Chapter 325: Dorgon, the Military Strategist Well Versed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

With the year's end approaching, the weather in Beijing had long since dropped below freezing. Outside the Hall of Martial Valor, everything was a sheet of silver-white, the accumulated snow half a foot thick. So the formal grand court was not being held; only a few key ministers gathered inside the Hall of Martial Valor to deliberate on state affairs in the presence of the little Shunzhi Emperor. This was what they called the Deliberative Council of Princes and Ministers.

Because it was not a grand court session, the ceremonial formalities were considerably relaxed. Dorgon did not stand either, but sat grandly in a chair beside the little Shunzhi, his small eyes narrowed in a smile.

"The year's end is upon us. The various offices below are probably not handling much business anymore, and the memorials sent up are few. We have read them all. Nothing urgent — mostly bandit troubles or disasters. All easy to handle; it is simply a matter of killing them off or starving them out! There are just two matters We wish to discuss with everyone.

First, the Shanxi merchants coming to the capital. Prince Yu and Prince Ying have submitted memorials saying that in this Shanxi campaign, much credit goes to Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa, and Jia Busi — nine great Shanxi merchants in all. Apart from Jia Busi of Taigu, the other eight great Shanxi merchants have all had dealings with our Great Qing for many years, providing us with a great deal of intelligence on the southern army and urgently needed supplies. Their merit cannot be overlooked!

And Jia Busi of Taigu is also a man of merit. When Prince Who Pacifies the West marched south to Luoyang, it was thanks to him providing grain, fodder, and military supplies, and he also helped buy open quite a number of cities. Prince Yu also received his assistance in Taiyuan. Therefore We shall rank him together with those eight families as the nine great imperial merchants, and after the new year have them come to Beijing. Beijing must have merchants too; otherwise it would be far too inconvenient. Moreover, Tianjin still has overseas maritime trade to manage, and that cannot be done without merchants either! If none of you see any problem with this, then it shall be done."

No problem, indeed! Jia Busi had come — how could there be no problem? This ninth imperial merchant who had suddenly appeared, and who had rendered great assistance to Wu Sangui — how could there be no problem?

But at this moment, none of the princes and ministers in the great hall had heard the great name of Jia Busi, so no one found anything amiss.

Besides, whether eight great imperial merchants or nine, they were all mere slaves. What did one more or one less matter?

Seeing that none of the princes and ministers had spoken, Dorgon continued: "The second matter is the direction of our military operations after the new year. Hooge and Oboi have submitted memorials saying we should move south. Dodo and Wu Sangui have also submitted memorials saying we should advance west. Let everyone deliberate — should we move south, or advance west?"

"Prince Regent, what Hooge and Oboi propose is not moving south, but advancing east." Prince Zheng, Jirgalang, was the first to speak. "Only after crossing the Huai River would it truly be moving south. Hooge and Oboi merely want to seize the lands north of the Huai. Even in a north-south division of the realm, the lands north of the Huai are a necessary acquisition."

"Mm, a necessary acquisition." Dorgon smiled. "We did not say they should not be taken! The question is only whether next spring is the right time to take them."

"Prince Regent," Fan Wencheng said, "this slave has received word that the southern court has also been working diligently at reform these days. The Kenan New Army has already expanded to one hundred thousand, and they have also formed the Yangtze River Navy and the Northern Ocean Navy. In addition, the southern court's Crown Prince is still seizing land, seizing population, and seizing commercial taxes! It is said he has already obtained no less than fifty million mu of land."

"Good, good!" Dorgon nodded repeatedly. "A ruthless character indeed! Prince Zheng, do you think that without crushing Li Zicheng, without concentrating our full strength, we can defeat the southern court of Crown Prince Zhu?"

"But Li Zicheng is not easy to deal with either!" The speaker was Luoluohun, grandson of Daishan and lord of the Bordered Red Banner. "The battle at Shanhai Pass was fought ferociously, and the Huaiqing-Zhending campaign was fought cleverly. If Wu Sangui had not cut off their rear, they might still be struggling along the Yellow River even now!"

Dorgon chuckled: "Li Zicheng's ferocity at Shanhai Pass was because his old-camp troops were all battle-hardened veterans. They had real ability, and they had just taken Beijing, believing they had won the realm. Their morale was high, so naturally they would not concede defeat easily. That is why we fell into a bitter fight.

And their later cleverness was because Li Zicheng had no foundation and did not dare to keep losing troops and officers! Otherwise, if they had fought another hard battle like Shanhai Pass at Zhending Prefecture, would Wu Sangui still have been so obedient? Would the Crown Prince Zhu's northern expedition have ended so feebly? This Li Zicheng has already been frightened by us into becoming a soft persimmon. So we must seize the opportunity while he has not recovered and crush him completely!

But that boy Zhu Cilang is not afraid of us at all. He even dared toy with Us through a marriage alliance. And from what We see of his governance and military training in the southeast, he has considerable method and has laid his foundations very firmly. That is what makes him hard to deal with. We must first pacify Li Zicheng, then concentrate our strength to deal with him.

Moreover, Li Zicheng is now bent on seeking cleverness and avoiding battle, so we cannot rule out that he will flee again. If he abandons Guanzhong without a fight, then We shall have a great opportunity!"

"Prince Regent, how could Li Zicheng possibly abandon Guanzhong?" Jirgalang shook his head. "Guanzhong is his old lair!"

"Heh," Dorgon sneered. "He has an old lair? Though he has made himself emperor, he still behaves like a roving bandit and has never properly managed his territory. So we must seize the opportunity all the more, and drive him out of Guanzhong before he has built it up!"

"Drive him where?" Jirgalang asked again.

"Huguang!" Dorgon stroked his beard. "This is the stratagem of driving the tiger to devour the wolf. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao dealt with Liu Bei in exactly this way!"

Dorgon was of course a military strategist thoroughly versed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms — though the art of war in Romance of the Three Kingdoms was sometimes quite effective!

"Prince Regent, who will drive Li Zicheng out?"

"Wu Sangui!" Dorgon laughed. "It will certainly be Wu Sangui in the main role, attacking from Tong Pass. At the same time, a secondary force will advance from the grasslands south of the Gobi to strike Yulin and Yan'an."

The terrain of Shaanxi was indeed rather strategically formidable for armies from the Central Plains. By holding the two gateways of Tong Pass and Wu Pass, an enemy would find it very difficult to invade from the Central Plains.

But for the Great Qing, which controlled the Mongols south and north of the Gobi, holding Tong Pass and Wu Pass was utterly useless. They could invade from the northern line through Yulin Garrison and directly cut off Li Zicheng's rear.

If Li Zicheng did not dare stake his old capital on a decisive battle, then he would have to abandon Guanzhong and exit through Wu Pass southward into Huguang.

"Will Wu Sangui be willing?"

Dorgon laughed: "He will be willing! Hooge and Oboi have fifty thousand troops arrayed along the Yellow River. Would he dare refuse? The reason We are not letting Hooge and Oboi advance east into Shandong now is precisely this! If they entered Shandong, who would drive the tiger Wu Sangui?"

At this, the several deliberative princes and ministers were all convinced. Dorgon, the Prince Regent, was truly a military strategist who had grasped the essence of Romance of the Three Kingdoms — he had turned a single "drive the tiger to devour the wolf" into a work of art.

(End of Chapter)