Not only Yi Cheng was suspicious, but Cui Chengxiu was also suspicious. The actual number of the Jurchen Eight Banners was actually not a secret. Three hundred people were assigned to one Niulu. Five Niulu were one Jiala, and five Jiala were one Gushan. This number was dead, and the number of people coming in and out was

Not big.

Two hundred thousand people...! Do you believe the number of people Nurhachi blew out?

"Tell me, is this memorial true?" Cui Chengxiu suspected that Wei Zhongxian really didn't know whether it was true or not. Due to the limitation of education level, Eunuch Wei always adopted the opinions of the masses on such matters. Especially the opinions of Comrade Cui Chengxiu.

Who made him the Minister of the Ministry of War?

According to Eunuch Wei's understanding, all soldiers in the Ming Dynasty should be under the control of the Minister of War. If you don't ask him about the matter of being a soldier, who should you ask?

"Mr. Factory! The memorial can only be true, and it must be true. Since the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars, we have always lost troops and generals. This time we managed to defend Jinzhou City, which is an encouraging thing. So, this

The memorial must be true."

"Just to inspire people?" Wei Liangqing, who was beside Wei Zhongxian, picked up an orange and peeled it slowly.

"Mao Wenlong and Li Xiao were recommended by the factory boss to His Majesty. They won the battle and the factory boss also recommended them with merit."

"Yeah!" When Cui Chengxiu said this, Wei Zhongxian nodded immediately.

Encouraging people is nothing to do with me, the last sentence is the key point. When Li Xiao caused trouble in the capital, even the Shuntian Mansion was brought to justice. It was not Wei Zhongxian who bailed him out, but talking about this matter was also embarrassing in front of the emperor.

"We will enter the palace immediately to report this happy event to His Majesty."

"It's just that the Ministry of War has people in the army, and the Yushitai also has people in Jinzhou. If there is a discrepancy in the number of enemies to be wiped out...!" Wei Liangqing hesitated a little. He knew very well what the generals on the front line were like. They would dare to kill just one head.

Say five.

If the Ministry of War really sends people to investigate, if pressed, they will chop off the heads of ordinary people and pass them off as Tatar heads. This has become an open secret, and there is a special word for killing good people and pretending to be meritorious.

"That's Li Xiao's problem. I think he can handle it. In any case, this is a big victory that cannot be escaped. The factory owner will definitely show off his face in front of His Majesty this time."

After hearing Cui Chengxiu's words, Wei Liangqing didn't say anything. This is indeed Li Xiao's problem. Since he dares to retaliate like this, he has to come up with so many heads to make up the number. It doesn't matter whether you kill ordinary people or really go to trouble the Tatars, the heads will be lost anyway.

If they are right, everyone will be happy.

Li Xiao is also worried about his head problem now. Ao Canghai walks with Li Xiao on the sea ice.

This place is really weird, with frozen people and horses sealed in the ice. Many people's bodies are still struggling, and their ferocious expressions are so exaggerated, they look like lifelike statues.

Unable to stand the influence of realistic themes, Li Xiao turned around and walked back.

"I heard from the captives that Yue Tuo is also in here. I just don't know which one is him. His head is very valuable, but I can't find it." Ao Canghai had no choice. There were not many prisoners, so they fished out all of them.

The two of them didn't freeze to death, but now they have a fever on the kang. They are so burned that they don't know if they can survive.

"I'm afraid it won't be easy to find Yue Tuo. It's simply unrealistic to retrieve the body now. In the spring of next year, the body will be almost eaten by fish and shrimp. Even if it is not eaten, it will be frozen in the ice and water.

Just pick one up here and say it’s Yue Tuo’s head. It’ll be fine!”

"How can you do this?" Ao Canghai's eyes widened and he spoke the new vocabulary created by Li Xiao. Anyway, whatever Li Xiao said was a symbol of fashion. In these days, Li Xiao is definitely a fashion pioneer.

"Don't worry, I guarantee that no one will make irresponsible remarks. Wei Zhongxian hopes that we will win a big victory and he will show his face more in front of the emperor.

Besides, all these Tatars have a certain virtue. Look at them with their grinning teeth, they all look the same as fuck. None of those idiots from the Ministry of War have ever seen Yue Tuo.

Do you know what Yue Tuo looks like?"

"Yes, we killed Baylor, the leader of the flag with a red flag. This is the biggest official we have killed since the war with the Tatars. I heard that Baylor, the flag owner, has jade plaques on his body. I really want to see what they look like."

"Huang Taiji has it on his body. Just find a jade craftsman to carve one for him. Don't ask for too much for this kind of thing. I don't believe it. A savage who just came out of Changbai Mountain knows what good jade is?"

The place where jade is produced in Liaodong is Xiuyan. It is estimated that the jade obtained from these Baylors and the like is all Xiuyan. The output of this stuff is very large, and it is good to get one or two pieces. It is very easy. I have not seen the train stations in later generations.

The sales were so bad that the street smelled bad.

Ao Canghai admired Li Xiao's fooling skills, and his admiration was like the endless stream of a river.

"You've fooled me about Yue Tuo, but what about the gun? I can't understand what you said about coefficients. Do you expect soldiers to understand? Now they say you offended Old Mother Waibo.

, it’s up to you anyway. If such rumors spread among the army, morale will be very problematic.”

Li Xiao chewed his teeth, this is a big problem. It is obviously unrealistic to popularize science with soldiers. Soldiers don't care about thermal expansion and contraction. Now or next year, superstition and swords are the main theme of this world.

Science...! Let’s talk about it in two or three hundred years.

They are all soldiers, so Li Xiao naturally knows what it means once the soldiers no longer trust the guy in their hands.

"You don't know, when the Tatar soldiers rushed over, I almost went crazy with anxiety, but there were only two or three guns out of ten that could be fired. With such a density of firepower, it was impossible to block the charge of the Tatar cavalry.

If Brother Xiu hadn't fired artillery support from the sea in time, Juehua Island would have been occupied by the Tatars by now." Thinking about that night, Ao Canghai's heart twitched. It was too dangerous, only a hundred steps away. That's right.

The red flag cavalry will rush in, and it will be useless even if Li Xiu blows up the sea ice.

I know the soldiers I train very well, and there is basically no grappling or fighting in the year of training. If a farmer becomes a soldier and learns to form a formation, his old skills will be wasted.

They also had to be taught infantry tactics and how to maintain firearms. The most important thing was shooting training. Li Xiao firmly believed that good shooters were fed by bullets. In one year, every soldier had calluses on his shoulders.

Such an army would be seeking death in hand-to-hand combat with the notoriously fierce Jurchen cavalry.

"Actually, I have said before that cannons are more reliable in fighting a war. If there are no red-haired men participating in the battle, trebuchets are also a good choice.

It doesn’t work now, the damn red-haired people will definitely teach the Tatars the art of making cannons. It is estimated that we will soon face a Tatar army with gunpowder and cannons."

"That's your business. Anyway, I'm only responsible for fighting." Ao Canghai glanced at Li Xiao. Being the boss had the troubles of being the boss. Now Ao Canghai felt a little sympathy for Li Xiao.

Now, no matter who has a problem that cannot be solved, they will habitually blame it on Li Xiao. Anyway, I just listen to your orders. As for how to solve the problem, that is your responsibility.

In fact, this is not because Ao Canghai and Man Gui are evasive, but because of the limitations of their knowledge and experience. Both of them know that if they come up with random ideas or act recklessly, they will make things worse, not better.

Li Xiao scratched his head. The legend of Crooked Mother actually exists now. His dojo is not far away, in Yiwulu Mountain, which is not far from Jinzhou.

These are all consequences of lack of knowledge. Mythical stories are far more recognized by the working people than scientific knowledge. It is not surprising that soldiers in Shandong believed in the legends of Liaodong.

We have to find a way, otherwise rumors will spread within the army. The soldiers will no longer trust the weapons in their hands, and the battle will not be fought.

"Oh, by the way! Huang Taiji wants to see you."

"Why did he see me?" Li Xiao actually wanted to see Huang Taiji, and after hearing what Ao Canghai said, he turned around and walked towards the island.

"I don't know either. Anyway, after the battle on Juehua Island, this guy was sitting on the bed, apparently trying to collapse it."

After getting to the island, Ao Canghai left alone. Li Xiao was escorted by Rooster and others and came to Huang Taiji's small courtyard.

Someone must have tipped off the news, Huang Taiji was waiting in the yard with his hands folded. When he saw Li Xiao, he nodded with a smile, lifted the door curtain with his own hands and invited Li Xiao into the house.

There is nothing to doubt about his own land. But when Li Xiao entered the house, the roast chicken rushed in first.

There was a pot of hot tea on the Kang table, with steam rising. Huang Taiji didn't say anything, and after making a gesture of invitation, he went straight to the Kang.

It is said that the three treasures of the Northeast are ginseng, mink, and ulak. Li Xiao didn't know what ulak was. Later, Ao Canghai found it for Li Xiao, and Li Xiao found out that it was stuffed inside shoes. It is said to have the function of nourishing the feet and wicking away sweat.

!

But in Li Xiao's opinion, the biggest treasure in Northeast China is the hot kang head.

In the middle of winter, there is no more comfortable place than a hot bed.

After taking off his heavy military coat and handing it to the roasted chicken, Li Xiao also got on the kang. The kang was so hot that his cold buttocks suddenly felt warm.

"Please!" Before Li Xiao could speak, Huang Taiji picked up the teapot and poured Li Xiao a cup of tea.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing, I just want to chat with you."

"oh!"

"That day during the battle on Juehua Island, I stood on the roof and watched. Even at such a dangerous time, there were still ten soldiers guarding me. I knew that if the Eight Banners soldiers broke through Ao Ye's defense line, I would be the first

Time is lost to them.

When I saw the cavalrymen under the red flag fall short, I didn't know whether I was happy or sad at that moment. Now I'm fine, whether I was happy or sad, it's over."

"That's it?"

"I want to go back to Shenyang." Huang Taiji suddenly said this.

"Go back to Shenyang?" Nurhaci only delivered more than 30,000 Han slaves that he promised to deliver, and only half of the money was paid. Huang Taiji made this request, which was too difficult for the kidnappers.

"I watched the battle that night, and the two red flags suffered heavy casualties. It is said that Yue Tuo also fell into the sea and died tragically. It can be said that the two red flags are basically useless.

The cavalry of the two blue banners did not participate in the battle. This shows that they also suffered heavy losses in Jinzhou.

Among the eight banners, the ones with the least losses are the two yellow flags. The other ones are the two white flags led by me and Du Du.

If I don't go back, the two yellow flags will become one family. The final result will be that Dorgon becomes the next Great Khan.

Mr. Li, I can tell you responsibly. Dorgon is your real enemy. Even though he is only fourteen years old, I am ashamed of his strategic talents.

Father Khan is old and suffered another defeat here. The two yellow flags are again in the hands of the Dorgon brothers, Azig and Duduo. I am very afraid that something will happen after returning to Shenyang, especially here. The losses caused by planting various flags are huge, and the two yellow flags dominate the situation."

"What benefits do I have?" Li Xiao nodded and asked seriously.

"If I become a prostrate after I go back, I will order all the banners to return to Hetuala and Ulanqab. I, Huang Taiji, will never step foot into the territory of the Han people in my lifetime."

"Then you have to be the Great Khan first, as you said. Dorgon has so many brothers to help him, how can you guarantee that you will be the next Great Khan?"

"Haha! The Eight Banners may appear to you to be monolithic, but in fact they are all full of contradictions. Mang Gurtai, Amin, and Dudu will never agree to Dorgon becoming Khan.

Because the death of their mother and Chu Ying are more or less related to Abahai. No matter which of Abahai’s sons becomes the Great Khan, they will not end well."

"You don't seem to have said Daishan?" Li Xiao felt keenly that Huang Taiji had missed an extremely important person.
To be continued...