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

Chapter 285 Shunzhi Takes a Desperate Gamble, Decides to Personally Lead the Army
The two sides confront each other.

The bannermen shouted, "How dare you! Are you rebelling?"

Shopkeeper: "Uncle Qi, times have changed. Today, you either pay for the goods, or we can have a little game?"

The flag soldiers, feeling provoked, drew their swords.

"Under the emperor's nose, in the magnificent capital city, do you think you can escape?"

The man holding the homemade gun grinned maliciously, "There are no cowards in Majuqiao, and no weaklings in the Axe Gang. If you dare to take another step forward, I'll spray a face full of iron sand."

The flag bearers were apprehensive; the barrels of the muskets used for hunting ducks in Baiyangdian could be stuffed with half a pound of iron shot.

An old bannerman sheathed his sword and deliberately struck up a conversation: "Gentlemen, where are you from?"

"Majuqiao!"

The flag bearers were immediately alarmed.

Majuqiao, a famous area on the outskirts of Beijing, has always been a place where all sorts of people mingle.

Jiang Qingyun's father-in-law, Jiang Deshun, was stationed in Majuqiao. With 300 plainclothes Green Standard Army soldiers as the backbone, he gradually gathered over a thousand heroes of the martial arts world.

From gradually raising prices, to tightening the supply of goods to Beijing, to now...
……

The Manchu bannermen looked around and saw many shadowy figures in the abandoned shops of the market, suspecting an ambush, so they abandoned their plan to rob the place on the spot.

"Damn it, give me four pounds of salted pork."

"okay."

After accepting the silver, the men remained unmoved.

"Where's the salted meat?"

"Come back to pick it up in two days."

"What? You're messing with me?"

The shopkeeper chuckled and said, "During this national crisis, supplies are extremely scarce. Our rule in Majuqiao is to take payment first, then deliver the goods. What, you disagree?"

Such a threat is tantamount to defying the natural order.

As the number of flag bearers entering the market continued to increase, the atmosphere on site became increasingly tense, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Yi Qi Ding gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Fuck your mother, give me my money back!!"

"At most, you can get a 50% refund."

"Full refund!"

"Fuck your mother's fart."

The conflict thus erupted!

It's unclear who started it, and nobody seems interested in finding out. It's pointless. What good would it do even if it were found out? Would they just inscribe "Majuqiao fully responsible" on the grave?

The homemade guns from Baiyangdian were the first to spew flames, and a group of flag soldiers fell to the ground in response.

"kill!"

Swords, axes, and forks were used in a frenzy of attacks.

Blood gushed out, and severed limbs fell to the ground.

Although the heroes of the martial world were arrogant, they were no match for the skilled soldiers in a real fight. Soon, they were defeated and forced to retreat by the well-trained soldiers.

The Chongwenmenwai Street market was instantly transformed into the Chongwenmen Slaughterhouse.

……

Once the bannermen saw blood, they couldn't stop, relentlessly chasing and killing the unruly civilians from Majuqiao, leaving a trail of heads rolling.

Chase for half a mile~
A group of men stood up on the nearby rooftops and started firing arrows wildly.

Under the barrage of arrows, the bannermen suffered heavy casualties and were forced to abandon their pursuit.

"Chief Yan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, damn it, I didn't expect these Tartars to be so good at fighting."

"Go and organize the evacuation of the people."

"do not worry."

In the brief battle just now, Yan Mou finally realized the huge gap between the regular army and the Jianghu gangs, a gap that could not be bridged at all.

Soldiers from the Zhili Green Standard Army used bows and arrows and matchlock guns to repel the unsuspecting Bannermen.

The alarm bells are ringing!

A large number of bannermen spontaneously gathered.

The southern part of the city is in complete chaos.

The wealthy families in the southern part of the city had already evacuated, as had the more astute ones. Even the common people who had been unwilling to abandon their homes were now forced to flee in haste. Plainclothes soldiers set fire to the buildings outside Chongmen, Wenmen, Xuanwumen, and Zhengyangmen to block the Eight Banners troops.

There was no devastating flood in the capital, but thick black smoke billowed from it.

……

Outside the city, the pursuing Eight Banners cavalry, the fleeing civilians of the southern city, the plainclothes armed forces blocking the way, and the ubiquitous horse traps created a chaotic concert.

Commander-in-Chief Jiang Qingyun was thousands of miles away.

The concert came to an end as the sun set.

The next day.

The nine gates of the capital were tightly closed, and armed guards patrolled the city.

When Emperor Shunzhi personally left the palace, he saw corpses scattered all over the city, including those of the Eight Banners, civilians, and plainclothes officers. He felt as if he had swallowed several kilograms of bitter herbs, and the pain was unbearable.

"Issue the order to gather the troops."

A mournful horn sounded, and all the Manchu people in the city silently gathered at the foot of the city wall, looking up at their emperor.

……

Public speaking is an art, an art that belongs only to a very few people.

Emperor Shunzhi choked up.

"Brave Eight Banners soldiers, I am guilty, I have failed you. It was I who appointed the treacherous minister Jiang Qingyun, which has brought the Qing Dynasty to such a state."

A slight commotion arose among the crowd.

Sony and his Manchu officials closed their eyes in anguish, their hearts filled with unspeakable frustration.

Shunzhi continued his loud speech.

"The southern provinces refused to obey the imperial edict, while the northern provinces paid lip service to it. The Ministry of Revenue has not been able to collect taxes and grain for half a year."

"Nowadays, the Qing Dynasty's influence is limited to the capital city and our old home in Liaodong."

"Eight Banner soldiers, I will lead you to conquer the country from scratch. The Han people are cowardly. If we can defeat them once, we can defeat them a second and a third time."

"All of this is my fault. I will issue an edict of self-reproach and take full responsibility for all the crimes. Tomorrow, for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, I hope you will voluntarily accompany me on the expedition, but no funds will be provided for the expedition."

"If you still love the Qing Dynasty, let's meet outside Deshengmen tomorrow morning."

After saying this, Shunzhi actually knelt down on one knee.

The crowd was deeply moved to see the emperor kneel down, and they all knelt down and wept bitterly.

That night, the capital was unusually quiet, like a ghost town.

In fact, no one was asleep.

……

Zhenghongqi Defense Zone.

In the home of an ordinary bannerman, the entire family, young and old, gathered under an oil lamp for a family meeting.

The teenage son asked, "Father, shall we go tomorrow?"

The father, in his thirties, said: "Go to hell, the entire family of the old prince who was the banner lord of our Plain Red Banner is dead."

Son: "But it's my Great Qing Dynasty!"

Father: "You Qing Dynasty? You're surnamed Aisin Gioro? You better remember this, your damn surname is Yehenara."

The woman quickly tried to stop them, saying, "Don't make noise, keep your voice down."

An awkward silence fell over the room.

After a while, the old man, who was smoking silently, said, "Anyway, the emperor is calling for volunteers, so let's let those who volunteer go to fight."

The son choked up, "Father, but I love the Qing Dynasty."

The old man's eyes also reddened: "Son, I love the Qing Dynasty too, but without the mobilization funds, without a guaranteed livelihood, and without any compensation if I die, how will you support the Qing Dynasty?"

The family embraced and wept bitterly.

The old man wiped away his tears.

"Son, it's not that we're afraid of dying, it's that we can't fight these kinds of foolish battles. If we die, we won't even have a coffin."

My father didn't understand politics and couldn't articulate profound truths, but he instinctively realized that the Eight Banners were on the wrong path.

From its inception, the Eight Banners were a system where everyone provided their own warhorses and weapons, followed a leader who could win battles, obeyed the leader's commands, and fought in the south and north, plundering silver, women, and land.

The rules are very clear!
The objective is very clear!
And now?

The people were like headless flies, bumping around aimlessly. The Eight Banners had deviated from their original purpose and were doomed to failure.

(End of this chapter)