With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Beijing.

At this time, the capital city had been ravaged by war and was no longer prosperous. However, as the political center of the country, it had barely regained some of its vitality after changing hands, but it was completely devoid of the vibrancy of the Ming Dynasty.

Cats and dogs roamed the streets; here, only slave owners and slaves wearing money rat tails were present.

A fast horse galloped through the capital city, trampling a piece of yellow and white paper money mixed with mud and water.

The Imperial Palace.

The atmosphere in the imperial court was heavy at this moment.

Because Prince Hauge, one of the founding princes of the Qing Dynasty, died in prison not long ago, and his burial has only just been completed.

The ten-year-old Shunzhi Emperor, Fulin, sat on the throne in silence.

Although he was young, he understood that after his uncle Hauge's death, he, as the emperor, would have to listen to his uncle Dorgon.

As one of the regents, Dorgon was in high spirits after Hauge's death. Now that he held great power, the court had become his personal domain.

"If there is anything to report, then report it; otherwise, the court may adjourn." The eunuch announced in a shrill voice.

"I have something to report," said Wang Yongji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"According to statistics from the Ministry of Revenue, no fewer than 10,000 Manchu bannermen's retainers committed suicide or fled last year."

After Wang Yongji finished speaking, he withdrew. He was merely throwing out the problem from the Ministry of Revenue; he was not the one who would solve it.

As expected, upon hearing the question, Dorgon, sitting in the superior position, frowned and looked at Ming Andali, the Minister of War.

"The capture of fugitives is the most important task of our Great Qing Dynasty."

"Does anyone have a solution?"

Dorgon's voice echoed in the court, carrying an unapproachable majesty, as if he were the emperor sitting on the throne.

Before Ming Anda could move, Jin Zhijun, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War standing beside him, stepped forward and spoke.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has specifically discussed this matter. The Ministry of War may establish the position of Vice Minister of Arrest and Investigation, specifically to pursue and investigate fugitives."

"Hmm..." Dorgon responded, clearly not satisfied.

Minister of Justice Ren Jun stepped forward and added: "Our dynasty is newly established and must quell the rebellion with severe punishments. We will let those who want to escape flee; our court only needs to block their escape routes."

"No matter where a fugitive flees, he or she will need food and lodging. Therefore, the family that harbors him or she will also be punished. If it is found that someone dares to harbor a fugitive, the person who harbors him or she will be hanged, his or her property confiscated, and his or her family members whipped and reduced to slavery. Neighbors who do not report him or her will also be whipped and fined."

Dorgon's eyes lit up upon hearing this; this law was quite good.

"This method is good."

Upon hearing this, Imperial Censor Li Senxian stood up and vehemently refuted it.

"This law is too harsh and may cause trouble again. The reason why the servants under our command run away is because the master's punishment is too harsh. To solve the problem of runaways, we need to start from the root cause."

"The master of the household should be advised to treat the servants well."

Li Senxian was a Han Chinese, so naturally he had to speak up for the Han Chinese who were slaves.

After entering the Central Plains, the Manchu Eight Banners began to expand their territory by acquiring land.

Many Han Chinese were forced to become slaves of the Manchu bannermen in order to survive.

Later, the land enclosure issue caused unpleasantness among the Eight Banners members themselves. Everyone wanted to acquire a good piece of land, so many of the Eight Banners descendants used the excuse of acquiring "bad land" to want to exchange it for other land.

Those who wanted to change land didn't want to give up their old, undeveloped land, so their territory dwindled.

The Manchu bannermen who had their lands enclosed did not engage in labor; instead, they needed slaves to cultivate the land. As a result, when there were not enough slaves, they began to capture slaves to farm the land.

These bannermen were not required to pay taxes, so the burden of these taxes fell on the common people who were not enslaved.

At this point, the people who wanted to live began to rack their brains. Some could not bear it and committed suicide, some began to run away, while the majority chose to voluntarily give their land to the Manchus, a practice called "submission".

These Manchu Eight Banners people had not yet shed their wild nature and were backward in their thinking. Their minds were full of slave owners' ideas. Whenever they were in a bad mood, they would beat and kill the servants. The servants lived in fear every day. How could they not want to escape?

In the years since the Qing army entered the pass, there have been countless cases of servants escaping.

The imperial court even dispatched troops to capture the fugitives.

Dorgon snorted coldly;

"Are you saying we Manchus are brutal?"

Li Senxian trembled and immediately knelt on the ground, his buttocks sticking up high; "Your Majesty, this servant would never have meant that."

Ming Andali, standing to the side, sneered, "He's nothing but a dog of the Manchus, yet he dares to point fingers."

Li Senxian broke out in a cold sweat and dared not utter another word.

Hong Chengchou and his group of Han officials also lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Imperial Censor Li, I know you mean well, that's not what I meant."

At this moment, Councilor Sony stepped forward to help Li Senxian out of the predicament.

"You only know the hardships of the Han people, but do you know the suffering of the Manchu Eight Banners?"

"Our Manchu Eight Banners have always used the people captured in bloody battles to provide labor such as farming and horse herding."

"Nowadays, the number of people fleeing is increasing day by day, and only one in ten survives. The reason for this is that wicked people help to hide and conceal the escapees."

"Therefore, the legislation must be strict. You say that strict legislation will cause suffering for the Han people, but if the legislation is not strict, those who help fugitives and hide them will have no scruples, and the number of fugitives will increase. Will we Manchus still be able to be driven around then?"

"How will we Manchus survive in this era? Aren't we Manchus suffering?"

This argument was so domineering and unreasonable that Li Senxian had no choice but to repeatedly apologize and retract his previous statement.

Dorgon then spoke up, saying, "The task of apprehending fugitives shall be entrusted to the Ministry of War. A special office shall be established to arrest fugitives."

"The Ministry of Justice has enacted legislation to deter those who harbor criminals from committing crimes again."

"Alright, Imperial Censor Li, please rise. We are of one Manchu and Han ethnicity, let's not spoil the harmony," Dorgon said with a smile, looking at Hong Chengchou and the others.

Hong Chengchou observed his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose.

At this moment, a commotion arose outside the main hall, and a man carrying an urgent report entered the court.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Regent! Long live the Regent!"

"Reporting to the Emperor, an urgent message from Fujian, eight hundred li away."

The guard held the letter high with both hands.

Sony's expression hardened. He personally retrieved the letter, but without opening it, he bypassed Dorgon and handed it directly to Fulin on the throne.

Dorgon frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

Fulin, being very sensible, did not open the letter but looked at Dorgon and handed it to him.

"Please, Regent, review this for me."

"Thank you for your favor, Your Majesty." Dorgon's mood improved, and he took the letter.

Upon opening it, his old face immediately fell.

"Is something bad happening to the Regent?" Fu Lin asked.

Dorgon's face darkened, then he smiled.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry; it is nothing more than a minor ailment."

"Let's adjourn the court today."

The ministers in the imperial court looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, since Dorgon had already spoken, the court session could only be adjourned.

The ministers withdrew, but after all the Han officials had left, all the Manchu officials went to another place to continue the meeting.

At this time, everyone here was Manchu, and everyone was less reserved, chatting with each other, making it very lively.

"What exactly happened to Prince Rui that he had to avoid those Han officials?" Ajige asked, stepping forward.

"Fujian suffered a crushing defeat, and the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, Chen Jin, was killed in battle." Dorgon's voice was calm and icy.

The once bustling room suddenly fell silent.