Ming politicians

In November of the 14th year of Chongzhen.

The weather has become cold, and the people in the capital have put on cotton-padded clothes. As the end of the new year approaches, the people whose lives have become calmer are starting to buy new year's goods. Everyone believes that this Spring Festival will definitely be a very pleasant one.

At this time, the negotiating mission sent by Hou Jinhuang Taiji arrived in the capital.

This is an unprecedented thing. Huang Taiji bowed his head to the Ming Dynasty, and this request was approved by the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Huang Taiji sent a negotiating mission to the capital to negotiate, which was even more unexpected. Yes, the leader of this mission turned out to be Prince Zheng Jierhalang of the Later Jin Dynasty.

There are actually disputes about the negotiating missions sent by Hou Jin Huang Taiji. Some ministers in the court believe that since the Hou Jin Tartars surrendered to Ming Dynasty, they should not send any negotiating missions. The conditions put forward by the imperial court are to disband the Manchu Eight Banners, the Han Eight Banners, and the Han Army, restore the Jianzhou Guards in the Wanli period, and send the guard commanders from the imperial court to directly govern Jianzhou and other places. This is what the Hou Jin Tartars should do. Instead of sending a negotiating mission.

Everyone knows that the so-called negotiating missions mostly represent negotiations between two countries, and Houjin is not a country at all. Huang Taiji established himself as the emperor and established the Qing Dynasty. The Ming court did not recognize this matter at all. As for the matter, now that Huang Taiji proposed to send a negotiating mission, he expressed his lack of sincerity.

However, the emperor allowed Huang Taiji to send a negotiating mission. In any case, the Houjin Tartars were once a serious threat to the imperial court, and they were also the hidden danger that the emperor was most worried about. Surrender thing.At least to start negotiations, Huang Taiji must have some conditions.

Many civil and military ministers don't know the emperor's thoughts, but they know that the strength of the Houjin Tartars is still there. The Manchu Eight Banners, the Han Eight Banners and the Han Army have not encountered a devastating blow, and the Mongolian Eight Banners.It is also very brave. At this time, Huang Taiji can submit to the Ming court. As long as the negotiation ends well, the Houjin Tartars will perform their duties according to the negotiation requirements and automatically submit to the Ming court.It is much better than a brutal fight between the two sides.

The Houjin Tartars sent Jierhalang as the head of the mission, which shows that he attached great importance to him. All the civil and military ministers in the court knew that Jierhalang was the prince of Houjin, and his status was unusual.For a long time, Jierhalang was a low-key person, not showing off his mountains and dew, but he was an important person who accompanied Huang Taiji for a long time. After Jierhalang's elder brother Amin was punished by Huang Taiji, Huang Taiji let Jierhalang take charge He took over the Xianglan Banner and became the banner owner of the Xianglan Banner, which shows Huang Taiji's trust in Jierhalang. [

The dispatch of Jierhalang as the head of the mission was a surprise to the Ming court. The Jin Tartars sent a mission last time.Discussing the matter of exchanging benevolent agents is just Sony, who is in charge of the red flag. Although he is a Manchu noble, his status cannot be compared with that of Jierhalang.

Zhu Youjian originally planned to ask the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War to be jointly responsible for the negotiation. The specific person in charge was at most the minister of the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of War.

After Zhu Youjian urgently discussed with Yang Sichang, Zhu Shenxuan and others, he decided to let Lu Shanji, Minister of the Ministry of War, come forward to take charge of the negotiations with Jierhalang.

The negotiating mission of the Later Jin Tartars entered the capital secretly, and was escorted by the frontier army sent by Lu Xiangsheng and the soldiers of the Yulin Camp along the way.Ordinary people don't even know that after entering the capital, the staff of the mission directly entered the Huitong Pavilion and moved into the North Pavilion. This place is guarded by heavy soldiers, and no one is allowed to approach.

Negotiations require a series of procedures. Jierhalang is obviously very serious. He proposed it to the Ming court just after he arrived in the capital. The mission planned a series of procedures under the order of Huang Taiji, hoping that the negotiations will proceed according to the procedures. If there is a chance to meet the emperor of Ming Dynasty, the mission must bow down.

Lu Shanji, who hastily entered the battle, did not answer Jierhalang's request for the time being. Instead, he mobilized some officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, and drafted relevant documents, all of which were related to the matters that needed to be done by the Later Jin Dynasty to submit to the Ming court.

From the moment Jierhalang arrived in the capital, Liaodong, Fuzhou, Xuanzhou, Dengzhou, Datong, Ningxia and other places have all received the emperor's imperial decree, and the officials and troops stationed there need to maintain stability and not provoke fights at will. .

Su Tiancheng received the imperial decree first, and along with the imperial decree, there was also a letter from Zhu Shenxuan.

It was within Su Tiancheng's expectation that Huang Taiji sent a negotiating mission, and he could also judge that the Houjin mission stayed in the capital for a long time, at least half a year. Negotiations cannot be concluded in a short period of time. It may last for half a year or even a year. During this period, the two sides will propose many conditions and bargain. The interstellar man is sexist.

Huang Taiji sent Jierhalang as a negotiating representative, which also exceeded Su Tiancheng's expectations.

Among the many Manchu nobles, Su Tiancheng had a good impression of Jierhalang. In any case, Jierhalang has a certain intelligence and behaves in a low-key manner, but he will never be ambiguous when it comes to key matters , although Dorgon and others in history were much more famous and arrogant than Jierhalang, but judging from the aftermath, Jierhalang was very successful, which also shows that Jierhalang Lang suspected that he had great wisdom, and Jierhalang was a true loyal minister who had been loyal to the Qing Dynasty all his life.

Jierhalang came to the capital, which made Su Tiancheng more firm in his judgment. Huang Taiji adopted a strategy of delaying his troops, relying on negotiations to gain time, and made arrangements and adjustments for many matters in the Qing Dynasty, and finally reached an ulterior motive. the goal of.

From the tone of the letter, Su Tiancheng discovered that Zhu Shenxuan's understanding was very optimistic, which made Su Tiancheng feel vigilant. This at least shows that the emperor and many civil and military ministers in the court have not been able to see through the emperor. Taiji's conspiracy, wishful thinking, Huang Taiji really wants to submit to the Ming Dynasty, or some people don't believe it, but they don't want to have doubts. They would rather think that the Houjin Tartars are afraid of the power of the Ming Dynasty and have no choice but to surrender. of.

Those who subdue others' soldiers without fighting are the ones who are good.This is one of the core contents of Sun Tzu's Art of War, but for many years, the meaning of this sentence has been misunderstood. It is always believed that the most brilliant victory is to make the opponent submit without fighting. The understanding of this sentence is still controversial. Su Tiancheng believes that the meaning of this sentence by Sun Tzu actually refers to the ability to destroy the opponent's military capabilities to the greatest extent and allow the opponent to resist in the course of the battle. It is the most brilliant strategy.

Su Tiancheng has always believed that the only way to subdue the Houjin Tartars is to completely defeat the Houjin Tartars, and even wipe out the living forces of the Houjin Tartars, and even physically eliminate the elites of the Houjin Tartars, such as Huang Taiji, Candidates such as Daishan, Jierhalang, Dorgon, Duoduo, Haoge, Azig, etc. cannot stay in the world. They must be completely wiped out before Jin can surrender. Only then did the dynasty be able to truly establish the Jianzhou Guard and exercise effective jurisdiction over Liaodong. [

During this process, there were also opposing forces to exterminate the Mongolian tribes, such as the Horqin tribe. These Mongolian tribes became one with the Houjin Tartars and firmly supported and supported Huang Taiji.

It's a pity that Su Tiancheng's understanding is not so prevalent in the imperial court. Even Zhu Shenxuan's understanding is somewhat biased, and there are deep-seated reasons for such understanding.

There has always been a debate between the main war and the main peace in the Ming Dynasty. In the past, because of the strength of the emperor, the main battle factor had the upper hand, but with the decline of the national power, the main peace faction gradually began to emerge, and the wars and fights caused great harm to the country's construction. The huge destruction and the consumption of financial resources have made it difficult for many main combatants to be confident. Especially during the reign of Tianqi and Chongzhen, the trend of thought of the main peace faction has the upper hand, although it is not a naked summation, However, in the process of conquest, such a trend of thought was manifested in disguise. For example, when Yang He, the father of Yang Sichang, the chief minister of the cabinet, served as the governor of the three sides, he used more methods to appease the rogues who swarmed up.

The main peace faction does not admit that their understanding is to seek peace, but their actions have shown such thoughts. You cannot completely say that their understanding is wrong. That needs a strong national power to support it, but the Ming court does not have such ability for the time being.

Zhu Youjian is not a belligerent person. In his understanding, there is a trend of thought of peace. The emperor has such an understanding, let alone the civil and military ministers below.

The benefits of peace are obvious. The situation of peace and prosperity through singing and dancing will not be broken. The people of Li can temporarily immerse themselves in a peaceful life. No one needs to think about so many important national affairs when they should enjoy themselves and make money. , and don’t have to worry about any threats, it’s fun and everyone is happy.

This is what Su Tiancheng is most worried about. Once the Ming court lacks external pressure and is in a long-term peace, a powerful minister like him will become the target of public criticism. Even the emperor has to worry about power. Su Tiancheng is not bound by power. What he wants to obtain is to completely subdue the Hou Jin Tartars and completely stabilize the outside of the Ming Dynasty. Su Tiancheng can find a place to avoid disaster and hand over power, but under the current situation, it is definitely not possible. Zizi has not encountered a devastating blow, and his power is still very strong. At this time, if the Ming court is content with the status quo and fights against each other, then it may be truly on the road to destruction.