Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 290 The Knife That Does Dirty Work
What can Nurhaci do? He has a loyal and obedient personality.

He should do whatever the Ming Dynasty says, even if it has now affected his fundamental interests, he will have to wait until he can return to talk about it.

"Your Majesty is wise! I also beg Your Majesty to have mercy on me."

Zhu Changluo smiled slightly and said to Nalinbulu, "Go back and think about it carefully."

Nalinbulu looked at Nurhaci uneasily, with another layer of worry in his heart: Could it be that he first coaxed the Yehe tribe to give up the other Haixi tribes, and then made some other deal with the Jianzhou tribe?
If Hada was not taken away, the Ming Dynasty could still firmly control Jianzhou from Yehe to Huifa and Ula.

But he was the weakest one and could only leave in a daze.

"Come and sit in the front." Zhu Changluo pointed to a nearby seat and returned to the throne.

Nurhaci first pretended to thank him, then sat down with a heavy heart.

"After swallowing the Hada tribe, the more tribes you swallow, the more territory you will have to conquer and settle their people." Zhu Changluo looked into his eyes. "You can't stop. Nalinbulu is right about this, let alone retreat."

Nurhaci could not help but tremble slightly, and his tone was obviously uneasy: "I really have no such intention. Your Majesty knows my obedience. Since Your Majesty has given the order, I will naturally obey it without any complaints."

"I like to be straightforward." Zhu Changluo looked at this person and sighed in his heart, "You can unify the Jurchen tribes. I don't know how many civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty advised that the hidden danger of Jianzhou should be eliminated earlier. As a big country, you have ambitions, so naturally you have to go through many disasters. I can trust the Yehe tribe, but I can't trust you either."

Nurhaci could no longer bear it, so he left his seat and knelt down: "I am innocent, I..."

"No need for that." Zhu Changluo waved his hand. "You came here this time and you are ready to die. I want to praise you for your courage. It's better to be frank with people like you. Ningyuan Hou helped you in the past, but that was just to show his loyalty to the country and control Haixi with Jianzhou. Now that you have established a great situation in Jianzhou, Ningyuan Hou will not hesitate to send troops to Jianzhou again, right?"

Li Chengliang kept looking at Nurhaci.

He still seemed well-behaved, but how would Nurhaci deal with the emperor's current personality?
Over the years, Li Chengliang asked himself again and again, what could he do?
He once hoped to continue to be a local emperor in Liaodong. Like Nurhaci, he had ambitions but could only suppress them.

Because the Ming Dynasty was a huge entity, could Li Chengliang rebel? Did he dare to rebel?
Even though he was once the emperor and the imperial court, he eventually obeyed the court's order and lived in the capital.

The emperor is different now, the court is even more different, and the Ming Dynasty is different every day.

The emperor was honest with him and said that he would not let him return to Liaodong, but he also promoted him to marquis and made him the governor of the Beijing camp.

Later, when the emperor summoned him privately, he said something even more clearly: It is unwise to keep ministers in a place where they need to endure the test of human nature for too long, and ministers who always struggle and suppress themselves when facing the test of human nature are already showing signs of failure.

If it is to be successful, only those who are determined and young have a glimmer of hope.

Li Chengliang felt that Nurhaci was the same now.

Since there was little hope, Li Chengliang was willing to show him cruel mercy: "Of course! If he becomes an enemy of the Ming Dynasty, I will also be guilty!"

Nurhaci's body trembled slightly.

Li Chengliang is old, but so what?
The commander-in-chief of Liaodong was replaced from the cowardly Ma Lin to Ma Gui, who was as famous as Li Chengliang but younger. For whom was that?

Starting six years ago, the governor and inspector of Liaodong were all extraordinary people, capable of both civil and military affairs. Who was it for?
Everyone knew that the Ming Dynasty had strict defenses against Jianzhou.

But after all, he didn't point it out! After all, he was still respectful!

Now the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty directly pointed out the problem, and Nurhaci was speechless and could no longer pretend.

He could only say: "I have the ambition to unify the Jurchen tribes, but I am willing to swear an oath of blood that I will never dare to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. Being able to protect the people of the tribe and let them live and work in peace and contentment is my greatest achievement!"

This time, he spoke sincerely.

With the powerful Ming Dynasty at hand, the Ming emperor and his ministers made it clear that they were wary of Jianzhou. Of course, Nurhaci had no choice but to endure the Jianzhou Jurchens in the following days and the rest of his life.

It is okay to gamble everything on one throw, but didn’t the Ming Emperor clearly say that the Jianzhou tribe was not in danger of survival?
Let's listen to him, anyway, we have to be able to go back first...

"In my opinion, there are only two ways out for the Jurchens."

Nurhaci knelt on the ground and looked up at the emperor.

"The first way out is to finally become a citizen of the Celestial Empire and not have to struggle between self-reliance and destruction."

Nurhaci's eyes were dim, as if he was in despair.

Zhu Changluo watched his acting and continued, "The second way out is to stay away from the Ming Dynasty. This way, we can build a country and truly be friendly with the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal state forever."

Nurhaci's eyes became more lively, and then he asked in a hoarse voice: "How far do you need to go?"

Since he was speaking frankly, he didn't hide it anymore. This was indeed what he wanted to gain through his petitions.

Anyway, the emperor understands it.

Is the only way to run to the place of the Wild Jurchens or the Donghai Jurchens?

But the Emperor of Ming has already revealed his ambition to expand the territory, so wouldn’t we still be neighbors of Ming?
North Korea also borders Liaodong Town. If North Korea can do it, why can't the Jurchens?
"The Ming Dynasty should not only rely on some oath, but also on the strategic pass with beautiful mountains and rivers." Nurhaci's life was in the hands of others, so he could only ask more difficultly: "Can I and my people only retreat to the east of the Xihuote Alin Mountain and north of the Black Water? Your Majesty, can you bear to let only two or three out of ten of my people survive?"

If this were to happen, the Ming Dynasty would be forcing Jianzhou to rebel.

How can that narrow and barren place on the mountainside and the sea support so many tribesmen today?

Zhu Changluo looked at him for a while, then slowly said, "King Gwanghae of Joseon should not have succeeded to the throne, so the Ming Dynasty has not conferred him the title for a long time. Now he has killed his father to succeed to the throne, and the envoy is outside Shanhaiguan. When you arrived at Shanhaiguan, you should have seen the Ming warships, right?"

Nurhaci's pupils contracted and he stared at the emperor closely.

Zhu Changluo said calmly, "The Ming Dynasty aided Korea, and countless soldiers died. It cost more than tens of millions. After helping them to restore their country, the monarch and his ministers did not know how to rest and recuperate, but instead fought for power, was extravagant, and petitioned the emperor for relief every year. I despise such a ruler and his son who have no heart for the people and corrupt moral principles. If you think about the livelihood of the people, I will value you more."

Nurhaci's heart was pounding.

And then I felt even more heartbroken.

Even as respectful as North Korea, is it too close to the Ming Dynasty?

But isn’t there the beautiful Yalu River between Korea and the Ming Dynasty?
Could it be that in the Northeast where even big rivers can freeze, big rivers won’t work, only big mountains are needed?
He was thinking about it in his mind. He had thought about North Korea, but he didn't dare.

If the Ming Dynasty could help Korea fight against the Japanese pirates, why couldn’t it help Korea destroy Jianzhou?
But now the Ming Dynasty is actually planning this... The emperor has changed, and the new emperor hates the father and son of the Joseon king...

No, he just wanted to find an excuse, he still wanted to use Jianzhou as a knife!

"…I am ashamed to thank Your Majesty for your praise. When Your Majesty mentioned Korea, I…implement Your Majesty's instructions. I will never be vague about what Your Majesty wants me to do. Ningyuan Hou knows my loyalty best."

Li Chengliang couldn't help but laugh: Is it because I said I would not hesitate to kill Jianzhou that you said I know your loyalty best?
This guy is just loyal because of the Ming army's strength.

Such things also need to be made clear, do they even need a written document?
"There is no explicit instruction." Zhu Changluo said, "I just heard that Gwanghaegun killed his father to succeed the throne, and Gangwon and Gyeongsang provinces of Korea have rebelled, which will eventually bring disaster to the people. You just heard that I have to focus on Kharachin and Khorchin, so how can I distract from Korea? I hope that Korea will be stable soon. If you want to help me, think about it carefully."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "I have come all the way here, and after talking to you all, I am tired. I will give you a banquet at night. Bring your daughter to me first."

"…I obey your command and I bow to your majesty."

A daughter is a bond, a symbol, and a fragile guarantee for the future.

Is this all he is willing to do?

But since he was going to bring his daughter to be seen by the emperor, the Yehe tribe would of course do the same.

Nurhaci knew that Donggo wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife and had a blood feud with him. How would the emperor deal with her?
With a lot on his mind, Nurhaci left first.

After walking out of the hall, he took a deep breath, then suppressed it and exhaled slowly.

Mandate of Heaven, Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor’s mandate.

He seemed to have the destiny to become the ruler, but this destiny required the permission of the emperor and the blood price paid by the Jianzhou tribe. The Jianzhou tribe also needed to hope that the emperor would keep his promise and not let the Jianzhou tribe become the running dogs to be cooked after the cunning rabbit died for the sake of his daughter.

In the warm room of the hall, Yuan Keli, Li Chengliang and others were still there.

"Your Majesty, even if he dares to do this, he must have a backup plan!" Yuan Keli said decisively.

"It's all the same." Zhu Changluo wiped his face and said casually, "He leaked the news to Li Hui, trying to rely on each other. I just don't care about Korea for now, and the Yehe tribe will enthusiastically help me to wipe out Jianzhou. It's normal to keep a backup plan. As long as he is willing to be this knife, I will naturally reassure him and let him be the knife again. No matter how sharp the blade is, it will eventually become useless if it keeps chopping hard bones. In short, I am younger than him. There are many talented people in the Ming Dynasty, and he can't only rely on people like Gong Zhenglu."

This is Zhu Changluo's adult choice.

Now that the Ming Dynasty's decline has gradually reversed, why should we spend huge costs to get rid of it?
It is better to use your power to suppress him and make good use of him first.

It doesn’t matter what choice Nurhaci makes, because the Ming Dynasty has more choices.

He is a smart man. After the problem is exposed, he can either give the Ming Dynasty an excuse to use military force against him now, or endure and look forward to future changes.

But at least at the moment, Zhu Changluo only gave him two choices: either listen to him or not listen to him.

If you are unwilling to do this dirty work, how dare you talk about loyalty?
Zhongshun is fake? Then Li Chengliang, start!

This was Li Chengliang's best chance to be promoted to Duke. He had to use this final battle to make his old generals completely become part of the Ming war machine that only obeyed the Privy Council, and accomplish this by having them fight bravely and receive rewards from the new emperor.

Of course, it would be best for Nurhaci to do the dirty work.

Zhu Changluo did not need to give Li Chengliang any extra respect, as many of the old generals from Liaodong had been tempered on the battlefield.

The Ming Dynasty could use the two weapons of the Haixi Jurchens and the Jianzhou Jurchens to do more.

Why did Zhu Changluo waste his precious military forces and wealth on destroying the Jurchens, while letting the equally brave and strategic Ligdan Khan in the late Ming Dynasty reap the greatest benefits?
But they were driven westward by Nurhaci!
(End of this chapter)