When Fang Yingwu met Governor Yang for the first time, he tried his best to express himself in order to get out of trouble and seek refuge with Governor Yang. When a confident scholar recommends himself to his employer, he will inevitably use some exaggerated rhetoric.
However, Fang Yingwu didn't think it was an exaggeration. When he encountered a verification situation, he was not afraid of the stage. After organizing his words a little, he said: "In the early years of the Chinese dynasty, during the Hongwu and Yongle periods, offense was often used instead of defense.
It maintained an active stance against the Northern invaders, and several generations of emperors actively explored the north.
But since Emperor Yingzong went hunting in the north, the situation changed again. The imperial court used the border wall as a barrier and pursued the policy of isolation and border defense. This isolation also caused the Central Plains to have no internal information about the northern barbarians, making it impossible to respond in a timely manner. Passive responses were often passive.
Missed opportunity."
Yang Futai asked expectantly: "Then you know the inside story?"
Fang Yingwu smiled and said: "I do know a little bit about it. Speaking of the general trend of the world, if we unite for a long time, we will divide, and if we divide for a long time, we will unite."
Governor Yang and Master Cui had strange expressions on their faces, as if they were listening to storytelling. If Fang Yingwu hadn't performed well recently and gained Governor Yang's trust, he might have been interrupted and driven away at this moment.
Only to hear Fang Yingwu continue to say: "Ever since Ye Xian, the Northern Barbarians have been united for a long time and must be divided. In the past twenty years, they have been divided into four parts, fighting each other, and the internal strife has been particularly fierce. To this day, the Northern Barbarians' leader Mandulu is called the Great Khan. In fact,
I can't give orders, but I'm just a chief in my headquarters, and my power is not even as good as a few grand masters."
Governor Yang was not completely ignorant of the situation in the North, but Master Cui was more of a heretic and couldn't help but ask: "What kind of grand master?"
Fang Yingwu patiently replied: "The Northern Barbarians still use some of the official titles of the former Yuan Dynasty, and the leaders of some powerful tribes are Taishi, Shaoshi, and Zhiyuan, just like the monkeys!"
After talking about the general situation of the Beilu, Fang Yingwu then talked about the Hetao. "The above is focusing on the big picture, but our Yansui Town is only facing the direction of the Hetao. There are two groups of the Beilu currently entrenched in the Hetao. One of them is the Beilu.
The chieftain is the Mandulu tribe, and the second is the Jiasilan tribe of the Beilu Taishi. These two tribes are the targets of our strategic defense in Yansui Town.
Among them, Jiasilan claims to have 100,000 subordinates. Although he is claiming to be self-proclaimed, his power is indeed one of the best among the Northern tribes. The chief, Mandu Lukong, has the title of Great Khan, but his strength is inferior to Jiasilan's.
It’s far away, and it’s common to receive pings.”
Governor Yang sighed: "I didn't expect that among the northern captives, powerful ministers could deceive the emperor. Could it be that the Mandu Lu sent envoys to knock on the pass had something to do with it?"
Fang Yingwu said with certainty: "Now Mantulu suddenly wants to send an envoy to pay tribute. I am sure that there are only two reasons. One is that Mantulu is too oppressed by Jiaslan. Therefore, he wants to seek peace with the Ming Dynasty to avoid betrayal.
The enemy is in his belly so that he can concentrate on dealing with Garthlan.
Secondly, in the past few years, Mandulu has had difficulty climbing over the border wall and has gained very little from looting. However, the products of the Central Plains are what he urgently needs, so he wants to ask for some rewards to meet his needs."
At this point in the conversation, Governor Yang truly believed that Fang Yingwu had information in his mind, and was definitely not just boasting. Although he didn’t understand how Fang Yingwu knew so much at such a young age. But this was not the key at the moment. Governor Yang consulted shamelessly: "
The imperial court must ask this court how you think it should be handled."
"I wonder how the imperial court responded to such incidents in previous years?" Fang Yingwu asked rhetorically.
"Seven years ago, Beilu Polo also sent envoys. The court only allowed a few people to go to Beijing, and the rest stayed in Datong Town and were not allowed to enter the mainland. There was no action after that."
Fang Yingwu shook his head and said: "With the uncivilized nature of the northern barbarians, the ambition of the wolf will never be cut off. Whenever there is a phenomenon of proactively sending envoys to the dynasty, there must be some internal changes. This is actually a plan for the north.
of good opportunities.
Since the reign of Yingzong Jingtai, the imperial court has generally pursued a policy of isolation and self-defense. In recent years, with the emergence of Wang and Yu, it has been rare to have consecutive successes, and he has made unparalleled achievements in both offense and defense.
Therefore, the situation in the Hetao has been favorable to us in the past few years. Now that Futai is guarding the border and Mandu is looking for peace, we should take this opportunity to carry out strategic planning, which may make achievements and go down in history."
Fang Yingwu's tone was not intense, but seemed to have magical power under its plainness. But these few words made Governor Yang's heart surge.
But Governor Yang had doubts. "Years ago, some ministers proposed using large-scale military raids to avoid future troubles. However, the cost of labor and wages was greater, so the decision has not been made. You said that you want to plan for the north.
It’s not that easy.”
"We don't necessarily have to use a large number of troops. At most, we can launch a surprise attack at a critical moment, and it may even be a lifeless attack. Based on my late thinking, since Mandulu took the initiative to send envoys to pay tribute, we can take the opportunity to open a border market. I believe that the Beilu people are also very happy.
Seeing this, they have an even greater demand for supplies from the Central Plains, otherwise they would not risk their lives to go south to plunder."
Master Cui was shocked and said: "Isn't that collaborating with the enemy?"
Fang Yingwu said calmly: "If we open a border market, of course there are conditions. That is, this time we will only trade with the Beilu tribe. If the Mantulu tribe comes to trade with the Jiasilan tribe, it is not allowed."
Governor Yang understood immediately and suddenly realized: "Is this a plan to kill three soldiers with two peaches and provoke internal fighting among the northern captives?"
"The Jasilan Tribe and the Mandulu Tribe are already in sharp conflict. If there is any slight disturbance, they may start fighting. It is not uncommon for the Beibei people to kill their superiors. It happens all the time. If you make good use of these, you will get twice the result with half the effort."
Governor Yang frowned and said nothing. He was not without worries. In the hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the northern barbarians have always been sworn enemies. If he opened a border city, even if he opened a border city just to use tricks, he would probably suffer.
Criticism of cowardice or collaboration with the enemy.
Fang Yingwu further suggested: "If you are worried about the imperial court's criticism, then tell the Mandulu envoy to ask Mandulu to accept the imperial canonization. If so, the imperial court will open a border market as a reward, which is what the title should mean.
.And being able to persuade the Great Khan of Beilu to be canonized is also a great achievement."
Even Governor Yang was surprised this time, "Mandulu holds the position of Khan Lord and is the nominal co-leader. Will he agree?"
Fang Yingwu chuckled and said, "I don't know whether he will agree to it, but I can always give it a try. They are disobedient and don't know etiquette, justice and shame. If it is profitable, it doesn't matter if they agree to a false name for the court.
When he thought about it, no matter what title the Ming Dynasty gave him, he could still call himself the Great Khan on the grassland, so what was the loss?
Of course, the imperial court has nothing to lose. It just sealed off a false account and sent a gold seal. The purpose is to win over temporarily. But use is still use. If there is an opportunity in the future, you must kill if you should!"
Governor Yang was still undecided. After all, the strategy mentioned by Fang Yingwu was of great importance. It was a huge revision to the imperial policy and could even be said to have directly blocked his own future.
He is already a high-ranking official in the feudal territory. It is difficult to move forward, but it is easy to get down. However, his ability to bear risks is very low.
Fang Yingwu finally said decisively: "If Futai has concerns, he might as well write a letter in his own name detailing the strategy here. Mr. Futai will forward it to the imperial court and let the princes of the imperial court make their own decisions."
"That's very good!" Governor Yang listened to this opinion. As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of wearing shoes. Fang Yingwu is just a scholar. Compared to the governor, he is barefoot. Even if he is held accountable by the court, he has nothing to lose.
If the imperial court agrees, he, the governor, will not bear policy risks. As long as he does things well according to the imperial court's wishes, he will still get the credit.
ps: It’s difficult to write about Mongolia. I really don’t know much about Mongolian history, so there will inevitably be loopholes in the temporary writing. If there are readers who are proficient in Mongolian history, you can give me more opinions, and I can also refer to them.