"Jirgalang cannot fall!" Bumbutai said to Fulin.
"Mother wants to protect him?" Fulin raised his head and looked at his mother.
"Yes and no!" Bumbutai sighed, "Jirgalang is deeply trusted by Taizu and Taizong. He has a high prestige in the army, especially in the banner. It is not easy to depose him."
"Of course, it's not that Jirgalang cannot fall, but before he falls, we need to support someone who can fight against Duoduo head-on. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand!" Fulin nodded.
Although he is young, he grew up in an environment of intrigue and deception.
In addition to the earnest guidance of Bumbutai and others, his mind is much more mature than his peers.
"Mother, just tell me what you want to do, and I will do it one by one!" Fulin said seriously.
"Well," Bumbutai blinked and thought for a while before saying, "I'll have someone send a message to the ministers and generals of the Zhenghuang and Xianghuang banners in Beijing to reach a consensus with them. They will propose the matter during the afternoon meeting. You don't need to say much, just express your opinion at the critical moment."
Fulin nodded.
Under Bumbutai's arrangement, messages were sent out of the palace one after another.
Time quickly came to the afternoon.
All the senior officials and generals of the Eight Banners in Beijing (Shenyang) were present.
Duoduo presided over the meeting personally.
"Your Majesty," he said first, "Jirgalang failed to command properly. Not only did he lose Jinzhou, but he also lost many soldiers! According to the rules, he should be punished!"
"How many soldiers and horses did Prince Zheng lose?" Fulin asked.
Duoduo unfolded the paper in his hand and took a look. After confirming that it was correct, he said, "During the entire Battle of Songjin, Jirgalang lost 13,000 soldiers and horses, which is not a small number!"
"Actually... not a lot!" Luo Luohun, who was always taciturn, poked his head out and said.
In order to save Jirgalang, Fulin and Bumbutai can only pin their hopes on Luo Luoshen.
Jirgalang's troops retreated to Guangning Guard and were unable to return to Shengjing to attend the court meeting.
Man Dahai was also stationed in Guangningwei area and was unable to return to Shengjing.
The only one who could confront Duoduo head-on was Luo Luohun, the leader of the Red Banner.
After analyzing the pros and cons and promising the other party a lot of benefits, Luo Luohun finally agreed to help Fulin fight against Duoduo.
"Many people did die in the entire Battle of Songjin, but half of them were Outer Mongolian soldiers, and the Eight Banners soldiers only accounted for 50%!" Luo Luohun continued.
"Fifty percent of them are more than 6,000 people!" Duoduo glared at Luo Luohun.
"The Ming army suffered losses of tens of thousands, so it is a bit too much to say that Prince Zheng's command was inappropriate." Luo Luohun continued to object.
"Tens of thousands? Haha!" Duoduo sneered, "Do you believe it? If he really killed tens of thousands of Ming soldiers, he wouldn't have lost Jinzhou!"
Luo Luo was speechless and just stood there without saying anything.
"The exact number of Ming soldiers killed is all Jirgalang's own words, and there is no way to verify it at present! Considering that he is too old, I will not care too much about it!" Duoduo rolled his eyes at Luo Luohun and then questioned, "It was his mismanagement that caused the loss of Jinzhou City, right?"
"If he hadn't moved most of the garrison out of the city, leaving only the old, weak, and sick in the city, the rebels would have had no chance or ability to capture Jinzhou."
"So, Jirgalang has an unshirkable responsibility for losing Jinzhou!"
"This is indeed his responsibility!" Luo Luohun nodded, "But it's not a big deal."
"Losing cities and territory is not a big deal?" Duoduo stared.
"It's really not a big deal!" Luo Luo said nonchalantly, "To put it in a positive way, Jinzhou's strategic significance is not as great as imagined. To put it bluntly, if there is no attempt to seize the Central Plains in the short term, Jinzhou will have no meaning in the hands of the Qing Dynasty."
"What kind of bullshit logic is this?" Duoduo's eyes were wide open, giving people the feeling that he was ready to hit someone at any time.
"Don't worry, Prince Yu!" Luo Luohun took a half step back and began to explain: "In the seventh year of Tianming (the second year of Tianqi), Emperor Taizu (Nurhaci) divided his troops into three groups to attack Guangning. After learning that Guangning had fallen, the then Liaodong Jinglüe of the Ming court immediately abandoned Jinzhou and Ningyuan and led all the soldiers and civilians to retreat to Shanhaiguan!"
"Emperor Taizu only sent troops to destroy the city walls, but did not occupy these cities."
"First, we don't have enough troops, and second, only by letting the Ming army in can we bring into play the advantages of the Eight Banners Army in field battles."
"Bullshit!" Duoduo was furious. "According to what you said, Ningyuan has no strategic significance to our Qing Dynasty, and Haoge should not be punished for his defeat in Ningyuan!"
"I didn't say that." Luo Luohun was frightened by Duoduo's momentum and took another half step back.
"You've already said it!" Duoduo took a step forward with an imposing manner.
"Okay," Fulin spoke up in time to stop them, "Losing a city or territory is a crime. The rewards and punishments within the Eight Banners are clear, and no one can break this rule."
"However," Fulin changed the subject, "Although Prince Zheng lost Ningyuan, the loss of troops was not large. As long as the people are still there, he can come back at any time and take the city back."
"Your Majesty," Duoduo continued to press on without backing down, "If it was just the loss of a city or a land, I wouldn't be so excited."
"Although Prince Zheng lost a small number of troops in his defeat at Jinzhou, he lost a lot of supplies! According to reliable sources, he lost dozens of artillery pieces, hundreds of thousands of pounds of gunpowder and matching shells, nearly 100,000 shi of grain, and countless weapons and armor!"
"These supplies were earned with the blood and sweat of the Eight Banners soldiers, but Jirgalang just gave them to the Ming army. It would be hard to convince the people if we don't punish him severely."
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion!"
Four or five ministers and generals of the Eight Banners came out to support.
Luo Luohun wanted to say something in rebuttal, but he had no suitable words in his mind, so he could only stand there in silence.
"Prince Zheng has worked hard for the country for half his life. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Yes, Prince Zheng is devoted to the country and has no selfish motives. Please understand, Your Majesty!" The Eight Banners generals and ministers who supported Jirgalang began to plead for mercy.
However, these suggestions were quickly drowned out by opposition.
Seeing that the first plan failed, Fulin had to implement the second plan.
He coughed lightly to signal everyone to be silent.
After the court returned to silence, Fulin said leisurely: "It is a fact that Prince Zheng lost Jinzhou. I will neither be partial nor cover up!"
"But Prince Zheng has made great contributions and hastily punished him, which may chill the hearts of the Eight Banners soldiers. Therefore, I have decided to summon all the princes, dukes, and beiles back to the capital to discuss the punishment for Prince Zheng!"
"What do you think?"
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