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During the decisive battle on the Wei River, various Ming armies ignored the covenant and repeatedly attacked the Mongolian right-wing army. The remains of the Mongolian right-wing cavalry who died in the battle were also beheaded by the Ming army soldiers and used them to pass off as the heads of the Junggar cavalry in exchange for military honors. Regardless of these things, No matter what, it's all your own fault.
What's more, Zhao Junchen is now an imperial envoy, and his words and deeds represent the credibility of the court and the dignity of the emperor. He must not do anything treacherous - at least not openly, and even if he does it, he cannot be caught. Stop talking.
The most important thing is that for the next step of the plan to regain the Hetao, Zhao Junchen cannot fall out with the Mongolian right wing for the time being, and even has to win their further trust.
Therefore, after learning the news that Qi Gemu had come to raise an army to question him, Zhao Junchen put on a smile and stood up to greet him in person.
During this period of time, Zhao Junchen has become accustomed to being the only one in Shaanxi and Gansu. He has not done anything like smiling for a long time. Now that he is returning to his old business, it is inevitable that he is a bit unfamiliar and unaccustomed, and his smile is quite fake and stiff. .
However, as soon as Zhao Junchen stood up, he saw the curtain of the commander's tent being violently opened, and then a young man wearing a Mongolian war robe strode into the commander's tent, and another middle-aged man hurriedly walked into the commander's tent. He followed behind and couldn't help but dissuade him, while the guards outside the commander's tent did not dare to stop him without Zhao Junchen's order.
Obviously, this strong young Mongolian man is Qigmu, the commander of the Mongolian right-wing army and the son of Qiyan, the leader of the Ordos tribe.
Qi Gemu is about thirty years old, and his appearance and facial features have obvious characteristics of Mongolian descent. However, his behavior and temperament are not as barbaric and rude as ordinary Mongolians. Too sinister.
At this time, Qi Gemu's expression was full of anger and excitement, as if he had lost his mind, but his eyes remained calm and unwavering. A pair of eagle eyes stared closely at Zhao Junchen's expression changes and attitude reactions. It was obvious that he The angry attitude is just a means to strive for more benefits.
As for the other middle-aged man, his appearance and facial features are obviously of Han ancestry, but he is wearing a Mongolian war robe, and his demeanor is quite like a Han military attache. He should be Wei Song, the internal officer who Zhao Junchen inserted into the Mongolian coalition.
In this decisive battle on the Wei River, Zhao Junchen was able to alienate the Mongolian coalition forces and completely annihilate the Junggar tribe. Wei Song's ability to hide his courage can be said to be a great contribution.
During this period of time, Zhao Junchen and Wei Song had exchanged letters, but this was their first meeting, so Zhao Junchen inevitably looked at Wei Song a few more times.
Wei Song has an ordinary appearance, a stout figure, and a face full of weathered air. There is nothing surprising about him, but his forbearing and calm temperament is impressive.
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While Zhao Junchen was secretly observing Qi Gemu and Wei Song, Qi Gemu and Wei Song were also secretly observing Zhao Junchen.
Seeing Zhao Junchen standing up to greet him with a smile on his face, Qigemu knew that Zhao Junchen was consciously wronged and unwilling to tear up both sides, so the anger on his expression became even stronger and he spoke in Chinese with a weird accent He roared angrily at Zhao Junchen: "Are you the imperial envoy of the Han court? You Han people have always claimed to be a country of etiquette and a great country, but I think you are all treacherous and despicable villains! In order to help you eliminate the Junggar tribe, our Mongolian right wing , how much pressure and risk did we bear? On the battlefield, it was mainly our Mongolian right-wing warriors who resisted the attack of the Junggar cavalry! It was clearly agreed in advance that the two armies would attack Junggar, so the Han army did not help, but they still attacked repeatedly We Mongolian right wing warriors! If it weren’t for the constant harassment by the Han army, how could our Mongolian right wing have suffered such heavy casualties? Just because you didn’t keep your word, our Mongolian right wing lost five thousand warriors!”
As he roared, Qi Gemu's spit almost hit Zhao Junchen's face.
But Zhao Junchen still had a smile on his face, and looked like he was consciously wronged and deeply guilty. He bowed his hands to Qigemu and apologized: "Your Excellency must be Qigemu, the commander-in-chief of the Mongolian right-wing army and the son of the beggar leader of the Ordos tribe, right? It is true that I failed to restrain the soldiers this time, which is why I accidentally injured the warriors of the Mongolian right wing... But please rest assured, Chief Qiegemu, we, the Ming Dynasty, will never break our promises and burn bridges by crossing rivers. We have said before If the conditions are good, I will never break my promise... In addition, considering that the losses on the Mongolian right wing are relatively serious, I will also provide some additional compensation."
Zhao Junchen's statement seemed to irritate Qigemu, and he became even more agitated and angry, saying loudly: "We have lost more than five thousand warriors, all of them are good men on the grassland. How can we be just a mere man?" Can you make up for it with a batch of grain and supplies? Also, you Han people insulted the bodies of our warriors after they died in battle, and cut off all the heads of these brave warriors as military honors. How can such an insult be ignored?… ...How do you plan to compensate us?"
Hearing Qi Gemu's last words, a hint of contempt flashed deep in Zhao Junchen's eyes.
The Mongolian Tatars are the Mongolian Tatars. When they see the benefits, they can't sit still, and they don't even care about posturing.
But on the surface, Zhao Junchen still looked reasonable. After thinking carefully for a moment, he gave a definite answer and said slowly: "According to the original agreement between you and me, as long as the Mongolian right wing rebels during the decisive battle on the Weishui River, , we will give the Mongolian right wing 100,000 stones of food and grass. In addition, we will privately deliver 30,000 stones of food and grass to the Ordos tribe, for a total of 130,000 stones... Now, the losses of the tribes on the Mongolian right wing are much more serious than imagined, and some of them have been lost. It was also due to our mistakes, so in order to show our sincerity and apology, how about increasing the quantity of this batch of grain and grass to 170,000 shi? Among them, the major tribes on the right wing of Mongolia totaled 130,000 shi, which were privately delivered to Ordos For the tribe, it’s 40,000 stones.”
As soon as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Qi Gemu looked humiliated and roared loudly again: "In other words, you are only willing to compensate us an additional 40,000 stones of food and grass? The lives of 5,000 Mongolian warriors, in In your eyes, they are only worth 40,000 stones of food and grass? Is this how you Han people treat your allies?"
Zhao Junchen was not angry, but patiently explained: "I hope Chief Qigemu can understand. It's not that I am stingy with my allies. In fact, our Ming Dynasty also has no food left... This time we are fighting the Mongolian coalition. , the imperial court has transported all the available grain and grass to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, and even misappropriated the salaries of officials and royal relatives, but the total is only 800,000 shi. However, after the victory in this battle, there will always be a need A batch of money and grain should be used to reward the soldiers, otherwise the morale of the army would be unstable and there would be a risk of mutiny. There have been natural and man-made disasters in Shaanxi and Gansu for years, so a batch of money and grain should be used to relieve the people. This is another expense... these expenses Taken together, this batch of money and food provided by the imperial court to Shaanxi and Gansu is just a drop in the bucket! I can transfer 170,000 shi of food and grass to you, which is already the limit. I really can't give more food and grass."
In fact, the imperial court did use all the remaining grain to support the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu this time. However, disaster relief and military rations are calculated separately. Eight hundred thousand dan is just the amount of military rations. Zhao Junchen can currently use a full 100,000 dan. More than 300,000 dan, but Zhao Junchen still behaved sincerely even when he was crying about poverty, leaving no room for doubt.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Qi Gemu fell silent, but his eyes kept fluctuating, apparently secretly thinking about the pros and cons.
After a long time, Qie Gemu said in an unquestionable tone: "Two hundred thousand stones of grain and grass! You have to hand over to us two hundred thousand stones of grain and grass! Among them, 50,000 stones of grain and grass were privately delivered to the Ordos tribe alone! After all, we Mongolians The right wing has betrayed the descendants of Tian Khan for you this time, and the damage is much more serious than expected. If there is not enough food and grass, I will not be able to explain to the leaders of the tribes on the right wing of Mongolia! ... In return , I won’t hold you accountable for your Han army’s insult to the remains of our warriors. I know you want to use those heads as military honors, so I won’t hold them back from you! How about that?”
When expressing his stance, Zigmu seemed to have forgotten how angry he had been because of the insult to the remains of the warriors in his clan.
Zhao Junchen was also silent for a long time, as if he was secretly calculating and considering. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said with an embarrassed expression: "Okay, I'll give you two hundred thousand stones!"
After seeing Zhao Junchen agree to his conditions, Qi Gemu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The Mongolian right-wing army is now suffering heavy losses and has no qualifications to negotiate terms with the Han court. If Zhao Junchen does not agree to such terms or even breaks the contract, Qigemu will have no choice.
Ziegemu's previous performance seemed to be aggressive, but in fact it was a sign of weakness. In summary, it was "what a price we paid to help you", "you are ashamed of us", "you can't ignore us" , rather like some poor relatives borrowing money.
In fact, the Mongolian right wing lost more than 5,000 cavalry during the Battle of the Weishui River. It seemed like heavy casualties, but all the casualties were shared by many tribes on the Mongolian right wing. After each tribe was divided, the damage was not serious, and they took the opportunity to inflict heavy losses. It is not too much of a loss to eliminate the Dzungarian Khanate, which is a major concern of the Mongolian right wing.
What's more, the main force of the Mongolian right wing is still gathered east of the Hetao area, restraining the strength of the two major military towns of Datong and Taiyuan, and threatening the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. This time only a small number of troops were sent to join the Mongolian coalition. Such losses are far less damaging to one's vitality.
Qie Gemu didn't care about these injuries, nor did he care that the remains of his soldiers were insulted by the Han people. It was just that after years of natural disasters, the Mongolian grasslands were indeed without food to survive the winter. The tribes on the right wing of Mongolia were no longer able to survive. Qi Gemu was forced to ask Zhao Junchen for food.
After discussing the amount of food and fodder, Qie Gemu no longer yelled loudly, and the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became much more harmonious. The two of them even had time to chat a few words or compliment each other.
While the two were talking, more guards entered the account one after another to report, claiming to be Gansu General Jin Huyuan, Forbidden Army Comrade Zhang Chengxun, Guyuan General Soldier Fang Zhenshan, and the New Army Commander He Zhang and others rushed to the Chinese Army one after another. The camp is waiting for Zhao Junchen's summons outside the tent.
Seeing that Zhao Junchen still had many things to deal with after the war, Qi Gemu said goodbye and left knowingly.
Before leaving, Qi Gemu once again confirmed to Zhao Junchen: "After a day's rest, I will lead the Mongolian right-wing army to leave the Han territory. At that time, I hope that Mr. Zhao can let the Han army avoid a path... But, this talk Okay, two hundred thousand stones of food and grass, when do you plan to hand it over to us?"
In this regard, Zhao Junchen obviously had a plan, and immediately replied: "Two hundred thousand stones of grain and grass is not a small amount, and it takes a certain amount of time to turn around and transport... Well, after twenty days, I will send someone to take care of it." This batch of grain and grass has been transported to the junction of Shaanxi and Hetao areas, and I hope you will send personnel to hand it over when the time comes."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's exact answer, Qi Gemu naturally felt relieved and nodded: "In that case, I will wait for the good news from the imperial envoy."
After saying that, Qi Gemu bowed his hand to Zhao Junchen and said goodbye, but he looked knowledgeable and reasonable, no longer as aggressive as he was at the beginning.
At the same time, Wei Song, who had been silent since entering the commander's tent, also left with Qie Gemu - he would continue to stay with Qie Gemu and be responsible for the contact between the two armies.
Before leaving, Wei Song and Zhao Junchen looked at each other silently, but they had a tacit understanding and didn't say a word.
In a certain respect, Zhao Junchen paid more attention to Wei Song than Qi Gemu. The past experiences of the two brothers Wei Song and Wei Huai were even related to Zhao Junchen's future destiny, but now they are not the same. When making contact.
Finally, watching Qi Gemu's leaving back, a sneer flashed across Zhao Junchen's lips.
Zhao Junchen is an imperial envoy, representing the great justice of the court and the image of the emperor. Naturally, he will not break his promise, and the two hundred thousand grains and grass will definitely be given to the Mongolian right wing as agreed.
However, whether the Mongolian right-wingers will have the appetite to eat this batch of food and grass, or whether their mouths will burst when swallowing this batch of food and grass, is another matter!
Zhao Junchen is quite looking forward to this!
*
After seeing off Qi Gemu, Zhao Junchen just returned to his seat and sat down when he saw the generals of various armies entering the commander's tent one after another.
Apparently, all the military attaches had finished cleaning the battlefield and came to report back to Zhao Junchen.
Among the generals, in addition to He Zhang, Fang Zhenshan, Mao Jiadong and others whom Zhao Junchen was familiar with, there were two new faces.
Among the two new faces, one of them is Jin Huyuan, the commander-in-chief of Gansu Military Town. This man is a veteran of the frontier army. He has a slightly older face, tall body, dark complexion, and a gray beard, which makes him look like an old man. As majestic as flying, Gansu Military Town is far away from the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. It has endured the greatest pressure from Mongolian invasions in recent years. The border army officers and soldiers in Gansu Military Town are also better than other military towns.
However, Gansu Military Town was too far away from the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty after all, and it was difficult to count on him at the critical moment. Therefore, compared to Jin Huyuan, a veteran of the frontier army, Zhao Junchen paid more attention to another young and new face. ——Zhang Chengxun, a fellow commander of the Forbidden Army.
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