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

Chapter 378 Since ancient times, true love cannot be retained, only tricks can win people's hearts.

Wang Fuchen eagerly argued:

"Prime Minister, I truly had no idea that marching in winter could be so perilous."

“If you are in a position, you should fulfill your duties; if you are not in a position, you should not fulfill your duties. Wang Fuchen, as the governor of Hunan, how can you shirk your responsibilities like this? Since you are not competent to be the governor, then go and be the provincial judicial commissioner.”

"Prime Minister, I have been wronged!"

Jiang Qingyun stormed up to Wang Fuchen, raised his hand, and slapped Wang Fuchen repeatedly, leaving his face covered in welts.

The two guards stared wide-eyed, their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Jiang Qingyun's hand went numb from hitting him, and he cursed, "You bastard, you've committed a heinous crime, and you still dare to talk back. Get out of here and go serve in the Jiangxi army."

Wang Fuchen walked out of the house with tears in his eyes.

Then another sound came from behind.

"Fine, I'll become the Governor of Jiangxi."

Everyone praised him, saying, "The Grand Secretary is magnanimous."

Jiang Qingyun sighed, waved his hand, and said with emotion, "Politics without human touch cannot go far. We cannot exterminate those who have contributed to the destruction of the Wu bandits."

Li Guoying felt bitter; he felt he had been tricked.

I regret it so much!
Governors and viceroys from various provinces shared the same sentiment.

……

Not only should the culprits be punished, but the results of the punishment should also be made public in order to conform to the United Empire's governing philosophy of "fairness, impartiality, and openness".

A military camp.

Zhou Peigong loudly announced:
"Thanks to the Heavenly Emperor Empire, the Tatar bandits entrenched in Liaodong have been wiped out under the swift blows of our heroic allied forces. Now, our allied soldiers are returning in triumph, but unexpectedly they encountered a severe snowstorm on the way, resulting in thousands of people suffering from frostbite. The sight of them is so tragic that it breaks the heart of Chief Minister Chiang."

"The Grand Secretary fined himself 1 taels of silver to settle the wounded soldiers and wrote an edict of self-reproach."

“Those responsible will also be punished accordingly.”

"The Prime Minister instructed that the responsibility for this accident must be reviewed, the individuals responsible must be identified, and lessons must be learned from this incident to prevent similar occurrences."

The various battalions were shocked, in uproar, and deeply moved; many soldiers were moved to tears.

Oh~
How surprising! Even a high-ranking person can make a mistake.

The soldiers were talking amongst themselves.

"This matter is not actually the Prime Minister's fault."

"Yes, if God wants it to snow, you can't blame anyone else."

"Ah, the Grand Secretary is truly a benevolent ruler."

"The Grand Secretary is not the Emperor."

"almost."

Suddenly, shouts came from outside the camp: "Brothers, look! The Grand Secretary is on patrol!"

The orderly array of warhorses, flags, armor, and marching steps, followed by the ceremonial knights, came the "Prime Minister" wearing a gold mask with openwork details, waving frequently to all around.

Both aloof and approachable.

The soldiers felt a pang of sadness upon seeing this, and their knees buckled.

"Long live!"

After going through numerous ups and downs after leaving the pass, the Grand Secretary's already high personal prestige among the soldiers soared even higher, to an absurd degree.

Wherever the stunt double went, soldiers lined the streets to welcome him, and the cheers on the scene were like waves.

It was not pre-arranged, nor was it deliberately instigated; it was a purely spontaneous act.

The magic power is finally achieved!

……

The welcoming ceremony was held half a mile away.
Yao Qisheng and Zhou Peigong also raised their hands in a cheering gesture, but their expressions were indifferent as they whispered to each other while watching the noisy scene in the distance.

"It's incredible."

"Yes, they are clearly local militia, but they are better than the imperial guards."

"True feelings are hard to retain, but tricks win people's hearts."

"There's nothing we can do; there are just too many ignorant people in the world."

"Do you think he can really succeed?"

"At most 30 years." "It's not impossible for him to want to be emperor himself; everyone would support him. But he actually wants to undermine the foundation of Confucianism, which is intolerable."

"He's too arrogant!"

"How to say?"

"He was an expert in dragon-slaying techniques, but he deliberately misused them. He knew everything, and he did it on purpose."

"Brother Yao, what do you think he'll do next?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he will drastically distort the doctrines of Confucianism! Under the guise of defending Confucianism, he will completely change the teachings of the sages."

"Heroes see the same thing."

As they were talking, a soldier with a broken leg crawled past them and turned to ask, "Sirs, is it Prime Minister Chiang who has arrived?"

"Yes."

The wounded soldier struggled to crawl towards the noisy area using only his two hands.

Zhou Peigong and Yao Qisheng turned to look at each other, and both saw the unconcealable fear in each other's eyes.

……

At the Prime Minister's order, the frostbitten soldiers remained in the Liaoxi Corridor, and they were transformed into small landowners with farmland, cattle, and houses.

The 50 mu of land was a meritorious field bestowed by the imperial court.

But as long as you're bold enough, you can occupy any farmland around you, and even cultivate 100 acres without any problem, since there's no one else to cultivate the land anyway.

The biggest problem is labor!

Many soldiers who are missing limbs are not capable of heavy physical labor.

However, humans are born with an upward "spirit," and it is with this spirit that humans have transformed from one of the species on Earth into the master of all living beings on Earth.

So there's no need to worry.

Life will always find a way!

A piece of news spread like wildfire in the Liaoxi Corridor—the Grand Secretary ordered the Zheng family's fleet to attack the Goryeo Kingdom and demand 5000 young women to marry into the families of the generals.

result~
Zheng's fleet defied orders and fled far away.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt both regret and resentment.

Latest news has arrived again—Chief Minister Chiang has given a stern instruction that the personal problems of the soldiers stationed in the military camps must be resolved. To this end, the court will send envoys to Goryeo next spring to discuss the purchase of women. If the King of Goryeo disobeys the order, the court will launch a campaign against Goryeo, kill its men, abduct its women, and destroy its ancestral temples.

Everyone was so moved that they shed tears.

Even more miraculously, the heavy snow that had been falling for several days in the Liaoxi Corridor actually stopped!
For half a month, the sky was clear.

Everyone says that it was the Prime Minister's personal virtue that moved God.

Distribute land, build houses, and issue pensions!
Two months later~
When Chiang Kai-shek's imperial carriage set off again to return south, the wounded soldiers knelt on both sides of the official road with tears in their eyes, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" Their piety and loyalty were truly moving.

The Grand Secretary took half a month to travel a mere hundred li.

Gratitude needs no words!

……

When the army saw the outline of Shanhaiguan again, everyone was moved to tears.

The United Empire organized an army of 14 to conquer Liaodong. The war lasted for a year, and now 7 have returned.

Undoubtedly, this was an extremely successful expedition, a military operation that will go down in history. The 7 soldiers who perished defended the nascent United Empire with their blood.

Suburbs of Beijing.

The Banner Guards returned home, and the Zhili Green Standard Army also returned to their respective units.

The remaining 3-plus local miscellaneous troops were ordered to set up camp in Tongzhou.

Tongzhou had several large-scale grain reserves under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, which facilitated the local distribution of military rations.

In just a few days~
Disheartened, the governors and viceroys of the various provinces unanimously submitted to the Ministry of War the list of meritorious soldiers in this battle, requesting the court to generously reward them with rich gifts.

8% of the people on the list are military officers!

"These people are openly challenging the imperial court's authority to win over the hearts and minds of the troops!"

The rule of officialdom: whoever promotes you, you become their man. Military officers nominated and recommended by governors and viceroys naturally become their confidants.

Jiang Qingyun frowned, an idea forming in his mind.

"Tell the Ministry of War that all meritorious soldiers must be summoned by me personally before they are rewarded!"

(End of this chapter)