"Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou... what do you think?"
The regent of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Rui Dorgon, who had a long face, small eyes, and a big beard, narrowed his small eyes and looked at the report in his hand. Also placed on the table was a letter sent in the name of Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong, requesting troops to assist in the suppression.
There was silence in the room. After a while, Zu Dashou broke the silence: "Your Majesty, a dog will never lie to a minister. Wu Sangui must have never left Shanhaiguan, and Guan Ning's army has not been dispatched."
Dorgon's eyes suddenly shot like lightning at Hong Chengchou, who had a bit of a sinister look on his face, "Hong Shangshu, what do you think?"
Hong Chengchou, who is fifty-one years old this year, looks a bit old and skinny. He is just a skinny old man. But just such a skinny old man can be said to be a key figure who can determine the rise and fall of the Ming, Qing, and Shun families.
If Emperor Chongzhen can make good use of this Hong Chengchou, although it may not be able to turn the tide, it can at least extend the life of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if he can't be used, leaving him to Nanming to replace Shi Kefa and Ma Shiying might be able to save half of the country.
It is a pity that such an important figure was tricked by Chongzhen and Chen Xinjia, who was the Minister of War at the time, and became a prisoner of Huang Taiji. Then he became a second minister and became the number one person in the Qing camp who knew everything and was obedient.
Hong Chengchou's previous series of judgments on the Dashun Eastern Expedition were extremely accurate. It can be said that Li Zicheng's Eastern Expedition was proceeding according to his expectations. And the Ming army's collapse was completely within his expectation.
He even predicted that Wu Sangui would be too late to break the siege of the capital and that Chongzhen would die or be captured...but he made a slight mistake on this last issue.
Emperor Chongzhen actually ran out of Beijing instead of fulfilling his responsibility of "guarding the country and dying for the country". This actually made Hong Chengchou look down upon his old master a bit - the Ming Dynasty was like this, so why didn't he, Chongzhen, run out of Beijing and linger on his last breath? Rather than procrastinate, it is better to do it once with a bang, so as to leave a good name in history.
And how long can we survive in such a panic and escape? So after the news of the Battle of Tianjin Wei came, Hong Chengchou lost his sight again. He originally judged that the Tianjin Guards would not be able to defend it for a day, but the result was that the Dashun Army was defeated!
Hong Chengchou frowned and seemed to have been thinking hard: "Your Majesty, if what Mr. Zu said is true, Wu Sangui and Guan Ning's army did not move at Shanhaiguan... Then I can guarantee that Chongzhen is either dead, Or he will be ignored! The person in power in Tianjin Wei must not be Emperor Chongzhen, but a figure ten times and a hundred times more powerful than him!"
Fan Wencheng, a bachelor of the inner academy who was a few years younger than Hong Chengchou and had a dignified Chinese character face, snorted and said, "Brother Heng Jiu, tell me, who in the Ming Dynasty was ten times or a hundred times more harmful than Emperor Chongzhen?"
Hong Chengchou shook his head and said: "Although the Ming Dynasty had a population of hundreds of trillions, there may be many heroes among them, but there are not many people in the court, among the nobles, among the emperor's relatives, and within the palace. There are four people in Chongzhen. The sons are still here, but they all grew up in the deep palace, lack experience, and are young. The oldest crown prince is only 16 years old, so it is impossible for him to take on big responsibilities even if he thinks about it."
It turns out that the news about the palace coup at Huangjimen and Zhu Cixiang's coming to power was not heard by the Manchu spies. Before the palace coup at Huangjimen, the Manchu spies lurking in the inner city of Beijing withdrew, because in their opinion Beijing is definitely falling, and there is nothing more to inquire about. It is better to retreat outside the city to avoid the limelight and wait for Beijing to change hands before entering.
So Hong Chengchou still doesn’t know such important information!
"Oops, Hong Shangshu didn't mention the crown prince. I almost forgot..." Zu Dashou patted his forehead, "What an old fool. Quanzi told me that the crown prince of Emperor Chongzhen died before the city fell. On the 16th of March, he was ordered to Fujun! Starting from the 17th, the Ming army in Beijing was controlled by the Prince of Fujun. Therefore, the breakout on the 21st was also presided over by the Prince..."
Zu Dashou is not an old fool, but he doesn’t know how to pick himself clean!
That Wu Sanmei is his niece!
Well, his niece turned into the Empress of Ming Dynasty! How can he continue to work as a traitor with peace of mind?
What if the Qing masters become suspicious of the ancestors?
"Prince? The sixteen-year-old prince..." Hong Chengchou looked stunned, "How is it possible? How could he be so powerful as a stupid kid? Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen was a headstrong man. Even if he ordered the prince to care for the army, it was just in name. , will not really give real power."
"Hong Shangshu said the same thing..." Zu Dashou said.
Cold sweat broke out on Zu Dashou's forehead. Of course he knew about the Huangjimen incident! However, he did not believe that this was the work of Zhu Cixiang, a young boy. In his opinion, Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu must be behind the incident at Huangji Gate.
I never expected that Wu Xiang, who seemed quite honest, turned out to be a traitor like Cao Cao! It was obvious that he was using the emperor as a tactic to control the princes.
But how could he report this matter to his master in the Qing Dynasty?
Wu Xiang is his brother-in-law!
Dorgon listened to the three people talking for a long time and still felt confused, but now he was ready to shoot, and there was no reason not to shoot.
As early as April 3, Dorgon, who was still the auxiliary prince at the time, and another auxiliary prince Jierhalang announced that they would launch a large-scale southern expedition and wait for an opportunity to capture the city of Beijing. Immediately after the news, the whole court was excited: Everyone, morning I’ve been looking forward to this day! In the past ten years or so, every time the Qing soldiers entered the country, it was as if they were entering uninhabited territory. They always returned with great victory, plundering countless slaves, cattle, horses, and property. The soldiers who followed the expedition returned home fully loaded. The goal of everyone's expedition this time is to occupy Beijing!
Beijing is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, bringing together the wealth of the world! It is said that there are mountains of gold, silver and jewels in the city, and clouds of beautiful women. If we can capture Beijing, everyone will make a fortune.
If we could rule the whole world with Beijing as the capital, we would be rich and powerful that our children and grandchildren would never be able to enjoy!
Therefore, the scale of the Eight Banners mobilization this time was unprecedented. Everyone strived to be the first and worked bravely for fear of falling behind. There was only one eldest son of Huang Taiji, Hauge, who knew that he would not get much benefit, so he was not very interested. He did not want to follow him on the expedition because he had never had chickenpox. As a result, Dorgon caught him and repaired him severely. He also obtained the title of regent for himself from the orphans and widowers (Shunzhi and Xiaozhuang).
How could Dorgon, who had just become the regent, back down? That would make him a public enemy of the Eight Banners! Does his regent still do it?
So Dorgon laughed a few times, touched his almost shaved forehead and said: "What can a sixteen-year-old boy do even if he is powerful? Our Eight Banners team is invincible, how can a little boy stop him?" of?"
He paused, "Since Wang Yongji and Wu Sangui want to welcome our Qing soldiers into the pass, we won't be polite. Zu Dashou, you will bring your son to the palace this afternoon, and I will make an agreement with him to fight against the bandits together." Things!
Tomorrow... I will personally lead the army to conquer Beijing and conquer the Central Plains! "
...
Shanhaiguan, Jiliao Governor's Yamen.
Wu Sangui, Wang Yongji and Tian Cunzhi were all stunned by the news they had just received.
The news was brought by Feng Yuanyang, there was a lot of news, and it was sensational. If it hadn't been said by Feng Yuanyang, the governor of Tianjin, they wouldn't have believed that the news was true.
"Feng Futai..." Wu Sangui frowned and considered his words, "Is Prince Fujun really, really in control? No, he won't be... controlled by anyone. Are you staying?"
Feng Yuanyang laughed bitterly: "Uncle Ping Xi wants to ask Prince Fujun whether your father is behind the scenes, right?"
Wu Sangui suddenly felt embarrassed and said repeatedly: "No, no, no, my father is a loyal minister and will not be a rebellious minister..."
Wang Yongji and Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Gao Di both frowned and looked at Wu Sangui warily out of the corners of their eyes - this one still looked a bit treacherous! Like son, like father... I didn’t expect that your old Wu family would have such a traitor in troubled times!
Feng Yuanyang nodded, "It's better to know a father than a son. Although General Wu is used as a humerus by His Royal Highness, the real power of Dagukou is still in the hands of His Highness... This thousand-year-old man is very good at grasping people's hearts, and he can He has been appointed an official and made a wish, he is good at inspiring soldiers, and he can share joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He can also take the lead at critical moments. He has won the hearts of the soldiers, and he has also controlled a group of important officials in the court. He is definitely no one's puppet!"
