On the evening of May 18th, in Hetuala City.

An Eight Banners soldier tumbled and crawled to Fulin and said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. Tens of thousands of Ming troops have suddenly surrounded Jiefan Mountain. General Luo Keduo, who was leading the cavalry at the foot of the mountain, was killed in battle, and the cavalry was routed."

"Ah?" Fulin was surprised and asked quickly, "Where is Prince Li? Where is he?"

"When the cavalry was defeated, Prince Li was on the mountain supervising the battle and did not run out. Now the Ming army is besieging Jiefan Mountain, and the battle situation is unclear."

Fulin asked: "Are there any Ming troops chasing after the fleeing soldiers?"

The Eight Banners soldiers replied: "Only a small group of Ming troops pursued us, but they retreated halfway."

"That's good, that's good." Fulin breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that the Ming army would be at the gates of the city like last time.

But it was just a relief, the situation was not resolved.

Fulin was like an ant on a hot pot, pacing back and forth: "What...what should I do?"

Anxiously, Bumbutai walked in from outside the door.

Looking at Fulin who looked anxious, Bumbutai asked, "What's wrong?"

Fulin repeated what the Eight Banners soldier had said just now and asked, "Mother, what should we do?"

Bumbutai bit her lip and thought for a while, then asked the Eight Banners soldier, "Where is Prince Rui?"

The Eight Banners soldier didn't know whether to answer or not, so he looked up at Fulin.

Fulin yelled, "It's already this late, and you're still thinking about the broken rule that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs."

The Eight Banners soldier immediately lowered his head and replied, "Prince Rui is on his way back to Hetuala from Abdaligang."

"Does he already know about the battle situation at Jiefan Mountain?"

The Eight Banners soldier shook his head: "I don't think they know yet."

Logically speaking, this kind of information would not be told to Fulin directly, but to Dorgon first.

But he was still on his way back to Hetuala.

Moreover, the defeated soldiers from Jiefan Mountain had already fled back to Hetuala, so even if the people below wanted to conceal the news, they could not.

So I told Fulin as soon as possible.

"What should we do, mother?" Fulin looked at Bumbutai again.

"You step back first." Bumbutai pointed at the Eight Banners soldier who brought the news.

"Yeah." The Eight Banners soldier turned and left, closing the door behind him as he left.

Only mother and son were left in the room.

"Fulin," Bumbutai asked in a low voice, "Did Fan Wencheng come to see you a few days ago?"

Fulin admitted, “Yes.”

"What did he say to you?"

"He started out by saying a bunch of nonsense, and then he emphasized the word 'think twice' at the end."

Bumbutai looked at Fulin with a gentle gaze and asked slowly, "What do you think the meaning of thinking twice?"

"I think it means to be prepared for danger, change, and retreat!"

Bumbutai sighed softly and said seriously: "Fulin, have you thought twice?"

Fulin suddenly became alert. He looked up at his mother and asked, "What does mother mean?"

Bumbutai did not continue the previous topic, but said: "I have something to ask you."

Fulin knew that the matter was of great importance, so he bowed and saluted before saying, "Excuse me, mother."

"Do you want to live or... die?"

Fulin subconsciously took a half step back and looked up at Bumbutai again: "What do you mean, mother? Do you want me to die?"

"Silly child!" Bumbutai smiled bitterly: "I only gave birth to you as my son, how could I hope you would die?"

(Bumbutai had four children, Fulin was her only son, and the other three were daughters.)

Fulin took another half step back and said, "Then why did you ask me if I wanted to die?"

Bumbutai sighed and said, "Fulin, although I don't know how to march and fight, I know how to win or lose. Although the Ming army has been advancing slowly since entering Liao, they have been winning. They first won the Battle of Ningyuan, then the Battle of Songjin, and later the Battle of Guangning."

"Although our Qing Dynasty has won battles, we have lost more than we have won. We even lost our capital and retreated to the so-called birthplace of the dragon."

"Now the Ming army has surrounded Jiefan Village with heavy troops. Dorgon has no time to provide support. It is a foregone conclusion that Jiefan Village will be lost."

"Once Jiefan Village is lost, Hetuala will have nowhere to defend."

"It's only a matter of time before Hetuala is lost."

"As the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, how can the Ming army spare you?"

Fulin said: "I can escape..."

"Run?" Bumbutai suddenly sneered: "How to run? Where to run? How many useful people are there around you? How many loyal ministers and righteous men are there?"

Seeing Fulin lowered his head and said nothing, Bumbutai continued, "I dare not say more, as long as the Ming army offers a reward of ten thousand taels of silver, someone will immediately surrender you to the Ming army."

Fulin thought about it and nodded in agreement.

In his opinion, there was no need to offer a reward of ten thousand taels of silver. Only five hundred or one thousand taels would be needed, and the Eight Banners soldiers would take the risk.

After all, the Eight Banners soldiers are also human beings.

Not only were they owed wages for several months, but sometimes they couldn't even fill their stomachs.

Not surrendering directly has already been considered the most humane thing to do.

Fulin became more and more panicked, and asked hurriedly: "If that's the case, what should I do?"

Bumbutai took a deep breath and said, "If you want to live, you have to give up the throne. Only in this way will the Ming army not kill you!"

Give up the throne...

Fulin lowered his head and did not respond.

Bumbutai's eyebrows moved slightly: "Why? Do you still want to be the emperor of the Qing Dynasty? To be the king of a fallen country?"

Fulin bowed deeply and said, "In reply to your mother, I have long since stopped wanting to be the emperor. The so-called emperor is just a puppet without real power. I will feel uncomfortable every day I spend on the throne. I am just wondering where I can go after I stop being the emperor."

"After losing the throne, will I be able to survive?"

Bumbutai stepped forward and stroked Fulin's forehead: "You are my son. I will let you live even if it costs my life. If not, I will die with you."

When Fulin heard Bumbutai say this, tears suddenly flowed down his face.

Seeing Fulin crying, Bumbutai could no longer hold back her emotions and began to cry silently.

She was afraid of being heard by people outside the door, so she didn't dare cry out loud.

The mother and son cried for a while, and gradually stopped crying.

Fulin asked, "What is mother's plan?"

Bumbutai said without hesitation: "Give up the throne and escape before the Ming army surrounds Hetuala."

Fulin gritted his teeth and asked, "Are you going to give the throne to Dorgon?"

I thought Bumbutai would nod in agreement.

But Bumbutai shook her head slightly to deny it.

If not to Dorgon, to whom else could he abdicate?

He couldn't possibly abdicate the throne to his personal eunuch Wu Liangfu, right?