Chapter Twenty-One: Dorgon

Jirhalang was imprisoned in a tent not far from Wang Pu's command post, and he overheard every word Wang Pu deliberately said to Emperor Taiji.

To learn such earth-shattering news by accident left Jirhalang utterly shaken. Now that Emperor Taiji had been captured alive, the Eight Banner army was leaderless. If the traitors Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi were allowed to meddle further, the Eight Banner troops at the Songshan front would be in grave peril.

Jirhalang made up his mind—he must find a way to escape.

Heaven rewards those with determination, and soon the opportunity arose.

Originally, two servants guarded Jirhalang: one for the first half of the night, one for the second. Before midnight, the one on duty earlier fell ill after dinner and woke his counterpart early, giving him brief instructions before hurrying behind a nearby low wall to relieve himself.

The awakened servant mumbled sleepily and promptly lay back down, falling asleep once more.

Chance slips away in an instant, and Jirhalang, feigning sleep, quickly struggled to sit up. With his tendons severed, he could only use his hands to claw his way out of the tent. Just ten paces outside were two fine horses. If he could mount one, he was confident in his escape; even crippled, his horsemanship far surpassed that of any Southern Ming soldier.

He had just crawled out when a patrol of Ming soldiers passed by. Jirhalang quickly hid in the tall weeds beside the tent. The patrol walked right past him, but the darkness and the waist-high grass kept him concealed.

Once the patrol had moved on, Jirhalang crawled out from the grass.

As the servant finished his business and emerged from behind the wall, Jirhalang had already untied a horse’s reins and, with all his remaining strength, climbed onto its back.

“Go!”

With a gentle shake of the reins, the steed galloped away.

“Bad news! One of the barbarians escaped!” the servant shouted in alarm. “He’s gone! Chase him!”

Jirhalang urged the horse forward, dashing out of the Ming camp at full speed. The night wind brushed past, and before him stretched the boundless Liaodong plains. Glancing back, he saw a troop of Ming soldiers, torches ablaze, just leaving the camp in pursuit. Jirhalang sneered, whipped his horse, and vanished like a whirlwind into the pitch-black night.

■■■

Before Duoduo and his five thousand White Banner cavalry had crossed the Liao River, the scouts brought Jirhalang before him.

At this point, Duoduo was unaware that Shengjing had fallen or of the true purpose behind Emperor Taiji’s command to return with five thousand White Banner riders. Thus, his march was not especially swift—three hundred li in two days, and only just reaching the sandy inn on the west bank of the Liao River.

When Jirhalang, disheveled and in tatters, was dragged before Duoduo, the prince could hardly believe his eyes. How had the stately minister of Shengjing, master of the Bordered Blue Banner, and Prince Zheng Jirhalang come to such a state?

“Prince Zheng, what’s happened to you?” Duoduo cried. “What has brought you to this?”

“Hurry, hurry!” Jirhalang, exhausted from riding through the night, gasped, “Go to Lianyun Island—Lianyun Island…”

“To Lianyun Island? Why?” Duoduo was puzzled. “Isn’t that the naval base of the Three Shun Princes? Why go there? Besides, the Emperor ordered me to lead my troops back to the capital.”

“The Emperor has been captured!” Jirhalang exclaimed urgently. “He’s being taken to Lianyun Island by the Ming army. If we delay, he’ll be lost!”

■■■

As soon as Jirhalang finished speaking, the faces of Duoduo’s guards and officers changed. The Emperor’s capture was no small matter—this threatened all of the Qing empire.

“The Emperor captured!?” Duoduo frowned. “Prince Zheng, this is not a jest to be made lightly.”

“I’m not joking,” Jirhalang snapped. “Prince Yu, you must lead your troops to Lianyun Island and intercept the Ming army. If you let them take the Emperor into the interior, you’ll be the greatest sinner of the Qing!”

Duoduo’s face finally changed. “Prince Zheng, is this truly the case?”

“Of course it’s true,” Jirhalang replied.

“But how did it happen? How was the Emperor captured?”

“It’s a long story,” said Jirhalang. “Shengjing fell, the Emperor was seized. I must hurry to Songshan to report. Prince Yu, you must lead your army to Lianyun Island at once.”

Duoduo nodded solemnly. “Very well. There’s no time to lose—I will lead my troops there immediately.”

He ordered Beile Nikhan to escort Jirhalang to Songshan with two hundred horsemen, while he led five thousand armored cavalry in a forced march toward Lianyun Island.

■■■

Songshan, in Prince Dorgon’s command tent.

Dorgon was convening Prince Su Haoge, Prince Wu Ying Azige, Beile Abatai, the Three Shun Princes, and ministers Ganglin, Xifu, and Soni for discussion.

After the main Ming army of over a hundred thousand had been routed, Hong Chengchou led just over ten thousand survivors to defend Songshan city. Upon receiving word of the defeat, Emperor Chongzhen wished to rescue Hong Chengchou but had no troops to spare. Forced by circumstances, he sent a token force of several thousand, only for them to be annihilated by the Qing.

Soon, the Qing split their forces and conquered Lianshan and Xingshan. Thus, the connection between Songshan, Jinzhou, and Ningyuan was completely severed. The fall of the cities and their people was only a matter of time. Knowing victory was assured, ministers Ganglin and Soni suggested a prolonged siege to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Dorgon gathered his council in his tent specifically to discuss the strategy for a long-term siege.

The meeting was halfway through when Jirhalang, supported by two Qing soldiers, staggered in. His wretched state astonished Dorgon and the others. Beile Bayintu, always close to Jirhalang, rushed to help him, crying, “Prince Zheng, what has happened to you?”

“A disaster… a disaster has struck.”

After fleeing from Liaoyang and riding hard to Songshan, Jirhalang was near collapse. He managed only a single sentence before fainting in Bayintu’s arms.

Dorgon shouted, “Quick! Bring the Emperor’s physician from the army!”

A soldier hurried off and soon returned with the physician. After half an hour of care, Jirhalang was revived. Dorgon, Haoge, and the others gathered anxiously at his bedside, desperate to learn what had happened.

The quick-tempered Haoge was the first to ask, “Prince Zheng, what disaster?”

“Prince Su.” Jirhalang looked at Haoge and sighed deeply. “The heavens of our great Qing… have collapsed.”

■■■

“The heavens collapsed?” Haoge asked, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

Jirhalang’s gaze swept the crowd and spotted the Three Shun Princes—Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi. Fury surged in him as he shouted, “Quick! Arrest Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi—these traitors! Do not let them escape!”

The three turned ashen, dropping to their knees in terror. Kong Youde banged his head and wept, “Your Highness, since we swore allegiance to the Qing, we have been loyal. Why accuse us of treachery? We are innocent!”

“Innocent? Hmph.” Jirhalang sneered. “If I hadn’t heard it myself, I would never have guessed you were Southern Ming spies planted in our Qing!”

“We’re innocent! Truly innocent!”

The three shook like leaves, kneeling and pleading. Though they held princely titles like Jirhalang, in the eyes of the Manchus they were mere servants. If Jirhalang wished to kill them, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

“Innocent?” Jirhalang roared. “Without your secret aid, how could Wang Pu’s thousand elite troops have infiltrated our Songshan camp? Without your servants in Shengjing, how could Wang Pu’s army have tricked the gates open and taken Shengjing?”

“What?” Haoge cried out in shock. “Shengjing has been taken by the Ming?”

Jirhalang spat, “The Ming not only captured Shengjing but burned the city to the ground! The splendid palace and your mansions are now ruins! Even Prince Li and I were taken prisoner. Had I not escaped by fortune, I would now be on my way to Lianyun Island with the Emperor, Prince Li, Consort Chen, and Consort Zhuang—all captives of the Ming!”

“What! Prince Li and the Emperor both captured?” Dorgon, Haoge, and the others turned pale as death. With the Emperor seized, the Qing’s heavens had truly collapsed.

Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi looked utterly doomed. With such calamity befalling the Qing, no matter their loyalty, their deaths seemed inevitable.

“Prince Zheng!” Haoge shouted in rage. “Are you making this up!?”

Jirhalang shook his head. “I am not. The Ming didn’t know the Emperor had returned to the capital—Wang Pu had already left. It was Kong Youde who sent word to Wang Pu, prompting him to lead the Ming in a surprise attack. The Emperor was caught unprepared, and disaster struck.”

“Kong Youde!” Haoge turned, glaring at the three, grinding his teeth. “I’ll kill you…”

“Yes, kill them!”

“Dare to betray the Emperor—feed them to the dogs!”

Shuotuo, Saha Lian, Abatai, and others joined in, voices furious.

Ganglin, Xifu, and Son