Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 447 Seeking Help from the Celestial Empire

Before he died of illness, Dorgon laid the groundwork for the future political layout of the Qing Dynasty, and the first person to be affected was Hauge.

Ever since Hauge was captured in the palace, Oboi and Turg were killed, and Leng Sengji defected, Dorgon secretly transferred a number of Hauge's supporters to remote areas such as Heilongjiang, or used methods such as promoting them in public and demoting them in secret to eliminate the apparent forces in Hauge's army.

However, Hauge himself became the biggest threat. When Dorgon was still alive, Hauge was under house arrest and he could not cause any trouble. But if Dorgon died, then Hauge's existence would greatly threaten the safety of the empress dowager and the emperor.

Therefore, within half an hour after Dorgon's death, Hauge died of a sudden illness. In one day, the Qing Dynasty lost two princes.

However, the Qing Dynasty was in a precarious situation, and Emperor Shunzhi was clearly not capable of coping with the current complex situation. Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang appointed Jirgalang and Bolo as regent princes to jointly maintain the Qing Dynasty, which was already riddled with holes.

…………

Beijing.

At this time, Meng Jun was meeting with Yin Shandao, the envoy from Li Hao. Yin Shandao was also an old acquaintance of Meng Zhou.

As soon as he entered the palace, Yin Shandao saw Meng Jun, who was wearing a black dragon robe and a winged hat, sitting high in the main seat. He kowtowed and said, "Yin Shandao, the envoy of a small country, pays homage to His Majesty the King of Zhou."

In fact, in Yoon Seon-do's heart, he did not have much good feelings towards King Zhou or even the shogunate, but now only King Zhou could help Korea. Therefore, even though Yoon Seon-do was not very willing in his heart, he still knelt in front of Meng Jun with his head bowed, and there was no fault in his etiquette.

Meng Jun took a look at Yin Shandao, who was still wearing the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty, and waved his hand, "Messenger, please stand up!"

"I thank His Majesty King Zhou." Yin Shandao kowtowed to express his gratitude, but he could not get up from his knees. He cried bitterly, "Your Majesty King Zhou raised an army because of the hair-shaving order. Now my small country in the East will also suffer the same tragedy as the Celestial Empire. The enemy wants to implement the policy of shaving hair and changing clothes in Joseon. Please save Joseon, just like a father saving his son!"

The messenger came too quickly, and the news of Bolo's shaving his head in Korea had not yet reached Meng Jun's ears. When he suddenly heard Yin Shandao's words, Meng Jun was stunned. He really didn't expect that the Qing court had failed in its shaving order in the Central Plains, and now it had gone to Korea to do it. This really made Meng Jun feel a little surprised.

Seeing that Yin Shandao was crying, Meng Jun asked about the details. After Yin Shandao explained everything, Meng Jun gently touched his chin and asked in confusion: "The Qing government shaved your hair in Korea, didn't you resist?"

Yin Shandao kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, the enemy's army is powerful and our officers and soldiers have been completely wiped out. However, righteous armies have risen up in various places. As long as the Celestial Empire sends troops, it will surely defeat the Japanese pirates like it did in the past, and repeat the defeat of Korea. We Korea will certainly remember your kindness for generations!"

Meng Jun pondered for a moment, then said to Yin Shandao: "The king already knows about the affairs of Korea. The envoy can go and rest first. I will summon him again after I gather all the ministers to discuss."

Yin Shandao also knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he kowtowed again and said respectfully: "Please send troops as soon as possible to save Korea from this precarious situation. Our country will definitely not forget your kindness!"

………………

In the capital, Lu Ping, the deputy commander of Qingluan Guard, put on the Qingluan Guard uniform for the first time. Perhaps because of Liu Guquan's aesthetic taste, the style was only slightly different from the Jinyiwei uniform of the former Ming Dynasty.

The robe was solemn in color and finely embroidered, with a flying blue phoenix on the shoulders and back. Lu Ping gently stroked the blue phoenix pattern on his chest, his face full of joy.

The new robe seemed a little stiff and not as comfortable as the old one, but Lu Ping still couldn't let it go. He turned around and paced, looking left and right.

Liang Sanjin, who was standing nearby, praised: "Your Excellency, this outfit looks really good."

After hearing this, Lu Ping smiled even more and said, "Life is like a play. The most important thing is to get into the play. Hahahaha."

Afterwards, he held his head high and strode out of the Qingluanwei government office. After the Zhou army occupied the capital, the former Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division was renamed Qingluanwei.

Lu Ping is now a successful and famous man, and he is always accompanied by guards when he goes out. After leaving the government office, Lu Ping took out the list in his arms. Some of the names on the list include local ruffians, some are evil officials who harm the people, and some are clerks who oppress the common people.

The three people at the top of the list, Liu San, Ma You, and Wang Jing, were all petty officials who often bullied the common people. For example, they didn't pay for tea or wontons, and they also kicked children and beggars on the street. What's even worse, they even extorted Lu Ping.

After showing off outside the government office, Lu Ping turned back to the government office and ordered his men to arrest the three men and interrogate them personally.

Liu San and others were escorted to the yamen. They looked terrified, but still tried to explain themselves and claimed their innocence.

Until he saw Lu Ping, Liu San pointed at him in surprise and asked stutteringly: "You...you you are not Shopkeeper Lu?"

Hearing this, Lu Ping laughed and said, "Yesterday I was Shopkeeper Lu, but now I am not the same person I was yesterday."

After he finished speaking, Lu Ping touched the official uniform. Liu San and his men knew they had hit a wall. They kowtowed in fear. Ma You even cried and said, "I was blind and didn't recognize the great man. Please forgive me, sir!"

Liu San also cried out, "My Lord, I am guilty, but my crime does not deserve death!"

Lu Ping was so upset by the noise that he shouted to stop the crying of several people. Then he asked the clerk beside him, "Is there any law to punish the crimes of these three people?"

The clerk said, "Your Majesty has not yet promulgated the new law. At this time, we can only use the Great Ming Law. However, according to the Great Ming Law, patrolmen who rely on their official power to deprive people of their property are also guilty of the same crime. The specific punishment is death by slow slicing. Of course, this punishment is too harsh. Except for the Ming Taizu, no one in later generations has done so."

Lu Ping was a little surprised. Although these three people had blackmailed him, lingchi was obviously too much. He then asked the clerk, according to convention, how should such a case be sentenced?

The clerk whispered in his ear, "The punishment should be determined according to the amount of money the inspector extorted. If it is less than 10 taels, he should be caned 30 times. If it is less than 100 taels, he should be caned 50 times and put in the shackles for 10 days. If it is more than 100 taels, he should be beheaded."

Lu Ping thought for a moment, then interrogated the three men separately, saying that if they told the other two about the money they had coveted, they would be given a lighter sentence. If anyone hesitated, he would use torture instruments, and under the three sticks, no one would refuse to speak.

Afterwards, the three people's statements were compared and interrogated in court. Liu San was the most corrupt. He extorted money from dozens of shops along the street. He also extorted money from small vendors along the street. Liu San confessed that he had taken more than 400 taels of silver in seven years (underreported). Ma You and Wang Jing also took as much as Liu San.

Lu Ping pondered for a moment, then reported the crimes of the three people to Meng Bian, along with recommended punishments.

But before taking the three away, Lu Ping ordered the guards to step forward, pin the three to the ground, and cane them one by one. After each of them was caned ten times, Liu San and others were beaten until they cried for their parents and wailed.