After a long silence, Lu Peifang chuckled coldly a few times, then said firmly, "Fine, then I'll take out this old bone and make a good scene. I'll fight for a better future for my son!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zheng Hong, Lin Yang, and the others appeared. Zheng Hong was dressed as a Ming Dynasty marquis, his brightly colored clothes making him quite conspicuous.
"Good, good, good. It's wonderful that Old Master Lu is willing to cooperate. Now it's up to us. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it's located in the mountains and forests. The Qing army's cannons are almost useless. Even the Eight Banners cavalry have little effect."
"The villagers can simply stay here. That way, there won't be any major casualties. In addition, we have prepared a thousand well-made foreign rifles, 300,000 rounds of ammunition, and 300 boxes of hand grenades..."
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Chapter 45: I Have a Surrender Potion
"Hmph, Han people, indeed, cannot be trusted!" Tacha'er, the banner chief of the Plain Red Banner of the Eight Banners, immediately said after news of the peasant uprising in Sanyuanli arrived.
This person was enormous, and he was always wearing a suit of armor. On his head was a perfectly genuine pig's tail.
As he spoke, he held a food box in his hand, inside which were the hearts and livers of children. They smelled bloody, and eating them left one's mouth full of blood. It looked extremely wicked, but Tacha himself seemed quite pleased with himself.
As for the Han Chinese officials around them, they all lowered their heads, pretending not to have seen anything. Those who could sit here were at least prefectural-level officials, which in later times would be equivalent to city-level officials.
When an official reaches this level, their conscience has long been devoured. How could they possibly offend the Manchu, a representative of the nation, for the life of a mere child?
Besides, even if they opposed it, what could they do? At most, they could submit a petition to impeach him. But for a loyal citizen like Tachar, what did a mere impeachment mean?
They were just some worthless Nikans; their deaths were no big deal. As long as it helped Tacha's martial arts improve, it was all worth it.
As a Manchu of impeccable lineage, Tacha'er, born into the Plain Red Banner, had always harbored a dislike for the Han Chinese. How could these mere servants rise to the position of governor of a province, a higher rank than many other bannermen? How could this be acceptable?
As expected, everything went exactly as Grandpa Tachar had predicted. That bandit Chen Ming from Lushan immediately raised an army in rebellion. He kept talking about the difference between Manchus and Han Chinese. Grandpa Tachar's first thought wasn't fear or panic, but rather that the Han people were finally doomed.
This time, using this excuse, they could easily oust countless high-ranking Han officials. Each of those official titles is worth a fortune!
But who would have thought that Chen Ming would win every battle and grow stronger with each fight? It was truly unbelievable! Therefore, Grandpa Tacha was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Han Chinese Nikans.
"How exactly did this matter escalate? Is it about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming? Could it be related to the traitor Zhu Yuanzhang? Kunchen, you tell us." Sai Shang'a, sitting at the head of the table, said calmly.
As the imperial envoy dispatched by the Daoguang Emperor and concurrently the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, he was naturally the most senior official present.
In addition to his Mongol Eight Banners background and being Daoguang's teacher, even a fearless and tough guy like Tachaer remained silent.
As for Kunchen, it was the courtesy name of Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangzhou. He was a Han Chinese and also the local governor of Guangzhou, a powerful figure who held considerable influence and was one of the most influential officials.
In Guangzhou, he had the final say on almost everything, big and small. Even the imperial envoy Sai Shang'a had to consult with him beforehand on many matters; otherwise, failure was almost certain.
The recent civil unrest in Sanyuanli is naturally extremely disadvantageous to him. If things escalate, he, as the governor of Guangzhou, will certainly be attacked under the guise of this situation.
“Of course it’s not about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming; they’re resisting taxes. Yes, they are resisting taxes,” Ye Mingchen said, stroking his beard.
Even if it's not tax resistance, it has to be tax resistance. If it's truly about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, wouldn't that mean power would fall into the wrong hands?
Moreover, the taxes levied by the imperial court in Guangzhou are now excessive. In addition, the people of Sanyuanli are rather impulsive and daring. Therefore, it is quite normal for a tax resistance struggle to break out, instigated by those with ulterior motives.
Before Sai Shang'a could speak, Tacha'er interrupted, "Heh, impossible! It's definitely about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming! Otherwise, how do you plan to explain it to the court? Say that the taxes in Guangzhou are too heavy, and the officials are forcing the people to rebel?" After saying that, he laughed in a sinister tone.
Although what Tachar said was true, it was the kind of truth that couldn't be made public. Were the court's taxes heavy? Actually, they were very heavy! Especially after many rebellions, the taxes levied became even greater.
Therefore, it's true that officials forced the people to rebel. However, this cannot be spoken of. If it is, someone must bear the responsibility. Who will bear this responsibility? The Daoguang Emperor? You want to execute his entire family? Some high-ranking official in the central government? Haha, you're dreaming!
Therefore, if he insisted on submitting such a memorial, Ye Mingchen would ultimately be the one to suffer. Thus, after some thought, Ye Mingchen said, "Then let's collude with the traitor Zhu and overthrow the Qing to restore the Ming."
"Then let's discuss how to wipe them out," Zeng Guofan suddenly said from the side.
Zeng Guofan was a disciple of Sai Shang'a, and moreover, his last disciple. His martial arts skills surpassed even his master's, reaching the peak of the third rank. With further advancement, he could reach the level of Lin Zexu and Senggelinqin.
Coupled with his unwavering loyalty to the court, he rose through the ranks quite quickly. Now, at a young age, he's already the Vice Minister of War. Right now, he's just here with his teacher, Sai Shang'a, to go through the motions and get some prestige.
Of course, even if he was just there to gain experience, no one dared to disregard what he said.
Sai Shang'a nodded and said, "Now all the captured Green Standard Army generals have betrayed us, which is a disgrace to the Emperor. Moreover, most of the remaining officials are also in a state of panic. In addition, the long period of peace has made them too corrupt, and their combat strength is really poor. They are simply unusable."
He finished speaking and sighed. Honestly, was there something fishy going on here? Definitely! Otherwise, how could hundreds of captured Green Standard Army officials have all surrendered?
Hundreds of officials, from the lowest-ranking centurion to the highest-ranking general, all surrendered. Even my great Qing Dynasty's Guangdong naval commander, Lord Lai Enjue, surrendered.
You must know that Lord Lai was a truly loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. During the great naval battle against Zhu Jishi, he even carried a coffin into battle. It is said that even the Daoguang Emperor, upon hearing of this, remarked that Lord Lai was indeed a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty.
To everyone's surprise, after being defeated and captured, they surrendered in less than six days, not even seven. How could the imperial court possibly trust Han officials after that?
Even now, Sai Shang'a can't make good use of the Guangzhou pro-independence camp. I really do admire Zhu's methods.
Moreover, according to rumors, Zhu Ni's medical skills are extraordinary, surpassing even those of Hua Tuo himself. Therefore, he specially concocted a miraculous medicine called the "Surrender Persuasion Medicine."
At first, when Saishanga heard this legend, he merely smiled. "Are you kidding me? Where in this world is there such a miraculous medicine?"
If such a thing truly existed, wouldn't it be easy to just give it to the emperor, then have him abdicate? Why bother with all the trouble of rebellion? But now, alas…
Then, after glancing at the crowd and then at the Han Chinese officials in the hall, Sai Shang'a continued, "I have four thousand men in my capital, which is a bit stronger than the Green Standard Army and can put up a fight."
The so-called "Du Biao" was actually a military force directly under the Governor-General. Similarly, there were Fu Biao directly under the Governor, Ti Biao directly under the Admiral, and Jun Biao directly under the Manchu General.
Because of the direct affiliation, it's not completely rotten yet. At least, it's still somewhat better than the already rotten and unrecognizable DPP (Democratic Progressive Party).
"I have four thousand men under my command, and they are quite strong," Ye Mingchen said.
"Under my command, there is a cavalry unit of the Plain Red Banner, numbering eight thousand. These eight thousand men are all renowned heroes, each one exceptionally skilled, each capable of taking on ten men," Tachaer declared loudly.
The voice was quite loud, but the credibility of the words was questionable. If it were right after the founding of the country, let alone eight thousand, even fifteen thousand could have been scrapped together by the Plain Red Banner.
Back in Emperor Kangxi's time, all the men combined would probably number around eight thousand. But nowadays, if you have four thousand capable fighters, that's considered pretty good! As for the remaining four thousand, they certainly wouldn't be at full strength.