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

Chapter 1 Grass Team
Early spring of 1649.

In the northeast corner of Beijing, in Zhenxian Hutong, was the residential area of ​​the Han Chinese Bordered Yellow Banner people.

Although fighting continues on the southwestern front, everyone is full of confidence in the future. Five years have passed since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and those who initially followed the emperor have reaped rich rewards.

The second house in the alley, the Jiang residence next to the big locust tree, was owned by a low-ranking officer of the Han Army under the Bordered Yellow Banner.

The study was warm and inviting.

"Green Pearl, bring me pen and ink."

"Hey~"

Jiang Qingyun glanced at the tall and pretty maidservant, then dipped his brush in ink and began to write furiously.

"Green Pearl, how is my handwriting?"

"I can't read, young master, you just love to bully me."

"Take it and burn it."

"Yes."

……

This is a test!
What was written on the paper was:
Now, I have sold Green Pearl, a cunning and shrewish maidservant from the household of Jiang Zhongcheng, a cavalry officer of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army, for 5 taels of silver to Sun's brokerage firm. She will never go back on her word.

If Green Pearl could read, she would have figured it out in one try.

Jiang Qingyun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He was originally a deputy section chief in his unit, ambitious and possessing both high intelligence and emotional intelligence. However, due to bad luck, his path to promotion was fraught with setbacks.
After drinking, he unexpectedly traveled to the capital city during the Shunzhi reign.

He wasn't upset at all; on the contrary, he was secretly pleased.

Jiang Qingyun, who grew up under the red flag, is preparing to deconstruct the Qing Empire according to his own will, thereby completing a large-scale socio-political experiment that has never been seen before in human history.

Looking from the outside in, the Qing Empire resembled a solid piece of iron, a single, unified whole.

Looking from the inside out, if an X-ray machine were used, it would reveal that the Qing Empire, this piece of metal, had many hidden flaws inside.

What does the Aisin Gioro clan know about governing a country?
For the sake of future generations, Jiang Qingyun wanted to reach the highest level.

……

A pair of fair, delicate hands gently massaged her shoulders, very tenderly and effectively.

"Master~"

"Ok?"

"Should this servant learn to read?"

"There's no need for that. A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, and you are doing just fine as you are now."

Just then, footsteps came from outside the study.

"Yun'er~"

"Mom, why are you here?"

Wen glanced at Green Pearl, who had her head bowed and eyes downcast, and said in a low voice, "I was just thinking of reminding you to stay home as much as possible these days! The capital is not safe!"

"What's wrong?"

"More and more people in the capital are contracting smallpox, even Prince Yu has been infected. Rumors are circulating that his days are numbered."

Jiang Qingyun's expression was solemn, and he nodded repeatedly.

……

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he pulled Wen outside the study and asked in a low voice:

"Mother, how much silver do we have left?"

"About two hundred taels of silver. Why are you asking?"

"Buying an official position! But that doesn't seem enough~"

"Your father is a sixth-rank cavalry officer, which is a low rank. But nowadays, the court only values ​​military merit for the promotion of military officers. You're sending your father to the southwestern front to fight against the Ming army."

Wen's face clearly showed anger.

"No, no, that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

“If Prince Yu gets smallpox, he will die, and so will the other officials. Our whole family should move to the suburbs for a while, at least a month or two, at most three to five months. There will be many vacancies in the major government offices in the capital.”

Ms. Wen glanced at her son in surprise.

It seems different from before.

“I’ll go talk to your father and have him spend some money to get a sick leave from the governor’s office.”

"By the way, I must remind you, never get pregnant before the main wife enters the household. If word gets out, you'll be a laughingstock for the rest of your life."

Green Pearl's face flushed red, and she whimpered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Don't worry, Madam, this servant is sensible."

As evening approached, Jiang Qingyun had a new idea.

He went to his father, who was drinking alone.

"Father, do you have a way to submit a memorial to the palace?"

Jiang Zhongcheng, a stout and dark-skinned man, almost burst out laughing like a pig.

"I am just a lowly cavalry officer, far from the palace gates. You should study hard and strive to pass the imperial examination to bring honor to your ancestors."

In the early days of the empire, it was more than enough for a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations to enter officialdom.

Every dynasty is like this: in the early stages, there are more pitfalls than carrots; in the later stages, there are more carrots than pitfalls.

Nowadays, even someone from the worst background like Jiang Qingyun could at least become a clerk in one of the Six Ministries, but his future prospects were certainly not bright.

"Father, you can ask someone for help."

Just then, Ms. Wen arrived.

It is said that sons resemble their mothers, but Jiang Qingyun is more like a woman from the Wen family, who came from a farming and scholarly family in Jiangnan.

……

"Smallpox—a despicable ambush against the Qing Dynasty by an enemy lurking in the shadows. Yun'er, are you about to cause a major upheaval?"

“Mother, fortune favors the bold. I’ve thought it through. The consequences of submitting the memorial are manageable. Even if the court doesn’t agree with my prediction, they won’t behead our whole family because of this. After all, my intentions are good; it’s all for the Qing Dynasty.”

Jiang Zhongcheng and Wen Shi looked at each other, feeling that there was something strange about what he had said.

“Father, Mother, I am mediocre in my studies and weak in martial arts. Our family is very poor. If we just drift along, when will we ever bring honor to our ancestors? Let’s take a chance and try our luck with a penny of money for education.”

Wen's mutterings:
"But that's way too sensational."

"Mother, this is called 'saying something shocking or outrageous'."

……

Smallpox was rampant, and even the capital city was being hauled out of its cities every day.

Panic is spreading.
This is terrible for a new dynasty, and it's easy for people to associate it with "the Qing Dynasty lacked virtue, so Heaven sent down punishment."

Jiang Qingyun knows how to leverage external forces.

To accomplish great things, one must first become a high-ranking official.

My family's resources and connections aren't enough to support my ambitions, so I can only take some risks. Living in a frivolous era, being a decent person is a luxury.

The next morning~
The Jiang father and son first approached their old superior—Sheng Yong, a military officer of the Bordered Yellow Banner who lived in Shoupa Hutong.

Ask for leave!

Sheng Yong was a rough man, all muscle in his head, with no political sense whatsoever.

He accepted the money with a smile, granted two months of sick leave without saying a word, and promised to forward the memorial to the governor's office as soon as possible.

At this time, the Qing government still had a strong sense of being a makeshift organization.

……

The Jiang family lived in Zhenxian Hutong, which was just a few steps from Dongzhimen, making it very convenient to leave the city.

The city was bustling with activity, while the area outside was deserted.

Twenty miles outside the city, the Jiang family rented a small villa far from the main road from a local wealthy landowner.

A dozen or so people cleaned up a bit and quietly settled in.

No one complained. Compared to the fear of smallpox, living a healthy life with simple meals was a kind of happiness.

Life in the suburbs is peaceful and tranquil.
Jiang Qingyun knew that the capital city at this moment was like a giant petri dish. He was in no hurry and spent his days writing calligraphy, practicing swordsmanship, and riding horses and fishing with his maid, Lüzhu.

The memorial he had placed so much hope in lay quietly on a table in the corner of the Secretariat, one of the three inner courts, untouched by anyone.

……

Day 7,
Prince Yu, Dorgon, has died.

Upon hearing the news, Regent Dorgon rushed back from the front lines in Datong, Shanxi. Dressed in mourning clothes, he entered the city, wept bitterly before the coffin, and vomited blood several times.

Within the capital city, the incidence of smallpox reached its peak.

Corpses were hauled out in truckloads, the living fled in a frenzy, and all sorts of rumors filled the streets. Even the nobles of the palace could not escape the scythe of smallpox; concubines, guards, and members of the royal family all died from the disease.

Dorgon also fell ill, but not with smallpox.

The Imperial Medical Academy diagnosed that the deficiency of both qi and blood was caused by the exhaustion from war and excessive emotional distress.

Anyone with a modicum of sense in the capital's officialdom knew that a dramatic upheaval was brewing! This was because someone had secretly spread rumors that the Regent's face already showed signs of death.

(End of this chapter)