Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Shengjing of the Qing Dynasty.

Hauge has been in a complicated mood recently.

Three days ago, Prince Rui Dorgon led more than 5,000 defeated soldiers back to Shengjing, bringing news of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Guanshan.

More importantly, his father's body was also brought back with him.

The emperor of the Qing Dynasty, his father, died.

He should have been very sad, and he felt so too.

However, this sadness only lasted for a short time, that is, when he went to pay homage to his father in person.

Looking at my father's bruised and black face, I always feel uncomfortable.

But after leaving his father's bedroom, Hauge felt a surge of wild joy in his heart.

His father was gone, but the country could not be without a ruler for a day, and he was Huang Taiji's eldest son.

Although my father also has a legitimate son, Fulin is only three years old this year. How can he take control of the imperial power of the Qing Dynasty? He poses no threat to him at all.

This is not the most important thing. Yesterday, the chief eunuch from his father's palace came to visit him secretly and told him a big news.

It turned out that my father had left a will before he went to war, in which the heir to the Qing Dynasty designated as Prince Su Haoge.

With this will, the court officials would never say anything again.

This is also the reason why Hauge was in a complicated mood. His father died, and he should have been heartbroken, but he couldn't feel sad at all.

This may be because he has been dissatisfied with his father over the years. He is already thirty years old, but still has not been made the crown prince.

But it doesn’t matter now, my father is dead.

When Haoge thought that he would be sitting in that seat soon, he couldn't help but want to laugh, but he was wearing mourning clothes for fear that others would notice.

This complicated mood made Hauge very uncomfortable for a while. He felt that he shouldn't be like this, but he just couldn't control it.

In order to divert his emotions, Hauge looked at the chief steward of his house:

"Luosangge, what is my Fourteenth Uncle busy with now?"

Although Hauge called Dorgon his fourteenth uncle, in fact, Dorgon was only one or two years older than Hauge, and he was not very convinced of his uncle's authority.

The steward called Losanger replied cautiously:

"My Lord, Prince Rui has been staying in the barracks since returning from the battle. Apart from paying respects to His Majesty, he has not left the barracks."

"Humph, after such a huge defeat, you still have the nerve to come back.

"You're hiding in the barracks. I think you're worried about being retaliated by the orphans of the Eight Banners who died in battle?" Hauge said bluntly.

Losanger didn't dare to respond, but just smiled awkwardly in agreement.

"How are you doing with the task assigned to you?" Hauge asked again.

If one wants to inherit the throne, he cannot just sit and wait for death. For this reason, Hauge wrote several secret letters in the past two days and ordered Li Ying to deliver them to important officials in the court.

Of course, the letter mainly mentioned the imperial edict and the many rewards promised to support his succession to the throne, but the most important one was of course the secret edict.

To be fair, Hauge still admired his father very much, and those Han officials also respected his father very much.

Even those members of the same clan who were unruly and dissatisfied with each other listened to his father's words.

"Even if you didn't ask, I was about to tell you that four of the six ministers have already clearly stated their support for you, and the remaining two seem to be waiting and watching.

Half of the members of the other government offices would also support their masters in the court.

"I think those people are just watching, as if they are afraid of His Royal Highness Prince Rui," Losangge replied.

Hauge seemed dissatisfied with the result and said with a frown:

"These opportunists, when I ascend the throne, I will have plenty of ways to crush them to death."

Logically speaking, as the eldest son, he naturally had the legal right to rule. At a time when the Qing Dynasty was facing internal and external troubles, if the throne was really passed on to a three-year-old child, the country would be on the verge of destruction.

What's more, there was the imperial edict, but those court officials were still trying to sell it at a price. They were really greedy, which made Hauge very angry.

Luosangge seemed to be hesitant to speak after hearing this. Haoge said angrily:

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you hesitating?"

Seeing this, Losangge said with some concern:

"I think my master should be careful of Prince Rui. His Royal Highness Prince Li has stayed indoors since returning, but he often goes to the military camp.

In recent years, the two princes have often fought together and have a close relationship.

Master, please forgive me."

Having said that, Losangge knelt on the ground and apologized. No matter what, these words seemed to alienate the relationship between uncle and nephew.

"Get up, you little dog slave. I've already thought of this.

No matter what they wanted to do, they could not avoid their father's will.

The Queen has issued an edict to hold court tomorrow, and all the court officials will be present. I want to see how they behave."

Hauge knew very well that Dorgon's reliance was nothing more than the Eight Kings System established by the previous emperor.

It's really funny. After the eight kings died, only three of them are left. Moreover, over the years, his father has been downplaying this system, wanting to emulate the Ming Dynasty's practice of father-to-son succession, and he has almost succeeded.

……

At the morning court session the next day, all the civil and military officials of the Qing Dynasty wore mourning clothes over their official uniforms. The dragon throne was empty, and a curtain was set up behind the throne, where Empress Zhezhe sat.

After all the civil and military officials in the court paid their respects to the dragon throne, the topic soon turned to the issue of establishing a new monarch. After all, according to Han tradition, a country cannot be without a monarch for a day.

Since Huang Taiji had not appointed a crown prince before, theoretically all the princes had the opportunity to inherit the throne. However, all the court officials who did not attend the court received Hauge's letter. Although none of them mentioned the will, they all understood it tacitly.

The Minister of Revenue directly advised that Prince Su was young, strong and well-known for his virtue, and recommended Haoge as the new emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

This proposal quickly gained the support of many court officials, but Prince Rui Dorgon and Prince Li Daishan did not express their opinions.

Hauge thought that Dorgon and the other man had given up because of the difficulty, so he became even more proud.

At this time, the two ministers who had not expressed their attitudes clearly also stood up and said that they also supported him to be the emperor. Haoge thought that the situation was set.

He suddenly remembered that in the military book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which the late emperor had asked the descendants of the Aisin Gioro family to read and appreciate many times, there were several stories of people refusing and declining the book.

For example, when the Cao family usurped the throne, when the big-eared thief proclaimed himself emperor, and when the Sun family proclaimed themselves emperor, they all had to wait for court officials to request repeatedly before they reluctantly agreed.

At first Hauge thought it was ridiculous, but now he suddenly felt that these people made sense.

If I agree to become emperor directly, it would seem that I am very impatient.

In order to show his own virtue, when all the court officials recommended him, Hauge stood up and said something that shocked everyone:

"What you have said makes me feel extremely terrified. I am a person of low character and low moral character. How can I be qualified to inherit the throne?"

……