Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 266: The Jianzhou Jurchens in a Delicate Situation

The area actually controlled by the Liaodong Town of the Ming Dynasty is like a hard stick inserted into the heartland of the various ethnic groups in the Northeast.

Of course, the Liaohe area where the three Doyan guards, which had been reincorporated into the Tatar Kalachin Wanhu, were active was also like a stick inserted into Liaodong Town.

But from Liaodong town to the north, Shenyang Zhongwei, Fushun Qianhu Suo, Tieling Wei, Liaohai Wei, and Sanwan Wei protruded to the east of Liaohetao.

After annexing the Hada tribe, the Jianzhou Jurchens had completely "bordered" the eastern side of Liaodong Town.

However, due to the existence of that hard stick, its northernmost border troops such as Zhenbeibao and Qingyangbao were able to directly contact the Yehe tribe.

The Yehe tribe's sphere of influence was connected to the northern rear of the Ula tribe through the northeast.

The people of the Fucha clan who took over the Jurchens from the Changbai Mountains originally only wanted to open up the flank strategically, but they did not expect that they would be able to defeat the Ula tribe's army of over 10,000.

The Huifa tribe, which was at the peak of its power and had secured its position by killing seven uncles, was also a piece of Nurhaci's ambition that he wanted to swallow up completely this year.

As a result, Hada, Huifa, and Ula all fell into the hands of the Jianzhou Jurchens. Since the Yehe tribe organized a nine-tribe coalition to fight against the Jianzhou Jurchens and was defeated, what else could they do if they were faced with such a situation again?
The rest of the Suwan tribe, the Guwalgiya clan, etc. are even less of a concern.

Nurhaci was about to take a crucial step in his cause of unifying the Jurchen tribes. At this moment, the will of the Ming emperor suddenly came and he shouted "Stop".

And they were all asked to bring the imperial edict to the Ming Dynasty's border wall to pay homage.

What does it mean that it is not in the capital, but in the north of Jizhou Town?
"Eighth brother is still in the capital of the Ming Dynasty..." Abai said, but his tone was not extremely worried.

Nurhaci remained silent.

He had many sons. Although Huang Taiji was very smart when he was young, he was sent to the capital of the Ming Dynasty at the age of nine. Nurhaci just thought that this son was gone.

But now it’s different.

The boy's mother was from the Yehe tribe.

Not only that, not long after he was sent to the capital, Nurhaci's first wife Tong Jia died. At that time, in order to stabilize the Yehe tribe, Nurhaci made his mother his second wife.

Although she died soon after, Nurhaci did not appoint a second wife, so Huang Taiji still has the status of a legitimate son.

Although the Yehe tribe was organized into nine tribes in the past, it was defeated by the Jianzhou Jurchens and suffered a great loss of vitality. However, as the strongest tribe of the Haixi Jurchens, Nurhaci still married them, hoping to conquer them by creating a situation.

After all, if they fight head-on, even if they win in the end, they will lose a lot of their own men, which will make it inconvenient to suppress the other surrendered tribes in the future.

Nurhaci unclenched his fists, thought for a long time, and then slowly sat down.

"...Send the order down, select another 2,000 soldiers and horses, I will lead the army personally, and set out for Yihan Mountain City early tomorrow morning." He thought for a moment and said, "Go and invite Mr. Gong. If the envoy arrives tomorrow, ask him to negotiate for a while, and wait for me to capture Yihan Mountain City and come back."

After saying this, he went to prepare to lead troops to reinforce in a hurry.

Abai hurried to Qiyun Academy in the south of the city.

He was the third child, and this year he was only 23. Abai's mother was only from the Zhaojia clan, and Abai himself was not brave.

Now that the eldest and second oldest brothers are leading troops outside, he, relying on his status as the third oldest brother, stays by Nurhaci's side and takes orders.

The Mr. Gong whom Nurhaci asked him to invite was named Gong Zhenglu.

This Han Chinese has been here with the Jianzhou Jurchens for more than 30 years and is now over 60 years old.

In the Jianzhou Jurchens, he held a high position. He was in charge of documents beside Nurhaci and could be regarded as a strategist.

But after Nurhaci returned from congratulating the new Ming emperor on his ascension to the throne seven years ago, Mr. Gong no longer came into contact with confidential matters, but only taught at the Qiyun Academy, which was built after the Jianzhou Jurchen headquarters moved to Hetuala.

In fact, all of Nurhaci's sons, from the eldest and second sons to Abai, and even to the eighth son, were enlightened by Mr. Gong when they were young.

When we arrived at Qiyun Academy, we could hear the sound of reading.

"Why is the Third Prince here?" Seeing Abai, Gong Zhenglu, who was already in his sixties, slowly stood up from his chair and looked at him with some deep eyes.

"Ama, please ask Mr. Gong to come over."

Gong Zhenglu put down his book and asked, "Really? Has the king allowed me to leave the academy?"

Abai's heart skipped a beat.

Today, Nurhaci still calls himself Shule Beile. In the Jurchen language, this title means the wise king, but the king mentioned by Gong Zhenglu should refer to the local kings of Jianzhou and other places in the Jurchen Kingdom.

The Jianzhou Jurchens had not officially announced their country to the outside world, but Nurhaci already had such a name.

These were not recognized by the Ming Dynasty. Nurhaci would often reprimand people who flattered him, saying that he was just a Beile. Apart from that, he was still the governor and dragon and tiger general conferred by the Ming Dynasty.

"My father asked me to come and invite you personally, so of course I am not leaving."

Gong Zhenglu nodded silently and left with Abai.

When he arrived in front of Nurhaci, Gong Zhenglu actually performed a great salute, although it was not standard.

Nurhaci frowned and looked at him. After a while, he said, "I asked Gagai and Erdeni to create the Manchu script and set up four banners. There is already a new set of rules. Sixth Brother, are you still bowing to me according to the Han Chinese rules?"

"The king doesn't want to listen to me anymore and insists on creating the Manchu script. Moreover, Gagai has been executed for watching the Hada Beile's rebellion without reporting it to the king. He and Erdeni are both my students. The king is suspicious of me and has kept me in the academy for so many years. It's rare to see the king again, so naturally I want to persuade him again."

Nurhaci looked at him with mixed feelings.

During his conquest of various tribes, Gong Zhenglu made great contributions. He was not only a teacher to him and his sons, but also provided many suggestions. He was also in charge of documents and was responsible for many etiquettes of communication between Jianzhou Jurchens, Ming Dynasty and Korea.

But after annexing the Hada tribe, the Beile of the Hada tribe, who had already surrendered, colluded with the Ming army and attempted to rebel. Gagai knew of his plot but kept it secret, so he was killed by Nurhaci.

Nurhaci didn't know whether the Beile of the Hada tribe had said anything to the Ming Dynasty, but after returning from the visit to the court to congratulate the new Ming emperor on his ascension to the throne, he became more and more suspicious.

Gong Zhenglu helped him a lot in many things, but he disagreed with Nurhaci's creation of Manchu.

Nurhaci insisted on doing so, and Gagai conspired to rebel. Now only Erdeni is still doing this and continuing to improve the rudimentary Manchu script.

After hearing what Gong Zhenglu said, he asked, "Without writing, we are still barbarians. Wouldn't the Celestial Empire be on guard? But if we just learn Chinese and practice Chinese etiquette from you, will the Jurchens still be Jurchens?"

"…How many people with outstanding wisdom and strategy are there in the Celestial Empire? I am just a mere businessman, not even a scholar. I just know a few words and have read some books. If I can see it, can't the rulers and ministers of the Ming Dynasty see it?"

Nurhaci never told him about the experience of facing the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing, because after Gagai was executed for conspiracy to rebel at the end of the 27th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci had already suspected Gong Zhenglu's position and kept him in prison.

After that, there were no more Han people in the core of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

"Why do you call me king when you told me to be content?"

"In the past, the king asked the Ming Dynasty why they killed your grandfather and father. The Ming Dynasty gave the king thirty imperial edicts, thirty horses, and the title of Dragon and Tiger General." Gong Zhenglu looked at him, "The Ming army attacked the city, and they died in the war. The king felt that the Ming army killed them, and I knew that the king always remembered this hatred. Since then, the king has attacked the various tribes. Anyway, the tribes have been fighting back and forth, and the Ming Dynasty is happy to see it happen. But the king's prestige is growing, and he wants to create a new language. Even if he is still respectful to the Ming Dynasty, who can he hide from?"

He shook his head, "I am just a person who failed the exam and can barely read and write, but I can help the king with documents. The king never allowed me to go back to my hometown to look for my wife and children, and kept me in Jianzhou for so many years. Did he want to rely on a few poor people in our academy to help the king teach some children first, and then unify the Jurchen tribes with Manchu, or even want to take revenge on the Ming Dynasty? Your Majesty, if all the Jurchen tribes surrendered, the Ming Dynasty would not sit idly by. I heard that the city was very happy not long ago, so I guess there is good news again. Today, the king suddenly summoned me here, there must be another change, right?"

Nurhaci looked at him quietly, and after a while he slowly said: "You are getting bolder and bolder."

"He is already old, and he must have died in a foreign land. What should I worry about?" He looked at Nurhaci. "Your Majesty, you gave me servants, houses, and many rewards in the early years. Six years ago, after the establishment of the four banners, the last time you saw me, you asked me if I was willing to be a baoyi. Is it only by becoming your household slave that you will stop suspecting me? Is it your ambition to use this baoyi slave to get help from the Han people in the future?"

Nurhaci showed anger on his face: "I was wondering if you have changed your mind after so many years. If you don't want to be a slave, how can I dare to use you?"

"Your Majesty cannot be content with what you have, but you cannot be so generous. Do you want to be a local tyrant, or do you want to be the ruler of a country? Only those who are close neighbors of the Celestial Empire and foreign vassals who follow the Ming Dynasty's etiquette and wear the Ming Dynasty's clothes can be enthroned as kings. Otherwise, they can only be granted an official position such as a pacification envoy or a governor. If Your Majesty still intends on the Central Plains, you should think twice. Even if you succeed by chance, there will be billions of Han people in the future. Will Your Majesty use only a few hundred thousand Jurchen people to control them as bondservants?"

Nurhaci was furious: "Why are you talking so far?"

Gong Zhenglu sighed, "Your Majesty is hesitant, why is he angry with me? I have already made it clear to Your Majesty about the interests involved. Whether you want to be the co-leader of the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes or the ruler of the Jurchen tribes, Your Majesty should have different ways of establishing yourself. The Ming Dynasty is there, what's the point of Your Majesty getting angry at me? If you don't believe me, I'll just die."

(End of this chapter)