Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 499 Is the situation so tense?
It has to be said that Dorgon had a deep understanding of people's hearts.

He had only met Jiang Zhisheng once when he came to Beijing, but in this short period of time he grasped what the other person was thinking.

When the critical moment came, this thought in his mind turned into Jiang Ge's biggest flaw, and helped the Qing court eliminate the biggest unstable factor at the moment.

Of course, getting rid of Jiang Ge is only the first step. It will take more work to firmly grasp the Datong border army.

In essence, whether it is Jiang Ge, the general, or Dorgon, the prince, they are just representatives of the interests of their small groups.

Although they seem to have the final say in most cases, in fact, those decisions are made after carefully weighing the interests of all parties, and rarely can they make decisions based solely on their own preferences.

Just like Dorgon.

Later generations said that he gave up the throne that was within his grasp because he had feelings for Fulin's mother, and that he didn't have such thoughts because he had no children.

But he first fought with Hauge almost to the death, and then raised his title from Regent, Uncle Regent, Imperial Uncle Regent, all the way to Imperial Father Regent.

If Dorgon, who had been fighting for half his life, had not fallen off his horse and died at the age of 38, he would have deserved the title of a legitimate founding monarch.

Then the problem arises.

Why didn't Dorgon, who had made great contributions to the founding of the country, jump directly from the emperor's uncle and regent to the emperor?
To put it bluntly, it is just about considering the opinions of all parties in the DPRK.

From this, we can infer that Dorgon’s concern about the Datong border army was not only because of Jiang Ge as a person, but also because of the border army as a whole.

After getting rid of Jiang Ge, the entire Datong border army will have to be dealt with carefully, whether by arresting, beating, rewarding or punishing, which will naturally take more than ten months.

With this foundation, Wang Zhengzhi's trip to Yingtian became even more important.

June 9th
Outside Yingtian City
"Why did Mr. Wang come again?"

Looking at the ninth-rank official in front of him, the humiliation that Wang Zhengzhi had suppressed in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

He had already been promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue during the Chongzhen reign, and now he had become a second-rank official in the Qing court. However, when he went on a diplomatic mission to the south this time, he was first humiliated in Huai'an. If it had not been for the letter from Princess Kunxing, he would have nearly lost his life at the hands of the soldiers.

When he arrived outside Yingtian City, the Southern Dynasty actually sent such an insignificant person to greet him. Even if he wanted to compromise, he could not bear it.

"My visit to the south is of great importance, and you, the petty officials, are not qualified to hear it," Wang Zhengzhi said, and then he walked towards the dock. When he passed by the deputy secretary, he said calmly, "If you want to know my purpose, you must be a fourth or fifth rank official."

"Stay on!"

According to Wang Zhengzhi's idea, regardless of whether the Southern Dynasty was interested in peace talks, the letter written by Princess Kunxing should be taken seriously by all officials.

As long as he attaches this much importance, he can easily break the Southern Dynasty's prestige, and then he will not have to worry about not being able to see the emperor after making some plans.

But what surprised him was that the little ninth-rank official was so bold.

Just as they passed each other, the other party shouted loudly, and then the constables and yamen runners appeared from nowhere and stopped him in the middle of the dock, as if they wanted to drive him back.

Miscalculation!
Seeing this, Wang Zhengzhi's heart sank and he became more worried about the purpose of this trip.

He thought that the Southern Dynasty would be cautious and would leave some wiggle room after showing its power. However, judging from the current situation, this minor official of the ninth rank is obviously not afraid of making things bigger. In this case, it seems that his appearance is probably not just a simple show of power.

"I have a handwritten letter from Princess Kunxing to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Are you trying to stop His Royal Highness from reuniting with his brother and sister?"

A scolding came from Wang Zhengzhi's mouth, and everyone around him paused immediately.

However, words like these can have a huge deterrent effect on ordinary police officers and others, but they have little effect on the official who is just following orders.

"Let Mr. Wang know that my temple minister has received the imperial decree. If you are here just to deliver a letter, you can leave the letter and go home. But if you are still worried about the Tartars," the secretary paused and glanced at Wang Zhengzhi's face before continuing, "then you have to worry about your life."

tough.

Really tough.

But there is really no reason for this toughness.

Before he knew it, Wang Zhengzhi understood Yingtian's attitude.

But in his opinion, if the Southern Dynasty completely refused to communicate, it should have been time to march north in large numbers. It should not be like it is now, neither marching north nor communicating.

Under such circumstances, even if he had a lot of thoughts, it would be difficult for him to understand the thoughts of the Southern Dynasty's rulers and ministers.

Time passed by little by little, and Wang Zhengzhi, who had not been able to think of a way out of the impasse, could only stand there in a daze.

If it were a few years ago, he would have probably just left the letter and turned away, but given the current situation, Kunxing's letter was almost the only chance to ensure peace for the rest of his life. How could he be willing to let this opportunity slip through his fingers?

"Mr. Wang, have you made up your mind?"

I don't know how much time had passed, but the urging voice of the secretary came into his ears again. By this time, Wang Zhengzhi knew that there was no way out, so he whispered something in the secretary's ear.

"In addition to the princess's letter and the Tartar mission, I also have a major situation to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If you insist on not stopping me from entering the city, then I will have no choice but to leave the letter behind and return home."

After saying this, Wang Zhengzhi closed his eyes completely, but beneath his calm face there seemed to be endless worry and regret.

Such a mysterious expression undoubtedly had a huge impact on the little ninth-rank official. Then an officer quickly ran into the city, and Wang Zhengzhi happened to raise his eyelids.

Humph! You want to use a petty official to stop me? You are underestimating the ups and downs of the officialdom for many years.

Wang Zhengzhi felt proud when he saw that he had broken the deadlock with just a little trick. Then he looked towards the other docks based on the principle that he had nothing to do anyway and might as well explore the situation in the south.

It was already noon, but the surroundings were still extremely busy.

Boxes and bags of containers filled with unknown materials were loaded into cargo ships by coolies, and batches of various mineral raw materials were transported away from the dock by trucks.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengzhi was surprised at first, but in a flash this surprise turned into enlightenment.

Then the enlightenment lingered in his mind for a while, and he immediately realized the meaning behind the unusual behavior of the Southern Dynasty's monarch and ministers. Since Duoduo's defeat, everyone in the north has focused on how the Southern Dynasty can turn the situation around and win again and again, but they forgot that as long as war is fought, there will be a lot of expenses.

This is also reasonable.

In those days, neither officials nor soldiers took the lives of ordinary people seriously. Whenever there was a shortage of food or pay, they would either plunder the money in various ways or just rob it outright.

With actions like this, the area would naturally be devastated, with no one living for thousands of miles, and this would not just happen in one place.

In comparison, the scene at Yingtian Wharf did not look like it was in the midst of war.

Under these circumstances, doesn't it prove that the Southern Dynasty did not plunder the local areas due to the war in the north?

Of course, he also wondered whether the prosperity of Yingtian Wharf was just an isolated case. After all, this place was under the feet of the emperor, and unless it was pushed to the limit, it would not be like other places.

But he had been tempered in the Ministry of Revenue after all, so he naturally knew that if only Yingtian was prosperous, those goods would only come in and not go out, and would never come in and go out in full loads like they did now.

With this understanding, he naturally knew that even if such a prosperous scene only appeared in Yingtian, other places would definitely not be much different.

If such a situation could occur, doesn't it mean that the Southern Dynasty did not plunder the local areas as much as the Qing Dynasty did?

After calculating to this point, the answer is obvious.

The reason why the Southern Dynasty did not launch a large-scale attack on the extremely empty area north of the Huai River was probably because it had to postpone its advance due to tight military expenditures.

As for the rejection towards him, it was probably because they were worried that stopping at the Huai River would cause other forces to have other ideas, so the young emperor took this opportunity to make a firm statement.

As his thoughts turned, Wang Zhengzhi became increasingly close to the real answer.

But after confirming that what he thought was true, he did not feel complacent. Instead, he criticized it in his heart with great disdain.

The kindness of women!

In his opinion, it would be most cost-effective to send troops while the military strength of several provinces in Huaibei is low, even if it means asking the people to bear more burdens.

But this little emperor was so soft-hearted towards the people and missed this God-given opportunity, not knowing that if he didn't take what God gave him, he would be punished by God? !

These people in Yingtian are still not suitable for the job. It is still people like us who have to take charge of the government.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhengzhi couldn't help but feel great hope for this.

When he looked at the extremely prosperous wharf again, even his mentality had some subtle changes. But who would have thought that just when he was full of confidence that he would succeed, a scene that surprised him appeared before his eyes.

"Which one is Wang Zhengzhi?"

"This is me, may I ask?"

Looking at the knight dressed in full Mongolian attire, Wang Zhengzhi's confusion immediately reached its peak.

He knew that many Mongols were captured by the Southern Dynasty when Duoduo fled north, but looking at the spirit of the dozens of knights in front of him, they did not look like prisoners at all. Moreover, if they were really from the Mongols south of the desert, how could they dare to show off their power in front of him?
"I am the commander of the Xining Guard under the command of the Great Ming Emperor, and also the eldest prince of the Khoshut Khanate. I came here on the orders of His Majesty to ask you what you have to report."

Heshuote?
Khoshut!
Listening to the knight's self-introduction, Wang Zhengzhi felt a huge wave of emotion in his heart.

But why is this Hoshut
By the way, when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down, not to mention that the Khoshut are far away in U-Tsang.

Hey! Someone is faster than me!
After thinking about it several times, he finally figured out the key.

But he couldn't influence other people's affairs. Meeting the little emperor was his top priority this time. After suppressing his emotions, Wang Zhengzhi said calmly.

"I have something important to report to His Royal Highness, but I cannot hear you."

"It's too troublesome. His Majesty said that if you want to talk, you can talk. If not, just leave a letter from the princess and you can leave." Dayan showed an extremely impatient expression on his face. After he finished speaking, he seemed to think of something else: "Oh, by the way, His Majesty also told Dorgon to take good care of Princess Kunxing. If the princess loses a hair, the entire Jiannu clan must be buried with her even if they kill her to the far north!"

Damn!
As Dayan's words came out, Wang Zhengzhi's heart sank immediately.

He had been planning how to return to the Ming Dynasty since he fled Huai'an. By this time, he was 100% sure that he could gain the trust of the young emperor with his words, but...
"Okay, okay! Since you, the ruler of Yingtian, are so stubborn and self-willed, I will take my leave now!"

"Leave the letter!"

Things had come to this point, and there was no room for Wang Zhengzhi to return, whether he really wanted to or was just pretending. He then handed the letter to the secretary, and then boarded the boat amid bursts of laughter.

Dayan didn't care at all about the old man's embarrassment.

At this moment, he only wanted to finish his task as soon as possible so that he could return to the palace as soon as possible.

Since he came to Yingtian, he mostly just walked around the city wearing Han clothes, and rarely went to the palace to see His Majesty.

After all, they, the Khoshut, were still a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and if they frequently entered and exited the imperial palace, they would inevitably be exposed.

Even if the Qing government couldn't do anything to them by then, it would still be troublesome.

But with the end of the Huai'an war, the situation between the Ming and Qing dynasties has become clear. Coupled with what he saw and heard in Yingtian, the balance in his heart completely tilted towards the Ming Dynasty.

But then again, he was not the Khan of Khoshut after all, and he could not mess up his own arrangements because of his personal preferences. If it were not for a letter sent from Xining two days ago that made him realize the tension of the situation, he would still be wandering around the north of the city today, and would not have snatched the job of delivering the imperial edict to prove Khoshut's loyalty to His Majesty.

After three or two incense sticks, Dayan appeared in the warm room of the Qianqing Palace. Before he could open his mouth to report, the emperor's voice came first.

"I heard that you went there wearing this?"

"Your Majesty, I have no other intentions, I just want to prove the loyalty of the Khoshut to the Ming Dynasty."

"Is the situation so tense?"

(End of this chapter)