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

Chapter 174 A Great Comeback Against All Odds

Faced with the crowd's furious insults, Jiang Qingyun remained calm, as if he were deaf.

In the Jinluan Palace.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang turned her head and glanced at Emperor Shunzhi.

Emperor Shunzhi was pale and sweating profusely, but his spirits had indeed recovered somewhat.

As the saying goes, the higher the expectations and the higher the ambitions, the harder the fall will be, just like the case of Emperor Shunzhi.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang then turned her gaze to the area below the imperial steps, where she saw Ao Bai and Sony standing with their backs to her, facing the assembled officials, like two yellow banners forming a "twin star" formation.

……

suddenly~
To Xiaozhuang's surprise, Jiang Qingyun was still staring at her with a fixed gaze.

Logically speaking, such a gaze is presumptuous, but one has to admit that in this scene, this resolute look is somewhat reminiscent of Dorgon.

Logically speaking, it would be considered a breach of etiquette for a subject to stare at the Empress Dowager like that, but Jiang Qingyun seemed to have forgotten these rules of etiquette.

Logically speaking, Jiang Qingyun should have been exchanging glances with Shunzhi, given their relationship as ruler and subject.

Unfortunately, Emperor Shunzhi's eyes were vacant and he was unable to communicate.

Young man, sigh~ there's nothing I can do, so Jiang Qingyun could only communicate with Shunzhi's mother remotely, trying to express certain things that were inconvenient to say outright.

……

Empress Xiaozhuang was indeed Empress Xiaozhuang; in just a few dozen breaths of eye contact, she actually received the signal released by Jiang Qingyun.

She nodded slightly.
It was as if she were saying, "I understand."

Jiang Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your Majesty, I request that this be announced to the entire city: Hengzhou has suffered a crushing defeat, and the elite Eight Banners troops on their southern expedition are trapped there. With the nation in peril, all bannermen within the inner city must immediately return home to prepare for the next campaign. At the same time, I hereby order the closure of all eight gates of the inner city, leaving only the Xizhimen gate open. The capital is now in a state of war to prevent any unforeseen events."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang did not hesitate.

"Approved."

Emperor Shunzhi, standing to the side, mechanically nodded:

"Approved."

Wu Liangfu hurriedly ran out of the Taihe Hall to deliver the order.

At this point, Jiang Qingyun acted as if nothing had happened, standing idly by and even smiling. The delaying tactics of the elite cavalry, who began to weigh the pros and cons, ultimately led to a crushing defeat at the front lines.

The delay caused morale to plummet.

Purge the court of corrupt officials? Purge your ass!

……

Prince Zheng, Jirhalang; Prince Li, Mandahai; Prince Keqin, Luo Keduo; Prince Zhuang, Shuo Sai; and Prince An, Yue Le, gathered together to discuss the matter.

Should the killing of Chiang Kai-shek continue?

Can the coup attempt continue?
Faced with this sudden change, what should we do now?
They were surrounded by a group of people, like radishes having a meeting.

As Shunzhi watched this scene, the hatred in his heart was indescribable. His armor, soaked with sweat, was extremely uncomfortable, making him restless.

Suddenly, his eyes met Jiang Qingyun's.

Jiang Qingyun's gaze was resolute, loyal, optimistic, and confident, like a giant power bank, charging remotely and continuously injecting a trickle of current into Shunzhi's parched heart.

The relationship between ruler and subject is one of both teacher and friend.

Emperor Shunzhi's mindset gradually stabilized, and he began to regain his confidence as emperor. He sat up straight, took a deep breath, raised his face, and tried to accept the bad news of defeat.

……

Sony whispered:

"Lord Jiang, will something bad happen today?"

"Don't worry, it won't cost a penny."

"Really?"

"Lord Suo, believe me, I am a Buddhist, and Buddhists never speak falsehoods."

"I believe."

Jiang Qingyun possesses a unique personal charisma that always inspires others. In distinctive terms—it's confidence!
Yes, confidence!
The advantage is in my hands; victory is assured.

The longer it drags on, the better it is for me.

Since ancient times, the matter of forcing someone to abdicate cannot be delayed; it must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. The key is to strike with full force, then weaken and exhaust oneself.

If you delay even a little, you won't be able to act. Jiang Qingyun looked at the assembled ministers and thought to himself: a bunch of useless mediocre talents, passable in military affairs, but utterly useless in politics.

They wouldn't even force a resignation!
If I were to force someone to resign, the process would definitely be like this.

First, tell Shunzhi your demands, then place an hourglass in front of him and tell him that the countdown is now starting, and there is also such an hourglass in the military camp outside.

When the sand runs dry, that's when the Forbidden City will be bombarded.

……

Jirhalang, being an old man, finally realized what was happening.

He quickly pushed through the crowd and walked to the emperor's presence.

"I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to execute Jiang Qingyun immediately. I am willing to lead my army south to wipe out Li Dingguo."

Emperor Shunzhi remained expressionless.

"Without any evidence, you have arbitrarily executed a minister. Does Prince Zheng think I am a foolish ruler?"

"Your Majesty, killing Jiang Qingyun is a common demand of the Plain Red Banner, Bordered Red Banner, and Bordered Blue Banner. Please consider this carefully. Otherwise, if we harbor traitors, the bannermen will be dissatisfied, and the capital will be unstable."

"Prince Zheng!"

Jiang Qingyun suddenly shouted and strode up to him.

"Why don't you just say you're here today to force the emperor to abdicate? What's with all the fancy words? Where's your spirit as a Manchu warrior?"

"You~"

Jirhalang was so enraged that his face turned bright red. He, a prince and the current emperor's uncle, was being insulted to his face by a mere third-rank Han official. This was simply intolerable.

Am I wrong?

Jirhalang trembled all over. He wanted to shout, "Yes! I will force you to abdicate!" But he held back. He always felt that there were some things he could do but not say.

……

Jiang Qingyun glanced at him with utter contempt, then turned her head away.

"Your Majesty, I am sending someone out of the palace to inform the princes that military affairs are urgent and the princes need to stay in the palace to discuss the matter of sending troops to rescue Hunan. It may not be finished in a short time, so the princes will not return to their residences today. Please put your minds at ease, so that their families and the bannermen in their banners can rest assured."

Emperor Shunzhi and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang exchanged a glance.

"Accurate."

Ao Bai strode out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and ordered the guards to comply.

The five councilors turned ashen-faced; they were truly panicked.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony fell into an eerie silence. No one spoke or moved; everyone sat or stood like clay statues of bodhisattvas.

Waiting~
Waiting is the most agonizing thing.

Shunzhi was restless, sweating profusely. He couldn't help but have wild thoughts, and he was especially afraid that he would hear the roar of a mutiny outside at any moment.

Fortunately, Jiang Qingyun had a warm gaze and would occasionally encourage him with his eyes.

Imperial Tutor!

……

15 minutes~
25 minutes~
Four-quarters of an hour has passed~
The days dragged on endlessly, and Shunzhi even doubted that he was already 40 years old.

The five regents grew increasingly grim, a sense of dread creeping in. With each passing quarter of an hour, the probability of their "purging the court of corrupt officials" plan failing increased by ten percent.

Prince Li, Mandahai, kept questioning himself: Did he really intend to storm the palace by force from the very beginning?

The answer is: It seems not.

Their tragedy lies in the fact that they do not wish to perish together, yet they clamor for it.

at last.

Military Commander Yabulan entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Your Majesty, all units of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion have been ordered to disband."

Call ~
Emperor Shunzhi breathed a long sigh of relief, and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang also closed her eyes with a sense of relief.

"Issue an imperial decree to summon Prince Shuncheng to the palace to discuss military matters."

"Whoo."

Two quarters of an hour later.

Prince Shuncheng, Lekedehun, appeared at the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, surrounded by four guards, his expression forlorn and sorrowful.

(End of this chapter)