Ma Xiaoquan waited at Xiakou Pass for several days, but did not see Ma's father come back. At this time, Yuan Chonghuan sent someone to call Ma Xiaoquan and said that the matter had been determined. As for the Jurchen Army, it was indeed Huang Taiji who wanted to inherit the throne, so he hoped that Ma Xiaoquan would go back.
Discuss together.
In desperation, Ma Xiaoquan had to say goodbye to his mother, brother and sister-in-law, and led Fangfang back to meet Yuan Chonghuan.
When he saw Yuan Chonghuan, the latter got straight to the point and took out a letter and handed it to Ma Xiaoquan.
"This is the news from the Jurchens. Nurhaci has passed away, and Huang Taiji...has also confirmed that he will inherit the position of Great Khan."
Ma Xiaoquan read the letter, nodded and said, "About when?"
Yuan Chonghuan dragged his chin and said: "If nothing happens, the first day of September..."
"The first day of September...the day is coming soon."
"Yeah~~That's true."
Ma Xiaoquan rolled his eyes and said, "Brother Yuan, how about we go to express our condolences to Nurhaci together?"
Yuan Chonghuan was stunned and looked at Ma Xiaoquan in surprise.
Ma Xiaoquan said with a smile: "As the saying goes, you can fight a hundred battles if you know yourself and the enemy. To be honest, I have always suspected that the battle in Ningyuan City hurt Nurhachi's muscles and bones, so he is considered half an enemy anyway. You and I go to express our condolences and see what Huang Taiji does?
"
Yuan Chonghuan nodded and said: "Brother Ma, aren't you afraid that Huang Taiji will kill you?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "Since I'm going, of course I'm not afraid. But Brother Yuan, you can't go. You are the backbone of Liaodong, so it is most appropriate for me to go to express my condolences this time. Of course, before I go, I have to ask the emperor for permission."
Yuan Chonghuan nodded: "Okay, I will report this request. Then you can go. If you go, what should you bring?"
Ma Xiaoquan said: "Of course it is the highest etiquette to bring Han people to mourn the deceased. In terms of personnel, Brother Yuan will have two record officers. I will take the rest with my own people."
If someone else had made such a request, Yuan Chonghuan would have definitely refused, but if it were Ma Xiaoquan, it would be a different matter.
After the battle at Ningyuan City, Yuan Chonghuan had become more affirmative and more trustful of Ma Xiaoquan, so Ma Xiaoquan only thought that Yuan Chonghuan would not be angry if Yuan Chonghuan asked for two record officers.
"Okay, I'll prepare those things for you as soon as possible. I guess it won't be long before you have to leave."
"Okay~~"
...
In the blink of an eye, on the first day of September, as expected, Huang Taiji succeeded the Jurchen Great Khan and became the new supreme commander of the Jurchens.
In mid-September, the Ming Dynasty condolence delegation headed by Ma Xiaoquan set off for Shenyang after reorganizing.
When they reached the border of Liaoning, the Jurchens already knew that the Ming Dynasty had sent a condolence group.
This kind of thing is actually very unacceptable, because no matter what, Nurhachi's death is related to the Ming Dynasty, especially the cannon in the Ningyuan battle, which directly injured Nurhaci.
No one knows whether Nurhaci was seriously injured after being injured by the cannon, but in general, if it hadn't been for that cannon, Nurhachi would certainly not have died so quickly with his strong body.
Along the way, Ma Xiaoquan was criticized and looked down upon. Some Jurchens even threw the few vegetable leaves at him.
Fortunately, Ma Xiaoquan had already prepared the cover beforehand, and Huang Taiji gave the order to have a group of Jurchen troops accompany him to protect him.
Ma Xiaoquan sighed in his heart, Huang Taiji could endure this kind of thing. No wonder he was able to attack Beijing in the end and achieve the rank of Ninth Five-Year Plan. Only by enduring the ninja that ordinary people cannot do, can he achieve hegemony. Huang Taiji is awesome, really awesome.
In the carriage, Fangfang held her son Zhifeng in her arms, her eyes wide open. Although in the carriage, the Jurchens who were watching and cursing outside could not see their mother and son, the ethnic language spoken by the Jurchens sounded very stiff and their accents were harsh. It was also very heavy, which frightened Fangfang, who had never seen the world.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhifeng was very quiet. Although his eyes were wide open like his mother's during the whole process, he never cried. It seemed that he had faced this kind of scene before.
On his first day in Shenyang, Ma Xiaoquan was placed in a large inn.
Pushing open the door, a faint scent of sandalwood hit his nostrils. Ma Xiaoquan marveled at Huang Taiji's thoughtful arrangements, and at the same time he became a little more vigilant.
...
In the main hall of the Jurchen army leader, Huang Taiji was discussing the next countermeasures with his advisers.
After hearing that the condolence messenger sent by the Ming Dynasty this time was Ma Xiaoquan, Huang Taiji was stunned for a moment, and then felt a sense of sadness in his heart.
Huang Taiji asked: "That Ma Xiaoquan, did you bring any women with you when you came to Shenyang this time?"
The subordinate replied: "Bring it with me~ It's a woman who looks to be seventeen or eighteen years old, and she's holding a baby in her arms."
"You're seventeen or eighteen years old, and you're still holding a baby?" Huang Taiji was stunned and turned to look at Daishan, who was sitting on his right.
Daishan has been keeping a low profile since Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne because he was afraid that Huang Taiji would kill him.
The reason is very simple. He has an unclear relationship with one of his father Nurhachi's concubines. How the unclear relationship came about is all thanks to Huang Taiji.
After Dai Shan realized that he had lost the position that he had hoped to compete for due to this unclear relationship, he had always been very scared.
Daishan is not stupid, and he is also very aware of the methods of his younger brother, who is now the Great Khan. If he really wants to kill him, he will not find any other reasons. The fact that he has an affair with the first Khan and the second concubine is enough to kill him. He got it killed.
Now, Huang Taiji looked at Daishan. Daishan was so frightened that he quickly stood up, left his seat, stood respectfully in front of Huang Taiji, bowed, and said: "Great Khan, this Ma Xiaoquan, it is said that this time he brought one of his women. , and that baby is also his son."
Huang Taiji was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Ma Xiaoquan is really brave. He brought his wife and children over without telling him, aren't he afraid that I will detain him?"
Daishan was also a very smart person. He could tell from Huang Taiji's tone that the new Great Khan didn't care about him that much, or that he didn't care about him that much yet. He cautiously offered advice: "As a subordinate From what I can see, Ma Xiaoquan did this just to test us and see if we will be patient or angry."
Huang Taiji nodded and said: "So I arranged the best inn and the best room for him from the beginning. I think Ma Xiaoquan, what else can I say after he comes? Well, Ma Xiaoquan will just bring him Which woman did you bring with you? There were no other women with you? For example... there was a red-haired one?"
Daishan lowered his head, rolled his eyes, and said quickly: "No."
"Damn~~" Huang Taiji cursed in his ethnic language.
Daishan tried to figure out what Huang Taiji meant, why should he ask the red-haired woman what was going on.
Daishan didn't dare to ask, nor did he want to ask. He pretended to be sincere and changed the topic and asked: "So sweating, what should we do next?"
Huang Taiji raised his lips and said, "Don't be in a hurry. It's rare for him, Ma Xiaoquan, to come to Shenyang. Let him stay for a few more days and take a stroll. Well, if something happens in the past few days..."
Daishan nodded and said quickly: "Yes!"
Huang Taiji was very satisfied with Daishan's attitude towards him. Although he knew that this brother was by no means a good person, he was now the Great Khan and a Great Khan with absolute rights.
"Okay, without further ado, go down and make arrangements." Huang Taiji ordered.
...
In the evening, Ma Xiaoquan failed to see Huang Taiji.
The person who entertained him was Daishan.
Ma Xiaoquan and Daishan had never interacted with each other before. When they saw Daishan today, apart from being polite to him, they really had nothing to say.
Dai Shan was very familiar with Ma Xiaoquan. He was not angry when he saw Ma Xiaoquan didn't speak. Instead, he kept talking non-stop.
Daishan came to see Ma Xiaoquan for two reasons. Firstly, it was because the new Great Khan Huang Taiji was sent to test Ma Xiaoquan's purpose. Secondly, it was because of what Huang Taiji said before, what red hair? Is this woman still related to Ma Xiaoquan? He wanted to find out.
"Haha, the Ming Dynasty sent someone to express condolences to my father Khan. The new Great Khan was supposed to come out to greet me, but he was too busy, so he sent me first. I heard that you are the deacon of the Jin Yiwei of the Ming Dynasty, Lord Ma Xiaoquanma?"
Ma Xiaoquan laughed, but secretly cursed in his heart: Just now you talked a lot without even thinking of asking me my name, oh, now you suddenly have the idea, and you want to ask me my name.
Although he was scolding in his heart, Ma Xiaoquan nodded politely and said: "It's Xiaguan. Xiaguan also came to mourn the Great Khan (Nurhachi) on the emperor's order."
Ma Xiaoquan’s words were pun-intended. First, he was talking about the Great Khan. This Great Khan did not say whether it was the former Great Khan Nurhachi or the current Great Khan Huang Taiji, and it was directly followed by the word "mourning". This sentence The meaning is very direct, that is, I, the Ming Dynasty, don’t care what kind of khan you are, here, you are all foreigners; secondly, the implication of Ma Xiaoquan is... If it were not for the emperor’s order, I would not do it at all. Come to mourn.
Dai Shan naturally heard the implication of Ma Xiaoquan's words. He chuckled and said: "Now that we are here, our Great Khan also feels that we cannot treat Master Ma badly. The Great Khan has also given an order. Master Ma should not leave in a hurry and stay for two more days." Bar."
At this point, Dai Shan suddenly changed the topic and whispered: "If you want to have fun, adults, there is something to do here... After all, we Jurchens also kidnapped a lot of Han people from the Central Plains. woman......"
Dai Shan said this very well. What he meant was, Ma Xiaoquan, did you see that your Han women were taken captive by our Jurchens? In addition to becoming slaves to give birth to children, they were also used for our Jurchens' entertainment. How about it? Are you angry when you see your compatriots being played with by foreigners?