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

Chapter 273 Beating Up the Donglin Party

"Remove armor!"

"Drop your weapons!"

Jiang Qingyun pointed downwards.

"Brothers, do you see that group of scholars holding up signs?"

"Saw!"

"Listen up, everyone! Five taels for every person you kick into the water. Five taels for every piece of clothing or hat you strip off. Use your fists, your military boots, and your belts to beat them mercilessly! Beat them until their heads bleed! Beat them until they're utterly disgraced! Beat them until they can't get out of bed for half a month!"

"As ordered."

The soldiers excitedly accepted the order on one knee, then rushed down the ramp and charged towards the scholars, flanking them from both sides in an attempt to claim the reward.

The Donglin group stirred slightly.

"Alliance Leader, what should we do?"

……

Qian Qianyi took a deep breath.

"Don't panic!!"

"Kneel down~"

After saying this, the statue of Confucius knelt down.

The Confucian scholars also knelt down.

Although their lower bodies were kneeling, their upper bodies were straight, their heads were raised high, their eyes wide open, filled with grief, indignation, weakness, squalor, and stubbornness.

People say that scholars are timid, but that's not entirely true.

If there's a path to promotion and wealth, they're fearless! They're as bold as Zhao Zilong!
Jin Shengtan, the famous unsuccessful scholar from Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, was among them.

He raised his thin fist to encourage those around him: "In full view of everyone, if the Sage Confucius kowtows once, a number of officials in the two rivers region will fall from grace."

It has to be said that these people have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.

Unfortunately, the soldiers had only one thought in their minds—the reward!
"Damn it!"

The short, stout soldier at the front delivered a flying kick, sending the statue of Confucius flying.

Instantly, everyone's blood turned to ice.

No?

Even the most revered teacher like Confucius was beaten?
What happened to the promise that when Confucius knelt, the official hats of officials in the two Jiang regions would fall to the ground?
……

Qian Qianyi's first reaction was to run away!
A scholar encountering a good soldier—reasoning is useless!
These soldiers dared to attack even Confucius, the Sage Confucius; what are I, the leader of the alliance, compared to them?

However, the old man, who had been pretending to be sophisticated for years, had an outstanding demeanor and it was obvious at a glance that he was the first culprit.

"Quickly, grab the one with the long beard."

Two soldiers kicked Qian Qianyi from behind, sending him flying and landing face-first in the mud.

His hat was stolen.

5 taels!
His boots were stolen.

5 taels!
In order to get more reward money, the two soldiers simply turned him over and stripped him of his scholar's robes.

As Qian Qianyi resisted, he cried out in anguish, "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"

"I'll fuck your mother!"

A punch to the face silenced him instantly.

Two soldiers grabbed Qian Qianyi and began punching him repeatedly in the stomach. It would be much easier to knock him unconscious first and then strip him of his scholar's robes.

After the analysis~
The two of them worked together to drag the naked Qian Qianyi, and jogged towards the Grand Canal.

"One, two, three~"

The two men exerted force simultaneously, throwing the unconscious Qian Qianyi into the canal with a splash.
Fortunately, it was early summer, so the water wasn't cold.

Qian Qianyi was from Changshu and knew how to swim. He could barely float on the surface of the water and not sink.

A small boat appeared in the blurry vision.

The boatman pulled him onto the boat, and Liu Rushi, with tears in her eyes, stood at the stern looking at the disheveled old man who looked like a pig or dog waiting to be slaughtered.

“Mu Zhai, if you had bravely died for your country in the first year of the Hongguang reign, why would you have been humiliated again and again? You could have been listed in history alongside Minister Shi.”

"Mu Zhai, do you regret it?"

Faced with the beauty's questioning, Qian Qianyi was speechless and silently curled up into a ball.

After a long while, Qian Qianyi muttered to himself.

"Death is the only hardship of all time! Alas~"

Liu Rushi's inner world completely collapsed.

……

On the shore, the beating continued.

Jin Shengtan and several scholars risked their lives to protect the elm wood carving of Confucius.

They shouted at the top of their lungs: "Emperor Shunzhi bestowed upon Confucius the title of Supreme Sage and Teacher, you will lose your heads for doing this!!"

Under normal circumstances, these words would indeed intimidate soldiers.

But today is different. The order was given by Chief Minister Jiang himself. Who is Chief Minister Jiang? He is the Prime Minister's father! He is both the Prime Minister of the Empire and the Emperor's stepfather.

After a frenzied barrage of punches and kicks, one of the soldiers, still not satisfied, picked up the wooden statue and smashed it against Jin Shengtan.

"I'll smash you to death! I'll smash you to death!!"

Jin Shengtan was hit on the head and bled profusely.

Two soldiers dragged the thin, chick-like Jin Shengtan toward the riverbank.

"Fuck you!"

Jin Shengtan was also thrown into the canal, but the splash he made was far less than that of Qian Qianyi.

……

Ship's side.

The guards stopped an official who was trying to board the ship.

"stop!"

"Grand Secretary! Grand Secretary, it's me! I am Zhu Guozhi, the Governor of Jiangsu!"

Zhou Cang walked over.

"Let go."

Jiang Qingyun stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back.

Zhu Guozhi rushed over in three strides and knelt down with a thud. He was trembling with excitement.

"Prime Minister, my admiration for you is as boundless as the Yangtze River."

"Prime Minister, you fought well, you fought well!"

"Although I am also a disciple of the Confucian school, I believe that the precedent of carrying the statue of Confucius and storming the imperial court must not be allowed to happen again. Only decisive suppression can uphold the dignity of the imperial court! In any case, Confucius cannot be above the imperial court."

Jiang Qingyun slowly turned around and walked towards Zhu Guozhi, exuding a strong sense of pressure.

"Zhu Guozhi, I don't blame you for your poor eyesight. Is that a statue of Confucius?"

The third eunuch brought over a chair.

Jiang Qingyun gracefully sat down and parted her lips slightly: "It is clearly the statue of the Five Gods!"

Zhu Guozhi only paused for two seconds before realizing what was happening.

"Yes, yes, there is a mountain called Shangfang Mountain in the southwest of Suzhou City, and there is a Wutong Temple on the mountain! The ignorant people in the Jiangnan region often go to the Wutong Temple to borrow their karmic debts!"

Jiang Qingyun then revealed a satisfied smile.

"Zhu Guozhi, there are two things you need to do right now! First, uncover the moral failings of the Donglin officials. Second, find out what land they have hidden."

"If you do well, you can stay on. If you don't do well, I'll move you to another position."

"Whoo."

Zhu Guozhi kowtowed immediately, his back covered in cold sweat.

……

Suzhou Prefecture was shocked!
The three prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, and Changzhou were shocked!
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces are shocked!
Changzhou Prefecture, Wuxi County.

Dozens of local scholars walked around the county town three times, raising their arms and shouting: "Our heads may be severed, but our traditions must not be abandoned. We will fight that imperial envoy surnamed Jiang to the end."

The county magistrate remained silent because he knew that the imperial envoy's contempt for the literati was a pretense; his real purpose was to collect the outstanding taxes and grain.
Everything else can be supported, but the matter of collecting overdue taxes and grain is not allowed, because the county magistrate's family really has overdue taxes and grain.

The citizens were outraged and discussed the matter extensively.

"Beating up a scholar is really going too far."

"Yeah yeah."

"But the government has killed scholars before."

A young scholar passing by stopped and explained with grief and indignation.

"Can that be the same?"

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. A noble scholar can be beheaded, but he cannot be humiliated. These are two completely different things. How dare they humiliate the Supreme Sage and Teacher!"

The students in the march wept uncontrollably, unable to accept the reality that the Sage Confucius could not protect them.

I'm not even going to pretend anymore, this damned Qing Dynasty.

The courtesan upstairs cried and wiped her tears with a fragrant handkerchief.

The beggar squatting on the street corner also cried, letting his tears wash away the dust on his face.

Although they didn't know which master was the so-called Supreme Sage and Teacher, the feeling of openly empathizing with the lofty Wenquxing (a deity associated with literature and scholarship) was wonderful.

I am honored to be a part of it.
Nietzsche once said: From kings to beggars, everyone has spiritual needs.

Nietzsche was right!
In short, undercurrents were surging in the Jiangnan region, and those who opposed Chiang Kai-shek were numerous and widespread.

(End of this chapter)