Chapter 175: Hong Chengchou's Unjust Accusation (Please Subscribe, Please Subscribe)

In truth, Fan Wencheng did not believe Hong Chengchou would betray the Great Qing. On the Qing side, he was closer to Hong Chengchou than anyone else, and understood the man's character best.

Hong Chengchou was utterly convinced by the Great Qing. After being captured and surrendering, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the Great Qing, with absolutely no second thoughts. From their past exchanges, Fan Wencheng also knew that Hong Chengchou's present ideal was to help the Great Qing conquer the Central Plains and unify all under heaven!

Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng shared a common ideal: both wished to help the Great Qing defeat the roving bandits and the Ming, and bring about the glorious prospect of a unified realm under the Manchus. Only thus could they write history for themselves, recording themselves as founding ministers and national heroes!

How could such a diehard traitor, a man of ideals and conviction, possibly betray the Great Qing?

Yet Fan Wencheng also knew that as a Han traitor, he would always be an untrusted fourth-class slave on the Qing side — first-class Manchus, second-class Mongols, third-class Han bannermen, fourth-class booi. Fan Wencheng was a fourth-class slave! Hong Chengchou was fifth-class — he was not even booi! He did not even have the right to call himself a slave!

Since one was not even fit to be a slave, one could not expect the master's trust, and had to be mentally prepared to be doubted by the master at any moment. Even if wronged, one could not show the slightest complaint.

That was the cultivation of a fifth-class diehard traitor!

Therefore Fan Wencheng would not openly defend or vouch for Hong Chengchou; he would only stand on the master's side and suspect Hong Chengchou.

Still, Master Dorgon was exceedingly wise and could not possibly be fooled by that little Crown Prince Zhu Cilang of the remnant Ming. So as long as Hong Chengchou had a clear conscience, he could still wash away the injustice.

"My Prince," Fan Wencheng said, weighing his words, "perhaps we should send someone to summon Hong Chengchou and have him confront the Ming envoy Lin Yihu face to face."

Dorgon nodded slightly. "As you suggest. Summon them both, and We shall question them in person."

Hong Chengchou and Lin Yihu were quickly brought in. Hong Chengchou had indeed been invited with full courtesy; after arriving, he was first shown Zhu Cilang's decree. Lin Yihu, the secret envoy within the Ming mission, however, had been dragged in under guard by two Manchu soldiers. The man was plainly a coward; the moment he entered the tent and saw Dorgon, he kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Spare me, my Prince, spare me! This lowly one knows nothing! This lowly one is just a letter-carrier, just an errand boy! This lowly one is willing to surrender to the Great Qing!"

Dorgon glanced at Fan Wencheng. Fan Wencheng asked, "Lin Yihu, what office do you hold under the Zhu Ming?"

"This lowly one is a Chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard," Lin Yihu answered in a trembling voice. "This lowly one is just an errand-running military officer. The letter Thousand Years bade this lowly one deliver to Minister Hong, and Minister Hong's reply — this lowly one never read either of them!"

"Nonsense!" Hong Chengchou grew frantic at these words. "When did this old man ever write a reply to your Crown Prince?"

Lin Yihu immediately fell silent, looking from Hong Chengchou to Dorgon like a startled rabbit, utterly at a loss.

Dorgon said gently, "Chiliarch Lin, do not be afraid. Speak the truth, and all will be well. We are a man of reason."

Lin Yihu kowtowed and said with a mournful face, "My Prince, this lowly one came up through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and knows what one ought to know and what one ought not to know. What ought not to be known, this lowly one would never seek to know! So this lowly one only handled the letters; beat this lowly one to death and he still would not know anything else!"

That was perfectly reasonable! Dorgon nodded. "Then did Hong Chengchou ever write a reply to your Crown Prince?"

"He did!" Lin Yihu said. "The decree this lowly one has not yet burned today is Thousand Years' further reply to Minister Hong. But as for its contents, this lowly one truly has not read a single word."

"Prince Regent, there is no such thing! This subject never wrote a reply to the Zhu Crown Prince!" Hong Chengchou panicked too, and dropped to his knees before the Prince Regent with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. "This subject serves the Great Qing with all his heart. How could he write to the Zhu Crown Prince behind Your Highness's back? Even the letter the Zhu Crown Prince sent this subject, this subject submitted to Your Highness."

Dorgon had indeed received a letter from Zhu Cilang addressed to Hong Chengchou. In that letter, Zhu Cilang expressed the hope that Hong Chengchou would return to the Ming court. It showed not the slightest hostility toward the Great Qing, however, and even mentioned the hope of marrying the Princess Dong'e as his future Empress.

As for whether a reply from Hong Chengchou existed — that was truly hard to say. But Dorgon felt he could not groundlessly suspect a capable Han minister like Hong Chengchou, or he would chill the hearts of others.

"Lin Yihu!" Dorgon suddenly slammed the table and glared at Lin Yihu kneeling below. "You dare deceive Us? Guards!" He pointed at Lin Yihu. "Drag out this wretch who sows discord, and behead him!"

Lin Yihu, kneeling below, was so frightened by this that he collapsed at once — not feigned, but genuine!

He had never imagined that his fine acting would be seen through by Dorgon in an instant. He could only kowtow like a pestle pounding garlic: "Spare me, my Prince, spare me! This lowly one knows he was wrong! This lowly one knows he was wrong! Minister Hong never wrote a reply to Thousand Years. It was this lowly one who lied to deceive Your Highness..."

Hong Chengchou let out a breath. To have his grievance redressed — how fine that was! He immediately kowtowed to Dorgon: "Your Highness is truly wise!"

Dorgon had in fact merely bluffed Lin Yihu. Seeing the man confess, he laughed heartily: "The little Zhu Crown Prince dares play a stratagem of sowing discord against Us, and uses such a coward as his spy — how ridiculous! Guards, take this spy away!"

"Zha!" Two Manchu warriors seized the already limp Lin Yihu and started out. They had just reached the tent entrance when someone suddenly burst in from outside, nearly colliding with them. Then the two Manchu warriors knelt to the newcomer — for the one who had rushed in was Dodo.

"Dodo, you come in such haste — has something happened?" Dorgon asked, looking at his flustered younger brother.

"Fourteenth Brother, Geng Zhongming is back."

"So soon? Did he capture Chongzhen and Zhu—" Dorgon read from his brother's expression that something was wrong. "Did they get away?"

"No," Dodo said. "They were defeated! They fell into an ambush! Duolong died in battle. The warriors of the two White Banners alone lost over nine hundred men. Only Geng Zhongming and fewer than a hundred men fought their way out."

"What!" Dorgon's mouth hung open, his face full of disbelief. "How is that possible? Where is Geng Zhongming? Tell him to come in!"

Geng Zhongming was just outside the tent entrance. Hearing the summons, he came scrambling in at once. The moment he saw Dorgon, he dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing and wailing: "Prince Regent, this slave and Duolong fell for the Zhu traitor's trick!"

"A trick!" Dorgon was furious. "What exactly happened? Speak!"

Weeping and sniveling, Geng Zhongming began recounting how he and Duolong had been lured into a trap at the pontoon bridge over the Wei River, how they had been "ambushed" by Zhu Cilang's musket troops outside Dagu, and how, during their retreat, they had run into three or four thousand elite Ming soldiers disguised as Plain Blue Banner troops...

The account was essentially true, except that in describing the fight against the Ming musket troops he had embellished slightly and omitted certain parts, so that the whole affair would sound more plausible. In Geng Zhongming's version, the Ming musket troops had not fought the Eight Banners' heavenly warriors in open battle at all, but had laid an ambush at the Dagu docks, using the dragon flags and valuables aboard the sand-ships moored there to lure the Manchu warriors.

In short, it was not that Geng Zhongming and Duolong could not fight, but that the Zhu Crown Prince was too cunning — he had set a trap at Dagu and waited for the Manchu warriors to walk right into it!

By the time Geng Zhongming finished his story, Dorgon's face had darkened almost to black!

To lose more than nine hundred true Manchus at a stroke... and all men of the two White Banners! This had to be a trap; there had to be a traitor! Otherwise, how could so wise a Prince Regent as himself have fallen into the enemy's snare?

The atmosphere inside the tent had grown so oppressive that one could scarcely breathe — especially Hong Chengchou, who had just been cleared of all charges and was now so tense that his face and head were drenched in sweat.

"Hong Chengchou," Dorgon said icily, "why is your forehead covered in sweat?"

"It— it is hot!" Hong Chengchou knew things were about to go badly; even his voice had changed.

"Oh." Dorgon nodded, his face still terrifyingly grim. "Do you have anything else to say?"

"This subject... this subject's loyalty to the Great Qing is wholehearted. Heaven and earth can attest to it; the sun and moon can bear witness!"

"Good, good." Dorgon nodded again. "Then go back and rest for now."

"Prince Regent..."

Dorgon waved his hand and said with a smile, "Go on, go on. We believe you."

(End of Chapter)