Chapter 299: A Frustrated Lin Yangcheng

In truth, this incursion through the pass was also an opportunity for Dorgon to build up his own prestige. Although he was already the emperor in all but name within the Eight Banners, he was still not actually the emperor.

To say that Dorgon had no desire whatsoever to claim the throne himself — that simply did not exist.

But the times did not permit it. The nobles of the Two Yellow Banners led by Hooge, as well as the old-school princes and ministers headed by Jirgalang and Daišan — none of them wanted Dorgon to be the one to sit on that throne.

Many princes and nobles displayed extreme deference in their daily conduct, yet in the shadows, who knew how many pairs of eyes were watching with hungry intent.

These old forces left behind by Hong Taiji were a hidden source of trouble. If he did not uproot them completely, Dorgon feared that sooner or later something would change. But to accomplish all that, without greater authority within the Eight Banners, it would be nearly impossible.

Last year's incursion through the pass had yielded nothing. Although he had suppressed the Han rebellion in Jin and Fu prefectures, that was after all a family squabble at home, hardly counting as any real achievement. Add to that this year's wavering allegiance of the various Uriankhai tribes, and Dorgon found himself on the razor's edge.

At this moment, he urgently needed a victory that could stabilize his position. Otherwise, Hooge would inevitably use these matters against him, and when that time came, he would be unable to defend himself and would inevitably be dragged into another bloody struggle.

After the deliberations were concluded, Dorgon led the princes and ministers of the Two White Banners into the palace the next morning to "have an audience with His Majesty."

Bumbutai and Fulin were puppets in form, yet not entirely puppets. The entanglement between Bumbutai and Dorgon himself was something people like Hooge and Daišan understood well in their hearts — they simply did not speak of it.

The Prince Regent was carrying on with the Empress Dowager — so whose blood ran in the veins of the current emperor? This touched upon the dignity of the imperial house; it was unpleasant to hear and unspeakable to say, and no one had the courage or the inclination.

This Empress Dowager of the Tartar Qing was a woman of considerable opinions. Though she had submitted herself to Dorgon, she was outwardly compliant but inwardly at odds with him, often doing things that ran contrary to his interests — clearly she was not sincere at heart.

The reason Dorgon brought so many people with him was precisely to pressure the two of them into yielding. Fulin was at a loss for what to do, and Bumbutai had no recourse either. They could only have Fulin bestow upon Dorgon the title of Grand General Yangwei, commanding the Eight Banner armies to once again enter the pass.

Because Dorgon had already been privately mobilizing troops without informing anyone else, the Tartar Qing forces were nearly fully assembled that very day. This time the Qing army took the same old route, entering the pass through Xifengkou.

Dorgon's choice to again enter through Xifengkou this time was based on his own considerations. First, as had generally been the case in the past, there were basically no Ming troops stationed in the vicinity, making entry through the pass relatively easy. Second, beyond the outer perimeter of Xifengkou lay the territory of the Doyan — he could conveniently deal with the Doyan along the way and secure a route of retreat for himself.

For the Chongzhen Emperor, the Doyan region was a place useless to keep yet a pity to abandon. After all, it lay beyond the pass. To hold it long-term without relocating Han civilians there would be fundamentally impossible — and that single undertaking alone was a massive project.

Even if civilians were relocated there, the current Ming army could not win a field battle against the Qing army anyway. It would be a venture that lost both the wife and the soldiers. The most likely outcome in the end would be that the Doyan region would not be held, and instead a great number of people and soldiers would be lost. However one calculated it, the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

But looking at it from another angle, the Doyan region's Three Uriankhai Commands were ground that Dorgon was determined to contest.

Wu Sangui's attitude toward the Tartar Qing remained ambiguous. At present, Dorgon could only be certain that Wu Sangui had his own schemes and was not wholeheartedly loyal to the Ming state. Beyond that, he could not discern how strong Wu Sangui's resolve to defect to the Tartar Qing truly was.

Looking at it this way, hoping that Wu Sangui would send charcoal in the snow and voluntarily offer up the pass this time was clearly a fool's dream. More likely, it would prematurely expose their movements. And so Dorgon had only one choice: enter through the border wall, raid the capital, and vent this pent-up anger.

The moment the subject of entering the pass to raid came up, these Tartar Qing princes and ministers became even more spirited and eager than when they had fought over Beijing city during last year's incursion. At present, within the Tartar Qing, joining the campaign into the Great Ming was a coveted assignment that every noble scrambled to secure.

The seemingly colossal Ming Empire was now like a fat sheep too obese to walk. As long as there was an opportunity to lead troops on campaign, one could surely carve off meat or pull wool from this fat sheep, thereby gaining prospects and earning promotion.

Some leading nobles did not even need to personally take up arms and charge into battle. Many of them had witnessed the fighting capability of the Ming army — often, all they needed to do was issue a few orders and wait for their prospects to fly into their hands.

To borrow a saying from those Han Chinese — when something is so simple, why wouldn't one gladly do it?

After leaving the territory of Shengjing, Dorgon joined up with the remaining Qing forces in the Doyan region. His first step was to pour out the anger in his heart upon the Uriankhai tribes that still remained there.

Including the Ongniud tribe and the already fragmented Ujiyed, the two great tribes — nearly all the Uriankhai clans still remaining in the Doyan territory were slaughtered by the Qing army, with casualties numbering in the tens of thousands.

Under the Qing army's merciless pressure, some of the Uriankhai people who had lost their homes chose to flee through the pass to seek refuge with the main Uriankhai body that had already submitted to the Ming court. Others left the homeland where they had lived for years and journeyed far into the Gobi, scattering across the grasslands of Tumed and Chahar.

Dorgon used bloody means to stir up the Qing army's thirst for battle. He then relocated a portion of the Chahar populace to this area, established new commanders, and brought the Doyan region completely into the fold of his domain.

A month after setting out with his troops, Dorgon arrived beneath the walls of Xifengkou Pass — and witnessed an extraordinary sight.

Xifengkou at this moment was no longer as he remembered it from his last visit years ago. The originally dilapidated pass city had been repaired and now looked solid and formidable. The old tattered banners that had once flown atop the walls had also been replaced with brand-new Dark Bird banners, symbolizing the Great Ming.

Beyond that, chevaux de frise had been erected outside the pass city, a long trench had been dug, along with various other defensive works. Though the Ming troops guarding the walls were not numerous, their spirits were good — none of that initial listlessness remained.

Lin Yangcheng, who had surrendered to the court at Taiyuan this year and had originally been a Martial Might General under the Dashun banner guarding Taiyuan — although he had campaigned north and south with Li Zicheng and seen great battles, he had never crossed swords with the Qing army from beyond the pass.

He had always harbored apprehension toward the Qing army, which was touted as nearly divine. After arriving at his post, he understood that whether this place was held or lost was tied directly to his own life and fortune, and so he had remained cautious and careful throughout.

Lin Yangcheng was, after all, a commoner of impoverished origins. Though he served as the commanding general of the garrison, he had none of the airs of a superior officer. He personally led the troops in repairing the pass city and personally set to work digging the defensive fortifications.

Even in the seventh month of the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, he had more than once submitted documents to the Yongping Prefect's yamen in Funing city, stating that the firearms and soldiers' armor at the pass were far too outdated and requesting that new standard-issue equipment be issued — otherwise, Xifengkou would be fundamentally impossible to hold.

Of course, after the Prefect read his documents, he simply tossed them aside and muttered: "What nonsense! He's nothing but a surrendered bandit general, and he still expects me to hand him favors?"

Speaking of it, this bandit was simply naive. The Emperor had sent him to guard that dispensable Xifengkou with no expectation whatsoever that it could actually be held. At most, it was the Emperor tossing Lin Yangcheng into a place of certain death to kill him with a borrowed knife. Giving him supplies would just be a waste.

Even if supplies were sent over, who could say they wouldn't be seized by the Tartars before long? Then it would simply be making a wedding dress for the Tartars. Besides, if supplies were given to him and this fellow rebelled again — what then? These roving bandits were all heartless, ungrateful creatures.