Qing Yao

Chapter 271 We Manchus will not allow it!
Zhao An, who was awaiting trial, could hear the commotion outside, but at first he didn't know what was going on. When the furious Eighty-Six pushed open the door and saw several red-faced Green Standard Army soldiers following behind, he immediately understood what was happening.

It was simply that the Japanese commander wanted to come and see her, but the puppet soldiers guarding the gate wouldn't let her. As a result, the Japanese commander got angry and slapped each of them hard across the face. The puppet soldiers didn't dare to fight back and could only stand there and say "hello, hello."

This scene isn't surprising, given how many movies and TV shows I've seen in my past life.

Upon seeing Zhao An, Ba Shiliu said with grief and indignation, "Lord Zhao, I heard that the treacherous Zhu Gui wronged you, not only stripped you of your official hat, but also had you imprisoned and prevented anyone from seeing you. I, Ba Shiliu, couldn't stand it, so I came to see you!"

After saying that, he angrily cursed at the Green Standard Army soldiers following behind him: "Tell that Zhu fellow that the Great Qing belongs to us Manchus! A Han official named Zhu doesn't have the final say. Only we Manchus have the final say! Lord Zhao is the best official in our Great Qing. If that Zhu fellow dares to harm loyal and good people, we Manchus will be the first to object!"

After drinking, he told a few Green Standard Army soldiers to get out of the way so as not to interrupt his conversation with Lord Zhao.

"."

The few Green Standard Army soldiers looked at each other, and, intimidated by the 86-year-old Manchurian colonel's status, could only retreat in dejection.

It's pointless to fight back; we can't afford to offend them.

Zhao An found it amusing and said, "Eighty-six, I've heard that Zhu Gui is Prince Jia's teacher. If you speak of Zhu Gui like that, and Prince Jia becomes emperor in the future, Zhu Gui will be the imperial tutor. At that time, you, Eighty-six, will probably not have a good time."

"what?"

Eighty-six was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and said, “Don’t worry, Prince Jia can’t become the emperor, and that Zhu fellow will never become the Imperial Tutor in his lifetime.”

"Oh?"

Zhao An was curious about why Ba Liu was so certain.

Eighty-six was also puzzled: "Does Lord Zhao not know that the Emperor has issued an edict appointing Prince Cheng as the Grand Commander of the Eight Banners of Manchuria?"

"Is there still this?"

Zhao An was stunned. He really didn't know about this because he had been too busy lately to read the Qing Daily.

The position of "General-in-Chief of the Eight Banners" can also be described as that of the Crown Prince who oversees the country; otherwise, it would be impossible for a prince to command eight banners' administrative offices.

The Manchu Eight Banners were the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

The fact that the old master entrusted such an important position to Prince Yongxing sends a signal that everyone should bet on Yongxing.

However, the crown prince was clearly Jiaqing, yet the old master kept bestowing halos upon those who failed to be chosen. What kind of nonsense was this?

A balance of power, or a game of power?
Regardless of which one it is, it fully demonstrates that the old man was too cunning.

On the surface, it seems like they're making fun of Prince Yongxing, but in reality, they're making fun of everyone, including Heshen and Fu Chang'an.

Perhaps it also meant to be wary of Emperor Jiaqing.

Giving power to the other son who was not chosen would prevent the new emperor from usurping power after the abdication.

If your son is disobedient, I have another backup son.

The fact that the old master refused to hand over the dragon head staff (jade seal) on the day of the abdication ceremony shows that he was not a senile old man with the mentality of a child, but rather someone who clung to power even in his old age.

In the end, Liu Luoguo tricked Jiaqing into giving him the dragon-headed staff; otherwise, the new emperor Jiaqing wouldn't even have a symbol of his status.

Thus, it seems particularly reasonable to suppress heirs on one hand and support non-heirs on the other.

Even the 86th Prince, who was far away in Jiangning, was certain that the Crown Prince was not Prince Jia, which shows how clever the old master was in playing this move.

They really fooled the whole world. "Lord Zhao, it's inconvenient for you to be locked up. If you have anything to say, I'll pass it on to you."

This was the real purpose of Ba Liu's arrival; he, as a Manchu captain, dared to do what Han officials dared not do.

There was nothing that could be done. Just as things were starting to get going with the school cafeteria, Lord Zhao was impeached and is awaiting trial. If he were to be dismissed, the cafeteria's business would be ruined.

He and his wife had done a lot of work behind the scenes for the cafeteria, so it couldn't just fall apart like that.

Unexpectedly, Zhao An shook his head and said, "Eighty-six, I appreciate your kindness, but rules are rules. Since the rules require me to be dismissed and await investigation, and not to contact anyone or leak information to the outside world, then I will abide by the rules to avoid outsiders saying that I do not understand the rules and impeaching me again."

Eighty-six grew anxious: "Lord Zhao, this time Zhu Gui, who is in charge of the ginseng-picking, is the Governor of Anhui! You should abide by the rules when you should, but you absolutely cannot do so now. If you do, you'll be playing right into that Zhu guy's hands!"

After a pause and a moment's hesitation, he asked in a low voice, "Lord Zhao, I heard from people in the General's Mansion that the man surnamed Zhu accused you of knowingly distributing grain under the pretext of disaster relief, even though the treasury was in deficit, with the aim of clearing the treasury and balancing the accounts. Is this really true?"

"What do you say?"

Zhao An glanced at Eighty-Six, who looked genuinely concerned about the matter, and chuckled, "If you, Eighty-Six, also doubt me, wouldn't it be perfectly normal for Lord Zhu to impeach me?"

"This"

Eighty-six realized he might have said something wrong and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Lord Zhao, that's not what I meant. I was just saying that if this matter isn't handled properly, it could cause a lot of trouble. You need to come up with a plan as soon as possible to avoid being too passive."

The implication was that if Lord Zhao was indeed knowingly committing a crime, then he should quickly make arrangements to inform others, and leave the task of tipping them off to Eighty-Six.

As for the money needed for bribery, you, Lord Zhao, must find a way to raise it as soon as possible.

As long as you manage your relationships with the court properly, given your influence with the Emperor, Zhu Gui might not be able to bring you down.

He also said that he had sent someone across the river to inform his brother-in-law, Manager Shi, about the matter.

Zhao An nodded. The fact that Ba Liu thought of sending a letter to Manager Shi, the "representative" of the Imperial Household Department, showed that he genuinely cared about him and had good intentions.

Once Manager Shi learns of this, he will surely send someone to the capital to lobby.

Seeing that Zhao An was not giving him a clear answer and was not letting him do anything, Ba Liu was still very anxious and couldn't help but ask, "Lord Zhao, could you give me a break about this matter? Is there any trouble?"

Seeing the concern in Bashiliu's eyes, Zhao An thought for a moment and said calmly, "Since you asked, Bashiliu, I'll give you the answer. Don't worry, the sky won't fall."

He appeared completely nonchalant.

"That's good, that's good!"

Eighty-six breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhao An had seemed even more nervous than him, it would have meant he had probably committed a crime. Now it seemed that the Anhui governor's charges of confiscating ginseng were completely fabricated and a pure injustice to a loyal official.

"I am grateful that you came to see me, but you'd better not get involved in this matter. After all, Zhu Gui is the governor, and he has many eyes and ears around here."

Zhao An stopped at the door after seeing Eighty-Six off, because he was required to stay in the office except for meals and using the restroom.

"Alright, Lord Zhao, please take care!"

Eighty-six clasped his hands in a fist salute and turned to leave, but was stunned by what he saw outside the door.

At some point, countless people began kneeling outside the grain transport office.

No one cried, no one made a fuss; there was only silent support for Doufu Qingtian.

(End of this chapter)