It was now afternoon. After Gao pragmatic left the palace, he went directly to the Ministry of Revenue. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yong, Minister of the Ministry of War, came over and was waiting.
After all, the other party was a well-established Sima, and he was too pragmatic to be neglected, so he immediately invited him to meet him in his room. When Zhou Yong saw Gao Pragmatic, he immediately asked after the courtesy: "Situ, is the Emperor dissatisfied with the current war situation?"
Gao pragmatically said: You, the great Sima, are really sensitive. However, not only could he not say these words, he could not even express them in face, so he smiled slightly, waved his hands and said: "The Emperor is a little surprised, but I have already solved the problem for the Ministry of War, so I don't have to worry."
Zhou Yong immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and then thanked him repeatedly. Gao pragmatically said in a calm manner that he didn't need to be so polite, and both sides exchanged polite words.
Then Zhou Yong sighed and said: "This battle is really weird. I really don't understand what Tumen is doing by doing this... So what if he defeats the Tumote reinforcements? At the moment, he They have all arrived near Daning. Even if Tumut is left alone and heads east immediately, he will never be able to capture Horqin before winter comes! So what is he trying to do with all this fuss?"
At this time, Jinshi Guanzheng came in with tea. Gao Pragmatic did not answer immediately. He took the tea and took a sip. He put down the tea cup and waited for Jinshi Guanzheng to go out. Then he said: "The so-called capture of Horqin is probably just Tumen's." A cover-up, his real intention should be to re-establish the prestige of the Mongol Khan."
"I would like to hear from Situ Gao." Zhou Yong said immediately.
"I don't dare to speak highly, but I have some thoughts and would like to discuss it with my soldiers." Gao Pragmatic said casually and politely, and then said: "In the previous three battles of Monan, Liaonan, and Liaobei, Tumen did not get any benefits. As a result, It was Abadai Saiyin Khan of the Outer Khalkha tribe who violated his orders in both positive and negative ways... It was not even a positive and negative violation, he almost ignored them directly.
Mongolia has been divided for many years, and Tumut has been more prestigious than Chahar for decades. The influence of Tumen, the great khan, did not cover a wide range, so he had to create a five-ruling system to declare his power. However, later on, due to successive defeats in three wars, the Khan's power became even more precarious.
This time he suddenly sent troops to conquer Transkalkha, which was regarded as consolidating the old territory of Dalaxun Kuden Khan before he moved eastward. It can be said to be a rare achievement in recent years. However, Tumen and Burihatu still have some sense. They know that after doing this, they will definitely attract the attention of Ming Dynasty. There is no guarantee that Ming Dynasty will not take any action.
If what I expected is correct, it was Burihatu who suggested the idea to the Tumen. The general idea must be that instead of waiting for me, the Ming Dynasty, to take action, it would be better to be the first to say that he wanted to surrender Horqin, so as to seize the initiative and force me to do so. Daming could only focus on Horqin's side as they expected.
It has to be said that Burihatu's strategy was really successful. And not only that, he also expected that since the Ming Dynasty was not fully prepared for the decisive battle with Chahar, Tumut would probably be involved in this operation, so he used the main force of Abadai Saiyin Khan to contain it. We in Liaodong rescued Horqin's troops, and used Chahar's main force to move westward to sneak attack on Tumote's reinforcements.
Why would they target Tumut? The reason is actually very simple, because Tumut is the leader of the Mongolian right wing and the most powerful competitor of Chahar, the Great Khan's headquarters. As long as Tumen shows that he can overpower Tumote, the various tribes in Khalkha in the eastern part of Chahar will not dare to doubt his strength. Even Horqin will have to put away his thoughts and continue to make excuses with him... so As soon as he came, his status as the Great Khan seemed to be stable again, at least on the surface. "
Zhou Yong suddenly realized, thought for a moment, and asked: "If we look at it based on this, Tumen's action has actually achieved his goal, and he doesn't actually have to fight the next battle? I mean, he As long as we postpone it until winter, this matter will be over!"
"That's more or less the truth." Gao Pingshi sighed softly and said, "That's why I suggested to the emperor that Cao Yun should lead the troops to Daning to bring out the Tumut Mongolian army... Actually, the emperor really hopes that Ji The Zhenbian Army and Tumen are fighting head-on, but I think Tumen and Burihatu may not be willing to let the emperor get his wish."
It turned out that when Gao Jingshi just suggested that Cao Yun go to Daning, he already expected that this trip would not lead to a fight. He just couldn't say it directly in front of the emperor. After all, the emperor was holding back his anger at that time and still followed Mao's advice. It's safer to touch.
After all, he is highly pragmatic. Although he has the special ideal of a time traveler, he is still very "bureaucratic" in many ways of doing things. This is a skill that has been cultivated in two lifetimes. How can he give up so easily?
Although "bureaucrat" is a derogatory term most of the time, at least in a derogatory sense, in fact, in a world full of bureaucracy, being "unbureaucratic" is not only difficult to achieve, but it is also easier to get yourself involved.
When Gao Pragmatic said this, what else didn't Zhou Yong understand? Although his ability is mediocre, he is still someone who has been working in this big dyeing vat for decades, so he definitely has this ability.
Gao Situ's intention was simply to let Cao Yan go and work hard, and by the way, he could also improve mutual understanding with the generals at all levels under his command. After all, although there is a high probability that there will be no fighting here, even if it is just a march, a veteran general in the army like Cao Yu will definitely be able to understand many situations of the armies under his command from many angles, which will be helpful for the decisive battle with Chahar in the future. of.
Zhou Yong nodded and said thoughtfully: "Even if we fail to engage in the battle, the credit of 'forcing the Tumen back' will not be lost. When the time comes..."
"Oh, that's right." Gao Yongshi suddenly interrupted Zhou Yong, not letting him finish what he said, and said: "The emperor should have made a decision - the decisive battle in Chahar may be brought forward, and it will probably be launched in the spring of next year. We are on the offensive. My soldiers and the Ministry of War had better prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard."
"Is there going to be a war in the spring next year?" Zhou Yong was really surprised and asked: "Situ, the issue of opening the vassal and banning has not been completed yet. Next year, the Ministry of Revenue seems to have to spend at least one million taels of silver on the clan's aftermath. , would it be too hasty to start a war at that time?”
Gao pragmatic rubbed his eyebrows, made an embarrassed but determined look, shook his head and said: "To say that we are fully prepared, of course we are not yet. It would be best if we could delay it for another year or two. However, The Lord is worried about the humiliation of his ministers, and since the emperor has already made a decision, we, the ministers, have no choice but to do our best to at least not ruin the important matter."
He saw that although Zhou Yong nodded solemnly, but the gloomy look on his face lingered, he explained: "Throughout the ages, there has never been any complete preparation in military affairs. It's just that I can fight with the general trend. Next year, I can fight. To launch a war in the spring, although for our Ming Dynasty, everything is ready and all we need is the east wind, but for Chahar, I don’t think they will be well prepared, and even... they may not be able to predict that our Ming Dynasty will advance in advance. Launch this decisive battle. In this way, we actually do not suffer a loss."
Zhou Yong naturally couldn't disagree with Gao Pragmatic. He nodded in agreement, but after pondering for a moment, he still asked: "Jizhen, Xuanda and other places are easy to arrange, but in Liaodong... I don't know what Situ's arrangements are for Li Rusong's troops. opinion?"
Gao pragmatically said: "This war is a national war, but it has its uses and cannot be used for anything."
Zhou Yong is not a talker of the Real School. Since Gao Pragmatic said so, he had no choice but to agree. Then he hesitated and asked: "Xiao Ruxun's rescue of Horqin this time is very different from the earlier expectations of the court. If the follow-up does not happen, There will be a bigger war, and there will be no other surprises. I wonder how Situ thinks the Ministry of War should evaluate his performance in this battle?"
This issue was really troublesome. Gao Pragmatic did not express his position immediately, but pondered for a while.
Xiao Ruxun's battle must be completely different from what the court originally expected. Originally, the court thought that he would face the main force of Tumen. Seriously speaking, they were a little worried. However, it was expected that as long as he succeeded in this matter, his contribution would definitely be considerable. This is also one of the high pragmatic intentions.
However, in the end, the Tumen did not go to the Eastern Front, but went to look for the Tumut reinforcements. Only the Mongolian troops of Abadai Saiyin Khan's Transkarkha Division were left on the Eastern Front. The strength of the Outer Khalkha Division is obviously not as good as that of Chahar, so the corresponding credit is much smaller. As a result, the performance of the coalition forces in the end was not very good... This is a bit embarrassing.
Although Xiao Ruxun's headquarters did not suffer any losses worth mentioning, and could be considered as "repelling the enemy" in name, the Horqin tribe they wanted to rescue suffered some losses. In terms of battle losses, the Horqin tribe must have surpassed the Outer Khalkha tribe. This shows that the Ming-Manchu coalition forces commanded by Xiao Ruxun are not in a good position to rescue. It is a bit troublesome to evaluate Xiao Ruxun's performance in this battle.
If we evaluate it from a narrow perspective, no matter what changes have occurred in other conditions, at least his mission of sending troops this time has definitely been completed - Horqin's troops are still there, Ye He is in no danger, and there are almost no officers and soldiers in the imperial court. If there is any loss, then of course as the commander-in-chief of the army, he has successfully completed the mission and deserves full credit.
However, the imperial court will launch the decisive battle of Chahar next spring, and of course it needs to take care of the mood of the subordinate forces at the moment. Now Horqin and the three Manchu tribes (Ye He, Hada, and Jianzhou Youwei) have each suffered losses. Although it cannot be said to be heavy, it cannot be said to be insignificant. Who knows how they feel about it?
Don't think that the Mongols and Jurchens usually look quite rough and have no small calculations. In fact, they have many small calculations, and because they are not strong, they pay special attention to immediate interests. If they feel that it is not cost-effective to work with Ming after this battle, then it will be difficult to say whether they can be mobilized for next year's war. Even if they can be mobilized, I'm afraid they have to worry about their inability to work hard, being unable to patrol after the war starts, and engaging in some fringe OB operations.
If we follow this line of thinking, then Xiao Ruxun should not be commended or rewarded. If the rescue is not good, not to mention punishment, at least there must be an edict to rebuke him. However, Gao Pragmatic does not approve of this approach.
To be honest, both the Mongols and the Jurchens, in the Ming Dynasty's consistent thinking, are obviously "people who are not my race, their hearts must be different". They are not only "bad people", they are not even worthy of human rights at all - if the Ming Dynasty If you know what human rights mean.
As a young cadre at the time, Gao Pragmatic still had basic political consciousness, so he was not a Han nationalist, but a Chinese nationalist. His basic idea is to "accept the Chinese civilization as my compatriots", and the specific expression in this era is that "all the pan-Chinese civilization circles are the objects of my unity."
However, ideals are ideals and unity is unity, and the current reality cannot be ignored. It is impossible for officials and people from all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty to regard the Mongols of Horqin and the Jurchens of Yehe, Hada, and Jianzhou Youwei as the same "subjects of the Celestial Dynasty" as themselves, so Gao Pragmatic cannot act against the world and give priority to the Mongols. and the Jurchens' mood while ignoring the mood of their own frontier troops.
This is not easy to handle. If criticism of Xiao Ruxun arouses anger in the army, wouldn't it become a joke? Therefore, you cannot do addition and subtraction at the same time. It is best to take care of both.
Xiao Ruxun's losses were not big, but the results were not much. After thinking about it pragmatically, Gao Ruxun felt that he could only deal with it in the same way as Erdemutu and Butashri, which was to praise him, or at most to be in the military position ( It is not a military position, because the highest military officer position is the commander-in-chief. This refers to promoting Xiao Ruxun's governor Qianshi to the governor Tongzhi) and Wu Sanguan to make some fuss.
As for Horqin and the three Jurchen parts of "Conquest", I am afraid that just giving some "famous weapons" is not enough. Tumut can only give "famous weapons" because Tumut itself has relatively strong financial resources. They were able to provide 100,000 cavalry at once a few years ago. After recuperating in the past few years, they have maintained a good relationship with the Ming Dynasty. In terms of trade exchanges, the strength will at least not be worse than before, so even if the loss of thousands of cavalry is not considered a strain, the Ming Dynasty may not be in urgent need of a blood transfusion.
But Horqin and the three Jurchen tribes are not as powerful as Tumut, especially Horqin, who only had 20,000 serious "control strings" in total. He lost several thousand people this time, which was almost like a broken arm. Not giving them some benefits would inevitably be disappointing and not conducive to pre-war unity.
Since Horqin needs to provide some subsidies, the damage to the Three Jurchen Parts is not that big anyway, so it doesn't matter if we subsidize it by the way. But how to issue this "subsidy" needs to be considered.
Gao Pragmatic explained his basic thoughts to Zhou Yong, and Zhou Yong said: "The great Situ is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness. In this way, Horqin and the three Jurchens will definitely be grateful."
After a pause, he continued: "As for how to reward, in fact, it does not necessarily have to be money... Da Situ, the officers and soldiers have changed their uniforms very quickly in recent years, especially the Ministry of War, which has eliminated many types of military uniforms according to Da Situ's previous suggestions. All kinds of firearms, although we don’t use them now, they can be given to the Mongols and Jurchens.”
Gao Pingshi was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "Giving firearms... won't there be any hidden dangers?"
"Don't worry, Master Situ. This won't happen." Zhou Yong said with confidence: "Those firearms were all bought and replaced by us, and they are not artillery or muskets, but all kinds of things, almost all of which are disposable , like rockets, thunder cannons and the like."
Gao pragmatic realized it now and thought to himself: Good guy, do you think of yourself as the Emperor of Rice and the Mongols and Jurchens as frogs? If there is no place to dispose of the replaced garbage, just throw it to them? This is really... a good idea!
Gao Butang, the Minister of Household Affairs, immediately made the decision and said categorically: "Okay, let's do it! Oh, by the way, remember to clearly tell them the price of these firearms back then, so that they know that the Ming Dynasty is very generous to them. of."
Zhou Yong suppressed a smile and nodded: "Don't worry, Chief Situ, the Ministry of War will definitely let them clearly understand the value of these firearms."
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