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

Chapter 933: Vast Snow
The ignorant Fulin thus became the new emperor, the second monarch of the founding Qing Dynasty.

Fulin's rise to power can be said to be the result of a balance of forces among all parties, but this is also the best result.

In order to appease Dorgon and other Eight Banners nobles, Empress Zhezhe specially selected Prince Zheng Jirgalang and Prince Rui Dorgon as regents after deciding that Fulin would be the emperor. Jirgalang was the first regent and Dorgon was the second regent.

Dorgon was very happy about this appointment, and he knew that Zhezhe did this to win him over. After all, Dorgon was quite powerful in the Eight Banners. The three brothers controlled the two white banners and were the most powerful faction in the Eight Banners. In addition, in this fight for the throne, Dorgon showed his strong foundation. If he was not appeased at this time, it would be difficult to explain.

Dorgon was well aware of this arrangement. Although he failed to become the emperor, the reason why he confronted Hauge in the first place was because of the conflict between him and Hauge, and on the other hand, Dorgon wanted to give it a try. What if there was a chance?

Although Fulin is now the heir to the throne, it is a pity that he failed to become emperor, but compared with letting Hauge succeed to the throne, this is not unacceptable. In addition, since he has become the regent prince, Dorgon's position has been consolidated and the power in his hands has greatly increased. Although this result is not as good as expected, it is not bad either.

As for Hauge, he became the only loser. As the eldest son of Huang Taiji, he was most likely to inherit the throne, but all his efforts were in vain. This was certainly due to Hauge himself, but it was also related to the final result of the confrontation between various forces.

Moreover, after Fulin ascended the throne, Hauge did not even get the position of Prince Regent, but was instead given to Jirgalang and Dorgon. From this point of view, Hauge's disappointment can be imagined, but what can he do when the situation has been decided? Moreover, Empress Zhezhe would never give Hauge the right to be Prince Regent. You must know that the throne has now fallen into Fulin's hands. If Hauge is given the power of Prince Regent, then who can check and balance him with his status and position?
Empress Zhezhe saw it very clearly. There was no problem for her to support Haoge when the throne was not decided. But when the throne fell into Fulin's hands, Haoge became an unstable factor that threatened Fulin's throne. Haoge was not Empress Zhezhe's son, but Fulin was different. It was obvious who was close to and who was distant between the two. So after the overall situation was decided, Empress Zhezhe would not only not reuse Haoge, but would also use Dorgon to suppress Haoge to prevent Haoge from coveting the throne again.

"Haha, Fulin...haha, Shunzhi..."

In the Qianqing Palace of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shenzhui soon received news from Liaodong that Huang Taiji had passed away, Fulin had succeeded to the throne in the final fight for the throne, and the Qing Dynasty named the reign Shunzhi. How could this series of changes be hidden from the Ming Dynasty which was so close at hand?
Jinyiwei also had many spies in Liaodong, and even Shengjing had sent people there. Although the news came a little late due to the long distance and the inconvenience of transmission, Zhu Shenzhu received the intelligence from Jinyiwei in the capital just five days after Fulin ascended the throne. After reading the content of the intelligence, Zhu Shenzhu couldn't help but laugh.

The inertia of history is really strong! I originally thought that my sudden appearance would affect Huang Taiji, but I didn't expect that Huang Taiji would suddenly die in this way. After his death, there was a struggle for the throne within the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, this struggle did not trigger a war within the Qing Dynasty, but the winner was quickly decided.

The winner was not Hauge and Dorgon, who were at loggerheads at the time, but a child who was still ignorant. This child named Fulin became the emperor of the Qing Dynasty after Huang Taiji, and the reign was named Shunzhi. If the original historical trajectory had been followed, Li Zicheng would have entered the capital soon after Shunzhi ascended the throne, and Emperor Chongzhen would have been desperate in the capital and finally hanged himself on a crooked tree. The Ming Dynasty would have died in name. After that, Li Zicheng ascended the throne in the capital, named the country Dashun, and then there was a chaotic and lively revolving lantern. Then he turned against Wu Sangui, and the two sides fought on a rock. Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and led the Qing army into the pass, thus opening the final catastrophe...

When he closed his eyes, scenes passed by Zhu Shenzhui like real pictures, which seemed real and illusory, making him feel a lot of emotions. With the entry of the Qing Dynasty into the country, China fell into darkness for more than 200 years, and eventually China, which was once the leader of the world, became the representative of backwardness, which led to the century of humiliation in modern times.

Opening his eyes and looking at the familiar scene in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Shenzhui once again returned to reality. Everything was different now. Although Huang Taiji still passed away, Shunzhi ascended the throne, and even Dorgon became a regent prince, the Ming Dynasty was not the same as before.

As he was promoted to the throne, Emperor Chongzhen had already abdicated and rested, and the one sitting on the throne of the Ming Emperor was him, Zhu Shenzhu, instead of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian.

In the past few years, Zhu Shenzhui's changes to the Ming Dynasty were obvious. He not only quelled the civil strife and blocked foreign enemies, but also made Li Zicheng, who broke into the capital and destroyed the Ming Dynasty, disappear. In terms of politics and people's livelihood, although Zhu Shenzhui did not implement any new policies like Zhang Juzheng did, nor did he use eunuchs and fight with civil officials like Emperor Tianqi, as an emperor who became emperor through a military coup, the means he used seemed calm on the surface, but in fact they were subtly changing the empire.

Whether it was the recuperation of the local areas or the strengthening of control, or the conduct of border trade and maritime trade, or the improvement of the court's historical governance through the Beijing inspection, etc., all of these had a very good effect. In addition, the Jiangnan case not long ago broke the backbone of the Donglin Party at once. Through the Jiangnan case, Zhu Shenzhu took back the central government's control over Nanzhili, and sent a large number of officials from Beijing to Jiangnan to replace the vacancies of the officials involved in the case.

At the same time, Zhu Shenzhui also promoted new mineral policies, directly reformed and implemented the sale of mining rights, which greatly improved the national economy and attracted many nobles, gentry, businessmen and civil service groups from all walks of life.

It seems easy to say, but it is difficult to do. Without Zhu Shenzhui's careful planning and overall plan, it would be impossible to do it. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui did not use the imperial power to suppress arbitrariness in anything he did, but instead won over the majority to attack a small group. More importantly, when it came to interests, Zhu Shenzhui generally adopted the means of "dividing the cake" to induce more people to his side to implement policies. This approach not only had minimal obstacles, but also gained the support of more people. As the cake became bigger and bigger, it was divided more and more, and the forces from all sides gradually formed a new community of interests around Zhu Shenzhui, and changed imperceptibly.

These changes have had a good effect, but it is far from enough. The Ming Dynasty had been suffering from chronic diseases and many problems. How could it be easy to make a thorough change? However, Zhu Shenzhu knew very well that many things could not be rushed. These things needed to be done step by step, little by little. Once the action was too big, it would easily cause trouble, which would not only be detrimental to the country, but also bring harm, and even his throne would not be stable.

Smiling and shaking his head, Zhu Shenzhui put these distracting thoughts behind him, stood up and walked out of the hall. He reached the door in a few steps, stretched out his hand and pushed open the tightly closed door. A sharp cold wind swept in from outside in an instant. The sky looked a little gray, and the air was cold from the north. It seemed that it was going to snow.

Yes, the severe winter is coming soon, but now that winter is here, can spring be far behind?

"Your Majesty, it's cold outside, please take care of yourself..." Lu Jiude's voice came from behind. Lu Jiude took out a cloak and helped Zhu Shencui put it on, saying with concern.

"It seems like it's going to snow today." Zhu Shenzhui didn't look at him, but still looked up at the sky.

"It is indeed going to snow, and snow is a good sign. Auspicious snow means a good harvest. After a heavy snowfall, the harvest will be good in the spring next year, and people's lives will be better." Lu Jiude echoed this and although it was just a casual remark, there was an intention of flattery in his words.

Zhu Shenzhui certainly understood what he meant. He smiled and didn't say anything. He glanced at the sky and then said to Lu Jiude, "Follow me and go to Wansui Mountain."

"Yes..." Lu Jiude replied, but he was puzzled. Why did the emperor suddenly think of going to Wansui Mountain? However, after serving Zhu Shenzhui for a long time, Lu Jiude also understood the character of this master. Although Zhu Shenzhui was usually kind and friendly to people, he was much easier to serve than Emperor Chongzhen back then, but Zhu Shenzhui was a man of his word, especially to the eunuchs around him. The rules in the palace were much stricter than before, and the decisions he made were difficult for ordinary people to change.

Since the emperor was going to Wansui Mountain, I would follow him as a servant. Lu Jiude immediately gave a look to the eunuchs behind him, asking them to make preparations, and he quickly followed Zhu Shenzhui to Wansui Mountain.

Wansui Mountain is the Jingshan Mountain in later generations, also known as Coal Mountain. The reason why it got this name is because coal was piled here when the Forbidden City was built during the Yongle period, so it got this name. Of course, the coal is long gone. The current Wansui Mountain is a scenic spot located in the north of the imperial palace, very close to the harem. You can see Wansui Mountain from the north palace gate.

After walking a few steps, they arrived at Wansui Mountain in a short while. Looking up at this not-so-high artificial mountain, Zhu Shenzui walked up the steps slowly without saying a word and walked slowly along the mountain path.

Lu Jiude, who was following behind, didn't understand why Zhu Shenzui came here, but he didn't dare to ask. He could only stand a few steps behind Zhu Shenzui and be ready to serve him at any time.

Wansui Mountain is not high, and Zhu Shenzui reached the top of the mountain in no time. Standing on the top and looking out, he could see most of the buildings of the Forbidden City as well as the layout of the capital in other directions.

After standing for a long time, Zhu Shenzui went down the mountain without saying a word. When going down the mountain, Zhu Shenzui chose another road, looking around as he walked. Not long after, he suddenly stopped and looked at a strange-looking crooked tree. He didn't know what was going on, but he stared at it for a long time.

"Your Majesty..." Seeing Zhu Shenzui looking at the crooked tree for a long time, Lu Jiude couldn't help but step forward and ask.

Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and looked away: "Let's go back. The wind is getting stronger and the weather is cold. It looks like it's going to snow soon."

"Yes..." Lu Jiude replied, not daring to ask more questions. He continued to follow Zhu Shenzhu down Wansui Mountain and then returned to the palace.

When they returned to the Qianqing Palace, snowflakes began to float in the sky. The snow soon grew heavier and heavier. In just half a day, the sky was covered with white snow, turning the entire capital city white.

(End of this chapter)