Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 337: Only the Ming Dynasty can propose conditions
The snow began to fall heavily, after all, it was already mid-November.

On the west side of Hulucao, south of Tashan, Zhang Weixian is riding on a horse.

This time he returned the dragon flag that symbolized the emperor, and also brought back the slightly damaged ceremonial objects of the emperor, and then joined the emperor's guard.

Dayun is here too.

Zhu Changluo sat in a carriage specially designed for long-distance travel. By now he was accustomed to the scenery of the Liaoxi Corridor, so he just read a book in the carriage by a special stove.

Hearing the announcement outside, he stood up and walked out.

As soon as the car door opened, a cold wind blew in my face.

Looking at Zhang Weixian, he laughed: "This is more like our ancestors!"

Zhang Weixian smiled awkwardly: "I was still far from it. I almost died under the Tartar's arrows."

"I'm impressed by your courage to do this." Zhu Changluo walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Get in the car and tell me what happened!"

"I accept the decree!"

Zhu Changluo then looked at Dayun and said, "You don't have to apologize all the time. We were able to get out of the border again, and we were able to stop the little villain Qingbei from escaping until Liu Jing arrived. Who can say that the Xiliang Lord and my Yongwei Battalion are afraid of fighting?"

"…I am ashamed."

"You come too."

Although the carriage was cramped, it was for Zhu Changluo after all, so it could accommodate two more people.

The events of the previous battle were, of course, the subject of conversation along the way.

For Dayun, this is a rare opportunity to personally talk about his concerns and decisions during the process.

For Zhang Weixian, that was naturally just a convenient way to show off his achievements.

Zhu Changluo listened with a smile on his face, which was of course encouragement to them.

Then we talked about the current situation in the east of Jinzhou.

"Now the weapons and armor of the Tartars have been confiscated by Governor Yuan. The Jingying, Yongweiying and Jinzhou Border Army are watching them. Governor Yuan ordered the Yizhou Border Army and Guangning Border Army to escort the food and military supplies to reinforce Ninglubo. Marquis Zhangyong did not stop for a moment and led the Tumed servants to Fushun Pass."

"Honest? A surrendered Tartar."

"Honestly! I have also seen the chieftain who chased me for most of the night. Now he is like a defeated quail. The chieftain is still a child. Now all the important matters are discussed by the young scoundrel."

Zhu Changluo nodded.

In fact, he knew the situation and reported it.

But if you ask them in person, you will find that for them, these details are also something they can commend themselves for.

"I heard that it was sung for them?"

"You'll have to ask Xiliang Bo about that." Zhang Weixian said cheerfully, "I was also surprised when I heard it vaguely that night. Governor Yuan laughed and said, "What a situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides."

Dayun smiled and said, "It was the idea of ​​Marquis Zhangyong."

"He really traveled thousands of miles this time." Zhu Changluo said with emotion, "The left commander of the rear army went all the way to Liaodong, and he also wanted to suppress the Jianzhou Jurchens."

"Marquis Zhangyong has told me more than once that he is lucky to have your Majesty's trust. If it weren't for your Majesty's wisdom, he would probably have stayed in Kaiping and watched over Tumed."

"This is to tell me in advance not to blame him for being greedy for merit." Zhu Changluo laughed dumbly, "I am lucky that you all fought bravely and loyally in this battle."

"I don't deserve it..." Dayun said modestly, "I later learned that the court was worried for a while, and many ministers insisted on withdrawing troops and negotiating peace. If Your Majesty not only did not listen, but also came to Jizhou Town, I'm afraid we would also have many concerns. When I was in the west..."

What Dayun said is true.

This time, the border officials and generals from all sides were able to accomplish this in the end, indeed to a large extent, because they were encouraged by the emperor to suppress public opinion and even lead the army in person.

The emperor was determined to achieve victory in the war, so naturally, merit would not be achieved without any mistakes, but only with achievements.

Zhu Changluo sighed, "I really want to meet that little scoundrel. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty is determined to fight, the various ethnic groups in the northern border have taken the opportunity to rush forward. Now, let's solve this first problem first!"

It was not until November 18 that the imperial carriage finally arrived in Jinzhou.

All the surrendered soldiers of the Khan's court were taken along the way and guarded between Songshan Fort and Jinzhou City, west of Nv'er River.

At this time, the remaining 8,000 Beijing troops were stationed south of Xiaolinghe Post on the east side of Nuerhe River, the Jinzhou defenders were stationed on the Nanshan Mountain at the bend of Nuerhe River south of Jinzhou City, and the Yongwei Camp was stationed in Songshan Fort.

In three directions, the surrendered soldiers of the Khan's court were still surrounding them.

Yuan Keli and Qin Liangyu both came, as well as Tang Guda, who was wearing only a single piece of clothing, kneeling in the snow with his hands tied and shivering.

Li Chengliang was still a hostage in the surrendered soldiers' tent.

Zhu Changluo first praised Yuan Keli, Qin Liangyu and other civil and military officials nearby, and then looked at Tang Guda.

After a long silence, he said, "Nurhaci rebelled, and before I had time to give instructions to the palace, the Empress Dowager was furious and had already dealt with your eighth brother and Mukushi."

Tang Gudai shuddered all over and kowtowed repeatedly: "Now that I think about it, the three of us brothers and sisters are all abandoned! He is unfaithful, unfilial, and unkind. I have decided to sever all ties with him!"

Zhu Changluo looked at him quietly.

When he heard the news from the capital, he was also quite surprised.

I really didn't have time to pay attention to these little things. After all, the war in Liaodong was tense at that time.

To be honest, Nurhaci's eighth son is now a legitimate son. Zhu Changluo brainwashed him, and although he cannot be sure that it was 100% successful, it can be used as a backup plan after all.

Perhaps it turned out that Empress Dowager Li had long been worried about "the Jiannu taking over the country", so she immediately killed the two men without any explanation and asked Donggo to write a letter to persuade Buyanggu.

Now, the problems of the Jurchens and the Tatars are actually the same kind of problems.

What to do with them after defeating them?

The most brutal way is to kill enough of them so that they are terrified to the core and are treated only as slaves.

But history has long proved that this method has too many hidden dangers and cannot last long term.

The best way is always to integrate them, treat them as human beings, and form an inseparable community of interests.

"You were able to go to the Tatar camp with Ningyuan Hou unarmed to reassure them, and you bravely charged into the battle of Tashan before that, which shows your sincerity. Although I cannot say that I treated Jianzhou with great kindness, I was frank and hoped that Jianzhou could follow my wishes and find a long-term way to get along with me. In the end, Nurhaci failed to live up to my expectations and really didn't care about your life or death. Ningyuan Hou can give you this opportunity, why can't I? Get up and put on some warm clothes."

After saying this, he glanced at everyone and said, "Now that I am here, there is no need to go through too much red tape. Announce that the Lord of Khan's Court and the important Tatar officials have come to see me with the letter of surrender!"

The largest government hall in Songshan Fort now naturally became the place where the emperor traveled.

While waiting for Lindan Batur, Dai Qing and others, Yuan Keli first confirmed: "Your Majesty, why don't you wait for Minister Fang, Minister Wang, and General Zhu?"

"No need. It's impossible to reach an agreement quickly. They will only take two or three days."

Since this is a formal peace negotiation between the two countries, representatives from the other one or three courts except the Privy Council must be present.

The Minister of Rites, the Minister of Revenue and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate received the imperial edict and arranged the affairs of the ministries. Although they were able to travel faster because they had a small entourage, they were still a few days slower than Zhu Changluo who set out from Jizhou town.

Moreover, since the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the Lord of the Khanate are both here, they are of course only here to coordinate the subsequent specific matters.

Tian Le and Xing Jie from the Privy Council were both there. The most important issues that needed to be determined between the two sides were the border issues and military arrangements, and the general outline could already be discussed.

After waiting for about half an hour, there was a report.

Zhu Changluo said: "Xizhi, Ningyuan Hou is willing to risk his life, please welcome him on my behalf." "Yes."

The emperor asked them to welcome Li Chengliang, not to show proper respect to the leader of the enemy country.

After entering Songshan Fort, Lindan Batur was nervous and frightened.

When he saw many people coming out to greet him, he was so scared that he stopped at first.

Later, he felt that the Han emperor was treating him with courtesy after all, so he remembered his status as the Khan and tried to straighten his back and prepare for the response.

Who would have thought that they were all greeting the Marquis of the Ming Dynasty who was wearing a thick robe behind them.

Dai Qing silently watched some unfamiliar faces greeting Li Chengliang warmly, and saw Li Chengliang responding to them modestly and respectfully. His gaze then rested on Tian Le and Xing Jie.

He was familiar with Xing Jie, the previous governor of Ji and Liao, and the commander-in-chief of the Ming army's second entry into Korea to drive out the Japanese pirates.

As for Tian Le, since Li Chengliang claimed to be the Privy Councilor, he was the real number one figure in the Ming military.

He was also the core planner of this war.

Tian Le also happened to look at him, and then looked at Lindan Batur: "The peace treaty has not been signed, and the two countries are still at war. Since you are defeated and beg for surrender, you should kneel down and present the letter of surrender, and wait for His Majesty to read it and summon you to an audience."

Lindan Batur's face turned red and his body trembled slightly.

"Foreign minister..."

Dai Qing had just opened his mouth when Tian Le raised his hand and said, "This is a state war to accept surrender and negotiate peace. Etiquette cannot be abolished! Could it be that your previous willingness to respect the Great Ming as the father country is false? If it is the father country, Your Majesty is the father and your lord is the son. It is natural for a son to kneel to his father. Dai Qing Duling, you are begging for surrender on behalf of your lord, which is not in accordance with etiquette."

Lindan Batur clenched his fists, thinking of the struggle that night.

He couldn't bear it at first and wanted to fight to the death to break out.

But Daiqing said to him: We cannot let too many young and strong warriors of Chahar die.

As long as people are alive, the tribe has a future.

If they all died out, who would protect the remaining people who had migrated further north? Would there still be Chahar on the grasslands?
"I, the descendant of Genghis Khan and leader of the Tatars, Hutuktu Khan Borjigin Lindan Batur, was defeated today and I beg His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to allow my request and save the lives of my tribe. Here is the letter of surrender. I am willing to respect the Ming Dynasty as my father country and will never dare to offend the Ming Dynasty's borders from now on!"

Finally, he knelt down feeling extremely humiliated, and took off the golden sword that symbolized his status from his waist and held it in his hand.

Behind him, Dai Qing and several other Chahar leaders also knelt down and sobbed.

This was certainly a day of shame for the Tatar Khanate, but everything was done for the future of the tribe.

Although the young Lindan Batur was a little stubborn and ambitious but lacked talent, he was brave enough to take responsibility and was willing to endure such humiliation.

Tian Le looked at Lindan Batur deeply, and a sentence came to his mind: Only when you know shame can you become brave.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty would not give them the chance to be brave again.

It is not enough to just say that we respect the Ming Dynasty as our father country and never dare to offend its borders again.

Where should the Ming Dynasty's borders be? Will it remain the status quo?

After a while, Liu Ruoyu's voice came from inside: "The Emperor, in accordance with the will of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, has read the letter of surrender and ordered the ruler of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and his ministers to come to the audience to discuss the terms of the peace treaty!"

Tian Le temporarily took on the role of etiquette officer. He first asked Lindan Batur to stand up, and then calmly explained again how to meet the emperor with great ceremony.

There were, of course, standard etiquette for meeting the emperor. His Majesty would kowtow and praise before entering the palace, and after receiving permission, he would still have to perform formalities when seeing the emperor.

Zhu Changluo had previously said that he would not go through all those red tapes because if the peace talks were normal, the important officials of both sides should first discuss the terms of the peace treaty, and in the end the leaders would only attend the final surrender and treaty signing ceremony.

By then, everything that needs to be negotiated will have been negotiated, and the situation will not be so uncomfortable for the surrendering party.

However, at this moment, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty obviously wanted to make them uncomfortable first.

Lindan Batur woodenly followed Tian Le's instructions.

He listened to Dai Qing's story about the Han people, which talked about the story of sleeping on firewood and tasting gall two thousand years ago, and what the king who later succeeded in revenge did to the king of the other country to get the opportunity.

It would be easy to just die, but if all the elite Chahar troops were lost here, the Khanate would no longer exist.

The Ming Dynasty has already accepted the Tumed tribe, which is ruled by women, as a dog. Would the emperor who started this all-out war really be stingy with the lives of so many soldiers?
Only by satisfying his vanity as much as possible can Chahar get a chance to preserve its strength.

Lindan Batur kept performing great salutes until he got closer and closer to Zhu Changluo, and finally heard his voice: "Stand up. We are all citizens, and I respect you enough for you to do this. I allow you to surrender, and this meeting cannot be without etiquette. There is no need to do this when discussing the peace treaty. Move to the warm room and take a seat to discuss."

After Dai Qing stood up, he looked at the Ming Emperor who had already stood up and walked aside.

His steps are steady, his demeanor is calm, and his movements are calm and neat.

The most important thing is that there was no more verbal humiliation, but instead they immediately got down to business.

He wants to talk to the Khan in person?

In a moment, Dai Qing felt something different: the current Ming Dynasty did not seem like the emperor had reused some truly talented and enterprising ministers, and adopted their opinions to do many things.

Zhu Changluo's own demeanor gave him a different feeling, making Dai Qing realize that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is the absolute core of the Ming Dynasty today.

Not only in terms of status, but also in terms of will.

We have to stay in the warm room, not only because it is indeed warmer, but also because it has been arranged in advance.

Four rows of desks and four rows of chairs.

Zhu Changluo sat at the northernmost seat, alone, with Tian Le, Xing Jie, and Yuan Keli in front of him.

The two rows in the south were still like this. Zhu Changluo raised his hand: "Please."

Lindan Batur knew it, and he sat farthest away from him. Between the two of them were their respective important officials.

"Bring the tea." Zhu Changluo ordered, and after sitting down, he spoke, "Let me make the main point clear first. When two countries are at war, surrender can be either conditional or unconditional. The grievances between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty can be traced back to the founding of the Ming Dynasty when Taizu expelled the Mongols. Between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty, I will only accept unconditional surrender."

He paused, looked at Lindan Batur from a distance, and then looked at Dai Qing: "What I mean is that you cannot put forward conditions. The conditions for accepting your surrender should be put forward by the Ming Dynasty. Only if you can accept them, there will be a peace treaty."

Lindan Batur could no longer sit still. He was about to speak when Dai Qing said, "Your Majesty, although we have handed over all our weapons, since you are willing to negotiate, why are you so harsh? The people of Changshengtian are not just the Chahar warriors here."

"Of course it sounds hard to accept, but this is exactly the attitude." Zhu Changluo said calmly, "I attach great importance to the peace treaty, so I have to set the rules. For more than two hundred years, the rules have been set today and violated tomorrow. What is the point of peace talks? You think that the Ming Dynasty is trying to trick you into surrendering or to humiliate you, I don't care. The conditions can only be proposed by the Ming Dynasty. This is the attitude that a loser should have. What the conditions are, we can naturally consider. If I have no intention of peace talks, why would I come here in person?"

Lindan Batur gritted his teeth and asked, "My Khanate is willing to respect the Ming Dynasty as the father country, but I heard that in the Ming Dynasty, the son cannot disobey any order of the father. Does that mean that no matter what conditions the Ming Dynasty puts forward, my Khanate must accept them?"

Zhu Changluo laughed, "He is an unreasonable father. Such a father and son cannot have a deep friendship. Sooner or later, the tragedy of the father being unkind and the son being unfilial will occur. You don't have to worry too much. Although I am strict, I am reasonable. I want to negotiate for the sake of peace, for the long-term peace between the two countries, not to deepen the hatred and make us more wary of each other in the future."

After putting away his smile, he said, "But you must correct your attitude towards unconditional surrender. During the negotiation, the conditions will be proposed by the Ming Dynasty. How the negotiation goes in the end, you can truthfully state your difficulties, and I and my officials will consider whether you can make some concessions."

Dai Qing lowered his head: On the surface it's about attitude, but in fact it's about controlling the situation.

The key point is that the emperor actually said clearly that he didn't care about the reputation of tricking them into disarming and then killing them... Would an emperor who is so pragmatic really give in so much?

He stood up again and turned to Lindan Batur: "Great Khan, please listen to the conditions of the Ming Dynasty first."

Then he stood and looked at Zhu Changluo: "Your Majesty, if we cannot accept it, how will you deal with us?"

Zhu Changluo did not answer this question at all, but just laughed: "In my eyes, there is no condition that cannot be negotiated, and you will definitely be able to accept it. If I just want to force you to bow your heads, how can I bring lasting peace between the two countries?"

Dai Qing was surprised again.

Zhu Changluo pointed to the seat and then ordered: "Xizhi, let's start."

(End of this chapter)