Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 287 Crack
At the Qijiang County Office, the Qing generals who were on the Western Expedition left unhappily, but the generals of the Zhenglan Banner gathered in the back hall.

Haoge was not only the Prince Su of the Qing court, but also the leader of the Zhenglan Banner of the Eight Banners, commanding nearly 10,000 Zhenglan Banner Manchu soldiers.
In the back hall, Haoge sat at the top, and on the left and right were Gushan Ezhen Jue Luo Bahana of Zhenglan Banner and Deerdehe, the commander of the guards.

Further down were the lieutenants Xiergen and Gisai, the main generals of the Zhenglan Banner Army, all in the hall at this time.

Although Hauge overpowered Nikan and forced him to lead the Plain White and Red Banners to attack Bozhou, there was no joy on Hauge's face.

Haoge looked at Jueluo Bahana below and spoke in a deep voice

"What's going on in the Nikan camp recently?"

"Five days ago, an envoy came from Hanzhong and entered the Nikan camp. I have been following the orders of the flag owner and have ordered people to keep an eye on the Nikan camp. We have confirmed that the person from Hanzhong is Su Bai, a guard of the Plain White Banner."

"No wonder Nikan dared to be so presumptuous today. It turns out that he got instructions from Dorgon again."

Hauge sneered. Ever since he defeated hundreds of thousands of Western troops in a battle in Xichong at the beginning of the year, Dorgon had been urging him to return to the court.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that once Zhang Xianzhong was defeated, Sichuan would no longer have the strength to resist, and the remaining prefectures and counties could be conquered.

The most difficult battle had been fought, and what remained was to receive the results of the battle and report the achievements. However, Dorgon asked him to return to the court. How could Hauge give up the merit of seizing the whole Sichuan for nothing?
After confirming that the main force of the Western Army had been defeated, Dorgon sent messages many times, both openly and secretly, asking Hauge to lead his troops back to the court, but Hauge ignored them.
Hauge dispatched troops to occupy various cities as planned, and at the same time, victory reports were sent to the court one after another.
The situation in Sichuan Province was just as Hauge had expected. After defeating the main force of the Western Army, the Qing army recruited surrenders and rebels along the way. Except for some areas in southern Sichuan where the remnants of the Ming army were still resisting, the eastern, western and northern parts of Sichuan encountered almost no resistance and were directly occupied by the Qing army.
Although Dorgon was the emperor's uncle and regent, he had no way to deal with Hauge at this time.

Hauge was ordered by the emperor to conquer Sichuan. If Dorgon wanted to recall Hauge, the easiest way was to have the young Emperor Shunzhi issue an imperial decree to order Hauge to return to the court.

With the imperial edict, the return of the Western Expedition Army to the court could be justified. If Hauge still did not accept the edict, it would be a rebellion against the imperial edict.

But for some reason, the imperial edict was never issued. When Hauge sent back the victory reports one after another, the imperial edict forcing Hauge to return to the city could no longer be issued.

Although Dorgon was the de facto emperor of the Qing court, the fact was that the person sitting on the throne was not Dorgon after all. Without this title, some things that were originally very simple would become extremely difficult.

At this time, Hauge and others were fighting so well on the front line, but the court suddenly forced others to give up their military achievements. This was unacceptable in any way.

Seeing that Hauge was unwilling to return, Dorgon ordered Nikan to incite the army, hoping to force Hauge to stop and return.
But Hauge ignored Dorgon, so how could he listen to Nikan, the deputy general in the army?
The Qing army that went to Sichuan and Shaanxi this time was nearly 20,000. Now in Sichuan, Haoge led 10,000 Zhenglan Banner, Mandahai led 2,000 Zhenghong Banner, Aobai led 2,000 Huangqi Banner, and Nikan led 4,000 Zhengbai Huangqi Banner.
The 2,000 soldiers of the Bordered Red Banner were originally led by Luo Luohun, the leader of the Bordered Red Banner. After Luo Luohun's death, they were transferred to Nikan's camp and continued to march under his leadership.
Among the 20,000 troops, Hauge's family accounted for nearly half of them. If Nikan wanted to force Hauge to return to the court, he had to at least get the support of Mandahai Aobai and other generals of the other two flags.

But Dorgon and Nikan obviously greatly overestimated their popularity and prestige in the Qing court.

After Hauge captured Chengdu and Kuizhou, Nikan had encouraged the withdrawal of troops and returned to the court. After taking Chongqing, he again advised the withdrawal. When they arrived in Bozhou, this was Nikan's third attempt to get the Western Expedition Army to return to the court, but the result was obviously failure again.
During these several times of Nikan's instigation, Mandahai and Aobai did not make any statement at all. They neither supported nor opposed it, but just watched from the sidelines. Sometimes, not making a statement is already a statement.
Man Dahai is Daishan's biological son. Daishan has already made up his mind to become a rich and powerful prince. It is impossible for him to let Zhenghong Banner get involved in the fight between the two sides.

The two yellow flags have always been loyal to the emperor. Although Dorgon controlled Emperor Shunzhi at this time, it did not mean that the two yellow flags would be loyal to Dorgon.
In fact, Aobai and others in the two yellow flags were extremely hostile to Dorgon. Until Dorgon's death, Aobai and others never bowed to Dorgon and only listened to the orders of Emperor Shunzhi.
Hauge was ordered by the emperor to go to war for the sake of justice. Nikan did not get the support of the two flags of soldiers. No matter how much he encouraged them, it would be a waste of effort.
Haoge and others seem to be in their element in Sichuan, but Jueluo Baha has a worried look on his face. He said

"Although the prince has forced Nikan to attack the city this time, the Ming army has always been weak and I am afraid they will not be able to stop Nikan."

"Bozhou is already the southernmost part of Sichuan Province. The Regent will never order us to continue to attack the south. If we take Bozhou, we will have no reason to delay."

"This Nikan is so eager to force the prince to return to the court. I'm afraid he has bad intentions. The regent's power in the court is getting stronger day by day. The prince needs to respond as soon as possible."

Although Jueluo Bahana's words were cryptic, everyone in the room understood what he meant. The conflict between Hauge and Dorgon was no longer a secret in the court.
Dorgon has always been ruthless and cruel. At this time, he repeatedly forced Haoge to return to the court. No one dared to take it lightly.

When Haoge heard this, he suddenly chuckled.

"Don't worry, if Bozhou is gone, we still have Jiading, Xuzhou and Luzhou."

"There are many Ming troops in southern Sichuan. I have been ordered to pacify Sichuan. If I don't eliminate these rebels, how can I return to the court to report to Your Majesty?"

Dorgon had always been very wary of Hauge, so he was forced to let Hauge lead the troops.

Two years ago, He Zhen, Wu Dading and others in Hanzhong raised their flags to rebel again. Hanzhong, Qin Province and other places responded one after another. He Zhen and others easily captured Hanzhong, and then marched into Qin Province. He Zhen and others supported the Ming Yi army and won victory after victory, and soon they directly surrounded Xi'an.
At that time, Qin Province was almost completely lost, with only a few thousand remnants of soldiers stationed in Xi'an City to resist stubbornly. Qin Province was about to fall. Seeing that He Zhen and others had a strong force, Dorgon decided to order Hauge to lead the troops to the expedition.
Hauge had a special status and had controlled the Zhenglan Banner for more than ten years. Due to the peculiarities of the Eight Banners system of the Qing court, it was basically impossible for Dorgon to take away the Zhenglan Banner soldiers from Hauge through formal channels.
It was precisely because of the support of the Zhenglan Banner that Hauge was able to repeatedly oppose Dorgon.

Dorgon sent Hauge to quell the rebellion, on the one hand to recapture Guanzhong in Qin Province, and on the other hand to take the opportunity to weaken the Zhenglan Banner.
As long as Hauge had no soldiers, Dorgon could take down Hauge, the so-called Prince Su, at any time.
Although Dorgon had a good plan, no one expected that Hauge would be so good at fighting. Hauge led his troops to Shaanxi and easily defeated the army of He Zhen and others, and put down the rebellion in Hanzhong, Qin Province.

This battle not only did not cause any casualties to the Zhenglan Banner, but also allowed Hauge to take the great merit of pacifying Qin Province, and his power in the court became even greater than that of Dorgon. When one plan failed, he came up with another one. Since Hauge was good at fighting, why not just let him fight more!
The two great bandits in the Central Plains, Li Zicheng is dead, and Zhang Xianzhong happens to be in Sichuan Province, which is adjacent to Qin Province.

Dorgon's intention was very clear. Zhang Xianzhong was a great bandit of the time, and his subordinates were all brave soldiers who had fought for more than ten years. Such a bandit would not be easily defeated.

If Hauge was ordered to fight Zhang Xianzhong, even if Hauge won in the end, the Zhenglan Banner would certainly suffer losses. If Hauge lost, Dorgon would take the opportunity to punish Hauge and seize the Zhenglan Banner under his command.
If a battle fails, the flag owner's soldiers and supplies will be confiscated, which is also the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty.
This time, Haoge was ordered to fight Zhang Xianzhong. Regardless of victory or defeat, Dorgon could sit firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Dorgon's plan was excellent, but he never expected that the plot of taking the general's head in the midst of thousands of troops would actually happen to Zhang Xianzhong.
Zhang Xianzhong was easily beheaded amidst the protection of hundreds of thousands of troops, while Hauge was almost unscathed and defeated hundreds of thousands of Western troops, making another great achievement.

After this battle, Hauge conquered Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and his prestige in the court soared, and his prestige was close to that of Duoduo.
At this time, Dorgon's confidant Bolo and others were defeated in Fujian and Zhejiang, which made Dorgon more wary of Hauge.

Although the Qing court had already established its own system and proclaimed itself emperor, the Qing court still retained the traditions left over from the military aristocracy and tribal period.
Whoever has the strongest army and can win the battle will naturally gain greater power in the court. The emperor's grace is not the tradition of the Qing court. The strong possess everything, which is the prevailing rule of the Qing court at this time.

Dorgon was able to dominate the court because of the successive victories of his confidants, such as Duoduo, on the battlefield. Dorgon had a large army and was more powerful than any other army, so he naturally held power in the court.
But now Dorgon's confidants have failed on the battlefield, while Hauge's side is unstoppable, which has begun to directly threaten Dorgon's power base.
Because of this, Dorgon was so eager to transfer Hauge out of Sichuan, not wanting him to take the credit for conquering the whole of Sichuan and adding to his momentum.

Given Haoge's special status, if he continues to make great contributions like this, it will not be long before another uncle king appears in the court to assist in the administration.

The people of the Zhenglan Banner below were relieved when they heard what Hauge said. Under the Eight Banners system, they and Hauge had long been in a relationship of shared prosperity and shared adversity. If Hauge lost power, their fate would definitely not be any better.
Since Hauge had already prepared for this and had no plans to return to the capital, they could rest assured. As long as they stayed in Sichuan Province, no one could threaten their safety.

The faces of the people in the hall all relaxed, but the leader Jisai frowned slightly and said

"The regent is so powerful that he has already caused dissatisfaction among the kings and princes in the court. If we stay in Sichuan Province in the name of suppressing the rebellion, we should be able to gain support from all the flags in the court."

"But Wang Laiyong, the governor of Sichuan Province, is the regent's man. Now Sichuan Province's grain and salaries are all transported from Hanzhong. However, I have discovered in the past few months that the grain and salaries transferred from Hanzhong have been getting less and less."

The generals in the hall were stunned at first, and then their expressions changed slightly. Haoge looked at Jueluo Bahana below and asked

"Zuo Xiang is forcing grain in Chongqing, how is the situation?"

Giselle shook her head and replied

"We searched the entire city and only found more than 2,000 dan of rice. All the prefectures in Sichuan Province are in dire straits. Chongqing is out of food, and I'm afraid other places in Sichuan Province are not much better."

After the Western Army established its government in Chengdu, it started killing people without restraint. The common people and gentry in Sichuan Province also started to rise up in rebellion. In the past few years, the Western Army and the remaining Ming troops in Sichuan Province fought almost every day.

There was chaos and turmoil in Sichuan Province, and the people could not even escape, so who would farm and produce? Now Sichuan Province was full of people who had abandoned their homes and fled, and no one was growing crops, so where would the Qing army get the rice to rob?

As for Hauge's wish to take grain from Chongqing, it was even more wishful thinking. Chongqing had already been robbed by Sun Kewang and others before the Qing army arrived. Even if there was grain in Chongqing, it would not be the turn of the Qing army to take it.
After hearing what Jisai said, Haoge's face darkened. He now had great achievements in his hands. As long as there was a legitimate reason, it would be difficult for Dorgon to force him back to Beijing.

Dorgon's ambitions had gradually become apparent after he had been regent for several years. There had already been all kinds of rumors in the court. Not only were Jirgalang and Hauge dissatisfied with Dorgon, but even the Shunzhi Emperor, who was personally helped to the throne by Dorgon, was extremely wary of Dorgon.

Many people in the court were actually happy to see Hauge lead his troops to stay outside the capital, and even Emperor Shunzhi's faction would not object to it.
Dorgon has too much power. If things continue like this, no one knows what Dorgon will do.
Although Hauge had a strong army, he also had a big problem, that is, he had no food and money.

The soldiers of each banner were still controlled by the banner masters, but the entire Han Chinese civil service of the Qing court was almost all Dorgon's men.
The Qing court's money and grain were now all in the hands of Dorgon. Without Dorgon's permission, even Emperor Shunzhi could not move a grain of rice from the court.

Now that the food and wages of the Western Expedition Army were almost all transported from Qin Province, Hauge could stay in Sichuan Province in the name of encircling and suppressing the remnants of the Ming army, but Dorgon could directly cut off their food and wages.
If Hauge himself cannot solve the problem of food and salary, then whether he likes it or not, he will have to obey the order and return to the court.
Haoge thought for a while, but there was no solution, so he could only say

"After Ma Huabao and his men capture Xuzhou, they must collect all the grain from the common people, regardless of whether they are from the gentry or the common people in Sichuan Province, and the grain will be distributed uniformly by the army."

"No one can do it. After we capture Bozhou, we will go to the Ming court to steal food."

"I just don't believe it. Sichuan Province is so big that it can't even support our 10,000 or 20,000 troops."

The problems in Sichuan Province troubled the Qing court for decades. How could Hauge solve the problem of food and wages in a hurry? Hauge was just taking one step at a time.

Hauge and others rushed to grab food in Sichuan Province, while Doro Beile Nikan led 15,000 troops to the outskirts of Bozhou City.
(End of this chapter)