I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

While Hong Xiguan was tirelessly digging pits and tripping up his four regents, his "colleagues" were doing this every day.

An unexpected piece of news instantly perked him up.

That afternoon, Hong Xiguan was in the South Study with his "military expert" Liang Jiugong, studying the internal structure of the rusty "handgun".

Tong Guowei, the first-class bodyguard who was both an "uncle" and a "sycophant," strode in from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, this is a matter of utmost importance!"

Hong Xiguan raised his head and asked lazily, "What's all the commotion about? Could it be that Ao Bai is cursing people in court again?"

I've gotten used to that grandson Ao Bai. I feel uncomfortable if he doesn't curse people for a day, and he's always cursing the Eight Banners lackeys anyway.

Tong Guowei quickly shook his head, lowered his voice, and said in a tone that both wanted to take credit and show off his "well-informed" abilities:

"Your Majesty! It's much more serious than that! Minister Ao... he was assassinated on his way out of the city on official business today!"

Ao Bai was assassinated?!

Is this for real?! That's amazing!

Hong Xiguan instantly became interested, threw down the parts in his hand, stood up from his chair, and his eyes were shining!

"Oh? Who dares to be so bold? Is Ao Bai... dead? How badly injured is he?"

A barrage of questions, asked quickly and urgently, the tone filled with undisguised... schadenfreude.

Tell me quickly! How many times was he stabbed? Did he bleed? Ideally, he should have been stabbed right in the kidneys, so he'd spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair!

Seeing the young emperor's excited, shining eyes, Tong Guowei felt a chill in his heart, thinking that the emperor was furious because of the assassination of a key minister.

He hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the assassins were a group of traitors from the Heaven and Earth Society! However... Lord Ao is the foremost warrior of our Great Qing, invincible in his bravery! Those few clowns didn't even get close before Lord Ao personally killed two of them! Lord Ao was completely unharmed!"

Damn it! Useless!

The Heaven and Earth Society? Sounds impressive, but how come their skills are so poor? They didn't even manage to harm a hair on Ao Bai's head? They're a disgrace to the assassin world!

Hong Xiguan was greatly disappointed, but he kept a straight face, frowned, and pretended to be deep in thought.

"The Heaven and Earth Society? I've never heard of them before. Why would they want to assassinate Ao Bai?"

Tong Guowei bowed and said, "Your Majesty, according to the preliminary interrogation by the Ministry of Justice, the 'Heaven and Earth Society' is a secret folk society that seeks to 'overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming,' and it mainly operates along the southeast coast. This assassination attempt on Ao Zhongtang is probably... probably related to the 'relocation order' previously issued by the court."

The Heaven and Earth Society?

Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming?

A certain nerve in Hong Xiguan's body was deeply touched!

Holy crap! Chen Jinnan? Wei Xiaobao?

No, no, that's a mix-up! But the Heaven and Earth Society is a legitimate anti-Qing organization! It's an ally! A potential partner!

Great! That's wonderful!

Just when we were wondering how to fight against Ao Bai and his gang, this came as a perfect assist!

Hong Xiguan became more and more excited as he thought about it, and his body even trembled slightly from excessive excitement.

Upon seeing this, Tong Guowei was greatly alarmed, thinking that the young emperor was angered by the arrogance of these traitors, and immediately volunteered with righteous indignation:

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! These traitors and villains deserve to die a thousand deaths! This servant will immediately go to the Ministry of Justice to issue an imperial edict ordering them to skin the remaining rebels alive, dismember them, and execute them by slow slicing! As a warning to others!"

No! No! Big brother!

This is a treasure! It's the only clue I could use to make contact with my "friendly forces," and you've killed it! Where am I supposed to find it now?!

Hong Xiguan quickly grabbed him.

"Wait!" He suppressed his inner elation and put on an extremely serious expression, even with a hint of "inquiry".

"Do not injure or maim them!"

"I...will personally conduct the trial!"

"I want to ask them properly, where exactly is my Great Qing inferior to the former Ming? Why do they want to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming? What kind of rebellion are they building? And which Zhu family's Ming dynasty are they trying to restore!"

Hong Xiguan's words were "righteous and eloquent," filled with the young emperor's great confusion about "why some people do not obey me."

Upon hearing this, Tong Guowei was immediately filled with respect.

Your Majesty is wise! At such a young age, you are not preoccupied with killing, but instead seek to understand the enemy at its root! Such magnanimity truly befits a wise ruler throughout the ages!

He immediately accepted the order and dispatched a messenger on horseback to the Ministry of Justice to deliver the decree: "The Emperor wants to personally interrogate him, so keep a close eye on him! Don't let him get covered in blood and sully His Majesty's eyes!"

……

The Ministry of Justice prison.

It was dark and damp, with the air thick with the smells of blood, mold, and a nauseating stench.

When Hong Xi arrived, the Minister of Justice, along with a group of officials, scrambled to their knees and knelt on the ground.

Hong Xiguan, too lazy to waste words with them, asked directly, "Where is he? How's the interrogation going?"

The Minister of Justice answered tremblingly, "Your Majesty, we have arrested five traitors. They are all tough guys, most of them would rather die than surrender. Only one...only one couldn't hold out and confessed."

Officials from the Ministry of Justice presented the confessions obtained during the interrogation.

Hong Xiguan took it and quickly scanned it.

That's impressive; the organizational structure of the Heaven and Earth Society is quite rigorous.

They secretly colluded and accumulated strength, contacted Zheng Chenggong and the remnants of the Southern Ming dynasty, passed on intelligence, and even launched an armed uprising to contain the Qing army.

They used folk beliefs to develop members and also communicated and shared resources with their counterparts such as the "Small Knife Society" and the "Red Thread Society".

Isn't this just an underground anti-Qing alliance?

Hong Xiguan watched with great interest, and finally, his gaze fell on the name of the leader.

The leader of this assassination attempt was a branch leader of the Heaven and Earth Society named Wan Yunlong.

"Bring him here; I want to question him myself!"

Soon, a man covered in blood and chained by iron chains was dragged up by two jailers.

He was about thirty years old, with a burly build. His square face was covered with scars, but his eyes were like those of a hungry wolf, fixedly staring at the direction of the dragon throne.

"Wan Yunlong," Hong Xiguan began, his voice youthful yet carrying an air of authority, "I ask you, why do you rebel against my Great Qing? In what way is my Great Qing inferior to the former Ming?"

Wan Yunlong spat on the ground with a "Pah!" and cursed, "You Tartar little emperor! Enough talk! You barbarians stole our Chinese sacred artifacts and slaughtered our Han people! You forced us to shave our heads and change our clothes, disregarding all human ethics! Someone as shameless as you deserves to be killed by everyone! Kill me if you want, no need for further words!"

His words were delivered with great force and passion.

However, upon hearing this, Hong Xiguan not only showed no anger, but instead revealed an extremely bright smile on his face.

Well said! Brilliantly said! Absolutely brilliant!

Ambitious! Spirited! This is what makes a fine son of China!

Brother, I've decided to be your friend!

Wan Yunlong was completely dumbfounded when he saw the little emperor on the dragon throne, who was smiling like a flower.

What... what's going on here?

I pointed my finger at him and yelled at him, and he just started laughing?

Could it be... that this young Tartar emperor is a masochist? Does he have such a good mentality?