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

Chapter 254 The wheat ripened three thousand times, and the Manchu woman bound her feet for the first time.

A new two-story red brick building has been added to the Ministry of Revenue.

A sign hangs at the entrance: Emergency Cabinet of the Great Qing Empire. The eight large characters are vigorous and powerful, written by the Grand Secretary himself, and have a rather romantic feel.

Push open the door and walk in. You'll see a staircase. Continue down the staircase and walk down a slope to reach the Cabinet Office.

That's right, it's a basement!
Holding meetings in the basement can prevent leaks.

Ten thick white candles, each about the size of a bowl, were lit in the corridor, symbolizing that this year marks the tenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign.

Next year, there will be 11 candles.

The year after next, there will be 12 candles.

A portrait of Emperor Shunzhi in military uniform hangs prominently on the wall of the conference room. His loyalty is unbelievable!
……

Bai Yunshang directed six well-trained young maids to prepare for the meeting. On the table, the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were placed in the exact same position, and the tea was at a perfect temperature, which amazed everyone.

Jiang Qingyun laughed, "They practice for two hours every day; their eyes are like rulers."

After saying that, he picked up his teacup and took a sip to moisten his throat.

Everyone followed suit, picking up their teacups and taking small sips, keeping pace with the Grand Secretary.

Officialdom dislikes those who are unconventional.

"Gentlemen, the Eight Banners system is the foundation of our Great Qing Dynasty, and the purity of the bloodline of the descendants of the Eight Banners is of paramount importance. The scandalous affair of Wulinzhu, a bannerwoman of the Plain White Banner, in the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign should serve as a warning to us."

“Ulinzhu had affairs with 23 men over a period of three years. During interrogation, she confessed that none of her children were her husbands’ children.”

"One file for each person. Take a look."

Having roughly finished reading, Jiang Qingyun tapped the table.

Let everyone express their opinions.

Yue Le: "It's shocking."

Suksaha: "Or it may not be an isolated case."

Feng Shuan: "Learn by analogy."

Zhou Shao: "Take this as a lesson."

Zu Dashou: "She has not a trace of womanly virtue."

Jiang Qingyun nodded slightly.

“I propose that Manchu women bind their feet. To bind their feet is to restrict their movement. Three inches is too delicate, five inches is too unrestrained, and four inches is the most suitable.”

"Those who agree, please raise your hand."

"Very good, all approved."

"Draft the official document and send it to the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"Meeting dismissed."

……

In the afternoon, the cabinet's official documents were sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and presented to the Emperor by the Grand Eunuch and the Director of Ceremonial.

"My lord, please take a look."

"Grinding ink."

"Whoo."

After reading the official document, the thin-faced Shunzhi Emperor immediately picked up his pen and wrote "Very good, do it," then affixed his imperial seal, thus completing the procedure.

The third eunuch walked out of the Qianqing Palace with the official document in his hand and shook his head.

A young eunuch said with a fawning smile:
"Godfather, there's something I need your approval on."

"what's up?"

"What should we do with the spies Wu Liangfu planted in the capital?"

"Without the Emperor's instructions, this is a hot potato; whoever touches it will die. Let's not ask, not interfere, and let those spies fend for themselves."

"Whoo."

Before the palace gates were locked that day, the Third Eunuch rode a fast horse out of the palace to the Jiang residence in the southern city.

"This servant greets my benefactor."

"Oh, it's the Third Eunuch. Sit down and watch the show."

At this moment, the opera troupe of the Jiang family was performing a scene that had just reached its climax. Behind the light gauze curtain, two pairs of feet were crossed, the bamboo couch swayed, and there was a woman's playful laughter.

The third eunuch stole a glance and saw that Jiang Qingyun's face was normal. He thought to himself, "My benefactor doesn't treat me like an outsider, but he doesn't treat me like a eunuch either."

……

The song is over.

Jiang Qingyun then smiled and asked, "What brings you here?"

"Prime Minister, I have something important here."

As he spoke, he pulled out a tattered roster.

"what is this?"

“It’s the secret spies list of the Thirteen Offices. Unfortunately, it was burned. These were all that were left when I found it.” Jiang Qingyun’s gaze fell on one of the pages.

"Third Eunuch, do you think there are any copies available from the Emperor's side?"

"I think there should be."

"It's alright. Now that the big tree has fallen, it doesn't matter whether the monkeys catch them or not. Wu Liangfu's house in Qianliang Hutong is still fine; you can keep it."

"Thank you, my benefactor. It's just a pity that I'm all alone. Even if I had a lot of money, I would have no one to share it with. It's getting late, and the palace gates will be locked soon. I'll take my leave now."

"Walk slowly."

……

That night.

Jiang Qingyun stared blankly at the tattered roster.

Just as he had expected, the first spy planted in his residence was Liu Zhangtai, the second was one of the concubines he had bought in Jiangnan, and the third had no name, only a code name: Beggar!
"beggar?"

"Could he be a beggar? Half of the people in the orphanage are considered beggars."

Jiang Qingyun was quite puzzled.

The funniest thing is that they had more spies planted in the residences of Ao Bai and Sony than in their own residences.

It seems that in the emperor's eyes, there was no distinction between friend and foe, or between loyalty and treachery.

Jiang Qingyun copied down the names that were still legible and ordered them to be arrested one by one to obtain confessions and learn as much as possible about the secrets of the Qing Dynasty's imperial intelligence agencies.

What puzzled him now was that it was already mid-April, and why the plainclothes officers from the Investigation Department still couldn't find Empress Xiaozhuang's whereabouts? Had she already fled back to the Horqin Grassland?
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang is a great threat; this woman is no ordinary person!
I can't feel at ease until I catch her.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang could, in the name of the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, call upon the people of the world to arm themselves and enter the capital to defend the emperor.

However, they couldn't publicly offer a reward for her capture, since she was the Empress Dowager. If word got out, it would cause a public uproar and spread rumors, which would create a lot of trouble for them.

If Wu Sangui had married Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang first, he could have used her as a means to command the other feudal lords.

Damn it!
In short, Chiang Ching-wan has never hesitated to speculate about his political enemies with the worst possible malice.

……

Another notice has been posted at the entrance of the alley.

"At the suggestion of Chief Minister Jiang, the cabinet drafted the regulations, and the emperor approved them. In order to ensure the purity of the bloodline of the Eight Banners descendants, the Regulations on the New Life of Manchu Women were promulgated."

First, foot binding.

Second, etiquette.

Third, the flag dress.

The New Life Movement was a national policy aimed at protecting the purity of the Eight Banners bloodline.

Please be aware.

~
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. This time, the Prime Minister hadn't gone mad. Well, while foot binding went against tradition, the purity of bloodline was indeed a serious matter.

The Red Palace was vacant, a ready-made venue.

The unmarried women of the Second Banner of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner were ordered to come to the Red Palace. They found it quite novel and chattered incessantly.

"Wow, this carpet is so beautiful."

"Truly worthy of being a royal venue."

Will we encounter the Emperor?

suddenly~
The heavy wooden door slowly closed.

The stage curtain slowly rose, and a group of strong women in tattered clothes walked out from behind the curtain.

A well-off Manchu woman retorted rudely, "Where did these stupid country bumpkins come from? Who sent you?"

The group of women from Baoding remained silent.

The leader shouted loudly, "We are servants from the New Life Training Team. By imperial decree, we servants will serve you in binding your feet."

"Nonsense! We are Manchus, and Manchus don't bind their feet."

There were bold rebuttals.

……

The group of strong women exchanged glances, rolled up their sleeves, and revealed their muscular arms.

"on!"

The women of the Manchu banners were horrified.

"Run, sisters!"

However, the gate was locked, and there was nowhere to escape.

Two strong women held down a pretty Manchu woman tightly, one pulling her hair and the other pulling off her shoes and socks.

"Granny, I don't want to be bound. I want to ride horses and shoot arrows in the future."

"Bullshit, all you want to do is give birth."

(End of this chapter)