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

Chapter 13 The Relationship Between Officialdom and the Martial World
"Brother Qingyun, how should we deal with the Axe Gang when we besiege Nancheng?"

Zhou Cang, whose arm was wrapped in gauze, quietly approached.

Jiang Qingyun subtly pulled him to a quiet spot.

How much do you know?

"The Axe Gang's stronghold was in the Yaowang Temple area. Its members were mainly laborers and canal workers, numbering about three to five hundred."

"so much?"

"According to intelligence, the Axe Gang is different from other gangs. They usually stay in their own little territory and don't cause trouble. Their gang rules are very strict. But if anyone dares to mess with the dockworkers, they will raid their stronghold and wipe them out. So, all the gangs in the underworld are a little afraid of them. Most of their members are at the Tongzhou dock, and a small number are in the southern part of the city. Yan Mou is the gang leader, and he is especially good at fighting."

Jiang Qingyun was not pedantic; he knew that politics without human touch could not go far.

"Go quietly by yourself; consider it repaying a favor."

"Yes~"

……

He walked through the front hall and into the kitchen.

Seeing Song Er busy in the kitchen, with three large pots lined up and cooking at the same time.

"Sir, this pot has mutton, this pot has white rice, and this pot has pork and cabbage. Smell it, hey, it smells so good!"

Song Er offered to serve himself a bowl of mutton.

Jiang Qingyun took it, ate a few bites, and praised, "Excellent cooking skills! You could open a restaurant."

"Not nearly there, not nearly there. That's all the ambition I have."

Looking at the thin, simple-minded Song Er in front of him, Jiang Qingyun finally understood the guy's way of surviving. He was harmless, and with his father dead in battle, generally no one wanted to bother with him.

Not only that, Song Er also went around spreading the word that "the magistrate borrowed money from the bank to pay everyone's salaries. Is there another such good boss in the Qing Dynasty?"

In short, the small group of the Southern City Military Command has taken initial shape.

……

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Qingyun rented a courtyard house next to the backyard of Bingmasi to house the two women and a cat.

The Imperial Observatory was completely wiped out, and the calico cat naturally became a criminal as well. Jiang Qingyun sentenced it to "exile for five miles and enslave to the Southern City Military Command".

Then, that was it.

Cats are intelligent creatures. Whenever Jiang Qingyun sat down, it would automatically jump onto his lap and act cute, trying its best to atone for its sins.

The two women are Green Pearl and Late Spring. They dress in green and red respectively, each with their own unique charm.

After being sold into the Jiang family, Green Pearl ate well three meals a day and grew tall and plump. In addition, she was trained by Madam Wen from a young age and was particularly protective of her mistress.

Wan Chun was originally an actress. She was petite and exquisite, and every gesture she made was full of cunning. She was especially good at flattering the emperor.

……

Green Pearl: "Young Master, you've had a long day. You have important matters to attend to tomorrow. Please rest in your room tonight."

Late Spring: "Sister Green Pearl is right. This servant would like to give Master a good massage so that he can rest well after relieving his fatigue."

Jiang Qingyun carefully closed the cat's ears to prevent it from hearing the woman's seductive words, maintaining its image as a pure and innocent cat.

In the end, Green Pearl won.

Jiang Qingyun could tell the difference between the two women's qualities very well.

Green Pearl was devoted to him wholeheartedly, and her love for him was no less than that for her mother.

I rested alone all night.

He calmly pondered for a while.
If we compare an empire to a coin, one side represents the officialdom, and the other side represents the underworld.

The existence of the underworld fills some of the gaps in governance. However, when it develops to a certain extent, it will inevitably veer into darkness.

Last night's ordeal conveniently provided me with a legitimate opportunity to wipe out the entire underworld of Nancheng.

There are many obstacles to rebuilding order in the southern city: the Qing court above, colleagues in the middle, and the underworld below. Let's get rid of one of them first.

……

The next morning, Jiang Qingyun felt full of energy after getting up. Breakfast consisted of a bowl of mutton, a bowl of rice, a plate of sweet and oily pastries, and a plate of vegetables.

After the meal, Green Pearl put on her nails with practiced skill and meticulousness.

"Young Master, please don't charge in yourself. Let your men do it. You should give your men more opportunities to earn rewards."

Jiang Qingyun put on his helmet and whispered in Lüzhu's ear, "When I return to the yamen victorious, you'll have to serve me well."

"Hey~"

Green Pearl's cheeks flushed with a rosy glow. The blush of a young woman is the most beautiful sight in the world.

……

When the sun was high in the sky, the alleys near Bingmasi were already crowded with bodyguards from various families.

Five security escort agencies were located inside the southern city, and three were located outside the city, totaling eight agencies. More than 900 guards and apprentices, armed with weapons, came to report for duty.

Jiang Qingyun didn't hesitate and immediately announced:

"I am here by imperial decree to use force to wipe out the bandits in the southern city. Listen carefully: each group of two mounted officers will lead 20 bodyguards as a squad. All bodyguards must obey the orders of the officers in charge and will be equipped with a gong. If the enemy resists, they should sound the gong as a warning."

"Today, there is no need to worry about the consequences. Those who show bravery will be rewarded, and those who disobey orders will be investigated afterward."

“All the bodyguards wore a red silk scarf around their necks for easy identification, and they lined up to receive it.”

……

The chaos lasted for almost half an hour.

At Jiang Qingyun's command, 30 teams set out along a pre-arranged route, moving from south to north to arrest people based on intelligence.

In the second alley of Bianzi Lane, Shi Erliu, who started his business by collecting latrines and became the latrine tyrant of southern Beijing and even the entire capital, was cursing.

The opera troupe he hired for 4 taels of silver was so overwhelmed by the smell that they kept gagging and their singing was broken and intermittent.

This yard stinks.

When exposed to sunlight, the stench becomes even more unbearable.

"You damn stinking opera singer, trampled on by a thousand and slept with by ten thousand, and you still complain that I'm not clean enough? I'll beat you up!"

Before the words were even finished...
The guy ran in.

"Sir, something terrible has happened! The soldiers have come to the door."

……

Shi Erliu remained completely calm.

With over three hundred men under his command, hundreds of manure carts, and dozens of manure boats, he was the only big boss in charge of the filth of Beijing.

At the entrance of the courtyard~
"Gentlemen, it's not clean inside. What can we do outside? Come on, serve tea to you. Remember, wash your hands first before brewing the tea."

Zhao Zesheng, who was leading the team, had a cold face and knocked Shi Erliu down with a single blow from his scabbard.

roared:

"Catch someone."

"Copy the house!"

Each group consists of two constables, one responsible for arresting people and the other for supervising the confiscation of property. Don't underestimate these underworld bosses; they all have considerable wealth, ranging from a hundred or so taels to over a thousand taels.

……

Outside Xuanwu Gate lies the stronghold of the Seven Wonders Gang.

After kicking open the courtyard gate, Zhou Cang was the first to rush into the courtyard, hacking at anyone he saw, even feeling great satisfaction as his wounds reopened.

"Kill them!"

Twenty bodyguards followed, hacking and slashing at the bandits with clubs and knives.

Zhou Cang easily found the one-eared thief, had him beaten dozens of times, then stepped on his hand and asked, "Do you still recognize me?"

Half-Ear knew his days were numbered, yet he remained resolute.

"Fine, I admit defeat. Do with me as you please."

Zhou Cang sneered, first severing his hand, then cutting off his head.

……

Not every action team made smooth progress. Some got lost, some encountered armed resistance, some arrested the wrong people, and some embarrassingly missed their targets.

But it doesn't matter, after this battle, Nancheng will be a forbidden zone for the martial arts world.

Jiang Qingyun, accompanied by a group of bodyguards, lingered at the intersection of an alley, preparing to wait for their prey to be caught.

The sound of gongs echoed throughout the vicinity.

Sure enough, a short while later, a group of men carrying butcher knives came running down the roof tiles. Walking through alleys meant getting blocked from both ends, but walking on the roof meant you had a path on all four sides.

Jiang Qingyun raised his riding whip:
"Someone with good archery skills, go up to the roof and snipe; one tael of silver will be awarded for each thief shot down."

"I come!"

A handsome young man from the Xikou Escort Agency volunteered; he seemed to be the one who had been practicing archery in the corner that day.

(End of this chapter)