weaving

Chapter 1335: Fighting on flat ground, why fear Zhang Cheng!

After being scolded by Huang Taiji, Prince Su Haoge sat on his chair with his head drooped, like a wilted eggplant. Although he looked very obedient, almost everyone could see that he was not convinced in his heart.

Huang Taiji was too lazy to pay more attention to him. After coughing a few more times, he asked the princes, beile and ministers: "What do you think? Speak out today, so that you don't complain privately in the future."

Everyone looked at each other, and the atmosphere became silent for a moment.

Huang Taiji frowned and asked, "Abatai, tell me."

…………

Abatai was the seventh son of the old slave Nurhaci, but because he was born to an unfavored concubine, although he was the seventh brother of the current Khan Huang Taiji, he was only given the title of Duolo Raoyu Beile.

This is mainly due to its age advantage...

Abatai was three years older than Huang Taiji, so he was able to go to the battlefield earlier to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds.

Moreover, he was the only son born to Nurhaci's concubine. Although his status was lower than the eight legitimate sons born to the four concubines, it was much higher than the seven illegitimate sons born to other concubines.

Therefore, when Huang Taiji established the reign title "Chongde", he also determined the hereditary titles of the royal family members. For example, his younger brothers Dorgon and Dodo were made princes, and even his nephews Haoge and Yuetuo were promoted to princes. Even Ajige, who was sixteen years younger than him, was promoted to a county prince.

But Abatai was only granted the title of Beile, although the beautiful name "Rao Yu" was added in front of the Beile title, calling him "Duolo Rao Yu Beile", which was two levels lower than the title of Prince, and even one level lower than the title of County Prince of the reckless Ajige!

In fact, such an achievement is not easy for Abatai.

After all, his eight legitimate brothers were all so capable. For Abatai, it was already a great honor to be conferred the title of Beile in the first year of Chongde. His seven illegitimate brothers were not as good as him. Not only did they have fewer opportunities to make achievements on the battlefield, but most of them were conferred lower-level titles such as Duke of Fuguo, Duke of Zhenguo, and General Zhenguo.

Abatai started to fight in the battlefield when he was 23 years old. Over the past 30 years, he has experienced the three dynasties of Tianming, Tiancong and Chongde. He participated in a series of wars against the Ming Dynasty, such as the Battle of Jinzhou, the Jisi Rebellion, the Battle of Dalinghe, the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Battle of Xuanfu, the Bingzi Rebellion, the Wuyin Rebellion, the Battle of Songjin, etc. He has been present in many battles, and has made many contributions in killing enemies...

Logically speaking, even if Abatai was not born of a legitimate wife, he could still be granted the title of a prince.

But Abatai had two minor flaws, that is, "pampering his wife" and "protecting his daughter". Since Huang Taiji inherited the throne of Khan, he had been punished for disobeying and contradicting Huang Taiji no less than ten times.

Fortunately, although Abatai made many mistakes, most of them were minor offenses. Moreover, due to his illegitimate status, he would not pose any threat to Huang Taiji's position. Therefore, Huang Taiji punished this seventh brother with either a fine of silver or some property, and never really got angry and demoted or stripped him of his title.

Of course there is another reason - that is, Abatai is indeed not a mediocre person, but a qualified general!

…………

Abatai, who was not good at flattery, stared blankly at the high-handed Huang Taiji. After a while, he stood up, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to go through Mongolia to attack the capital of the Southern Kingdom."

Huang Taiji continued to ask him with a kind expression: "Seventh brother, in the third year of Chongde, you followed Dorgon as deputy commander to attack the southern capital. Now it has only been four short years. How many people and goods can you capture?"

Abatai lowered his head and thought for a while, then replied: "Your Majesty, during the last attack on Ming, although we also reached Shandong, we have been in the south for too long, and many soldiers have gathered to support the king. Although we are not afraid of them, Prince Keqin is seriously ill, so we have to return in a hurry, and there are still many places that have not been conquered." He paused, and added: "Even in the south of the capital, there are still many counties that have not been opened, and there are many civilian settlements and forts, and there are many people, money and food in them."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a stinging in his throat and a bloody smell surged up from his chest. He secretly pressed his hand on the seat and forced himself to hold it back, so that he did not spit out a mouthful of blood.

In front of all the civil and military officials and princes, Huang Taiji had to endure it no matter what. Even though such a thing had happened before, things were different now!

In the past, although Huang Taiji often suffered from nosebleeds, he was still relatively strong at that time. Although he suffered some loss of qi and blood, everyone gradually got used to it.

But now it’s different. His health is getting worse and worse. Huang Taiji knows his current condition better than the imperial physician, so under such circumstances today, he has no choice!

Huang Taiji held on and swallowed hard, finally suppressing his restless blood. After a while, he asked, "Fourteenth brother, is that so? You think the same way, right?"

…………

Dorgon lost his greatest supporter because of the death of his younger brother, Prince Yu Dodo, in the previous Battle of Jinzhou. Although the remaining Ajige was his biological brother, this reckless man was even more impulsive and brainless than Hauge. He was not under his control at all, and it was even impossible to determine whether Ajige would stand on his side in times of crisis.

Therefore, although Huang Taiji became closer to him, Dorgon was even more frightened, especially as Huang Taiji's health deteriorated, and his worries gradually increased...

Dorgon is now very conflicted - he hopes Huang Taiji will die soon, but he is also afraid that he will attack him before he dies!

…………

But no matter how careful Dorgon was and how low-key he was, he was once again called out by Huang Taiji, so he couldn't pretend to be deaf and dumb: "Your Majesty, I also think it's better to conquer the heartland of the capital of the Southern Kingdom. Although I went there once four years ago, it is the capital of the Southern Kingdom after all, and the vitality must have recovered almost.

Besides, the southern capital is relatively strong, except for the huge capital, we have already broken through many other cities, and it is a flat land. Even if we meet Zhang Cheng again, we can fight him on flat ground. We are not afraid of him!"

Huang Taiji then asked other beile and ministers for their opinions. They all expressed their approval of the attack on the Ming Dynasty. Between Xuanfu and the capital, the majority of people also supported the attack on the important capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, Huang Taiji had already decided in his heart to attack the capital of the Ming Dynasty. If there was any hope, he would continue southward, deep into Shandong, or even to the Yangtze River to take a look.

After all, only by invading the important areas of the Ming Dynasty's capital can we plunder more people and wealth, which can not only gradually consume the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, but also erase the royal aura accumulated in the capital of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years.

This is just like using a small knife to cut down a big tree!

Huang Taiji saw it very clearly. Although the Ming Dynasty was now riddled with holes, like an old man in his twilight years, he still understood the truth that "a lean camel is bigger than a horse".

With the current size of the Qing Dynasty, even if it could win every battle, it would not be able to swallow the Ming Dynasty in one gulp. If it tried to force it, it would inevitably end up with indigestion.

But it is one thing for me to understand it clearly in my heart, and it is another thing for all the civil and military officials in the court to unanimously recognize this point today!

As a great hero of his generation, Huang Taiji understood very well the role of unified thinking, so he took advantage of today's opportunity to let the princes and ministers speak and discuss, giving them a sense of participation and letting them feel that they had contributed to this decision. Only in this way would they work harder and strive to achieve the set goals.

Now that the general direction has been established, the best time to send troops is naturally the golden autumn of October, when the grain in the fields has been harvested and there is time to grab it!

Huang Taiji did not ask any more questions, for he was afraid that he would not be able to hold back and vomit blood on the spot, which would be bad.

He ordered all the princes, dukes, beile, beizi and other relatives to stay and go to Qingning Palace to watch the sacrifice later. Then he left the throne with the help of the eunuchs and went straight to the harem without looking back...