The Solon tribe was willing to join forces with Zhu Jinsong to resist the Qing dynasty, and Zhu Jinsong, the top rebel leader, was equally keen to recruit the Solon tribe.
However, by doing this, the Solon tribe had set a terrible precedent for others.
If you took a Solon girl, would you also take girls from the Mongolian Banners? If not, how would the Mongolian Banners feel?
The key issue was that Zhu Jinsong, the top rebel leader, had inexplicably become a universally reviled lecher, and he felt a bit uncomfortable about it.
Zhu Jinsong had come to understand that Agutai did not care whether Zhu Jinsong was reviled or not. The most important thing for Agutai was to find an ally for the Solon tribe to resist the Qing dynasty and to secure this alliance.
However, the situations Agutai created were somewhat fantastical.
More fantastical things were yet to come.
Agutai had not lied; he had indeed brought his sister, Aguna, on the expedition. After the five thousand Solon soldiers arrived near Jinan Prefecture, Agutai directly killed the supervising eunuch sent by Emperor Qianlong and then sent his sister Aguna to Jinan Prefecture. He then led the peasant association personnel arranged by Zhu Jinsong directly towards the capital.
According to Agutai, because it was the peak of the war and his brother-in-law could not prepare any wedding gifts for his sister and brother-in-law, he felt somewhat apologetic. Therefore, he decided to march directly from Jinan Prefecture to the capital, to shake the Tartars' capital, and then return to Heilongjiang from the outskirts of the capital.
Since he had already decided to rebel against the Qing dynasty, he would go all the way.
As for the Tartars having heavy troops stationed in the capital?
Let them be stationed there. It didn't matter.
When the Solon营 fought, they usually fought enemies that the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army couldn't defeat. Often, they would charge enemy forces of several thousand or even tens of thousands with only one or two thousand soldiers, and the Solon营 always won.
Now, when fighting these useless Eight Banners and Green Standard Army, as long as the five thousand Solon soldiers did not foolishly charge head-on into artillery fire, and did not foolishly charge into tens of thousands of Qing troops with only five thousand Solon soldiers, Agutai believed that at least four thousand five hundred of the five thousand Solon soldiers he led could return alive.
Zhu Jinsong was completely impressed by his brother-in-law.
If it was about directly marching from Jinan Prefecture to the outskirts of the capital, Zhu Jinsong was confident. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Qing army was there. For Zhu Jinsong, whose foundation was already established, it was only a matter of time to march from Jinan Prefecture to the capital.
However, in terms of such arrogance, treating the Tartar officials and soldiers as nothing, Zhu Jinsong felt he truly couldn't compare to Agutai.
The key was that persuading him was useless. A few days after Agutai left Jinan Prefecture, Zhu Jinsong received news that the Dezhou Green Standard Army had been pierced through by the Solon营. About a month later, Zhu Jinsong received news that Emperor Qianlong was cursing in the imperial palace.
Emperor Qianlong was indeed so enraged that he was cursing in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Previously, Heshen, the Grand Secretary, had suggested sending envoys to Joseon to demand tribute to the Qing dynasty, aiming to acquire several million taels of silver as military expenses. However, as soon as the envoy sent by Emperor Qianlong arrived in Joseon, the chief envoy was beheaded by King Yi San of Joseon, and the deputy envoy was also driven back by Yi San. Yi San also sent a message to Emperor Qianlong.
Yi San stated that he had originally thought Emperor Qianlong was a hero "more flourishing than even Kanxi," but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a coward. You dogs occupied the empire of our great Ming father, and we Joseon, as filial sons, will certainly not let this go. I will definitely inherit the legacy of my ancestors and fight you dogs to the death.
The deputy envoy, who was driven back by Yi San, did not repeat Yi San's words verbatim, but after some artistic embellishment by the deputy envoy, it was even more vicious than Yi San's original words.
How could Emperor Qianlong not curse?
Of course, if it were only about this trivial matter with Joseon, Emperor Qianlong would not have been so enraged as to curse in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. After all, Joseon was a small country to the Qing dynasty. As long as the top rebel leader Zhu Jinsong could be dealt with, Emperor Qianlong would have plenty of time and methods to deal with Joseon slowly.
Therefore, cursing was impossible. After all, Emperor Qianlong had written over forty thousand poems in his life. His life was characterized by being romantic and refined. How could he do something as undignified as cursing?
What truly drove Emperor Qianlong mad and caused him to curse in the Palace of Heavenly Purity was his brother-in-law, Agutai.
That was the Solon营! An army that had fought countless battles for the Qing dynasty, achieving Emperor Qianlong's reputation as the "Ten-Complete Emperor," and an army that Emperor Qianlong and the Qing court relied on most.
Yet, this very army, when sent by Emperor Qianlong to suppress the rebel leader Zhu Jinsong, had colluded with the rebel leader Zhu Jinsong. They had even marched from Jinan Prefecture to the outskirts of the capital, made a show of strength, and then departed.
If it weren't for the Solon营's lack of skill in siege warfare, and if it weren't for the Solon营's lack of sufficient artillery, Emperor Qianlong would have even worried if his head would be taken by the Solon营 and presented to the rebel leader Zhu Xiaosong.
More importantly, as the Solon营 arrived at the outskirts of the capital, shouting that they wanted to rebel against the Qing dynasty with Zhu Jinsong, the Qing dynasty's already dwindling dignity was completely trampled into the mud, and it couldn't be dug out.
Of the eighteen inland provinces, except for Shandong, which had already fallen into the hands of Zhu Jinsong, the top rebel leader, the remaining seventeen provinces, excluding Gansu, which was still under Li Shiyao's control, had also raised the banner of rebellion.
For those in the world who had long been displeased with the Qing dynasty, or who felt they could do just as well, seeing that even the Solon营, which Emperor Qianlong and the Qing court relied on most, had defected, what else was there to fear?
Therefore, those provinces that had only secretly eliminated high-ranking officials like governors or viceroys no longer hid their intentions. They openly declared their allegiance to the cause of restoring the Ming dynasty and opposing the Qing.
For these people, restoring the Ming dynasty was not necessarily important. Whether the dynasty was called Ming, Song, Tang, Han, or Qin was irrelevant. However, opposing the Qing dynasty was definitely a priority.
As someone once said, the throne is rotated, and it's my turn this year.
This empire has been held by aristocratic families, beggars, Tartars, and roaming bandits. Why can't we also hold it?
It was precisely because of this that Emperor Qianlong was so enraged as to curse in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
However, no matter how much Emperor Qianlong cursed or how angry he became this time, it would not change the fact that rebellions were occurring everywhere in the empire.
Even when Emperor Qianlong convened court sessions, the officials who came to attend were not very enthusiastic. In the past, everyone feared Emperor Qianlong's majesty, but now? The old dog had lost his teeth, so who was afraid?
Even Ji Yun, or Ji Xiaolan, who always fawned over Emperor Qianlong, was no longer as deferential to Emperor Qianlong in court.
Emperor Qianlong was furious. Emperor Qianlong shed tears.
But it was all useless.
The only one who could offer Emperor Qianlong any comfort was likely Grand Secretary Heshen.
Grand Secretary Heshen stated that although the Qing dynasty appeared to be in chaos, it might not be a bad thing for the Qing dynasty.
Why?
Because with rebels appearing in so many provinces, these rebels would surely fight among themselves. Today you attack me, tomorrow I attack you, and perhaps one day someone will kill another, including Zhu Jinsong, the top rebel leader.
Since many prefectures and counties no longer obeyed the imperial court's orders, instead of expending more effort to mobilize troops to quell the rebellions, it was better to let these rebels fight each other.
More importantly, as these people rebelled and killed each other day after day, a large number of people would surely die.
With fewer people, there would be more land. Although the Qing imperial court would collect less money, the survivors, the common people, would receive their own land. When the Qing dynasty sorted out the chaos, wouldn't these common people still be grateful for the Emperor Father's grace?
Therefore, it would be better for the Qing imperial court to calmly sit back and watch the tigers fight. When most of the rebels had died and were exhausted from fighting each other, it would not be too late for the Qing dynasty to come out and clean up the mess.
After hearing Grand Secretary Heshen's analysis, Emperor Qianlong pondered that what Heshen the Second said seemed reasonable. In any case, this empire was inherited from his ancestors. As long as the areas of Zhili and Liaodong were in his hands, let the other places be chaotic. It was a good opportunity to train troops during the time these rebels were fighting amongst themselves.
When the Qing imperial army and Manchus regained the bravery of their ancestors, and when the rebels had fought each other to a standstill, it would not be too late for the Qing dynasty to come out and slowly clean up the aftermath.
With this decision made, Emperor Qianlong immediately ordered all the Eight Banners, Manchu youths, and "gentlemen" from all over the empire to return to Zhili.
As soon as Emperor Qianlong issued this order, Zhu Jinsong, the top rebel leader, was shocked by Emperor Qianlong's thought process.
This was too absurd.
Even though seventeen provinces, excluding Gansu, had raised the banner of rebellion, with these Eight Banners, Manchu youths, and "gentlemen" dispersed throughout the empire, many prefectures, counties, and districts still had not raised the banner of rebellion. There were still some who were loyal to the Qing imperial court.
By recalling all these Eight Banners, Manchu youths, and "gentlemen" to Zhili, Emperor Qianlong's imperial court was effectively abandoning all prefectures, counties, and districts except for Zhili and Gansu.
Were there no loyal officials in the Qing imperial court to advise Emperor Qianlong?
In fact, they did advise him. The Qing dynasty had so many loyal officials and filial sons. How could they not advise Emperor Qianlong against such a rash decision made on impulse? Even Heshen, who proposed to sit back and watch the tigers fight, had advised him.
But it was all useless.
At that time, all the officials of the Qing dynasty believed that Li Shiyao should be executed, but Emperor Qianlong refused to execute Li Shiyao, preferring to gloss over it with nonsensical excuses like "exceeding the quota for executions."
Now, when others believed that the Qing dynasty should not actively abandon so many prefectures and counties, Emperor Qianlong still decided to abandon them.
Emperor Qianlong considered all these people to be fools.
He thought, "Are there not rebels everywhere in this empire? What do they want? They want to rebel against the Qing dynasty! If they are rebelling against the Qing dynasty, aren't they rebelling against us Manchus? Then, wouldn't it be very dangerous for our Eight Banners and Manchu youths to remain in those prefectures and counties?
By gathering them back to Zhili, I am also protecting their safety. You servants do not understand my good intentions, and I do not blame you, but you cannot stop me!"
However, just when Zhu Jinsong thought Emperor Qianlong's thought process was already magical enough, Emperor Qianlong did something even more magical.
In order to make room for the Qing dynasty's permanent soldiers, Emperor Qianlong ordered all Han civilians in Zhili to leave Zhili. As long as they did not go to the Qing dynasty's ancestral homeland outside the passes, they could go anywhere. The Qing imperial court would not interfere.
Zhu Jinsong was completely convinced.
Was this the thought process of an emperor?
Had Emperor Qianlong's brain been damaged by writing poetry? Or had the recent blows been so numerous that Emperor Qianlong had become mentally unstable?
But then, Zhu Jinsong also came to his senses.
PS: Fourth update. Requesting votes!