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

Chapter 93 We plant the trees, they pick the peaches.
The originally lively banquet was dampened when Jiang Hede was rushed to the hospital with a broken rib, causing everyone to lose their enthusiasm and occasionally glare angrily at the perpetrator.

Not much alcohol was consumed, and when the party ended, everyone's eyes were still relatively clear.

"Imperial Censor Jiang, please wait."

"Ok?"

"The Grand Secretary would like to have some tea with you, please~"

The remaining guests left the residence.

"I really didn't have enough fun today."

"Yes, it's all because of that guy surnamed Jiang."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Was it Jiang who was beaten, or Jiang who struck? Opinions varied.

……

Flower Hall.

"Brother Jiang, sit down and have some tea."

"Thank you, Grand Secretary."

"This isn't a government office, so don't use official titles. Treat this like your own home."

"Yes."

Jiang Qingyun immediately opened his shirt, leaned back in his chair, and sat crookedly.

Ning Wanwo was at a loss for words. He took a sip of tea and asked, "Brother, I heard that you've taken on additional duties at the Thirteen Offices."

"Yes, Director of the Imperial Ceremonial Affairs Bureau. To select concubines for the Emperor."

"That's right."

Ning Wanwo seemed to be deep in thought, and her expression instantly relaxed.

Is there a problem with this job?

"No, no problem. It's fine."

Jiang Qingyun glanced at him suspiciously, feeling that this old fox seemed to know something.

……

“Brother, from now on we are all on the same side. Those who have come to the banquet today are all old friends from Liaodong. We are the earliest and most meritorious people who followed the emperor. We are different from the Northern and Southern factions.”

"You're right, we're here to plant the trees, while the northern and southern factions are here to reap the rewards."

"Correct!"

Ning Wan was a little excited; he thought the metaphor of "picking peaches" was very apt.

“Brother, a few months ago, you took down Chen Mingxia, the leader of the Southern Party and a Grand Secretary of the National History Museum. It was a great victory! You truly deserve to be called a young talent among the sons of Liaodong.”

Jiang Qingyun slurped his tea down without any regard for his image.

"Chen Mingxia is a shameless old Confucian scholar. His integrity is not even as good as that of a prostitute from the Qinhuai River."

"Ahem, don't say that when you're outside."

"What's wrong?"

"The scope of your attack is too broad. At the rate you're going to use this kind of insult, eight out of ten Han officials in our Qing Dynasty would be implicated. Think about it yourself, how many people in this court aren't traitors?"

Jiang Qingyun suddenly realized what was happening and looked apologetic.

"Shogun, I didn't mean that."

"It's okay, it's okay, I understand you."

Ning Wanwo waved his hand repeatedly, feeling that Jiang Qingyun was being genuine and had no defenses against him.

When he surrendered to the Qing, he was just an ordinary border army officer. But when Chen Mingxia surrendered to the Qing, he was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a first-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Ning Wan thought of himself as someone who stood on a moral high ground, looking down on Chen Mingxia, who was in a moral low ground.

……

"Chief Censor, why didn't Qian Qianyi come out to serve as an official?"

Jiang Qingyun decided to seize this opportunity to learn more about the personnel situation of the Qing court's high-ranking officials.

"The leader of the Donglin Party and the literary master of the southeast, this man was obsessed with becoming a high-ranking official, but he was too greedy and disloyal."

Was he an anti-Qing figure?

"Hmph~" "Why not kill him?"

"Qian Qianyi was a rather complex person. He was neither loyal to the Ming nor the Qing; he was only loyal to himself. After Prince Yu conquered Jiangnan, he came to the capital and served as the Vice Minister of Rites for a period of time. However, he disliked the low rank and was unwilling to do any work, so he eventually returned to his hometown. Even after returning home, he remained unruly, maintaining close ties with a group of former Ming literati in private, stirring up trouble behind their backs, and also having connections with the pseudo-Prince Lu."

After finishing, I paused briefly and took a sip of tea.

continued:

"However, the governor of Jiangning did not find any actual evidence of his corruption. In addition, his reputation was too great, and killing him would have a bad influence. Anyway, he was a good-for-nothing who could do nothing. Keeping him alive would not cause any trouble."

"The Generalissimo is right."

Jiang Qingyun felt that something was wrong.

……

"By the way, did you know that he remarried a famous courtesan?"

"Liu Rushi?"

"Yes, yes, oh dear, let me tell you about this woman."

"All ears."

"Liu Rushi was a famous courtesan in Jiangnan. She was known for her literary talent, open-mindedness, and charming personality. Even wealthy young men could not afford to see her. During her travels in Wu and Yue, she had two close friends, one named Chen Zilong and the other named Zheng Sen. Chen Zilong was a member of the Donglin Party and a scion of a prominent family. He gathered troops to fight against the Qing army. After being captured, he jumped into the river and committed suicide. He was quite a tough guy."

"The two were a perfect match, but unfortunately, Madam Chen Zilong interfered and wouldn't let Liu Rushi in. Helpless, the two parted ways. Zheng Sen was Qian Qianyi's student. Although the two had a good impression of each other, it was against etiquette."

"That old bastard Qian Qianyi got off easy."

Ning finished speaking with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Qingyun listened with great interest.

Men can benefit from talking about women.

They talked about everything from Liu Rushi to the Eight Great Hutongs, and from the Eight Great Hutongs to talent shows, until the world seemed to spin.

……

When the atmosphere was pleasant, Ning Wan took the initiative to bring up the beating incident from earlier that day.

"Brother, take my advice and don't go against Jiang Hede. We're all on the same side, and we'll still have to get along in the future."

Jiang Qingyun nodded, then added:

“I will listen to you. But it seems that Jiang Hede and Prince Li Mandahai have a good relationship? That morning at court, he took the initiative to attack me, and that's how we started our feud.”

"You're right. Back then, Emperor Taizong felt deeply that China's civil administration was weak, so he established the Shengjing Academy to train civil officials for the Qing Dynasty. Jiang Hede was among the first batch of students at the Shengjing Academy, with impeccable credentials. His background and resume are impeccable, so I still hope that you can reconcile. Reconciliation leads to a win-win situation. Conflict leads to mutual destruction."

Finally, Ning Wanwo gave a concluding speech.

"Brother, we Liao people must help each other and work together to defeat the Northern Party and the Southern Party. Of course, the main enemy is still the Northern Party; the Southern Party is weaker and won't amount to much. By the way, you also killed their leader, Chen Mingxia."

The atmosphere was so harmonious.

Jiang Qingyun naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity, and he suddenly asked, "Chief Censor, is Grand Secretary Fan Wencheng also on our side?"

Ning Wan stunned me.

He thought about it seriously for a while, then shook his head.

"No. Fan Wencheng only has eyes for the royal family and no one else. He usually keeps to himself and is rather aloof. I've worked with him for so many years, but we've had very little private interaction."

"Is Grand Secretary Fan really that loyal?"

"Yes."

"Are the Three Princes of Shun and the Prince of Pingxi on our side?"

Ning Wan shook her head again.

"Although these four princes are old friends of Liaodong, their paths are different, one is a civil official and the other a nobleman. They are destined to go their separate ways."

……

Jiang Qingyun deliberately sighed:
"They must be of noble and prestigious status."

"That's not necessarily true. After the country is unified, the court will not keep Han nobles and will definitely find a way to strip them of their military power."

They both fell silent, leaving the topic unsaid.

Before leaving~
Ning Wan suddenly blurted out:
"Brother, about a month ago, the Ministry of War secretly ordered the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince to return to the capital to report on their duties. You will see them soon."

(End of this chapter)