"Twenty-five thousand taels?" Liu Cheng almost screamed.

"That's all, Lord Liu, how much do you think?" Hu Kejian was stunned when he heard this, and asked rhetorically.

"Ahem!" Liu Cheng coughed twice in embarrassment, but he didn't dare to say that he had guessed the other party's number ten times bigger. Hu Kejian was not a fool, he quickly came back to his senses, his face showed a hint of joy, and asked in a low voice: "So, doesn't Lord Liu have a way?" ”

"Father-in-law Hu, it's not that there is no way, but I don't know if you dare to use it?"

Hu Kejian was ecstatic when he heard this, and secretly thought that this Qiu Ba must have something to cover up by himself, but he had made such a great contribution, as long as it was not a rebellion, he could cover it, and hurriedly patted his chest and said: "What is the way, although Lord Liu said, as long as you become this imperial horse supervisor palm seal, it will be a big thing, and our family will cover it for you." “

"Xiaguan has thanked Gonggong Hu here first!" Liu Cheng smiled and owed Hu Kejian: "Since Gonggong Hu has said everything, then the lower official has also said it, don't say it is 25,000 taels, even 50,000 taels of silver, and the lower officials can afford it, but do you know where the lower officials' silver came from?" ”

"This?" Hu Kejian was stunned when he heard this, and secretly thought in his heart that what else is the way for you to get money, it is nothing more than deducting military salaries and private soldiers, but after thinking about it, the northwest has been in arrears for several years, Liu Cheng, a newly appointed deputy commander-in-chief, it is not easy to get tens of thousands of taels of silver by deducting military salaries, thinking of this, he shook his head: "Our family doesn't know." “

"Salt, tea, horses!" Liu Cheng spit out three words: "These three transactions are all making a lot of money, and the lower officials can win consecutive battles, relying on these three things, and they can't do without these three things." Father-in-law Hu asked for money to make this palm seal of the imperial horse supervisor, and it was also a matter of service for the lower officials, but the lower officials also asked Father-in-law Hu for one thing, and asked for permission. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Let Xia Guan be the next Ningxia General Soldier!"

Hu Kejian didn't answer immediately, and after a while he replied in a low voice, "Lord Liu." General Du is a veteran general of the Western Army, and he has also made great contributions to breaking through the sweat this time! “

"What Grandpa Hu said is right!" Liu Cheng smiled and nodded: "But it was Lord Du who lost to the Khan before, which led to the soldiers in Ningxia and the situation of the thieves in the northwest, what do you think Hong Zhijun would write in the note to the imperial court?" ”

"This-" Hu Kejian was dumbfounded, he knew in his heart that what Liu Cheng said was right, if you want to rise step by step in the officialdom, the first priority is to fight for merit, Hong Chengchou can climb to the position of the governor of the three sides, and he must be a master in this skill. Although Hu Kejian has not seen Hong Chengchou's recital. But I also know how the other party will write with my ass. Of course, Long Live Lord will not just listen to one side, as the supervisor of Ningxia Town, he naturally has the right to speak on this matter, so to speak, Du Wenhuan's achievements in the second half of his life are tied to his own mouth.

"Grandpa Hu!" Liu Cheng saw Hu Kejian's thoughts, and said with a smile: "General Du is a senior in our army, and he is naturally very admired in the lower ranks, but to say that he is the chief soldier of Ningxia." Xia Guan is definitely more suitable than him, not to mention anything else, if he hadn't won this battle in Xia, the best situation for him to stay in the city would be to drag out until the beginning of spring and retreat. With the current situation of the imperial court, ten or nine cents of the money and grain were invested in Liaodong, and the losses in this battle alone could not be made up for in seven or eight years. That sweat has benefited, and it must have come to loot every autumn. In this way, in less than five years, this Ningxia town will definitely not be my Ming territory. ”

"What Lord Liu said is very true!" Hu Kejian nodded and sighed: "Actually, our family and General Du are guarding the lonely city together. The affection of colleagues is very good, just for the people of Ningxia, and they can't say that they want to be wronged and wronged by General Du, presumably with his character, he will not blame our family! ”

"What my father-in-law said is very true!" Seeing that Hu Kejian was relieved, Liu Cheng couldn't help but be secretly happy in his heart, and hurriedly picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Since this is the case, then the lower official will congratulate his father-in-law on raising the imperial horse supervisor as soon as possible!" ”

"Then it also depends on the help of General Liu!"

"Each other, each other!" Speaking of this, the two couldn't help but look at each other and smile.

Liu and Hu were talking about entering the alley, and a person suddenly came in from outside, it was Hao Shaoqi, he ran to Liu Cheng's side, and whispered a few words in his ear. Liu Cheng's face changed slightly, and he bowed to Hu Kejian and said: "Father-in-law Hu, there are some things to deal with in the army, I have to leave first, and please forgive my father-in-law!" ”

"It's okay, it's okay!" Hu Kejian said with a smile: "Lord Liu will make up for it next time." ”

"Definitely, definitely!" Liu Cheng bowed to Hu Kejian with a smile, turned around and came out of the hall, the smile on his face was long gone, he had regained his usual majesty, and asked in a low voice, "Where is Lama Chesang?" Did anyone else see him coming? ”

"In a small village outside the city, I sent a small team of men and horses to guard it, and then I came directly to the master general."

"Well done!" Liu Cheng nodded: "Lead the way!" ”

The furnishings in the wing room are very simple, and the fire kang has not been lit for an unknown number of days, and it has long been as cold as iron. Sitting cross-legged on the kang with a sheepskin underneath him, he was chanting with his eyes closed, but judging from his slightly fluttering eyelids, his mood at this time was by no means as calm as it seemed on the surface.

"Guru!" The door was pushed open, and it was Liu Cheng in a round-necked official robe who came in, he looked at the furnishings in the room, turned back to Hao Shaoqi and shouted: "Go and get two braziers, why are you so snub to the master." ”

"It's okay!" Chesang smiled: "The stinky skin of the poor monk has already given up all of my great cause of the Gelug Sect, and a little suffering is nothing. Here's a big congratulations to the general! “

"The Guru already knows!" Liu Cheng laughed: "Lin Dan Khan didn't know how to advance or retreat, he killed himself, and God faked my hand to punish him." Although Liu Cheng said these words easily, his tone was very great, and he even said the words of God pretending to be a thief, but fortunately, in addition to him and Qiesang in the house, there was only Hao Shaoqi, a big illiterate, who was not afraid of spreading it.

Chesang smiled and didn't say anything to argue, although an ancient senior monk like him was full of retribution from gods and Buddhas, but at that time, they were probably the ones who didn't believe in these things the most, the reason was very simple, they knew too much, so they naturally didn't believe it. Liu Cheng blew these atmospheres, which sounded to him as just a fart, far less shocking than the iron flow gushing out of the blast furnace. He took out a package from his arms, put it in front of Liu Cheng, and said with a smile: "The poor monk came in a hurry. I didn't prepare any gifts, so please smile! ”

Liu Cheng looked at the package and nodded, Hao Shaoqi on the side stepped forward to unwrap the package, but inside was a human head that had been embalmed, judging from the hairstyle, it should be a Mongolian nobleman, Liu Cheng cast an inquiring look at Chesang, and Chesang smiled: "This is the head of Lin Dan Khan, the poor monk heard that his wife and concubines and children are in the hands of adults, if you don't believe it, you can go to verify." ”

"Lin Dan Khan's head? Why did it fall into your hands? ”

Chessan smiled slightly. described the encounter that night in detail, and said with a smile: "Lin Dan Khan escaped from the hands of adults, but he didn't want to fall into the hands of his old sworn enemy. “

When Liu Cheng heard that the Chesang Lama had also attracted the men and horses of Gushi Khan, the leaders of the Tumut tribe, Bu Lost Rabbit Khan, and Dzungar Khan, his face became ugly: "Master, you said earlier that you would lead the Gelug coalition army to attack Lin Dan Khan with my Daming, and now that Lin Dan Khan has been destroyed, please ask the master to let the coalition army disperse." Otherwise, it will not be good if there is some misunderstanding. ”

Seeing Liu Cheng's performance like this, how did he not know that the other party was already on guard, and said with a smile: "Lord Liu, it's not that we are deliberately delaying. It's the adults who use their soldiers quickly to break Lin Dan Khan so quickly. In fact, adults don't have to be too vigilant, these three people have their own suspicions, but they joined forces to guard against Lin Dan Khan. As soon as Lin Dan Khan died, the three of them fought among themselves, and the poor monk came this time. It's to ask adults to be peacemakers! ”

"Oh? Please also ask the Guru to elaborate. “

Chesan smiled, and then elaborated, it turned out that this Gushi Khan was the leader of the Heshute tribe among the Eruts at that time, and his main pasture was located near Qinghai Province in present-day China. Among the Mongol khans, Gushi Khan had the closest relationship with the Gelugpa sect in Tibetan Buddhism, and Lin Dan Khan was also closest to his pasture, whether it was out of religious belief or from the perspective of political security, Gushi Khan had a strong desire to participate in this expedition, so he personally led 10,000 cavalry to participate in this expedition; Bu Lost Rabbit Khan, on the other hand, wanted to regain control of the Mongol right; Dzungar Khan, who had the closest relationship with Liu Cheng, sent only a symbolic 1,000 cavalry, and it was clear that Batur Khan did not have much interest in the right-wing pastures.

"So Gushi Khan is the main force of this army?" Liu Cheng asked.

"Yes and no!" Chesang replied, pausing slightly, and explained in detail: "Gushi Khan's greatest enemies are the Baili Tustun Dorjee and Zangba Khan of Kham, these two people border their territory and have different beliefs, they are the great enemies of life and death, and he sent troops against Lin Dan Khan to prevent him from alliing with these two families, flanking him, and striking first." However, Bu Lost Rabbit Khan was very ambitious, he felt that after the demise of Lin Dan Khan, he should not only retract the right wing, but also be the natural successor of Lin Dan Khan, and the Chahar Department should also belong to him. By the way, Lin Dan Khan was also killed by his own hands. ”

"In this way, although there are many people in Gushi Khan, it is indispensable, but this Bu Lost Rabbit Khan, his strength is not strong, but his ambition is not small, this is the way to take trouble!" Hearing this, Liu Cheng's face showed a playful smile.

"Yes, the word adult is used well." Chesang laughed: "For Gushi Khan, whoever controls the right wing can do it, but Lin Dan Khan can't. ”

"I see, it's a lot of fun." Liu Cheng laughed, and suddenly he looked at Lama Chesang and suddenly asked: "Master, Gushi Khan wants to defeat Lin Dan Khan, Bu Lost Rabbit Khan wants to regain control of the right wing, and my father-in-law sent troops to deal with the envoy, what about you?" I think it's the hardest time for you to toss back and forth, don't tell me you don't have any ideas in it, do you? ”

"Hahaha, adults are still so impatient!" Chesang said with a smile: "It is not right to say that the poor monks have no benefit at all, and seeing the prosperity of the Dharma is the benefit of the poor monks!" ”

"Dharma flourishes?" Liu Cheng's face was full of "I don't believe you" expression: "It's okay to sell some firearms to you, send troops to the muddy water in Tibet, then don't you think!" ”

By this time, the atmosphere in the room was quite relaxed, and Lama Chesang smiled and said, "If you really want to thank the poor monk, give me a temple." ”

"A temple? No, I can't afford it! Liu Cheng immediately shook his head, he was no longer a rookie who had just crossed over, a temple in Chesang's mouth was more of a city and a miniature country than a temple, even if it was given out by the son of tomorrow, it would be painful for a long time, not to mention that he was only a general soldier.

"Don't worry, you can afford it!" Chesang smiled like a fox who had stolen a chicken: "And giving this temple to the poor monk is only good for the adults, and there is no harm in it." ”

When Liu Cheng heard this, he realized that Chesang already had an idea, and asked, "This temple, could it be that you mean that it is ready-made?" ”

"Yes, I'm talking about the Silver Buddha Temple!"

"Silver Buddha Temple?"

"It's the Great Zhao Temple in Naturalization City." Chesang hurriedly explained: "There is a silver statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in the temple that is three meters high and weighs three thousand catties, which is named after it!" ”

Hearing this, Liu Cheng's face immediately became serious, he didn't know much about these Tibetan Buddhist temples, but he knew very well about the naturalization city where they were located, the reason was very simple, just a few months ago, the Jin Emperor Taiji led the army to the west, Lin Dan Khan fled without a fight, and this naturalized city was looted by the Houjin army, and it was burned clean before leaving.

"Wasn't the Naturalization City burned down by the Eastern Captives? What will you do in vain? “

"My lord doesn't know, it's true that the Naturalization City was burned down, but Huang Taiji has not touched a single grass or tree in this Silver Buddha Temple, and he takes good care of it!"

"Humph!" Liu Cheng snorted coldly, his face showed displeasure, of course he knew the reason why Huang Taiji did this, Tibetan Buddhism, especially the Gelug sect, has a very high prestige among the Mongolian tribes, the temple is not only a religious center, but also a commercial and cultural center, it is common for the various tribes on the grassland to attack and loot, but generally it will not harm the temple. Huang Taiji did a really beautiful job, not only striking at his main opponent Lin Dan Khan, but also gaining the sense of identity of the Mongolian tribes, laying a good foundation for the next surrender and rebellion. Thinking of this, Liu Cheng couldn't help but get irritable in his heart, in a sense, Huang Taiji was the biggest beneficiary of his victory, no matter how unbearable Lin Dan Khan was, he was also the direct blood of the Golden Family, the direct descendant of Dayan Khan, and the Chahar Department was also a descendant of Genghis Khan's Guard. His own battle swept away the last centripetal force of the Mongol Empire, and in the steppe, a jungle society that completely follows the law of the jungle, the inevitable result is that the parts are divided and the strong are chosen to follow. And for these Mongolian tribes, the best and thickest thigh is the rapidly rising Houjin regime, when he thought of working hard but making a wedding dress for the Manchurian Tartars, Liu Chengcheng couldn't help but bow his head in frustration. (To be continued.) )