Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 496 The Changing Situation of the Qing Dynasty (Part 1)

On November 20th, Shengjing was ravaged by wind and snow.

On the square outside Chongzheng Hall, the snow had been trampled into black mud.

The two Yellow Banners' Bayara stood before the hall, swords in hand, their armor covered in frost, their breath forming fine ice on their beards and eyebrows.

The charcoal fire blazed brightly inside the hall, but it couldn't dispel the biting chill.

The Khan's sudden death left the throne vacant, plunging the entire city of Shengjing into a somber atmosphere and sending a chill down everyone's spine.

The court robes of the Eight Banners princes and beiles had long been frozen stiff by the cold air outside the palace. With each breath, white mist would fall onto the buttons at the collar, instantly turning into frost flowers.

Beneath the frost flowers lay their barely suppressed ambitions, their quietly calculated power, and their wary eye-checking of each other.

Dorgon stroked the jade thumb ring on his thumb, his gaze sweeping over the princes in the hall.

Daishan lowered his eyelids and pretended to sleep, Jirhalang tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, and Hauge stared intently at the empty dragon throne behind the imperial desk, his Adam's apple bobbing incessantly.

The water clock at the corner of the palace dripped, like a dull knife slowly torturing everyone's patience.

“Fourteenth Prince…” Daishan suddenly spoke, his aged voice tinged with weariness, “The Khan left in haste, without leaving any words, but the rules of the Eight Banners cannot be broken.”

He raised his eyelids, his cloudy eyes looking directly at Dorgon. "We've debated this for over half a month now, and I think everyone should have a plan in mind. Tell me, what is our plan?"

Dorgon chuckled lightly, glancing at Hauge who was looking over: "Prince Li is right. Choosing the eldest son is definitely inappropriate; the Khan once said..."

He paused deliberately, then slowly said, "The Khan said that Prince Su is unfit for the great responsibility, therefore, he naturally cannot inherit the Khan's throne."

"Nonsense!" Hauge slammed his fist on the table, knocking over teacups. "Father Khan never said such a thing!"

"Prince Su, be careful what you say," Dodo interjected menacingly, his eyes looking down at him with disdain. "Are you questioning the Khan's dying words?"

"..." Hauge paused for a moment, then glared at Dodo: "When have I ever questioned the Khan..."

"That's it!" Dodo interrupted him directly. "Since the Khan has said you are incapable of shouldering this great responsibility, then you are not qualified to inherit this position!"

"I'm not qualified?" Hauge was furious. "Does Dorgon have the right to inherit the Khanate? Whether it's the eldest son or the legitimate heir, which one does he qualify for? Since the time of the old Khan (Nurhaci), succession from father to son has been the tradition of our Great Qing! Hmph, could it be that Dorgon wants to usurp the throne and sit on the Khan's chair?"

The air in the hall suddenly froze.

Goshha, with two white flags, took half a step forward without making a sound, while Sony and Aobai, with two yellow flags, had already clenched their fists.

Jirhalang suddenly started coughing, coughing so hard it was heart-wrenching, but he gently nudged the still dazed Lord Luoluohun of the Bordered Red Banner with his arm.

The latter looked at him in surprise, then immediately understood, and began to focus on his own thoughts, even softening his breathing.

"According to the rules of the Eight Banners, the Khanate should be chosen from among the sons of the late Emperor!" Doro Raoyu Beile Abatai couldn't stand it and spoke up in a rough voice.

He glanced at the arrogant Dodo, then looked at Hauge, his tone carrying a hint of fairness: "Of the late emperor's ten sons, three died young, leaving seven still alive. Prince Su is the eldest son, and in recent years he has followed the late emperor in campaigns against Mongolia, Korea, and Liaodong, accumulating military merits that could overflow the bellies of horses. Isn't he the most suitable candidate?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Haug's eyebrows shot up, his back straightened instantly, as if he had found a backer, and even his breathing became easier.

Dodo glared at Abatai, his pale face full of disdain: "With his meager military achievements, not to mention the banner lords and beile of our Eight Banners, even a random Jiale Ezhen would have amassed a huge amount of military merits! Do you think they are all qualified to inherit the Khan's throne?"

"Dodo, stop making trouble here!" Hauge said angrily. "The Khan's throne should be chosen from among the late emperor's sons! ... How can it be decided by military merit?"

"That's true, but what if the Khan's sons are all incapable of shouldering great responsibilities?" Dodo sneered. "If we choose a good-for-nothing, wouldn't that destroy the foundation that our Great Qing has painstakingly built over decades?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Hauge's blood rushed to his head, and in a fit of rage, he said fiercely, "Dodo, don't insult me ​​with your words! If you think I can't inherit the Khan's throne, then I'll let my other brothers be the Khan, what's wrong with that!" "Fine!" Dodo immediately replied, a smug smile on his face. He took half a step back from the back of the hall and deliberately raised his voice so that everyone could hear him clearly, "Since you admit that you are withdrawing from the selection of the Khan, then I have nothing more to say."

You all saw it; Hauge himself said he didn't want to inherit the Khan's throne!
"..." Hauge's eyes widened before he realized what he had said.

He wanted to deny it, but in his anger and frustration, he opened his mouth but couldn't think of any rebuttal, and could only stand there frozen in place.

Seeing this, Sony, Turgh, and others from the Plain Yellow Banner sighed, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.

Hauge's words were tantamount to cutting off his own escape route. Even if the two Yellow Banners wanted to protect him, they lost their reason to "compete for the position".

An eerie silence fell over the entire hall, broken only by heavy breathing and the crisp sound of tea lids touching teacups.

Suddenly, the charcoal fire inside the hall crackled and popped, sending sparks flying to the ground. This startled several young princes, who instinctively shrank back into their seats.

Dorgon's gaze swept over the crowd like a hawk's, finally settling on Daishan's wrinkled face, his eyes revealing both a probing look and a confident demeanor.

“Prince Li…” he began slowly, his voice as cold as the howling wind outside the hall, “How about we follow the rules from when the Khan ascended the throne?”

Upon hearing this, Daishan raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Dorgon expressionlessly.

According to the rules established when the Khan ascended the throne?

How could he not understand the meaning of those words?
Back then, after the death of Nurhaci, the succession to the Khanate was not a matter of "father to son," but rather a matter of "unanimous recommendation" by the princes of the Eight Banners Council.

In other words, those qualified to inherit the Khan's throne are not necessarily the Khan's sons, but could also be the Khan's brothers.

Anyone who can obtain "unanimous recommendation" can succeed to the throne as Khan.

At that time, the four most qualified to inherit the Khanate were Daišan, Amin, Mangultai, and Huang Taiji.

Daišan lost credibility due to his early affair with Nurhaci's principal wife Abahai; Amin was excluded because he was not a direct descendant of Nurhaci; and Mangultai lost support due to his infamy of murdering his mother.

In the end, everyone was forced to accept Huang Taiji's succession to the throne.

The situation is now even more complicated than it was after the old Khan's death.

Logically speaking, Hauge, who controlled the Plain Blue Banner and had the support of the two Yellow Banners personally led by Huang Taiji, was stronger than the two White Banners of Dorgon and his brothers.

Not to mention, Jirgalang, who owns the Bordered Blue Banner, has always been a staunch confidant of Huang Taiji and would likely be inclined to support Hauge.

Strangely, apart from Tuerge, Sony, and Aobai, who firmly supported Hauge's succession, other important generals in the two Yellow Banners remained silent and watched as Hauge and his brother Dorgon fought.

After initially expressing support for Hauge in the first few days, Zirhalang later chose to remain neutral and cease supporting him.

His grandson, Luo Luohun, who was temporarily in charge of the Bordered Red Banner affairs, showed no obvious inclination from beginning to end. He remained silent throughout several political meetings, behaving in a way that was not like an eighteen-year-old "child".

This situation caused Hauge, who appeared to be the stronger player, to lose his composure and make a series of blunders under the repeated pressure and exclusion from Dorgon's brothers, and he remained at a disadvantage.

Just now, he even said, "What's wrong with letting other brothers be the Khan?" This gave Dodo a handle to force him to withdraw from the selection of the Khan.

Now, Dorgon says he wants to follow the rules from when the Khan ascended the throne, which clearly means he wants everyone to elect him as the ruler of the Qing Dynasty!
Daishan's withered fingers paused for a moment on the prayer beads, a shadow flashing in his cloudy eyes.

Looking at the swirling snow outside the hall, he suddenly recalled that autumn day more than a decade ago when Huang Taiji ascended the throne. He had sat on one side of the hall just like that, watching helplessly as the Khanate, which should have belonged to him, fell into the hands of others (in 1615, Daišan was designated as Nurhaci's successor, and he even made a will instructing that after his death, his widow and young son be left to Daišan for care).

This fourteenth brother is younger and more ruthless than the eighth brother was back then. If he were to take that position...

This thought gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.
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(End of this chapter)