Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 143 Transfer of Power
According to the course of history, Huang Taiji should have died suddenly six years later, but now, because of this entry into the Pass, he suddenly fell ill, causing the entire situation of the Qing Dynasty to fall into great changes.

The bigger reason is that when Huang Taiji was alive, he was too powerful and no one dared to connect his forces.

He suddenly fell ill, which prevented everyone from getting in touch with the team.

Originally, Dorgon and Hauge were competing for the throne. In order to ease the conflict, a compromise plan was proposed, which was to let the six-year-old Fulin succeed to the throne, and Jirgalang and Dorgon would serve as regents.

But now Shunzhi is still in Xiaozhuang's belly, which means that there is no buffer or compromise between the two sides.

You have to fight, either you ascend to the throne, or you fall and never get up again.

Among them, the situation where the two yellow flags supported Hauge and the two white flags supported Dorgon was not as simple as everyone imagined.

The ministers of the two yellow flags held swords and insisted on supporting the "Emperor's son" instead of Hauge alone; the relationship between Dorgon and Ajige and Dodo was not that close. Ajige had great ambitions, and Dorgon was somewhat reluctant to agree.

On June 24, the Manchu kings gathered outside Huang Taiji's palace and threatened to meet the emperor.

Hauge glanced behind him.

Standing there were Turge, Tulai, Soni, Aobai, Tantai and others, all of whom were important officials of the two yellow flags. Jirgalang of the bordered blue flag was also relatively close to Hauge.

In addition, there is Daishan of the Two Red Flags, who is also relatively close to Hauge.

He first looked at the two yellow flags. Before Hauge came, he had already fully connected with the people of the two yellow flags.

In addition to having the most important officials, a very important reason for the Two Yellow Flags is that the Two Yellow Flags are actually responsible for the work of the imperial guards.

Since ancient times, if there was a coup d'état, whoever controlled the imperial guards would basically win. The two yellow flags were responsible for guarding the entire outer perimeter of the imperial city.

Hauge thought that even if the negotiations failed, the two yellow flags supported him, and Dorgon's two white flags would not be able to cause any trouble.

The Plain White Banner is still confronting the Ming army at the front line, and the Bordered White Banner is far away. When the time really comes to draw swords, who dares to fight back if the two Yellow Banners rush in?
Therefore, as long as the two yellow flags control the central security, the two white flags will have no chance of fighting at all.

Hauge looked at Jirgalang again.

Except for Daishan who has faded out of sight, Jirgalang's status, merits and prestige are enough to compete with Dorgon.

But Jirgalang was Durhaci's nephew, so he had no right of inheritance, but he had a great say, and now that he was on his side, he had gained most of his confidence.

Finally, there is Daishan. Although he has faded out of politics for many years, no one dares to underestimate his status and prestige.

Standing behind Dorgon were Dodo, Ajige, Adali and others.

People from both sides sought to see Huang Taiji outside the palace, but the scene inside the palace was quite different.

"The kings outside are coming to see Your Majesty. What should we do now?"

Empress Xiaoduanwen, Zhezhe, Bumbutai (Xiaozhuang), Hailanzhu and many concubines were extremely anxious.

Zhezhe was the aunt of Xiaozhuang and Hailanzhu. It was extremely rare for Huang Taiji to marry three aunts and nieces.

"I don't want to see anyone!... Go out, let them all go out!" Hai Lanzhu raised her head suddenly, she knelt beside the bed, her eyes swollen like peaches, and said sternly.

There was sadness and determination in his eyes.

Hailanzhu was 26 years old when she married Huang Taiji. In that era, it was obviously abnormal to get married at the age of or , or at most or .

In terms of structure, she was not as good as her aunt Zhezhe. The entire Shengjing harem and household were well organized. She supported Huang Taiji's career not only in the boudoir, but also in some organized government affairs, such as attending the groundbreaking ceremony of Dongjing City, rushing to the Guangning frontier to express condolences, and accompanying Huang Taiji on trips to reclaim land and open up borders.

In terms of talent and sophistication, her younger sister, Xiaozhuang, was much more outstanding than her.

In terms of beauty, her aunt and sister are no worse than her.

But it was such a woman who had been married before and abused by her first husband, but won the true love of Huang Taiji.

Perhaps it is precisely because of her bumpy emotional life that she is more indifferent to the ups and downs of life, does not have extravagant expectations, does not compete for favor, and has no desires. In addition, Hai Lanzhu has a unique temperament and quality in her every move.

To Huang Taiji, who lost his mother at a young age and was accustomed to the cold-blooded power struggles and interest competitions in the royal family, the appearance of Hai Lanzhu was like a bright pearl that made his long-suppressed soul shine.

After Hai Lanzhu entered the palace, he doted on her alone.

Perhaps this is why Hai Lanzhu has only been in the palace for three years, but her reaction is greater than that of all other concubines.

She bit her lips hard, her whole body trembled, and her whole body seemed to be wailing.

Xiaozhuang came over and said, "Don't do this, you are pregnant!"

The three aunts and nephews fought for fame and fortune, but now that Huang Taiji was about to die, even Zhezhe couldn't help but come over and help Hai Lanzhu up, "Get up, the struggle now is no longer between us, but we must unite to face the outside world."

“We have to find a way to protect ourselves.”

In every imperial family, there is the art of gambling.

When the emperor died, some of his concubines had to be buried with him. Fortunately, Zhezhe was the empress, and both Bumbutai and Hailanzhu were pregnant, so it was highly likely that they would not be buried alive with him.

But if Hailanzhu miscarried the child due to excessive grief, that might not be the case.

When Nurhaci died, it was Dorgon's biological mother Abahai who was buried alive with him. The 35-year-old Huang Taiji seized the opportunity and took advantage of the chaos to lead several great beiles into Abahai's harem, conveying the so-called "emperor's last words" and forcing Abahai to be buried alive with him according to the order of the late emperor.

Now that Hauge and Dorgon are competing for the throne, it would be better for Hauge to take the throne.

If Dorgon came to power, no one could guarantee whether the scene of more than ten years ago would be repeated.

……

The kings of Shengjing were all fighting for power, so who could care about the Ming army that escaped from the Qing Dynasty? Under the operation of the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei, they broke through many times, suffered 50% casualties, and finally met up with Zu Dashou and others who went to support them.

Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui and others looked at these followers of Chao Pichang and marveled at the infiltration and efficiency of the Jinyiwei.

They had been in Guanning for decades and this was the first time they discovered that the Ming Dynasty had such great power.

Zu Dashou couldn't help but think again of the note Li Ruolian had given him before, and it seemed to be true.

In Shengjing, Dorgon and Hauge fight for the throne...

When I think about these things, they don't seem clear at all.

It was not until they returned to Jinzhou City that the Qing army learned the news. After shooting a few arrows at the foot of Jinzhou City, they left in disappointment.

Inside the city, Zu Dashou hosted a banquet for Li Ruolian and others. After three rounds of drinks, Zu Dashou finally asked a question.

"Commander Li, why didn't Your Majesty take advantage of the chaos in the Qing Dynasty and send troops to Liaodong?"

Li Ruolian looked at him, and Zu Dashou immediately realized that what he said seemed to be a bit too much, and waved his hand quickly, "I was just chatting for a few minutes, there is no other meaning, no other meaning."

"Actually, there is nothing to be too secretive about. Your Majesty wants to attack Mongolia first..." Li Ruolian said calmly.

The Grand Council should have a comprehensive strategic plan by now, and the emperor has also given his approval. I believe the imperial edict has been issued and will be transmitted to Jinzhou soon, so this is no longer a military secret.

"Attack Mongolia first?" Zu Dashou paused while picking up food.

Sure enough, if I could think of something, how could His Majesty and those people in the court not think of it? It was just that I was thinking about Liaodong, while the court gave priority to Mongolia. Zu Dashou then learned from Li Ruolian that Xiong Wencan was ordered to be the Prime Minister of the six provinces of Nanzhi, Huguang, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan, responsible for suppressing the uprising, and also served as the Minister of War and the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief.

Sun Chuanting was promoted to Governor-General of the Three Borders, and concurrently served as Minister of War and Left Vice-Censor-in-Chief.

The next sentence made Zu Dashou's pupils shrink suddenly.

Because Li Ruolian's eyes, which were originally narrowed, suddenly opened, "Zu Dashou received the order."

Zu Dashou quickly knelt down to accept the order.

Li Ruolian stretched out his hand, and a Jinyiwei placed a yellow object in his hand. "I appoint Hong Chengchou as the governor of Ji-Liao military affairs, the Minister of War and the Deputy Censor-in-Chief..."

Zu Dashou's brows were twisted together, and his mind was in a state of confusion.

Your Majesty actually sent this bloody butcher to Ji Liao. What is his intention?
Hong Chengchou's reputation in the court was basically related to bloody massacres, so the impression he gave to his colleagues in the Ming Dynasty was that he dared to kill and earned him the title of "Bloody Hand Butcher".

Your Majesty sent such a person to Liaodong, which forced Zu Dashou to think about the meaning behind it.

……

At this time, Hong Chengchou had just handed over military affairs to Sun Chuanting and was feeling relaxed.

"Brother Boya, the Central Plains war is entrusted to you."

"Brother Yan Yan, the sky is high and the sea is vast. This is what you wish for."

"Thanks to Brother Boya's good words, I will say goodbye now."

Hong Chengchou mounted his horse and bowed to Sun Chuanting to say goodbye.

He was born in the 8st year of Wanli's reign. He could write articles at the age of 16 and became a Jinshi at the age of .

After passing the imperial examination, Hong Chengchou worked harder and entered the Ministry of Justice. In the first year of Chongzhen, he was appointed Governor of Shaanxi, which was the first promotion in his official career. However, the situation in Shaanxi was already unstable.

The peasant uprising intensified, and Shaanxi became the center of the peasant war. He had to get involved in the war and fight against the rebels.

Under the treacherous and ever-changing political situation, Hong Chengchou deeply realized that only by suppressing the rebels could he become a capable general in the palace, and all this would inevitably be based on bloody killings.

But the more battles he fought, the less joy he felt in victory, and instead he felt more melancholy and sadness.

Killing his compatriots again and again made him feel heavy-hearted, but if he wanted to go further, he could only become stronger and kill more people to cross this road of no return.

Hong Chengchou ordered special personnel to guard the prisoners and try to prevent officers and soldiers from abusing them. He established military law, distributed some military rations, and gave injured farmers temporary rest, hoping that they would return home.

His actions won recognition and praise from the rebels, but also made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"It's all over, everything is over." Hong Chengchou took a look and finally pulled himself out of the quagmire to defend the Ming Dynasty and go to a bigger stage.

Going to confront the Qing Dynasty head-on, with the experience of the three major camps fighting against the Qing Dynasty, he had more expectations in his heart.

……

But Sun Chuanting took a deep breath as he watched Hong Chengchou leave.

The Governor-General of the Three Borders controlled the Governor of Hexi, the Governor of Hedong, the Governor of Shaanxi, and the nine generals of Gansu, Liang, Su, Xi, Ningxia, Yansui, Shendaoling, Xing'an, and Guyuan.

Among the nine important border towns, Gansu (9.1), Guyuan (12.6), Yansui (8) and Ningxia (7.1) (the other five are Liaodong, Jizhou, Datong, Xuanfu and Taiyuan) had a total of nearly troops during the Wanli period.

In addition, the military forces in Pingliang, Shendaoling, Xing'an and other places are definitely more than 400,000.

This accounts for almost half of the 90 troops at the peak of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli period.

It can be said that among the local officials of the Ming Dynasty, the Governor-General of the Three Borders undoubtedly had the greatest military power.

Even during the Chongzhen period, the governors-general of the three borders had more than 200,000 troops at their disposal.

During the Ming Dynasty, all high-ranking officials were Jinshi graduates. Although there was no explicit regulation, it had become a convention.

During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, only Chen Xinjia was able to achieve the second rank as a juren. Sun Chuanting, a jinshi, ranked very low, at 111th, not much different from Chen Xinjia.

When he first entered the officialdom, it was the period of Wei Zhongxian's dictatorship. He wanted to serve the country, but he had no way to do it. He was dissatisfied and resigned and returned home.

This period of leisure lasted for a full ten years.

Until the year before last, there was already a serious shortage of talent in the court.

Emperor Chongzhen was bold in employing people, but he was not very good at using them. Many officials were replaced within just a few months, and many even lost their jobs.

Under such circumstances, Sun Chuanting was re-employed and was soon transferred to the post of Governor of Shaanxi.

Sun Chuanting was very satisfied with this position and wanted to make great achievements.

He asked Chongzhen for food and money, but the emperor thought for a long time and only agreed to give him 6 taels of silver. However, as the Ming Dynasty was exhausted and faced internal and external difficulties, the 6 taels of silver were not implemented.

But Sun Chuanting was not discouraged. When there were no soldiers, he recruited them on his own. When there was no money and food, he cleared the garrisons himself. During his tenure as governor of Shaanxi, he cleared out more than 45 taels of silver, about 5 shi of grain, and gained 12000 garrison troops over a few years.

The situation was chaotic, and Shaanxi suffered from famine every year, making it a hard-hit area for peasant uprisings, especially King Gao Yingxiang, who built an army of more than 20 people.

Sun Chuanting was thrown into battle before completing his military training. Under the command of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng, he participated in the encirclement and suppression of Gao Yingxiang and achieved great success. He ambushed and captured Gao Yingxiang alive in Heishui Valley in Ziwu Valley, and became famous in one battle.

Now he has become the governor-general of three borders and truly the most sought-after official in the Ming Dynasty.

Sun Chuanting looked at the map and said, "Your Majesty's next target is Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. Now Your Majesty wants me to force everyone into the areas of Nanzhili, Jiangxi, Huguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang..."

But the key is how to get these people to go to Nanzhili.

According to the news brought back by his men who were ambushing in the peasant army, Li Zicheng's troops had several different versions of their plans for marching south to the south of the Yangtze River, east to Shandong, and north to the capital.

But the loudest voice among them was to attack north first.

The bandits' battles are often based on immediate needs rather than strategic considerations. They attack Beijing first because of the practical need to stabilize the regime, because there is a lot of support for this, and it is easier to attack northwards.

Because Li Zicheng's base in Guanzhong originally controlled the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.

As long as we capture Taiyuan, Shanxi, the west of Shuntian Prefecture will be basically undefended, and by controlling the Yellow River-Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, we can cut off the north-south supply lines of the Ming Dynasty.

To go south to attack Nanzhili, Yingtian Prefecture needed to control the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, namely Xiangyang and Wuchang, and then go downstream.

The consequence of rashly attacking Yingtian Prefecture directly was that Li Zicheng's own logistics would be cut off.

The peasant uprising army might have dispersed on its own before they even reached the city of Nanjing.

Sun Chuanting finally put down his pen and said, "Order all the soldiers south of the Yellow River to withdraw to the north of the Yellow River, cooperate with the militias in various places, and do their best to eliminate the banditry, and then slowly push southward..."

……

ps: I went to my father-in-law's house yesterday, and I drank too much. I didn't bother to ask for leave. I still felt headache when I woke up this morning. Please forgive me.

(End of this chapter)