The Grand Secretary He had a famous saying: as long as a problem can be solved with money, then it is not a problem at all.
Is Zhu Ni formidable because of firearms? No matter how good his firearms are, can they be better than the imperial court's? Yes, the firearms of our Qing dynasty are not good, but can't our Qing dynasty directly buy from the West?
Our Qing dynasty has money!
With money, naturally, buying is better than making.
Understanding the meaning of Grand Secretary He, Agui and Mingxing hurried to send people to contact the missionaries in Jinan city, intending to see which family could provide enough firearms for our Qing dynasty.
Unfortunately, our Qing dynasty had not yet signed treaties like Nanjing and Xinchou during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, so the missionaries in Jinan city were far fewer than after the First Opium War.
If it were just a small number of missionaries, it would be nothing. After all, Grand Secretary He only needed firearms, and a few more or fewer missionaries would have no impact on him.
However, these few missionaries in Jinan city also learned of the news that Zhu Xiaosong and Chen Tailai and others had rebelled against the Qing, and the imperial army's successive campaigns had all failed.
This was very problematic.
Originally, a flintlock musket could be bought for only five taels of silver, but now it required ten taels of silver.
Mingxing was immediately enraged and complained to Grand Secretary He: "Originally, a musket was five taels of silver, but now it has suddenly increased to ten taels of silver. This means a reduction of half, isn't this blatant robbery!"
He Shen calmly took a sip of his tea and said with a smile, "This, is much faster than blatant robbery!"
Mingxing was choked with anger. After a long silence, he tentatively asked, "Then... buy? Or not buy?"
He Shen chuckled and said, "Then let me ask you, compared to the rivers and mountains of our Qing dynasty, which is lighter, the mere silver, or the state and society of our Qing dynasty?"
Mingxing replied with a wry smile, "Naturally, the state and society of our Qing dynasty are more important."
He Shen hummed and smiled meaningfully, "That's right. It's just a temporary price increase. We should buy, of course, and not only buy, but buy more."
However, before Mingxing could negotiate with the missionaries about purchasing firearms and discounts for bulk purchases, several urgent reports disrupted the plans of Emperor Qianlong and Grand Secretary He and others.
Lu Shuren once said a famous saying: Lightning strikes true filial sons, wealth comes to ruthless people, ropes always choose the weak points, and misfortune always finds the unfortunate.
With Chen Tailai, the Governor of the Yellow River Conservancy, rebelling, the commotion caused by Zhu Xiaosong grew larger and larger. Now, not only was Tian Wu in Gansu also raising troops against the Qing, but even the Tiandihui on Great Ryukyu had raised the banner of rebellion.
Lin Shuangwen, the leader of the Tiandihui in Changhua County, Taiwan, raised his troops on March 8th of the forty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign. Within a few days, he had grown to tens of thousands of men like a snowball. On March 10th, he officially captured Changhua, killing the prefect of Changhua, Sun Jingsui, using the Changhua County Yamen as his base, and declaring himself "Grand Governor of Great Ryukyu."
On March 11th, Wang Zuo and Li Tong in the north led their troops in response, killing the Tongzhi of Tamsui, and then advancing north to capture Zhúqiàn City in Hsinchu. Lin Shuangwen marched south to attack Zhuluo and other places. Chai Daji, the General of Fujian Road and the Governor of Taiwan of Fujian Lu Road, was killed, and Zhuang Datian, the leader of the Tiandihui in Fengshan, also gathered troops and rebelled in response.
By March 15th, the entire Great Ryukyu, except for the southern Great Ryukyu Prefecture, Zhuluo, and the central port of Lugang, had fallen into the hands of the Tiandihui. Upon hearing of the incident, Chang Qing, the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, urgently dispatched General Hengrui of Fuzhou, Admiral Huang Shijian of Fujian Navy, and Admiral Ren Chengen of Fujian Army to lead 4,000 imperial troops to suppress the Tiandihui.
However, this rebellion of Lin Shuangwen was completely different from how it was in history. It did not neglect military discipline, nor did it establish a new reign titled "Shun Tian" as in history. Instead, it completely imitated the methods of Zhu Xiaosong in Menglianggu, which were to kill officials and distribute grain, divide land, and establish peasant associations. It was a replica of a small Menglianggu, so the people of Great Ryukyu did not resist Lin Shuangwen as they did in history. Instead, they scrambled to lead the way for Lin Shuangwen.
What made Emperor Qianlong and Grand Secretary He even more frustrated was that in addition to the Tiandihui on Great Ryukyu, even the nearby prefect of Tai'an, Zeng Cheng, had also raised the banner of rebellion, grandly opened the gates of Tai'an Prefecture city, welcomed the Menglianggu rebels into the city, and also offered the Tai Shan Imperial Palace to the Menglianggu rebels.
If Lin Shuangwen of Great Ryukyu could somehow be considered as far away from the emperor's reach, and Emperor Qianlong and Grand Secretary He could feign ignorance, then the prefect of Tai'an, who was close to Jinan, rebelling was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Emperor Qianlong, making it impossible for him to pretend not to see it.
Emperor Qianlong was stunned at that moment.
Angrily summoning Grand Secretary He, Agui, and Mingxing to the imperial palace hall, Emperor Qianlong slammed the table and smashed the benches, roaring, "Who can tell me what is going on!"
"What is the background of that rebel Zhu, and why is it that as soon as he rebelled, Chen Tailai! Bagua Cult! White Lotus Society! Tiandihui! And Tian Wu in Gansu! One after another, why are they all rebelling! Can anyone tell me!"
Damn it!
Shandong has Zhu Ni and Chen Tailai, Hubei has the White Lotus Society, and Gansu has only Tian Wu. Even adding Lin Shuangwen of Great Ryukyu, that makes only four places with rebels. But why does it give people the feeling that our Qing dynasty is finished?
This feeling is like being in the middle of a pleasure, and then the boyfriend gets an electric shock!
Facing the enraged Emperor Qianlong, Grand Secretary He lowered his head and exchanged glances with Agui and Mingxing. Then, they both flicked their sleeves, knelt down, and said, "Your humble servant deserves to die!"
Emperor Qianlong became even more enraged, shouting, "I don't want you kneeling here to beg for forgiveness, but who can tell me what is going on with that man surnamed Zhu, and with these rebellions that have appeared one after another!"
He Shen knelt and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your humble servant has already sent people to contact the Western barbarians. I believe that in some time, the issue of flintlocks and cannons will be resolved. At that time, whether it is rebel Zhu, rebel Chen Tailai, or rebellions in other places, they can all be quelled in one battle!"
Emperor Qianlong was completely stunned by anger. Not only did he ignore He Shen's comfort, but he angrily ordered Grand Secretary He, "Issue an edict! Order the Shengjing General to lead troops into the pass! Order the Manchu garrisons and Green Standard Army in Zhili to come to Shandong, and I will personally lead the expedition!"
He Shen was immediately stunned.
When others led troops to quell rebellions, regardless of the outcome, it was their problem. If Emperor Qianlong personally led troops to quell the rebellion, if they won, it would be a cause for universal celebration. But if they lost...
He Shen knelt and advised, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It is merely a few rebels. Why is Your Majesty so angry? If you damage your imperial body, those rebels will be very happy. At that time, it is we humble servants who will worry."
After the smashing and venting, Emperor Qianlong's anger had somewhat subsided. He immediately snorted angrily and ordered, "Alright, all of you rise."
He Shen said "Yes" and responded. After getting up from the ground, he leaned close to Emperor Qianlong again and assured him with a fawning smile, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. It will take at most two months to completely suppress these rebels."
Emperor Qianlong snorted coldly, "Two months? I can't even wait half a month now! Issue my imperial decree. The Manchu garrisons and Green Standard Army stationed in Shandong will be under Agui's command, first to suppress that rebel Zhu Xiaosong! Transfer the Manchu garrisons and Green Standard Army in Zhili to Fu Heng's command, and first focus on suppressing Chen Tailai!"
He Shen first said "Yes" in response, and then tentatively asked, "What about Master Fu..."
Emperor Qianlong snorted coldly, "I trust Fuk'anggan. Even if he cannot suppress the rebels of the Bagua Cult, he can hold Caozhou Prefecture. Once Chen Tailai is eliminated, I will let Fu Heng lead troops to rendezvous with Fuk'anggan."
After He Shen bowed in response once more, Emperor Qianlong menacingly ordered, "Issue an order that for this suppression of bandits, all troops shall prioritize rigorous extermination!"
Emperor Qianlong's so-called priority of rigorous extermination was not only aimed at "rebels" like Zhu Xiaosong or Chen Tailai, but also to completely clear out the four prefectures where rebels had appeared, just as they had dealt with the Dzungars before, and then migrate people from other places!
According to Emperor Qianlong's plan, as long as Tai'an and Yanzhou were pacified, the issue of Chen Tailai cutting off the Grand Canal would naturally be resolved. And he, the Emperor of the Qing dynasty, could still go on his inspections of the Yellow River conservancy projects by the southern beauties as originally planned, visit the Confucius Mansion, and travel to Jiangnan as usual.
Seeing that Emperor Qianlong had truly become enraged, He Shen and the others dared not persuade him further. After all, the ones who died were commoners, not themselves, so why would they incur the Emperor's displeasure over this matter?
However, Lu Shuren once said that plans are never as fast as changes.
No matter how good Emperor Qianlong's plan was, quelling rebellions still had to be done step by step.
First, Grand Secretary He had to procure the necessary firearms and equipment, Mingxing, the Governor of Shandong, also had to prepare the necessary grain and logistics, and then Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, would lead the troops to quell the rebellion, not like in a game where you select your subordinates and charge through.
However, due to the existence of Chen Tailai, the insurmountable suspicion and jealousy between Manchu and Han officials had appeared in the Qing court, and mutual accusations between Manchu and Han officials had become the norm.
The chaos in the court further affected the stability of the localities. Coupled with the spread of peasant associations like wildfire, signs of instability appeared in the entire Shandong, Zhili, Henan, and Jiangsu provinces.
This time, Emperor Qianlong could no longer afford to inspect the Yellow River conservancy projects by the southern beauties, and instead focused on how to stabilize the current situation.
Then, everything returned to the starting point – quelling rebellions could not be completed in a day or two, but the areas of unrest were increasing, Emperor Qianlong became more and more angry, the more angry Emperor Qianlong became, the more he wanted to mobilize large armies to quell the rebellion, the more troops mobilized, the more preparations were needed, the more preparations were needed, the more the local government extorted the people, the more the people were extorted, the more unstable the people became.
At this time, Emperor Qianlong finally remembered what Qian Dan Tong Ji Er Ji Xiaolan had said about local government officials oppressing the people too much.
After a period of repeated deliberation, Emperor Qianlong finally summoned He Shen and the others to the Jinan imperial palace.
Emperor Qianlong leaned back on his couch and listlessly ordered, "Issue an edict. Local governments are prohibited from imposing additional taxes and provisions. Dispatch inspecting censors to investigate the unlawful acts of all officials in the realm."
After He Shen and the others acknowledged, Emperor Qianlong was silent for a long time, and then said, "My repeated southern inspections have caused much disturbance to the localities. The southern inspections shall be called off. He Shen, prepare for departure back to the capital."
"For the provinces previously passed during the southern inspections, the Imperial Household Department shall subsidize two thousand taels of silver, and local officials shall be ordered to distribute it to the people, so that the people may know of my deep care for them."
Grand Secretary He was stunned again.
The previous prohibition of local governments from imposing additional taxes was normal, and the dispatch of inspecting censors was also as expected. The key issue was what was this two thousand taels of silver operation?
Two thousand taels of silver per province, how much would be left after being distributed to each prefecture and county? And after distributing it to the people, could each household receive even a single coin?
This was seeking to be cursed!
However, Emperor Qianlong did not give He Shen a chance to remonstrate. Instead, he waved his hand and ordered, "You all withdraw, I am tired."