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

Chapter 35: Secret Death
"Wanting to pursue with light cavalry, but the snow covers my bow and sword"—this is the best description of Jiang Qingyun at this moment.

They galloped away on horseback.

When he arrived at the Meridian Gate, his scabbard and bow were covered with snowflakes.

After dismounting, he handed his weapon to a guard at the Meridian Gate, a third-class guard named Suleda, whom he had met once before.

Sureda nodded slightly, expressing goodwill with his eyes.

……

"Ouch!"

The young eunuch leading the way slipped and almost fell, but fortunately, Jiang Qingyun caught him in time and helped him regain his balance.

"Third Master, be careful."

"Thank you very much."

The two walked one after the other through the snow into the majestic palace.

Jiang Qingyun silently took out a silver ingot, and the little eunuch, seeing that no one was around, quickly accepted it. This was the second time the two had met.

"May I ask your name, Third Eunuch?"

"Oh, what name does a nobody like me have? I'll just call him Little Sanzi."

"Third Eunuch, is the smallpox outbreak in the palace going badly lately?"

"Two palace maids died in Qianqing Palace, and one eunuch died in Cining Palace. I won't mention the other palaces."

"The Imperial Medical Academy has failed in its duty."

"In winter, you wear a lot of clothes, so you can't see pimples. By the time you notice them, it's too late."

"You mean the palace servants deliberately kept it from us?"

"more or less."

……

The two left a trail of footprints in the empty square before heading towards the Qianqing Gate.

The Forbidden City is divided into the outer court and the inner court.

The outer court was the office of the emperor and his important officials, while the inner court was where the emperor lived, resided, and entertained himself, with the Qianqing Gate as the boundary.

For a subject to be able to enter the Qianqing Gate is considered a great honor.

Jiang Qingyun's yellow cotton armor was stained white by the heavy snow, making it appear as two white flags from afar and two yellow flags up close.

The Qianqing Palace is warm and cozy, like springtime.

"Jiang Qingyun, raise your head."

Shunzhi saw a face that felt somewhat familiar, perhaps because of the armor, or perhaps because they were both young.

Jiang Qingyun saw a face that was slightly aggressive and full of ambition.

"Give me a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You did a good job in the south of the city, from fire and water protection to theft prevention and planting smallpox seedlings. You are a person who gets things done."

"Those who receive a salary from the imperial court should do something for the common people."

Shunzhi was quite satisfied with what he heard. In reality, ten years later, he wouldn't have been satisfied with those words. At this time, Fulin (Shunzhi's father) hadn't fully grasped the perspective of an emperor.

……

"I ask you, if the Regent dies, how should the court handle the aftermath?"

"Have him buried according to proper rites, and give him the highest honors in his final days. At the same time, arrest and deal with his accomplices; kill those who should be killed, and imprison those who should be imprisoned. Once the dust settles, we will turn back to settle accounts—after all, the world belongs to the emperor."

Emperor Shunzhi was initially angry, then pleased, and then became reserved.

"I am still young and need the Empress Dowager's support for a while longer."

This one sentence reveals his true thoughts.

"There are some things only you dare to say. The Manchu nobles all speak in roundabout ways. I really don't understand when they became such Confucian scholars with bound feet?"

"Your Majesty, it's simply a matter of avoiding trouble and protecting oneself."

"you are right."

The hall was quiet for a while.

Shunzhi stepped down and approached, whispering:
"You came to see me in military attire today, and I understand your intentions. I will tell you a secret: Dorgon is dead, and his coffin will be delivered to the capital soon. There are no more than five people in the capital who know this. Do you understand my intentions?"

"Your subject requests to concurrently serve as the city gate officer."

"Very well, Xizhimen is temporarily under your control. I have already ordered the Ministry of War to issue an edict to the Shanxi front, ordering Prince Duanzhong Bolo, Prince Zhuang Shuo Sai, Prince Li Manda Hai, and Prince Ying Ajige to separate from the army and return to the capital immediately."

"I have a request."

"speak."

"Could we transfer some firearms from the Ministry of War to strengthen the military preparedness of the Military Command?"

"I grant your request. Go to the Ministry of War and collect 300 matchlock muskets, 200 sets of cotton armor, and 600 sets of swords, shields, and spears. I will write you the necessary paperwork."

After leaving the Forbidden City~
The first thing Jiang Qingyun did was to ask for the official gazette, which was exclusively for officials of the third rank and above.

The official in charge of the official gazette did not hesitate and immediately agreed to send an additional handwritten copy of the gazette to the South City Military Command starting that day.

Afterwards, Jiang Qingyun mustered 50 men and stormed into the Ministry of War, fully armored and ready for battle!
At the entrance of the Ministry of War.

Four soldiers on guard duty quickly stopped them.

"Stop! What do you want?"

slap~
Jiang Qingyun raised his hand and slapped one of the soldiers. His subordinates immediately rushed forward and slapped the other three soldiers repeatedly.

Arrogant! Overbearing!
Our Five Cities Military Command follows this brutal approach.

……

Armory Division of the Ministry of War.

Hong Shizheng, the physician in charge of the armory, looked at the soldiers who had barged in with considerable surprise.

"I am Jiang Qingyun, the Censor-in-Chief of Zhili Province, here to collect weapons. Open the armory and let us choose for ourselves."

"Wait, what? You're just opening the armory for you to choose from? Did you follow the proper procedures?"

"In these extraordinary times, I cannot concern myself with the red tape of your Ministry of War. I will ask you one more time: will you give it or not?"

"The Armory has its own rules! It's not your personal kang (heated brick bed)."

slap~
Jiang Qingyun decisively slapped the doctor Hong Shizheng hard across the face.

"You dare to hit me?"

*Slap!* Another slap, a wide, sweeping motion that sent the person flying into the corner of the room.

"Someone come quick! Someone come quick!"

Hong Shizheng was yelling at the top of his lungs.

Jiang Qingyun was not in a hurry and waited quietly.

Outside, there was a cacophony of voices. More than 30 guards from the Ministry of War, armed with bows, crossbows, swords, and knives, blocked the corridor, looking menacing.

"Who dares to force their way into the Ministry of War? Kneel down!"

……

Jiang Qingyun then took out the note written by Shunzhi, first handing it to Hong Shizheng, and then to the captain in charge.

"Do you recognize this red seal? It's called an imperial seal."

"Disarm!"

Clang, clang, swords and knives were scattered all over the ground.

Zhao Zesheng and Zhou Cang rushed out again and slapped each of them in turn, their palms aching from the repeated blows.

What does it mean to bully others by abusing one's power?

This is.

More and more officials from the Ministry of War gathered in the courtyard, all of them angry, but daring not to speak out.

“Imperial Censor Jiang, I was wrong. I will take you to the armory right away.”

Hong Shizheng was Hong Chengchou's nephew, and he realized that Jiang Qingyun was doing this on purpose.

"Sir, the weapons are too heavy; we cannot move them."

"Then lead the Ministry of War's horses and harness the Ministry of War's carts."

After the commotion, everyone from the Ministry of War came out, including many veterans of the battlefield. They glared angrily and refused to let anyone pass.

Jiang Qingyun, relying on his armor, rudely smashed through.

He also left out a sentence:

"The Ministry of War is not an independent kingdom. Our Censorate will deal with you sooner or later."

The news reached the Censorate.
Left Censor-in-Chief Ning Wanwo was dumbfounded and furious. He was about to send someone to find Jiang Qingyun to see him when he suddenly remembered something and held back.

……

News of Imperial Censor Jiang slapping dozens of people from the Ministry of War spread throughout Beijing once again.

His father, Jiang Zhongcheng, nearly suffered a stroke upon hearing this, filled with grief and indignation.

What kind of official in the world behaves like this? Does he have a death wish?

Now, when his colleagues see him, they act like a young lady seeing a high-ranking official—they dare not look him in the eye, only offer a fawning smile, and then slip away against the wall.

Hong Chengchou, the Minister of War who was overseeing the construction of the "Inner City Seedling Workshop" outside the city, sneered repeatedly. He couldn't understand why Jiang Qingyun insisted on offending him, and why he did so time and time again.

Fan Wencheng, however, understood that Jiang Qingyun had deliberately made their conflict public to completely eliminate the possibility of Hong Chengchou dragging them into the Miao affair within the inner city.

(End of this chapter)