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

Chapter 263 This is a chaotic order; the Shanxi merchants will never obey it!
Beijing.

Suofu.

Sony clutched the secret edict, not daring to open his eyes for a long time.

Chiang Kai-shek, a traitor who has defied heaven and earth, destroyed the nation and murdered the emperor; he has defiled the palace and slaughtered countless lives; he is cruel and inhumane, his crimes are numerous! He has aroused the wrath of both gods and men, and the world is in turmoil. Now, by the Emperor's secret edict, we urge the raising of a righteous army to support the royal family and save the people. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, let us raise a great righteous army; with a single call, the entire city will be mobilized!

Life and death, survival or demise, are decided in a single thought.

His son, Songgotu, sat before him, along with his daughter, who was about to marry Emperor Shunzhi and become his empress.

"Song'etu, what do you think?"

"It is up to Father to decide."

Sony opened his eyes and shook his head, saying, "The Hershey family will never obey the imperial edict!"

"Father, what do you think the chances of winning are?"

Not even one percent.

"why?"

"The secret edict was full of grand principles, but lacked specific strategies. For example, it did not specify the time of the uprising, who would raise the flag first, where to attack first after the uprising, or where to attack next if it was thwarted. All of this was vague and confusing."

……

Empress Heseri watched it twice.

“Father, your daughter thinks this proclamation is written with great spirit and has a classical style.”

Sony nodded.

"That's the problem! The Empress Dowager never reads Confucian books, so how could she write such a flowery and literary manifesto?"

"Or perhaps it was drafted by someone else."

"How can something so important be left to others to do?"

"Father, is the handwriting correct?"

"The handwriting is correct."

The Empress Dowager's handwriting was unique and difficult to imitate. The more skilled a Confucian scholar was in calligraphy, the less likely they were to replicate this handwriting that resembled sheep grazing.

Just then, the butler arrived.

"Sir, the people from the Imperial Observatory have arrived."

"Please~"

Flower Hall.

Yang Guangxian, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, greeted the emperor with a beaming smile and clasped his hands in a respectful bow.

"Congratulations! According to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the grand ceremony is scheduled for the fifteenth of August."

"What did the Emperor and the Grand Secretary say?"

"His Majesty approves, and the Grand Secretary approves. The date for the grand ceremony has been set, so please make preparations as soon as possible, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Supervisor Yang!"

As soon as Yang Guangxian's figure disappeared outside the door, Sony's expression changed drastically, and he was horrified. He smelled a bloody odor.

……

Zhangjiakou, Shanxi.

The city gates were tightly closed and security was tight.

The garrison here, from the deputy commander to the battalion commander, were all men of Fan Yongdou, a merchant from Shanxi, and this had been the case since the late Ming Dynasty.

Zhangjiakou can also be called Fanjiacheng!
In a secluded mansion within the city, eight imperial merchants gathered together.

Meeting!
As the initiator of the meeting, Fan Yongdou bowed respectfully.

"Gentlemen, there are no servants today. If you want to smoke or drink tea, you'll have to do it yourself."

Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yun all waved their hands, indicating that it was no big deal.

"An imperial envoy from the capital has arrived, inviting us to the Forbidden City for a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet."

"What kind of banquet?"

"Hongmen Banquet!"

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, their expressions turning serious.

Each Shanxi merchant family had its own information channels, and the changing political landscape of the capital could not be hidden from them.

"Old Fan, are we going to obey the imperial edict?"

Fan Yongdou said disdainfully:

"This is a chaotic order! The Shanxi merchants will never obey it! It is clearly a powerful minister who launched a coup and held the emperor hostage, using the emperor's name to control the world. Does that Jiang fellow really think we are all deaf and blind?"

Everyone nodded.

Fan Yongdou continued his analysis.

“This man is ruthless. If we go there, we’ll be hostages; we won’t be able to keep our money, and we won’t be able to keep our lives.” Someone immediately echoed this sentiment.

"That's right. You can tell from the way he's borrowed money over the years. This person is hard to describe."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They were all seasoned businessmen, and they could see through Jiang Qingyun's little tricks at a glance.

……

"If we refuse to obey the order, will he send troops to attack us?"

Fan Yongdou waved his hand and said.

"Absolutely impossible. The powerful minister's army would not dare to leave the capital even a step."

"What if he sends a detachment into Jin?"

"General Gang Atai of Xuanfu has decided to stand on our side, and we also have soldiers."

"Is it reliable?"

“Very reliable. The Li family and Jiang Qingyun have an irreconcilable feud. According to sources, three months ago, Li Shuotai was beheaded and his head displayed in Guangzhou, and Jiang Qingyun slaughtered everyone in Li Shuotai’s mansion.”

"Great."

Everyone celebrated, feeling they had found a solid support.

Who is Gang Atai?

He was the third son of Li Yongfang and the younger brother of Li Shuaitai. He was promoted to the position of General of Xuanfu for his meritorious service in suppressing the Jiang Xiang mutiny in Datong.

Fan Yongdou stood up:

"I have contacted the Governor of Shanxi, the Prefect of Taiyuan, the Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu, and the Commander-in-Chief of Datong. Starting today, we will intercept all taxes from Shanxi and refuse to send them to the capital."

"Gentlemen, we are not disobeying the imperial decree; on the contrary, we are gathering strength to prepare to defend the emperor!"

Everyone stood up in unison and bowed deeply.

Shanxi merchants have always been known for their keen sense of opportunity, their unity, and their willingness to take big risks.

Immediately afterwards, everyone signed and pressed their fingerprints on the "Appeal for Self-Government of the Jin People".

What Fan Yongdou didn't say was that if the separatist pattern at the end of the Han and Tang dynasties could be reproduced, Shanxi merchants could also become warlords in Shanxi.

……

The eight major imperial merchants took immediate action, quietly and swiftly reducing their operating capital in various regions and withdrawing most of their personnel, especially from the capital.

The employees of the money exchange shops who were withdrawn from the capital were gathered together and massacred on the spot.

The debt owed by Chiang Kai-shek, amounting to over 500 million taels of silver, has finally come to an end!
pat!

This adds another bad debt that can never be recovered.

Although the eight imperial merchants were distressed, they knew that cutting their losses was the right thing to do. Centuries later, this mindset became known as: sunk costs should not be included in decision-making.

Five million taels of silver was a huge sum of money, but for the wealthy Shanxi merchants, it was not a crippling blow; at most, it was just a matter of losing some money.

Shanxi!

It became the first province to openly oppose the imperial court.

By the time the "Appeal for Shanxi People to Exercise Autonomy" reached the capital, and Chief Minister Chiang Kai-shek vehemently denounced the people of Shanxi as seemingly honest but actually cunning, it was already after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

……

Mid-Autumn Festival.

The atmosphere was harmonious as the royal celebrations and traditional festivals overlapped.

The emperor's wedding cost 20 taels of silver.

The reward for all the people of the city (including the Manchus in the inner city and the Han people in the southern city, one tael per household) cost another 31 taels of silver.

From this, Jiang Qingyun obtained a statistic: there were 31 households in the capital (regardless of whether they were Manchu or Han).

Further down the line, I dare not keep detailed statistics.

The fall of a nation and the destruction of its flag can happen in the blink of an eye!

This is not meant to scare people. With the current military strength of the Eight Banners, they can still maintain a local military advantage over any one or even two or three provinces.

However, it is absolutely impossible to be at odds with all provinces.

For Jiang Qingyun, maintaining the current delicate balance is important, and he should not easily break it.

Once the equilibrium is broken, there is a risk of things getting out of control.

As Afanti once said: Don't easily show off your skills, otherwise everyone will find that you have no skills.

People from Guizhou say: "The donkey of Guizhou has exhausted its tricks."

They mean the same thing.

In short, one should hide for as long as possible, and pretend for as long as possible.

As long as no one dares to stand up and challenge the authority of the central government, the Qing Dynasty will remain a paper tiger!

(End of this chapter)