When Li Xiao heard about these things, it was already November, and he was concerned about these political turmoil in Beijing. Li Xiao summed it up as dog eats dog!

If it was said that when he first crossed over, Li Xiao would instinctively sympathize with the Donglin party. Even, Li Xiao will help the Donglin party. expressed his indignation at Wei Zhongxian's shameless political framing.

From childhood to adulthood, Li Xiao's education said that the Donglin Party was a good person and a positive character. Dare to fight the dirty, despicable, and insidious Wei Zhongxian with the most resolute struggle.

But it really arrived in the Ming Dynasty that Li Xiao knew what the Donglin Party was.

Wei Zhongxian is not a thing, and those people in the Donglin Party are not good birds.

Whether it is Wei Zhongxian, or the Donglin Party. Actually, they all have a common name - politicians!

Politics is the most dangerous, the most ruthless, the most unreasonable, and the most intellectually challenging situation for human beings.

The victor can taste the sweetness of power and can exercise his will without scruples.

And the losers can only taste the gloom and decadence, they will suffer countless insults, and it is even more common for them to die and be wiped out.

Political struggle is such a zero-sum game, the winner can have everything, and the loser can only prostrate on the ground, waiting for the winner to fall mercilessly.

The struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, although it has been endlessly beautified by later events, cannot change the fact that it is a political struggle.

Whether the Donglin Party wins, or the Eunuch Party wins. This is not necessarily a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

What the Donglin Party wanted to protect was the vested interest of scholars and doctors not to pay taxes, not to pay food, and not to accept forced labor. What Wei Zhongxian wanted to preserve was the supreme imperial power and would not be threatened by other political forces.

So, in the end, it's a dog-eat-dog political struggle. No matter who wins, the common people of the Ming Dynasty should pay taxes or pay taxes, and whether they should starve or starve. The faces of the tax collectors will not be the slightest kind because the big officials of the court have changed.

When the fifth master said these things, Li Xiao only took them as stories and listened to them. Li Xiao actually knows more than the fifth master, such as Yang Lianzuo Guangdou, who is being tortured inhumanely at this time.

For example, Yang Chain will be nailed into his head at the end!

None of this is something Li Xiao has to think about, what Li Xiao has to think about is how to fight the battle of Jinzhou.

The imperial court allocated gunpowder, and Li Xiao didn't even keep one or two, all of them were given to Yuan Chonghuan. Even Li Xiao also got two old Franco cannons for Yuan Chonghuan, no matter whether they are good or not, they can be strong and brave no matter how they stand at the head of the city.

November arrived, and the fifth master went to Liaodong to catch a few bannermen with white flags. Brought them to Huang Taiji, after letting their master and servant meet. Li Xiao gave these flagmen a good meal, drink and hospitality, and sent a letter before leaving.

The letter detailed a list of items that Li Xiao requested!

50,000 taels of gold, and 8,000,000 taels of silver. 200,000 catties of copper, 300,000 Han Chinese were captured. There are 90,000 high-grade Dongzhu and 100,000 catties of high-grade Changbai Mountain ginseng. 80,000 pigs, 400,000 sheep, and 10,000 cattle.

There are also conditions such as 20,000 mink skins, 800,000 high-quality timbers, and 10 million catties of pig iron.

Nurhachi took Li Xiao's extortion letter, his face flushed with anger, and his hands and feet trembled, and he was very precursor to a stroke. If Nurhachi suffers a stroke, Li Xiao will be very disappointed.

"Bastard! This Li Xiao is Aqina, Seth Black! "The fact that Nurhachi, a habitual robber, is now being blackmailed makes the invincible Houjin Khan very angry.

The bear's paw-like hand slapped uncomfortably on the bookcase, almost collapsing the sturdy pine bookcase.

"It's too much, this is a fucking kidnapping!" Dai Shan was equally angry.

"Father Ma, save me Amma!" Hauge knelt in front of Nurhachi, and if the white flag changed hands, the status of Huang Taiji's family would plummet.

Actually, back a month ago. Nurhachi knew that Huang Taiji had fallen into the hands of Li Xiao, and Li Yongfang sent him to the Wa Kingdom. After a two-month trek, he returned to Liaoyang to report the matter to Nurhachi.

Nurhachi had been waiting, he was waiting for Li Xiao's blackmail letter. Now that I have arrived, I didn't expect Li Xiao to offer such a condition.

It's not a lion's mouth anymore, it's a whale's goddamn mouth.

Fifty thousand taels of gold, which is not excessive. After all, Huang Taiji is also the son of Nurhachi, and he has eight million taels of silver, which can be considered to be made up even if the treasury of Houjin has been emptied.

90,000 high-grade Dongzhu and 100,000 catties of high-grade Changbai Mountain ginseng?

Also 90,000 pieces, 100,000 catties.

The harvesting of Dongzhu is very difficult, jumping into the icy river to catch pearl mussels in April when it is warm and cold, and the biting cold can be imagined. In particular, it is even more difficult to obtain a high-quality East Pearl, and sometimes a good East Pearl can only be obtained from the hundreds or thousands of pearl mussels filled with ships.

On the top of Nurhachi's favorite Abahai, there are only thirteen crown beads. Li Xiao, a bastard, really dared to open his mouth, and he asked for 90,000 at once. Even if he fished out all the East Pearls in the river, he wouldn't be able to make up 90,000 high-grade East Pearls.

Changbai Mountain ginseng, that has to be the treasure that ginseng pickers can only pick at the risk of getting lost and wandering around in Changbai Mountain. The three treasures of the Northeast, ginseng, mink, and ura grass. If it is 100,000 catties, you should Changbai Mountain ginseng be a radish in your field?

Not to mention 20,000 mink skins and 10 million catties of pig iron. His mother's gold adds up, and he doesn't even have 10 million catties of iron ore.

Looking at Haug kneeling on the ground, Nurhachi felt angry in his heart. How can such a condition be agreed, even if Houjin is sold to the bottom, so many things will not be available.

Li Xiao's kidnapping letter can be said to be the most valuable kidnapping letter in history.

"Hauge! You get up! Du Du helped Hauge up, because of his father's relationship. Du Du is very weak in the Eight Banners, but his relationship with this cousin is not bad. Seeing Nurhachi's gloomy face, Du Du hurriedly helped Hauge up.

"Father Khan! Damn Li Xiao asked for this price, obviously not ready to talk to us. The eighth child was arrested by Li Xiao, so we simply did it one by one, and the whole army went out to attack Shanhaiguan. Anyway, it is the Ming Dynasty that tears up the agreement now, not us. Mang Gurtai stepped forward.

Nurhachi glanced at Mang Gurtai, this rammer would not care about the life and death of Huang Taiji. He was thinking of using this as an excuse to go to Daming's place to grab a handful.

I heard that Jinzhou City gathered many displaced people, and there were many Han people cultivating outside Shanhaiguan. This thing is itchy again.

"Father Khan! The conditions offered by Li Xiao are indeed unbearable for us. Instead of sitting here and waiting to die, you should really go and fight. also give Nanban some dismounting, let them know that our Houjin is not easy to bully. "Dai Shan is also in favor of fighting, how fast the robbery comes with money. Since they can rob, who is willing to go to the trouble of grazing and farming.

"Yes! Father Ma, Nanban doesn't take us seriously. Only saber and blood can make them understand that we Jurchens are not easy to bully. Yue Tuo naturally breathed out from his father's nostrils.

Nurhachi didn't speak, he understood too well what the two banner lords' sons were thinking.

"Father Khan, I think Li Xiao is asking for so many conditions, but he is actually asking for a price. Everyone knows that it is impossible for us to agree to these conditions. It's better to let Li Yongfang send someone to talk to Li Xiao, if you can really spend money to get the starling back, it will be a good thing. ”

When no one was speaking in the main hall, a childish voice suddenly spoke.

All eyes are on Dolgon!

Sitting in the main hall were Nurhachi's sons and grandsons, but they were all banner-bearers. There was only Dorgon, and he didn't have any flags in his hands. Abatay, who was more than a decade older than him, was not qualified to attend such a meeting. What Nurhachi had in mind for Dolgon, everyone knew in their hearts.

Although Dorgon is not the banner master, there are two brothers standing behind him. His elder brother Azig was in charge of the Yellow Banner, and his younger brother Dordor was in charge of the Yellow Banner. His words almost mean the meaning of the two yellow flags.

The two yellow flags are the strongest of the eight flags, much stronger than the two red flags, the two blue flags, and the two white flags.

"Dolgon, what do you think about it?" Nurhachi looked at his favorite son.

"Father Khan! I think Li Xiao is a businessman, he opens such a high price, just to maximize his profits.

The target we want to attack this year is Mongolia, not Jinzhou or Shanhaiguan. Although we will attack the Han people, we will capture more.

But if we defeat the Gurkha Mongols, we can open another front to the west of the Ming Dynasty. We can plunder along Datong and Juyong Pass to the hinterland of Daming. In this way, we can bypass Shanhaiguan and Li Xiao.

Li Xiao's current situation is that there are few soldiers, which is not enough to fight with us. So he can only take a defensive position, if we attack Jinzhou Shanhaiguan, it will be his strategy.

Let's plunder Datong and Juyongguan. Not only can you loot things, but you can also avoid confronting Li Xiao head-on. The last time I met Li Yongfang, I said that Li Xiao's soldiers were only a few thousand.

If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty sends them to Datong, we will just give full play to our field expertise and wipe out Li Xiao's army in Beizhili. In this way, there is no army in the Ming Dynasty that is the opponent of our Eight Banners. Entering Gyeonggi to loot is also just around the corner.

Therefore, I suggest that you do not clash with Li Xiao now. While negotiating the price with Li Xiao, he stepped up preparations to attack Gurkha Mongolia and Korqin Mongolia. ”

Dolgon's words made Nurhachi nod frequently.

This winter, he is also preparing to conquer the Korqin and Gurkha Mongols. These two powerful Mongol tribes, one behind him and one on his west.

As long as he conquered them, Nurhachi would have a Mongol cavalry that was not inferior to the Jurchen Eight Banners. You can also open another passage and plunder to the west of the Ming Empire.

Now that Li Xiao is guarding the Shanhai Pass, Nurhachi really doesn't want to have a hard time with Li Xiao. If Datong can be captured, then the western frontier of the Ming Empire will be open to Houjin.

Although it was not interesting to plunder the Mongols, the Han people were still rich.

"Father Ma! Are we still afraid of Nanban Li Xiao? "Yue Tuo is a little anxious, they set the red flag and suffered a flood this year. The loss of grain and livestock was great, and Yue Tuo was eager to get it back from the Han Chinese. Now Dolgon suddenly said that he did not approve of attacking the Ming Dynasty, and instead attacked the Mongols.

This Yue Tuo is unwilling, Mongolia has a lot of oil and water, and the Eight Banners have been divided into what is left of him with the red flag.

"Shut up! Even if you have two red flags combined, can you defeat Li Xiao? Don't forget, we have suffered losses in the hands of Li Xiao over the years. Azig stood up.

Yue Tuo was not convinced, but Azig was not as old as him. But it was his uncle, who was now in charge of the yellow flag, and it was Nurhachi's own soldiers. Facing this uncle, Yue Tuo could only swallow this breath.

"Azig! You're scared! "The son was wronged, and Lao Tzu naturally wanted to stand up. Dai Shan glanced at Azig and said angrily.

"Who is afraid and who knows, in front of Li Xiao's firearms, our armor is like tofu scum. If you are capable of two red flags, then you will take the lead. And when you divide the spoils, you may also take the first share. Eight-year-old Dordor also stood up.

The three brothers, Azig, Dolgon, and Dordor, were all born to the eldest concubine Abahai. Those were real brothers and sisters, and they were natural allies.

"Humph! Isn't it just a firearm? Soon we will also have firearms, not only new guns, but also new artillery. They are all the best goods of the Franc machine, and I am afraid that they are not worse than Li Xiao. Yue Tuo glanced at this little uncle proudly.

His eldest son, Luo Luohun, was twenty-six years older than Duoduo, and his younger uncle, Duoduo, was the same age as Yueto's grandson.

"Oh! Yue Tuo, did you succeed in contacting the red-haired people? Nurhachi's eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Yueto. Firearms have always been the weak point of the Jurchens. The siege of the city depends on the combination of the inside and the outside, and although the strong attack has been successful repeatedly, it is also a huge loss.

Now that he heard that there were not only muskets, but also artillery support, Nurhachi immediately became concerned.

"Back to Father Ma's words, my second brother Shuotuo lives up to your expectations. We have already negotiated with the red-haired people, and the red-haired people will not only sell us firearms. And they will send people to fight!

Because it would take some time for the red-haired man to come from far south, he did not report it to Ma's father. Yueto glanced at Azig and Duoduo triumphantly.

The deal with the red-haired man is all due to the two red flags. This color head, the two red flags have been decided.

"Where are the Shuotos? Let him come to the audience! "Nurhachi couldn't wait.

"Back to the words of Father Khan! In order to do things safely, Shuotuo followed the red-haired man to the sea. He said that he would bring the red-haired man back, and said that the red-haired man's estimated time should be around the first month. Hearing Nurhachi's question, Daishan hurriedly stood up to report.

"New Year? Okay, let Li Yongfang talk to Li Xiao first. If the red-haired man really arrives in the first month, we will send troops to Jinzhou. ”