Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 249 Dilemma
Duoduo fell ill, and he didn't know whether he was frightened that day or was infected by the wound on his left hand pierced by Maoxiang with a dagger. He fell ill after returning to the camp outside the city.

And the fever persisted for three consecutive days.

But it frightened the Lang Zhong who accompanied the army enough.

If Doduo really had something good or bad, none of them would want to live.

Thankfully, after three days in a coma, Dodo finally woke up.

"Master, you've finally woken up." Fan Chengmo wept with joy when he saw Duoduo waking up.

"Dog slave, why are you crying?" Doduo wanted to sit up subconsciously, but just halfway through sitting up, he fell back on the soft couch with a black eyes, only then did he realize that his whole body was limp and in pain.

"Master, you'd better lie down and don't move." Fan Chengmo urged quickly.

Duoduo waved his hand and asked, "I ask you, what time is it now?"

Fan Chengmo hurriedly said: "Return to master, today is already the second day of May in the second year of Shunzhi."

"What, it's already the second day of May?" Duoduo was taken aback, "This king has been in a coma for three days?"

"Well, master, you have been in a coma for three days and nights." Fan Chengmo said, "Thanks to master, you are blessed with great life. If someone else had been feverish for so many days, he would have died."

"Quick, let He Luo bring them over."

Duo Duo could no longer listen to Fan Chengmo's flattery.

After a while, He Luohui, Tunqi, and Merezhangjing and Jiala Ezhen from various banners entered the camp one after another.

Seeing that Doduo had woken up, Tun Qi and other Eight Banners nobles were relieved, He Luohui was still very enthusiastic, but Doduo always felt that there was a layer of haze in his eyes.

Duoduo asked, "Has the fire in Shanyang West City been extinguished?"

"Back to the master, it just went out this afternoon." He Luohui said with a flattering face, "But the slave has personally led people to the top of the city to inspect it, and there are still embers still burning, and the heat is unbearable."

Doduo sighed softly when he heard the words, and said: "This is also expected. In this monstrous fire, it will take at least three or two days for the charcoal fire to be completely extinguished."

He Luohui said: "The master wants to take the money from Shanyang Treasury?"

Duoduo hummed and said, "We have suffered such a big loss in Shanyang, so we can't lose any benefits, right? If we can take away the one million taels of silver, at least we can make up for it."

Now Duoduo is also clear that losing face this time is definitely a loss.

Since face can no longer be saved, it is necessary to strive for face as much as possible.

So he had to take away the one million taels of silver that Yan Yingyuan used as bait.

However, just as Duoduo finished speaking, Tun Qi sighed softly and said, "My lord, I'm afraid I don't have time."

"No time?" Duoduo turned his head to stare at Tun Qi, and asked with an unkind expression, "What do you mean by that?"

Tun Qi said with some helplessness: "The weather in Huai'an Mansion has been much warmer during the three days that the prince has been unconscious. The slave just went to the canal to check and found that the ice layer has become much thinner."

"When we came to Huai'an Mansion two months ago, the ice on the canal was two feet thick."

"But now..." Speaking of this meal, Tun Qi said again, "It's less than a foot thick."

"Less than one foot?" Duoduo's pupils suddenly shrank slightly. As a Jurchen, he grew up in the icy and snowy Baishanhei. Doduo knew very well what the ice layer less than half a foot thick meant.

What's worse is that now that it has entered spring, the ice layer in spring will not only become thinner, but also brittle. The ice layer of the same thickness will have a much lower bearing capacity after entering spring than in winter.

A foot of ice is definitely no problem for people and horses to pass through.

But the Hongyi Cannon Ice, which weighs a thousand catties, is not as safe as before.

If there is a breach in the middle, it will directly collapse the ice layer and sink to the bottom of the canal.

Tun Qi continued: "This is the ice layer of the canal. The water in the canal hardly flows, so it melts slowly. The ice layer of the Huaihe River in the north may be even thinner, and it may not be able to bear the weight of the red cannon."

While he was talking, a Ba Yala from Xianglan Banner hurried in.

"My lord." Ba Yala knelt down on one knee and slapped Duoduo, and reported, "I just came back from the Huaihe River, and the thickness of the Huaihe River's ice is less than half a foot."

Hearing this, Dodo's face completely collapsed.

The half-foot-thick ice layer could barely bear the red cannon, but it would definitely not be able to bear it any thinner.

That is to say, if he didn't leave Shanyang County as soon as possible, the [-] men under his command could still escape, but the twenty red cannons brought by Shang Kexi could only be thrown here.

This was obviously intolerable to Duo Duo, who had already lost so many troops in Shanyang, if he threw away the twenty precious red cannons, even Dorgon would not be able to keep him.

Last time in Henan Province, the four Eight Banners Han troops who killed Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming plus more than a hundred red cannons were buried. In the end, Dorgon carried him around. If you can't afford Yi Da Pao, then even Dorgon can't handle it, and then he can only act according to the rules.

Thinking of this, Duoduo didn't hesitate any more, and said in a deep voice: "Send the order, the army will break out of the camp immediately and return to Xuzhou!"

Although He Luohui, Tunqi and other Eight Banners nobles were unwilling, they also knew that this was the best choice. If the stalemate continued under Shanyang City, it was likely to lead to a more tragic failure.

……

Duoduo's order was conveyed, and the army of founding slaves soon began to pack their bags.

Fan Chengmo also started to get busy, but Duoduo waved and said, "Fan Chengmo, come here."

Fan Chengmo hurriedly put down his luggage, walked up to Duoduo and asked, "Master, what are your orders?"

Duoduo thought for a while and asked, "What happened to that dog slave Hou Fangyu? Did he survive in the end?"

Fan Chengmo replied: "Returning to the master, this dog's life is quite tough. It actually survived the most dangerous three days. If there is no accident, it should be able to survive in the end."

While speaking, Fan Chengmo watched Duduo's face.

Noticing that there was still hatred in Doduo's eyes, he continued, "But the slave's hands shook when he cut the knife, so this dog should be worse than those eunuchs who were castrated normally."

Duoduo immediately let out a soft sound and asked, "What kind of tragedy?"

"Leakage of urine." Fan Chengmo chuckled, "So the smell of urine on this dog's body may never be washed off, even if he enters Prince Rui's residence, he can only do the most despicable physical work, and he will never see his future .”

"That's right, you did a good job this time." Duoduo said happily, "I will give you a great reward when you return to Beijing."

"Thank you, master. This slave thanks master Hong En." Fan Chengmo was so excited that he immediately turned over and knelt on the ground and kowtowed. At first, his request was just not to be whipped, but he never thought that he would be rewarded and be valued by his master.

At this moment, Fan Chengmo finally understood why his father made him endure before entering Prince Yu's residence.

Because only patience can keep the clouds clear, if he was working as an errand in Prince Yu's residence with a sense of resistance, he might have been beaten to death by his master long ago.

Duoduo is now really starting to reuse Fan Chengmo.

Because Duoduo discovered that Fan Chengmo inherited Fan Wencheng's brain and intelligence.

Duoduo handed the secret letter just written to Fan Chengmo, and ordered: "You take this letter and three fast horses, change horses along the way without changing people, even if you are exhausted, you must put this letter in the Send it to Prince Rui's residence within three days."

in three days?Fan Chengmo's expression froze for a moment, Huai'an is at least [-] miles away from Beijing.

Isn't this five hundred miles urgent?After running this trip, even if he wasn't exhausted to death, his skin would peel off.

However, as a slave, Fan Chengmo had no choice at all, so he responded immediately and solemnly accepted the letter.

Watching Fan Chengmo disappear from sight on his fast horse, Duoduo sighed. The Battle of Shanyang was like this, with countless casualties and little gains, which is no longer what he can handle.

Therefore, we must discuss with Dorgon first, and then decide what to do next after Dorgon has figured out the countermeasures. If we want to continue to besiege Xuzhou, we must adjust the grain.

And if you want to retreat, where should you retreat?

It would definitely not work to go back in such a despondent manner.

It is inevitable to go to Henan or Shandong.

……

Three days passed quickly, and the time came to the fifth day of May.

Early in the morning, Dorgon invited Ning Wanwo, Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou to Dongnuan Pavilion of Prince Rui's residence to discuss matters.

Ning Wan and the three of us also had official positions in the Qing court, but now they have almost become Dorgon's private recruiters. Having said that, the three of us are very happy about this in our hearts.

"Three gentlemen, please take a look."

"Tumed Mongolia just sent it."

Dorgon handed me an official letter to Ning Wan.

[Note: The division of Chahar Mongolia, Horqin Mongolia, Tumed Mongolia, and Khalkha Mongolia in this book is not divided by tribe, but by region]

After Ning Wan, I read the official letter at a glance and handed it to Fan Wencheng.

After Fan Wencheng read it, he passed it on to Hong Chengchou who was next.

Jiang Chengchou frowned after reading it and said, "Brother Lin Danhan died long ago?"

Fan Wencheng also echoed: "Yes, wasn't Sanggar poisoned by Lin Dan Khan long ago?"

"There is no poisoning." Ning Wanwo shook his head and said, "But it is true that Mao Suwu was exiled."

Fan Wencheng shook his head and said: "What's the difference between exile to Maosuwuna and other barren places and killing him? The slaves think that Sanggar is probably just pretending to be a cat or a dog."

Dorgon tapped the Kang table lightly with his fingers, and said, "From the reactions of Tumote Zhutaiji, this Sanggar doesn't look like a fake, otherwise Shanbataiji wouldn't be so anxious."

"Then this matter will be a bit troublesome." Hong Chengchou frowned.

Fan Wencheng also echoed, "That's right, the Prince of England did a bit too much in Tumed before."

After Ning Wan, I pondered and said: "Pseudo-shun actually managed to find Lin Danhan's younger brother Sanggar, and erected Lin Danhan's Sulu ingot again. It can be seen that the upper echelons of Pseudo-shun are not all incompetent people."

"This person is called Gao Yigong." Dorgon said, "The commander of the Pseudo-Shun Empress Battalion has [-] soldiers stationed in Yulin. Last time the British Prince's army was blocked in northern Shaanxi by this person. There is Li Yan, a lieutenant general, who is also a formidable figure, and he was the one who beat Bahana and Yechen to no avail in Shanxi last fall."

Hong Chengchou said in a deep voice: "Master, this matter needs to be paid enough attention to. Pseudo-shun is not a cause for concern, but if Pseudo-shun succeeds in playing the banner of Lindan Khan and takes over the tribes of Tumed Mongolia and even Chahar Mongolia It is enough to pose a fatal threat to Horqin Mongolia and even Beijing if it belongs to the flag."

Dorgon pondered and said: "Do you think Xu Shun can have such abilities?"

Fan Wencheng said solemnly: "Master, it is better to believe in its existence than in its non-existence. The Book of Rites says that everything will be established if it is forewarned, and it will be abandoned if it is not forewarned. If there is a climate in Monan, it will be too late to regret it, and the difficulty of drawing it will also increase greatly."

"The question is how to prevent it?" Dorgon frowned and said, "Should we send troops to destroy it? Or expel it?"

Hong Chengchou said in a deep voice: "Either transfer a strong Manchurian army to guard Tumed River, or release Ezhe back to Tumed, otherwise Tumed's tribes will be leaderless and they will not be threatened by Sanggar."

Dorgon's brows became more and more frowned. Hong Chengchou said that neither of the two things can be done now. The Qing court neither has the ability to dispatch a Manchurian force to guard Tumo Techuan, nor can it release Ezhe back to Tumo. Especially, because Ezhe is the direct son of Lindan Khan, what if Ezhe returns to Tumed and becomes independent?
Just when Dorgon was hesitating, Cao Eryu said inwardly, "Master, the Huai'an Mansion has an urgent delivery."

"Huai'an Mansion?" Dorgon was immediately refreshed when he heard the words, and couldn't help but said, "Has Huai'an Mansion finally been taken down? Counting the time, it should be taken down."

The three of Hong Chengchou also quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Because all the bad news has come back these days,

There should also be some good news to boost morale.

Only Cao Eryu looked embarrassed, hesitant to speak.

Dorgon's eyes were so sharp, and he instantly noticed Cao Eryu's strangeness.

"Why?" Dorgon's face collapsed, "The Huai'an Mansion was not taken down?"

"Master, you should ask yourself." Cao Eryu turned around and waved, "Bring someone in."

When even two bannermen came in with the support of a dusty messenger, Fan Wencheng just took a look, and exclaimed: "Second brother?!"

"Father." Fan Chengmo couldn't even move.

First gave Fan Wencheng a smile that was uglier than crying, and then said to Dorgon: "There is a secret letter from the master."

Cao Eryu immediately stepped forward and took out a secret letter from Fan Chengmo's arms, and handed it to Dorgon with both hands.

There were not many words in this secret letter, and Dorgon read it quickly, but after reading it, his face turned black instantly, and the temperature in the warm pavilion dropped by eight degrees.

The three of Ning Quanquan looked at each other in blank dismay. Could it be that the Huai'an Mansion was defeated?
Ordinarily impossible, with Prince Yu's [-] army, even if they can't win the Huai'an Mansion, they will definitely not be defeated. What's more, Shang Kexi's twenty red cannons were transferred later, what's going on?
"This is troublesome." After a long while, Dorgon sighed.

After a short pause, he said again: "This is really a dilemma."

(End of this chapter)