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

Chapter 301 is claimed to be worth 800,000, but is actually worth 26,000.

The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Jiang Qingyun personally inspected the capital, first the inner city, then the southern city, then the city wall defenses, and finally the various material storage warehouses.

Being hands-on in everything is the true nature of powerful ministers.

After completing his inspection of the capital, he went out of the city to inspect the Tongzhou granary on the outskirts of Beijing.

"The Tongzhou granary is of great importance. The daily grain reserves must be sufficient to meet the daily needs of the military and civilians in the capital for more than three years."

Seeing that the accompanying Vice Minister of War, Kuraba, seemed hesitant to speak, he noticed that...

Jiang Qingyun stopped and asked coldly, "Is there some difficulty?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I wanted to know exactly how many people live in the capital so I could roughly estimate the city's annual food consumption."

……

"presumptuous!"

Jiang Qingyun's expression suddenly changed.

"Guards, remove his official hat."

The Vice Minister of the Granary was stripped of his official robes and dragged away by soldiers on the spot. The moment he asked about the exact population of the capital, he was already a dead man.

The population of the Eight Banners was a top secret of the imperial court.

They claimed to have 80!
The actual number is less than 15!
This figure includes all men, women, children, Manchus, Mongolians, and Han Chinese.

Before the attack on Shanxi, the number of bannermen aged 15 to 40 was close to 3.

The campaign in Shanxi resulted in over 3000 casualties, so the number of able-bodied men currently fit for combat has dropped to 26550.

Ten years ago, when Dorgon entered the pass, he was able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of bannermen.

Thanks to Jiang Qingyun's tireless efforts, the number of cases was successfully reduced to one-quarter!

……

Lunar New Year's eve.

Firecrackers were going off all over the capital.

Even standing in his own yard, Jiang Qingyun could smell the strong sulfur odor, but he didn't dislike it; instead, he deliberately took a deep breath.

Ah ~
This is incredibly pungent sulfurous air.

Jiang Zhongcheng arrived through the snow to express his dissatisfaction.

"How much gunpowder will be wasted during the New Year? A major war is about to break out, and gunpowder is very precious."

"Dad, setting off firecrackers can kill germs."

"What army?"

"Sulfur can kill germs that cause illness, thus reducing the occurrence of various epidemics, just like sprinkling lime powder."

"Is this Dr. Wu's prescription?"

"Correct!"

"Alright, let's just leave it there. It's not a waste."

Jiang Zhongcheng muttered to himself.

Since the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the capital had been plagued by various epidemics, resulting in countless deaths. If the threat of epidemics could be completely eliminated, it would be no less significant than a victory in war.

Jiang Qingyun gazed at the fireworks rising one after another in the distance.

"Yun'er~"

"Ok?"

"Ahem, have you ever thought about becoming an emperor?"

"Father, am I any different from the emperor now?"

"Yes. As long as you don't sit on the dragon throne, you will never be the emperor."

What do the people below think?

"Hehe, the entire Zhili Green Camp supports your ascension to the throne."

Jiang Qingyun took a deep breath and turned to stare at Jiang Zhongcheng.

"Father, remember this: never let your subordinates influence you. Major decisions must be made by me personally. No one may make decisions on my behalf; otherwise, it will be considered treason."

"Ok."

Jiang Zhongcheng found it rather boring, so he simply left first.

……

During Jiang Qingyun's Yunnan tour, deep-seated hatred was formed between the bannermen of the inner city and the people of the southern city.

The inner city and the southern city never interacted with each other until death.

There were originally three gates between the two cities: Zhengyang Gate, Xuanwu Gate, and Chongwen Gate.

Nowadays, only the Chongwen Gate is open daily.

Xuanwumen is closed indefinitely.

Only officials of the fourth rank or above were allowed to pass through Zhengyang Gate.

The Chongwenmenwai Street Market was renovated, expanded, and walled up, forming a relatively closed trading market, which was also the only place where the Manchu people of the inner city and the people of the southern city came into contact.

Under the soldiers' supervision, the two sides conducted the transaction in silence.

Previously, the labor force needed for various industries within the inner city was provided by commoners from Zhili Province. These people worked in the city during the day and lived outside the city at night, spontaneously forming village after village. ...

In the first month of the lunar calendar.

One change after another occurred in the capital.

The fifth day of the first lunar month.

Right after the worship of the God of Wealth, large red notices were posted all over the entrances of the inner city's alleyways.

"The Grand Secretary has ordered a major operation to be launched in the first month of the lunar calendar in order to eradicate all kinds of epidemics."

"All Manchus, let's work together to eliminate all unsanitary corners! Garbage, sewage, weeds, and mud—clear them all away. Hygiene keeps you healthy! For yourselves, for your families, for our community, let's all take action and declare war on this plague!"

The next day.

The inner city was in an uproar.

Everyone, regardless of age or gender, carried tools and went out. They worked in alleys, with the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled responsible for weeding, and the flag bearers responsible for clearing away the garbage.

The slogan on the wall reads:

"When the Eight Banners are united as one, no one in the world can defeat them!"

"Cleaning is also part of the New Life Movement!"

In the past, the bannermen would rather die than work; the Eight Banners had been a purely military organization since its inception. But now, they didn't complain at all.

For 10 consecutive days.

At dawn, after hearing the sound of gongs outside, everyone went out to work.

In the afternoon, a gong sounded, signaling the end of the workday. Then, people would go to the public bathhouse in batches, bathing once every three days.

Under the care of Chief Minister Chiang Kai-shek, all bathhouses were free of charge during the major cleaning period!
The goal is to cultivate this group of people's habit of taking frequent baths.

With mountains of garbage and weeds cleared from the inner city, the urban area was transformed.

It seems that everything has changed.

Under the strict yet loving Chief Minister Chiang, the Manchu people in Beijing were quietly undergoing changes in everything from hairstyles and clothing to their lifestyles.

Only a very small number of people complained in private.

Guarjia Liushu got covered in mud while clearing rotten leaves and weeds from the roof. After climbing down the ladder, she couldn't help but curse.

"This is a giant prison!"

Suhetai, who was holding the ladder, was startled.

"Silence!"

"Are you trying to kill yourself? You can't say something like that."

"Chief, when will the Ming army begin its northern expedition?"

"It will be soon. The situation in the south is excellent. I have already received a secret letter from Lord Uert. He said that Prince Pingxi has come to his senses and is ready to join the anti-Qing and restoration movement."

"Great."

Guarjia Liushu excitedly hugged Suhetai's neck, and the two of them, their hearts fluttering, quietly slipped into a woodshed.

……

Five miles south of Yongdingmen.

The Ministry of Works, acting on the orders of the Cabinet, built more than thirty large-scale handicraft workshops, covering mills, papermaking, glassmaking, iron smelting, forging, gunpowder, coal briquettes, bricks and tiles, woodworking, brewing, leather, and textiles.

They invited master craftsmen from various places to teach techniques and recruited ordinary people from the southern part of the city to work.

The construction site stretches for five miles, with workers bustling about.

In addition, the smokeless coal mines in the Mentougou area also experienced explosive growth, absorbing a large number of displaced people into becoming miners.

The Shanxi merchants' assets had been lying dormant underground for decades, yet Jiang Qingyun spent the money without a second thought.

His goal was to use the capital's infrastructure and suburban handicrafts as two driving forces to boost the economy around the capital, ensuring that everyone had work, food, and money.

The siphon effect is very obvious.

Craftsmen throughout Zhili spontaneously flocked to the capital, and most of them successfully entered government workshops and secured jobs.

In any case, it's better than farming.

……

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Jiang Qingyun and Huang Zongxi inspected the construction site along the river.

"What does Elder Huang think?"

"The Grand Secretary has a compassionate heart and extraordinary talent; I admire him greatly."

Do you know why I chose a location south of Yongdingmen?

"Please inform the Grand Secretary."

"This location is downstream of the wind and water flow, which can prevent smoke and sewage from the production process from entering the capital and disturbing people's lives."

"I see, I've learned something new."

"Master Huang, I believe that knowledge in this world should not only be theoretical but also practical. Empty talk harms the country, while hard work builds it up. What do you think?"

Huang Zongxi quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"I have learned a lesson."

(End of this chapter)