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

Chapter 241 Wang Gongchang, Bomb!
Southeast corner of the inner city.

Near Chongmen Wennei Street.

More than 20 core members of the Ninth Banner were gathered in a semi-new courtyard house, representing 300 members of the Ninth Banner secret organization.

All members of the Ninth Banner had one thing in common: they had all been forcibly reformed by Chiang Kai-shek's government.

At the start of the meeting, everyone unanimously elected Suhetai as the temporary commander of the Ninth Banner.

There are good reasons:
Suhetai is very well-known (because of "The Heart of Ulinzhu").

Suhotai had considerable experience in commanding attacks.

Suhetai was once a Zuo Ling (military officer).

Suhetai was one of the Upper Three Banners.

Suhetai was also the first person in the Ninth Banner to rebel against the Infantry Commander's Office (killing the Imperial Guard Hailin).

In short, Su's rise to power was the will of the people.

The concept of the Ninth Banner was proposed by Jiang Qingyun, but this group thought the name was good, so they simply called themselves the "Ninth Banner".

"Meow~"

A cat meowed, and everyone immediately fell silent.

……

After about a hundred breaths, the old woman sitting outside sewing shoe soles gave the signal "Woof, woof woof," indicating that the guard was off.

Inside, the people continued their meeting in hushed tones.

Suhetai stood in the middle of the crowd, clenching his fists.

"Brothers, we are all good Manchus who have been persecuted by the imperial power, we are all good Manchus who have been persecuted by the traitor Chiang Kai-shek. We have no way out, and we have decided to stop. I declare that the core tenet of the Ninth Banner is to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming."

Everyone nodded.

Suhetai continued his speech in a low voice:
"Open resistance is ineffective, so we must launch covert attacks. Facts have proven that our strategy of attacking both sides simultaneously was correct."

"The capital city is our best cover, and our identity as members of the Eight Banners is our best cover."

"The struggle to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming will be a long one. We must learn to conceal our identities and always keep in mind the best strategy for the struggle: let the enemies fight like dogs, let them kill each other, and keep them confused."

"The Forbidden City is our enemy, the Six Ministries are our enemy, the Eight Banners Commandery is our enemy, and those Bannermen who aid and abet evil are our enemies even more."

Everyone clenched their fists.

Suhetai:
"Let me introduce someone."

"He is the cousin of the Uerte righteous man. He will go south as a secret envoy and contact the Ming Emperor through the Uerte connections. The Ninth Banner will receive formal investiture from the Ming imperial family. The day the Ming army recaptures the capital will be the day our Ninth Banner sees the light of day again."

"Gentlemen, remember our motto—Attack!"

Everyone clenched their fists.

"Attack!"

After the meeting ended, everyone left in batches.

The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled members of the Plain Blue Banner who still lived there were very willing to provide cover for the Ninth Banner. After the February 226 Incident, those who could leave had left, and the remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled members of the Plain Blue Banner had only one thought in their minds: "I am willing to perish with the Qing Dynasty."

……

Evening, Taipusi Street.

Suhetai was hiding at the corner of a nearby alley.

When someone passes by, he will silently dart out and smash their head in.

Suhetai tore a piece of cloth from the clothes of the unfortunate man who had been hammered, dipped it in the man's blood, and wrote on the wall: "The murderer is the Infantry Commander's Office."

Then they quickly disappeared into the alley.

Crude and poorly made, but effective.

In one night, he randomly took down five people.

Qianliang Hutong.

Two furtive shadowy figures carried half a rotting dead dog and threw it into the well.

Mule and Horse Alley.

A dark figure walked to the wall, wrote: "The arsonist is the Infantry Commander's Office," and then took out a tinderbox from his pocket and lit the haystack.

Guaibang Hutong.

A dark figure tossed the torch over the courtyard wall and then fled in panic.

The torch successfully ignited a woodshed, but it was quickly extinguished by the people inside.

"Boss, who did this?" "I work at the Infantry Commander's office and offended someone."

"Then what should we do?"

"Pack your valuables and mules tonight, and I'll take your mother to the south city tomorrow."

Where are we staying?

"The Admiral sent a message that the South City Training Ground, the South City Puji Hall, the South City Orphanage, and even his own residence are all available for us to stay in."

"Sigh, I thought that once you got a promotion and a raise in the new government office, our family would finally live a good life, but..."

"It will be fine once the Admiral is reinstated."

The male homeowner stared blankly at the flames rising in the distance. How could the capital city, the very heart of the country, have become like this?
……

That night, countless people had the same thought: something was definitely wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.

There was no time to think about it.

The next day at noon, the sound of ox horns echoed throughout the city, it was the flag lord summoning!
The messenger shouted all the way:
"The blue flag gathers the troops."

"Gathering troops with red flags."

The soldiers, fully armed, left their homes, first gathering with their neighbors, then forming squadrons, and like streams flowing into the river, prepared for battle.

Jirhalang, the banner chief of the Bordered Blue Banner, and Luo Keduo, the banner chief of the Bordered Red Banner, could no longer tolerate it. They felt that if they continued to tolerate it, they would not only become banner chiefs without any banners, but their entire families might also be wiped out.

The two secretly agreed to first use force to wipe out the Infantry Commander's Office, and then force Shunzhi to abdicate. This damned little emperor has made such a mess of the country, he has to be deposed.

The area around the Temple of Heaven is exceptionally spacious, making it ideal for both sides to deploy their forces.

Arrows flew wildly, gunshots rang out continuously, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens; the two sides fought fiercely and were evenly matched.

What a coincidence, today it's another battle of elites against elites, and bannermen killing bannermen.

……

The Infantry Commander's Office, the gunpowder depot.

Several officers covered in blood ran over.

"We can't hold out any longer, open the gunpowder depot quickly."

"No, unless there is an order from the Assistant Commissioner."

Are you going to open it or not?

"We will not open the gates even if it means death, without written authorization."

A conflict was imminent, but the guards protecting the gunpowder depot were resolute. They were all members of the Forbidden City's guards brought by Dasu, with impeccable revolutionary credentials and unwavering resolve.

"stop!"

Fortunately, Dasu arrived in time.

"My lord, the rebels have already reached the central axis. If we don't send reinforcements soon, we're doomed."

"Wait a little longer, the imperial edict will arrive soon."

Bah~
The leading officer spat blood and foam all over Dasu's face.

“If General Jiang were still alive, we wouldn’t be in this state. What, you want to kill me? Open the treasury, anyone who stops us is the Ninth Banner.”

Dasu was stunned. He never imagined that he, a person who came from the imperial court, would also become the Ninth Banner.

The gunpowder magazine doors slowly opened.

……

During the Ming Dynasty, gunpowder was centrally managed in the capital.

The Qing government implemented a decentralized management system, with each banner having its own gunpowder depot, in addition to several gunpowder depots belonging to different government offices.

The Wanggongchang gunpowder depot stored a full 16 jin of gunpowder.

The rebel forces of the Bordered Blue Banner and Bordered Red Banner, who desperately needed gunpowder, set their sights on the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot.

The treasury official gritted his teeth and stamped his foot.

"fry!"

"Should we ask the commander for permission?"

"The enemy has already reached our doorstep. The commander said our mission is to add fuel to the fire, and then ignite it!"

The group lifted a hidden compartment under the floor tiles, lit the incense inside, and then escaped through the window.

(End of this chapter)