As soon as Huang Taiji entered the door, he saw Concubine Zhuang coming out of it, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Concubine Zhuang, how is Concubine Chen?" ”

Concubine Zhuang couldn't help but feel warm in her heart when she saw Huang Taiji's overflowing concern: "Don't worry about sweating, I just gave her a little ginseng soup and fell asleep." Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Aunt is guarding her and it's all right! ”

"That's good!" Hearing that Hai Lanzhu had already fallen asleep, Huang Taiji breathed a sigh of relief. Concubine Zhuang saw Huang Taiji's tired appearance, sighed and said: "Great Khan, I look at your appearance, the one who came from the Korean tribute is really good, or you can also drink some to make up for the loss of vitality!" ”

Huang Taiji felt that he was exhausted, although he had followed Nurhachi's march to fight since he was a child, and he had a good fight, but when Houjin was created, many things inside and outside had not yet become rules, and they were all pressed on his shoulders alone, even if he was beaten with iron, he was thin. He sighed and smiled, "It's okay! ”

Huang Taiji followed Concubine Zhuang to the side hall, Concubine Zhuang went out for a while, and when she came back after a while, she had a golden pot and a porcelain bowl in her hand, and she carefully filled a bowl for Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji took two sips, and a slightly bitter warm liquid flowed into his mouth, and he immediately felt refreshed. He looked at his concubine, who was still looking at him with worried eyes, and said with a smile: "Why are you looking at me like this?" ”

"Nothing!" Concubine Zhuang lowered her head: "I just suddenly felt a little sad, all the big things fall on the shoulders of Da Khan alone, and there are few people who can help!" ”

"You can't say that!" Huang Taiji smiled: "Since I am the Great Khan, naturally this burden should be picked by me, and the ministers of Baylor also have their own duties, and they can't reach out casually." ”

"That's what I said, but this time, Dolgon and Abatai are back like this," Concubine Zhuang said this, and when she saw Huang Taiji smiling at herself, she changed her words: "It's not because Chahan is my younger brother that I said that. ”

"I see what you mean!" Huang Taiji put down the porcelain bowl: "Liu Cheng beat the Asuut, Bahrain Division, Naiman, Ao Han, and Karaqin Divisions to a pulp, but Dolgon and Abatai didn't fight a single battle, so they let him go back." The left-wing departments are in their eyes, the Mobei departments are also in their eyes, and even you Horqin people are also in your eyes, everyone has a head on their neck, and they also have eyes on their heads, and they can see and think! ”

"Then why didn't you punish Dorgon and Abatai?"

"For though I am the Great Khan, I must be fair in my dealings, and I must not act arbitrarily." Huang Taiji's voice was not loud, but his tone was very powerful: "Lao Qi and Lao Fourteen are not cowardly people, Lao Qi even went to investigate Liu Cheng's military situation in person, and his reason for withdrawing troops is very sufficient, if I punish them for this reason, it will definitely be unreasonable." "In fact, he only said half of what he said, Abatai is fine, but behind Dolgon there are still the strength of Duoduo, Azig and the two white flags, without a very good reason, there is no way to move Dorgon.

"Concubine Zhuang! Do you remember what I told you about Liu Cheng before the two of them sent out the army? “

"Remember, Great Khan, you said that Liu Cheng is very similar to his father Khan!"

"Yes, you have a good memory!" Huang Taiji smiled: "Now it seems that it is difficult to solve him by force alone, but unfortunately, the last time I led the army to the west, I didn't defeat it, I didn't think that in just one year, his strength has grown to this point, if it continues like this, it will be very dangerous, in fact, even now, it is already very dangerous." ”

"Great Khan, why do you say that? I heard Chahan's entourage say that Liu Cheng seems to have 30,000 or 40,000 people, but the Ming Kingdom has more than 100,000 troops in Liaoxi! ”

"Concubine Zhuang, that's not how it counts!" Huang Taiji said with a smile: "The Ming army in Liaoxi is all Han Chinese, and for every additional soldier, the Son of Heaven of the Ming Kingdom will let ten farmers farm and weave cloth in the back to transport grain and pay to feed him, maybe more; Liu Chengcheng is different, most of the soldiers under his command are Mongols, these Mongols are self-herding to support themselves, and there is no need for farmers in the Central Plains to transfer grain, at most they only need to give some tea, cloth, and grain rewards. The most important thing is not these, if there is no Liu Cheng, sooner or later these Mongolians will come to our Dajin side, but now they are on the side of the Ming Kingdom, and the difference between this entry and exit is big. ”

"That's what the Great Khan said!" When Concubine Zhuang heard this, her expression became serious: "Then the Great Khan has to send a lobbyist to persuade Liu Cheng to share the Ming Kingdom with him?" ”

"I'm afraid it won't work now!" Huang Taiji sighed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Lobbyists can only discern the benefits and disadvantages, and know the good and the bad, but they can't make things out of nothing and fabricate them out of thin air. Originally, Liu Cheng and I were in the same situation, fighting each other would cause two harms, and the alliance would be clear and the country would benefit both sides, so it was naturally okay to send lobbyists; And this time, although he did not engage with our Dajin army, he actually had the upper hand. When he has the upper hand, I send lobbyists over to show weakness, but who wants to ally with a weakling? ”

"So what should we do?" Concubine Zhuang asked.

"It's okay to send someone to show Ben Khan's affection!" Huang Taiji said with a smile: "Then Liu Cheng will not have the upper hand for the rest of his life, this time he has the upper hand, I will send someone to say a few words of compliment and obedience, and reach out not to hit the smiling person, he will naturally not harm me." Wait until next time to show him some color, and then show the blessing and misfortune! ”

"That's a good idea!" Concubine Zhuang clapped her palms and smiled: "If I were Liu Cheng, I wouldn't hurt a single envoy to congratulate the envoy." But who will he send? ”

"Well, that's a problem!" Huang Taiji frowned: "The status is too low, it will make that guy look down on it; If it's too high, it won't work, maybe he will cut off his head and ask for credit. ”

"It's inconvenient to send a lama!" Concubine Zhuang had an idea: "I said that we have many captives in the Horqin Department, and ask for the redemption of the captives!" ”

"Well, that's a good idea!" Huang Taiji clapped his hands and smiled: "But if it is not enough to send only a few ordinary lamas, you must have a trustworthy person to go with you." ”

"How is Mr. Fan?"

"Mr. Fan has a lot of affairs, and I can't leave for a day!" Huang Taiji shook his head, he thought for a while, and finally said: "This matter is not in a hurry, let me think about it again." ”

Beijing.

The midwinter of Chongzhen's seventh year has finally come. After days of heavy snowfall, the official houses, palaces, residences, and temples in Beijing were shrouded in a piece of silver, and only the eaves showed a little black edge. Due to the heavy snowfall, people are mostly at home, and the streets are particularly quiet and empty, with branches broken by the snow everywhere, and occasionally a few wild foxes passing through them, stepping on the snow, which makes people feel desolate and desolate.

Around noon, the snow finally stopped, Yang Sichang sat in the sedan chair, and the rustle of the sedan chair man stepping on the snow was heard in his ears, but his mind was not as calm as it appeared at this time. Yesterday, an unlucky guest braved the heavy snow to come to his house, he was Zhao Wende. As Yang He's former confidant, Yang Sichang and Yang Sichang have known him for more than ten years, and they have also been together in poetry, wine and singing, but since his father was imprisoned for appeasing thieves in Shaanxi, Zhao Wende has disappeared. Yang Sichang also heard of his whereabouts and knew that he was under Liu Cheng, but he lived in a simple house and had never met him. This old man suddenly appeared again, Rao is Yang Sichang is already the body of the prime minister, and he is still very happy in his heart.

But compared to the news brought by Zhao Wende, the excitement brought by the sudden appearance of this unlucky guest is nothing. After a little greeting, Zhao Wende expressed his intention in very straightforward language: I will never leave the position of the general army of Datong, and the most troops will be sent is only one battalion of infantry and two thousand cavalry, and it must be handed over to the command of his brother-in-law Xu Hecheng, and it is suggested that Yang Sichang take the opportunity of the fall of Zhongdu to pass the motion of raising taxes and salaries to train the new army, and ask for a share of the biggest cake. Although Zhao Wende did not show the biggest hole card, Yang Sichang could also understand the unspoken threat If he refused, then Liu Chengcheng would break up in two, and Shanxi would repeat the tragedy of the Denglai change a few years ago. But judging from the strength in Liu Cheng's hands and the strategic location of Xuanda Town, if it really explodes, the consequences will only be much more serious.

No matter how angry Yang Sichang was at that time, he still suppressed the anger in his chest. He knew this Datong general soldier very well, except for his dark and rough skin left by the life of a martial artist exposed to the wind and sun, his speech and demeanor were no different from those of most scholars, humble and polite, and he always had a gentle smile on his face. But if you dare to refuse his request, you will immediately be hidden under the velvet gloves of smile and humility with a pair of iron fists, which may be harshly given to you at any time and make you unforgettable for life. In the end, when Yang Sichang asked Zhao Wende in the calmest tone possible why he wanted to work for a warrior like Liu Cheng to coerce the imperial court. Zhao Wende replied with a sneer: Ling Zun devoted himself to serving the imperial court, cleaning up the military camp, selling salt, and benefiting the people, but what happened in the end? If I, Zhao Wende, hadn't been taken in by Lord Liu, I was afraid that I would have been wronged by now, where would I have the courage to come to the troubled waters of the imperial court again? For the sake of the love with your poetry and wine in the past, I will send you Yang Wenweak a word, when today is faint and stupid, and if you are killed, it is better to hang up the crown and retire as soon as possible, and retreat bravely in the rapids, which is the way to protect yourself.

After the unhappy break up with Zhao Wende, Yang Sichang rolled around on the bed and did not close his eyes for the whole night. Zhao Wende's words just hit the most secret sore spot in his heart, for a Confucian scholar, the king and the father are almost two gods in one, often called the monarch and the father, is based on the ancient Chinese political ethics, loyalty and filial piety are almost the same two concepts, filial piety at home, loyal ministers in the court; Seek loyalty to the door of filial piety. It is because from the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin dynasties there is a "filial piety and honesty", and after the imperial examination, there is also a saying of "keeping filial piety and winning affection". But for Yang Sichang, the two concepts of loyalty and filial piety are in conflict, and his father, who should have been filial, was executed by the Son of Heaven, who should have been loyal. In most cases, this rift was suppressed, and Yang Sichang tried his best to convince himself that his father had failed to appease the thieves in Shaanxi, and that he was imprisoned and died. But the appearance of Zhao Wende tore this statement to shreds, and his father did not do anything wrong today, what is wrong is that he is the son of today, so it is unfilial piety for him to continue to be loyal to the Son of Heaven.

The end to this pain was the dawn, when the windows were stained white by the sun, Yang Sichang had to leave it all behind as an assistant of the empire, the minister of the military aircraft department, there were countless jobs waiting for him, and the great sense of responsibility forced Yang Sichang to turn his attention to the stacks of stacks of newspapers and songs, work that allowed him to forget these for a while.

"Master, I've arrived at Wen Xiang's mansion!" The voice outside the sedan chair woke Yang Sichang from his memories, and Wen Tiren had been recuperating at home for two days because of the wind cold. Although Liu Cheng's attitude is domineering, he is right in one sentence, this is the best opportunity to train the army by increasing taxes and salaries, if he doesn't want to be sent to prison by the impatient Son of Heaven one day in the future, or be given a cup of poisoned wine and executed like Hong Chengchou, he should find a way to pass, and only with money can he do things. And such a major motion would not have been possible to pass without the support of Wen Tiren, who is the second assistant.

Yang Sichang lifted the sedan curtain, and a cold wind blew in, and he suddenly shivered. The house slaves on the side hurriedly brought the heavy cloaks over. Yang Sichang pushed off the cloak, got off the sedan chair, and said to the door: "I am Fu Yang Wenqiao, come to visit Duke Wen!" ”

When the doorman heard that the person who came was Dangchaofu, he hurriedly bowed down to welcome him in, and said with a smile: "The old man is not very well, he is recuperating in the study, and he also invites the minister to come with the villain!" ”

Yang Sichang walked through the two courtyards under the guidance of the servant, and saw an exquisite study, and he entered the room. I saw Wen Tiren wrapped in a square scarf on his head, wearing a soap-colored thick robe, reclining on the Luohan bed, with a charcoal stove under the bed and a book in his hand to read. Wen Tiren saw Yang Sichang coming in, hurriedly put down the book and sat up straight, let go of half of the bed, and said with a smile: "Wen Qiao is here, he is really a rare guest, sit down and talk!" ”

"A few days ago, I heard that Gong Wen had a cold, and I wanted to come over to visit, but there were many things, so I came here today when I was free!" Yang Sichang sat down on the edge of the bed and said with a smile: "Gong Wen is better today?" ”

"I've taken two doses of medicine and I'm getting better!" Wen Tiren said with a smile: "I was reading a book at home, I didn't expect Wen Qiao to come, come here, bring some citrus fruits I bought yesterday!" ”

The servant answered, and after a while, he sent two plates of citrus up, which is a rare commodity in Beijing in winter, Yang Sichang thanked him, peeled it and ate two petals, and the two gossiped for a while. Wen Tiren suddenly smiled and said, "Wen Weak, what is the important thing you came to me today?" ”

Yang Sichang was stunned when he heard this, and forced a smile: "Gong Wen is joking, I really came today just to visit Gong Wen's illness, and I have no other intentions." (To be continued.) )8