The 158th year of Chongzhen in the Great Ming Dynasty, the 50th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, June, Bingchen.
While the entire territory under the Menglianggu rebel group was launching a vigorous campaign of digging wells and canals, Qianlong, the old dog who had voluntarily adopted a shrinking strategy, could no longer sit still.
Although Qianlong, the old dog, had voluntarily adopted a shrinking strategy, it did not mean he was unaware of the news of the drought in important grain-producing areas like Shandong and Henan in the Central Plains.
Through this drought that swept through several major grain-producing areas, Qianlong, the old dog, saw an opportunity to make a comeback.
In the view of Qianlong, the old dog, such disasters that swept through several important grain-producing regions, unless they occurred during the reign of my Great Qing's Sacred Son of Heaven, would mean that the people's living conditions could only be described by the four characters "unable to live," and "unable to live" often implied war.
After all, my Great Qing's imperial locusts were all benevolent rulers who loved their people as their own children. Faced with such a drought that swept through several provinces, my Great Qing court would definitely send officials to provide relief. What were those rebels? What did they know about relieving the people?
Especially with hundreds of rebel groups of various sizes under heaven, such a severe drought would only lead these rebels to fight among themselves, and none of them would care about the people under their command.
Qianlong, the old dog, believed that the people under Zhu, the rebellious one, and other rebels were certainly in dire straits, and after experiencing the drought, these people would definitely remember the kindness of my Great Qing court.
What is this? This is the will of the people! This is an opportunity!
With this idea in mind, Qianlong, the old dog, eagerly summoned Heshen, the Grand Tutor, to his side.
Leaning on a soft couch, Qianlong, the old dog, first narrowed his eyes and asked, "I remember there was a rebel in Shanxi, what was his name?"
Heshen, the Grand Tutor, somewhat unclear of Qianlong, the old dog's intentions, could only respectfully bow and reply, "Your Majesty, the rebel in Shanxi is called Zhu Zhongzhi. He proclaimed himself the seventeenth emperor of the Great Ming. It is estimated that like Zhu Zhongtao in Henan, they are both impersonating descendants of Emperor Chongzhen."
Qianlong, the old dog, grunted and then pretended to ask casually, "What is the current situation in Shanxi?"
Upon being asked by Qianlong, the old dog, Heshen, the Grand Tutor, began to understand the intention. His dead-fish eyes blinked twice, and he began to calculate in his mind.
His Majesty is a dignified person who loves his people as his own children. Even with more than a hundred rebel groups in the eighteen provinces of Han, His Majesty still issued an edict to return the land to the Han people and recalled the loyal farmers stationed in various places back to Zhili, which is enough to explain everything.
This is the first point.
As for the drought in the Han provinces, even this Grand Secretary of the Council of State, who is hiding in Zhili, knows about it. His Majesty, whose eyes and ears are spread throughout the land, must have known about it long ago.
This is the second point.
His Majesty originally intended to let the eighteen provinces of Han fall into chaos. When all the rebels, large and small, were exhausted from fighting, he would then march into the Central Plains, not only to reclaim the Great Qing dynasty and its ancestral land but also to win the hearts of the people of the world for my Great Qing.
This is the third point.
Based on these three points, His Majesty intends to reclaim Shanxi first?
Thinking of this, Heshen, the Grand Tutor, immediately wiped away his tears and said with a choked voice, "It's better if Your Majesty doesn't ask. Now that you ask, my heart..."
"Since Zhu Zhongzhi appeared, who impersonated the fifth grandson of Emperor Chongzhen, the lives of the people in Shanxi have been difficult. Now, coupled with this drought, it is estimated that the people of Shanxi are living in dire straits."
"In my humble opinion, the people of Shanxi must be eagerly awaiting Your Majesty to reclaim Shanxi soon."
Qianlong, the old dog, still narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "Now you remember朕? What were you doing when you rebelled with Zhu, the rebellious one?"
Hearing Qianlong, the old dog's words, Heshen, the Grand Tutor, became even more certain of Qianlong, the old dog's intentions.
His dead-fish eyes blinked a couple of times, and Heshen, the Grand Tutor, said solemnly, bowing, "Your servant believes that Your Majesty's words are quite biased."
"In my humble opinion, the reason why the people of Shanxi rebelled at that time was not necessarily because the people were willing. It was mainly because Zhu Zhongzhi, who impersonated the emperor Chongzhen, incited the people. This matter absolutely cannot be blamed entirely on the people of Shanxi."
"Moreover, Your Majesty is the father and sovereign of all people under heaven. Now that the people of Shanxi are suffering from drought, and that rebellious one Zhu is extorting them, the people of Shanxi's longing for Your Majesty is like that of an infant longing for parents~"
Before he finished speaking, Qianlong, the old dog, snorted coldly again, but remained silent after the snort.
Heshen, the Grand Tutor's dead-fish eyes blinked twice again, and he bowed to persuade, "Your servant has heard that there are only children who do not understand their parents' hardships, but where are the parents who do not care about their children's lives?"
"When those people in Shanxi were incited by the rebellious bandit Zhu Zhongzhi to rebel, your servant also wished to kill them all. But then, if I killed them, with Your Majesty's love for his people as his own children, how heartbroken would Your Majesty be, and wouldn't he kill me too?"
Saying this, Heshen, the Grand Tutor, gave a flattering smile and advised, "Your servant knows that Your Majesty was only angered before, which is why he let go of all the people in the world and wanted them to know the consequences of being without the rule of a sovereign."
"But now the people of Shanxi are suffering from drought, aren't they? Your servant knows that Your Majesty must also be feeling upset in his heart. Therefore, your servant believes that Your Majesty, as the father and sovereign of all people under heaven, should send a large army to reclaim Shanxi for my Great Qing?"
Qianlong, the old dog, finally sighed and said, "You are right. Where are the parents who do not care about their children's lives? Now that I see the people of Shanxi suffering from drought, my heart is also not feeling good."
Heshen, the Grand Tutor, bowed with a flattering smile, but did not continue.
It was enough to say this much. Any more would make him seem like a servant who likes to talk too much.
Qianlong, the old dog, snorted coldly again, and after calculating in his mind, he asked, "How much silver is currently in my Great Qing's treasury? Are the firearms and cannons produced sufficient?"
Heshen, the Grand Tutor, immediately bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, our Great Qing treasury currently has three million five hundred thousand taels of silver. The firearms and cannons produced are more than enough to conquer Shanxi. Valley"
Upon hearing Heshen, the Grand Tutor's words, Qianlong, the old dog, snorted coldly again.
The so-called more than enough to conquer Shanxi actually meant only enough to conquer Shanxi, and it was still insufficient to deal with Zhu, the rebellious one in Shandong. He could only vent his anger on the rebels in Shanxi.
However, Qianlong, the old dog, was not entirely unable to accept this outcome.
After all, Qianlong, the old dog, was also aware that my Eight Banners, the Eight Banners, were indulging in civil pleasures and military decadence. They could fall off their horses, miss the target when shooting arrows, and their military preparedness had deteriorated to this extent. Relying on such Eight Banner soldiers to conquer Zhu, the rebellious one in Shandong, was pure nonsense.
But then, there was only one Zhu, the rebellious one in Shandong. Could the Zhu, the rebellious one in Shanxi, be as powerful as the Zhu, the rebellious one in Shandong?
First, I will take the opportunity to eliminate the Shanxi rebels and let my Eight Banners soldiers practice their troops well. When the troops are trained, I will then go and eliminate Zhu, the rebellious one in Shandong.
Thinking of this, Qianlong, the old dog, snorted and said, "Fine, dispatch ten thousand Mongolian Eight Banners, ten thousand Manzhou Eight Banners armor, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and let..."
Saying this, Qianlong, the old dog, suddenly paused.
Who should lead the troops?
Fuk'anggan?
Fuhuan?
Agui?
The heads of these three were still exposed to the wind and sun on the Jingguan built by Zhu, the rebellious one.
After a moment of silence, Qianlong, the old dog, finally sighed and said, "Let Eldenbao lead the troops to quell the rebellion in Shanxi."
Heshen, the Grand Tutor, first bowed in response, then blinked his dead-fish eyes and calculated, tentatively saying, "Your Majesty, your servant believes that sending Eldenbao alone to suppress the rebels in Shanxi may not fully reflect Your Majesty's love for the people and the court's importance?"
Qianlong, the old dog's narrowed eyes opened slightly, and he glanced at Heshen, the Grand Tutor, asking, "What do you mean?"
Heshen, the Grand Tutor, bowed again with a flattering smile and replied, "Your Majesty, your servant believes that why doesn't Your Majesty send a prince to supervise the army? First, it will let the people of Shanxi know Your Majesty's importance to them, and second, it will make the officers and soldiers fight more diligently?"
Upon hearing that a prince was to be sent to supervise the army, Qianlong, the old dog, couldn't help but be a little moved.
That's right. He would grow old one day, and the empire would eventually be handed over to his son. If there was no opportunity before, now that there was such an opportunity, it was indeed time to send them out for training.
However, thinking of his sons, Qianlong, the old dog, felt a headache.
Qianlong, the old dog, had seventeen sons. The second legitimate son, Yonglian, died at the age of nine, and the seventh son, Yongcong, died at the age of two. Among the other sons, the third son, Yongzhang, and the fifth son, Yongqi, who were most favored by Qianlong, the old dog, also died early. In addition, eight of Qianlong's seventeen sons died from illness or premature death.
Basically, whichever son Qianlong, the old dog, particularly liked or favored, that son would die early.
As of now, Qianlong, the old dog, had four surviving sons: the eighth son, Yongxuan, the eleventh son, Yongxing, the fifteenth son, Yongyan, and the seventeenth son, Yonglin.
Thinking of this, Qianlong, the old dog, grunted and said, "Let the fifteenth son lead the troops."
And after receiving Qianlong, the old dog's edict, the first reaction of the fifteenth prince, Aisin Gioro Yongyan, was to refuse.
To conquer the rebels in Shanxi? If the rebels in Shanxi were easy to conquer, it would be fine. What if the rebels in Shanxi were as powerful as Zhu Jinsong, the rebellious one in Shandong? Wouldn't this prince be doomed?
What if he died completely like his other eight brothers? Wouldn't the throne then have nothing to do with this prince?
Of course, even though he thought about it, he didn't have the courage to refuse Qianlong, the old dog's edict.
Privately, Qianlong, the old dog, was his biological father, and refusing Qianlong, the old dog's request was unfilial.
Publicly, Qianlong, the old dog, was the emperor of my Great Qing Dynasty, and refusing Qianlong, the old dog's edict was disloyal.
A disloyal and unfilial person would naturally lose the qualification to compete for the throne.
Helplessly, Aisin Gioro Yongyan could only obediently accept Qianlong, the old dog's edict, waiting for the Mongolian Eight Banners to converge from the south, while calculating how to save his own life.
At this moment, those loyal farmers recalled to Zhili by Qianlong, the old dog, began to stir up trouble again.
The reason was that while Henan and Shandong, the regions under the rule of "rebels," were launching a vigorous well-digging campaign, the Zhili region, which was also affected by the drought, remained silent.
Qianlong, the old dog, in the Forbidden City, did not care about the drought in Zhili. No matter how severe the drought, it would not reach Qianlong, the old dog. Even if the Forbidden City also lacked water, Qianlong, the old dog, could escape to the Summer Resort. Even if the Summer Resort also lacked water, Qianlong, the old dog, could still go on an eastern tour to Shengjing.
Similarly, the princes and ministers in my Great Qing court also did not pay much attention to this drought, for reasons similar to Qianlong, the old dog. After all, as long as it did not drought Qianlong, the old dog, it basically would not drought them.
However, this drought had reached my Great Qing's loyal farmers.