Chapter 242: Preparing Wedding Clothes for the Fu Han Army [Subscription Request]

Wuxi battlefield, Puxi battlefield, Yangtze River naval battle, plus the Nantong battlefield on the north bank, at the end of May, with the fierce attack launched by the Fu Han Army on Songjiang, the whole Jiangnan was once again ignited with fierce war smoke.

The north and south banks of the Yangtze River were in a mess, and the situation was like a pot of porridge.

On the Puxi battlefield, the Fu Han Army had an absolute advantage. Even though the number of Qing troops on the opposite side was no less than theirs. Fierce artillery bombardment, coupled with even more fierce charge and blade, Shanghai and Huating were lost in three days, and the Qing army in Songjiang Prefecture retreated to the east of the Huangpu River. Lu Yong, a member of the Guangdong Green Camp who had just landed in Jiangnan, was completely beaten by the Fu Han Army after the Battle of Shanghai.

The veterans of the Fu Han Army who came all the way from Henan, the veterans of the Fu Han Army who were tempered by war after war, and the veterans of the Fu Han Army who were instilled with victory after victory, the powerful combat effectiveness that erupted on the battlefield was completely beyond the imagination of the Guangdong Green Camp. In the melee, the tank battalion that launched the assault overwhelmed the Guangdong soldiers, who had six or seven times more troops than them.

However, on the battlefield in Wuxi, the Fu Han Army could only hold Wuxi and Changzhou tightly, and the Wuxi defenders were under increasing pressure. The Qing army took advantage of its large number of soldiers and generals and launched a series of offensives against Wuxi. No matter whether they were fighting for real or fake, they were all consuming the energy of the Fu Han Army defenders. Especially at night, the harassment battles all night long, the Fu Han Army in the Wuxi battlefield had already fallen into a disadvantage.

Then on the Yangtze River, the Fu Han Army Navy Battalion was unable to support itself and fell into a passive position.

The Qing Army's navy had a total of four parts: the Liangjiang Navy, the Fujian Navy, the Shandong Navy, and the Guangdong Navy. Each of these four parts is relatively independent. In addition to the relatively weak strength of the Liangjiang Navy as the landlord, the Taihu Navy has always stayed in Taihu Lake, and because of the problem of battle record, it is really hard to raise its head. The latter three can only carry out limited cooperation.

But even so, the Fu Han Army with only one navy battalion could not hold on.

The surface of the Yangtze River east of Jiangyin is much wider than that of the Yangtze River upstream, and the battlefield area has expanded many times. The sixty or seventy warships of the Fu Han Army are quite suitable for the surface of the Yangtze River west of Jiangyin. The speed and agility are very good, sharp and swift; but here they seem a little small. The wide water surface gives the larger warships of the Qing Dynasty's foreign navy space to maneuver and also gives them a platform to play their own advantages. The warships of the Fu Han Army's navy battalion were originally at a disadvantage in number, and the situation became more and more inclined to the Qing army.

There was also the battle of Nantong Prefecture, where the Qing army had an advantage in manpower and kept recovering the prefectures and counties on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Those counties and prefectures that fell into anarchy after being swept by the Fu Han Army once, can be regarded as returning to the embrace of "my Great Qing". However, without the government, it is quite difficult for the Qing army to demand grain, rice, wine, meat, and even money from the local gentry.

It is still uncertain when the new officials appointed by the Qing court will arrive. When the war is not over, the local gentry will only guard their property and food like vicious dogs watching food. How easy is it to let them take out money and food obediently? With the current authority and dignity of the Qing Dynasty, it is a delusion to want to enforce orders in Nantong as before.

After a blank period of one or two months, the local gentry, who have tasted the taste of no government pressure on their heads, who would be willing to go back to the old days with a bridle?

Of course, all this cannot be revealed under the pressure of the Qing army. Now, the thought that cannot be tolerated by the Qing court is just a small bud that has just emerged from the ground.

Chen Ming now feels like walking on a tightrope. Sitting in Jiading County, the previous ease and comfort are long gone. There are only waves of threats coming at him.

The situation in Nantong Prefecture will not threaten Yangzhou in the short term, but will this situation continue? There are also the navy of the Qing Dynasty, which will only accumulate more and more at the mouth of the Yangtze River. With them, the Fu Han Army will not be able to stand even if it takes the area east of Jiangyin.

In that case, the Fu Han Army can only start from Yixing on the west side of Taihu Lake, cross Taihu Lake, and attack Huzhou, Zhejiang.

The entire strategy will have to change.

"Or..., let's make a move in the south?" Liu Wu knew what Chen Ming was worried about. More and more Qing troops gathered in southern Jiangsu. A plum rain season eliminated the best opportunity for the Fu Han Army and gave the slow-moving Qing Dynasty a certain amount of time.

"Grand Commander, didn't the Eighth Master send a message saying that there is a group called Huang Jiao in Taiwan who is going to revolt? Why not let Huang Jiao take action first? No matter how big a disturbance it causes, as long as it can shake Fujian, it will be good. It can also provide cover for Tiandihui."

"The Huang Jiao has only a hundred or so people under him..." Chen Ming had never heard of the Huang Jiao uprising in Taiwan in his previous life, so you can imagine the scale and impact of the Huang Jiao uprising. According to Chen Liang's report, Huang Jiao is a poor farmer in Gangshan, Taiwan. Although he suffered a lot because he loved to fight for justice, he also won some prestige in Gangshan. Such an uprising may not even make it through Fengshan County.

"Give Huang Jiao the greatest support, and then contact the foreign bandits on the Fujian sea, and let the foreign bandits cooperate to harass the Fujian coast." Chen Ming is really under great pressure now, otherwise he would not let Chen Liang contact the foreign bandits. His attitude towards the foreign bandits in the waters of Fujian and Guangdong has always been very clear. They can be used, but just like the three Shanghai tycoons treated Chiang Kai-shek back then, they are like urinals. They must be weighed in the hand when needed, and thrown as far away as possible when not in use.

Because the reputation of the foreign bandits is very bad, worse than that of the Tiandihui and the White Lotus Sect.

The Fu Han Army can openly contact and cooperate with the Tiandihui, but it must keep a certain distance from the foreign bandits [the reputation of the Hunyuan Sect is almost ruined, who asked them to pull up the Yellow River], the latter is positioned as a thug, a peripheral thug in Chen Ming's plan. The Fu Han Army spends money, and the foreign bandits work hard. For example, the Fu Han Army invited foreign bandits on the southeast coast to rob and kill the sea ships transporting grain from Fujian and Zhejiang to Tianjin. The Fu Han Army spent 120,000 taels of silver on the deposit alone.

Since the first successful sea transport, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces have begun to summon sea ships to transport grain and silver to Beijing. Foreign bandits are frequently active on the transportation line. I have never heard of any successful robbery by them, but even so, they have tied down a large number of foreign naval forces in Guangdong, Fujian and even Shandong. Otherwise, how could Wu Bi Da, the admiral of the Fujian Navy, kill only two thousand people to the Yangtze River? Moreover, there is no follow-up of Fujian's navy warships. There are reasons for this.

In Chen Ming's eyes, this is a deal. The foreign bandits are like mercenaries. There is no loyalty, only cooperation. Unless the foreign bandits are willing to completely change their appearance, accept the military rules and discipline of the Fu Han Army, and are willing to completely serve Chen Ming.

If the Yellow Sect uprising in Taiwan can make a bigger fuss, it can not only contain the Qing soldiers in Fujian, but also test the quality of Wang Wei, the general of Taiwan Town. The Qing court has been fighting in the southeast provinces for half a year to withdraw troops. In addition to a part of the Guangdong land and water green camps landing in Jiangnan by sea, another part entered Jiangxi and Hunan. The former's direct target is Jiujiang and Hukou, and the latter will also enter Hubei through Hunan, and merge with the green camps in Huguang and Sichuan, and fight the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to press Jiujiang.

More and more green camps are withdrawn from Fujian and Guangdong, and the time for the Fujian Tiandihui uprising is becoming more and more mature. Chen Liang has traveled back and forth between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The preparations of the Tiandihui on both sides are not only going smoothly, but also very effective. Therefore, the time for the Tiandihui uprising in Fujian is getting closer and closer.

If Chen Liang is completely a member of the Tiandihui, he will never let the Tiandihui revolt against the Qing Dynasty at this time, because this is to prepare for the Fu Han Army. The uprising of the Tiandihui in Fujian will not only severely damage the Qing court, but also make a large number of Qing troops turn around and attack like hungry wolves, which will benefit the Fu Han Army in Jiangnan for nothing.

If there are really people with great vision in the Tiandihui, they should wait until the Fu Han Army and the Qing Army in Jiangnan are both defeated or exhausted before they start the rebellion against the Qing Dynasty. At that time, they will have more time to expand their territory and strength.

But Chen Liang is not a member of the Tiandihui. He went to Fujian to find the Tiandihui. He brought tens of thousands of taels of silver to support the Tiandihui in order to let the Tiandihui be the cannon fodder of the Fu Han Army to relieve the pressure on the Fu Han Army. Now, Chen Liang will not only not stop the Tiandihui from brewing an uprising, but will also add fuel to the flames.

"If the Yellow Sect uprising can go smoothly, it can give the Tiandihui in Fujian greater confidence..."

The people of the Tiandihui have no doubt that the time for the uprising is approaching. The Tiandihui leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait do not care about the big or small situation at all, and are not afraid of the Qing Dynasty at all. On the contrary, they are extremely enthusiastic about the uprising. Especially when the news of the success of the Hunyuan Sect uprising spread to Fujian, Chen Liang could clearly feel the excitement of the Tiandihui leaders in his dealings with him.

He thought of Chen Ming's evaluation of the Tiandihui when he talked about it with him before coming to Fujian: the leaders of the Tiandihui were mostly from poor families. When they first joined the Tiandihui, many people did not join to fight against the Qing Dynasty, but to hold together and keep warm.

Their origins determined their horizons. In fact, many Tiandihui in Fujian and Guangdong are not Tiandihui at all. When a person unites a group of people, when an organization or group is established, they use the Tiandihui as a cover. Just like Li Tang wanted to find Laozi as his ancestor, it was for a reputation. And such a situation is ultimately due to the anti-Qing consciousness and anti-Qing ideas that spread among the people in the southeastern coastal areas.

Especially Taiwan. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Taiwan was newly annexed. In just forty years, there were three rebellions. In the autumn of the thirty-fifth year, Wu Qiu, a resident of Taiwan County, planned a rebellion. Before the people gathered, Gao Gonggan, the governor of Taiwan, and Wang Guoxing, the general, designed to capture him; within a month, the rebellion was suppressed. In the winter of the fortieth year, Liu Que, a resident of Zhuluo [Chiayi] County, rebelled again. And in the summer of the sixtieth year, Zhu Yigui, a resident of Fengshan County, rebelled again, shocking the world. Zhu Yigui pretended to be a descendant of Zhu Ming and occupied Gangshan Station, calling it Yonghe. Ouyang Kai, the general of Taiwan Town, and Xu Yun, the deputy general, died in battle one after another, and all officials below the governor fled to Penghu. The capital of Taiwan Prefecture and Feng and Jia counties fell on the same day. The Qing court mobilized a small number of 20,000 elite troops to cross the east, and it took more than a month to suppress the rebellion. During this period, there were many disturbances by Taiwanese aborigines. It can be said that Taiwan during the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng was not stable at all.

Entering the reign of Qianlong, Taiwan ushered in a period of peace for 20 to 30 years, but it was only relative peace. There were still disturbances in Taiwan every year, but the big families in Taiwan were very powerful. Although they had not yet developed into the giants like the five major families of the Wufeng Lin family, the big families in Taiwan, who were gathered together by clan blood, had money, food, people and soldiers. As long as the civil unrest was not too serious, the clans and big families in various places could be eliminated by themselves.

And these big families stood firmly on the side of the Qing Dynasty in terms of interests. Because the Qing Dynasty was quite preferential to Taiwan's taxes.

In the first year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, the imperial decree was issued that the tax on Taiwan's male rank should be reduced according to the distribution in the mainland, and each male rank should be taxed two cents to ease the burden on the people. The annual tax on silver was more than 3,560 taels. In the twelfth year, it was decided to evenly apply the tax to the farmland. The land cultivated by the aboriginals was exempted from taxation and the tax was paid as usual.

Up to the 33rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, the cultivated farmland in Taiwan has increased several times compared with the previous one. According to the statistics of the tax amount of the whole Taiwan, Chen Liang obtained the data from the Taiwan government office, which showed that the total tax amount in Taiwan was only 4,746 taels of silver and 108,570 dan of grain. There was no tax increase in 20 years. Now there are nearly one million Han people in Taiwan, and only such a small amount of silver was collected. You can't help but say that the Qing Dynasty's light taxation on Taiwan was unprecedented.

Under such favorable conditions, the Taiwanese people can still repeatedly raise anti-Qing Gao Dynasty, which is definitely not explained by the four words "anti-Qing thought". You can fully imagine how heavy the exploitation of the lower-class civilian tenants by those dog-rich households is, which is also intoxicating.

Taiwan is not peaceful, how can Fujian be peaceful?

Chen Liang's work in Fujian has achieved remarkable results, which is due to the convergence of many factors. But no matter how many reasons converge, when the smoke of war in Fujian is ignited and shines on the entire southeast, the pressure faced by the Fu Han Army will inevitably be greatly reduced.

...

Chenzhou Prefecture City.

The scorching sun of midsummer shines across the sky, and the ground seems to be on fire, and the rolling heat waves sweep everything. The willow trees on the street are like sick, with leaves hanging on the branches and curling, and the branches are too lazy to move.

In Chen Youhe's mansion, the watchdogs are crawling on the ground with red tongues spitting out, panting constantly. Since the heavy rain ended after the summer harvest, the temperature in Henan has been rising day by day. People walking in the sun are almost melting.

Chen Youhe jumped off the carriage neatly. My God, it's too hot. The carriage was like a steamer, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

What hit Chen Youhe harder than the hot weather was Chen Huizu's shameless face.

Although the Chen family closed Chen Yihe Business and announced that they were losing money in business and could not continue. Chen Huizu also "donated" 500 taels of silver and 300 dan of wheat. Chen Youhe wanted to pick up the teacup and cover Chen Huizu's shameless face. He was "extorting" and "extorting"!

"Five hundred taels of silver, three hundred dan of wheat?" Chen Youhe's eldest son's eyes turned red when he heard it. "Chen Huizu, this dog official, is going to scrape off three feet of land in Chenzhou Prefecture." Three hundred dan of wheat can at least be worth five hundred taels of silver. Now the grain price in Henan is still much higher. The summer harvest has alleviated the current situation of food shortage among the people, but it has not fundamentally solved the problem.

"This Chen Huizu is too much. He donated once, twice, how many times has this happened? If he is short of money or food, he should ask the emperor for it. Why is he sucking our blood? No matter how big our Chen family is, it can't withstand donations again and again..." Mrs. Chen slammed the table, venting her anger and dissatisfaction.

"What donation, mother? This is extortion, extortion. We should report him to the court..." The eldest son of the Chen family was so excited that he almost jumped up.

Since last year, the Chen family has been "donated" by Chenzhou Prefecture [later Chen Huizu] five times. When Chen Huizu settled down in Zhoujiakou, all the gentry and wealthy merchants in Chenzhou Prefecture suffered and were in bad luck. They were donated at least once a month. This is pure extortion.

In total, the Chen family has donated 3,000 taels of silver and 700 to 800 shi of grain. This time, Chen Huizu was particularly ruthless. It was obvious that the Chenzhou treasury was burned, and he was short of money and grain, so he shamelessly reached out again.

"Dad, what should we do? If this goes on..." The Chen family was really going to do it.