In the morning, the sunshine is gentle and soft. The bright red color spreads on the golden glazed tiles, making it look extraordinarily calm and natural.
It's September, and the weather in Peiping has slowly turned cold.
Even though the sun was rising, it was still freezing cold. The temperature is generally low in the morning, even more so today.
Some pedestrians who went out felt uncomfortable due to the sudden cold air. The cold breath allows people walking on the street to clearly see the form of mist from the hot breath exhaled from their mouths and noses.
At this moment, many people on the street who were wearing thin clothes when going out couldn't help but rub their arms with their palms, then tightly wrapped themselves in their clothes and walked hurriedly.
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
Deep in the palace compound, the cold wind blows quickly and there is often a howling sound. The eunuchs walking in the palace were shivering from the sudden cold wave.
"call…"
Another short burst of wind whistle sounded.
The wind is not strong, but it makes people feel disgusted.
"Crack..."
Outside the Qianqing Gate Hall, there was a clear sound of breaking porcelain.
At this moment, I am in the palace.
"Slave, let's go take a look." Wang Yong, the eunuch serving beside Qianlong, immediately bowed and saluted.
Qianlong raised the corners of his eyes, nodded slightly, and without saying anything more, eunuch Wang Yong retreated wisely.
The ministers below watched this unprovoked thing and remained silent. The imperial court is currently at war and has a lot of trivial matters. These trivial facts cannot arouse their gossip minds.
If it were a normal morning meeting, Qianlong would usually just summon ministers to discuss matters in the West Nuan Pavilion of Yangxin Hall.
But now, fighting continues in the southeast. The imperial court sent heavy troops but still failed to wipe out the rebels in the south. The rebels became more and more courageous as they fought. Not only did they occupy the territory of Huguang, but their troops also entered the territory of Jiangnan.
The areas south of the Yangtze River are an important "money and grain bag" that is the source of taxes for the imperial court, and must not be lost. If the court cannot quell this turmoil as soon as possible and turmoil occurs again elsewhere, the foundation of the Qing Empire will be shaken.
If it was just a one-sided fight, it would not be so difficult for the Qing Empire. However, Jungar in the northwest has not yet been completely pacified, and the Khalkha Mongols have begun to withdraw from the post.
In the troubled times of the empire, the crisis faced by the court was no less than the "Three Feudatories Rebellion" faced by Kangxi, the sage ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, or even worse. Therefore, Qianlong also followed the example of Kangxi, the holy ancestor he admired, and held "imperial gate listening to politics" at Qianqing Gate. I pray for the blessings of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, so that the Qing Empire can pacify the world and create another legendary story.
"Where is Shu Hede, Minister of War?" Qianlong asked flatly as he glanced at the table full of memorials.
"Your Majesty, my servant is here." Shu Hed stepped out from the standing row, knelt on the ground and replied.
"Get back on your feet!" Qianlong raised his hand and said.
"I thank you, Your Majesty." After saying that, Shu Hed slowly got up from the ground.
"Didn't the imperial court order Zheng Yuanzhen, the admiral of Guangxi, to lead troops from Guangxi to attack Guangdong early in the morning? Why haven't you heard anything for so long? Is there any news from Guangxi?" Qianlong asked angrily.
"Report to the Emperor. Affected by the war in the south, the post road between the capital and Guangxi is not smooth, and the military situation in Guangxi has to be sent around. This servant only received the urgent memorial from Guangxi this morning. Time is in a hurry, and the memorial has not arrived yet and has to be sent to the imperial palace. . Therefore, I boldly took the memorial from Guangxi with me and was preparing to report this matter." Shu Hede bowed and said.
Immediately, Shuhede took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over.
Qianlong took the memorial in his hand and placed it directly on the desk without intending to read it.
"What does it say on it?" Qianlong asked.
"Back to Your Majesty. Zheng Yuanzhen, the governor of Guangxi, said in the memorial: He had prepared food and wages in July, and also instigated the local chieftains in Guangxi to jointly send troops into Guangdong. But..." Shu Hede paused here. After a moment, he looked at Qianlong's face.
"But what, don't hesitate, keep talking." Qianlong said sharply.
"???? Throw away the skin! The pen is like a swan!
"However, when Zheng Yuanzhen was preparing to march into Guangdong, Ruan Guangping, the leader of the Annan Kingdom, may have heard somewhere about the war in the south by the imperial court. He had been restless recently and kept stirring up trouble on the border of Guangxi. Although the Annan Kingdom still had some problems at this time We are worried, but there have been constant incidents of weapons on the border.”
"The small country of Annan dares to bully me. Does it still care about our Qing Dynasty..." Qianlong slapped the table in front of him angrily and shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I, my servants, are guilty..."
………
"Shuhed, please continue." Qianlong continued.
"????Throw off your skin!
"Zheng Yuanzhen originally wanted to follow the orders of the imperial court and return to Guangxi to defend Guangxi after the troops entered Guangdong, so she was more tolerant to Annan. However, she did not expect Annan to be unyielding. Now the two sides are at war with each other."
"After knowing this, many chieftains whom Zheng Yuanzhen had mobilized withdrew their troops in order to preserve their own strength. Now Zheng Yuanzhen can only mobilize a mere two thousand green battalion soldiers and hundreds of chieftain soldiers in his hands. The rebels have tens of thousands of troops in Yulin Mansion. It would be unwise to attack rashly."
"Then what is the purpose of Zheng Yuanzhen's letter this time?" Qianlong asked with a very bad expression.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Zheng Yuanzhen means that fighting with either side is not good for Guangxi. It is better to maintain the status quo. Guangxi can also provide money, food and taxes for the court." Shu Hede took a breath and replied.
"Okay, let's maintain the status quo. What do you all think?" Qianlong asked angrily.
There was a buzz of discussion below, but no one came forward to offer any advice.
"Fu Sen, what do you think about this?" Qianlong glanced at the people discussing below and said.
"Reporting to your Majesty, I thought that the small country of Annan just thought that the Qing Dynasty was in a war at this time and wanted to gain benefits from it. The imperial court could have reprimanded the envoys to question the Annan Kingdom. With the power of the Qing Dynasty, it is expected that it would not dare not accept it. The little thought that went into it." Fu Sen walked out of his station and said after saluting.
"As for Guangxi, the plan to invade Guangdong remains unchanged. If the chieftains in Guangxi are unwilling to send troops to help, the imperial court can ask Guangxi Admiral Zheng Yuanzhen to form rural soldiers from local people. The only way is to disrupt Guangdong and bring down the rebels. If it is difficult to take care of, it can disturb the morale of the rebel army. For pacifying the rebel army
"Okay, what do the Ministry of War think?" Qianlong looked at Shu Hede and asked.
