The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, plus the Western Regions, southern Mongolia, and Liaodong, could indeed block warhorses from entering the Central Plains.

The truth or falsehood of Zhou Peigong's words caused Wang Fuchen to fall into deep thought. Unexpectedly, a giant dragon once again took hold in the north.

"Tell me, now that I have surrendered to the Han Dynasty, how will you deal with my tens of thousands of troops, and what arrangements will you make for me?"

Ultimately, Wang Fuchen wanted to hear the terms first; his tens of thousands of troops were his bargaining chip, and he held the initiative.

"His Majesty the Emperor of our Great Han Dynasty has given General Wang two documents, which also gives you two choices!"

"Firstly, you are appointed Governor-General of Shaanxi, and you are to form a 30,000-strong Han army to guard Hanzhong and Longxi against Wu Sangui. The soldiers' pay will be increased by half a tael, and from now on, the imperial court will control the supply of provisions and military equipment!"

"Secondly, you are hereby directly enfeoffed as the Duke of Anle, with a county as your fiefdom, from now on you will live and die with the state!"

Without hiding anything, Zhou Peigong directly took out two appointment documents, which were printed with eight Chinese characters in clerical script: "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous."

This jade seal was obviously fake; it was newly made from the jade seal that Huang Taiji had obtained from Ligdan Khan. Galdan was too lazy to explain, so he simply had it engraved in clerical script.

Our great Han Dynasty uses the eight characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven, May it live long and prosper" to represent the Mandate of Heaven. Even if it is false, it is still true. Who would dare to have any objections?

"Shameless!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fuchen cursed inwardly, thinking, "This is too stingy. What is the Duke of Anle? He doesn't even have military power."

Zhou Peigong could also see what Wang Fuchen was thinking. He shook his head slightly and stepped forward, "My emperor said that since ancient times, kings of different surnames have never had a good ending. He doesn't want to make empty promises to deceive you, so he can only guarantee your Wang family's eternal prosperity by granting you the title of county duke!"

After a brief examination, Wang Fuchen found that there was nothing wrong with what he said. Leaving aside the previous dynasties, weren't Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong just cautionary tales?

Just then, Wang Fuchen's personal guards entered.

"Your Excellency, that scholar named Jia Jie is making a scene outside the yamen, demanding to see you. He claims he wants to save you from your predicament and says that if you don't listen to him, you'll face the wrath of war!"

Wang Fuchen, who was gradually becoming interested, immediately came to his senses upon hearing this and hurriedly waved to his personal guards.

"Quick, let him in!"

A short while later, a scholar of about forty years old, dressed in a blue long gown and wearing a square hat, with a delicate appearance, walked in. He did not greet Wang Fuchen, but instead looked Zhou Peigong up and down.

Wang Fuchen was in a state of turmoil. He would definitely follow the Manchus if they were with him, since he had risen to power under the Shunzhi Emperor, but the Manchus withdrew their troops without taking him with them.

This clearly shows that they still don't trust him, a Han Chinese, so he's very conflicted now and subconsciously wants to hear more opinions—what's commonly known as decision paralysis.

"Mr. Jia, what brings you here today?"

Jia Jie also noticed that Wang Fuchen's tone was different. Just two days ago, he had been very ingratiating, but today he seemed a little distant. So he tentatively asked.

"My lord felt it was inappropriate to promise you the title of Prince of Yongning that I had previously given to Admiral Wang. This time, I have specially sent you an alliance agreement, willing to bestow upon you the title of Prince of Zhao upon success, so that you may forever guard Shanxi. I wonder what Admiral Wang thinks of my lord's sincerity?"

Jia Jie deliberately raised the tone of the words "King Zhao" and "Eternal Guardian of Shanxi," and even revealed a provocative expression. This was to annoy Zhou Peigong, because he already knew that Zhou Peigong was Galdan's envoy.

Wang Fuchen was already very tempted. This was a title of "King of Zhao," and he would be able to permanently govern the land of Shanxi. Shanxi was geographically isolated, so if he were to truly become the King of Zhao, he would be able to advance or retreat as needed, becoming a state within a state.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong's expression turned solemn, and he secretly thought to himself that something was wrong. He hadn't expected Wu Sangui to go to such lengths; he had learned the essence of the Manchu Qing dynasty.

"Hahaha!"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Peigong pointed at Wang Fuchen and suddenly burst into laughter, his lips curving upwards.

"King Zhao? Such a grand gesture! You, Wang Fuchen, dare to accept it today? Aren't you afraid that you'll be discarded like a hunting dog after the rabbit has died?"

hiss! ! !

The phrase "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked" was a direct wake-up call for Wang Fuchen. Which emperor of any dynasty would give away a king who would monopolize Shanxi?

Even his own son is not allowed!

Seeing that Zhou Peigong was about to add fuel to the fire, Jia Jie pushed Zhou Peigong aside and took out a scroll from his pocket.

"King Qin!!!"

"My lord promises that as long as Wang Fuchen is willing to follow the new dynasty, this northwestern land will belong to you, King Qin. This is my lord's personal signature, and there is no doubt about it."

Jia Jie was heartbroken. As Wu Sangui's civil official, he was already considering how to assist Wu Shifan in reducing the power of the feudal lords after Wu Sangui unified the country.

For the first time, Wang Fuchen realized that his two hundred jin of flesh were so valuable that he could actually serve as the Qin King to guard the northwest.

He had already decided to agree. Guanzhong was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and he had a deep understanding of this. He might be worthy of being the King of Qin.

"ah!!!"

Just as Wang Fuchen was about to speak, a scream came from inside the hall. Zhou Peigong pulled out the wooden hairpin from his hat and pierced Jia Jie's throat.

Killing Jia Jie wasn't enough; Zhou Peigong spat out another mouthful of saliva and even made sarcastic remarks.

"You think you're worthy to push Zhou around?"

"You probably haven't studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman!"

Upon seeing this, Wang Fuchen bared his teeth in fury, his eyes turning red, and roared at Zhou Peigong.

"You bastard, what are you doing?"

Zhou Peigong, however, acted as if nothing had happened. He even wiped the blood off Jia Jie's body before calmly looking at Wang Fuchen.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Of course, it's to save General Wang's life!"

The meat that was almost in his mouth flew away. Wang Fuchen was almost going crazy and directly pulled out the sword hanging on the wall.

"Zhou Peigong, you, a great man of the Han Dynasty, are unwilling to give anything, yet you sabotage my alliance with Wu Sangui, and you still dare to claim you're saving my life!"

"Do you really think my sword is useless?"

Wang Fuchen spoke slowly and deliberately, almost through gritted teeth.

Zhou Peigong, however, remained completely calm. He knew that Wang Fuchen was not cut out to be a leader, and he still took out the same map from the beginning, pointing to the Hexi Corridor and Ningxia.

"If you agree to Wu Sangui's demands today, knowing my Emperor as I do, I will definitely send troops to attack!"

"Do you think Guanzhong is easy to defend and difficult to attack?"

"You don't really think that you, Wang Fuchen, have absolute power in Shaanxi, do you? Do you think Ma Youtian of Ningxia and Zhao Weishang of the Hexi Corridor might be coming to His Majesty's aid?"

Zhou Peigong's words are all gems.

Wang Fuchen was speechless. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that it was indeed the case, especially the Ma family in Ningxia. The family was extremely powerful and had more than 5,000 armored cavalrymen under their control, equipped with a large number of firearms.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhou Peigong immediately stepped forward to appease him.

"Rest assured, my Emperor has grand ambitions. With your abilities in training and commanding troops, Wang Fuchen, what difficulty would there be in securing a hereditary dukedom after unifying the world?"

"Look at those noble families from the Ming Dynasty. As long as they behaved themselves in the early stages, which one of them didn't enjoy a life of ease?"

After Zhou Peigong said that, Wang Fuchen felt much better, and his previous tyrannical ambition was gradually suppressed.

"Thank you so much, Brother Pei!"

"Wang is determined to serve the Han people with utmost loyalty and dedication!"