My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

"Hauge!!!"

Dorgon slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his chest heaving violently with rage! He grabbed the two tokens and gripped them tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force!
He never expected this! All this time, out of respect for Dayuer and for the sake of overall stability, he had repeatedly tolerated Hauge and even tacitly approved of the various extraordinary treatments Dayuer gave him, hoping to keep him in check and maintain the balance of the court.

The results of it?
That wolf in sheep's clothing, Hauge, not only showed no gratitude, but dared to secretly raise assassins and carry out such a vicious attack on him, the regent, in Shenyang, right under the emperor's nose!

"All my tolerance towards him has been in vain! All the Empress Dowager's leniency towards him has been in vain! This ungrateful wretch! He actually dared to assassinate me! This is outrageous!"

Dorgon gritted his teeth and growled, his voice trembling slightly with extreme anger.

He felt like his lungs were about to explode with rage! A burning anger of betrayal and provocation instantly overwhelmed his reason.

The next second, Dorgon's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he sternly ordered the head of the guards:
"Issue my order! Immediately close all gates of the inner city! Mobilize troops and conduct a city-wide search for Prince Su, Hauge! I demand to see him alive or dead! This traitor must be brought back to me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your servant obeys!"

The head of the guards felt Dorgon's almost tangible killing intent, and his heart tightened. He dared not be negligent in the slightest and immediately obeyed the order and left.

A moment later, urgent bugle calls and orders rang out from within the Prince Rui's residence.

Immediately afterwards, the heavy sound of horses' hooves and the footsteps of soldiers broke the silence of Shenyang. Squads of fully armored Eight Banner soldiers poured out from various military camps, holding torches, like fire dragons, and began a large-scale search operation throughout the city, with their target being Prince Su, Hauge!

Meanwhile, Hauge and his party had broken through several checkpoints in the inner city and finally arrived at the last and tallest outer city gate of Shenyang.

The soldiers guarding the city had already been alerted by the commotion in the inner city and had strengthened their defenses.

Upon seeing Hauge and his entourage rushing towards them, the city's garrison commander, Meler Zhangjing, led a squad of soldiers to block the city gate, their torches illuminating the surroundings.

"Prince Su! It is late at night and the city gates are closed. May I ask what brings Your Highness to leave the city at this hour?"

Meile Zhangjing braced himself and stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting, trying his best to remain respectful in his tone, but his attitude was very firm.

He received news of the chaos in the inner city, but the specific reasons were still unclear. Facing the powerful Prince Su, he dared not be presumptuous, but he also dared not easily let him pass.

Haug reined in his horse, his heart pounding with anxiety, knowing that the pursuers could arrive in the blink of an eye.

He then suppressed his anger and said coldly:

"I have an extremely urgent military matter that requires me to immediately leave the city and meet with the commander of the main camp outside! Open the city gates at once!"

The mere officer's face showed a troubled expression:
"Your Highness, please calm your anger! It's not that I refuse to open the gate, but... in the dead of night, without the Regent's order or the Ministry of War's document, opening the city gate without authorization is a capital offense! Please understand my predicament!"

"capital offense?"

Upon hearing this, Haug didn't get angry but laughed, though the smile was so cold it sent chills down one's spine.

"Improper? What a fine example of 'improper'!"

Before he could finish speaking, a fierce glint flashed in Hauge's eyes, and he suddenly drew the sword from his waist! With a flash of cold light and a shrill scream, the Merle Zhangjing who was still trying to reason with him was instantly cleaved to the ground by Hauge's sword, and blood instantly stained the bluestone pavement red!
This happened so fast that all the soldiers guarding the city were stunned! They simply couldn't believe their eyes!

Prince Su actually... actually beheaded the officer guarding the city in public!

Hauge, wielding a blood-dripping dagger, swept his icy gaze across the terrified, trembling city guards like a god of death. His voice seemed to emanate from the deepest hell:
"Open the door! Anyone who dares to obstruct us again will suffer the consequences!"

Faced with Hauge's undisguised killing intent and the still-convulsing corpses of his comrades on the ground, the remaining city guards were completely stunned.

They looked at each other, and ultimately, the fear of death outweighed their reverence for military regulations.

Several soldiers stepped forward cautiously and laboriously turned the winch. With a piercing creak, the heavy city gate was slowly pushed open a crack.

"let's go!"

Without pausing for a moment, Hauge took the lead and led his men out of Shenyang like a flood bursting its banks, quickly disappearing into the boundless darkness outside the city.

Less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after Hauge and his men left the city, a large contingent of troops, led by Dorgon's trusted generals, arrived at the city gate like a whirlwind.

"Did anyone leave the city just now?"

The leading general demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

The surviving soldiers, still in shock, immediately knelt down and reported:
"My lord! Just now, His Highness Prince Su forced his way out of the city. When Lord Meile Zhangjing tried to stop him, the prince killed him with a single blow!"

"What?! Hauge has already left the city?"

The leading general's expression changed drastically, filled with both shock and anger.

"That traitor! Quick! Open the city gates! Chase him! We can't let him get away!"

The city gates were opened again, and the pursuers, torches in hand, charged out of the city like an angry fire dragon, chasing after Hauge in the direction he had fled.

However, the night was deep and the roads were complicated. Hauge had taken the lead again, and it would be difficult to catch up in a short time.
The figures of the pursuers and the sound of their hooves soon disappeared into the deep night.

Having read this far, some astute readers may have already guessed the truth.

Could there be an invisible hand behind all these sudden changes? Or is it a conspiracy meticulously planned by the Ming Dynasty?
In fact.
You guessed it!

All of this was indeed a conspiracy by the Ming army. Moreover, it was a "divide and conquer" plan that Hong Chengchou had carefully devised and ordered the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who were lurking in Shenyang to carry out in secret, based on the complex power structure in Shenyang and the deep contradictions between Hauge and Dorgon.
Its core objective was to completely disrupt the stability of the Jurchen state.

After receiving Zhu Cilang's secret order to "seize an opportunity to create chaos within the Jurchen territory," Hong Chengchou had been secretly planning this ever since.

He astutely grasped the delicate balance of power: the young emperor Fulin's ascension to the throne, Hauge's loss of power and subsequent forbearance, and Dorgon's regency and usurpation of power.

He concluded that this balance was extremely fragile, and that a single, well-placed spark could ignite long-suppressed conflicts.

Thus, this plan to sow discord, called "Awakening of Insects," came into being.

The core of the plan was simple yet insidious: to exploit the inherent suspicion between the two sides and, through a meticulously designed "assassination" incident, make both Hauge and Dorgon believe that the other intended to poison them.

In particular, it was necessary to force Hauge, who was relatively weaker and in a more sensitive situation, to flee Shenyang, a dangerous place, and return to the army under his control, under the fear that his life was "threatened."

Once Hauge amassed a powerful army and confronted Dorgon's group in Shenyang, the Jurchens would inevitably fall into division.

The most brilliant aspect is that this strategy is almost unsolvable.

Even if Hauge and Dorgon calmed down later and realized that it might be a Ming army's divisive tactic, the rift had already been created and the trust had been completely broken.

Hauge dared not return to Shenyang easily, fearing it would be walking into a trap, and Dorgon would never allow Hauge, who held considerable military power and had a grudge against him for "assassination," to return to the center of power. This became an irreversible dead end.

As for the sacks carried by those black-clad assassins, they contained the key props for carrying out this plan—corpses!
Those were obtained by skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had gone to great lengths to acquire them. They were all Jurchens who had been assassinated by them. Some were the bodies of palace guards, while others were the bodies of guards from the Hauge residence.

On the night of the operation, they "sent" the body of the imperial guard and his token to Hauge's residence, creating the illusion that the palace had sent someone to assassinate him.

At the same time, they "sent" the body and token of the guard from Hauge's residence to Dorgon's residence to frame Hauge.

The evidence is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and the physical evidence is "conclusive," leaving the parties involved no choice but to believe it.

Clearly, this extremely sinister plan achieved unexpected success.

After completing their mission, the elite Imperial Guards who participated in the operation immediately destroyed all traces that could expose their identities, according to the pre-arranged plan. Then, they split into smaller groups and quickly evacuated the tense city of Shenyang through different secret passages, embarking on their journey back to the Ming Dynasty without stopping.

Their mission is complete; every moment they linger increases the danger.

As for the subsequent tasks of stirring up trouble and gathering intelligence, these will naturally be taken over by other Jinyiwei colleagues who are more deeply entrenched and have more secretive identities.

The earth-shattering change that occurred in Shenyang was like cold water poured into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire city.

The noise, the sound of horses' hooves, and the commands naturally woke up many people who were asleep.

Among them was Fan Wencheng, a Grand Secretary of the Inner Secretariat, who was hailed as the "brain trust" of the Jurchens.

Fan Wencheng is getting old, and his sleep is naturally very light.

He was awakened by the faint sounds of chaos coming from outside the mansion. He sat up groggily, listened for a moment, and his brows furrowed more and more.

He then summoned his personal servant who was standing guard outside the door, and said in a slightly uneasy voice:

"Why is there such a commotion outside? What happened? Go and find out!"

The servant, who had clearly done some preliminary investigation, looked alarmed and quickly bowed to report:
"My lord, something terrible has happened! I heard... I heard that Prince Su, Prince Hauge, suddenly launched a rebellion tonight, sending assassins to kill Prince Rui! But the plot was exposed, and Prince Su, knowing his conspiracy had been exposed, killed the city's garrison commander and forcibly broke out of the city!"

"What? Hauge rebelled? Attempted to assassinate Dorgon?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Wencheng felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, and instantly lost all sleepiness!
He suddenly stood up from the bed, his aged face filled with disbelief and extreme shock!
"How is this possible?!"

His first reaction was strong skepticism!
How could Haug do something so foolish and reckless?

The current situation is clear: Fulin's throne is secure, and Hauge himself has outwardly accepted this reality.

Even if he harbored resentment, he should have known to remain patient and wait for the right opportunity. How could he have chosen to launch such a clumsy rebellion at this time, in a manner that was almost suicidal?

The assassination of Dorgon alone would not change the overall situation at all; on the contrary, it would immediately make him the target of public criticism. This is completely inconsistent with Hauge's political wisdom and character!

"No, something's not right. There must be something fishy about this!"

Fan Wencheng, being a shrewd and calculating man, immediately sensed something unusual.

He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing.

If Hauge were truly to take a risk, his target should not be merely Dorgon, but rather the young Emperor Fulin in the palace; that would be the most effective way to eliminate the threat from the outset.

Moreover, given Hauge's influence and power in the military, if he wanted to rebel, he should have contacted his old subordinates and cooperated from within and without. Why would he be so hasty and frivolous as to send only a few assassins to carry out the plan?

This is completely illogical! It's more like a trap!

Thinking of this, Fan Wencheng could no longer sit still. A premonition of something terrible was about to happen enveloped him.

He must find out the truth immediately!

He hurriedly instructed his servants:
"Quickly! Change your clothes! Prepare the sedan chair!"

While hurriedly putting on his official robes, he had to go see Dorgon immediately, and he also had to go to Hauge's residence first to check the situation and get as much first-hand information as possible.

A moment later, a small sedan chair made of blue khaki was hurriedly carried out of the Fan residence and quickly traveled through the streets that were still filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere.

Fan Wencheng did not go directly to Prince Rui's mansion, but instead had the sedan chair bearers detour to Prince Su's mansion, which was already in chaos and surrounded by soldiers.

He did not get out of the sedan chair, but lifted a corner of the curtain and carefully observed the situation outside the mansion and the colors of the soldiers' flags for a moment. Then he called over a few people and asked them a few questions, and his heart sank.

Only then did he instruct the sedan chair bearers to turn around and head towards the Prince Rui's residence, which was undoubtedly the eye of the storm at that moment.

When Fan Wencheng's sedan chair stopped in front of Prince Rui's mansion, the sight before him made him gasp in shock.

The Prince's mansion was brightly lit inside and out, and the security was extremely tight! A large number of elite guards, fully armored and armed with gleaming swords and spears, surrounded the mansion so tightly that there was no way to get through. There was a guard every five steps and a sentry every ten steps, and the air was filled with a suffocating atmosphere of killing intent.

Everyone's face was filled with tension and vigilance, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Clearly, after tonight's assassination attempt, Dorgon has raised his security level to the highest level.

Fan Wencheng's heart sank to the bottom.

He knew that a huge storm was inevitably brewing in Shengjing (Shenyang).
.
Just as Dorgon was feeling troubled and pondering how to deal with this thorny situation inside the palace, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure hurrying in, led by a guard.

This person was none other than Fan Wencheng, a Grand Secretary of the Inner Secretariat.

Fan Wencheng's hair and beard were slightly disheveled, and one of the buttons on his official robe was even fastened incorrectly. His face showed the fatigue of a long journey, but what was more striking was the anxiety and worry flickering in his bloodshot eyes.

He had obviously rushed over as soon as he received the news, without even bothering to tidy his clothes properly.

"Your Majesty!"

Fan Wencheng strode up to Dorgon, disregarding formalities, and bowed hastily.

Dorgon was in a terrible mood. When he saw Fan Wencheng, he simply waved his hand impatiently, his voice unusually hoarse from not having slept all night and being extremely angry.
"Mr. Fan has arrived. You've heard? That heartless bastard Hauge! I've treated him well, yet he dares to..."

"Your Highness! Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!"

Before Dorgon could finish speaking, Fan Wencheng abruptly raised his head and interrupted him, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"We've been tricked! Your Highness, we've all fallen for your trap!" (End of Chapter)