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

Chapter 326 The Eight Banners are unreliable, I'll go find the New Army

When Jiang Qingyun heard about Lai Bao, a stubborn member of the Ninth Banner, committing suicide in public, his first reaction was admiration.

People with convictions deserve respect.

Including the enemy!

However, Lai Bao's affair also reminded Jiang Qingyun that the Ninth Banner had grown into a malignant tumor within the Eight Banners.

In the study room.

Jiang Qingyun muttered to himself.

"Lai Bao, you've given me a tough problem."

"Guess what? Knowing full well that the Ninth Banner was hidden within the Eight Banners, would I still dare to send the Eight Banners from the capital south to quell Wu Sangui's rebellion? What would the Ninth Banner do on the battlefield? Defect? ​​Mutiny? Burn the supplies? Or assassinate me?"

"What we lack most right now is time."

"But the military situation was urgent, and I didn't have time to carefully screen them. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and send the Eight Banners of the capital into battle despite their illnesses, bleeding profusely."

A chilling glint flashed in Jiang Qingyun's eyes.

We can't be lenient!

……

The next day.

Baoding Prefecture.

Near the New Army camp, shacks stood side by side, and the sounds of chickens and dogs filled the air, creating a bustling atmosphere.

suddenly~
An officer rode up on horseback, shouting, "Fellow villagers, the Grand Secretary has come to visit you!"

Behind~
It was a large and distinguished procession.

Armored soldiers cleared the way, and the ceremonial procession was majestic.

The crowd was so frightened that they knelt down on either side, and out of the corner of their eyes they saw a young man walking over with his hands behind his back and a friendly smile.

"Fellow villagers, please rise quickly."

Jiang Qingyun gently reached out to help each person up, showing no disgust or aversion despite their dirty clothes and hands.

A hunched old man trembled with fear: "Sir, you mustn't!"

"Old man, how can you not do it?"

"You are a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and we are lowly commoners. This is absolutely unacceptable."

Jiang Qingyun still held the old man's hand, helped him up, then looked around at everyone and asked with a smile, "Does anyone have a stool?"

Silence, no one responded.

Everyone had their heads down, looking extremely reserved.

Jiang Qingyun continued to ask:
"I am the current Grand Secretary, a first-rank official, and my surname is Jiang. Fellow countrymen, would any of you lend me a stool?"

In the crowd, a thin, dark-skinned girl with dirty braids ran home quickly and then quickly brought back a stool.

……

Jiang Qingyun carried a small stool and walked in front, while the crowd followed silently behind, creating an extremely strange scene.

There was a cool breeze by the river.

The wind carried the stench of mud, livestock, and human sweat.

A hen, whose hen was pawing at the riverbank, slowly and deliberately defecated in public, bringing back many long-forgotten memories of my time as a deputy section chief.

Jiang Qingyun found a flat patch of mud and sat down.

"Sit, everyone, sit down."

Everyone sat down on the spot.

"Girl, come here."

The thin, dark-skinned girl who brought the stool lowered her head, twisted her fingers, and took small, quick steps to move next to Jiang Qingyun.

The clothes are patched upon patched.

His hair was a mess, like straw.

The pants were too short, clearly passed down from his older siblings.

Barefoot, with dirt stuffed between their toenails.

"sit."

The girl sat silently on the muddy ground.

"how old are you?"

"9 is old."

"what's your name?"

"Chen Erya".

Where is your hometown?

Feixian County.

"Feixian County, Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, and you live in Mengshan?"

"Ah."

Did your parents tell you why you came here?

“My mother said there are land plots here.”

How many acres of land do your parents own back in your hometown?

7 mu.

How many people are in your family?

"6."

"There's too little land; we can't get enough to eat."

The surrounding crowd fell silent, not daring to respond. "Er Ya, do you miss home?"

Chen Erya nodded at first, then shook her head.

"Take it."

When Chen Erya saw that it was a silver ingot, she was so frightened that she immediately pulled her hand back.

"Take it, use it as a dowry in a few years."

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

A woman dressed in coarse cloth emerged from the crowd, claiming to be Er Ya's mother. She made a move to kneel down again, but Jiang Qingyun helped her up.

……

Jiang Qingyun looked around at everyone: "Fellow villagers, where are you all from? Start with you, and introduce yourselves one by one."

"I'm from Baoding."

"His name is..."

“I’m from Yanzhou.”

"I'm from Jining."

"Hejian".

The group haphazardly gave their names, mainly from Zhili and Shandong, with a few from Henan and Shanxi.

suddenly~
Jiang Qingyun grimaced and jumped up in surprise.

Looking down at the stool, I instantly understood. This is how stools with mortise and tenon joints are used for a long time: they wobble, gaps form, and they pinch the flesh.

The mortise and tenon structure is not advanced, but rather a compromise technique limited by the high cost of iron nails.

Er Ya's mother was terrified by the accident; her face turned ashen, and she was about to kneel down again.

Jiang Qingyun had no choice but to help him up again.

"Auntie, it's alright, don't frighten the child."

"Fellow villagers, when you return, please tell your neighbors that every family of a new soldier will be allocated 50 mu of land, of which at least 5 mu must be paddy fields."

Everyone was stunned.

It took them a while to realize what was happening, and they all knelt down on the ground, tears of emotion streaming down their faces.

Even if it's just 50 acres of dry land.

Then there was hope for the future.

Jiang Qingyun, with a gentle smile, helped each person up, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

……

Given the horrific accident where meat was caught in a stool, Jiang Qingyun was still shaken. He decided to travel around and conduct thorough field investigations to completely win over the morale of the new army.

A shack, with smoke rising from the earthen stove outside the door.

"Hey bro, starting a fire to cook?"

"Hey, hey."

The man was so frightened that he sat still and dared not move.

The newcomer was dressed in fine clothes and rode a spirited horse. His guards were fierce and silent. He was clearly an upright official from the imperial court who had come down incognito to investigate the people's conditions.

"Brother, is anyone still at home?"

"There is."

"Shall I go in and take a look?"

The man hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Jiang Qingyun didn't think much of it, pushed open the broken door and went inside on his own.

Inside the house, on the kang (a heated brick bed), which we'll call a kang for now.

In the dim light, a woman in her thirties and a teenage girl scurried onto the kang (a heated brick bed), clutching the blankets (which could be called quilts) to cover their lower bodies, their eyes filled with terror.

There was no other reason than that the family only had one pair of pants.

The Grand Secretary awkwardly touched his nose and retreated, embarrassed; no further words were needed.

……

Jiang Qingyun gently pushed away a free-range chicken that was trying to peck at his shiny boots.

lol~
giggle~
"Hey bro, what did we eat today?"

The man was so nervous he couldn't speak.

Jiang Qingyun simply walked to the earthen stove, lifted the pot lid (which we'll call the pot lid for now), and a herbal aroma wafted out.

It was dark and looked like the root of a plant.

There was only a ring of rice around the edge of the pot, constantly tumbling in the boiling water.

Jiang Qingyun felt a pang of sadness. He silently put the pot lid back on, thought for a moment, took off his black cloak, knocked on the door, and went back inside.

On the kang.

Two women, one older and one younger, were wrapped in a blanket and leaning against the wall.

"This should be enough to make two pairs of pants."

Jiang Qingyun put the cloak aside, nodded slightly, and bent down to walk out of the shack.

"Master~"

The man was holding a bowl of boiled eggs, and his posture was strange.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that one of the feet was disabled.

Jiang Qingyun solemnly accepted the rough porcelain bowl, ate a boiled egg, and then discreetly slipped a silver ingot into the bowl from his sleeve.

He put down the bowl and left silently.

(End of this chapter)