It’s not that the Qing court didn’t dare to take action, but that it needed time.

It takes time to manufacture armaments and it also takes time to dispatch troops. China's previous military achievements were too impressive, which made Jiaqing feel unsure.

A few months ago, Jiaqing was ecstatic when he received the news from Rong An. He never expected that when the situation was so bad, Rong An actually took control of the Tiandihui in Guangdong, and even used the beauty trap to assassinate Chen Gu, and actually succeeded in the end.

Unfortunately, China did not split or experience any major unrest because of this. After a little kid quickly established a country and ascended the throne, things calmed down in an instant. He also increased troops and armaments everywhere, which made the Qing court feel a little helpless.

However, the death of the bandit chieftain Chen Gu was a good thing for the Qing court no matter what.

A counterattack is definitely necessary, but it requires sufficient preparation.

After some discussion, Jiaqing prepared to launch attacks from multiple directions simultaneously, including Wuhan, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Guangdong, and Dajianlu. They must hit the target in one fell swoop, leaving China with no chance of recovery.

Therefore, the preparation time naturally took longer, which was why Lin Zexu remained on hold, because Jiaqing's order was for him to be patient, prepare for the attack, and wait for orders.

But when facing Chen Gu at this time, Lin Zexu felt that the court's decision was probably wrong.

Because while the imperial court was preparing, China was also making preparations. So, instead of being fully prepared, it would be better to attack in advance and catch China off guard.

After Chen Gu left, Lin Zexu couldn't help feeling embarrassed, not knowing whether he should continue to carry out the court's orders.

Rong An's Tiandihui will face the main force of the Chinese state in Guangxi, the Cai family army led by Cai Qian, and Chen Gu's central dispatch and command. I am afraid it will be difficult for them to hold out for long.

If Guangdong fell, Fuzhou would definitely not be spared. In this case, China and the Qing Dynasty would really be in a situation of confrontation between the north and the south, which would have a huge impact on the overall situation.

But Lin Zexu knew his own business. Although Fuzhou had an army of 100,000, they were just a mob. Facing Cai Qian, who was also a mob, he could still fight. But facing the main force of China, he would probably be slaughtered and would not be able to play a big role.

Even if the 100,000 troops in Fuzhou were deployed, it would not have much impact on the outcome of Guangdong. At most, it could only delay the time of Guangdong's fall.

If it were somewhere else, Lin Zexu would have chosen to send troops without hesitation, even if it was just to buy some time.

But this is Fuzhou, and these 100,000 troops are all the elders from Lin Zexu's hometown, and many of them are even his relatives, friends and clansmen. Lin Zexu really can't make up his mind to send these people to die.

At the end of the day, people are selfish.

Moreover, fighting against Cai Qian is one thing, and fighting against the Chinese state is another.

After all, Cai Qian was quite hostile to the powerful gentry, and even affected many ordinary wealthy families. Hua Guo was more reasonable. Although he demanded equal distribution of land, he was not particularly harsh on the gentry and was quite preferential to ordinary people.

Therefore, when facing Cai Qian, everyone will work together, but when facing the Chinese army, I am afraid everyone will have more thoughts, after all, the majority of the soldiers in the army are ordinary people.

Lin Zexu even speculated that if he really led this 100,000-strong army to fight against China, most of them would probably flee, and some of the remaining would surrender.

This kind of thing happened quite often in the Green Camp Army, after all, China occupied the great cause of expelling the Tartars. Lin Zexu pondered for a moment, and finally decided to write a memorial to Jiaqing about the news of Chen Ju's appearance and his plan. As for Jiaqing's choice, it was none of his business, and he just fulfilled his duty as a minister.

But if this is done, the opportunity to fight will be lost. By the time the memorial is submitted and the order comes down, I am afraid that the affairs in Guangdong will have been settled.

Lin Zexu had actually made his choice at this moment.

Guangdong!

Rong An was worried about the court's delay in sending troops, especially since China had deployed 10,000 main troops in the direction of Guangxi, plus an additional 20,000 joint defense teams led by Scar and Roadblock. Rong An knew that if the court did not send troops, Guangdong would not be able to be defended.

Rong An had to frequently submit memorials to the court requesting the dispatch of troops, but all of them fell on deaf ears, and his original advisor disappeared without a trace, leaving Rong An without anyone to give him advice.

It’s not that there aren’t any trustworthy and capable people, but there really aren’t any.

The members of the Tiandihui were originally of commoner origin, and especially after Rong An sent Zhang Shan to assassinate Chen Gu, they became even more alienated from Rong An. At this time, the power in Guangdong was even divided into two factions. The old members of the former Tiandihui were already in a state of only following orders and not decrees.

As for those who had come over from the former Guangzhou General's Mansion, they also looked at Rong An with scrutiny. After all, it was the suicide of the Guangzhou general that made Rong An successful, but after Rong An took over Guangdong, he did not achieve any results.

After all, Rong An is just an average person and is still very young. He does not have the ability to command the military and political power of a province.

In fact, Chen Gu did not have the ability to command an entire province, but he knew how to delegate power. He delegated things he was not good at to others and he only focused on fighting wars.

Moreover, Chen Gu's prestige was high enough. After all, he and his men had conquered everything with their swords and guns. Therefore, Chen Gu could suppress all his subordinates.

In addition, the equal distribution of land won over the largest number of ordinary people, and the overwhelming military force suppressed the gentry and the powerful, so China developed very smoothly in its early days, instead of being as turbulent as Guangdong today.

The reason why Chen Gu dared to tell Lin Zexu about his battle plan for Guangdong was because Chen Gu was fully confident that he could pacify the entire Guangdong quickly.

Even if Lin Zexu sent troops to contain the enemy, it would be useless. The worst that could happen was that Chen Zhen would abandon the entire Fujian and lead his army directly south. As long as he pacified Guangdong first, Fujian would be a piece of cake when he came back.

But by then Lin Zexu would have lost his bargaining chip.

On the contrary, if Lin Zexu had kept his troops in place, many things would have been much easier to discuss, and even Fuzhou could have been allowed to govern itself.

After leaving Fuzhou, Chen Gu, Zhang Zhe and two guards rode on horseback and soon arrived at Cai Qian's camp.

In order to mobilize a large number of troops from Fuzhou and purchase military equipment, Cai Qian personally led the main force to Fuqing County to take charge.

Chen Gu and Cai Qian had never met before, so Cai Xi, an acquaintance of his, greeted Chen Gu outside the camp.

(End of this chapter)