Doesn't Dorgon love flanking and surprise attacks? Let him taste what it's like to be flanked and surprised.
He just hadn't told Jiang Quan about this plan. He believed Jiang Quan had his own judgment, if he had issued orders in advance and his deduction turned out to be wrong, it might instead mislead Jiang Quan.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ci prepared to lead the great army toward Datong as well.
At that time, the direction Dorgon fled was straight toward Baoding; it was unknown whether it was Dorgon's idea or the idea of his subordinates.
However, if it were Zhu Ci, he would have made the same choice.
The distance between Datong and Huairen was too close; rather than rushing to Datong with a defeated and broken army to face battle in haste, it would be better to head to Baoding first.
After all, the current Ming Army soldiers were all recruited from the south; among the northern soldiers, only those under Li Zicheng's command might know something about the terrain around Baoding.
The problem was that most of Li Zicheng's subordinates had already disappeared with him, Li Guo had been sent by Zhu Ci to guard Jingping Post.
When Zhu Ci led the great army to leave Huairen, he almost couldn't make it because the people did not want him to go, fearing that if he left, the Tartars would return.
Zhu Ci was somewhat at a loss as to whether to laugh or cry. He had no choice but to step out from the imperial carriage himself to comfort the people, saying, "The Son of Heaven defends the nation's gates. I must go to defend the gates for you. As long as Datong does not fall, as long as I do not die, you will never be bullied by the Tartars again."
Given the current situation, if the Qing Army could still turn the tables, it would mean the Will of Heaven would not allow the Great Ming to be restored, Zhu Ci would have no choice but to accept defeat.
After much persuasion and repeated assurances that the land distribution policy would certainly be carried out, a large portion of the commoners blocking the city gates finally dispersed.
There was also a small group of people who wanted to enlist in the army.
Zhu Ci had a slight headache and could only call for a Jinyi Guard Assistant Commissioner to arrange for someone to handle this matter.
He understood their desire to avenge their families, but what business did those little brats, who didn't even look as tall as a wheel, have in joining the fray?
What they needed to do was to live well and study hard.
Anyway, Zhu Ci had already decided to allocate a portion of the money from his own special treasury to take care of these orphans.
However, with years of continuous warfare, there were so many orphans in the world that after Zhu Ci did some calculations, he found that raising children seemed to be quite difficult.
At least, his current small treasury was not enough to support it. So he thought for a moment and decided to simply write a letter to Fu, asking if the Ministry of Revenue had any extra funds to establish the Benevolent Orphanage.
"Orphanage" doesn't sound very good, "welfare home" might be misunderstood by others, but the name "Benevolent Orphanage" is very straightforward.
However, he only mentioned this matter to Fu in private. If it didn't work, he would have to think of another way; he couldn't just let those orphans die, could he?
When Fu received Zhu Ci's letter, he fell into a rare moment of deep thought for a long while. Finally, after having someone bring the Ministry of Revenue's ledgers for him to examine closely, he couldn't help but mutter, "I must find a way to increase revenue and reduce expenditures."
It is already difficult enough for the Ministry of Revenue to support the army's campaigns; occasionally, even the salaries of the court officials must be carefully calculated, sometimes they even have to be offset with grain.
Fortunately, the officials in the current administration are all very idealistic. After receiving successive news of the Emperor's recovery of lost territories, many ministers actually performed dances directly in the imperial court.
Under these circumstances, let alone using rice to offset their salaries, they wouldn't even mind if their salaries were delayed.
After all, in this era, very few poor people could afford an education, since current laws treated almost everyone equally, their families were large and naturally owned land, so they wouldn't starve to death regardless.
Even those with petty personalities would keep account, knowing that a little grievance now was fine; the Emperor saw everything and would not mistreat them; once the world was at peace in the future, he would surely compensate them.
Of course, there was no pressure from Grand Secretary Fu in this matter, no, absolutely none.
It could have continued like this, but who could blame His Majesty the Emperor for having new ideas again?
If there were truly nothing that could be done, then so be it, but for now, I can only give it a try.
Fu thought for a moment, then picked up his pen to write a reply to the Emperor, reporting all recent events in detail, but regarding the matter of the Benevolent Orphanage, he only said: Your servant will certainly see to it properly.
Aside from that, he said nothing more.
Zhu Ci held the letter and stared at it for a long time before finally muttering, "I only asked if you could do it, why are you putting it into practice already?"
As he spoke, he personally wrote a letter, telling Fu that there was no need to rush this matter.
He truly pitied those orphans, but after the great war, some lost parents and others lost children, so the common people naturally gathered together for warmth.
There are quite a few orphans in Huairen City who have been adopted, some are being taken in by everyone and fed by many households.
In short, as long as not everyone is struggling to survive, there will always be kind people to give those orphans a bite to eat.
Compared to these orphans, Zhu Ci was more afraid that too many matters would exhaust his family's Grand Secretary.
He had been on a personal expedition for so many days, yet the army's provisions had never once run out; let alone running out, they had never even been late.
It was not just the grain and fodder; all kinds of military supplies were also delivered in a timely manner. The mental effort required to coordinate such a massive mobilization of supplies was certainly no small feat.
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and couldn't help but send another message to Jiang Xueyan, asking her to look into Fu's recent health.
For this expedition, Zhu Ci did not bring Jiang Xueyan. Although there are many female officials in the palace now, overall, there are still not many female officials.
There are still more men in military campaigns, bringing female officials along is always inconvenient, not to mention that Jiang Xueyan has her own matters to attend to now.
Jiang Xueyan was reliable; before leaving, Zhu Ci had expressed concern for Grand Secretary Fu, so she had been keeping a close eye on the Grand Secretary's condition. Thus, upon receiving the Emperor's message just now, she immediately handed over all the compiled information.
When Zhu Ci received the thick stack of Grand Secretary's health reports, he was completely stunned.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: You guys record things in such detail, it makes me look like a pervert, you know? *Cat sneakily peeking. jpg*
Next update at 12:00 PM
Chapter 252
For a brief moment, Zhu Ci even suspected whether Jiang Xueyan had sent someone to secretly investigate Fu.
However, once he actually opened it and took a look, he knew that Jiang Xueyan probably wasn't investigating in secret either, because the things recorded above were mostly things everyone already knew.
For example, the Grand Secretary took two days off because of a cold; for example, the Grand Secretary had a poor appetite and ate very little while in his duty room; and for example, since the Emperor left the capital, the Grand Secretary's figure has become noticeably thinner, to the point that his official robes had to be refitted.
Finally, there was a little extra gossip: it was said that one day, the Grand Secretary coughed up blood in his study.
Of course, it was only a rumor; the people around Fu were all incredibly tight-lipped, this news only surfaced because Jiang Xueyan ran into Fu Qiulu.
She and Fu Qiulu knew each other back then, but they simply couldn't stand one another—to be precise, Jiang Xueyan couldn't stand Fu Qiulu. Later, when Fu Qiulu's and Fu Chunsheng's true identities were exposed, Jiang Xueyan had even less of an impression of Fu Qiulu.
Meeting again now, Jiang Xueyan was no longer the impulsive girl she once was. Furthermore, since Fu Qiulu could no longer influence the Emperor, she remained quite calm and even reminisced about the past.
It was during their conversation that she learned Fu Chunsheng had died, having taken his own life.
For a person with grand ambitions but mediocre abilities, once they realize they have achieved nothing and that their capabilities are utterly insufficient to support such ambition, the first person who cannot bear it is themselves.
Fu Qiulu spoke of Fu Chunsheng with a calm expression; it was all his own fault, she could hardly blame anyone else.
Fu Qiulu also asked Jiang Xueyan to convey her apologies to His Majesty.
Zhu Ci glanced over hurriedly, feeling almost no emotion; his eyes were filled only with the image of Fu coughing up blood.
How could he suddenly start coughing up blood? Why didn't he say what it was for?
This Jiang Xueyan is really something, writing a whole bunch about unimportant matters, yet not mentioning a single word about the important ones.
He did not care whether Fu Qiulu was doing well, nor did he care whether Fu Chunsheng was alive or dead; what truly mattered was that Fu could not come to any harm.
Zhu Ci had originally intended to write a letter to ask Fu what was actually going on, but after picking up the brush, he felt it would be inappropriate.
If the Emperor were known to be coughing up blood in the study, it would easily lead his subordinates to believe he had planted spies to monitor them.
Although it was essentially just something Jiang Xueyan had discovered by chance, Zhu Ci had indeed instructed Jiang Xueyan to keep an eye on Fu's health.
Zhu Ci did not think Fu would misunderstand, he was only worried that if other officials found out, they might become suspicious.
In the end, he could only frown and write a letter with rapid, powerful strokes, specifically instructing that it be sent via express courier to Jiang Xueyan.
Seeing his serious expression and hearing his repeated instructions that it must be fast, the people below were so terrified their souls nearly flew out of their bodies; they thought something major had happened in the Capital and scrambled to arrange for the messenger.
After finishing the letter, Zhu Ci turned and commanded, "Increase the speed of the march."
He had to finish conquering Datong and Baoding, then finish Baoding and conquer Beijing; once everything was settled, he would return to Nanjing!
This was perhaps the first time he had truly experienced what it meant to be eager to return home.
In the past, he always complained about being restricted in the Imperial Palace and wanted to lead a personal expedition every single day, but now, he actually felt a bit of a desire to go back.
Before, the army's campaigns abroad didn't seem to cause any issues for Fu's health, but clearly, the personal expedition had brought him pressure as well.
However, with the current situation being so favorable, he could not simply abandon this place and run back; he could only find a way to settle this quickly.
After Zhu Ci increased his pace, he arrived at Datong in three days.
However, the situation in Datong was completely different from what he had originally expected.
The Qing Army had already occupied Datong before. Although Dorgon had marched toward Baoding during his retreat and had not chosen Datong, people must have certainly been left behind to defend the city.
But when Zhu Ci arrived at Datong, it was like an empty city; there was no one defending it, the city was filled with white banners, the entire place felt deathly still.
The people below were worried that the Qing Army might be using some kind of empty city stratagem, so they first sent someone into the city to investigate.
Upon their return, they reported, "Reporting to His Majesty, Datong is indeed currently unguarded, but the commoners within the city are now fewer than one in ten."
Zhu Ci pursed his lips and asked, "What about the Tartars?"
The Tartars were all killed.
They were killed by Wu Sangui.
When Wu Sangui fled, he intended to head north toward the Mongols, but because he was in such a hurry, he did not carry many supplies and needed to resupply from other places along the way.
He chose Datong. When he arrived at Datong, the garrison there still did not know the news of Wu Sangui's betrayal, they opened the city gates without hesitation upon hearing that the Prince of Pingxi had been ordered to garrison Datong.
After Wu Sangui entered the city, he immediately slaughtered all the Qing Army garrisoning the city. Not only that, but he even plundered Datong City, much like Zuo Liangyu did in the past.
Almost all the households in the city currently hanging white banners died at the hands of Wu Sangui.
Zhu Ci's face showed no expression upon hearing this news, but his gaze was as cold as ice.
For a brief moment, he even wanted to give up on Dorgon and turn around to pursue Wu Sangui.
If you want to loot, then loot, but why kill people!
However, he was also very aware that in the eyes of someone like Wu Sangui, there was no concept of being compatriots; ordinary people were merely a source of supplies for the army, he would side with whichever major power could offer him better treatment.
Now that he is heading north like this, there is a high probability that he is going to defect to the Ordos Mongols.
Zhu Ci took a deep breath, after a long pause, he wrote a letter to Fu.
A moment before receiving the letter, Fu was still asking Fu Qiulu, "Has Jiang Shanggong received the news?"
Fu Qiulu lowered her head and said, "Yes."
Fu asked again, "She didn't ask anything else?"