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

Chapter 42 If one day I achieve my lofty ambitions, I dare to laugh at the lack of heroes in the land.

“You, surnamed Wu, are going to jeopardize His Majesty’s important affairs.”

“Mr. Hong, I’m a doctor with a conscience. I can’t abandon my principles as a doctor. No, that’s just no.” Wu Yong retorted without fear, “You’ve got a bunch of illiterate, pig-like Green Standard Army soldiers working here. Are you trying to cure patients or harm them?”

They were arguing.

Wu Yong, with his sharp eyes, suddenly grabbed a sickly soldier and tore open his uniform, revealing that the man's body was covered with red pockmarks.

Everyone gasped in shock.

"Smallpox has spread rampantly in your workshop. You, Hong Chengchou, still have the nerve to impeach me? Let's go to the Emperor's court to file a lawsuit."

"I***."

Hong Chengchou and Wu Yong got into a fight.

Commander Hong, after all, was a man who had commanded thousands of troops. He unleashed a barrage of punches, causing Wu Yong's nose to bleed profusely.

While hitting him, he kept cursing, "You quack doctor."

……

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Shunzhi smashed several porcelain vases.

"Hong Chengchou, you are utterly arrogant! Wu Yong is the Imperial Physician! He is a royal physician who treats the emperor! How dare you beat him?"

"I will be punished by death."

"Now tell me, is there anything wrong with your smallpox vaccine?"

"Your Majesty, it may not be as good as the ones from the South City, but it is still usable."

"Can it be used or not?"

"can!"

"Alright, I'll trust you one more time!"

Hong Chengchou walked out of Qianqing Palace in a daze. He glanced at the sky; the sunlight was bright and dazzling, but he felt a little cold.

……

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

South City, Bingmasi Hutong, Chiang Kai-shek's Residence.

An uninvited guest arrived—Hong Shiming, son of Hong Chengchou and a principal of the Ministry of Rites. It was he who had proposed marriage to her in Zhenxian Hutong.

Visiting them again now feels a bit awkward.

Mr. Wen stepped forward and treated them with courtesy.

After some pleasantries, Hong Shiming finally revealed his purpose.

“My father greatly favors Brother Qingyun, often praising him as a rare young talent in Beijing. This visit is to express his hope that our two families can become husband and wife.”

Madam Wen smiled awkwardly: "Thank you for your kind words, Minister, but my son is already married."

"It's alright, it's alright. My father's intention is for me to be a concubine."

"what?"

“I have a younger sister who is intelligent and beautiful. She wishes to become my concubine, Brother Qingyun.”

This attitude is so humble it's practically groveling.

"Madam, please reconsider."

Hong Shiming stood up and bowed deeply.

……

After seeing Hong Shiming off, Wen hurriedly found Jiang Qingyun and relayed the matter.

"Yun'er, is the Hong family facing some insurmountable obstacle?"

"Mom, you're amazing!"

"Don't beat around the bush."

"Hong Chengchou is now in a dilemma. The job he is in is a huge pit. If he doesn't resign, he will surely die. If he resigns, he will also die."

"But your smallpox vaccination in the south city went quite smoothly, didn't it?"

“Mother, my seedlings are different from his. I didn’t use the prescription from the Imperial Hospital at all. Instead, I created a better prescription myself. But even so, more than 3000 people in the southern city have gotten smallpox.”

“The Nanyuan shelter clearly only has two or three hundred patients, and most of them have mild symptoms.”

“Mother, I have evacuated the other patients to various counties in Zhili.”

"You are incredibly audacious."

“Mother, our whole family planted the same seedlings. We might fail, we might die! Treating everyone equally is the most perfect fairness in the world!”

Wen asked in a low voice, "So, once implemented, the situation in the inner city will be even worse, with the number of patients possibly several times or even ten times that of the southern city, right?"

"Let fate decide for each of us," Jiang Qingyun smiled, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

……

After a moment of silence, Madam Wen said, "Shall I find you another concubine?"

"Which one is it from?"

"I'll find you a girl from a collateral branch of the Donglin Party in Jiangnan."

"Mother, didn't you always say that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, and that a woman like Green Pearl is a good one?"

Wen shook her head: "That's two different things! The path you're on now is very dangerous. You need allies, and that means you have to form a marriage alliance!"

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together; what should we do when our opinions differ?"

“Once they’re on board, they have no say in where the ship goes. You can be the leader of the Donglin Party, and expel anyone who doesn’t support you from the Donglin Party.”

……

Wen has passed away.

Jiang Qingyun was left alone in the study to ponder quietly.

Yup!

Most of the Donglin Party members are still alive, and these people are always thinking about returning to the imperial court.

If Mother were to pave a hopeful path for them through the Wen family of Changzhou, how could these people possibly refuse?
Marriage alliances are an ancient and effective practice.

Once I'm promoted, I can get these people to help me with money and public opinion.

As for future disagreements, we can deal with them later.

In short, the party leader has the right to clean house and redefine the Donglin Party—that's just how politics is.

Wonderful, wonderful!

"Green Pearl, bring me pen and ink."

Green Pearl was still dressed in emerald green, her clothes were tight-fitting, and she moved nimbly.

Jiang Qingyun took up his pen and wrote the poem in one stroke.

"If I one day achieve my lofty ambitions, I will dare to laugh at the fact that there are no heroes in the land."

"Young Master's handwriting is so beautiful."

"Burn it."

"Hey."

Jiang Qingyun had a good habit: apart from official documents, he would burn everything he wrote as soon as he wrote it, and never kept any of his works.

The renowned scholar Shi Nai'an once said: "Work should leave traces, but life should not. Leaving traces is an attitude, while not leaving traces is wisdom."

……

Cao Xi was a bondservant of the Plain White Banner.

He had a great-grandson named Cao Xueqin.

At this time, Cao Xi, who had just returned from the front lines in Shanxi, was taken to the Nancheng Military Command for questioning.

"Cao Xi, some people have accused you of fabricating your military achievements, claiming that you were cowardly and afraid to fight during the Shanxi campaign, and that you watched your allies suffer without offering any assistance. Is this true?"

"Your Excellency, I am innocent! I have followed the Regent Prince in battles across three prefectures and four counties, and I am known for my bravery."

"How dare you! Whose words are these? Whose reputation do you hold? Cao Xi, you damn lowly servant from a bondservant family dare to spout such nonsense before this Imperial Censor! Slap him!"

The jailer immediately jumped out and slapped him four times across the face.

By using the reckoning of the Dorgon case to kill the bondservant Cao Xi, it was considered legitimate, and there would have been no "Dream of the Red Chamber" afterward.

In that case~
"Jin Ping Mei" has a good chance of being included among the Four Great Classical Novels, thus educating readers and guiding the trend of future generations, which can be considered as making a contribution to the late Xiaoxiaosheng.

The traditional opera in the garden is still too far removed from the general public; the everyday life in the city is all around us.

……

Cao Xi's nose bled profusely from the slap, and he was terrified.

A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to him: Could it be that the court had gone back on its word and was going to redefine the role of the Regent Prince? And suppress the two White Banners?

"My lord, I have been wronged."

Looking at Cao Xi, who was wailing and crying...
Jiang Qingyun stood up, flicked his sleeves and left. As he left the hall, he gave Zhao Zesheng, who was quietly standing to the side, a wink.

Zhao Zesheng stepped down from the hall with a beaming smile.

He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Cao Xi.

"Cao Xi, now that there's no one else around, I want to talk to you about something on my mind."

"You don't need to be nervous. It's normal for military reports to be a bit bloated. It's a tradition of the Ming Dynasty. We're not blaming you. Just honestly admit your guilt and get rid of the bloated information, and everything will be fine."

(End of this chapter)