At the foot of Juyong Pass, the camp of the Hou Jin Army.

A flagpole stood high, and a pot stove was placed under the flagpole. In the open iron pot, boiling water kept bubbling, causing the white fat pieces of meat cooked in the pot to tumble.

There are slaves waiting next to the pot and stove, adding water and firewood at any time to ensure that the stove fire is not extinguished and the soup is not dry. The white meat that has been cooked for such a long time has long lost its flavor and is greasy. It must not taste good. But

For the Manchu people who started their lives in the white mountains and black waters with extremely poor conditions, it was already a rare delicacy.

The white-boiled meat in the "Man-Han Full Banquet" in later generations, as well as the pork belly used to worship ancestors every year in the Qing Dynasty, are all based on this custom. However, in the Qing Dynasty, eating this kind of boiled meat has become a kind of "

According to the education method of “Remember the bitter and think of the sweet”, not only can no seasoning be put into the meat, but it has also been cooked a few days ago. It is cold and fishy, ​​making it difficult to swallow. Fortunately, eating gizzard meat is mostly in the winter, so there is no risk of spoilage.

.

In today's Houjin, such formalistic habits have not yet been adopted. Huang Taiji and several of his brothers and close ministers sat around the pot and stove, using daggers to pick up pieces of meat from the pot, and put them steamingly into the seasoning bowl.

After dipping it and putting it in your mouth, this is actually the way Mongolians eat shabu-shabu, except that they use pork.

Of course, before that, you can also make a sacrifice by the way - pour a few drops of oil soup from the pot and scatter it around, which is regarded as a sacrifice to the mountains and the earth. This group of people have suffered hardships with the old Khan King Nurhaci, and they behave in the same way.

Pragmatism is the main thing. If you want to make sacrifices, just follow your heart. You still have to keep the big fat for yourself.

First, he devoured a lot of food. After filling his stomach, Dorgon raised his head and looked at his brother and master:

"Great Khan, I have a few things that I don't understand. I hope you can give me some advice."

"Say it."

Huang Taiji seemed to be in a good mood. Dorgon took a few more glances to confirm that his observation was correct, and then said:

"We have gained a lot in the Xuanda area these days, which can make up for the losses in the previous winter. Why should we... take the risk of going deep into the capital of the Ming Dynasty?"

Huang Taiji smiled, turned his head and gestured towards a wooden pole in the distance:

"Is there any ready opportunity? Since that idiot is willing to give Juyongguan to us, I would be embarrassed if he doesn't accept it."

——On the top of that wooden pole, there is a grinning head, which is none other than Chen Hongfan, the commander-in-chief of the Juyongguan garrison in the Ming Dynasty. Originally, due to the danger of the Badaling Great Wall, and the later Jin soldiers were not good at attacking the city, this place should be foolproof. But Chen Hongfan also

Like everyone else, I felt that Hou Jin was just messing around in Xuanda this time, and there was no military pressure on his side, just some outposts and partial troops.

So he wanted to get a few Tatar heads for himself from those "partial masters" so that he could win a promotion - but in the end, in a simple ambush, he gave his own heads to the other party, along with the city.

One. In this way, under the protection of the "three inner passes" of Juyong, Zijing, and Daoma, the most important Gyeonggi region of the Ming Empire opened its door to the invaders of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Of course Dorgon knew that this was a good opportunity, but he also knew what it would mean to the Ming Dynasty once he invaded Gyeonggi Province - they had done it once five years ago. That time it was like poking a hornet's nest, with the entire Ming Kingdom coming from all directions.

All the troops came over and fought several solid battles. Although they did not suffer much loss, they were still defeated in the end.

So this time they learned to be smart. Previously, they only focused on the outer Xuanda area and did not attack the city. They only looted the villages and forts. They only plundered the wealth of the people and did not entangle with the regular army of the Ming Dynasty. Anyway, as long as they don't

During the siege of the city, the Ming Dynasty border troops also hid in the city and did not dare to come out. Even if there were a few who dared to come out, they still could not defeat them, but they didn't want to put in the effort.

——Why chew the bones when you can eat meat?

But after entering the Gyeonggi region of the Ming Dynasty, the rules changed. Dorgon believed that Huang Taiji must also know this, and with his usual shrewdness, he would not change the original rules just because of the gain or loss of a mere city.

strategy, so this must have been planned in advance.

But it was difficult for Dorgon to understand, and he couldn't figure it out after thinking for several days, so today, he found an opportunity and finally asked.

Huang Taiji was fat and fat and ate much more than the average person. He was still eating by himself at this time. However, he seemed to notice that his answer did not relieve Dorgon's confusion. He didn't even raise his head and was minding his own business.

He bit into a piece of fat meat and said vaguely:

"Do you think this Khan's move is too ambitious, lest he be entangled by the Ming army and lose more than he gains?"

It seemed like it was just an inadvertent sentence, but it made Dorgon feel a chill in his back. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Hauge looking at him with a sneer, obviously waiting for him to talk nonsense, make him sweat profusely, and then be subjected to

punish.

After briefly considering what he wanted to say and Huang Taiji's consistent temperament, Dorgon gritted his teeth and nodded:

"Yes, my brother feels that there is some truth in the saying of the Han people that 'it is safe to leave the bag behind'."

Huang Taiji finally raised his head and looked at him deeply for a long time. Dorgon's heart beat faster and faster when he saw him. Just when he was wondering whether he should kneel down to apologize, he heard the former suddenly burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, Huang Taiji dropped the dagger in his hand and pointed at Dorgon:

"Mergen Daiqing advocates caution when using troops. This is not a bad thing."

The tone was gentle, and the title of "Mergen Daiqing" was awarded to Dorgon personally by him, so it was natural that he did not mean any harm. Dorgon secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally letting go of the fear in his heart.

"Since we are talking about Han people's words, I wonder if you have heard of another saying: 'Bodhisattvas fear causes, mortals fear consequences'?"

Dorgon was puzzled and shook his head - he was already considered to be the one who paid more attention to sinology among the Baylors, but he was still not as good as the Great Khan.

"Then do you think that we were able to shuttle across the border of the Ming Dynasty so easily before? Xuanfu Datong is an important town on the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty. The area that should be tightly guarded, but our troops were allowed to come in and out, as if it was an uninhabited land.

——Why is this?”

"Father Khan is wise and mighty, our Jin army is brave, but the Han people are cowardly and they dare not fight with our army."

Before Dorgon could speak, Hauge was already rushing to interject. He probably realized that the topic was not dangerous and quickly wanted to join in the fun.

After all, Huang Taiji still took care of his son. Although Hauge obviously didn't get to the point, he still nodded encouragingly:

"It's true that the Ming Dynasty's army has become timid, leaving only a group of cowardly people who dare not fight with our army - but this kind of cowardice does not fall from the sky."

Huang Taiji smiled softly, with a fierce look in his slender eyes:

"Sarhu, Hunhe, Xiaolinghe, and Zunhua five years ago... we killed all those who dared to fight us! The rest are naturally trash."

He looked at Dorgon and Haoge who were thoughtful, including Azig, Abatai, Yue Tuo and others who were not talking but were listening attentively - the group of young men who represented the future of Hou Jin Dynasty.

, Huang Taiji patiently instructed:

"Understand it - today's result is actually the cause of yesterday. If we didn't have the bloody victory in the past, how could we be so calm today?"

"However, this situation may not last forever - the Ming Dynasty is a vast country, and there will always be people who are not afraid of death and dare to fight us. This time we encountered only timid people. Next time

But not necessarily. Therefore, for the sake of success in the future, we must often attack and get rid of those hard-core and unafraid of death before they become mature, so as to prevent them from slowly becoming bigger and becoming a disaster!"

"This is true for the Ming Dynasty, Mongolia, and North Korea. This is also the basic context of our military use in the history of Dajin. It is not as simple as coming over to 'rob the west' to make a profit when we have no money to spend."

"When we were young, we all followed the old Khan to let go of the mountains and cut down trees. The Ming Dynasty was like that century-old tree, with deep roots and lush leaves. It would not be possible to cut it down overnight. We could only come and go step by step...

Its branches and leaves are prone to decay if their roots are cut off. Peel off its outer skin, and birds, insects and beetles will naturally emerge. When all the new shoots are gone and only dead branches are left, it is a good time to put it down.

."

As he spoke, Huang Taiji stood up, walked a few steps around the flagpole, and looked around at his brothers, nephews:

"My original plan was that even if I don't enter the capital this time, in a year or two, one or two of you will lead an army and enter the wall again. The population and property are only secondary. The key is to break the spirit of the Ming Dynasty.

, get rid of all those who want to take the lead and those who dare to oppose me, Dajin. Repeat this three or five times, and those Han people will be completely frightened. After that, if they enter the pass in a large scale, they will naturally be unstoppable. "

"But before that, there is one more thing that must be done..."

Huang Taiji took out something from his arms, which was a conical metal-coated lead bullet. The surface of the bullet was smooth. It was obviously that it had been touched and played with in his hands frequently, and it was coated with pulp.

"...We must find a way to get rid of those green-skinned mad dogs. They are not afraid of us, and they dare to take the initiative to fight us. Moreover, they are very difficult to fight..."

It was completely quiet under the flagpole, and only the sound of bubbling water continued. All the Houjin nobles who were dining stopped moving, and all of them had expressions of toothache on their faces. Or should I say, fear.

Huang Taiji noticed their expressions and a sneer appeared on his face:

"Are you afraid? Want to avoid them? Hide far away, just like this time, far away from the sea, where the greenskins can't reach, snatching cattle, sheep, and women... this

Are you satisfied?"

Everyone's eyes were evasive, not wanting to acknowledge Huang Taiji's words, but they did not dare to refute. Huang Taiji looked around, and when he saw Dorgon and Hauge, who had high hopes, also had similar expressions, his expression finally dropped.

:
Chapter completed!