Chapter 20: The Counter-Intelligence Plan

  It was night, in Liaoyang.

  Wang Pu led more than 800 households of soldiers and civilians to camp here.

  Liaoyang is located over a hundred miles south of Shengjing, and decades ago it was the garrison town of the Ming dynasty's Liaodong Garrison. At its peak, there were hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese living in the city. Later, with the rise of the Jurchen people, the Han Chinese in Liaodong were either killed or fled, and Liaoyang quickly declined. After Nurhaci moved his capital to Shengjing, Liaoyang was completely abandoned and is now a desolate ruin where wild animals roam.

  Wang Pu gazed at the overgrown wild hemp outside the tent, and sighed: "More than 20 years ago, this Liaoyang was a prosperous big city, unfortunately it was destroyed by the Jurchen slaves, alas."

  Zhen Youcai's face revealed a rare sorrowful expression, and he said in a low voice: "Yes, twenty years ago after the fall of Jianzhou City, there were tens of thousands of civilians who hanged themselves to death. The beams of every household were filled with corpses, and even the branches of trees outside the city were filled with dead people. That scene was truly miserable. Now that I think about it, it feels like it happened yesterday."

  Zhen Youcai suddenly burst into tears: "The parents of this humble person also died by hanging themselves that day."

  Wang Pu patted Zhen Youcai's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Youcai, ask the head of the troops to get some offerings, and take a jug of wine to pay respects to your parents. After returning to Guan Nei, who knows when we can come back to Liaodong again."

  "Ah."

  Zhen Youcai wiped away her tears and left with a dejected look.

  Wang Pu also had a scar-faced knife bring a dozen or so family members to follow, not because he was afraid that Zhen Youcai would run away. In Wang Pu's view, it was understandable for Zhen Youcai to be greedy and afraid of death, but he didn't stoop to the level of being a slave in the Great Ming Dynasty, instead running to become a slave in Jianzhou. Moreover, this time Jianzhou's Shengjing had been destroyed, and Zhen Youcai had made great contributions, so he absolutely wouldn't dare run back to serve as a slave again.

  With this skill, Xiao Qi has already had Huang Taiji carried into Wang Pu's tent.

  At this time, Huang Taiji was really miserable. His hands and feet were all tied up, and because he was worried that he would bite his tongue to commit suicide, a rag was stuffed into his mouth. Because Huang Taiji's body was obese and weighed over 300 catties, it was difficult to carry him, so Xiao Qi simply let two servants use a pole to lift Huang Taiji like a pig and carry him into the tent.

  After being jolted for a whole day, Huang Taiji's complexion was not good.

  Wang Pu called Xiao Qi to his side and whispered something in his ear. Xiao Qi nodded and led the way, only then did Wang Pu allow the attendants to help Huang Taiji sit up again, and he also removed the wad of cloth that had been stuffed into his mouth. After catching his breath for a moment, Huang Taiji said to Wang Pu: "Wang Pu, I want to see Empress Borjigit."

  Let Huang Taiji say that, Wang Pu really wants to know if Haierzhai, who was born with a flirtatious bone, is dead or alive now?

  Wang Pu immediately sent someone to summon Li Changfu to his tent, and Li Changfu and his grandson had been following the army since they showed their skills at Zhang Yongbao's fortress, and now they had become military doctors.

  "Li Lao Die," Wang Pu asked, "Is that Jian Nu woman dead yet?"

  Huang Taiji couldn't help but ask: "Is it Empress Chong? How is she now?"

  "No, she's fine." Li Lao said with a scratch of his head, "I was just about to report this to you, General. It's really strange, that slave woman seemed like she was at death's door, but after being jostled around on horseback for half a day, she actually came back to life. Her breathing is smooth and her face has some color again, the illness seems to have improved by more than half."

  "Could it be an optical illusion?"

  The emperor let out a sigh of relief and whispered to himself: "It's all right, as long as the empress is fine, I can rest assured."

  "It won't be," said Old Man Li, shaking his head. "I've already taken her pulse, it's definitely not a rebound."

  "What's going on?"

  "The old man guessed that the slave woman was probably due to excessive sorrow leading to qi stagnation, and after a whole day of bumps on horseback, not only did she not die, but also unexpectedly dissipated the stagnant qi in her chest, so the illness improved by more than half."

  "It turned out to be the case." Wang Pu nodded and said, "Alright, Old Man Li, you can go down first. The wounded soldiers in the army still need your care."

  "General, what are you saying?" Li Lao Die hastily said, "This is what I should be doing."

  After Li Lao Die left, Wang Pu said to Huang Taiji: "Huang Taiji, you should feel at ease now?"

  The Emperor said: "I want to see Empress Chunyi."

  "It's not the right time yet." Wang Pu shook his head and said, "Hailanzhu's condition has just improved a bit. If she sees you and gets excited, her condition will relapse, what can we do?"

  "This is indeed." Huang Taiji nodded in agreement, "It was I who was remiss."

  Wang Bodao said: "Huang Taiji, I heard you like reading 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"

  "Not bad." Huang Taiji nodded, "The culture of you Han people is indeed profound and extensive, broad and subtle. It's just a pity that the rulers of your Ming dynasty don't know how to make good use of it, only knowing how to form cliques and oppress others, recklessly exacting taxes and tributes, turning the good land into a dark and gloomy place where people can't even survive. My Qing dynasty taking over from the Ming can be said to be in accordance with heaven's will and in line with the hearts of the people."

  "You, Wu Sangui, are also a good general. If you can abandon the darkness and surrender to the great Qing, I will grant you the title of King of Jingnan!"

  "King of Pacifying the South?" Wang Pu burst out laughing and said, "Haha, interesting."

  The Emperor Taizong said solemnly: "You must not speak lightly, I am being serious."

  "Are you kidding me?" Wang Pu said calmly, "Huang Taiji, you are no longer a slave leader now, you are a prisoner of the Ming army! Don't say such nonsense. General asked if you like 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', nothing else, just heard that you once got inspiration from Zhou Yu's borrowing knife to kill Cai Mao and Zhang Yun in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and used the counter-espionage plan to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan. Today, General also wants to use a counter-espionage plan, want to borrow your hand to transfer the 8,000 cavalry of the Bordered White Banner, and then kill a few Han traitors."

  It is hard to say whether what Huang Taiji did to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan was true or false, but this book says so, let's just take it as true and not delve into it deeply.

  "Dispatch eight thousand iron cavalry?" Huang Taiji sneered, "Wang Pu, you're dreaming. From Liaodong to Guannei, there are only two routes, either by land or sea. Now both routes are impassable for you. If you think you can take me as a hostage, then you're greatly mistaken. If you know what's good for you, surrender to the Qing dynasty and I'll still be able to ensure your life of wealth and glory."

  "Heh heh, just wait and see if you're dreaming." Wang Pu said as he stuffed the rag back into Huang Taiji's mouth, then pointed to the outside of the tent and whispered, "Do you know who is being held in the next tent? It's Jirgalang."

  The emperor let out a hum from his nostrils, unmoved.

  Wang Pu smiled and suddenly raised his voice, saying: "Huang Taiji, you must be very curious why the army led by this general can sneak past the Jianzhou barracks of the Nurhaci without being detected, and why it can easily take down the city of Shengjing. Today, I will tell you the truth, there are traitors from our Great Ming among your Jianzhou people!"

  Huang Taiji obviously thought of something and seemed to want to say something, but unfortunately his mouth was blocked and he couldn't say anything.

  Wang Pu smiled and said loudly, "You must be very curious about who these internal responders are, right? Anyway, you're going to die soon, so General Wang will tell you the truth today. These internal responders are none other than Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi! You thought they were really surrendering, but no, they were fake surrenders, following the sacred decree of our great emperor to become internal responders! My army sneaked through their defense zones, and the city gate of Shenyang was secretly opened by their family slaves from the inside. And the news about you outside Shenyang City was also reported to General Wang by their fast horses. Otherwise, General Wang wouldn't have caught you, haha..."

  "Hmm...Hmm...Hmm..."

  Huang Taiji desperately wanted to speak, but could only make a few humming noises from his nostrils.

  Wang Pu continued, "Didn't you just say that even with wings, General Ben and his troops couldn't fly? Now I can tell you, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi have already arranged for ships on Lianyungang Island. As soon as General Ben's troops arrive, they will set sail immediately and return to Dengzhou by sea."

  "Don't think that the 8,000 cavalrymen you've summoned can stop me. Tomorrow, I'll arrange for a decoy force to loudly march towards Korea, while I lead my army in a secret nighttime advance southwards. By the time your 8,000 cavalrymen arrive in Korea, I will have already set sail from Lianyun Island, hahaha..."

  The emperor's face changed greatly, and he finally knew Wang Pu's sinister intentions.

  Wang Pu deliberately wanted to let Jierhalang hear this, and then make a mistake to let Jierhalang escape, taking Wang Pu's words to the Songshan camp. Shengjing was destroyed, Huang Taiji was captured, and with Jierhalang hearing the "truth" from the enemy camp, those princes and nobles would likely kill Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi in anger.

  There are also five thousand iron knights of the Multi-ethnic group, after hearing the "news" from Zhirhalang, eight or nine out of ten will chase to Lianyun Island, but they will not pay attention to the Ming army who is advancing to Korea with great fanfare. In this way, Wang Pu's Ming army can enter the Korean border smoothly. Although Korea is now a vassal state of the Qing dynasty, it has always been inclined towards the Ming dynasty in its heart. When Wang Pu's army enters Korea, it will definitely receive courtesy from the King of Korea, and the Ming army will be able to return to the Ming dynasty smoothly by boarding ships at Incheon Port.

  The Emperor Taizong of Tang had to admit that Wang Pu's counter-espionage plot was extremely vicious.

  Emperor Taizong was well aware that after his own downfall, the two people who would take over the power of the Qing dynasty would be Haoge and Dorgon. Although Haoge was brave and good at fighting, he didn't have much brains and wouldn't be able to see through Wang Pu's counter-plot. Dorgon had both bravery and strategy, but being young and vigorous, he might not necessarily be able to see through the conspiracy either. Fan Wencheng and Ning Wan I might be able to see through it, but they were Han people and couldn't help but worry that speaking out would not only fail to clear their names but also bring about a disaster that would cost them their lives. In such circumstances, they wouldn't dare to come forward and expose the truth.

  Moreover, Huang Taiji also thought of an even more frightening point. Once the news of his capture was transmitted to the Songshan camp, the good situation of the Qing army in Songshan would be completely ruined!

  Due to the vacancy of the throne, a fierce power struggle will inevitably occur within the Qing dynasty. Under such circumstances, the Eight Banners Army can no longer continue to confront the Ming army on the line of Songshan and Jinzhou. Once the Eight Banners Army withdraws from Songshan and Jinzhou, the Ming army will gain a precious opportunity to breathe again and re-operate the Ningjin defense line outside the pass.

  ;