Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 181 Qishan: Is there any descendant of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty who does not smoke opium?
At worst, he could use the death of the King of the East as an excuse to extort more money from the Heavenly Kingdom to support the Tang Dynasty's anti-Qing cause!
It can be regarded as Yang Xiuqing's final contribution to the anti-Qing cause.

Peng Yulin on the side spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I think that while the Tang Dynasty is contacting the Heavenly Kingdom and winning over the remnants of the Eastern King, we can also support a few more anti-Qing righteous armies to operate behind the Qing court to share the pressure that the Tang Dynasty may face next."

"For example, the Nian Army in the Central Plains, Shi Dakai in Sichuan, and the Xiaodao Society in Fujian and Zhejiang..."

After hearing this, Li Yi stroked his chin and began to think.

After a moment, he nodded and said.

"Okay, order someone to prepare a plan and then execute it."

Li Yi has no other advantages except that he listens to advice.

Since what Peng Yulin said makes sense, let's just do as he says.

Then, Li Yi continued to ask.

"Do you think the Tang Dynasty will continue to use military force against Jiangxi?"

The reason why the Tang Dynasty decided to send troops to Jiangxi was because of the alliance with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The two sides agreed to attack from the east and west to fight against the Qing evil together.

Moreover, in order to bring the Tang Dynasty on board, Yang Xiuqing generously gave up the entire Jiangxi Province.

However, after the Tianjing Incident broke out, there were huge changes in the top leadership of the Heavenly Kingdom.

After Yang Xiuqing's death, it is hard to say whether Hong Xiuquan and Wei Changhui would continue to support the Taiping Army's westward expedition and support the joint attack on the Qing demons with the Tang Dynasty.

If this is the case, the Tang Dynasty's Jiangxi strategy will inevitably encounter twists and turns.

There is even a question mark as to whether it can continue.

Well, Li Yi was originally hesitant about the future development direction of the Tang Dynasty.

He was a little undecided as to whether to attack Jiangxi or Fujian.

If we attack Jiangxi, which is a land of rich culture and abundance of fish and rice, by conquering Jiangxi, the Tang Dynasty can obtain a large number of population and money, food and supplies, and its war potential will be expanded again.

As for attacking Fujian, although Fujian has always been a place that is not contested by military strategists, it has two important seaports, Xiamen and Fuzhou, for developing foreign trade.

In this era, seaports are very important strategic locations.

If Fujian could be taken over, the annual tariffs from Xiamen and Fuzhou alone would be enough to feed the Tang Dynasty.

If it wasn't for the critical moment when Yang Xiuqing sent people to form an alliance and the two sides finalized the Jiangxi strategy together, Li Yi would probably have to struggle for a while before making a decision.

However, with the outbreak of the Tianjing Incident and the killing of Yang Xiuqing, Jiangxi's strategy encountered many twists and turns.

Li Yi began to feel conflicted again.

After Li Yi finished speaking, Zuo Zongtang and others began to think about it.

After a moment, Zuo Zongtang spoke.

"Your Majesty, I think the next step for the Tang Dynasty to deploy troops should be to focus on Jiangxi."

Li Yi asked thoughtfully.

"What's the reason?"

Zuo Zongtang continued.

"First, it is because Jiangxi is rich in resources and has a rich cultural heritage."

"If the Tang Dynasty can take over Jiangxi, it can obtain a large amount of money, food, population and other resources from Jiangxi."

"Secondly, after taking over Jiangxi, Guangdong, the heartland of the Tang Dynasty, will have an additional line of defense, which can prevent the Qing monsters from attacking Guangdong from the direction of Jiangxi."

"Third, after the Tang Dynasty takes over Jiangxi, we can mobilize troops from both Jiangxi and Guangdong to attack Fujian."

"By then, we will be able to easily conquer Fujian!"

After listening to Zuo Zongtang's advice, Li Yi began to be tempted.

Seeing this, Guo Songtao on the side also continued to speak.

"Your Majesty, although there is civil unrest in Heaven and the King of the East was killed, after the King of Heaven and the King of the North come to power, they will not necessarily completely overturn the King of the East's previous strategy."

"They are very likely to continue to implement the strategy set by the Eastern King. At that time, our Tang Dynasty can still join forces with the Taiping Army to attack the Qing demons in Jiangxi and Anhui."

"Then we can easily conquer Jiangxi."

"Even if the Heavenly King and the Northern King waver in their attitude, the Tang Dynasty can send envoys to Tianjing to lobby them."

After hearing this, Li Yi finally nodded.

"In that case, let's continue to stick to the Jiangxi strategy."

After saying this, Li Yi changed the subject.

"Who among you is willing to take on the important task of going to Tianjing to lobby the Heavenly King and the Northern King?"

When Peng Yulin heard this, he thought about it for a moment and realized that this was an opportunity given to him by Li Yi, so he immediately stood up and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"

Because there are only three people in front of Li Yi now.

Among these three people, Zuo Zongtang and Guo Songtao were the governor of Hunan and the prefect of Changsha respectively. They certainly could not put down their work and go on the diplomatic mission to Tianjing.

So, who else could it be but him?
Upon hearing this, Li Yi nodded immediately.

"can!"

"Mr. Peng will represent me as an envoy to Tianjing!"

Upon hearing this, Peng Yulin immediately clasped his fists in agreement.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Yu Lin understands and will ensure that the mission is completed!"

Li Yi nodded, his attitude still gentle.

……

Huai'an government office, back hall!
Qishan sat upright on a chair, his face full of worry, sighing at the table in front of him.

On the table in front of him were three items.

One is a pot of poisoned wine, two is three feet of white silk, and three is a large lump of longevity cream...

Just today, Qishan received an urgent letter from his good friend in the capital.

The urgent letter said that the Grand Council had discussed matters and the Emperor had decided to hold someone accountable for the battles at the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps.

He Qishan was the first to bear the brunt!

The court has already made a decision to behead Qishan in public and exile his entire family as a formal punishment.

As for the accountability in the court, the process is still going through. The imperial envoy who was sent to Huai'an to arrest Qishan and bring him back to Beijing for questioning has not yet set off.

Qishan's good friend in Beijing took advantage of the time difference in the court procedures to report the news to Qishan.

I hope Qishan can prepare for this in advance!

After seeing the urgent letter, Qishan knew that he was doomed this time.

However, maybe my family can still be saved!
If Qishan could die in the army, and then find someone to mediate and plead with the emperor, then his family might be spared the suffering of exile.

And now, what Qishan is worried about is how he will die.

Should I drink poison wine? Or hang myself on a crooked tree with a three-foot white silk? Or should I just smoke opium to death?

After thinking for a while, Qishan finally made a decision.

It’s okay to drink poison wine, which will give me a stomachache, but I’m afraid that my death will be too hideous and undignified!
Forget about the three-foot white silk. Hanging is a woman's way of dying, and Qishan disdains to do it.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the large lump of longevity cream.

It’s better to use the longevity ointment. After inhaling it, death will be painless and the expression on your face probably won’t be too ugly.

Decent and sophisticated.

This is the way a gentleman should die!

As for why not just use a knife to cut your neck?
Nonsense, of course it’s because after cutting the neck with a knife, blood will easily spray everywhere, and the splattering blood will scare the children!
Otherwise, could it be that Qishan is afraid of pain?
Taking a deep breath, Qishan gave instructions to the personal soldiers beside him.

"Get a bong!"

Upon hearing this, the personal soldier Goshaha quickly shook his head.

"My Lord, I don't smoke opium and I don't have a pipe."

Qi Shan's eyes widened when he heard this.

"Bullshit, are there any of the Eight Banners descendants of the Qing Dynasty who don't smoke opium?"

"Bring it here quickly, and stop talking nonsense!"

Qishan knew very well the quality of his personal soldiers.

Upon hearing this, the soldier looked embarrassed, but still responded with a "yeah" and turned away.

Soon he brought a pipe to Qishan.

The gun is made of huanghuali wood, with gold wire wrapped around the barrel and the mouthpiece made of the finest Hetian warm jade. The overall craftsmanship is very sophisticated.

Qishan took the pipe, lit it, then lay on the couch and started smoking one puff after another.

Soon, he felt as if he was floating in the air.

But Qishan did not stop. He wanted to suck himself to death, and this amount was not enough.

However, just when Qishan was in a daze, a commotion was heard outside the government office.

The noise quickly spread and headed towards the back hall where Qishan was.

Soon, there was a knock on Qishan's door.

"My lord, my lord, urgent report from Jiangnan!"

A Qing army messenger stood outside the door and spoke, his voice filled with uncontrollable joy.

Although Qishan was already confused, he subconsciously stopped what he was doing when he heard the report from outside.

Then he said, "What happened in Jiangnan again? Come in and talk!"

As Qishan finished speaking, the door was pushed open and the Qing army messenger outside walked in.

Then he came to Qishan and said.

"My Lord, the latest news."

"Something big has happened in Jiangnan. The Taiping rebels are in internal strife. Their fake East King was killed by the fake North King. The entire Jiangning City is in chaos, and the Taiping rebels are in a state of panic..."

After the messenger finished his report, Qishan, who was originally dazed from smoking opium, suddenly woke up.

He sat up from the bed in a flash, and threw the pipe in his hand aside, which made the soldier beside him look painful...

This pipe is his. He paid a lot of money for it!
Qishan took a deep breath of fresh air, and his mind, which had been confused by smoking opium, became a little clearer.

He suddenly realized.

The Taiping rebels are causing internal strife. Doesn't that mean that this is the Qing Dynasty's chance to counterattack?
If Qishan could recapture Yangzhou that was seized by the Taiping rebels and restore the Jiangbei camp, wouldn't he be able to redeem himself for his crimes?
By then, even if I don’t dare to hope to keep my official position, I can always save my life, right?

Who would want to die if they can live?
Thinking of this, Qishan suddenly regained his composure and spoke immediately.

"Pass on my order to summon Tuo Ming'a, De Xing'a and other generals to come to discuss the matter of the army marching south to recapture Yangzhou and rebuild the Jiangbei camp..."

……

Tianjing, the city wall.

After surrendering, thousands of soldiers from the East Palace were disarmed by Wei Changhui and imprisoned in the city wall.

Chen Liu curled up in the corner, motionless, his expression full of numbness.

Around him, several of his comrades looked the same.

The reason they were like this was not only because of the cold and damp autumn wind and hunger, but more because they were heartbroken.

The King of the East is dead!

The East King, whom they regarded as a god and were willing to sacrifice their lives for, was dead at the hands of the North King.

Even everyone in the East Prince's Palace was killed.

After hearing the news, everyone was at a loss.

Now that the King of the East is dead, what should they do with the deployment of the East Palace?
So, after Wei Changhui sent people to persuade them to surrender and promised not to kill them if they surrendered, they surrendered.

Although the King of the East is dead, they still have to live their lives. In order to save their lives, they might as well surrender.

But what they didn't expect was that after they surrendered, Wei Changhui actually changed his mind, sent people to take away their main general from the army, and then brutally killed him.

Chen Liu and others were about to fight to the death, but Wei Changhui promised that only the main culprit would be executed and no relatives would be implicated.

Therefore, Chen Liu and others accepted their fate and settled down, no longer resisting.

After all, they are just a bunch of soldiers. What else can they do if they don't accept their fate?
Even the King of the East was killed!

Afterwards, a group of people watched helplessly as officers at all levels in the army were captured by people sent by Wei Changhui, and then killed like chickens and dogs.

They did nothing!
Afterwards, although Wei Changhui did not kill them, he locked them up in a city wall and left them to fend for themselves.

They were only given very little food every day, barely enough to ensure they wouldn't starve to death.

Chen Liu's stomach was rumbling and he felt very depressed.

His comrade He Guangzong asked in a low voice.

"Liu Zi, why didn't you come to deliver the meal today? I'm almost starving to death."

Chen Liu said weakly.

"You ask me, who should I ask?"

"I'm hungry too!"

The two men were from the same village and were childhood friends. They had a very good relationship and could even support each other and block swords for each other on the battlefield.

He Guangzong tightened his belt, trying to relieve the hunger in his stomach.

Then he continued to ask.

"Sixth son, when do you think we can be released? We won't be locked up in this city for life, will we?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Liu moved his body and spoke.

"Don't worry, that's not possible."

"These days are a time of chaos, and whoever wants to conquer the world will need soldiers like us."

"Although the East King was killed, doesn't the North King also need us to kill the Qing monster?"

"We will be let out sooner or later."

In Chen Liu's opinion, being a soldier means eating food, so it doesn't matter who you serve.

Since the King of the East was killed by the King of the North, it is natural for them to defect to the King of the North.

That’s how it is in troubled times!
That is why they chose to surrender when Wei Changhui persuaded them to do so.

Just as the two were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the city wall above their heads.

Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw rows of soldiers appearing on the city wall, each holding a bow and arrow or a musket, looking murderous.

Among these soldiers, a middle-aged man wearing the robes of the Heavenly Kingdom appeared.

Everyone understood that this should be a high-ranking official in the North Palace.

If they guessed correctly, the Northern King sent this senior official to persuade them to surrender.

Under the gaze of everyone, the senior official of the North Palace held the city wall, took out a scroll of imperial edict, and read it out.

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's rear guard and deputy military advisor, the Northern King, ordered:"

"The Eastern thief Xiuqing is a traitor who is arrogant and self-important. He has proclaimed himself the emperor, defied the will of heaven, and betrayed the kingdom of heaven. He deserves death."

"There are many people in the East Palace who aided and abetted the tyrant and committed treason. Their crimes are unforgivable. We should kill them all to prevent future troubles."

"Do it!"

As soon as this person finished speaking, the city fell silent.

But before everyone could react, bullets and arrows rained down from the top of the city wall and shot into the crowd inside the city.

The next moment, screams and curses were heard.

"Wei Changhui, I'm going to fuck all your ancestors!"

"Gan Lin's mother's dead bed, Wei Changhui, I'm going to kill you!"

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I have surrendered, why do you want to kill me?"

"King Bei, please spare my life..."

In the chaos, the East Palace soldiers in the city wall were constantly shot and killed.

Corpses littered the fields and rivers of blood flowed.

Chen Liu watched helplessly as He Guangzong was hit in the chest by a bullet. A ball of blood spurted out from his chest, and he fell on his back on the ground.

He was a little panicked, and hurried forward to cover the wound on He Guangzong's chest with his hand, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Guangzong, hold on, you have to hold on!"

"Wei Changhui, I'm going to fuck your ancestors!"

Seeing He Guangzong's face getting paler and paler, Chen Liu became completely panicked.

He Guangzong grabbed Chen Liu's bloody hand with his own, blood continued to flow out from his mouth, and then he spoke in a trembling voice.

"Liu...Liuzi, it hurts so much."

"I miss... I miss home. I miss the oranges on the orange tree at the entrance of our village, the rice cakes at Mr. Wang's house in the village, and the Cuihua at Aunt Li's house at the entrance of the village..."

"I...I'm going to die...Liu...Liuzi, you have to live, you must live..."

As he spoke, He Guangzong used up his last bit of strength to pull Chen Liu down, then pressed himself on top of him, hoping to use his own body to buy a glimmer of hope for his childhood friend.

Chen Liu was pressed under He Guangzong, and in his ears, bursts of gunfire and bow and arrow sounds continued to ring.

At some point, the screams and curses all around gradually stopped.

All that was left were bursts of gunfire, the sound of bows and arrows, and the puffing sounds of bullets and arrows piercing flesh.

After a long time, everything around fell silent.

Chen Liu was held under the corpse and dared not move, trying to get away with it and save his life.

With a teeth-grinding creaking sound, the gate of the city gate was opened, and the soldiers from the North Palace entered the city gate to collect the bodies.

One cart after another was pushed into the city wall.

The soldiers of the North Palace began to clean up the battlefield and finish off the corpses. After finishing off the corpses, they would be lifted onto carts and thrown out of the city for disposal.

Phew! Phew!
As the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh got closer.

Chen Liu's heart was in his throat.

Soon, it was He Guangzong's turn. A few footsteps were heard, and a sharp blade stabbed into He Guangzong's back with a "swish" sound, and came out from his chest, and then the blade stabbed Chen Liu's chest.

The severe pain made Chen Liu unable to help but grit his teeth, but he gritted his teeth and endured the pain, not daring to make any sound.

The blade was pulled out and Chen Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, He Guangzong's body was carried away.

When Chen Liu saw this, his heart sank and he knew that he was finished.

Next, you either fight to the death and expose yourself, or be killed by the finishing blow.

However, just when Chen Liu was about to launch an attack, the North Palace soldier who turned over He Guangzong's body lowered his voice and spoke.

"Brother, don't move. I will carry you out of the city and throw you into the pile of corpses. Wish you good luck..."

(End of this chapter)