Chen Qiyu is actually the same type of person as Hong Chengchou. They both started their glorious official careers by suppressing bandits. Both were concerned with reputation and maintaining relationships with their colleagues. In short, he was not as stunned as Sun Chuanting.
Therefore, when Chen Qiyu heard that Sun Chuanting had taken office, he actually adopted the strategy of clearing the villages to pay. Although he was under the banner of Taizu and had soldiers in his hands, Chen Qiyu concluded at that time that Sun Chuanting had offended too many people by doing this, and it would be difficult to turn around and there would be no good results.
However, what he didn't expect was that although Sun Chuanting was indeed in trouble, he was protected by the emperor and given great trust. Not only was he promoted to the official position of governor of Jiliao, he even temporarily took over the official position of the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp.
You must know that the Beijing camp is the garrison of the capital and cannot be commanded by anyone other than the emperor's close associates. Generally speaking, they are led by nobles who have retired from the country, or by eunuchs who are close to the emperor. But Sun Chuanting was able to obtain this official position, even temporarily, which is enough to illustrate Sun Chuanting's status in the emperor's heart.
At this moment, after listening to the emperor's words, he immediately understood what the emperor meant. In this regard, he finally understood that if the emperor is wise, he must embrace the emperor's lap. This is the real backer. Being friendly with those officials and local powerful people would make the wise emperor dissatisfied.
Thinking like this, he had the confidence in his heart, so he did not dare to be negligent, and hurriedly said respectfully: "Wei Chen understands, Wei Chen will never fail your majesty's favor again!"
Emperor Chongzhen looked into his eyes and saw sincerity. Imagining his experience, I feel that he will never be exiled again. He nodded and asked: "Now the Ming Dynasty is in dire need of war horses. What can you do?"
Everyone knows that there are war horses on the grassland. However, the grassland people also know that war horses cannot be given to the Central Plains Dynasty casually. Just like the reason why the Central Plains dynasty was unwilling to provide iron tools to the grassland peoples.
Chen Qiyu was stunned for a moment when he heard Emperor Chongzhen's question. Then he came to his senses and knew that this was a test for him in front of the emperor, an opportunity to restore his image in front of the emperor.
So, he thought seriously for a while before bowing and answering: "There are horses on the grassland. In my opinion, there are two ways to get them!"
"Oh, sir, please come and listen." Emperor Chongzhen nodded quickly and asked after hearing this.
Chen Qiyu's face was serious and he played seriously: "First, we can exchange for materials that are extremely scarce in the grassland. Ironware cannot be given, but we can use grain, salt, tea, etc. However, the grassland Tatars are cunning and know that my Ming Dynasty is short of horses, so they ask for a high price. It’s high, and it’s absolutely impossible to give more in total.”
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, but did not say anything.
"Secondly, the Mongolian Tatars on the grassland have all defected to the Liaodong Jianlu. To us, the Ming Dynasty, they are enemies rather than friends. Therefore, if we, the Ming Dynasty, can learn the specific information about the grassland, we can send troops to the grassland to directly seize it. In this way, Can obtain enough war horses! But the key to this method is that it is difficult for the Ming Dynasty to learn the news on the grassland. With limited troops and unable to attack in a targeted manner, sending troops to the grassland will not be able to obtain enough trophies of war horses, let alone the army's There are a lot of dangers.”
After Chen Qiyu finished talking about these two methods, there was a hint of embarrassment on his face, and he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Therefore, Wei Chen suggested that, first, try to fight with the Mongolian tribes in the west and the Tatars far away from Liaodong. Transaction, in addition, we also sent people to spy on the news on the grassland to see if we can get precious news on the grassland, so that we can go out and conquer it!"
To be honest, although he said there are two methods, in fact, these two methods are not very good. Even if they are used together, they are not very good. The first is that they don’t know that war horses can only be traded in the Year of the Monkey and the Horse Month, and the number of war horses will not be large. Spying on grassland news is even more unreliable for objective reasons.
Chen Qiyu actually knew this well, so after he finished speaking, he looked at the emperor with a little uneasiness, unsure of how he would react.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't look unhappy at all, and seemed to be concentrating on his two methods.
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly came back to his senses and asked, "In your opinion, if Ming Dynasty sends troops to the grassland, which target will be more certain?"
Chen Qiyu couldn't help but be startled after hearing this. It seems that the emperor is still inclined to fight? But I have made it clear enough. Without reliable sources, it would be very dangerous to send troops to the grasslands to conquer the Tatars!
Although he thought so, he still thought carefully about the emperor's question before answering: "The Hetao area was originally occupied by the Tumut tribe, but it was occupied by Lin Dan Khan in the first year of Chongzhen. Defeated and fled to the west. However, the Liaodong Jianlu did not let Lin Dan Khan go. They attacked Lin Dan Khan several times in the eighth year of Chongzhen. They completely defeated the Chahar tribe and moved the Chahar tribe back to Liaodong. Today's Hetao area has returned to Tumote. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Jianlu divided the surrendered Tumote tribe into two wings, with Guluge as the left wing commander and Hanggao as the right wing commander..."
Some of the news existed in the memory of the original Emperor Chongzhen. But Emperor Chongzhen didn't know some of the news. He listened carefully and immediately grasped the reason why Chen Qiyu said these things.
Sure enough, I heard Chen Qiyu say next: "...the Tumut tribe has experienced famine and war, and is now divided into two parts by the Jianqi. Its strength is far inferior to that of Anda Khan. With the military strength of our Ming Dynasty, Against today's Tumut tribe, at least we have a chance of winning in terms of combat power."
When he said this, his tone was very firm, but then he changed the subject and went on to emphasize: "But the grassland is vast and boundless, and without accurate information, the Tumote Department is likely to flee after hearing the news, and the fighter planes will not be able to do so." Good luck!"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and agreed with his statement, but he didn't have the same regrets as Chen Qiyu, because he had a golden finger and happened to be specialized in messaging. At this time, he was thinking about how to use his golden finger?
In fact, it is simple to say, that is, how to send the eavesdropping seeds to the grassland and to the leaders of the Tumut tribe. If this is possible, we will be able to obtain specific information about the Tumut Department, thus solving the most difficult problem.
Thinking about this problem, after a long time, just when Chen Qiyu thought that the emperor was about to fall asleep, suddenly, he saw Emperor Chongzhen slap the imperial case suddenly, making a "snap" sound, which startled Chen Qiyu.
But Emperor Chongzhen looked excited. He stared at Chen Qiyu and asked quickly: "If I take the Jianlu prisoners this time and send them to the Tumote Department to ask for exchange of war horses, what will Chen Qing think?"
Afraid that Chen Qiyu would not know the result of this battle, Emperor Chongzhen added: "The Jurchen Tatars from Jianzhou were captured this time, and there were nearly a hundred people. One of them was the son of the dead slave chief's capable general E Yidu. His name is Niu Hulu Turge, and he is a Jurchen with a white flag on the Gushan Ezhen."
The situation of capturing the Tatars was actually mentioned in the battle report. Even if Emperor Chongzhen didn't say anything, Chen Qiyu also knew. But when he emphasized it, Chen Qiyu was even more impressed.
So, after Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, Chen Qiyu was stunned for a moment. With such a high-level Jianlu, instead of sacrificing it to the Ancestral Temple, the emperor wanted to exchange it for war horses?
After coming back to his senses, he suddenly grasped one of the emperor's principles, which seemed to be practicality first. Or maybe the emperor still looks down on Gushan Ezhen, and wants a higher-level Tatar who is qualified to sacrifice to the Ancestral Temple?
No matter what, just follow Emperor Chongzhen's thinking. Therefore, Chen Qiyu immediately nodded and replied: "Your Majesty, this method is very wonderful. For the Tumote tribe, the Jianzhou Jurchen is their master. Even if it is an ordinary Jianzhou Jurchen, the Tumote tribe does not dare to ignore it. As long as we set a time limit so that the Tumote Department has no time to send people to Liaodong to report the news, I believe that the Tumote Department can only use war horses to redeem these Jianzhou Jurchen Tatars."
"How many war horses do you think these Tatars can exchange for?" Emperor Chongzhen continued to ask with a smile on his face.
Regarding this issue, Chen Qiyu thought about it seriously and said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen thinks that we should be able to exchange for about a thousand war horses."
A war horse, in the Ming Dynasty, in today's troubled times, costs about a hundred taels of silver. In other words, these nearly one hundred prisoners were equivalent to one hundred thousand taels of silver. More importantly, one hundred thousand taels of silver is a good thing, but a thousand war horses are rare.
Chen Qiyu naturally knew this. Therefore, he was a little excited: a thousand war horses!
However, Emperor Chongzhen still shook his head and said: "A thousand war horses is still too few!"
The Ming Dynasty's demand for war horses was a bottomless pit. Let's just say that it is urgently needed. At least about 5,000 horses are needed for the Hussars Camp, and at least about 2,000 horses are needed for Lu Xiangsheng's side. The total is 7,000 horses. Rounding off, it is 10,000 horses.
Chen Qiyu was a little dumbfounded after hearing this. A thousand war horses, so many have never been traded from Mongolia at one time before. The emperor is not satisfied?
Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen continued to say: "Then change it first, and then grab it after changing it."
At this time, he already had a clear idea. Throw the eavesdropping seeds on Turg and other high-status Jianlu Tatars, and after exchanging them to the grassland, they will definitely communicate with the leader of the Tumote tribe, so that you can know the situation in the grassland. If we suddenly send out troops in a targeted manner, according to Chen Qiyu, we should be rewarded.
However, the specific steps to be taken in the meantime still need to be carefully discussed. Chen Qiyu was an important figure in planning the Hetao area. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen said to Chen Qiyu: "You don't have to worry about the specific grassland situation at that time. I have my own way. Please think carefully about what to do so that you can use it first." The prisoners are exchanged for war horses, and then the prisoners are allowed to stay with the Tumote tribe temporarily, and then we can successfully conquer the Tumute tribe?"
After hearing this, Chen Qiyu thought about it carefully and was suddenly very surprised. Because he felt a key, to let the prisoners stay in the Tumote Department temporarily, and then there would be news? If this is the case, can these captives, these Jianzhou Jurchen Tatars, be used by the emperor?
Thinking about it, it feels a bit incredible!
But since the emperor said so, he must be confident. Therefore, Chen Qiyu immediately agreed and prepared to think carefully about this matter.
The next day, while Chen Qiyu was still thinking about this matter, he received the emperor's order and rushed to the Forbidden City immediately.
At this time, he actually felt a little unsure. After all, he has not yet gone to Shaanxi to take office. There is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of Shaanxi's current military strength. The emperor was so eager to summon him, which made him a little worried.
However, what Chen Qiyu did not expect was that Emperor Chongzhen did not ask him what he thought, but took him to the Royal Horse Prison.
As soon as he entered the Yumajian military camp, Chen Qiyu was attracted by the sound of training. As soon as he heard the sound, one word flashed in his mind: Hot!
Emperor Chongzhen came in casual clothes this time and did not inform this side. Therefore, the soldiers here are training. Therefore, Chen Qiyu saw the training status of the three battalions under the Yuma Supervisor.
This army can be said to be the foundation of Emperor Chongzhen. Therefore, even if the capital's food is still under strict control, the army's food supply can still ensure that the soldiers can train well. It can even be said that, at least from Chen Qiyu's point of view, this army is truly a forbidden army in the palace, and the logistics supply is a bit luxurious.
Half of the army is veterans and half is new. The old lead the new and are trained using Qi Jiguang's military training methods. Young people can be seen everywhere. Although it is almost May, it is still a bit cold in the north. But these soldiers were sweating profusely from training.
Emperor Chongzhen took Chen Qiyu with him mainly to watch the training of the Hussars Battalion. Look at the mental outlook of the soldiers of the hussar battalion, look at the ordnance and armor attached to the hussar battalion, and look at the condition of the horses currently available in the hussar battalion.
Chen Qiyu was not stupid, he immediately understood the purpose of Emperor Chongzhen's doing this, and couldn't help but feel happy in his heart.
After reading it quietly, we went to the Royal Horse Prison Yamen. As expected, Emperor Chongzhen said to Chen Qiyu: "In the war on the grassland, cavalry should still be the main force. I will send out all the hussars battalions that can be dispatched, okay?"
Hearing this, Chen Qiyu immediately responded happily: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, Tumote's left and right wings must be no match for my Ming Dynasty."
"Okay, then let's eat this Tumote!" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be equally happy after hearing this. Later, he summoned the two generals of the Hussars Battalion, namely Hu Dawei and He Renlong, and together with Chen Qiyu, they began secret discussions on the conspiracy of the Tumote Department.
Among them, Hu Dawei is from Mongolia, and He Renlong is from Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province. They were already familiar with the Tumote tribe, so they provided a lot of suggestions.
Two days later, Turge and others who were hit with sandbags every day, after making a lot of money for the Ministry of Punishment, were finally taken out. Han Leyu, a member of Qianhu of the Hussars Camp, led 500 cavalry troops to escort them to Shaanxi with Chen Qiyu. .
The people in the Ministry of Punishment were very sorry about this. However, they had no choice but to watch Turge and others being taken away.
Emperor Chongzhen also began to prepare. However, he did not expect that in the past few days, the seeds he had planted before would continue to yield harvests.
