Dorgon, once again firmly in control of supreme power, felt a sense of surrealism. Seven years ago, he had led an incursion inside Shanhai Pass to plunder, only to return in crushing defeat after the battle at Wenyu River. Back in Liaodong, he had been stripped of all authority, retaining nothing but his title as Prince. Even after expending great effort, he had secured only the post of Regional Commander of the navy, never once managing to return to the halls of the central government. Today, he had regained everything he had once lost. The weight of his emotions was unimaginable.
Yet, after the initial surge of excitement, Dorgon realized there were many critical tasks ahead. The first was how to handle Jirgalang’s family. Jirgalang had fled the city in such haste that, apart from a small number of close relatives who had escaped with his troops, the majority of his kin remained within the city walls.
"Kill them. Kill them all!" Fulin roared in fury. Since Nurhaci had established the Later Jin, and in the decades since Fulin had ascended the throne, no Prince had ever launched a mutiny. Jirgalang was the first. If this incident were not dealt with severely, others might very well follow suit. For Fulin and the Great Qing, this was a matter of life and death.
Chapter 1002