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

Chapter 178 The road is getting narrower and narrower, and the choices are getting fewer and fewer~
Cining Palace Garden.

Empress Xiaozhuang suddenly became interested.

"Bring me your bow and arrows and target; I wish to test your archery skills."

"Your Majesty, I am not skilled enough and I am afraid of making a fool of myself."

As they were talking, the eunuchs carried in a wooden table and placed several bows and various arrows on it.

"It's alright. Missing the target won't be punished. If you hit the bullseye, I will bestow upon you the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady. If you miss the bullseye but hit the target, I will bestow upon you the title of Fifth-Rank Lady."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang spoke calmly, but everyone knew that a ruler's words are not to be taken lightly, nor are those of an empress dowager.

"I obey your command."

Jiangnan chose a bow with a relatively soft draw weight, picked up a fine plume-carved arrow from the table, held his breath and concentrated. After the arrow was nocked on the bowstring, his next move was as fast as lightning. He didn't even aim; he pulled back and released the arrow immediately.

……

The eunuchs carried the target over, marveling at it.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled and said, "By my imperial decree, the wife of Jiang Qingyun, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, is hereby granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady and is to be awarded three hairpins presented as tribute from Hangzhou."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

The conferment of an imperial title upon a woman was a very serious matter, its significance no less than that of a man passing the imperial examination.

She received an imperial decree, a salary, and imperial clothing, but lacked concrete power. However, her honor and status were undeniable; even ordinary county officials had to pay homage to her.

First and second rank noblewomen were even qualified to attend banquets held by the Empress in the inner palace.

Jiangnan put down his bow and arrow, beaming with joy, his happiness written all over his face.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang saw this and understood the situation.

"Congratulations, sister!" Kong Sizhen quietly joined in the fun.

"No, no, thank you, Princess."

"Let's go back and have some tea."

Although it's not called afternoon tea, the format is similar: a group of ladies gather around to drink tea, eat snacks, and chat about gossip.

Throughout the entire process, Xiaozhuang mainly acted as a listener, occasionally asking a few seemingly simple but actually profound questions, and trying to glean insights into Jiang Qingyun's true inner thoughts through Jiang Nan's answers.

Jiangnan answered fluently and obediently, following the personal circumstances her husband had described beforehand.

As the saying goes, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang knew that Jiang Qingyun was a little fox, while Jiang Qingyun knew that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was an old fox. They were silently scheming against each other, and their battle was fierce and difficult to resolve.

……

evening.

When Emperor Shunzhi visited Cining Palace to pay his respects, he was also seeking advice on how to proceed.

"Mother, do we really want to negotiate peace?"

"If we can defeat Li Dingguo, then we will fight; if we can't, then we'll have to negotiate. In short, the Qing Dynasty's stance is pragmatic."

“Mother, Tunqi still has 20,000 bannermen at his disposal. The Green Standard Army troops stationed in various provinces are no match for Li Dingguo. Unless, Wu Sangui is willing to send troops to the front.”

"Fulin, this is indeed an excellent opportunity. If Wu Sangui fights with all his might, it will prove that he is not a spy. If he clearly avoids battle, then he is most likely the spy."

After thinking calmly for a while, Shunzhi suddenly realized the truth.

“Mother is right. The frontline reports say that Li Dingguo has mobilized at least tens of thousands of soldiers, so his base must be vulnerable. If Wu Sangui is a loyal subject, he will not let go of this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on Guizhou and Yunnan.”

"We'll see."

Just right~
The imperial kitchen delivered the imperial food, and the mother and son ate and chatted.

"Mother, I summoned Jiang Qingyun today, and he actually said he wants to be the General of Dingyuan."

……

Dang rang~
The rice bowl fell to the ground.

The head eunuch, Wu Liangfu, was so frightened by the bowl that he immediately knelt down and slapped himself.

“This servant deserves to die. This servant has disturbed the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s meal.”

"You worthless wretch, get out of here." Shunzhi waved his hand. "Mother, I want to reorganize the Thirteen Offices, increase their powers, and strengthen the monitoring of the major residences in the capital."

"You don't need to ask me about this; just handle it yourself."

"Thank you, Mother." Since Dorgon's death, the relationship between mother and son has been gradually repaired.

Emperor Shunzhi showed sufficient respect to his mother, and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang showed sufficient respect to her son.

However, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang knew very well that the current state of maternal love and filial piety was only based on the foundation of turbulent times. If the Qing Dynasty were to unify the country and bring peace and tranquility, things would soon be very different.

However, she was quite interested in the topic from earlier.

"You mean Jiang Qingyun volunteered to become the General of Dingyuan?"

"Yes, the idea is too absurd, and I have already refuted it."

Did he say how he planned to deal with the Ming court?

“Jiang Qingyun is a complete novice; I didn’t even ask him.”

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang remained silent.

……

That night, she pondered the personnel matters repeatedly, and the thought was terrifying—the central government had no capable commanders left, and even mediocre commanders were hard to find.

The Qing Dynasty once boasted a galaxy of brilliant generals.

Dorgon, Dodo, Abatai, Ajige, and Hauge were all capable and skilled in battle. After this generation passed away, there was a lack of successors at the command level!
In Shu, where there are no great generals, Liao Hua was made the vanguard.

The next generation of councilors took over the reins, and to be honest, they were quite capable of overwhelming the weak Ming army.

But now, the smoke of war has not yet been extinguished.

The princes and ministers attempted a failed coup. The relationship between the emperor and his ministers had effectively broken down, and the emperor dared not allow these princes to wield military power again.

Who else is fit to be the commander?
Suddenly, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang remembered an old acquaintance—Hong Chengchou. With Hong Chengchou's military and political abilities, even the six ministers of the Council of State combined could not compare to him.

Alas, he is gone, his death shrouded in mystery.

After careful consideration, she realized that Ao Bai was actually the only suitable candidate to command the front lines. First, he was loyal. Second, he had fought in many battles. Third, he was brave.

Under the bright moonlight, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang let out a long sigh, the meaning of which was unclear.

……

The famous statesman Machiavelli once said:

Trust is like a knife.

When you hand this knife to someone else, that person has two choices: first, protect you; second, harm you.

Therefore, a monarch cannot appoint people based on merit; doing so would only lead to his own demise.

What a monarch lacks is not capable people, but trustworthy people, ideally people who also possess some ability.

This peaceful night~
After completing his wedding ceremony, Jiang Qingyun was also considering a new candidate to lead the southern expedition. As the instigator of the massacre of Hong Chengchou, he understood the Qing court's current predicament better than the Qing court itself.

The entire council of ministers is a traitor.

Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi, who held considerable military power, was ambitious and attempted to establish himself as emperor.

Hong Chengchou died, and Kong Youde also died.

Ao Bai?

Yes, Ao Bai! He's the most likely candidate to become the commander.

Seeing Jiang Qingyun's changing expression, Jiang Nan couldn't help but ask, "Husband, what are you thinking about?"

"Madam, my life has been like walking on thin ice. Do you think I can ever reach the other side?"

"It definitely can."

"What if I can't?"

“Then I’ll fall into the river with you,” Jiangnan said very seriously.

"The ship is our life, or the ship dies, we die?"

puff~
Jiangnan smiled radiantly, then pulled out a pillow and stuffed it under her head.

"My husband, it's late, let's rest."

"Ah."

Jiang Qingyun looked at the top of the tent and thought to himself, "I can't possibly drug Ao Bai, can I?"
(End of this chapter)