In the process of escaping to the grassland, Anda Khan thought repeatedly that this battle should not have been lost.
He has an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. If he fights in the field from the beginning and does not attack the city, even if the opponent has a thousand new muskets, he will never lose.
It was Xiao Feng, the bastard, who first disrupted his mentality by not selling grain, and then threatened to take advantage of the emptiness when the Mongols and Jurchens went to fight outside the Liaoxi Road to steal homes, successfully irritating himself.
I wanted to kill Xiao Feng so much, so I attacked the city violently, first losing a lot of soldiers and morale. Later, he was ambushed by Li Chengliang again.
Of course, there is another major problem, that is, the temporary coalition formed by the Mongols and Jurchens is not commanded smoothly enough. If these 15,000 people are all our own, it will be a completely different matter!
Wang Gao did not escape, he was either caught or dead, and the Jurchen cavalry who followed him also fled in all directions. There are now only more than a thousand Mongolian cavalry left around Anda Khan following him.
Whether it is to aid the Liaoxi Road or to turn back to attack the Ming army for revenge, this amount of troops is far from enough. Anda Khan decided to return to his own territory first, gather various tribes, and form a large army before talking about anything else.
Wang Gao was captured. He was brought to Xiao Feng and stared at Xiao Feng stubbornly, as if he was looking forward to death.
Xiao Feng smiled: "Do you think I will kill you?"
Wang Gao snorted and expressed disdain.
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "Don't worry, I will not only let you go, but I will also make you an official."
Wang Gao couldn't believe his ears. Is there such a good thing in the world?
"Mr. Xiao, kill him if you want, let him go if you want, why should you play with me?"
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "I'm not teasing you, I really want you to be an official. Although your original commander-in-chief of Jianzhou was great, his name was not justified.
From now on, although you will only be the head of a farming area, this official is appointed by the imperial court. A person with official documents can also manage two thousand people. "
Wang Gao was furious: "You are insulting me! Aren't you afraid that I will rebel again?"
Xiao Feng shook his head: "I'm not afraid. Let me tell you, don't think this official is too small. From now on, in the government structure outside the customs, apart from the three generals and the prefect, this will be the largest official."
Wang Gao was stunned: "What do you mean? The imperial court wants to set up a prefect outside the customs? In the past, the General Military Office was always in charge of the place?"
Xiao Feng nodded: "Yes, not only will there be a prefect, but there will also be a school palace. There will be some inside and outside the pass. The difference is that there will no longer be a county under the prefecture, but a farming area.
Each farming district has about 2,000 people, and the district chief reports directly to the prefect. In the farming areas, the farming system was implemented, and all the people were soldiers. Jurchens and Han people lived together in mixed areas and intermarried. "
Wang Gao was silent for a long time: "You are doing this because you are worried that the Jurchens will be reunited again, just like they were on the Mongolian grasslands, right?"
Xiao Feng nodded: "Yes, there will always be strong people like you, even people stronger than you, who can unify a nation and a region with just a dozen pairs of armors.
Then, greater ambitions will arise, and the question will be asked, "Princes, generals, and ministers, would you rather have the seed?" and the sentence, "The emperor will take turns, and he will come to my house next year." '
It is safer only to prevent such mergers and unification and remain decentralized. As for living in a mixed place, it is the same principle. When people gather together, they will be chaotic, but when they disperse, they will feel peaceful.
This is not only the case outside the customs, but will also become like this on the grasslands in the future. Whoever dares to attack and annex other people's land tribes will be destroyed first by the imperial court! "
Wang Gao took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind. He looked straight at Xiao Feng.
"Master Xiao, today I no longer care about life or death. I just want to ask you a question. Do you dare to answer me with your conscience in front of heaven and earth?"
Xiao Feng nodded: "You said, I am not guilty of lying to you."
"Master Xiao, why can only Han people sit here? Why can't others sit here?
The Han people call others barbarians and consider themselves orthodox. Could it be that the Han people's dominance in the world is their destiny? When other ethnic groups take over the world, are they being treasonous? "
Xiao Feng smiled calmly: "Who told you this? There are not so many cheap things in the world. Why don't you think about why the Han people call others barbarians?"
Wang Gao said angrily: "What other reason could there be? You have the first idea, so you can take the world as your own and look down on others!"
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "It is true that there are preconceptions, but looking down on others is not necessarily true. The Han people themselves are also divided into north and south. Southerners think northerners are rough, and northerners think southerners are weak.
Therefore, it is not that the Han people look down on other ethnic groups, but that people from different regions and with different customs dislike each other. "
Wang Gao said loudly: "Han people can't stand each other, but they don't call each other barbarians, but they only call people other than Han people!"
Xiao Feng laughed and said: "People other than the Han people call the Han people "Han dogs" with open mouths. Do they think they look down on the Han people?"
Wang Gao was stunned for a moment. This was true. Barbarians never retaliate when they scolded them. Strictly speaking, Han dogs sounded dirtier than barbarians.
"But since the Han Dynasty, you Han people have been robbing other ethnic groups of their territory! Shouldn't this be scolded?"
Xiao Feng said calmly: "Then do you think that since the Han Dynasty, which war between the Han people and other ethnic groups was initiated by the Han people in order to seize territory?
The origin of war is often border friction, and it is not easy to determine who strikes first. However, the Han people have been mainly engaged in farming since ancient times, and they also pay attention to the reputation of their teachers, so they are not very proactive in war.
Even in today's battle, I am staying well in the General Military Mansion, and the two of you join forces to fight me. Who is more warlike, you or me? "
Wang Gao gritted his teeth and said: "We beat you because you hinted that you would attack our hometown when our troops were empty!"
Xiao Feng said in confusion: "When did I say I would attack you? I kindly reminded you of the lack of troops in my hometown, but it became a crime?
Doesn’t this mean that there is no excuse for wanting to inflict a crime? You brazenly launched a war just by misunderstanding someone else's words. How dare you blame me? "
Wang Gao thought for a moment: "Even if you didn't explicitly say you wanted to attack us, but you refused to sell us food, you just wanted to use this method to starve us to death and provoke civil strife among us!"
Xiao Feng sneered and said: "Listen to what you are saying! Because Ming Dynasty refuses to sell grain, you will attack Ming Dynasty.
If you don’t have food, people will starve to death, civil strife will occur, and your rule will be threatened, so Ming Dynasty must sell food to you as a matter of course!
Why? Since you never regard yourselves as people of the Ming Dynasty from the bottom of your heart, why should the Ming Dynasty have to meet your needs? "
Wang Gao also felt that this reason was a bit far-fetched, but he still argued: "But you obviously have extra food..."
Xiao Feng said coldly: "We have extra food. If you need food, we have to sell it. If we don't sell it, you have to rob it, right?"
Wang Gao stopped talking. Indeed, this has been the way of thinking of the nomads for a long time.
The nomads are not bloodthirsty and easy to kill, and they are not itchy after not fighting for a day.
But many of the things they needed could not be produced by themselves at that time, or the output was extremely low. Such as grains, tea, earthen pots, iron pots, and textiles, these are all urgent needs.
So they want to buy and exchange. However, the Central Plains region has always been wary of nomads, so this kind of transaction has never been smooth. Both sides feel that the other side is unreasonable, and war will eventually break out.
Wang Gao suddenly had an idea and argued: "You Han people were born in the Central Plains from the beginning and occupied the best land in the Central Plains, so you can have so many things.
But we were born in the grasslands and grew up in the wilderness. We have no chance to develop as many things as you! You shouldn't be talking about it when you get an advantage! "
Xiao Feng said coldly: "Many people really have this idea. Do you know that the so-called wilderness under your feet is also a blessed land that others dream of?"
Wang Gao snorted: "The land of Guandong is full of mountains, forests and weeds. It is a bitter and cold land. It is far inferior to the Central Plains. How can we talk about a blessed land?"
Xiao Feng sighed: "There is a nation, they were born on an island. Their island is very small, less than half the size of the land of Kanto.
Moreover, this island has many mountains and little land, so it is not suitable for grazing. Earthquakes that occur once every few decades in the Central Plains and outside the customs occur several times a year on that island.
Once it breaks out, thick smoke will spread all over the place, houses will collapse, violent winds and rain will occur, and tsunamis and landslides will occur. You say, how does a place like this compare to outside the customs? "
Wang Gao was stunned for a moment: "Of course it's far worse!"
"So, they thought, we are all human beings, why were we born on this broken island? You Jurchens can live in the vast and stable land of Kanto?
So they come to beat you and rob you of your land, and they think it's natural. Do you think this is reasonable? "
Wang Gao gritted his teeth and said, "We will fight anyone who dares to rob our home. The Jurchens are never afraid of fighting!"
Xiao Feng asked calmly: "But the environment is so bad, you got it cheap, why don't you be more generous?"
Wang Gao knew that Xiao Feng was using his spear to attack his shield. He thought about it again and again, and realized that it didn't make sense that Han people were born to take advantage.
Wang Gao laughed miserably and said: "People are born unequal, they are tall, short, fat, thin, high or low.
It seems that nations are inherently unequal. Some are born in good places and some are born in bad places.
But those who were born in a good place feel that it is natural, but what should they do if they are born in a bad place? Just accept your fate?
Definitely not. In the end, isn't it just a fight, the winner takes all? "
Xiao Feng nodded: "This is indeed the case in many places between heaven and earth. Only war can finally solve this problem.
The victors turn the losers into slaves or even exterminate them, occupying a better place for themselves until another group of stronger people arrives and defeats them.
Then the former victors became slaves, or even became extinct, and good places were taken over, reincarnating again and again. "
Wang Gao took a deep breath: "So now that I have lost, I admit it. Do you want to turn me into a slave, or do you want to exterminate me?"
Xiao Feng shook his head: "I said before, I will not kill you, nor will I treat you as a slave. I will let you go, and if you are willing, you can also become a district chief."
Wang Gao looked at Xiao Feng in surprise: "Aren't those principles you just said to tell me the outcome of the Jurchens and me? Either we will be slaves or we will be extinct?"
Xiao Feng looked at Wang Gao with a smile: "I said that in many places between heaven and earth, there are only two endings like that. But only in China, there is a third ending."
Wang Gao looked at Xiao Feng in confusion, and Xiao Feng looked at him calmly: "Do you know why many ethnic minorities in history defeated the Han people and occupied the Central Plains, but in the end they failed to stay for a long time?"
Wang Gao could now feel that Xiao Feng was not teasing him, but was seriously reasoning with him, and his answers were much more serious.
"I think it's because there are too many Han people!"
Xiao Feng shook his head: "During the Wuhu rebellion in China, the Han people were massacred, and the total population was only four to five million. Compared with other ethnic groups, there is not much advantage.
But in the end, the Han people returned to their position as masters of the Central Plains. Can this be said to be just because there are too many Han people? "
Wang Gao thought again: "That is, the ethnic minorities who established political power are fighting and killing each other, but the Han people are of the same ethnic group and are more united!"
Xiao Feng shook his head: "The Mongols relied on fast horses and long swords to conquer large areas of land. Their political power was not composed of several ethnic groups, but a unified Mongolian people. Why did they also fail?"
Wang Gao thought distressedly for a long time: "That means the Han people are smart, have more advanced weapons, and are more proficient in the art of war!"
Xiao Feng smiled bitterly and said: "Today I defeated you and An Dahan with a musket, so you said such a thing.
The Han people are not a nation that is good at fighting. In terms of combat power, most of the time they are on par with other ethnic groups. "
Wang Gao looked at Xiao Feng unconvinced: "This is not right, that is not right either, then tell me, what's going on?
Don't tell me anything about destiny, I don't believe that God is the God of the Han people! "
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "This has nothing to do with God. The reason why the Han people have been able to occupy the Central Plains for a long time is actually because they used the third ending to solve the problem of ethnic inequality you mentioned.
Anywhere or any country, only by solving this problem can long-term peace and stability be achieved and remain invincible! "
Wang Gao shook his head repeatedly: "How to solve this problem? Han people were born in the Central Plains, Mongolians were born in the grasslands, and Jurchens were born in the white mountains and black waters.
What ethnic group you are talking about was born on that hell-like broken island. If these people want to live in the Central Plains, how will you solve it? "
Xiao Feng said calmly: "The Han people have never allowed any ethnic group to live in the Central Plains.
If you look at the Central Plains today, the Han people you see are themselves composed of many ethnic groups. But no matter what they were called before, now, they are all called Han people.
Just like the Mongols, they are actually made up of many ethnic groups, and they are all called Mongols now.
If you think about it carefully, you will find that when ethnic minorities came to power, they never thought of turning Han people into people like themselves, but regarded Han people as inferior people.
When the Han people came to power, what they did intentionally or unintentionally was to turn other ethnic groups into people like themselves. "
Wang Gao was stunned: "This...I don't have much education, so don't lie to me. Do you have any evidence?"
Xiao Feng smiled: "During the Five Husties, they called the Han people two-legged sheep, and they killed people like cattle and sheep.
When the Jurchens established the Jin Dynasty, they called people other than Jurchens "various people", and Jurchens were not guilty of death if they killed "various people".
The Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty and divided the people into four classes. The Mongols were still the ruling nation and enjoyed a large number of privileges over other ethnic groups.
The only country that was relatively friendly to the Han people was the Liao Kingdom established by the Khitan people. In their country, at least legally, the Han people and the Khitan people were relatively equal.
But if you look at the dynasties established by the Han people, are there any laws in any dynasty that specifically gave special privileges to the Han people, while treating other ethnic groups in the country as inferiors, slaves or even livestock? "
Wang Gao thought hard for a while and said dullly: "I don't study much, maybe I have it, maybe I don't."
Xiao Feng said seriously: "If we say that in this land, the Han people appeared earlier, they are like the eldest sons of this land. They chose the most suitable place to live and built their houses.
New nations emerged later, the second and third sons of this land. The place where these sons were born is not that good, and they also want to live in the place where their eldest son was.
The eldest son never disagreed. He just hopes that these brothers can abide by the culture and rules he has established. Is this too much?
But what did those brothers do? They felt that the eldest son was pedantic and weak, so one after another they took turns to grab this place.
They don't want to live well together, they want to be the masters of their own family and replace the eldest son's rules with their own rules.
And their rule is that only they themselves are the most noble, and other brothers are all inferiors, slaves, and livestock! "
Wang Gao stopped talking. He knew that although what Xiao Feng said may not be absolutely correct, in most cases, it was indeed the case.
He knew that in the Central Plains, there were many Khitans, Dangxiang people, and Huns in the past, but now they have become Han people.
Although their appearance is still different from the original Han people, they consider themselves Han people, and others regard them as Han people, without any difference.
Even the Miao, Mongolians, and Jurchens, these ethnic groups who are still arguing with the Han, have many people living in the Central Plains.
The Han people have never discriminated against them because of their ethnic identity. If there is discrimination, it must be for other reasons.
For example, officials hate Hai Rui, not because he is a Muslim, but simply because he is too hateful.
"So, Han people will never look down on a person because of his ethnicity. Han people will only look down on a person because of his character.
Han people never look down on a nation. If Han people look down on a nation, it will only be because of what this nation has done!
If a nation is unreasonable and only believes in the weak and the strong, why should such a nation not be looked down upon?
If a nation does not create civilization but only destroys civilization, why should such a nation not be looked down upon?
If a nation is displaced to a different place and is rescued by the indigenous people, food and land are generously shared with them. But they slaughtered all the indigenous people and imprisoned the remaining survivors in quarantine areas. Why can't such a nation be looked down upon?
If a nation occupies the land of other nations, slaughters hundreds of thousands of civilians at a time, treats killing as a competition, treats shamelessness as glory, and treats other nations as livestock, why should such a nation not be looked down upon? "
Wang Gao looked at Xiao Feng blankly, speechless. He knew that today he was completely defeated, both on the battlefield and mentally.
Even his most proud ideal, which was to enter the pass and seize control of the Central Plains, suddenly changed from an ideal that occupied the moral high ground to that of an ambitious man, losing a lot of its luster.
