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

Chapter 142 The Emperor's Grace is Boundless, Jiang En is Honest and Upright

The atmosphere inside and outside Chongwen Gate was slightly tense.

The number of soldiers guarding the city wall was three times the usual amount, clearly indicating their unease.

"They're here, they're here!"

Several Manchu nobles simultaneously peeked out of the city and looked out into the darkness. In the distance, a silent and orderly army appeared, first light cavalry, then infantry.

Just one glance~
Ao Bai laughed: "Everyone, disperse and go back to sleep."

Most of the soldiers entering the city were unarmored.

The soldiers were unarmored, practically eunuchs, and their fighting ability was negligible. A single elite soldier from the elite cavalry battalion could easily wipe out these thousand-odd men.

Moreover, Jiang Qingyun had reported it in advance.

Everyone felt relieved and went home to take a nap with their concubines.

……

Brother Ao, what are you doing here?

"This is my routine inspection."

"What? You don't trust me?"

"The imperial court has regulations; you must understand them."

"I understand. Rules are rules, and personal relationships are personal relationships. I have military duties to attend to today, so I won't have tea with you, brother."

"Let's reschedule for another day."

"Wait a minute."

Jiang Qingyun suddenly called out to Ao Bai, dismounted, and walked over to him.

"There are more than a dozen unattended shops on Chongwenmen Inner Street. Should we split the profits 50/50?"

"Okay!"

"I'm leaving now, goodbye."

……

As the sun rises in the east, golden light bathes the earth, and humanity awakens.

In the inner city, the first people to leave were the servants, bondservants, and laborers of various mansions. They were very busy, emptying chamber pots, buying vegetables, cleaning, fetching water, and buying charcoal.

Similarly, the first group of people to enter the inner city from the south were also servants, peddlers, and shop assistants, all in order to make a living.

If it weren't for a few taels of silver, who would be willing to toil day and night, bowing and scraping, and running around everywhere?

"Issue this military order: all men in black are to be stationed around the Imperial City and the central government offices. You may intercept and question any suspicious passersby. Remember, anyone."

"As ordered."

300 men in black were the first to run away.

……

"The light cavalry patrol team is divided into 30 teams, each with 10 people. They patrol their respective areas according to the pre-arranged plan. The patrol must be as precise as a Western clock, covering all the streets and alleys within the area. Each team is further divided into two groups to take turns patrolling, ensuring sufficient manpower."

"As ordered."

"Heavy cavalry, stand by."

With this arrangement, the soldiers of the South City Garrison performed their duties and their morale was high.

It's bright.

Men in black were seen at the entrances and exits of the streets surrounding the Forbidden City and the central government offices. They worked in pairs, moving around infrequently, and were stationed at fixed points.

They would occasionally conduct spot checks on passing servants and minor officials.

All sedan chairs with green fur trim were allowed to pass; those riding in green sedan chairs were definitely good people. After all, they were a group of teenagers, and after all, they came from the Han Banner Army, so their thinking was somewhat limited.

From that day on, the inner city became a "restricted area".

……

The light cavalry patrol team would be dispatched every 2 minutes. Taking advantage of their light weight and fast horses, they would quickly patrol and inspect the area, making their presence felt and ensuring that nothing went wrong.

The rapid hoofbeats and the crisp sound of bells startled many of the flag bearers.

Many people opened the door, wondering who was making the noise.

A man from the Manchu Plain Red Banner muttered under his breath, "I really want to beat these bastards up. Running around like this so early in the morning."

The neighbor immediately tried to dissuade him: "Forget it, forget it. We can't afford to offend the Five Cities Garrison, and today is a special day."

What day is it today?

February 26th.

"Oh dear, I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Well, today is an inauspicious day for everything, my whole family will stay home."

"You are wise."

The two went back to their rooms, bolted the doors, and didn't want any trouble. The February 226th Incident a year earlier had left corpses strewn everywhere; who wouldn't be terrified?
……

When the sun was high in the sky, the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture finally arrived late to assist the military command in posting notices and writing announcements.

Most of the yamen runners were literate, and they quickly wrote down:

A major victory—the Ministry of Revenue's days are finally over!
The Ministry of Revenue's administrative process reform team apprehended more than 200 corrupt officials and brought them to justice.

On February 28th of this month, the Ministry of Revenue's Eight Banners Salary Office was officially established and began distributing banner salaries. The deadline for receiving salaries was 11 PM, and salaries were to be collected over three consecutive days; those who missed the deadline would not be allowed to continue.

The constable thought for a moment and then added, "The Emperor's grace is boundless."

The tactical suffix is ​​correct.

After thinking about it, I'll add one more thing—Jiang En is open and honest.

Parallelism, neat and tidy!
The constable took two steps back, examined the wall for a while, and then, satisfied, picked up the paste container and writing implements and went to the next location to continue painting.

……

Before time travel.

Mr. Wang, a middle school Chinese teacher, once publicly criticized Jiang Qingyun in class.

"To welcome the upcoming 21st century, our school called on students to learn from Lu Xun, write essays, express their feelings, inspire themselves, and serve their country through writing. Students enthusiastically signed up and wrote many excellent essays. Some learned from Lu Xun's indomitable spirit, some learned from his unyielding integrity, and some learned from his patriotism. But you, Jiang Qingyun, why is your essay so sarcastic and unpleasant?"

"Teacher, that's not being sarcastic, that's called irony, a very sophisticated way of expressing yourself."

The students burst into thunderous laughter.

"Jiang Qingyun, this is the essay you wrote—'Picking Up Zhaohua West'. Can't we be a little more positive?"

“Teacher, true warriors dare to face the bleak reality. I think there is a deep misunderstanding about Mr. Lu Xun.”

"Okay, Warriors, your future is over."

Another failing essay.

"No one understands Xun Ge'er better than me," Jiang Qingyun thought to himself. "There were no enemies in this world originally. But when there are more barricades and more patrol teams, enemies are created."

Xun Ge's artistic merit is too high.

……

Noon.

The Wucheng Military Command also erected barricades at the main intersections of the two white flag areas, leaving only enough space for a single carriage to pass through.

On the surface, this is a form of prevention.

In fact, this is a hint.

Essentially, this is a form of catalysis.

To prevent the Manchu people from forgetting the February 226 Incident, Jiang Qingyun deliberately planned this one-year anniversary armed patrol to deepen their memory and prevent them from forgetting.

After a day of commotion, the capital city was noticeably deserted.

In the area marked by the two white flags, everyone's face was ashen, and they remained silent.

In the Zhenglan Banner area, the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled gathered in small groups, seemingly discussing something.

……

The day has finally come to an end.

The next day, the sun rose as usual, and the patrols of the Five Cities Garrison continued as normal.

When the gate was opened and the light cavalry patrol team was seen again, many Manchus' first reaction was, "Are you ever going to stop?"

The answer is: It never ends.

Under Jiang Qingyun's management, the 226 patrol operation will soon become a regular occurrence.

Dongcheng was the residential area of ​​the Eight Banners.

When Qi Ding Shakebada heard the sudden stop of the sounds of horses' hooves and bells in the alley, his heart tightened, and he instinctively grabbed his sword.

dong dong dong~
There was a loud knocking on my door.

"Open the door, continuing education."

His voice trembled: "They're back again, those devils are back."

The wife in the house repeatedly tried to dissuade him: "Master, put down the knife. I'll go open the door first. Just bear with it a little longer. The year is almost up."

……

The jailer's ferocious face, the sound of gongs echoing in the dead of night.

Like a venomous snake devouring Shaqbad's heart, his stress response was intense. As he watched the soldiers burst into the courtyard, he suddenly put his sword to his neck.

"How dare you! Holding a sharp blade, what are you doing?"

"You devils, the Emperor will not let you go. You will be torn to pieces."

After he finished cursing, Shaqbadah died on the spot, his blood splattered everywhere, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

His wife, children, and elderly relatives surrounded the corpse, weeping bitterly.

……

In the courtyard, the patrolling soldiers exchanged glances, and two of them left the courtyard, rode away on horseback, and went to call for reinforcements.

First, shake the four adjacent security wards; they are close together, so reinforcements will arrive quickly.

Then, deploy heavy cavalry; they have a long range but high lethality.

(End of this chapter)