There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 474 Are the Tartars about to run away again?
Beijing.

Prince Yongxing had just recalled the Eight Banners troops stationed in various places to Beijing, and he couldn't wait to gather the princes and nobles to launch a council meeting.

The Council of Princes, also known as the "Eight Princes' Council" in the early Qing Dynasty, was also the "Eight Fathers' Council" that Emperor Shunzhi deeply hated.

In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, whenever a major crisis occurred, a council of princes would be convened to discuss and make decisions.

However, as Kangxi assumed personal rule, he outlived Wu Sangui and defeated his Mongol son-in-law Galdan. Kangxi's power became unprecedentedly concentrated, while the power of the princes and ministers in the Council of State was continuously weakened.

It wasn't until Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne and formally established the Grand Council, seizing both military and political power, that the system of the Prince of Deliberation, though still existing, became a mere formality.

When Qianlong came to power, ten years ago, he finally abolished the system of the Council of Princes.

However, only ten years have passed, and the system of princes who could advise the government, which Qianlong abolished, has been restored and even strengthened in the hands of Yongxing, one of his two most favored sons.

Those attending the meeting were not only princes and nobles of the Eight Banners, but only princes and nobles of the Aisin Gioro clan. Not to mention Han officials, Han Eight Banners members, and bondservants, even the second-ranking Mongol Eight Banners members and Manchu Eight Banners members were not qualified to attend the meeting.

The Council of Princes was held in the Forbidden City, with Empress Dowager Niohuru holding the Third Prince, who was overseeing the country, and sitting in the main seat of the hall.

Yongxing did not overstep his bounds; he simply placed a chair in the hall and sat with many of the Aisin Gioro princes and nobles.

Yongxing spoke first, saying, "Today, Yongxing has invited all my uncles and brothers here for no other reason than to discuss the future affairs of our Great Qing."

He spoke very politely, but the princes and nobles present dared not take it as mere politeness.

The Council of State Councilors had only been abolished for ten years when Yongxing reinstated it and immediately appointed himself Councilor.

Even though Yongxing insisted on telling the outside world that Jiaqing was seriously ill and unable to govern, so he entrusted the government to him, Prince Cheng, to temporarily take charge of the affairs of state, and also let Empress Niohuru take the young Third Prince to temporarily oversee the country.

But no one was truly foolish. First, there were frequent political changes in the court during this period, and almost all the factions belonging to the Empress and Prince Cheng were promoted. Moreover, Yongxing then ordered the Eight Banners garrisoned in various places to withdraw northward, and the military defenses of the Zhili Eight Banners shrank all the way to Beijing.

Now, a council of princes has been suddenly and openly convened, ostensibly led by the Empress and the Third Prince who is in charge of the country, but Yongxing is sitting in the first seat of the princes.

He's practically second only to the emperor, above everyone else!
There have even been rumors lately that something is going on... that Prince Cheng spent the night in the inner palace?

Cough!

Whether it's true or not, in the eyes of these princes and ministers, Yongxing already overlaps somewhat with Dorgon from back then.

Seeing that no one spoke, Yongxing continued, "Uncles, please don't stand on ceremony. Everyone here today is a member of the Aisin Gioro family. There are no lackeys of those Nikan barbarians (Mongolians) here. Let's just say we're talking like family behind closed doors."

With the steps already provided, a moment of silence followed before someone finally spoke.

Prince Qing, Yonglin, who is currently in charge of the Imperial Clan Court, said, "Everyone here is a member of the Aisin Gioro family, so it's not a big deal for us to talk about our own affairs. But I remember that this Council of Princes was abolished during the reign of Father Emperor, but today, Eleventh Brother, you've reopened it. Is there something important you have to say?"

Yongxing said, "Seventeenth Brother is right. The reason I invited you uncles here today is not only to discuss the family affairs of our Great Qing, but also to discuss the affairs of the state. Our Great Qing is now facing the threat of the Southern Dynasty's pseudo-Han, and its survival is in danger. What should we do next? I hope you uncles can come up with a solution together."

The Empress, who was on the main seat, also spoke while holding the Third Prince: "What Prince Cheng said makes sense. Our Great Qing Dynasty still needs to rely on you uncles and elders."

The three people's statements were clearly pre-arranged.

All the princes and nobles of the Aisin Gioro family were well aware of this, but they deliberately did not point it out.

They were just surnamed Aisin Gioro, but under the Manchu Eight Banners' policy of raising pigs, they had long since lost much of their real power. If they could avoid being the first to stick their necks out, they would.

"Cough cough!"

Prince Yi, Yongxuan, suddenly coughed twice and said, "Her Majesty the Empress, Prince Cheng, and Prince Qing have already made it very clear that the Qing Dynasty of today is no longer the Qing Dynasty that had just entered the pass, much less the powerful Qing Dynasty that Father Khan reigned in. The pseudo-Han Southern Dynasty has already approached Zhili. Although we only recently withdrew our troops to Baoding and Tianjin, the pseudo-Han rebels have immediately advanced to the south of Baoding. Our Qing Dynasty's retreat has not only failed to deter the Southern rebels, but has instead emboldened them. So, should we continue to retreat, or should we take a desperate gamble and fight the Southern rebels to the death?"

After Yongxuan finished speaking, Yongxing did not continue.

The princes and nobles of His Highness were silent for only a moment before they immediately began chattering and making a ruckus.

"The Southern bandits actually dared to chase us all the way to Baoding. They clearly don't take our Great Qing seriously at all. Why doesn't the Prince Regent just send troops to wipe out these Southern bandits and Han soldiers?" "Wipe out the Southern bandits and Han soldiers? That's easy for them to say. Even Marshal Yinghe and Lord Liu Yong died in battle in Henan and Shandong, and tens of thousands of Eight Banner soldiers were also killed or wounded. How can we fight like this?"

"So, we're not going to fight anymore? Are we really going to retreat? This is the foundation that our ancestors of the Great Qing Dynasty risked their lives to enter the pass and build!"

"If we don't retreat, then what do you suggest we do? Are we really going to gamble everything and fight the Southern bandits to the death, turning this capital of the Han Chinese Nikan into the burial ground of our Great Qing?"

"To surrender the capital without even fighting is too good for the Han soldiers of the Southern rebels!"

"What do you mean by not fighting a single battle? The name of General Yinghe has already been enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Aren't the 58,000 bannermen and 3,000 Solon soldiers enough?"

"..."

At first, they knew to restrain themselves, but as they argued, things got completely out of control, with each person expressing their own opinion, seemingly without any resolution.

However, Yongxing, as the chess player, still sensed something was amiss. His uncles were more inclined to retreat and abandon their plan to defend Beijing.

Even those few who were unwilling didn't seem to care about the Qing Dynasty's rule or their ancestors' legacy, but rather they were reluctant to give up Beijing's prosperity.

That makes sense. Since their ancestors entered the pass and moved their entire clan to Beijing, they have never returned to the area outside the pass.

For these princes and nobles who were used to the luxurious world of the Central Plains and had enjoyed wealth and honor for generations, the area outside the Great Wall was simply hell on earth!

Having basically figured out the princes' thoughts, Yongxing immediately gave his eighth brother, Yongxuan, a wink.

Yongxuan understood immediately and suddenly said seriously, "Uncles and elders, I must say something disrespectful to our elders, but Beijing is now beyond our control. As for the terrain, Beijing is almost indefensible. To the Han soldiers of the Southern Bandits, it's a flat plain. The reason we're not attacking now is simply because the Han soldiers are out of food and money. As long as the Han soldiers are well-trained and well-fed next year, and see our Great Qing retreating, they will surely send out their entire army to launch a northern expedition."

"And this year, judging from the battle reports sent back by Lord Liu and Commander Ying, the Han army's northern expedition force is at least over 100,000. Even if my Eight Banners warriors hadn't suffered so many losses, I'm afraid they would have had a hard time stopping such a large army."

"Moreover, our Great Qing's complete retreat this time, ostensibly only to Baoding to await changes in the war situation, has actually caused morale to crumble. If we continue to stay here, when the Han army launches a major northern expedition next year, not to mention those Han Nikan, even the Eight Banners officials we appointed ourselves will definitely flee. They will not risk their lives for the Great Qing!"

At this point, Yongxuan had revealed his true intentions, saying, "I think this battle is unnecessary. It would be better to abandon Beijing as soon as possible, hand over the mess here to the Han army, and then our Great Qing will take the elite troops back to the pass to plan for the future!"

"Our Great Qing still has Shanxi, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and the Eight Banners of Mongolia. There is still a chance to turn things around. Back then, the Taizu Emperor was able to start an army with only thirteen suits of armor. We now have more than thirteen suits of armor."

These words sound nice, but to the princes and nobles, they were no different from farting.

With Beijing lost, what's the point of planning for the future? Besides, those old Manchu slaves were able to raise an army with only thirteen suits of armor, but that was against the military scumbag Wanli Emperor.

However, the military capabilities of the Han army were far superior to those of even ten Wanli Emperors, let alone one. There was simply no comparison.

After Yongxuan finished making his proposal, the princes and nobles dared not agree or object, and the situation remained deadlocked.

Finally, Yongxing couldn't hold back any longer and made a decisive decision: "My brother's idea coincides with mine. It seems that Beijing cannot be defended for the time being. We should immediately gather the elite of our Eight Banners and the families of our princes and nobles to prepare to flee back to the border. This will allow us to concentrate our forces outside Qingshan, which is where the Qing Dynasty is located, to suppress the southern bandits in Gaizhou."

Since Yongxing has said so, what else can the princes and nobles say?

Emperor Qianlong had a total of seventeen sons, but of those who survived to this day, besides Emperor Jiaqing, the remaining three are Yongxing, Yongxuan, and Yonglin.

You could say these three are inseparable!

Yung-Lin was in charge of the opening remarks, Yung-Hsuan was in charge of making suggestions, and Yung-Hsing was in charge of the final decision-making; the decision was made very quickly.

The princes and nobles were powerless to stop it, and even the Empress, who was in charge of the Third Prince, agreed with Yongxing's decision.

Is the Qing Dynasty really going to abandon Beijing altogether?

This information was ultimately conveyed to the Han army spy by Pang Wencai, a scoundrel!
The spies didn't have time to verify whether it was true or not; they could only hurriedly report it to the Nanjing court.

The Nanjing court of the Han Dynasty, which was preparing for the New Year, was stunned when it received the news and had no idea what was going on.

I didn't even use any force, and the Tartars are already running away again?
(End of this chapter)