Prince Rui's Palace.
Dorgon personally poured a cup of tea for Fan Wencheng: "Mr. Fan, at the court meeting this morning, Haoge was deposed, and the position of the leader of the Zhenglan Banner is vacant. If nothing unexpected happens, a new leader will be elected in the afternoon. Should I try to get a chance?"
"What does Your Majesty want to fight for?" Fan Wencheng took the teacup personally and asked respectfully.
"Of course it's the position of the leader of the Zhenglan Banner!" Dorgon answered somewhat puzzledly.
"Your Highness, how confident are you that you can become the leader of the banner?" Fan Wencheng continued to ask.
Dorgon thought for a moment and said, "Well... the power of the Qing Dynasty is composed of the Eight Banners! Fulin is the leader of the Plain Yellow Banner and the Bordered Yellow Banner. He probably won't agree when the election is made this afternoon."
"Luo Luohun probably won't object, but he won't agree either. He will most likely remain silent."
"Dodo is my brother, he will do whatever I say."
Fan Wencheng counted on his fingers and analyzed: "The Yellow Banner and the Yellow Banner are against it, the Red Banner and the Red Banner remain silent, and the White Banner and the White Banner support it. The Blue Banner currently has no leader, so it can be temporarily excluded. The only variable is Jirgalang of the Blue Banner, right?"
"Yes," Dorgon nodded. "If Jirgalang agrees, I can become the leader of the banner. If he doesn't agree, there's basically no chance!"
"Your Highness, do you think Jirgalang will agree? He and you are sworn enemies!" Fan Wencheng reminded.
"That's terrible!" Dorgon shook his head and sighed, "This guy has always been at odds with me."
"Then why is Your Majesty still fighting for it?"
"Let's give it a try. What if it works?" Dorgon said with a smile.
"It's better not to do something that you are not sure of, and you shouldn't try it!" Fan Wencheng looked serious.
"Why?"
"Because it will expose your ambitions!" Fan Wencheng said earnestly, "There are many people who want to be the leader of the Zhenglan Banner! Before you expose your ambitions, you are in the dark; after you expose your ambitions, you are in the light! Your Majesty is already guilty, if you show up in the light at this time, you will be attacked by other competitors."
"Given your status as a prince, other competitors will unite against you and make you the target of public criticism!"
"It would be fine if you were sure you could become the leader of the flag, but you are not sure! Facing the siege of everyone, your originally low chances of winning will be almost gone!"
Dorgon put down his teacup and realized the seriousness of the problem.
After a moment, he looked up and asked, “Mr. Fan, since the situation is so serious, what should I do in the afternoon?”
“Give up the competition and recommend others.”
"Who do you recommend?"
"Prince Zheng Jirgalang." Fan Wencheng said solemnly.
Dorgon did not show any surprise.
Fan Wencheng has always thought like this, and he has gotten used to it.
However, for the sake of caution, he still asked: "Why do you want to recommend Jirgalang? He is not only the leader of the Bordered Blue Banner, but also the regent appointed by Fulin! If he is made the leader of the Plain Blue Banner, he will be the only one in power in the court."
"We want to be the only one in power, and the bigger the better!" Fan Wencheng said with a sinister smile, "During the court meeting this afternoon, you must not only nominate him as the leader of the banner, but also recommend him as the general! Only in this way can his power be maximized. Only in this way can others and the emperor feel threatened."
"Hiss!" Dorgon gasped, "Mr. Fan wants to use the court to kill Jirgalang?"
"Yes and no." Fan Wencheng moved forward and whispered, "As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility! The Ming army is confronting our army in Jinzhou. As a powerful official of the court, Prince Zheng should go to Jinzhou to personally command the battle."
"It's fine if he wins, but if he loses, all his shortcomings and mistakes will be magnified! Not only will he lose the emperor's trust, but he will also be attacked by others. The higher you fly, the harder you fall. Even if Prince Zheng doesn't die from the fall, he will be crippled."
"Even if Prince Zheng wanted to at that time, he was powerless to become a stumbling block to the prince's comeback."
Bang!
"Once Jirgalang falls, there will be no obstacle to my comeback! Hahaha!" Dorgon slapped the table and stood up. He bowed deeply to Fan Wencheng: "Mr. Fan is truly the modern-day Sleeping Dragon!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness!" Fan Wencheng stood up and returned the greeting with a smile.
Boom boom boom.
There was a knock on the door and someone said, "Your Majesty, it's almost time to go to Chongzheng Hall to attend the court meeting."
"I understand. I'll leave now." Dorgon stood up and said goodbye to Fan Wencheng.
"There is one more thing," Fan Wencheng instructed, "After the selection of the flag leader is confirmed, the emperor will definitely ask how to fight the next battle. Your Highness must advocate the initiative to withdraw troops from Jinzhou and let the Ming army enter Liao."
"Why...is this?"
Fan Wencheng replied: "There are two reasons why Haoge was defeated in Ningyuan. One is that the Ming army's firearms are sharp, especially artillery! Under the tactical use of earth-piling hills, the Ming army's artillery shines!"
"The second reason for the defeat is that the Ming army has a navy that is good at land warfare! They landed at Tashan and cut off Hauge's retreat, causing his army to lose morale!"
"The situation in Jinzhou and Ningyuan is similar. As long as the Ming army uses the right tactics, it is only a matter of time before they capture Jinzhou."
"But..." Dorgon hesitated and said, "If we give up Jinzhou, the Ming army will advance smoothly, and there will be another Jinzhou by then."
"No, there is only one Jinzhou." Fan Wencheng shook his head: "First of all, the Ming army has to divide its troops to garrison. The more cities they occupy, the more troops they have to allocate! The fewer troops they can mobilize to attack the next city."
"Secondly, Liaodong has many rivers and swamps everywhere! The heavy cannons will not only fail to help the Ming army capture cities and territories, but will become a burden to the Ming army. Moreover, this is the world of cavalry, and the Ming army only has tens of thousands of cavalry, which is not enough!"
"So letting them in to fight is the best way! This is an opportunity to show your overall perspective, Your Majesty. You must seize it."
"I understand." Dorgon left in a hurry.
At this time, the wind began to blow in Shengjing City.
The strong wind blew up the dust on the ground, blowing it into the faces of passers-by, making their eyes blurry.
Amidst the flying dust, a carriage was moving quickly.
Dorgon sat in the carriage, his heart pounding.
For the first time in five years, he saw hope of returning to power at court.
Although it was still a long way from hope, it gave him hope.
Dark clouds were rolling over the carriage, and it seemed that a storm was about to come.
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