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

Chapter 239 The Curfew Lifted, the Volcano Erupted
Beijing.

A guard who had just finished his shift stopped abruptly when he reached a lane only a hundred paces from his home, becoming wary.

The dogs nearby are barking very loudly.

There is a dog ban in the southern part of the city, but not in the inner city.

Feeling guilty, the guard pulled out a foldable crossbow from his waist, quickly spun it, cocked it, and held it in his hand.

"Who? Come out."

"Dog Knights, their noses are incredibly sharp."

Three burly men emerged from the shadows of the alley. One of them looked familiar; he was a prisoner released from You'anmen Prison.

One to three.

The advantage lies with the enemy.

In hand-to-hand combat in narrow alleyways, the best weapon is the bow and crossbow, followed by the spear.

The battle ended after only a few dozen breaths.

Two bodies were left at the scene: one was a flag bearer with an arrow in his face, and the other was a headless imperial guard.

……

This was not an isolated case; vendettas targeting soldiers of the Infantry Commander's Office began to increase sharply in the capital.

A group of officers approached Dasu.

"Sir, today 13 of our brothers were attacked on the road, two dead and one wounded. Please order the resumption of armed patrols."

"No."

"Sir, are you just going to stand by and watch your brothers be slaughtered?"

Everyone was filled with indignation.

Looking at the angry eyes of his subordinates, Dasu felt a pang of fear.

"This matter is of great importance and requires an imperial edict. Please be patient, I will write the memorial now."

The officers left dejectedly.

The so-called "Infantry Commander's Office" personally led by Emperor Shunzhi was only nominal. The actual affairs were handled by Dasu, a first-class imperial bodyguard. Emperor Shunzhi also gave him a temporary official position as assistant to the Nine Gates Commander.

Dasu was a former imperial bodyguard, and his loyalty was impeccable. Precisely because of his loyalty, he dared not set fire to anything after taking office.

Unchanged, unchanged.

The Infantry Commander's Office maintained the status quo it had before Jiang Qingyun stepped down: no patrols, no arrests, and everyone was lying down.

In fact, instead of requesting permission to resume patrols, Dasu ordered the gunpowder and armory of the Infantry Commander's Office to be locked down to prevent the situation from escalating.

If armed patrols are restarted, the Fifth Battalion of infantry will certainly launch a frenzied retaliation against the other banner soldiers.

Dasu decided to let the bannermen kill each other, believing that if they could vent their anger and find peace, the capital would be at peace.

……

The next day.

When they were on duty, everyone in the Infantry Commander's office was filled with righteous indignation.

"Brothers, have you heard? Last night, the houses of two of our brothers were burned down."

How is he?

"Not a single one escaped; they were all burned to death."

"It must have been a despicable ambush by the Ninth Banner."

"Today it's their turn, tomorrow it'll be ours. No, we can't let this continue."

"Let's go find the assistant."

Faced with his angry subordinates, Dasu stepped in to appease them and promised to provide compensation to the injured and deceased, after which the crowd quietly dispersed.

However, people do have memories.

learn from mistakes.

When they were off duty, the officers decided to travel in groups, each carrying a long gun and a crossbow, forming a battle formation, just like Wu Song crossing Jingyang Ridge.

When people are nervous, they see everyone as an enemy.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and many suspected that there were spies from the Ninth Banner nearby.

Actually, there really is!
After completing his reconnaissance, an informant disguised as a passerby quickly ran to the pre-arranged ambush point, an abandoned house in an alley in the Xiangbaiqi defense zone.

"They're here! They're here! A dozen or so men, all on horseback, with bows and arrows and spears."

"Do you have A?"

"Not wearing armor."

"There are too many of them, they're tough to take on. Brothers, when the time comes, listen to my command, fire a volley of arrows and snipers, then we'll retreat through the back door. We'll kill as many as we can."

"okay."

After Su Hetai made some arrangements, the other four men took their positions, climbed the ladders onto the roof, drew their weapons, and held their breath. A hundred breaths later...

The sound of bells around the warhorses' necks grew louder as they approached.

Suhetai drew his bow and arrow, then suddenly stood up.

"put."

Matchlock guns, bows and arrows, and throwing axes—the main strategy is to strike unexpectedly.

……

The infantry officers who were ambushed were caught off guard; one was killed and four were seriously wounded.

When they angrily smashed open the wooden door and rushed into the yard, the despicable attackers had already vanished without a trace through the back door.

"Damn Ninth Banner."

"The one who rides on the horse."

This is an abandoned house. The original owners of the house died at the headquarters of the Infantry Commander. It is unknown whether it was a relative or a neighbor who set up a memorial tablet for them in the main house.

In a fit of rage, the crowd smashed all the memorial tablets.

A sense of oppression lingers in my heart, with nowhere to be relieved.

"Let's go find a doctor."

When they took the injured to the nearest clinic, a woman from Manchu ethnicity happened to be passing by and saw that they were covered in blood. She turned around and ran away in fright.

He had only run five steps when an arrow pierced his throat.

The sound of wind and the cry of cranes is like this.

"Mother?"

A teenager rushed out from the alley next door, and their eyes met.

“There’s an ambush. Kill him.”

The nervous officers of the Infantry Commander's Office collectively went into a state of stress, and they began to frantically kill any passersby who came into view.

After killing passersby, he kicked open the gates of nearby houses and continued killing.

The Manchu people living nearby rushed home, retrieved their armor and weapons, donned their uniforms, and launched a counterattack.

Half an hour later~
More than a dozen officers from the Infantry Commander's Office were killed in action. Unarmored against armored, outnumbered against outnumbered, death was commonplace.

The angry people of the Bordered White Banner began to gather.

"Let's go to the Governor's Office and demand an explanation."

"Yes, let's go together."

Hundreds of people, carrying knives and guns and dragging corpses, marched menacingly to the government office of the Bordered White Banner Commander, reminiscent of the Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia.

……

"What are you going to do?"

"Commander-in-Chief! The soldiers of the Infantry Commander's Office slaughtered half a street. We just want to ask, whose orders were they following? What exactly is our Bordered White Banner in the eyes of the imperial court?"

The crowd was fully armed, angry, and their numbers were still growing.

The commander-in-chief, who was wearing a white flag, quickly offered words of comfort.

"I will go to the palace now to request an imperial edict. I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation. Please rest assured, remain calm, do not act impulsively, and do not be deceived by bad people."

"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive."

He forced a smile, carefully made his way through the angry crowd, and galloped all the way to Donghua Gate.

Qianqing Palace.

Upon hearing the report, Shunzhi was terrified, as the 226 mutiny of the Bordered White Banner was imminent if not handled properly.

"Quickly, prepare the brush and ink."

The third eunuch quickly ground the ink.

Emperor Shunzhi picked up his brush to draft the imperial edict, his arm trembling slightly with fear.

"The bravery of the bandits disguised as government troops in resisting the Bordered White Banner is commendable and they deserve a generous reward. All the injured and wounded bannermen will be compensated, and all those who participated will be innocent."

*Snap*, the imperial seal is affixed.

"Take it quickly to appease people's hearts."

"According to the order."

……

That night, the curfew was rendered meaningless.

The streets were crowded with people, and fires broke out in several places in the inner city.

A very few people with keen senses suddenly realized: the volcano was about to erupt. It turned out that the young man who had been sitting in the crater trying to block the lava had been driven to Miyun to fish.

(End of this chapter)