Chapter 47 of Part One

  Majestic Yuelu Mountain in Changsha. The General Command of the People's Army of the Chinese Empire stands here. Through the majestic camp gate, it is the administrative building of the General Command. A faint yellow light comes out from a room on the third floor. Against the background of this dark night, it looks particularly warm. From here, countless orders and decisions have been issued. All of these are affecting or will affect the direction of the entire empire in the future.

  Zhu Xiao stood at the window, gazing out into the dark night. From the entire town of Rongwan, the distant lights and the boats coming and going on the Xiangjiang River were still bustling about. Zhu Xiao let out a sigh and turned around to face Zhou Lun and Peng Ying, saying: "You two say how we should properly handle the Manchu situation."

  Just as Zhou Lun was about to speak, a knock at the door came from outside. Zhu Xiao looked at Peng Ying and Zhou Lun, then said towards the door, "Come in."

  Chen Jinnan walked in with a guilty look on his face, saw Zhou Lun and Peng Ying also sitting here, was surprised for a moment, and then said: "Commander-in-Chief, I didn't do a good job of protecting you, I request that the Commander-in-Chief's office relieve me of my post as Chief Guard, and please give me disciplinary action at your discretion."

  Just as Zhu Xiao was about to speak, he heard Peng Ying say: "Old Chen, what crime do you have? Not only are you innocent, but you also made great contributions. If it weren't for the assassination attempt on the Commander-in-Chief, I think the soldiers' morale wouldn't be so high. This time, our campaign to attack Baoding and besiege Beijing seems like a sure win, but if the soldiers' morale isn't strong, we'll still suffer some losses. So, I think you've made contributions."

  Zhou Lun also chimed in, "Yes, Old Chen, don't take this matter to heart. As long as we pay close attention to protecting the Commander-in-Chief from now on, that's all that matters. If mistakes occur within our party, we should forgive each other, as long as they don't happen again."

  Zhu Xiao looked at Zhou Lun and Peng Ying, who were exchanging glances with him, then turned to Chen Jinnan, who was waiting for his words. With a serious tone, he said: "Old Chen, I'm ordering you in the name of the Commander-in-Chief." He paused intentionally, looking at Chen Jinnan's expression as if preparing to accept punishment, before continuing: "I order you, in the name of the Commander-in-Chief, to immediately join the current efforts to guard and protect the central leadership and military personnel above the rank of general. If such problems arise again in the future, it will be your fault. This time, I won't blame you; after all, it was my idea to give you a holiday. If you still want to receive punishment, then as Commander-in-Chief, I can only let you do so."

  Chen Jinnan heard Zhu Xiao say this, and with a panicked expression, shook his head: "Commander, you're being too humble. In my life, I've never met anyone who makes me feel as much admiration as you do, except for the former king. The more I follow you, the more I admire you. My only word to describe you now is 'respect'." After finishing speaking, Chen Jinnan said with satisfaction: "Then Commander, I'll go out and work first, you all continue talking."

  Looking at Chen Jinnan closing the door, Zhu Xiao turned around and looked at Zhou Lun and Peng Ying, saying: "Let's continue to discuss how to deal with the Manchu people." Sighing slightly, he said: "After all, aren't the Manchus also descendants of the Yellow Emperor in our hearts? We are fighting them now only because we have no other choice. Our ultimate goal is still to let all the descendants of the Yellow Emperor live a happy life."

  Zhou Lun looked at Zhu Xiao and continued the topic, saying: "Yes. Tibetans, Mongolians, Hui people, Manchu people, Han people. These people are all unified descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors. In our view, there is no difference, but we can't say that. We can only use actions to let them truly recognize that we are doing a great work for the ages."

  Zhu Xiao looked at Peng Ying and said, "Little Ying, sitting there without saying a word, what are you thinking about? Have you found someone you like? Do you want big brother to be your matchmaker?"

  "Go, go, go. Let's talk about the main issue. I think the Manchu people still have a good solution." He said, taking out a document from his briefcase: "Take a look at this. This is something I found in a book I brought with me before." After finishing speaking, he sat down on one side and started drinking tea by himself.

  Zhu Xiao and Zhou Lun exchanged a surprised glance, then picked up the documents on the table and continued reading.

  In July 1861 (Qing Xianfeng eleven years), the Xianfeng Emperor died at the Rehe Summer Resort, and Yicong Prince Zaichun, Zhengqin Prince Duanhua, Minister Suoshun, etc. were called "Zanxiang Politics Wang Dachen", who received the will to assist in government affairs. Soon after, Cixi and Gongqin Wang launched a coup in Beijing, Suoshun was beheaded in Xishi Market, Zaichun and Duanhua were forced to commit suicide at Zongrenfu Hall. Duanhua and Suoshun were brothers, known as "Duan San Suo Liu" by the people of the time, they were the eighth generation grandson of Nurhaci's younger brother Shurhaci.

  There was a Qing dynasty, Shurhaci was unknown, even if people talked about the history of the Qing dynasty, they only knew about the founding emperor, but in fact, Shurhaci was a great figure, he and Nurhaci laid the foundation for the Qing dynasty together. If it is said that he is the second founder of the Qing Empire after the founding emperor, it is not an exaggeration.

  Nurhaci had five brothers, but only three of them were considered to be his biological siblings: his third brother Shurhaci and fourth brother Yarhaci. In 1583, Nurhaci's grandfather and father were mistakenly killed by the Ming army when Nurhaci was 25 years old. Shurhaci was 20 years old at that time, and the brothers became orphans, which was very pitiful. Li Chengliang, the commander of Liaodong Town, thought that Nurhaci's father should not have died, so he allowed Nurhaci to inherit his father's official position as the commander of Jianzhou Left Guard. Later on, however, he did not pay much attention to it. After that, the Jianzhou army rose suddenly, and Nurhaci and his brothers prepared for war and vowed to avenge their father and grandfather. The rise of Jianzhou made the surrounding Jurchen chieftains look at them with admiration, and both the Ming dynasty and Korea knew that there were two "Nu-Su" brothers who were intelligent and good at using troops, with great ambitions. At that time, the Ming dynasty referred to Nurhaci and Shurhaci as Nu'erhachi and Su'erhachi, so they were called "Nu-Su". Later on, Nurhaci was promoted to be a general, and Shurhaci was also granted the title of General by the Ming dynasty. Therefore, within Jianzhou, they were referred to as the "Two Generals". In short, during the first thirty years when Nurhaci founded his empire, it was he and his brother who fought for their kingdom.

  According to the "Qing History Records", on August 19, 1611, Shurhaci died at the age of 48. However, the cause of his death and the funeral rites were not mentioned. At that time, the Ming Dynasty's records stated: "The slave leader Nurhachi was afraid of his brother Shurhaci's strong military power, so he plotted to kill him" (Wang Zaijin's "Three Dynasties Liaoyang Records"); "Nurhachi killed his brother Shurhaci and took over his troops" (Shen Guoyuan's "Huangming Congxin Records"). The Qing people wrote in the "Manchu Old Archives" that Shurhaci's affair began in March 1609, when Nurhachi used the excuse of Shurhaci plotting to leave and establish himself independently as a pretext to kill him, and also killed one of Shurhaci's sons and an official.

  In short, Shurhaci was killed by Nurhaci, which is not a struggle for power. Shurhaci and his brother were both officials of the Ming dynasty in charge of managing Jianzhou Jurchen, and they each commanded their own troops. If Shurhaci had submitted to Nurhaci, there would have been no problem. However, Shurhaci was a stubborn person who refused to submit, and although he was not as strong as his brother, he insisted on being independent and equal. This led to estrangement and conflict between the brothers. Shurhaci decided to leave and establish his own regime, but Nurhaci, a powerful and cunning leader, would not allow a strong enemy to appear by his side. At that time, it was even more difficult for him to achieve his goals, and within Jianzhou, there emerged two factions: one supporting the Ming dynasty led by Shurhaci, and the other opposing the Ming dynasty led by Nurhaci. The Ming dynasty also strongly supported Shurhaci in rebuilding the Right Guard of Jianzhou. This ultimately led to the tragic outcome of fratricide.

  So later Shurhaci's son, Jirhalang was later granted the title of Prince Zheng, and it continued until the end of the Qing dynasty. The prince's title was hereditary and not replaceable, which is commonly known as "Iron Cap Prince". In a certain sense, this can also be said to be a kind of reward for Shurhaci.

  Zhu Xiao and Zhou Lun looked at each other after reading through the materials organized by Peng Ying, and said in unison: "Xiao Ying, you must have your own thoughts, come on, spill the truth. Otherwise, you'll face family discipline."

  "Two bosses, I'm really just organizing these materials and haven't taken any action. Let alone other thoughts."

  Zhu Xiao looked at Peng Ying thoughtfully and said, "It seems that Little Shadow is telling the truth. I think we should continue to surround Beijing for now and stabilize other areas first. As for the Manchu orphans, let's take care of them temporarily for now." He made a killing gesture and continued, "We must find Shunzhi's descendants, if not, we'll create a puppet to stabilize the hearts of other Manchus." After finishing speaking, he looked at Zhou Lun and Peng Ying and asked, "Do you have anything else to add?"

  Peng Ying listened to Zhu Xiao's words and thought seriously for a moment before saying, "I'd like to add something. Beijing is now basically an empty city. We don't need to wait this long just for the sake of what we used to call cultural relics." He walked over to the wall, took down a map that was hanging there, and opened it up, saying, "Take a look, right now in China, we still haven't recovered Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and most of the three provinces in the northeast. According to the information sent back by the Japanese Mingfeng troops, the Japanese government is getting restless again. We don't have time or need to spend more effort here. As for Tibet, it's easy to handle - just appoint some lama as a national protector and leave him in the capital. For Mongolia, we can find some descendant of Shunzhi Emperor to take care of things. As for other places, we need to speed up our pace. And then there's the vast territory of Russia waiting for us to occupy it - do you still have the mood to protect those relics that will be seen by people hundreds of years later? I didn't see anyone talking about protecting them when Li Zicheng and the Qing army entered the capital. You're still stuck in 21st-century thinking." After finishing speaking, Peng Ying sat down with a red face and took a few sips of tea from the teacup on the table.

  Zhou Lun still said indifferently: "A Xiao, I think what Xiao Ying said is reasonable. Although Zheng Chenggong has stabilized the Japanese pirates now, you should also know that the Japanese pirates are all supported by the shogunate. Moreover, it's currently the period of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and in a few years, when they stop fighting, our interests in Asia and the Americas will be even harder to divide. I think domestically we should seize the time as soon as possible."

  Zhu Xiao looked at the two men, thought for a moment, and seemed to have made up his mind. "I disagree with this approach," he said. "No matter what, we've already started, and we can't give up halfway through. That would make us indecisive and untrustworthy. And how would the people of Beijing view us? You mentioned Li Chong and Qing Bing, but they're different from us. They're cold-blooded and won't set fire to the imperial city unless absolutely necessary. But if our cannons start firing, Beijing will be doomed." He took a sip of tea, speaking slowly and calmly. "There are only a few thousand people stationed in Beijing right now. I think we can withdraw the First and Second Armies. The First Army can enter the Northeast region, and the Second Army can gather all the cavalry from the People's Army and enter Mongolia. As for the Third Army, aren't there two armies still in Beijing? Let them take care of capturing the city. We can discuss other matters after we've taken Beijing. This is how it will be decided. You two don't need to argue anymore; just follow orders." He looked at Peng Ying and Zhou Lun.

  The two stood up with their feet together and saluted: "Yes."

  Xue Hai's condition suddenly took a turn for the worse yesterday due to family issues. He was hospitalized last night and has improved slightly today. I'm Xue Hai's friend, and at his request, I'm posting this chapter that he wrote previously. Tomorrow, I'll post another chapter, which is his last stored work! For the next few days, he may need to rest, so on his behalf, I'd like to apologize to everyone!