Chapter 157: The Foremost Warrior of the Manchus, Duolong (Going Premium Tomorrow Morning)

"You have come to take your leave?"

Inside the tent, Dorgon already knew why Wang Yongji and Gao Di had come. The two men had come to say farewell, and at the same time to sound out Dorgon's intentions.

The decree Zhu Cilang had given them said they were to advance at once on Xuanfu and Datong, striving to seize these two key strongholds before the Qing troops did. He had also given them the full picture, saying that someone had already been sent to win over the turncoat Regional Commander of Datong, Jiang Xiang, and that it would most likely succeed. If Gao Di had difficulty entering Xuanfu, he was to go to Datong together with Wang Yongji.

After receiving the decree, the two men discussed it and also felt that Yongping was no place to linger, and that they should leave as soon as possible. Even if they could not get into Datong, they could still find a chance to move south, which was better than staying in Yongping and being swallowed up by the Tartars.

"My Prince," Wang Yongji said with an ingratiating smile, "this humble official and Commander Gao have received an imperial decree to escort the Ming Prince of Dai — that is, the former Prince of Ding — to Datong to take up his fief. We set out tomorrow, so we have come today to take our leave of Your Highness."

"Is Datong not in the hands of the roving bandits?" Dorgon asked.

"Datong fell into the roving bandits' hands because the former Regional Commander Jiang Xiang went over to the rebels," Wang Yongji said. "Now that the roving bandits' cause is collapsing, Jiang Xiang will most likely seize the chance to return to the fold, so we have been ordered to go with Commander Gao and try our luck."

"Oh." Dorgon nodded, and with a wave of his hand said, "Then go and try your luck."

Hearing this, Wang Yongji and Gao Di both felt as if a great weight had been lifted. They already knew that Dorgon had made a move against the troops Wu Sangui had left at Shanhai Pass. Although no force had been used, ordering them to return to their homes beyond the pass was tantamount to turning part of the Ming army into Qing troops.

Their own strength was not even equal to Wu Sangui's. They must not let the Manchus swallow them whole, or they would end up shaving their heads and becoming traitors.

But being a traitor was nowhere near as pleasant as being an independent warlord. Now that there was a chance to be a warlord, who would care about being a traitor?

"My Prince, are you really going to let them go just like that?"

Seeing Wang Yongji and Gao Di leave, Fan Wencheng came over to stir up trouble. "Shanxi's terrain commands the heights. Once it is occupied by Ming troops, I fear it will be detrimental to our Great Qing's occupation of the Northern Metropolitan Region. Better to send an elite force to intercept and kill them on the road!"

Dorgon turned his head and glanced at Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou thought for a moment, then said, "Wang Yongji and Gao Di have both served as officials in the Northern Metropolitan Region for many years and know the terrain well. As long as they are on their guard, it will be very hard for Manchu warriors to intercept them. Better to send an envoy with a letter in my own hand to persuade Jiang Xiang to surrender. Since Jiang Xiang was willing to throw in with the roving bandits, he has no reason to refuse the Great Qing!"

"That is right!" Dorgon nodded. "For now, leave Wang Yongji and Gao Di alone, lest we alert the snake."

Hong Chengchou added, "Your Highness is absolutely right. Dagukou is the true priority!"

Dorgon nodded slightly, then suddenly shouted, "Duolong!"

Outside the tent, a thunderous voice immediately answered, "This slave is here!"

No sooner had the voice faded than a man in his twenties, tall and gallant, with slightly sunken eye sockets and cold, sharp light gleaming in his eyes, lifted the tent flap and walked in. He came before Dorgon and bowed in salute: "This slave Duolong greets His Highness."

This man was the bayara banner commandant of the Plain White Banner under Dorgon — that is, the commander of Dorgon's guards. His clan was Niohuru, and his given name Duolong. He had started out as one of Dorgon's bodyguards, and because of his superb martial skill and exceptional bravery in battle, Dorgon had called him the foremost warrior of the Manchus, promoting him all the way to the high post of bayara banner commandant. Though his rank was now high, he still often waited upon Dorgon at his horse's side, and today he was on duty outside Dorgon's tent watching the entrance.

"Duolong," Dorgon said with a smile, "I have a task for you. If you do it well, it will be a first-class merit!"

"Give me your orders, Your Highness, and this slave will carry them out even if his bones are ground to dust!"

Dorgon laughed heartily. "When you, the foremost warrior of the Manchus, handle a matter, I have always been at ease, because you have not only courage but also cunning! Only this time the enemy you must deal with is no ordinary one — it is the Emperor of the Great Ming and the Crown Prince, Duolong. Do you dare go?"

Duolong was overjoyed at these words and answered in a loud voice, "Why would I not dare!"

The second day of the fifth month in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen of the Great Ming: auspicious for long journeys, auspicious for weddings; the Fortune God in the west, the Joy God in the east.

On this day, Li Zicheng was on a long journey, and Zhu Cilang was about to take a concubine.

Crackling firecrackers sounded around the temporary palace on Haisha Island, and a crowd of people swarmed nearby. Everyone of any standing on Haisha Island and in the nearby city of Dagukou had come to the palace. The adults all went inside to drink, while their attendants and servants crowded at the main gate, peering in cheerfully. They could not see the new brides, but the Crown Prince would certainly distribute wine and food as gifts today, so they could share a bit of the festive joy.

There were also children darting through the rain of firecrackers, stomping on the muddy ground of the island, laughing and shouting — these were not the children of fishermen and farmers from Dagukou. Every one of them was a noble of the Nth generation, an official of the Nth generation: a whole crowd of little dukes, little marquises, little earls. If one's father or grandfather had only a hereditary Guard Commander title, one would be too embarrassed to mention it.

But now they too had fallen on hard times, not knowing whether they still had any office or title to inherit, and no longer enjoying their former pampered treatment. Like common children, they rolled and played in the mud.

The officers and men of the newly formed Central Division of the Hard-Working New Army, all dressed in brand-new clothes, were also cheerfully maintaining order.

What they wore now was not the mandarin-duck battle jacket but a long red cloth robe — there had been no time to make the mandarin-duck battle jackets, so they had to make do. These red cloth robes had been sent by Governor Su Guansheng and Commander Li Ruolian, who had already reached Dengzhou, and were made by women in the city (all from official families) organized by Song Quan, whom Zhu Cilang had appointed Governor of Dagukou, working at top speed to issue them to the soldiers of the Hard-Working New Army.

In fact, when the Crown Prince took junior consorts, it did not necessarily require a grand ceremony. Junior consorts were only concubines, not a principal wife like the Crown Princess. But Zhu Cilang had ordered Huang Dabao, Huang Jiang, and Su Sheng to make proper arrangements, and now this scene, for a court in exile, was really not small.

Painted canopies, musicians blowing and beating, baskets heaped with candies, red dates, and peanuts, red felt carpet strips laid on the ground — everything that should be there was there. Where Huang Dabao, Huang Jiang, and Su Sheng had gotten it all was anyone's guess.

The Crown Prince was taking three junior consorts this time: Ning Xiangyu, Fei Zhen'e, and Wu Sanmei, all as junior consorts. Using the matter of his marriage proposal to Princess Dong'e, Zhu Cilang had forcibly demoted Ning by one rank, from consort to junior consort, though she still ranked first among the three.

Second among the three junior consorts was the little fox spirit Fei Zhen'e, and her position had actually been secured with Wu Sanmei's help. Originally Zhu Cilang had wanted her to remain a palace maid for a while longer, but Wu Sanmei got along well with her and took the initiative to speak to Zhu Cilang, so Fei Zhen'e also became a junior consort. Moreover, ranked by time of entry into the palace and by age, Fei Zhen'e took second place, while Wu Sanmei herself became the lowest.

But this ranking had nothing to do with future promotion to consort. Who would become Crown Princess after the marriage between Zhu Cilang and Princess Dong'e fell through would depend on whose belly proved fruitful.

The mother is honored through her son, after all!

Of course, whether the opportunity was given at all was up to Zhu Cilang. The Crown Prince had long since agreed with Wu Sanmei that the eldest son must come from her belly. Once the eldest son arrived, Wu Sanmei would be promoted to consort and then made empress, and the son she bore would be the Crown Prince and imperial grandson.

So Ning Xiangyu and Fei Zhen'e would have to wait quite a while before they could receive the Crown Prince's favor.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang was in his own Grand Marshal's Office. The rites for taking a concubine were different from those for marrying a wife. The Crown Prince did not need to perform the equal ceremony with the three junior consorts; he only needed to wait for them to come and perform the entrance rites.

So Zhu Cilang used this time to talk with Li Ruolian, who had come from Dengzhou. Li Ruolian was the division commander of the Left Division of the Hard-Working New Army, and now also held the concurrent post of Regional Commander of Dengzhou and Laizhou. He had come to Dagukou by ship this time to report to Zhu Cilang on the situation in Dengzhou.

Update and extra chapter notice: The regular update schedule is four chapters a day, at midnight, six, twelve, and eighteen o'clock, one chapter each. The standard for extra chapters is 2,000 first-day subscriptions, with one extra chapter for every additional 100, and one extra chapter for every 200 monthly tickets. Also, four chapters will be released at once early tomorrow morning! Finally, begging madly for subscriptions, begging madly for monthly tickets! Da Luoluo bows and begs!

(End of chapter)