LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 702 Qing
Western Qing Tombs Complex, Beijing
Emperor Shunzhi had no expression on his face as he looked at his infant son, wrapped in purple silk cloth, being placed in a small coffin and lowered bit by bit into the burial tomb.
Sounds of sobs could be heard around him, but he felt nothing. Even the soulful and sad music of the zither that was being played in the background was not enough to change his emotions.
"Your Majesty, the tomb is ready to be sealed," a eunuch knelt in front of him and informed.
Shunzhi simply nodded his head. "Good!"
Shortly, the post-burial rituals were held, and Emperor Shunzhi returned to his palace without any sadness or joy.
Entering the palace, he could still hear the wailing sounds from his mother, Empress Dowager, and his consorts. However, he had no sympathy for the women in the palace. He was not born yesterday. He knew clearly that all of these cries were simply acts put on to maintain their image as caring women of the royal palace and to appear pitiful to him in order to gain his favour and increase their hierarchy in the harem. If it were a few years ago, he would have at least put up a front like everyone else he came into contact with, but unfortunately, he was in a state where he could care less about any of these things.
Shunzhi soon saw his consorts Gong, Jing, Ning, and Xiaohuizhang. He also saw his mother, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, with tear stains still visible in her eyes, but he simply felt very lost and empty—not because he was sad about his son's death, but because he had been in such a miserable state for the last few weeks. With his beloved consort Donggo passing away only a few weeks ago, he was no longer the same. Even for the death of his youngest child, he could care less.
He might be only 22 years old, but he had seen too much and experienced a lot of suffering. His father, Emperor Hong Taiji, died when he was very young, making him grow up without much fatherly affection. His mother, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, was the person he was closest to, but unfortunately, there was only so much he could do.
When his father passed away, the regency of the throne fell on his uncle Dorgon, and although his uncle, in the end, did not declare himself the emperor, it was not any better, given that he called himself a regent emperor. Shunzhi had no doubt that his throne would be snatched away and he would be killed if not for the fact that his uncle, to his happiness, died 10 years ago, not giving him time to realize his ambitions.
Unfortunately, just because his abusive uncle died and he stripped away all his titles forcefully did not mean that he had a happy life.
Thinking about these things, the vicissitudes of life that he inadvertently revealed were not something a 22-year-old teenager should.
His mother, looking at him returning from the burial, quickly came and hugged him tightly.
"Fu'er, Yunqi is no more! Sob! That poor child, it was born only a few months ago, and now the young life has already ended."
"Tell me, Fu'er, is our family cursed? You are the only child alive in the direct lineage of your father. Even your stepbrothers have all died for various reasons, and now the same thing is happening to you."
His mother suddenly became more excited.
"Yunzhi died at less than one year old, Yunqi died at less than three years old, Yunzhen died at less than four years old, Yunzhu died at less than three years old, and now even the youngest child died at less than one year old. Apart from Xuan Ye and Yunxi, the royal family has no more descendants. Tell me, Fu'er, if this is not a curse, then what is?"
The various consorts and concubines started to sob once again.
Finally, Shunzhi's expression turned a little complicated. Looking into his eyes, one could see a man who had experienced immense suffering.
The frequent deaths of his sons and daughters left him devastated, but the most pitiful thing was that he knew most of them did not die of natural causes but had been murdered by the very same consorts, concubines, and their families in order to reduce competition. But unfortunately for him, as the first Manchu emperor ruling the Qing Empire, which was largely composed of Han people, he had to rely heavily on support from local groups and noble families. If he wanted to accuse someone without having any evidence, then even he, as an emperor, could not sit in his position safely.
Empress Dowager, Xiaohwzhang Consort, Gong Consort, Jing Consort, and Ning Consort are all married to him as part of political alliances. Even if one of them is lost, it means that there are unrests in some part of the empire. If his authority had been established and his dynasty was a long-ruling dynasty like the Ming Dynasty, he wouldn't have to care much about these things. But as the first actual emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he could not afford to take that risk.
So, even if most of his descendants died at the hands of his own allies, he could not do anything and just pretended that he did not know. The only thing he could do was protect a couple of his favourite sons and, hopefully, have them take on his mantle from him.
His empire, the Qing Dynasty, may be one of the strongest empires in the world, but unfortunately, as emperor, he had no will to rule it anymore.
Until now, he persisted only because of his beloved consort Donggo, but now she has also passed away, leaving him alone in this world.
His desire to govern had completely disappeared.
Looking at his crying mother, he simply patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't worry, Empress Mother. Everything will be alright."
"I have already invited a Taoist priest to purify the curse on our family."
Empress Dowager cried even more loudly, but the youngest grandchild was less than one year old after all, and not much emotion was invested in him. So, except for a little regret and sadness, she returned to normal quickly.
Just when Shunzhi was about to return to the royal quarters, suddenly, a court official came into the palace and kowtowed, his head touching the floor.
"Your Majesty, we have received important information from the scouts," he said.
Shunzhi looked at the man and asked, "What is it?"
"Your Majesty, Emperor Vijay Devaraya has invited all the kings in the southern part of the world to Kuala Lumpur."
"All the kings have accepted the invitation and have already left their kingdoms."
"Tianzhu?" Shunzhi asked, a little taken aback.
The court official nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty, it is the same Vijay Devaraya, the current emperor of Tianzhu."
"What is he doing inviting all the kings from the Vassals?"
"There is no information about this, Your Majesty."
Shunzhi fell into deep thought, and then he nodded. "Forget it. There is no need to bother with this empire from Tianzhu."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
---
Unfortunately for Emperor Shunzhi, just because he was not interested in what Vijay was up to doesn't mean his enemies wouldn't either.
Over 1,900 kilometres from Beijing—Guangdong.
The Ming Dynasty was an empire that existed for almost three centuries, and it was also an empire built by the ethnic majority Han Chinese. Even under normal circumstances, it was not easy to completely wipe it out, much less now when the empire was ruled by a minority of Manchu.
Even if the whole royal family of the Ming Dynasty had been wiped out, it was not so easy to erase the influence of the Great Ming.
Several generals who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty were still alive and were fighting to at least preserve some land of the former empire.
The generals fled far north and far south respectively, but unfortunately, due to the northern territories being closer to the power centre of the Qing Dynasty, the resistance did not last long. And this did not even need Emperor Shunzhi to take care of it, since the noble families and military leaders who had to use his face to gain rights and power did the dirty work for him. Currently, the three regions of Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian are the last remaining footholds for the Ming generals who were still loyal to the empire.
Zhu Yulang, the person who held the most power among the rebellion leaders, and Li Dingguo, his trusted general, read the latest intelligence report from the south, both with shocked expressions on their faces.
Zhu Yulang had great ambition to rebuild the Ming Empire and declare himself the Yongli Emperor. However, unfortunately, after numerous setbacks over the years, he had already realized that he was at the end of his rope. Even the so-called Southern Ming Empire he had established with great fanfare was nothing but a joke now. What's more, the Qing soldiers continued to push the defence line as if the country he had established did not exist. Even if he was angry, Zhu had nothing he could do except put up some futile resistance.
Hence, both Zhu Yulang and Li Dingguo had already prepared counterplans if the worst came to worst. But who would have thought they would receive news about the actions taken by the Bharatiya Empire?
Before, they had no thoughts about this nation, which did not have much contact with their own. But now, they were in such a pitiful condition that they would even hold on to a hanging rope if it meant they would live for a few more years.
"Lord Lord, maybe if we can get the support of the Bharatiya Empire, we not only have a chance for survival but even a chance to maintain what we currently have."
Zhu Yulang nodded without much thought. "That's what I was thinking."
"In that case, should we send our messengers to Dai Viet?"
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"No, I believe that Manchu bastard also got the news, and don't you already know how many eyes and ears there are in these vessels? Instead, arrange a merchant ship and let them disguise themselves as traders and directly sail to the United States of the Philippines. It should be much safer there."
"As you wish, Lord."