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

Chapter 257 Was Wu Sangui anti-Qing or anti-Chiang Kai-shek?

Xizhimen.

A group of envoys slowly entered the capital.

They came from Yunnan, ostensibly to demand military pay on behalf of Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi, but secretly also to spy on the military strength of the capital.

"Gentlemen, you have come from afar, you must be tired. The inn has been cleaned and prepared, please make yourselves at the inn."

"Thank you for the imperial court's great kindness."

Xia Guoxiang bowed and said.

Along the way, everyone looked with great interest at the broken walls and ruins that had not yet been completely cleared, as well as the bustling construction site.

Meanwhile, the cabinet is also paying attention to this matter.

Jiang Qingyun waved the list:

"Xia Guoxiang, Liu Xuanchu, Hu Guozhu, Wang Jinbao, Zhang Yong, gentlemen, this is truly a gathering of talents and heroes."

Everyone burst into laughter, but Zu Dashou remained silent as always.

Feng Shuan glanced at Zu Dashou casually, pondering the man's character.

Jiang Qingyun: "Gentlemen, guess Wu Sangui's purpose?"

Zhou Shao: "They've come to ask for money, haven't they?"

Yue Le: "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Jiang Qingyun nodded: "Prince An hit the nail on the head. I've noticed that in the past two years, our Prince Pingxi's appetite has grown bigger and bigger. Yunnan alone can't contain this big Buddha!"

The room was quiet.

Even Zu Dashou sensed the dissatisfaction in his words.

……

The next day.

Xia Guoxiang and Liu Xuanchu couldn't wait to leave the post station and go to visit their young master, Wu Yingxiong. After some pleasantries, they got down to business.

Xia Guoxiang: "Your Highness, the Prince has ordered us to enter the capital to spy on the strength of the Eight Banners army."

Wu Yingxiong laughed and said, "Actually, I could have guessed even if you hadn't said it. Father's premonition was right. There have been two mutinies in the capital, and the bannermen have suffered heavy casualties. This is a major advantage for us. The central government structure has also undergone tremendous changes. The Empress Dowager has disappeared, the Emperor has been sidelined, and all government affairs are now decided by Chief Minister Jiang."

Xia Guoxiang Liu Xuanchu both showed joy on their faces.

Xia Guoxiang asked, "Your Highness, is this person Cao Cao or Sima Yi?"

"Hard to say."

Liu Xuanchu: "Your Highness, what is the number of casualties among the bannermen?"

Wu Yingxiong shook his head.

"Then, how many bannermen are left in the capital?"

Wu Yingxiong shook his head again.

"Did the Qing government suppress the news?"

"To be precise, it was Grand Secretary Jiang Qingyun who ordered the news to be blocked. I spent a lot of money to investigate everywhere, but I found nothing."

"Your Highness, I don't understand. How did he manage to keep such a big thing a secret, especially since it happened right under everyone's noses?"

Wu Yingxiong waved his hand.

"Everyone knows that tens of thousands of people have died, but only two people in the entire capital know the exact number."

"Who?"

"One is Chief Minister Jiang, and the other is Minister of Revenue Zhou Shao."

"It's a serious matter to use silver to force this Lord Zhou to open his mouth; even if it costs 50 taels of silver, it's worth it."

Wu Yingxiong stared at Liu Xuanchu, whose face was resolute.

"Is my father preparing to raise an army?"

Xia Guoxiang and Liu Xuanchu exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously, formally denying the question.

Xia Guoxiang took out a letter from his sleeve.

"Your Highness, this is a letter written in the Prince's own handwriting."

After reading the letter, Wu Yingxiong burned it and sighed with an ambiguous meaning. No one knows a father better than his son. His father's temperament had not changed at all; he both coveted the throne and feared being no match for the Eight Banners.

In comparison~
At this point, he no longer held the fighting prowess of the Manchu Eight Banners in high esteem. Having witnessed Jiang Qingyun slaughtering Banner soldiers as easily as slaughtering pigs and sheep, he could no longer feel any awe.

……

An hour later.

The two bid farewell and left the Prince's Mansion. As soon as they left the mansion, plainclothes detectives were on guard, following and monitoring them from morning till night.

Fifteen minutes later, Wu Yingxiong also went out to visit Jiang Qingyun in the south of the city.

"Greetings, Grand Secretary."

"Brother Wu, sit down. You look great today."

"A letter from my hometown is worth a fortune."

"But did Your Highness capture the Yongli Emperor?"

"No."

"But did you kill Li Dingguo in battle?"

"No, not at all." "Why has the Prince's formidable army suddenly become so weak?"

Wu Yingxiong was quite embarrassed.

After a while~
He then whispered, “Father has already surrounded the Ming army in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Li Dingguo’s troops are short of food and weapons, and their morale is low. They are already dead.”

Jiang Qingyun remained silent, simply drinking his tea.

Wu Yingxiong continued.

“Yunnan is barren, with meager tax revenue and a shortage of food and military pay. My father hopes that the court can increase military pay, as 300 million taels per year is really not enough.”

"How much do you want?"

"400 taels!"

……

Jiang Qingyun smiled.

“Yingxiong, we have a very close personal relationship, so I can tell you some facts. This year, the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury is running a deficit, and it will continue to do so next year.”

"Why is this so?"

"With the capital unstable and a lack of officials, local grain and tax revenue could not be delivered to the capital in a timely manner."

Wu Yingxiong's eyes flickered, half believing it.

He used the act of drinking tea as a cover, but his mind was racing, and he felt that Jiang Qingyun was deliberately showing weakness or had some hidden purpose.

After a while~
"Grand Secretary, in principle, the court is facing difficulties, and Father should understand. However, the campaign to quell the Ming army in Guangxi has reached a critical juncture. If the military funds are insufficient, we fear that we will be letting the tiger return to the mountain, and all our previous efforts will be in vain."

How many soldiers does the Prince of Pingxi command?

"10."

"Do you know how big the Hundred Thousand Mountains are?"

Before Wu Yingxiong could answer, Jiang Qingyun began to speak on his own.

"The Ten Thousand Mountains stretch for 300 miles. Not to mention 10 soldiers, even 100 million or 200 million soldiers could not surround the Ten Thousand Mountains."

Wu Yingxiong became anxious.

"Grand Secretary, Li Dingguo's troops have indeed fled into the Ten Thousand Mountains."

"Since you put it that way, how about we make a bet? If your father can annihilate the Ming army within a year and deliver the heads of Zhu Youlang and Li Dingguo to the capital, I will pay 1800 million taels of silver in one lump sum. Shall we bet?"

Wu Yingxiong was speechless, thinking to himself, "It was you who told my father, 'Never let the southwest be peaceful for even a day!'"

Jiang Qingyun seemed to have mastered the art of mind reading.

"But I didn't let Prince Pingxi make exorbitant demands. Your actions will only lead to mutual destruction. The sage's teaching of the Doctrine of the Mean..."

Wu Yingxiong's eyes lit up.

"Please enlighten me, Grand Secretary?"

"Come here."

……

The next day, at noon.

The Meridian Gate slowly opened, and civil and military officials filed in.

Half an hour later~
The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed through the streets. Chief Minister Jiang, who had earned the privileges of being praised without being called by name, not having to bow when entering the court, and being allowed to wear a sword and shoes in the palace through his own efforts, arrived under the protection of 500 armored soldiers.

The guards at the Meridian Gate all knelt on one knee.

"dismount!"

"Enter the palace!"

Five hundred armored soldiers marched straight in, standing all the way from the Meridian Gate to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Armored soldiers lined both sides of the path. Jiang Qingyun rode his horse at a trot until he reached the steps outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Only then did he dismount and walk into the hall, his expression arrogant and oblivious to everyone around him.

The eunuch quickly brought over a chair.

Jiang Qingyun sat down leisurely. At this moment, he was just a little bit away from the pinnacle of being a minister—the bestowal of the Nine Bestowments.

……

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Shunzhi resembled a middle school student, his expression serene, his heart churning, his thoughts sometimes soaring to the heavens, sometimes plunging into the sea, sometimes wailing, sometimes exhilarated.

In short, they dared not speak out against their anger.

The Shenwu Gate is still under repair, leaving the palace vulnerable. A single charge by cavalry could breach the palace's defenses.

Jiang Qingyun stared at Shunzhi for a while.

He could basically conclude that the young emperor had entered a period of forbearance and dormancy, and that he would not openly oppose him in the short term.

The Third Eunuch took a deep breath:

"By imperial decree, the envoy of the Prince of Pingxi is invited into the palace."

Several dozen breaths later~
Xia Guoxiang and Liu Xuanchu entered the hall together, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" and behaving with great respect.

Shunzhi glanced at Jiang Qingyun and saw that his expression was normal.

"Why has the Prince of Pingxi sent you to court?"

"Your Majesty, the war in Guangxi has entered a critical stage. The 300 million taels of military funds are insufficient to support the front-line battle. The Prince of Pingxi requests the court to allocate an additional 200 million taels of military funds."

(End of this chapter)