Forbidden City, Wuying Palace.
"Prince Regent, what I said is true! If the Zhu Thief Prince and Wu Sangui had not colluded, how could I and Liu Zongrong send troops to Northern Zhili and offend the power of the Qing Dynasty? What I have dedicated to you is The letter is an autographed letter from the Zhu Thief Crown Prince. And as far as I know, the Zhu Thief Crown Prince and his favored Wu family, Wu Xiang and his son have all been granted the title of Duke of the Kingdom. Although Wu Sanmei is only an attendant, she especially favors Fang Wei. If he hadn’t wanted to discuss marriage with me, the Qing Dynasty, he would have been straightened out long ago..."
It was Xu Dingguo who spoke. He and Liu Liangzuo had now shaved their heads, tied their braids, put on the official uniforms of the Qing Dynasty, and knelt in the Wuying Hall of the Forbidden City. On both sides were the important civil and military ministers of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing, but the throne was empty. Dorgon, the regent of the Qing Dynasty, stood in front of the throne, his face ashen as black.
Seeing the angry look on Dorgon's face, Liu Liangzuo, who was silent at the side, thought to himself: Wu Sangui seems to be in danger! But think about it, Wu Sangui’s identity is so embarrassing! His brother-in-law is now the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, and his uncle is still hanging out with the Qing Dynasty? Moreover, he still clung to the military power, and without asking the court for instructions, he led his troops away from the Taiyuan front line and went south to Luoyang...If he didn't care, an old sow could climb a tree. Got it!
"Hmph!" Dorgon snorted coldly, interrupted Xu Dingguo's words, and then turned his gaze to Liu Liangzuo, "General Liu, tell me!"
Xu Dingguo is so old, he seems confused at first glance... So Dorgon is too lazy to get angry with this old fool - does Dorgon know what Wu Sangui is thinking? But Dorgon still had to use Wu Sangui and his Guan Ning army. This is where Dorgon is brilliant!
The current enemy is not only the Southern Dynasty Ming Dynasty, but also two rogue bandits in the west, one is the intruder Li Zicheng, and the other is the traitor Zhang Xianzhong. As long as Wu Sangui can deal with rogue bandits, he will be useful enough to Dorgon and the Qing Dynasty.
As for whether he will defect to the Ming Dynasty at any time, that is not a question that Dorgon needs to consider at the moment. And Wu Sangui would not do that before defeating Li Zicheng - otherwise the Qing army would attack the east and Li Zicheng would attack the west. How long can Wu Sangui's strength in Luoyang last?
Therefore, after Dorgon learned that Wu Sangui had gone south to Luoyang, instead of getting angry, he publicly praised Wu Sangui in the court. All the credit for repelling the rogue army that invaded North Zhili was attributed to Guan Ning's army.
Unexpectedly, just a few days after he praised Wu Sangui, an old and confused traitor who had defected from the Southern Dynasties exposed Wu Sangui's second intention... Wasn't this a slap in Dorgon's face? Isn't this a joke to the group of banner princes who opposed Dorgon in the Qing Dynasty?
It's a pity that people's hearts are separated from each other. Although Liu Liangzuo is younger, he can't see through Dorgon's thoughts. He only knew that he had to report the truth to the Qing master...
"Report to the regent. According to the slave's knowledge, there is indeed collusion between Wu Sangui and the Zhu bandit prince. In order to coordinate Wu Sangui's troops, the Zhu bandit prince did not hesitate to negotiate peace with the bandits. The slave and Xu Zongbing had received the order as early as September. , no more troops were allowed to march into the areas where the rogues were based. In October, the rogue brigade was making good progress in Beizhili, and when it was about to approach the capital, Prince Zhu also issued an order, asking the servants and General Xu to avoid the rogues. conflict, and wait for the changes in Shanxi to occur before moving westward. The changes in Shanxi obviously refer to Wu Sangui's rebellion!"
To be honest... Dorgon had already cursed in his heart: You traitor, you still can't keep silent!
Of course Prince Zheng Jierharang knew what Dorgon was thinking - didn't he just want to maintain the Guan Ning Army group and let them deal with the rogue bandits?
Maintaining the Guan Ning Army as a group will, on the one hand, make it easier to stabilize and not start a war just to disintegrate the Guan Ning Army; on the other hand, there will be no problem of dividing the Guan Ning Army's members - the Han troops who took refuge before the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass were all They must be incorporated into each banner, but starting from Wu Sangui, this convention was broken. The 40,000 Guan Ning Army currently under Wu Sangui's command still maintains its own organization and has not become a Han army.
If Wu Sangui's troops peacefully accept the reorganization of the Eight Banners, then with its strength of up to 40,000 households, no one banner can monopolize it. For example, it will be divided equally... Dorgon's two white flags can capture up to 10,000 households. , and the remaining 30,000 households will be taken over by the other six banners. This is a loss-making deal for Dorgon!
And if Dorgon wants to be a villain, eradicate Wu Sangui and Wu Sanfeng, and then forcibly dismantle the Guan Ning Army and divide it into various banners, then the Two White Banners will become the enemy of the remaining Guan Ning Army - the remaining Guan Ning Army organized into the Two Hundred Banners If they don't obey them, Dorgon can't trust them, but must be on guard against them. The remaining Guanning troops who entered other banners will become the vanguard against Dorgon.
If Dorgon did this, it would be equivalent to weakening himself and strengthening his opponents among the Eight Banners.
As for things that are harmful but useless to Dorgon, Jierhalang is happy to see them.
"Prince Regent," Ji'erharang interrupted at this time, "I have heard some rumors, saying that King Pingxi and Nanmian are colluding. Of course, the rumors may not be credible, and the Zhu who was sent by Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo The letter from the thief prince may be deceptive. But we can't ignore it. If we ask clearly, can't we also restore Wu Sangui's innocence? Why not call Wu Sangui back from the army and let him go to Beijing to speak clearly."
say clearly? Dorgon thought: What nonsense! It would be strange if Wu Sangui and Zhu Cixiang didn't collude... But in this situation, once Wu Sangui is recalled, Wu Sangui will most likely rebel!
Once Wu Sangui rebels, Dorgon, who has always relied on Wu Sangui, will be used by his opponents to criticize him.
If Wu Sangui foolishly returned to Beijing, Dorgon's opponents would try their best to turn Wu Sangui into an enemy of the Qing Dynasty!
But this problem is not difficult for Dorgon! In terms of cunning and cruelty, he is definitely no worse than Zhu Cixiang!
After a moment of silence, Dorgon had already figured out a way. He smiled and said, "Prince Zheng is still thoughtful. It's time to ask King Pingxi to come back and ask. He must ask clearly... But the Henan Prefecture's The military situation is urgent! There are now rogue armies in Kaifeng, Nanyang, Pingyang, and Ruzhou. It is said that Li Zicheng has returned to Xi'an and may leave Tongguan at any time. It doesn't matter if Wu Sangui comes back, but a prince who is proficient in military affairs must go to Luoyang to take charge. Otherwise Luoyang and Wu Sangui's 30,000 troops will have to be surrounded and annihilated by rogue bandits!"
He smiled and said to Jierhalang: "Prince Zheng, why don't you do some hard work?"
ah? I'm going...to die?
Of course Jierhalang refused to go. If he went, wouldn't he become Wu Sangui's hostage? If Wu Sangui doesn't rebel, he can just let his subordinates hold him, and he can come to Beijing for a tour. Dorgon will protect him anyway, and the ministers and princes who are dissatisfied with Dorgon in the court will also take action against him.
And if Wu Sangui wanted to rebel, why not tie up Jierhalang and send him to Nanjing?
"Ah, well, King Pingxi is surrounded by bandits now," Jierhalang immediately changed his mind, "He has to endure it even if he has second thoughts... He and Li Zicheng have a deep hatred, and Li Zicheng's The world is ruined because of him."
Dorgon smiled and nodded: "Prince Zheng's words make sense... Then look, should we use Wu Sangui again?"
"Yes, yes." Jierhalang nodded repeatedly, "We must make good use of him!"
"But we have to guard against him!" Dorgon said, "We need someone to guard Zhangde, Wei Hui and Daming. Prince Zheng, who do you think is better?"
Jierhalang thought carefully and said: "Let Prince Yanxi (Luo Luohun) watch Wu Sangui?"
Luo Luohun is currently leading troops stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River in Kaifeng Prefecture, confronting the Dashun army that has retreated across the Yellow River.
"He is just a county king," Dorgon said. "I'm afraid it will be difficult to deter the Southern Dynasty, the bandits and Wu Sangui, right?"
"The Prince Regent means..."
"Let Prince Su (Hauge) go." Dorgon said, "He has been fighting in Datong Mansion for a long time to no avail, so it's time to let someone else take his place!" He paused, "The bandits in Taiyuan are showing signs of breaking out. , the meeting will be decided in the next few days. After Taiyuan is captured, Prince Ying (Ajige) can lead his troops into Datong and replace Prince Su in commanding the three armies."
. m.
