Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1128 Destiny
After entering the side hall, Haoge finally met the Ming Emperor Zhu Shenzhui.

Zhu Shenzhui was older than Haoge. Even in casual clothes, he looked majestic. He was a true emperor. He pulled the Ming Dynasty back from the cliff, made the country prosperous again, and defeated the powerful Qing Dynasty and the Emperor of the Eight Banners.

When he saw Zhu Shenzhui, Haoge was stunned for a moment, but he reacted quickly and subconsciously wanted to bow according to Manchu custom. However, as soon as he raised his hand, Haoge came to his senses and remembered that this was the Ming Dynasty. The so-called Qing Dynasty was gone, and he had gone from being the Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty to a foreigner who defected to the Ming Dynasty.

"I, the guilty minister Haoge, kowtow to the emperor. Long live the emperor..." Haoge changed his posture of salute somewhat awkwardly, knelt down towards the emperor, and kowtowed.

"Are you Hauge?"

"I am a guilty minister..." Hauge knelt on the ground and lowered his head.

"There is no need for such formalities in our Ming Dynasty. Please stand up and take a seat!" Zhu Shenzui's voice was soft but majestic. Haoge then got up from the ground, lowered his head, walked to the embroidered stool beside him and sat down halfway.

Looking at Haoge, Haoge is a few years younger than Zhu Shencui in terms of age, but in terms of appearance, Haoge looks older.

He is not even forty years old, but he looks weathered and his beard is a little gray. He looks like a man in his fifties.

Hauge was not wearing Qing Dynasty clothing, but Ming Dynasty clothing. As for his braids, he had cut them off long ago. Because it was a short time, his hair had not grown long yet, so he wore a crown and hat, and looked no different from the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Shenzhu had heard of Haoge before, but this was the first time he had seen him. Or rather, it was the first time he had seen a member of the Aisin-Gioro family. Zhu Shenzhu had high expectations before meeting him, but was slightly disappointed after seeing him. Apart from seeing some inherent toughness in him, Zhu Shenzhu was not impressed by anything else.

But this is normal. As the former heir to the throne, Hauge was suppressed by Dorgon and lost the throne that was within his grasp. If it weren't for his later defection to the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty's attack on Liaodong, I'm afraid that Hauge would have been killed by Dorgon by now, and there would be no chance for him to see me.

But you can't judge a person by appearance. After all, he is the eldest son of Huang Taiji, and he has made outstanding military achievements in the Jiannu side and is a good leader in battle. Now he is respectful in front of me, that is because of the formality, I think it is not his intention. Wasn't it the same when Nurhaci was in Li Chengliang's time? He pretended to be a slave so that Li Chengliang regarded him as his adopted son, but when the time was right, he rebelled and eventually caused a disaster. Zhu Shenzhui would never look down on these Jiannu, especially people like Haoge.

"Did you have a smooth journey to Beijing?" Seeing that he was a little nervous, Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I have had a smooth journey to the capital. Thank you for your grace."

"What's the current situation in Liaodong?" Zhu Shenzhui continued to ask.

Hauge continued to answer the emperor's questions, saying that he assisted Wang Jinwu in clearing the remaining forces of the Eight Banners in Liaodong and pacifying the local area. Now the entire Liaodong is completely under the control of the Ming Dynasty. The previous Qing Dynasty no longer exists, and everything is going smoothly.

Hearing these words, Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly and said to Haoge: "The pseudo-Qing Dynasty has been destroyed, the Eight Banners have been annihilated, and my Ming Dynasty has recovered Liaodong. This is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty, but it may not be the case for you. You are the grandson of Nurhaci and the son of Huang Taiji. Logically, the throne of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty was originally yours, but because of Dorgon's mischief, the throne fell to someone else. But no matter what, the pseudo-Qing Dynasty was founded by your grandfather and father. Don't you feel regretful about the current situation?"

As soon as these words came out, Haoge stood up in a hurry, bowed to Zhu Shenzhui and said: "How can I have such an idea? In my opinion, the so-called Later Jin and the pseudo-Qing should not exist in the world. We are the people of the Ming Dynasty. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we Jurchens have been the guardians of the Ming Dynasty and have been loyal to the Ming Dynasty for two hundred years. If Nurhaci had not started an army for his own selfish interests, how could the later events have happened?"

"I believe that the Qing Dynasty's defeat was caused by its own fault, which just proves that the Mandate of Heaven is with the Ming Dynasty and not with the Qing Dynasty. Although I am the son of the previous emperor of the Qing Dynasty, I am still a minister of the Ming Dynasty in my heart! I am only loyal to the Ming Dynasty and have no second thoughts. Your Majesty, please understand!"

Seeing him like this and saying these words in one breath, Zhu Shenzhui was a little surprised. He looked at Haoge carefully and asked with a smile: "You mentioned the Mandate of Heaven just now. As far as I know, Nurhaci and Huang Taiji didn't think so. Especially when Huang Taiji changed the Later Jin Dynasty to the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, he even claimed that the Mandate of Heaven was in the Qing Dynasty. How do you explain this?"

"Your Majesty! The so-called Mandate of Heaven is with the Qing Dynasty is actually false! How can the Mandate of Heaven be with the Ming Dynasty when it is clearly with the Qing Dynasty? If the Mandate of Heaven is with the Qing Dynasty, how could the fake Qing Dynasty be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty? This proves that the Mandate of Heaven is with the Ming Dynasty, on your Majesty's side! Before I became a mortal, I did not know the Mandate of Heaven, but later I suddenly realized what the Mandate of Heaven is. I, a sinner, stopped and turned to the light because the Mandate of Heaven is with your Majesty, and your Majesty is the one whom Heaven chooses!" "Haha! Hahaha!" I didn't expect that Hauge, a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would say such flattering words. It is said that Hauge has a rough personality and does not have the political wisdom and means of Huang Taiji, so he was dethroned by Dorgon. But today I see that this guy is quite smart, otherwise why would he say these words?

Zhu Shenzhu had no intention of dealing with Haoge. After all, keeping Haoge was much more useful than killing him. Moreover, when he recruited Haoge and lured him to join the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shenzhu had made a promise. He was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, not the chief of a tribe. As an emperor, face and credit were necessary. How could he go back on his words? Otherwise, how would people in the world view him?
I asked Hauge these questions just now to warn him and see his attitude now. Since this guy is so tactful and even brought up the so-called destiny, it proves that Hauge no longer has the idea of ​​competing with the Ming Dynasty, and he does not have too deep a grudge against the Ming Dynasty.

After all, he chose his own path, and no one forced him. Even if there was any force, it was Dorgon who forced him. In this regard, the Ming Dynasty did not do anything wrong to Hauge. Moreover, the so-called Qing Dynasty was destroyed, which was not entirely his responsibility. With the current national strength and military power of the Ming Dynasty, it would only take time to completely solve the Liaodong issue. Even if Hauge did not surrender, at most it would take more effort and the battle to pacify Liaodong would take longer.

Hauge himself knew this, his choice only accelerated the disintegration of the Qing Dynasty and allowed the Ming army to take more initiative in this battle. As for the decisive factor, Hauge did not dare to dream at all. You must know that Hauge participated in most of the Liaodong battle. He saw the powerful military strength of the Ming Dynasty with his own eyes. The current Ming Dynasty is not the Ming Dynasty during the Chongzhen period. In front of such a powerful opponent, what is the Qing Dynasty entrenched in Liaodong?

He raised his hand to ask Haoge to stand up. After Haoge sat back down, Zhu Shenzui changed the topic of the conversation and asked about the treatment of the Jurchens and the nobles of the Eight Banners.

Now most of the Jurchens in Liaodong, including the Eight Banners nobles, have not been resettled. Some of the latter have been sent to the capital for custody, and the resettlement of the former will take time. However, the court has issued an order for these people to keep their hair and change their clothes, otherwise Haoge would not have dressed like this and removed his braids and started to keep his hair.

Facing these questions, Hauge answered them truthfully and honestly. Not only that, Hauge also explained in detail to the emperor the various factions and individuals within the Eight Banners, pointing out which people were loyal to the pseudo-Qing and Dorgon, which people could be won over, and which people were sitting on the fence and needed to be guarded against, etc. He also put forward his suggestions for handling them.

It has to be said that there is a very appropriate saying, that is, the fortress is often breached from the inside. As the eldest son of Huang Taiji, Hauge had a high status in the so-called Qing Dynasty, and he almost sat on the throne. There was nothing in the entire Qing Dynasty that could be hidden from Hauge. Whether it was the nobles of the Eight Banners or the internal situation of the Eight Banners, Hauge knew it all. When he told these things, it was much clearer than reading the memorials of Wang Jinwu and others.

Of course, Hauge did this in order to gain the emperor's trust and show his determination to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. In addition, Hauge also had his own selfish motives in his personal assessment of the Eight Banners nobles and his suggestions for disposal.

In most cases, Haoge told the truth, but his attitude towards some people was not like that. He twisted his mouth appropriately, or exaggerated and added fuel to the fire, and Haoge took revenge on the Ming Dynasty. Who made these people lean on Dorgon's side when he was fighting for the throne? If these guys had not joined forces with Dorgon, and if it were not for Zhezhe, how could he have lost the throne?
Zhu Shenzui was naturally well aware of Hauge's selfish motives, even though he was not sure how much of Hauge's words were directed at his former opponent or were revenge. However, he asked Hauge these questions without really intending to listen to Hauge's advice. He just wanted to see clearly Hauge's attitude and thoughts.

Zhu Shencui had already made plans for the treatment of these people. How could he let them go or punish them more severely just because of Hauge's words? However, Zhu Shencui was still very satisfied with Hauge's attitude.

"Haug!"

"The guilty minister is here!"

"Let me ask you, now that Liaodong has been pacified, do you have any idea about your own arrangements?"

"this……."

"You can say it anyway. You don't have to call yourself a guilty subject anymore. Just call yourself a subject."

Haoge felt relieved, and a smile appeared on his face. Since the emperor was so generous that he no longer called himself a criminal but a minister, didn't that mean he had passed this test today? As for the arrangement for him, although the emperor asked him so, Haoge was not stupid, how could he tell it himself? Even if the Ming Dynasty promised to give him a high position and generous salary when they cooperated, Haoge couldn't bring it up now!

"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. I was born in the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, and I am very lucky to be able to return to the Ming Dynasty and serve as a minister again. Today, I can see the emperor's face again, and I have no regrets. I don't have any ideas. I am a rough man and can't say flattering words. Everything is up to your majesty. I will listen to your majesty."

(End of this chapter)