Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 318: Giving Birth to a Future

Xing Jie was also stunned, and after a while he sighed, "This is a brilliant plan. In this way, Jiangnan doesn't have to worry. On the contrary, if someone other than the border troops secretly communicates with the enemy by sea or other means, this maze will be spread far away."

Li Chengliang has not appeared in the capital for a long time, so there must be many people paying attention to this matter.

But if we say that the emperor had already laid this secret plan during the war and let him go south, this is really reasonable.

If the reinforcements sent by Nurhaci arrived before Li Chengliang, would there be any worry that Li Chengliang would not be able to suppress them?
The most important thing is... Xing Jie looked at Tian Le: "Xizhi wants to induce Jianzhou and Korea to rebel and attack Ming?"

"Then he has a legitimate reason to do so." Tian Le looked at the emperor. "The situation in the northern border has suddenly changed. Although Jianzhou has been suppressed for a while, Nurhaci will never be willing to be controlled by the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty wants to use him, but he must be willing. It would be fine if the battle against the Tatars was a clean one, but now that the strategy has changed due to the situation, I am afraid Nurhaci will not want to miss the opportunity. Now he has sent people to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty, which shows that he is no longer focused on managing the eastern part of Korea."

Zhu Changluo frowned, "The key is, from Jiuliancheng, Kuandian Liubao to Fushunguan, and Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Office, how can we prevent them from taking risks?"

There's a feeling that the battle line is continuing to expand, which is a bit dangerous.

"The key points are only in Kuandian Liubao and Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Mansion." Tian Le said, "The Jianzhou soldiers are only good at field battles, not siege cities. There are many border residents in Kuandian Liubao, so it is not convenient to evacuate to the fort first. Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Mansion has no border wall for protection. Apart from these two places, there is the Yalu River in the southeast of Liaodong and the border wall in the east, so there is no need to worry too much."

"Unless we can end the war with the Tatars this year, we won't have to fight with them next year or the year after next." Zhu Changluo looked at Tian Le, "It's better to stabilize Jianzhou first."

"If he still thinks this is a good opportunity, then we should weaken some of his troops. If he is still afraid of the Ming Dynasty, then he will naturally not be at an advantage. But I think that in the current situation, if he has already made a lot of gains in Korea, he will probably still let Korea cede land to negotiate peace, and then tell them the truth, hoping to use Korea as a vanguard. As originally agreed, first ravage Korea, and then be driven to the west by the Ming Dynasty, so that Korea will be afraid and then ask the ministers to submit to the country, I also think it is not easy."

"…Is it because I took it for granted?"

"I dare not. The situation has simply changed. If the Ming Dynasty had swept the Tatars with thunder and lightning, Jianzhou would have been intimidated. Now that the Khan's army is approaching Beijing, and the Ming army has been unable to repel the enemy for a long time, he will naturally think of new and old grudges. He has been managing the Hetuala area for many years, and the land of the Three Tribes is the Jurchen homeland. How could he be willing to retreat further east?"

After all, both of them judged that Nurhaci would change his mind under the current situation.

Then the next discussion will be to deploy the defense more carefully.

The narrow sea route between Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou was designed to buy time to retain the Khan's army in exchange for a tactical defeat, but the Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government and Kuandian Liubao could not make any unusual moves and had to withstand the possible first wave of attacks from Jianzhou or Korea.

After much discussion, the best option was to continue to send reinforcements and let Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, who hoped to make a contribution, lead another 10,000 troops from Beijing out of Shanhaiguan.

That was done for show to some people. The 10,000 troops from Beijing that had already arrived in Liaodong went east by sea first. Li Chengliang was just waiting to lead the 10,000 troops from Beijing brought by Zhang Weixian.

At the same time, the Tianshu Camp was completely withdrawn, half of them stayed in Kuandian Liubao, and the other half stayed in Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government. Their main task was to detect movements and delay time if the mobilization was not timely.

Against this background, good news finally came from the northwest, and Tumed was willing to seize this opportunity.

But the method they suggested was that they go to "assist" the Khan's court. To be honest, the monarch and his ministers could not completely rule out the possibility that they had made two plans: at the critical moment, they would help whoever won.

Therefore, the battle against the Tatar Khanate could not be lost.

……

Shen Yikuan met Cheng Jing again. He smiled bitterly and Cheng Jing smiled meaningfully.

"Chief Shen, please."

"...Eunuch Cheng, why don't you let this old minister enjoy his remaining years in peace?"

"You are joking, Your Majesty, you trust me."

"..." Shen Yikuan looked up at the original Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City in Nanjing.

The first thing is to meet with the kings. Of course, the etiquette is necessary, but this arrangement is intriguing.

He thought of the discussion in the garrison hall just now, and felt even more strange.

"King Shu, King Chu, King Su... do you dare to believe it?"

"God's grace is so great, why don't you believe it?"

Shen Yiquan shook his head, too lazy to comment.

Forget it, just complete the task.

As a result, Cheng Jing said, "Taifu, if you tell them the clan's arrangements honestly, they will naturally believe it."

Shen Yi Guan's expression froze.

The former Prime Minister of the Cabinet, the retired Taifu, the current Chief of Staff of the Privy Council in Nanjing, Shen Yikuan, and the eunuch Cheng Jing, the garrison eunuch of Nanjing, came to visit together. Naturally, the trembling kings were nervous about the reception.

Finally, it was heard that the King of Shu, the King of Chu, and the King of Su were invited together to the corridor of the Fengtian Gate of the Forbidden City in Nanjing.

The current Shu King Zhu Xuanqi is old. How many years have passed since he was conferred the title of Crown Prince in the 37th year of Jiajing and managed the government affairs? Shen Yiguan also invited his eldest son Zhu Fengquan.

The Su prince was younger, and this line had always been a vassal in Lanzhou, known as the poorest vassal. The current Chu prince Zhu Huazeng was granted the title of Chu prince after the Chu clan case a few years ago.

Now the three princes and one of their sons are still afraid.

What time is now?
I haven’t been out recently!
Shen Yikuan said something shocking: "Today, I am here to ask the Three Feudatories on behalf of Your Majesty. After the court recovers Kaiping, Daning, Liaohetao and other places, three military and civil governments will be set up. These three military and civil governments are very special. There are many foreigners, few people, and few fields are cultivated carefully. In addition to appointing officials and setting up temporary military governors for defense, the most difficult problem for the court is to naturalize the barbarians and encourage the people to defend the border. For this reason, Your Majesty wants to select the Three Feudatories first. This is a training. If it is effective, they will be the first choice for the actual vassal states in the future."

"…A real feudal state?"

"The places we want to recover now are too close to the capital, so they are not suitable. However, the vassal states have been content with their wealth and status for a long time. If we establish a vassal state in the future, how will we manage the national affairs? How will we win over the local people?" Shen Yikuan smiled, "So we need experience. Your Majesty thinks that the royal family members should marry with them and have their own team of officials. Although we cannot gain experience in military affairs, we must be able to manage the economy and people's livelihood, otherwise how can we govern the vassal state in the future."

The King of Shu was old, and his hair stood on end.

When his father passed away, he served as the crown prince and temporarily took care of the affairs of the palace during the period of mourning. He donated a lot of gold and silver to help Emperor Sejong rebuild the three main halls, which earned him the title of king in a straightforward manner.

Why does it sound like a trap now? "Ministers? All officials in the palace have been arranged separately..."

"There are so many talented people in Jiangnan, you can make some friends with them."

The King of Shu shook his head again and again: "We are so blessed by your majesty that we can live in Nanjing. We are already overjoyed!"

Shen Yi Guan sighed in his heart: "My three princes, I am telling the truth. Your Majesty really intends to do so."

"Since it is for the purpose of strengthening the border, my Su vassal state has few people." Su Wang Zhu Shenyao was much calmer. He looked at Shen Yikuan and asked, "Why did the Grand Tutor ask me to come and discuss this?"

"The prince has been guarding the border for eight generations and has rarely disturbed or harmed the people. Your Majesty, this is a reward for his meritorious service." Shen Yikuan looked at him.

Zhu Huazeng didn't dare to speak.

But it sounded like the emperor was asking him, the King of Chu, to repay his kindness? Was he asking him to take so many people from the Chu vassal state to the bitter cold of Liaodong, to intermarry with the Tartars and Jurchen barbarians and have children, so that they would all gradually become Han people?

It's called training... but in fact it's to let them slowly become the people over there, right?
The King of Shu hesitated: Let them make friends with "Jiangnan talents"? It sounds like it's not just to bring some Jiangnan people to the border, but more like to see what other rebels there are in Jiangnan.

He had seen clearly that they were acting "in compliance with imperial orders". However, in the eyes of some people who did not know the truth, it was certainly a sign that some vassal kings were ready to make a move.

Now that there are princes taking the lead, there will certainly be brave people.

If things go wrong, he might become a rebel king!

Shen Yi Guan looked at them with a lot of concerns, and looked at Cheng Jing helplessly, but Cheng Jing just smiled silently and asked him to perform.

"...You three princes may not know that His Majesty also gave me other instructions when I retired and returned to my hometown..."

No matter what, we have to make them believe that the emperor is not trying to trick them, but is really prepared to make good use of them and find a way out for them.

Of course I felt like a prisoner in Nanjing, even though the cell door was not locked.

It is certainly more comfortable to stay in the wealthy Ming Dynasty. Going to this Military and Civilian Government seems to have no real power either. Instead, it is a bitter and cold place.

But this is just the beginning.

Shen Yikuan had already seen the opportunity, so he worked hard to tell them about his arrangements for the clan, his son who was the supervisor of the Guangdong Maritime Customs, and his original business arrangements among the so-called Zhejiang Party.

"Indeed, I follow the emperor's will and set my sights on Southeast Asia, which is not the same as the three princes' northward direction. But you still know Changming and Zongming, right? It's called training, but the border troops of the Military and Civilian Office may become your guards in the future. If you win over the foreign tribes, they may support you to replace other foreign tribes in the future. The actual territory that the Ming Dynasty can manage with care will not be too large. Your Majesty wants to restore the scene of the various vassal states as a shield during the time of Taizu, and these vassal states are actually granted titles and established as states."

He looked meaningfully at the three selected representatives.

The Shu King's lineage is the richest, and the Su King's lineage is the poorest, and the emperor helped them all. As for the Chu King, I won't say anything, he should repay the favor.

They were all kings conferred by Taizu, and the symbolic significance of this first batch is very important.

What made Shen Yiquan speechless was that the emperor clearly stated in the secret letter: As for these foreign races, they are very supportive of intermarriage.

But should I agree to their request and take all their daughters into my harem?

The Zhu family’s vassal kings have sufficient qualifications, so let them help digest it.

Shen Yikuan knew about the rumors in Jiangnan that were unfavorable to the war in the northern border, but look: the emperor was already thinking about how to "give birth" to a stable northern border in the future.

With the benefits of cross-border trade as a bond, and marriage as a method to form a common clan, what will the northern people talk about in the future?
The emperor did not seem to take the royal family's concerns seriously: If possible, why not marry a good Han woman from a good family in the Ming Dynasty!
Now, Zhu Fengquan, the son of King Shu, looked embarrassed.

Will I have to live in a tent in the cold north in the future, hugging a crude and barbaric Tartar woman?

He looked at his father: Just stay in Nanjing, Nanjing is a great place!
It doesn’t matter if you don’t become the King of Shu, as long as the emperor still pays out profits to Changminghao and Zongminghao!

(End of this chapter)