"There are quite a few people."
"Mr. Li, please take a seat."
The council chamber of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was not like the meeting hall of today, where a large table is set up and everyone sits around it. Instead, there were two chairs on the left and right sides at the head of the hall, which were usually reserved for the officials in charge and the most important officials.
At this moment, the chair in charge was occupied by Zhang Shusheng, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, while the most prestigious chair was reserved for Li Boyang.
Li Boyang was not surprised at all by Zhang Shusheng's arrangement. When someone gives a gift, they must have something in mind, and what the other party wanted was nothing more than to use the power of Baozhilin.
He sat down in the head seat of the hall without any hesitation, smiled, and said, "Sir, you must have thought this through before inviting me here."
"As you say, sir." Zhang Shusheng nodded heavily.
Once Li Boyang confirmed that Zhang Shusheng had truly compromised, he felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Dealing with the gentry would have been very difficult if the government hadn't cooperated.
However, with Zhang Shusheng nodding, everything was no longer a problem. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to the people in the council hall and smiled:
"Gentlemen, let's not beat around the bush. My Baozhilin's business is also based in Guangzhou, so naturally we cannot tolerate the White Lotus Sect's treasonous acts. Rest assured, I will not hold back a single bit of effort."
"If Mr. Li says so, we have nothing to worry about."
"It's truly a blessing that Guangzhou has Baozhilin."
Hearing Li Boyang say this, these people felt reassured.
"The next steps will require the cooperation of the Governor and his family."
Zhang Shusheng naturally understood what Li Boyang was referring to, and nodded, saying, "As long as you are willing to take care of the White Lotus Sect matter, everything is negotiable."
Baozhilin needed a legitimate reason to send troops to suppress the rebellion, and this reason could only be granted by the government. Therefore, after the White Lotus Rebellion, Baozhilin mobilized troops under the identities of the Eight Banners and the Green Standard Army. Zhang Shusheng was aware of this.
"Second Senior Brother, the details will need to be discussed with the Governor."
Li Boyang's main purpose in coming here was to make a statement, to reassure everyone present, and to convey the attitude of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. As for the remaining details, he could leave them to Yacha Su.
Free novels, ad-free novel website, TXT downloads, please remember Ant Reading Network
------------
Chapter 39 Turning the Tide into Rain
As the White Lotus Rebellion was confirmed, the atmosphere in Guangzhou became increasingly oppressive.
The Eight Banners Army and the Green Standard Army have already implemented a ban on smoking throughout the city and are arresting members of the White Lotus sect everywhere.
The White Lotus Rebellion would naturally not have chosen to take place in the provincial capital. It's easy to imagine that if a large number of unidentified people gathered in the provincial capital, the government would immediately notice something was wrong.
However, there are quite a few White Lotus Sect spies in the provincial capital. Since the White Lotus Sect is about to rebel, these guys can't be kept around. If the White Lotus Sect attacks Guangzhou and these guys collude with them from the inside, it will be bad news.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
As expected, the White Lotus Sect officially launched its rebellion with the slogan, "When the white lotus blooms, the Ming King is born, Maitreya is reborn, the sun and moon return, overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming."
Hundreds of thousands of followers rose up simultaneously at the agreed time.
Within a single day, they captured four cities: Shaoguan, Huizhou, Meizhou, and Chaozhou.
Within a week, all of Guangdong, except for Foshan and a few other cities like Guangzhou, fell.
At the same time, the White Lotus sects in Shandong and Hunan responded simultaneously, causing an uproar throughout the country.
A flood of petitions for help poured into the Forbidden City, and the Eight Banners and Green Standard Army stationed throughout the country finally began to send troops to suppress the rebellion.
A month passed quickly.
The Qing Dynasty's military was already corrupt, and the Eight Banners Army and Green Standard Army that suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion suffered heavy defeats, causing unrest throughout the country.
Riding on its overwhelming victory, the White Lotus Sect swept across Shandong, spreading to Shanxi. In Hubei and Hunan, only the provincial capitals remained to hold out. In Guangdong and Guangxi, only Guangzhou and Foshan remained to defend the region. For a time, the entire country was engulfed in flames of war.
The foreign powers, through this scene, saw through the Qing Dynasty's true strength and weaknesses, and sent envoys to the Qing Dynasty to inform Empress Dowager Cixi that they could send troops to help, but with various conditions.
At this time, three months had passed since the White Lotus Rebellion.
Just as those in power in the Forbidden City were hesitating, the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi changed.
The White Lotus sect in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces assembled an army of 200,000 followers, but suffered a major defeat when attacking Guangzhou. The remaining forces of the White Lotus sect were slowly moving towards Fujian.
It seems that a mysterious force drove the White Lotus Sect and controlled its escape route. The White Lotus Sect in the entire Guangdong and Guangxi regions rose and fell just as quickly.
The sudden defeat of the White Lotus Rebellion forces in Guangdong and Guangxi gave the authorities in the Forbidden City great confidence. They immediately abandoned their plans to seek help from foreign powers and instead devoted more resources to suppressing the rebellion.
As for why the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi suddenly changed, it goes without saying that it was Li Boyang's doing.
In fact, Baozhilin could have suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion at its inception, but doing so would have only benefited the Qing government.
Li Boyang only made his move after the White Lotus Sect had almost occupied two entire territories and was making rapid advances in Shandong and the two lakes.
As for his purpose, it was very simple: it would be too difficult for him to overthrow the Qing Dynasty by himself alone. He took advantage of the White Lotus Rebellion to show the world the weakness of the Qing Dynasty. Only in this way could he ignite the wildfire in the hearts of ambitious people all over the world.
Similarly, although the White Lotus sect in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions was defeated by Li Boyang, he was not actually seriously injured.
After defeating the elite forces of the White Lotus Sect's Guangzhou branch under the city walls of Guangzhou, the total number of White Lotus Sect members in the Guangzhou branch was approximately 50,000, including less than 10,000 elites, with the remainder being more fanatical believers.
As for the exaggerated momentum of hundreds of thousands at the beginning, it vanished long ago with a major defeat. That's how peasant uprisings are; they start with great momentum, but once they encounter defeat, they often scatter like birds and beasts.
As for the remaining 50,000 men, Li Boyang had no intention of annihilating them all at once. He was not a helper of the Qing Dynasty, and he would never dream of helping to suppress the rebellion for free. The Qing Dynasty would be grateful if he didn't cause trouble for them.
For Li Boyang, the more chaotic the world was, the faster the Qing Dynasty would perish.