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

Chapter 120 Bloodshed in the Golden Palace
After the guards carried Liu Zhengzong away.

Inside the hall, only the lone fighter, Xie Sheng, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the sixteen righteous men waiting outside remained.

Shunzhi's tone was icy:
"Xie Sheng, is there anything else you want to say?"

Left Vice Censor-in-Chief Xie Sheng straightened up and took one last look around the Golden Palace.

The Northern Party suffered a crushing defeat, but they were determined to fight to the death, even if it meant risking their lives to make the enemy bleed.

Only in this way can the three kings who govern the country intervene to protect their families.

That's just how politics is, full of ups and downs.

In the future, one's own descendants may well be able to make a comeback.

……

Xie Sheng knelt down and solemnly kowtowed three times to Emperor Shunzhi before standing up.

"Jiang Qingyun cultivates his own faction, places his cronies in the government, and runs soup kitchens on his own to win over the people. Your Majesty, this man is a wolf in sheep's clothing and we must be wary of him."

Mandahai, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, disregarded everything else and stepped forward.

“This servant can testify that Minister of Personnel Feng Shuan and Jiang Qingyun colluded to issue official hats to as many as a hundred people indiscriminately. Their intentions are despicable.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ning Wan, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, stepped forward.

Pointing at Xie Sheng, he shouted sternly:

"The Ming Dynasty actually perished due to factional strife. Xie Sheng, you've started stirring up factional strife in my Great Qing Dynasty again."

“Ning Wanwo, you’re crying wolf. You’re protecting Jiang Qingyun, you’re his accomplice.”

"Xie Sheng, you have served in the Ming court as the Director of the Personnel Selection Department, the Director of the Personnel Selection Department, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. You are the most knowledgeable about factional struggles, the most adept at forming cliques, and the most skilled at fabricating charges."

The two of them talked back and forth.

Former partners are now bitter rivals, going all out.

……

Emperor Shunzhi's face was ashen, and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's face was solemn.

A thought suddenly popped into the minds of the mother and son: Oh no, even our Great Qing Dynasty has started to have factional strife. Right or wrong is no longer important; what's important is that this terrible trend must never be allowed to continue.

Jiang Qingyun pretended to be half-drunk and stood aside, watching the Left Censor-in-Chief and the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief engage in a verbal battle.

Ning Wanwo is a typical qualified boss: rational and shrewd, calculating gains and losses, but able to distinguish between inside and outside, and daring to speak up for his own people at critical moments.

Just now, Xie Sheng tried to take himself down with him.

Ning Wan immediately stepped forward and steered the conversation toward party infighting. His purpose was clear: first, to shield himself from criticism, and second, to seize the opportunity to defeat the Northern Party.

……

Wu Sangui glanced at Jiang Qingyun out of the corner of his eye and thought to himself, "This kid is really something. He's a master at forming cliques and using others' strength against them."

This kid has a huge power group behind him; what I've seen is just the tip of the iceberg. Although I don't know the strength of this group, it's definitely not affiliated with the Council of Princes and Ministers.

He secretly hoped that the city would transform into the Ming Dynasty early in the morning.

The phrase "The Prince of Pingxi could be like Zhao Tuo or Mu Ying" is truly captivating.

……

As Ning Wanwo and Xie Sheng's verbal sparring escalated, other ministers in the hall could no longer hold back, and one after another stepped forward to express their opinions.

Almost no one stood up for Xie Sheng.

Some people support Jiang Qingyun, but there are many who openly praise him while secretly criticizing him, harboring malicious intentions.

E.g,

Governor-General of Zhili, Zhang Cunren:
"Your Majesty, I request that the court send someone to thoroughly investigate the list of personnel promoted by the Ministry of Personnel over the past year, to trace the source and clear Censor Jiang's name."

Jiang Qingyun's expression remained unchanged, but he firmly remembered the name in his heart.

Zhang Cunren, who came from the Guangning Army, was a fierce and brave fighter. He followed Zu Dashou to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and marched south from Liaodong, rising to prominence through military achievements.

Now he is the Governor-General of Zhili, his own father's superior.

……

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was turning into a bustling marketplace.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang glanced at Emperor Shunzhi.

Shunzhi looked very unwell. He slowly stood up, ready to end the farce.

At that very moment~
The sixteen Northern Party members waiting outside the hall couldn't hold back any longer. With their lives hanging by a thread, they tried to enter the hall to join the New Year's Eve debate.

The guards reached out to stop them.

"No entry is permitted without the Emperor's decree."

Liang Qingbiao, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, realized that if he didn't deliver a few particularly alarming warnings, his side would truly be finished. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "The princes are colluding with the capital..."

Before he could finish speaking, the second-class guard, Suleda, made his move.

With a flick of his boot, he hooked Liang Qingbiao's balance, who had been focused on pushing him. Liang staggered forward a few steps, his face hitting the threshold.

The threshold of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is as solid as iron.

Liang Qingbiao broke his teeth in the fall, his mouth was full of blood, and when he tried to speak again, his words were slurred and unclear.

……

Bloodshed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is no small matter.

Regardless of the dynasty, it was considered an ominous sign.

“Those arrogant and unruly officials before the emperor, take them all down.”

With a roar from Suleda, the guards drew their swords in unison and roughly subdued everyone present, smashing them with sword hilts and kicking them hard.

Shunzhi's angry voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Your Majesty!"

Everyone inside and outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony knelt down in unison, except for the guards.

Silence fell.

The emperor's authority was so absolute and terrifying.

……

“Whenever I read the history books, I am heartbroken. Factional strife is a major scourge of dynasties and a key factor in the downfall of a country.”

"Today is a joyous day for family reunion and for carrying on the legacy. The emperor and his ministers are gathered in the palace, drinking and chatting happily. You have ruined my palace banquet, and you have also ruined your own futures."

"Someone come here!"

A group of guards entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Arrest them all.

Xie Sheng was stripped of his official robes, hat, and court beads, and dragged out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony by guards. His last glance was directed at the three princes who governed the state.

Mandahai shuddered.

Bolo tried to remain calm.

Nikan clenched his fist.

……

"Li Shuaitai, Minister of Justice".

"The minister is here."

"These people will be temporarily imprisoned in your Ministry of Justice's prison and kept under good guard until I send high-ranking officials to the Ministry of Justice to conduct a joint interrogation with you."

"The minister obeys the order."

The voice just fell.

A guard rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, Liu Zhengzong has died in the Imperial Hospital."

"understood."

Shunzhi didn't take it seriously at all.

"That's enough for today. Get out, all of you, get out of here."

If a general amnesty is granted, the officials in the Golden Palace will scatter like birds and beasts.

In less than 30 breaths, they were gone, leaving only a table full of bowls, chopsticks, cups, plates, leftover food, and a complete mess.

……

“Fulin, your handling of the situation was correct, but you shouldn’t have told them to get out at the end. You should have left them with some dignity.”

"Your Majesty, they've ruined this perfectly good palace banquet."

"Don't get angry, anger will harm your health. You need to learn to cultivate your character. An emperor must never be easily angered, otherwise, you will be driven to death by your subordinates sooner or later."

"I have one question: aren't these people afraid of being beheaded for their enthusiasm for factional strife?"

puff~
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled.

“Fulin, even the emperor cannot kill all his ministers. Without ministers, the emperor is no longer the emperor, and the court ceases to exist. Ultimately, your decrees must be carried out by your ministers.”

"What does Mother mean?"

"Fortune and power are found in danger; what the ministers are betting on is that you can't kill them."

(End of this chapter)