Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

The five members of the Jurchen delegation returned to the Honglu Temple, where they had been received, and looked at each other blankly.

After a long silence, the mastermind, Xifu, slowly uttered, "This Ming emperor's behavior is utterly absurd; he actually practices Taoism within the palace! Anyone who enters a Taoist temple must change their address to 'Holy Heavenly True Lord'!"

"A Taoist temple? Didn't you go to the Ming Dynasty court assembly?" De Taili, who was left behind, stepped forward and asked with a puzzled look.

"What court assembly? The Ming emperor doesn't hold court; he only practices Taoism!" Sony added from the side.

"Huh? Cultivation?" The few people left behind were also a bit confused...

Then Xifu took out the seven pills that Zhu Jian had given him and held them up in front of him: "A return gift from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! He said that seven pills were made in forty-nine days! He said they could prolong life!"

"If such a thing really existed, would the Ming emperor have given it to us?" Detelli said with a look of disdain.

Xi Fu shook his head; he didn't know what this thing was either: "The Ming Emperor agreed to the peace talks and also agreed to trade—salt for warhorses!"

"What about the rest?" Detelli pressed.

"Either ask again in seven days, or return to Liaodong and correspond with them!" Xifu said truthfully.

"Why ask again in seven days!" Detelli asked, puzzled.

"The Ming emperor practiced Taoism, and the same person disappeared for seven days!"

"What? Is that even possible?" Detelli exclaimed in surprise.

Xifu nodded: "Let's go back to Liaodong. Waiting seven days won't yield any results..."

Detelli nodded.

At dusk, the Jurchen delegation left the city under cover of darkness, escorted by a troop of soldiers, and slowly exited through the Donghua Gate...

After seeing the envoy off, Sun Chengzong hurried to the Wuying Hall, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the messenger has already left!"

Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Huang Taiji wants to use peace negotiations to disrupt the court and increase the conflict between war and peace! He's playing his cards well..."

The peace negotiations between Huang Taiji and the Song and Jin dynasties were different. Back then, after the peace negotiations, there was a genuine period of peace between the Song and Jin dynasties. However, Huang Taiji used the peace negotiations to exacerbate factional strife within the Ming Dynasty and to buy himself time. He had no real intention of making peace! It was purely a tactic...

However, his methods targeted Zhu Jian's "elixir"!

Sun Chengzong nodded: "Your Majesty is wise!"

"However, the dynasty is facing a severe shortage of warhorses, which is a major problem! Trade routes in Shaanxi are blocked, making trade impossible; the only sources of warhorses are the Later Jin and the Mongols!"

"I believe we can make some trade with the Ordos and Chahar tribes!"

The Ming Dynasty's horse administration system is now ineffective, making it difficult to acquire warhorses. However, it is still necessary to acquire them. Currently, a large number of Ming warhorses are stationed at the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line in Liaodong, which is of paramount importance. A small number of warhorses can be transferred out, but if the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is without warhorses, unexpected events may occur!

Sun Chengzong thought for a long time, then nodded slightly: "You can issue an order to Wang Tingchen, the General of Datong, to contact the Chahar and Ordos tribes!"

"Here's what we'll do. Send someone to Datong and talk to Wang Tingchen. Have him contact the two tribes and exchange salt, silk, porcelain, tea, and other supplies for high-quality warhorses! Make small, frequent transactions, and say he's smuggling! If the warhorses don't sell well..."

During the Wanli era, most of the warhorses traded through the imperial court were of inferior quality—old and weak, usable but not ideal. This time, Zhu Jian instructed the General of Datong to smuggle them, thus making the business private. This would alleviate the mentality of the Mongol tribes who were eager to profit from the wealthy. If the warhorses were of poor quality, the General of Datong wouldn't receive payment and might not risk trading with them at all. In that case, the Mongol tribes would definitely feel that it was not worth the loss...

After all, they were conquered by the Later Jin. Under their pressure, and not being locals of the Later Jin, they would definitely consider their own interests more!

"That's feasible! The Mongol tribes are currently stirring up trouble on the border. Engaging in some private trade with them would be beneficial for both sides!" Sun Chengzong said.

If the Mongol tribes can no longer survive, they will definitely attack the border towns like the Jurchens. In that case, it would be better to trade with them through smuggling!

"The Mongols don't want any of their furs, deer antlers, or ginseng; they only want warhorses! Our dynasty only exports grain, cloth, ironware, and gunpowder!"

Zhu Jian offered to trade resources that were not currently considered important strategic materials, while grain was in extreme shortage in the Ming Dynasty and was not included in the trade. Moreover, the valuable items from Mongolia were useless; these things could only be consumed by the powerful and wealthy and would not be of any benefit to the current military or disaster relief efforts. So, naturally, they were rejected!

"The warhorses of the Mongol tribes are also under the control of the Eastern Barbarians! I'm afraid things won't go very smoothly!" Sun Chengzong said.

"Have General Wang Tingchen of Datong secretly spread the word to the Mongols that the imperial court has negotiated peace with the Jurchens, establishing trade and exchanging goods such as salt, tea, and silk for Jurchen warhorses!"

After listening, Sun Chengzong pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Jian's intention was to let the Mongols know that the Ming Dynasty was trading goods with the Jurchens for warhorses, and that if the Jurchens blocked the warhorse trade with the Mongols, it would inevitably tear apart the peace between them!

After all, the Mongol tribes also need supplies. Now that their troops have been redeployed, their warhorses are under control, and they are not allowed to trade with the Ming Dynasty, isn't this indirectly weakening them? As long as this rift deepens, these Mongol tribes will surely outwardly comply but inwardly defy it!

"A secret edict was issued in the name of the Military and Political Bureau to Wang Tingchen, the General Commander of Datong, ordering him to take command of the Xuanfu and Datong garrisons! Lu Xiangshan, the former Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, was reassigned as the Left Vice Minister of War!"

"yes!"

Zhu Jian tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a clicking sound, then changed the subject, asking, "Back when Grand Secretary Sun was in charge of Liaodong, what did he think of Zu Dashou?"

Sun Chengzong twice served as the supreme commander of Liaodong and had a deep relationship with the generals of Liaodong. This was an important reason why Zhu Jian always kept Sun Chengzong in the capital!

When Sun Chengzong heard Zhu Jian mention Zu Dashou, he felt a slight pang of regret: "If I hadn't sent him to build the Daling River as a fortified defense line back then, we wouldn't have encountered the Eastern barbarians besieging the city! Nor would there have been the incident of feigned surrender!"

In history, the Battle of Dalinghe was Sun Chengzong's second campaign to command troops in Liaodong, and it was also the end of his career and the end of his relationship with general Zu Dashou!

Prosecutor Zhu waved his hand: "It's over!"

Sun Chengzong nodded, then turned his attention back to Zu Dashou: "This man is brave in battle. Yuan Chonghuan was kind to him and saved his life; he was one of his most trusted confidants! When Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, he was so frightened that he led the Guan Ning Army eastward out of the pass without authorization. It was I who went to appease him. He still has the court in his heart, but the interests of Liaodong are more important to him!"

Zhu Jian knew about this matter! It happened in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian.

"The Battle of Dalinghe was a siege and reinforcement attack by Huang Taiji! I have a feeling that Huang Taiji will use this tactic again!" Zhu Jian said, taking a sip of tea by the firelight.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chengzong looked up at Zhu Jian and saw that his face appeared increasingly profound in the firelight, as if it were a mysterious depth!