061 Fishing in the Forbidden City

This was not a successful morning court session; no victory was achieved!
The above was from the perspective of the Shunzhi Emperor.
As the court was dismissed, a young eunuch quietly intercepted Jiang Qingyun.
"Lord Jiang, please stay. Come with me."
"Very well."
Jiang Qingyun did not ask further. After all, he had no close friends in the palace, and apart from Shunzhi, no one else would summon him. Following the young eunuch was the only logical choice.
After winding through several corridors and turns, they arrived at the fish pond in the Imperial Garden.
...
Shunzhi was sitting there, fishing.
Jiang Qingyun looked left and right. There was not a single soul within ten zhang. He immediately realized that the young emperor wanted to discuss classified matters and had deliberately chosen such a secluded spot.
Therefore, he intentionally made his footsteps heavier and walked forward a few paces.
"Long live, long live, long live our Emperor."
"Rise, beloved subject, and sit over here. Do you know how to fish?"
"Your servant has loved fishing since childhood."
"There are fishing rods over there, get one yourself."
"As you command."
Fishing among the common folk is just about catching fish. It sounds simple, and in reality, it isn't too complicated.
Fishing in the Forbidden City is about catching people. It sounds uncomplicated, but in reality, it is exceptionally complex.
Fish do not care about politics, but the people who fish must.
Jiang Qingyun picked up a fishing rod from the ground, pantomimed baiting a nonexistent air-lure with exaggerated gestures, and then swung his arm back.
Whoosh—he cast the empty hook forcefully into the water.
Then, he waited with rapt attention for a fish to take the bait.
...
Haruki Murakami once said:
In officialdom, when faced with an inquiry from a superior, a clever subordinate must learn to give an irrelevant answer. You ask your question, and I will answer my own way.
"Beloved subject, the Plain Blue Banner's siege of the Forbidden City is something never heard of nor seen before. Every time I think of it, my heart aches."
"Your Majesty possesses boundless virtue."
"Actually, I have long wanted to pass a definitive judgment on Dorgon, but alas, major state affairs arise one after another, and I can never find the right opportunity."
"Your Majesty holds the entire realm in your heart."
Although the replies seemed completely mismatched, Shunzhi found them acceptable.
Seeing his float suddenly twitch, Jiang Qingyun was startled. No way—did it bite an empty hook? Have the fish raised in the Forbidden City become this foolish?
Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.
He looked to the side; Shunzhi's float was also moving.
...
Shunzhi continued to grumble.
"Today, I originally intended to officially condemn the Plain Blue Banner incident during court, but unexpectedly, the officials argued endlessly, and the Prince Regents and Grand Ministers held me back. I could not bring myself to make a resolute decision."
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has a plan."
"Speak."
"Why not first condemn Dorgon, and then condemn the Plain Blue Banner?"
"Hmm?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Dorgon is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed now that Your Majesty has assumed personal rule, and he is also an obstacle in the hearts of the officials. Once he is removed, everything else will go smoothly."
"How does the beloved subject think he should be dealt with?"
"Posthumously strip him of his titles, exhume his remains, and mutilate his corpse on account of ten major crimes: first, treason; second, grand conspiracy; third, rebellion; fourth, outrageous atrocity; fifth, unprincipled defiance; sixth, gross disrespect; seventh, unfilial conduct; eighth, causing discord; ninth, unrighteousness; and tenth, inciting internal chaos."
"Who will take the lead?"
"This servant will plan it."
"Where is the evidence of treason?"
"This servant will gather it."
"What if the officials object?"
"Order the imperial guards to arrest them on the spot, brand them as accomplices, and execute a few to warn the rest."
"What if the Empress Dowager also objects?"
"Before it happens, the Empress Dowager will object. Once it has happened, the Empress Dowager will no longer object. By that time, she will only firmly support Your Majesty."
...
Shunzhi wore a conflicted expression.
Suddenly, he turned his head and said:
"Since I am the Son of Heaven, I naturally enjoy heavenly favor. Today's fishing: if I catch one first, I will listen to you. If I don't catch anything, the plan will be temporarily postponed. The will of Heaven cannot be defied."
"This servant obeys the will of Heaven."
Following the angler's oath, the two men ceased their idle chatter and stared intently at the lake surface.
Today, the cloud cover was somewhat heavy, with no sunlight, and the wind was quite strong; the surface of the lake was far from calm.
Half a quarter of an hour passed...
Shunzhi's float bobbed up and down continuously, and his palms grew sweaty from tension.
...
"Your Majesty, a fish has taken the bait!"
Shunzhi suddenly stood up and jerked the fishing rod upward, revealing a glittering golden carp struggling on the water's surface.
Jiang Qingyun hurriedly grabbed the landing net and rushed to the railing. As the carp drew close, he scooped it up with the net.
Steady and secure—
The carp was in the net.
Jiang Qingyun raised his head to look at the sky and said in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, this is the will of Heaven."
Shunzhi was thrilled, feeling an indescribable impulse swelling within him, filled with towering ambition, itching to stir the winds and clouds of the realm immediately.
"My mind is made up. Beloved subject, make your move!"
"This servant obeys."
After the emperor and his subject left, a group of young eunuchs came over to clean up.
"Hey, look, Lord Jiang's bait was eaten away by the fish long ago."
"How clever the fish in our Forbidden City are! Could they let an outsider hook them? Absolutely not."
...
Inside the Imperial Study.
Shunzhi said with great solemnity:
"Minister Hong died a martyr for his country; the court ought to commend him, grant him generous compensation, bestow upon him the posthumous title of Wenzhong, and proclaim it to the empire."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Unexpectedly, Shunzhi suddenly smiled.
"Beloved subject, you probably don't know yet, but Hong Chengchou strongly recommended you in his final testament. To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen him praise someone like that."
Noticing that Jiang Qingyun was clearly dumbfounded, Shunzhi simply ordered someone to find the memorial and toss it to him.
Jiang Qingyun caught it and quickly scanned through it.
Upon reading it, he gasped—his hair stood on end, and a chilly wind seemed to swirl around him.
The handwriting was scrawled.
The content was horrifying.
"—The Great Qing cannot go a single day without the Han Army Banners, and the Han Army Banners cannot go a single day without Jiang Qingyun. Only on the verge of death did this servant realize that Jiang's talent is by no means inferior to my own. If the court wishes to unify the realm, it should heavily rely on this man."
Jiang Qingyun nearly jumped out of his skin on the spot.
Impossible, absolutely impossible. Hengjiu, what the hell are you trying to do?
...
No one could answer this question, leaving Jiang Qingyun—who ought to have been in high spirits—preoccupied with heavy thoughts, locking himself away in his study and refusing to come out.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Yun'er, it's me."
Lady Wen had come in person.
"I heard from Jiangnan that you were frowning and wouldn't answer when asked, locking yourself in your study and refusing to step outside for most of the day. What is it? Have you run into a difficult problem?"
"I haven't told them; this matter is too complicated and a long story."
Blah, blah, blah.
A quarter of an hour later, Lady Wen's face had turned pale.
"You schemed Hong Chengchou into his coffin—why?"
"Mother, mother and son share a single heart; I have nothing to hide from you. Smallpox, variolation, Hong Chengchou, the Plain Blue Banner mutiny—everything is linked in a chain. My purpose in orchestrating these events is singular: I! WANT! POWER!"
"So, even if you hadn't gotten rid of Hong Chengchou, you would have eliminated other high ministers of comparable weight."
"Correct. The Great Qing rules a vast country with a small ethnic group. On the surface, it seems similar to the Mongol Yuan, but in reality, it is completely different. If I want to seize power, I must muddy the waters. Were the domestic and foreign situations peaceful and the four seas unified, I would have no chance at all."
Jiang Qingyun smiled cheerfully.
Lady Wen took a deep breath:
"I understand."
"Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back. Mother still says this: in this world, there is no right or wrong, only success and failure. The victor is always right. So, to return to the matter at hand, I deduce that Hong Chengchou's final testament elevating you has only one purpose."
"What purpose?"
"To protect his family, especially his son, from meeting a tragic end at your hands."
Jiang Qingyun pondered for a moment and muttered to himself:
"Mother, that raises the question: does Hong Shiming know?"