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

Chapter 244 Chief Minister Jiang Returns to the Disloyal Capital!

Sony sat down angrily, grabbed the teacup next to him, and gulped down the tea.

The third eunuch slightly raised his eyelids.
After Suksaha and Feng Shuan left, Shunzhi promptly comforted this important official.

"Sony, I know your intentions. You and Ao Bai are both my right-hand men. I want to choose a woman from your Hesheli family to be my empress."

"emperor?"

"I intend to depose the Empress and establish a woman from the Hesheli family as the new Empress."

Sony sighed, got up and knelt down, and Shunzhi quickly helped him up.

"Your Majesty, once the rebellion is quelled, you must put Jiang Qingyun out of office as soon as possible. He is exceptionally capable, but his ambition is too inflated. Such a minister is not to be trusted."

"I will."

"My minister retire."

……

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Sony carefully inspected the palace's defenses and then patrolled the Xihua Gate. He felt quite exhausted by the end of the day and developed a high fever that evening.

The herbal medicine was ineffective.

By the evening of the following day, the person had started talking incoherently.

Wu Yong, true to his name, acted in a more moderate manner. He believed that poisoning Sony in court was too risky and could easily agitate Shunzhi's already fragile nerves, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Just make Sony seriously ill.

Sony, the last pillar of the Forbidden City, collapsed. Emperor Shunzhi couldn't sleep at night, suffered from dizziness and tinnitus, and continued to lose weight.

Even more terrible things happened one after another.

First, several unidentified armed men attacked Yingtai.

Later, Prince Abuna of Chahar made outrageous remarks before the emperor, saying that he could gather 5 cavalry to aid the capital, on the condition that he become the Great Khan of the Mongols.

……

The times are calling for Jiang Qingyun!

Emperor Shunzhi was calling for Jiang Qingyun!

Without Jiang Qingyun at the helm, the Qing Dynasty was destined to have no future.

Without Jiang Qingyun at the helm, the Eight Banners were destined for destruction.

We can even boldly say that it was the Qing Dynasty that needed Jiang Qingyun, not the other way around.

The rain stopped, and the ground hardened.

Suksaha made three trips between Miyun and Beijing, acting as a go-between, and finally an agreement was reached.

Shilibao.

An incense table, a red carpet, standing guards, and Jiang Qingyun kneeling!

The third eunuch unfolded the imperial edict, his voice slightly cracking with excitement.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Jiang Qingyun has rendered meritorious service, possesses outstanding abilities, and is commendably loyal. At a time of crisis for the court and turmoil in the capital, he is hereby awarded a double-eyed peacock feather, promoted to the first rank, and appointed head of the Grand Secretariat. So be it!"

Jiang Qingyun looked up, stood up, and accepted the imperial edict.

"Thank you Lord for your grace."

"Congratulations, Your Excellency."

Jiang Qingyun nodded slightly, and the Third Eunuch was extremely excited.

……

Only with the imperial sword in hand can one truly demonstrate their abilities.

For Jiang Qingyun, procedural justice was very important. He had no reliable army and had to use the emperor to command the local authorities.

The position of Prime Minister is just the first step!
His path to becoming a powerful minister has just begun; the road ahead is long.

In terms of strength, he was far inferior to Dong Zhuo, while Shunzhi was far stronger than the Han emperor.

In the study, Jiang Qingyun was writing furiously.

Half an hour later, a letter to his father was completed, and then Zheng Siwei was summoned.

"General Zheng, take this letter to Daming Prefecture and ask my father to allocate 2000 reliable soldiers for you, all cavalry. After that, you will lead your troops to meet me outside Yongding Gate."

"I will obey my orders."

Then go find Madam Jiangnan.

"Madam, you will come with me to the capital. The rest of the family members will be temporarily settled in Shilibao. Once things in the capital are settled, we will summon them back to the mansion."

"Ok."

Then find Zhou Cang. "Go quickly to the south of the city and spread the word that I am returning to the capital. Those who are willing to join me in punishing the traitors should meet me outside Yongding Gate."

……

The next day.

Jiang Qingyun arrived outside Yongding Gate under the escort of 500 cavalrymen, where he could hear the sporadic sounds of gunfire and cannon fire that never ceased in the capital.

"Sir, shall we go into the city?"

"No, we'll camp outside the city. Send someone to the Infantry Commander's office and have all officers of the rank of centurion or above come to see me. Send someone to the Forbidden City and have the Emperor issue another decree for me, stating that I will temporarily assume the post of Governor-General of Zhili, otherwise we cannot win."

Half an hour later, intelligence reports came from all directions.

"Report: Sporadic fighting in the inner city, both sides are holed up and mainly defending."

"Report! An imperial edict has arrived in the Forbidden City."

"Report! The righteous men of Nancheng are gathering."

"Report! The officers of the Fifth Battalion of Infantry are arriving one after another."

Just as Jiang Qingyun had predicted, Shunzhi readily granted him the position of Governor-General of Zhili.

The famous salami-slicing principle applies to all interpersonal relationships: slice one piece, then slice another, until there's nothing left.

Travel outside the city.

Zhou Shao hurriedly entered the tent.

"Big brother, do something for me now."

"Please give your instructions, Your Excellency."

"In the name of the Governor-General of Zhili, summon all the prefectural and county officials to Daming Prefecture for a meeting. Once everyone is basically present, kill all the others except our people, on charges of colluding with the rebels. Then, promote my people to act as officials of the various prefectures and counties, with two demands: first, close the city gates and defend them to the death; second, cut off their food supply and implement a scorched earth policy."

"As ordered."

"Wait a minute."

Jiang Qingyun held Zhou Shao's hand and said sincerely, "After this is done, you will join the cabinet to assist me."

……

When Jiang Qingyun reappeared before the officers of the Fifth Battalion's infantry, everyone was extremely excited and knelt down on one knee.

"This humble general pays his respects to the General."

"Brothers, please rise quickly."

Looking at the excited crowd, Jiang Qingyun waved his hand with a grand gesture.

“Go back now and tell all the brothers that I, Jiang Qingyun, have returned. Those who owe us blood debts will have their scores settled, one by one.”

Everyone cheered in unison.

The low morale has returned.

"From now on, the Fifth Infantry Battalion will only obey my orders. Tell the brothers that if they lose their houses, I will rebuild them for them. If their wives die, I will find them new ones. If they run out of money, I will empty the Ministry of Revenue and distribute it to them."

The crowd cheered again.

The next day, preliminary statistics came out: the Infantry Commander's Office had been severely weakened, with its forces reduced to less than two-thirds of their original strength.

……

Rebels can also be a political resource.

It was because of the rebel forces with the Bordered Blue and Bordered Red Banners that we have the current Chief Minister Chiang Kai-shek.

If the rebels were to disappear completely, the position of Prime Minister would be in jeopardy. The title of Prime Minister sounds impressive, but in reality, it's just a temporary job.

The position of Chancellor—alongside other chancellors—is the same as that of Grand Secretary. The value of the chancellor's power has been declining, and his influence is no longer what it used to be.

Therefore, in Jiang Qingyun's eyes, the rebels were also quite handsome.

The reason why the Bordered Blue Banner and Bordered Red Banner rebels did not move their positions for 10 days after the Wanggongchang explosion was also due to extremely low morale and too much internal division.

They couldn't win in a fight, and they couldn't escape in a run.

The instigators, Jirhalang and Rokodo, were in a dilemma. They simply turned the two banner defense zones into a tortoise shell, with armed confrontation, hoping that Shunzhi would realize the times and announce his abdication.

……

Outside Yongding Gate.

Jiang Qingyun climbed onto the observation tower and frowned as he looked at the chaotic training ground.

One of Chiang Kai-shek's war beliefs was: to wage war, one must have more soldiers, more money, and stronger firepower. These elements can be summarized as "two more and one stronger".

The army was composed of Zhili Green Standard Army soldiers, Nancheng civilian army, the Infantry Commander's Office, and pragmatic Manchu bannermen from the inner city.

(End of this chapter)