Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 126 A tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs

Blood mixed with mud smeared all over the ground.

Dodo couldn't bear it and wanted to step forward and pull Dorgon up.

But Fan Wencheng stopped him first.

The latter pulled Dodo back into the shadow of the drum cart.

The four-clawed golden dragon on Prince Yu's python robe was stained with mud and turned grayish-white in the twilight.

"You dog of a servant, how dare you stop me?" Dodo glared angrily, showing no kindness whatsoever to the Han official. "Fourteenth Brother already has old sores! Kneel down again!"

To everyone's surprise, Fan Wencheng showed no fear whatsoever, and instead asked a strange question, "Has Prince Yu ever seen a falcon being trained?"

Following Fan Wencheng's finger, a gyrfalcon was standing on the eaves of a house not far away. Dodo was anxious, but not stupid.

The person who is highly valued by his respected older brother is definitely not an ordinary person, and Fan Wencheng's sudden statement must mean that he wants him to know something.

After a moment's thought, he murmured, "I know that the hairy beast would rather starve than bow its head. So the hunter tied its golden claws with a leather rope to prevent it from flying high, stared into its eyes to keep it from relaxing, tormented its stomach and intestines so that it could not be full, and fed it meat when it was hungry and exhausted, and then took it for his own use."

“That’s right, the key to training an eagle is the word ‘training’,” Fan Wencheng said with a mysterious smile.

Dodo slapped him across the face, "Speak like a human being."

Fan Wencheng was not angry, but simply pointed to Dorgon, who was still crawling on his knees in the distance, and said.

"Now, our master is that eagle, or rather, the Empress Dowager wants our master to become that eagle!"

Dodo was stunned, his mind unable to process what was happening.

He can fight wars, but it would be a bit difficult to ask him to participate in politics.

If it weren't for Dorgon protecting him in court, he wouldn't have been granted the title of Prince Yu.

Seeing this, Fan Wencheng could only offer a more straightforward explanation.

"The reason why the Empress Dowager is the Empress Dowager is because if Prince Rui falls from power, then no one will be able to control Prince Su."

"At that time, the current emperor will still be a child, Prince Su will be strong and healthy, and he will have the Plain Blue Banner under his command. Do you think the Empress Dowager will be afraid?"

"So..." Dorgon immediately realized what he meant upon hearing this.

“Therefore, the Empress Dowager would absolutely not dare to let anything happen to Prince Rui.” Fan Wencheng helped him refine his words.

At this point, Dodo had a new question: "If the Empress Dowager wants to protect the Fourteenth Prince, then why is the Fourteenth Prince doing all this?"

“The court isn’t under the Empress Dowager’s control,” Fan Wencheng sighed. “The Zheng Prince’s faction, the Haoge faction, the Mongol faction behind the Empress Dowager, and the two Yellow Banners that both sides are vying for—if anything goes wrong, it could become a pretext for attack. This time, the prince suffered a major defeat, so how could the Empress Dowager possibly intervene directly?”

"The prince is both protecting the Empress Dowager and securing her, so that the Empress Dowager knows that the prince is willing to stand on her side."

"Your Highness is now like an eagle delivered to the Empress Dowager's doorstep!"

"Moreover, the prince's prestige lies not in the court, but on the kang (heated brick bed) of the Eight Banners bondservants."

"With Prince Li dead in battle and Prince Zheng trapped, the estates of the two Red Banners are more valuable than sable fur. Taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime defeat, Prince Rui has won over the hearts of the people. With the two Yellow Banners, two White Banners, and two Red Banners in hand, and six of the Eight Banners under his control, what is there to fear in a struggle?"

"This...I..." Dorgon was completely stunned by Fan Wencheng's words.

How can a human brain be this sharp?!

The fact that someone could crawl on their knees to the palace could have such profound implications and value.

Even if you cut off his head, he still wouldn't be able to figure it out!
Moreover, judging from Fan Wencheng's words, it seems that the two of them hadn't discussed it this way before.

So, Brother Fourteen only stood at the door for a short while before coming up with this idea?!

But that old dog Fan Wencheng only glanced at it, and he already understood Fourteenth Brother's intention! ?! ?
What did these two eat to grow up with brains like that?!
Dodo was amazed.

Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping came from the direction of the palace gate.

Driven by years of experience in warfare, Dodo instinctively looked over.

At this moment, Dorgon had arrived at the palace gate, where twenty guards of the Plain Blue Banner were removing Dorgon's sword.

Dodo's cheeks twitched violently. "Those sour dogs are tearing off Fourteenth Brother's nails!"

"Well done." Fan Wencheng was pleased rather than angry. "The Bordered White Banner Goshha is still waiting at Xihua Gate, and the remnants of the Two Yellow Banners have just taken over the defense of Desheng Gate. The 100,000 people of Shengjing are watching! Your injuries are the best armor."

Dorgon's knee pads scraped sparks against the stone steps, and the announcer's voice sounded like a dull knife cutting flesh.

"Remove your armor!"

On the gilded tray held by the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies lay Dorgon's gilded iron armor.

The military commander suddenly rebuked him in Manchu, "Does Prince Rui intend to appear before the Emperor in full armor?"

Just as the Bordered Yellow Banner's guards behind him were about to make a move, Dorgon had already torn off his chin strap.

The scabbed wound was forcibly torn open, and beads of blood rolled down the iron neck guard and into the collar.

Dodo's sword hilt clattered against the drum cart, and Fan Wencheng pressed down hard on his arrow sleeve, "The Prince Su's men are eager for you to draw your sword!"

"Don't ruin Prince Rui's plan!"

Dodo sighed in frustration, but his hands obediently stopped moving.

An imperial censor from the Censorate approached, carrying the imperial edict, followed by twenty imperial guards. "Imperial edict! Dorgon is hereby ordered to remove his armor and weapons, and to appear before the emperor in plain clothes!"

Amidst the remnants of the Plain White Banner, the sound of swords being drawn rang out, and even Fan Wencheng couldn't help but mutter, "The Empress Dowager is ruthless."

From the time Nurhaci rose to power until Huang Taiji became emperor, Dorgon was always second only to the emperor in the Qing court.

Let alone disarming and abandoning their weapons, even when they entered the palace, they were always treated with utmost respect and honor, and were offered seats on either side of them.

The custom of wearing mourning clothes to an audience was only reserved for disgraced officials and lowly servants. Now that Dorgon was being made to wear mourning clothes, it meant that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang wanted to completely take Dorgon down.

The Censor of the Censorate who delivered the imperial edict was also trembling with fear. Before him stood Dorgon, the most powerful minister of the Qing Dynasty, renowned for his prestige and numerous military achievements.

If he were to anger this man and kill him, then his death would have been in vain.

Fortunately, Dorgon made no unnecessary movements. He dug his fingers into the arrow wound, and pus and blood soaked through the brocade arrow sleeve, but his expression remained unchanged. He said calmly, "Bring me the armor-removing awl."

"Master!" Goshha, from the Bordered White Banner, knelt and presented a dagger. "Let this servant..."

"Snapped!"

Dorgon slapped Goshha across the face, "How dare a servant interrupt when addressing the emperor!"

Then, he used his dagger to pry open the head of the beast, but the iron blades were stuck to the festering flesh, and he couldn't remove them for a while.

The guards of the Plain Blue Banner immediately shouted, "Prince Rui's disarming is disrespectful; according to the law, he should be punished!"

“The southerners’ arrows have barbs, they’re hard to pull.” Dorgon tossed the blood-stained iron blade at the censor’s feet. “Would this gentleman like to try it himself?”

His tone was extremely flat, and he merely glanced at the person casually.

The censor's badge was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and the guards stumbled backward, knocking over the imperial guards.

Suddenly, a wail erupted from the crowd behind them: "The master's bones are showing!"

Dodo's eyes reddened as he pressed the tip of a knife against Fan Wencheng's throat. "Forget about any schemes or anything like that. Quickly come up with a way to get Fourteenth Brother in, at least stop these bastards from humiliating him..."

"A true man can bend and stretch. This is just the beginning; there's much more to come. Prince Yu, you must be patient!"

“Look, this is just the beginning, and we’re almost in control of the two Red Banner estates!” Fan Wencheng said through gritted teeth, pointing to a few people crying in the crowd.

"Those are the brothers-in-law of the three captains of the Bordered Red Banner, and countless other Eight Banners descendants!"

"This...this...I can't watch anymore!!" In extreme anxiety, Dodo turned his back.

Dorgon was allowed to continue taking the armor. Bloodstains dripped onto the stone steps, forming a patch.

Dorgon finally stripped away the last piece of iron armor.

The plain white undergarment billowed in the north wind, and the old arrow wound on his back resembled a hideous spider.

Although he hadn't removed his armor for over ten days, and the armor and his body were stained with dirt and blood, it wasn't that hard to take it off; it was just an act for others to see.

Although it is the end of May, it is still the end of the Little Ice Age, and Shengjing in the Northeast is still cold.

The Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial hurriedly presented Dorgon with a mourning robe, his hands trembling uncontrollably. "Please, Your Majesty, change your clothes."

Dorgon nodded and was about to reach out when a loud shout came from not far away.

"Prince Su of the First Rank has arrived!"

The hooves of the Zhenglan Banner's imperial guards pounded the long street, and the barricades separated the crowd by more than ten feet.

Hauge lifted half of the curtain of the sedan chair, revealing half of a sinister face. "His Majesty is still waiting for Prince Rui in Chongzheng Hall. Don't be late."

"That old dog!" Dodo finally couldn't hold back and drew his sword to teach Hauge a lesson.

Fan Wencheng could only helplessly continue to obstruct, "This is a good thing!"

"Just think about it, the losses in this battle were enormous. Almost every household in the surrounding area was dressed in mourning clothes, and everyone was in deep sorrow for their loved ones."

"When the prince removes his armor in front of the palace, covered in wounds, the people will surely think of their own relatives and wonder if they look like that. If Prince Su treats the prince well, the people will be grateful."

"At that time, we will also have to compete with Prince Su for popular support."

"Now Prince Su sits comfortably in his sedan chair, yet he treats the generals on the battlefield so harshly. What do you think the people will think?"

"When the day comes that the people's hearts are won back, they will only remember Prince Rui, who shared joys and sorrows with their families, and hate Prince Su, who sits comfortably in a warm sedan chair!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than, as if to confirm Fan Wencheng's words, a cousin of a certain Gushan Zhangjing of the Plain Red Banner shouted out.

"Prince Su is so majestic!"

Hauge paused in his tapping on the sedan window, but continued to shout, "Prince Li died in battle, Prince Rui returned covered in blood, and you're all dressed warmly."

The surrounding Manchu bannermen also joined in.

The guards of the Plain Blue Banner suddenly drew their swords, and Hauge's face began to darken.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Dorgon quickly bowed to draw the attention of both sides back to the present.

"I will enter the palace immediately!"

As he moved, blood splattered through his plain white undergarment as the three arrow wounds burst open simultaneously.

Seeing the increasingly angry looks in the eyes of the surrounding crowd, Sony finally realized what was happening. He wanted to make amends but didn't know how. After hesitating for a moment, he withdrew his hand. The curtain of the sedan chair fell, and Haug's cold voice came out, "Go!"

Eight strongmen carried the sedan chair into the palace through a side gate, while Dorgon continued to wait for the orders of the master of ceremonies.

It's now quite obvious that someone is deliberately provoking him.

If he violated the rules even slightly, he would be impeached for being disrespectful before the emperor, and then accused of being arrogant and domineering, disrespectful to the emperor and father. Even if he lost a foreign war, it was just a loss. Since Nurhaci's time, the Jurchens had never had a prince punished for defeat in battle. But if he was convicted, he would be severely punished, if not killed!
Therefore, he absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes.

As dusk deepened, the cold wind, though not as biting as in winter, was still enough to make Dorgon, dressed in a thin undergarment, feel uncomfortable.

He dared not make the slightest movement, not even tremble.

After an unknown amount of time, a young eunuch finally ran into the palace, followed by the announcer's voice: "By imperial decree, Prince Dorgon is hereby summoned for an audience."

Even so, Dorgon still bowed meticulously, saying, "Your subject, Dorgon, receives the decree and thanks Your Majesty!"

After kowtowing three times, Dorgon crawled inside on his knees, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

Arriving at the Chongzheng Hall, Dorgon could clearly see everything inside.

Hauge, who was waiting to devour him completely; ministers sharpening their knives, eager to gain merit in supporting the emperor; the young and ignorant Shunzhi; and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, hiding behind a curtain beside Shunzhi.

This was exactly the situation Dorgon was most worried about.

The Qing Dynasty, which once only aimed to conquer the world, ultimately ended up like the Southern Dynasty, trapped in endless self-destruction.

The Southern Dynasties could afford to wait, and after a hundred years, they could easily overwhelm the Qing Dynasty with a simple turn of events.

But they don't even have the chance to endure ten years.

This is why Dorgon was willing to do anything to enter the pass and destroy the Southern Dynasty.

But he never considered that the current internal strife within the Qing court might also be related to him.

Although his intentions may have been good...

Before they even entered the hall, the master of ceremonies announced the news again.

"Prince Rui has returned from his distant expedition and should perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows to express his gratitude for the Emperor's favor."

Dorgon's forehead immediately struck the gold brick, and the toe of the guard commander's boot was aimed directly at his arrow wound.

The "three kneelings and nine kowtows" does not mean kowtowing three times, but rather a set of complicated rituals.

Getting up, walking, kowtowing, and prostrating himself—every movement was an ordeal for Dorgon, who had to crawl on his knees for miles.

By the time the ceremony was over, Dorgon's forehead was covered in beads of sweat from the pain.

Only then did he kneel back down and bow to Emperor Shunzhi.

"Your subject, Dorgon, respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health."

A child's voice rang out from the dragon throne of Emperor Shunzhi, "Your Highness, you have worked hard."

Dorgon's braid brushed against the gold bricks, and he caught a glimpse of the hem of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's pheasant-patterned robe flashing behind the screen.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate suddenly stepped forward, "Your Majesty, I impeach Dorgon for causing defeats and disgracing the nation! He has repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on our Eight Banners..."

He paused mid-sentence, for he did not know how many people had died this time.

"Daishan died in battle. More than 7,000 men from the two Red Banners have been killed in action, and more than 35,000 are missing." Dorgon, as if accepting his punishment, pressed his forehead to the ground as he recounted the losses of this battle.

"The two white banners lost thirty-four Niru, the two yellow banners lost one Gushan as a whole, and another sixteen Niru were lost. The entire Mongol coalition surrendered, and the number of Mongol Eight Banners was countless."

"How dare you say that!" Hauge pressed his advantage, "Prince Zheng!"

"It was my idea to cover the rear with Jirgalang." Dorgon's shoulder blades trembled. "I, a servant of the Bordered Blue Banner, am willing to bear the full responsibility of providing relief to the troops."

Suddenly, a jade chime rang out from inside Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's tent.

Emperor Shunzhi's embroidered dragon boots peeked forward. "Does Prince Rui know his crime?"

“This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths.” Dorgon’s fingernails dug into the brickwork. “I beg Your Majesty to strip me of all my titles and ranks and send me to Zhaoling to guard the late Emperor’s tomb.”

Chongzheng Hall suddenly fell silent.

"The late Emperor's dying words," Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's voice was like tempered iron, "Any descendant of my Eight Banners who retreats in battle shall be executed on the spot!"

"Does Prince Rui have any objections?"

Hauge raised an eyebrow. Did this mean he was going to execute Dorgon?!
There's more to this surprise?
The hem of Emperor Shunzhi's dragon robe swayed slightly.

Dorgon was also taken aback, "Your Majesty..."

"Is Prince Rui trying to flaunt his achievements?" Hauge pressed.

(End of this chapter)