, and handled affairs in an orderly manner every day. In particular, he sent people to inquire about Huo Chong's wife every day. At this time, Mrs. Huo's family was taken to Huo Chong's residence, and the family revolved around Mrs. Huo.
Qiangwei came to report and told Qian Qing, "Madam's morning sickness has improved a lot recently."
"Oh." Qian Qing responded.
Qiangwei asked in confusion: "Sister, why don't you seem to care?"
Qian Qing raised his eyebrows, "Qianwei, how could I not care? That's the master's child."
"I mean ma'am."
Qian Qing suppressed his displeasure and tried his best to emphasize the point in a casual manner, "Madam? She is not a madam yet. What the master wants is a child, so we must not let anything happen to the child."
Qiangwei couldn't quite understand this subtle and complex emotion, but as a female cadre who worked under Qian Qing, Qiangwei was worried that Qian Qing would offend Huo Chong's harem, so she advised: "Sister, after all, she is the mother of Mr.'s child."
Qian Qing shook his head. "That's what I'm afraid of. You still don't understand the master's mind. If the master wants to find a powerful relative, can't he do it? Why doesn't he do it?"
Qiangwei had never thought about this before. After thinking about it for a while, she asked, "Isn't it because that woman is pretty?"
"Good looking? Are you and I ugly?" Qian Qing became unhappy.
Speaking of looks, Qiangwei felt that she couldn't lose. So she focused on her origin, "I heard that someone wants to ask you to marry the daughter of the Kong family. Is it true?"
"It's true. But the master said that the Kong family was a traitor to the Mongols. They were traitors again to the Manchus. It's shameful to marry a girl from their family."
"Oh. So... there is no suitable one."
"So, sir, you are looking for a small family. It's just to have a child. You don't count on so-called in-laws at all. Qiangwei, I can't control other people's stupidity. Don't be stupid. If they ask you to do something, just listen to them. Do it according to the rules. Don't worry, if anyone dares to do anything because of this, I will deal with them."
Qiangwei had also been on the battlefield several times, leading the female soldiers to fight the Qing army head-on. Huo Chong's wife was not taken seriously by Qiangwei, and now she received such clear guidance from Qian Qing, which made her feel relieved.
In terms of closeness, Qiangwei was just instinctively worried that Huo Chong would care more about the woman he had only known for a few days. At this moment, she only cared about Huo Chong's blood.
Qian Qing asked his close subordinates to understand the key points of the matter, but he was not happy, and was even quite unhappy. After dealing with some affairs here, he saw that the main documents were about local applications for equipment and farm tools. He felt more and more unhappy.
Fighting was no longer a problem for Qian Qing, especially after fighting with Ortai and Yue Zhongqi, Qian Qing had a better sense of how to use troops.
Government affairs are different. If the people below have difficulties, they will report them directly. Qian Qing is very familiar with this. She was one of the people who reported difficulties. Now as a person who has to solve difficulties, Qian Qing found that she did not learn the essence of solving government affairs problems from Huo Chong.
While patiently handling official business, someone delivered an urgent document. Qian Qing put down the daily documents in his hand and picked up the urgent document. After reading it, he immediately felt less sleepy. Not only was he no longer sleepy, but his bad mood also flew away. "Wait until the person who is coming as stated in the document arrives, and ask him to come see me immediately."
However, the excitement only lasted for 30 minutes. Qian Qing exploded in front of the guys in the production department, "Now all places want parts to repair water pumps. What's the point of you giving me the number of complete machines?"
The guys in the technical department had very limited contact with Qian Qing, and they were not as awed by him as the guys in the military. After hearing what Qian Qing said, they directly retorted, "Commander Qian, we have a mission to produce a certain amount of equipment every month. If you say that, we don't have to produce equipment!"
Qian Qing felt that the guy across from her must be hiding something, but she couldn't think of anything for the time being. Just as she was about to get angry again, she heard the guy from the technical department answer: "Commander Qian, if we produce parts, we can't produce machines. If we produce machines, we can't produce parts. Just give the order whichever you think is better."
"Is this all you are capable of? Aren't you ashamed?" Qian Qing shouted.
I thought this would motivate the guy in the technical department, but I didn't expect his face to change and he actually said, "Hit, hit, hit. I don't want it, you change someone else! This is the one that's right!"
Qian Qing didn't need to get angry. Yang Wangfu, who was in the room, slammed the table and yelled at the guy in the technical department: "Get out of here now!"
Qian Qing wanted to do the same thing. Since her cousin Yang Wangfu had already scolded her, Qian Qing was able to vent her anger. She felt a little better. But after she relaxed a little, she suddenly felt something was wrong. Sure enough, as soon as Yang Wangfu finished scolding, the man opposite her spread his hands and said, "I quit. You can find whoever you want."
Yang Wangfu had never been so angry before, so he wanted to grab the guy's collar and give him a good beating. Qian Qing stepped forward to stop Yang Wangfu from taking action.
The guy from the technical department turned around and left angrily, and Yang Wangfu scolded him from behind. At this time, Qian Qing felt murderous, but he felt that something was wrong.
Huo Chong was very optimistic about this guy in the technical department. Although he had a bad temper, he was not someone who could be easily offended. Moreover, this guy dared to do this, so he must have someone to rely on. Huo Chong did not allow violence within the army, and anyone who did this would not be let off lightly. Even if he was to deal with this guy, he had to first figure out where the problem was.
Seeing that Yang Wangfu was still cursing, Qian Qing grabbed Yang Wangfu by the collar and said, "Enough! Wangfu, don't be stupid. You are not allowed to touch others. Go to the equipment manufacturing side first and find someone you trust. Don't mention this matter first. Find out what's going on. If you can't find out clearly, bring the person here for me to ask."
After all, Yang Wangfu had also undertaken many important tasks. Seeing that Qian Qing had regained consciousness, he quickly calmed down. After thinking for a while, he accepted the order and left.
Qian Qing really didn't have the mood to deal with official business anymore. After thinking for a while, he suddenly felt a little scared. Thinking back to when Huo Chong was here, he could handle any difficult matter. He had offended many people in just one month.
If we have to say what the difference is, it is probably that even if Huo Chong cannot solve the problem himself, at least Huo Chong can point out how to solve the problem. Where is the way out?
When Qian Qing encounters a problem that cannot be solved, he will order the other party to solve the problem.
It's not that Qian Qing doesn't want to learn from Huo Chong, but Qian Qing can only solve some problems. Most of the problems are just like Xiao's rules. There are also some problems that Qian Qing doesn't know how to solve at all.
The feeling of fear became stronger and stronger. Qian Qing hoped that Huo Chong could come back soon to take charge of the situation. If Huo Chong did not come, Qian Qing knew that things would only get worse.
After a while of fear, another person came in. It was the person who contacted the capital. The previous urgent letter mentioned that this person would arrive half a day later than the urgent letter, but he still arrived.
The brother was panting with exhaustion, and sweat was dripping down his forehead in the winter. Qian Qing quickly ordered someone to pour water for the brother to wash his face and give him tea. He also asked him to prepare some food.
The brother wiped his face and immediately said, "Commander. Someone in the capital wants to buy our revolver. The brothers over there said that they think this person might be planning an assassination."
Qian Qing nodded. The urgent letter was written clearly: the Manchus in the capital wanted to buy eight revolvers and the corresponding ammunition.
Although he still didn't know the formula, Qian Qing knew that the core of the Han army's firearms was not the musket, bayonet, or cartridge case. These could be imitated as long as they were seen by others. Even granular gunpowder was not something that could not be imitated.
The core of the Han army's weapon system is the copper percussion cap. The core is the thing inside the copper percussion cap that can be triggered by the trigger. Even Qian Qing doesn't know the formula , and only a very small number of core technicians know how to make it.
If no one knew the formula and produced a large number of copper fire caps, the weapons of the Han army would instantly become fire sticks and lose all their power.
So it was not a problem for the other party to buy eight revolvers, as the squad leaders of the Han army would be equipped with revolvers. This thing was only used for close combat, and if the distance was ten meters, Qian Qing himself might not want to use it.
"My brother in the capital thinks that the Manchus are not going to use them for imitation, nor are they necessarily going to use them against us. But he just feels that way and doesn't know if it's true. The Manchus are very tight-lipped and won't say anything except buying a gun. One hundred taels for a revolver, and the bullets are charged separately."
Qian Qing asked a few more questions and roughly understood the feeling of the intelligence department. The capital was in chaos, and the Beijing court and the Shengjing court were going to decide the winner. Shengjing looked small in number, but it had the support of the Manchus. At this time, some Manchus wanted to buy revolvers, and Qian Qing also judged that the other party's purpose was to assassinate.
However, if this judgment is wrong, Qian Qing's decision to sell guns to the Manchus is to sell arms privately. Given the current situation, if we hold a meeting to discuss, no one will be willing to take this responsibility. Even Yang Wangfu will not help Qian Qing to bear it.
If Qian Qing wanted to let these people know, he didn't even need to tell them in advance. He only needed to tell them the result after making the decision.
If you do this, it would be better not to say anything.
In a dilemma, Qian Qing is looking forward to Huo Chong's return. If all the responsibilities are thrown to Huo Chong, or if Huo Chong is his backer, it will be too easy for him to do things by himself.
After thinking it over, Qian Qing asked, "Nowadays, revolvers can hold five rounds, right?"
"right."
"Sell eight. Each one contains fifteen rounds of bullets." Qian Qing decided to take the responsibility himself.
All the gates of the capital were tightly closed, and only a token was needed to enter. Although Ortai himself did not have a token, the guards who came to greet Ortai and Yue Zhongqi did.
Looking at the soldiers standing ready, the two veterans knew how tense the situation had become. Yue Zhongqi sighed, "Governor, I don't really want to lead the troops this time. What about you?"
Before he set out, Ortai knew the purpose of these hundreds of thousands of green troops coming to the capital. When he heard Yue Zhongqi trying to retreat, he could only sigh and say, "If we can all get rid of the heavy responsibility, please come to my place for a drink, Brother Yue."
Yue Zhongqi smiled bitterly and asked, "Does the Governor have a house in the capital?"
"We don't have a house. How about a small house?" Ortai forced himself to joke.
The men and horses were walking along the street when they heard a sudden noise in front of them. A moment later, the men and horses started to move, shouting.
The guards quickly protected the two men. Soon, the Eight Banners Army came running to report, "There is a disturbance ahead. Please take the main road on the right."
Seeing that the situation was so troublesome, the guards knew that Hong Zhou was in a hurry to see the two men, so they had to take a detour. The Eight Banners Army hurriedly trotted ahead to clear the way, leading the troops along the main road to another road leading to the Forbidden City.
When they reached the intersection, the Eight Banners did not move forward. The leader saluted and said, "Sir, the road ahead is not under our control. Do you want to wait for us to greet the brothers over there, or go on your own?"
The guard frowned, "Now that we are here, why don't you call the person in charge of that street over here?"
The leader of the Eight Banners quickly asked his men to stop and ran forward. The guards looked at his back and felt something moving in the corner of their eyes. Turning back, they saw that four of the Eight Banners soldiers who stayed with the guards suddenly took out something in their hands and pointed it at Ortai and Yue Zhongqi.
Before the guards could react, they heard a loud gunshot from the short object. Four Eight Banners soldiers fired fiercely at Ortai and Yue Zhongqi.
Hong Zhou felt his right eyelid twitching. He couldn't remember whether it was his left eye or his right eye. The more he thought it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Then he saw a guard rushing in, kneeling on the ground and shouting, "Your Majesty, the Eight Banners Army assassinated Ortai and Yue Zhongqi."
Hearing this, Hong Zhou's eyelids suddenly stopped twitching. He felt his heart suddenly stop, and he seemed to be falling into a bottomless abyss.
Just a day later than Hong Zhou, Lao Ba, who led the Shengjing Army, received the same news, and the news was more detailed.
The Eight Banners Army that assassinated Ortai and Yue Zhongqi did not flee after completing the assassination, but surrendered. During the interrogation, the Eight Banners Army readily told the interrogating officials that they followed Yue Zhongqi to fight in Jinan and escaped after being defeated. However, the brothers who participated in the war together died at the hands of Huo Chong.
These Eight Banners soldiers firmly believed that Yue Zhongqi, a Han Chinese, was not on the same side with the Qing Dynasty. Not only did he kill so many Eight Banners soldiers, but he also colluded with Ortai to mobilize the Han Chinese from the Green Camp to kill the Manchus. This meant that they wanted to kill all the Manchus outside the Great Wall.
Therefore, he would rather die than let himself die, and kill Yue Zhongqi and Ortai to prevent the Han people from going out of the pass to massacre the old Manchus outside the pass.
Lao Ba's eyes welled up with tears. He wiped his tears and praised: "These are all heroes of our Manchu people! These are all heroes of our Manchu people!"
The generals of Shengjing were also deeply moved, and followed Lao Ba in praising that only Manchus truly care about Manchus. After the sigh, they began to scold Hong Zhou and his father Yongzheng for only using Han people. Since Yongzheng came to power, he has only used Han people or those bannermen who are close to Yongzheng.
All the real bannermen of the Kangxi Dynasty were brutally murdered by Yongzheng. Some were imprisoned, some were beheaded.
Can you not pull Hong Zhou off the throne? !
After sighing, Lao Ba said, "My lords, my brothers. There are already 59 generals who are in favor of us. However, many of them still don't want to see us Manchus killing each other. The people they sent said that they would support whoever sits on the throne of the capital in the end. We don't need to force them. After all, we Manchus and Mongolians are one family. If Hong Zhou was not the same as his father, who only knew how to deal with us Manchus, we would not be willing to do it."
All the generals nodded.
Seeing everyone's eager eyes, Lao Ba didn't continue to say these empty words, "Everyone, let's not rush to advance. Since Ortai and Yue Zhongqi are already dead. Let's wait for a few days. Hong Zhou will definitely take action against the Manchus in the city. Then everyone will see clearly who Hong Zhou is."
When such a realistic problem was mentioned, a general immediately asked: "Eighth Master, the brothers in the capital are unwilling to come out and fight with us. But those hundreds of thousands of Green Camp are all Han people, and they are coming to attack us."
Lao Ba said confidently: "Let them come. There are no more than 10,000 Manchus. If there are more than 10,000, they are invincible. We have 70,000 Manchus now, how can we be afraid of them?"
While Lao Ba was planning based on the intelligence, Hong Zhou in the capital had already obtained the complete interrogation confession. Although some people also suggested that Hong Zhou should directly question the Manchus who committed the assassination, Hong Zhou immediately refused. It was not that Hong Zhou was afraid of them, but he was worried that after seeing these people, he would not be able to help but order their execution directly.
The most urgent task now is to torture these people to find out how many accomplices they have. The revolver used in the crime was the weapon used by Shandong Huo Chong's subordinates. Could it be that Lao Ba has colluded with Huo Chong?
If he killed these guys without asking clearly, Hong Zhou would feel unsleeping and eating uneasy.
The atmosphere in the Military Affairs Office was extremely depressing. As the Prime Minister, Old Fourteen felt exhausted both physically and mentally, and had no idea how to deal with the current situation.
So far, it is the Manchus who have rebelled, it is the Manchus who have surrendered openly to the enemy, it is still the Manchus who have betrayed, and it is still the Manchus who are committing murder now.
According to the latest news, Huo Chong is leading his army to attack Jiangnan. The enemy of the Beijing court is no longer Huo Chong, a pure Han Chinese rebel, but a pure Manchu.
The Qing Dynasty actually adopted a policy of separating the Manchus from the Han people, and the number of Han people around the Manchus was much smaller than that of the Manchus. In other words, those who were loyal to Hong Zhou had to be on guard against the Manchus who made up the majority of the people around them at all times.
How can we tell who is loyal and who is not?
Whenever he thought about this problem, Old Fourteen felt overwhelmed and couldn't find a solution.
Hong Zhou sighed and broke the silence, "Order the Green Camp to go to Luanzhou to join the battle. Make sure to annihilate all the rebels."
"Your Majesty, who will lead the troops?" The Fourteenth Prince asked hurriedly.
"Fourteenth Uncle, you have fought in wars and served as a general. How about you lead the army?" Hong Zhou replied.
Old Fourteen was shocked and didn't know how to answer. He never thought that one day he would actually have to fight a life-and-death battle with the starling. It was really a huge irony.
