Chapter 649: Ceding Territory, Paying Indemnities, and a Marriage Alliance — Complete

"What? Sun Zhixie and Kong Sixi still haven't surrendered to the Southern Court?"

Dorgon was startled by this. Over the past two years he had seen plenty of twice-traitors, thrice-traitors, four-times-traitors, and he no longer held out much hope for Han loyalty to the Great Qing. In his mind, if Sun Zhixie and Kong Sixi had not been killed, they should have already jumped ship back to the Ming by now.

"No, they have not surrendered to the Southern Court," Jin Zhijun said. "Those two are still loyal slaves of our Great Qing! Zhu Cilang wants to use the two of them, plus Grand Secretary Suo, plus the captured families of the Plain Green Banner to exchange for the Han people we seized from Qufu."

"Oh." Dorgon nodded, thinking to himself: So he looks down on those two and wants to use them to trade for other people!

"Then, then let it be so!" Dorgon said. "Jin Zhijun, go back at once and tell that Zu Kefa about the matter of the Fifth Great Lama. As for Wu Sangui's family left in Beijing, We will not kill a single one of them — use them all to trade for the Great Lama! Surely Wu Sangui would not dare actually kill the Great Lama, would he?"

If Wu Sangui really did kill the Great Lama, Dorgon would not have to worry! After all, the Great Lama would reincarnate, and when the time came they could just find a Sixth Great Lama all the same. What worried Dorgon now was the Great Lama going over to the Zhu Emperor — the Zhu Emperor was extraordinarily rich!

Moreover, the Third Great Lama, two incarnations before the current one, had enjoyed excellent relations with the Ming and had even helped the Ming deceive the Mongol Altan Khan, greatly easing tensions between Altan Khan and the Ming, and turning Altan Khan's Mongol warriors into believers in the Buddha. In the fifteenth year of Wanli, he had even been enfeoffed by the Wanli Emperor as "Dorjechang" (Vajra-Holder), and had been invited to the capital, passing away en route to Beijing.

With that prior connection, there was no guarantee the Fifth Great Lama would not be invited to Nanjing by the Zhu Emperor. With the Great Lama acting as intermediary, Zhu Cilang might well be able to make contact with the Oirat Mongols' overlord, the Güshi Khan, and establish a Great Ming–Oirat alliance!

When that time came, the Great Qing would face the predicament of fighting a war on two fronts!

At this thought, Dorgon said to Jin Zhijun again: "Better to tell Zhu Cilang about the Great Lama's matter like this — say that We fell ill in Qufu last year, that medicines were of no use, and that We suspect We were invaded by an evil influence and need the Great Lama to chant sutras and expel it. Therefore, as long as the Ming state releases the Great Lama, everything else can be negotiated."

"Imperial Ama, are you going to agree to Zhu Cilang's demands?"

"Imperial Ama, this cannot be!"

"Imperial Ama, think thrice!"

Helohoi, Borhūi, and Ekcin — these trusted men of Dorgon — all grew anxious when they saw him soften. Ceding territory and paying indemnities were matters that humiliated the state and forfeited its rights; they could not be agreed to!

Dorgon raised a hand. "All of you, say no more. Do not covet Long after you already hold Shu. What were the terms when the late Emperor negotiated peace with Chongzhen? Merely that each should rule his own state, with the earthen ridge between the Twin Trees Fort at Ningyuan as the Ming border, Tashan as the Qing border, and Lianshan as the neutral ground, where mutual trade would be conducted. Now it is said that we are ceding territory, but what is the reality? The Ming-Qing border has already been drawn in Shandong and Henan. What more is there to be dissatisfied with?"

Helohoi reminded him: "Imperial Ama, the masters of the various banners are sure to speak up!"

"What will they say?" Dorgon snorted. "If they want to keep fighting, they are welcome to send out their troops. We will not stop them. But Our Plain White Banner, Our Bordered Green Banner, Ajige's Bordered White Banner, and Dodo's Plain Blue Banner will not be sending troops."

At these words from Dorgon, Helohoi, Borhūi, and Ekcin had nothing more to say. It was Fan Wencheng, who had not spoken earlier, who now spoke up: "Imperial Ama, this slave thinks we should add one more item — open a mutual market!"

"There already is a mutual market," Dorgon said, puzzled. "Is there not one on Haisha Island off Dagukou?"

"Imperial Ama, that mutual market is disadvantageous to our Great Qing."

"Disadvantageous?" Dorgon asked. "In what way?"

Fan Wencheng said: "It is disadvantageous to our coastal defense. First, Haisha Island lies right near Dagukou, so the Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard can disguise themselves as sea merchants and come and go freely, spying on the defenses around Dagukou. Second, with the mutual market placed outside Dagukou, our nine great imperial merchants do not even need to put to sea — they sit at their own doorsteps and earn their money. Meanwhile the Ming sea merchants come from ten thousand li away, and over time, the Ming's strength at sea grows ever greater, while we find it difficult even to put out to sea."

"Then where should the mutual market be placed?" Dorgon asked.

"Place it on Shamen Island in the seas off Penglai," Fan Wencheng said. "The market would be jointly administered by officials sent from both states. On our Qing side, the nine great imperial merchants would be permitted to set up trading houses on the island; on the Ming side, nine trading houses as well. In addition, the English and the Joseon Koreans would each be permitted to open one trading house, making twenty trading houses in all. As for the shipping route from Shamen to Dagukou, only the nine great imperial merchants would be allowed to operate it."

Dorgon thought it over and felt Fan Wencheng's words had some merit. "That will do, then. Let it be so! Fan Wencheng, this time you will go with Jin Zhijun on a trip to Dengzhou. If Zhu Cilang agrees to the terms we have added, then discuss with him the matter of signing and sealing the agreement!"

"What? Dorgon was struck by an evil influence in Qufu and needs the Great Lama to chant sutras? Fine, fine. As long as Wu Sangui is willing to release him."

"Then this envoy shall thank the Great Ming Emperor on behalf of the Imperial Ama."

"... Open a mutual market on Shamen Island? Shamen Island is too small — how could a mutual market be laid out there? Better to open it at Lüshunkou. Lüshunkou is spacious, and the harbor is good too: it does not freeze in winter, and in summer it is sheltered from typhoons. Only by placing the mutual market there can trade be conducted in peace. As for English and Joseon trading houses — heh, since a mutual market is opened at Lüshun, then all nations may come to trade, and the English and the Joseon Koreans are naturally among all nations."

"Moving it to Lüshunkou is also acceptable, as long as your esteemed country does not find it troublesome."

Danya Mountain, the Penglai Traveling Palace. The Great Zhu Emperor was in discussion with Fan Wencheng over the details of what later generations would call the Ming-Qing Treaty of Dengzhou. In the words of later generations, this treaty was advantageous to both Zhu Cilang and Dorgon.

Thus the negotiations proceeded very smoothly, and after only a few rounds, they had essentially reached agreement.

As for the two additional terms Dorgon had added, the Zhu Emperor did not quibble much — the Great Lama was someone Wu Sangui intended to use to trade for the lives of his family, and the man was not in Zhu Cilang's hands to begin with. Besides, Zhu Cilang had no intention of allying with the Khoshut Khanate. Had it been the Dzungar Khanate, he might have been tempted, but with the Khoshut Khanate's meager strength — forget it. Let them stay put in Tibet and Qinghai!

As for moving the Haisha Island mutual market to Lüshunkou, that was even less harmful to Zhu Cilang. The faster Jinzhou developed, the more firmly the Great Ming could sink its roots in Liaodong!

With public business concluded, it was time to discuss private matters.

The Zhu Emperor asked with a smile: "Fan Wencheng, did Dorgon say when he would send the Princess here?"

"The Princess is still young," Fan Wencheng said with a smile. "She is only eleven this year — not yet of an age to leave the inner chambers for marriage."

"I know, I know," Zhu Cilang said, laughing. "We know Dongguo is still young, and We are in no hurry to consummate the marriage. But our dynasty has many elaborate rites and ceremonies, all of which Dongguo must learn one by one. Moreover, the climate and terrain of the southeast differ greatly from the north, and smallpox is prevalent there. Dongguo must adapt gradually, and We will arrange for a Bureau Director to inoculate her against smallpox."

"So We would like to ask that she move to Dengzhou as soon as possible to take up residence. This Penglai Palace was built by Us precisely for Dongguo. In addition, We have ordered men to build a summer palace for Dongguo on Old Mountain north of the river in Yingtian Prefecture, so that Dongguo may escape the summer heat of Nanjing. Once the Old Mountain summer palace is completed, Dongguo can travel south from Dengzhou and take up residence there."

Old Mountain at Pukou is an outlying ridge of the Huaiyang mountain range. Its peaks are not high, but its vegetation is dense, with vast stretches of forest, and being north of the river, it is naturally not as hot as the city of Nanjing south of the Yangtze. The reason Zhu Cilang had men build a detached palace on Old Mountain was not really for Princess Dongguo, but to find a quiet retreat for himself.

He had originally taken a fancy to Zhongshan, but because Zhongshan was already occupied by Zhu Yuanzhang, and because in the future both the Chongzhen Emperor and Zhu Cilang himself would have to "reside" there permanently, it seemed somewhat inauspicious — so he changed the site and built the detached palace on Old Mountain instead.

In addition, Zhu Cilang planned to enclose the Old Mountain area as a royal hunting ground and horse pasture — once the breeding and raising of the fold-eared horses was on track, Zhu Cilang intended to use the Old Mountain hunting ground to bring the lifestyle of horse-raising and hunting to the new nobility of the Great Ming.

Only when the nobles all raised fold-eared horses together could the fold-eared horse population truly be secured.

(End of Chapter)