Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 99 The Pillar of the Ming Dynasty (Bonus 5K chapter for Alliance Leader Little Flying Carpet!)
Even though Sun Chengzong had passed two tests in Zhu Youjian's heart.

Zhu Youjian still had not made a final decision.

The ruler faces the subject, and the subject also faces the ruler.

This final question requires a careful assessment of the abilities of both the ruler and his ministers.

He gestured for Gao Shiming to hand him a copy of the newspaper, and said calmly:
"There's some news that Master Sun is living in seclusion in Gaoyang, and he may not yet know about it."

Sun Chengzong bowed and accepted it, but his heart tightened.

The Emperor's questions today are increasingly sharp; what will this third question be about?
Zhu Youjian's voice continued, completely calm.

"An urgent report has arrived from Jizhou: Hudun Tuhan of the Chahar tribe has recently raised an army, claiming to have 100,000 archers, and is currently heading west towards Haraqin."

Zhu Youjian's gaze fell on Sun Chengzong's weathered face, and he slowly asked:

"The conflict between the Tiger Chieftain and the Ha tribe appears to be an internal strife on the grasslands. In Master Sun's opinion, what stance should our Great Ming Dynasty take?"

Before he finished speaking, Sun Chengzong's expression, which had remained calm and composed since entering the hall, changed for the first time.

He snatched the newspaper, unfolded it quickly, and scanned it with lightning speed, reading ten lines at a glance.

The more you look at him, the more his thick eyebrows furrow, until they are almost shaped like the Chinese character "川" (river).

"The various tribes of the Haraqin have always been docile and respectful to our Great Ming. But the Hudun Tuhan are unruly and ambitious."

Sun Chengzong raised his head, his voice unconsciously becoming heavy, "If the various tribes of the Haraqin are truly annexed by them, then there will never be a peaceful day outside the border walls of our Great Ming's Jizhou!"

As a former military governor of Jiliao, he knew all too well what this meant.

This means that the Ming Dynasty's strategic buffer on the grasslands will lose another important link.

However, Zhu Youjian seemed unsurprised by the answer, and simply added insult to injury with an almost cold tone.

"Tiger Chief is an arrogant man."

He often said, "In the Southern Dynasties there was only one great Ming emperor, and in the North there is only me. How can I claim to be king everywhere? I should first govern the interior and then the exterior."

"Does Master Sun really think that his western expedition was only for a small matter like Haraqin?"

Zhu Youjian stood up and slowly paced around.

The sun was gradually setting in the west, and his young figure cast a long shadow in the empty hall.

"I don't think so."

"If they win a victory, they will surely advance another inch westward."

"I'm afraid that with his ambition, he wants to become the second Genghis Khan, first unifying the Mongol tribes, and then turning around to join forces with our Great Ming and the slave chieftains of Liaodong to form a tripartite balance of power on the chessboard of the world."

"At that time, the land to the north will be entirely under the control of the Tiger Chieftain, and Liaodong to the east will be under the watchful eyes of the Jurchens... Master Sun, what do you think the situation will be like then?"

Zhu Youjian's words struck Sun Chengzong's heart like a heavy hammer.

He was startled by this unexpected and wild idea, and his heart skipped a beat.

The Later Jin, which was entrenched in Liaodong, had already caused the Ming Dynasty a great deal of trouble.

If another Mongol Khan were to emerge in the north and unify the grasslands...

How badly will the Ming Dynasty's border defenses deteriorate?

Zhu Youjian, however, seemed to think that wasn't enough, and in a tone full of expectation, he put forward a seemingly whimsical suggestion.

"At that time, could we use the pretext of paying tribute to restrain this person, offer him great benefits, and make him an ally of our Great Ming, focusing on heading east and helping us conquer the slave chieftain?"

This question, like a spark, instantly ignited the powder keg in the heart of Sun Chengzong, a veteran general on the battlefield.

"Absolutely not!"

A loud shout resounded in the hall, startling even Gao Shiming.

Zhu Youjian was also startled by the sudden loud voice and stopped in his tracks.

He began to wonder if Master Sun was old and hard of hearing, so he didn't know how loud he was speaking.

Sun Chengzong's face flushed red, and he was so agitated that he forgot all about decorum before the emperor, speaking hastily:
"Your Majesty! The key to the matter of tribute relations lies not in the amount of profit gained, but in the shift in the balance of power!"

"The reason why our Great Ming Dynasty was able to subdue the various tribes with a mere annual tribute is because the soldiers of the Nine Borders fought bravely back then, making them tremble with fear and submit to us!"

"If that tiger chieftain were to truly unify Mongolia, then the balance of power among us would suddenly become unbalanced!"

"At that time, it will not be our Great Ming paying tribute to him, but rather he besieging our city and demanding annual tribute from our Great Ming! How can we still expect him to serve us and send troops eastward?"

Sun Chengzong stepped forward, his eyes wide open, and his beard bristling.

"I fear that when that time comes, from Gansu in the west to Liaodong in the east, our Great Ming's nine border regions, stretching for thousands of miles, will be engulfed in flames and fires!"

This matter was far more fatal than the so-called Dongjiang incident, and it seriously violated his bottom line.

In their haste and confusion, they even ignored the new emperor's previous behavior and took the decision as the emperor's true intention.

There was nothing he could do; of the three questions he was asked today, none were what Sun Chengzong had anticipated!

He's already starting to lose his composure!

Zhu Youjian, however, showed no sign of anxiety. Instead, he turned around with a smile and gently reminded him:
"Master Sun, please calm down. I was merely suggesting a possibility."

He paused, looked at the indignant Sun Chengzong, and said slowly:

"Does Master Sun think that the only possibility for the situation in the north is that Tiger Chieftain will unify Mongolia?"

"...Isn't there any other variables?"

Sun Chengzong was speechless for a moment.

Finally, they woke up from the trap set by the emperor.

Other variables?

He stood there, stunned, his brows furrowed.

Given the situation with the northern barbarians, who else could it be but Tiger Chieftain? The Mongol tribes are a disorganized mess, each fighting its own battles; who has the capability and ambition to achieve this?

It can’t be...

It can’t be...

Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck his mind!
Sun Chengzong suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief, his lips trembling slightly, staring at the young emperor with wide-eyed astonishment.

"Your Majesty...the variable Your Majesty spoke of...could it be...could it be the slave chieftain?!"

Zhu Youjian smiled.

He smiled with great satisfaction.

This question asks about the strategic picture that transcends the gains and losses of a single city or region.

Although Sun Chengzong was temporarily limited by his thinking, he ultimately possessed a strategic vision that spanned thousands of miles.

But—that's far from enough.

"good."

Zhu Youjian's voice became steady again. Looking at Sun Chengzong's eyes, which were filled with shock, a sense of pleasure suddenly welled up in his heart, as if he were "showing off and slapping the face" in front of a legendary figure from his previous life.

—Get out of the way, I'm about to show off!

Zhu Youjian silently let out a wicked groan in his heart before continuing:
"I predict that the Tiger Chieftain will undoubtedly fail in this western expedition."

"And the one who will ultimately defeat him, annex his people, and clean up the mess left by the Mongols will not be the Western tribes, but rather the one you are most worried about, Master Sun—the slave chieftain Huang Taiji."

Zhu Youjian stood with his hands behind his back and began his final remarks in this ultimate interview. "The first defeat of the Tiger Chieftain lies in his own character."

"This man is fierce in appearance but cowardly in reality, fond of scheming but indecisive. He is afraid to risk his life for great things, but will risk his life for small gains. He is no hero!"

Zhu Youjian almost copied this sentence verbatim from Romance of the Three Kingdoms because he felt that there was no more accurate evaluation than this.

"In its previous campaign against the Khorchin, upon seeing the arrival of the Khorchin chieftain's reinforcements, it did not fire a single arrow and fled at the mere sight of them."

"After seeing that the Inner Khalkha tribe, which was also part of the left wing of Mongolia, had been defeated, he did not go to their aid. Instead, he took advantage of their misfortune and plundered their entire tribe."

"How can such faithless, unrighteous, immoral, and cowardly people win the sincere submission of those unruly eagles on the grasslands?"

"Why did the Naiman and Aohan tribes under his command turn around and surrender to the slave chieftain? That is clear proof!"

Sun Chengzong couldn't help but nod slightly as he listened.

Hu Dun Tu Han's character was no secret among the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty.

The highlight of the emperor's words was not the evaluation itself, but that he knew every detail of Hu Dun Tu Han's past as if it were his own.

This keen understanding of the enemy's situation is hardly what one would expect from a young emperor who has long lived in the inner palace.

Sun Chengzong couldn't help but wonder: How much of his talent has this new emperor been hiding in the Prince Xin's mansion over the past few years?

Did Wei Zhongxian really exert so much pressure on this new emperor who had been pressuring him in the past?

Zhu Youjian didn't give him much time to think, and continued pacing before speaking, throwing out his second point.

"The second defeat of the Tiger Chieftain was due to his religion."

"The nomadic peoples are simple-minded and often very devout in their religious beliefs."

"After Altan Khan, most of the Mongol tribes believed in the Yellow Sect."

"But now, this Hudun Tuhan has converted to the Red Sect and is trying to use the power of religion to recreate the great achievements of Anda Khan in unifying the tribes."

Zhu Youjian's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Religion is something that adds to the beauty of life, not something that provides help in times of need."

"Anda Khan first unified the tribes with his scimitar, and then consolidated the people's hearts with the Yellow Sect."

"Now the Tiger Chief is acting perversely. He wants to establish a separate power before his foundation is stable. This is like adding oil to a raging fire. It will only force those tribes that believe in the Yellow Sect to become disloyal to him and rise up in rebellion!"

He thought to himself, "The Eternal Heaven is the Eternal Heaven, and the Yellow Sect is the Yellow Sect."

You're such a fool, you really are idiot. You don't even understand why the Yellow Sect was able to replace the Eternal Heaven belief, yet you're playing the religious victory card here?
Absolutely hilarious!
Sun Chengzong involuntarily straightened his back.

Religious matters were never a mainstream topic among civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty.

He himself only understood the differences between them after he had traveled to the border regions and had contact with various herders when he was studying in Datong in his early years.

This new ruler is surprisingly well-informed about this!

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp.

"The Tiger Chieftain's three defeats lay in the Slave Chieftain's keen insight!"

“Master Sun, imagine that when the slave chieftain Huang Taiji ascended the throne, the country was in a state of utter decline, and a bushel of rice cost ten gold coins.”

"He overruled all objections and attacked Korea first, thus alleviating the crisis in the country in one fell swoop."

"Afterwards, he attacked Ningjin again with the momentum of a great victory, but he was stopped at the city gates and his prestige was greatly damaged."

Zhu Youjian's tone became calm, yet every word carried immense weight.

"For him, the East was just beginning to fight, the South was still difficult to conquer, and the northern grasslands were a bitterly cold and barren land."

"Master Sun, tell me, what other choice do you think the slave chieftain has besides heading west?"

"The Tiger Chief's westward migration is a grand undertaking. If he fails, there's nothing more to say."

"But what if he wins all his victories?"

"Whom will those Mongol tribes, whom he has scattered along the way, turn to for help?"

Zhu Youjian spoke slowly and deliberately, finally revealing the most terrifying scene that he had kept hidden in his heart and had never told anyone before.

"If we consider the current prestige of our Great Ming and the Jurchen on the grasslands..."

"Is it really that hard to predict which of these opportunistic Mongolian tribes will ultimately seek help from and which of them will they choose to pledge allegiance to?"

"At that time, what my Great Ming's northern border will face will not be some Tiger Mound Rabbit Fool."

"That will be a true tiger that integrates the various Mongol tribes, commands hundreds of thousands of archers, and has completely broken free from the confines of the Liaodong border region, stretching from Liaodong to Gansu!"

Sun Chengzong felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head. With each additional word Zhu Youjian spoke, the horror in his heart deepened. In the end, he even forgot to breathe!
My back was already soaked with cold sweat without me even realizing it.

Having once been the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao, he knew better than anyone else in the court just how weak the defenses of the Great Wall were on all sides of the Ming Dynasty except for Liaodong.

That was a failure of the bureaucracy, a failure of the military, but ultimately it was a failure of the finances and supplies!

If Huang Taiji were to truly take control of the border regions and bring the entire Mongolian Plateau into his backyard, the military pressure that the Ming Dynasty would have to bear would be far more than just the Liaodong region.

Rather, it was the entire vast, indefensible north!
Just as Sun Chengzong was in shock, Zhu Youjian's cold voice rang out again, asking the exact same question as before.

"Then, Master Sun, in your opinion, what measures should our Great Ming take in the conflict between the Tiger Chieftain and the Ha tribe?"

This time, Sun Chengzong did not hesitate for a moment.

He composed himself, bowed deeply to Zhu Youjian, and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Your Majesty's analysis is as clear as the lines on the palm of your hand. I am not dull-witted, so how could I not know what decision to make?"

He slowly straightened up, and his eyes, which had been somewhat cloudy with excitement, became clear and bright again, as if flames were burning within them.

He said firmly:

"The Ming Dynasty will not aid the Tiger Chieftain, nor will it aid the Ha tribe!"

"We shall use tribute as our demand and military force as our weapon. We shall make it clear to the Celestial Empire that any tribe that dares to lay arms will be cutting itself off from the Great Ming. We shall raise a thunderous army and gather our forces to attack them!"

"color!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian could not help but burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed in the spacious hall, filled with unbridled joy.

Those who are good at planning are not necessarily good at making decisions.

Those who are good at making decisions may not dare to make them.

The position of governor-general, isolated in the border region, requires a high-ranking official who is prestigious, capable, good at using people, and, most importantly, dares to make the most correct decisions at critical moments!
Sun Chengzong may be a little too smooth and not tough enough in some aspects, but this is exactly what suits Liaodong, that muddy land that needs to be slowly cleaned up!
Zhu Youjian's eyes were burning as he strode forward and, to Sun Chengzong's surprise, grabbed both of his hands.

Those hands, calloused yet warm and strong.

Zhu Youjian held it tightly and said earnestly:

"Today, I have obtained Master Sun, just as Emperor Gaozu obtained Zhang Liang and Emperor Guangwu obtained Deng Yu. Master Sun is truly the pillar of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

—Master Sun, you have passed my three tests!
But I wonder, how do you see me? Am I even a fraction as impressive as the Tianqi Emperor or the Chongzhen Emperor?
-
Some say that the opening of the north is not a problem, as there are only a few places where an army can invade, and most places are too difficult for a large army to pass through.

Historically, during the Yisi Incident, when the Qing army entered the pass, they did not choose important passes such as Xifengkou and Taolinkou, but rather Da'an, Hongshan, and other passes.

As for Datong and Xuanfu, it's even more of a pain... At least Jizhou has the Yanshan Mountains to rely on.

Of course, I don't know either, and I haven't seriously researched this. Discussion is welcome.

Appendix 1: The Great Walls of Ji and Mi
Appendix 2: The Great Wall in Datong, Xuanfu, and Shaanxi (it is sparser).
(End of this chapter)