"Master Mingjian." Fan Wencheng said, "Sending troops in the spring can indeed achieve miraculous results. ”

"That's true." Ning Wan said, "Spring is extremely important for the Mongolian tribes, the mare will give birth to foals in this season, and the ewes will also give birth to lambs in this season. ”

Hong Chengchou said: "The key is to strike first, and then break each one." ”

"Yes, preemptively." Dolgon said, "If nothing else, the puppet Shun and the Mongol tribes will definitely choose to join forces in the autumn when the horses are fat, and then send troops, but I prefer to send troops in the early spring." ”

Hong Chengchou frowned and said, "The only thing to worry about is Nanming's reaction. ”

Dolgon's face immediately fell, and the reaction of the Ming Dynasty really had to be considered.

It is said that Chongzhen has just recruited another 270,000 recruits and is stepping up training.

Sometimes Dolgon was also frustrated, frustrated by the huge disparity in power between the Qing court and the Ming dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty has been beaten like that by the puppet Shun and the Qing court, and there is still the financial resources to recruit 270,000 recruits at a time!

In contrast, after returning to Beijing this time, Dolgon only dared to expand the Eight Banners Han Army from more than 10,000 to 50,000 people, and he did not dare to recruit any more, for fear of taking over the hostess.

Dolgon said, "I don't know what Nanming's situation is now?" If we send troops in the spring, will Nanming have the ability to send troops from Xuzhou or Shandong to the Northern Expedition? ”

Last year, Dolgon would never have had that to worry about.

But now after the defeat in the Battle of Xuzhou, Dolgon no longer dares to be careless.

Ning Wan and I suddenly said: "Master, didn't Luo Yangxing rebel against Nanming's Jinyi Guard's commander?" Calculating the time, Luo Yangxing and they should also go to Beijing. ”

Things are so coincidental, just as he was talking, Hou Fangyu came in and reported: "Master, Tianjin Governor Luo Yangxing asks to see." ”

"This is really Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived." Dolgon laughed and said, "Please, please come in and see me." ”

After a while, I saw an official wearing a horse coat and a warm hat walking in quickly, and after walking up to Dolgon, he flicked his sleeves and knelt on the ground: "Minister Luo Yang, please ask the imperial father regent Jin'an." ”

"Excuse me." Dolgon said, "Luo Yangxing, why are you alone?" What about that Li Helian? ”

Luo Yangxing said: "Back to the prince, Li Ruolian is waiting outside the door, and he doesn't dare to enter without your permission." ”

Dorgon said, "How can there be so much attention to it, let him in, just because I have a question and want to ask him." ”

Luo Yangxing immediately turned his head and shouted outside the door: "Li Ruolian, come in quickly, the imperial father regent wants to see you." ”

Immediately, a figure walked in and gave Dolgon a long bow according to the Han family etiquette: "See the imperial father regent." ”

"You are Li Ruolian?" Dolgon looked Li Ruolian up and down, and then asked, "One of the few military ministers who followed Chongzhen from Beijing at the beginning?" ”

"Yes." Li Ruolian straightened up and replied without saying anything humble.

Dolgon said: "I heard that when the siege was broken from Beijing, Chongzhen only summoned nine civil ministers, four nobles, and two military attaches of the Jinyi Guard, is this true? ”

"This is a lie." Li Ruolian waved his hand and said, "Before the siege, Chongzhen once sent more than 100 envoys to pass on the edict to no less than 100 civil ministers, military generals and nobles in the court, but in the end, only 15 people were edicted. ”

"I see." Dorgon laughed, "That makes sense. ”

Speaking of this, Dolgon asked with concern, "Have you seen your family?" ”

"I've seen it." Li Ruolian said gratefully, "Thank you Lord Regent for taking care of you." ”

"Hey, it's nothing." Dolgon said, "We in the Qing Dynasty have always attached great importance to loyal ministers and good generals, and loyal and good generals like you are exactly what our Qing Dynasty urgently needs, that is, Chongzhen treats you like this because he has eyes and no beads." ”

Li Ruolian was grateful and said: "The regent is so gracious, the minister can't repay ......"

"I don't need you to repay the favor." Dolgon interrupted Li Ruolian and said, "As long as you are diligent and contribute your skills to the Qing Dynasty, from now on, you will still serve as the commander of the Jinyi Guard." ”

Li Ruolian responded excitedly: "The minister should be the regent." ”

"You don't have to smear your liver and brain." Dolgon waved and continued, "But I have a few questions about Nanming that I want to ask you, and you must answer them truthfully, and you can't just pick and choose what is good to say and listen to me. ”

Li Ruolian said: "The regent just asks, and the minister knows everything." ”

Dolgon said: "What is the current political situation in Nanming? I heard that there was a big storm a while ago? ”

Li Ruolian said: "The regent is talking about killing the monarch and planting the eucalyptus, right?" Chongzhen completed the purge of the Donglin Party through these two eucalyptus, and now the officials in the court are all imperial parties. ”

Hong Chengchou said: "So, Chongzhen has completely controlled the situation? ”

"That's right." Li Ruolian said, "Today's Shoufu Lu Zhenfei is a response insect of Chongzhen. ”

Dolgon's face became more worried, and he asked again: "I heard that Chongzhen has recruited more than 200,000 soldiers?" ”

"270,000 to be exact!" Li Ruolian said, "At present, we are conducting intensive training in Nanjing, but the armament is not ready, and it is still very early to form an army." ”

Ning Wan asked: "I heard that there are many rice fields in the eight provinces and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River that have been converted into mulberry fields, cotton fields, ramie fields and camellia fields, etc., I don't know if this is true or false?" ”

"It's true." Li Ruolian said, "At least half of the more than 60 million mu of farmland in the south of the Yangtze River has been converted into mulberry fields, cotton fields, ramie fields and camellia fields. ”

A hint of joy crossed Dorgon's heart, and he asked, "Why is that?" ”

"Because Chongzhen, the dog emperor, is greedy for money." Li Ruolian said, "So I want to weave more silk and cotton cloth, squeeze more oil, and sell it to Xiyi and the people at a high price to collect silver." ”

"That's not right, right?" Hong Chengchou said, "As far as I know, Chongzhen's life is quite frugal, and he often eats the same food as the soldiers, and he has not recruited concubines, so far he has not even had a concubine. ”

"I don't know much about that." Li Ruolian said, "But Chongzhen is really greedy for money, he not only ordered the farmland in Jiangnan to be replanted with mulberry seedlings and cotton, but also made a royal silver number, and ordered the official gentry and merchants of the Ming Dynasty to deposit the silver in the silver number, and made a bullshit market exchange office, and embezzled the silver by buying low and selling high." ”

Speaking of this, Li Ruolian said again: "Someone once estimated that Chongzhen has accumulated more than 200 million taels of silver!" ”

Dolgon couldn't help but exchange a look with Hong Chengchou and the others, the situation that Li Ruolian said was basically the same as the situation found by the detailed work who infiltrated Jiangnan, which showed that he did not hide or lie.

Hong Chengchou asked again: "How are the hundreds of thousands of border troops in Xuzhou and the 200,000 villagers in Huai'an?" ”

"It's all gone." Li Ruolian said, "Chongzhen was reluctant to spend silver, thinking that the border army's salary was too high, so he completely eliminated the border army of 30 towns, and sold 5 million mu of arable land in Xuzhou to the border army, and collected the millions of taels of silver and reward money that were sent before. ”

Dolgon, too, knew about it.

But Dorgon was not convinced: "Really abolished? ”

"It's really retrenched." Li Ruolian said, "However, if the Qing soldiers go south, Chongzhen, the dog emperor, is estimated to reconvene the border troops of these thirty towns and send them to the battlefield." ”

Dolgon asked, "If the Qing army does not go south, will the Ming army raise an army to the north?" ”

"It can't be." Li Ruolian said categorically, "Chongzhen actually doesn't plan to go on the Northern Expedition at all, but just wants to keep half of the south of the Yangtze River, not to mention that even if Chongzhen has the intention to go on the Northern Expedition, he doesn't have this condition now, because the grain stored in the Hubu Tai Warehouse and the Inner Court Key Treasury add up to only hundreds of thousands of stone grain." ”

"Okay, Commander Li has made you work hard all the way." Dolgon was relieved, and said to Luo Yangxing, "Luo Yangxing, you first accompany Commander Li to go home and settle down." ”

"The ministers are leaving." Luo Yangxing took Li Ruolian and left Prince Rui's mansion.

"What do you think, three gentlemen?" As soon as Li Ruolian left, Dolgon asked.

Fan Wencheng said: "Li Ruolian's answers are fluent, and what he said is very different from what we know, which shows that he did not lie or hide it." ”

"The minion seconded." I think so.

Hong Chengchou said: "But the slave never believes that Chongzhen has no idea of the Northern Expedition!" ”

"I don't believe it, Chongzhen is undoubtedly a generation of heroes, there is no doubt about this." Speaking of this, Dolgon said, "But Nanming doesn't have much food in stock, which should also be true." ”

"That's what the minions think, too." Hong Chengchou said, "In the Xuzhou War in the middle of last year, although my Qing Dynasty consumed a lot of money and grain, the consumption of Nanming was only a lot more than that of my Qing Dynasty, and I had to settle 30 town border troops and 200,000 villagers, and I also had to feed more than 1 million fleeing people in Kaifeng Mansion, and the grain flowed out like flowing water." ”

"That's enough." Dolgon said, "As long as the Southern Ming does not have much food in stock, they will not have the ability to send troops to the Northern Expedition, so that my Qing Dynasty can rest assured that it will use troops against Tumut." ”

As soon as the decision was made, Dolgon immediately summoned Qi Chongge, Ganglin and other Manchu ministers, and ordered them to raise grain, grass and ordnance, so that the War Bureau could step up the construction of Hongyi cannons and flintlock pistols.

……

The time soon came to the Lantern Festival.

The new army had just reached Taihu County in Anqing Prefecture and had only walked about half of the way.

Chongzhen's estimation of the march period was seriously misjudged, mainly because there were two heavy snowfalls in a row after the beginning of spring, and the snow in the Dabie Mountains was thicker, making it difficult to move an inch.

A thigh-deep march in the thigh-deep snow, not to mention how sour.

However, no one complained, whether it was the prince of Qin or the soldiers of the new army, even if they were fully armed and burdened, no one complained.

The prince is accustomed to suffering.

And the officers and men of the New Army did not feel bitter at all.

What is this to these honest farmers?

As long as they can eat enough and have money to receive, not to mention a mere Dabie Mountain, they can even climb over Kunlun Mountain, which is nothing more than walking a little slower.

Indeed, some of the soldiers of the new army were reluctant to take off their newly issued leather boots, tied them on their shoulders, and then hurried barefoot.

Of course, this behavior was severely reprimanded by Chongzhen, and ordered the soldiers who marched barefoot to put on their leather boots again.

"Wow!" Chongzhen slipped and fell into the snow.

"Hooray." Wang Chengen and Gao Qiqian hurriedly rushed forward to pick up Chongzhen.

Zhu Cijiong, his own son, was a beat slower and fell behind Wang Chengen and Gao Qiqian.

Looking at Wang Chengen and Gao Qiqian with a nervous face, Chongzhen also sighed in his heart, needless to say, Wang Chengen is a good slave although Gao Qiqian has many shortcomings.

It is no wonder that so many Ming emperors would reuse eunuchs.

At that moment, Chongzhen asked Gao Qiqian: "Gao companion, do you think I am too harsh on you servants?" ”

"Hooray, the old slave never has such a crazy idea." Gao Qiqian said with a worried face, "It seems that the old slave is just a royal servant, no matter how the Lord treats us, whether we are beaten or scolded, we should be killed, the slaves and others have no complaints, and the servants only know how to be loyal to the royal family and loyal to the Lord of Long Life." ”

"Gao Companion, what you say is against your will." Chongzhen smiled, "If I order you to be killed now, you really don't have any resentment in your heart?" Do you believe this kind of thing when you say it? ”

"Uh......" Gao Qiqian could only say, "Long live Lord Fire-eyed Jinqing, how can the old slave hide this little bit of thought from you." ”

"Gao Companion, I have indeed treated you a little too hard." Chongzhen patted Gao Qiqian, and said with a smile, "You have blocked the arrows for me many times to eliminate disasters, but I have not rewarded you, it really shouldn't be." ”

"Hooray." Gao Qiqian choked up and didn't know what to say.

Chongzhen said again: "There are so many eunuchs before and after our Ming Dynasty, such as Liu Jin, Wang Zhen, or Wei Jinzhong, all of whom can be said to be in power, but none of them have been knighted, only Cao Jixiang has been awarded the title of Zhaowubo." ”

Hearing this, Gao Qiqian couldn't help but feel excited, isn't it, this is to be made an earl?

After a pause, Chongzhen smiled again and said: "Gao Banban, I will now entitle you as the second earl of the Ming Dynasty, a first-class loyal and brave uncle, and a son and nephew will be admitted to the subordinate prison of the lower branch country." ”

"Hooray!" He cried and worshiped in the snow.

Looking at Gao Qiqian who was kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly, Wang Chengen looked envious and a little lost at the same time.

"Wang Daban." Chongzhen suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Chengen and said, "You don't have to say much to my loyal ministers, if Jiashen was not in the country, I would have died for a long time, how could I have this day again?" ”

After saying this, Chongzhen said solemnly: "So I want you to become the first marquis of the Ming Dynasty, and I now entitle you as a loyal marquis, and Yin a son and nephew will be admitted to the subordinate prison of the lower branch country." ”

"Hooray." Wang Chengen was stunned, "The old slave deserves it." ”

"You are worthy of it." Chongzhen said solemnly, "This is what you deserve." ”

He picked up Gao Qi and said, "Wang Daban, Gao Bean, who is loyal and who is treacherous, who can be used and who is not available, my heart is like a mirror, in a word, as long as you are diligent and diligent, I will never treat you badly." ”

"The old slave and the others thank Long Live Lord Longen." Wang Chengen and Gao Qiqian knelt heavily on the ground.