Zhu Xiaosong chuckled, casually sticking the incense stick in his hand into the censer, and looked at Zhu Laosan. "Alright, little third. You've learned to think with your brain now?"
Zhu Laosan also imitated Zhu Xiaosong, sticking the incense stick in his hand into the censer, and snorted, "Does this even need thinking? Isn't it obvious?"
Seeing that his elder brother hadn't given up the idea of smashing the Quanlin Imperial Palace, Zhu Laosan felt a headache coming on.
As the saying goes, smashing the Quanlin Imperial Palace is easy, but dealing with the aftermath is difficult.
However, he couldn't just oppose it constantly—
In public, his elder brother was the supreme leader of Yuhuangshan. As the saying goes, a family of ten needs one master. Whatever his elder brother decided, it didn't seem to be his place to object.
In private, this was his own elder brother. If he opposed his brother's plan, how would the other brothers on Yuhuangshan think of him?
But Zhu Laosan felt that he shouldn't just let his elder brother go smash the Quanlin Imperial Palace.
If Qian Long the old dog were truly angered, let alone millions of Qing troops围剿, even tens of thousands of Qing troops would be enough to deal with.
However, Zhu Xiaosong shook his head and said, "Smashing the Quanlin Imperial Palace is indeed difficult to deal with, but you've overlooked a problem."
Zhu Laosan thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what problem he had overlooked.
Was it the comparison of military strength? Although Qian Long the old dog had repeatedly reiterated the "Order to Relocate Han Army Banners into Civilian Status," the sheer scale of the Manchu Qing army was still there, while Yuhuangshan had at most a hundred people.
Even if Yuhuangshan had a great weapon like grenades, this was different from swords and sabers. It was a disposable consumable, and its manufacturing depended on charcoal, sulfur, saltpeter, iron, wood, paper, and other materials. Although its lethality was considerable, it was inferior to arrows in terms of range.
As for logistics, it was even more out of the question. The Manchu Qing army had the backing of the Qing Dynasty's treasury, the entire Qing Dynasty, with complete land, canal, and sea transport. Yuhuangshan didn't even have a base yet.
With all these messy factors combined, how could they fight against the millions of Manchu Qing troops?
And yet, his elder brother's assessment was that he was thoughtless?
Zhu Laosan was unconvinced and stubbornly looked at Zhu Xiaosong, asking, "What problem did I overlook?"
Zhu Xiaosong looked up at the solemn and majestic Buddha, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared. "Killing innocents to claim credit!"
These simple four words made Zhu Laosan and Zhu Lao'er suddenly understand, and then feel as if needles were pricking their backs.
Zhu Xiaosong said, "If it weren't for these four words, after smashing Wenshang County, we should have retreated directly to Yimeng, instead of going to smash Dawankou, and later we shouldn't have come here to smash Sishui County."
"The reason we smashed Dawankou first and then Sishui County was that once we disappeared, the Tatar government might kill innocents to claim credit and declare that we had been wiped out by the Tatar imperial army."
"At that time, not only could Qian Long the old dog confidently go south to Jiangnan, but countless innocent people would die because of us. As for those anti-Qing forces who wanted to respond to us, they would also be greatly hit."
Qian Long's 49th year was only 140 years away from Chongzhen's 17th year, 110 years away from the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, 100 years away from Shi Lang's conquest of Taiwan, and 27 years away from Qian Long the old dog's order to slaughter all the Dzungars.
Although from Kangxi the child to Qian Long the old dog, they were both engaged in literary inquisition while loudly proclaiming how much the Qing imperial court loved its people, the Yangzhou Massacre, the Jiading Three Massacres, the eighty-day massacre of Jiangyin, Datong, which was reduced to only five people, Sichuan, which was completely massacred, and the forced migration and sea ban, which involved burning houses and killing people – these were the blood and tears memories passed down through generations of the Central Plains people!
Who didn't know what kind of people the emperors and officials of the Tatar court were?
"Generously using China's resources to please friendly nations" was because he had almost ruined the Qing Dynasty. In the time of Qianlong, it was "generously using China's resources to sacrifice the lives of the people and please one person!"
Killing innocents to claim credit in order to save their own heads and official hats was simply a normal operation for the officials of our Great Qing Dynasty.
Therefore, did his elder brother leading people to smash Dawankou first and then Sishui County actually force the Tatar government to not dare to kill innocents to claim credit?
But in this way, although the Tatar government would not kill innocents to claim credit, his elder brother's idea of developing a base in Yimeng would also be mostly dashed—smashing the Quanlin Imperial Palace, wasn't that slapping Qian Long the old dog in the face? Wouldn't the Tatars then围剿 them like mad dogs?
Thinking of this, Zhu Laosan couldn't help but feel a headache. "Brother, in this way, the Tatar government won't kill innocents to claim credit, but what about us..."
Zhu Xiaosong chuckled and said, "What about us? Are you trying to say that the Tatars will chase us like mad dogs?"
Zhu Xiaosong was not a fool, so he naturally knew what would be most advantageous to him—watching the Tatars kill innocents to claim credit, lying low to develop a base, and then overturning the table when their strength grew.
But not everything in this world was about advantage.
If one purely considered interests and disadvantages, then the whole world should learn from Uncle Sam, so that the weak, old, sick, and disabled could be eliminated by the nineteen to one odds, because doing so would not only save money but also alleviate the problem of an aging population to a great extent.
So, when many people mocked Uncle Sam for being incompetent, shouldn't these people reflect on whether they were too stupid?
You couldn't mock Uncle Sam just because China spent more than 100 billion in treasury reserves to pay for its citizens, because China and Uncle Sam were two completely different systems. China served the people, while Uncle Sam served capital. There was no simple right or wrong in this matter.
Therefore, if one simply considered the pros and cons, it was easy to draw a conclusion: although Uncle Sam's choice was not very humane, it was the most advantageous for a country.
This applied to Zhu Xiaosong as well—Zhu Xiaosong asked himself if he couldn't be like China, who was willing to pay any price for the people, but he also couldn't be as cold-blooded as Uncle Sam in weighing pros and cons.
What's more, even if the Quanlin Imperial Palace was smashed, it didn't mean the situation would be as dire as Zhu Laosan described.
Zhu Xiaosong reached out and rubbed Zhu Laosan's head, smiling and asking, "Little third, how many times has it snowed in Ningyang since winter began?"
Zhu Laosan couldn't quite figure out Zhu Xiaosong's intentions, so he could only honestly reply, "It has snowed twice."
Zhu Xiaosong hummed and said, "Only two snowfalls, and the total depth is less than half a finger. Do you know what this means?"
Zhu Laosan had read books since he was young and didn't understand much about farmland. Zhu Lao'er, who knew a little about farming, directly replied, "The old saying goes that heavy snow means a good harvest, and light snow in winter means drought next year. Elder brother, are you trying to say that with only these two light snowfalls this winter, it's likely to be a severe drought next year?"
Zhu Xiaosong nodded and said, "The old saying also says that if the wheat is covered with three layers of quilts in winter, you'll sleep with steamed buns next year. This winter, there hasn't been much snow, so the harvest next year is likely not going to be very good either."
Zhu Laosan asked doubtfully, "Even if the harvest is bad, what does it have to do with us?"
Zhu Xiaosong was almost amused by Zhu Laosan's simplicity. "If the harvest is bad, and the government is busy wiping us out, where will they have the time to care about the people's lives? If the people can't survive, what will they do?"
"If our example wasn't in front of them, perhaps many people would have endured it. But with our example in front of them, what do you think those people will do?"
"When the people rise up in rebellion, the Tatars will be exhausted from chasing them, and this is precisely our opportunity."
The severe drought in Qianlong's 49th year was already evident. The drought in spring and summer extended from Shandong in the east to Shaanxi in the west, causing the winter wheat to wither and yellow, and the summer harvest to be reduced or even lost. Qianlong the old dog, however, was only concerned with going south to Jiangnan to inspect the riverways of Xi Yuhe and Chen Qinglian and other young ladies, so where would he care about the people's lives?
On April 15th, Qianlong's 49th year, Tian Wu revolted in Gansu. By the autumn of Qianlong's 50th year, Qingzhou was experiencing such a severe disaster that fathers and sons ate each other.
Not to mention that Qianlong the old dog was not a benevolent emperor who loved his people. Even if he were, what good would it do? Only those who could let the people live could be considered good emperors. If the emperor couldn't let the people live, then the people could only overthrow him.
This has always been the case, throughout history.
But Zhu Laosan shook his head and looked at Zhu Xiaosong. "No, even if all the people in the world rise up, won't that be until next spring and summer? Now that we've smashed the Quanlin Imperial Palace, the Tatars will围剿 us the day after tomorrow. How can we hold on?"
Zhu Xiaosong laughed heartily and said, "We've always said we're smashing, not burning. Have we burned Liu Ju's house? Or the Ningyang County yamen?"
"Such a large complex of imperial palaces, we've only captured a few artisans and taken some gold and silver. We haven't burned it all down. Qian Long the old dog, in order to smoothly go to Jiangnan, will likely tolerate it if he can."
"Even if he can't tolerate it, at most he'll send someone like Fuk'anggan or Agui to lead troops to圍剿 us. It's no big deal."
"Remember, a base is a base, and us leading the Tatars around like dogs is leading them around like dogs. These are two different things."
"It's a shame that Yue Zhongqi, Yao Qisheng, and Zhou Peigong have been dead for many years. Otherwise, I would really like to meet them."
Having said that, Zhu Xiaosong stopped talking and asked Zhu Lao'er to gather the men, sort out the gold and silver borrowed from Quanlin Temple, and then led the way out of the Mahavira Hall.
Upon seeing Zhu Xiaosong emerge from the great hall, Abbot Wuzhi of Quanlin Temple quickly stepped forward, put his palms together, and bowed. "Amitabha, I wonder if the benefactor rested well last night? This humble monk has already had a vegetarian meal prepared, waiting only for the benefactor."
Zhu Xiaosong, however, shook his head with a smile. "Great monk, I've already said that I came to Quanlin Temple neither to debate Buddhist dharma nor to kill and set fires. The two matters I needed to attend to have now been handled, so I should leave soon. Therefore, I will not have breakfast."
"By the way, hurry up and send someone to prepare. After we leave, report to the authorities immediately, saying that we have led our men to the Quanlin Imperial Palace, so that the government can be prepared early."
Monk Wuzhi was startled, then lowered his head and recited a Buddhist chant, "Amitabha, the benefactor is joking."
Zhu Xiaosong, however, said seriously, "Who am I joking with? If I tell you to send someone to report to the authorities, just send someone. If I say I'm going to the Quanlin Imperial Palace, I will naturally go to the Quanlin Imperial Palace."
After speaking, Zhu Xiaosong no longer paid attention to Monk Wuzhi and led the way out of the temple.
When they reached the main gate of Quanlin Temple, Zhu Xiaosong suddenly stopped and asked Zhu Laosan to take out the brush and ink he had prepared. He dipped his brush and wrote on the wall outside Quanlin Temple: "Kill all the million Manchu soldiers, with a treasured sword stained with blood. The mountain monk does not know the heroic man, only asking for his name."
After finishing, Zhu Xiaosong laughed heartily and said to Monk Wuzhi, who was following behind him, "My scholarship is not as good as that of the Great Ming's founding emperor, so I can only slightly modify his old man's poem. I hope the great monk will forgive me."
After Monk Wuzhi said "I dare not" twice, Zhu Xiaosong then said, "This poem I have inscribed for your Quanlin Temple is better than the ten thousand poems inscribed by Qian Long the old dog. In the future, many people will come to admire my calligraphy."
"You don't need to thank me. Just preserve this poem well. I will come again in a few months."
"Goodbye, no need to see me off. I'm still rushing to smash the Quanlin Imperial Palace."