The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 723: The Qing Dynasty
Since Gao Di took over as the Liaodong Military Commissioner, he immediately transferred Tie Hu and Xing Wei from the Liaohe front line to the rear to sit on the sidelines. Their daily work consisted of drills and land reclamation. In addition, there had been no war for more than a year, so the two of them were extremely idle. In particular, Shi Tou was full of complaints and almost wanted to quit.

So when they received Jia Huan's transfer order, Tie Hu and Xing Wei were overjoyed. They immediately packed their bags, completed the transfer procedures, and then led their respective personal guards into the pass to join their "old leader".

The two entered Shanhaiguan and rode their horses at full speed for a hundred miles until their mounts were exhausted and they stopped to rest. It was the height of summer in June, and the sun was blazing. Everyone was sweating profusely, but their mood was extremely cheerful.

Shi Tou Xingwei gulped down half a sack of water and laughed loudly, "That was great! I haven't felt this good in a long time! Brother Tiger, I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second. It's much better to hang out with Third Master. It's a pity we can't take the three thousand Guan Ning Iron Cavalry that we built with our own hands. They've just gone to Wu Sangui for nothing. And those new flintlock muskets and Hongyi cannons, they were all Third Master's accumulated wealth back then."

Tie Hu sneered dismissively, "Don't be so petty. We can save up our wealth again. With Third Master around, that's better than anything else."

Xing Wei chuckled and said, "That's true. Third Master alone can be as powerful as a million soldiers. That kid Man Gui turned misfortune into good fortune. He was dismissed after suffering a defeat, but in the end, he was fortunate enough to follow Third Master to Hami. He really got lucky."

After resting for half an hour, and once their mounts had eaten and drunk their fill, Tiehu and Xingwei immediately set off again.

…………

In Guangning City on the Liaohe River front, Wu Sangui, the Liaodong General, had just received news that Tiehu and Xingwei had been transferred. He slapped his thigh and lamented the loss, cursing Gao Di for being so foolish as to allow Jia Huan to transfer them.

Wu Sangui originally served under Jia Huan before rising to prominence, but he was not considered one of Jia Huan's direct subordinates. Moreover, he was like Zhang Pu, both unwilling to be subordinate to others, and even more ambitious than Zhang Pu.

Originally, Wu Sangui and Tiehu were both assistant generals. After Gao Di took over as the Liaodong military commissioner, Tiehu and Xing Wei were immediately marginalized, while Wu Sangui was highly valued by Gao Di and promoted to Liaodong commander-in-chief, becoming one of the core generals.

Although Wu Sangui was pleased with himself, he knew the abilities of Tiehu and Xingwei well, especially Tiehu, who was highly skilled in martial arts, brave and unmatched in the army, and bold yet meticulous, whose abilities were no less than his own.

Wu Sangui originally planned to leave Tiehu and Xingwei out of the picture for a few years, and wait until Jia Huan's influence in the Liaodong army diminished before trying to win them over and make them work for him.

However, Wu Sangui miscalculated. Jia Huan not only did not fall into depravity, but also made a great commotion in Hami, expanding the territory, defeating Turpan, and even being granted the title of Earl of Dingyuan. He was truly the envy of others, and no one could argue with that!
Now that Jia Huan has been promoted to Governor-General of Shaanxi, he has transferred Tie Hu and Xing Wei away with a single order. With the help of these two formidable generals, he will be even more powerful.

To be honest, Wu Sangui preferred to leave Tiehu and Xing Weiqiang in Liaodong to sit on the sidelines rather than have them transferred away by Jia Huan. This wasn't entirely out of jealousy, but because he had already sensed the approaching war.

Over the past year, Huang Taiji has swept across southern Mongolia, subdued the Tatar tribes, and secured his Khanate. The next step will most likely be to take action against the Great Jin Dynasty. At that time, the pressure on the Liaoxi defense line will inevitably increase, and Tiehu and Xingwei will serve as cannon fodder in the charge.

It's a pity that Gao Di and Zhang Pu, those two pedantic and short-sighted scholars, let Tie Hu and Xing Wei go. But what's done is done, and the men are gone. Even if Wu Sangui was unhappy, there was nothing he could do.

Just as Wu Sangui was feeling frustrated because Tie Xing and his two companions had been transferred away by Jia Huan, a delegation sent by Huang Taiji crossed the Liao River and arrived at the city of Guangning.

Wu Sangui hurriedly went out of the city to greet them, but when he saw the luxurious scale of the delegation, his heart skipped a beat.

Since the two countries signed the peace treaty, they have regularly sent delegations to visit and exchange ideas. However, the delegation sent by Huang Taiji this time was clearly different from the previous ones. Not only were there many people, but the procession was also very grand. Even the flags were changed. The original "Golden" Khan flag was replaced with the "Qing" dragon flag, which was embroidered with a majestic five-clawed blue dragon. In front of the dragon's head was a dazzling red sun, and the entire dragon flag was golden yellow.

As the saying goes, only the Son of Heaven can use the dragon flag, especially a yellow one. There can only be one Son of Heaven in this world, and that is the Son of Heaven of the Great Jin Dynasty in the Central Plains. What does Huang Taiji mean by this? Could it be that he also wants to become emperor?

With a grim face, Wu Sangui questioned the envoy, "What is the meaning of this, Your Excellency?"

The envoy from Huang Taiji seemed to be there to stir up trouble. He was so arrogant that he looked down on everyone and said with a smug smile, "I am here on the orders of my emperor to deliver a letter of state to your emperor. On the twelfth of next month, my emperor will ascend the throne at the southern suburbs of Shengjing, and will be honored with the title 'Kuanwen Rensheng Emperor'. He will establish the Qing Dynasty and change the era name to Chongde. I would like to invite your emperor to attend the ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Wu Sangui's soldiers were in an uproar, filled with righteous indignation, and some even cursed him.

This is outrageous! Huang Taiji dared to ascend the throne and even invited the Emperor of Jin to attend the ceremony. This is clearly a blatant provocation.

As the saying goes, there can be no two suns in the sky and no two rulers in a country. Although the two countries were not subordinate to each other, the Central Plains dynasty has always regarded itself as the superior nation. The surrounding countries could at most be called kings or khans. Huang Taiji actually defied the world and ascended the throne as emperor. Isn't this just making trouble for the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty?
The key point is that Liaodong was once part of the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty. Nurhaci was a subject of the Great Jin Emperor. The Jurchens were like lackeys, yet now they actually wanted to be on equal footing with the Great Jin Emperor. This was simply going against the natural order. This was intolerable!
Since the great victory at Ningyuan under Jia Huan's leadership two years ago, in which Nurhaci was "killed," the soldiers of Liaodong had overcome their fear of the Jurchens and regained their morale and confidence. Therefore, they were not intimidated at all by the provocation of Huang Taiji's envoy. They criticized and cursed him, and some even suggested detaining the delegation and killing the envoy to give Huang Taiji a warning.

Seeing the surging crowd, the envoy finally lost his nerve. He abandoned his arrogant demeanor, forced himself to remain calm, and handed the letter of state to Wu Sangui, saying, "I have delivered His Majesty's letter of state. As for whether your emperor will attend the ceremony, that is entirely up to you. Farewell!"

"Bah! What right do these Jurchen traitors have to call themselves emperor? Don't run away! Leave your head behind!" A hot-tempered general drew his sword and was about to step forward to kill.

Wu Sangui quickly stopped him. Although he was also very angry, killing the other party's envoy would be tantamount to breaking the treaty and would inevitably provoke a war between the two countries. If the court were to hold him accountable, he, as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, would certainly bear the blame for "starting a border conflict without authorization." So he decided to bear it for now and report the matter to the central government for the emperor to decide.

Thus, under Wu Sangui's control, the enraged soldiers could only watch helplessly as the Jin delegation crossed the river and left—no, now it should be called "Great Qing," as Huang Taiji would ascend the throne next month, changing the country's name to Great Qing. After seeing the Qing delegation off, Wu Sangui immediately sent a messenger back to Shanhaiguan. Upon hearing the report, Gao Di, the Liaodong military commissioner, and Zhang Pu, the supervising officer, were both shocked and furious. What a wolfish and ambitious Huang Taiji! Less than two years of peace and quiet, and he's already starting trouble again—this is a prelude to tearing up the peace treaty!

Gao Di and Zhang Pu dared not delay and immediately sent Huang Taiji's letter of state along with his memorial to the throne to the capital by express courier. As soon as the news spread, it caused an uproar in the court. It is said that Emperor Qiansheng tore up Huang Taiji's letter of state on the spot and cursed: "How dare the Jurchen traitors call themselves emperor? They are like monkeys wearing crowns, making a laughing stock of themselves!"

However, despite his anger, the Great Jin Dynasty was in complete chaos and could barely take care of itself. Even if Huang Taiji wanted to ascend the throne, Emperor Qiansheng could do nothing about it and still had to guard against Huang Taiji taking advantage of the situation to attack. Alas, how pathetic!

…………

In Shengjing, also known as Shenyang, Huang Taiji received the envoy who had returned from Guangning City. After hearing the envoy's report, he couldn't help but smile wryly, as the reaction of the Great Jin Dynasty was exactly what he had expected.

It must be said that Huang Taiji was indeed a great ruler, no less capable than his father Nurhaci. When he ascended to the throne, the Jin dynasty had just suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Ningyuan, losing nearly 80,000 troops and severely weakening its strength. However, at this critical moment, Huang Taiji remained calm and decisively concealed Nurhaci's death, signing a peace treaty with the Jin dynasty without announcing the passing of Nurhaci, thus gaining a precious respite.

During this year and a half, Huang Taiji not only secured his position as Khan but also conquered Southern Mongolia, establishing his supreme authority within the country. He also broke Nurhaci's will that "eight great princes would jointly govern the country," thus achieving absolute power.

Therefore, Huang Taiji was not only outstanding in military talent, but also in political skill, managing to subdue his unruly brothers and nephews who held military power.

Huang Taiji had long harbored ambitions to conquer the Central Plains. His temporary peace with the Jin Dynasty was merely a delaying tactic. Now that he had secured his position as Khan and was emboldened by his conquest of Southern Mongolia, he finally turned his aggressive gaze back to the Jin Dynasty.

Now, rebel armies are rising up all over the country, the government is corrupt, and even the imperial tombs in Taiyuan have been dug up by rebels. This is a golden opportunity. How could the brilliant and ambitious Huang Taiji miss such an opportunity?

Unlike his father Nurhaci, Huang Taiji was fond of reading and respected scholars. As a result, he had many Han Chinese advisors who came to his aid, such as Bao Chengxian, Ning Wanwo, Fan Wencheng, and Luo Xiujin.

These people actively advised Huang Taiji, and their contributions were indispensable to his rapid consolidation of the Khanate. For example, the conflict between the Manchus and Han Chinese within the Jin Dynasty was extremely severe. The Manchus treated the Han Chinese in the occupied territories with extreme cruelty, oppressing them like slaves and even killing them at will. As a result, the Han Chinese frequently rose up in rebellion. After Huang Taiji ascended to the throne, he immediately set about resolving this situation. He explicitly prohibited masters from killing slaves and significantly improved the treatment of the Han Chinese, implementing Manchu-Han integration, which greatly alleviated the internal conflicts.

For this reason, the Han people in the Jin Dynasty were very grateful for Huang Taiji's kindness, and even more so than the Manchus. They actively engaged in production, offered suggestions and strategies, and greatly improved the Jin Dynasty's national strength and technology in a short period of time.

Less than two years after Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he achieved great success in both civil administration and military affairs. As a result, his Han Chinese advisors urged him to become emperor. After Huang Taiji staged a show of "three refusals and three concessions," he finally "reluctantly" agreed to ascend the throne.

The reason for choosing the name of the country as the Great Qing was naturally the idea of ​​the Han Chinese strategists. According to the theory of the Five Elements, the Great Jin was associated with the element of fire, and water overcomes fire, so the country was named "Qing". In the end, the Great Qing would surely replace the Great Jin and take control of the Central Plains.

Huang Taiji deliberately sent an envoy to the Great Jin Dynasty to invite the emperor of the Great Jin to attend his coronation ceremony. His purpose was naturally to provoke the emperor, ministers and soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty. Otherwise, how could he have an excuse to break the treaty?

Huang Taiji had already decided that the Emperor of Jin would not attend his coronation ceremony, and probably wouldn't even send a congratulatory delegation. He would then use Jin's disrespect and lack of courtesy as a pretext to launch an attack on Jin. According to the envoy's report, everything was exactly as Huang Taiji had predicted. The soldiers of Jin were furious at his ascension to the throne, and the fire seemed to have been successfully ignited.

Of course, Huang Taiji was in no hurry to send troops. Since the Great Jin Dynasty was currently in complete chaos, he figured he might as well let it remain so. He could wait until the Great Jin's strength was nearly exhausted before making his move. Currently, there was still Korea to the south that hadn't been dealt with. Korea was the Great Jin's most loyal ally. Once Korea was dealt with, and there were no more worries about its rear, then he could unleash his full power against the Great Jin.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. Meanwhile, undercurrents were surging in the northeast of the Great Jin Dynasty, and peasant uprisings were still raging within the country, making the situation increasingly precarious.

After assuming the post of Governor-General of Shaanxi, Jia Huan began to mobilize troops and generals. He first drew elite soldiers from various garrisons in Shaanxi, and then requested grain, weapons and horses from the court. The court generally met Jia Huan's requests.

On this day, the supervising officer Duan Yong finally arrived in Ganzhou with Baochai, Daiyu, and the other ladies. They had not seen each other for nearly two months and were very worried about each other. Baochai and Daiyu both wished they could see Jia Huan immediately to relieve their longing.

Duan Yong was also very sensible and didn't act as a third wheel (mainly because he was tired from traveling for days). He only exchanged pleasantries with Jia Huan for a while before returning to his lodgings to rest, leaving the time for Jia Huan and the two women, Daiyu and Baochai, to spend together.

However, Baochai and Daiyu only stayed in Ganzhou for three days before Duan Yong urged Jia Huan to send them to the capital. This was Emperor Qiansheng's decree, and as the military supervisor, he naturally had to carry it out resolutely.

Jia Huan had no choice but to arrange for Lu Xiangjin to lead 500 elite cavalry to escort the women, including Daiyu and Baochai, to the capital. However, with rebel armies everywhere, the road back to the capital was fraught with danger, so they had to be cautious.

Early in the morning, the carriages of Baochai and Daiyu drove away from Ganzhou City. Baochai, who was always calm and reserved, was relatively well, and her eyes were only moist when they parted. However, Lin Daiyu had already soaked several handkerchiefs with tears, and her clothes were also wet.

Jia Huan coaxed her gently for a long time and promised to return to the capital before the end of the year, which finally persuaded Lin Daiyu to stay.

Xue Baochai gave Jia Huan some advice before waving goodbye with tears in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)