Chapter 55: The Tartar Qing Deliberates on State Affairs

Facing a formidable enemy, Zhou Yuji won victory in his very first engagement, shooting dead the bandit chief Cuan Tianhou from his saddle. With a feat of annihilating thousands of bandits without losing a single hair himself, he told the world that the Great Ming had not yet reached its final, desperate hour.

When the Chongzhen Emperor in Beijing received the news, he was overjoyed, and held a court assembly the next day, issuing a proclamation to all Nine Border Garrisons.

To boost morale, the Chongzhen Emperor broke precedent and awarded merits ahead of schedule, elevating Shanxi Regional Commander Zhou Yuji to Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, with a reward of two hundred thousand taels of silver, delivered personally by Li Fengxiang, brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, to the front lines at Ningwu.

Immediately after, the Chongzhen Emperor's decree was sent down to the garrison town of Xuanfu, appointing Zhang Guoyuan, brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, as imperial commissioner, dispatching mounted riders ahead with five hundred thousand taels of military pay, and strictly ordering Xuanfu Regional Commander Wang Chengyin to muster troops within six days and race to reinforce Ningwu.

Once the news spread, the morale of the government forces soared.

Li Zicheng had first suffered Bai Guangen's betrayal, and his strategist Li Yan had been captured as well — resentment had long been festering in his chest. Now, struck by Zhou Yuji's underhanded blow, losing a great general and several thousand troops for no reason, his fury knew no bounds.

Zhou Yuji's move was like a resounding slap across the face of every man in the Dashun army. On the very day Cuan Tianhou was killed, the cornered Dashun army launched a frenzied assault on Ningwu Pass.

Datong Regional Commander Bai Guangen was tasked with defending the barbican, while Zhou Yuji personally held the main gate. The fierce cries of battle hung over Ningwu Pass for days on end. Though the corpses of the refugee rebels piled up like mountains beneath the walls, Ningwu Pass stood unmoved.

This first clash ended with the Dashun army suffering heavy losses and retreating in defeat to camp at Yangfang Fort. But it could be predicted that once Li Zicheng caught his breath, the next attack would come like a violent storm.

While chaos reigned inside the Pass, things were no quieter among the Tartar Qing beyond it.

The barbarian chieftain Hong Taiji died suddenly on the ninth day of the eighth month of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen in Qingning Palace at Shengjing, which gave the whole world a moment of joy.

Since the old barbarian chieftain had not named an heir before his death, a farce of succession struggle within the Tartar Qing was inevitable — much like the dispute over the heir apparent that had plagued the Great Ming during the Wanli years.

In a certain sense, the Tartar Qing was at its weakest moment in history.

Daišan's power in the Two Red Banners had already been weakened, and he himself was past sixty, having long ceased to involve himself in state affairs.

Among Daišan's sons, Yoto had died of smallpox, and Sahaliyan had long since died of illness. The remaining son, Šoto, was not favored by Daišan — a mere brute with no talent whatsoever.

Mandahai was just beginning to show promise, and still had little say within the Eight Banners.

But given Daišan's seniority and the strength of the Two Red Banners, whichever way he leaned could sway the course of events — even play a decisive role.

From the standpoint of vested interests, the princes and ministers of the Two Yellow Banners in the Tartar Qing all hoped Hooge would succeed, so as to preserve the privileged position of the Two Yellow Banners.

On the one hand, Hooge had already been promoted to Hosoi Beile in the sixth year of Tiancong, and in the early Chongde years was elevated to Prince Su, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, standing shoulder to shoulder with his uncles — his prestige within the Eight Banners was no less than Dorgon's.

On the other hand, even before the barbarian chieftain Hong Taiji died, he had already seized the Plain Blue Banner into his own hands. Now that he was dead and buried, the Plain Blue Banner naturally fell to Hooge. So the Beiles of these three banners were bound to support Hooge's succession.

Dorgon was another powerful contender for the throne. Not to mention his command of the Two White Banners, a considerable number of Tartar clansmen within the Plain Red, Plain Blue, and Plain Yellow Banners secretly supported him as well — this gave him wings all the more.

There was another man who could not be ignored: Jirgalang, master of the Bordered Blue Banner.

Though Jirgalang could never participate in the struggle for the throne himself, his allegiance — like Daišan's — would have a major impact on the contest between Dorgon and Hooge. Whichever side he leaned toward would tip the balance of power.

Prince Li Daišan, Prince Zheng Jirgalang, Prince Yu Dodo, Prince Rui Dorgon, and others all came together to the so-called "Hall of Supreme Governance" to deliberate on who would claim the throne.

The original intention was for both sides to sit down and talk things out properly, but the conflict still centered on the Two Yellow Banners led by Hooge and the Two White Banners led by Dorgon and Dodo. The two sides contended, unable to reach a resolution, and nearly came to blows on the spot.

Had Daišan not handled things in time, our Tartar Qing might well have perished in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen.

Since Hong Taiji's death, Dorgon had thought countless times of taking his place, but the Two Yellow, Two Red, and Two Blue — all six banners — did not support him. Clearly, the conditions for standing on his own were not yet ripe.

For Dorgon, the greatest resistance came from the trusted ministers of the Two Yellow Banners who had served under Hong Taiji. These old bastards even came to court wearing swords, threatening that if Dorgon ascended the throne, they would immediately spill blood on the spot.

Dorgon gnashed his teeth in hatred. He cared nothing at all for the lives of these old bastards — in fact, he wished they would drop dead of plague that very instant, or be struck down by a horse in the street.

But Dorgon knew full well that if he insisted on taking the throne, while his chances of gaining it were considerable, a bloody internal conflict within the Eight Banners would be unavoidable.

That would greatly weaken the Tartar Qing's strength, which was not something Dorgon wished to see — and so he found himself in another bind.

The final result was unexpected: Dorgon and Hooge each stepped back, jointly supporting Hong Taiji's ninth son, the six-year-old Fulin, to ascend the throne.

This outcome was not good for Hooge. Dorgon held the position of Prince Regent as the Emperor's Father, and his power and influence kept rising. The forces that had originally supported Hooge were gradually purged from within the Eight Banners.

The Shunzhi Emperor was too young to govern. Daišan and Jirgalang retreated behind the scenes after Fulin's enthronement, retiring to enjoy their old age.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang apparently had some unclear relationship with Dorgon, for she issued a proclamation to all the ministers that everything must first be reported to Dorgon, and that his name should take precedence in all official documents.

Setting aside the relationship between Dayuer and Dorgon for the moment — to return to our story, news of Li Zicheng marching north to besiege Ningwu reached Shengjing at almost the same time.

Whenever there was any news from the front, the Chongzhen Emperor and Dorgon learned of it on the very same day. In fact, for some major intelligence, this fellow knew of it even before Chongzhen did — a chilling thought upon reflection.

The arch-traitor Fan Wencheng, like a wild dog that had caught the scent of shit, immediately scurried off to his master Dorgon to beg for reward.

In the so-called Prince Regent's mansion, Dorgon was in discussion with Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng.

Fan Wencheng, afraid someone might steal his credit, hurried forward and said:

"The situation today is like the Qin losing its deer, with Chu and Han pursuing it. The fall of the Ming is Heaven's mandate. It is not that we contend with the Ming — we truly contend with the roving bandits."

The implication was that Fan Wencheng advocated an immediate expedition into the Central Plains. Hong Chengchou heard this and gave a contemptuous smile, merely curling his body into a ball and playing the mute, pretending not to hear.

Dorgon was still hesitating when he heard Fan Wencheng speak again:

"Our Tartar Qing wins every battle, takes every fortress. Ten thousand of us are unstoppable — the bandits are no match for us. But if the bandits know to win the people's hearts and recruit the common folk, then we would be no match for them."

Dorgon found this reasonable and nodded slightly, signaling him to continue. Fan Wencheng was overjoyed, first performing a grand kowtow prostration, then saying:

"When our Tartar Qing troops enter the Pass, we must strictly discipline the soldiers, harm not a hair of the common people, and gather the people's hearts to us — that is the best strategy of all."