It was already November when Li Xiao heard about these things. As for the political turmoil in Beijing, Li Xiao concluded that dog eats dog!

If it were said that when he first traveled through time, Li Xiao would have instinctively sympathized with the Donglin Party members. He would even help the Donglin Party members and express his indignation at Wei Zhongxian's shameless political frame-up.

From childhood to adulthood, the education Li Xiao received said that the Donglin Party was a good person and a positive figure who dared to fight the most resolutely against the dirty, despicable and insidious Wei Zhongxian.

But it was not until the Ming Dynasty that Li Xiao realized what the Donglin Party was.

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

Whether it's Wei Zhongxian or the Donglin Party. In fact, they all have a common name - politician!

Politics is the most dangerous, ruthless, unreasonable, and most IQ-testing struggle situation for human beings.

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

The losers can only taste gloom and decadence. They will suffer countless insults, and death of their own family is even more common.

Political struggle is such a zero-sum game. The winner can have everything, while the loser can only crawl on the ground, waiting for the winner to be ruthlessly punished.

The struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, although endlessly beautified by the aftermath, cannot change the fact that it was a political struggle.

Whether the Donglin Party wins or the Eunuch Party wins, this may not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

What the Donglin Party wants to protect is the vested interests of the scholar-bureaucrats who do not pay taxes, do not pay grain, and do not perform corvee service. What Wei Zhongxian wants to protect is the supreme imperial power, which will not be threatened by other political forces.

So, in the final analysis, this is a dog-eat-dog political struggle. No matter who wins, the people of the Ming Dynasty should pay taxes or go hungry, or go hungry. The faces of the tax collectors will not change because of the change of high-ranking officials in the court.

There is no trace of kindness in people.

When the fifth master told these things, Li Xiao only listened to them as stories. Li Xiao actually knew more than the fifth master. For example, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and the others were being tortured inhumanely at this time.

For example, Yang Lian will have a nail driven into his head in the end!

None of this is what Li Xiao has to consider. What Li Xiao has to consider is how to win the battle in Jinzhou.

The imperial court allocated gunpowder, but Li Xiao didn't keep even one tael, and gave it all to Yuan Chonghuan. Li Xiao even got two old Folan cannons for Yuan Chonghuan. Regardless of whether they were good or not, they would be emboldened if they were erected on the city wall.

Son.

When November arrived, Master Wu went to Liaodong to capture several bannermen of the Zhengbai Banner. He brought them to Huang Taiji and had them meet master and servant. Li Xiao treated these bannermen with good food and drinks.

Before leaving, I also sent a letter.

The letter listed in detail the list of items Li Xiao requested!

Fifty thousand taels of gold, eight million taels of silver, 200,000 jins of copper, 300,000 captured Han people, 90,000 fine Eastern pearls, 100,000 jins of fine Changbai Mountain ginseng, 80,000 pigs, and 400,000 sheep.

Ten thousand cattle.

Other conditions such as 20,000 mink pelts, 800,000 pieces of high-quality wood, and 10 million jins of pig iron are all trivial.

Nurhachi took Li Xiao's blackmail letter, his face flushed with anger, his hands and feet were shaking, and he had some signs of a stroke. If Nurhachi had a stroke, Li Xiao would be very disappointed.

"Son of a bitch! This Li Xiao is Aqina, Seth Hei!" Nurhaci, a habitual robbery criminal, was actually being blackmailed, which made the invincible Houjin Khan very angry.

His hands, as thick as bear paws, slapped the desk unsteadily, almost collapsing the solid pine desk.

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

"Father Ma, save my Ama!" Hauge knelt in front of Nurhachi. If the Zhengbai flag changed hands, the status of Huang Taiji's family would plummet.

In fact, as early as a month ago, Nurhaci knew that Huang Taiji had fallen into the hands of Li Xiao and that Li Yongfang had sent him to the Japanese country. After two months of trekking, he returned to Liaoyang and reported the matter to Nurhaci.

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

This is no longer the mouth of a lion, this is the mouth of a fucking whale.

Fifty thousand taels of gold is not too much. After all, Huang Taiji is also the son of Nurhaci, and eight million taels of silver can be collected even if the treasury of Houjin is emptied.

90,000 pieces of high-quality Eastern pearls and 100,000 catties of high-quality Changbai Mountain ginseng?

Return 90,000 pills and 100,000 catties.

The harvesting of dong pearls is very difficult. In April when it is suddenly warm and cold, you jump into the icy river to collect pearl clams. You can imagine the biting cold. It is especially difficult to get the top quality dong pearls. Sometimes in

Only one fine pearl can be found among the hundreds and thousands of pearls and clams that fill the boat.

There are only thirteen crown beads on the head of Nurhaci's favorite Abahai. Li Xiao, the bastard, really dares to open his mouth and wants 90,000 beads in one go. He even wants to fish out all the pearls in the river.

Even if it's all gone, I can't even get 90,000 fine Eastern pearls together.

Changbai Mountain ginseng is a treasure that can only be collected by ginseng pickers risking getting lost and wandering around Changbai Mountain. The three treasures of the Northeast are ginseng, mink fur, and urala grass. One hundred thousand kilograms are needed, so you think Changbai Mountain ginseng is yours.

Carrots in the home field?

Not to mention words like 20,000 mink pelts and 10 million kilograms of pig iron. His mother's back money combined doesn't even amount to 10 million kilograms of iron ore.

Looking at Hauge kneeling on the ground, Nurhachi felt angry. How could he agree to such conditions? Even if he sold all his money, he still wouldn't be able to get so many things.

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

"Hauge! Get up!" Du Du helped Hauge up because of his father's relationship. Du Du was very weak in the Eight Banners, but his relationship with his cousin was pretty good. Seeing Nurhachi's gloomy face, Du Du

Du quickly helped Hauge up.

"Father! Damn it, Li Xiao wants this price. He is obviously not prepared to negotiate with us. Lao Ba was captured by Li Xiao, so let's just fight at the same time and send out the whole army to attack Shanhaiguan. Anyway, it is the Ming Dynasty that is tearing up the agreement now.

It's not us." Mang Gurtai stood up.

Nurhachi glanced at Mang Gurtai. This tough guy didn't care about Huang Taiji's life or death. He wanted to use this as an excuse to go to Ming Dynasty and grab a piece of it.

I heard that many refugees have gathered in Jinzhou City, and there are many Han people farming outside Shanhaiguan. This guy is feeling itchy again.

"Father Khan! The conditions offered by Li Xiao are indeed unbearable for us. Instead of sitting here and waiting for death, it is better to go and fight. We should also give the Nanman some power and let them know that our Houjin is not easy to bully." Dai Shanye

I agree with fighting. Robbery can make money quickly. Since you can rob, who is willing to go to the trouble of grazing or farming?

"Yes! Father Ma, the Southern Barbarians don't take us seriously. Only sabers and blood can make them understand that we Jurchens are not easy to bully." Yue Tuo naturally vented his anger with his father.

Nurhachi said nothing. He knew very well what the two sons of the flag owners were thinking.

"Father, I think Li Xiao is asking for a lot of money when he puts forward so many conditions. Everyone knows that it is impossible for us to agree to these conditions. Why not ask Li Yongfang to send someone to talk to Li Xiao. If we can really spend the money

It would be a good thing to get the myna back."

When no one was talking in the main hall, a young voice suddenly spoke.

All eyes are on Dorgon!

The people sitting in the hall were all the sons and grandsons of Nurhaci, but they were all banner owners. Only Dorgon did not hold any banner. Abatai, who was more than ten years older than him, was not eligible to participate.

In such a meeting, everyone knows what kind of thoughts Nurhachi has towards Dorgon.

Although Dorgon is not the flag owner, there are two brothers standing behind him. His elder brother Azig is in charge of the Xianghuang Banner, and his younger brother Duduo is in charge of the Zhenghuang Banner. His words almost mean the two yellow flags.

.

The two yellow flags are the strongest among the eight flags, much more powerful than the two red flags, the two blue flags, and the two white flags.

"Dorgon, do you think this matter can be discussed?" Nurhachi looked at his favorite son.

"Father! I think Li Xiao is a businessman. He just wants to maximize his profits by setting such a high price.

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

But if we defeat the Gorkha Mongols, we can open up another front to the west of the Ming Dynasty. We can plunder the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty along Datong and Juyongguan. In this way, we can bypass Shanhaiguan and also bypass Li.

owl.

Li Xiao's current situation is that he does not have enough troops to fight with us. Therefore, he can only take a defensive stance. If we attack Jinzhou Shanhaiguan, we will fall into his plan.

Let's plunder the Datong and Juyongguan areas. Not only can we plunder things, but we can also avoid confronting Li Xiao head-on. The last time I met Li Yongfang, he said that Li Xiao's soldiers only had a few thousand men.

If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty transfers them to Datong, we can just use our expertise in field warfare to destroy Li Xiao's army in Beizhili. In this way, no army in the Ming Dynasty will be our opponent of the Eight Banners. It will be just around the corner to enter the capital and plunder.

Therefore, I suggest not to conflict with Li Xiao now. While negotiating the price with Li Xiao, we should step up preparations to attack Gorkha Mongolia and Horqin Mongolia."

Dorgon's words made Nurhachi nod his head frequently.

This winter, he is also preparing to conquer the Horqin Mongolia and the Gorkha Mongolia. These two powerful Mongolian tribes, one is on his side and rear, and the other is on his west.

As long as they are conquered, Nurhachi will have Mongolian cavalry that is no less powerful than the Jurchen Eight Banners. He can also open another channel to plunder the western part of the Ming Empire.

Now that Li Xiao is guarding Shanhaiguan, Nurhaci really doesn't want to have a head-on confrontation with Li Xiao. If Datong can be captured, the western frontier of the Ming Empire will be opened to the Jin Dynasty.

Although it is not interesting to plunder the Mongols, the Han people's place is still rich.

"Father Ma! Are we still afraid of Nanman Li Xiao?" Yue Tuo was a little anxious. They had set up a red flag and suffered a flood this year. They lost a lot of food and livestock. Yue Tuo wanted to get it back from the Han people. Now Dorgon

Suddenly he said that he did not agree with attacking the Ming Dynasty and turned to attack Mongolia.

This Yue Tuo didn't want to do it. Mongolia was so rich and rich. Once the Eight Banners were divided, what would he have left with the red flag?

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

Yue Tuo was dissatisfied, but although Azig was not as old as him, it was his uncle who was now in charge of the Xianghuang Banner, and he was Nurhachi's personal soldier. Facing this uncle, Yue Tuo could only swallow his breath.

"Ajige! Are you afraid?" When my son was wronged, I naturally had to stand up. Daishan glanced at Azig and said angrily.

"Whoever is afraid knows that in front of Li Xiao's firearms, our armor is like tofu. If you can handle two red flags, then you can take the lead. When the spoils are divided, you can also take the first share."

The year-old Dodo also stood up.

The three brothers Azig, Dorgon, and Duduo were all born to the concubine Abahai. They are truly three brothers from the same mother, and they are natural allies.
To be continued...