Chapter 282: Inside and Outside the Palace (14) Meng Guzhes Wisdom
It seems that anyone who knows military knowledge knows that it is very difficult for the main force of the Han army of the Ming Dynasty to expedition to the Western Regions. This is of course also true. After all, the Han army is a typical army of a farming nation, not to mention that the main force of the army is usually infantry.
, even the cavalry among them relies heavily on logistics, and they are not good at the nomadic method of traveling thousands of miles to provide supplies on the spot.
Of course, this does not mean that the Han cavalry could not even find a place on the grassland with abundant water and grass to feed their horses. This problem actually had other reasons.
Take the Mongols for example. The fundamental reason why they are able to carry out ultra-long-distance and high-speed expeditions lies in the lifestyle of the Mongolian army as herdsmen and the structure of the entire Mongolian army.
For example, during the Mongolian Western Expedition, the Mongol Empire's livestock often accompanied the army on a large scale. Whether these livestock were horses, camels, or cattle and sheep, they were actually very important production tools. Especially horses and camels, not only
Used for fighting and carrying goods, the most important thing is that these two are often the source of some daily necessities for Mongolian soldiers.
When Mongolian soldiers go on an expedition, they often carry multiple horses per person. These horses are not only used for changing horses during battle, but also the dairy products made from the milk of the mare are also an important source of food for the Mongolian soldiers. Horsetails and manes are also
One type can also be used to make ropes. Livestock dung is a very important source of fuel.
The herdsmen's livestock themselves are their means of production, so the army carrying a large number of livestock on expeditions has guaranteed the supply of many daily necessities for their lives.
Of course, just carrying livestock is not enough to solve all the problems. Especially the large number of horses, camels, cattle, sheep and other livestock accompanying the Mongolian army. The fodder and water they need are naturally also quite large.
Therefore, the march and conquest of the Mongolian army often must rely on abundant pastures to provide support. The combat method is very simple and clear: the cavalry troops go first. If the opponent does not have strong bows, crossbows or heavy armored infantry, then directly charge with heavy cavalry.
Drive the opponent quickly into the city;
If the opponent has strong bows and crossbows or a large army of heavy armored infantry, then shoot diagonally or fly kites to severely weaken the enemy, then rush to defeat them and drive the opponent into the city.
At this time, you can carry out the siege and wait for your own follow-up supply troops and siege troops. Once the supply troops arrive, immediately set up camp for supplies. Then, after several rounds of offensives by the siege troops, the city gate is broken, and the cavalry attacks again and breaks through the gate.
Break the city and carry out massacre.
After completing the invasion, the cavalry troops rested for a short period of time, waiting for the sentries from the front to return, and immediately rushed to the next city, while the large troops at the rear stayed behind to collect the spoils and people.
For this reason, before the Mongolian army sets off, it usually sends a small group of cavalry or relies on merchants to collect intelligence to ensure that the army's livestock will not suffer serious losses due to insufficient food and drinking water.
If you compare the Mongolian Western Expedition with the migration routes of other nomadic peoples in the past dynasties, you will find that the two overlap surprisingly. It can be seen that the Mongolian march relied on pasture, and not all roads are blind.
Walk.
By the way, during the Mongolian conquest of the Middle East, a common phenomenon was that the Mongols would consciously destroy the local farmland irrigation system.
On the one hand, this was to dismantle the local resistance, and another very important reason was to force the farmland to be abandoned so that it could be turned into pasture by the Mongols to facilitate their marching.
However, this very unscrupulous approach does not work every time. In the Jordan Valley area, Hulagu withdrew the main force and left only a partial division. This was largely because there was not enough pasture in the Jordan Valley area.
Maintain the huge herds of the Mongol army.
The same problem also occurred in Europe. The dense forests of Eastern Europe made it difficult for the Mongols to maintain long-term troops stationed there even if they conquered the Russian tribes, and used this as a base to expand their results. Because of this, Moscow was finally able to hoard talents.
The power finally backfired on the Golden Horde, leading to the final decline of the Golden Horde.
Not only did the Mongols hundreds of years ago use this method to travel long distances, but the same was true for the Western Expedition carried out by the Anda Khan sent to cut off Huang Taiji more than thirty years ago - he was not walking on the silk silk of Hehuang.
The road went to the original place, but crossed the prairie and directly attacked the Oara tribes.
Of course Gao Pragmatic also knew these situations. The general summary is: the Han army can only take the Silk Road to go west. Relying on its strong national power, it can forcefully use money to "open the way" into the Western Regions, because the Han army does not have a large-scale livestock herd as supplies.
source;
The Mongols' western expedition could not take the ancient Silk Road, which was almost deserted, but had to go further north through the prairie. This could ensure that the livestock herds would not suffer heavy losses due to insufficient food and drinking water along the way.
Looking back at the Chahar people's westward flight in the past few years, we will find that the route they chose was the area where the Gobi and the grassland intersected. This was mainly because they were worried that if they went too deep into the grassland, they might be overtaken and held back by the Tumuts, and then be captured by the Ming army.
When they arrived, the Ming and Mongolian coalition forces encircled and suppressed them. Therefore, they could not leave the grassland or really run to the Gobi.
When Gao Pragmatic talked to Zhu Yijun about the plan for the Chahar battle in the Western Region, Zhu Yijun mentioned that the Yarkand region was too far away, "Unless you can persuade Tumote to go on another western expedition, this battle will not be easy to fight.
"
However, Gao Pragmatic did not answer the question at that time and instead changed the topic. This was not because Gao Pragmatic thought that the emperor's words were wrong. On the contrary, he wanted to persuade Tumut and Ordos - and even the Mongols including the Horqin tribe to go with him. Then
Definitely the best way.
The reason why Gao Jingshi was unwilling to take action at the time was mainly because the leaders of these Mongolian tribes were not ordinary courtiers. If he wanted to persuade them to send troops, he would definitely have to provide corresponding benefits, and it was best to make them believe that such a move would not bring any harm to them.
What a loss this tribe has caused.
In short, it is necessary to make a profit, at least to ensure that you cannot lose money. In the past, you could control them by relying on profits, so obviously, you also need profits to drive them now.
The reason why Gao Pragmatic didn't take up the matter at that time was because the news was so sudden to him, and he hadn't figured out what benefits to use to make a deal with Tumut and the others, so of course he couldn't take up the matter casually.
But now he has some ideas and can discuss them at home. When he said that he could use the power of the Mongolians such as Tumut, Ordos and Horqin, Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin both agreed deeply, but once he said
When it came to exchanging benefits, the two of them couldn't help but frown.
It’s not that they are unwilling to give benefits, but it’s about what they give. According to Gao Pingshi, the court needs to prepare “twenty million taels of silver, three million dan of military rations, and at least 30,000 camels” for this purpose. Even if they are not the Ministry of Household Affairs
The minister also knew that this was by no means an easy task for the imperial court. Since the imperial court itself was in difficulty, what could it give the Mongols?
"The Mongolians seemed to like the Ming Dynasty's luxury goods very much. If I remember correctly, silk, porcelain, gold and jade, etc., have always been a very important part of the products sold to them by Jinghua." What exactly is Liu Xin?
Secretary General, although she is not in charge of business, she still has some understanding.
Huang Zhiting frowned and said: "This may be true, but if it involves a thousand-mile expedition, the number of troops that need to be mobilized is often tens of thousands or even more. I am afraid that simply increasing the supply of luxury goods to them is not enough, right?"
Gao Pragmatic thought for a while, then suddenly turned to Meng Guzhe and said: "Menggu, Yehe is the one with the deepest connection with Mongolia among the Jurchen tribes. Its territory is also close to Mongolia, and it has a close relationship with Horqin. In your opinion, Mongolia
In addition to the luxury goods of the Ming Dynasty, what other preferences do people have? In other words, what else is there that is expected but not achieved?"
Meng Guzhezhe has always been the one among Gao Pragmatic's one wife and three concubines who is the least involved in government and military affairs. She usually expresses her position on these matters less often than Kafei. Unless Gao Pragmatic asks directly, she rarely takes the initiative to express her opinions, often
Appears to be the most harmless to humans and animals.
This is in line with her posthumous evaluation as one of the four concubines of Nurhachi in the original history: "Hou Zhuang was smart and intelligent, and her words were gentle. She was not happy when she was praised. When she heard bad words, she did not change her joy after hearing bad words. She was not good at flattery.
Do not believe in slander and flattery, do not listen to deceitful words with your ears, and do not speak deceitfully with your mouth. Do not anticipate foreign affairs, and be sincere and considerate of matters."
However, Gao Pragmatic does not think that Meng Guzhezhe has no opinion or ability - it's a joke, can she cultivate Huang Taiji who is far more powerful than Nurhachi without ability?
You must know that Huang Taiji's power was not only shown after he became the Great Khan of Houjin. In fact, Huang Taiji was already very powerful before that. This power can be seen just from the fact that he can become the Great Khan.
A lot, because at that time he had to face at least six major disadvantages if he wanted to become the Great Khan.
First, he lost his mother when he was young. Huang Taiji’s biological mother was Meng Guzhezhe of Yehenara clan. According to the original history, she married Nurhaci, who was 30, when she was fourteen years old. Huang Taiji lost his mother when he was twelve years old, and Meng Guzhezhe was only two years old at the time.
Nineteen years old, this was the first disadvantage for Huang Taiji to inherit the throne.
Secondly, his father was too busy. In the ten years before Nurhaci launched his army, there were internal and external troubles, powerful enemies, and many things to do. He had no time to take care of him, so he naturally had no time to take care of him. As a result, Huang Taiji's life was extremely difficult. This is the inheritance of Huang Taiji.
The second disadvantage of being a big position.
Third, grandpa’s enemies. The Yehe tribe and the Jianzhou tribe of Huang Taiji’s grandpa’s family began to be enemies for a long time soon after the marriage. Yehebeilebu village once united nine coalition forces to attack Jianzhou, but was defeated. There is a book record: Nurhachi
He ordered that Bu Zhai's body be cut into two halves, half returned to Ye He, and the other half kept in Jianzhou. From then on, Ye He and Jianzhou forged an sworn feud. This was the third disadvantageous condition for Huang Taiji's succession to the throne.
Fourth, the ranking is in the middle. There are 16 Huang Taiji brothers and two cousins (Amin and Jierhalang). He is neither the eldest nor the youngest. According to Manchu customs formed under the influence of Mongolia, the eldest
He was honored with military merits and received preferential treatment when he was young (such as the eldest son's inheritance system). Huang Taiji did not get the benefits of both sides. This was the fourth disadvantage for Huang Taiji to inherit the throne.
Fifth, he has no compatriots. Among Huang Taiji's brothers, Chu Ying and Dai Shan are from the same mother; his fifth brother Mang Gurtai has a brother Dege Lei and a sister Mang Gu Ji Gege; his fourteenth brother
Dorgon had both brother Azige and brother Duoduo. Only Huang Taiji was quite lonely and had no brothers from the same mother to support him. This was the fifth disadvantage for Huang Taiji in inheriting the throne.
Sixth, the mother was not given the title of queen. Although Meng Guzhezhe was favored during her lifetime, she did not achieve the Great Fortune Jin Dynasty, that is, she did not have the title of queen. Her queen title was given to Huang Taiji after he became the "Emperor of the Qing Dynasty".
Therefore, it’s okay if Huang Taiji is not the eldest son, nor is he the legitimate son. This is the sixth disadvantageous condition for Huang Taiji to inherit the throne.
It is true that the six unfavorable factors in Huang Taiji's young life have in turn prompted him to develop important qualities: first, self-reliance. Since he has lost some support, he can only rely on his own motivation to work hard; second, coordination, in order to survive and develop, he must
It is necessary to coordinate the relationship between the top, bottom, left, and right, and win sympathizers and supporters; the third is scheming, to survive and develop in the complex relationship between family brothers, and internal and external officials; the fourth is struggle, learning literature and martial arts, and making more military exploits, and in
He established prestige among his father, brothers and officials.
However, if Meng Guzhezhe did not lay the foundation for Huang Taiji's basic character and personality when he was alive, why would only Huang Taiji be able to develop the above characters in the later period? Although the so-called "you see your age at the age of three" is a bit exaggerated, it is also true.
It is often particularly important to explain the influence and influence a child received when he was young.
Meng Guzhezhe's own performance can be summarized to a large extent as "not fighting", but her "not fighting" is not necessarily just a lack of initiative, but it is probably a strategy.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Ye He and Jianzhou had already had a life-or-death feud at that time. If she was aggressive, she would be disgusted by the generals at all levels in Jianzhou, let alone Nurhachi. But Jianzhou was chosen.
The power rests with Nurhachi alone, so Menggu Zhezhe must behave extremely obediently and never show any signs of ulterior motives.
Only in this way can he avoid being the first person and making his son Huang Taiji appear weak. Instead, he will not be persecuted and can grow up smoothly.
Then there was her behavior when she was dying, which seemed ordinary, but in fact it was probably the last political legacy she left for Huang Taiji: when she was seriously ill and dying, she asked Nurhachi to let her see her mother.
, Nurhachi immediately sent someone to invite her, but obviously Ye He would not agree, so she passed away with regret.
Why is this a political legacy? Of course she knew that Ye He and Jianzhou were already at loggerheads at this time, and it would not be easy to meet the Ye He family, and it would most likely not be possible.
If she said she wanted to see her brother, Nurhaci would definitely be suspicious, but she just wanted to see her mother, which made Nurhaci think that this was just human nature, so he immediately supported her and sent someone to invite her.
But Meng Guzhezhe may have long since thought that her mother could not come, and this is exactly what she wants - well, she may not want it herself, but she knows that her son needs this.
Because once Nurhaci, who dotes on her, finds out that he cannot fulfill her simple dying wish, he will definitely feel guilty, and this guilt will inevitably be transferred to her son because he has lost his partner.
This is why Meng Guzhezhe knew that this seemingly simple request was actually impossible to be met, but still insisted on making it clear to Nurhachi.
This is the last shadow she can leave for her son in front of her husband as the "daughter of an enemy". It can be seen that Meng Guzhezhe is by no means a person without clever means. She creates creations for her son under extremely passive conditions.
for the greatest benefit.
So in this life, why is she so reserved in the Gao family, even more silent than Kaibihime who was born in Japan, and even less involved in "business"?
If Huang Zhiting's status as the main wife is as stable as Mount Tai, she knows that she cannot compare with it; Liu Xin and Gao Pangshi have been close friends for many years, and they are the chief managers of the entire Beijing, so they cannot compete with them. So, is it possible that someone who was born in Ye He can't compete with her?
Can't she even compare to Kai Narita, who was born in a small daimyo family in Japan?
After all, Ye He's tribe is also one of the top four Jurchens, and is even nominally the strongest one at present. It has a standing strength of more than 20,000 troops, including a large number of cavalry.
What about the Narita family? During the Battle of Ninja Castle, Narita Kai only had 500 regular troops. His father, the Narita clan chief, took 800 people to support Odawara Castle. In other words, the Narita family's total regular army strength at that time was only 1,300.
Hundreds of people. In the Battle of Ninja Castle, the two thousand peasant soldiers that Narita Nagachi and Narita Kai collected together could barely be regarded as second-line reserves.
Therefore, from the perspective of military strength, Ye He's strength can be said to be far stronger than Narita.
Then let’s look at the territory. Ye He’s territory is roughly equivalent to one-third of Liaodong Town. Narita had only one Ninja City at the beginning. Now it has been transferred to Yusheng City, but there is still only one city, Ye He’s territory.
The area is at least ten times that of Narita.
Of course, just looking at the territory area is not scientific enough; at least you have to look at the population.
How many people did Ye He control? Before and after Meng Zhezhe married Gao Pragmatic, the Ye He tribe had already robbed the Hada tribe of a lot of territory and population. At that time, the population under its control was about 100,000, making it the number one Jurchen. Later,
Following Gao Pragmatic, he reaped several waves of bonuses and robbed a lot more from the Mongols. Now the entire tribe has about 140,000 people.
What about the Narita family? In Sagami Province, where Tamawa Castle is located, the stone height of the Taikaku Land is 220,000 koku, and the population is about 170,000. However, this is the whole country of Sagami, and the most populous city is Odawara Castle, and the strength of the remaining cities is inferior.
There are many. For example, Misaki Castle, which is occupied by Kyoka, and Tamana Castle of the Narita family, actually only have a population of 30,000 to 40,000.
If we must say that Meng Guzhe is obviously inferior to Narita Kai, it would probably be that Narita Kai had military exploits in the past, that is to say, he has military ability, but Meng Guzhe obviously did not show this ability.
The reason why this point is counted is because among Gao Pragmatic's three wives, only Meng Guzhezhe has never led an army! Huang Zhiting, Liu Xin, and Jia Feiji have all led soldiers in war.
People, especially Huang Zhiting, the royal wife, once commanded an army to fight in a war to destroy the country.
Therefore, although Gao Pragmatic has never mentioned it, in Meng Guzhezhe's view, this must be her disadvantage in facing them. However, it is obviously impossible for her to return to Yehe to lead troops now, so she cannot equalize this disadvantage, then
I can only find ways to make up for it elsewhere.
Since your advantage is that you can fight, then I have to make myself look more like a woman, not to go beyond the rules, not to talk too much, not to interfere, to be myself, and to serve the good master properly.
This strategy was quite successful. Not only did Gao Pragmatic think she knew what was right, Huang Zhiting, Liu Xin and even Jia Feiji, the three women all had a good relationship with Meng Guzhezhe.
Especially Ji Feiji, she believed that Meng Guzhezhe's status in the Gaofu was most similar to hers. Not only did she not regard Meng Guzhezhe as a competitor, but she was the closest to him.
Faced with Gao's pragmatic question, Meng Guzhezhe's answer was also very simple: "In my words, like Ye He, all he wants is a well-off people, easy business, and help from the court in case of black and white disasters. And Mongolia and
Although Ye He is similar, there are some differences. I think that in addition to the above, Mongolia has another need that the imperial court may not have paid special attention to."
She first erased anything that could be associated with "ambition" for Ye He, and then aroused Gao Jingshi's curiosity about the "special needs" of the Mongols. Gao Jingshi asked as expected: "What needs?"
Meng Guzhe said: "Eastern Mongolia claims to be Mongolian orthodoxy, and Tumut has always coveted Chahar's 'orthodox' status. Therefore, if you ask the Tumut people what else they need in particular right now... it is probably the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain state.
Recognition of its Mongolian orthodoxy.”
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ps: This chapter is 5k, and the extra 1k will be included in my pre-deposit recharge... Well, to get down to business, I scrapped a draft of this chapter when I was writing it, because I suddenly remembered that I should not forget my original intention - my original intention was that the female character next to the protagonist should not have a vase.
, then looked back and looked at it, and felt that Huang Zhiting, Liu Xin, and Ji Feiji had more or less met the requirements in their minds, but the characterizations of Meng Guzhezhe and Princess Yongning were still weak, and they should be given more pen and ink. Therefore, this
The chapter will start with the characterization of Meng Guzhezhe. The eldest princess may have to wait due to the plot structure.