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

In the end, the fig leaf covering the land grabbing case was completely torn off.

To put it bluntly, this is not a land planning issue at all; it is a life-or-death power struggle between the regent Aobai and Suksaha.

Ao Bai is now the "number one" in the court, wielding immense power, so naturally he was the one who struck first.

His reasoning was plausible: "The land under the Bordered Yellow Banner is unsuitable; therefore, 200,000 mu of land should be allocated from the territory occupied by the Plain White Banner!"

The translation is: My land is bad, your land is good, let's swap, or not? If you don't swap, I'll kill you.

In order to get this done, Ao Bai also brought in the opportunist Ebilun. The two of them joined forces to put pressure on the Ministry of Revenue, forcing the Ministry to turn this robber's logic into national policy.

Seeing that Ao Bai was about to take advantage of him, if Sukesaha could still tolerate it, he wouldn't be a Ninja Turtle, he would be a Ninja Soft-shelled Turtle.

So he personally went to the Qianqing Palace to report it.

"Lord Su, I've heard that Lord Ao has been pressuring you relentlessly regarding the land exchange?"

Hong Xiguan asked the question knowingly, his tone full of concern.

Upon hearing this, Sukesaha almost burst into tears: "Your Majesty! Aobai has gone too far! That territory was designated by the late Emperor, and now he wants to forcibly exchange it. He's trying to drive our Plain White Banner to its death!"

Hong Xiguan sighed, walked over and patted Suksaha on the shoulder, looking indignant: "That's what I think too."

"The late emperor had already issued an imperial edict permanently prohibiting land enclosure. Ao Bai's actions show a complete disregard for the late emperor! And also a disregard for me!"

This was like a shot in the arm for Suksahar!

Hong Xiguan continued to flatter him: "Minister Su, you are a regent minister, and you must uphold the ancestral rules for me. Don't worry, although I am young, I am on your side. Just argue and debate, and I will back you up!"

Suksaha was overjoyed.

He originally thought he was fighting alone, but he never expected the young emperor to be so sensible and principled!

"Your Majesty, I will not fail you! I will fight that Oboi to the very end!"

Suksaha strode away with a proud and imposing air, as if he were holding not an imperial edict, but a supreme sword.

Hong Xiguan watched his retreating figure, then lay down on the couch in the west warm pavilion, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

"It's biting! It's finally biting!"

Although he hated Ao Bai, he preferred to watch these Manchu nobles fight amongst themselves like dogs.

In Hong Xiguan's view, this land enclosure case was simply a gift from heaven.

What is the core idea?

It was a power struggle among the regents, and a fight for resources among the Eight Banners officials.

This is a golden opportunity to sow discord among the Eight Banners and weaken their strength!

If they just let them exchange the land like that, and Ao Bai becomes the only one in power, then what's the point of watching?

"We need to add fuel to the fire."

Hong Xiguan stroked his chin.

"Now Ao Bai is powerful and Sukesaha is weak. If Sukesaha is directly defeated, it will become a one-sided massacre. No, I have to give Sukesaha some blood transfusion so that he can stand up and fight Ao Bai for a few more rounds."

……

Having received the emperor's "verbal promise," Suksaha became completely assertive.

In the following days, the meeting of the regents turned into a marketplace.

Suksaha was like a gunpowder-fueled man, slamming his fist on the table and glaring at Ao Bai every time they held a meeting.

"Ao Bai! You have violated ancestral rules and brought chaos to the people's livelihood!"

"This land was allocated by the late emperor. What right do you have to exchange it? This is a grave disrespect to the late emperor!"

Ao Bai was completely stunned by the scolding.

Suksaha had opposed it before, but he wasn't this tough before. Why is he suddenly acting like he's got a death wish?

Moreover, Suksaha mobilized his network of connections and launched a full-scale counterattack.

Soon, a series of important memorials were sent into the Forbidden City.

The Governor-General of Zhili, Zhu Changzuo, and the Governor, Wang Denglian, these two high-ranking officials jointly submitted a memorial, which was strongly worded:

"After the land enclosure, both Manchu and civilian populations will be impoverished, fields will lie fallow, people will flee, and there is a risk of unrest! This is a policy that will lead to the downfall of a nation!"

Immediately afterwards, the Minister of Revenue, Su Nahai, also stepped in to confront him head-on.

This Sunahai was also a member of the Plain White Banner and was in charge of the Qing Dynasty's land accounts. Faced with pressure from Oboi and Ebilun, he simply threw the account books down:

"Land has been allocated for a long time, and private land should not be enclosed anymore! This is a rule of the Ministry of Revenue, and no one can change it!"

Good guy!

The governor-general of Zhili, the governor, the minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and a regent, Suksaha.

This is practically forming an "anti-Ao Bai alliance," and one that is well-founded and occupies the moral high ground.

The imperial court was immediately filled with lively activity.

The two factions argued and cursed each other every day, and memorials flew in like snowflakes.

Hong Xiguan sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the group of Manchu lackeys arguing heatedly over their interests, and felt extremely satisfied.

Hit him, hit him hard.

It would be best to smash out their brains.

The fiercer you fight, the more stable my Qing Dynasty... no, my empire will be.

......

On this day, another argument broke out in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The atmosphere was more tense than usual, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

Contrary to his usual behavior, Suksaha did not stand in the queue pretending to be dead. Instead, he knelt in the center of the hall at the very beginning, crying and frantically cursing Ao Bai.

The struggle between the two sides has reached a fever pitch.

Ao Bai stood aside, listening to Sukesaha's impeachment, and sneered repeatedly.

"Suksaha! Stop playing the victim!"

Ao Bai pointed at Sukesaha's nose and cursed, "Back then, that traitor Dorgon used his power to allocate all the good land to your Plain White Banner, leaving us, the sons of the Bordered Yellow Banner, to eat sand! I've held this grudge for over a decade!"

"Now that Dorgon has long since been reduced to ashes, these unfair rules must naturally be changed! I am doing this to seek justice for the descendants of the Bordered Yellow Banner! What? You've taken advantage of us for so many years, and now you're unhappy about giving back even a little?"

Suksaha, not to be outdone, retorted defiantly, "The late emperor issued an edict, permanently prohibiting land enclosure! This land deed was drawn up by the late emperor! Aobai, are you defying the edict? Are you rebelling?!"

"Don't try to intimidate me with the late emperor!" Ao Bai roared, looking as if he wanted to draw his sword on the spot. "This empire was conquered by us Manchus! The best land should naturally belong to the best banner! The days when you, the Zhengbai Banner, were lording it over with Dorgon are over!"

The two argued fiercely in the main hall, spitting as they spoke, like two middle-aged women fighting over a stall in a vegetable market.

However, what these two middle-aged women held in their hands was the highest level of power in the Qing Dynasty.

Hong Xiguan sat on the dragon throne, watching the dog-eat-dog drama unfold below, and was secretly delighted.

That's right, bite! Bite hard!

He cleared his throat, feigning a troubled expression: "My two ministers are both my most trusted advisors. Why must you ruin our harmony over a few plots of land?"

"What Minister Su says makes sense; the late Emperor did indeed issue an edict..."

He had only spoken half of his sentence when Ao Bai suddenly turned his head, his large, copper-bell-like eyes staring intently at Hong Xiguan, carrying an undisguised threat:

"Your Majesty! This is not merely a matter of land; it is a fundamental issue for the Eight Banners! The Bordered Yellow Banner is Your Majesty's personal guard. If your personal guard is wronged, who will protect Your Majesty? Who will protect the Qing Dynasty?!"

This is blatant kidnapping.

Hong Xiguan seemed startled and quickly changed his words: "Lord Ao is right... This... both are my flesh and blood..."

He turned to look at Suksaha and gave him a look that said, "I want to help you, but I really can't beat him. Good luck."

Seeing the emperor's cowardly appearance, Suksaha felt contempt, but he also knew that at this point, he could only rely on himself to fight back.

"Your Majesty! Ao Bai has seized 310,000 mu of land, not only taking away the land of the Manchus, but also driving countless Han people to the brink of ruin and death! Now, there is widespread resentment around the capital. If this incites a popular uprising, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Suksaha's move was very ruthless, escalating the conflict to the level of a "popular uprising".

But Ao Bai didn't care at all.

"A popular uprising? That's just unruly Han Chinese! Kill a few ringleaders, and they'll behave themselves!"

Ao Bai snorted coldly and waved his sleeve.

"Minister of Revenue Su Nahai! Governor-General of Zhili Zhu Changzuo! Governor Wang Denglian!"

He called out the names of three people in one go.

"These three are obstructing the land acquisition, colluding with Suksaha, and plotting treason! Your Majesty, I implore you to immediately arrest these three and hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for rigorous interrogation!"