Chapter 363: Loyalty Beyond Words — Wu Sangui

"Your Highness, how do you find these little playthings?"

Zu Dashou, one of the four ministers, dressed in a long robe and riding jacket, followed behind Dorgon with a bowed body, walking step by step along the newly dug pond in the rear garden of the Prince Regent's mansion. His gaze, however, kept stealing glances at a delicate, lovely little girl riding a rocking horse.

The little girl was only seven or eight years old. Her skin was lustrous and fair as jade, and when she smiled, a small dimple appeared on the left side of her cheek. Her phoenix eyes were long and slender, her tiny nose tilted slightly upward, and her cherry-like little mouth kept letting out peals of merry laughter.

The girl was named Aisin Gioro Donggo, the only flesh and blood of the Qing Prince Regent Dorgon. Her mother was a princess of the Joseon Yi dynasty, naturally a beauty of the Eastern Kingdom, so the daughter she bore could hardly be lacking either.

Although Dorgon held great power in his hands, he had only this one precious darling, and naturally doted on her to the extreme. Seeing his daughter at play, his usually stern face was, for once, covered with smiles.

Zu Dashou had come today to pay his respects and deliver gifts to Princess Donggo. His adopted son Zu Kefa was now serving as a marriage envoy, was he not? He was stationed on Haisha Island at the mouth of Tianjin harbor, maintaining contact with the Southern Dynasty by sea. Early in the third month, the sand-ship fleet of the Great Ming Northern Ocean Governor-General's office had arrived at Haisha Island. Besides transporting large quantities of Jiangnan silk, cotton cloth, porcelain, tea, and assorted daily necessities, they had also brought New Year gifts for Princess Donggo and the Shunzhi Emperor.

They were all things for eating, wearing, and playing. Their value was nothing much — purchased in Nanjing, they cost no more than two or three thousand taels of silver. Yet every one of these things was exquisitely made, every one crafted with the utmost care, every one certain to delight a little girl.

And here in Beijing, such things for pleasing children simply could not be bought anywhere!

The playthings Zu Kefa had brought Princess Donggo last time had made the little girl overjoyed, and she had become the object of envy among the young masters of the Eight Banners of her own age. Even the Shunzhi Emperor inside the Forbidden City had been so envious his eyes turned red. After seeing the toys Princess Donggo brought into the palace, he wanted them too, and even threw a tantrum before the two Empress Dowagers, and in the end got a thorough scolding.

But Dorgon, for once, played the good uncle. He specially instructed Zu Dashou to speak with Zu Kefa and get some fun things for the Shunzhi Emperor as well. As an emperor, how could he be without a happy childhood? He must play well — with his old uncle handling state affairs, what was there to worry about?

So among the children's playthings Zu Dashou brought to the Prince Regent's mansion, a portion was for the Shunzhi Emperor — but Princess Donggo got first pick, and whatever the princess left over would go to the Emperor to play with!

One wonders whether always playing with Princess Donggo's leftovers might wound the young Shunzhi Emperor's tender heart?

But Dorgon had no time to think about such things at the moment, because Wu Sangui had just done something that made Dorgon look at him with new respect!

The fellow had actually led an army of forty thousand on a roving-bandit-style march straight through Guanzhong, making a monkey of the King of the Roving Bandits, Li Zicheng.

After crossing Guanzhong, Wu Sangui had raised the banner of the Great Ming Regional Commander of Ningxia to deceive the fence-sitters in Ningxia and Pingliang Prefecture. This Wu Sangui was truly cunning — he never said he was a Qing soldier or a traitor to the Han, but claimed he was a Ming army that had fought its way into Guanzhong, and even said Li Zicheng had been killed and Xi'an Prefecture recovered.

And quite a few people actually believed his nonsense — a Ming army, after all, once in Guanzhong would surely strike at Xi'an! Now that tens of thousands of troops had marched into Pingliang Prefecture and Ningxia, Li Zicheng must surely be done for.

Since Li Zicheng was done for, everyone had better hurry up and surrender, return to the fold, and redeem themselves through meritorious service!

So Wu Sangui's great army took half of Pingliang Prefecture and the five garrisons of Ningxia without shedding a drop of blood. At the time he submitted his memorial to the Qing court, his Vice Regional Commander Guo Yunlong and Liu Sheng, who had just been promoted to Regional Commander, together with Chen Zhilong and Niu Chenghu, two generals who had gone over to Wu Sangui, were leading twenty thousand troops — half of them Ningxia soldiers — advancing on Gansu Garrison.

What? Wu Sangui, having taken Ningxia, still submitted a memorial to the Qing court? Of course! Because Ningxia and Gansu actually bordered the Qing state!

During the Chongde years when Hong Taiji was in power, the Qing state had already subdued the Mongol tribes. In the first year of Chongde, the forty-nine lords of the sixteen tribes of the Southern Mongols, led by Ejei, son of Ligdan Khan and Prince of Chahar, held a great assembly at Shengjing and jointly honored Hong Taiji as Great Khan of the Mongols, bestowing upon him the title "Bogd Chechen Khan."

So the territory bordering the Ningxia and Gansu garrisons, which had originally belonged to the Tumed Khanate, now all belonged to the Qing!

If Wu Sangui were to fall out with the Qing state, his rule over Ningxia and Gansu would not be secure.

Moreover, most of Shaanxi was still held in Li Zicheng's grip. Had Dodo's great army not appeared at Fengling Ferry and drawn Li Zicheng's attention, Wu Sangui could not have stayed secure in Ningxia and Gansu either.

Therefore, after seizing Ningxia Garrison, Wu Sangui began playing a double game. On one hand, he sent envoys through the Hetao grasslands and the Southern Mongol steppe to deliver a memorial to the Qing court, explaining that he was still a loyal subject of the Qing state.

On the other hand, he dispatched secret envoys to Nanjing, declaring himself a loyal subject of the Great Ming, and requesting appointment as Regional Commander of both the Ningxia and Gansu garrisons.

This Wu Sangui was now loyal to the Qing and loyal to the Ming at the same time — truly, his loyalty was beyond words!

"Zu Fuyu," Dorgon turned to look at Zu Dashou and smiled faintly. "This Prince has just received Wu Sangui's memorial."

Dorgon said "Wu Sangui," not "Prince Who Pacifies the West." What did that mean?

Zu Dashou's face went white at once, and his heart pounded. He was living with his head hanging from his belt. If the words in Wu Sangui's memorial were displeasing, the heads of his entire family would have to move house!

Dorgon looked at Zu Dashou and said in a gentle tone, "Wu Sangui is still a loyal subject of our Great Qing!"

Thank goodness — Zu Dashou let out a long breath of relief.

Dorgon then added another line: "I wonder whether Wu Sangui might have sent an identical memorial to Nanjing as well?"

The color that had just returned to Zu Dashou's face drained away again in an instant. Being a Han traitor was no easy job these days!

"No, no, he wouldn't," Zu Dashou said, but the moment the words left his mouth he felt they were ill-advised and hastily corrected himself. "Perhaps, perhaps he might? What he — what he intends, this slave has no way of knowing!"

"You don't know?" Dorgon laughed. "Then go and find out. You'll have to trouble yourself to escort a batch of Guanning Army family dependents to Ningxia on this Prince's behalf."

"What? Your Highness, this is..."

Dorgon smiled. "This Prince knows Wu Sangui's loyalty! This Prince also believes Wu Sangui will not betray our Great Qing. Therefore, this Prince wants Wu Sangui to hold Ningxia and Gansu in perpetuity, generation after generation! The family dependents of the Guanning Army should of course be settled in Ningxia. But there are many people who need to go to Ningxia, and they cannot all go at once — you will have to make several arduous trips!"

Zu Dashou dropped to his knees with a thud before Dorgon. "This slave thanks Your Highness for your great kindness! On behalf of Wu Sangui, and on behalf of the forty thousand officers and men of the Guanning Army, this slave thanks Your Highness for your heavenly grace!"

(End of Chapter)