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

Chapter 40 Auspicious Omens!

Pocket Alley in Xicheng District, Qiao Family Bank.

"Commander Zhao, what brings you here?"

"By order of Imperial Censor Jiang Qingyun, I need to borrow some silver."

"How much?"

“In the name of the Five Cities Garrison, we will borrow 1 taels of silver for a term of one year, with the interest rate depending on the market.”

The clerk, wearing tortoiseshell glasses, hesitated for a moment before offering a forced smile and explanation.

"Lord Zhao, the small branch can only exchange 10,000 taels for you first. The remaining 20,000 taels can only be released after the head manager of the main branch signs off. This is the rule of the bank, and there's really nothing we can do about it."

Zhao Zesheng stared at him: "How long?"

"About a month."

"Okay, let's draft the document."

……

Dashilan, Cao Family Bank.

The shopkeeper looked anxious.

"Commander Zhao, what brings you here in person? Please have a seat and some tea."

"I'm here to pay back the money."

The shopkeeper's eyes reddened. He hadn't expected Imperial Censor Jiang to be so kind and generous as to actually return the money. It was truly a miracle.

"Your Excellency, you have worked tirelessly for the country. The small account does not charge interest, only the principal."

"You said it yourself?"

"Yes, yes, we only accept 3000 taels of principal."

They checked the silver ingots, destroyed the IOUs, and wrote a receipt.

Afterwards, Zhao Zesheng swaggered away from Cao Family Bank.

……

They left the Cao family's bank.

Following his superior's instructions, Zhao Zesheng sent 1000 taels to Zhou Shao and 20 taels to the families of the wounded and deceased brothers.

The rewards were generous and the food was excellent. The brothers of the Five Cities Garrison were extremely fond of Imperial Censor Jiang, and their enthusiasm for patrolling the city was unprecedented.

If we don't work our butts off, it really won't do.

People still have a conscience after all.

All day long, the silver carriage was on the road, growing lighter and lighter, while people's hearts grew heavier and heavier.

Zhao Zesheng couldn't understand how his superior would deal with this situation of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

So he asked:

“Song Er, you know, if our lord borrows money like this, it’s like a snowball rolling downhill. What will happen in the future? After all, the Shanxi merchants are imperial merchants. They can take their cases all the way to the emperor.”

Song Er, the Manchu official in charge of all the kitchens, smiled in a very strange way.

"Don't worry, Lord Zhao, our lord is very wise."

……

As they were talking, the carriage arrived at the overpass.

Crowds of people.

"Lord Zhao, look!"

In the middle of the crowd, a pretty little girl was juggling balls, first throwing three, then four, then five.

Zhao Zesheng stared at the string of balls dazzling in the air, but they just wouldn't land.

He had a sudden flash of inspiration and excitedly whispered.

"I understand, as long as it doesn't land."

Song Er was busy watching the excitement.

"Sir, shall we give you some reward money?"

"Give it! You must give it!"

Zhao Zesheng took out a small piece of silver and tossed it to Song Er.

Song Er pushed through the crowd, walked to the innermost circle, raised the silver, and spoke loudly.

"Southern City Military Command, reward!"

……

With this lead, the onlookers followed suit and generously donated, and for a moment, copper coins flew everywhere in the air, much to the delight of the father and daughter who were performing.

From south to north, they were constantly extorted for venue fees by local thugs, but they didn't encounter any at the overpass in the south of the city.

They assumed that being under the emperor's nose meant all the petty villains had vanished, but they never imagined that the Southern City Military Command was so ruthless that no martial arts hero dared to set up a gang in the Southern City.

The old man accepted the reward on the iron plate, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.

Dang rang~
A burly man tossed down five coins' worth of silver.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir." "Old man, let's find another place soon. The commander of the military garrison here is a lecher, especially fond of women who wield weapons."

"Yes Yes."

The old man thought to himself, "This is not a bad thing at all; it's a great thing. If she were to encounter a discerning official, my daughter would be very fortunate."

Being an official's concubine is much better than living a life of hardship and deprivation.

No matter what venue, I won't change it, I won't change it.

……

The person speaking was Yan Mou, the leader of the Axe Gang.

His last assassination attempt on Jiang Qingyun failed, resulting in the deaths of two of his brothers and two arrow wounds. He hid in the countryside to recuperate for half a year, and now he has returned in disguise.

Normally, if a gang in the martial arts world were to assassinate an official of the imperial court, regardless of success or failure, they would be subjected to the most severe crackdown by the government, with wanted posters displayed for at least 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers).

A few days ago...

The Axe Gang members sleep with knives under their heads every day, always ready to flee.

As a result, nothing happened, and the government didn't react at all.

So much so that several of the gang leaders came to question him: "Boss, is this your hallucination? Did you really assassinate him?"

I asked it too many times.

Yan Mou also experienced hallucinations, often muttering to himself, "Did I assassinate him?"

But the pain from the arrow wound on his back was definitely not an illusion; the infection nearly cost him his life.

Returning to the old place, Yan Mou looked at the bustling and clean Zhengyangmenwai Street as if he had been in another world. Wasn't that corrupt official trying to eliminate the population by inoculating people with smallpox?
Why are there still so many people?

"Boss, why don't we just give up? The common people can't fight the officials; we can't win."

"Well, let's take a look first."

The group silently blended into the crowd, looking around curiously.

……

The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

A grand procession set off from the southern part of the city, heading towards the Forbidden City, as planned.

Cavalry led the way, while infantry maintained order from behind.

The procession was filled with music and drumming, with suonas playing and gongs and drums resounding. Crowds of people lined both sides of the road, all of them Manchus.

"What is this for?"

"The procession from the south city is going to the Forbidden City to deliver the good news."

"Imperial Censor Jiang is truly a remarkable person."

"That person really knows how to be an official. With this move, he's probably going to get promoted again."

……

Jiang Qingyun rode behind the group on horseback, accompanied as usual by his wife in military uniform. He had married her so that she could protect him 24 hours a day.

My mother completely agrees with this.

The old man scoffed and sent a message through someone: if you want to learn some real battlefield combat skills, go find him.

But Jiang Qingyun knew that to practice martial arts, he needed to gain weight first. He couldn't break through his current martial arts ceiling without gaining 30 or even 50 pounds.

Thinking of this, he turned his head and glanced at Zhou Cang, who was half a horse length behind him. Zhou Cang was dark-skinned and fat, and his armor was about to burst.

"Brother Qingyun?"

"Let the suona players put in a little more effort, and give everyone an extra pork knuckle."

"okay."

The moment the elbow was served, the suona player went wild.

The penetrating sound could be faintly heard within the Forbidden City.

Everyone thought the celebration parade was a way to flatter Emperor Shunzhi, but little did they know that Jiang Qingyun harbored murderous intentions; he wanted to use the opportunity to put Hong Chengchou on the fire.

Traitors are despicable.

Traitors like Hong Chengchou, who were commanders at the same level, were even more hateful. Eliminating him would also relieve the pressure on the Southern Ming.

……

"Your Majesty, the troops from the south city have arrived."

"Let's go, I'll go and see for myself."

Emperor Shunzhi could not contain his joy and was eager to witness the first auspicious sign after he assumed power.

Indeed, that's exactly what Jiang Qingyun said in his memorial to the throne—"When a wise ruler takes personal control of the government, auspicious omens will surely appear."

Who dares to say there isn't?

The three inner courts sent the auspicious omen to the emperor. After hesitating for a long time, Shunzhi decided to experience the feeling of good fortune.

Everyone has psychological needs, and the emperor's psychological needs were actually stronger. The reasons for this are quite subtle and will not be elaborated here.

Meridian Gate!

As Shunzhi watched the slowly approaching procession and listened to the cheers rising and falling, his heart pounded as if he were a young female official in the palace climbing into the imperial tent.
(End of this chapter)