After the establishment of the Shanghai Special Economic Zone, although a large number of Datang goods were transported here from the other side of the ocean, because the Jiangnan area was under the control of Sazai, Sazai forbade Jiangnan merchants to contact Datang merchants privately, and bought Datang commercial goods from Shanghai to sell them in Jiangnan, which was undoubtedly unacceptable to the Tang people. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, Bai Nan still put Jiaqing and his court in front as a tool to deal with Sazai. In April 1780, Jiaqing issued an edict ordering Sa Zai to return to Beijing, and added a first-class palace scholar as a seat to place Sa Zai. At the same time, Jiaqing appointed Ji Yun as the governor of Jiangsu in Zhengerpin, and the rest of the Jiangnan provinces also arranged new governors.

In his reply, Sa Zai once again "declined" Jiaqing's appointment, saying that Jiangnan was not calm and his affairs were busy, and he, the governor, could not leave for a while.

In the second piece of music for Sa Zai, Jiaqing's tone became stern, saying that Sa Zai did not respect the emperor's orders, and went his own way, for a great act of disobedience, which is not what a loyal minister should do, and Jiaqing even made an ultimatum, asking Sa Zai to leave for the capital within a month, otherwise he would be dismissed.

And Sazai was forced to do this, and finally tried to see the dagger. Sa Zai made it clear that the court is now occupied by traitors, the emperor's hearing and hearing are blinded, there are evil enemies outside, and the situation is really an extremely dangerous state.

Even if Sa Zai didn't dare to speak out about the emperor's wrongs, he also used the classic excuse that there was a villain around the emperor, and officially drew a line with the imperial court and openly opposed it. Sa Zai also posted this direct advice in the major state capitals and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and his very literary courage in the curtain made this direct advice table for him, and it was really sincere. Cast yourself into a great loyalty. Moreover, in his direct admonition, he bitterly stated the wrongs of the new policies of the imperial court, thinking that he was absurd and unorthodox, betraying the rules and regulations of the ancestors and the sages, and made clear his position, that is, to maintain the system of the Qing Dynasty. Restore the Eight Banners, continue to use the old system, and still take the Eight Banners.

I have to say that Sa Zai's move was still welcomed by many conservative forces in Jiangnan, especially a large number of scholars, who believed that the new policy of the imperial court was a bad government, and there were villains around the emperor. Many Jiangnan scholars threw themselves into the arms of Sazai and worked for him. It also made Sazai feel that he had won the hearts of the people and his strength had increased greatly.

Jiaqing was furious when he learned of this. After obtaining a list of scholars who had taken refuge in Sazai through the intelligence organization of the Tang people, Jiaqing announced the names of these people to the world, and claimed to erect a "Monument to Rebels and Thieves" in their hometown, and engrave their names for generations to spurn.

Such an extreme move did scare a group of people, but it also pushed those who had already taken refuge in Sazai even further.

Subsequently. Jiaqing announced that the 3rd Division of the Wuwei Army would be sent to Jiangnan. and united with the Tang Army in Shanghai to launch a military operation against Sazai. As soon as the imperial court sent troops, it caused a storm in Jiangnan, and suddenly there were signs of instability in Jiangnan. Although some wealthy families in Jiangnan did not like the new policies of the imperial court very much, and did not like the Tang people, there was no doubt that the Tang army could fight. Otherwise, they would not have defeated hundreds of thousands of Qing troops in a row. The total number of troops in Jiangnan is only tens of thousands, and there is no great combat effectiveness. Although Sazai recruited some militia groups, they were poorly trained, and many of them did not even have real weapons. On the other hand, the Tang Dynasty and the Wuwei Army were equipped with sharp firearms. After the Jingshi Incident. People all over the world vaguely understand a truth, that is, fighting knives and guns are outdated, and powerful muskets and cannons are the key to determining the outcome of the war.

Even if Sa Zai has some firecrackers in his hands, it is clearly not enough to compare the Tang Army and the Wu Wei Army. The vast majority of people are not optimistic about Sazai's future, and many Jiangnan wealthy families who originally supported Sazai have also become a wait-and-see state.

And many Jiangnan people even feared that the war would affect them, so they fled to other places overnight. Sazai's forces were mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, and many people fled to Jiangxi, Anhui and other places. Some people even felt that it was not safe enough, and ran directly to the area of Jingchu in the two lakes.

Sazai didn't expect that the imperial court would make up its mind to get rid of him so quickly. In addition to being afraid, Sazai was also ruthless, he ordered to gather all the militias he had recruited during these days, and carried out the plan of fortifying the wall and clearing the field, preparing to adopt scorched earth tactics, and to destroy half of Jiangnan in a desperate attempt to hinder the determination of the Tang army and the Wuwei army to fight.

It's just that when the Wuwei Army crossed Shandong into Jiangsu, a bad news gave Sa Zai a heavy blow first. Xuzhou Zhenju surrendered to the imperial court, made a stand, and no longer served Sazai. The defection of Xuzhou Town was only the beginning, followed by Shouchun Town, Guazhou Town, and Hukou Town, and many green battalion soldiers broke away from the management of the Liangjiang Governor at the last moment, expelled the officials sent by the Liangjiang Governor, and declared their loyalty to the imperial court.

On the one hand, Jiaqing shouted out that whoever wants to oppose the imperial court is a chaotic minister and thief, and he wants to write books and biography for them, and also erect monuments in their hometowns, and finally even dig up their ancestral graves for them, and punish the nine clans. The family members of many of the Green Battalion generals are not in their own garrisons, but in areas controlled by the imperial court. If you clearly follow Sazai to fight against the imperial court, and put it aside if you win or not, your family will probably be beheaded directly.

On the other hand, the Green Battalion is clearly not optimistic about its own combat effectiveness. Although the Armed Guards were newly established, they had already achieved results in Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan, and showed considerable combat effectiveness. Fighting hard with them, it is clear that the chances of victory are slim. If they surrender at this time, it is obvious that the imperial court will not force them to deal with Sazai, then this is equivalent to avoiding a battle, and everyone can save their lives, which is more important than anything else.

So at the critical moment, Sazai can only rely on the people of the Jiangnan Eight Banners and the vigilante that he temporarily put together.

Sazai, who was panicked, was a little noisy, and he couldn't even trust his side. Sazai began a large-scale purge of the city of Jiangning, he ordered the militia loyal to him, and began to claim the whole city, anyone who was considered a dangerous element was killed, and even many Manchus in the city who did not want to fight and wanted to make peace with the imperial court also died under Sazai's butcher's knife.

After all, Sazai is not a talented military strategist, let alone a politician, so in the face of crises, he can only constantly make wrong decisions. Thousands of people were killed overnight in Jiangning City, and it became desolate and terrifying. The Jiangnan people, who originally had no special feelings for Sazai, hated him instead.

However, it is surprising that the local militias, who were led by scholars based on Confucian ethics and morality, and the friendship of Sangzi's fellow villagers, were still united and firmly opposed to the imperial court. At the last moment, Sazai and this group of conservative forces huddled together to keep warm, but their fate was still shaky. (To be continued.) )