Yue Tuo didn't speak, he just looked down at the schematic diagram on the ground, and looked up at the New Naturalization City from time to time, Kong Youde stood aside, trembling. Finally, Yue Tuo raised his head, a smile appeared on his cold face, and he made a gesture, signaling the two of their personal soldiers and subordinates to withdraw a few feet away.

"General Kong, you're right, this castle can't be taken by hard attack!" Yue Tuo's voice had a particularly sincere flavor in it: "You should know that I don't like you, and of course you don't like me either. You killed a lot of our people, and I killed many of you, and you were forced by the situation to take refuge in Dajin at the beginning, instead of admiring sanctification and sincerely joining as you said. “

"This, this—" Kong Youde didn't expect Yue Tuo to say such a thing suddenly, and he didn't know how to answer. Yue Tuo waved his hand and said with a smile: "General Kong, you have been here for some days, you should know that when the old Khan died, the sons competed for the throne, and I did not stand on Amma's side, but supported the eighth uncle, do you know why?" ”

"This-" Although it is already early winter, and the outside of the plug has long been dripping into ice, Kong Youde is already sweating, after Nurhachi's death, he was still in the Dongjiang Army, and he was Mao Wenlong's favorite general. Among the generals of the Ming army outside the pass, Mao Wenlong was very old, in the thirty-third year of Wanli (1605), through the relationship between his mother and uncle, he was recommended to the account of Li Chengliang, the marshal of Liaodong at that time, although Nurhachi was still the dragon and tiger general of the Ming Dynasty, but he conquered the Jianzhou Jurchens and many of the Haixi Jurchens, and the power was strong, and it has become a hidden danger of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong. Although Li Chengliang, who was a pillar of Liaodong at that time, was also wary of his actions, due to his growing age, deep twilight, and greed for wealth and nobility, he always repaid his deference to the imperial court. However, Mao Wenlong, who was under Li Chengliang's tent and paid attention to the situation in the mountains and rivers of Liaodong and the captivity, could not be unfamiliar with all this. Later, Nurhachi proclaimed himself the Khan of Destiny, the title of founding the country, and invaded the Liaodong Zhulu, and Mao Wenlong also rose to prominence because of his military achievements. Kong Youde is under his account, and he naturally knows a lot about the various complex relationships within the upper echelons of Houjin, but at this time, how can he tell Yue Tuo, the party, that your mother died early, that your stepmother treated you meanly, and that your father-son relationship was bad.

"Since General Kong thinks it's hard to speak, then I'll say it myself!" Yue Tuo smiled: "If you think that I turned to support Eighth Uncle because my father treated me badly, then you are wrong." I support Uncle Eight because of the position of the Great Khan, no one except Uncle Eight has the ability to sit down! ”

"That's what Heshuo Baylor said!" Although Kong Youde didn't believe it, he still smiled respectfully: "The Great Khan is heroic, and he is naturally very human!" ”

"General Kong, what you said is not wrong! However, the Great Khan's ability is not in leading troops to fight and governing the country! When Lao Khan started the incident, there were no more than 100 people, and there were 13 in A, which was close to his children, and he also started from ordinary soldiers, went through hardships and dangers, and was accustomed to the army. It's not like the emperor of the Zhu family in your Ming Kingdom, all of your children are born with brocade clothes and jade food, and they grow up in the deep palace, and they are iron-beaten muscles and bones, and they are also worn out. It is because of my uncles and uncles, who are not weaker than others in governing the army and the people, marching and fighting, and governing the country. ”

"What Heshuobel said is, then dare to ask, where is the ability of the Great Khan?" If Kong Youde nodded his head a few times before, he was still a little insincere, this time he was indeed convinced, Nurhachi had a total of sixteen sons, among which Chu Ying, Dai Shan, Mang Gurtai, Huang Taiji, Abatai, Azig, Dolgon, and Duoduo were all outstanding in martial arts, and they were famous generals for a while, plus their nephews Amin and Zilharang, almost accounting for more than half of the early Manchu generals. Kong Youde has dealt with the Jurchens for more than ten years, and naturally has a deep understanding of the power of these people.

"My eighth uncle's ability is nothing else, it's lying!" A mocking smile appeared on Yue Tuo's face: "General Kong, you have been dealing with our Jurchens for almost twenty years, you should know that our Jurchens are the most upright and honest, if you like it, you like it, you hate it, and you can't do it in front of you and behind your back." And my eighth uncle is different, others will deceive outsiders at most, and he can even deceive himself. It's like you Han generals, we all know that you are cornered, some people are disdainful, and some people are pretending to be close on the surface, but my eighth uncle can treat them as brothers and sisters, and treat them like people, which is really not something that others can do. ”

He laughed. Hearing Yue Tuo's words, Kong Youde couldn't help but nod secretly, the other party's words really said some of his innermost thoughts. Rolling in troubled times like him, he naturally wouldn't believe that Huang Taiji would really "abandon his past suspicions and treat them like brothers and sisters, no different" as he said in the letter, but he was desperate at that time. But since he took refuge in the Jurchens, others don't say that Huang Taiji has indeed fulfilled all his promises. When a person calms down, in addition to gratitude, Kong Youde's heart is deeper but fear and worry, just like Yue Tuo said, Huang Taiji, a person who can even deceive himself, what is so difficult about deceiving others?

"General Kong, my Yue Tuo can't even coax himself like Eighth Uncle. But I understand that living in troubled times, many times a person is involuntarily. Shuerhaqi (Nurhachi's younger brother, originally Nurhachi's right and left hand, the second person in Jianzhou Jurchen, the Ming Dynasty in order to split and contain the Jianzhou Jurchen, he supported Shulhaqi to fight against his brother Nurhachi, and was imprisoned by Nurhachi to death after defeat, and it is also said that he was killed by Nurhachi) Uncle is like this; So do you. As long as I tell the truth like today, I will naturally remember it in my heart. ”

Kong Youde heard Yue Tuo mention the story of Shulhaqi and Nurhachi's brother cannibalism, and when he thought of what happened to him, he couldn't help but have mixed feelings in his heart, and he was speechless for a while. Yue Tuo patted him on the shoulder, and at this time, a Goshha led a messenger over: "Two lords, the Great Khan has an urgent message!" “

"Hmm!" Yue Tuo took the letter from the messenger's hand, opened it and looked at it carefully, Kong Youde on the side did not dare to come over, and after a long while, he asked in a low voice: "My lord, what is written in the letter of the Great Khan?" ”

"Oh, the Great Khan broke the border in Datong, broke more than 4,000 Ming troops, and gained a lot!"

Kong Youde hurriedly smiled: "That's good news. ”

"Good news?" Yue Tuo sneered: "I don't think so, at the end of the letter, the Great Khan urged us to take this castle as soon as possible and eliminate the defenders in the city!" ”

"This-" Kong Youde's face suddenly turned pale, Yue Tuo's meaning was obvious, the better Huang Taiji's side played, the greater the pressure on their side. Datong and even the important town of the nine borders, since the Ming Dynasty Chengzu has been operating painstakingly for more than 200 years, Huang Taiji can successfully break the border, so Yue Tuo can't even take down a lonely city here, so what else can be shirked? Kong Youde knows very well that although these Jurchens are harmonious on the surface, they are really fighting on the inside, as the saying goes, a companion is like a tiger, who knows if Huang Taiji will take this opportunity to beat this powerful nephew? If I am only a man who is going to be implicated, I am afraid that there will not even be a single bone left.

"In that case, why do you have to think about it!" Yue Tuo sighed, his face full of bitterness: "I don't know what happened to Haoge over there!" ”

"Hauge?" Kong Youde was stunned when he heard this, and secretly thought that this Heshuo Belle couldn't help but think too much, his own life may not be saved, and he was worried about the safety of the eldest son of the Great Khan, no matter how much he said that Huang Taiji was also his father, no matter how big the sin was, it was just raised high and gently fallen. He just wanted to say a few perfunctory words, but when the words came to his lips and he swallowed them back.

"This guy doesn't want Hauge to lose a big battle! Save yourself as a rafter! Thinking of this, Kong Youde only felt cold in his vest.

Datong right guard, red clay fort.

The battle was over, the land had been torn apart by the iron hooves of the Jurchens, the trees had been cut down, the wheat and soybeans that had not yet had time to be harvested had been trampled into the dirt, and the swords and arrows stuck in the ground had been irrigated with blood and turned into new terrible plants. The dying horses were neighing, and the wounded were moaning and praying in despair. The Mongol auxiliaries who followed the Houjin army were like vultures, walking through the battlefield, giving mercy to the wounded, and then collecting all kinds of useful things for them: money, boots, clothes, weapons, and they had little to offer. Behind them were women and children, who plucked their arrows and tied them into bundles ready to be used again. The last to emerge were flocks of crows, which had just left and gathered on the carcasses to feast.

The Red Clay Fort has been reduced to rubble, and the flames have gradually been extinguished, replaced by wisps of black smoke. Beneath rammed earth and gravel walls, Jurchen warriors galloped back and forth, wielding whips and weapons, to drive survivors away from their homeland, which had been reduced to ruins. Everyone's face was expressionless, lifeless, and he staggered to pull sobbing children, most of whom were women and children, and a few adult men were also mostly elderly and disabled.

"Great Khan, you have just won a glorious victory, and this side is three or four days away from Datong Mansion City, so you can go down with a drum." Nessy was smiling, as the leader of the Zarut tribe, he had a typical Mongol face, a thick neck, a large face, slender eyes, reddish-brown skin, a full beard, and the hair in the middle of his head was cleanly shaved, leaving only many braids on both sides. While patting Huang Taiji's ass, he carefully spied Huang Taiji's face, this attack on the Red Clay Fort, it was his subordinates who got the merit of taking the lead, according to custom, he had the right to be the first to pick the loot.

"Zarut Khan, I wonder if you've ever cut down trees?" Huang Taiji looked in a good mood, he smiled and took a cup from the hand of the attendant on the side, took a sip, and continued: "This Ming Kingdom is like a big tree, if we want to cut down trees, we must first remove its branches and leaves, and then we can cut down its trunk. This Datong Mansion is one of the nine important towns of the Ming Kingdom, operating for hundreds of years, the city is high and the pool is deep, and the city is continuous for hundreds of miles, how can it be broken in a hurry? This time, I just plan to burn its savings and plunder its soldiers and civilians in order to wait for the time. ”

"The Great Khan is naturally intelligent, beyond our reach!"

"It's not that smart, there are a lot of these things written in the books of the Han people." Huang Taiji smiled: "Zarut Khan, this time your subordinates are the first to enter the city, and the credit is not small, you will be the first when you will choose the loot!" ”

"Thank you, Great Khan!" Neiqi got what he wanted, and hurriedly knelt down to Huang Taiji to thank him. Huang Taiji looked around with a smile, and sure enough, the sweat of several other tribes showed a look of envy and jealousy, he went west this time, and after being supported by the Mongol tribes as Bogda Chechen Khan, he led the troops to break through the right guard of Datong and plunder everywhere, an important purpose was to win over these Mongols. He knew very well that if he wanted to drive these unruly Mongols, he had to use both grace and power, sticks and carrots, both of which were indispensable; Since Nurhachi raised his army against the Ming, the Later Jin army has won many battles against the Mongols, and the power is enough; And now take them to break the border and rob the Ming Dynasty, which is grace. Although this Neqi Khan's character is a little inferior, he is willing to work hard, as the saying goes, "a thousand gold buys a horse bone", even if this Neqi is worthless, it is better to be the master of a piece, which is much stronger than horse bones.

Huang Taiji was thinking about it, but he didn't see Fan Wencheng walking over quickly from the oblique thorn. He made a thousand calls to Huang Taiji, and then stepped forward and whispered a few words in Huang Taiji's ear. Huang Taiji's face suddenly became solemn, and he said to the Khan of the Mongolian tribes with a forced smile: "Rank, I have something to say to Mr. Fan, you should kneel down first!" ”

"Wow!"

As soon as everyone retreated, Huang Taiji whispered to Fan Wencheng and asked, "Is this news true?" ”

"It's true!" Fan Wencheng's face was solemn: "I have already learned the news of the defeat of Da Baylor from the mouths of four different defeated soldiers, and their accounts have been confirmed and the details are the same, it should not be a rumor!"

Huang Taiji didn't speak, his face was very gloomy, he paced back and forth, and only after half a sound did he scold hatefully: "This Haoge, the light soldiers are easy to advance, and it has ruined my big thing!" ”

"Great Khan!" Fan Wencheng's words came to his lips and swallowed them back, although Huang Taiji was very fond of him, but he was like a tiger, not to mention that he was still an alien emperor. He thought for a while: "The soldiers are fierce and the war is a disaster, and Big Baylor doesn't want to either, maybe-"

"What else is there to like!" Huang Taiji waved his hand irritably: "The enemy situation is unknown, and the troops are still divided, so how can you be undefeated?" The more unclear the enemy's situation, the more necessary it is to concentrate forces in their hands, so that they can adapt to changes and attack later. Didn't I tell him before? In the battle of Salhu that year, the Ming army was divided into four ways and bluffed without knowing the enemy's situation, but was broken by his father Khan one by one. With this kind of play, he can also bully fools who don't know the art of war, and if he encounters someone with a little ability, he will end up with the annihilation of the whole army! (To be continued.) )