Chapter 86

Hong Taiji would not hesitate to slaughter this entire village.

But clearly, the balance between offense and defense had shifted.

It was impossible for all of Liaodong to be devoid of a single Han person; if he were to slaughter this village now,

once the news spread, Han villages across Liaoxi, and indeed throughout all of Liaodong, would likely rise up in rebellion.

Even if the Great Qing could eventually exterminate every last one of these Han people,

what would happen after the killing was done?

Were the Eight Banners lords expected to go down to the fields and farm the land themselves?!

Hong Taiji had clearly realized that the foundation of Great Qing's rule throughout all of Liaodong had begun to loosen.

At this critical juncture,

he could not do anything that would exacerbate the conflict.

The slightest misstep

would lead the Great Qing to an abyss from which there was no return!

Looking utterly defeated, Hong Taiji raised his head, gazing dejectedly at Fan Fan Wencheng before smiling bitterly and saying,

"Mr. Fan, do you think I should now voluntarily renounce my imperial title and submit as a vassal to the Great Ming?"

"Or perhaps simply cede Shengjing back to them."

Hong Taiji knew

that although this battle had resulted in the deaths of over two hundred thousand imperial clansmen,

within less than a year,

the Ming forces in Liaodong would surge to several hundred thousand.

Fan Fan Wencheng's expression turned grave.

After pondering for a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said,

"No, Your Majesty!"

"This subject believes there is someone currently even more anxious than our Great Qing!"

Hearing this, Hong Taiji was startled.

He looked up at Fan Fan Wencheng with confusion and asked,

"Who?"

Fan Fan Wencheng sneered coldly and said,

"Li Huang Zicheng!"

"Forgive this subject's bluntness, but I fear the bandit Li has never been so closely aligned with Your Majesty as he is now!"

"This subject has already received reports."

"That Zhu Emperor has now reached Xingshan, where he is both sacrificing to the imperial clan and purging the entire court of officials."

"The Great Ming is currently at its most vulnerable."

"If our Great Qing attacks now, it would likely be counterproductive, instead rallying the entire Ming court in unity."

"But Li Huang Zicheng is entirely different; they are both Han."

"Ming officials surrendering to the bandits will not face universal condemnation."

"Moreover, with the Zhu Emperor currently abusing the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, the court officials must already be suffering unbearably."

Hong Taiji frowned tightly as he looked at Fan Fan Wencheng and asked,

"Li Huang Zicheng? Has Mr. forgotten that Li Huang Zicheng is also Han? Would he truly listen to me so readily?"

Gritting his teeth, Fan Fan Wencheng replied,

"Rest assured, Your Majesty; this subject guarantees he will!"

"It is as I said before."

"Anyone in the bandit army can surrender!"

"Only Li Huang Zicheng and Gao Gao Yingxiang cannot surrender!"

"Because they are the bandit chiefs!"

"Therefore, the more their subordinates sympathize with the Ming court and the Zhu Emperor, the more anxious Gao Gao Yingxiang and Li Huang Zicheng will become!"

All beggars in the world wish to stop being beggars.

But only the leader of the Beggar Sect hopes for the number of beggars in the world to increase.

Once the Great Ming finishes purging the court and secures enough silver for disaster relief,

and with the Battle of Xingshan granting the Zhu family the moral high ground,

'anxious' would no longer suffice to describe the state of Li Huang Zicheng and Gao Gao Yingxiang.

It was a fear stemming from the depths of their souls!

Back when Gao Gao Yingxiang breached Fengyang,

it was Li Huang Zicheng who kept watch for Gao Gao Yingxiang while Gao Gao Yingxiang personally led the team to dig up the ancestral tomb of the Zhu family.

Hearing this, Hong Taiji's furrowed brows finally relaxed somewhat.

Immediately afterward, he looked at Fan Fan Wencheng and said in a low voice,

"Please, Mr., quickly send someone to the northwest to tell Li Huang Zicheng that whatever they lack, they can speak plainly to our Great Qing."

"Li Huang Zicheng probably does not have many warhorses, does he? Mr. can go directly to the grasslands to requisition thirty thousand warhorses; consider it a gift from me, Hong Taiji, to Li Huang Zicheng!"

Upon hearing Hong Taiji say this,

Fan Fan Wencheng immediately clasped his hands and bowed, saying,

"This subject will certainly not fail your command!"

84, Old Zhu: You had better truly not know!

Xingshan.

This major case, which had just lifted its curtain, had already implicated two Dukes, seven Marquises, four Earls, two Grand Secretaries, and seven Ministers of the Six Boards.

Just as the court officials did not know how to bring it to a close.

From the distant mountain forest, a sudden urgent shout rang out.

"Father Emperor!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, originally seated on the Dragon Throne, trembled violently.

He rose abruptly from the Dragon Throne.

There, surrounded by several Ming generals from Jinzhou.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang, dressed in tattered clothes, stumbled running to stand before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian.

The moment he saw Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's tears could no longer be held back and fell streaming down.

"Lang'er, are you unharmed?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang knelt before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian and sobbed.

"Father Emperor, when your son broke through the encirclement, he encountered the Tartars, but fortunately was saved by the various generals of Jinzhou."

As soon as the words left his mouth.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly without stopping.

"Good, good, it is good that you have returned!"

Once Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang returned alive.

It meant that during the next transfer of power in the Great Ming.

Things would be exceptionally stable.

And these various generals from Jinzhou who had saved Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang this time.

Would in the future become Zhu Zhu Zhu Cilang's most die-hard faction!

The civil and military officials behind Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian, who had fortunately escaped disaster, immediately swarmed forward as if grasping at a life-saving straw and memorialized.

"The Crown Prince has turned from danger to safety; this is a sign that Heaven blesses our Great Ming!"

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has long resided in the bitter cold of Liaoxi; your subject requests that he return to the court immediately to recuperate!"

"The Crown Prince is young; your subject seconds this motion!"

"..."

Listening to these ministers' remonstrations.