Ch 18: Tianbao 17
Dong dong dong…
The ninth day of the eighth month, in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen.
In the middle of the night, the Imperial Palace in Shengjing City suddenly sounded the bell. Officials’ mansions in the city lit up one after another. Everyone quickly put on their court attire and rushed to the palace. Judging by the sound of the bell, the Emperor must have passed away. The Great Qing court is about to change drastically.
At this time, the Su Prince’s Mansion was brightly lit. Hauge immediately had someone notify Aobai to take over the city defense of Shengjing City. At the same time, he had people notify Turg, Sony, Tula, Xihan, Gong Adai, Tan Tai, and Tazhan, and other Ministers to meet at the palace gate. Then he quickly went towards the Imperial Palace.
Those loyal to Dorgon were anxious and uneasy at this moment. As for those Ming Dynasty generals who had surrendered to the Great Qing, they were even more confused about the future.
Inside the Imperial Palace, Bumu Butai was also anxious and uneasy. The Emperor was fine in the evening, but who knew he would suddenly die in the middle of the night. The Emperor’s sudden death made her feel lost. Her son, Fulin, was only six years old, and she didn’t know what to do in the future. She thought of her younger brother-in-law, Dorgon. He had always had designs on her, and now that the Emperor had passed away, it would be good if he could take care of her and her son. But then she remembered that he had been on an expedition for months. He wasn’t in Shengjing City right now. Even if he had many ideas, there was nothing he could do.
In a short while, all the Imperial Clan members and civil and military officials came to kneel outside the sleeping quarters of Hong Taiji.
Hauge and the other Princes entered the sleeping quarters and saw that Hong Taiji had passed away, and they wept uncontrollably.
However, things became troublesome afterwards. Hong Taiji did not leave an imperial edict before his death. Although his health had indeed deteriorated day by day, no one dared to mention establishing an heir. Now that he had passed away so suddenly, each Prince had his own ideas. However, soon the ideas of the other princes were extinguished.
Hong Taiji ruled the Qing court for many years. Through his series of reforms, the national strength grew stronger. At the same time, he also learned a lot of Confucianism in some cultures and systems.
For example, in terms of the heir to the throne, it emphasizes succession by primogeniture. In this aspect, Hauge is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. Even according to the old customs of the Great Qing, speaking of strength, Hauge also possesses the military strength of the Bordered Yellow Banner and the Bordered Blue Banner.
None of the other princes could compare to Hauge, and many Qing officials also supported Hauge.
Seeing this, those who supported Dorgon became anxious. Someone suggested inviting Prince Rui back to discuss together. Before this person finished speaking, Aobai beheaded him with a single stroke. No one spoke. At this moment, it was clear that Hauge was in control of the situation.
Besides, you Dorgon, are only the Emperor’s younger brother, not his son. The throne definitely shouldn’t go to you. Just now, everyone also discovered that Dorgon must have coveted the throne.
At this awkward moment, several ministers from the Plain Yellow Banner stood up and said that the heir must be the offspring of Hong Taiji.
Daishan also stated that the two Red Banners supported Hauge. Daishan was Hong Taiji’s second elder brother and held a high position in the Imperial Clan. He himself was of advanced age and had no desire for the throne. Now that Hong Taiji had just died, the court situation was unstable. If they could not quickly determine the next emperor and let them fight for it, it would harm the national fortune.
Fortunately, Dorgon was not there, otherwise, this matter would have been difficult to solve. Thus, many ministers requested Hauge to succeed as the Emperor of the Great Qing, and Hauge, following the Han Chinese custom, declined three times before accepting.
Half a month later, when Dorgon received news from Shengjing, Hauge had already become Emperor, and everything had become a fait accompli.
After reading the letter, Dorgon drew his waist knife and slashed at everything in the tent. Ajige quickly came to stop him. After a while, Dorgon’s anger subsided. Ajige also learned of the news from Shengjing. He was both angry and helpless. But now there was nothing he could do to change it, so he had to take care of the present.
Thinking back to half a month ago, when they were preparing to besiege the city, the guy who called himself Cao Bianbiao, the younger brother of Cao Bianjiao, was on the city wall. In front of 100,000 of them, he personally beheaded his brother Dodo’s head and hung it on the city wall.
Afterwards, they launched a frantic attack for two days and nights, suffering nearly 10,000 casualties, but still failed to capture the city.
The two brothers could only rely on their troops now. If they lost many soldiers, Hauge would definitely not let them off.
However, after fighting under the Hanseong city walls for half a month, there was still no progress. Although they had robbed many wealthy landlords’ houses nearby, they barely maintained the supply of grain and forage in the army. They thought that after Kong Youde’s firearms arrived, they would be able to quickly enter the city. Unexpectedly, the enemy’s cannons were even more powerful.
The enemy’s weapons and equipment did not include Red Cannons that could shoot several kilometers away, but they were equipped with cannons of astonishing power that could explode instantly. After Kong Youde commanded his powerful artillery units to launch round after round of fierce bombardment, his huge army, like a surging tide, launched a furious offensive towards the city walls.
However, when this army approached the city walls to within only one or two hundred meters, something unexpected happened—the sound of deafening cannons suddenly came from every corner of the city walls! These cannons did not have a long range, but they had an extremely terrifying characteristic: the moment the cannonballs landed, they would explode violently without warning.
Each violent explosion, its shockwave and shrapnel, were like a devil’s bloody mouth, mercilessly devouring the people and horses within a radius of tens of meters. In an instant, the originally orderly charging formation was turned upside down, soldiers were blown into the air, some were even directly blown into the air; warhorses were frightened and screamed, running wildly, causing the entire battlefield to fall into chaos and bloodshed.
The figures on the city wall flickered in the firelight. They held flintlock guns, nervously watching the Qing army below, their fingers tightly gripping the triggers, constantly shooting.
Below the city, the Qing army surged forward like a tide, their battle cries shook the heavens, and their momentum was fierce. However, the musketeers on the city wall were not afraid. They calmly loaded ammunition, then aimed and shot. Bullet after bullet whizzed towards the Qing army, and the Qing soldiers who were hit screamed and fell to the ground, their blood staining the earth red.
The Qing army’s attacks were repeatedly blocked, and they could not break through the defense line of the city walls. Whenever they were about to attack the city walls, a large number of Thunderclap Grenades would be thrown down from the city walls. When these Thunderclap Grenades exploded, they made a huge sound, raising a cloud of dust and firelight, and countless Qing soldiers were engulfed in them and blown to pieces.
On the battlefield, smoke filled the air, and the sounds of battle cries, gunfire, and explosions intertwined, forming a shocking scene. The brave resistance of the musketeers and the tenacious attacks of the Qing army made the battle extremely fierce.
After half a month of fighting, in the face of such firepower, apart from leaving thousands of corpses outside the city, there was no effect. Now the soldiers below were afraid, and even with the disciplinary squads, they dared not charge forward.
After Dorgon, Ajige, Kong Youde, and a group of generals discussed, they decided to remain motionless. They planned to first explain the situation to the court, and before finding a way to suppress the other side’s cannons, they would first cease fire with the other side. Everyone agreed to this plan. No one wanted to lose their troops here.
The next day, Haidongqing flew to the Shengjing Imperial Palace with Dorgon’s letter.
After Hauge had Daishan and others read Dorgon’s letter, everyone’s faces turned solemn. They all understood that the Tianbao Army they encountered this time was not an ordinary enemy.
Daishan secretly pondered: “In recent years, the rear has been managed so smoothly, but now this Tianbao Army has emerged, which is really a headache.” He couldn’t help but recall the scene of Jirgalang’s failed conquest, and he felt worried about the prospect of this war.
Hauge secretly muttered in his heart: “This Dorgon, is he really deliberately unwilling to fight? Or does he have other plans?” He became suspicious of Dorgon’s motives, feeling that things might not be that simple.
The others also calculated in their hearts. Some worried that the war would bring greater pressure to the rear, while others were afraid of the Tianbao Army’s strength. They all knew that this war could have a significant impact on their status and interests.
In this silence, everyone’s hearts were filled with conflict and anxiety. They didn’t know how to deal with the suddenly appeared Tianbao Army.
Upon reaching this point, everyone unanimously turned their gazes towards Hauge, and they said, “Your Majesty, now that Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, the Ming court will surely not be able to contain itself and will become restless. Our Great Qing’s greatest enemy has always been the Great Ming. As for that Tianbao Army, they are just small fry and cannot pose a real threat. Your Majesty should focus all your energy on conquering the Great Ming! According to reports from our scouts, Li Zicheng’s army is now engaged in a decisive battle with Sun Chuanting’s troops! If the peasant army can win, the Great Ming Dynasty will probably collapse like a crumbling building, and may be destroyed at any time. In that case, wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity for our Great Qing to enter the Central Plains? As for the Tianbao Army and the Kingdom of Korea, we can temporarily ignore them. After we successfully enter the Central Plains, it will be very easy to take care of them.”
After listening to these words, Hauge secretly pondered for a while and thought they made sense. He nodded slightly, indicating his agreement with what everyone said, and then issued an edict, ordering Dorgon, Ajige, and Kong Youde and other generals to lead their armies to Jinzhou and wait for the opportunity to set out.
Dorgon and others also breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the imperial edict. For a time, military orders were like mountains, and the soldiers, after receiving the order, did not dare to be negligent, and quickly prepared their belongings, and marched towards Jinzhou in a mighty manner.
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