Chapter 318
In the capital, at Dongzhimen, Duke Haiguo's Mansion, there is an incense table in the lobby.
A Huangmen eunuch held an edict in his hand and was reading out: "I govern the world with letters and quell chaos with force. The Crown Prince Taibao, the Commander-in-Chief of the Left of the Governor-General of the Fifth Army, the Governor-General of Liaodong, the general who conquered the captives, Cheng Shijie, the Duke of Haiguo, and the literary talents Outstanding, wise voice reaches all around; he is virtuous in quelling chaos, and his martial arts is outstanding in the temple. He is worshiped by the Prime Minister, Liaodong Town, Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Taiyuan Town, Yansui Town, Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town, Gansu Town has nine border military affairs and can participate in major political affairs together.
Cheng Shijie stretched out his hand to receive the imperial edict: "My lord, Cheng Shijie—kowtow to thank Heaven for his grace!"
"congratulations!"
Cheng Shijie winked at Lin Xuwen. Lin Xuwen understood and said with a smile: "Eunuch, it's freezing out here, why don't you drink a glass of warm wine with me!"
The Huangmen's face was full of joy and he followed Lin Xuwen down.
Meng En smiled bitterly and said: "Commander, your Majesty is putting you on the fire to roast!"
"What can I do?"
"Commander, why bother wading into this muddy water? Why don't you just resign?"
"Of course I can resign, but once there is a loophole in the Nine Borders, and the Mongolian and Jiannu break through, who among the Nine Borders will be spared? Innocent people? It will not only harm the moral integrity, but also harm the harmony of the world...!"
Cheng Shijie naturally knew that authority also meant responsibility. The Prime Minister had nine sides, which meant that Cheng Shijie was in charge of nearly 600,000 troops in addition to Ning Haijun.
The strength of the nine-border troops has been increasing and decreasing. In the 48th year of Wanli, the number was the highest, reaching more than 882,000. In the Chongzhen Dynasty, it had dropped to more than 590,000. Of course, this is only the number on the military register of the Ministry of War. The actual number can be A third would be good.
With so many troops and horses under his control, Cheng Shijie may not necessarily be able to mobilize them. Even if Sun Chengzong single-handedly formed the Guan Ning Army, Lian Zu Dashou and He Kegang were both promoted by Sun Chengzong. But the problem is that before the Daling River, During the battle, not to mention Sun Chengzong's inability to mobilize Guan Ning's army, even Zu Dashou, the leader of the generals in western Liaoning, could not mobilize Guan Ning's army. His brother-in-law also defected before the battle.
If possible, Cheng Shijie simply wanted to take care of this matter, but the question was, could he? The current history has been changed beyond recognition by Cheng Shijie, a butterfly from another world. In the original history, in the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, the slaves broke into Datong Town, but they were not discovered. The large-scale drought that was originally discovered only in the tenth year of Chongzhen was discovered in the winter of the eighth year of Chongzhen. There were no records of major snow disasters.
History has irresistible inertia. Now the wheel of history is rolling forward, pushing Ming Dynasty into the bottomless abyss with unstoppable momentum.
Meng En is also very clear about the urinary nature of those officials. In their eyes, there is no common people in the world, no common people, and no country and society. They only have personal selfish interests.
"But, Marshal, you have been in critical condition one after another at the border. Now the border has not been lost. I'm afraid they didn't hold it in well!"
Cheng Shijie nodded and said, "Yes, as long as I take office, they have already set up a plan."
Meng En said: "Mutiny? Arresting for pay? Fearing the enemy and cowardly fighting?"
“Probably a multi-pronged approach!”
Cheng Shijie smiled bitterly and said: "The most terrifying thing is that I have no time to mobilize Ning Haijun."
The Great Wall has nine sides and eleven towns, with a total length of more than 7,300 kilometers. The eastern end of the Great Wall starts from the Hushan Great Wall on the Yalu River in Dandong City, Liaoning Province, and ends at the western end of the Great Wall at Jiayuguan in Gansu Province. Although Ning Haijun now has more than 300,000 troops, the problem is that Cheng Shijie can mobilize less than 100,000 troops. If they are mobilized to the nine-border defense line, these troops will not be enough.
"Then what are you going to do, Commander?"
Cheng Shijie sighed and said: "We can only bite the bullet and resist!"
"As you said, cavalry mobile defense?"
"It would be fine in normal times, but the problem is that the road is now blocked by heavy snow, and the cavalry cannot run fast. Fortunately, the heavy snow now also limits the movement speed of the Mongols!"
Cheng Shijie looked at the huge nine-sided map and thought about countermeasures.
At this moment, footsteps came from outside the door.
"Commander, there is news from Liaodong!"
Cheng Shijie received the secret letter. This was sent by Ning Haijun as quickly as possible. The news could reach Liaodong in three days at the earliest. As expected, the message above was Sun Zhiman telling Cheng Shijie in a brief sentence that Huang Taiji had sent Fan Wencheng arrived in Liaodong and prepared for talks. According to Sun Chengzong's judgment, Jiannu also suffered a severe snowstorm and should seek help from Ning Haijun.
In Sun Chengzong's analysis, Huang Taiji might make a fuss about the Ming soldiers and civilians who were captured in the hands of Jiannu. If Cheng Shijie agreed, he would definitely promote Cheng Shijie's access to Jiannu. If he didn't agree, Huang Taiji might kill the Ming soldiers and civilians in their hands. The soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty captured prisoners, even Han military flags, in order to reduce the population and reduce expenses...
Cheng Shijie also agreed with Sun Chengzong's judgment. As the saying goes, if a family has an old man, it is like having a treasure. If it were not for Sun Chengzong's advance prediction, Sun Zhiwan would probably get Fan Wencheng's request after contacting Fan Wencheng.
Huang Taiji is indeed good at seizing opportunities. This is the vision and pattern of a powerful tycoon. What he is using now is conspiracy. Whether Cheng Shijie agrees or disagrees, it will cause great damage to Cheng Shijie's reputation. He doesn't want to If he agrees to negotiate with Jiannu and does not accept Jiannu's blackmail, Huang Taiji will put hundreds of thousands of lives on Cheng Shijie's head.
When the time comes, those in the court will definitely bite Cheng Shijie like a mad dog.
"Huang Taiji is so poisonous!"
Meng En looked at the secret letter and knew that Cheng Shijie had no choice and Ning Haijun had no choice. From the moment Fan Wencheng set foot in Liaonan, everything was doomed.
In addition to ignoring it as Huang Taiji planned? The soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty who were captured as slaves will definitely be killed, and their Ming Dynasty family members will eat Cheng Shijie. The memorial from the court officials is enough to build a tomb for Cheng Shijie!
However, Meng En suddenly discovered that Cheng Shijie didn't have any displeasure on his face, but smiled lightly.
"Commander, how can you still laugh at this time?"
"If you don't smile, am I going to cry?"
"this……"
"Can crying solve the problem? If we can solve the problem, if we can cry back the more than 400,000 Mongolian troops, if we can rescue millions of refugees, I can shed my tears dry!"
Cheng Shijie smiled faintly and said: "But the problem is that crying can't solve the problem... Huang Tai is very calculating, but it's a pity that he encountered it!"
Cheng Shijie said seriously: "Meng En!"
"The general is here!"
"Record, order."
"First, Ning Haijun has entered into strategic mobilization. All factories are producing quilts, cotton-padded clothes, sleeping bags, tents and other cold-proof materials at full speed. All farming households are distributing equipment and receiving emergency military training. All young men who can ride horses are sent to the Jin Dynasty. State rally…”
"Second, Liaodong Changpingcang is opened, all transport ships stop commercial transportation, and all merchant ships are mobilized for great use!":
"Third, officials and Luzon, except for keeping necessary grains, all excess grains will be sealed up and not sold at will. Anyone who dares to hoard strange goods and drive up prices..."
Cheng Shijie issued more than 20 orders in just half an hour, and these more than 20 orders were sent to Liaodong as quickly as possible.
…
In the front hall of the Liaodong Administrative Committee compound in Jinzhou, Liaodong. Fan Wencheng has an unattractive appearance, short and thin, wearing an official hat and a sparse beard. His eyes are very lively, and he always gives people a feeling of being businesslike and shrewd.
Fan Wencheng saluted Sun Zhiman respectfully and shouted: "Foreign Minister Fan Wencheng, please see Mr. Sun!"
In fact, Fan Wencheng did not know Sun Zhidao's true official position, but he knew that Sun Zhidao was Cheng Shijie's right-hand man, and his status was even higher than that of Chen Guodong and Zhou Yandong, Cheng Shijie's elders, as well as Yang Yunniang.
Fan Wencheng speculated that Cheng Shijie had no one available, otherwise he would not be able to let his concubine show up.
Sun Zhibao said: "Master Fan, there is no need to be polite, just sit down."
Fan Wencheng quickly thanked him, sat down, and looked Sun Zhiman up and down. Seeing that Sun Zhiman was so young, he couldn't help but said: "Master Sun is still so young, and he has achieved such achievements at such a young age..."
"I'm not familiar with you, so if you're saying these things, then don't bother!"
Sun Zhiwan sneered and said, "What is your purpose? Just tell me!"
Fan Wencheng felt like he punched cotton, and there was a feeling that his power was useless. If Sun Zhiwan was an ordinary boy from a poor family, he would definitely be proud of Fan Wencheng's flattery in front of him, but the problem is that Sun Zhiwan is Sun Chengzong's Sun Tzu, following Sun Chengzong to practice by his side, what kind of official has he not seen? What kind of flattery haven’t you heard?
Fan Wencheng cupped his hands and said, "My foreign minister has admired Mr. Sun for a long time. It is a blessing to meet Mr. Sun today. It is a small matter to express my respect. I hope Mr. Sun will not dislike you!"
Fan Wencheng said as he took out a gift list and handed it over.
Sun Zhiman took it and took a look, good guy, all these miscellaneous things add up to at least thirty or forty thousand taels of silver. It's really a generous move!
Liaodong is not guilty of accepting bribes. It is not illegal to accept bribes. But the problem is that if you accept the benefits of the other party and do things for the other party outside the scope of the law, it is a violation of the law.
Sun Zhiwan accepted it unceremoniously. Anyway, he made up his mind to truthfully report the bribery process. He would spend the money without any psychological burden.
Sun Zhiman said: "Such a heavy gift is really frightening... Tell me, is there anything you need my help with?"
Sun Zhiwan was really not polite at all. It was probably the first time for Fan Wencheng to meet such a person, and he made him feel at a loss.
According to the script, aren't you supposed to get furious and scold me, and then after all my nice words and flattery, you accept the gift half-heartedly, and then I ask you to do something again? This rhythm is completely wrong. ! He was frightened and always felt that there was a pit ahead, but the arrow was on the string and he had to shoot.
Fan Wencheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "To be honest with Mr. Sun, the foreign minister came to Liaodong on the order of King Khan to discuss a business!"
"But it doesn't matter!"
"I heard that Liaodong is trying its best to buy people!"
"That's right!"
"We in the Jin Kingdom have more than 200,000 Ming Dynasty prisoners of war. I wonder if Mr. Sun is interested in these more than 200,000 prisoners of war?"
Sun Zhiwan laughed secretly in his heart: "Young man, if I don't torture you to death, I will take your surname as Fan!"
"interested in!"
"Okay, I heard that each of you charges ten taels of silver?"
"That's right, ten taels of silver for young men and eight taels for women and children!"
"Most of our population of more than 200,000 are young and strong. How about pricing it at ten taels of silver per person?"
"Can!"
"Then, if we sell all these 200,000 people to you, this will be more than 2 million taels of silver!"
"It's not a big deal, we in Liaodong have a lot of money!"
Sun Zhiwan continued: "Whenever the transaction is made, one hand will be handed over to the person and the other hand will be paid!"
Sun Zhidan had already decided to take over Fan Wencheng, so what would Fan Wencheng do even if he took the money? Now Ning Haijun has blocked Jiannu's lifeline, and the eight major Shanxi merchants have also been confiscated. Now no one dares to do business with Jiannu. Even if they want to buy more than a hundred taels of grain, they have no place to buy it.
Fan Wencheng actually did not expect that this trip would be so smooth. He smiled and said: "You can't eat or drink silver. We don't want silver, we want food. I asked, last year your wheat was seven dollars per stone, rice." Nine taels of silver per stone, isn’t there a disaster now? We don’t use last year’s price, how about one tael of silver per stone of grain? Erasing the fraction, we only need to pay us 2 million stones of grain, which can be exchanged at any time!”
"Master Fan, do you know what the price of food is now?"
"what price?"
"Food in the capital now costs nine taels and four cents per stone, and the price is one per day. There is no market for the price!"
Sun Zhiman smiled and said: "The grain we sold to the capital today costs ten taels of silver per stone. For 200,000 people, we can only sell you two hundred thousand stones of grain!"
Two hundred thousand shi of food was undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the millions of soldiers and civilians of the Jin Kingdom. On average, each person was given two buckets of food. How many days could they last? No, excluding the more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty, who were also the slaves who built the slaves, each person can get two buckets and five liters. But the problem is, two buckets of five liters of grain are not enough to start the spring.
Fan Wencheng frowned and said, "Isn't this too expensive?"
"Oh, it's not expensive, Mr. Fan. The grain we sell to the capital only needs to be loaded on big ships and transported to Tianjin for unloading. If we sell it to you, we will still suffer a loss. If Liaodong didn't need people, we wouldn't be able to do it." Let’s make a deal with you!”
Fan Wencheng said bitterly: "Can I borrow some food?"
"Oh, I know, your Jin country has no money, right?"
Fan Wencheng nodded: "I have money, but it's too expensive!"
"We have another business, I don't know if you are willing to do it or not!"
"what business?"
Sun Zhiman smiled and said: "Forty-nine of the sixteen tribes of Monan Mongolia, under Lin Dan Khan, have taken refuge in your Kingdom of Jin!"
"That's right!"
"Now the Zasak Tuhan Tribe, Tuxie Tuhan Tribe and Chechen Khan Tribe in Mobei Mongolia have gone south and are attacking the defense line of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. Friends who die are not dead. If you, the Jin Kingdom, can accept the employment of our commander, You immediately send troops to attack Mobei Mongolia. Each Mongolian head beheaded can be worth ten taels of silver, or can be exchanged for one stone of food!"
After receiving Cheng Shijie's secret order, Sun Zhili discovered that Cheng Shijie's situation was so big that he actually thought of using this method to break the situation.
Fan Wencheng gritted his teeth and said: "Impossible, we are one family in Manmeng, as close as brothers!"
"Brothers are meant to be betrayed!"
Sun Zhiman smiled and said: "You can think about it slowly. If you can't make the decision, go back to Huang Taiji to discuss it!"
"Those prisoners of war..."
"It's a deal!"
Sun Zhiman smiled and said: "If you agree, exchange it in Liaoyang, if you don't agree!"
Sun Zhili said with a serious face: "Go back immediately to prepare for the battle!"
In front of Fan Wencheng was an ultimatum signed by Cheng Shijie. In five days, whether it is war or peace will be decided by Huang Taiji. The Ning Navy will concentrate on the five divisions of Guangning, Liaozhong, Liaoyang, Shuangcheng, Cavalry, and Artillery. , more than 40,000 troops marched toward Shenyang.
Although it is said that there are many slave cavalry and almost all the people are nomads, the problem is that the road is blocked by heavy snow. The young and strong can run if they can't fight, but where can the old, weak, sick, women and children run?
On the second day of December in the eighth year of Chongzhen reign, the sky was gloomy in Shenyang City. Dark clouds were pressing heavily on the city, as if they might crush the city at any time. Snow flakes fell from the gaps in the clouds. Before they fell to the ground, they were unknown to the north. Wherever the wind blows. The entire city was shrouded in suffocating silence.
The brisk drum beat broke the silence, followed by the sound of sonorous and powerful footsteps. It seemed like thousands of feet were lifted up and down at the same time. Every step that fell would stir up a cloud of snow powder on the ground.
Amidst the flying snow, a large army appeared in the sight of Shenyang people. They were wearing black battle jackets. The generals also wore black cloaks, and their helmets were also decorated with black tassels, like a piece of dark ink in the cold wind. He was dancing in the air, his spears were like a forest, and his armor was clanging. Although his face was covered with dust, it could not cover up his high fighting spirit.
"Ning Haijun is here!"
The whole city seemed to come alive in an instant. Adults made children cry, people fell on their backs, and there was chaos. What was even more frightening was that in the horrified eyes of the slave-building soldiers on the city wall, there were artillery pieces, rocket launchers, and densely packed buildings. The cavalry also slowly appeared at the north gate.
Daishan stood on the city wall, his face livid. He didn't know whether it was because of the cold wind or because of Ning Haijun. Cheng Shijie clearly left them five days, but the problem was that Fan Wencheng had just arrived in Shenyang and was undergoing Huang Taiji. After the meeting, Ning Haijun's army arrived.
"It's too much!"
Shuo Tuo was different from almost all the Jiannu generals who looked ashen. His face was full of excitement, and he looked at Daishan, his biological father, with a fierce look in his eyes.
Huang Taiji looked at the dense crowd of ministers below with a very complicated mood. He originally posed a difficult problem for Cheng Shijie and came up with a conspiracy. He believed that Cheng Shijie was trapped in his dead end. Whether it was war or peace, he would be trapped in endless chaos. Trouble.
However, Cheng Shijie defeated him with a backhand.
Haven’t you always preached that Manchuria and Mongolia are one family?
I will ask you to kill Mongolia in exchange for food. You can choose not to exchange. I cannot stop the more than 400,000 troops of Mongolia in Mobei, but I can easily crush you slaves.
The problem facing Huang Taiji is that if he does not accept Cheng Shijie's threat, he will suffer imminent disaster. Although he can escape with some of his people, the problem is that they have no food now, and too many cattle, sheep and horses have frozen to death. Without food, How far can they run in the ice and snow without any luggage?
How many people can survive this cold wind?
As for fighting against Ning Haijun, it is even more self-destructive. The Battle of Haizhou, the Battle of Bali Bay, and the Battle of Liaoyang are still vivid in our minds. As long as Ning Haijun's cannon fires, it is estimated that Jiannu's entire army will be wiped out.
Huang Taiji looked at Fan Wencheng and said, "Fan Qing, what do you think I should do now?"
"King Khan, if you keep the green hills, you won't have to worry about running out of firewood!"
Fan Wencheng has been awake these days, thinking about this issue and how to break the situation. In fact, Jin Guo has no choice at all now.
Fight with Ning Haijun?
They couldn't beat them, they had already tried. Jiannu's strong bows and crossbows were useless in front of Ning Haijun's guns. They had only a dead end.
Running is also difficult.
Just as they hesitated, Ning Haijun's silent army began to move. A cavalryman stepped forward and shouted with an iron trumpet: "If the time of the last incense stick is not decided, it will be regarded as a decisive battle!"
Regardless of whether Jiannu understood or not, this Ning navy soldier turned around and left without any hesitation.
After half a stick of incense, a loud whistle sounded from Ning Haijun's artillery position.
"Everyone, get ready!"
The barrels of the artillery were raised one after another, and the muzzles were pointed directly at Shenyang City. There were more than a hundred artillery pieces, more than 200 rocket launchers, and countless flying thunder cannons with diameters as thick as buckets.
"Master, get your idea quickly, they are going to fire!"
A minister knelt in front of Huang Taiji, his head was sweating. He would rather die than be blown away.
"King Khan!"
Whooping, people were kneeling in front of Huang Taiji.
Huang Taiji closed his eyes in pain: "Ben Khan, agree to peace!"
PS: Two updates of 12,000 words today. It’s a new month. Please give me a guaranteed monthly pass.
(End of chapter)
