The crowd of citizens erupted in laughter. At the same time, the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander slapped Ji Xiaolan across the face again, roaring, "You scoundrel, take a good look at my attire! We are the law!"
The surrounding people continued to laugh.
The Great Ming laws were very clear. If a citizen of the Great Ming committed a crime, the local authorities would handle it. Unless there was an imperial decree from the Emperor, the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) and the東廠(Dongchang) would not intervene.
Ji Xiaolan?
What sort of citizen of the Great Ming was Ji Xiaolan? This scoundrel still wore the queue hairstyle, intending to be loyal to his Jianlu masters. Would the Great Ming laws protect someone like him?
It wasn't just the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) who were unwilling; the surrounding citizens were also unwilling!
Someone in the crowd shouted, "If you were a citizen of the Great Ming, the law would apply here. Unfortunately, you are not!"
"Well said, the eloquent Ji Xiaolan! A loyal minister of the Great Qing with an unyielding spirit! Since you wish to be loyal to your Jianlu masters, then be a man!"
"Look, look! He's cowering! He's wet himself!"
Listening to the discussions around him and feeling the warmth spreading from his crotch, Ji Xiaolan was overcome with the urge to dig a hole and bury himself.
However, the moment he thought of the earnest instructions from the old dog Qianlong and Grand Tutor He, Ji Xiaolan could only suppress his suicidal impulse and proclaim loudly, "I am here on an envoy under the sacred will of the Great Qing Emperor. I have important matters to discuss with your Emperor!"
The錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander mockingly replied, "Meet His Majesty? You likely won't have the chance. You, Ji Yun, Ji Xiaolan, are loyal to the Jianlu slave chieftain Qianlong. Under the guise of compiling the《四庫全書》(Siku Quanshu), you destroyed countless books, almost eradicating Chinese culture. His Majesty has decreed that you, Ji, be cast into a kneeling statue, to stand forever before the grand hall of the Confucian Temple, forcing you to reflect and repent daily before the past sages."
Ji Xiaolan flew into a rage and cried, "How dare you!"
The錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander slapped Ji Xiaolan across the face again and retorted, "What is there that I dare not do? I'll tell you openly, His Majesty only ordered you to be cast into a kneeling statue and placed before the grand hall of the Confucian Temple, but he didn't specify how you should be delivered there."
Saying this, the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander grinned menacingly and added, "I've already thought of it. Later, I'll borrow some Kunlun slaves from a construction site, the ones who are tall and strong, so much so that they can't be picked out even when thrown into a coal pile. They will carry you, you scoundrel, all the way from Jinan Prefecture to the gates of the Confucian Temple in the capital."
"Of course, the Confucian Temple is a place of great dignity, and Kunlun slaves are certainly not allowed to step foot within it. Therefore, upon reaching the gates of the Confucian Temple, our brothers will roll you inside."
"However, you should truly thank me – this treatment was originally intended for the old dog Qianlong and his entire family. Now, you, a scoundrel, get to enjoy it first, so it's not like you've been wronged."
Ji Xiaolan's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "Do you not want to know the purpose of my mission?"
The錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander remained unfazed. Instead, he leaned close to Ji Xiaolan's ear and whispered, "You fool, do you think the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) and the東廠(Dongchang) are for show? Let me tell you, the moment you left the capital, His Majesty already knew the purpose of your visit."
Ji Xiaolan turned pale with shock. Just as he was about to shout, the錦衣衛(Jinyiwei) commander landed a punch on Ji Xiaolan's mouth, knocking out all his rotten yellow teeth. He then waved his hand, signaling his officers to stuff Ji Xiaolan and his family into carriages and take them away.
Damn it, the Eastern Depot's chief clerk from the Eastern Depot was right there listening when the old dog Qianlong and Grand Tutor He discussed this matter. Why would Ji Xiaolan need to come and relay the message?
Yes, even before Ji Xiaolan entered Shandong territory, Zhu Jinsong already knew the plans of the old dog Qianlong.
To have all the Jianlu retreat beyond the passes intact was naturally impossible, as the Great Ming still required a large number of laborers.
However, to completely annihilate the Jianlu, Zhu Jinsong did not have such plans for the time being, as the Great Ming still needed to keep the Jianlu to serve as vanguards.
Therefore, the Great Ming army continued its slow and steady advance. If the Jianlu dared to block the way, the Ming army would simply crush them. If the Jianlu fled, the Ming army would not pursue.
This greatly vexed the old dog Qianlong.
In the old dog Qianlong's opinion, Zhu Jinsong was somewhat troublesome. If you were to attack all the way to the capital, then I could take advantage of the situation and embark on an eastern tour. If you were to give advance notice, then I could slowly transfer all the Banner men of our Great Qing beyond the passes.
But now, this rebel surnamed Zhu's army was advancing step by step. A large number of Banner men had no chance to transfer, and I was too embarrassed to directly embark on an eastern tour to Shengjing. Are you planning to cut me with a blunt knife?
Fortunately, the old dog Qianlong had Grand Tutor He by his side.
Seeing that if they didn't flee soon, they might lose their chance entirely, Grand Tutor He came up with a perfect excuse for the old dog Qianlong: "Since the eastern tour of the forty-eighth year, several years have passed. Your servant believes that Your Majesty should personally travel to Shengjing to pay respects at the Yongling, Fuling, and Zhaoling tombs, to show that my Great Qing regards loyalty and filial piety as the foundation of governance."
The old dog Qianlong couldn't help but be tempted.
After some thought, the old dog Qianlong declared, "This time, the eastern tour will not go through Chengde but will detour via Kalaqin. Issue my decree to assemble the Mongolian Banners to meet Your Majesty in Kalaqin."
Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor He immediately became flustered: "Your Majesty, this absolutely cannot be done!"
"The Mongolian Banners are already showing signs of unrest. If the princes of various tribes are summoned to meet Your Majesty in Kalaqin, the grasslands will be left empty. Won't the Solon tribe take advantage of this opportunity?"
"The Solon tribe is fierce by nature, and often leaves nothing but barren land in their wake during expeditions. If they were to learn that the grasslands are empty..."
"If the Solon tribe gains power, I fear the grassland Banners will completely defect to the traitor Zhu."
The old dog Qianlong also became apprehensive.
Others might not know, but the old dog Qianlong knew that seven of the ten battles he boasted about as "ten perfect campaigns" were won with the help of the Solon tribe, and the remaining three were won with the help of the Han Chinese Banners. If he were to summon the Solon tribe, wouldn't the Manchu Banners of the Great Qing be finished?
Regardless of anything else, let's consider the Us-Tsang Pacification Commission – the Great Qing has always boasted that Us-Tsang was thoroughly incorporated into its territory during the Great Qing era, as the Great Qing stationed troops in Us-Tsang. As for the garrison of the Us-Tsang Pacification Commission during the Great Ming period, it was intentionally or unintentionally overlooked by the Great Qing and its bondservants. Furthermore, the Ming History was thoroughly revised, and the credit was completely attributed to the Great Qing.
However, no matter how much the Great Qing revised history books or shamelessly boasted, it had to respect one fact: the majority of the Great Qing's garrisons in Us-Tsang relied on the Solon battalions.
For example, the Banner troops stationed in Yili were rotated regularly, but the Solon battalion was a permanent garrison. From the time of the old dog Qianlong, the Solon battalion had been stationed in Yili for a full 150 years, until the Great Qing completely collapsed.
Moreover, in the quelling of the "Seven Khoja Rebellion" and the "Wulehan Rebellion," it was the fearless Solon battalion that took the brunt of the fighting, without avoiding bloodshed, that earned the reputation of the old dog Qianlong's ten perfect campaigns.
Such a Solon tribe that easily goes berserk in battle…
The Great Qing Banners have only a few million people in total!
With the combat effectiveness of the Manchu Banners, if they were to face the Solon tribe, the Manchu Banners would likely scatter in a panicked rout before the battle even began.
Thinking of this, the old dog Qianlong could only choose to flee first.
As for the Banner men who couldn't retreat in time... did Grand Tutor He need to care about their lives? Obviously not, because only the old dog Qianlong was the master of the Great Qing. The rest were all slaves. Who would care about the lives of a group of slaves?
Therefore, the old dog Qianlong immediately issued an edict, stating, "My Great Qing governs with loyalty and filial piety. I will embark on an eastern tour to Shengjing to pay respects at the three tombs. All Banner subjects throughout the empire are ordered to accompany me. Those who disobey will bear the consequences."
In essence, this was the meaning, and this was the situation.
Although the Banner men were most skilled at visiting brothels, gambling on cocks, and occasionally not even knowing which Banner a certain chess player belonged to... yes, in a certain live broadcast room, a certain bondservant boasted about being a descendant of a certain chess player, claiming that the chess player originated from the Plain Blue Banner.
However, the Banner men of the old dog Qianlong's era still had some common sense. After all, the Great Ming army was steadily advancing. When the Emperor and Grand Tutor led the charge to flee, these Banner men would naturally not choose to stay and wait for death.
Of course, according to the old dog Qianlong's nature, even when fleeing, he would never obediently withdraw beyond the passes. Instead, he left a great gift for Zhu Jinsong –
Didn't the old dog Qianlong previously have He, the Grand Tutor, ask the Han officials of the Great Qing whether they chose to remain in the capital or withdraw beyond the passes with the Great Qing?
Grand Tutor He carried out the order and inquired. The answer received was that these Han officials "willingly" remained in the capital, and did so by throwing their bodies into wells or simply leaving them on the streets.
In short, Zhu Jinsong could have a complete capital, but whether his army would be infected with any plagues was not the responsibility of the Great Qing.
In any case, it was these Han officials and their families who "voluntarily" threw themselves into wells to offer their last loyalty to the Great Qing.
Therefore, Zhu Sansun, who dispatched troops to receive the capital, was very troubled.
From the day he could remember, Zhu Sansun had been beaten by Zhu Erdan many times, and Zhu Erdan had been beaten by Zhu Jinsong many times. Therefore, Zhu Sansun easily concluded that his elder brother beating him was like playing a game.
If his elder brother were to find out that the wells in the capital were polluted, it would be one thing. But if the soldiers of the Rear Army Commandery were to contract epidemics because of it, then he, the Prince of Jin of the Great Ming, would likely be beaten.
To avoid being beaten, Zhu Sansun had to dispatch people to slowly clear the entire capital.
And this, coincidentally, gave the old dog Qianlong the opportunity to slowly withdraw beyond the passes.
Unfortunately, although the old dog Qianlong thought of it very well, and the plan was implemented smoothly, he never expected that the Solon tribe had already learned of the Great Ming's notification to recover Zhili and the territories within and beyond the passes. They had also long ago dispatched personnel to contact the princes on the grasslands.
Zhu Jinsong's unofficial brother-in-law, Agutai, stated: Your families have been implementing a population reduction policy on the grasslands. Now is the opportunity for your tribes to break free from the constraints of this policy and show your loyalty to the Great Ming.
How to show loyalty to the Great Ming? That goes without saying. Of course, it would be to cause trouble for the old dog Qianlong while he was withdrawing beyond the passes.
Of course, some tribes who were loyal to the Great Qing and unwilling to accept the Great Ming's rule could quickly flee with the old dog Qianlong before the Great Ming army arrived. If they were late, they should not blame the Solon tribe for turning against them.
It must be admitted that the Solon tribe's statement was even more terrifying to the grassland tribes than the news of the Great Ming army's advance towards the grasslands. After all, everyone knew that the Great Ming army would not harm the grasslands to death, while the Solon tribe easily went berserk in battle and left nothing but barren land wherever they went.
Even the dogs in the tribe were slapped twice.
To prevent such a situation, the tribes on the grasslands discussed and decided to obediently send people to Zhili to welcome Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, to his throne, and at the same time, send people to cause trouble for the old dog Qianlong.