Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

"Your Majesty, the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard and the 2nd Army of the Eastern Expeditionary Army have captured Suzhou Prefecture. However, the Tartars' Imperial Commissioner and Governor of Jiangning, He Chun, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Yi Liang, and General of Jiangning, Kui Yu, have all fled."

Only Zhao Dezhe, the governor of Jiangsu Province, remained to defend Suzhou. He was killed by a sharpshooter in the fierce fighting.

General Chen Yucheng, deputy commander of the Guards Corps, reported.

Hong Tian nodded. The fact that the Imperial Guard Legion and the Eastern Expeditionary Legion were able to successfully capture Suzhou Prefecture was not unexpected to him.

However, the fact that Zhao Dezhe, the governor of Jiangsu Province, stayed behind to fight to the death while other high-ranking officials fled was somewhat unexpected by Hong Tian.

"I never expected that Zhao Dezhe would actually become a loyal subject of the Tartars! The Tartars have all fled, but he stayed behind to serve the Manchu Qing Dynasty. How wonderful! Has he forgotten his identity? He is a Han Chinese, not a Tartar!" Hong Tian was very angry.

Although Hong Tian knew that most Han Chinese in the world probably identified with the Manchu Qing dynasty.

Especially among scholars, the vast majority regarded the Manchu Qing dynasty as the legitimate dynasty and were eager to serve the Manchus like cattle and horses.

But in Hong Tian's eyes, they were all traitors who had forgotten their roots, forgotten their identity, and forgotten the trash of their ancestors!

"Your Majesty, many Han officials have long been accustomed to recognizing the enemy as their father. However, there are also many who will follow whoever feeds them. If they want to rise above others and become officials and rich, they can only rely on the Tartars," said Prime Minister Hong Rengan.

Hong Tian understood this as well.

Even his adoptive father, Hong Xiuquan, racked his brains to try to squeeze into the inner circle when he was young, didn't he?

As a result, he took the exam four times in a row, but failed to even pass the lowest level of the imperial examination.

In his despair, he conceived the ambition to overthrow the Manchu rule.

This shows how many scholars across the land were willing to serve the Tartars, even considering it a matter of bringing glory to their ancestors.

"Hmph! When the Heavenly Kingdom overthrows the rule of the Tartars in the future, all these Han people who pledged their loyalty to the Tartars will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame, so that future generations will know about their shameless behavior."

They want to prove their innocence with their deaths and achieve lasting fame? I'll make sure they're remembered for their infamy!

Hong Tian became ruthless.

History is like a little girl, manipulated by the victors.

You can pose however you want.

After the Tartars entered the pass, they carried out a large-scale massacre of Han people.

But aren't those scholars who fawn over the Tartars also frantically whitewashing and glorifying them?

If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can win the next war, then history will be written by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

How to conclude the historical record of those Han people who served the Tartars was also decided by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

One can imagine what a huge blow this would be to those scholars!

They dreamed of being remembered in history, but instead they were condemned for eternal infamy.

Whether they will go crazy because of this is hard to say.

"Let's ignore those pedantic scholars for now! The 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard will withdraw to Tianjing City for rest and reorganization. The next phase will be to cross the river to the north bank and assist the Northern Expeditionary Army in defeating the Jiangbei Camp!" Hong Tian said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" General Chen Yucheng replied.

"On the Eastern Expeditionary Army side, the 2nd Army was reorganized into the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army. A group of officers and key soldiers were drawn from the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard to serve as the core."

As for weapons and equipment, they will be allocated from the arsenal.

We must strive to achieve combat readiness as soon as possible.

During the training period, efforts to suppress the remaining Manchu forces in Suzhou Prefecture, Changzhou Prefecture, and Zhenjiang Prefecture will be intensified. Furthermore, vigilance will be maintained over the Manchu troops in Songjiang Prefecture and Zhejiang Province.

Hong Tian gave the order.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" General Li Xiucheng, commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, was overjoyed.

Soon, the Eastern Expeditionary Army will be able to possess a powerful fighting force.

"The 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard Corps also needs to intensify its training. Next, we need to deploy troops in all directions," Hong Tian continued.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" General Chen Yucheng nodded.

Hong Tian had already begun reorganizing his troops in other legions. This made General Chen Yucheng feel a sense of urgency.

If the Royal Guard wants to become the most formidable force among all the legions of the Kingdom of Heaven, it needs not only to expand its size but also to further strengthen the fighting spirit and combat effectiveness of its troops.

Even though other units have also been equipped with the same weapons as the Guards.

But the Royal Guard must still rely on its indomitable fighting spirit and loyalty to His Majesty the King to become the most powerful army in the Kingdom.

"Ministry of Education and Ministry of Agriculture, you've been preparing for so long, shouldn't it be almost done by now?" Hong Tian asked.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Ministry of Education has already formed more than fifty propaganda teams and rehearsed related operas. They are ready to travel to various places to perform and mobilize more people!" replied Minister of Education Su San Niang.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Agriculture, in accordance with Your Majesty's instructions, has made preparations to implement various policies in the vast rural areas," replied Minister of Agriculture He Zhenchuan.

Hong Tian nodded repeatedly: "Very good, now it's up to you. Southern Jiangsu will be your stage to shine. Once you succeed in Southern Jiangsu, we can expand nationwide. We'll make the people of the whole country our supporters. The foundation of the Tartars' rule will be completely shaken!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Sanniang and He Zhenchuan both replied.

Despite this, the Qing army continued its siege of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

However, with the Qing army in the Jiangnan camp almost completely wiped out, even the entire southern Jiangsu region fell into the hands of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

This frightened the Qing troops on other fronts.

They even had to reduce the intensity of their attacks in order to preserve their strength.

This greatly reduced the threat faced by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Next, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had more energy to devote to other areas.

Songjiang Prefecture, Zhonghai County, United Concession.

The British had established a concession in Zhonghai County more than a decade ago.

Subsequently, the Gauls and the Beacon of Light also established concessions in Zhonghai.

In July 1854, the British, the Gauls, and the people of the United Kingdom united their concessions in Zhonghai County to establish the United Concession.

These foreigners invested in public works, schools, and newspapers within the concessions. The concession authorities were responsible for municipal construction and promulgated a series of administrative regulations governing the concessions, making the concessions a state within a state.

The Taiping army's capture of Suzhou Prefecture plunged Songjiang Prefecture into a tremendous crisis.

The prefect of Songjiang Prefecture and other officials practically fled at the mere sight of him.

Many people had already fled before the Taiping army even entered Songjiang Prefecture.

Some fled to Zhejiang Province, some to the foreign concessions, and some even to northern Jiangsu Province.

Meanwhile, the foreigners in the concession were also deeply worried.

They feared that the Taiping Army would launch an attack on Songjiang Prefecture, or even directly attack the concessions.

It's important to understand that the concessions were where their interests lay within the Qing Empire, and they had become accustomed to using them as bridgeheads for invading the East. If the concessions were breached by the Taiping Army, they would suffer heavy losses.

Henry Benson, the British Consul General in Songjiang, and Ai Tang, the Gallic Consul General in Songjiang, held a secret meeting on this matter.

"The Qing people and their army are utterly pathetic. They were easily defeated by those heretics who claim to be God. Now, they have occupied Suzhou Prefecture. Their next target will undoubtedly be Songjiang Prefecture."

At that time, the concessions will inevitably be impacted. This will pose a huge threat to our interests.

We can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to find a way to stop them!

Henry Benson was furious.

He had previously secretly traveled to Tianjing City to meet with Hong Tian.

It was originally thought that Hong Tian would agree to cooperate with the British Empire.

In that case, the British Empire could have supported the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and used it as their proxy in the East.

Unexpectedly, Hong Tian, ​​despite his young age, refused outright.

This greatly angered Consul Henry Benson.

"Your Excellency, you are absolutely right. The concession is ours, and we must never let those damned heretics set foot in it!" Ai Tang echoed this view.