Chapter 388: Changes in Xi'an (VI)
After reading Fu Qing's memorial, Hong Zhou lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought. After a moment, Hong Zhou raised his eyes and asked Liu Tongxun, the Han Chinese minister, "If Huguang is lost, will most of the tea be cut off?"
Liu Tongxun was startled. He thought Hong Zhou would ask the Manchu ministers about the war in Huguang, but unexpectedly Hong Zhou asked about the origin of tea.
Although he was puzzled, Liu Tongxun quickly replied: "Your Majesty, if the tea in the world is ten percent, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian account for four, Huguang accounts for three, Yunnan and Guizhou account for two, and the rest account for one."
After hearing this, Hong Zhou's mind became clearer. The Huaxia Army had already occupied Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian. If they took over Huguang, six of the tea industry in the world would be taken away. If they entered Sichuan, the tea from Yunnan and Guizhou that had to be transported to the northwest would be completely cut off.
In the northwest, drinking tea is a luxury. However, for the Mongols outside the Great Wall, if there were no tea bricks, their lives would be threatened. Since the loss of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, most of the tea shipped to Xi'an had to be sent to Mongolia. At this time, the Mongols knew that the Qing Dynasty had been defeated, and people were in turmoil. Among the many means to continue to maintain the Mongols, tea was an important part.
Although he gave himself a reason that seemed to require aid to Huguang, Hong Zhou still couldn't order to go to Huguang to help. Because this option was impossible to achieve. It would take at least one or two months to travel thousands of miles from the northwest to Huguang. By that time, I'm afraid Fu Qing's grave would start to turn green.
Even if reinforcements were sent, what would happen after they arrived exhausted? The reinforcements were defeated soldiers who were captured by the Chinese army and then released. Some senior Green Camp soldiers were released twice after being captured. Are they useful against the Chinese army?
Just as Hong Zhou was thinking about it, he saw Nalan Erkang, who was newly promoted from the Eight Banners, come out and say, "My lord, I think we should send troops."
"You... continue speaking." Hong Zhou wanted to interrupt, but when he heard Nalan Erkang say send troops instead of reinforcements, he let him continue.
Nalan Erkang suggested sending troops to Baidi City to stabilize Sichuan first. If Fu Qing was still fighting with the Huaxia Army after the troops arrived at Baidi City, it would be a good opportunity to let the reinforcements join forces with the Sichuan troops to go to Huguang to help.
This was a very reasonable idea, and Hong Zhou immediately asked the Ministry of War to prepare.
The Minister of War stepped forward and said, "Master, if you want to send troops, you have to give money. I wonder how much you can give."
Such a naked question made Hong Zhou furious again, and he almost blurted out the accusation "Does the treasury have any money?" However, Hong Zhou forced himself to hold it back, which made Hong Zhou feel like his chest was about to explode, and he was speechless for a while.
Seeing the anger burning in Hong Zhou's eyes, the ministers knew that Hong Zhou was angry. They were afraid that he would punish the Minister of War. However, what the Minister of War said was right. If there was no money for the expedition, the Qing army, which owed money for the expedition the last time, would not really move.
The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money. When he saw everyone looking at him, he knew he might have to speak out. But what should he say? The Minister of Revenue, Hai Wang, didn't know either. But everyone was in the same mood, so the Minister of Revenue, Hai Wang, had no choice but to kneel down and salute, "Master, I will do my best to raise the money."
Hong Zhou also knew that the Qing court had really run out of money since arriving in Xi'an. He could not make money by being angry. Seeing the Minister of Finance Hai Wang coming out, he simply took advantage of the situation and left.
Looking at Hong Zhou's back, the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief. The greatest ordeal of the year was finally over. The ministers knelt down and kowtowed to Hong Zhou's back, and when they stood up, they all looked relieved.
Seeing the ministers leaving one after another, they probably went back to the office to kill time. Then they went home to rest. Liu Tongxun felt a surge of anger. He wanted to yell at these people. Although he was already one of the Zhongtang, as a Han Chinese, Liu Tongxun could not criticize other officials fiercely.
Xi'an was once crowded with Qing officials, and at that time all officials naturally regarded the imperial court as the imperial court. They had the ambition to lie dormant for a while, endure hardships, and then kill Huo Chong.
However, although the northwest was the richest place in China thousands of years ago, it no longer has the status it had in the Han and Tang dynasties. The word "poverty" is the most important thing here. There is no money and no food. Before the court can come up with anything, the people will be poor.
In the past, officials from all over the country tried their best to become officials in Beijing and work for the emperor. Soon, leaving the capital and moving to other places became the expectation of poor officials in Beijing. Many officials whose families were in other places left Xi'an for various reasons.
Even if these officials were reported and dismissed, what would happen next? Without official positions, these people could just leave Xi'an. Although many officials' hometowns had been ruled by Huo Chong, there were various relationships between officials. Officials without positions could just leave and go to their relatives and friends.
As he walked out with such a heavy heart, someone called out and grabbed Liu Tongxun's arm. Liu Tongxun then realized that he had walked out of the palace and onto the street without knowing when.
"Liu Zhongtang, I want to discuss something with you." The speaker was the Minister of Revenue Hai Wang.
Liu Tongxun looked around, and Hai Wang quickly invited Liu Tongxun to his office. The six ministries were all next to the palace, and the two arrived here quickly. Hai Wang said, "Liu Zhongtang, I think it would be better to let the troops from Gansu go to Baidi City. And transfer some troops from the court to Gansu."
"Why?" Liu Tongxun felt that it was inappropriate. If they were to mobilize troops, they would of course be the imperial court.
The Minister of Finance Hai Wang sighed, "Lord Liu, you know that the court is getting poorer and poorer. This is especially true for the soldiers. The troops in Gansu are probably better off than those in the court at this time. Transferring the troops in the court to Gansu will also make their lives better."
Although Liu Tongxun didn't say much, he understood. Not long ago, the four armies were able to go out to attack Huo Chong without any travel expenses. Of course, everyone still had the same hatred of the enemy, but each army promised the officers and soldiers that if they captured the territory occupied by Huo Chong, in addition to arranging outstanding loyal and brave soldiers to serve as officials, the officers and soldiers could also "search for three days". It was ensured that the officers and soldiers would be promoted and make money.
But the course of the war was despairing. The Huaxia Army was just attacking, and after the Qing army came out, they were forced to fight the Huaxia Army. Not only did they have no chance to make money, they were also completely defeated.
Although the Huaxia Army released the prisoners, most of the released Qing troops returned to the northwest. The Huaxia Army adhered to their military discipline and did not search the prisoners. However, the Qing army was now even poorer. We had to find another way!
But Liu Tongxun always hated the government troops plundering the local area. God knows what these poor and hungry soldiers would do when they arrived in Gansu. Whenever Liu Tongxun thought of such a future, he felt a strong resistance.
Hai Wang obviously knew Liu Tongxun's temper. He sighed again, even with tears in his eyes. "Liu Zhongtang, if we don't do this, so many people in Xi'an will starve to death! Although we captured Shengjing this time, we got nothing. Now even the rats in the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse are starving to death. If you want to get the money, you might as well cook me and let everyone eat me."
Liu Tongxun was also saddened by these words. This time they broke into Shengjing and occupied it. However, when Lao Ba and his men fled to Shengjing, they were penniless. As for the princes outside the Great Wall, they asked the court for money every year. They were all poor princes, but they still had to maintain their dignity as princes. When these princes outside the Great Wall fled Shengjing, they moved all their belongings away, leaving behind a sparsely populated and impoverished Shengjing to Hong Zhou.
The government troops searched the ground almost three feet deep, but they did not find any money. Liu Tongxun followed Hong Zhou to the battle and was very clear about this. After thinking about it, Liu Tongxun sighed, "If the emperor asks me, I will tell the minister's idea to the emperor."
Hai Wang immediately became happy and thanked him repeatedly. Finally, he invited Liu Tongxun to dinner. The meal was not very good, but there was a bottle of wine on the table. Liu Tongxun knew it was the potato stew brewed by Huo Chong just by smelling it. He felt dissatisfied again.
Although Huo Chong once presented the recipe of potato wine to the imperial court, Huo Chong's potato wine is cheap and pure. It has become the favorite of the poor people in Hebei.
How come fried potatoes are sold here during this dangerous time of war?
Hai Wang quickly explained, "This was made by the Firearms Bureau when they were making the Glazed Fire. I just wanted some to relieve my sorrow."
However, with a knot in his heart, he had no emotions during the last meal. As soon as Liu Tongxun came out, he saw a eunuch running over. When he saw Liu Tongxun, he immediately bowed and said, "Liu Zhongtang, the emperor wants you to go and question him."
When the emperor and his minister met, Hong Zhou asked how to solve the financial problem. Liu Tongxun was furious when he thought of Hai Wang. He simply did not mention the matter of mobilizing the Qing army from Gansu to Baidi City, but gave a suggestion, "Your Majesty, why not learn from Zhuge Liang and cultivate the land."
"Military farming?" Hong Zhou was stunned.
"We are going to set up military farms in Qishan County?" Hong Zhou frowned. Qishan County, under the jurisdiction of Baoji, Shaanxi Province, is located in the western part of Guanzhong and the northeastern part of Baoji City. It borders Linyou County to the north, Taibai County to the south, Fufeng and Mei County to the east, and Fengxiang and Chencang to the west.
When Zhuge Liang went to Qishan for the sixth time, he established military farms there to reduce the heavy pressure on the Shu Han army to transport food and fodder.
"Not necessarily in Qishan." Liu Tongxun explained hurriedly. Although his ancestral home is in Qingzhou, Shandong, he was born in Hanzhong. At that time, Liu Tongxun's father was an official in Hanzhong. So he knew much more about Shaanxi than Shandong, his ancestral home.
The land in the northwest is barren and the population is small. There are still many places that can be used. At this time, there is no place for so many Qing troops to be used, and it is a burden that can crush the Qing Dynasty. Rather than letting these people eat up the Qing Dynasty, it is better to let them cultivate the land. In this way, they can be soldiers when they go out and civilians when they come in. It can be regarded as making the best use of people.
Hong Zhouyou talked with Liu Tongxun for a while and felt that this method was feasible. He called several other military ministers to discuss it. The ministers basically agreed, but Nalan Erkang, who was present at the meeting, asked: "Your Majesty, if the Green Camp is cultivating the land, should the Eight Banners cultivate the land?"
This question made everyone silent for a while. When the Eight Banners were outside the Great Wall, they were soldiers when they went out and civilians when they came in. They farmed on weekdays and received various military trainings under the supervision of the banner master. When they went out, they could always pull out a fighting army.
After the Qing Dynasty entered the country, in order to isolate the Manchus and the Han people, the Eight Banners Army became the Eight Banners descendants that are now completely supported by the court. Nalan Erkang's question is actually very good. If the court wants to cultivate land, should the Eight Banners Army also participate?
After all, the population of the Eight Banners of Hebei alone was probably the sum of the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall. These people were still waiting for the imperial court to distribute food, but the imperial court could not afford it.
Liu Tongxun was very optimistic about this young man from the Nalan family, even though Liu Tongxun was only 34 years old this year, only five or six years older than Nalan Erkang.
Hong Zhou felt that he had a new idea, and he was no longer as anxious as he was when he was in court. After frowning and thinking for a moment, Hong Zhou sighed, "Whether the Eight Banners should cultivate land or not, we will discuss it later. But who should we send to reinforce Baidi City?"
At this time, Liu Tongxun was in a good mood, so he agreed with the suggestion of the Minister of Revenue Hai Wang. He simply proposed to use the Qing army from Gansu to provide assistance, so that Gansu could provide the money for the trip. Even if it was less, at least Gansu was better. In this way, if the Qing army under the rule of the court went to Longyou, it would be just right.
It is said that after Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao of Xiliang, he took Hanzhong. His ministers suggested that he march into Bashu, but Cao Cao refused by saying "Having obtained Long, I want Shu".
The "Long" here refers to Longshan Mountain. It also refers to Xiliang in general. In ancient times, the west was the right, which means the area west of Longshan Mountain and east of the Yellow River. It is the area west of Longshan Mountain and Liupan Mountain in Gansu Province and east of the Yellow River.
With this idea, Hong Zhou also felt much better. Since he became emperor, he finally felt that the greatest pain was not that his subordinates were incompetent and could not get things done. It was that Hong Zhou, as the emperor, could not come up with a solution.
Although he had so many ministers assisting him, Hong Zhou was unable to find a feasible solution from their many suggestions. This was because the plans that the ministers came up with were all based on classics and sounded very impressive. However, when it came to their implementation, they immediately fell apart and revealed their lack of operability.
At this time, Hong Zhou was finally able to borrow the wisdom of ancient celebrities instead of the advice of the guys in front of him. Hong Zhou felt a lot more at ease. After all, Zhuge Liang was much more reliable than the officials in front of him.
With the plan in hand, Hong Zhou immediately ordered its execution. The Qing Dynasty had been operating in the northwest for a long time, and the Qing army in the northwest had always been the strongest force of the Qing Dynasty. Both the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were very loyal and brave. In addition, Hong Zhou gritted his teeth and took out some of his last family assets, and asked Liu Tongxun to escort the money to Gansu .
Liu Tongxun slept in the open and urged his men to travel day and night. After just two days of walking, before leaving Shaanxi, they saw dust flying on the road. It turned out that a team of people was rushing along the road. The Qing army escorting the silver quickly stopped in front of the car and was on guard.
The cavalry that rushed over saw that Liu Tongxun's troops were not only mostly soldiers of the Eight Banners, but also carrying dragon flags. They immediately stopped, and the leader jumped off his horse and saluted, "Excuse me, which army of the imperial court are you from?"
Liu Tongxun shouted: "I am the imperial envoy Liu Tongxun."
When the general on the other side heard this, he immediately knelt down and saluted, and shouted in anxiety and surprise: "It turns out that you are the imperial envoy. I am a subordinate of General Xining. This time I came to ask the court to send troops to help!"
Two days later, Liu Tongxun returned to Xi'an. Since the Hui people in Gansu rebelled, he could not go to Gansu again. Hong Zhou and other ministers carefully read the letter of help sent by General Xining, and then asked about the order of the general who asked for help.
When the imperial court went on the Western Expedition, it was inevitable to call on some of General Xining's troops. As the elite of the Qing army, some of them were responsible for protecting Hong Zhou's safety during the expedition. Therefore, although the Hebei Campaign failed, General Xining's troops were not completely lost. When Hong Zhou returned to Xi'an, some of them returned to Gansu.
However, when the Gansu rioters heard that the imperial court had been defeated and the Qing army in Gansu had lost many men, they began to riot.
They did not attack the government troops, but the Han people in Gansu, first besieging and massacring several large Han towns.
A small number of Han people who escaped from there went to Xining for help. The general of Xining was skeptical. He sent people to check and was shocked. There were more than 10,000 Han people living in those towns. They were very lively and prosperous places. When the Qing army arrived, those towns were slaughtered. Even the Qing army could not stand such a Shura scene when they saw more than 10,000 corpses in each town.
In particular, there were many piles of corpses in various towns. These people were obviously gathered here before they died, and then slaughtered together. It can be seen how cruel the murderers were.
Afterwards, the rioters took advantage of the fact that the Qing army in Gansu suffered heavy losses and first massacred Han villages in various places. Then they gathered their troops together and besieged Xining.
Upon learning that things had come to this, Hong Zhou stood up abruptly and said, "How can such a treasonous act be forgiven? Order the troops to gather, I will lead the army in person!"
Everyone was stunned, wondering if Hong Zhou was addicted to leading the army in person! Previously, he led the army in person outside the Great Wall, and then turned to attack Zhili. Now he led the army in person again, didn't Hong Zhou have any concerns about leading the army in person?
Just as the ministers were hesitating, Hong Zhou continued, "There is no money for this expedition. However, these rioters are so cruel, and the Han people have been slaughtered so tragically. I promise to give the officers and soldiers 30 acres of land in Gansu after they defeat the rebels. From now on, the old system of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty will be restored. Those who go out will be soldiers, and those who come in will be civilians. Of all the seized property, the court will take three, and the officers and soldiers will take seven. I will never let you suffer from poverty."
Hearing this, Nalan Erkang immediately took the lead and knelt down at Hong Zhou's feet, "Master, if you send troops, I will be the vanguard! I will help you to clear the way through the mountains and build bridges over the water."
The general under General Xining who came to ask for help also fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, then knelt in front of Hong Zhou, but was grabbed by the guards. However, he was not afraid, he cried with tears streaming down his face: "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! If the emperor comes to save us, I will fight to the death for the emperor! I will fight to the death for the emperor!"
Liu Tongxun had always advocated killing all the rioters. Although he knew that many of Hong Zhou's goals were to cultivate land, he also agreed with Hong Zhou's decision. Liu Tongxun also knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to follow you to the battle! To wipe out the traitors!"
The other ministers had no other choice but to agree. On that day, Hong Zhou's will and the riots in Gansu were reported to the Qing army. Although the Qing army no longer had the courage to fight the Huaxia army , they still had enough confidence to win against the rioters.
More importantly, the reward Hong Zhou promised was indeed tempting. Soon, all the generals reported to Hong Zhou that they were willing to march west to appease the Gansu rioters.
Hong Zhou immediately ordered that those who were fully equipped should follow him first. The others should prepare a little, and after the vanguard seized the weapons, they would store them and distribute them to the following troops. In short, the Qing army would never be allowed to fight unarmed.
On September 27, the fourth year of Emperor Kunlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the temperature was much warmer than in previous years. Emperor Hong Zhou of the Qing Dynasty led his troops into Gansu to quell the rioters. This news was also passed on to Emperor Huo Chong of the Huaxia Dynasty at the fastest speed by the Huaxia Army's internal supporters in the Qing Dynasty court.
