You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 107 The Second Anti-Chiang Kai-shek Alliance

Prince Li's Mansion.

Prince Li, Mandahai, Prince Jingjin, Nikan, and Prince Duanzhong, Bolo, reunited once again.

As Manchu nobles who took control of the government and oversaw the Six Ministries after Dorgon's downfall, these three held more than half of the power in the Council of Princes and Ministers.

Apart from the veteran Prince Zheng, Jirhalang, no one else could keep him in check.

Nikan muttered to himself:

"That son of a bitch Jiang Qingyun is causing trouble again."

"What?"

“He distributed porridge to the poor outside the city on the condition that each person who drank the porridge must pray to God to bless him with a son.”

puff~
Bolo sprayed the wine he had just drunk all over Nikan's face.

……

"Is that guy surnamed Jiang missing a screw in his head?" Bolo said awkwardly with a smirk.

"Hard to say."

Nikan muttered to himself as he wiped his face.

“He is currently enjoying great favor with the emperor, so this little thing won’t bring him down. At most, it’s absurd, or even not absurd at all,” Mandahai said calmly.

"Prince Li, what do you suggest we do?"

"What do you think? Let a few former Ming dynasty civil officials step forward and fight against Jiang Qingyun."

Nikan rolled his eyes: "I don't like these flowery, literary battles; they're not very effective."

Bolo shook his head: "I think it's fine. Civil officials can kill without a knife. Now that we've entered the pass and the court has been established, many things are indeed different from before. We need to learn to adapt."

……

The next day.

Prince Li's Mansion.

The three kings met again.

The butler rushed in to report.

"Greetings, Your Highnesses. Wei Xiangshu, Junior Compiler of the Hongwen Academy, and Liu Zhengzong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, have arrived."

"please come in."

"Whoo."

Mandahai stared at the other two kings: "Since we're going to use them, we should be polite to them. Especially you, Nikan, don't start cursing all the time."

"Row."

A short while later, Wei Xiangshu and Liu Zhengzong entered and knelt down as soon as they entered.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Prince Li, Prince Jingjin, and Prince Duanzhong."

Mandahai stood up and, imitating the book's description of treating scholars with respect, quickly stepped forward to help the two up.

"No need, no need. Please sit down. We'll add two more sets of bowls and chopsticks, and a few more hot dishes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After a round of drinks, Mandahai couldn't wait to speak.

"I have invited you two to my residence today because there is a thorny matter that I would like to hear your opinions on."

The white-haired Liu Zhengzong quickly cupped his hands and said, "With Your Highness here, I will speak frankly and without reservation."

Wei Xiangshu, who was just over thirty, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

……

"I would like to ask you two, what is your opinion of Jiang Qingyun, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate?"

Liu Zhengzong and Wei Xiangshu exchanged a glance.

Liu Zhengzong was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the first year of the Chongzhen reign. He was a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty and is now the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. From any perspective, he should be the one to speak first.

He put down his chopsticks.

“Your Highness, I dislike this Imperial Censor Jiang. He is arrogant, ruthless, and a complete jester and cruel official.”

Wei Xiangshu pondered for a moment.

"I agree with the Vice Minister's assessment. This man is a cruel official with bizarre methods. He is so arrogant that he even ordered the city patrol soldiers and the prince's army to fight each other in the streets."

Upon hearing this, Mandahai, Bolo, and Nikan were all stunned.

"when did it happen?"

“A few days ago, there was a joke circulating that Imperial Censor Jiang fought a major battle against Wu Yingxiong, the heir of the Prince of Pingxi, over a woman.”

"The results of it?"

"Imperial Censor Jiang won, beating Wu Yingxiong until his face was bruised and swollen."

Mandahai's eyes widened: "How could I not know about such a shocking event? Why did Prince Pingxi remain silent?" Nikan and Bolo nodded in agreement.

Wei Xiangshu sighed: "Jiang Qingyun does whatever he wants in the South City, and no one dares to interfere. People call him Jiang the Tyrant of the South City."

Liu Zhengzong had just heard about this, and while he was shocked, he suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity.

"I have also heard that the Shuntian Prefecture dares not interfere with the affairs of the Five Cities Military Command, and the Censorate is unwilling to interfere."

Mandahai sneered: "Sony, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, has been recuperating from illness for many years. He's completely shirking his responsibility."

Bolo put it even more bluntly:
“Ning Wanwo, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, deliberately protected Jiang Qingyun. They were not only superior and subordinate, but also old friends from Liaodong. It was expected that he would cover for him.”

……

Mandahai pondered for a moment: "Lord Wei, please explain in detail."

"Whoo."

Wei Xiangshu recounted the story in detail.

He had a distant relative who worked in the Shuntian Prefecture and happened to be at the scene that day. All the information he had came from this relative.

Jealousy and rivalry!

Street shootout!

The flag bearers lend their support!

The Crown Prince got beaten!

After listening, even the most hot-tempered Nikan couldn't help but sigh:
"I truly admire this lad's courage. If he weren't a civil official, I would have genuinely wanted to promote him to captain of the personal guard. On the battlefield, that's exactly the kind of recklessness we need!"

No one paid attention.

Everyone knows that Nikan has no command ability; every time he goes to war, he personally leads several hundred elite veterans into battle.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhengzong provided another crucial piece of information.

“My superior, Feng Shuan, the Minister of Personnel, is also an accomplice of Jiang Qingyun. When Jiang Qingyun wants to promote someone, he doesn’t even ask questions, he just approves the application directly.”

"how many people?"

"At least a hundred people were promoted."

The three kings were speechless with shock, looking at each other in disbelief.

Mandahai stared at Wei Xiangshu and Liu Zhengzong: "You two loyal and virtuous men, are you willing to stand up for the sake of the Qing Dynasty and impeach this traitor?"

"This humble official is willing."

"This humble official is also willing."

"Alright, after it's done. Vice Minister Liu, you've been in the Ministry of Personnel for a long time and are very skilled in your work, so you can serve as the Minister of Personnel. Lord Wei is a probationary official and often attends to the Emperor, so it's only natural that he should serve as a Reader-in-Waiting."

"Thank you for your kind offer, Your Highness."

The two of them bowed in unison.

That's how factional strife works. You oust your opponent, climb up yourself, and then pull your own people up.

……

Mandahai was a meticulous person, and he didn't even forget to remind everyone present.

"Everyone, please keep this a secret!"

"After we get back, I'll trouble you two to use your connections to gather as much intelligence as possible. Then we'll launch a surprise attack and catch them off guard."

"Cheers to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek!"

He raised his glass.

"Come on! Jiang!" Everyone quickly raised their glasses.

The first anti-Chiang alliance failed, and Grand Secretary Chen Mingxia committed suicide, and his entire family was raided.

This is the second anti-Chiang Kai-shek alliance.

They've become more secretive and cautious.

……

"Prince Li, is it useful to win over these Han officials?"

“Useful! Very useful! Nikan can conquer the world on horseback, but he cannot govern it on horseback. When it comes to court intrigue, we are no match for these Han people.”

Nikan scoffed and dismissed it with disdain.

Boro nodded:
"The imperial court is like a battlefield. You can't always lead the charge yourself. You have to drive others. If you fall, you won't feel bad."

Mandahai still feels lingering fear whenever this is mentioned.

"At the last morning court session, I personally impeached Jiang Qingyun for slapping Ajige, which was an act of insubordination. As a result, he made me look bad with just one sentence and even incurred the Emperor's wrath."

"From that day on, I learned what it means to kill without a knife, just with a mouth."

(End of this chapter)