My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 124 Dorgon: Huang Taiji, you have to believe me, my sister-in-law and I are innocent!
But at this moment, Dorgon's hands and feet were shaking, and he was extremely panicked.

Dorgon never imagined that the deepest secret in his heart would one day appear in a booklet!
That's right!

He admitted that he had always admired Dayuer!

But he really didn't do anything out of line with Dayuer!
As for the fact that Fulin was his son, this is completely false.

He is not a fool. Even if he loves his sister-in-law, how could he do such a thing behind Huang Taiji's back?
Isn't this courting death?

"Damn it! Who is wrongly accusing me?"

Dorgon angrily tore the booklet in his hand to pieces and shouted loudly.

When the guards heard this, they knelt down on the ground and said in panic:

"Your Highness, I don't know either! These pamphlets suddenly appeared all over the military camp not long ago. I guess the Ming army on the other side is trying to disrupt our morale, so they resorted to this desperate measure."

"Your Highness, I beg you not to believe what is written here. It is pure fabrication."

When Dorgon heard this, he was not comforted at all, but became even more worried.

After a moment, he slowly said:

"This king can treat this matter as a fabrication, a ploy by the Ming army to attack the enemy's mind."

"But don't forget, if I can get this thing, the emperor can get it too. What if the emperor thinks this is true?"

After saying this, Dorgon's eyes showed an even more worried look.

He was really afraid that Huang Taiji would bring people to kill him in the next second.
When the personal guard in front of him heard this, he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Because when they were in Shengjing before, they had actually heard some rumors between Dayuer and Dorgon.

But no one cared at that time.

What's more, this involves a royal scandal, so no one dares to speak nonsense!

But now, this booklet directly makes everything clear, who can not care?
You have to know that this is a huge green hat directly put on Huang Taiji's head. Can Huang Taiji tolerate it?
The atmosphere became a little awkward for a while.

Suddenly, at this moment, a man in armor opened the tent and walked in. He said to Dorgon expressionlessly:
"Your Majesty, His Majesty invites you."

When Dorgon saw the person coming, his face instantly darkened.

Because this man was Huang Taiji's personal bodyguard.

Obviously, he guessed right, Huang Taiji also saw the booklet.

After calming down, Dorgon said coldly:

"Understood. I will go there right away."

The guard stopped talking, turned around and left.

After Huang Taiji's guards left, Dorgon's personal guards came up to Dorgon and asked:
"Your Majesty, what should we do? Is the Emperor going to attack you?"

Dorgon shook his head and said slowly:

"My brother is not stupid. He should have figured out that this is the Ming army's strategy of attacking the heart."

"He won't be fooled!"

The guard continued:

"The Emperor can indeed see it, but does he really not care?"

"Forgive me for being blunt, but these rumors started circulating back in Shengjing. Who can guarantee that the Emperor really doesn't care about these things?"

"What if the Emperor only appears to not care, but actually cares in his heart?"

When Dorgon heard this, his face instantly turned gloomy and he scolded:

"Shut up! Don't try to sow discord between me and the Emperor. Don't ever talk about this again!"

The person in front of him was his trusted confidant. If someone else had said that, he would have attacked him long ago.

Seeing Dorgon getting angry, the guards didn't dare to say anything more, but they still looked a little worried.

Dorgon ignored him, put on his clothes, walked out of the tent and headed towards Huang Taiji's tent.

Along the way, he also saw other generals heading towards Huang Taiji's tent.

It was obvious that Huang Taiji was preparing to summon everyone.

This made Dorgon feel uneasy.

As one of the protagonists of this incident, he was very worried that things would develop out of control.

Damn Ming army, they actually came up with such a vicious method to disrupt the morale of the army!

Dorgon cursed in his heart.

When Dorgon walked into Huang Taiji's tent, he found that many people had gathered in the tent.

With his arrival, everyone's eyes turned to him with a strange look in their eyes.

It was obvious that these people had also seen the pamphlets.

As generals, they all have their own personal soldiers. After receiving the booklet, these soldiers will hand it directly to them, so it is not surprising for them to see it.

However, since Huang Taiji did not say anything at this time, it was difficult for others to say anything.

Even Dorgon could only stand aside obediently.

Don’t look at how powerful Dorgon was in history, but that was after the death of Huang Taiji.

As long as Huang Taiji was alive, Dorgon was just a prince.

Not long after, when everyone was present, Huang Taiji picked up the three booklets in front of him and said angrily:

"These damned Ming troops! I never imagined they would be so shameless as to come up with such a tactic to sow discord between us brothers."

"I know, you should have seen these things."

"But I can tell you clearly that what is said above is completely nonsense."

"I believe in my brothers and my wife. They will never betray me!"

"And Fulin, he is also my son."

"Listen up to me, everyone! If anyone dares to bring up this kind of thing again, I'll chop him down!"

When the generals heard this, they quickly knelt on the ground and responded in unison.

"Your Majesty, I understand!"

Huang Taiji continued:
"I have issued an order to collect all the books and burn them all."

"Go back and reassure your soldiers. Tell them not to believe what's written here. This is all nonsense. Do you understand?"

The generals quickly agreed again.

Then Huang Taiji waved his hand.

"Everyone go down, Dorgon stays."

When he heard this, Dorgon's heart trembled violently.

The other soldiers looked at Dorgon with strange eyes again.

Although everyone heard what Huang Taiji said just now, this kind of thing cannot be believed just by talking about it.

At this moment, they already had their own plans in mind.

But faced with this situation, they naturally did not dare to say anything and then retreated.

But before leaving, one of them looked at Dorgon with a very strange look.

This person is none other than Aisin Gioro Daishan!
Although Daishan was a brother of both Huang Taiji and Dorgon, it was obvious that Daishan was closer to Huang Taiji and disliked Dorgon.

Ultimately, it was because of the "Queen Dowager Incident" that year.

To put it simply, it was because Daishan had an affair with Dorgon's mother that Daishan lost the qualification to inherit the throne.

This is also the reason why Daishan wanted Hauge to take the throne after Huang Taiji died in history.

Because Hauge and Dorgon were not on good terms, Hauge's ascension to the throne would be beneficial to Daishan!
If Dorgon came to power, Daishan would have died without a burial place.
Daishan was also the main target of Zhu Cilang's psychological warfare!
Because Zhu Cilang knew that Huang Taiji would die in two years, and after his death, the Jiannu would start a new round of power struggle.

Originally in history, it was Dorgon and Hauge who were fighting each other, and Daishan just played a supporting role.

After weighing the pros and cons, both sides decided to make Huang Taiji's son Fulin the emperor.

But now, Zhu Cilang's psychological warfare strategy has planted a seed in Daishan's heart.

This forced him to think of the relationship between Dayuer and Dorgon.

And is Fulin really Dorgon’s son?
If Huang Taiji really died by then, would Daishan still be willing to let Fulin succeed to the throne?

Did he dare to bet that Fulin was Huang Taiji's son, not Dorgon's son?

Does he dare to bet that after Fulin ascends the throne, he will not join forces with Dorgon to kill him?

Daishan doesn’t dare!

Therefore, Daishan would definitely support Hauge and Dorgon in their fight for the throne without hesitation!
It is even possible to fight for the throne personally!
Even if it's a fight to the death, even if it's chaos!
As a result, a struggle will inevitably break out within the Jiannu.

Only when that time comes can the psychological warfare be truly launched.
Look!

Just a book about the emperor's uncle was enough to cause earth-shaking turmoil within the Jiannu clan.

Back to the topic, after everyone left, only Huang Taiji and Dorgon were left in the tent.

After rolling for a while, I felt my mouth was dry, but I still explained:
"Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with me. This is entirely the Ming army."

Before Dorgon could finish his words, Huang Taiji interrupted him and said:
"Fourteenth brother, I have already said that these things are all false. They are just trying to slander the relationship between you and me in order to shake the morale of the army. So you don't need to care."

"After all, I'm not stupid enough to believe these rumors!"

"Don't worry, I completely believe that you are innocent!"

When Dorgon heard this, he immediately knelt on the ground and shouted:
"Your Majesty is wise! The Ming army is truly foolish, actually trying to use a mere divisive tactic to shake the army's morale. Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and will not be deceived by the Ming army!"

When saying this, Dorgon couldn't help feeling a little moved, but at the same time, there were also some other emotions mixed in with it.

After all, even if he could deceive everyone, he could not deceive himself about his true feelings for Dayuer.

He also knew that he shouldn't have any contact with Dayuer, but he really liked Dayuer.

At the same time, Huang Taiji had his own plans in mind.

If possible, he really wanted to kill Dorgon directly!

After all, those rumors were not completely false. Dorgon did have some thoughts about Dayuer.

But he can't do that.

Firstly, Dorgon was his brother, and secondly, Dorgon was also a fierce general. Killing him would be tantamount to destroying his own future.

Therefore, even if he wanted to kill Dorgon, it was not now! Finally, he continued to speak to Dorgon:
"Fourteenth brother, even if this matter is over, if anyone dares to bring it up again in the future, you will kill him directly. This is the right I give you."

"Go back and have a good rest. Tomorrow we will continue to attack Jinzhou. We must take Jinzhou as soon as possible. You know that our food supplies will not last long!"

Having said that, Huang Taiji felt heartbroken again.

He really couldn't understand how Chongzhen discovered that the eight imperial merchants were secretly transporting food and supplies to them.

If the eight imperial merchants continued to provide food and fodder, they could continue to confront the Ming army until they completely defeated it!

But now, the eight imperial merchants have been captured and the agreed food and grass supplies are gone, which makes them very passive.

Their food and fodder can only last for half a year at most. If they fail to capture Jinzhou within half a year, they will have no choice but to retreat.
Dorgon naturally knew what Huang Taiji was worried about, but he had no way to deal with this matter, so he could only say in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, I request to personally lead the army to attack the city tomorrow!"

Huang Taiji thought about it and finally nodded.

"can!"

Afterwards, Dorgon left Huang Taiji's tent.

Soon, as Huang Taiji's order spread to all parts of the military camp, the soldiers and generals also handed in the booklets they had picked up.

There are more than 800 copies!
However, in fact, the Ming army threw at least more than a thousand such pamphlets here.

In other words, there were at least two hundred copies hidden away by soldiers and generals.

But there was no way Huang Taiji could investigate this matter one by one. If he really conducted a large-scale search, wouldn't that tell everyone that this matter was true?
By then, the military morale will be really disrupted!

In the end, Huang Taiji could only order people to burn the collected pamphlets and pretend that nothing had happened.

However, everyone knows that this matter is far from over.

A thorn has pierced the hearts of the three brothers Dorgon, Huang Taiji and Daishan, becoming an unhealable rift between them.

And this rift may one day in the future become the fuse that ignites the conflict between them.

A few days later, in the capital.

In the courtyard of the Eastern Palace, Zhu Cilang was standing in front of a group of craftsmen, witnessing the process of them making cement.

After several days of unremitting research, he finally succeeded in developing cement.

Right now, these craftsmen are busy mixing cement with water and making various shapes.

Next to it, there is some cement that has already solidified, and there are traces of knives and axes on the cement, which is used to test the hardness of the cement.

The result is very satisfactory, because the hardness of cement after solidification is almost comparable to that of steel.

The craftsmen who were busy working were also shocked. They never imagined that simply mixing several seemingly ordinary materials into powder and then mixing them with water could produce such a hard substance.

If it is used to build houses and city walls, it is simply a magical tool!
What’s more important is that the cost of this thing is extremely low. They are really curious about how the prince came up with such a magical thing?
At this moment, Zhu Cilang suddenly spoke:

"After these few days of testing, you should all be clear about the cement manufacturing process, right?"

Several craftsmen came to their senses after hearing this and replied in unison:
"Your Highness, everything is clear now."

Zhu Cilang nodded and continued:

"I intend to establish the Daming Imperial Cement Factory, specializing in cement production. You will become the core craftsmen of the cement factory."

"The method of manufacturing cement must be kept strictly confidential and must not be disclosed to anyone."

"Don't tell a word to anyone, family, superiors, or anyone else!"

"If one person leaks the information, the whole family will be killed! Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, several craftsmen turned pale with fear and fell to their knees, saying that they would never reveal a single word!
At the same time, they were secretly complaining in their hearts.

Because they originally came from the Ministry of Industry to help, but they didn't expect to be involved in such a big secret and face a catastrophic disaster at any time.

But then again, since the prince has summoned them, they dare not not come!
Seeing the craftsmen's faces full of fear, Zhu Cilang felt somewhat helpless.

There is no way. After all, cement could almost be used as a strategic material in ancient times.

It can be used not only to build houses and roads, but also to build city walls.

If the method of making cement were to be leaked, there would be no telling what kind of trouble would happen, so he would never allow the formula of cement to be leaked.

Of course, as the saying goes, coercion and inducement, after coercion, it’s time to induce!
Then Zhu Cilang continued:
"Of course, I'm not unreasonable. From now on, your monthly salary at the cement factory will be increased to five taels of silver."

"In addition, starting from your generation, your descendants will completely break free from the original craftsman status, and one of your descendants will be granted additional permission to study at the Imperial Academy."

"That is to say, your descendants will no longer be the lowest-level craftsmen."

Upon hearing this, several craftsmen were stunned.

You know, the household registration system established by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was very strict.

Simply put, your father's occupation will determine your future occupation, and your sons and grandsons' future occupations must also be the same.

This rule has not changed for hundreds of years.

Although a very small number of people can indeed break free from this bondage, it also requires great effort.

These craftsmen never imagined that the prince's words would free them from the restrictions of household registration and even allow their descendants to study in the Imperial College.

Just based on these, they would be willing to die now.

Because from now on, their descendants will also be able to become officials through study!
This matter is far more important to them than their lives!

For a moment, the craftsmen kowtowed again, their words full of gratitude.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I won't reveal a single word!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I'm very careful with my words!"

"Thank you, Your Highness. My life will be yours from now on!"

In this way, Zhu Cilang easily solved the problem of cement production.

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang gave some important instructions before leaving leisurely.

Just when he was thinking about what to do next, Ma Bao came to report that Zhang Shize and Xia Dewu had arrived.

Zhu Cilang's heart moved, and then he laughed.

Soon, Zhu Cilang met Zhang Shize and Xia Dewu.

Without waiting for the two to salute, Zhu Cilang immediately waved his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities, then looked at Xia Dewu and asked:
"What? Have all the previous items been sold?"

Xia Dewu could not hide his excitement upon hearing this, but he still replied respectfully:
"Your Highness, you guessed it right! I have lived up to your expectations and have sold everything you asked me to do."

Zhu Cilang sat back in his chair and asked:
"How much did it cost?"

Xia Dewu's expression became excited again, and he said:

"A full one and a half million taels!"

One million and five hundred thousand taels?
Zhu Cilang was also a little surprised when he heard this. You know, the things he gave to Xia Dewu before cost only one hundred taels of silver.

He originally thought that it would be good if he could sell it for between 500,000 and 1 million, because that would be a huge profit.

But what he didn't expect was that Xia Dewu actually sold it for 1.5 million.

This was completely beyond his imagination.

Zhu Cilang immediately became interested and asked:
"Tell me, how did you sell it?"

Xia Dewu did not dare to hide anything and answered truthfully:
"As the shopkeeper of the Duke of England's mansion, I have some status in this industry and know some high-end merchants."

"So the villain brought them together and showed them these things."

"When they saw the profit, they were naturally overjoyed. Then the villain sold all these things to them through bidding."

"Besides that, I've received a large order. As long as His Royal Highness can provide more goods, I can sell another two million taels at any time!"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, his heart was immediately filled with joy.

I thought to myself that this guy is indeed a rare talent. He actually sold these things through bidding and got an order worth two million.

If this continues, it will be difficult for the Ming Royal Chamber of Commerce not to make money!

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang said directly to Xia Dewu:

"You did a great job. I am very satisfied with you."

"As I said before, I will hand over the Imperial Chamber of Commerce to you and grant you the title of Sixth Rank."

"Your official position is in the East Palace. You only need to obey my orders and ignore everyone else. Even if the Prime Minister comes, you don't have to pay attention to him."

Zhu Cilang originally wanted to say that even if Chongzhen came, you don’t have to pay attention to him, but when the words came to his lips, he felt it was inappropriate, so he changed it to the chief minister of the cabinet.

Upon hearing this, Xia Dewu knelt down on the ground excitedly, shouting excitedly:
"I thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Look, he was just given an official title, and all of a sudden even his title changed.

Zhu Cilang found it funny, but didn't care because he knew Xia Dewu was an ambitious man.

As a human being, it’s always good to be ambitious!

Suddenly at this moment, Zhu Cilang thought of something, then looked at Zhang Shize beside him and asked:
"By the way, does your family have a grain store in the capital?"

Zhang Shize was slightly stunned when he heard this, then nodded:

"Yes, I have three grain stores in the capital."

"How much is the current price of grain per stone?"

Zhu Cilang continued to ask.

Zhang Shize scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed for a moment, not knowing how to answer this question because he had no idea at all!
Zhu Cilang also felt funny for a moment. It seemed that this question should not be asked to Zhang Shize.

At this moment, Xia Dewu on the side hurriedly said:
"Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness, I understand."

Zhu Cilang looked at Xia Dewu and motioned him to continue.

Xia Dewu said:
"In recent days, there have been rumors that natural disasters have struck several provinces in the Ming Dynasty, and that the capital will soon be flooded with disaster victims, so food prices in the capital have risen."

"It has now risen to three taels of silver per stone, which is about twenty wen per catty."

Zhu Cilang thought about it and felt that the price had indeed increased a bit compared to before, but it didn’t seem too outrageous.

Because the original price of grain in the capital was between two and three taels of silver per stone.

I have to say, this is a little different from what he imagined. He originally thought that the price of grain in the capital should have skyrocketed at this time.

After all, businessmen are always profit-driven. How could they miss such a good opportunity to make a fortune?

Could it be that these businessmen have changed their nature?

It shouldn’t be!

(End of this chapter)