Dolgon was also about to leave for Beijing.

One is because of the increasing cold in Liaodong, if Dolgon is healthy, he is naturally not afraid, but now that he is sick, he can no longer withstand the severe cold, and he may die if he does not return to Beijing to recuperate.

Another is that the situation in Liaodong has reached a stalemate, and it is impossible to break the situation in a short time.

Therefore, there is no point in Dolgon staying in Liaodong, it is better to return to Beijing.

Before leaving, Dolgon specially summoned Hong Chengchou to his Chinese army tent and played it alone.

"Hengjiu, I have to go back to Beijing, the mess of Liaodong will be handed over to you, I can only leave you 40,000 horses, you have to keep Liaodong for the Qing Dynasty no matter what."

40,000 horses is Dolgon's bottom line.

Although it is possible to transport grain and grass from the North Sea using ice climbing plows,

However, maintaining a large army to fight in Liaodong for a long time is still an extremely heavy burden for Jiannu, but as long as this army does not exceed 40,000 people, it is still bearable.

"Of these 40,000 horses, 10,000 are the Eight Banners of Manchuria."

"10,000 people are the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and 10,000 people are the Eight Banners Han Army."

"The last remaining 10,000 people are the Green Battalion, and in addition, I will leave you 100 red-clothed cannons, 200 Franc cannons, and 400 tiger squat cannons, Heng Jiu, can you do it?"

Hong Chengchou was still very cautious, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Master, with these 40,000 horses and 700 cannons, there is no problem in holding the defense line on the periphery of Gaizhou, but the Ming army can still bypass our army's defense line from the ice of the North Sea, so the trick is to divide the troops again to attack Haizhou, Liaoyang and even Shengjing. ”

"You don't have to worry about it." Dolgon waved his hand and said, "I have designated the entire Liaohe Plain as the pasture of the Horqin Tribe, and the royal tent of the Ten Banners of the Horqin Tribe will soon move south. ”

"Among them, the royal tent of the king of Esen County will be moved directly into Shengjing City."

In order to keep the old nest in Liaodong, Dolgon really made a bloody investment this time.

Of course, it is undeniable that Dolgon also did this to curry favor with the little widow Bumubutai.

With the current political situation of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the only thing that can pose a threat to Dolgon is the mother and son of Bumu Butai and Shunzhi, Dolgon came to Liaodong this time to lose troops but did nothing, if Bumu Butai took advantage of this to make trouble, it would be very troublesome, so Dolgon gave the entire Liaohe Plain to the Korqin Department as a pasture, which was also an exchange of interests.

Hong Chengchou was relieved when he heard this: "The master is foolproof if he arranges it like this. ”

"Foolproof?" Dorgon laughed at himself, "It's just barely enough." ”

After a slight confession, Dorgon quickly reined in his emotions and said, "Hengjiu, what do you want to say to me when you are leaving?" Or do you have anything to tell me? ”

"The master is serious." Hong Chengchou was so frightened that he quickly knelt on the ground.

The minister is in command of the army, and the most taboo thing is not to be trusted, not to mention that he is still a Hanchen?

Dolgon really had the element of temptation just now, lest Hong Chengchou would have a different heart after losing control, in case Hong Chengchou secretly colluded with the Ming Dynasty, and the 40,000 troops in Liaodong would be buried together, which would directly lead to the fall of Liaodong, which was no less than a catastrophe for the Qing Dynasty.

Daqing Halal could not afford such a betrayal.

So Dorgon had to confirm Hong Chengchou's loyalty.

As for the results of the temptation, Dorgon could not say it well.

Still, Dolgon decided to believe Hong Chengchou.

The reason is also very simple, the Qing Dynasty has no more choices.

The times have really changed, if it is still the era of mounted archery, there will be a large number of Jurchen Mengs who have been killed from the sea of corpses and blood for him to choose from, but now that they have entered the age of firearms, those Jurchen Mengs will not be able to keep up.

Now there are only Hanchens such as Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui.

"Hurry up." Dolgon bent down with great difficulty and picked up Hong Chengchou with his own hands.

"I don't have the slightest suspicion about you, it's really that the Qing Dynasty and the Southern Ming Dynasty have changed strength and weakness, and there are few ministers of the Manchu Dynasty who can come up with a practical strategy, so Heng Jiu can give you a suggestion or two."

"The slave really doesn't dare to be the master so ridiculous." Hong Chengchou hurriedly excused himself.

"Hengjiu, you deserve it." Dorgon said sincerely, "So you can speak up if you have something to say. ”

Hong Chengchou lowered his head, but his mind was thinking sharply, was Dolgon testing or sincerely asking for advice?

After hesitating for a moment, Hong Chengchou finally decided to live and die with the Qing Dynasty, in the final analysis, his path on the side of the Ming Dynasty has been exhausted, and there is no turning back.

"Since the master has said this, the slave will not say a word and be unhappy."

"After the master returns to Beijing, in addition to sending the Shandong and Hebei generals along the Grand Canal and on the periphery of various prefectures and counties, it is necessary to give up Shanxi."

"What? Giving up Shanxi? Dolgon's color changed.

"Hengjiu, do you mean that you want to cede Shanxi Province to Pseudo-Shun?"

"Exactly." Hong Chengchou said solemnly, "Master, you also know, my Qing Dynasty's national strength is actually far inferior to Nanming, and once the military strength is weaker than Nanming, the situation will be extremely difficult." ”

"Nanming is making every effort to expand its armaments at this time, and there is no time for the Northern Expedition in the short term."

"But once the Southern Ming Dynasty is fully armed, it will inevitably raise troops in the north."

"In this way, even if our Qing Dynasty built a wide range of platforms along the canal and in Shandong, Hebei Prefectures, and counties, it may not be able to withstand the attack of the Ming army, and Shandong, Hebei, and even Beijing may fall into the hands of the Ming army."

"At this time, Liaodong has become the last retreat of my Qing Dynasty, however, with only a corner of Liaodong, I am afraid it is difficult to resist the attack of the Ming army, so the pseudo-shun has become the biggest help."

Dolgon didn't squeak, he knew that Hong Chengchou was right.

But let him be sent out of Shanxi for nothing, he was unwilling no matter what.

After a long time, Dolgon said: "The mountains and rivers in Shanxi are beautiful places, and the Mongolian soldiers can be obtained from the desert at the back, and more importantly, they are close to Gyeonggi, and they can be used as horns with the Beijing division, and it is a pity to abandon them." ”

"Master." Hong Chengchou said emotionally, "In the current situation, the strength of my Qing Dynasty alone is no longer enough to compete with the Southern Ming, and only the Western Junction and the pseudo-Shun can compete with each other." ”

】

"However, there is a hatred for seizing the country between my Qing Dynasty and the Pseudo-Shun."

"Although time has passed at the moment, but the hatred has not disappeared, Li Chuang is short-sighted, greedy for money and good goods, if the master can't come up with enough benefits, I'm afraid it will be difficult to impress Li Chuang, and the slave only hopes that the master will think twice."

"I already know." Dorgon just nodded, neither taking nor vetoing.

Hong Chengchou sighed, and continued: "Also, in addition to implementing the Ministry of Rites as soon as possible to recruit talents for the imperial court, it is also necessary to send people to spend a lot of money to buy scholars from Nanming, especially the soldiers who are the best at firearms combat. ”

"I've written it down." Dorgon nodded, "Yes." ”

"So, the slave sends off the master." Hong Chengchou froze on the ground.

……

On the way back to Beijing, Dolgon was always worried.

Hou Fangyu found a gap in Cao Eryu's absence, and asked in a low voice: "Master, does Shicai play suggest to Hong Chengchou that you abandon Liaodong and retire to Shanxi?" ”

Dorgon was noncommittal: "How did you know?" ”

"Minions are just guessing." Hou Fangyu said, "But I don't think there will be a mistake." ”

Dolgon was silent, but Hou Fangyu took it as a default, and suddenly became anxious.

"The master must not have such thoughts, otherwise I will be in danger." Hou Fangyu said hurriedly, "Because if the Qing Dynasty abandons Liaodong and retreats to Shanxi, it will no longer be the Jurchen Qing Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty." ”

Dolgon's expression froze, obviously being told the key point by Hou Fangyu.

Even if it is a retreat to Liaodong, there is also such a possibility.

Hou Fangyu continued: "Does Hong Chengchou still propose to form an alliance with the puppet Shun to fight against the Southern Ming? ”

"Yes, there is a proposal." Dolgon said, "If the Great Qing Halal loses the battle with Nanming, it is also a good choice to form an alliance with the Pseudo-Shun. ”

"Don't think about it." Hou Fangyu said, "Li Chuang is narrow-sighted, and he will not form an alliance with my sincerity. ”

"But what if I give them Shanxi?" Dorgon asked, "Will there be an alliance with the Great Qing Sincerity?" ”

"Huh? Give Shanxi to the pseudo-shun? Hou Fangyu was stunned when he heard this, maybe he didn't think of it.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" "Heng Jiu did not surrender Shanxi to me, but to surrender Shanxi to Pseudo-Shun in exchange for forming an alliance with him to fight against the Southern Ming. ”

"This ......," Hou Fangyu said sneeringly, "this strategy may be feasible." ”

"I haven't thought about this yet, but there is another thing that needs your help." Dolgon said in a deep voice, "Little Marquis, you were once a tribute student of the Southern Ming Kingdom, and there are thousands of tribute students among Chongzhen's Qinwang scholars, and there must be many of your classmates, right?" Can you try to turn back a few of your classmates? ”

"Master, I'm afraid this is not easy." Hou Fangyu said, "These scholars have all been poured ecstasy soup by Chongzhen. ”

"It's just the saying of the Yiguan Society Jizong Temple." Dolgon said abruptly, "You can break it, there are more than 6,000 Qinwang scholars in total, I don't believe it, and there are not a few of them who are greedy for money and good goods." ”

Hou Fangyu thought of Chen Zhenhui: "Maybe you can give it a try." ”

"Xiao Houzi, even if you try, the silver is not a problem, you can ask for as much as you want."

Dolgon said, "There is only one thing, and it must be the prince of diligence who commands the army." ”

After a pause, Dolgon continued: "It's also a coincidence, the people of the Fan family will soon go to Huzhou to buy light yarn, you should go with you, this errand has been done with a heavy reward." ”

Hou Fangyu's face fell: "Master, the slave won't go, right?" ”

"What are you afraid of?" Dolgon said abruptly, "You are usually in Prince Rui's mansion, and you don't show up often, so few people know that you are my confidant, so just go with confidence." ”

"Minion Command." Hou Fangyu can only receive orders.

But I thought in my heart, if I really want to go back, I have to change my face.

Glancing at the brazier at Dorgon's feet, Hou Fangyu secretly made up his mind, for the sake of his master and the Qing Dynasty, he Hou Fangyu let go this time, and his face was gone.