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

Chapter 226 Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was the first to notice something was wrong.

On the last day of the ninth year of the Shunzhi reign, the imperial guards still did not get a day off.
There's nothing as exhilarating as catching someone during Chinese New Year. It's so satisfying to keep playing around with them, even better than drinking the finest nectar. This kind of thing is addictive.

Dongcheng, Xiangbaiqi area.

Captain Hailin of the Imperial Guard went door to door, banging on doors.

"Why aren't you setting off firecrackers during the New Year? Do you have some grievance against the Commander of the Nine Gates? Do you have some grievance against the Emperor or the court?"

The soldiers dared not speak out against their anger.

Firecrackers then went off.

Hailin nodded in satisfaction. Fireworks and firecrackers bidding farewell to the old year—that's more like it!

huh~
A small firecracker exploded in front of the horse's hooves, causing the horse to leap into the air and nearly fall off.

Not far away, the snotty-nosed kid who caused the trouble was being beaten by his family.

"It's the Lunar New Year, it's not appropriate to hit children, let it go."

Unexpectedly, Hailin, who was blinded by rage, took the initiative to easily let the matter go and then rode away gracefully.

She's 14 now; it's time for her to have some manners.

……

After several twists and turns, they arrived at an alley where a middle-aged flag bearer wielding a matchlock gun suddenly darted out and aimed at Hailin from a distance of about ten feet.

Bang! White smoke billowed from the muzzle.

"Grass~"

Caught off guard, Hailin was shot and fell from his horse, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Lying in a pool of blood, his thoughts raced. His promising life had just begun, and it had ended so tragically. He was filled with resentment and bitterness. His last thought before dying was: So the Ninth Banner really did exist.

The gunshots were drowned out by the continuous sound of firecrackers, and no one noticed.
The person who fired the shot was Qi Dingguiwu, and his accomplice was Su Hetai.

The two men worked together to drag Hailin's body to a corner, stripped him of his uniform, took his waist tag, and led the horse away from the scene.

"I want to assassinate Jiang Qingyun at the Infantry Commander's Office."

"You're going to die."

"So what if I die? I'm going to die sooner or later anyway."

After a moment of silence, the two went their separate ways.

Under Jiang Qingyun's vigorous suppression, the Ninth Banner began to emerge.

……

Gui Wu, a member of the Plain White Banner, was 40 years old. He had accompanied Prince Rui, Dodo, on a southern expedition and served as a county magistrate in Hubei for his military achievements. He had amassed considerable wealth.

Because of his numerous crimes, he was imprisoned in Youanmen Prison for a year, during which time he suffered terribly.

Later, he started to feign madness.

Later, he lay on the roof and watched helplessly as his whole family was taken away and never returned, their fate uncertain.

When Guiwu, who was determined to die, walked into the main gate of the Imperial Army Commander's Office, he found that everything he saw was unfamiliar, as if this place did not belong to the Qing Dynasty and the people here did not belong to the Eight Banners.

Everyone is busy and rushing around.

As he approached the stables, he casually asked:
Is the Admiral in the yamen?

"exist."

The young guard answered him; he noticed the bloodstains on Gui Wu's clothes.

"Brother, you're on a mission?"

"Ah."

“Yesterday I personally killed three of them, including a captain of the Bordered Blue Banner. Hey, that old bastard was begging me to spare his life like a dog.”

Gui Wu remained silent, while the young man was engrossed in his excitement and chattered incessantly.

"Hey bro, how old are you?"

"40."

"Oh, doesn't the disciplinary office only recruit young people under 18?"

Gui Wu had a bad feeling and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, the wary young man persisted and silently followed him.

……

Gui Wu walked into a long alley and saw a sign on one of the walls that read: "Beware! Spies are all around!"

Just then, two more imperial guards approached from the other end of the alley.

Gui Wu had a bad feeling and touched the hilt of his sword.

A furious roar came from behind:

"Grab him!" The fight in the narrow alley was bloody and brutal; neither side could escape and both had to fight for their lives.

Of the three imperial guards, one was killed and two were wounded, while Gui Wu died on the spot.

Jiang Qingyun, who was preparing to return to his residence with his wife to attend the New Year's Eve banquet at the palace, inspected the scene but was not surprised. He merely took remedial action, ordering the installation of access control measures.

……

The atmosphere inside the Forbidden City was peaceful, with drums and music playing in unison.

All the guests looked solemn, unable to smile at all, or their smiles were forced, showing none of the joy one should have when attending a royal banquet.

"Husband, they seem very afraid of you?"

"Yes."

"why?"

"I'll tell you when we get home; it's better if you don't know now."

The two parted ways; Jiang Qingyun went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for a meal, while Jiang Nan went to the Hall of Central Harmony behind to attend the banquet for noblewomen hosted by the Empress.

Today's palace banquet is exceptionally lavish, with all sorts of delicacies served.

At the head table below the imperial steps, Jiang Qingyun had a hearty appetite, acting as if the Hall of Supreme Harmony were his own home, and frequently urging his tablemates to eat.

"Prince Zheng, I would like to offer you a toast."

"Scholar Fan, please try this Eight Treasure Duck. Duck meat is very good for the elderly."

"Lord Ning, how is your recovery?"

Everyone felt awkward and gave a perfunctory response.

Prince Li, Chang Adai, didn't even dare to look up at this god of death.

Only Prince Abu Nai of Chahar responded enthusiastically, and the two even shared the roasted lamb leg on the table.

……

Although the relationship between Emperor Shunzhi and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had fallen out in private, they still maintained a facade of harmony on such occasions.

"Mother, I toast you."

"Great! It's New Year's Eve again. Let's bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, carrying on the past and forging ahead into the future."

As Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang drank her wine, she observed the ministers below. Suddenly, she noticed something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The ministers' smiles were more like cries than actual crying.

She turned her head and stared at Shunzhi.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Fulin, didn't you notice that the people who attended the banquet today don't seem very happy?"

"It seems... a little."

"why?"

"I don't know."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang suspected that her son had done something outrageous behind her back, but she didn't want to ask any more questions. Instead, she decided to summon one or two of her faction members on a chosen day.

Jiang Qingyun suddenly stood up and raised his wine glass.

"Your Highnesses, fellow officials, let us raise our glasses and wish His Majesty a long and prosperous life."

Long live the Emperor!

Long live the Emperor!

Shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" filled the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Shunzhi couldn't help but feel elated, and he also stood up.

"When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in hand, I ask the blue sky. I wonder what year it is tonight in the celestial palace. Today, I celebrate with you all, my heart is filled with joy. Cheers to my Great Qing!"

"cheers!"

Jiang Qingyun shouted loudly and was the first to drink it all in one gulp.

Emperor Shunzhi was pleased and nodded slightly.

The emperor and his minister gazed at each other across the distance, marking the pinnacle of their honeymoon period.

……

An incredible fact: up to this point, Emperor Shunzhi and his mother were completely unaware of what was happening outside.

This is actually based on a classic misunderstanding:
Everyone assumed that Shunzhi knew, but in reality, he didn't.

Everyone thought that Shunzhi was pretending to be stupid, preparing to shift the huge blame onto his loyal minister in the future, but in reality he really didn't know.

Emperor Shunzhi truly believed that Jiang Qingyun had only killed over 300 people, mainly because he had subdued all his opponents through extremely skillful political maneuvering, thus making the banner system submit to imperial power.

In reality, Jiang Qingyun temporarily suppressed the banner power with a sharp butcher's knife.

(End of this chapter)