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

Chapter 252 Chiang Kai-shek's 180-degree turn~
This morning court session marked the end of the long-standing system of deliberative princes and ministers that Emperor Shunzhi had feared, and it was swept into the dustbin of history.

Logically speaking, this was a great victory, but Emperor Shunzhi was not happy.

Drive away the tiger through the front door, only to let in the wolf through the back.

After Jiang Qingyun formed his cabinet, he specifically assigned the Directorate of Ceremonial to handle communication between the emperor and the court, because his relationship with Emperor Shunzhi was awkward and the emperor and his ministers should meet as little as possible.

After careful consideration, the cabinet's offices were not located in the Forbidden City, but rather in the Ministry of Revenue.

If it were located in the Forbidden City, it would be difficult to balance security issues.

Bringing troops into the palace was excessively arrogant.

Not leading troops is too dangerous.

They decided to move their offices out. There's a difference between a powerful minister and someone who directly usurps the throne, even if it's only a temporary one.

……

inner city.

Every alleyway entrance was marked with a striking red notice.

The sound of gongs echoed throughout the city.

A crowd gathered to watch, and some of the more literate flag bearers read the notice aloud.

"Emergency Cabinet Order No. 1 of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Chiang Kai-shek, taking into account the current situation, formally pointed out that the political tutelage phase has successfully ended and the military-political phase has officially begun. The military-political phase represents a significant improvement over the political tutelage phase. This is mainly reflected in the following points."

"First, during the period of political tutelage, all the bad Bannermen were exposed and eradicated. All the Bannermen who survived were good Bannermen. The Grand Secretary announced that the campaign to purge the Bannermen was now over."

"Secondly, it unified our thinking and eliminated our differences. From now on, the Eight Banners will work together towards a common goal and unite our hearts in one direction."

"Third, we have found a new goal."

Below it is the bright red seal of the Grand Secretary.

Continue reading the second page.

"At the suggestion of the Grand Secretary, the Cabinet collectively drafted the document, which was approved by the Emperor. The Ministry of Revenue's Eight Banners Salary Office will resolutely implement it. Effective immediately, regardless of rank, everyone's monthly fixed allowance will increase by 1 tael."

The crowd cheered, "A raise is great! A raise is especially great!"

Continue reading the third page.

"At the suggestion of the Grand Secretary, the Cabinet collectively drafted the proposal, and the Emperor approved it, to launch a New Life Movement in the capital. The main aspects are as follows: new houses, new roads, new clothing, new hairstyles, new wells, new sanitation, and new civilization."

Everyone was completely confused and couldn't understand it.

Some people murmured, "They're not going to make everyone cut off their queues and take off their traditional jackets, are they?"

Continue reading the fourth page.

"Upon the suggestion of the Grand Secretary, the Cabinet collectively drafted the new regulations for the administration of the capital, which were then approved by the Emperor. The new regulations were officially implemented and supervised by the Infantry Commander's Office."

No one reacted.

Continue reading the fifth page.

"Grand Secretary Chiang Ching-yun solemnly promised that the military-political phase will be different from the somewhat chaotic tutelage phase, and all Manchus will receive generous and loyal benefits, a comfortable living environment, and wonderful personal enjoyment."

"For this reason, the Grand Secretary voluntarily donated all of his family property, totaling 2 taels."

The crowd cheered enthusiastically.

Literally, these public notices signaled that the Grand Secretary had decided to lay down his sword and stop causing trouble.

……

Qianliang Hutong, next to a well.

The Manchu women who came to fetch water were discussing it amongst themselves.

"Have you heard? A royal physician surnamed Liu from the Imperial Medical Academy revealed that Chief Minister Jiang has actually been suffering from a serious illness."

"Shh, you can't say that."

"It wasn't me who said it, it was Imperial Physician Liu from the palace who said it. During the Battle of Jingzhou, a female Imperial Guard infiltrated the central command tent and poisoned both the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander. The poison in Deputy Commander Jiang's body was never eliminated, which caused him to behave abnormally and act tyrannically for a long time, which is why he was like that before... cough cough, but now, he has finally been cured."

"is it?"

The women were all shocked.

"It must be true, I heard it from my neighbor." "Then it seems to be true."

"Now that the Grand Secretary's madness is cured, he won't cause any more trouble, right?"

The eyes of the crowd were filled with longing.

Within just a few days, this little story about the Grand Secretary's health problems spread throughout the capital, with quite a good effect.

Everyone believed it to be true.

I have no doubt about it!
The main reason is that everyone is terrified of being tricked; they're really scared.

……

Jingshan Park was shrouded in thick black smoke.

A large number of Zhili Green Standard Army soldiers were deployed in the surrounding area to prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching.

People in the southern city, with their mouths and noses covered by cotton cloth, dragged corpses into a sealed brick kiln and incinerated them at high temperatures to prevent future problems. This was also part of the New Life Movement – ​​New Hygiene.

Theoretically speaking, everything can be buried in the ground.

But there are just too many corpses. If they are all buried, and the germs spread, I'm afraid few people in the capital will survive until next spring.

Therefore, burn it once before burying it.

Dozens of lamas, monks, Taoist priests, and other extraordinary individuals performed rituals on the spot to appease the spirits of the deceased. After all, no matter how much power Chiang Kai-shek wielded, he could only govern the human world. He had no say in matters of the underworld.

So~
Superstition leads to faith.

Soldiers shouted:

"The Grand Secretary has arrived!"

"The cabinet members have arrived!"

Everyone looked closely and saw that all the members of the Emergency Cabinet of the Qing Empire were dressed in simple civilian clothes, without hats, with solemn expressions and slow steps.

"Your Excellencies, we pay tribute to the departed souls."

Chiang Ching-yun led the bow, and the entire cabinet bowed, both to appease the resentment of the dead and the resentment of the living.

……

A month later.

Suddenly, a plaque was hung inside the Chongwenmen city gate, which read: Forget the past, forget right and wrong, face the future!
No signature~
The purpose of hanging this plaque was to educate and guide the Manchu people. At the same time, it was also a warning: anyone who still clung to past trivial matters was not planning to live a good life.

Over the past month, the situation in the empire has quietly undergone subtle changes.

Prince Abu Nai of Chahar secretly ran back to the grasslands.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang has disappeared.

Wu Yingxiong secretly inquired everywhere to find out exactly how many bannermen had died.

There is an extremely mysterious organization in Beijing that specializes in throwing highly decomposed animal carcasses into wells.

There are signs that Shandong Province and Jiangnan Province may be in arrears with taxes and grain.

Beset by internal and external troubles!!
The Qing Dynasty was in turmoil.

Jiang Qingyun needed the Manchu bannermen in the capital to forget their hatred, obediently follow his orders, and prepare to suppress the Donglin Party in Jiangnan, the Confucius Mansion in Shandong, the Chahar Mongols, and the mysterious sabotage organization in the capital.

……

Emergency cabinet meetings differ from regular court meetings; they are held only when there is a specific matter to discuss.

Meetings were all announced on short notice, with the time and agenda decided by Chief Minister Chiang alone.

Jiang Qingyun: "The Ministry of Revenue is in dire straits. Gentlemen, shall we have a chat?"

Zhou Shao: "Let me add a few words. The main reason for the deficit is the excessive military expenditure. According to the budget, this year, which is the tenth year of Shunzhi, the Ministry of Revenue needs to pay 300 million taels of military expenses to the Prince of Pingxi and 100 million taels of military expenses to the Prince of Pingnan. These 400 million taels are fixed expenditures that are paid every year."

Everyone began to peruse the account books in front of them.

The national treasury had enough silver, but problems kept arising.

The aftermath of the Beijing Incident is unimaginable: the compensation of soldiers who died in battle, the reward of meritorious officers and soldiers, the repair of the Forbidden City, and the reconstruction of houses burned down in the city.

These costs added up to an astronomical figure, further exacerbating the already impoverished empire's financial woes.

(End of this chapter)