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

Chapter 20 Emperor Shunzhi's Incognito Visit
West City.

Fan Residence.

Grand Secretary Fan Wencheng and his son Fan Chengmo were discussing a secret matter in their study.

"Mo'er, do you think Jiang Qingyun is a loyal or treacherous person?"

"It's hard to say. Jiang Qingyun is domineering and arrogant, but he does have a compassionate heart for the people."

"Foolish! I asked whether he is loyal to the court or not. What does it have to do with the common people? Pitying the common people is just a smokescreen. The more he does this, the more it shows that he is despicable."

Fan Chengmo was stunned. His father's teachings and the Confucian books he had read so well were in great conflict.

Fan Wencheng was disappointed in his son's lack of progress.

"Mo'er, books are for reading, not for becoming an official. You, you, sigh~"

After an awkward silence, Fan Wencheng asked again:

"Someone has accused Jiang Qingyun of paying his subordinates in his own name, with the time, place, and amount clearly recorded. As the Imperial Inspector of the Southern City, have you heard of this?"

"He did borrow some money from the Cao family's bank."

"Any more?"

"He had a bad relationship with Wanping and Daxing counties and also took two concubines."

"Enough. I will submit a memorial to impeach him."

"Father, won't some people in the court say you're being inconsistent, since you were the one who recommended him in the first place?"

"Nonsense. I only saw some merit in his memorial, so I reported it to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. The recommendation was purely my own conjecture. To be honest, Hong Chengchou was closer to him than I was."

……

"Mo'er, your Confucian scholarship is excellent. I just want to tell you one thing: the officialdom is like a battlefield, where people can kill without shedding blood, and there are traps everywhere. If you want to go far, you must always remember these eight words."

"Please tell me daddy~"

"No cliques, no factions, no favoritism, and no deception. The first two go without saying. The third, no favoritism, means prioritizing the court and the Qing Dynasty in everything. The fourth, no deception, means never hiding anything from the Emperor."

"My son understands."

"If we can do these four things, my Fan family will live a long and prosperous life, and live as long as the country."

……

Qianqing Palace.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang: "Fulin, what do you think of Fan Wencheng's impeachment?"

"Outrageous."

"So, do you think it's true or false?"

"I cannot explain it."

"That's right, the difficulty of being an emperor lies in this: you have to believe whatever your ministers say. You can't see what's true or false. Let alone Sichuan and Fujian. Even if you're sitting in the Forbidden City, you can't see the southern part of the city."

"Your Majesty, teach me?"

"Among the charges against Jiang Qingyun, there is one crucial one: if he really used his own money to support the army, then his intentions are despicable. If not, the other charges are insignificant. Which civil or military official in the court doesn't take concubines, and who doesn't love money? It's only human nature."

Emperor Shunzhi nodded.

Suddenly, he whispered, "Empress Mother, I want to go out of the palace for a visit."

After thinking for a while, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang actually nodded.

"Very well. You ascended the throne at the age of six and have never left the palace. It's time for you to see the prosperity of the capital and the hearts of the people."

……

That afternoon.

Using the excuse that he was not comfortable resting in his palace, Emperor Shunzhi secretly changed into civilian clothes and left the Forbidden City by carriage.

He kept his head down the whole way until he exited the Donghua Gate.

Call ~
The air outside is free and fresh.

After turning a corner, another 40 plainclothes guards appeared.

"The Empress Dowager instructed that His Majesty may walk freely, but he must not enter the alleys. We, his guards, will not disturb His Majesty's incognito inspection."

"When we go out, you can't call me Emperor, you have to call me Young Master."

"Whoo."

……

Emperor Shunzhi and his entourage avoided the main street inside Zhengyangmen, where they were likely to run into ministers, and instead took the eastern route, entering the southern city through Chongwenmen.

Stepping out of Chongwen Gate, the vibrant atmosphere of daily life in the southern part of the city immediately comes into view.

Everything was so new and exciting.

So much so that Emperor Shunzhi felt a little dizzy; he had never seen so many pedestrians and shop banners before, such a magical scene of everyday life.

"Buy a sesame seed cake."

"Buy a bowl of wontons." "Buy a skewer of candied hawthorns."

Shunzhi was still a child at heart, and he was interested in everything.

"Young Master, where are we going today?"

"Let's go to Cao's bank first."

The guard whispered the order, and immediately a group of plainclothes officers went to stake out the only route.

……

Along the way, Shunzhi found the southern part of the city much more interesting than the Forbidden City.

Everyone here has an expression on their face, showing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. The Forbidden City is different; everyone shares the same face.

The red slogans posted along the roadside were even more eye-catching.

For example:

"Severely crack down on all rebels in the southern city!"

"We must resolutely curb the spread of smallpox!"

"Don't you dare steal, or you'll be chopped off!"

Each slogan was stamped with the bright red seal of the Military Command, which filled Shunzhi with a strange sense of goodwill towards Jiang Qingyun, whom he had never met before.

Along the way, we also encountered patrolling cavalry from the Military Command, in pairs, which was quite a sight.

He secretly hoped that Jiang Qingyun was innocent.

Innocent teenagers are always like this, afraid of their beautiful illusions being shattered. Once shattered, their nature changes drastically.

……

suddenly~
Shunzhi was captivated by a stunningly beautiful woman leaning against a railing and fanning herself in the distance. She wore a tube top underneath a jacket, and the young boy had never seen such allure before; he stared at her intently.

The woman noticed it too, smiled gently, and covered her mouth with her fan.

The girl loves to dress up.

The girl loves money more.

If one could lure such a dashing young man downstairs into the brothel and have some fun with him, it would be excellent, yielding both wealth and pleasure.

The pretty girl then took off her jacket and began to sing a little tune, her voice melodious like a nightingale.

Emperor Shunzhi was overjoyed.

The women in the Forbidden City were all very proper, their clothes as thick as armor, and their faces as stern as Bao Zheng (a famous judge in Chinese history).

……

"Young master, let's go. We can't stay here any longer," the guard urged in a low voice.

"Oh fine."

Shunzhi was very disappointed, looking back every few steps, knowing that this was the kind of woman he absolutely could not touch.

We arrived at Dashilan.

Outside the Cao Family Bank, there was a tea stall.

Shunzhi sipped his tea absentmindedly, his mind completely absorbed in the woman's skirt. He even felt a pang of regret at this moment, wondering why he was born into an imperial family.
After an incense stick had burned, two guards emerged from the bank.

whispered:
"Young Master, this is the loan receipt from Jiang Qingyun."

Shunzhi took a look and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the money was borrowed in the name of the Military Command, which was nothing serious; his two Yellow Banners were still quite reliable.

……

at this time.

A plainclothes guard, pretending to drink tea, suddenly stood up, grabbed a little beggar who was about to approach and shoved him into the alley, leaving him far away.

The beggar's face was covered with festering red pimples.

"smallpox!"

Emperor Shunzhi suddenly felt physically unwell, his whole body covered in hair.

Just then, the tea stall owner, carrying a long-spouted copper teapot, was adding water while reminiscing.

"All the people of the southern city hope that Lord Jiang can eliminate the plague god."

"what?"

"Sir, you may not know this, but the Emperor has sent Jiang Qingtian to oversee the southern city. He first wiped out the gangs, then established charitable institutions, and now he has invited many experts to prepare a grand water and land ritual to suppress the plague god."

"Will it be useful?"

"Why not? You definitely can!"

The shopkeeper's answer was firm and forceful.

Smallpox was rampant, and everyone was terrified. At that time, even the slightest straw had to be grasped.

(End of this chapter)