Chapter 650: Your Majesty, Someone Admires You

North of Jinan city, along the banks of the Daqing River, banners fluttered and tents stretched in layers. In the center stood a great tent of bright imperial yellow, and within it sat the Hongxing Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Cilang, head lowered as he read a letter. A Qing eunuch knelt in the middle of the great tent, stealing glances at this young Son of Heaven of the Ming.

This eunuch was named Wu Liangfu, a man of about thirty, fair-skinned and plump, with a doughy face that looked quite cheerful. He was a eunuch of three dynasties — that is, he had first served as a eunuch of the Ming, then as a eunuch of the Shun, and finally as a eunuch of the Qing.

Because he was a eunuch of three dynasties, he had been assigned the errand of escorting the bride, traveling together with Fan Wencheng and Jin Zhijun to deliver Princess Dong'e to her marriage.

Princess Dong'e was too precious to travel by sea — if she drowned, who would be held responsible? So she traveled south by tribute grain boat, first reaching Anping Town where the Grand Canal met the Daqing River, then following the Daqing River to Jinan. Zhu Cilang was waiting for her in Jinan, and the two sides would complete the handover there.

After the handover, Princess Dong'e would be sent to the Penglai traveling palace to undergo a year of "etiquette training" and to acclimate to the local climate and water, after which she would move to Fengyang Palace to reside for a year, and a year after that she would move on to the Old Mountain detached palace. Once she came of age, a date would be chosen for her formal entry into the palace, where she would become Zhu Cilang's Noble Consort.

And this Eunuch Wu Liangfu would accompany Princess Dong'e for a period of time, and would also travel back and forth between Penglai Palace and Beijing.

His former position in the Ming imperial palace had not been low, and he had often seen Zhu Cilang. But after four years, seeing this Zhu Cilang who had now become the Hongxing Emperor, Wu Liangfu had almost failed to recognize him.

The change in appearance was not too great — he was just darker, sturdier, and a bit taller. But his entire bearing could be said to be as different as heaven from earth. The Zhu Cilang of before, though he was of imperial blood and the heir to the Great Ming, had been extremely proper, even somewhat rigid in temperament — it would not be an exaggeration to say he was like a little old man.

But the bearing of this Zhu Cilang now closely resembled one person — that person was the Qing Imperial Ama, Dorgon!

Both had the bearing of a ferocious, treacherous, and cunning sovereign!

That Heshuo Princess of Dorgon's family, following him, would likely have no good days ahead. As a trusted confidant of the young Shunzhi Emperor, Wu Liangfu imagined the scene of Emperor Zhu bullying that little girl Dong'e, and felt a sense of schadenfreude. But then he thought of how the young Shunzhi Emperor had taken Zhu Cilang as a role model, and often nagged in front of him about marrying the Fourteenth Princess (Princess Jianning) to Zhu Cilang as well. If that willful girl, the Fourteenth Princess, fell into Emperor Zhu's hands, she would certainly get a beating — she might even end up worse off than Princess Dong'e. He would have to tell the little Emperor later that the Fourteenth Princess must not be pushed into a pit of fire!

But Zhu Cilang's unfilial conduct was something worth learning from — Zhu Cilang had carried a treasured sword and forced the Chongzhen Emperor to hand over power!

"Wu Liangfu!" Zhu Cilang's voice rang out. By this time he had finished reading the Shunzhi Emperor's handwritten letter. The characters were written crookedly and not very fluently, making it somewhat strenuous to read. But the meaning was still clear: the Shunzhi Emperor wanted to learn the art of governing from him, and also demanded that he strictly discipline his sister Princess Dong'e. If she was disciplined well, he would later send the Fourteenth Princess over for him to discipline as well.

How much must this child hate Dorgon? He even wants Princess Dong'e strictly disciplined — is Princess Dong'e really that bad?

Also, who is this Fourteenth Princess?

"This slave," Wu Liangfu said "this slave" out of habit, then felt it was wrong and hastily corrected himself, "this servant is listening. Whatever Your Imperial Majesty commands, please speak."

"Has Dorgon's health improved?" Zhu Cilang asked about Dorgon's physical condition.

"Not very good," Wu Liangfu said. "He has been ill ever since the trip to Qufu. Imperial Ama feels it may be related to — related to the matter of tomb-raiding in Qufu, so he is anxious to invite the Fifth Great Lama to come and chant sutras for him."

Serves you right for robbing graves! Divine retribution has come, hasn't it? Zhu Cilang thought to himself. Shunzhi is no match for this Emperor, Kangxi hasn't been born yet, and once Dorgon and Dodo are dead, this Emperor can restore the Great Ming.

"Then," Zhu Cilang deliberated for a moment, "if — if Dorgon were gone, would Shunzhi be able to rule in person?"

He naturally hoped that the young Shunzhi Emperor could rule in person. The Shunzhi Emperor in history had been utterly overwhelmed, and had very likely become a Buddhist monk — he was not at all an opponent on the same level as Dorgon.

"This..." Wu Liangfu had not expected Zhu Cilang to ask him such a question, and for a moment did not know how to answer.

Zhu Cilang looked at his bewildered expression and laughed: "Wu Liangfu, We know you are Shunzhi's trusted confidant — otherwise he would not have sent you with such a letter. And the question We now ask is not difficult to answer. Who does not know that Dorgon was possessed by evil spirits in Qufu? The fact that he so readily sent his daughter over probably means he is not confident about what will happen after his death, is he?"

The matter of Dorgon falling ill in Qufu was no secret. If he had not fallen ill, why would he have withdrawn his troops so quickly? And withdrawn all the way across the Grand Canal, shifting the entire front to a defensive posture?

"Your Majesty speaks truly," Wu Liangfu nodded. "Imperial Ama's health is indeed not very good. However, with Prince Yu and Prince Ying still present, what happens in the future is hard to say."

"Is Dodo in good health?"

"Excellent!" Wu Liangfu said. "Dodo is in excellent health and rarely falls ill. Last winter he even traveled deep into the hinterland of the Ningguta Amban-Janggin jurisdiction on an inspection tour."

"Is that so?" Zhu Cilang nodded, lost in thought.

He did not know that Dodo would die of smallpox, and that in the cold lands beyond the passes there was no smallpox, which was why Dodo was in excellent health, ate well, and roamed about everywhere. Last winter, in order to bring several Barhu tribes into submission, he had even gone to Ningguta.

Zhu Cilang was about to continue his inquiries when Huang Xiaobao's voice came from outside the great tent: "Your Imperial Majesty, the passenger boat carrying the Princess has arrived!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and said to Wu Liangfu: "Wu Liangfu, We shall go out with you to welcome Dorgon's daughter."

"Zha!"

Having spoken, Zhu Cilang rose and strode toward the outside of the tent. Beyond the great tent, a troop of iron-armored cavalry had already formed up in neat ranks. The armored knights all held their warhorses by the reins, and upon seeing Zhu Cilang emerge, they all dropped to one knee, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Zhu Cilang's chief bodyguard Lu Renjia had already led over a fine Hequ horse for him — one that Wu Sangui had sent via Zu Kefa to the Shandong front as a gift for Zhu Cilang. This horse could not compare with the folded-ear horses of the Fengyang stud farm; its shoulder height was only four and a half chi, and from a distance it looked like a short, stout horse. But among the New Army of the Hard March, it stood out as exceptional. If this horse had not been gelded since it was young, Zhu Cilang would have been reluctant to ride it and would have kept it as a stud. The folded-ear mares from India could not be mounted by it, but a few Mongolian mares could still be found to breed with it.

Amid the cheers, the great Emperor Zhu, leading his group of tall guardsmen riding short, stout horses, galloped off toward the Yantou Town dock by the banks of the Daqing River.

"Imperial Ama, a field report from Shandong — the Princess has been handed over to the Zhu emperor."

Dorgon's trusted confidant, Holhoi, the Gūsa Ejen of the Plain Yellow Banner, walked with a bowed body behind Dorgon, pacing step by step through the rear garden of the Chonghua Palace, reporting the news that had just arrived to the sickly Imperial Ama Dorgon as he walked.

Dorgon had grown much thinner these days. Now he walked with his hands clasped behind his back and his head drooping, like a bean sprout withered halfway.

He now took medicine as if it were food, gulping down several doses a day without repetition, yet he showed no sign of improvement. In truth there was no major illness — just a constant stream of minor ailments. With so much medicine, his appetite had worsened (likely a stomach ailment), and nothing tasted good. Moreover, he constantly felt that he had been possessed by evil spirits in Qufu, growing paranoid and suspicious. The moment he closed his eyes he would see an ancient Han elder, like a giant spirit god, holding a long ge-halberd and trying to stab him... He had no idea what kind of demon this was.

Hearing Holhoi's words, his spirits lifted slightly. "How is it? Does the Princess like the Zhu emperor?"

"She likes him, she likes him! Fan Wencheng's letter says that after the Princess met Zhu Cilang, she could not stop smiling."

Dorgon snorted: "Such a young girl... truly, a grown daughter cannot be kept at home! By the way, where has the Great Lama reached?"

"He has reached Datong."

Dorgon nodded: "Good, good. Go and receive him. We can hardly wait."

(End of Chapter)