Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 490: Temple Calculation (Part )

Zhu Changluo ordered Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian to strengthen the defense of Zhenjiang City, and to build fortifications in Zhenjiang and nearby islands to store food and fodder. In addition to preparing for a counterattack plan based on "holding Liaoshen, guarding Korea, and driving out Mongolia", he was also preparing for the possible fall of Liaoshen.

Zhu Changluo judged that the armed rebellion group headed by Nurhaci, although known as the "Jin Kingdom", was essentially just a highly militarized slave-owning barbarian tribe group.

Nurhaci, the chieftain of slavery, was the largest slave owner in this slave-owning barbarian tribe. The eight banner masters under his command were eight high-ranking slave owners, bound by blood ties. The officers under these banner masters, no matter how well-designed their titles, were essentially minor slave owners under the major slave owners. Below these minor slave owners were the ordinary bannermen, who had few or no slaves. Below the citizen militia were the slave vassal armies and production units.

Citizen soldiers could be promoted to small slave owners at various levels through military merit, but if a small slave owner wanted to become a large slave owner like a flag owner, he had to rely on marriage to establish a blood relationship with a large slave owner or even a slave chief. Although this method of gaining and maintaining loyalty was very primitive, it was indeed very effective.

The militarization rate of this armed rebellion group headed by Nurhaci was extremely high, so high that it could be called abnormal. And it must be admitted that this group's combat effectiveness was quite good.

With the current strength of the Ming army, while they could rely on some elite cavalry to achieve decent results in localized skirmishes, it would be difficult to effectively annihilate this group. A large-scale frontal battle would likely lead to another disastrous defeat.

However, everything has its price. The price of a high militarization rate is a severe lack of productivity. This was true for both the Ming Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty wanted to follow Xiong Tingbi's plan and maintain an active force of more than 100,000 troops in Liaodong to support the defense line centered on Shenyang and supported by Liaoyang, which required "transferring half of the world's military pay."

It was impossible for Nurhaci to maintain nearly 100,000 highly skilled soldiers out of thin air. Relying on the resources of the "Jin Kingdom" was simply not enough to feed so many citizen soldiers and ensure their combat effectiveness.

In other words, Nurhaci's group was never self-sufficient and had to rely on constant plunder to make up the gap between production and consumption. If this gap could not be made up through plunder, this slave-owning barbarian group would either collapse on its own or reduce its militarization and mobilization rates to a relatively low level to maintain itself. There was no third way.

The process of Nurhaci gradually annexing other Jurchen tribes was not only a process of expanding power, but also a process of maintaining its own stability by relying on plunder.

After defeating the other Jurchen tribes, Nurhaci did not choose to reduce the Jurchens outside Jianzhou to slavery. Instead, he disbanded the elite of each tribe and incorporated them into the Eight Banners, allowing them to continue to enjoy the treatment of citizen militia and small slave owners. This did increase the combat effectiveness of this barbarian group, but it also correspondingly increased the pressure to maintain its internal stability.

To avoid being crushed by the mounting internal pressure, Nurhaci would inevitably launch continuous external attacks in the hope of obtaining additional resources to maintain his stability. In other words, Nurhaci would launch wars in the seasons suitable for war and would not hesitate to advance just because Xiong Tingbi remained in office.

For the Jin, it was a matter of fight or death, not a question of whether Nurhaci had any personal ambition or strategy. He had been swept up in his own choices, and there was only one path to follow.

Correspondingly, the best way for the Ming Dynasty to eliminate this group was not to hastily launch a decisive battle like the Battle of Sarhu when it was at its peak. Instead, it was to suffocate it to death first and then kick it into the garbage dump of history.

Specifically, it means combining villages and forts, shrinking the defense line, sending elite troops for dynamic defense when the enemy launches small-scale looting, defending the city when the enemy launches large-scale attacks, and actively harassing and destroying the enemy's production capacity when the enemy does not attack.

As long as the group's overall benefits can be made far less than the sum of its plundering costs and natural consumption, then the group will collapse on its own or change its form. At that time, we can launch a decisive counterattack and sweep away the enemy.

Because of the bloody gap in field combat strength and historical facts, Zhu Changluo had no idea whether Xiong Tingbi could defend Shenyang and Liaoyang during the spring and summer offensives that Nurhaci was bound to launch.

It would be best if we could hold on, but even if Liaoshen is lost and the whole of Liaoning falls, there is still room for a reversal of the situation.

The specific policy is a three-party arrangement with defense as the core and consumption harassment as the auxiliary.

The first tripartite arrangement was based on the tripartite arrangement proposed by Xiong Tingbi during the Tianqi period. Zhu Changluo also called it the small tripartite arrangement.

The Small Three-Way Plan centered on Guangning, with Tianjin and Denglai as support. During the Tianqi reign, Xiong Tingbi, who had traveled to Liaodong twice, proposed that the primary purpose of the Three-Way Plan was to quickly recover Liaodong. Zhu Changluo's Three-Way Plan, however, temporarily abandoned the recovery of Liaodong and prioritized the defense of Guangning. In short, Zhu Changluo believed Guangning must be lost, while Liaodong could be spared.

To the south of Guangning lay Shanhaiguan, and to the west lay the Left Wing of Mongolia. As long as Guangning held, Nurhaci could not advance further south. By concentrating the Ming army in Guangning and temporarily shelving the plan to recover Liao, the width of the Ming army's defenses and the length of its supply routes could be reduced.

With the fall of Kaiyuan and Tieling, there were no viable support points north of Shenyang. The 200-li arc of defense from northwest Shenyang to northeast Liaoyang was riddled with holes. To fill this arc, over 100,000 defenders were needed to hold each city and fort, with tens of thousands of elite cavalry providing a mobile force. This was the only way to avoid a situation similar to the Chongzhen reign, when Huang Taiji broke into the Yanshan Mountains and plundered the North China Plain. Otherwise, the Liaodong region would become a drain on the Ming and a drain on the Jin.

On the contrary, if they gave up holding this long line of defense and shifted the resources invested in the entire Liaodong to Guangning, and sent a loyal and brave civil servant and several loyal and brave generals who were good at defense to guard it, they could build a giant fortress that Nurhaci would never be able to break through.

Adhering to the strategic principle of "saving the people but losing the territory, both the people and the territory will be saved; saving the territory but losing the people, both the people and the territory will be lost," Zhu Changluo had already sent a secret decree to Xiong Tingbi earlier this month, authorizing him to proactively implement a scorched earth policy if Liaoshen was deemed undefendable. This meant rapidly shrinking the defense line, withdrawing the remaining military forces to Guangning while burning strategic reserves, especially food reserves, in all towns and fortresses along the way. Zhu Changluo was prepared to cede the entire Liaodong region, a liability, to Nurhaci.

After that, Nurhaci would either fight Guangning to death, or plunder Mongolia to the west or Korea to the east to maintain his internal balance.

Once this stage is reached, the second three-party arrangement, or the large three-party arrangement, will begin to take effect.

The Greater Three-Pronged Arrangement relied on the Small Three-Pronged Arrangement, but its core lay not along the Guangning to Shanhaiguan line but rather at the strategic passes of Jizhen and Xuanda in Shanxi, as well as the soon-to-be-guarded Joseon, or the Zhenjiang-Uiju defensive line. Guangning would serve as the mobile core, enabling attacks on Jin-occupied areas should Nurhaci make a move.

In the grand three-way arrangement, Jizhen, Shanxi, and Xuanda would serve as a barrier between the capital and the North China Plain and be fortified. As long as the Jin troops could not invade the North China Plain and launch large-scale plundering, this faction would have accomplished its mission. However, if the Jin troops attempted to penetrate Mongol territory to attack this barrier, or attempted to maintain stability by plundering the Mongols, Nurhaci would be attacked from Guangning and Korea. Conversely, if Nurhaci attempted to maintain stability by plundering Korea, he would also be attacked from the line between Guangning and Shanhaiguan.

At that time, the Liaodong Plain, a place with many leaks and requiring defense everywhere, will become a battleground that consumes Nurhaci's vitality.

Liaozhen, Jizhen, Tianjin, Guangning, Zhenjiang. In order to realize these two pessimistic arrangements based on the fall of Liaoshen, Zhu Changluo has made many arrangements.

But this plan was far too pessimistic, enough to drive people into despair. Therefore, Zhu Changluo never told anyone. To avoid detection, every arrangement was shrouded in a layer of mystery that seemed both grandiose and practical. For example, the strategy of fortifying Zhenjiang and using it as a base for monitoring Korea had practical implications, regardless of whether Liaoshen could be held.

Zhu Changluo suddenly felt lonely and exhausted. He thought, perhaps only Xiong Tingbi, who had recently received the secret decree, could be a kindred spirit. He wished Old Xiong were still alive.

Zhu Changluo calmed himself down and continued to wave his baton on the map, arranging the inevitable strategy to attack Korea.

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"That's all for now." Near noon, Zhu Changluo tossed the ivory baton into Wang An's hand. "Keep it. You never know when you'll need it."

"Hiss!" Wang An was startled by the emperor's action and broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Wang An's attention was focused on the emperor, and his movements were quite agile, so he didn't let the baton fall to the ground.

"If it's a secret, I won't say any more. You all know it in your hearts." Zhu Changluo returned to the platform and sat down on the armrest of the throne. He gestured to Zhu Youxiao and said, "You and Luo Sigong stay. The others can go to the Guanglu Temple for lunch."

The emperor's voice was a little hoarse, and he sounded very tired. Everyone thought it was due to the emperor's exhaustion, the long hours and the torment caused by the rumors and slanders in the capital.

Prime Minister Fang Congzhe was very considerate of his emperor and father. He knelt, but his words were not a farewell. "The safety of the nine provinces and the well-being of the subjects, both Chinese and foreign, rest on the shoulders of the emperor alone. I beg the emperor to take care of himself!"

"I hope the emperor takes care of himself!" The others knelt down.

Zhu Youxiao also knelt down and said the first words after entering the main hall in a voice with a hint of sob: "I hope your father takes care of himself!" Zhu Youxiao was afraid that his father would faint again from excitement.

"What are you doing?" Zhu Changluo gave a wry smile and nodded slightly, "I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll just take a nap. Go ahead."

Fang Congzhe kowtowed to the emperor again. "I'll take my leave."

"I'll take my leave." The five ministers, four civil officials and one military official, kowtowed and slowly withdrew before the emperor. Luo Sigong, still feeling a renewed and growing anxiety, knelt on the ground.

Zhu Changluo quietly looked at the backs of Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong. He muttered to himself, "Some things are really hard to say in front of them."

"." As soon as these words came out, Luo Sigong's breath stagnated, and Wang An also became nervous. Up to now, the emperor had only scolded him twice and had not really punished him.

"General Wei." When the last figure was completely hidden in the screen wall, Zhu Changluo slowly withdrew his gaze.

"I'm here." Luo Sigong kowtowed to the emperor again.

"Get up." Zhu Changluo looked at Wang An. "Go and pour me a glass of water."

"Yes." There were no eunuchs or palace maids in the main hall to serve tea and snacks, so Wang An could only go to the kitchen.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Luo Sigong also stood up.

Without waiting for Wang An to leave, Zhu Changluo continued to say to Luo Sigong, "I want you to send more people to keep a close eye on the people attending today's meeting, as well as their families and servants, until Shen Yourong's troops board the ship and set sail!"

"Yes!" Luo Sigong breathed a sigh of relief, and this answer had to be particularly forceful. It turned out that the emperor didn't keep him here to have another attack.

"Also, send someone to keep an eye on the Korean Pavilion and record all the comings and goings of the envoys inside and outside the pavilion. No matter how big or small, report it on the same day." Zhu Changluo continued to give orders.

"Or should we report it to the Imperial Household Department?" Luo Sigong asked in a low voice as he listened to Wang An's footsteps going away.

"Of course, report it to the Imperial Household Department." Zhu Changluo's eyes moved slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Yes." Luo Sigong glanced at the emperor secretly, trying to observe the changes in his expression. However, when he looked over, the emperor had put away all his expressions and returned to his tired state.

"The third matter is an external mission." Zhu Changluo fell silent for a moment. Only when Wang An approached, carrying a tray containing a pot and three cups, did he continue, "I want you to establish a Jinyiwei external mission of a thousand households in Seoul, directly under the command of the Command Headquarters, at the same time as the surveillance operation begins. Also, establish external missions of a hundred households in major cities throughout Korea. Funding for each mission will come from the imperial court and be approved by the Command Headquarters. You are not allowed to ask for reimbursement from local authorities."

"The Hundred Households Division is under the jurisdiction of the Thousand Households Division, but if the situation is truly urgent, you can also report it to the court."

"In principle, the Jinyiwei are only responsible for intelligence gathering. Unless ordered by the imperial court, they are not allowed to directly interfere in local political and military affairs, and they are not allowed to abuse local people in the name of angels."

After saying this, Zhu Changluo turned to look at Zhu Youxiao. "Zhu Youxiao, what do you think will be the first mission I assign to the Jinyiwei?"

(End of this chapter)