Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 512 I'm Not Here to Ask for Money
feeling bad.

Dorgon has not had a smooth day since he stationed his troops in Kaifeng.

Although the various internal families put aside their past grudges due to the huge external threat, and even Hauge asked Luo Luohun to bring two blue flags to support them, after being stationed in Kaifeng for several months, the pressure on him was increasing day by day.

According to his original idea, the decisive battle with the Ming army would take place in the flat Henan Province. However, to his surprise, although the Ming army stationed a large number of troops along the Huai River, they did not take a single step northward for several months, as if they had tacitly accepted the Huai River as the border between the two sides.

In the eyes of others, this is definitely good news.

After all, the Qing Dynasty at this time had suffered several defeats and the people's morale was in turmoil. The best strategy was to take advantage of this period to recuperate and appease the people.

Dorgon naturally knew this. If the Ming army sent envoys to negotiate peace now, he would even be willing to use the Yellow River as the boundary.

But Wang Zhengzhi was driven back by the Southern Dynasty before he even set foot on Yingtian. How could he possibly expect this?
This is what made Dorgon uncomfortable.

If it was said that the young emperor wanted a decisive battle in Henan as much as he did, the Ming army was reluctant to cross the Huai River; if it was said that the young emperor had no intention of using force again, the Ming army deployed all its capable soldiers along the Huai River.

Under such circumstances, the Qing army could neither advance nor retreat, neither waste time nor fight. Even though Dorgon was confident that he could break the myth of the invincibility of the Ming army once a battle broke out, he could only waste food and grass in Kaifeng due to various constraints.

unless
No, everyone has become accustomed to the glamorous world and I’m afraid we can never go back to the outside world.

After thinking over and over again, Dorgon finally got rid of the unrealistic thoughts in his mind. Then he pressed his temples with his thumbs several times. When his mind became clearer, he looked at Fang Dayou who was standing in the tent.

"Your Majesty, the food and grass shipped from Shanxi is barely enough, but Hebei and Shandong are still a little short."

"How much is left?"

"Hebei should have paid 27,000 dan, but actually paid 20,000 dan; Shandong should have paid 23,000 dan, but actually paid 15,000 dan."

When Dorgon heard these words, he felt a sharp pain in his head.

Ten months ago, Fang Dayou had reported the shortage of food reserves, and he ordered surrounding areas to quickly transport food and fodder over. However, at this time in the north, not only was the production greatly reduced due to the climate, but the land was also barren due to the sharp decline in the population.

Under such circumstances, there is no need to talk about full payment. I'm afraid this amount of grain is the result of officials from all over the country digging deep into the ground.

But so what?

As long as the war in Henan is not over, these 200,000-strong army cannot be dispersed; as long as the army is not dispersed, local officials must provide food and fodder no matter what methods they use!

"Send an order to commend Jiang Zhisheng and punish all the grain transport officers in Shandong and Hebei for delaying military affairs."

Listening to Dorgon's murderous words, Fang Dayou couldn't help feeling relieved.

When he was transferred to the army earlier, he did feel some resentment.

To put it bluntly, the Qing army did not invest much energy in Shandong, and it was only after he racked his brains that such a large province was won over.

He used too many insidious means in the process of pacifying Shandong, and he did not have too many extravagant expectations. But who would have thought that the Qing court first used him as a governor of Shandong, and was reluctant to give him the position of governor-general, and then transferred him from his post as a frontier official with a single official document.

Under such circumstances, even if he did not have as strong a military force as Jiang Ge, he could not help but feel dissatisfied when facing the Qing court's abandonment of him.

But as the old saying goes, "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise."

After learning about the situation in the army, he couldn't help but feel lucky that he had lost that hot position early. Back to the roots, there has been no peace in the north for the past ten years. Even though bandits rarely come to Shandong, there have been uprisings of all sizes, and the local population has long been reduced by more than half.

Faced with such a situation, the Qing government still asked the local governments to support these more than 200,000 troops. If they continue to push forward, I am afraid that the current Shandong governor will drive the people here.

Fortunately, I left Shandong early, otherwise I would have been the one to be punished.

The thoughts in his mind did not delay Fang Dayou's actions. After respectfully paying a salute to Dorgon, he was ready to leave the military tent.

But to Fang Dayou's surprise, before he could say goodbye, he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps behind him.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

People are always curious. When Fang Dayou heard this voice, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. Then, without him turning his head to check, Gunbu's figure appeared in front of him.

"Why are you so alarmed?"

There was nothing special about Dorgon's tone, but his slightly frowned brows showed his impatience.

Seeing this, Fang Dayou realized that this was not a place to stay for long, but before he could continue his words, Gunbu started shouting loudly.

"Your Majesty! Someone just reported that the Junggar barbarians have invaded my territory again!"

Fuck Caogu!

Before he finished speaking, a burst of unknown fire suddenly arose in Dorgon's heart.

Earlier, when the front was planning to march into Shanxi and Shaanxi, Gunbu used the excuse of the Dzungar invasion to avoid a tough battle. This time, he knew the current situation for only a month, but he wanted to use this excuse to avoid the battle again.

As his thoughts turned, Dorgon's resentment grew stronger. If it weren't for the fact that he needed someone right at the moment, he would have wanted to beat him out of the tent with a beating if he hadn't punished the guy for such a selfish accusation.

Alas~~~~~~!

Just be patient for now, and try to deal with this guy after you get through this period.

Thinking of this, Dorgon showed some worry on his face. After asking Gunbu about the details of the Dzungar attack, he smiled and said.

"It's okay. Just let your people avoid the limelight for now. After we deal with the barbarians from the Southern Dynasty, I will seek justice for you."

"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm unreasonable, it's just that this time is different from the past. Those Junggar barbarians kill anyone they see. They don't seem to be here to rob. If there are no warriors to protect them, I'm afraid..."

When saying this, Gunbu's expression and tone were extremely appropriate, but Dorgon had been dealing with these Mongolian tribes when he was still a minor, so how could he easily believe their words?
"Okay, this time we win, I won't take a penny of your gains. If the wealth of the Han land cannot make up for your losses, I will give you my share."

"Your Majesty, I am not here to ask for money or property."

"Alright, you and I both know that the Junggars don't have the guts to occupy the grasslands south of the desert. Granting you money and property this time is already a special favor, but you can't ask for more."

"Then I will thank the prince for the reward."

(End of this chapter)