Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 304: Restoration of the Title
The main gate of the Zheng Prince's Palace is wide open.
Under the escort of the imperial guards, the eunuch Wu Liangfu entered the palace gate holding the imperial edict. In the main hall of the palace, Jirgalang had already prepared the incense table and the altar, and knelt on the ground, waiting for the edict to be announced.
Wu Liangfu entered the main hall, bowed to Jirgalang, then took the imperial edict, stood in front of Jirgalang and began to read it.

"Saintly, Prince Jirgalang of Zheng is loyal and upright, and has always been brave and resolute. As a relative of your own clan, you have taken on the responsibility of serving the country, wearing armor and bravely braved arrows and stones to help the country, and you have made great contributions."

"The prince's palace violated the rules before, and the court gave a little warning. The prince has been at home for three months and has sincerely repented. Now I have specially restored Prince Zheng's position as regent. I hope the prince will learn from his past mistakes, be loyal and diligent, and continue to serve the country."

"I accept your order and thank you."

After hearing the imperial edict, Jirgalang kowtowed to accept it. When Wu Liangfu saw Jirgalang bowing, he immediately stepped aside.

Even among the bannermen, Jirgalang was the most senior royal relative. At this time, even ordinary nobles of the Eight Banners dared to scold and beat the Han officials in the court.
Wu Liangfu was a palace eunuch, even if he was announcing the imperial decree, how could he dare to accept Jirgalang's greeting?

Wu Liangfu handed the imperial edict to Jirgalang, then bowed and saluted, and then returned to the palace with the palace guards.
After Wu Liangfu left, Shangshan, who was waiting on the side, stepped forward and helped Jirgalang up from his kneeling position.

Shang Shan looked at the bright yellow silk imperial edict on the altar, a hint of joy flashed across his face, and he said:

"Congratulations, uncle, for resuming your post as regent."

Jirgalang's face was calm, and he said

"It's just a last resort, what's there to be happy about?"

He was dismissed from his post as regent three months ago. He just stayed at home for three months and did nothing. Suddenly he repented sincerely. What a joke!

This is the position of the regent. In just three months, it was taken away and then recovered. It was simply a joke.
The court reinstated him at this time, or rather, Dorgon reinstated him at this time, only because of the situation.

Shang Shan, who was standing by, heard this and the joy on his face faded away. He said

"My uncle sees things clearly. Just before the imperial decree was announced, Qi Chongge sent me a note saying that the court would hold another meeting of the King's Council in three days."

"I'm afraid this meeting is about the matter of Prince Su. My uncle's reinstatement at this time may be related to this matter."

Upon hearing this, Jierhalang frowned and said

"Has there been any letter from Hauge?"

"No, it was the same letter from five days ago, asking us to help him get the post of Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and to let him stay in Sichuan Province."

Shangshan's face was solemn when he said this. Hauge had already told Jirgalang directly in the letter that he would never lead the troops back to the court this time.
Hauge's statement frightened Shangshan. To put it nicely, Hauge's actions at this time were to defend the border for the country, but to put it bluntly, he was plotting rebellion with his own troops.

Shang Shan looked at Jierhalang beside him, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but speak

"Uncle, did Prince Su really get rid of Nikan and his men?"

Since last year, the court has suffered a series of defeats in the war, first Bolo, and now Nikan, Fujian Province has 6,000, Sichuan Province has 4,000, the Qing court has lost 10,000 elite troops in one year.

These were not the Han army flags and the Green Camp soldiers, but the real Manchus. The entire Eight Banners had only 80,000 to 90,000 people. These two defeats were equivalent to the Qing court losing a banner of soldiers.

The news that Nikan's 4,000 men were annihilated reached the capital, and everyone in the court was shocked.

In fact, with the incident at Bolo at the beginning of the year, Sichuan’s defeat would not have caused such a big shock, but the problem is that Sichuan’s defeat this time was too weird.
The Qing army that went to Sichuan Province had six banners: Haoge's blue banner, Mandahai's red banner, Aobai's yellow banner, Li Guohan's blue banner, Nikan's white banner, and Luoluohun's red banner.
If the Qing army fought a major battle with the Ming court in Sichuan and was badly damaged, no one in the court would say anything.

But this time, Sichuan Province was defeated, but the two flags under Dorgon were completely wiped out, while the Zhenglan Banner led by Hauge and the other flags that followed the army were intact. This is not right no matter how you look at it.

After the battle report from Sichuan Province reached the capital, Dorgon was furious, and rumors were spreading in all parties in the court. All kinds of sensational rumors quickly spread in the capital.

In fact, after reading the letter from Hauge to Prince Zheng's palace and the extremely strange battle report, Shangshan almost believed that Hauge must have something to do with Nikan's death in the battle.
But after Shangshan discovered that the rumors in the capital had spread rapidly and became very popular, he began to doubt.

These sensational rumors can spread so quickly, there must be someone behind them. What is the purpose of those who push these rumors?

Could the Sichuan incident really be just a coincidence? Could it be that someone was secretly fanning the flames and wanted to use this incident to completely eliminate Hauge?

When Jierhalang heard this, he frowned and was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"What does Hauge say?"

"My nephew personally asked the messenger sent by Hauge privately, and according to him, the incident with Nikan was just an accident. They insisted that it had nothing to do with them."

Jirgalang heard this, but his expression did not relax at all, and he spoke again

"What about Li Guohan? What did he say?"

"Li Guohan sent back a letter saying that the matter was clearly explained and the Ming court also directly acknowledged it."

"But the generals in Sichuan all have doubts about this matter privately. According to Li Guohan, this matter seems to have doubts. If we want to find out the truth, we need to conduct a thorough investigation in the court."

Jirgalang thought for a moment after hearing this, and his expression suddenly relaxed.

"Does it require a thorough investigation by the court? Then let's wait for a thorough investigation by the court."

Li Guohan was born in the Bordered Blue Banner, so there was no reason for him to lie to him about this matter. Nikan's 4,000 men were killed in the battle, but Li Guohan only dared to say that there seemed to be doubts about such a big event, and he didn't even dare to give a biased answer.
At this time, even the generals in Sichuan Province could not be sure whether Nikan's defeat was related to Hauge. In other words, even if Hauge was really responsible for this, he did it very cleanly this time.
The court has only just begun to discuss the affairs of Sichuan Province. It will probably take a month or two for the court envoys to arrive in Sichuan Province to conduct a thorough investigation.

Sichuan Province was already a battlefield at this time. With the army fighting, even if there was any evidence, it would have been wiped out in a month or two. It would be basically impossible for the court to investigate the matter.

When Jierhalang thought of this, he felt relieved. Since it was confirmed that Dorgon was destined to find no evidence, there was no need to worry too much about some things. Shangshan looked at Jierhalang who was lost in thought, but couldn't help but speak.

"Uncle, let's discuss tomorrow whether we should assist Prince Su and help him take the position of Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi."

Upon hearing this, Jierhalang just glanced at Shangshan, then turned around and walked towards the backyard.
Shang Shan was also stunned when he saw Jierhalang suddenly turning around and leaving, but then he reacted and smiled bitterly.

I was also confused. My uncle was always cautious and it was difficult for others to guess his thoughts. How could my uncle easily give me an answer to such a big matter?
In the main hall of the Qianqing Palace in the capital, the nobles of each banner of the Qing court took their seats

The Council of Princes and Ministers was a very high-level meeting in the Qing court. According to the legal principles inherited by the Qing court from the Later Jin Dynasty, the decisions made by the Council of Princes and Ministers could not be overturned even by the Qing emperor.
The Council of Princes and Ministers actually conflicted with the imperial power, so since Dorgon took control of the government, he had been deliberately avoiding the convening of the Council of Princes and Ministers.

But they did not expect that the Qing court had just convened the kings to discuss politics at the beginning of the year. Now, only half a year later, the court was forced to convene the kings again to discuss matters.
In the hall, the ten-year-old Emperor Shunzhi, wearing a wide crown, sat on the throne.

The first person on the left is Dorgon. Below Dorgon are the regent Prince Yu Duoduo, the regent Prince Zheng Jirgalang, the regent Prince Li Daishan, the Prince Ying Ajige, and the Chengze Prince Shuosai who followed Duoduo in the northern expedition to Khalkha Mongolia and just returned with the army.

On the upper right are Grand Secretary Ganglin, Gushan Ezhen Tantai and others from the Plain Yellow Banner, and below are Sony Ebilun from the Two Yellow Banners, Beizi Shangshan and other nobles from various banners.
At this time, just from the situation on the field, we can already see Dorgon's power in the court.
The six people on the left, Dorgon, Duoduo, and Ajige are brothers, and Ganglin Qi Chongge on the right is a university scholar in the court, who firmly controls the power of Manchu and Han officials in the court.

Even the two yellow flags, which had always been loyal to the emperor, such as Tan Tai, Gong Adai and other generals of the two yellow flags, had already turned to Dorgon.

In terms of military power, the three brothers of Dorgon actually controlled the two white flags, and controlled most of the two yellow flags through Tan Tai, Gong Adai and others, and indirectly controlled the red flag through Lekedehun Wakda and others. Dorgon alone controlled the army of the five flags of the Qing court.
Not to mention the civil officials, all of them, whether Manchu or Han, were under Dorgon's command.

Seeing that all the nobles from various banners had arrived, Dorgon sat on a chair and bowed slightly to the little emperor above him.
Three months ago, on the second day after taking away Jirgalang's power as regent, Dorgon exempted himself from the kneeling ceremony to see the emperor on the grounds of a stroke.
At this time, when Dorgon met Shunzhi, no matter what the occasion, he no longer needed to perform any formalities.

Dorgon glanced at the officials in the room and said:

"You should all be aware of the matter that I have called you all here to discuss today. This time, the kings are discussing the matter of Haoge's defeat in Bozhou, which led to the fall of Sichuan Province."

"Hauge lost his army and humiliated the country, causing the annihilation of 4,000 elite soldiers of the Eight Banners. I have decided to immediately recall Hauge to the capital for interrogation. Do you have any objections?"

Dorgon stared at the crowd below with a fierce look. Except for Ganglin Qi Chongge and others who echoed him, Shangshan Tunqi and other nobles from various flags were silent.

Seeing the sparse response from the crowd, Dorgon looked a little gloomy. At this time, Duoduo also spoke.

"Our Qing dynasty clearly distinguishes between rewards and punishments. Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished. Since Hauge was defeated in Sichuan Province, he should return to the court to await punishment according to the law. I think the regent's proposal is feasible."

After Duoduo finished speaking, Ajige below also spoke

"Bo Luo is a waste, and Hauge is also a waste. The entire 10,000 Eight Banners warriors of the Qing Dynasty were wasted like this by them."

"If you hand these 10,000 people over to me, the entire southwest will now belong to the Qing Dynasty."

"Since Haoge is useless, he should be transferred back to the court as soon as possible and stop embarrassing the Qing Dynasty."

The ministers below were all heartbroken when they heard this. It was obvious that Dorgon and the other two had reached a consensus on the matter of Hauge.
Dorgon was the regent, Dodo was the assistant, and Ajige was also a great warrior. When the three of them joined forces, who in the court dared to oppose them?

Dorgon and his two brothers often had conflicts. When Dorgon was at the height of his power, Dodo and Ajige would deliberately win over other nobles and oppose Dorgon. But when Dorgon's authority was truly challenged, the three of them immediately united.

No matter what conflicts the three of them have in private, they are brothers after all, and this relationship has tied them together firmly.

Duoduo and Ajige knew very well that once Dorgon fell, they would not have a good ending either.
When Dorgon heard Duoduo and the other man speak, his expression relaxed a little, but before he could say anything, Jirgalang beside him suddenly spoke

"Your Majesty, this is too demanding. We are all former military commanders. Victory and defeat are common in the military. As long as you lead an army, who can guarantee that you will never be defeated?"

"According to the intelligence sent back by Sichuan Province, the troops that confronted Prince Su this time were the same Ming imperial guards that were stationed in Fujian and Zhejiang at the beginning of the year."

"Prince Su led a small brigade against the elite troops of the Ming court. It is understandable that he suffered a defeat at this time."

Jirgalang ignored the gloomy Dorgon above him and spoke again

"Of course, no matter what, Prince Su was defeated in Bozhou after all, he is indeed guilty and must be punished."

"I think it would be better to strip him of his princely title as punishment, and then order him to lead troops to Sichuan and Shaanxi to resist the Ming army and make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence."

After Jirgalang finished speaking, the nobles of the various banners below nodded slightly. Dorgon looked at Shangshan and others who echoed his words below, but his face darkened and he said

"I want to recall Prince Su, not only because he is guilty of defeat, but also because he is incapable of being used in important positions!"

"The elite troops of the Eight Banners of the Manchus are no more than 100,000. These Manchu bannermen are the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. However, Hauge has destroyed 4,000 troops in one fell swoop. How many people do we have in the Qing Dynasty that can be wasted like this?"

"Therefore, Hauge is no longer suitable to lead troops on the front line. In order to prevent Hauge from causing trouble for state affairs, he must be recalled to the court immediately."

In the hall, Ganglin and others spoke up again, while Sony Shangshan and others remained silent.
Although Dorgon's words sounded nice at this time, everyone knew that Dorgon wanted to call Hauge back not only because of the defeat in Sichuan Province, but also to take the opportunity to avenge the loss of 4,000 elite troops. The 4,000 people under Nikan were all Dorgon's direct troops.

Although everyone knew what Dorgon was thinking, they did not dare to say much at this time. Since Dorgon abolished Jirgalang's position as regent a few months ago, Dorgon's power in the court had reached the point where no one could stop him, and no one dared to stop him.

Anyone who dared to speak out against this would immediately become a thorn in Dorgon's side.

With Dorgon's power here, I'm afraid that as soon as the meeting ends today, those who oppose will be retaliated by Dorgon immediately, without waiting until tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)