Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 869 Disposal
"Bastard!"

In the Shengjing Palace, Huang Taiji's face turned pale with anger.

There were several people kneeling in front of him. They were Xitku, Jixiha, Suohai and several Mongolian generals who had just returned from the north.

These people were so high-spirited when they went on the expedition not long ago, but now they looked so miserable. Seeing them kneeling there dejectedly, Huang Taiji could not contain his anger and wanted to draw his knife to kill all these bastards one by one to vent his hatred.

The deployment that was originally sure to succeed has now failed. They thought that they could completely defeat the Solon tribe this time and take it under their control, but they did not expect that both armies were defeated. In particular, the Western Army not only suffered heavy losses, but also the main general was killed in the battle. Although the Southern Army was better than the Western Army, it was repelled by the Solon tribe in the battle, and the losses were also not small.

Huang Taiji didn't care about the dead, injured or fleeing Mongols. To him, the Mongols were just vassal tribes. As long as he had the eastern part of Chahar and the entire Khorchin in his hands, he could have as many Mongols as he wanted. However, the loss of the Eight Banners made Huang Taiji very sad.

In two battles, the elite Eight Banners lost nearly 2,000 people. This is the Eight Banners! How many soldiers are there in the entire Eight Banners? There are less than 10,000 Eight Banners, and there is no enemy if there are more than 10,000! Back then, 2,000 elite Eight Banners could chase and attack tens of thousands of Ming troops, but now they have lost so many people in a flash. How can Huang Taiji not be angry?
"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm incompetent. It's that the Saurons got the Ming's weapons from somewhere. Now the Saurons' equipment is different from the past. Not only did the Ming give the Saurons a large number of elite weapons, but they also sent them artillery. The Saurons are naturally fierce and good at fighting. In addition, we carelessly divided our troops when we went north this time, which gave the Saurons an opportunity to take advantage of. This is why we suffered this defeat..." Sitku gritted his teeth and replied. Although he was defeated, he actually retreated on his own initiative. In terms of casualties, he was actually not much different from the Sauron army. This alone was enough to show his ability.

If he had not had too few troops, or if the Western Route Army had not been defeated first, the outcome of this battle would have been uncertain if he had commanded it. And who doesn't know how powerful the Solon army is in fighting the Eight Banners? Now the Solon people have upgraded their weapons to not only sophisticated weapons, but also cannons. Under such circumstances, it is not easy for him to achieve this level.

"You've already lost, and you still dare to quibble?" It would have been better if he didn't say these things. After hearing his explanation, Huang Taiji became even more angry and grabbed something and threw it at him.

With a bang, Xitku, who was kneeling on the ground, did not dodge at all, and was hit on the head by the jade ruyi that Huang Taiji picked up casually. The jade ruyi fell to the ground with a clang and shattered instantly, and Xitku's forehead was also smashed. A trickle of blood flowed down his forehead, but Xitku did not even raise his hand to wipe it. Instead, he continued to kowtow to Huang Taiji and said words that his slave deserved to die.

Seeing this, Huang Taiji felt a little regretful. In fact, he knew in his heart that it was not Xitku's fault that he lost the battle. Considering Xitku's ability, it was not easy for him to fight to this extent after the defeat of the Western Army. And to be honest, the Southern Army was not really defeated, after all, they retreated on their own initiative.

His gaze stayed on Xitku, whose face was covered in blood, and then he looked at the jade ruyi that had been smashed on the ground. Huang Taiji sighed in his heart, and the anger on his face faded a little.

"Your Majesty, the responsibility for our army's defeat in this battle is not Xitku's. If the Western Army had not been defeated first, the Southern Army would not have been unable to cope alone. Xitku has tried his best." Prince Li Daishan on the side comforted him. He knew Huang Taiji too well. After the failure of the siege of Jinzhou, which was originally a sure win, the Zhenghong Banner rebellion broke out within the Eight Banners, which made Huang Taiji extremely angry.

During this year, Huang Taiji did not go on any expeditions. Instead, he stayed in Shengjing to clean up the Eight Banners, dealt with many Eight Banners nobles, readjusted the divisions of the Eight Banners, and replaced them with younger generals in order to completely control the Eight Banners and consolidate the imperial power.

After much effort, Huang Taiji finally sorted out the internal problems. After stabilizing the internal situation, Huang Taiji turned his attention back to conquering the world. Huang Taiji knew that the foundation of his Qing Dynasty was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty. Even though he had been emperor for a long time, he could not change the problem of the weak foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

The only way for the Qing Dynasty, which occupied Liaodong, to develop was to go south and obtain territory, population and urgently needed materials from the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the war with the Ming Dynasty had to continue. In order to defeat the Ming Dynasty and even enter the Central Plains to become the ruler of China, the Qing Dynasty must first completely take over the entire Liaodong. But now the Liaoxi Corridor is still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and Jinzhou is also garrisoned by Zu Dashou. Without taking the Liaoxi Corridor and Shanhaiguan, everything is just wishful thinking.

On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty has undergone many changes over the years, especially after Zhu Shenzhui entered the capital as a member of the imperial clan and took control of the government and became the regent of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Shenzhui was much more difficult to deal with than the ambitious but incompetent Emperor Chongzhen. The Ming Dynasty survived under his leadership. He not only consolidated his regime, but also concentrated on solving the problem of bandits that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for many years. Even Huang Taiji did not get any benefit from him.

Now Zhu Shenzhu has officially ascended the throne, the Ming Empire has a new master, the Yongming Emperor replaced the Chongzhen Emperor, and the Ming Empire has a faint sense of revival. Under such circumstances, Huang Taiji felt urgent and uneasy. If the Ming Empire did not continue to decay as before, and waited until the internal situation was completely stable and the national strength became strong again, his Qing Empire would have no chance.

Huang Taiji was not Nurhaci. He was much better than Nurhaci in terms of military vision and political means. The reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to suppress the Ming Dynasty and even led troops to the capital of the Ming Dynasty and almost took over the center of the Ming Dynasty was because the Ming Dynasty had many problems and its national strength was constantly consumed by internal friction. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen was not a qualified emperor. He had a huge empire and countless good generals and ministers, but he made the country so messed up. That’s why the Qing Dynasty had these opportunities.

But everything became different when Zhu Shenzhu replaced Emperor Chongzhen and took control of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Shenzhu was a difficult opponent to deal with. If he were allowed to continue to be the Yongming Emperor, and the Ming Dynasty was completely revived with the passage of time, then Huang Taiji would no longer have any chance.

This time sending troops north to attack the Solon tribe was an important part of Huang Taiji's war against the Ming Dynasty. Huang Taiji had long coveted the Solon tribe, which was good at fighting. If he could take the Solon tribe for himself, he would have the most capable army in his hands. With this army, he would be more confident in the next war with the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, recovering the Solon tribe and annexing the entire Solon tribe is what Huang Taiji has always wanted to do, and judging from the Qing Dynasty's layout for the Solon tribe, everything has been going very smoothly. Now the Solon tribe has been forced into a desperate situation step by step by Huang Taiji. If nothing unexpected happens, and the Solon tribe is defeated again, the only choice for the desperate Solon tribe is to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and become a sharp blade in Huang Taiji's hands.

Moreover, after experiencing internal purges and the upcoming war against the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji now needs a victory to strengthen his prestige and ruling foundation in the Qing Dynasty. This is why Huang Taiji did not immediately launch a war against the Ming Dynasty, but instead dispatched troops to attack the Solon tribe first.

In his opinion, this northward attack on the Solon tribe should not be a problem, but the facts played a big joke on Huang Taiji. Both armies were defeated, especially the western army, which was defeated so badly that even the main general was lost. This was almost like a slap in the face of Huang Taiji, making him lose all face and his plan failed.

Daishan's words brought Huang Taiji back to his senses. He nodded slightly and felt much better. He was indeed his brother who always supported him! Among the people around him, only Daishan truly understood his thoughts.

It was no longer necessary to hold Sitku and his men responsible, and the responsibility did not lie with Sitku. If it was to be held responsible, it was Samushka, the commander of the Western Army. If he had not been careless, how could the situation have come to this? But Samushka had already died in the battle, and even his body had not been found. It would not be appropriate to severely punish him, including his family. People's hearts still needed to be appeased. As an emperor, he could not end up with a reputation of being mean and ungrateful.

Thinking of this, Huang Taiji snorted coldly and said, "Xi Teku! Ji Xiha! You two are not doing well in the battle. You will be fined 3,000 taels of silver, demoted one level, and have your Niulu removed."

"Your servants thank God for His Grace, Your servants thank His Majesty..." After hearing Huang Taiji's punishment, Xitku and Jixiha breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Such a punishment was already an extra mercy for them. Just being demoted by one level and having one Niulu cut was nothing. They could be promoted back soon if they made meritorious contributions in the future.

His gaze shifted from the two of them to Suohai, and Huang Taiji said coldly: "As the deputy general of the Western Army, Suohai was defeated and caused the death of the commander. According to military orders, he should be executed, but considering that he made meritorious contributions after the defeat, the death penalty can be spared, but the living crime cannot be forgiven. He will be fined 5,000 silver, dismissed from his position as a councilor of the Censorate and assistant consul of the Bordered Yellow Banner, demoted to Boshiku, and flogged 30 times to see the effect!"

"Your servant... Your servant obeys your order..." Suohai kowtowed repeatedly. Although his punishment was particularly severe, not only did he lose his official position as a councilor of the Censorate, but he also lost his position as a lieutenant of the Eight Banners. He was directly demoted from an Eight Banner noble to a minor official like Boshiku, and he would also be whipped thirty times. After these thirty whips, Suohai would have to lie in bed for at least half a year.

Although the punishment was so severe, he was lucky to save his life. In fact, Huang Taiji did not want to kill him. Judging from the death of the commander of the Western Route Army, there would be no problem even if he ordered the execution of Suohai. However, Suohai was not an ordinary person after all. His father was Fei Yingdong, one of the five founding ministers of the Later Jin Dynasty. He had outstanding achievements and a high reputation in the Eight Banners.

Although Fei Yingdong had died more than a decade ago, his son could not be easily executed. It was okay to spare his life for Fei Yingdong's sake. Moreover, Fei Yingdong had a nephew named Aobai, who was Huang Taiji's favorite general. He was not only brave but also a die-hard Huang Taiji. For these reasons, Huang Taiji finally did not take ruthless action and spared Suohai.

(End of this chapter)