Chapter 161 The Troubles in Nancha (8) Calling for a Couple
Wenhua Hall, summoning the emperor in front.
Cabinet Chief Assistant Shen Shixing, along with Second Assistant Xu Guo and Group Assistants Zhang Xueyan, Wu Dui, Wang Jiaping, and Wang Xijue, were the first to arrive. Shortly afterwards, Gao Pragmatic, Minister of Household Affairs, and Liang Menglong, Minister of War, were summoned from outside the palace.
Arrive together.
The two of them went forward to pay homage to the emperor and were given a seat. Since the other six were all elders of the pavilion, they had to sit at the end of the table.
Zhu Yijun wanted to see no one when the ministers shouted "Zhengguoben", and he did not show much interest in this year's Dinghai imperial inspection. However, as soon as the news from Liaodong came, he immediately issued an order to summon them. It can be seen that in his
In his heart, he has his own considerations for all matters, whether light, heavy, slow, or urgent.
"All the dear friends have already heard the news about Liaodong, so I won't repeat it again. What do you all have to say about the current situation?" Zhu Yijun looked around and asked in a slightly low tone.
In this situation, either Shen Shixing, as the first assistant, spoke first, or Liang Menglong, as the person directly responsible, answered first. However, Shen Shixing looked calm, looked at his nose, nose, and heart, and did not look like he had any intention of speaking.
Liang Menglong glanced at it and had to stand up and salute Zhu Yijun: "Your Majesty, in this incident, although Menggebulu's defeat in the first battle was slightly unexpected by the Ministry of War, the other situations were basically within the Ministry of War's previous expectations. Your Majesty, there is no need to
Too worried."
Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, but there was no emotional change on his face. He looked at Liang Menglong and asked, "What did the Ministry of War have in mind before?"
Liang Menglong bowed slightly, extended his hand towards Gao Pragmatic and pointed blankly, and said: "Before taking office, Da Si Nong had some exchanges with his ministers about the situation in Liaodong. At that time, the imperial court only learned that Tumen was sending troops east to attack Ye He.
"At that time, both ministers thought that Nurhaci would definitely send troops, and the most likely possibility was to go north to capture Hada."
Liang Menglong subconsciously stretched out his hand and gestured, and said: "The situation in Liaodong, if we only look at the Jurchen range east of Kaiyuan, then Yehe is in the north, Hada is in the middle, and Jianzhou is in the southeast. The rest are Su Wan, Wula and other tribes.
It does not directly border the Ming Dynasty, and must be connected through these three parts.
Therefore, at that time, Great Sinong had a judgment that Tumen and Nurhachi might have united before this battle. The purpose was probably that Tumen would occupy Yehe and Nurhachi would occupy Hada. The two parties would work together to cut off the direct connection between the Jurchen tribes and the Ming Dynasty.
connect."
Zhu Yijun frowned: "Ye He is also a Jurchen, why is Nurhaci so careless about his fellow clansmen?"
Liang Menglong shook his head and said: "What do you think of the barbarians? The Jurchen tribes have always had constant disputes and wars. There are many who were allies yesterday and are now enemies. Moreover, when Da Sinong was the governor of Liao, he deliberately provoked Ye
The hatred between He and Jianzhou, and now there is actually a hatred between Ye He and Nurhaci for killing their father. It is not surprising that Nurhachi wants to use Tumen's hands to destroy Ye He."
Zhu Yijun asked: "Isn't he afraid that other Jurchens will scold him for inviting wolves into his house?"
"This is not something he has to worry about." Liang Menglong replied: "Jurchen tribes are also called countries, and they are not regarded as one. They are similar to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms of the Central Plains."
Zhu Yijun nodded, accepted this statement, and asked: "Now that Ye He is in danger, Hada seems to be unable to resist Nurhaci. If I, the Ming Dynasty, remain indifferent, I'm afraid their plot will come true." At this point, he
As if remembering something, he turned to Gao pragmatically and asked: "To be honest, since you said that Tumen and Nurhachi want to separate Yehe and Hada, what is the reason for this? But they want to join forces to fight against me, the Ming Dynasty?"
Gao pragmatic also stood up and held his hands, saying: "What Tumen and Nurhaci did is actually the two passes between the north and the south."
The two passes in the north and south are the south pass and the north pass. People in the Ming Dynasty called Hada the south pass and Yehe the north pass. This "south and north" is centered on Kaiyuan. The "pass" in the two passes in the north and south is actually
It doesn’t mean pass, pass, but pass city.
In other words, in the eyes of Ming people, Hada and Yehe are just two trade markets, one in the south and the other in the north.
"For the North and South Passes?" Zhu Yijun said in surprise: "They want to isolate Gongshi?"
"Of course it's not isolation, on the contrary, they want to connect with Damingong City." Gao Pragmatic said calmly.
Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then immediately laughed angrily: "Hada, Yehe and Zhubeile are all officials conferred by the Ming Dynasty. No matter how they perform, they are at least generals who guard the border for the Ming Dynasty. Tumen, Nurhachi attacked our territory in vain.
, you bullied me into becoming an official, and you are so treasonous and unethical, but you still expect me, the Ming Dynasty, to grant you the tribute market?"
Gao Pingshi said calmly: "I'm afraid that if the two pigs really succeed, it will be difficult for me, the Ming Dynasty, to deal with it. Maybe I will be coerced by them and allow them to be sold as tribute."
Zhu Yijun was greatly surprised: "Why is this?"
Gao Jingshi shook his head slightly and sighed: "If there is no North and South Guanbian City, where will the furs, Dongzhu and other things that our court needs come from? Does your Majesty know the key to this?"
Of course, Zhu Yijun was not very clear. He shook his head in confusion, then frowned and said, "Let me know and let's see how difficult it is."
Gao pragmatically nodded and said: "I would like to clarify the situation for Your Majesty. Please listen to your explanation." Then he introduced the situation of Kaiyuan Horse Market, that is, the North and South Passes, to the Emperor.
Probably after the Chenghua period, the goods traded in Kaiyuan Horse Market no longer focused on basic living supplies such as rice, salt, horses and cattle, but switched to luxury goods trading mainly on mink skin, rat skin, and ginseng. At this time and
Afterwards, the political situation of the Ming Dynasty was stable, the economy continued to develop, and the luxurious atmosphere of the capital court and the upper class brought huge consumer demand for fur products.
For example, "Zi Zhong Zhi" records that the Ming Dynasty palace needed more than 10,000 mink skins and more than 60,000 fox skins every year. Mink skins were also important gifts for bureaucrats to pay bribes.
Of course, the so-called palace demand is actually not just the palace's own consumption, because the imperial court has a system of gifting mink to ministers. Up to now, the imperial court purchases thousands of mink skins directly from Kaiyuan every year.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! And one thing that needs to be made clear is that these "thousands of mink skins per year" are only purchased directly by the imperial court in Kaiyuan, and do not include the number purchased by the imperial court from private parties.
, as well as the amount of trade transferred by private individuals. If private trade is included, this number will increase greatly, and it may even be impossible to calculate it clearly.
The above only refers to mink skin, and others such as sea otter, fox skin, tiger skin, mouse skin (mink, green mouse, chinchilla, etc.), fungus, matsutake, Dongzhu, etc. are not included.
This is from the perspective of goods, and from the perspective of trade routes, the North and South Passes are also extremely important.
The trade between Liaodong and the Jurchen region in the Ming Dynasty was centered on Kaiyuan, and there were two main trade routes: one from the lower reaches of Heilongjiang, up to Heilongjiang and Songhua River, and further to the southwest via the vicinity of present-day Harbin to Kaiyuan; the other from the south of Xianjing in North Korea
The road goes northeast along the Tumen River, passes through Changbai Mountain around the upper reaches of the Songhua River, and goes southwest to Kaiyuan.
The Haixi Jurchen Hada tribe and the Yehe tribe built strongholds outside Guangshun Pass and Zhenbeiguan respectively, precisely to utilize and control these two trade routes. In addition, the route from Mongolia to the back door of Korea, Kaiyuan also occupied the tunnel.
"The reason why Xianji Road was so productive with good horses in the past was because it was connected to the original road and was interbred with the Tatar horses. Now it is blocked from the original road. It has been fifty years and the Tatar horse breed has become extinct."
Because of this, this trade route from Mongolia and the Jurchen region to Kaiyuanma City is called the "Golden Road" by the Mongols and Jurchens in inland Asia.
Gao Pragmatic explained these two points to Zhu Yijun, and he roughly meant two things: First, if trade between the North and South Passes was cut off, many domestic furs and other luxury goods would soon be out of stock, which would cause economic fluctuations.
Although this fluctuation will not affect the national economy and people's livelihood, it will also affect economic activity.
In particular, Gao Pragmatic also hinted that according to his plan, when the court levies comprehensive commercial taxes in the future, high taxes will be levied on "luxury goods" - cutting off this trade route will directly affect the court's income.
Secondly, if the north-south trade routes are cut off, although it will have a strong economic impact on the Jurchens or even the border regimes including the Mongolian left wing and even North Korea, at the same time, the imperial court's power to restrain them will also be greatly weakened.
.
At the same time, the centripetal force of people such as Su Wan, Huifa, Wula and even the Savage Jurchen towards the Ming Dynasty became weaker and weaker. In the long run, it would not be surprising even if these "territorial territories" were completely lost.
Gao Pingshi made it very clear and even listed a lot of data. The more Zhu Yijun listened, the more serious he became, and finally he was absolutely sure: if we cut off the northern and southern Guanbian cities, not only would our reputation be damaged, but sooner or later we would also lose our face.
Although Gao Pragmatic has made it clear that if the northern and southern Guanbian cities are really cut off, Tumen and Nurhaci’s troops will be 80% in vain, and only 20% will be considered real benefits - after all, the expanded sphere of influence -
—But Zhu Yijun still feels that this "deal" is not worthwhile.
In particular, the "luxury tax" hinted by Gao Jingshi is something that neither the ministers nor Liang Menglong here know, but he is aware that Gao Jingshi has mentioned it to him a long time ago. Gao Jingshi even took the initiative to say that he could "tax it" in the future
High-end soaps such as "Guoshi" and "Tianxiang" are classified as luxury goods to show that they lead by example and treat everyone equally.
According to highly pragmatic calculations, the "luxury tax" will be a very important item in the commercial tax in the future. If the whole country is put together, it will collect at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year. How can there be any room for failure?
He didn’t know whether he was born like this or was led astray by his high pragmatism. As soon as Zhu Yijun figured out that this matter was linked to money, or even that it was so involved, he immediately made up his mind and said categorically: "In that case, this Ye He, Hada Division II, I
The Ming Dynasty will never tolerate the Tus, and Nurhachi Erzhen is involved! Look..."
He originally planned to ask Gao Wushi directly what to do next, but suddenly he remembered that Gao Wushi was no longer the Minister of Rongzheng, and that today's summons also included the elders and Liang Menglong, the Minister of War, so he had to change his words temporarily: "Dear sirs, Gao
The Qing family has just analyzed the pros and cons clearly enough, I believe you all will not object to preserving the Ye He and Hada Parts?"
His question was a bit "artistic", and several cabinet elders could not find any reason to object to Gao Pragmatic's statement just now, so they all agreed with the emperor's decision. However, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue quietly looked at each other.
One glance revealed deep worry in the other person's eyes.
The worry is certain, because according to Gao Pragmatic's statement and the emperor's judgment, since Tumen and Nurhachi cannot be tolerated to interfere with Yehe and Hada, Ming's attitude is obviously very clear, and they can only be tough to the end.
To be tough in this era, it is definitely not enough to make a solemn statement or strong protest after entering a "civilized society". Ninety-nine percent of the time, it is to go to war directly.
If we want to start a war, then the problem will arise.
Because Li Chengliang actually guarded western Liaoning, the Xin School's position on the Liaodong issue has always been "fighting is possible in western Liaoning, and peace is necessary in Liaodong." However, Kaiyuan was obviously under the jurisdiction of Liaodong and was mainly responsible for Cao Yun.
Cao Yu is a highly pragmatic person. Needless to say, Kaiyuan General Ma Chengxun is also a highly pragmatic person. Others include Liaonan General Ma Dong, Shenyang guerrilla Qi Jin and others are also the same. The entire east of Liaohe River
Almost all of the main generals have been replaced by a group of highly pragmatic people from the Practical School.
Once the war starts, even if it is impossible for Gao Pragmatic to go in person this time, wouldn't it still be his stage?
Zhu Yijun did not pay that much attention. He thought for a while and asked: "How many soldiers do Tumen have in Yehe? Where is Nurhaci? In addition, how many soldiers do Cao Yu and other generals have now, and how many can they produce?"
Gao Pragmatic is very clear about this question, but since he is not in his position and has no political agenda, he can only wait for Liang Menglong to answer.
Liang Menglong seemed to have heard clearly, and without any hesitation at the moment, he immediately said: "According to the current intelligence reports, Tumen sent about 20,000 troops this time, and Nurhaci sent about 4,000 to 5,000 troops. However, the previous time with Meng Gebulu
In the battle, he only invested 3,000 men and won a great victory. The remaining more than 1,000 troops may have been dispersed elsewhere and were not detected.
As for our Heavenly Soldiers, as far as Kaiyuan alone is concerned, it governs Tieling, thirty thousand and three guards in Liaohai, has five cities and twenty side forts, and has military buildings and more than 15,500 soldiers. If we include the entire
To the east of the Liao River, tens of thousands of troops are about to arrive."
This was very uplifting, but because Gao Pingshi had once visited Liao Dynasty before, Zhu Yijun knew that Liang Menglong was playing tricks here.
Jiliao and Xuanda are the most elite border towns of the Ming Dynasty, but they have not reached full strength. On average, they have about 80% full strength. Therefore, Kaiyuan's military strength is only more than 12,000, less than 10,000.
Thirteen thousand. Of course, Kaiyuan’s general is Ma Chengxun, and he must have elite Ma family soldiers, but it is said that the number is limited, at most three or four thousand. Generally speaking, Kaiyuan has about
Thirteen thousand soldiers.
As for the "tens of thousands of troops" east of the Liao River, this is indeed true. Gao Pragmatic also told him last year. However, these tens of thousands of troops cannot be moved at will, not to mention that they are scattered in Liaodong.
It is impossible to evacuate all the troops in the plains and mountains of southern Liaoning, and it is impossible to use all the current reserves in Liaodong for Yehe and Hada.
Liaodong does have strategic reserves, which were deliberately started to be stored by Gao Pinggong when he took office. However, these reserves are obviously made for launching a fatal blow to Tumen in the future. If they are spent on Hada, Ye He will be in trouble.
Judging from what Liang Menglong just said, Tumen only sent 20,000 troops this time, and Liaodong did not seem to be making too much of a fuss.
At this moment, when it comes to saving, save it.
Zhu Yijun thought for a while and asked: "How will this battle be fought? Does the Ministry of War have a plan?"
