To eliminate Zhu Jinsong, that arch-rebel, relying on the Manchu Banners and Green Standard Army within the passes was impossible. The only way was to follow the plan previously conceived by Qianlong, the old dog, and mobilize the Solon soldiers and Mongolian Banners to enter the passes and quell the rebellion.
Besides continuing to mobilize troops for the rebellion, Qianlong, the old dog, prepared a second move.
Since Zhu Jinsong, that arch-rebel, had produced the "Menglianggu Newspaper" and intended to slander my Qing dynasty through newspapers, thereby calling upon all under heaven to rebel against my Qing dynasty, I shall let you commoners witness what is meant by "the will of the people is like iron, and the law of the officials is like a furnace," and let you witness what is meant by "insubordination, though upright, is not protected."
Those who dare to disseminate the "Menglianggu Newspaper" will be exterminated with their entire clan.
Those who dare to privately hoard the "Menglianggu Newspaper" will be exterminated with their entire clan.
Those who dare to imitate the rebel Zhu and organize peasant associations to resist taxes will be exterminated with their entire clan.
All those rebels who have now raised their banners in rebellion will have their nine degrees of kinship exterminated.
In short, it is "essential to rely on strict suppression and annihilation," and at most, it will be another Jiangyin Ten Days or Jiading Three Massacres.
Kill these commoners until they are terrified, and see if they dare to rebel again.
However, just as Qianlong, the old dog, decided on the "essential to rely on strict suppression and annihilation," the treasury of my Qing dynasty delivered a stern slap in the face to Qianlong.
The treasury was empty.
Zhou Xun once said, "A man with money is a hero; a man without money is a hardship." Lu Xun also said, "A single copper coin can stump a hero."
If even heroes and brave men worry about money, let alone the prodigal Qianlong.
The tens of millions of taels accumulated by Qianlong's grandfather, Mazig, and his father, Yongzheng, over two generations, were all squandered by Qianlong, the old dog, through his repeated trips to Jiangnan.
What's even more infuriating is that Qianlong, the old dog, had a rather abnormal mindset. As soon as he ascended the throne, he abolished the "fire-cost return to public" policy set by his father, and instead used the fire-cost, which his father had designated for river maintenance, for his Jiangnan tours. The officials of my Qing dynasty, following his lead, all thought about how to get the fire-cost into their own hands.
Coupled with several campaigns to suppress Zhu Jinsong, that arch-rebel, each of which required large sums of money for grain, military pay, firearms, and ammunition, my Qing dynasty's treasury, while not so empty that mice ran through it, did not have enough money to support Qianlong, the old dog, in large-scale troop deployments for suppression.
Of course, although the emptiness of the treasury was a headache, it was not a major problem for Qianlong, the old dog.
As Mr. Xun Fei said, "For internal affairs, if undecided, seek Heshen; for external affairs, if undecided, also seek Heshen. When there is no money, you must seek Heshen even more."
Qianlong, the old dog, immediately summoned Heshen and Zhongtang to the palace and hinted that the treasury of my Qing dynasty was short of funds.
In any case, the meaning behind his words was clear: either you, Zhongtang, solve the problem of the treasury's shortage of funds for me, or I will use you, Zhongtang, to solve the problem of the treasury's shortage of funds.
Heshen and Zhongtang thought to themselves, "What's the big deal about the treasury being short of funds? Your Majesty, must you scare your servant with such a trivial matter?"
Therefore, Heshen and Zhongtang merely smiled slightly and then revealed their solution: "Your servant has heard that the Ministry of Revenue's Right Assistant Minister, Wang Bingzhong, recently added several concubines to his household. The daughter of the Ministry of Personnel's Left Assistant Minister, Xu Zhendong, Ms. Xu Kexin, recently purchased two courtyards, claiming they were all due to the honor of her elders."
"Based on the salaries of Wang Bingzhong and Xu Zhendong, adding a few concubines or buying a couple of courtyards is not a major problem. However, the concubines in Wang Bingzhong's household are top courtesans from the Eight Great Hutongs, and the two courtyards that Xu Kexin bought, oh my, the location is prime real estate, worth its weight in gold. The two courtyards combined, I fear, would cost hundreds of thousands of taels!"
"Therefore, your servant believes that individuals like Wang Bingzhong and Xu Zhendong are mostly outwardly upright but inwardly corrupt beyond measure. Your servant plans to impeach these two villains in the imperial court tomorrow. Your Majesty, please investigate diligently!"
You see, you see, haven't the money matters been resolved?
A mere few million taels in military expenses. The fool Chongzhen would be worried to death over one million taels in military expenses, while my Qing emperor could extort millions of taels by merely confiscating the property of a few officials. The intelligence and foolishness, the superiority and inferiority, are clearly evident.
With the money secured, Qianlong, the old dog, immediately ordered the mobilization of the Solon soldiers and Mongolian Banners to enter the passes and quell the rebellion.
And the Solon soldiers and Mongolian Banners indeed lived up to Qianlong, the old dog's, expectations. As soon as the news of Qianlong, the old dog's, decree to recruit Solon soldiers and Mongolian Banners to enter the passes and quell the rebellion spread, a large number of provincial governors and military commanders were terrified. The tax silver, which could not be transported to the capital due to Chen Tailai's blockade of the Grand Canal, began to be transported from various regions.
However, before this tax silver, which was being sent to the treasury, could leave their respective provincial capitals, it was intercepted by "rebel" factions in various localities.
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When the provincial governors and military commanders of various regions saw that the tax silver was gone, they immediately became extremely worried. After all, this was tax silver, the hard-earned money accumulated coin by coin by the common people. It was the military expenses for my Qing dynasty to quell the rebellion. How could it just disappear?
Upon discovering that the tax silver had been intercepted, these loyal provincial governors and military commanders first "used their own money" to raise some military expenses, and then eagerly led their subordinate patrol constables, Green Standard Army, and other troops to suppress the rebels.
However, the rebels who had intercepted the tax silver had vanished into thin air. No matter how the provincial governors and military commanders investigated, they could not find any trace of the rebels.
With no other recourse, these provincial governors and military commanders could only submit a memorial to Qianlong, the old dog, to confess their faults for their mismanagement and the loss of tax silver, begging Qianlong, the old dog, to punish them. Then, they changed their tone and said that even if they had to sell their family heirlooms and melt down their kitchenware, they would find a way to make up for the lost tax silver, and requested Your Majesty to grant them more time.
Subsequently, these provincial governors and military commanders began to sell their family heirlooms and melt down their kitchenware.
As the saying goes, "When superiors act, inferiors follow." If the provincial governors and military commanders began to sell their heirlooms and melt down their kitchenware, then the local officials would naturally have to follow suit.
"Selling one's family heirlooms" meant emptying the pockets of the common people, and "melting down kitchenware" meant smashing the pots and pans in the homes of the common people.
The officials once again collected the winter taxes for Qianlong's forty-ninth year.
Those who had a shred of shame collected taxes up to Qianlong's ninety-fourth year, while those who were shameless collected taxes directly up to Qianlong's one hundred and forty-ninth year. After all, to quell a rebellion, money must be spent. With the treasury empty, how could taxes not be collected in advance?
As for whether His Majesty Qianlong's reign could last until the one hundred and forty-ninth year...
What? His Majesty has boundless longevity, and you dare to doubt that His Majesty Qianlong's reign will last until the one hundred and forty-ninth year?
Speak! Are you wishing for His Majesty to pass away sooner?!
This official can see with a single glance that you wicked commoners harbor rebellious intentions!
The common people saw that this was also not viable. Whether Qianlong, the old dog, would have boundless longevity was unknown, and whether Qianlong, the old dog's, reign would last until the one hundred and forty-ninth year was also unknown. But what they did know was that if they were to be plundered any further by these officials, they might not even live to see the eve of Qianlong's forty-ninth year.
Seeing that they were on the verge of not being able to survive, the "Princes and generals, are they not of noble birth?" gene, deeply ingrained in the hearts of the common people in the Central Plains, began to reawaken.
What was crucial was that Zhu Jinsong, this overpowered individual, had opened up new avenues of thought for the people of the realm.
Especially the "Menglianggu Newspaper," this great weapon, its content was almost a step-by-step guide for the common people on how to rebel.
Poor without knives or guns?
It doesn't matter, attack those local tyrants and corrupt gentry, and these knives, guns, and firearms will come.
The government wants to encircle and suppress?
It doesn't matter, ambush if you can, and if you can't ambush, then flee, treating the Manchu officers like dogs to be herded.
The final result was that the Qing dynasty's territory, which was already engulfed in flames everywhere, became shrouded in thick smoke. Except for a few limited areas such as Zhili, Rehe, Gansu and areas west of Gansu, Mongolia, and Liaodong, every other province, prefecture, and state had rebels appearing.
Solon soldiers?
The Solon soldiers are indeed formidable, but the provincial governors and local officials knew the might of the Solon soldiers. What about the ordinary common people? Did they know what Solon soldiers were?
Furthermore, even if the common people knew the power of the Solon soldiers, what difference would it make? They were already unable to survive. If they did not rebel, they would die immediately. If they rebelled, they could live for a while longer. Even if they were destined to be annihilated by the Solon soldiers, that would be a matter for the future, at least after the Solon soldiers entered the passes.
Moreover, there was still Zhu Jinsong, that arch-rebel, at the forefront. That Zhu Jinsong had openly declared the slogan of "Expelling the Tartars, restoring China." Even if your Qing dynasty's Solon soldiers were powerful, they would have to annihilate Zhu Jinsong first before talking about anything else!
Yes, Zhu Jinsong directly declared the slogan of "Expelling the Tartars, restoring China," and did not shout for the restoration of the Ming dynasty.
Zhu Jinsong had considered directly calling for the restoration of the Ming dynasty as the fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Chongzhen, but after much deliberation, Zhu Jinsong directly abandoned this plan.
Although the Ming dynasty left behind a certain political legacy after its demise, and people in the Central Plains occasionally clamored for the restoration of the Ming dynasty, was the Ming dynasty truly that good?
Or rather, would the lives of the common people improve after the restoration of the Ming dynasty?
The answer was no.
In essence, the gentry of the Ming dynasty and the gentry of the Qing dynasty were exactly the same. The greed of these gentry for land was innate. If they were not dealt with, even if the Industrial Revolution were to begin, their gaze would still be fixed on the land.
For these gentry, industry and commerce were profitable ventures, but only land was the foundation of their existence.
This was something that had been etched into the bones of the Central Plains for thousands of years, a gene so profound that their first concern upon obtaining lunar soil was whether it could be used for growing vegetables.
Therefore, Zhu Jinsong did not shout for the restoration of the Ming dynasty, but rather for "Expelling the Tartars, restoring China." xxs one
Instead of shouting for the restoration of the Ming dynasty and then having to engage in major conflicts over land, it was better to let the restoration of the Ming dynasty become a beautiful historical symbol.
However, Zhu Jinsong, who was the legitimate one to shout for the restoration of the Ming dynasty, did not do so. Instead, people like Chen Tailai, the Eight Trigrams Sect, and the White Lotus Society loudly proclaimed the restoration of the Ming dynasty.
Chen Tailai knew that his troops were no match for Zhu Jinsong, and he also knew that he could not compete with Zhu Jinsong in terms of popular support. Therefore, Chen Tailai sought the support of the local gentry and scholars and took the initiative to attack Henan.
Qianlong, the old dog, never imagined that the situation, which should have improved with the entry of the Solon soldiers and Mongolian Banners to quell the rebellion, would be so inexplicably ruined by these provincial governors and military commanders.
Qianlong, the old dog, was furious, enraged, and looked like a furious dog. Even the young concubines he had recently brought into the palace, who were only in their teens, no longer seemed appealing.
In his rage, Qianlong, the old dog, immediately dispatched imperial envoys, along with a large contingent of imperial guards, to various locations, preparing to personally execute those provincial governors and military commanders who had treated him like a fool.
Unfortunately, as soon as Qianlong, the old dog, dispatched the imperial envoys, the news spread. Therefore, these imperial envoys did indeed reach the governor-general and governor yamen of various regions alive, but they did not live to read Qianlong, the old dog's, decree.
It was only after Qianlong, the old dog, deployed all the spies from the Imperial Guard that he discovered that provincial governors such as Bayansan of Liangguang and Fuluhun of Sichuan had long since died. The person sitting in the hall of the Liangguang Governor-General's yamen was named Mei Chunyao, and the person sitting in the hall of the Sichuan Governor-General's yamen was named Zhang Hongxuan.
Qianlong, the old dog, could swear by the chastity of his great-grandmother, Bumbutai, that Qianlong, the old dog, did not know any Mei Chunyao or Zhang Hongxuan, let alone appoint these two individuals as Governor-General of Liangguang and Governor-General of Sichuan.
Even more miraculously, the Fujian Provincial Governor, Guarjia Yadé, had somehow become Lin Shuangwen, a rebel from Great Ryukyu, at some point.
What was going on?