One is because Liaodong is getting colder and colder. Dorgon would not be afraid if he was healthy, but now that he is sick, he will no longer be able to withstand the severe cold. He may die if he does not return to Beijing to recuperate.
Another is that the situation in Liaodong has reached a stalemate and cannot be broken in a short time.
Therefore, it makes no sense for Dorgon to stay in Liaodong, so he might as well return to Beijing.
Before leaving, Dorgon specially summoned Hong Chengchou to his central army tent to have a solo confrontation.
"Hengjiu, I have to go back to Beijing. I will leave this mess of Liaodong to you. I can only leave you 40,000 troops, but you must protect Liaodong for the Qing Dynasty no matter what."
Forty thousand troops was Dorgon's bottom line.
Although ice sledges can be used to transport grain and grass from the North Sea,
However, maintaining a large army to fight in Liaodong for a long time is still an extremely heavy burden for Jiannu, but as long as the army does not exceed 40,000 people, it can still be endured.
"Ten thousand of these 40,000 horses are the Eight Banners of Manchuria."
"Ten thousand people are the Eight Banners Mongolia, and ten thousand people are the Eight Banners Han Army."
"The remaining ten thousand people are the Green Battalion. In addition, I will leave you 100 red cannons, 200 Franco machine guns, and 400 tiger squatting cannons. Hengjiu, can that be done?"
Hong Chengchou was still very cautious. After thinking for a while, he said: "Master, with these 40,000 troops and 700 cannons, there is no problem in guarding the defense line outside Gaizhou. However, the Ming army can still bypass our defense line from the North Sea ice. This is the trick.
Chongshi once again divided his forces to attack Haizhou, Liaoyang and even Shengjing. Will my slaves save him?"
"You don't need to worry about this matter." Dorgon waved his hand and said, "I have designated the entire Liaohe Plain as the pasture of the Mongols of the Horqin Tribe. The royal tents of the Horqin Tribe's Ten Banners will soon move south."
"Among them, the royal tent of Prince Esen will be moved directly into Shengjing City."
In order to keep his old home in Liaodong, Dorgon really spent a lot of money this time.
Of course, it is undeniable that Dorgon also did this to please the little widow Bumbutai.
Based on the current political situation of the Qing Dynasty, the only people who could pose a threat to Dorgon were the mother and son Bumu Butai and Shunzhi. Dorgon came to Liaodong this time and lost troops but made no achievements. It would be very troublesome if Bumu Butai took this opportunity to launch an attack.
, so Dorgon gave the entire Liaohe Plain to the Horqin tribe as pasture, which was considered an exchange of benefits.
When Hong Chengchou heard this, he said with relief: "Master, with this arrangement, nothing will go wrong."
"Foolproof?" Dorgon laughed at himself, "It's just a matter of effort."
After expressing his feelings for a while, Dorgon quickly calmed down and said, "Hengjiu, do you have anything to say to me before parting? Or do you have anything to tell me?
?”
"Master, your words are serious." Hong Chengchou was so frightened that he quickly fell to his knees.
The most taboo thing about a minister commanding troops outside is that he cannot be trusted, not to mention that he is a Han official?
Dorgon was really tempted just now, fearing that Hong Chengchou would have different intentions after losing control. If Hong Chengchou secretly colluded with the Ming Dynasty and cooperated inside and outside to destroy the 40,000 troops in Liaodong, it would directly lead to the fall of Liaodong. This would
For the Qing Dynasty, it was nothing less than a disaster.
The Qing Dynasty really cannot afford such betrayal.
So Dorgon had to confirm Hong Chengchou's loyalty.
As for the results of the test, Dorgon couldn't say yet.
However, Dorgon still decided to believe Hong Chengchou.
The reason is very simple, the Qing Dynasty has no more choices.
Times have really changed. If it were still the era of mounted archery, there would have been a lot of Jurchen generals killed from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood for Dorgon to choose from. But now that we have entered the age of firearms, those Jurchen generals cannot keep up.
Now we can only rely on Han officials such as Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui.
"Hengjiu, get up." Dorgon bent down with difficulty and lifted Hong Chengchou up with his own hands.
"I don't have the slightest doubt about you. In fact, the Qing Dynasty and the Southern Ming Dynasty have become stronger and weaker, and there are not many ministers in the Manchu Dynasty who can come up with practical strategies to deal with it. I hope you, Hengjiu, can give me some advice."
"I really don't dare to praise my master so much." Hong Chengchou hurriedly declined.
"Hengjiu, you deserve it." Dorgon said sincerely, "So if you have anything to say, just say it."
Hong Chengchou lowered his head, but he was thinking rapidly in his mind. Was Dorgon testing him or sincerely asking for advice?
After hesitating for a moment, Hong Chengchou finally decided to live and die with the Qing Dynasty. In the final analysis, his road to the Ming Dynasty was dead and there was no turning back.
"Since the master has brought his words to this point, I am not happy to say anything."
"After the master returns to Beijing, in addition to sending the Shandong General Army and the Hebei General Army to build gun towers along the Grand Canal and in various prefectures and counties, Shanxi also needs to be surrendered."
"What? Give up Shanxi?" Dorgon's expression suddenly changed.
"Hengjiu, are you saying that you want to cede Shanxi Province to Pseudo-Shun?"
"Exactly." Hong Chengchou said solemnly, "Master, you also know that the national power of our Qing Dynasty is actually far inferior to that of Nan Ming. Once our military strength is also weaker than that of Nan Ming, the situation will be extremely difficult."
"The Southern Ming Dynasty is making every effort to expand its armaments at this time and will have no time for the Northern Expedition in the short term."
"But once the southern Ming Dynasty is fully armed, it will inevitably mobilize troops in the north."
"In this way, even if the Qing Dynasty builds cannon towers along the canal and in various prefectures and counties in Shandong and Hebei, it may not be able to withstand the Ming army's attack. Shandong, Hebei and even the capital may fall into the hands of the Ming army."
"At this time, Liaodong has become the last retreat for the Qing Dynasty. However, it is difficult for Liaodong alone to withstand the Ming army's fierce attack, so hypocrisy has become the biggest boost."
Dorgon said nothing, he knew what Hong Chengchou said was right.
But he would not be willing to send him out of Shanxi for nothing.
After a long while, Dorgon said: "Shanxi is a beautiful place with mountains and rivers inside and outside. It is backed by a desert where the Mongolian troops can be obtained. What's more, it is close to the capital and can interact with the capital. It is a pity to abandon it."
"Master." Hong Chengchou said emotionally, "In the current situation, the power of the Qing Dynasty alone is no longer enough to compete with the Southern Ming Dynasty. Only Xijie's hypocrisy and submissiveness can compete with each other."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "However, there is a hatred for the country between the Qing Dynasty and the hypocrites."
"Although times have passed, the hatred has not disappeared. Li Chuang is short-sighted and greedy for money. If the master cannot offer enough benefits, it may be difficult to impress Li Chuang. I only hope that the master will think twice."
"I already know." Dorgon just nodded, neither accepting nor rejecting.
Hong Chengchou sighed and continued: "Also, in addition to implementing the Ministry of Rites Examination as soon as possible to recruit talents for the imperial court, we also need to send people to pay huge sums of money to buy scholars from the Southern Ming Dynasty, especially the soldiers who command the army, who are the best at firearms warfare."
"I have written this down." Dorgon nodded, "Check it."
"In this way, I respectfully send you off to my master." Hong Chengchou paused and bowed his head to the ground.
…
On the way back to Beijing, Dorgon was always frowning.
Hou Fangyu found an opportunity when Cao Eryu was not around and asked in a low voice: "Master, did you just advise Hong Chengchou to abandon Liaodong and retreat to Shanxi?"
Dorgon was noncommittal: "How did you know that?"
"I'm just guessing," Hou Fangyu said, "but my guess won't be wrong."
Dorgon remained silent, but Hou Fangyu took it as his acquiescence, and he immediately became anxious.
"Master must not have such thoughts, otherwise our Qing Dynasty will be in danger." Hou Fangyu said urgently, "Because if the Qing Dynasty abandons Liaodong and retreats to Shanxi, it will no longer be the Jurchen Qing Dynasty, but will become the Qing Dynasty of the Han people.
"
Dorgon's expression became serious, and it was obvious that Hou Fangyu had touched upon a crucial point.
Even if we retreat to Liaodong, this possibility still exists.
Hou Fangyu continued: "Does Hong Chengchou still propose to form an alliance with the puppets to fight against the Southern Ming Dynasty?"
"There is indeed this proposal." Dorgon said, "If the Qing Dynasty is really defeated in the competition with Nanming, it would be a good choice to form an alliance with the Pseudo-Shun."
"You must not have such thoughts," Hou Fangyu said, "Li Chuangshu is short-sighted and will not sincerely form an alliance with me, the Qing Dynasty."
"But what if I give Shanxi to them?" Dorgon asked, "Will they form a sincere alliance with the Qing Dynasty?"
"Ah? Give Shanxi to the Pseudo-Shun?" Hou Fangyu was stunned when he heard this. He might not have thought of this possibility.
"You didn't expect it?" Dorgon said quietly, "Hengjiu did not advise me to surrender Shanxi, but instead advised me to surrender Shanxi to the hypocrites in exchange for forming an alliance with them to fight against the Southern Ming Dynasty."
"This..." Hou Fangyu said nonchalantly, "This strategy may be feasible."
"I haven't thought about this yet, but there is another matter that still needs your help." Dorgon said solemnly, "Little Marquis, you were once a tribute student of the Imperial Academy of Nanming, and there were thousands of Qinwang scholars in Chongzhen.
Gongsheng, there must be many of your classmates among them, right? Can you try to instigate a few of your classmates to rebel?"
"Master, I'm afraid this will not be easy." Hou Fangyu said, "These scholars have been drunk by Chongzhen."
"It's just the theory of the Yiguan Sheji Ancestral Temple." Dorgon said suddenly, "It can be defeated. There are more than 6,000 diligent princes and scholars in total. I don't believe it. There are not many who are greedy for money and good goods."
Hou Fangyu thought of Chen Zhenhui: "Maybe we can give it a try."
"Xiao Houzi, just try, money is not a problem, you can have as much as you want."
Dorgon said: "There is only one thing. It must be a Qinwang scholar who leads the army."
After a pause, Dorgon continued: "It's a coincidence. The Fan family will go to Huzhou to buy gauze soon. You should go with them. I will give you a heavy reward if this errand is completed."
Hou Fangyu's face fell: "Master, the slave won't go, right?"
"What are you afraid of?" Dorgon said suddenly, "You are always in Prince Rui's palace and don't show up often. Not many people know that you are my confidant, so just go with peace of mind."
"This slave accepts the order." Hou Fangyu could only accept the order.
But I thought to myself, if I really want to go back, I have to change my appearance.
Glancing at the brazier placed at Dorgon's feet, Hou Fangyu secretly made up his mind that for the sake of his master and the sake of the Qing Dynasty, he, Hou Fangyu, would risk his life and lose his face this time.
