Prince Chongzhen
Chapter 253 If we can’t solve it completely, we have to find a way to alleviate it
Chapter 253 If we can’t solve it completely, we have to find a way to alleviate it
Hong Chengchou basically understood Duoduo's thoughts.
By establishing a new court, Hongguang tried to delay the Southern Army as much as possible, buying time for building a navy.
Just from the perspective of delaying time, Hong Chengchou can be said to have changed his mind towards the once rampant prince.
After all, he didn't expect to cause much trouble in Jiangnan with just this, nor did he think of using it to shake Zhu Cilang's foundation.
This not only shows that his understanding of the enemy is no longer as superficial as that of the people in Beijing, but also shows that he has fully learned the lessons of the defeat in Jiangnan.
But at the same time, Hong Chengchou also felt something strange.
Judging from Duoduo's subordinates in the Battle of Jiangnan, he was clearly aware of the disadvantage of his own ethnic group's small number of people, so when deploying troops, he basically continued the old Manchu approach of controlling the majority with the minority.
Therefore, Hong Chengchou couldn't understand why Duoduo could realize this but couldn't see how much resistance the new navy would encounter.
Over the years, he has seen clearly that the Manchus hate or fear firearms from the bottom of their hearts.
Although the Wuzhen Chaoha had to be formed in recent years due to frequent sieges and battles, the Manchu nobles strictly restricted the use of such weapons in the army because of this fear.
The logic behind this is not difficult to understand.
Firearms are difficult to manufacture but easy to use, and are clearly weapons of war tailor-made by God for farming nations.
Although the Ming Dynasty at this time was unable to overcome the advantages of firearms over cold weapons due to various systemic problems, these problems had not yet arisen within the Qing Dynasty. Once the use of firearms was promoted in the army, the final result would most likely be that the huge number of Han troops would no longer be controllable, causing irreversible damage to the Manchu ruling base.
Although the problem of the navy is somewhat different from that of firearms, at its core it also poses a threat to the Manchu rule.
Moreover, the establishment of Uzhen Chaoha was a necessity due to the situation, but the establishment of a navy was not necessary.
Once Hauge eliminated the remaining rebel troops who were resisting stubbornly in Sichuan and Shaanxi, the Qing Dynasty could go downstream from central Sichuan and pacify the southwest and southeast.
By then, the small Jiangnan court, which was attacked from both sides, would be unable to recover even if it still had the advantage of the navy. Naturally, there was no need for the Qing Dynasty to risk shaking the foundation of its rule by establishing a navy.
With such an understanding, it is understandable that Hong Chengchou was quite indifferent to Duoduo's "Plan to Pacificate the South".
But then again, after the Prince of Yu spoke so seriously, could Hong Chengchou pretend nothing happened?
After leaving Duoduo's military tent, Hong Chengchou prepared to visit Hongguang, but he was a surrendered minister after all, and it would be considered as inappropriate if he went alone.
Therefore, as soon as he left the camp, he asked the soldier leading the way, "Where is Lord Beile's camp?"
Given the Manchus' vigilance against Han officials, how could they not send someone to keep an eye on Hong Chengchou when he was appointed prime minister of the "Great Ming"? The Beile he was talking about was Leke Dehun, who succeeded Duoduo in commanding the Huainan troops.
Speaking of which, the relationships among the Manchus are quite complicated.
Although Lekedehun was the grandson of Daishan, he and his brother firmly stood on the side of Dorgon in the fight for the throne, thus secretly competing with his own grandfather.
For ordinary people, this kind of thing is hard to imagine, but it is not uncommon among the early Manchus who were just beginning to civilize.
Anyway, grandpa's property will be divided among the uncles, and dad's property will be divided among the brothers, but one's own property is one's own. It is reasonable for the early Manchus to sacrifice grandpa and dad for their own interests, and there is no psychological burden at all.
Afterwards, all parties reached a compromise. One of the brothers was executed by Lao Daishan on the charge of disrupting state affairs, and the other was stripped of his royal status and demoted to a commoner under Hauge.
It can be imagined that although Lekedehun survived, his life in Hauge's hands was not necessarily much better than that of his deceased brother.
However, there is always a way out. After enduring more than a year of hard times, Duoduo lost the command of the Eastern Army due to defeat. Dorgon, who was in urgent need of someone to control this army, finally remembered this "grandson" who he once used as a bargaining chip.
As a result, Lekedehun appeared in front of Hong Chengchou with the titles of Duolo Beile and General Pingnan.
"Oh, I knew the Grand Secretary would come today, but I thought the prince must have something important to say to you, so I planned to visit you after you were settled, but who knew it would be so. Oh, my sin, my sin."
Looking at Hong Chengchou who had already entered his military camp, no matter why Lekedehun did not go to greet him in person, no one could find fault with his expression.
After the process was completed, Hong Chengchou entered the military tent under the guidance of Lekedehun. After everyone sat down, he seemed to be straightforward and said: "I was entrusted by the court to enter Lianghuai this time, and there are still many things that need the general's help during this period."
"Don't worry, Grand Secretary. The Regent told me before I left that although it may seem like you and I are one civil and one military, in reality, you have to be the leader. I and my army are the sword in your hand!"
Hearing this, Hong Chengchou was naturally very grateful for the Regent's trust and General Pingnan's cooperation, but after all, he was not a fool. How could he not know that this was just an excuse? If he made any inappropriate move, the knife in his hand would chop him down in an instant.
After a while, the host and the guest completed their first routine meeting after taking office in an extremely harmonious atmosphere. But when Lekedehun thought that the process was over and Hong Chengchou should say goodbye, he heard him continue, "My Lord, I want to see Zhu Yousong, but I am new here and don't know the way, so I have to trouble you to lead the way."
Hong Chengchou's purpose was very simple, which was to prevent himself from meeting Hongguang alone. However, it was unknown what Lekedehun's considerations were. Not only did he not agree outright, but he also said with a troubled look on his face: "Grandmaster, I am not used to the local climate, so I will not go."
Faced with this situation, even Hong Chengchou, who had been an official for many years, was somewhat puzzled.
After all, Lekedehun was a legitimate royal relative. Meeting a captured emperor of an enemy country would not arouse any fear, so there was really no need to be so cautious.
"Does Lord Beile have any concerns?"
"Grandmaster, Hongguang is just a prisoner. Why should I, a descendant of the old Khan, pay homage to him?!"
After asking tentatively, Hong Chengchou waited for Lekedehun's answer, but when he heard the answer, even Hong Chengchou, a minister of this rank, couldn't help but blush.
Because of Huang Taiji's appreciation, he was highly respected in the Qing court. Everyone tried their best to avoid mentioning words like "surrender" and "prisoner" in front of him, so as not to embarrass this important official who had been recruited at a great cost.
But then again, there is only a thief who steals for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves the day before?
After avoiding it for many years, the taboo was finally broken by Lekedehun. "Alas, Grand Secretary, I am just angry, I really don't mean anything else."
Seeing that he had spoken out of turn, Lekedehun immediately began to explain, but Hong Chengchou's expression became more and more ugly, which made him complain in his heart: You are just a few ministers, but you really think you are a big shot.
Given Hong Chengchou's cautious nature, he would not be upset with Lekedehun just because of one or two slips of the tongue.
The reason why his expression became increasingly ugly was because he sensed the contempt that the other people had for the Southern Army.
Before leaving, Dorgon gave extremely serious instructions, asking him to use Hongguang as a chess piece to pin down Zhu Cilang's army in the south of the Yangtze River, and not let them have too much influence on the central and western routes.
After arriving, Duoduo was even more serious than his brother. Not only did he want to contain the Southern Army, he also wanted to form a navy.
The attitudes of the two brothers made Hong Chengchou believe that the Manchus attached enough importance to the Southern Army and that they had enough confidence in completing this mission.
But who would have thought that Lekedehun, the new commander of the Eastern Army, did not take Hongguang, such an important chess piece, seriously at all. From this, it is not difficult to judge what his opinion is towards the Southern Army.
just
"My Lord, you are too kind. How could I not know that you do not want to worship the king of a fallen country? How could you have any other idea?"
"That's what I mean, that's what I mean!"
Faced with Lekedehun who underestimated the enemy, Hong Chengchou did not warn him.
At his age, he naturally understood the truth that "people cannot teach people enough, but things can teach people once enough."
Duoduo has already made many arrangements, so even if Lekede loses one or two games, it will not affect the overall situation.
Under such circumstances, why should he risk offending others by giving a reminder?
After a while, the meeting finally ended in a harmonious atmosphere.
Hong Chengchou, who was good at negotiating, not only tactfully explained Duoduo's intention to form a navy, but also reached many agreements with Lekedehun through words. Then he took a few Goshaha borrowed from the army and went to Hongguang's residence.
At this point, the Qing court's plan against Zhu Cilang had basically been set up. Even though everyone had different expectations of its effects, it was undeniable that Zhu Cilang's rhythm would be completely disrupted as a result.
In his opinion, ascending the throne and becoming emperor was just a matter of course, and the real priority was to gain the support of the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River as soon as possible.
After all, from the moment Hongguang was captured, Zhu Cilang's legitimacy has been indisputable. Even though there are still a few places that have not expressed their views on the matter of regent, and even some ambitious people have jumped a few times, looking at the Ming Dynasty, who dares to stand up and say that Zhu Cilang has no right to be regent?
Therefore, when he learned of the changes in Guangdong, he took this as an excuse to go south along the coast in order to personally deal with the problems in the southeastern and southwestern provinces.
But things don't always go as planned.
The rebellion of Prince Jingjiang had just been put down when the Ganzhou request for assistance came up. In the process of rescuing the siege, some clues were found to deal with the Hunan issue. But in Jiangbei, the troublesome issue of Hongguang setting up his own court came up again.
As a result, not only would the stability of the southeast, southwest and north regions be tested again, but he himself would also have to return to Yingtian as soon as possible.
He really didn't want to go back like this.
Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan are fine. Two of these three provinces are fighting to the death with Zhang Xianzhong, and the other one is busy suppressing the rebellion of the chieftains. As long as he can provide some help through Guangxi, these three provinces probably won't cause any trouble.
But Jiangxi and Hunan really can't afford to drag on like this any longer.
In Zhu Cilang's original plan, after testing that He Tengjiao had no intention of independence, he would take advantage of the opportunity brought by Wang Ti's head to use all kinds of soft and hard means against Hunan and the remaining troops of the Chuang army. In just two or three months, he would be 70% to 80% sure of gaining the support of the remaining troops of the Chuang army, and then attack from both sides to completely resolve the predicament in Jiangxi.
In this way, there would be no more obstacles to communication among the Ming provinces south of the Yangtze River. The Ming Dynasty, which had integrated half of the country, had reason to speak to the Tartars.
But now?
This move by the Tartars really hit Zhu Cilang's soft spot. Even though he didn't think that any minister would rush to serve Hongguang, who was obviously a puppet, he had to complete his ascension to the throne as soon as possible to hedge against potential risks.
Under such circumstances, there was naturally not enough time to gather the remaining troops of the rebel army, and relieving the difficulties in Jiangxi became an empty talk.
From the perspective of those who don't know the inside story, there are hundreds of thousands of remnants of the rebel army stationed in Hunan. Even if they have not yet truly submitted to Zhu Cilang as their leader, if the Tartars want to enter or leave Hunan, they should think carefully about it. The situation in Jiangxi is even simpler. The Ming army has just won a great victory. No matter how you look at it, there should be no danger in the short term.
But Zhu Cilang was able to get to where he is today because of his foresight. He was well aware that the officials in Hunan had major differences on how to treat the remnants of the rebel army. He also knew that once he left, the various Jiangxi tribes with complicated backgrounds would fight among themselves.
If he could not take advantage of this opportunity to deal with both sides at once, within half a month at most, the rebels in Hunan would engage in a large-scale civil war under the instigation of various officials, and Jiangxi would also inevitably engage in internal strife in front of the Qing army as happened in history.
But the situation has finally changed significantly.
Because Hongguang had established a new court, ascending the throne to become emperor had become a top priority. If he could not respond to the Tartars' tactics in time, no one dared to take the risk to verify what the situation would become.
"Mr. Wan, I'm sorry to trouble you this time."
"I will definitely live up to your trust."
After replying solemnly, Wan Yuanji led more than ten riders and headed rapidly towards Hunan. Zhu Cilang watched the figure gradually disappear from his sight, but the worry in his heart could not be wiped away from his eyes.
Since the remaining time was not enough to completely resolve the problems in Hunan and Jiangxi, he had no choice but to try to ease and suppress them.
Fortunately, the forces of all parties in Jiangxi are limited. As long as he can keep Hu Maozhen's more than 5,000 powerful troops, and add to the beating he gave to everyone before, Ganzhou should be able to be more stable in a short period of time.
As for King Luochuan.
According to the current situation, if he can convince the Hunan officials and ensure the safety of Ganzhou in the remaining time, he will have done his best. It is absolutely impossible for him to extend his hand to Fuzhou.
"Let's go back to the camp. I have something to discuss with you."
(End of this chapter)
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