Although Zhu Ci was full of reluctance, he did not interrupt Fu's words.
His emotions also transitioned from initial resistance to eventually calming down.
Wu Xia and Jiang Xueyan exchanged a glance, both feeling that Grand Secretary Fu truly had his ways.
If it were anyone else, the Emperor might have already kicked them out by this time.
Zhu Ci looked outside; time passed unhurriedly. More than four years had passed in the blink of an eye since he had traveled through time.
He had to admit that Fu was actually making a valid point.
The Great Ming currently operates under significant strain; the National Treasury is never particularly full, the Ministry of Revenue is essentially in a state of having to meticulously calculate how to provide disaster relief whenever a major catastrophe occurs in any region.
Sometimes, they even had to take from one place to cover another, forced to purchase grain from the common people.
Many times, it was only because the grain merchants in Fu's hands sold at low prices that things could barely be maintained.
This was still because the weather had been relatively favorable over these years, without the occurrence of the natural disasters seen during the Chongzhen Era.
But the Imperial Court cannot keep relying on the favor of heaven.
Zhu Ci opened his mouth, originally wanting to ask if it would be possible to achieve everything in a single campaign if the military preparations were more sufficient.
But even without saying it, he knew it was impossible.
Unless he can produce tanks and airplanes now, it will be difficult to crush them directly.
Tanks, airplanes.. even the energy source would be a major problem.
Finally, Zhu Ci could only sigh and say, "Then how do you plan to cooperate with Jirgalang?"
Seeing his helpless expression, Fu felt a pang of heartache and comforted him, saying, "His Majesty will eventually get everything he desires; it is only a matter of time."
Zhu Ci heard these words and instinctively glanced at Fu, not even knowing why he had looked.
However, Fu soon spoke of Jirgalang's requirements.
Jirgalang's meaning was very straightforward; he simply needed military merits, he needed men and money to compete with Dorgon.
Zhu Ci listened and said, "His meaning is that he wants us to deliver military merits to him?"
Don't even think about it, okay?
How could the confidence he worked so hard to build for the people and soldiers of Great Ming be destroyed like this?
The Tartars had ravaged this land for far too long, so long that everyone had already fallen into despair.
In this situation, many victories are needed to reignite hope, but extinguishing it might only take a single major defeat.
The loss of Xuzhou to the Tartars had previously dealt a significant blow to morale.
Fu naturally knew what the Little Emperor was thinking, but he simply said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will naturally not agree to such an insolent request; at most, I will merely help him deal with a few people."
Zhu Ci looked at Fu suspiciously. "How will you handle it? You aren't actually planning to send someone for an assassination, are you?"
Fu shook his head. "That is the crudest method. As long as Your Majesty is at ease, I will handle this matter properly."
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and said, "As long as it doesn't violate my principles, do whatever you want."
He had also come to terms with it. If cooperation was what was needed, then so be it; who said that cooperation meant one couldn't turn against the other later?
If cooperation could dismantle the Qing Court from within, then there would be nothing wrong with that.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Let's take out the Tartars first, we'll deal with the rest later. Little kitty takes out a notebook. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock
Chapter 222
Jirgalang had not actually expected that all of his demands would be met; he didn't even have a strong desire to cooperate with the Grand Secretary of the Ming Kingdom.
The Great Qing was in the midst of conquering the world; even if he were pressured by Dorgon, he would not harbor thoughts of rebellion.
It was just that Dorgon was ultimately quite wary of him; even though he held the upper hand, Jirgalang was, after all, the Regent.
As long as his title of Regent is not stripped away, Dorgon will never be at peace.
In other words, having two Regents in the imperial court meant that he had failed to maintain complete control.
The Han people have always said that there can be no two suns in the sky and no two masters in a land, yet the current Great Qing has three masters.
There is a nominal Emperor sitting on the throne, two Regents.
Dorgon wanted to drive that person off the throne, but before he could do that, he had to deal with Jirgalang.
First, strip him of his military power, then strip him of his connections in the imperial court.
As a result, Jirgalang's days at Zijing Pass were not easy; the soldiers under his command were frequently transferred due to frontline demands, it was always Dorgon who issued the orders, which he could not even refuse.
Besides that, those who had previously relied on him were either demoted or stripped of their positions after being caught in compromising situations, or they were forced by pressure to switch their allegiance to Dorgon.
In fact, Jirgalang had foreseen all of this, which was why he had remained silent. As long as he could endure, even Dorgon could not do anything to him given his status.
However, his patience had its limits. When he heard that his youngest son had died of a cold, Jirgalang finally could not restrain himself.
His patience was predicated on the condition that he and his family could remain safe.
The death of the young son was problematic no matter how one looked at it, but infant mortality was common in the Great Qing; even the Emperor Hong Taiji could not save his most beloved son.
But the timing of his youngest son's death was too sensitive, he had contracted a chill immediately after returning from the palace.
It was summer; how could he have caught a cold? Why did he catch a cold? Nothing was clear.
Inside the palace.. the Empress Dowager has already compromised with Dorgon; I fear she might also be an accomplice.
Rationally, Jirgalang knew very well that if Dorgon wanted to take action, he should target his eldest son rather than his youngest.
His eldest son had already grown up and had long become his strength; killing the eldest son would weaken his power even further.
But that was his beloved youngest son, who was not yet ten years old. When Jirgalang heard the news, he wept with a heartache that brought tears to his eyes.
As a father, he could no longer look at this matter with rationality.
Especially since news arrived that his second son was also ill.
Jirgalang held the gift list sent by the Fu Family caravan in his hands, looked up, said, "Where is that caravan leader? I want to see him."
After meeting with the caravan leader, Jirgalang submitted a direct petition for retirement, stating that he was overcome with grief due to the untimely death of his youngest son, subsequently, his second son had fallen seriously ill. Overcome with worry, his health had declined, making him unable to continue serving the country. He expressed his wish to retire and was willing to return to Shengjing to guard the Imperial Ancestral Mausoleum, vowing never to step foot inside the pass again for the rest of his life.
If the previous part was merely an ordinary request for retirement, then that final sentence sounded rather serious.
Why return to Shengjing? Why never step foot inside the Pass again?
Jirgalang did not mention Dorgon in a single word, yet it was as if he had mentioned him everywhere.
This clearly suggested that there was more to his son's death than met the eye, with another son being ill, anyone would find it quite a coincidence.
Furthermore, given Dorgon's recent series of actions targeting Jirgalang, it was difficult not to feel suspicious.
In fact, no one had connected these two matters at first, but once Jirgalang's memorial was submitted, people couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.
After finding out, Dorgon could not help but be filled with doubts; he was indeed targeting Jirgalang, but there was no need to kill a child, as that would be of no help to the situation.
It was just that Jirgalang did not say it explicitly, only insinuated it, the others were merely speculating based on the rumors, making it difficult for Dorgon to explain.
Finally, he waved his hand irritably. "If he wants to return to Shengjing, let him go."
As the Regent, he indeed had the authority to allow officials to retire.
However, at this time, a difference of opinion arose in Beijing.
Or rather, Empress Dowager Bumu Tai had a different opinion; she directly refused Jirgalang's request to retire and sent many medicinal herbs to Prince of Zheng's Mansion.
Clearly, Bumu Tai did not want Jirgalang to withdraw from the imperial court; although Dorgon was powerful now, Jirgalang was not entirely without influence.
He was one of the four great Beile during the era of Hong Taiji, also the first hereditary Iron-Cap Prince of the Great Qing.
Dorgon's power was growing more and more immense, it was not just Jirgalang who was worried, but also the widows and orphans in the palace.
Bumu Tai had no choice but to maintain friendly relations with Dorgon, but she absolutely did not want to see Dorgon becoming too powerful.
If that day truly comes, it is hard to say whether her son Fulin will even still be the Emperor.
Although he did not grant Jirgalang's request for retirement, he agreed to let him return to the capital to recuperate, allowed him to leave most of his soldiers at Zijing Pass to await further orders.
This move was also intended to ease the relationship with Dorgon.
Bumu Tai and Dorgon had a disagreement regarding the matter involving Jirgalang, which also exposed her wariness toward Dorgon.
Exposing things too early is not a good thing, so there is still a need to appease Dorgon's faction.
Dorgon indeed cannot spare himself to deal with Jirgalang right now; Li Zicheng and Heduoheqin are both causing him great headaches.
Because of Heduoheqin, the support from the Khorchin Mongols has diminished. The Han Chinese generals who had previously surrendered were no match for Li Zicheng, the Han Chinese soldiers under their command suffered heavy casualties.
The situation gradually worsened. Dorgon, relying on his own talents, managed to resist Li Zicheng, who possessed divine weapons. Under these circumstances, he indeed had no way to free himself to deal with Jirgalang.
“Jirgalang returned to Beijing just like that? What use is his return to Beijing for us?” Zhu Ci was clearly somewhat puzzled.
Fu replied, "Your Majesty is unaware, but his return to Beijing is actually more useful than if he had stayed at Zijing Pass. Dorgon is extremely wary of him now; even if he had stayed at Zijing Pass, he might not have known about Dorgon's military movements. It is only in the Central Government that he can oversee the overall situation and obtain more intelligence."
Zhu Ci sat on the throne in a very languid posture, fiddling with a handpiece as he asked, "Since he is able to return to the Central Government, how can we be sure he will be willing to give the intelligence to us?"
“Naturally, it is because Dorgon is still alive," Fu said. "He and our army share a common enemy."
Zhu Ci thought that it made sense; an enemy of my enemy is my friend.
However, Zhu Ci didn't have particularly high expectations for Jirgalang; whether this man could provide intelligence or not, it wouldn't affect anything either way.
Zhu Ci stood up and said, "Fine, I understand. You can handle this matter as you see fit."
Fu also stood up, an expression of hesitation on his face as if he had something to say but was holding back.
Zhu Ci said, "If you have something to say, just say it directly."
Fu coughed lightly and said, "I have heard that His Majesty has been running outside the palace lately. There are rumors saying that His Majesty has found someone special."
Zhu Ci clicked his tongue. "Their heads only ever think of speculating about things in the inner palace, don't they?"
After he finished speaking, he beckoned to Fu with a flick of his finger and said, "Come, I'll take you to see."
Hmm?