Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 386 Operation
When Huang Taiji first ascended the throne, the most important thing for him was to control the power within the Later Jin Dynasty, and more importantly, the military power.

The Later Jin Dynasty started out as the Eight Banners. The owners of the Eight Banners were of vital importance. The more Niulu one held, the more military power he had. Huang Taiji was well aware of this.

If he did not cut the Gordian knot and get rid of the Queen Consort Abahai, he would not be able to control the power of the Later Jin Dynasty at all, and would also sow the seeds of disaster for his future.

If Abahai was kept, and with the two banners of Zhenghuang and Xianghuang controlled by the three Ajige brothers, Huang Taiji would not be worthy of the title of Khan. By then, Abahai and her son would join forces and once they launched a rebellion, they would be able to drive him off the throne and replace him. The far-sighted Huang Taiji would never sit idly by and watch such a thing happen.

Therefore, Abahai must die. Only when Abahai dies, the three Ajige brothers will not pose a threat to him. Moreover, without Abahai, it will be much easier for him to deal with the three Ajige brothers. Once he takes away the two yellow flags in their hands, his position as the Khan will be as stable as a rock, and no one will be able to shake it.

Because of the change of Khan's throne, the Later Jin Dynasty had no time to think about the Ming Dynasty for a while. Huang Taiji, who had just ascended the Khan's throne, had too many things to do. Only after he had finished all these things, sorted out his thoughts and secured his position, would he be able to free up his hands to continue facing the war with the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, the news of Nurhaci's death also reached Ningyuan. When Yuan Chonghuan heard the news of Nurhaci's death, he was shocked at first, then he was ecstatic and couldn't help laughing.

"Dead? The old slave is dead! Good death, hahaha! Good death!" Yuan Chonghuan danced with joy, and was a little crazy. The enemy who was regarded as the biggest rival by the Ming Dynasty was finally dead. Nurhaci's death seemed to represent the end of the Liaodong war. Wasn't the Ming Dynasty afraid of this old slave? Without the old slave, what would the Later Jin be?
Yuan Chonghuan was happy, but also a little sad, because he got the news that Nurhaci died of illness. If Nurhaci didn't die of illness, but was killed by himself on the battlefield, how great it would be. With this merit alone, he would not only be famous all over the world, but also go down in history.

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Yuan Chonghuan's mind. He stroked his beard and pondered for a long time. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it would be a good idea to make use of Nurhaci's death.

It is rumored that Nurhaci died of gangrene, but was it really gangrene? Anyway, the Ming Dynasty would not send people to the Later Jin Dynasty to inquire about the news, and it was even more impossible to dig up Nurhaci's coffin for an autopsy. It would be more appropriate to change the gangrene to the worsening of the wound.

As for how this wound came about? This is a better explanation. Didn't Nurhaci lead his troops to attack Ningyuan in January this year? Nurhaci returned without success in the battle of Ningyuan, so he just said that he led the defenders to fight back with artillery fire and injured Nurhaci.

Nurhaci was injured under the city of Ningyuan, and after returning, he fell ill and died a few days ago. In this way, wouldn't Nurhaci's death be his own achievement? If he spreads this matter, people all over the world will soon know that it was him who killed Nurhaci. Wouldn't the court reward him heavily for such a great achievement? By then, the position of Liaodong governor will be his, and he can also go down in history and be revered by future generations for killing Nurhaci!
The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. Yuan Chonghuan made a decision immediately and wrote a memorial to the court overnight. In the memorial, he fabricated that Nurhaci was severely injured by artillery fire in Ningyuan, and was injured and died after returning. At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan also found his younger brother Yuan Chongyu and asked him to get some people to spread the news of Nurhaci's death in the Liaodong army and various places in the interior, including the capital.

When spreading the news of his death, it is important to emphasize that Nurhaci's cause of death was caused by the artillery fire of Yuan Chonghuan under the city of Ningyuan. After understanding his brother's words, Yuan Chongyu immediately understood the intention, nodded repeatedly, and hurried to do the job.

A few days later, the news of Nurhaci's death reached the capital. When the capital heard the news, the whole city was in an uproar and everyone was extremely excited.

For so many years, the Jiannu in Liaodong have been a thorn in the side of the Ming Dynasty, and the old slave Nurhaci has been the Ming Dynasty's greatest enemy. It was because of his existence that the Ming Dynasty suffered repeated defeats and heavy losses in the wars in Liaodong.

Now this old slave is finally dead, what a good death! In the eyes of all the people of the Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci's death marked the end of the Liaodong War. For a time, they all saw the hope of peace. Even the Emperor Tianqi, who had been ill for these days, was in high spirits and smiled.

At the same time as the news of Nurhaci's death came, rumors about the cause of Nurhaci's death also spread.

These rumors were all true, saying that Nurhaci died because he was seriously injured by Yuan Chonghuan's artillery fire under the city of Ningyuan. For a time, Yuan Chonghuan, who had already become famous for his victory in Ningyuan, became the subject of discussion throughout the Ming Dynasty. Countless people admired Yuan Chonghuan and regarded him as the first pillar of the Ming Dynasty.

It is not an exaggeration to call him that. You should know that Nurhaci died in his hands. Is it wrong to call him that? If he could kill Nurhaci, what else could he be but a pillar? Many people even advised Emperor Tianqi that Yuan Chonghuan had made such great contributions, and it was too low for him to be a mere governor of Liaodong. Anyway, Gao Di had been clamoring to resign. Why not let Yuan Chonghuan be the governor of Liaodong? With Yuan Chonghuan in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty would be as stable as Mount Tai.

However, Emperor Tianqi was somewhat skeptical about these rumors, because he had no way of judging whether they were true or not.

Nurhaci was injured in Ningyuan. How come we didn't hear about it before, but the rumor popped up as soon as Nurhaci died? This is really bizarre. Moreover, it took Nurhaci seven months from the time he withdrew from Ningyuan to the time he died on the way back to Shenyang. What kind of injury could last for seven months? If it was a minor injury, the injury would have healed long ago, but if it was a serious injury, more than half a year had passed, and he could survive for so long before dying. It was simply a medical miracle!

When the Southern Song Dynasty and Mongolia were at war, the Whip of God broke outside Diaoyucheng in the Battle of Diaoyucheng, which led to civil strife in the Mongol Empire and was also the reason why the Southern Song Dynasty persisted for a long time.

Moreover, the death of Mongol Khan Mongke also changed the entire human history. With the withdrawal of the Mongol army from the westward expedition, Europe, which was already on the edge of the cliff, escaped by luck, otherwise the whole world would have been under the hooves of the Mongol cavalry.

Comparing Mongke and Nurhaci, their deaths seem somewhat similar, as they both failed to capture the city and eventually died of their injuries.

But compared to Mongke, Nurhaci's time from injury to death was too long, a full seven months was really outrageous. Mongke's death was only ten days from injury to death, and his death was extremely sudden.

However, these are just speculations, and Emperor Tianqi would not have asked people to go to the Later Jin to find someone to prove all this. In addition, Nurhaci's death is an exciting event, and the Ming Dynasty really needs such news to inspire people. Moreover, Nurhaci's death from being wounded by the Ming army and dying of natural causes are two different things. The former is of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty, and it can take the initiative in propaganda, while the latter is a blow to morale. If the Ming army and people know that this murderous executioner actually died of old age, what will everyone think? Isn't this rubbing salt into the wounds of the Ming Dynasty?

After much thought, Emperor Tianqi felt that it would be better to turn a blind eye to such matters. As for Yuan Chonghuan's reward, it was similar to the idea proposed by his ministers. Although Gao Di was an old minister, he was indeed not a good candidate for the post of Governor of Liaodong. Gao Di was chosen in the first place because he was to temporarily replace Sun Chengzong. From this point of view, Gao Di was just a transitional person.

Now that Nurhaci is dead, the war in the Later Jin should be calm and there will be no more major wars. In this case, it is not impossible to let Yuan Chonghuan replace Gao Di as the governor of Liaodong. Moreover, Emperor Tianqi also knew that Yuan Chonghuan was Wei Zhongxian's man, so for Wei Zhongxian's sake, he let him do as he wished.

In this regard, with the consent of Emperor Tianqi, the court quickly issued an edict, agreeing to Gao Di's request to retire, and at the same time replacing Gao Di with Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong.

When the imperial edict was delivered to Ningyuan, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't stop smiling. He never thought that the official position he had always dreamed of would be obtained so easily. His life reached its peak in an instant. Now he is the boss of the entire Liaodong and he has the final say.

Along with the imperial edict, there were also a few words from Emperor Tianqi to Yuan Chonghuan. Emperor Tianqi told Yuan Chonghuan to be humble and not to relax his guard against the Later Jin Jiannu. If possible, he should test the attitude of the Later Jin Jiannu towards the Ming Dynasty after Nurhaci's death so as to be prepared for contingencies in advance.

Yuan Chonghuan went back and pondered over the instructions of the Emperor Tianqi. After thinking for a long time, he seemed to have figured something out. He quickly called his brother Yuan Chongyu and asked him to ask the Later Jin through the channels there. It would be great if he could establish a relationship with Huang Taiji, who had just inherited the Khan throne.

Yuan Chonghuan's meaning was very simple. The previous war between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty was instigated by Nurhaci. Now that Nurhaci was dead, there was no deep hatred between the Ming Dynasty and Huang Taiji. It would be better for both sides to stop fighting and make peace to end the war.

As long as Huang Taiji agrees, Yuan Chonghuan will personally talk to the emperor about this matter and try his best to promote peace talks. At that time, everyone will keep to themselves, and the Later Jin will only need to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. As for the rest, the Later Jin can do whatever it wants behind closed doors. Isn't that the best of both worlds?

After hearing what his brother said, Yuan Chongyu patted his chest and promised that there would be no problem. He had already had contact with the Later Jin Dynasty through cooperation with Shanxi merchants, so it would not be difficult to contact Huang Taiji. Therefore, Yuan Chongyu personally led people to the Later Jin Dynasty and met Huang Taiji through his relationship. Originally, he thought that Huang Taiji would be arrogant, but Huang Taiji met Yuan Chongyu very kindly, holding Yuan Chongyu's hand with a smile on his face, saying that the Later Jin Dynasty was originally a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and the war between the two sides was not what he wanted. It was the decision of the previous Khan Nurhaci, and he could not stop it.

Now that he was the Khan, of course he wanted to have peace with the Ming Dynasty. He had been planning how to contact the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't expect Yuan Chongyu to come. This was really a long drought and a good rain, which made him so happy. Peace! It must be peaceful! Why fight? Isn't it good for everyone to be friends happily? Huang Taiji hoped that Yuan Chongyu would go back and tell Yuan Chonghuan that he has always been peace-loving and didn't want to fight at all. He asked Yuan Chonghuan to speak well of him in front of Emperor Tianqi and pardon the Later Jin's sins. The Later Jin would definitely surrender again and end the war between the two sides.

In addition, Huang Taiji prepared some gifts for Yuan Chonghuan to show his sincerity. These gifts were not for the Ming Dynasty but for Yuan Chonghuan. When Yuan Chongyu saw the gifts prepared by Huang Taiji, his eyes widened. There were ten oriental pearls, a thousand sable furs, and a thousand kilograms of ginseng. Looking at these gifts, Yuan Chongyu's hands and feet trembled with excitement. As a businessman, he knew too well the value of these gifts. He patted his chest in front of Huang Taiji on the spot and promised that when he returned, he would persuade his brother Yuan Chonghuan to facilitate this peace talk.

(End of this chapter)