Compared with the Northeast, which has just entered spring, Beijing has already entered early summer.
Every year after April, the old and dull city of Beijing becomes lively. In late spring and early summer, the sky is clear, the air is clear, and the wind is gentle and gentle. Both the family members of the bannermen in the city and the gentry and villagers outside the city came out one after another to enjoy the wonderful time before the hot summer. Temple fairs outside Beijing also became lively with the opening of the temple; Green Women Red The man is walking along the road, the wind in the willows and the waves of wheat are washing his mind.
In May, the city gods from Wanping, Daxing and even Xuanwumen went out on patrol and the ten-day temple fairs began again. Then they made rice dumplings, smeared realgar wine on the children, invited the heavenly master's talisman, tied the tiger with colored silk, cut colored paper gourds and so on. Vent the poisonous atmosphere in your home...
However, outside the "Rakshasa Temple" located in the Hujiaquan Hutong in Dongzhimen, there was a murderous atmosphere at this time. Soldiers and horses sent by the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division and the Infantry Commander's Yamen swept the entire St. Nicholas Church "three They were surrounded "one guard step at a time, five steps up and one sentry post". Whether they were bannermen who came to see the excitement or people passing by on errands, when they saw the sealed church door, they all said "poof" and spit to express their resentment.
Damn Rakshasa, how dare you invade the border? Damn it, I'll starve you redheads to death!
It seems that Emperor Kangxi was too lighthearted when he was in Yaksa. They were a bunch of people who only remembered to fight but not to eat! When the imperial soldiers arrive in two days, they will all be captured and beheaded in front of the Meridian Gate!
Different from the simple and simple thoughts of the common people, the Manchu monarchs and ministers in the Old Summer Palace were gloomy and gloomy.
First, in late April, the Rakshasa suddenly invaded. According to the 800-mile expedited report sent by Heilongjiang General Hengxiu, Rakshasa went south along Heilongjiang. Many fortresses were breached and soldiers and civilians were massacred. This time Rakshasa dispatched hundreds of warships, over 10,000 soldiers, and sharp guns. With the strength of his troops, it was difficult to resist.
The angry Qianlong immediately ordered the closure of St. Nicholas Church in Dongzhimen and the confinement of all Tsarist Russian missionaries. Except for arranging special personnel to deliver water and food every day, no one was allowed to have contact with the missionaries. At the same time, he issued an order to the minister of affairs in Kulun. If the Oros people refused to accept the surrender, the "Kyakhta Mutual Trade" would not be opened for one day!
Just when he was thinking about mobilizing troops from Ningguta, and at the same time recruiting Fukang'an's troops from the south who had just wiped out Lin Shuangwen to go north, bad news came from Qinggui again. Zhao Xin dispatched tens of thousands of troops to attack the Ningguta camp. Ninggu Tower has fallen!
Now, the seventy-seven-year-old Qianlong was really panicked.
What he feared was not the gains and losses of Ningguta City, but the fact that the camp that the imperial court spent millions of taels of silver and tens of thousands of people and took two years to build was just like paper, and was penetrated by the Northern Navy in two days.
What does Beihai Town want to do next?
In fact, this problem deeply troubled the Manchu and Qing court. Since the defeat of Fuldan City in the First World War, the two sides have been in confrontation for several years. More and more border people are trading with Fuldan City from the south to the north, and the Qing government has naturally planted many spies. Although some people disappeared as soon as they left, and occasionally a little information came out, but even these occasional information came back, which shocked Qianlong.
From the types and prices of goods to the various workshops set up in Beihai Town; from hospitals, ports, security police to various schools, whether it was Qianlong himself or several military ministers, they all saw from this the relationship between Beihai Town and all the previous dynasties. The difference between flag-raising rebels.
Since he is so good at fighting, why doesn't he establish a national title? Although a banner with the word "Ming" was raised in Daninggu Pagoda a few years ago, there has been no movement since then.
Why don't they increase the reward? Whether Lin Shuangwen or the White Lotus Sect, since ancient times, whoever raised the flag hastily rewarded the bandit leader and granted him hundreds of officials, or else he has followed them and worked hard for them.
The most important thing is, since they have big iron ships, why don't they attack Shandong or even Jiangnan? You must know that with the tyranny of those two large iron ships, it is easy to capture the prosperous land along the south coast of the Yangtze River. But Zhao Ni, apart from doing things here and there and annoying the local governor, was actually indifferent to the colorful world.
The report sent by Qinggui at the end of last year stated that Zhao Ni's troops only numbered six to seven thousand, and his population was only 150,000. But what does the brochure of Mingliang’s apology say? Beihai Town soldiers and horses were all over the mountains and fields, with tens of thousands of people in sight; the rebels and soldiers were one mile apart, and all kinds of guns and artillery were already firing, and the officers and soldiers were helpless; and in the end, the ones who caused the great defeat of the Ningguta camp were actually five people who could move and set up their own devices. There are continuous iron cannons and iron boxes that are not afraid of bombardment.
If he hadn't known Mingliang's personality well, Qianlong and the military ministers below would have thought that this was talking about "The List of Gods".
However, just as Qianlong was preparing to mobilize the tens of thousands of troops from Fukang'an's platform to the north to resist the Rakshasa and Beihai Town, news came again from Heilongjiang City that the Beihai Navy had surrounded and annihilated the tens of thousands of Rakshasa troops who were approaching Aihui City. This made the eyes and chins of Qianlong and the military ministers drop to the floor. Are they so embarrassed that they actually helped the imperial court drive away foreign invaders?
A few days later, news came from Hunchun that Beihai Town had not moved southward after capturing Ninggu Pagoda. The sentry in charge of reconnaissance discovered that thousands of Beihai navy stationed here suddenly boarded ships in the early morning and headed north towards Hul. They went north of the Ha River, but there were less than a thousand people stationed in the city.
All this stood in front of the Manchu monarchs and ministers like a fog, making them increasingly confused about what Zhao Xin was doing.
For Qianlong, since he can't understand, he should wait and see what happens. It is best for Beihai Town and Rakshasa to fight and lose both sides. The first priority now was to increase the defensive strength of Jilin's Wula and Hunchun camps. Qianlong thought twice and decided to first mobilize 10,000 troops from the jurisdiction of Chahar Dutong and General Shengjing to go north to reinforce Jilin.
Okay, the emperor has made up his mind, everyone just obeys. So now there is one last thing, who will redeem people this time?
The report from Ningguta said that the Northern Navy captured more than 15,000 people this time, and the entire Ningguta camp was converted into a prisoner camp. Although there will not be as many captured soldiers from the Beijing camp this time as last time, after all, many bannermen in Beijing are waiting eagerly.
No one in the civil or military circles of the court dared to say no to redemption. After all, the court held its nose and did it last time. If anyone dares to say no to it this time, all the bannermen in Beijing will work together to tear off the roof of his house!
At this time, everyone turned their attention to the smart and capable Mr. He... Don't think about it, Mr. He is different from the past. He is now the head military minister, and the emperor cannot do without him at all.
The problem is that Zhao Xin now has a bad reputation and is said to be very messy at the negotiation table. After thinking about it, a person came into Qianlong's field of vision.
Since He Shen was promoted to the lead military aircraft minister the year before last, he began to use the "tortoise magic" to retreat. There were no big things, small mistakes continued, and the official reputation gradually became less than before. He was criticized by Qianlong many times. Last year, he was reprimanded for leaking the contents of his conversation with Qianlong about Ji Huang and Cao Wenqian, and was dismissed as co-organizer of the bachelor's degree.
Don't you want to hide behind? I just won't let you be a coward.
As a result, the news that the 68-year-old Liu Yong, the vice president of the Jade Palace and in charge of the affairs of the Imperial College, was going to go north to serve as the negotiator, was spread by someone who was interested. When the bannermen in Beijing heard that it was this person, they didn't even think about asking for help, so let's just wait.
Since Liu Yong heard that the emperor was going to send him to Jilin to negotiate with Zhao Ni, apart from going to the Jade Palace and the Imperial College every day, the door would be closed when he returned home, and no visitors would be seen.
In fact, ever since Liu Yong moved to the Ministry of Industry in the forty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign and became the chief master of the study, he could see that Heshen was very popular and would surely dominate the court. At first he tolerated it, but later it became more and more intolerable.
Liu Yong saw it earlier than others and saw clearly. He knew Heshen's methods of amassing money. He also knew that this man was good at managing money and was also quite talented. As long as Qianlong trusted him, Heshen would not fail. With Liu Yong's character, if he continues to work so diligently in the court, a bachelor will definitely not be able to escape. At that time, he will have to seek refuge with He Shen, otherwise there will inevitably be conflicts. Instead of doing this, it is better to hide one's strength, bide one's time and wait for the time.
In fact, ever since Cao Xibao complained about it, Liu Yong had noticed that He Shen was looking for an opportunity to attack him, and he couldn't wait to do it.
But the problem is that his father is Liu Tongxun. Both father and son have been favored by the emperor for two generations and are deeply trusted. If you want to find an opportunity to make a mistake, and it is a small mistake that will make Qianlong jealous, it is not that easy. So he waited and waited, and finally got it last year.
When Gu Qianlong came back from Rehe last year, he told a group of military ministers that Ji Huang, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, was already very old. If he was asked to return home, he would not be able to bear it. Then he said that Cao Wenqi, the Minister of Household Affairs, still had his mother at home. If he asked to return to his hometown to support his relatives, he would not be able to bear it. Qianlong finished speaking at that time, and several ministers present followed the emperor's wishes and expressed their regrets.
A few days later, Qianlong summoned Liu Yong again. The emperor and his ministers agreed with each other, so he mentioned the same thing. What was different from others was that Liu Yong's heart was pounding after hearing this. He knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally come!
Traditionally, when there were vacancies in the Manchu and Qing imperial court, the ranks were usually arranged according to seniority, and the co-organizers were responsible for filling the positions. Liu Yong was one of the more senior among the various ministers. He had served as the Zuodu Censor of the Duchayuan since the 46th year of Qianlong's reign. If Ji Huang retires and returns to his hometown, there is a high probability that the bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion will be his.
As a "model of the Han people" whose father and son served the Manchu emperor for two generations, Liu Yong had already glimpsed a bit of Qianlong's character, which was petty!
So when Liu Yong left the palace after talking with Qianlong, he "happened" to meet Ji Huang outside Maoqin Palace, and Fu Changan was also present, so he pulled Ji Huang and said a few words to him.
"Master Zhuoxiu, the emperor treats you so well, you are really envious of us... blah blah blah"
In fact, Liu Yong knew that Ji Huang and Cao Wenqian had a good relationship. The two often discussed opera, calligraphy and painting, and they had the same hobbies. So the next day, when Cao Wenqian, who did not want to be associated with Heshen, presented the sign to the audience, he proposed to go home and sue his elderly mother on the spot.
Originally Qianlong was just a little surprised and didn't think much about it; but after He Shen reminded him, Qianlong woke up with horror. How come I just told Liu Yong yesterday about Cao Wenxi, and today he is going to sue?
So Qianlong first summoned all the military ministers present that day to inquire, and everyone said that they had not told Ji Huang or Cao Wenqian. The emperor's casual conversations with his close ministers are spread casually. Do you still want to be an official? ! Qianlong said that I had mentioned this matter to you and Liu Yong. If you weren’t talking about it, could there be anyone else?
Only then did Fu Changan hear about what happened outside Maoqin Palace yesterday, so he told Qianlong that it must have been Liu Yong who said it.
Qianlong was furious when he heard this. He said that the so-called relationship between monarch and ministers should be like father and son in the family. Liu Yong is Liu Tongxun's son, so I will not treat him as an outsider. People who work in the inner court are most taboo about telling the emperor's words to people who shouldn't listen. Liu Yong did this just because he wanted Ji Huang to retire and return to his hometown, so that he could be awarded the bachelor's degree in Wenyuan Pavilion. Is Liu Yong old and confused? A person like him who speaks carelessly still wants to be a bachelor? Pooh!
So soon, the Grand Scholar was supplemented by Wang Jie, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Liu Yong's co-organizer of the Grand Scholar was dismissed, leaving only the vice president of the Jade Palace to supervise the affairs of the Imperial Academy, and he was completely sidelined.
Do you think Liu Yong is satisfied now? No, he felt it was not enough. To continue to retreat, he had to make He Shen ignore him and think that he was not a threat!
So in August last year, Qianlong asked Liu Yong to preside over the worship ceremony at the Confucian Temple, but Liu Yong failed to bow as required. Later, he was impeached by Debao, the minister of Taichang Temple who belonged to Heshen's party, and was punished.
At this point, Liu Yong still felt that it was not enough, because concurrently managing the Imperial College would have to preside over the provincial examination, which would conflict with He Shen's plan to make money. He had originally planned to make some trouble in this year's provincial examination, but unexpectedly Qianlong issued an edict asking him to go to Jilin to negotiate with Zhao Ni!
This made Liu Yong very sad.
If things are done well, you will definitely be promoted and rewarded, but the original plan will be ruined; if things are not done well, you will be punished, but what will the court do?
At present, the imperial court is leaking from all sides, and there are disasters and civil unrests one after another. Fu Kang'an is like a fire captain, but the gang in Beihai Town is so powerful that the imperial army failed to encircle and suppress it several times, and Qinggui even vomited blood from exhaustion. .
Not to mention that He Shen will definitely be hindered by his move north this time.
Liu Yong already understood at this time that his little thoughts had been clearly seen by Qianlong.
A few days later, Qianlong ordered Liu Yong to go to the Old Summer Palace to see his majesty. After some admonishment, Liu Yong received the order, went to the Ministry of War to receive the customs defense, and then hurriedly embarked on the post road to the north with his family and guards.
Turn your eyes to the north...
It was said that the Manchu court could not understand Beihai Town's actions, but Suvorov, who was on his way back to Nerchinsk, felt that he understood. The failure of the five battle infantry regiments led him to the conclusion that the Qing people were far more powerful and fierce than he thought.
"It seems that Count Jacobi's plan is going to fail!" Suvorov thought, and when he thought of the frustrated expression on the face of the Irkutsk Governor, he felt indescribably happy. .
During these days, he listened carefully to the reports of some of the soldiers who swam to escape, and also carefully inquired about the details of the fleet being shelled by the North Navy. As a result, he was shocked to find that the Qing army was more advanced than the Russian army in terms of muskets and cannons, from soldier equipment to tactics.
After fighting for so many years, Suvorov had never heard that the army of that country did not form a formation at all, but used a long skirmish line to meet the enemy. Although he also admired skirmishers and columns, what he advocated was completely different from the skirmish line of the "Qing army".
"Groups of twos and threes, spread out on a wide front? Each group is only tens of feet apart?" Suvorov thought for several days, and he concluded that the Russian army lost to the cavalry, that is, There are too few cavalry.
That's right, the entire offensive force in Aihui City only has one cavalry company used for reconnaissance. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the "Qing generals" in charge seized the weaknesses of the Russian army and used their excellent individual combat capabilities and long-range cannons to carry out divided attacks on the battle infantry regiments.
Thinking of this, Suvorov couldn't help but admire the "Qing generals" who were responsible for commanding the operations. He put down the candlestick, rubbed his tight forehead, and said to himself: "They have a master of infantry tactics, that's for sure! Who said that five thousand people can capture the entire lower reaches of Heilongjiang? It's so stupid. Got it!"
But now, even if there is a truce, we must first gain an advantage on the battlefield, so that we can gain an advantage at the negotiating table.
Thinking of this, Suvorov issued an order to his adjutant: "Order, all troops from Humar City to Guigudar City should evacuate northward!"
"Retreat?" The adjutant looked at the Lieutenant General in surprise.
"Yes! All retreat. At the same time, order all the troops to burn down all the villages and towns along the way, so that the enemy troops will not be able to get supplies when they go north, so as to give our troops time."
"With all due respect, what are you going to do next? Her Majesty the Queen cannot accept the result of our disastrous defeat. This will only make things worse for Kyaktu's trade."
Suvorov said calmly: "Cavalry and Chasseurs, I need a large number of cavalry and Chasseurs."
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