Chapter 183 The final winner?
Afterwards, Hong Xiuquan tried to appease the people.

He also ordered to pardon the crimes of the North Palace soldiers and horses, ordered to announce the cancellation of the charge of Yang Xiuqing plotting to usurp the throne, and changed the day of Yang Xiuqing's death to the Ascension Day of the Eastern King!

After that, the impact of the Tianjing Incident began to gradually subside.

However, after the Tianjing Incident, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's national power, which had been rising like the rising sun, was inevitably interrupted...

……

Yingtian Town, Xiangyin.

Weng's mansion.

In the flower hall, Mr. Weng was lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, dozing off.

At the table next to him, a beautiful maid in a light green jacket and skirt was demonstrating her tea-making skills.

The movements are smooth and beautiful. As the boiling spring water is poured into the teacup, a fresh fragrance diffuses in the air.

Mr. Weng closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the tea fragrance, which instantly refreshed his heart.

"If I'm not mistaken, the tea you brewed this time, Xiao Cui, should be the golden needle and silver hair tea from Fuding, right?"

Xiao Cui, the maid who was making tea, heard this and spoke softly.

"Master, your guess is correct."

"It's the golden needle and silver hair tea from Fuding, the new tea that just came off the market this year!"

Mr. Weng opened his eyes, stood up from the recliner, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then showed admiration on his face.

"Not bad, not bad, Xiao Cui, your craftsmanship has improved again."

The maid still spoke with a smile.

"It's all thanks to the master's good training!"

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the flower hall, and a young man rushed in hurriedly.

"Father! Father!"

"Something bad has happened. The government has sent people to the town to measure the land..."

This is a slightly fat young man with a chubby face and a wealthy look.

But now he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

Mr. Weng glanced at his youngest son with some impatience and said with a frown.

"Just measure the land, why are you so nervous?"

"My Weng family has always been kind to others and has never done anything that is harmful to the world. Are you afraid that the government will make an example of you?"

The Tang Dynasty's land distribution operation was no secret.

Only those landlords who were notorious and had committed many crimes would be put on trial and treated as examples.

Others will generally be fine!

Besides, the land is not divided up and taken away directly, and then the land has nothing to do with you anymore.

The farmers who were allocated land had to pay rent to the original landlord for ten years as part of the land purchase fee.

In addition, Li Yi specifically wanted to hold an imperial examination in Hunan and recruit Hunan scholars as officials.

Therefore, the gentry were not as resistant to land distribution as one might imagine.

Of course, resistance is useless, and anyone who dares to resist will be killed.

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong said with a bitter expression.

"Dad, what about our fields?"

"Do we really have to be divided?"

The Weng family is not a small family. They are in the grain business and are considered one of the most prominent families in Yingkou Town.

Not to mention the shops and grain stores in the town, there are already one or two thousand acres of land, all of which are excellent paddy fields.

Weng Tong really couldn't bear to leave his own land.

Mr. Weng glanced at his son and said.

"What else? Do you want to give it a try with the Heavenly Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Mr. Zhang in the town wanted to give it a try, but what was the result? Now the heads of his whole family are still hanging on the archway at the entrance of the town!"

When the news came that the Tang Dynasty was going to distribute land, Mr. Zhang, who owned the most land in his family, chose to rebel with his clansmen and tenants to protect his land.

And then nothing happened. When the army arrived to suppress the rebellion, Mr. Zhang’s property was confiscated and his family was exterminated.

Those members of the Zhang family and tenants who participated in the rebellion were thrown into prisoner-of-war camps, and it is said that they are now building roads and mining.

Although Mr. Weng was reluctant to give up his land, he was even more reluctant to give up his head.

"If it were my father, as for the land, I'd better give it up and concentrate on the imperial examination."

"The results of the imperial examination should be announced soon. Send someone to Changsha to keep an eye on it. If your brother can pass and enter the official career, he will have everything he needs."

"Look at the Zuo and Guo families? They were just ordinary families before, not as good as ours. But now? They have become high-ranking officials. How majestic!"

"If my family could also produce a provincial governor, wouldn't that be better than owning thousands or tens of thousands of acres of land?"

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong nodded to show that he understood.

Mr. Weng continued to speak earnestly.

"By the way, you and your eldest brother should gather our clansmen and tenants and divide the land among them."

Weng Tong was even more surprised when he heard this.

"Shall we divide it among ourselves?"

He couldn't bear it even if the Tang Dynasty wanted to divide his land.

If he had to divide it himself, he would feel even more uncomfortable.

Mr. Weng said unhappily.

"Why are you so shallow, kid?"

"If the land is divided up by the Tang government, our Weng family will get nothing."

"But if we divide the land among ourselves, then the clansmen and tenants who get the land will surely think highly of our Weng family, right?"

As the famous saying goes, life is like that. If you can't resist it, just lie down and enjoy it. Mr. Weng now realizes that the Tang government has made up its mind about the land distribution, and they can't change it.

So, he thought that since the land had to be divided sooner or later, why not divide it himself?
In this way, although you give up the land, you can exchange it for a good reputation for your family.

It’s better than the government distributing the land and leaving the Weng family with nothing!
Seeing this, Weng Tong nodded and said.

"I always listen to my father."

After saying this, Weng Tong continued.

"By the way, father, I heard that the Tang government is going to vigorously support the development of industry and commerce. How about my Weng family give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Weng showed an interested expression on his face.

His Weng family was originally a merchant family. They ran a grain store and made a lot of money every year. They did not discriminate against Mr. Weng who was a businessman.

According to his plan, his two sons would go into politics and the younger son into business in the future. The two would complement each other and work together to expand the Weng family business.

Now that his youngest son has taken the initiative to propose his idea, he doesn't mind listening to it.

"Tell me, what do you think?"

Weng Tong continued.

"In reply to your father's words, I think that since our Weng family wants to engage in the grain business, we cannot just transport and sell grain."

"We can also purchase a batch of mechanical hulling machines from the machinery factory in Guangdong, open a rice processing plant, and do some grain processing to expand the business scope of my Weng family."

Weng Tong heard from people that water power is no longer used to drive stone mills to husk rice in Guangdong.

Instead, it became popular to use steam engines to drive drum hullers to husk rice.

Not only is the cost low, but the efficiency is also high.

After the factory is established, you can also receive a subsidy from the Tang Dynasty government.

Taking all factors into consideration, this new type of shelling machine has driven a large number of traditional water mills into bankruptcy.

Weng Tong thought that he might as well give it a try at home.

After pondering for a long time, Mr. Weng agreed with his son's idea and spoke.

"Go ahead and give it a try if you want. Although my Weng family is not as wealthy as a country, we can still afford this little investment."

"You will lead the team, take the accountant and the shopkeeper from your family, and bring some money, and go to Guangdong together."

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong couldn't help but speak with a happy face.

"Thank you father!"

Mr. Weng nodded slightly and said with great emotion.

"It's really strange these days. Everything can be related to machines."

"Dad, I am really old. I really don't understand how the world will develop in the future."

"The future will belong to you young people sooner or later!"

Weng Tong said goodbye to his father, left his father's residence and returned to his own residence.

Then, he began to gather people and prepare to go south to Guangdong.

……

Changsha!

Li Yi's whereabouts.

"Your Majesty, something happened in Tianjing again!"

Li Liang walked quickly to Li Yi and began to report.

Li Yi stopped reviewing the official documents in his hands, then looked up and asked.

"What happened in Tianjing again?"

Li Liang replied after hearing this.

"In reply to your Majesty, on August 25, the situation in Tianjing changed again. Hong Xiuquan came forward and announced that Wei Changhui had committed murder without authorization and was a traitor to the north. He called on the entire Heavenly Kingdom to fight against him."

"Soon, Wei Changhui was defeated and captured."

"Afterwards, Hong Xiuquan personally stepped in to clean up the mess after the Tianjing Incident. He not only ordered the execution of Wei Changhui, but also pardoned the crimes of the Northern Palace soldiers and horses, revoked the charge of Yang Xiuqing for plotting to usurp the throne, and changed the day of the Eastern King's death to the Eastern King's Ascension Day..."

After listening to Li Liang's report, Li Yi was not surprised, but thought to himself with a complicated expression that it was as expected.

As expected, Hong Xiuquan became the ultimate winner of the Tianjing Incident, just as in the original history!
But did Hong Xiuquan really win?
The Tianjing Incident killed Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, thousands of old Guangxi brothers, and 20,000 to 30,000 veterans of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Not only did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lose the support of the people from top to bottom, but even its national momentum, which had been like the rising sun, was directly interrupted.

In Li Yi's opinion, the Qing Dynasty was the biggest beneficiary of the Tianjing Incident.

After the original camps in Jiangnan and Jiangbei were broken, the Qing Dynasty's rule in Jiangnan was already shaky.

Whether the Taiping Army went east, west, north or south, the Qing army would find it difficult to stop them.

The Jiangsu-Zhejiang Financial and Taxation District, the Qing Dynasty's purse, was about to be seized by the Taiping Army.

But at this juncture, the Tianjing Incident broke out and the Taiping Army was in civil strife.

This directly gave the Qing Dynasty a chance to catch its breath, and allowed the Qing Dynasty's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps to reorganize their troops and make a comeback.

Thinking about this, Li Yi suddenly reacted.

He finally understood why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not pursue, consolidate and expand its victory after breaking through the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps.

He originally thought that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had overlooked this point.

But now it seems that it is too late!

Historically, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had just broken through the Qing army's camps in the south and north of the Yangtze River, and then the Tianjing Incident broke out.

There was only a month between them.

Even if the Taiping Army wanted to expand its victory, it was too late.

After the Tianjing Incident broke out, the Eastern King was killed first and then the Eastern Palace was purged.

Later, the King of the North was killed and the King of the Wing fled.

At this time, even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wanted to continue to expand its victory, it was powerless!

(End of this chapter)

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