"What are you laughing at!" Abatai stiffened his neck and said: "I don't believe you go to the Ministry of Industry to ask, in the past few days, I have gone to the Ministry of Industry every morning before dawn to sit in the office, which of you is comparable to me?" ”

"Even if the seventh brother doesn't get dark, he is still napping in the hall!" Azig said with a smile, although he and Abatai were not born to the same mother, but the two had quite a close relationship, and there were many taboos in their words. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Alright, alright!" Huang Taiji stopped everyone's laughter and asked, "Old Seven, when you go back later, you will hand over the envoy of the Ministry of Industry and the Yamen to Lao Jiu, and I will send another one!" ”

"Another sending?" Abatai was stunned when he heard this.

"Yes, I plan to let the old fourteen go to aid the Mongolian left wing this time!" Huang Taiji pointed to Dolgon on the side: "But the old fourteenth is still young, and the military experience is not enough, you are an old expert in the war, I plan to make you the deputy general of the old fourteen, what do you think?" ”

Hearing this, Abatai already understood what Huang Taiji meant, but for some reason he chose himself, Huang Taiji saw his doubts, and said with a smile: "Old Seven, didn't you say a few days ago that when you sit in the yamen all day, you will be itchy all over your body and your fingers will be numb?" Human blood, labor is not stagnant. However, the family is happy, does not involve the suburbs, does not hold a bow and arrows in the hand, works suddenly, and is prone to pain. If the day is a matter of riding and shooting, the four bodies are naturally smooth, and you don't feel tired? This time, let you lead the troops to the battle, just to cure the illness on your body! ”

"Thank you Great Khan for your concern!" Abatai bowed down to receive the order, and the others whispered and snickered. Huang Taiji's gaze turned to everyone: "Old Khan once admonished us when he was alive: Whoever has the responsibility of commanding, if he does not practice riding and archery every day and is skilled in bows and horses, how can the soldiers study and practice hard?" As long as we don't have the heart to steal peace, practice hard, and teach the soldiers, we can naturally defeat the enemy on the battlefield, and we will be unexpectedly strong and self-reliant. ”

"The Great Khan taught you a lesson!" The people in the palace hurriedly got up and saluted, although Houjin had expanded the land for thousands of miles, with 100,000 people, and was already the first military power in Northeast Asia, but the Jurchen nobles still maintained the previous resolute and simple style, dozens of people in the hall were all skilled in bows and horses, hard-working, even if they were the princes, they should charge first when they were about to fight, and they were invincible. Huang Taiji and others also knew very well that the only advantage they had over the Ming Dynasty was this, which was to emphasize that the whole clan must resist extravagance and maintain the original resolute and simple living habits of the Jurchens. It should be said that before entering the customs, the children of the Eight Banners still did it.

After the military meeting was over, the emperor Taiji gave Dolgon and Abatai two horses, good bows, and armor as things for their bravery, and the two of them thanked them and retreated. Huang Taiji returned to the warm pavilion, closing his eyes and recuperating while thinking about whether there was anything wrong with what he had just said. The real reason why he chose Dolgon and Abatai as the chief and deputy commanders to rescue the Mongolian left wing was naturally not what Fang just said. Able to win the competition of his brothers, become the heir of Nurhachi, and take the Later Jin regime to the next level, Huang Taiji, in addition to the common characteristics of the Jurchen aristocracy, is also a natural sensitivity to the balance of politics. As they grew older, the strength of the three Dolgon brothers grew, and compared to the older but unpopular Azig, who was rude and unpopular, and Dolgon, who was brilliant and talented in military and political affairs, put more pressure on Huang Taiji. In this military discussion to deal with Liu Cheng's eastern expedition, Dolgon strongly advocated sending troops, and in the case of Yue Tuo being captured, Hauge's whereabouts unknown, and Dai Shan being old, unless Huang Taiji himself conquered, it was difficult to prevent Dolgon from becoming the commander. As the lord of the country, Huang Taiji could not easily leave Shengjing, so he had to minimize the adverse effects of Dorgon's expedition on him.

If it was for Dorgon to choose, he would definitely choose Azig or Dordor as his lieutenant, and the half-brother would have some things more convenient. But in this way, if Dolgon defeats Liu Cheng's Eastern Crusade this time, his brother's power will be even more inflated, and the Mongolian left-wing tribes will also become potential supporters of their brother, and it will be fine when he is alive, but if he dies, will the youngest son be able to resist the forced palace of the three Dolgon brothers? Thinking of the eyes full of fear and hatred before his father's Khan's eldest concubine Abahai died, Huang Taiji couldn't help but shudder. Therefore, Abatai is a very good choice, from the perspective of military merits and command ability, Abatai is not inferior to Yue Tuo, Haoge and others, and he is also counted among the relatives and nobles; His identity and status will not affect Dolgon's command, and even if he can defeat Liu Cheng this time, rewarding him will not affect the political balance within the nobles, and it will also be able to share the military exploits of the Dolgon brothers; In addition, Abatai handled the affairs of the Ministry of Industry very badly, and he could do it without revealing the old nine, although Babutai was not as good as Abatai in leading the troops to fight, but his temperament was much more stable and patient, and it should be more appropriate to be in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Industry.

After a few times of thinking from beginning to end, Huang Taiji was sure that there was nothing wrong with his arrangement, he stretched out his hand to summon the palace maid who was waiting, and said, "You go and invite Concubine Zhuang here, just say that I have something for her to do!" ”

"Yes!" The palace maid answered and withdrew, and after a while, a young woman in her early twenties entered the hall and saluted the emperor: "Great Khan! ”

"Sit down and talk!" Seeing Concubine Zhuang, Huang Taiji's face showed a gentle smile, this Concubine Zhuang was the later famous Empress Dowager of Xiaozhuang, she was the second daughter of Buhe, the leader of the Mongolian Horqin Tribe, the Borzigit clan of the Horqin Department and the Aixin Jueluo family have been married for generations, and they are the iron-clad allies of the Houjin on the Mongolian side. She has a calm and intelligent personality, although Huang Taiji and her are political marriages, the relationship between husband and wife is very good, and although she is only the second-ranked Fujin (Da Fujin is her aunt Zhezhe), her actual influence in the palace is the first.

"The seventh and fourteenth are going to go west to cover the Mongolian left wing, you will pick out all kinds of utensils in the palace later, and prepare a set for each to send to their mansion, so that they can go out with peace of mind!"

"Yes!" Concubine Zhuang replied and asked: "Great Khan, a few days ago, some tea was sent in from outside, I thought it was good, I heard that it was a shop called Hongyang, why don't you also pack ten catties and send two each?" ”

"Well, you can do it yourself!"

"There are also some woolen fabrics, used to make robes to block the wind and rain, it is best to ride on a horse, and it is also produced by this Hongyang, why don't you send ten horses too?" Concubine Zhuang asked.

Huang Taiji frowned, he knew this concubine of his very well, although she was a woman, she was an extremely simple person, and she would never waste time talking to herself about the trivial matters of her mother-in-law like an ordinary woman. He asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter, is there anything wrong with this business?" ”

"There's nothing wrong with this business!" Concubine Zhuang replied: "It's just that this wool and tea are not available in the market in Shengjing, but my mother's family sent them over!" I've heard that there are a lot of things in this business on the left-wing side! When she said this, she paused slightly, looked at Huang Taiji's face, and then continued: "Great Khan, don't you think this is very strange? ”

"Weird? Why? ”

"Great Khan, although the Ming Kingdom is at war with my Dajin, the same goods can be sold in Shengjing at a price six or seven times higher than that of the Ming Kingdom, so although the Ming State has a ban, the merchants of the Ming Kingdom will still transport all kinds of goods to my Dajin for sale. But in order to sell the goods only to the Mongolian left, this Hongyang did not sell to Shengjing? ”

"Oh, concubine, you don't know!" Huang Taiji said with a smile: "This Hongyang has a deep relationship with Liu Cheng, the general soldier of Datong of the Ming Kingdom, and this person has done a lot in the trading of tea, salt, horses, and leather. Although the Mongols don't have silver, they have horses and leather, and these things are not produced in the Central Plains, and they will make money when they are transported back! ”

"But doesn't this mean that it is very likely that the left-wing ministries are likely to hook up with Liu Cheng? You sent troops west this time, will you-"

"I see what you mean!" Concubine Zhuang was just halfway through speaking, but was interrupted by Huang Taiji, he stood up and paced back and forth in the room for a few steps, and suddenly listened: "As you said, Aifei: Is there any connection between the left-wing departments and Liu Cheng?" There must be, otherwise where did all this tea, cloth, and salt come from? The Mongolians do not grow tea, dry salt, and weave cloth. But can we manage it? No. The reason is very simple, the Mongols cannot live without salt and tea, if we blame the left-wing tribes for this, then we must provide them with alternative tea and salt, otherwise it is equivalent to driving them to Liu Cheng's side, but do we have it? ”

Concubine Zhuang shook her head. Huang Taiji smiled bitterly: "We don't even have enough tea and salt for ourselves, if possible, I still want to buy more salt and tea from that Hongyang through the left wing at a high price?" Tea is also fine, people don't have the strength to eat salt, and they will get sick. Aifei, the Ming Kingdom is too strong, and the two armies are fighting each other on the battlefield, if we can't adapt to the situation, even if we win a hundred battles, it is not impossible to lose in the end. ”

"Yes!" Concubine Zhuang is a smart person, and she immediately heard a hint of helplessness from Huang Taiji's words, and she knew very well that the attitude of the Later Jin towards the Mongolian tribes at that time was quite flexible: as long as the status of the suzerain of the Later Jin State was recognized, many other aspects would turn a blind eye. The reason for this is simple: although the Later Jin had always had the upper hand in the war with the Ming State, the Later Jin were unable to give the Mongol tribes the same annual gifts as the Ming State did, and could not provide the salt, tea, cloth, and iron tools necessary for the nomadic economy. Even if the Mongol tribes were able to get some of the spoils after following the Houjin army to break through, it was only a drop in the bucket compared to the needs of the Mongol tribesmen. No matter how closely the Mongolian left wing was politically connected with the Later Jin, as long as the Eight Banners army did not enter the customs for a day, the Mongols would have to rely on Han merchants economically, which was not transferred by the subjective will of Huang Taiji and the upper echelons of the left wing.

"Actually, Liu Cheng is afraid that he also knows this!" Huang Taiji twisted his chin and whispered.

"You mean the Ming Army?"

"Not bad!" Huang Taiji nodded: "Last time, our army burned down the city of Guihua, and after Liu Cheng gathered the right wing, he rebuilt the new city there, and also got a Chesang Lama from Tibet to be the living Buddha of the Silver Buddha Temple, and gave a large sum of money to rebuild the temple, and the Qiesang Lama built a market outside the temple, and merchants from all over the world were doing business in it. The Chesang Lama also said that in front of the Buddha, all beings are equal, and although the left and right wings are enemies of each other, they are all followers of the Buddha within the scope of the Silver Buddha Temple, and they are not allowed to fight each other. As a result, leaders of both the left and the right often come to the temple to pay their respects, and they can buy many necessary things from the market. Do you think that without Liu Cheng's permission to do this, would that Lama Chesang dare to do this? ”

"That's what the Great Khan said!" Concubine Zhuang nodded, but her slender eyebrows quickly wrinkled: "But why did that Liu Cheng do this?" Didn't he capture the city of Holinger and capture Yueto? Isn't the left wing his enemy? And he should know that some of this tea, salt, and cloth will flow to our Dajin? ”

"Of course he knows that! It's just that he doesn't care, because there are so many benefits to doing this! Huang Taiji smiled: "First of all, he made a lot of profits from selling salt and tea, and with this money he could pay the army, and the Mongols didn't have so much silver, so they could only sell horses to him." ”

Concubine Zhuang asked in surprise, "Sell the horse to him?" How so? Didn't the left-wing divisions know that this would strengthen the enemy's strength? ”

"It's better than no salt and no tea, right? What's more, winter is coming, and they don't have so much forage to feed so many livestock, even if they don't sell it to Liu Cheng, many livestock will have to be killed, and meat can't be exchanged for anything! ”

Concubine Zhuang nodded, as Huang Taiji said, in fact, the left-wing Mongols had no choice at all, tea and salt were necessities for them, and the goods they could provide were not necessary for Liu Cheng (he could also exchange horses from the right wing, Gushi Khan and other herdsmen), the status of the two sides of the transaction itself was unequal, and it was not difficult to imagine that the left wing must be the one who suffered.

"There's a second bonus!" The more Huang Taiji spoke, the more excited he became: "All the left-wing departments came to the Silver Buddha Temple to do business and pay homage to the Silver Buddha. Then he will be able to know a lot of information through the mouths of those lamas, and even bribe some leaders with various benefits. ”

"Strange! Great Khan, why do you seem to particularly appreciate the appearance of this Ming general soldier? ”

"Really?" Huang Taiji suddenly laughed: "It's very simple, because he is very much like a person!" ”

"Who, who?"

"Father Khan!"

"Father Khan? Destiny Khan? Concubine Zhuang's eyes widened in surprise, and the father Khan in Huang Taiji's mouth was naturally Nurhachi, the founding ancestor of the Later Jin: "How is it possible?" Father Khan is the hero who opened up my great gold foundation and the sworn enemy of the Ming Kingdom; And this Liu Cheng is the chief soldier of the Ming Kingdom, how can these two people be similar? (To be continued.) )