Daya went out with Li Mingli. There was no one around the entrance of the village, and only a few dogs were barking. Li Mingli brought two bags of grain from the entrance of the village to carry it on his body, while Daya brought half of the cabbage back.

"What kind of dish is this? It's so heavy?"

Li Mingli smiled and said, "It's all pickles, and there's a lot of salt. It's not convenient to buy these things from Shanguan. There's only one pig's head, so we'll smoke it tomorrow and take it over."

Da Ya said with a heartache: "A pig's head is enough to buy half a bag of food. Why are you spending money so randomly?"

Li Mingli said: "The silver was given by Uncle Cao. In addition to the grain, I also bought some farm tools. My knife and bow were also needed. The rest were the grain I bought. I thought your father was too weak, so I gave him some meat to replenish it. Maybe it would be fine."

Da Ya's eyes turned red, and Lao Ding's health became worse and worse after returning from Shisanshan. Recently, he had started coughing up blood. This is actually tuberculosis. Not to mention that he had no money to treat it, even if he had money, it would be a terminal illness. Everyone knows that he was living, so Li Mingli was willing to buy this pig head, and wanted to ask Lao Ding to have a few good meals before leaving.

"It's not easy to walk to Lianshan Pass. There is only one official road, which is very dilapidated..."

Seeing that Da Ya was about to cry, Li Mingli turned the topic apart, not saying that this girl was too uncomfortable.

At this time, Lao Ding helped his wife out. When he heard Li Mingli's words, he said, "No matter how difficult it is to leave, he will leave. Even if I die on the road, I have to leave."

"What's wrong?" Li Mingli said: "What's wrong with you?"

"Yeah." Lao Ding said: "Recently, many noble people in the city have confiscated the houses of the bannermen and gave them all the good things from trade to the officials, and some furniture and other furniture. They were either smashed or burned. All our government and villages have spread, saying that they would cut off trade with Heyusheng and would not ask them to make up all the gold and silver in the Dajin side."

"I said why did the grain price rise again!" Li Mingli suddenly realized that he had been worried about Cao Zhenyan's affairs with Cao Shixuan recently, and he was not very concerned about other things, and he did not see any obvious signs.

Lao Ding said: "We can survive by transporting Heyusheng's grain of one hundred thousand stones a year. The price of grain has dropped from 20 taels per stone to less than 4 taels now. After summer and autumn, there will be no wild vegetables and fruits, and the food route will be cut off. How many people will starve to death this winter?"

Li Mingli said: "Maybe the harvest will be good next year?"

"Who can tell the truth about God? Who dares to make a promise?" Lao Ding's face was swollen, and he still said with great strength: "Even if you rely on God for your salary, you have to rely on others. Let's go to your Uncle Cao's official village, at least someone will take care of you. Isn't it better to stay here?"

"Well, then this matter will be settled." Li Mingli rubbed his face and said, "You can rest well these two days. The grain from our family has been paid this year. I will make the grains dry and prepare all the belongings. When the Cao family sets off, we will follow them."

"It's all up to you." Lao Ding coughed a few more times and said sadly: "I used to be the head of the family, but now this family can only rely on you."

Li Mingli looked around. The walls of rammed earth were empty. The roof of the thatched hut had not been turned over and dried this year. There was a smell of rotten grass. The village of grain made of mats was empty. Only the bags of grain he had just bought with the silver given by Cao Shixuan. When Da Ya saw the grain just now, the smile on her face made people feel heart-pounding.

In the past, how could I ever think of suddenly being in such an environment and encountering everything now?

A feeling of indescribableness arose in Li Mingli's heart, and he said in a muffled voice: "Don't say such things, everyone struggles to move forward. As long as you can survive in this world."

...

When Li Mingli was ready for everything, Cao Shixuan made a mistake.

When he went to see Shi Tingzhu, he happened to be ordered to lead his troops to fight. He followed the two red flag troops led by Beiziyuetu and Beizishuotou. In addition to Shi Tingzhu, there were also Han generals such as Bao Chengxian and Sun Degong. It is expected to dispatch 2,000 Jurchen soldiers, and the Han army was also 2,000, all of them rode horses. This time the mission was to go out to fight against the Bahrain tribe. Because the Nunuk Bell of the Bahrain tribe robbed the alliance, robbed many war horses, cattle and sheep from the Korqin tribe, and killed many herdsmen. Obataiji of Korqin asked Lao Khan for help. Although the army that had just returned from the last expedition to Mongolia, Nurhaci decided to send troops.

Shi Tingzhu said to Cao Shixuan, "I know you have been appointed as Beiyu and are determined to run Guanzhuang to avoid the disputes here. This is certainly good, but this conquest of Mongolia is equivalent to sending military merits. At least you can follow me and be sure to teach guerrillas after you come back."

"That's true." Cao Shixuan thought about it and said with a sigh: "Since my brother looks at it, of course I have to follow the people and play."

Shi Tingzhu said again: "The situation in Mongolia has been very unstable recently. People say that Lin Danhan is going to move westward. Maybe we will only have one or two errands to attack Mongolia in the future."

Cao Shixuan was very interested and said, "Lin Danhan wants to run away?"

"Hey." Shi Tingzhu laughed, looking despised. No wonder, he was a serious deputy general of the Ming Dynasty at the time, and it was not the first time he fought against the Northern Lu. The civil servants didn't know what happened to the Northern Lu, but the military generals knew it. He said immediately: "Lin Danhan himself doesn't think so. He feels that Mongolia is divided and cannot defeat the Dajin side because he cannot work together, so he has been hitting the tribes in the east in the past two years, pushing all the Taiji to our side to see if there is any problem.

Assistant, he felt more and more that he could not be able to handle it in the east, so he simply wanted to move westward, saying that he wanted to re-take Kalaqin, Tumote and Mobei all the troops, and the Tak, Ordos, if he was asked to make it, there would be 300,000 string controls, but could he call him to make it? He went over, we couldn't go over? The Four Beile said today that Lin Danhan really wanted to move westward, within a year, he personally led thousands of elite troops to fight westward, and the Chahar tribe would not be overturned without disturbing it."

Huang Taiji did not expect that his accusation westward solved Lin Danhan's old troubles, the old rival. God was so kind to the Later Jin family that he was so lucky to be at this time. Lin Danhan fell ill. More than 100,000 herders in Chahar were surrendered by Lin Danhan's wife, and all the three tribes of Tumot, Chahar, and Mobei were all subdued. Without the Khan of the entire Mongolian family, the Jurchens officially became the masters of the grassland. This was really a matter of great luck. However, without Huang Taiji's ten thousand miles of expedition, good luck would not have come to the Jurchens, so after all, destiny would have to be born.

"The four bells have always been tenacious," Cao Shixuan said: "I don't think Lin Danhan's move westward may be smooth. I heard that He Yusheng's power on the grassland is not small."

"No one knows what is going on now." Shi Tingzhu said: "Many people say that they are exaggerating. A group of merchants with some guards can really make a large foundation on the grassland? I don't believe this. The important thing now is that we will first solve these Mongolian Taiji people who have repeatedly made trouble. When Lin Danhan really moves westward and destroys his foundation, it is time for our Dajin to succeed. In the past two years, Lao Khan is going to solve the troubles of Mongolia. Once Mongolia is conquered, we will send troops from the flank of the western Liaoning to the western Mongolian territory to the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of miles of walls can be used as a battlefield. It is not as simple as the western Liaoning can block us outside with a strong pass!"

When Shi Tingzhu said this, his face was full of excitement, and his eyes showed a fierce light.

Cao Shixuan did not dare to speak, and after a while, he said: "For the matter of children, I hope Mr. Shi will talk about one or two of them in front of his forehead."

"This matter is easy to deal with." Shi Tingzhu said with great care: "The son has just returned from Thirteen Mountains. Don't go to Mongolia this time. Send him to your Guanzhuang as a hundred-ranked leader. Your Cao family is the servant of the 14th Prince. If you go out to Guantun Village, as long as the 14th Prince doesn't object, others will not say too much."

...

After less than ten days when Cao Shixuan met Shi Tingzhu, a large army of troops set out from Liaoyang and others. In less than twenty days, he bypassed the grassland outside Guangning and penetrated directly into the troubled Bahrain territory.

The leader was Yue Tuo, who was the best at leading troops among the Nurhaci's grandchildren. He was a 25-year-old young man with a burly figure and extremely strong body. The muscles on his shoulders almost burst out his robe. His face was a melon-shaped face unique to the Aisin Gioro family. His skin was fair and fair enough. At least for the fishing and hunting people, he looked thick and big eyebrows and big eyes, and had long beards, which gave people a feeling of being rough and delicate.

Yue Tuo rode on the horse motionlessly, like a carefully carved stone statue. His temperament was majestic, generous and quiet. The cavalry followed him. Only when the commander ahead had rich experience and incomparable confidence, and the heroic spirit unique to young people, ordinary people couldn't help but be shocked by his temperament.

His blue war horse cut his horse's hair and tail short, which was much taller than ordinary Mongolian horses. Because he had to observe the situation ahead, Yuetuo rode his horse patiently on a high slope, and his eyes were full of wisdom. Compared with his uncles and brothers, Yuetuo was not a pure reckless man among the young nobles of the Later Jin Dynasty. He was good at charging with cavalry, but he was happy to touch his mind before every war.

Unlike his father Dai Shan, Yue Tuo and several brothers had a close relationship with the eighth uncle Huang Taiji. In other words, Yue Tuo's expression and many habits of leading troops at this time all came from learning about his eighth uncle.

When fighting, you are brave and tenacious, and have a firm will. When you are rushing forward, you must practice riding, using a spear and a big sword, or riding and shooting on horseback, and you must practice better than ordinary Jurchen soldiers. In recent years, under the strict requirements of Nuerhaci, the nobles of the Later Jin have developed excellent skills. From Jin to Qing, in addition to the soldiers of the Eight Banners, these Nuerhaci's sons and nephews also look very similar, with a bit of fighting a tiger, father and son, and brothers in battle.

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Happy New Year everyone!

Two chapters today!
Chapter completed!