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Prince Zhuoliketu Wu Keshan's surname is not Wu. His full name is Borjigit Wu Keshan. He is quite handsome and is the elder brother of the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Borjigit Bumbutai and Consort Minhui Gonghe Yuanfei Borjigit Hailanzhu of the Qing Dynasty.
Moreover, his daughter had already been engaged to the young Emperor Fulin, and was the future empress of the Qing Dynasty. Their third son, Biltahar, married Huang Taiji's fourth daughter, Princess Gulun Yongmu Aixinjueluo Yatu, in the sixth year of Chongde.
The wives of Dorgon, Dodo, Ajige, Haoge and others were all from the Khorchin tribe. The blood relationship between Khorchin and the Qing Dynasty had long been intertwined and extremely close.
Because of this relationship, the Khorchin tribe has been superior to other Mongolian tribes in recent years and has been envied by other tribes.
Wu Keshan also knew that the Khorchin tribe and the Qing Dynasty would prosper and suffer together. Without the support of the Qing Dynasty, the Mongolian tribes would probably attack the Khorchin together.
The news of Duoduo's army's annihilation was suppressed by Dorgon and had not yet spread in Yanjing, but all kinds of rumors were already circulating privately in the market. Dorgon's personal visit made Wu Keshan even more convinced that the rumors in the market were completely groundless.
The Qing Dynasty was already in a precarious situation, and there was no room for more politeness. After Dorgon entered the palace, he did not hide anything. As soon as he sat down, he said directly to Wu Keshan: "Prince Zhuoliketu, I came here this time to tell you a bad news. Duoduo's army was wiped out in Shangqiu."
"Ah! How could this happen? Prince Yu has always been good at fighting. How could his entire army be annihilated?"
Dorgon's eyes darkened, and he sighed, "Prince Zhuoliketu, you should know that Khorchin and the Qing Dynasty are in a relationship of mutual dependence. With Duoduo's defeat, the Central Plains are all lost. Now only Northern Zhili and Shanxi are still under the control of the Qing Dynasty.
Qin generals Meng Ke and Ma Yongzhen are mobilizing troops. One is heading to northern Zhili, and the other is heading to Shanxi. The Qing Dynasty has been defeated again and again in the face of the Qin army, and the army's morale has been broken. I am afraid that in the end, even Shanxi and northern Zhili will not be able to be defended.
Looking outside the Great Wall, after Qin General Ningyuan and the Korean troops captured Shengjing, they invaded everywhere, and the area north of Daling River was already captured by Ningyuan. If it weren't for the 5,000 troops I sent to fight them, I'm afraid Ningyuan would have already set his sights on Khorchin.
Prince Zhuoliketu, let's have a heart-to-heart talk today. The close relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Khorchin is like two melons on the same vine. You can't escape, and neither can I.
If my guess is correct, once the news of Duoduo's army's annihilation spreads, the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall will immediately take advantage of the situation and attack Khorchin in unison.
Therefore, the more difficult the situation is, the more you and I need to unite. Only by working together closely and sticking together can we overcome the difficulties ahead. "
Wu Keshan was slightly older than Dorgon, but not as smart as him. He sat back in a huanghuali armchair, his expression changing. He tried his best to calm himself down. He asked Dorgon, "How does the regent plan to deal with the crisis?"
After asking this question, Wu Keshan was weighing whether it was worth it to continue to be tied to the Qing Dynasty. After all, the current situation was very clear. The Qing Dynasty was already dying. It was true that the Khorchin tribe was hated by other Mongolian tribes because of its close relationship with the Qing Dynasty. It was also true that after the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, the Mongolian tribes would most likely attack the Khorchin tribe.
But apart from continuing to be tied to the Qing Dynasty, did the Khorchin tribe really have no better choice
Dorgon didn't know what Wu Keshan was thinking, and he was still trying to win him over, saying, "I will not deny that under the current situation, the Qing Dynasty can no longer stay inside the Great Wall. I plan to withdraw my troops, capture a group of young and strong men, and then withdraw from the Great Wall, hoping to quickly recover and grow in the future.
Prince Zhuoliketu, the current situation is that after our Qing Dynasty leaves the border, the Qin army will certainly pursue us relentlessly, and the Khorchin tribe will be the first to bear the brunt, and I am afraid they will not be able to stay in the Khorchin grassland.
With our strength, we may not be able to fight the Qin army head-on, but we still have the upper hand among the Mongolian tribes. Let's migrate north together, first occupy the northern steppes, and then make other plans. Prince Zhuoliketu, this is our only way out."
Wu Keshan nodded repeatedly on the surface, but he didn't really think so in his heart. He felt that Korchin had another better choice. Of course, he was still in Yanjing, in Dorgon's territory, so he naturally agreed to what Dorgon said.
"In that case, the Regent should prepare as soon as possible. We don't know what the situation outside the Great Wall is like. I have to rush back to the Korchin Grassland immediately."
Dorgon did not doubt him and nodded, saying, "Okay, you go back to the Khorchin grassland first. I will gather my men and horses and go out of the pass to meet you as soon as possible."
Dorgon said it easily, but in fact, it was not so easy for the Qing Dynasty to withdraw from the border. There were a total of 200,000 to 300,000 Manchus, and there were 70,000 to 80,000 young and strong men who could go on horseback to fight. But now, there were only more than 10,000 young and strong men left.
It would not be an easy task for more than 10,000 young and strong Manchus to evacuate the outside of the Great Wall with more than 200,000 elderly, weak, women and children, even if there was no pursuit by the Qin army.
Besides, will the Qin army just watch you retreat out of the pass in a swagger
This was the case with the Ming army back then. Every time the Qing army entered the pass and looted enough, they would march out of the pass with hundreds of thousands of Han people in a swagger. The Ming army would always follow far behind and escort them all the way.
Such good days will never come back again!
Dorgon returned to the Nanyuan Regent Palace and discussed with Fan Wencheng and others. Dorgon made up his mind and decided to abandon the elderly and the weak and take only the children and young women. He also looted some young and strong Han men and women, and then quickly withdrew from the outside of the Great Wall from the direction of Zhangjiakou.
It was a difficult decision to make. Dorgon could not guess how the soldiers would react. After all, who doesn't have parents? It was not easy to let the soldiers abandon their parents.
Dorgon was feeling very upset when the guards outside the gate reported: "Your Majesty, Gong Dingzi, the Imperial Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, along with Xiong Wenju, the Right Minister, and Liu Dong, the Imperial Censor, attempted to abandon their posts and escape from the city. They were caught at Chongyi Gate..."
"Where are the people?" Dorgon was furious.
"Your Majesty, they have been taken outside the gate."
"Bring it up to the king."
Since the Qin army's Northern Expedition, countless Han officials have escaped, and many have been captured and executed, but it is still impossible to stop the Han officials from escaping.
Dorgon glanced at Aminxia, Feng Quan and others. Now, he didn't even trust these former confidants. Today was a good opportunity to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.
Gong Dingzi, Xiong Wenju and Liu Dong have been planning to escape from the capital for a long time. They have spent almost all their family wealth to bribe the defenders of Chongyi Gate. Today, rumors are circulating that Duoduo's army has been wiped out, prompting them to decide to take the risk and escape.
Several people bribed the soldiers guarding the city gate in advance, telling them that they wanted to transport a cart of cloth out of the city and asking for their approval. Then the three of them hid under the cloth and tried to sneak out of the city.
Originally, things were going smoothly. The bribed defenders only planned to let the cloth cart leave the city for show. However, Xiong Wenju was too nervous and lost control of his buttocks, causing him to fart loudly.
Hearing the strange noise coming from below, the Qing soldiers guarding the gate were curious and turned up the rough cloth to take a look. They saw three people lying under the cloth, frightened out of their wits.
It is okay to let a cart of coarse cloth out of the city, but it is not okay to let a few officials escape.
It is really a strange thing that Xiong Wenju's loud fart led to the arrest of three people.
They are both submissive and clear, usually have eloquent tongues and are good at talking. Even if they don't want to fart, they can fart in an extraordinary way.
“Your Majesty, please spare me, please spare me. I have no intention of escaping. Really not. Your Majesty, please spare me…” The three were brought up, and when they saw Dorgon, they immediately burst into tears and sobbed.
Dorgon was irritated by the smell of their farts and urine. He could not help but cover his nose and shouted angrily: "You are about to die, and you still want to quibble. Come on, rob their homes and drag them out to chop them into pieces."
Dorgon originally planned to torture the three men himself, so that the Han officials around him, such as Chen Mingxia and Feng Quan, would not dare to have any disloyal thoughts. However, Gong Dingzi and the other two were covered in feces and urine, which was so nauseating that he lost interest in doing it himself.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty, I am your slave and I have been waiting for you like a slave..."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was confused for a moment and will never do it again..."
The cries of several people before death were as mournful as ghosts. Dorgon was too lazy to even take a second look. The three were quickly dragged out by the guards.
The guards sent to search the homes of Gong Dingzi and the other two soon reported back: all the children of the three were missing.
Dorgon's anger, which had just subsided, suddenly rose again. He immediately ordered a thorough investigation of all Han officials in the capital to see if there were any who had sent their families out of the city, and to bring them to justice. As for Gong Dingzi and the other two, they were taken directly to Caishikou and skinned alive.
What Dorgon didn't expect was that his order would trigger a rebellion that happened that night...
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.(To be continued..)
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