"Great Khan, this is the instrument of Zarut Khan!" Fan Wencheng respectfully handed a letter to Huang Taiji next to the bookcase, but Huang Taiji did not reach out to take it, and said with a smile: "If I guessed correctly, I guess the letter is asking for a grace period to withdraw troops, right?" ”

"Huh!" Fan Wencheng smiled: "Neiqi and they support the Great Khan as the main one, and what they do is just a jade silk for their children, which is also human nature!" ”

"Leave it here!" Huang Taiji pointed to the corner of the bookcase, put down the brush in his hand, and rubbed his eyes tiredly: "Neiqi they are really blind, the emperor of the Ming State has sent Yang Sichang out of Beijing to the governor of Xuanda Shanxi military, even if the Shanxi Ming army is no longer able to fight, it will also have to fight in front of the governors appointed by the Son of Heaven. ”

"That's what the Great Khan said!" Fan Wencheng smiled: "But this is also a good thing, they have suffered a loss, won't they rely more on my Dajin Kingdom instead?" ”

"Hahaha!" Huang Taiji laughed: "Yes, what Mr. Fan said is very true. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info In the reply letter, he advised them a few words, let them be careful of the Ming army! ”

"Yes, Great Khan!" Fan Wencheng walked to the bookcase on the side, unfolded the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and quickly wrote a reply, dried it and sent it to Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji looked at it hastily, picked up the big seal on the side, and he was about to cover it, but his hand hung in the air and did not fall. Fan Wencheng on the side saw it in his eyes, and he didn't dare to urge, so he had to wait patiently. After a long while, Huang Taiji put the big seal aside and asked, "Mr. Fan, what kind of move do you think Liu Chengjin is building a new naturalization city?" ”

Fan Wencheng was stunned for a moment, but he knew that Huang Taiji often suddenly asked some questions that seemed to be inconsistent in his preface, and what he needed at this time was often not a well-thought-out answer, but an opportunity and inspiration. Therefore, he did not answer immediately, but closed his eyes and pondered, and the Huang Taiji on the side did not urge, and after a while, Fan Wencheng replied in a low voice: "Tell the Great Khan, the minister thinks this is a good move!" ”

"Oh? Mr. Fan, please speak! ”

"Great Khan, as soon as Lin Dan Khan died, his son was still young and not enough to inherit the throne. If we use the words of our Han people that 'Qin loses its deer, the heroes chase it together', among these people, the Great Khan and that Liu Cheng are at the forefront. This person rebuilt the naturalized city, just like the Han and Tang dynasties built the surrendered city, with the land of the river loop, the strong begged for it, the weak caressed it, and the strong root went to the branches and leaves, in order to establish a hegemony! ”

"A strong person asks for it, the weak caress it, and the strong root goes to the branches and leaves!" Huang Taiji heard it, and couldn't help but high-five and praised: "Look at what Liu Cheng did, it is really exactly the same as what Mr. said, first kill Lin Dan Khan, Bu Lost Rabbit Khan, and then divide the various departments, and give the land of abundant water and grass. ”

"Not bad!" Fan Wencheng smiled: "Great Khan, as far as the minister can see, this person is a big problem for my Dajin Kingdom, and he must be eliminated as soon as possible!" ”

"Hmm!" Huang Taiji smiled: "It's too early to say this, Mr. Fan, if Yue Tuo can't take the Naturalization City, how do you think you should deal with it?" ”

"Build the city!" Fan Wencheng replied very decisively: "Although my Dajin has sharp armor and is invincible in the world, after all, Shengjing is thousands of miles away from here, and it is impossible for you to stay here forever Great Khan." After a long time, the Mongolian tribes will inevitably centrifuge, but if they build a strong city and leave a brigade of soldiers, the Mongolian tribes will see the power of our Dajin soldiers every day, and they will die for my Dajin Fence. ”

Huang Taiji nodded, he knew very well that at present, the Ming Kingdom and Houjin were lined up with fortresses on the front line in Liaodong, and the battle line had basically stabilized. Since the frontal battlefield has reached a stalemate, the victory or defeat depends on who can open the situation on the side battlefield, and Huang Taiji continued to use troops against the Mongols, just to pull the Mongols into his own chariot against the Ming. But this is not only enough to be able to fight, after all, the fundamental land of Houjin is on the Songliao Plain, and the mobile forces that can be drawn out are also very limited, and it is impossible to brush the heads of people on a secondary battlefield in three days. In this case, the need to brush up on a military presence is necessary. For example, it is impossible for Huang Taiji to spend the winter in Helinger, but it is no problem to build a city and leave a thousand people, although those Mongols can't see the Houjin army, but when they see the castle and the Houjin banner fluttering on it, their loyalty to Houjin will naturally be much higher. Otherwise, the Naturalization City is in front of you, but the Houjin army is one or two thousand miles away, and fools know which side to choose.

"Then where does Mr. Fan think he should choose to build the city?"

"This is it!" Fan Wencheng obviously had a clear understanding of Huang Taiji's problem: "This place was originally the site of the ancient city of Shengle, and in the Tang Dynasty, it was the location of the Shan Yu Protectorate, there is a river in the south of the city, the land is fertile, which is conducive to reclamation, and there is a city foundation, and the materials are all ready-made. ”

Huang Taiji nodded, but did not speak, among Nurhachi's sixteen sons, Huang Taiji was probably the most diligent and studious, not only possessing the courage and fierceness common to barbarian peoples who had just entered civilized society, but also considerable cultural cultivation. Fan Wencheng mentioned that the ancient city of Shengle is the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty Daowu Emperor Tuoba Jue, Tuoba Xianbei in the Western Jin Dynasty after the fall of many Hu people into the Central Plains is actually a latecomer, before that, there are Qiang, clan, Xiongnu, Qian, Ding Ling, Murong Xianbei, Yuwen Xianbei and other Hu people into the Central Plains, many of them have established their own regimes, but these regimes are spinning and perishing, the real unification of the north is Tuoba Xianbei this latecomer. A big reason why Tuoba Xianbei was able to do this is that he actually lived in the area of Monan and Yunzhong for nearly 100 years before entering the Central Plains, and took advantage of the opportunity of the war in the Central Plains to shelter a large number of exiled Han northern peasants, give them arable land, and adopt a way to adapt to the farming lifestyle to rule. Therefore, before entering the Central Plains, Tuoba Xianbei had a very good understanding of the agricultural lifestyle in the Central Plains, had rich experience in governance, and before entering the Central Plains, he had a population far greater than that of other Hu people, and his own strength far exceeded that of other Hu people; Second, Shengle is located at the northern end of the Datong Basin, the southern end of the Mongolian steppe, which is the entrance for nomads to enter the Shanxi Plateau, and the strategic location is very necessary. For Huang Taiji, the example given by Fan Wencheng is of special significance. Because Tuoba Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei regime, was the same as the Jurchens, both of whom started in the Changbai Mountains, when the Houjin wanted to enter the North China Plain from Shanhaiguan and was blocked, they naturally thought of whether they could follow the footsteps of Tuoba Xianbei and embark on the old road of Helinger-Datong-North China Plain.

"What Mr. Fan said is very true, but who do you think should be left behind?"

"As you can see below, Lord Yue Tuo is brave and fair, and he has won the hearts of all Mongolian tribes, and he is the best candidate!"

"You stand down first, I'll think about it again!"

"Yes, Great Khan!" Fan Wencheng knelt down and kowtowed, and withdrew from the tent. He knew in his heart that nine times out of ten, Huang Taiji would accept his suggestion. In addition to Yue Tuo's personal qualities, there is another reason that cannot be explained in front of everyone: after Haoge was captured, the strength of Yue Tuo and Daishan father and son was too strong, and they had broken the balance of power in the center of the Houjin Kingdom. And leaving Yue Tuo in Horinger, commanding the Mongol tribes, and directing the flank war was tantamount to a rather decent way to drive him out of the power center of the Houjin. With Huang Taiji's eyes, he will not fail to see this.

Sure enough, by the evening of the same day, Fan Wencheng had received an order to step up the construction of Helinger City.

"My lord, it's Ningwu Pass ahead!" A personal soldier pointed to the looming Guancheng under the shroud of mist, and said loudly to Du Ruhu.

"Hmm!" Du Ruhu nodded, looking at the familiar city wall in the distance, his heart was full of emotion, five years ago, he passed through here to go to King Qin, but he ended up with a mutiny because of no pay and no food, and became a rogue If it weren't for Lord Liu, I'm afraid, I'm afraid I'm afraid I ——。 Du Ruhu didn't want to think about it anymore, he shook his head, as if he wanted to get rid of all the things in his mind: "Pass the order, speed up the pace, you must rush to Ningwu Pass before dark!" ”

"General Du, looking at you like this, could it be that you remember something from the past?"

Li Dongguo's voice came from the side, and this Master Li could be regarded as able to endure hardships among the scholars in the late Ming Dynasty. After Min Min made a decision that night, at noon the next day, Du Ruhu set off west with a thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry, in addition to two three-pounder guns, Li Dongguo also followed, and he suffered a lot of bumps along the way, but he also gritted his teeth and survived, so that Du Ruhu couldn't help but admire secretly.

"When Chongzhen was the king of Shaanxi in the second year, I used to pass through here."

"Hehe, revisit the old land-" As soon as Li Dongguo said this, his face suddenly changed, it was not the first time he had dealt with Du Ruhu, he naturally knew some of his past, and as soon as the words came out, he remembered it, and hurriedly smiled: "This time is different from the past, with Inspector Yang here, you don't have to worry about the look of the general in terms of food and salary!" ”

At this moment, a cannon suddenly sounded in front. Du Ruhu's face changed, and he said to Li Dongguo: "Master Li, I don't know what happened in front, I'll go and see it first!" With that, he kicked the horse in the belly and galloped forward.

Du Ruhu rode for a while, and saw that the men and horses had stopped, and there was a quarrel in front of him, mixed with the sound of the war horse's snorting and the sound of hooves. He became more and more anxious, and while whipping his mount, he shouted, "What's the matter, why did you stop?" ”

"General Du, the defenders of the city said that we were Mongolian Tartars who deceived the city, refused to open the city gate, and bombarded us!" Dulbert replied helplessly, considering the enemy's horses, Min Min drew four hundred horsemen from his palace tent army, led by Dulbert, as the sentinel and vanguard of Du Ruhu's department, and was at the forefront of the march, but he didn't want to be mistaken for a Mongol who broke the border by the Ming army defending the city. In fact, it is no wonder that the defenders misunderstood, although the armor and equipment of the four hundred palace tent troops of Min Min were very good, almost all of them were braided, and in the eyes of the defenders at the head of the city, there was no difference between them and the Mongol soldiers on the Jurchen side.

"Durbot, the cannon didn't hit anyone, did it?"

"There!" Dulbert pointed to a broken tree not far ahead, more than thirty steps away, and a disdainful smile appeared on his face: "It's so far away, it can scare women and children!" ”

Du Ruhu was relieved to see that there was no injury, he beat his horse and walked to the city, and shouted to the head of the city: "I am Du Ruhu, the general of the court in Yansui Town, and I was ordered to lead the troops to help, you quickly open the city gate and let us into the city!" ”

"You Tartars don't want to coax us, you obviously want to deceive our city, get out of here, or I'll release the arrows!"

"Those are the righteous servants of the general, not the Tartar who broke the edge, if you don't believe it, the official still has a seal letter and a guide, you can see it!"

The answer to Du Ruhu was a flurry of arrows, and the soldiers beside him hurriedly raised their shields to block the arrows and protect him to retreat, but fortunately, the armor on their bodies was of good quality, and only a few were slightly injured. At this time, Li Dongguo rushed up, and when he saw such a scene, he couldn't help but be furious, he beat his horse and came to the city and shouted: "Who is your guard here, this official is Li Dongguo, the imperial history of Hedong Patrol Salt, who went to Shaanxi to transfer troops on the order of the Governor, and he didn't open the city gate quickly!" ”

Li Dongguo's anger worked, and after a while, the city gate opened, and the general guarding the gate greeted him and said with a smile: "The defenders of the city have no eyes, they have offended Lord Li, and please Haihan!" ”

Li Dongguo's face turned pale, and he snorted coldly: "Indiscriminately, he will fire cannons and arrows, and accidentally injure friendly soldiers. ”

The general's face suddenly turned pale, and he knelt down and kowtowed twice: "My lord, the superintendent has passed down the military order, if there are Hu people and hundreds of horsemen in the internal and external three passes, they will be beheaded, and the generals above the division will be dismissed from their posts, and the general will really not dare to be careless!" ”

Du Ruhu looked pitiful on the side, and said that he was a guest army, if he really killed the people of the main army, they would not be able to mix in Shanxi, so he persuaded in a low voice: "Lord Li, this brother is also to kill thieves, and we don't have any dead people, so forget it!" ”

"The death penalty can be avoided, but the living sin is unforgivable!" Li Dongguo snorted coldly: "The person who fired the cannon and the arrow just now will each be whipped thirty lashes, and they will fight now!" ”

Du Ruhu still wanted to persuade, but after all, people were angry for themselves, so it was not appropriate to talk about it by themselves. The general guarding the city kowtowed two more heads on the ground, got up and ran up to the city, and after a while, he tied up sixteen or seventeen soldiers and came down, pulled down his pants in front of Du Ruhu and Li Dongguo, and whipped them one by one. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, due to the gradual formation of the system of "civil and military", the status of civil and military officials has become more and more disparity. A civil official like Li Dongguo, who was born as a scholar and was a veteran of the court, had a promising future, even an ordinary general soldier had to give him three points, and a general in this mere area was not much better than a slave. Like a similar situation, Du Ruhu was not uncommon in the Ming army in the past, but since he followed Liu Cheng, he has never seen anything like this. (To be continued.) )