After listening to the demands of the Eight Banners generals, Dorgon suddenly felt a headache.
He knew the situation was serious, but he didn't expect it to be so serious.
Lack of food, lack of soldiers, lack of gunpowder, lack of weapons and armor, lack of war horses...
Seeing Dorgon frowning in thought, Fan Wencheng reminded him softly, "Your Majesty, they are all waiting for you to express your opinion."
"Oh, yes," Dorgon pretended to be relaxed and said to everyone, "Don't worry, these problems are not problems."
The generals were puzzled and looked at each other with doubts.
Fan Wencheng helped explain: "Food, firearms, gunpowder, weapons and armor can all be obtained through smuggling."
"War horses can be provided by the Mongols. As for the soldiers... there are three solutions."
"One is to recruit soldiers for military service, the second is to go into the mountains to capture the Solon people, and the third is to borrow troops from Korea, Luosha, and even the Japanese pirates."
Since Fan Wencheng's words were well-reasoned, the generals breathed a sigh of relief.
Dorgon also breathed a sigh of relief.
In addition to lacking these things, the Qing Dynasty also lacked the most important thing: morale!
Morale comes from confidence.
Only when you have enough confidence can your morale be high.
And the confidence comes from food, soldiers, firearms and gunpowder, etc.
It was already noon.
Dorgon prepared some delicious food and hosted a banquet for everyone in his mansion.
Due to time constraints, everyone only ate and did not drink.
While eating, Dorgon summoned Fan Wencheng to his study to ask for countermeasures.
"I wonder what the prince wants to ask?"
"Of course it's about smuggling!" Dorgon said with a frown.
"Hasn't smuggling always been going smoothly?" Fan Wencheng asked, "Why is Your Majesty still worried?"
Dorgon sighed and said, "It was indeed going smoothly before, but recently I don't know what went wrong with Zheng Zhilong. The amount of smuggled goods has been decreasing each time, and there have been repeated delays."
"In addition, the food and fodder that our army urgently needs will take at least half a month to arrive in southern Liaoning, and it will take ten days or even half a month to transport it from southern Liaoning to Liaoyang."
"If the Ming army launches an attack within this half month, it will be a disaster for the Qing Dynasty!"
Fan Wencheng also frowned after listening to this.
He thought for a moment and asked, "What does Your Majesty want me to do?"
"I hope you can think of a way to delay the Ming army's offensive!" Dorgon spoke with anticipation on his face, but he did not have much hope in his heart.
Now the two sides are fighting a national war, this is not a child's play.
Is it possible to temporarily stop the war?
Obviously it is impossible.
He certainly wouldn't hold out hope since he knew it was a losing battle.
Fan Wencheng first frowned and thought for a long time, then covered his head with his hands and fell into deep thought.
After an unknown amount of time, the servant's voice rang out from outside: "Your Majesty, the Eight Banners soldiers have finished their meal and are waiting for you to discuss matters."
Dorgon sighed, knowing that the matter was hopeless, and stood up to walk out.
"Your Highness!" Fan Wencheng suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Fan, have you come up with a solution?" Dorgon suppressed his emotions and asked softly.
“Got it!”
"That's great!" Dorgon jumped up excitedly.
The great joy made him forget about his own identity.
"I, Dorgon, am fortunate to have Mr. Fan's assistance!" Dorgon said happily, grabbing Fan Wencheng's shoulders.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I am just a county student. It is my honor to be able to offer advice to Your Majesty."
"Time is running out, Mr. Fan, just speak directly."
"If we want to delay the Ming army's offensive, we need a few prisoners!" Fan Wencheng raised his head and looked into Dorgon's eyes.
"Who?" Dorgon asked.
"The entire family of Prince Lu of the Ming court, and... Zu Dashou himself!" Fan Wencheng said slowly, "In the first year of our dynasty, they entered the pass to plunder, but ended up returning with heavy casualties. Prince Duoluo Wuying (Ajige) and Ebilun died on the battlefield, and their bodies could not be brought back to Liaodong."
"We had previously sent people to contact the Ming court, hoping to exchange Prince Lu's entire family for their remains."
"The Ming court agreed, but the condition is to take Zu Dashou with him."
"Considering the situation at the time, the Qing Dynasty failed to agree, and the matter was eventually dropped."
"Now it's time to hand them over to the Ming court together."
Dorgon frowned and fell into deep thought again.
He did not object to handing over Prince Lu. After all, Prince Lu was of no use to him except for eating and drinking.
But Zu Dashou is different.
He was not only Wu Sangui's uncle, but also the former commander of the Guanning Army.
Although he is old, his prestige remains.
Now the Guanning Army, under the command of Wu Sangui, has already betrayed the Ming court.
If Zu Dashou were allowed to go back, it would most likely lead to a change of power within the Guanning Army, and they would do things that were completely opposite to what happened before.
Fan Wencheng guessed Dorgon's doubts and explained: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. There are three benefits to letting Zu Dashou go back."
“What are the three benefits?”
"First, it can delay the Ming army's offensive and buy time for the Qing Dynasty to prepare food and fodder."
"Secondly, it can disrupt the internal balance of relations within the Guanning Army, which is extremely beneficial to the Qing Dynasty."
"Wait," Dorgon interrupted Fan Wencheng's thoughts, "Mr. Fan, are you sure it will be beneficial to the Qing Dynasty, not harmful?"
"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" Fan Wencheng asked.
"Now Wu Sangui has betrayed his allies! If Zu Dashou is allowed to return, he may not betray his allies like Wu Sangui after regaining military power. Wouldn't this be harmful to the Qing Dynasty?"
"Not really," Fan Wencheng laughed, "Chongzhen has always been suspicious, and Zu Dashou has changed masters several times, which is a big taboo. Besides, he is old, Chongzhen will definitely not use him again."
"What if?" Dorgon asked worriedly.
Fan Wencheng laughed again and said, "Wu Sangui is a greedy man who cannot bear to be under someone else's control! It is true that Zu Dashou is his uncle, but he has been in control of the Guanning Army for ten years!"
"Even if Chongzhen reappointed Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui would not say anything on the surface, but he would certainly feel rebellious in his heart."
"When emotions accumulate to a certain level, not only will they betray their allies, they might even lead their troops to defect to the Qing Dynasty."
Dorgon didn't know what to say, so he could only frown and continue thinking.
Fan Wencheng continued, "The third point is also the most important one. I have said before that the Qing Dynasty lacks a person who can turn the tide and save the collapsing building!"
"Once the news of the exchange of Prince Duoluo Wuying and Ebilun's remains spreads, the loyalty of the Eight Banners generals to the prince will greatly increase."
"When there are enough generals like this, your prestige will reach an unprecedented height."
"By then, you will be able to turn the tide and support the great edifice, becoming the pillar of the Qing Dynasty!"
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