Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 521: Rockets, arsenic and air guns, unparalleled fighting inside and outside the imperial city
The third day of the third month in the forty-fourth year of Qianlong’s reign.

Two quarters past noon.

The Intelligence Agency has completed all preparations~
There were a total of 66 people directly involved in the assassination, and 13 cover personnel.

"Brothers, let's do it."

"Dry."

Liu Qian took the lead and drank all the wine in the bowl.

Everyone followed suit and drank the wine in one gulp. No one smashed their bowls, as it would have made too much noise.
Looking at those pairs of excited, bloodthirsty eyes,
Liu Qian bowed and said:
"In this operation, all participants, regardless of their official rank, will be rewarded with 1000 taels of silver."

"Those who have made contributions will receive double the reward, and those who have died for their country will also receive double the reward."

"Did you hear that clearly?"

"clear."

……

Liu Qian pointed at the wooden box under his feet:
"Each of you take one. If the matter cannot be resolved, you can end it on your own."

"In our line of work, we must be ruthless to our enemies, and even more so to ourselves. Compared to being tortured, death is actually a relief."

"As ordered."

There is arsenic in the small bamboo tube, which is sealed with wax.

Death is no stranger to any agent.

Everyone dispersed and took their positions according to the pre-deployment, waiting to take action.

……

The restaurant became deserted.

Liu Qian walked to the backyard and saw six completed wooden frames, but at different angles and directions.

So he asked:

"High and low, what's the explanation?"

“Make sure the coverage is broader.”

"What a pity, there are only 40 rockets. If 400 or 1000 rockets were dropped at the same time, what would the Forbidden City look like?"

The gunner replied respectfully:

"According to my experience, 2000 rockets can reduce the Forbidden City to ashes."

Liu Qian laughed loudly, then restrained his smile and said:

"You can't make any mistakes. Once your rocket is launched, the rest of the assassination team will follow. You are the first link in the whole plan!"

"As ordered."

The gunner, seconded from the War Department, held the rank of warrant officer.

Before coming, he received a clear promise.

He ensured that most of the rockets fell into the imperial city and that he returned to Suzhou Prefecture alive. He was immediately promoted to Director of the Ordnance Department of the Ministry of the Army and was rewarded with a house.

……

After completing the inspection, Liu Qian left quietly.

He returned to his rented house in the Xiangbai Banner residential area of ​​the inner city and threw all the papers into the stove and burned them.

after that,

He also threw his used bedding, clothes and cups into the fire.

After making sure it was clean, he sat down.

Start eating.

Various high-energy foods that are resistant to hunger and digestion, and a large amount of lard and brown sugar~
After eating, check your self-defense weapons.

Two exquisite small pistols, a fine steel dagger, a sharp thin finger-claw blade, a fire starter, gold wound medicine, some loose gold and silver, and two pieces of lard sugar cakes.

……

Jiang Tianmu, director of the intelligence station, stood aside and watched silently.

Suddenly came a sentence:
"Director, why don't you evacuate the city first?"

"No, my brothers are fighting for their lives in the front. How can I, the director, retreat first?"

Xu Shi.

The evening drum sounded again.

After hearing the drumbeats, the city gates would be closed one after another.

Generally, the Forbidden City is closed first, followed by the Imperial City, then the Inner City, and finally the Outer City.

same,

Four quarters after the Yin hour, the morning drum sounded.

The order for opening the city gates is the same.

Sijiu City is a place that strictly abides by the rules and does not tolerate any chaos.

……

Liu Qian ate something again and then began to put on makeup carefully.

Through some means, change the skin color, lower the corners of the eyes, and thicken the eyebrows.

The Intelligence Agency has been trying to find relevant people with special abilities to fill the gap, such as the skills to make human skin masks.

"Everyone, take care."

"Take care of yourself."

Jiang Tianmu had mixed feelings and left later.

This time, the intelligence station under his command did not directly participate in the assassination, but was only responsible for cover.

But
We must set fire to every corner of the city.

It gave the director and his brothers the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and escape from the city by blending in with the common people.

……

Three quarters past the hour of Yin, outside the Meridian Gate.

Ministers arrived one after another, and the scene became extremely lively.

The adults got off the carriage, exchanged greetings, and complained about the cold weather.

beside,

A row of breakfast stalls along the wall were steaming.

The group of people in red tasseled hats didn't care about their status and sat down next to the breakfast stall skillfully, calling the shopkeeper for something hot.

not far away,
The imperial guards stood solemnly at their posts, watching nothing happen.

This happens outside the Meridian Gate every day.

Today is extremely crowded, even with traffic jams.

Because today's court meeting was expanded, all officials above the 4th rank in Beijing participated, including Mongolian princes and nobles.

……

Liu Qian is here too.

He was dressed conventionally, wearing a melon-shaped hat and a black silk jacket. He was not good-looking and had a slightly hunched back.

This appearance is a common image of the housekeepers in large mansions in the capital.

He squeezed in the crowd, looking around, just like a butler who was looking for his master temporarily for something.

Follow the strict instructions of the thousand doors, and the thief will not escape empty-handed.

After a while, he had a few more badges in his sleeves.

Squeezed in front of a small stall,
laughed:

"It's very cold today, boss, give me a bowl of soybean juice, and two fried dough sticks, deep-fried dough sticks, and tofu pudding."

"okay."

The shopkeeper is very busy.

Liu Qian quickly said:
"I'll do it myself, you go ahead and do your thing."

"Thank you, Master."

……

The shopkeeper thought he had just met a housekeeper who was easy to talk to, and continued to make dough sticks and throw them into the frying pan.

Liu Qian quickly scooped himself a bowl of soy milk and a bowl of tofu pudding~
The spoon rises and falls.
From the sleeve, 3 taels of medicine powder fell into the wooden barrel.

This dim light and this disorderly noise are simply blessings for thieves.

Speaking of,
There are many young men from wealthy families in the city, but no one dares to start a business here.

It is said that

Someone did this 50 years ago.

then,

Feeling extremely humiliated, the Minister of Justice personally deployed all the detectives to raid all the thieves' nests in the city.

In the lobby of the Ministry of Justice,
Dozens of them were beaten to death on the spot with sticks and clamps, and the rest were exiled to Ningguta.
3 years later,
The new generation of leaders of the Qianmen in Sijiu City solemnly established a rule that any disciples of each gang who dared to involve the officials and their families in the government offices would have their hands chopped off, have stones tied to their bodies, and be sunk into the Yongding River.

……

"Sir, here are your fried dough sticks and dough rings."

"I'll give you another stack of pickles, chopped into small pieces."

"Got it."

Liu Qian has a strange accent.

The shopkeeper didn't find it strange, as there were many officials from the south in the capital. When it came to the family gate, they would definitely use a fellow villager.

Liu Qian glanced around and casually picked up the soy milk and took a sip.

Damn~
If he hadn't been on a mission, he would have definitely cursed.

It turns out that these stall owners are opposing the Qing Dynasty every day and feeding the empire's most honorable ministers with rotten bean juice.

Look next to it~
An old man with a kind face was holding the bowl and drinking from it with such a fragrant aroma that it was almost like tasting tea.

……

1 quarter before Mao hour,
The bell of the Meridian Gate rang.

Liu Qian immediately lowered his head and left upstream.

At this time, those walking north wore red tasseled hats, and those walking south wore melon-shaped hats.

He walked quickly and left the scene.

Not long.
Some of the ministers who had just entered the Meridian Gate could not hold on any longer.

The kind-looking director of the Imperial Observatory whispered in pain:

"Ouch, my stomach hurts. Could it be that the vendor's food is unclean?"

Next to him was the Hanlin scholar Ji Yun.

Shaking his head:

"No. The vendors outside the Meridian Gate know the importance of food. Besides, it's cold, so the food won't spoil easily."

……

The medicinal powders that fell into the wooden barrel of soy milk were arsenic, cinnabar, white aconite, and poisonous mushrooms, mixed in proportion.

Liu Qian considered that the onset time needed to be delayed as much as possible, so he reduced the amount of arsenic and increased the amount of cinnabar.

Cinnabar contains a large amount of mercury.

Highly toxic, but the toxicity is delayed.

1st quarter of the Mao hour.

The ministers arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony at a leisurely pace.

The guards stood solemnly with their swords drawn, and the hall was brightly lit.

Qin Si held the whip and lashed it fiercely in front of the palace. Then he shouted:

"All officials, come to court."

……

Ministers filed in, but the director of the Imperial Observatory had already shown obvious signs of poisoning.

It was difficult to move, my head was dizzy, and my abdomen was burning.

With a plop, he fell down.

Qin Si was stunned, and then ordered the guards to take the person away first.

The censor in charge of supervising all officials quickly made a note, saying that it was a serious crime for the official to be inappropriate in front of the palace and that he should pay at least 3000 taels of silver.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to pass this level.

exactly,

Ji Yun also staggered and lost his composure again.

The censor was overjoyed and said he could not finish writing. He simply could not finish writing.

The Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue reached an agreement that the censors could receive commissions from silver for impeachment.

The default is 5 percent.

Among them, 2% went to the Left Censor-in-Chief, 2% went to the Censor personally, and the remaining 1% was used as the court's expenses.

……

The censor widened his eyes and looked happily at his colleagues who entered the hall.

He was surprised to find that many people were staggering when walking. Suddenly, an ominous premonition rose from the soles of his feet to his forehead.

"Long live my emperor, long live long live~"

"Flat body."

Qianlong looked down at the hall and raised a major issue - calling the people back to the banner.

A few years ago, the imperial court forced a large number of Han Eight Banners to leave the banner and become civilians.

However, the Minister of War He Guozong wrote a letter to Qianlong, telling him that those who were laid off were the elite, and those who were left were the good-for-nothings.

Qianlong believed it instantly.

Because, that's how the bastards of our Qing Dynasty have always done things.

……

He Guozong's voice echoed in the hall:
"The Han army bannermen who left the banner are loyal to the country and are proficient in firearms. If they can return to the banner, they will surely be grateful and serve the Qing Dynasty."

There was a buzz in the hall.

suddenly,

A strange whistling sound was heard from the sky.

Qianlong frowned:

"Where is the noise~"

Before he finished his words, a huge explosion was heard.

"Guard you, escort you."

There was chaos inside and outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The guards in yellow jackets were about to rush in and the ministers were about to run out.

Qianlong looked at the messy scene.

Angry roar:
"Don't panic, don't be confused."

"Search the whole city for assassins. I will skin them alive one by one."

……

On Dong'anmen Street, the first round of rockets had been launched and the second round of rockets had been placed on the wooden rack.

After ignition,
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, it flew up into the sky with a tail of flame, then fell into the imperial city and exploded.

The landing point is erratic,

The Donghua Gate was hit by a bullet, and the Wumen Gate was also hit by a bullet.

A huge fire broke out in the Wenhua Hall area.

Qianlong escaped from the Hall of Supreme Harmony surrounded by his guards, and when he looked up he happened to see that spectacular scene.

An unknown object with a tail of flame came towards him.

The emperor was stunned:
East, the east wind blows thousands of flowers into bloom at night?

……

Everyone's blood froze.

In full view of the crowd, the rocket suddenly changed its trajectory and headed straight for the Fengxian Hall.

Boom, black smoke rises.

He is a rebellious son, indeed he is a rebellious son, may God strike him down.

A guard grabbed his sleeve:

"Your Majesty, leave quickly."

However, Qianlong seemed to be greatly stimulated. He raised his head and repeated:

"Kamikaze, Kamikaze. I have God's blessing."

The guards gritted their teeth, no longer caring about the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects, and carried Qianlong on their backs and ran westward.

The attack came from the east.

Although I don’t know what it is, running in the opposite direction is definitely the right thing to do.

……

at the same time,

The four assassination teams that had been staying up all night saw the rocket take off and launched action together.

They drove their carriage out of the temporarily rented house and rushed towards their intended target.

Familiar route, familiar mansion.

The residence of the eleventh son of the emperor, Prince Cheng, Yongyan.

Smash the door.

bang bang bang~
The doorman was at a loss as to what to do and opened the door. There were four guards in the gatehouse anyway.

"How dare you! This is the Prince's Mansion. Who are you? How dare you~"

The first person to knock on the door knelt on one knee:

"The Forbidden City was attacked. Prince Jia was killed on the spot. The Emperor was seriously injured. He ordered the prince to be summoned to the palace as soon as possible."

The door is stupid~
The leader grabbed the doorman by the collar and shouted in a low voice:
"Hurry, hurry, get the prince out of the house quickly. If it's too late, it will be too late."

……

Menzi tumbled and crawled into the inner house.

I ran into the maid on the way.

Upon hearing "The crown prince is dead, the emperor is dying, summon the prince to the palace immediately", the nanny instantly imagined 20 episodes in her mind and almost grinned.

He immediately rushed into the bedroom with his men and pulled Yongyan, who was in a daze, out of the quilt.

"What's going on? What's going on? Are you going to rebel?"

"Your Highness, there's no time to explain." Nanny was in high spirits, with her right hand on her waist, "Quick, carry Your Highness to the car. Change clothes in the car~"

"Whoo."

Yongyan was carried on the sedan chair in a daze.

He wanted to jump out of the car, but because he had no clothes on, he was afraid of getting frostbitten and having to spend money to see a doctor.
Everyone in Beijing knows that Prince Cheng is stingy and he spends every penny carefully.

……

With the feeling of being rewarded for her support, Nanny commanded the sedan chair to rush to the gate of the mansion.
At the door, there was a lonely carriage.

Several men took out bedding rolls from the carriage, then unfolded them to reveal the fire sticks inside.

See you in the picture!

This was the last word that popped into Mammy's mind.

Then, she was hit by a lead bullet.

Four SIS operatives armed with 20-round air rifles quickly rushed up the steps, calmly killing the guards along the way.

Within 30 breaths, no less than 60 bullets were fired.

The entrance to the Prince’s Mansion looks like a slaughterhouse.

Yongyan, who rolled off the sedan chair, was shot in the back, bleeding profusely and screaming in agony.

then,

Someone wiped his neck.

……

"go!"

Seeing that they had completed their mission, the assassins quickly returned to the carriage and evacuated towards the nearest city gate.

at this time,

There have been several fires in the city.

Jiang Tianmu's men began to support.

The Intelligence Agency is keen on pointing out other people's houses, which is quite a legacy of your Majesty's early days in the business.

Inside the galloping carriage.

"Smash the gun and throw it away."

The four men then smashed the air guns in their hands, disassembled them into several parts, and scattered them along the way.

One of them said regretfully:

"I really don't want to part with it. What a great gun."

"No problem, I'll buy from the foreign merchants again."

Everyone was silent, preparing to leave the city as innocent people. Normally, the city gate would have been opened at this time.

……

These guns came from the Austrian East India Company.

Austria, a second-rate kingdom, has little presence outside of Europe.

Because China did not catch up with the Age of Discovery and did not reap the benefits of colonialism, the East India Company was not established until 1775.

It closed down 10 years later.

So, the company's performance is really bleak.

They were eager to seize the advantage of the Wu State and strive for the export quota of tea, silk and porcelain.

but,

The State of Wu has no interest in such a useless kingdom. Your Majesty's eyes are on Saxony and the Netherlands.

……

The helpless Austrian governor decided to cater to the emperor's needs and sent him the most advanced army artillery, navigation instruments, diamond jewelry, purebred BMWs, and exotic beauties.

Among them were 30 air rifles.

People do not blame,
He finally pried open a corner of the door of the Wu royal family and won some export quotas.

His Majesty kept five air rifles for himself and gave the rest to the Intelligence Agency.

So, this scene happened.

(End of this chapter)