Chapter 162: Peace and Prosperity
The victory at Baixiang Town brought Dorgon back to his senses in the capital. He split his forces into two groups. Ajige advanced westward, sieging Taiyuan for a long time without success. While Duoduo had been lucky, he was likely to be defeated piecemeal by either the Kenan or Dashun armies. So Dorgon ordered Duoduo to turn back and attack Tongguan.
Dorgon's mistake was that he had assumed he was supreme, forgetting how his father, Nurhaci, died. Without Wu Sangui, they wouldn't have been able to enter the interior, much less live in the Forbidden City. He mistakenly believed that sending 80,000 troops from each convoy would bring the empire under the Qing.
But now they could no longer continue their offensive, as they were running out of food and supplies. They needed a break. Therefore, Duoduo could only rest and recuperate east of Huaiqing, Henan, and confront the Shun army. Ajige could only lay siege to Taiyuan without attacking.
Li Zicheng was also busy in Shaanxi, recruiting troops. He aimed to restore the Shanhaiguan military by the next year and began measuring land to prepare for tax collection. He also executed numerous members of the Ming imperial family. The defeat at Shanhaiguan had sparked a rebellion among the landlords and gentry, who were already dissatisfied with Li Zicheng. They secretly murdered Dashun officials and even began to organize troops to rebel. Li Zicheng was forced to suppress these rebels, and after suppressing them, he began to compromise and stopped recovering stolen goods and providing military funds.
This series of operations also temporarily stabilized Li Zicheng's territory, so Li Zicheng began to train troops and build cities. It was as if he was preparing for a decisive battle with the Qing army.
After Zhao Xiaofei discovered that Duoduo was heading west, he immediately sent troops to occupy the southern part of Shandong and the northern part of Anhui, but he did not advance any further because he also needed to take a breath and digest the occupied territory.
At the end of the year, Fang Xinyu sent a telegram informing Zhao Xiaofei and his men that over 100,000 White-Pole Soldiers had been trained and were ready to attack Sichuan at any time. Zhao Xiaofei replied, biding his time and waiting for the right opportunity. If Qin Liangyu could defeat Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan, he would grant her the title of a county prince. This would make her the first princess to be crowned a prince for her military achievements, a feat unprecedented and unparalleled in Chinese history.
Although Qin Liangyu was over seventy years old, she was still looking forward to being crowned a king. If Fang Xinyu, her great-grandson-in-law, hadn't stopped her, Qin Liangyu would have immediately sent troops to wipe out Zhang Xianzhong.
At this time, Ming Dynasty generals from all over Sichuan, including Zeng Ying, Li Zhanchun, Yu Dahai, Wang Xiang, Yang Zhan, and Cao Xun, gathered their troops. They had received orders from Nanjing to attack the Daxi peasant army and massacre local officials, hoping to pose a serious threat to the Daxi regime. They demanded silver, food, and weapons.
Fang Xinyu knew Nanjing's plan long ago, and was ready to follow Qin Yiming and lead the white-pole soldiers to attack Zhang Xianzhong after these people started to rise up.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaofei in Nanjing was in the palace, strolling in the garden with his wife, Princess Kunxing. Zhao Xiaofei said, "It's getting colder lately, so we should go out less and walk less. We should also come to the palace less often. It's just a time to receive foreign guests! Is it necessary for a pregnant woman like you to come here? I wonder what the Queen Mother is thinking?"
"The Ming Dynasty has just stabilized, and the new emperor needs submission and recognition from all quarters soon after ascending the throne. Many of the kings here were canonized by our Ming Dynasty during the Yongle period. Without our canonization, the people in their countries would not even recognize their thrones. Similarly, their coming to pay homage to us is also a recognition of the new emperor, which will naturally make the throne more stable!" said Princess Kunxing.
"Then why did we ask you to come? I have the biggest objection to the Queen Mother. What if she has a miscarriage?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"It's spread all over the place now that there are four female generals guarding the Ming Dynasty. They are jokingly called the Four Heroines! I am a princess, how can I not attend such an occasion?" Princess Kunxing said.
"I understand. I just want you to come over and show off your skills, so that those younger brothers around here can be scared!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
Princess Kunxing couldn't help but smile when she heard Zhao Xiaofei say this, "My husband, what you said is very interesting, as if it were a brawl between street scoundrels!"
"Do you think there is a difference? Think about it?" Zhao Xiaofei said with a smile.
At this time, Wang Erxi came to them and said, "Your Highness, Princess, the show is about to begin. Please return to the palace!"
"Xiao Xizi! What's the rush? Pregnant women need to move around more when they're about to give birth," Zhao Xiaofei said. It turned out that the eunuch Wang Zhao Xiaofei was referring to had also changed to Xiao Xizi as his status changed.
"Oh, Your Highness, as a eunuch, there is no way I can know this in my lifetime!" Wang Erxi said self-deprecatingly.
"Okay! Let's go back! Let those foreigners see the dance I choreographed!" After Zhao Xiaofei said that, he took Princess Kunxing back.
Arriving at Fengtian Hall, all the civil and military officials congratulated the emperor on the New Year. When it was Zhao Xiaofei and Princess Kunxing's turn, Zhu Cijiong, sitting on the dragon throne, said, "Sister, you're pregnant, so please don't be polite!"
Princess Kunxing did not perform the ceremony, but Zhao Xiaofei knelt down and performed the ceremony. After all the ministers had performed the ceremony, each country entered the hall to perform the ceremony.
Wang Erxi then began to sing loudly: "Zheng Xiao, the envoy of Annan, has come to see you!"
Zheng Xiao entered the hall and bowed, saying, "The envoys from this country greet His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Long live His Majesty!"
Zhu Cijiong said, "No need to be polite, just stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! This is our country's letter. Please preview it, Your Majesty!" Zheng Xiao said.
After Wang Erxi went down to receive the letter of credence, Zheng Xiao stepped back and stood aside. Wang Erxi continued to greet him, "Panta, the special envoy of the King of Siam, presents an audience!"
As Wang Erxi saluted, one envoy after another came in to pay their respects and present their credentials. Zhu Cijiong was very excited. It was his first time to see so many ethnic minorities. Their strange clothing was very new to Zhu Cijiong. And listening to their awkward Chinese, Zhu Cijiong found it very funny.
After meeting these envoys, Zhu Cijiong sent gifts in return. This was his motto: if you don't bring gifts, who would consider you the boss? Of course, the gifts were all modern industrial products. Glass, mirrors, perfume, soap, various cosmetics, and even sanitary napkins, specially gifted to the queens of these small nations. Hundreds of boxes were sent at a time, leading to the establishment of a dedicated fleet to ship sanitary napkins around the world.
These envoys were brought here by Zheng Zhilong's fleet. Zheng Zhilong was the boss of the South China Sea. How could the surrounding small countries not give him face? Zhao Xiaofei asked him to notify the envoys of various countries to come to the new emperor, and Zheng Zhilong immediately did it! He had to do it! If he didn't, Zhao Xiaofei would dare to cut off his supply immediately. Glass, mirrors, and cosmetics are all highly profitable industries. So Zheng Zhilong had no choice but to obey and invite those envoys.
The last one was the Portuguese ambassador, who said his name was Du Chen and he was the military commander stationed in Macau. After the banquet, Zhao Xiaofei secretly invited him to the Anqing Palace.
At the evening banquet, Zhao Xiaofei had fireworks set off for an hour. These were custom-made in modern times, and the final set could even be combined to form a "Long Live the Ming Dynasty." The display was dazzling and beautiful. Zhu Cijiong and Princess Zhaoren were the most delighted, and they kept dragging Zhao Xiaofei along to watch the fireworks display.
After watching the fireworks display, Zhaoren secretly said to Zhao Xiaofei: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! I want to marry you too! I want to be as happy as my sister!"
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