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

Chapter 240 The Capital Incident!

Just three days after Jiang Qingyun stepped down, the order in the inner city had already collapsed exponentially.

On the first day, there were 18 casualties.

The next day, there were 156 casualties.

On the third day, casualties: ? ? ? people.

It's impossible to count!

Nobody's keeping track!

The city rapidly became like Gotham City because the Infantry Commander's Office suddenly stopped armed patrols, leaving the inner city in a vacuum, commonly known as "out of control."

The imperial city has once again entered a state of martial law.

Led by Prince Zheng, Jirhalang, the banner princes strongly demanded a meeting of council ministers to discuss the restoration of order in the capital region.

But how could Shunzhi dare to agree?

During a meeting, if someone were to shout, "The emperor is incompetent, a rare sight in history! I propose deposing him! Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

The result is simply unimaginable.

……

Emperor Shunzhi's forehead was covered in layers of cold sweat, which he could not wipe away completely.

"My lord, I'll go and fetch the imperial physician."

"What use are imperial physicians? What I need now is a sound strategy for governing the country."

The Third Eunuch remained silent. He possessed an innate cunning; if the emperor refused to admit defeat, no one else could utter a word. No one could suggest that Chiang Kai-shek return to the capital to take charge of the situation.

Just wait and see.

Anyway, it doesn't matter how many Manchus die outside.

Anyway, it's perfectly safe to stay in the capital.

Suddenly, the Minister of the Imperial Guard, Sony, and the Assistant Director of the Nine Gates, Dasu, rushed into the palace.

Shunzhi roared:

"Dasu, what's wrong with you?"

"Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know what's going on. The capital has suddenly fallen into chaos, utter chaos. Just now, when this servant entered the palace, someone was hiding by the roadside and firing arrows at me, almost hitting me."

Dasu raised a special armor-piercing arrow used by the Eight Banners.

"But when Jiang Qingyun was still alive, the capital was fine."

"Your Majesty, when he was alive, the Infantry Commander's Office conducted armed patrols every day, but as soon as he left, the armed patrols stopped."

"Then get well soon."

"No, absolutely not."

Sony panicked upon hearing this and quickly tried to stop him.

"The Infantry Commander's Office and the Imperial Bannermen of the capital are already sworn enemies, harboring deep-seated hatred. If the Infantry Commander's Office were to resume armed patrols now, this servant is afraid, very afraid!"

"What are you afraid of?"

"This servant fears they will massacre the entire city!"

Emperor Shunzhi's vision blurred, and he was sweating profusely.

……

Sony disregarded all formalities and immediately launched into a tirade of profanities.

"Your Majesty, Jiang Qingyun is the source of chaos. If we hadn't made him the Commander of the Nine Gates and hadn't let him carry out that damned Qing Banner Operation, our Great Qing wouldn't be in this mess today."

Dasu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but ask:
"Has there been any progress in Minister Jiang's investigation into the massacre of Manchu bannermen?"

Sony was furious and cursed loudly.

"What's the point of investigating? Your Majesty, the situation is urgent. This servant requests permission to take control of the capital's armory and artillery battalion to prevent any villains from taking advantage of the situation to seize the cannons."

"I'm sure."

Shunzhi's expression was blank and mechanical.

Seeing the emperor's expression, Sony stomped his foot in anger and left the Qianqing Palace in a huff.

What good is it if we see through Jiang Qingyun's sinister nature?

What good would it do to realize that the Empress Dowager was wronged?

What good is it if we realize that the Qingqi case was a case of injustice?

A belated awakening is utterly worthless. Admitting and correcting mistakes now will only hasten the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

……

Sony encountered Tong Guogang in the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Lord Suo, what did the Emperor say?"

"His Majesty is in a state of extreme anxiety; we're afraid we'll have to make the decision." "This humble official will follow your instructions, sir."

"Now we can only rely on the two Yellow Banners, as well as the Han Army Banners of Tong, Wang, Cai, Shi, Shen, Wang, and Li. We will contact each other separately, gather troops at the Meridian Gate, first restore order in the capital by force, then send troops out of the city to kill Jiang Qingyun, and then use his head to appease the whole city. In short, all the mistakes are Jiang's fault, and the past will be forgiven. The court will restore all ancestral systems."

"Whoo."

Tong Guogang's face darkened.

The astute Sony, seeing their change in expression, immediately stopped.

"Lord Tong, you don't need to feel guilty. When Jiang Qingyun was all the rage, who in the court didn't associate with him? It was just a matter of going along with him, nothing serious."

"Lord Xie Suo."

After walking a few steps, Tong Guogang suddenly asked, "Could he be Zhu San Taizi?"

"Absolutely impossible."

"why?"

“If he were the crown prince of the Zhu family, Chongzhen would have become the retired emperor long ago. If he were the third crown prince of the Zhu family, Li Dingguo would have been his vanguard. If he were the crown prince of the Zhu family, our Great Qing would not have been able to enter the pass.”

Tong Guogang nodded.

Since becoming the emperor's brother-in-law, his stance has naturally leaned towards imperial power, and he has gradually drifted apart from Jiang Qingyun.

It must be said that Sony had a very keen eye; amidst the chaos, he quickly identified a loyal ally of the imperial power: the Han Banner families.

……

It is located a hundred miles away from the capital.

In Shilibao, Miyun, more than a hundred young and middle-aged farmers who had received promises of future jobs were actively digging fortifications on the outskirts.

Trenches, horse traps, and barricades were all deployed.

Every half day, a scout would come to the post station to check on the horses.

So far, everything is going smoothly. Shunzhi has taken over his own script. The "Eight Banners" brand spring, which he had suppressed for so long, has rebounded rapidly and unleashed amazing power as soon as he let go.

Shunzhi wanted to press the spring back down, but it was not easy.

It would have been extremely difficult for Emperor Shunzhi to allow the spring to unleash its power.

At the village entrance, a soldier suddenly sounded a gong from a makeshift watchtower.

"There are cavalry in the south."

The guards quickly donned their full armor, drew their swords and spears, and laid out their bows, crossbows, and matchlock guns.

"It's a cavalry team from Tongzhou Town, about three or four hundred riders."

Jiang Qingyun opened his binoculars and saw billowing smoke and dust in the distance, with a flag that read "Zheng" faintly visible.

"We must not be careless and must be on high alert."

"Have Zheng Siwei come to see me alone."

……

"My lord, your humble servant has arrived."

"Uncle Zheng, please get up quickly. How is it outside?"

"As you instructed, young master, yesterday afternoon, your father led troops in a surprise attack on the Zhili Governor-General's Mansion, produced the imperial edict, and executed Governor-General Zhang Cunren and 25 others on the spot. He has taken control of Daming Prefecture, and all procedures are currently being followed in accordance with the process of supporting the emperor."

"Okay, okay."

Jiang Qingyun breathed a long sigh of relief.

Eliminating the Zhili Governor-General's Office ahead of time was a crucial step. The fact that my father didn't let me down at this critical moment shows that he still has room for improvement.

The imperial edict to execute Zhang Cunren is genuine.

The one that General Dingyuan himself gave to Li Dingguo was a fake. He had secretly switched it with a blank imperial edict.

Jiang Qingyun couldn't help but sigh, "The killing in the Empty Seal case was the right thing to do."

Zheng Siwei asked:
"My lord, there is something I do not understand."

"speak."

"Should we purge the court of corrupt officials, or..."

Looking at the eager Zheng Siwei, Jiang Qingyun knew that he wanted to become a loyal subject who would follow the emperor.

“Uncle Zheng, this is what I think. The incident in the capital is too large in scale. The emperor is young and his abilities are limited. If he does not want the country to perish, he must come to me for help. If he wants me to take up my post, he must hand over the reins of government to me.”

"The imperial power needs us, and we need the imperial power. Otherwise, we will only get Zhili, and we will be besieged by the governors of other provinces."

"I understand, in the play it's called 'holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords'."

“Your understanding is also correct. Uncle Zheng, the defense of the outer perimeter of Shilibao is entrusted to you. You must pay extra attention to eliminating the scouts and spies sent from the direction of the capital. In times of crisis, it is better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.”

"As ordered."

(End of this chapter)