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

Chapter 57: Is leading troops into the city at this moment considered a coup or a rescue mission?

Fan Wencheng entered the southern city through Xuanwu Gate, galloped along on horseback, and finally encountered the patrol cavalry of the Five City Garrison half a mile outside Zhengyang Gate.

"Imperial Censor Jiang, quickly lead your troops into the city to defend the Emperor."

Under the great banner, Jiang Qingyun remained silent.

"By imperial decree, Jiang Qingyun shall lead the Five Cities Military Command to quickly occupy the Six Ministries and annihilate the Plain Blue Banner rebels."

Jiang Qingyun finally turned her head and glanced at him.

"Grand Secretary Fan, please show me the imperial edict."

"Military intelligence is urgent, and orders can only be given verbally."

"I'm sorry, but in these extraordinary times, it's impossible to distinguish friend from foe. I cannot send troops. What if you, Lord Fan, are also part of the rebels?"

Fan Wencheng stared wide-eyed in surprise.

"My loyalty to the Qing Dynasty is as clear as day."

……

Jiang Qingyun asked directly:
Is the Forbidden City safe? Are the Empress Dowager and the Emperor safe?

"The Forbidden City is still resisting; the rebels have only burned down the Wenhua Hall. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are safe, the three main halls are safe, and the inner palace is safe."

"That's good."

"But there are still many colleagues in the Six Ministries. Once the rebels arrive, they will be finished."

"Grand Secretary Fan, the Six Ministries are just a stone's throw from the Meridian Gate. If I were to actually lead troops there, would you tell me whether I was forcing the emperor to abdicate or serving the emperor's cause?"

Dead silence.

"Therefore, I will continue to wait. Grand Secretary Fan, if you are not a rebel, then you should make another trip to get another imperial edict."

"well."

Fan Wencheng turned his horse and galloped away in a flash.

Jiang Qingyun stared intently at the billowing black smoke rising from the city, his mind preoccupied with only one person: his elder brother, Zhou Shao. Things had happened so suddenly; he wondered if Zhou Shao was alright.

……

"Report: A man has been captured on the outside of the barricade. He claims to be Hong Chengchou's son, Hong Shiming, a principal officer in the Ministry of Rites."

"bring it here."

At this moment, Hong Shiming had lost all trace of his noble demeanor. His clothes were tattered, his hair was disheveled, and he exuded a strong aura of a beggar.

The moment they met, he knelt down with a thud.

He choked up as he said:
"Brother Qingyun, something has happened in the inner city. My father may have been captured by the rebels, and we don't know whether he is alive or dead."

"Who are the rebels?"

"Uncertain, but there are definitely officers from the Plain Blue Banner in the inner city."

"And where do you come from?"

"I came from the Ministry of Rites. If I hadn't run fast, I'd probably be beheaded by now."

Jiang Qingyun gestured to the soldier next to him.

"Help Young Master Hong down and find him a doctor."

"By the way, things are quite chaotic outside right now. Keep a close eye on Young Master Hong and don't let him wander around, lest he fall victim to the rebels."

……

"Thank you, Brother Xie Qingyun."

Hong Shiming acted like a fool and was helped away by the soldiers.

The world is quiet again!

Jiang Qingyun felt that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
He set a trap to kill someone's father, yet kept the son alive; this clearly doesn't conform to the principles of official conduct. Hmm, I'll find a pretext later to eliminate him completely.

Jiang Qingyun continued to ponder.
at this time,

His yellow cotton armor was covered by white snow, and the Bordered Yellow Banner turned into the Plain White Banner!

……

Without seeing the imperial edict stamped with the imperial seal, not a single soldier in my Five Cities Garrison will move.

loyalty!

Absolute loyalty!
As for the fact that the Zhenglan Banner rebels had already stormed into the Six Ministries, trampled the Ministry of War, burned down the Ministry of Works, and destroyed the Ministry of Personnel, those were all acceptable costs.

Thousands of soldiers stood there for another half an hour.

Finally, the imperial edict arrived.

Fan Wencheng, that old fellow, even lost his official hat while running around. He shouted from several dozen feet away, "The imperial decree has arrived! Imperial Censor Jiang, hurry, hurry and receive the decree!"

Jiang Qingyun tumbled off his horse, ignoring the cold, and knelt down in the snow.

Fan Wencheng read the entire imperial edict at ten times the normal speed, making it too hot to read.

……

Jiang Qingyun took the imperial edict, read it three times, put it in his pocket, remounted his horse, drew his sword, and shouted.

"Brothers of the Five Cities Garrison, advance into the city! Defend the Emperor!"

One horse leads the way, followed by a thousand riders galloping wildly.

After receiving Yue Le's order, the garrison at Zhengyang Gate opened a side gate. The cavalry rumbled into Zhengyang Gate, and just a few steps outside the gate, everyone gasped.

What the hell!

Blood and fire!

Black smoke billowed from the various government offices on both sides of the central axis, and the corpses, blood, fugitives, and pursuers created a most realistic picture of the "fall of the capital".

Jiang Qingyun brandished his sword:
"Mountain Battalion, kill!"

The 250 heavily armored cavalrymen began to accelerate, their lances held horizontally, and swiftly destroyed the Plain Blue Banner soldiers who had not yet formed ranks along the wide central axis.

The Linzi Battalion, organized by garrison and by unit, dispersed to pursue and annihilate the remaining enemy forces.

Jiang Qingyun stood beside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, gazing at the billowing black smoke from the East Gate. From this day forward, the empire's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall structure or pattern of the empire) would quietly change.

The snow has stopped!
……

The elite cavalry battalion, the largest force in the capital, finally arrived. They spread out to surround the Forbidden City and took over from the guards of the two Yellow Banners.

The troops of the two red flags and the bordered blue flag also gathered outside Donghua Gate.

Various cotton-armored soldiers were frequently mobilized to compress the space of the Plain Blue Banner rebels, while scouts were sent to the areas of the Two White Banners.

In front of Qianqing Gate.

"Report! More than 1000 remnants of the Zhenglan Banner rebels are holding out at Prince Xin's Mansion."

"Where's Donnie?"

"Never showed up."

"Issue my decree: surround the area first, and launch an attack as soon as the cannons arrive."

"Wait!" Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stopped her again.

"Mother?"

"Are there any people in the Zhenglan Banner who have been coerced? Is it possible to spare their lives?"

Shunzhi wanted to say something, but he didn't utter a sound.

……

Soon, the bloodied Ao Bai returned, bringing with him a flag.

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, please look."

"Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!"

The crowd was stunned speechless by the sight of the flag. The Plain Blue Banner had gone to such extremes, abandoning even their ancestors.

Empress Xiaozhuang closed her eyes in pain and clenched her fists.

That's it, the Eight Banners system has been completely broken.

Shunzhi's words were laced with murderous intent:
"Issue my decree: first, persuade them to surrender; if that fails, then slaughter them."

"Whoo."

Ao Bai left again.

……

Prince Xin's Mansion.

The remaining 1000 soldiers who were holding out here knew that the end was coming, but they were very calm and brought out all the old wine stored in the palace.

Faint sounds of persuasion to surrender could be heard from outside.

drink!
The final blow of execution!
They were all soldiers who had come from the battlefield; death was nothing to be afraid of.

"The people outside are setting up cannons."

The soldiers immediately stood up and smashed the wine jar.

"Once the cannon fires, charge out and kill as many as you can."

"The Plain Blue Banner will rather die than surrender."

Boom boom~
The vermilion-lacquered gate with copper nails was blasted into pieces by two cannonballs, and the next second, the shouting remnants of the Zhenglan Banner soldiers rushed out from the smoke.

Without the slightest hesitation.

……

Ao Bai sneered:

"Fire arrows!"

300 archers immediately stepped forward.

Under the relentless barrage of armor-piercing arrows, even those clad in full cotton armor could not escape unscathed, and the remaining soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner fell one after another, struck by arrows.

But some people did manage to get through the rain of arrows.

"kill!"

The two sides collided violently.

A sword cleaved through a throat, a spear pierced through cotton armor, and a blunt weapon smashed ribs. Blue cotton armor and cotton armor of various colors clashed in a fierce battle, fighting to the death.

No one retreated until all the remaining soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner were wiped out.

(End of this chapter)