Dominate the Country

[Thanks to ‘KiVA’ for the 2000 coin reward, thank you]

The atmosphere in Beijing at the end of September suddenly became colder than the cold winter in December.

Yongsheng, who was already considered the emperor, faced a sudden heavy responsibility. He did not mature as quickly as Fuheng, Yu Minzhong and other Manchu and Han officials expected. Instead, he was somewhat at a loss under the heavy pressure.

The news of Qianlong’s death could not be concealed from the important officials, royal family and nobles of the Qing Dynasty, and Yongsheng did not have the ability to conceal it. There were too many important officials and meritorious officials in the Old Summer Palace, and there were many spies everywhere. Although the news of Qianlong’s death was still under blockade, those who should know in Beijing had already known it. However, judging from the current situation of the Qing Dynasty, this news had a bad impact, but it was exactly what they needed to conceal.

Yongsheng’s prestige could not be compared with his father’s.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the six alliances of Inner Mongolia were very obedient. Even though Beijing's rewards to Mongolia have been decreasing in the past two or three years, a group of Mongolian princes headed by Khorchin have always shown their obedience to Beijing.

Otherwise, where did so many pure Mongolian cavalrymen in the Qing army come from?

But it would be different if the emperor was replaced by Yongsheng. He did not have merits that surpassed everyone else, nor did he have deep and long-standing qualifications. It was not so easy to make the Mongolians bow their heads. And if Chen Han, the most dangerous enemy of the Qing Dynasty, got the news of Emperor Qianlong's death at this time, what would they do? How would they react?

Yongsheng, Fuheng, Yu Minzhong, the new emperor and old ministers, discussed repeatedly and came up with a solution to temporarily conceal the news of Emperor Qianlong's death and release the news of the empress dowager's death.

"Your Majesty does not need to conceal it for too long, as long as the first snow falls and the Bohai Sea freezes. What can Chen Ni do even if he hears the news?" At that time, the opportunity for the Fu Han army to cross the sea to attack Beijing and Tianjin had been missed.

Liu Tongxun was about to die. Before he died, he was unable to offer advice to the new emperor of Daqingguo. Fuheng had already said what he said. No, let alone Fuheng, even an ordinary official in the capital could see what Yongsheng, who had no foundation, was most afraid of and what he needed most!

Time, this thing, Yongsheng had never felt as precious as it was now. When he was young, he never lacked time to play. Although his mother's rank was not low and she sat on the main seat of Jiafei early, there were stronger people in the Forbidden City at that time. No matter how favored Jin was, she was just average compared to Gao and Qianlong's first wife Fucha. At that time, Fucha and Gao were fighting fiercely. Even if Yongsheng had a high-ranking mother, he was still a little transparent in the palace. Wouldn't time be wasted casually?

But now he was full of endless worries about the next month, and for the first time he knew the preciousness of "one month"!

Yu Zecheng started. With his keen sense of smell, he clearly "smelled" a different smell. The Dark Camp has been rooted in Beijing for some years. Although the work of inciting the high-level officials of the Qing Dynasty has never been carried out, they have at least reached the homes of several middle-level officials, and the other major families of the Imperial Household Department. The Dark Camp did not think of inciting others from the Imperial Household Department, but used money to bribe their families!

The latter is extremely dangerous, and there are always "fishing" for years. And if it succeeds, every "dark man" will be the focus of the Dark Camp's careful management.

These dark men were fully activated by Yu Zecheng at this time, and then a lot of messy news was fed back to the Dark Camp. Just as Yongsheng knew, the news of Qianlong's death could not be concealed from the "Manchu people". There were too many people in the Old Summer Palace. And Yongsheng knew that on the eve of this critical moment, Qianlong's death was also a major blow to the morale of the people of the Qing Dynasty.

Before Yu Zecheng got the exact news, a letter appeared in front of Chen Ming in Jinan. It was a letter signed with the word "Wang". There were only six words on the letter paper, but each word could turn into a ton of weight, hitting Chen Ming's heart.

——Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianlong were both dead!

As for who will take over next, what does this news count for? The news of Emperor Qianlong's death is the most important.

Chen Ming knew which family the word "Wang" represented, and he thought it was ridiculous. This "Wang" was the minister of the Qing Dynasty in Shandong. Moreover, the Fu Han Army that swept through most of Shandong had swept away all the property left by the Wang family in Shandong, and even some of the Wang family's branches were arrested and reformed in prisoner-of-war camps. Now they are coming over?

Where is the character of scholars? Where is the noble family of imperial examinations?

The Wang family did not seek high officials, but only a way to survive, and they made themselves sound so pitiful!

"Is this news credible or not?" The news from Beijing was that Qianlong's mother was dead, and now the news from the Wang family was that both Qianlong and his mother were dead. Chen Ming was very excited. Qianlong's death at this time was definitely a heavy blow to the Qing Dynasty, and it was a great help to the Fu Han Army, which added a rocket launcher.

If this news was true, Chen Ming would dare to lead his troops along the coastline and rush to Cangzhou from Wuding Prefecture, the northernmost part of Shandong.

But if this news was false, his actions would completely disrupt the Fu Han Army's established plan!

A large group of people sat in front of Chen Ming, and everyone kept their mouths shut. There was no other way. Now they only had two pieces of information. One was the news that Niu Hulu had died, which was sent by the Beijing secret camp a few days ago, and the other was the information just sent by the Wang family. Which one was true and which one was false? It was impossible to expect the secret camp to quickly send a new piece of information, right? These people did not dare to speak easily, although the news that Qianlong might have died stimulated everyone's blood.

"Your Highness. How about we let people spread the news that Qianlong was dead, and then attack Cangzhou to see how Beijing reacts?" Gao Jinghui whispered.

Chen Ming thought silently for a long time, "It can only be done this way."

"Send my military order, and all troops are ready." Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, "Send a letter to Nanjing, and let Nanjing quickly mobilize the garrison troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If everything goes well, the battle will start in early October."

"Order the navy troops to attack Dagukou, and ask them to pay attention to the floating ice in Bohai Sea." After October, it is the ice period of Bohai Sea, and between November and December, it is called the peak ice period.

"Send the message to the secret camp." Chen Ming finally waved his hand. Everything started to move. Spreading the news is a piece of cake for the current secret camp in the north.

The whole military meeting was short, and even the words were few and far between. Many people rushed to Jinan, and then hurried back without saying a word.

The pigeon sent a message to Nanjing. Chen Ming didn't know how Chen Han's court was detonated. He only knew that after the news spread in Shandong, Jinan was the first to be detonated. Even the most stubborn people cut off their braids, Daqingguo Pills!

The morale of the army was boiling, and it was in full swing. Let's talk about the people. They didn't need the secret guidance of the secret camp. The four words "heaven's destiny" were put on Chen Han's head by countless people like money.

Isn't it heaven's destiny? Let Qianlong die at this critical moment. It can be said that it was effortless. With the death of Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty lost its strongest backbone.

The king who dominated the world for more than 30 years, the Daqing fruit reached its "peak" in his hands. Such a monarch has a "calming" effect on a leaky broken ship. But now he is dead!

On the fourth day of the rumor spreading, Chen Ming had rushed from Jinan to Wuding, with the assembled Second Garrison Division and the Guard Brigade, plus the newly established Shandong Cavalry Regiment. The latter was selected by Chen Ming from various militias and volunteers. The good riders gathered the three thousand war horses captured on the Shandong battlefield and collected by the people, and formed a complete cavalry regiment.

At the same time, the troops of the Third Division in Huai'an began to move to Xuzhou, and the troops in the Yangzhou area were ready to move against Xuyi in Anhui.

As for Nanjing, the news sent back said that the garrison troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were already being assembled.

There is no doubt about Henan's reaction. From southeastern Henan to the Heluo line, the whole army is absolutely ready for war!

The large-scale action of the Fu Han Army certainly could not be concealed by the Qing Army, but the Qing Army's response seemed to be half a beat slower. Shuhede's army, which retreated from Shandong to Jizhou, has only moved to Fucheng in Hejian Prefecture, and has not traveled half the distance to Cangzhou. It is hard to imagine that Shuhede can arrive first when Chen Ming attacks Cangzhou.

The entire Qing Dynasty seems to be trying to suppress the "rumors" in every possible way, and the importance of this issue is ranked above the imminent war.

Chen Ming looked at Shuhede's actions, and his belief in the Wang family's intelligence, which was originally 60%, suddenly increased to 70% or 80%. With 70% or 80% credibility, what else can he not dare to do boldly?

On October 8, Chen Ming set off with his troops. The front of the army is directed at Cangzhou!

With the start of the Fu Han Army, Wuqiao, Ningjin, Jingzhou, Gucheng and other counties around Wuding Prefecture have rebelled. Local officials either fled in panic or cut their braids themselves.

Wuding is about 70 to 80 miles away from Cangzhou City in a straight line, a two-day journey, with a Yanshan in between.

The team arrived outside Yanshan City smoothly in one day.

Yang Lei rode his horse towards Chen Ming's central army, and shouted from a distance: "Yanshan surrendered, Yanshan surrendered."

Chen Ming's attention was all on Shuhede's army, which had advanced one step further towards Cangzhou. He glanced at Yanshan and didn't want to look at it again. The morale of the Qing soldiers here was terrible.

"Yang Lei. Tell Meng Can that the cavalry regiment does not need to enter the city, and immediately sweep towards Cangzhou." The latter is a place where the Zhili Qing army is deployed, and there is also a battalion of the Eight Banners New Army there.

Cangzhou is the city that Chen Ming deserves to take a look at, so what is Yanshan?

Although it is known as the "hub of Hebei and Shandong" and a salt-producing area, it is still a place of salt production. Military is the first priority now, not silver. What else is important about the salt mountain besides salt? The Qing army in Cangzhou did not take the salt mountain seriously. Since the salt mountain had been abandoned by the Qing army, it was only natural for the local militia to surrender.

Don't underestimate the impact of the news of "Qianlong's death" on the Qing army.

At dusk the next day, the vanguard of the Fu Han Army, the Shandong Cavalry Regiment, arrived in Cangzhou.

Amid the explosion of shells, Yang Lei crawled in a pit, holding a telescope and carefully observing the movements of the Qing army opposite. It seemed that there was no plan to send out a large force except for firing cannons.

Yang Lei is a fierce general of the Qingshui Sect, Wang Lun's adopted son and apprentice. He is skilled in martial arts, born with supernatural powers, and good at cavalry warfare. Chen Ming doesn't know whether Yang Lei can grow into an excellent cavalry general in the future, but now he is at least an excellent traditional cavalry.

Yang Lei likes white. When he was in the Qingshui Sect, conditions did not allow him to ride a white mule. Now he rides a white horse. This bright color is very disadvantageous on the battlefield, and he himself is quite dark, much darker than Wu Sanniang of the Wu surname.

Two days of wind and dust made his complexion look darker, but his eyes were still sharp.

Like the Hunyuan Sect, after the Qingshui Sect was completely incorporated by the Fu Han Army, a large number of people left the army. Some of them returned to their original positions, such as Ji Panyou, Wang Shijue, Liu Huan, etc., who are now members of the police system; some received rewards and happily returned home to live their own lives, like Wang Lun's brother and sister-in-law; others were absorbed by the dark camp, such as Wang Lun's military advisor Fan Wei, the former abbot of Xianqing Temple, and Wang Lun's best martial arts apprentice Lin Zhe. They were spotted by the dark camp and transferred to Nanjing for training. As for where they will go in the future, it is unknown to outsiders. Chen Ming knew why the dark camp valued Fan Wei and Lin Zhe, because the Military Intelligence Bureau was going to lay out in Nanyang. Fan Wei and Lin Zhe were good chess pieces whether they went to Singapore, Borneo, Ha Tien, Hongji, or even Siam.

Many people were incorporated into the Shandong garrison, Yang Lei and Meng Can were also included, and only a few were transferred to the main force or sent to military academies for study. Finally, there are several female generals, not only from the Qingshui Sect system, but also from the Hunyuan Sect system. These two sects from the White Lotus Sect have a high status for female believers.

These people were taken in by Chen Ming, and the palace will also need a group of female guards in the future.

Eunuchs are probably indispensable in the short term, but Chen Ming feels that this profession needs to be eliminated. Many eunuchs' jobs can also be done by maids; besides, from the perspective of not being green on the head, female guards are also very needed.

Of course, if you want to avoid being green on the head, the safest way is to take fewer women. Chen Ming is very self-disciplined now! In the future, unless there is someone who makes him feel moved, Chen Ming does not want to take women into the harem.

Finally, there is a group of people who became local officials of the Fu Han Army.

Liu Song and Fan Mingde are both people who are keen on fame and fortune. Among the leaders of the rebel army, only Wang Lun has an empty position and plans to go to Nanjing to retire peacefully.

The Qing soldiers on the positions outside the city obviously discovered Yang Lei and his party, and the sound of artillery came one after another. But Yang Lei didn't care. In the telescope, he had already observed the position of the artillery on the Qing army's position.

In Jiaohe County, which is still 40 or 50 miles away from Cangzhou, Shuhede looked at the map in front of him with a tangled face. The location of Cangzhou City was marked by Shuhede with a red mark. The Fu Han Army went north all the way, aggressively.

Shuhede, who had 20,000 infantry and cavalry in his hands, was the closest Qing army to Cangzhou. If his troops did not enter the battlefield, relying on Cangzhou's 5,000 or 6,000 soldiers and braves to resist the offensive of the Fu Han Army, it would be a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

But Shuhede was unwilling to enter Cangzhou and die in vain.

How far is Cangzhou from Wuding Prefecture? The mouth of the Daqing River can still travel together. The Fu Han Army with guaranteed logistics and transportation is simply unstoppable.

The Fu Han Army should be allowed to go north and kept in Tianjin. This is a good time for a big battle. Even if we can't win, we can at least wear them down!

And Shuhede knew the truth. The "Qianlong is dead" that the Fu Han army was shouting was not an absurd rumor, but the real fact. But he kept it a secret from his generals, and even more from the soldiers at the bottom.

But it was also true that the soldiers were affected by the rumors and their morale was low...

Although he tried his best to clear the rumors in the army, there was no such thing as always getting what you want in this world.