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

Chapter 286 The total collapse is imminent~
Forbidden City.

Emperor Shunzhi talked with the pregnant Empress for an hour, and then went to visit Consort Tong, who had given birth to Prince Xuan Ye half a year earlier.

Afterwards, he rested alone.

Early in the morning, the sky was overcast.

Outside Deshengmen.

Under the bright yellow banner, Shunzhi was still dreaming of a tidal wave of bannermen spontaneously pouring out of the capital, kneeling before his horse, willing to die for him.

Time slowly passed by~
Only a few bannermen came out of the city and stood behind him.

"Head count."

Half an hour later.

"Your Majesty, 2341 people."

This number was outrageous, and Shunzhi's heart sank, but he still tried to remain calm.

"hold on."

……

Half an hour later, the number of people had increased by more than 300.

Another half hour passed, and 20 more people joined.

Another half hour passed.
A lame old bannerman walked out of Desheng Gate, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he walked up to Shunzhi's horse and knelt down with a thud.

"Your Majesty!"

“There’s no one left.”

The old bannerman's cries were like a high-speed cannonball shattering Shunzhi's heart armor. He looked up at the sky and felt that the sky was spinning, the earth was spinning, and everything was spinning.

puff~
Emperor Shunzhi coughed up blood and fell from his horse.

The crowd gasped in surprise and helped him up, carrying him back to the Forbidden City.

Shunzhi's plan to send troops to Baoding failed as soon as it began, triggering a series of chain reactions.

The bannermen of the capital lamented.

The surrounding provinces sneered.

At the urging of his subordinates, Jiang Zhongcheng began to prepare for the establishment of the Jiang dynasty, emulating the Tang dynasty, with his son ascending the throne and his father becoming the retired emperor, but the father was kind and the son was filial.

The failure of Shunzhi's public mobilization of troops exposed the final layer of truth, forcing everyone to face the reality that the emperor had lost the hearts of the people.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that from the moment he fell from his horse, Shunzhi's political life was over, and there was no possibility of turning it around.

Because of human nature!

A counterintuitive theory: On the surface, power comes from the seal, but in reality, it comes from the human heart.

……

The southern city was deserted; all the people had fled.

Although there were people in the inner city, they all looked as if they had lost their parents, and walked listlessly.

A black market has emerged!
Stalls are set up every day at the foot of Jingshan Hill, bartering goods.

Manchu bannermen in the capital used silver ingots, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, house deeds, land deeds, armor, weapons, and even servants, women, and pets to buy wine, meat, and medicine from black market merchants.

Enjoy each day as it comes.

They had considered robbery, but the black market merchants were very ruthless. There was an instance where 10 plainclothes cavalrymen chased after more than 100 bannermen all the way from Jingshan to Deshengmen, and not one of them dared to turn back.

After several rounds of competition, the bannermen resigned themselves to their fate.

If you lose your fighting spirit, having a large number of people is pointless.

This moment is just like that moment.

……

Forbidden City.

Before Emperor Shunzhi had fully recovered from his serious illness, he gathered a group of palace maids in the Qianqing Palace to drink, dance, and enjoy themselves day by day.

"Jump, keep jumping, and I will reward you."

Looking at the frail and inhumanly thin Shunzhi, Empress Hesheli shed painful tears and grabbed Shunzhi's sleeve.

"Your Majesty, you must pull yourself together."

"Ah, it's the Empress. I'm sorry. You...you may leave now."

Shunzhi coldly pushed aside the pregnant empress and continued his heavy drinking.

Empress Hesheli, heartbroken, walked to the front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and happened to see several eunuchs dragging a bronze tripod across the sacred square on a cart.

"How dare you, you lackeys!"

The leading eunuch brazenly glanced at Empress Shehri several times, from head to toe, then swaggered away with a grin.

Moment~
A chill ran from her feet to Hesheli's head; she suddenly realized that the sacred and inviolable order of the royal palace had completely collapsed. If he weren't a eunuch, she might very well be...
Back in her palace, Hesheli quickly packed up the Empress's Book and then, escorted by several trusted guards, walked through the stinking streets back to her home.

The mansion is in chaos, as if they are about to move.

"Ama?"

"Hesheli, you're back just in time! I was just about to go to the palace to take you back to your hometown!"

Which hometown?

"My hometown, Shengjing."

"Father, take Consort Tong and her son with you."

"No, you are already pregnant, there is no need for you to bring Xuan Ye along."

What if I'm having a girl?

"That means the Qing Dynasty's fate is sealed. Let's go, let's go quickly, or it will be too late."

That day, realizing that total collapse was imminent, Sony gathered more than 200 people and hastily left Beijing. Before leaving, he did not forget to take the half-mad Ao Bai with him.

Good brothers, for life.

……

In the northern part of the city, near the Yonghe Temple, a rainstorm caused overflowing sewage to flood the surrounding area.

The Manchu people complained.

"what happened?"

"The sewage can't be transported to the south of the city, and no one cleans up the sewage."

The group had no choice but to take off their boots and wade through the sewage to get home.

There's no way around it; this is what happens when the capital city loses its labor force in the south—it's a mess of sewage and garbage everywhere.

忍~
I can only endure it.
Everyone lived like zombies, without hope, just taking it one day at a time.

When the news reached Baoding Prefecture, Sukesaha immediately went to see Jiang Zhongcheng.

"Your Excellency, this is a golden opportunity! Send a messenger immediately to inform the Grand Secretary to return to the capital."

"You go and write the letter first, I'll prepare it."

After consulting with Wu Yong, the Imperial Physician who was also in Baoding, Jiang Zhongcheng reached the same conclusion. He then made up his mind to send a fast horse south to inform his son to return to the capital immediately.

……

The inner city reeked of a foul stench.

A yamen runner shouted, "I have good news for everyone: Premier Chiang will be returning to Beijing the day after tomorrow!"

After shouting three times, he painted a red notice on the wall.

The large red notice read:
The wise and capable Grand Secretary achieved a great victory in suppressing bandits in Jiangnan, annihilating the Donglin Party bandits and seizing a large amount of money and grain. Upon learning of the incident in the capital, the Grand Secretary decided to return immediately!

Tears blurred the vision of the Manchu bannermen, and loyalty welled up in their hearts.

"Great."

"Everything will be alright as long as the Grand Secretary returns to the capital."

"The Prime Minister is finally coming back, waaaaah!"

"There is hope for our Eight Banners."

On that day, the news that "the Grand Secretary will return to Beijing the day after tomorrow" spread like wildfire throughout the city, causing a stir in the inner city, as if injected with a powerful stimulant.

Countless people eagerly awaited the return of their savior.

That year, the flag soldiers, tormented by reality, had never longed for a "benevolent yet strong leader" as much as they did today.

A flag bearer cannot be without a leader, just as a warship cannot be without a helmsman.

……

Kunming.

Pingxi Palace.

The day before Wu Yingxiong's secret letter arrived, a fierce argument broke out between strategist Liu Xuanchu and Wu Sangui.

"Your Highness, you can no longer hesitate, raise an army immediately."

"This is a matter of great importance and requires careful consideration."

"Your Highness, what are you waiting for? Jiang Qingyun has already ravaged the Eight Banners to pieces. He is the mantis, and we will be the oriole. One hundred thousand soldiers from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces support Your Highness in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing yourself as emperor."

“Xuan Chu, you are still young. You don’t know how powerful the Eight Banners soldiers are. They are unparalleled in horsemanship and archery, and invincible in open field battles. If they were on the plains, no one could stop their charge.”

"Your Majesty?"

"You need not say more. Our troops will continue to strengthen their forces and stockpile provisions. Without my order, no one may enter Hunan."

(End of this chapter)