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

Chapter 248 The Battle of Shenwu Gate, the Forbidden City is on Fire
Thick fog blanketed the area, reducing outdoor visibility to no more than 3 meters.

Two quarters before Chenshi (7-9 AM), Prince Zheng, Jirhalang, issued the order for a general attack.

"A surprise attack on the Forbidden City."

The crowd whispered the message down the line.

All the armored men went first, followed by the armored older men, then the armed women, and the children stayed behind as reserves to deliver the final blow.

Quietness is the guarantee of a surprise attack.

The rebels decisively abandoned their warhorses, and the dark mass of people marched silently through the fog, with the later ones following the earlier ones, not worried about getting lost.

As they walked, someone in the group suddenly started experiencing abdominal pain.

Prince Rokodo of Keqin was in excruciating pain, his face pale, and he collapsed on the way to the attack, clutching his abdomen.

"Your Majesty~"

Roccodo silenced the crowd.

"Shh~ I can't go on anymore, don't stop, keep going, keep going, take the Forbidden City."

……

Great Hall of Light.

Because Jiang Zhongcheng went to the Southern Assault Group in the thick fog, he wouldn't see his good son, who was practicing heretical military strategies, turning the largest incense burner in the temple into a heartless cannon.

Still feeling unsatisfied, Jiang Qingyun then noticed the bronze bell weighing several thousand kilograms nearby. His eyes lit up, and he felt as if he owned a 120mm howitzer.

“It’s been demolished.”

"Prime Minister, can a bell be used as a cannon?"

“Anything can be turned into a cannon. First, dig a big hole in the ground, then turn the bronze bell upside down and stuff it in. This thing can hold at least 200 pounds of explosives. Once it hits the ground, an entire Niru will be wiped out.”

Outside the hall, at the mountain gate.

Jiang Deshun, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Battalion, felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the thick fog. He sensed a faint but unmistakable danger.

Just as the son-in-law trusted his intuition in officialdom, he also trusted his intuition when he was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort).

"Fire arrows."

At his command, four or five archers drew their bows and fired a volley of arrows, and the fog remained as quiet as ever.

"Lower it again, raise it higher."

As the second volley of arrows fell, a short, agonizing scream echoed through the mist.

"Enemy attack!"

Jiang Deshun let out the most piercing scream.

"kill!"

Inside the fog, thousands of people were also howling.

Having already revealed their location, the rebels launched a charge, with only a quarter of an hour remaining before the agreed-upon time for the final assault.

Jiang Qingyun was taken aback.

Jiang Zhongcheng was taken aback.

The two assault groups, one in the north and one in the south, were caught off guard.

……

The battle has shifted from close-quarters ambush to skirmish, and it all boils down to one word: kill!

The narrow road meets the brave to win!

At this time, in addition to the Banner Guard Battalion, the Great Bright Temple also housed two Manchu infantry battalions, one Manchu cavalry battalion, and one Han musketeer battalion.

Therefore, Jiang Qingyun was not particularly flustered.

The Han army's musketeer battalion lined up in the courtyard, aiming their guns at the mountain gate. When the rebels poured in, each unit took turns firing, and the gunfire was deafening.

The Manchu bannermen positioned on both flanks drew their bows and arrows, waiting for an opportunity to shoot any who managed to escape.

Within a short span of half an hour, the mountain gate was mostly blocked by the corpses of the rebels.

The defeated rebels abandoned their attack on the mountain gate and instead sent a large number of archers to fire from outside the courtyard walls. The densely lined Han army musketeers suffered heavy casualties and were forced to disperse.

The mountain gate has fallen.

The rebels were astonished to discover that Jiang Qingyun's headquarters was also on their attack route.

……

Rokodo died of poisoning, and the surviving Prince Zhuang, Shuo Sai, and Prince Zheng, Jirhalang, had no way out. The two led the charge, ignoring the arrows.

Shuo Sai wore a golden helmet and golden armor, while Jirhalang wore a silver helmet and silver armor.

The Han army's musketeer battalion, unable to reload in time, was routed. Fortunately, the cavalry battalion launched a counter-charge in time, pushing back the frenzied rebel infantry.

"Brothers of the Bordered Blue Banner, I swear to Heaven, after this is accomplished, everyone will have a title, and upon death, the title will be inherited by their son." "Kill them!"

Prince Zhuang, Shuo Sai, seemed to be possessed by the Emperor, holding up the military flag and shouting as he charged forward. The inspirational effect was maximum, and the rebels went berserk, forcing the royalists to retreat step by step.

The heartless cannon finally went off. The explosive charge landed, smoke filled the air, and many fell down. Its power was indeed great.

But they couldn't stop the tide of rebels.

Shuo Sai couldn't understand what kind of monster the Incense Burner Cannon buried in the ground was, so he simply ignored it and wanted to kill Jiang Qingyun with his own hands to vent his anger.

The evil deeds of Chiang Kai-shek are too numerous to recount.

……

The situation was dire, so Jiang Qingyun immediately mounted his horse and turned south. He knew from the sounds that this battle was unwinnable; the rebels' shouts were full of swagger—how could they possibly fight like that?
Swift as the wind!

The Qing Dynasty truly cannot do without itself, nor can Emperor Shunzhi do without himself.

In short, make a decisive move, whether it's climbing a mountain or swimming. As long as you make a timely move, you will surely see the final victory.

Half an hour later~
Protected by divine winds, the rebel army defeated the garrison of the Great Bright Temple and headed further west.

Taiye Pond is located to the west of the Forbidden City. It is actually a lake, but it can also be called a sea. An east-west stone bridge spans the lake and leads to the Forbidden City.

Thousands upon thousands of rebels surged across the stone bridge like fire ants.

Confined to Yingtai, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stood nervously at the window, unable to see anything but the sounds of battle carried on the wind.

……

Arrows pierced the air, bullets flew wildly, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens.

The guards of the Forbidden City fired their guns and cannons, shooting down the rebels who had appeared on the opposite bank of the moat (the Forbidden City's moat).

Blood mist filled the air on both banks of the Tongzi River, and even the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Shunzhi was so nervous that he could not even hold his sword. Death is the most difficult thing in the world, and it is especially so for an emperor.

"Where is my chief minister? Didn't he tell me that he has gained a great advantage?"

"Who can tell me how my Great Qing Dynasty has become like this?"

Shunzhi's roar echoed in the hall, and no one could answer his question. The eunuchs and palace maids trembled with fear, while the guards and soldiers looked resigned to their fate.

The emperor's three chariots were occupied by Sony, who had a persistent high fever, Ao Bai who was recuperating at Yuquan Mountain, and Jiang Qingyun who could not distinguish between loyalty and treachery.

Emperor Shunzhi had not a single capable general to rely on.

At the end of Chen time.

Relying on their numerical advantage, the rebels briefly captured Shenwu Gate, but it was recaptured by the two Yellow Banner guards just half an hour later. The area inside and outside Shenwu Gate was littered with corpses.

This was a true battle of the empire's elite forces.

Driven to the brink of despair, the elite troops of the Bordered Blue and Bordered Red Banners unleashed terrifying power, fighting to the death against the elite troops of the Two Yellow Banners, who possessed the advantage in firearms.

……

It's a moment.

Several small boats took advantage of the fog to glide across the sea, carrying elite troops who quietly landed on Yingtai, killed the guards and eunuchs, and helped Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang leave.

After managing her affairs for so many years, Empress Xiaozhuang eventually had some trusted confidants.

The second quarter of the hour of Si (9-11 AM).

Jiang Qingyun successfully transferred to the main force, rejoined them, and even met his father.
My father's cotton-padded coat was soaked in blood, making him look like a blood-soaked man.

"Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's all other people's blood." Jiang Zhongcheng took off his helmet and shook off the blood inside. "They were all little kids who hadn't even grown up yet, and we killed them all."

Jiang Qingyun then realized that the ground beneath his feet was littered with corpses, almost none of them intact, the scene gruesome and nauseating.

……

Jiang Zhongcheng put the helmet back on his head, pulled Jiang Qingyun aside, and deliberately lowered his voice.

"Yun'er, what do we do next?"

"To serve the emperor!"

"King Zhenqin?"

"real."

"Is it really a loyalist?"

"Absolutely true, but not now."

(End of this chapter)