After hearing Fan Wencheng's suggestion to retreat to the Mongolian grasslands or Korea, Dorgon was silent for a long time and then asked, "Are we going to retreat to the Mongolian grasslands or Korea?"
"That depends on how many soldiers and horses the prince has left after the battle of Hetuala! If there are few left, we can hide in the grassland for a while. If there are many left, the grassland cannot support so many people, and we can only retreat to North Korea."
"What about Hauge? How to deal with him?" Dorgon asked again.
Fan Wencheng walked up to Dorgon and whispered a few words quickly.
Dorgon nodded: "Thank you Mr. Fan for your advice."
When he returned to the hall, Hauge had been waiting for a long time.
He didn't show any impatience.
Without waiting for Dorgon to stop, Haoge said: "Although Fulin has abdicated the throne to me, I have neither virtue nor talent, and I am not worthy of being the emperor of the Qing Dynasty."
Dorgon narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Seeing this, Haoge continued, "Prince Rui, you are both virtuous and talented. You have sweated, shed blood, and made contributions for the Qing Dynasty! Only you can sit on the throne. No one else is qualified."
"Hey!" Dorgon waved his hands: "The late emperor has already abdicated the throne to you, how can I usurp the throne?"
Hauge thought Dorgon was being polite to him on purpose and continued to persuade him to ascend the throne.
But now Dorgon has no desire to be emperor at all.
Not only did he reject Hauge's persuasion, he also took the lead in kneeling before Hauge to perform the etiquette between a monarch and his subject.
The more Dorgon acted like this, the more frightened Hauge became.
In order to avoid being retaliated by Dorgon, Hauge could only salute Dorgon in the same way.
Dorgon faced north and back south and kowtowed to Haoge.
Hauge faced south and kowtowed to Dorgon.
Others did not dare to stand and knelt down and kowtowed.
For a moment, the whole hall was filled with the sound of booming noises.
Although Dorgon was not very old, he soon suffered from back pain and knee pain and headache due to overwork.
So I had to stop kowtowing.
Hauge didn't dare to stop and continued to kowtow hard.
The others didn't dare to stop and kowtowed more frequently.
Dorgon knew that if he didn't stop them, these people would die here before the Ming army arrived.
He walked up to Haoge, helped him up, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please don't do this! You are trying to embarrass me!"
Looking at Dorgon's sincere face, Hauge finally believed that the other party did not want to be emperor.
As for why he didn't want to be emperor, he didn't know.
The emperor and his ministers exchanged a few pleasantries, and Sony began to talk business: "Your Majesty! Our army has already lost Jiefan Village, and the Ming army will be at the gates of Hetuala within three days. Your Majesty, please decide whether to fight or surrender."
"Of course it's war!" Hauge said without hesitation.
Before becoming emperor, Hauge said that he would rather die than surrender, but he actually had plans to surrender in his heart.
After all, he is just a prince.
After becoming the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he knew clearly that he had no way out.
The sign of destroying a country is capturing the capital and killing the emperor.
For him, fighting to the death might still offer a glimmer of hope.
Surrender means death!
Dorgon was waiting for these words. He bowed and said, "With your words, the Eight Banners soldiers will fight to the death!"
Haoge's eyes wandered around, and finally landed on Dorgon: "How does Prince Rui plan to use his troops?"
"Our army's advantage is field battles. What I mean is that we should try not to engage in city attacks and defenses with the Ming army, but instead lure the enemy deep into our territory to engage in field battles."
"How do you lure the enemy deeper into your territory?"
Dorgon pointed to the map he had prepared in advance and said, "Hetuala is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and in the middle is a relatively flat hilly area. If the Ming army sends troops to attack, the first thing to consider is the issue of food and grass."
"The Ming army is not short of food!" Hauge reminded.
Dorgon nodded: "The Ming army is indeed not short of food, and there are rivers here. But the water is too shallow for ships to sail, so the Ming army can only transport food by land. But the mountain roads around Hetuala are winding and difficult to navigate, and chariots, artillery, and food transport vehicles can barely pass through, and the daily travel distance is very limited."
Hauge supported his chin and thought for a while, then motioned Dorgon to continue.
"My plan is to withdraw our main forces to the east and north of Hetuala before the Ming army attacks Hetuala, leaving only a portion of our forces in the city to defend it. We will use Hetuala as bait to force the Ming army to split up."
"By then, the Ming army will have to send heavy troops to surround the city, and also divide its troops to confront our main force."
"What if the Ming army attacks the city?" Hauge asked.
Dorgon replied: "If the Ming army dares to attack the city, the Eight Banners soldiers in the east of the city will attack the flanks while they are attacking. The Ming army will be attacked from both sides and it will be difficult for them to win."
Haoge thought for a moment and asked again: "What if the Ming army only besieged the city but did not attack it?"
"If the Ming army only besieged the city without attacking it, they would have to continuously transport food and fodder here. Considering the terrain and the Ming army's existing food transportation capacity, it is difficult to meet the needs of tens of thousands of troops."
"Even if enough food and fodder can be transported, I will find a way to sneak attack the Ming army's food supply route and cause them to run out of food and fodder."
Haoge thought about it again: "This method is feasible, but...how to divide the troops? As the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, I can't hide in the palace to avoid fighting. I must go to the front line in person, boost morale, and command the battle!"
This is Hauge's ultimate goal.
Didn’t Dorgon say that he wanted to divide the troops?
Then he would try to take back some of the military power by dividing the troops.
Only with military power can he be called the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Otherwise, you are just a puppet and waste.
Dorgon had expected that Haoge would volunteer, so he suppressed his smile and said, "Your Majesty is a man of ten thousand gold. If something unexpected happens on the battlefield, it will be a disaster for the Qing Dynasty. So I suggest that Your Majesty stay in the imperial city and command the battle."
"No, I must command the troops and fight personally." Hauge insisted.
"Since Your Majesty insists, I can't say much." Dorgon took out a small soldier's token and held it high in his hand, saying, "I will lead the main force out of the city to fight the Ming army in the field. Your Majesty, please stay in the city to command the troops in the city to contain the main force of the Ming army."
Hauge was extremely dissatisfied.
Dorgon led the main force out of the city, but asked him to defend the city to the death.
Is this reasonable?
What if we can’t defend the city?
Even if he could defend the city, Dorgon might not be able to defeat the Ming army outside the city.
If defeated, Dorgon would flee.
He ran away, but I couldn't run away.
By then, he will have no food inside and no reinforcements outside.
It is only a matter of time before the city falls.
"Prince Rui," Haoge looked at Dorgon, "Isn't this arrangement unreasonable?"
Dorgon asked: "Excuse me, Your Majesty, what is unreasonable?"
Hauge replied: "I am the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. How can I defend an isolated city alone? If I am defeated, I will have nowhere to escape."
Dorgon smiled lightly: "As the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, I should live and die with the capital of the Qing Dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
