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

Chapter 163 is very close to the truth!

Inside the room, the Western clock suddenly struck the hour.

Dang~dang~dang~
Jiang Qingyun pointed to the clock:

"The military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed for even a moment. Therefore, I will give you a maximum of 200 breaths. After that, I will go to the palace to discuss important military matters. Now, the moment to test your loyalty has arrived. In the name of the Qing Dynasty, you shall have sexual relations with me."

Dong E: "..."

rare!

This is incredibly rare. How can a human being combine "shamelessness" and "seriousness" so seamlessly at the same time?
180 breaths later~
Jiang Qingyun walked out of the warm house, feeling refreshed, and headed towards his warhorse.

Jiang Bei quickly reached out to help, preventing the adult from being too weak to climb onto the saddle in one go. For a young man, it was a disaster.

……

Qianqing Palace.

Manchu nobles, Mongol princes, high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries, and Grand Secretaries of the Inner Three Courts gathered together.

Meeting!
Shunzhi's face was terribly dark, and Jiang Qingyun suspected that it might be related to his frequent inspections of the song and dance troupe recently.

Prince Lekedehun of Shuncheng:

“This servant finds it strange. The armies under the command of the Prince of Dingnan and the Prince of Zhennan are all experienced and battle-hardened soldiers. Adding the Green Standard Army, there are at least 4 men. These 4 men are well-armed, well-paid, and have a fortified city as their defense. How could they be swallowed up by the Ming army? It doesn’t make sense.”

Everyone nodded.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang spoke:

"Prince Shuncheng, what is your assessment?"

"Your Majesty, this servant suspects there must be a major mistake here, or even that someone is deliberately sabotaging us. We will know once the detailed battle report is submitted."

Fan Wencheng couldn't help but glance at Jiang Qingyun. For some reason, whenever something happened in the imperial court, he felt that it was related to Jiang Qingyun.

……

"A urgent report from General Dingyuan, delivered by express mail over 600 li."

A senior official from the Ministry of War rushed into the hall.

Wu Liangfu quickly took it, opened it, and delivered it to the emperor.

When Shunzhi saw it, his face darkened even more, and he casually handed it to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

"The Prince of Dingnan was killed in battle, and Bolo was too cowardly to advance. Your servant Nikan requests that the entire southern expeditionary force be taken into command to suppress the Ming army and recapture Hunan and Guangxi."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang felt a pang of regret.

The reason Nikan was chosen as commander was because he was considered to have a violent personality and posed the least threat to imperial power.

Based on his military command abilities, Lekedehun had served as the General Who Pacifies the South, independently commanding large armies to fight across several provinces. He was the most qualified to serve as commander-in-chief among the council of princes and ministers.

It's really human beings who count as gods.

After reading Nikan's memorial, everyone looked at each other, caught in a dilemma.

Some people support Nikan, while others do not. In short, everyone has their own reasons and their own stance.

Jiang Qingyun barely uttered a word from beginning to end.

At such a critical moment, the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make. If you speak recklessly, you will be held accountable after the defeat. The Qing court was very strict in its accountability, regardless of whether you were Manchu or Han, or whether you were related to someone or not.

Since he was a civil official, not speaking up wouldn't be considered a crime.

However, he noticed that someone was secretly watching him.

He turned his head and his eyes met Fan Wencheng's.

Jiang Qingyun thought to himself, "Old Fan, you're still not being honest. I'll have to find a chance to teach you a lesson."

……

2 days later.

Kong Sizhen and her husband returned to Beijing in haste and were immediately brought into the Forbidden City, where Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Emperor Shunzhi personally inquired about the course of the war and its secrets.

Kong Sizhen was dressed in mourning clothes, looking pitiful, weak, and helpless.

Sun Yanling, being a military general, spoke eloquently before the emperor, recounting in detail the course of the war he had experienced.

"Your Majesty and Empress Dowager, it is not that the Tianyou Army is incompetent, but that the Ming army has too many troops and moves too fast. They defeated our brothers scattered in various places one by one in one go, and finally besieged Guilin City."

How many Ming soldiers were there?

"Your Majesty, I estimate the number exceeds 20. The Ming army has brought out its most formidable forces." Emperor Shunzhi and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang exchanged a glance; the figures reported by Sun Yanling and Nikan were not significantly different.

"All out?"

Emperor Shunzhi blurted out: "In this light, the military strength in Yunnan and Guizhou is depleted. Send the Ministry of War to urge Wu Sangui to send troops with an urgent message. His time to make a name for himself has come."

……

With tears welling up in her eyes, Kong Sizhen said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, my father said before he died that there might be spies in the court."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

"Girl, don't cry, tell me slowly."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang hurriedly walked over and handed over a handkerchief, and also held Kong Sizhen's small hand, showing both heartache and care, while also observing the truth.

"My father's dying words were that the battle was fought suspiciously, and he suspected that someone was secretly instigating it."

Sun Yanling knelt down with a thud:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's as if the Ming army knew our troop deployment in advance. They divided, surrounded, and annihilated us in one fell swoop. The prince died a heroic death."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stood up and slowly exhaled.

"This matter is of great importance, so we will not make it public for now."

"By imperial decree, Kong Sizhen is hereby granted the title of Princess Heshuo, and is bestowed with a mansion, gold and silver, servants, and estates."

Shunzhi:

"Issue an imperial decree to elevate Sun Yanling to the Bordered Yellow Banner Han Army. He is posthumously granted the titles of Prince Dingnan and Prince Zhennan, for they died heroically for the Qing Dynasty. Instruct the Ministry of Rites to bestow upon them the highest honors. Order the Guangdong and Guangxi regions to search for his heirs to inherit the title."

Wu Liangfu lowered his head and quickly took notes; as a senior official in the Directorate of Ceremonial, this was his duty.

However, the current Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is not comparable to the one in the Ming Dynasty; their status is worlds apart.

Kong Sizhen was temporarily kept in the palace. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang bestowed upon her brocade in the morning and bird's nest in the evening, which was also to show the world that the court would never mistreat the descendants of meritorious officials.

The saying "when people leave, the tea cools" is acceptable occasionally, but not too often.

Politics devoid of human compassion cannot go far.

……

Only one day later.

The military report from Prince Pingnan, Shang Kexi, was also delivered to the Ministry of War.

In addition to apologizing for abandoning Wuzhou City without authorization, he also attached a letter from Prince Dingnan, Kong Youde, requesting assistance. In it, there was a sentence: "Li Dingguo may already know about our army's deployment. Brother, you should quickly gather troops and plan to rescue Guilin again. At that time, with our cooperation from both inside and outside, Guilin can be saved."

Prince Zhuang, Shuo Sai, who was concurrently in charge of the Ministry of War, learned of the situation immediately.

Now, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Emperor Shunzhi could no longer keep the death a secret; the truth could not be hidden forever.

The speed at which messages spread is exponential.

On the first day, all the ministers and officials of the six ministries and nine departments knew about it.

The next day, the officials all knew.

On the third day, all the flag bearers on duty knew.

By the fourth day, even the dogs in the capital knew about it.

The speed at which the news spread was astonishing.

Jiang Qingyun was slightly surprised when she found out at noon on the first day, but then she understood.

Kong Youde fought his way from Liaodong to Guangxi, possessing the basic qualities of a qualified military commander, so it's understandable that he sensed something was amiss.

"Young master, the heir of the Prince of Pingxi has arrived."

"please come in."

……

The two of them went to a pavilion in the courtyard with smiles on their faces to drink tea and chat.

"Brother Qingyun, have you heard?"

"Yes, everything is going smoothly, just as we expected."

"I'm a little worried that the leak might be discovered, since there aren't many people in the court who know about the deployment of troops at the front."

"You're worrying unnecessarily."

(End of this chapter)