Chapter 22: Jian Nu Withdraws His Troops

  Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi, who were already frightened out of their wits, hastily crawled to Dorgon's feet, stretched out their hands and tightly grasped Dorgon's legs, wailing loudly: "Save us, Prince Rui save us! We are innocent, we have never betrayed the Qing dynasty! Prince Rui, please understand..."

  "Alright, stop crying." Dorgon frowned and said, "I will investigate this matter clearly."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Zhiruhalang said, displeased. "Prince Rui, are you implying that I'm intentionally slandering them? These three dogs, do they deserve for me to slander them? Hmm?"

  Dorgon said: "The king certainly did not mean this."

  Hao Ge shouted: "What do you mean? You can't be thinking of covering up for these three traitors, are you?"

  Baiyuntou said: "Prince Rui, Kong Youde and the other two are the chief culprits of the Ming army breaking into Shengjing, capturing the emperor, Prince Li and the two princesses. What is your intention in covering up for them?"

  Dorgon's face changed suddenly after hearing this.

  Baiyuntou's words are very vicious. If Dorgon continues to speak for Kong Youde, people will mistakenly think that he is the mastermind behind Kong Youde's three men, and then they will associate Dorgon with wanting to use the Ming army to get rid of Huang Taiji, thereby helping him ascend to the throne of the Qing Empire.

  The old slave, Nurhaci, left a will before his death to let Dorgon succeed, but unfortunately, at that time the power of Huang Taiji was too great, and he forcibly took away the throne that should have belonged to Dorgon. So today's situation is very subtle, and it's easy for people to think that Dorgon wants to take back his own imperial position by supporting Kong Youde and others.

  Once Dorgon is labeled as a regicide, he will be doomed forever. At that time, it's not just that he won't be able to ascend to the throne, but even his current position may not be preserved, and there may even be concerns about his life.

  Dorgon would not put himself in a desperate situation for the sake of three Han bannermen, and immediately changed his tone to say: "Prince Zheng, don't misunderstand, my intention is not to excuse Gong Xian and others, but to think that we should first figure out the process of their private communication with the Ming army, and then behead them without delay."

  "It's as clear as day," Hauge said impatiently. "How could Wang Pu's army have passed through our loose encampment at Songshan without someone secretly helping them? How could the Ming army have taken the heavily fortified city of Shengjing without inside help? And how would Wang Pu have known that Huang Ama had returned to Shengjing if no one had informed him? Not to mention Zheng Qinwang's own eyewitness account from within the enemy camp, isn't that enough?"

  "Come on." Zhiruolang slapped the soft couch and shouted loudly, "Drag these three dog slaves out and chop them off!"

  "Ah!"

  Six Goshha rushed in and dragged Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi away.

  Although Kong Youde and the other two cried until their tears flowed, hugging Dorgon's legs tightly and refusing to let go, Dorgon was not moved at all. After all, Kong Youde and the others were just three insignificant slaves, and Dorgon would not ruin his own great cause for the sake of three slaves.

  Soon, three miserable cries were heard from outside the account, and in less than a moment, three blood-stained human heads were presented into the account.

  Tong Yangxing, Ning Wanwo, Li Yongfang, Fan Wencheng and other Han people hid in the corner, trembling with fear. They knew that Kong Youde's three were wronged. Anyone with a little brain could see that this was just a clumsy anti-espionage plot, exactly like when Huang Taiji used Chongzhen to kill Yuan Chonghuan. But Tong Yangxing and others didn't dare to speak out.

  If they say this is a counter-spy plot, then Zheng's relative king would be a treacherous spy released by the Ming army. Do they dare to say so?

  Although these Han people have entered the banner register, they are still slaves at heart. When it comes to killing slaves, the slave owners will never show mercy.

  Jirhalang waved his hand, indicating that Goshha take down the heads of Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi. He continued to say: "Shengjing was destroyed, the emperor was captured, the empress and the princes and princesses were missing, and most of the old, young, women and children who stayed in Shengjing died. This time, the Qing dynasty can be said to have suffered a great loss!"

  "The worst is that the news of Shengjing's destruction has spread, and more than 700,000 slaves in hundreds of manors around Shengjing have already shown signs of rioting. Once the situation gets out of control, the indigenous tribes along the Heilongjiang River and the Koreans may take advantage of the chaos. Then the tens of thousands of old, weak, women and children we left behind will be doomed to destruction. By then, the Qing Empire will truly be on the brink of collapse."

  "So, I think the three most important things to do now are: first, send elite troops to Liandao Island and take back the Emperor at all costs; second, immediately withdraw the Eight Banners Army from Songshan Mountain and return to Shengjing to stabilize the situation; third... if we can't get the Emperor back or if something unfortunate happens to him, then we must quickly enthrone a new Emperor to take charge of the overall situation."

  The last sentence of Zhiranlang is the most important one.

  In fact, everyone understands that Huang Taiji is definitely not going to be saved. Sending troops to Lianyungang to intercept is just a show. Returning to Shengjing to stabilize the situation and establishing a new emperor is now the top priority.

  Dorgon and Hooge nodded simultaneously: "What Prince Zheng said is extremely correct, let's do it this way."

  Liandong and Haoge both said so, others had no opinion, the withdrawal from Songshan was settled.

  Dorgon felt that giving up Songshan and Jinzhou was a pity, but compared to the impending imperial throne struggle, it was not a big deal. If Jinzhou couldn't be taken this time, they could make a comeback next time, but if the throne was lost, there would never be another chance to take it back.

  Moreover, Shengjing has fallen, the rear nest of the Qing dynasty was stirred up by the Ming army, and the Eight Banners Army had no intention of continuing to confront the Ming army in Songshan and Jinzhou.

  ■■■

  Matsuyama Castle

  Hong Chengchou was sighing against the wall in his headquarters when his trusted house servant, Tang Shijie, suddenly ran in with a joyful expression and exclaimed: "Sir, good news, great news!"

  "Good news?" Hong Chengchou's heart skipped a beat as he hastily asked, "Has the reinforcement army arrived?"

  Tang Shijie shook his head and said, "The reinforcements haven't arrived."

  Hong Chengchou frowned and said: "Since the reinforcements haven't arrived, where is this good news coming from?"

  "Sir, Jian Nu has retreated!"

  "Oh?" Hong Chengchou exclaimed, "Has Jianlu retreated?"

  "Really, sir." As soon as Hong Chengchou's voice fell, General Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guang'en also entered the governor's office, saying loudly, "The Jianzhou army has really retreated."

  Hong Chengchou suspected in his dream, after a while, he waved his hand and shouted: "Go, take a look at the city head."

  Hong Chengchou arrived at the head of Songshan City with Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guangen, where more than 10,000 soldiers inside the city had already rushed to the top of the city wall, cheering. Hong Chengchou leaned against the female wall and looked out, and indeed saw that the Jianluo camp outside the city was completely empty, and the tens of thousands of Jianluo army had withdrawn overnight.

  By that evening, the messenger sent by Zu Dashou, the commander of Jinzhou, also arrived at Songshan, bringing another piece of news that made Hong Chengchou overjoyed: the Jianzhou army outside the city had withdrawn! This made Hong Chengchou almost unable to believe it, and he even began to suspect whether this was a trick by Jianzhou. However, the scouts reported back that they had gone more than 50 li beyond the Daling River and still hadn't seen any sign of Jianzhou's army.

  Hong Chengchou looked at General Bai Guangen with some disbelief and said in a low voice, "So Jianzhou really retreated back to Liaodong?"

  "Hmm." General Bai Guangen nodded heavily and said, "Jian Nu suddenly withdrew his troops, definitely something big has happened."

  "Never mind what happened to Jian Nu for now." Hong Chengchou waved his hand, "Tang Bao, immediately send a Tang Bao to the capital and say that the siege of Jinzhou and Songshan has been lifted without a fight!"

  "Commander." Just as Hong Chengchou's words fell, General Cao Bianjiao suddenly rushed in and reported, "The scouts I sent out unexpectedly caught two Jianzhou spies. After questioning them, it was discovered that something big had indeed happened on the Jianzhou side!"

  Hong Chengchou hastily asked: "What's going on?"

  Cao Bianjiao said: "Those two Jianluo spies said that the commander of Datong, Wang Pu, led over a thousand soldiers and did not actually flee, but secretly bypassed the Jianluo camp and went to Liaodong!"

  "King Pao went to Liaodong?" Hong Chengchou exclaimed, "That's a lone army advancing deep into enemy territory, definitely a case of going but not returning!"

  "On the contrary," said Cao Bianjiao, striking his thigh, "General Wang not only captured the old nest of Jian Nu, Shengjing, but also captured the slave leader Huang Taiji and two princes. I heard that General Wang is now leading the army to escort the captives to retreat in the direction of Lianyun Island."

  "Liányún Island?" Hong Chengchou hastily unfolded the map, furrowed his brow and said, "Isn't Liányún Island the naval base of those three rebels, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi?"

  "Your Excellency, I have some more good news to tell you. The three rebels Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi have been killed by the Jianzhou slaves!"

  "Kill him?" Hong Chengchou exclaimed, "Why?"

  Cao Bianjiao said: "Jian Nu said that Kong Yuede and others are the moles sent by the Wan Sui faction, they helped Wang Zongbing break through Shengjing and capture the slave owner Huantaiji."

  "Is he an undercover agent of the Long Live Faction?" Hong Cheng Chou asked hesitantly, "Impossible?"

  "It's not like that at all, maybe Jian Nu wanted to find a few scapegoats, so he pushed the blame onto them. Who made them slaves anyway?" Cao Bianxiao said, "On the other hand, this Datong General Wang Pu, I heard before that he was a young master, didn't expect him to be so bold and have such a strong sense of justice, truly a hero!"

  "This is what they mean by 'hearing is false, seeing is true.' " Bai Guang'en also sincerely praised, "General Wang's one move to capture the old nest of Jian Nu and capture the slave leader alive. This is a great victory that our Great Ming Dynasty has never had since the Liao affair! Director, please hurry up and report the victory to the capital with an 800-mile urgent message!"

  Hong Chengchou rushed back and forth twice, then suddenly asked: "General Cao, how many points of this matter do you think are believable?"

  Cao Zhen said: "I thought that at least seven parts could be trusted, otherwise why would Jian Nu suddenly withdraw his troops?"

  Hong Chengchou said: "But this has not been verified after all."

  "Your Excellency, I think it would be best to send this uplifting news back to the capital as soon as possible. As for whether it is true or not, Your Excellency can make a special note in the report that this matter has not been finally confirmed and let the imperial court try to verify it through the Korean and Mongolian sides."

  "Good." Hong Chengchou struck his thigh and said, "It shall be done!"