After hearing Eldenbao's idea, the young wild boar, with a gloomy face like a donkey, retorted, "Is it enough to just drive them into the city?"
Eldenbao was startled and asked tentatively, "Then what does Master mean?"
The young wild boar sneered and said, "Of course, we should burn their houses, plunder their grain, and destroy all their crops, leaving them no other path but to flee to the city."
Eldenbao was taken aback, and while muttering inwardly that the young wild boar was truly ruthless, he cautiously probed, "Master, are we going too far by doing this? What if His Majesty finds out..."
The young wild boar snorted coldly, "And what if my Imperial Father finds out? These Mudkins are all rebels and traitors. Do you still intend to treat them as my Great Qing's subjects?"
After reprimanding Eldenbao, the young wild boar's expression gradually turned ferocious, "Since they have sided with the rebels, they are no longer subjects of my Great Qing. They should be prepared to be annihilated as rebels by the Great Qing court!"
Seeing that the young wild boar was determined, Eldenbao stopped trying to persuade him and instead fawned over him with flattery, "Master is wise, Master is brilliant!"
After all, the young wild boar was the master and, it seemed, the definite successor to the throne. Eldenbao couldn't be bothered to displease the young wild boar over a few Mudkins.
Besides, the Great Qing, since entering the pass, had done plenty of such deeds – those born without a proper passage. Doing it again now was merely picking up an old ancestral skill, nothing major.
However, after Eldenbao bowed and agreed, the young wild boar's expression gradually shifted from ferocity to displeasure.
The young wild boar looked at Eldenbao and said in a deep voice, "Dispersals of the army like today must never happen again, otherwise..."
Eldenbao's heart leaped, and he immediately performed a kowtow, kneeling on one knee, and bowed, "Yes, this servant understands. There will be no next time. Please be assured, Master!"
While saying this, Eldenbao still felt uncertain in his heart.
Since the day the Eight Banners of my Great Qing entered the pass, they have been faltering. From Shunzhi to Kangxi to Yongzheng, the Eight Banners of my Great Qing have never had a day without faltering.
By the time of Qianlong, the Eight Banners of my Great Qing had been faltering for over a hundred years. It would not be easy to reattach these chains now, would it?
In any case, Eldenbao did not believe that he could help the warriors of the Eight Banners regain the martial spirit of their ancestors.
Of course, if pushed to the brink, it wasn't entirely hopeless. After all, the essence of the Eight Banners of my Great Qing was a military plunder group that exploited layers upon layers, with some semblance of military order.
Armies, as long as discipline can be enforced, will not repeatedly disintegrate as they did today.
But then again, is military discipline something that can be easily rectified?
How to rectify it?
Execute a few ringleaders of the dispersal?
That would be a joke. Even though Eldenbao was a master from the Upper Three Banners, most of the masters from the Upper Three Banners were the ones who led the dispersal today. Whom would Eldenbao dare to execute?
To speak bluntly, even if Emperor Qianlong himself issued an decree, it might not solve the problem. Who could guarantee that His Majesty's decree would be effective? Who could guarantee that these Banner Lords would not, in anger, shout slogans of "Down with Qing, restore Ming"?
Therefore, even knowing where the problem lay, Eldenbao had no good solution.
After hesitating for a while, Eldenbao tentatively asked, "Master, why don't we reorganize the Green Standard Army?"
The young wild boar naturally knew that the soldiers of the Eight Banners of my Great Qing had long been useless, and they relied on the Green Standard Army for fighting.
The problem was that with Emperor Qianlong's cowardly tactics, the Green Standard Army of my Great Qing had also become nearly useless, with many Green Standard soldiers even transforming into rebels.
In this situation, what was there to talk about reorganizing the Green Standard Army?
Eldenbao tentatively said, "Your Highness, as you know, everyone loves wealth. When our Great Qing entered the pass, we were able to recruit the Green Standard Army. Now, as long as we are willing to offer money, we may not be unable to recruit the Green Standard Army?"
However, the young wild boar let out a scoff and retorted, "What was the situation when my Great Qing entered the pass? And what is the situation now?"
When asked this by the young wild boar, Eldenbao suddenly didn't know how to answer.
Yes, when my Great Qing entered the pass, it was under the banner of avenging Emperor Chongzhen, and with Wu Sangui as a guide. The scholars and gentry throughout the land wanted to use the troops of my Great Qing to annihilate Li Zicheng, the rebel. By the time they realized my Great Qing had no intention of withdrawing beyond the pass, it was already too late.
But now.
Now, these scholars and gentry have recognized the true face of my Great Qing. The main force of the rebels resisting my Great Qing throughout the land are these scholars and gentry. In such circumstances, is it still easy to recruit Green Standard soldiers?
It is probably not that easy.
And as Eldenbao was pondering these jumbled thoughts, the young wild boar sighed slightly and said, "Things are done by people. You just try your best."
Unfortunately, while the young wild boar and Eldenbao were thinking quite well, planning to retrain the Eight Banners and have the soldiers of the Eight Banners pick up the martial spirit of their Manchu ancestors by suppressing Zhu Zhongzhi, and also reorganize the Green Standard Army, Zhu Jinsong, the foremost rebel leader, did not give them this opportunity.
Zhu Jinsong had been in a bad mood lately.
If nothing else, the drought that swept across more than half the land, whether it was the need to resettle the people of Zhili or the immense, almost desperate grain shortage, all contributed to the bad mood of Zhu Jinsong, the foremost rebel leader.
Since Zhu Jinsong was in a bad mood, he didn't want anyone else to be happy.
Therefore, upon learning that the young wild boar, Prince Aisin Gioro Yongyan, and Eldenbao had led troops to suppress Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi, Zhu Jinsong, the foremost rebel leader, simply raised his troops to attack my Great Qing.
Zhu Jinsong chose the direction of attack as Guangping Prefecture in Zhili.
As for Daming Prefecture in Zhili... after Zhu Jinsong occupied the entirety of Shandong and Henan, the court of my Great Qing had already recalled the loyalists stationed in Daming Prefecture back to Shunde Prefecture, leaving an empty Daming Prefecture for Zhu Jinsong.
Having taken control of Daming Prefecture almost without shedding a drop of blood, Zhu Jinsong showed no intention of stopping and immediately began to attack Guangping Prefecture.
Upon receiving the news, the young wild boar and Eldenbao were greatly agitated.
If the young wild boar and Eldenbao had confidence in suppressing Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi, then facing the menacing Zhu Jinsong, the young wild boar and Eldenbao only had the urge to flee quickly.
The young wild boar sat in the central army tent, his face as gloomy as dog feces, and cursed, pointing to the sky and the ground, "Is this surname Zhu sick? Or are all those surnamed Zhu from the same family? Why is it that when we attack Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi, Zhu Jinsong from Shandong jumps out?"
Speaking of which, the young wild boar's expression became even more unpleasant, "And them, and them! Them! Them!"
Eldenbao kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, lowering his head and feigning ignorance.
Eldenbao knew who "them" referred to.
It was not surprising that the rebel Zhu Jinsong had appeared. After all, the current state of my Great Qing's empire was mainly due to Zhu Jinsong, the foremost rebel leader. Zhu Jinsong appearing at this time was within Eldenbao's expectations.
What truly exceeded Eldenbao's expectations was that as soon as Zhu Jinsong, the foremost rebel leader, made a move to attack Guangping Prefecture, the loyalists stationed in Guangping Prefecture by Emperor Qianlong had begun to surrender in droves.
Yes, the rush to surrender was mainly manifested by the servants of the Lower Five Banners tying up the masters of the Upper Three Banners and surrendering at Zhu Jinsong's camp.
It was simply outrageous.
You see, even though those loyalists were servants of the Lower Five Banners, they were still loyalists of my Great Qing, weren't they?
And yet, it was these loyalists who rushed to surrender to that rebel Zhu Jinsong!
The key was that these servants of the Lower Five Banners were shouting slogans of "Down with Qing, restore Ming."
If Eldenbao could somewhat understand when those Han Mudkins clamored for "Down with Qing, restore Ming," then he absolutely couldn't comprehend why these loyalists also wanted to "Down with Qing, restore Ming."
What were these servants of the Lower Five Banners thinking?
After thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Eldenbao gave up thinking. After all, the masters of the Upper Three Banners could not understand the thoughts of the servants of the Lower Five Banners.
Could it be that the court of my Great Qing was so unpopular?
Shaking his head vigorously to cast away this rebellious thought, Eldenbao then looked at the young wild boar and asked, "Master, what should we do now?"
The young wild boar snorted coldly and retorted, "You are the Baturu leading the troops. If you don't know what to do, you come to ask me?"
However, after reprimanding Eldenbao, the young wild boar didn't know what else to say. For a moment, the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence again.
In other circumstances, the young wild boar felt this matter would be easier to handle. After all, implementing a scorched-earth policy like killing everyone, plundering all the grain, and burning all the houses would be a fatal blow to both Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi and Zhu Jinsong in Shandong.
However, what the young wild boar never expected was that shortly after he came up with this plan, the servants of the Lower Five Banners in Guangping Prefecture would suddenly deliver a severe stab in the back!
Therefore, when Eldenbao asked what to do, the young wild boar became so angry.
What to do? If you, the Baturu leading the troops, don't know what to do, how would I, the master, know what to do?
With an imperceptible sigh, the young wild boar finally said, "Let's see what Imperial Father does now."
Emperor Qianlong, who was far away in the capital, also did not know what to do.
Emperor Qianlong had expected that the young wild boar and Eldenbao's attack on Zhu Zhongzhi would not go smoothly. He had also considered the consequences of their failure. Emperor Qianlong had even considered the possibility that Zhu Jinsong might raise his troops in support of Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi.
However, Emperor Qianlong never expected that the servants of the Lower Five Banners in Guangping Prefecture, Zhili, would also raise the banner of "Down with Qing, restore Ming"!
Emperor Qianlong felt that he had been too good to these servants of the Lower Five Banners, so good that these servants dared to disregard my Great Qing court! xxs1
In his rage, Emperor Qianlong immediately summoned Heshen, the Grand Tutor, to the palace.
When Grand Tutor Heshen stepped into the Hall of Heavenly Purity, he saw Emperor Qianlong wearing armor, served by several eunuchs.
Heshen was startled and quickly hurried forward, asking, "Your Majesty, what is this?"
Emperor Qianlong snorted and said, "What is this, what is this? Can't you see? I am going to lead the expedition personally!"
Upon hearing Emperor Qianlong's words, Heshen was even more astonished.
The young wild boar, Prince Fifteen, and Eldenbao had not yet dealt with Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi, and now you, the Emperor, are going to lead the expedition personally to deal with Zhu Jinsong in Shandong?
What is the state of the Eight Banners of my Great Qing? Don't you, the Emperor, have any idea?
Are you crazy?