I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 110: Collect their nests and transform their species

Zhu Yijun began to talk about his northern strategy.

"The Jianzhou Jurchens can be said to be the weakest of the Donghu and Beilu tribes in the entire northern line of the Ming Dynasty. In name, they are the two Jianzhou guards, but in reality they are divided into dozens of tribes, some of which form groups to protect themselves, some are attached to Chahar, and some are independent.

This scattered group of people just gave us a good opportunity.”

Xu Wei asked, "Your Highness, should we continue Emperor Xianzong's plan to destroy their nests and exterminate their species?"

"It should be to collect their nests and transform their species."

"Collect their nests and transform their species?"

“Yes, when we, the Ming Dynasty, attacked the Jianzhou Jurchens before, we just swept through, captured the chieftain and the main force, burned their camp, and then withdrew.

Weeds cannot be completely eradicated; they will grow again in the spring breeze. After several decades or hundreds of years, the Jianzhou Jurchens reappeared and began to plunder and cause trouble to Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Wenchang, have you ever thought about why the Jianzhou Jurchens could not be completely eradicated? "

Xu Wei thought for a moment, "Has the evil not been completely eradicated?"

Xu Wei can be said to be the smartest person of this era, but he was still bound by the shackles of the times and could not break free.

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace. Mr. Wenchang, these Jianzhou Jurchens also need to eat, and they also like the silk from the south of the Yangtze River, the glass from the southeast, and the liquor from the north.

But they fish and hunt in the mountains and forests, and their output is not much, so they can't exchange much for things. They are also crude and barbaric, so if they can't exchange for things, they just rob. "

Xu Wei somewhat understood what Zhu Yijun meant.

"Your Highness, do you mean to find a way for them to survive?"

"Yes. They used to trade fishing and hunting for food and cloth. Since fishing and hunting in the mountains and forests are not enough to feed themselves, why don't they hunt people in exchange for food and cloth?"

Zhu Yijun's words stunned Xu Wei, and a complicated expression appeared on his face.

This view is too shocking for someone who has been educated in Confucianism since childhood.

He said hesitantly, "Your Highness, you mean to recruit the Jianzhou Jurchens as soldiers and conquer the Northeast and Chahar."

Zhu Yijun nodded, "Yes, the Jianzhou Jurchens grew up in the wild, are brave and good at fighting, and are indeed good soldiers. In order to have more food, more clothes, and more slaves, they dared to violate the majesty of heaven and plunder our Ming Dynasty.

Why can't we use the heads of other wild Jurchens and Chahars to exchange for these? After they surrender, the Ming Dynasty will help them move their families from remote and desolate mountains to prosperous towns, provide them with training, equip them with weapons, and reward them for their merits.

Our Great Ming is rich, and the nine frontiers have to pay four or five million taels of silver in taxes and grain every year. Liaodong alone has to pay hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year. Instead of plastering everywhere, it is better to spend real money to recruit some of the Jianzhou Jurchens to serve as the vanguard. "

Xu Wei's Adam's apple trembled a few times, "Your Highness, what if there are Jianzhou Jurchens who refuse to submit to the king?"

"Then send them to Kaiping to mine coal. The Ming Dynasty is benevolent and will not kill innocent people. But they will not feed people for nothing. If they refuse to obey the king and are unwilling to contribute to the Ming Dynasty and fight against the barbarians, then send them to Kaiping to contribute to the Ming Dynasty."

To Xu Wei's ears, Zhu Yijun's tone sounded as gloomy as the emperor's.

It's plain, but it makes people feel a little uneasy.

Zhu Yijun noticed Xu Wei's reaction but did not point it out. He continued, "Changing their species is one of the strategies, and taking over their nest is the most important one.

The Northeast is a land suitable for farming and grazing. The climate is cold, but when the weather is warm, the fields are fertile and the water is abundant, which is incomparable to the bitterly cold Northwest.

The Jurchens, Shiweis, Xianbeis, Sushens, Mohes and other tribes have lived there for hundreds and thousands of years, so why can’t we? I think the Weisuo system established by Emperor Taizu is suitable for places like this.”

Having said that, Zhu Yijun waved his hand and began to summarize.

"First, lead the army to wipe out the stubborn Jurchens, subdue the Jurchens who surrender, convert them, and purify the area. Then move the army forward and set up garrisons in the remaining areas, where people can cultivate or graze, and make it the territory of the Ming Dynasty forever."

After saying this, Zhu Yijun walked to the map and pointed to the location of the Chahar tribe.

"If the Ming Dynasty can make progress in Liaodong day by day, within five to ten years, we can gather tens of thousands of Jurchens, recover thousands of miles of territory, and cut off the Chahar tribe's flank and potential allies from the east.

I believe that at a certain point, the Tumen Khan of the Chahar tribe will not sit idly by and will take the initiative to attack Liaodong. By then, if he does not attack, we will also find a way to provoke a war and induce them to take the initiative to attack. After Jianzhou is recovered, the Ming Dynasty will have room for maneuver and will no longer be passively defensive. If the Chahar tribe attacks Liaodong, we can defend on the spot, and then the army and the Jurchen tribe will go out of the Black Mountain (Daxing'anling) and attack the Chahar tribe from the north from the flank.

If Chahar attacked Jianzhou and supported the Jurchen tribe to submit to them, the Liaodong Town army would go out of the Liaohe River and directly attack their lair.

In short, if the Ming Dynasty conquers the Jianzhou Jurchens, the chessboard of the Northeast will be alive, and the Chahar tribe will be our meal sooner or later. If we conquer the Chahar, the Tumed tribe will not be a big problem anymore. "

Xu Wei went over Zhu Yijun's strategy in his mind and felt that it had both advantages and disadvantages, so he asked: "Your Highness, Altan Khan controls 30,000 households on the right wing of the Mongolian Ordos, Tumed, and Yongshebu, with pastures extending from Jizhou Town to Qinghai in the north, and has more than 100,000 troops.

This man is a man of great talent and strategy. If we want to implement the strategy of attacking the east and reconciling the west and focus on the northeast, we must appease him and not let him use troops on the Xuanda front line."

Zhu Yijun agreed: "Mr. Wenchang is right.

Altan Khan is old and no longer has the ambition he had in his prime. Moreover, his territory is vast and his subordinates are numerous, but the more so, the higher the cost of maintaining him. "

“Maintenance cost?”

Xu Wei learned the meaning of the word "cost" from Zhu Yijun, and now the word "maintenance cost" has emerged.

"Yes, maintenance costs. Having many subordinates means that everyone has different intentions and goals. It takes more energy and resources to bring everyone together.

The Border Investigation Division has a report on the latest situation of Altan Khan. Has Mr. Wenchang seen it?"

"Your Highness, may I ask which report this is?"

"Altan Khan repeatedly sent envoys to Qinghai to have frequent contact with the Gelugpa sect of Tantric Buddhism there, with the intention of promoting Buddhism."

Xu Wei nodded, "Your Highness, I have read the report."

He didn't know what Zhu Yijun's intention was in specifically pointing out this report. In his view, it was just an attempt by Altan Khan to stabilize the Qinghai territory.

It directly faces the border towns of Shaanxi and Gansu of the Ming Dynasty. It is remote and cold, so there are relatively few border invasions. It is also very far away and isolated from the heart of the Ming Dynasty, so people don't take it too seriously.

Zhu Yijun saw the disapproving look on Xu Wei's face and knew that his chief think tank aide was still unable to break free from the shackles of the times.

"Altan Khan's contact with the Gelugpa sect means that he had long realized that it would be very costly for him to control such a vast territory and so many subordinates. Moreover, he was already old. Once he passed away, according to the custom of the grasslands outside the Great Wall, he would elect one son as the common leader and his sons would be enfeoffed.

If the throne is passed down from one generation to the next, the foundation laid by Altan Khan will collapse. You should know that Altan Khan and Tumen Khan are both descendants of Dayan Khan. "

Xu Wei was in charge of the Border Investigation Department, so he naturally knew the relationship between Altan Khan and Tumen Khan.

Altan Khan was the grandson of Dayan Khan and the son of his third son, Sayin Alaq Khan.

Tumen Khan was much younger in generation, he was the grandson of Dayan Khan's eldest grandson Buchi.

In terms of seniority, Altan Khan is the grandfather of Tumen Khan.

Xu Wei sighed, "Yes, Altan Khan and Tumen Khan, before they were even five generations apart, they were already at war, like mortal enemies. I'm sure it won't be long before Altan Khan divides his sons into different fiefs, and the same thing will happen soon."

"That's true. Altan Khan was a man of great talent and strategy, and he didn't want the kingdom he had conquered to fall apart in the end. So he contacted the Gelugpa sect and tried to use Tantric Buddhism to tightly unite the 30,000 households on the right wing of Eastern Mongolia."

Xu Wei was shocked. The Crown Prince had such a keen eye.

"Your Highness, you saw this and guessed that Altan Khan was seeking stability and did not want to cause any more trouble, so he decided to ambush Xin'ai and dampen his spirit."

"Yes. Xin'ai is the eldest son of Altan Khan, but he is the one in the Tumed tribe who is most likely to cause trouble to the Ming Dynasty. We should defeat this troublemaker first, and then we can talk to Altan Khan slowly."

"Let's talk slowly? Your Highness means that Altan Khan will send someone to discuss things with us?"

"Yes. So we need to trouble you, sir, to make more preparations." Zhu Yijun took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, "This is a catalog I prepared. Sir, hurry up and collect all the information. Only in this way can we be invincible in the negotiations."

"I obey my orders."

(End of this chapter)