Haoge immediately said, "Rest assured, Empress Dowager, after I ascend the throne, I will still honor you as Empress Dowager, Fulin will also be the most distinguished Prince; I will never treat him poorly."
Bumu Tai looked at Fan Wencheng and said, "Then I shall trouble the Grand Scholar."
Fan Wencheng glanced at Hong Chengchou; although Hong Chengchou was somewhat puzzled, he did not object.
The Empress Dowager was no ordinary woman; her wisdom surpassed that of many men. Now was not the right time for abdication, but she must have her reasons for making such a choice.
Seeing that he did not react, Fan Wencheng looked at Bumu Tai and said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the Abdication Edict is not something to be taken lightly; I must deliberate further."
Bumu Tai shook his head and said, "We must act according to the urgency of the situation. The edict only needs to be clear; let us write it now."
She turned to Haoge and said, "The most important thing about the Abdication Edict is the edict itself; as long as we have this edict, it will suffice. Now that morale is dissipating, we can no longer afford to waste any time."
"Exactly." Haoge was also worried that delays would lead to more trouble.
Previously, the situation had not been too dire, so he wanted both prestige and practical benefits, but now that the situation had changed, he would naturally prioritize securing the throne first.
Seeing that these two had said so, Fan Wencheng said nothing more and simply began writing on the spot. Once he had finished, Fan Wencheng immediately presented it to the Empress Dowager for her inspection.
Bumu Tai glanced at Su Mo'er beside him, Su Mo'er immediately brought up milk tea and pastries with several palace maids.
Haoge was somewhat excited and nervous at this moment, only wanting to see the edict and having no appetite for food; he only took two sips of milk tea.
Hong Chengchou originally had no intention of drinking anything as he was unaccustomed to milk tea, but to his surprise, Su Mo'er had brought him a cup of clear tea instead.
He was grateful for the Empress Dowager's attentiveness, so he took two sips.
Fan Wencheng was the same.
After Bumu Tai finished reading the edict, he sighed and handed it to Haoge, saying, "Prince Su, please take a look. If there are no objections, I shall order someone to bring the seal."
Haoge took it and glanced at it hurriedly. He ignored everything else, seeing only the words "Abdication to Prince Su Haoge," and said with a smile, "Good, good, good."
Bumu Tai glanced at Su Mo'er, Su Mo'er immediately understood and went out, returning with the Square Jade Seal in her hands.
Haoge's eyes remained fixed on the jade seal, the excitement on his face nearly uncontrollable.
And at that very moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen; it was not just abdominal pain, but even his head began to throb with intense pain.
He looked up at Bumu Tai, despite the hatred in his eyes, he only had time to say one sentence: "You.. poisoned me.."
After speaking, his body convulsed, he began foaming at the mouth, simultaneously fell into unconsciousness.
Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng's reactions were similar; by this time, both of them were foaming at the mouth and were completely unable to speak, staring at Bumu Tai with eyes full of disbelief.
If one were to say the Empress Dowager had a reason to poison Haoge, why did she have to kill them?
Neither Hong Chengchou nor Fan Wencheng ever sided with Haoge.
Both Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng were heavily relied upon during Dorgon's era. Before being captured, Dorgon was effectively in an alliance with Bumu Tai, so they naturally tended to side with the Empress Dowager.
Why did the Empress Dowager want to kill them?
Bumu Tai sat steadily there, waiting until the three people had all breathed their last, before closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh as he commanded, "Behead Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng and send their heads to the Emperor of Ming."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Why didn't I poison Qian Qianyi to death as well? *Cat shakes head in regret. jpg*
Wait.. didn't I just post an extra update?? Why is the nutrition liquid increasing so fast? As usual, the extra update will be at midnight.
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 268
Su Mo'er helped Bumu Tai out of the carriage and asked softly, "Empress Dowager, why send the heads of Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng?"
“Haven't you noticed? The Emperor of Ming hates these turncoats most of all. Even when Wu Sangui wanted to surrender, he refused to accept it. Their heads will serve as our sincerity.”
Su Mo'er hesitated for a moment: "But hasn't the Emperor of Ming already accepted the surrender?"
Bumu Tai looked at the dust rising in the distance and said, "The Ming Army is coming."
She turned her head to glance at Su Mo'er: "Now that we are at their mercy, the only thing we can do is hope that, seeing our sincerity, they will treat us well."
..
Zhu Ci also did not expect Bumu Tai to send the heads of Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng.
When he heard the news, he asked, "Has their identities been verified?"
Fu Weiwei nodded. "It has been confirmed that they are indeed Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng themselves."
Zhu Ci said nonchalantly, "Then just find some place to throw them, there's no need to bring them here."
He had no personal grievances against Hong Chengchou or Fan Wencheng, only a hatred born from his stance on the interests of the nation; there was no real need to see their heads, as they weren't particularly pleasant to look at.
Fu Ying responded and continued, "Your Majesty, General Li has already escorted Borjigit Bumu Tai and Aisin Gioro Fulin to Beijing. The Earl of Anyuan has also captured Ebilun and Yehenara Suksa-ha, while Guajia Aobai is currently in flight."
Zhu Ci listened to these names, some familiar and some strange, remained silent for a moment.
They were familiar because he had heard more of their names, but they were unfamiliar because of their surnames.
He paused before saying, "Which direction did Guajia Aobai flee to?"
Fu said, "To the north, it should be in the direction of Yizhou."
Zhu Ci said with some regret, "Li Guo's luck was poor. If he had been only two days later, he might have encountered Aobai."
Of course, once he meets Aobai, it is impossible to say who will win or lose.
Fu Qingsheng said nonchalantly, "He won't get far. Chuangwang and the Earl of Anyuan have already been pursuing him from both sides; he should be caught before long."
Even if they don't catch him, he won't be able to make a significant impact." Zhu Ci leaned back in his dragon chair, looking out at the yellowish sky and sighing, "This wind is truly endless.
Zhu Ci knew the winds were strong here in Beijing, but having lived in Nanjing for four years, his impression of Beijing's heavy winds had become almost blurred.
Fu also glanced over and said, "Your Majesty, why not.. make Nanjing the capital?"
It is truly not a suitable place to live.
Zhu Ci shook his head without answering, only asking, "How are things on the Weilaite side?"
Fu replied, "The fighting is even more intense than before. Even when Galdan is outnumbered three to one, he does not fall behind. Your Majesty's previous concerns were indeed not without reason."
Zhu Ci asked, "What about Wu Sangui? Who has he sided with?"
Wu Sangui did not go to the Weilaite; instead, he went to the Tumet Mongols.
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin. "He is quite clever."
Those four tribes of the Weilaite are fighting to the death now; no matter who they side with, they might be treated as cannon fodder. In contrast, the Tumet have been fighting against the Khorchin and other tribes for a long time, now that the Qing Kingdom has fallen, the Khorchin have also been beaten half to death.
The Tumet had lost many able-bodied men in previous wars, leaving their numbers significantly reduced, but because they had pledged allegiance to the Ming, they had been granted excellent pastures.
At this moment, manpower was in high demand.
Wu Sangui might not have necessarily been truly accepted by the Tumet, but he only needed a place to stay, the Tumet also needed people to strengthen themselves.
Fu asked, "Do we need to inform Taiji of the Tumet?"
Zhu Ci shook his head. "There is no need to bother with him. Just send people to observe him more closely, be more on guard against the Weilaite."
Fu said no more; in any case, Wu Sangui was merely clinging to life, the tribes on the grasslands would not allow him to develop.
He asked, "Your Majesty, what should be done with the Tartar prisoners?"
Zhu Ci said bluntly, "One part shall be sent to the passes to reclaim wasteland, the other part shall stay in the Capital to provide greenery!"
The captives in Fu's mouth actually included not only the Qing Army, but also some ordinary Bannermen.
Although they had endured many years of war, their population was still quite large, totaling about three hundred thousand, this did not even include the Han Eight Banners.
The population of the Han Eight Banners was also quite large. Regarding this group, Zhu Ci made special exceptions; ordinary people who had not taken lives were registered as civilians through normal procedures, while those who had joined the Qing court as officials or petty officials were sent to work together.
Coincidentally, years of continuous warfare had destroyed a significant amount of infrastructure. Not only in the Capital and those important cities, but even some inconspicuous small towns had suffered varying degrees of destruction. All of these required reconstruction, along with various water conservancy facilities and flood control and prevention facilities.
These are all massive projects; originally, these works would have required the conscription of corvée labor to complete.
It was just that Zhu Ci did not want to over-conscript people. Now is a perfect opportunity; let these people go to work; it can be considered labor reform.
However, to prevent these people from rioting, Zhu Ci still established a time limit. Regardless of whether they were Han or Manchu, they were divided according to their social status; the higher one's original status, the longer the term of service required, with a maximum of fifteen years.
For some older people, it was almost like a life sentence, but for the younger ones, once they completed their service, they would be able to live like ordinary people again.
Fu had no objection to this; the court had previously been worried that the Little Emperor would kill everyone all at once.
One could only wonder what kind of image the Little Emperor held in these people's hearts; Zhu Ci hadn't even killed many people over all these years, so how could he possibly massacre hundreds of thousands right from the start?
After Zhu Ci had finalized the framework, he left the matter to the Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Justice to discuss together.
As a judicial institution, the Ministry of Justice does not spend all its time judging cases; they also have a very important role in formulating laws.
After handing the matter over, Zhu Ci added, "By the way, those people I named—none of them need to be spared."
Not all surrendering Han officials can be spared; first of all, Hong Chengchou, Fan Wencheng, Qian Qianyi must die.
Of course, Wu Sangui must also die, but I simply haven't had the chance to deal with him yet.
However, Hong Chengchou and Fan Wencheng are already dead, Bumu Tai's sincerity is indeed quite profound, so the rest can be left to the Ministry of Justice to handle.
Fu Yinged in response, then turned and asked, "Your Majesty, since most of the officials have already arrived in Beijing, how should the Six Ministries in Nanjing be arranged?"
Zhu Ci said decisively, "Withdraw them."
Fu was momentarily stunned and asked instinctively, "What?"
Zhu Ci repeated, "I said that once they are withdrawn, the Great Ming will have only one capital, which is Beijing, does not need any secondary capital."
Setting up two separate administrations will easily lead to problems over time.
When the time comes, no matter how much you try to mediate, the officials in the south will naturally favor their own hometowns, the same will apply to the north. Gradually, a state of division between north and south will emerge; even if it is not apparent on the surface, in reality, people's hearts will have drifted apart.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: If we set up another secondary capital, once there's an internet, people will argue so fiercely online about where the capital should be that it'll be absolute chaos. The little kitty shivered its fur in lingering fear. jpg
Next update at midnight.
Chapter 269