Chapter 300: Traitor, Will You Not Shut Your Mouth!

The Forbidden City, Hall of Martial Valor.

"Prince Regent, every word this old man has spoken is true! If that bandit Crown Prince Zhu and Wu Sangui were not in collusion, why would this old man and Commander Liu have marched troops into Northern Zhili and offended the heavenly might of the Great Qing? The letters this old man and Commander Liu presented are written in the bandit Crown Prince Zhu's own hand. Moreover, as far as this old man knows, the bandit Crown Prince Zhu and his favored Wu clan — Wu Xiang and his son were both enfeoffed as Dukes, and although Wu Sanmei is only a Lady of Selected Service, she monopolizes his bedchamber. If not for the proposed marriage alliance with our Great Qing, she would have been raised to proper rank long ago."

The speaker was none other than Xu Dingguo. He and Liu Liangzuo had now shaved their heads, braided their queues, changed into the official robes of the Great Qing, and were kneeling in the Hall of Martial Valor in the Forbidden City. On both sides stood the civil and military dignitaries of the Great Qing stationed in the capital, but the imperial throne was empty. The Prince Regent of the Great Qing, Dorgon, stood before the throne, his face ashen with fury.

Watching the anger on Dorgon's face, Liu Liangzuo, who had remained silent, thought to himself: Wu Sangui is in deep trouble now! But then again, Wu Sangui's position is so awkward! His brother-in-law is about to become emperor of the Southern Ming, so why would an imperial uncle by marriage like him keep hanging around the Great Qing? And he still clings to military power, and without even asking the court, led his troops away from the Taiyuan front and went south to Luoyang. If he has no second intentions, then an old sow can climb a tree!

"Hmph!" At that moment Dorgon let out a cold snort, cutting off Xu Dingguo, then turned his gaze to Liu Liangzuo. "Regional Commander Liu, you speak!"

Xu Dingguo was so old he looked senile at a glance, so Dorgon could not be bothered to take offense at this old fool — did Dorgon not know what Wu Sangui was thinking? But Dorgon still had to make use of this Wu Sangui and his Guanning Army. That was exactly where Dorgon's brilliance lay!

The enemies now were not only the Southern Ming, but also two bands of roving bandits in the west — one the Roving Bandit Li Zicheng, the other the Bandit Zhang Xianzhong. As long as Wu Sangui could deal with the roving bandits, he was useful enough to Dorgon and the Great Qing.

As for whether he might someday defect to the Great Ming, that was not a problem Dorgon needed to consider right now. Besides, Wu Sangui would not do such a thing before defeating Li Zicheng — otherwise the Qing army would strike him from the east, and Li Zicheng from the west. How long could the meager forces Wu Sangui had at Luoyang hold out?

Therefore, when Dorgon learned that Wu Sangui had gone south to Luoyang, not only did he not grow angry, he publicly praised Wu Sangui in court, crediting the Guanning Army with all the merit for repelling the roving bandit host that had invaded Northern Zhili.

But who could have expected that only days after praising Wu Sangui, an old fool of a traitor who had defected from the Southern Ming would expose Wu Sangui's disloyalty. Was this not a slap in Dorgon's face? Was this not making Dorgon a laughingstock before those banner lords and princes in the Qing court who opposed him?

Alas, the heart is hidden behind the belly; though Liu Liangzuo was somewhat younger, he too could not see through Dorgon's thoughts. He only knew he must report truthfully to his Qing masters.

"Reporting to the Prince Regent, as far as this slave knows, there is indeed collusion between Wu Sangui and the bandit Crown Prince Zhu. To coordinate with Wu Sangui's forces in rising up, the bandit Crown Prince Zhu even went so far as to make peace with the roving bandits. As early as the ninth month, this slave and Commander Xu received orders forbidding any further advance into territory held by the roving bandits. In the tenth month, when the main roving bandit force was advancing smoothly through Northern Zhili and seemed about to press toward the capital, the bandit Crown Prince Zhu issued order after order requiring this slave and Commander Xu to avoid clashes with the roving bandits at all costs, and to wait for the change in Shanxi before moving west. This change in Shanxi obviously refers to Wu Sangui's uprising!"

He spoke with such conviction. Dorgon was already cursing inwardly: You traitor, will you not shut your mouth!

The Co-regent Prince Zheng, Jirgalang, naturally understood Dorgon's thinking — did he not simply want to preserve the Guanning Army as a unit and send them to deal with the roving bandits?

Keeping the Guanning Army intact meant, first, that things would be easier to stabilize, since there would be no war over dismantling it; second, there would be no problem of dividing up its troops — Han troops who had surrendered before the Qing entered the pass were all incorporated into the various banners, but starting with Wu Sangui, that convention had been broken. The forty thousand Guanning troops under Wu Sangui still maintained their own organization and had not been converted into Han troops.

If Wu Sangui's forces peacefully accepted reorganization into the Eight Banners, then with their strength of as many as forty thousand households, no single banner could swallow them whole; they would have to be divided equally. The two White Banners on Dorgon's side could take at most ten thousand households, while the remaining thirty thousand would be taken by the other six banners. For Dorgon, that would be a losing bargain!

And if Dorgon played the villain — eliminating Wu Sangui and Wu Sanfeng, then forcibly breaking up the Guanning Army and distributing it among the banners — then the two White Banners would become the enemy of the Guanning remnants. The Guanning remnants incorporated into the two White Banners would not submit, and Dorgon could not trust them; instead he would have to guard against them. Meanwhile, the Guanning remnants entering the other banners would become the vanguard of opposition against Dorgon.

If Dorgon did that, he would be weakening himself and strengthening his rivals within the Eight Banners.

And things harmful to Dorgon without benefit to himself were exactly what Jirgalang was happy to see.

"Prince Regent," Jirgalang spoke up at this point, "I have heard certain rumors, all saying that the Prince Who Pacifies the West has ties with the south. Of course, rumors are not necessarily credible, and the letters from the bandit Crown Prince Zhu sent by Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo may also be fraudulent. But we cannot simply ignore the matter. If we get to the bottom of it, would that not also clear Wu Sangui's name? Why not recall Wu Sangui from the front and have him come to Beijing to explain himself?"

Explain himself? Dorgon thought: Explain my ass! It would be strange if Wu Sangui had no secret dealings with Zhu Cilang. And in the present situation, the moment Wu Sangui was recalled, nine times out of ten he would rebel!

Once Wu Sangui rebelled, Dorgon, who had all along placed great trust in him, would be seized upon by his opponents and denounced.

If Wu Sangui foolishly returned to Beijing, then Dorgon's opponents would find every way to turn Wu Sangui into an enemy of the Great Qing and finish him off!

But this difficulty was not enough to stump Dorgon! When it came to cunning and ruthlessness, he was absolutely not inferior to Zhu Cilang!

After a moment of silence, Dorgon had already found a solution. He said with a smile, "Prince Zheng is indeed thorough. We should invite the Prince Who Pacifies the West back for questioning — it must be made clear. But the military situation in Henan Prefecture is urgent! Right now there are roving bandit forces at Kaifeng, Nanyang, Pingyang, and Ruzhou. Li Zicheng is said to have already returned to Xi'an and may emerge from Tong Pass at any time. It is no small matter for Wu Sangui to come back, but a prince well versed in military affairs must go to Luoyang to take command. Otherwise Luoyang and Wu Sangui's thirty thousand troops will be surrounded and annihilated by the roving bandits!"

He smiled at Jirgalang and said, "Prince Zheng, would you care to take the trouble?"

Huh? Me go to my death?

Jirgalang naturally refused to go. If he went, would he not become Wu Sangui's hostage? If Wu Sangui did not rebel, he could simply have his subordinates detain Jirgalang while he himself came to Beijing for a quick visit. Dorgon would cover for him anyway, and the high officials and princes at court dissatisfied with Dorgon would hesitate to act for fear of harming Jirgalang.

And if Wu Sangui did intend to rebel, would he not just tie up Jirgalang and send him to Nanjing?

"Ah, well, at present the Prince Who Pacifies the West is surrounded on all sides by roving bandits," Jirgalang immediately changed his tune. "Even if he has second intentions, he must endure them. He and Li Zicheng have a deep and bitter enmity — Li Zicheng lost his empire precisely because of him."

Dorgon nodded with a smile. "Prince Zheng speaks wisely. Then what do you think — shall we make further use of Wu Sangui?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Jirgalang nodded repeatedly. "We must make good use of him!"

"But we must also guard against him!" Dorgon said. "We need to send someone to hold the three prefectures of Zhangde, Weihui, and Daming. Prince Zheng, who do you think would be best?"

Jirgalang considered and said, "Let the Commandery Prince Yanxi (Luoluohun) keep an eye on Wu Sangui?"

Luoluohun was currently leading troops encamped on the north bank of the Yellow River within Kaifeng Prefecture, facing off against the Shun army that had withdrawn across the Yellow River.

"He is only a Commandery Prince," Dorgon said. "I fear he would find it hard to overawe the Southern Ming, the roving bandits, and Wu Sangui."

"The Prince Regent means—"

"Let Prince Su (Hooge) go," Dorgon said. "He has fought long at Datong Prefecture without success; it is time someone replaced him!" He paused. "The roving bandits at Taiyuan show signs of breaking out; the matter should be decided within these few days. Once Taiyuan is taken, we can have Prince Ying (Ajige) lead his troops into Datong and take over command of the three armies from Prince Su."

(End of Chapter)