Chapter 118 Wenhan's Decision, Ye Mingchen's Stubbornness
Upon hearing this, Li Yi showed an interested look on his face and asked.
"Tell me, how exactly."
Luo Dagang took a deep breath and then spoke.
"The leader of the Tiandihui in Guangzhou said that as long as the Grand Commander promised not to divide their Tiandihui's land after conquering Guangzhou, they would agree to start an uprising in Guangzhou at a critical moment and support the army in attacking the city."
After talking about the conditions proposed by the Tiandihui, Luo Dagang observed Li Yi's expression cautiously.
Afraid that Li Yi would get angry because of this!
Although he had only been in the Restoration Army for a short time, he already knew how determined Li Yi was about the land distribution.
But what he didn't expect was that Li Yi didn't get angry. After a moment of changing expression, he spoke.
"Brigade Commander Lao Luo will send someone to tell the secret societies in Guangzhou that the land must be distributed. There is no room for negotiation on this matter."
"Equal land ownership is the basic principle of our Restoration Army and cannot be questioned."
"However, if they can achieve meritorious service in the Battle of Guangzhou, I can give them more credit."
Li Yi has always understood that there are not so many great and selfless saints in this world.
The reason why the people under his command followed him to conquer the world at the risk of their lives was not because of the slogan of "expelling the Tartars and restoring China".
Instead, they all looked forward to the prosperity and wealth after the founding of the new dynasty.
Therefore, in terms of land, Li Yi opened a small loophole for his own people.
In principle, the fields must be divided.
However, if you can make military achievements, you can increase the upper limit of your land quota.
For example, the land quota for ordinary landlords and gentry was 200 acres, while the land quota for the Restoration Army was 400 acres. After making military achievements, they could exchange their military achievements for more land.
Although land annexation was serious in China during this era, large landowners who owned thousands or tens of thousands of acres of fertile land were still a minority.
Most small and medium-sized landlords only own a few hundred acres of land.
This gave the Restoration Army the possibility to win over small and medium-sized landlords.
Well, it’s not impossible to be a big landowner.
Although the big landlords have a lot of land, they also have a lot of people.
After dividing the several thousand acres of land among the brothers, nephews and nephews, each of them was left with not much land.
As long as they are willing to work for the Restoration Army, even if the land they hold exceeds the quota, it will not be too much.
By then, even if the Restoration Army still wanted to divide their land, the loss would be within an acceptable range.
Previously, the effect of such winning over was not obvious. Although Li Yi had hinted very clearly, not many scholars took the initiative to join.
However, Li Yi believed that once he captured Guangzhou, things would be a different matter.
And now, he hopes that the secret societies in Guangzhou can also become his own people.
Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang immediately clasped his fists.
"Don't worry, Grand Commander. I understand!"
……
Bao Ling entered Guangzhou city.
He sat in a carriage on the cobblestone road in Guangzhou city. With the windows open, he could see pedestrians hurrying everywhere.
Or teams of Qing soldiers armed with old matchlock rifles or even cold weapons.
Nowadays, the entire city of Guangzhou is filled with a tense atmosphere brought about by the approaching rebel troops.
Accompanied by Wu Chongyao, Bao Ling climbed up the Guangzhou city wall, where he met Guangzhou General Muttern, Guangdong and Guangxi Governor Ye Mingchen, Guangdong Governor Bai Gui and other important officials.
"Why did Consul Bao Ling come here?"
Muttern asked.
Bao Ling didn't mean to beat around the bush and spoke directly.
"To be honest with you, General, the rebels have already made a promise. As long as Great Britain sends troops to help them capture Guangzhou, the rebels will fully agree to all of Great Britain's demands."
"The Governor-General said that he hopes Guangzhou can make a quick decision and give Britain a satisfactory answer."
"Otherwise, Daying might choose to side with the rebels."
Upon hearing this, Mutten's face instantly darkened.
With thoughts surging in his mind, he turned around and looked at Ye Mingchen and Bai Gui, as if asking for their opinions.
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingchen seemed to have heard nothing. He just continued to stare at the movements of the Restoration Army outside the city with a serious expression and did not respond at all.
For the sake of his own posthumous reputation, Ye Mingchen would never express his opinion on such matters.
And Bai Gui spoke up.
"General, the matter of Jingzhou is not far from the matter of Jiangning, Guangzhou must not make any more mistakes..."
At the same time that Li Yi received the news that the Taiping Army had captured Nanjing and massacred the Eight Banners of Jiangning, Guangzhou also received the same news.
Bai Gui's words were like a wake-up call to Muten.
A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Mutten's back.
The Eight Banners of Jingzhou were massacred, the Eight Banners of Jiangning were massacred, so what about the Eight Banners of Guangzhou?
Once Guangzhou fell to the rebels, the Eight Banners of Guangzhou would probably not be spared.
In Mutteen's eyes, whether it was the Taiping Army, Xiao Chaogui, or the Restoration Army, they were all long-haired rebels who emerged from Guangxi.
Moreover, they were all once members of the Taiping Army. He thought that the style of the Restoration Army should be no different from that of the other two Changmao.
Since the Taiping Army and Xiao Chaogui were all massacred, how could the Restoration Army be an exception?
Gritting his teeth, Mutten turned to Bao Ling and said.
"Please ask Consul Baoling to tell Governor Wenhan that I have agreed to all his requests."
"As long as he can send troops to help me defeat the bandits, I will take on the responsibility."
Upon hearing this, Bao Ling got the answer he wanted, and immediately said goodbye and left, preparing to return to Hong Kong to report to Wenhan.
……
"Your Excellency the Governor, the Qing Dynasty has relented and agreed to all our requests."
Bao Ling came to Wenhan and began to report.
However, Wenhan's reaction was not as happy as Bao Ling had imagined. Instead, he still frowned with a conflicted expression.
Because just now, Rodel also came to report to Wenhan.
Brought Li Yi's words to Wenhan.
No matter how many conditions the Guangzhou general agreed to, his promises were not counted.
The only person who truly had the final say in the Qing Dynasty was the emperor in the capital.
Wenhan had to admit that what Li Yi said made sense.
Wenhan is now really conflicted. Should he stand on the side of the Qing Dynasty and help it quell the rebellion, or simply help the rebels attack Guangzhou?
After hesitating for a long time, Wenhan finally spoke.
"Bao Ling, go to Guangzhou again and give the Guangzhou general of the Qing Dynasty a copy of the conditions our army will give to the rebels, and have him sign the agreement."
"Tell him that these are the conditions agreed to by the rebels. As long as he agrees to these conditions, I will fully assist him in suppressing the rebels."
In the end, Wenhan chose to stand on the side of the Qing Dynasty.
The reason was simple, because Wenhan did not believe that the Qing Empire, with its vast territory and endless wealth, would fall in such a rebellion.
He firmly believed that the Qing Empire would be able to successfully suppress the rebellion and achieve final victory.
By then, even if the rebels promised to give more, they would not be able to fulfill their promise.
Although the Guangzhou general's promise may not be valid, he can still take advantage of Guangdong's interests after the war.
Create an established fact!
In this case, unless the emperor of the Qing Dynasty wanted to go to war with Britain again, they could only accept it.
And this is actually the same benefit that the rebels can bring to Britain.
Under the premise of the same interests, Wenhan would naturally choose the approach that he thinks is more secure.
There's nothing wrong with that!
As for supporting the rebels and splitting the Qing Dynasty? It's not that Wenhan hadn't thought about it, but that's why he didn't do it.
One reason is that a unified but weak Qing Dynasty is more in their interests.
The second reason is that Britain’s delivery capabilities in the Far East are limited and their ambitions are not that ambitious yet.
The best proof of this is that in history, the great powers stood on the side of the Qing Dynasty and helped it deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, rather than supporting the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to split the Qing Dynasty.
Historically, the great powers began to consciously divide and split China during the First and Second World Wars.
Bao Ling turned and left, while Wenhan put on his top hat, held a walking stick, and left his office, preparing to go to the military camp to personally convey the order to prepare for war.
Soon, Bao Ling returned to Hong Kong from Guangzhou again.
He also brought back a signed treaty, the Qing-British Guangzhou New Treaty.
This treaty records in detail the price the Qing government would have to pay for borrowing troops to help suppress the rebellion.
At the end of the treaty, Guangzhou General Muttern and Guangdong Governor Bai Gui had both signed and sealed it with their official seals.
Well, Ye Mingchen is not among them!
Because although Ye Mingchen did not oppose Muttern's signing of this treaty, he would rather die than sign it.
He even said that if Muttern continued to force him, he would jump off the Guangzhou city wall and die for his country.
Although Muttern was disgusted, he had no choice but to compromise in the end.
Because he had no good way to deal with Ye Mingchen.
After all, we can't really kill him!
The war hasn't even started yet. If we lose the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, then there's no need to fight the war.
After receiving this treaty, Wenhan no longer hesitated and immediately ordered the army to intervene in the war in Guangzhou.
……
On the fourth day of October in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the main force of the Restoration Army finally arrived outside the city of Guangzhou.
Li Yi rode on horseback, gazing at the tall Guangzhou city wall in the distance, his eyes burning with ambition.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yi ordered the various units of the Restoration Army to prepare for the siege.
Luo Dagang rode his horse to Li Yi and began to report.
"Grand Commander, the secret society in Guangzhou has given in."
"They agreed to launch an uprising in Guangzhou after our army launched the siege to support our army's siege."
Li Yi nodded slightly, then said to Luo Dagang.
"Very good, Brigade Commander Luo did a great job."
"For our army, it would be as easy as taking something out of a bag if we want to capture Guangzhou."
"Now that we have the help of the secret societies in Guangzhou, this battle will surely go more smoothly."
"When our army captures Guangzhou in this battle, this governor will certainly reward you handsomely."
Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang clasped his fists and said.
"This is what I should do, how dare I ask for a reward?"
Li Yi smiled and comforted Luo Dagang, then signaled him that he could go and prepare for the war.
Just at this moment, Li Liang came to report.
"Grand Admiral, the British in Hong Kong have made a move."
"They are divided into land and sea forces, going up the Pearl River and heading towards Guangzhou."
When Li Yi heard this, the expression on his face immediately darkened.
He knew that his plan was likely to fail!
The British finally chose to stand on the side of the Qing Dynasty.
In fact, Li Yi realized this since the last time the British envoy Rodel left and never returned.
The news Li Liang sent this time only made his guess more true.
Well, if the British had not chosen to stand on the side of the Qing Dynasty, then they would definitely have informed me before sending troops to Guangzhou.
But now?
The British never informed him from beginning to end.
It's like walking in the middle of nowhere.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yi spoke.
"Go and tell the generals to come and see me."
Upon hearing this, Li Liang clasped his fists and left to deliver the message on behalf of Li Yi.
Soon, all the generals of the Restoration Army came before Li Yi.
"I humble myself to pay my respects to the Grand Governor!"
Everyone saluted.
Li Yi nodded slightly.
"I have called you all here today because I have an important matter to discuss with you."
"According to the latest intelligence, the British have decided to stand on the side of the Qing Yao and help them deal with our Restoration Army."
"That is to say, if our Restoration Army wants to capture Guangzhou, we will not only have to face the Qing monsters, but also the British."
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but feel their hearts sink.
Although they had never fought with the British before, everyone had heard of the war between the Qing Dynasty and the British ten years ago.
The British army was able to use an absolutely inferior force to fight for thousands of miles and force the Qing Dynasty to beg for mercy. This shows how powerful the British army was.
Now that we have to face the British, everyone feels a little unsure.
Of course, I'm not afraid of fighting.
Since its establishment, the Restoration Army has rarely suffered setbacks and has almost been constantly moving from one victory to another.
And almost every battle was won by the outnumbered side, with overwhelming victory.
How can such a Restoration Army not be proud?
Although the British are very strong, their Restoration Army is no pushover.
You can only know who is the hero and who is the bear after fighting.
Li Yi looked around and then asked for advice.
"Everyone, tell me, how should our army fight in the Battle of Guangzhou?"
When everyone heard this, they all looked at each other in shock.
Upon hearing this, Luo Dagang made a suggestion.
"Grand Commander, my humble opinion is that our army should attack the British first and then Guangzhou."
After hearing this, Li Yi continued to ask.
"Tell me why."
Seeing this, Luo Dagang didn't hesitate and continued.
"First, it's because the British are strong and the Qing monsters are weak."
"If our army defeats the British first, it will shock the Qing monsters guarding Guangzhou, and it will be much easier for our army to attack the city."
"Secondly, the Qing demons are occupying the fortified city of Guangzhou, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if our army attacks the city, it will probably be difficult to capture it in a short period of time."
"If the British launch a surprise attack from the rear of our army at this time, our army will be trapped both internally and externally, which is really too dangerous."
"And if we fight the British first, we only need to send a small number of troops, and with the cooperation of the gangs in the city, we can contain the Qing demons in Guangzhou and prevent them from making any rash moves."
"When the time comes, we only need to focus on dealing with the British!"
(End of this chapter)