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

Chapter 314 Reversing the Confucian and Mencian Way!

Although the maidservant tried her best to please him, she was inexperienced and did not understand proper etiquette, so she could not properly comfort the Grand Secretary.

After it's over~
Seeing that he looked reserved, Jiang Qingyun chatted with him for a few minutes.

"Where are you from?"

"My family lives outside Yangzhou City."

Have you been to school?

"I have read 'Rules for Women'."

Can you recite it from memory?

"Those who abstain from extravagance must first practice frugality. For simplicity cultivates character, while extravagance destroys virtue."

I can recite the whole thing fluently without any stuttering.

"Go down and walk a few steps."

Jiang Qingyun nodded in satisfaction. Being able to recite "Rules for Women" and possessing the appearance of a woman who would bring forth sons—this was the kind of good woman who would fill the inner quarters of a feudal household.

Feudal yet civilized, conservative yet progressive.

Without realizing it, he forgot how he came from.

……

Outside the window, someone called softly.

"Young Master, Old Master Huang has arrived."

"Quick, change your clothes, I'm going to see him right away."

study.

Jiang Qingyun saw Huang Zongxi with a serious expression, and the two baskets beside him.

"This is?"

"Prime Minister, this is the plan of the top three scholars on how to deal with those who failed the exam."

"I'll see."

Jiang Qingyun casually grabbed a handful of books, and instantly, his smile froze.

"anonymous?"

"Yes."

"Was the inventory not counted and announced on the spot?"

"Yes."

"Let's take inventory now."

The two of them silently picked through the options, tossing the two choices into two separate baskets. Fifteen minutes later, they finished. The basket containing the second option slip was almost overflowing, while the basket containing the first option slip was very shallow.

"Prime Minister, the problem is very serious."

Jiang Qingyun smiled.

Huang Zongxi also smiled.

"Prime Minister, I've seen far too many people like this when I was organizing the righteous army along the coast of Zhejiang. They always spout lofty ideals and righteous pronouncements, each one a paragon of virtue. But in private, they're nothing but scoundrels and scheming scoundrels. Before the Qing army arrived, they looted houses and women. When the Qing army came, they immediately knelt and surrendered, scrambling for official positions. The teachings of the sages are good in themselves, but these people haven't learned a single thing well. They say one thing and do another. I—"

Huang Zongxi was speechless, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Prime Minister, why do you think this is?"

"Ah~ practicing Confucianism and Mencius in the real way will only lead to setbacks. Practicing Confucianism and Mencius in reverse is the only way to find shortcuts."

"Is there any hope?"

"Yes. We should find those who practice Confucianism and Mencius against their teachings and kill them all."

"Prime Minister, we cannot be lenient."

Huang Zongxi's eyes reddened with excitement.

"Old Huang, you stole my line," Jiang Qingyun laughed. "Oh, by the way, I'll assign important positions to all the people you introduced, but there's one condition: if they also practice Confucianism and Mencius in reverse..."

"No need for the Grand Secretary to worry, I will personally oversee the execution."

……

That night.

Wen has come again.

"Yun'er, I want to talk to you."

"Alright, all of you step back."

"Yes."

Once only the two of them remained inside, Wen went straight in.

"Yun'er, do you want to be the emperor?"

"Mother, I cannot give a clear answer on this issue at the moment."

"why?"

"Politics is complex. There are some things you can do but not say, and some things you can say but not do. For those who play politics, casually expressing their attitudes is a major taboo."

"Alright," Madam Wen said meaningfully, "Whatever you do, I will support you." "Thank you, Mother."

"But I think what you need is not the support of your family, but the support of the army."

"Yes, I will train a new army in Baoding Prefecture."

"Yun'er, you also have to be wary of your father."

"What happened to my dad?"

"He might just drape the imperial robe over you ahead of time."

"I see."

“Besides the support of the army, I think you also need a son. Yun’er, offspring are of great importance. Before an heir is born, you'd better not go to the front lines. What if... everything is over?”

"Row."

"Also, it's time to clean up your inner quarters. Women with complicated backgrounds like Liu Zhangtai should be eliminated. Your mother and Jiangnan are going to prepare a clean and pure inner quarters for you."

……

The next day, early in the morning.

The Jiang family mansion began to be vacated, and a group of women, including Liu Rushi, were sent to a nunnery to practice asceticism, led by the nun Liu Zhangtai.

Lady Wen was a rather traditional woman. She believed that the reason she couldn't have a grandson for so long was because there were too many evil spirits in the mansion, which affected the feng shui.

Feng shui is very important.
Jiang Qingyun was still fast asleep when Liu Rushi's maid came knocking on the door for help.

He rushed there.

"Mother, Liu Rushi must stay."

“Yun’er, she’s almost 40, has such a complicated past, and comes from a bad background. You’re the Grand Secretary now, what kind of woman can’t you find?”

Ms. Wen disliked this woman who was the same age as her.

Jiang Qingyun could only pull her aside and whisper, "It's not for entertainment, but to influence Zheng Sen through her. Zheng Sen is very arrogant and difficult to communicate with."

"Okay, this won't happen again."

The mother and son each took a step back.

……

When the tearful Liu Rushi saw Jiang Qingyun again, she threw herself into his arms. She was so frail, pitiful, and old! If she were kicked out of the manor, how would she survive in the future?

Jiang Qingyun gently patted her slender back and smiled, "Why are you crying? Wipe your tears, grind the ink, I'll dictate, and you write the letter."

"Yes."

Liu Rushi seemed to have found her pillar of support, and obediently rolled up her sleeves to grind ink.

As Schopenhauer said, women do not have independent personalities; their thoughts lie somewhere between those of children and adult men.

Even Liu Rushi, the most resolute of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, could not face life alone.

Two letters!
One letter was for Zheng Sen, and the other was for Chen Yuanyuan to pass on to Wu Sangui.

While writing the letter, the intelligent Liu Rushi suddenly realized that her greatest value was not her status as one of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai," but rather her role as a conduit for communication between various parties.

She panicked instantly.

My heart skipped a beat and my hand trembled, leaving ink stains on the paper.

"what happened?"

"Ah, I'm alright."

"It's alright, I'll write it this afternoon. Now, let's go play with the calico cat."

Looking at the young and gentle Grand Secretary, Liu Rushi felt a pang of sadness and blurted out, "Let Liu Shu enter the mansion!"

……

Despite the demonstrations in the central government and the rebellions on all sides, and the signs that the world was turning into the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period or warlord separatism, Jiang Qingyun remained calm and waited quietly for Wu Sangui to reveal his weakness.

Wu Sangui was at best a mediocre, third-rate military strategist, while I was a first-rate politician in the feudal era.

In the battle between Chiang Kai-shek and Wu Li, the advantage lies with me.
Through the constant stream of official reports from the front lines, Jiang Qingyun closely monitored the situation.

The two provinces closest to us, Shandong and Henan, have adopted a policy of non-violent non-cooperation, neither causing trouble nor handing over grain, pretending to be transparent, and attempting to stay out of it.

South~
Wu Sangui's rebel army has been attacking cities and seizing territories with fierce military might, and has already occupied most of Yunnan, Hunan, Guangxi and half of Jiangxi.

The Liangjiang region has not yet been affected by the fighting.

The Shaanxi-Gansu Green Standard Army and the Zhili Green Standard Army reinforcements have arrived in Jiangning and are under the command of Zhou Shao.

Nanchang has fallen!

Acting Governor Suleda, Admiral Xian Guoan, and Lieutenant Commander Hahamu led several hundred remaining soldiers in a hasty breakout to Jiujiang.

After capturing Nanchang, Wu Jun's eastern corps turned south to launch a full-scale attack on Ganzhou, attempting to establish contact with Guangdong. The merger of Wu and Shang forces was imminent.

Wu Jun's western front army group, based in Yuezhou Prefecture, Hunan, built warships, stockpiled grain, and recruited new soldiers, seemingly intending to launch a major attack on Jingzhou and Wuchang.

As always, Sichuan Governor Li Guoying and Admiral Wang Jinbao appeared loyal, but in reality, they leaned towards neutrality.

They were extremely loyal to Shaanxi and Gansu, and were willing to serve as henchmen.

The most baffling thing is Shang Kexi from Guangdong!
He publicly declared his support for Wu Sangui's rebellion, but his actions were perplexing. He neither attacked Jiangxi nor Fujian, but instead launched a vigorous campaign to suppress bandits within the province.

(End of this chapter)