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

Chapter 658 Argument
After talking with Fan Wencheng, Huang Taiji quickly summoned the kings and ministers of the Qing Dynasty to discuss countermeasures to the current changes in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, everyone who returned to Shengjing also heard about this and was also shocked by the great changes in the Ming Dynasty. However, most people did not care about this. In their opinion, the Qing Dynasty's iron cavalry was invincible, and no matter who was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, they could not stop the swords of the Eight Banners. Moreover, after this great change, the Ming Dynasty must be unstable internally, which was not a bad thing for the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, there were also people with a long-term vision who had the same clear understanding as Huang Taiji. This person was Dorgon, who was known as the Ninth King.

Dorgon's idea was exactly the same as Huang Taiji's. He believed that it was far better to have Emperor Chongzhen in power than to have someone else replace him. Moreover, the regent Zhu Shenzhui who suddenly appeared was definitely no ordinary person. Not to mention that he was able to purge the court and quell the national crisis with his status as a mere royal family member, but he actually succeeded in doing so. This person was really not a simple person.

Moreover, Dorgon had just heard something, that is, when they were defeated by the Tumed tribes on the grassland, their opponent might be Zhu Shencui. Zhu Shencui had a very close relationship with the Tumed tribe, and Zhu Shencui stood behind the Tenger tribe. This defeat was the only major defeat Dorgon had encountered since he led the army. It was not only deeply impressed on Dorgon, but also a shame that he could never erase in his life.

Now Zhu Shenzhui has become the regent of the Ming Dynasty, so what will the Ming Dynasty do next? In any case, it will definitely not be like when Emperor Chongzhen was in control of power. Moreover, the relationship between Zhu Shenzhui and Tumed made Dorgon worried. When he learned that there were many Mongolian cavalry in Zhu Shenzhui's army, he was even more certain that the two were unusual.

Once the political situation of the Ming Dynasty stabilized under Zhu Shenzhui's leadership, Zhu Shenzhui not only controlled the Ming Dynasty, but also had powerful Tumed tribes as allies outside, which posed a huge threat to the Qing Dynasty.

Over the years, the Qing Dynasty had finally won over the various tribes on the grasslands, and even conquered the Chahar tribes by expelling Ligdan Khan. Although the Qing Dynasty and the Mongolian tribes were only an alliance, this alliance was extremely beneficial to the Qing Dynasty. Although it could not get military support from the Mongols on the grasslands, it was still possible to strengthen its own strength by establishing the Eight Banners of Mongolia. More importantly, the previous attack on the Ming Dynasty bypassed Shanhaiguan and took the Chahar territory. Once the Tumed continued to grow with the support of the Ming Dynasty and joined forces with the Ming Dynasty to annex Chahar and threaten Liaodong, then everything that had been done before would be in vain.

"Your Majesty, I think this matter cannot be ignored." Dorgon stood up and said to Huang Taiji.

"Oh, Fourteenth brother, just tell me what you think." Huang Taiji raised his eyebrows and asked immediately.

Dorgon said: "In my opinion, Zhu Shencui is definitely not an ordinary person. It is not good for the Qing Dynasty to have him as regent, especially since the Tumed tribes have a close relationship with Zhu Shencui. Although I don't know the details, I am sure that Zhu Shencui will definitely join forces with the Mongols to target the Qing Dynasty..."

"Prince Rui is exaggerating a bit?" Before Dorgon could finish his words, a man stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think what Prince Rui said is just sensationalism. Prince Rui was defeated in the grassland, but now he is using Zhu Shenzhui as regent to implicate this matter. He is just trying to shirk responsibility and exaggerate. I think Zhu Shenzhui is not to be feared at all. He was just lucky to be able to enter the capital as regent. In my opinion, the Ming Dynasty has run out of luck a long time ago and is not to be feared at all. No matter whether it is Zhu Shenzhui or Zhu Shentie, can a mere clan member change the world? Moreover, this person controlled the government with a mutiny, and there are many people in the Ming Dynasty who are dissatisfied with him. The Ming Dynasty may have been in chaos now. Zhu Shenzhui is so overwhelmed that he doesn't care about anything else."

"Your Majesty, please don't forget that the internal bandits of the Ming Dynasty have not been eliminated and the local areas are in a state of corruption. Zhu Shenzhui cannot change these facts even if he has great abilities. Moreover, the Qing Dynasty is eyeing Liaodong covetously. If Your Majesty leads his troops south and attacks the capital of the Ming Dynasty, how can Zhu Shenzhui keep his position as regent?"

"If the Ming Dynasty is in turmoil again, or even internal conflicts break out, wouldn't this be a good opportunity for the Qing Dynasty? Your Majesty, in my opinion, you should raise an army immediately and attack the Ming Dynasty again. Maybe this time you can directly capture the Ming Dynasty's capital. When you replace it, won't the world belong to the Qing Dynasty?"

The person who spoke was Prince Zheng Jiergalang. After Huang Taiji dealt with Amin, Huang Taiji handed over the Bordered Blue Banner to Jiergalang. After that, the Great Jin Dynasty was changed to the Great Qing Dynasty. Huang Taiji officially became the emperor and named Jiergalang the Prince Zheng. Since then, Jiergalang has become an important official of the Great Qing Dynasty.

Jirgalang and Dorgon did not have a very good relationship. They had conflicts on a daily basis, and he looked down on Zhu Shenzui, who had just become the regent. In his eyes, no matter who was in power in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's disadvantages could not be changed. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was currently experiencing internal instability after this incident. Now that the Qing Dynasty had taken over Korea and solved the thorn in its side, Pi Island, it had completely eliminated its worries.

Why not take advantage of the turmoil in the Ming Dynasty and march south directly? If they can plunder the capital area and even break the capital of the Ming Dynasty like last time, they may be able to take over the Central Plains and replace it. How can they miss such a good opportunity? Moreover, Jirgalang felt that Zhu Shenzhu had just become the regent and the Ming Dynasty was not stable yet. Emperor Chongzhen was under house arrest by Zhu Shenzhu, and there were probably many opponents in the provinces of the Ming Dynasty, including the prefectures and counties. If they took this opportunity to march south, the Ming Dynasty would definitely not mobilize troops from all over the country to defend the emperor like last time. In this way, the Qing Dynasty would have more confidence.

Furthermore, Zhu Shencui was able to capture the capital under the banner of clearing the court and pacifying the national crisis, which also showed that the defenses of the Ming capital were not tight. Compared with Zhu Shencui's army, Jirgalang had more confidence in the Eight Banners. In addition, the current Eight Banners were no longer the same as before. With the surrender of Ming generals such as Shang Kexi, the Eight Banners now had a lot of firearms, including high-powered firearms such as cannons that were originally only available in the Ming Dynasty.

After conquering Korea, the vassal soldiers of Korea can also be used by the Qing Dynasty. The combination of the two will give the Qing Dynasty a greater chance of conquering the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Opportunities are rare, so why hesitate when such a good opportunity is in front of you?

"Prince Zheng is too optimistic, isn't he?" Dorgon looked very unhappy, and he immediately retorted: "Now that the Ming Dynasty has undergone tremendous changes, we can send troops for the sake of prudentness, but we should be cautious. Although Zhu Shenzhui is not well-known, he may be a member of the royal family and enter the capital and become the regent. How can he be an ordinary person? In addition, don't forget the relationship between this person and the Tumed. There is news that Zhu Shenzhui has a lot of Mongolian elite cavalry. Once our army detours from Mongolia to enter the Ming Dynasty, let alone whether we can capture the capital and defeat Zhu Shenzhui's army, what if the Tumed tribes suddenly send troops at this time and directly advance eastward to cut off our army's retreat?"

He turned around and bowed to Huang Taiji, saying, "Your Majesty! I think that even if we send troops, we should not attack the Ming Dynasty first. At most, we should send a small army to test the situation and see how the Ming Dynasty reacts. Instead, the Tumed is the most important. We should mobilize a large force to attack the Tumed first. As long as we take down Guihua and defeat the Tenger tribe, everything north of the Great Wall will belong to the Qing Dynasty. Then it won't be too late to turn around and attack the Ming Dynasty in the south."

"It's a joke!" Jirgalang glared and mocked Huang Taiji without waiting for him to speak: "I think Prince Rui is planning to use this as an excuse to avenge himself? I heard that Prince Rui has been brooding over the defeat on the grassland last time. Now he is using the Ming Dynasty's affairs to persuade the emperor to fight naturalization first? Isn't that what he wants? Your Majesty! I think the Mongols are not to be feared, and the Tumed can be put aside for the time being. The last time Prince Rui was defeated was because of the support of the Ming Dynasty. As long as the Qing Dynasty directly attacks the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will be too busy to help the Tumed."

"When the war reaches the capital of the Ming Dynasty, if the capital is taken in one fell swoop, the Mongols will be nothing more than chickens and pottery dogs. Even if we can't take the capital, our Eight Banners can still plunder the heartland of the Ming Dynasty and teach it a severe lesson. In this way, there will be chaos in the Ming Dynasty, and it is unknown whether Zhu Shenzhu can keep his position as regent. Once civil strife breaks out, people will kill each other and the local areas will become independent. If Zhu Shenzhu and even Emperor Chongzhen die in the civil strife, won't our Qing Dynasty have a chance?"

When these words were spoken, many people present were moved. Although Jirgalang's words were blunt, they did make sense.

Zhu Shenzhui came to Beijing as a member of the royal family and became the regent. This was unexpected in itself. Although no one knows what the Ming Dynasty thinks of this change now, if we put ourselves in their shoes, we can conclude that there is no one in the Ming Dynasty, including the court, who has an opinion of Zhu Shenzhui.

Especially since Zhu Shenzhui was unknown and suddenly became the regent from a royal family, his foundation was unstable. Even if the Ming Dynasty was forced to surrender on the surface, there would definitely be many people secretly opposing him. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen was still the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and there would definitely be many loyal officials who wanted to save the emperor from Zhu Shenzhui. If there was no external pressure, and Zhu Shenzhui was allowed to stabilize the situation, as time went on, Zhu Shenzhui would have more control over the Ming Dynasty, and it would be too late by then.

It has been more than a month since Zhu Shenzhui became the regent. During this period, Zhu Shenzhui must have been constantly strengthening his own power, adjusting officials, and controlling the government. From this point of view, Jirgalang's judgment is correct. If the Qing Dynasty attacks the Ming Dynasty now, it will cause great external pressure on the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Shenzhui's control over the Ming Dynasty will be in trouble if it is not stable.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty were all experts in internal fighting, and they would never miss the opportunity, especially when the Eight Banners troops approached the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The possibility of civil strife was very high. By that time, the capital would be in chaos and people would kill each other. Even if Zhu Shenzhui did not die, he would not be able to defend the capital. No one knew whether Emperor Chongzhen could be rescued, and he might die directly in the civil strife.

If these situations happen, wouldn't the Qing Dynasty have a chance? Once the Ming capital is captured, the giant Ming will fall down. Without Zhu Shenzhu and Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty will also be without a legitimate monarch. By then, the world will be in chaos and fall apart. The Qing Dynasty can defeat them one by one with force, and great things can be settled!

When they thought of this result, everyone's faces showed excitement, and they jumped for joy. It seemed as if they had already reached the capital of the Ming Dynasty and were about to take over the Central Plains. The colorful world was waving to everyone, and everything was a natural outcome.

(End of this chapter)