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

Chapter 461 Food
In the face of Yuan Chonghuan's accusations, Fan Wencheng immediately refuted them. He pointed out that the Qing Dynasty's actions were entirely due to Yuan Chonghuan. It was Yuan Chonghuan who proposed peace talks on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, and Huang Taiji also agreed to the peace talks. In order to show his sincerity, Huang Taiji also gave Yuan Chonghuan a lot of gifts.

After that, Yuan Chonghuan resigned and returned to his hometown to recuperate. Wang Zhichen, the Liaodong governor who succeeded Yuan Chonghuan, started the war. Huang Taiji couldn't just sit there and watch and get beaten, right? So it was normal for the Qing Dynasty to fight back. Later, Huang Taiji led his troops to attack the Ningjin defense line, which was also because of Wang Zhichen. It's not their fault.

After Yuan Chonghuan was reinstated, he became the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, and the fighting between the two sides was reduced a lot. This also proved that Huang Taiji was sincere in the peace talks and had no intention of being hostile to the Ming Dynasty. But the question is what did Yuan Chonghuan do? Soon after Yuan Chonghuan took office, he reorganized the Liaodong troops, strengthened the Jingjing defense line, and sent people to contact the Mongols with the intention of launching an attack on the Qing Dynasty.

Now, Yuan Chonghuan directly killed Mao Wenlong and took over Dongjiang Town. In Dongjiang Town, he still shamelessly said that he would pacify Liaodong and launch a war against the Qing Dynasty. Don't think that the Qing Dynasty didn't know about these things. These rumors had long reached the ears of Huang Taiji. Since you, Yuan Chonghuan, can be the first, why can't Huang Taiji be the fifteenth?

As the saying goes, the first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer. Huang Taiji's current actions are just to prevent trouble before it happens. He can't just watch Yuan Chonghuan take action first, right? If so, wouldn't he be a fool?
Fan Wencheng's rebuttal made Yuan Chonghuan look embarrassed, because what he said was indeed true, but Yuan Chonghuan himself knew that the purpose of his doing so was just to pretend, and he actually had no intention of taking the initiative to attack Huang Taiji.

As the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao, Yuan Chonghuan boasted to Emperor Chongzhen that he would conquer Liaodong in five years. It was impossible for him to do nothing in Liaodong, right? Otherwise, how could he explain to Emperor Chongzhen? How could he explain to the people of the world?
In fact, Yuan Chonghuan also wanted to pacify Liaodong by force and completely destroy Jiannu, but unfortunately, Yuan Chonghuan knew that this was impossible. With the combat effectiveness of the Ming army, it was okay to defend the city, but if it was to go out to fight against the powerful Eight Banners soldiers, Yuan Chonghuan had no confidence in winning.

Although Yuan Chonghuan was arrogant, he had a clear understanding of the military strength comparison between the two sides. If the Ming army under his command could really defeat the Jiannu and wipe out Liaodong in one fell swoop, why would he need to put in any effort?

But he never expected that these arrangements he made were originally intended to deceive Emperor Chongzhen and the people of the world. Who would have thought that Huang Taiji took it seriously and directly thought that he was planning to send troops to attack him, which led to the current embarrassing situation.

Yuan Chonghuan had no choice but to explain to Fan Wencheng that his actions and measures were not aimed at Huang Taiji, but were just normal military arrangements as the governor of Ji-Liao. He hoped that Fan Wencheng could understand his difficulties. Although he was the top leader of Liaodong, he could not decide many things alone. There was Emperor Chongzhen behind him, and the whole court was watching him, so he had to pretend sometimes.

Fan Wencheng scoffed at Yuan Chonghuan's explanation and refuted it directly. He said that if Yuan Chonghuan just wanted to pretend, he should have informed them in advance. Huang Taiji was not an unreasonable person. It was not the first time for the two sides to know each other, not to mention that the previous cooperation had always been good.

If they had given a heads-up in advance and knew Yuan Chonghuan's difficulties, the Qing Dynasty could have cooperated. It was just acting, right? Who wouldn't do that? But Yuan Chonghuan didn't give a heads-up, and didn't explain afterward. When Huang Taiji reacted and mobilized the army to respond, Yuan Chonghuan sent a letter accusing Huang Taiji of violating his promise to negotiate. This was clearly Zhu Bajie's way of playing the game.

This is not how things are done, and this is not how people act. How can such a thing be justified in this world?

Hearing this, Yuan Chonghuan became even more embarrassed. He coughed a few times to hide his expression, patiently explained a few more sentences, and even brought up the incident of killing Mao Wenlong.

Yuan Chonghuan shamelessly said that the reason why Mao Wenlong was executed was because he was worried that Mao Wenlong would cause trouble in Pi Island and thus undermine the peace talks between the two sides. Now that Mao Wenlong is dead, this problem no longer exists. Doesn't this reflect his sincerity?

Fan Wencheng laughed and said that this reason was far-fetched. Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong for peace talks. It was clearly a fight for power, especially because he had his eyes on Mao Wenlong's business channels and maritime transportation profits. Fan Wencheng was not a fool. Others could not understand the truth, could he not see it clearly? Killing Mao Wenlong and taking Dongjiang Town would not only allow the entire Liaodong to be under Yuan Chonghuan's command, eliminating his biggest opponent, but also allow him to control Mao Wenlong's business profits through this opportunity, which would be of great benefit to Yuan Chonghuan.

Yuan Chonghuan did not expect that his excuse would be ruthlessly exposed by Fan Wencheng, and he did not know how to answer for a while. After a few forced dry laughs and saying that it was not like that, you misunderstood, etc., Yuan Chonghuan was silent for a moment and felt that the more he explained, the more unclear it would be, so he simply asked Fan Wencheng directly if there was any way to make Huang Taiji believe him.

At this point, Fan Wencheng had completely achieved his goal. He took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, looked at Yuan Chonghuan, and said leisurely: "It's actually easier said than done to make the Khan believe in the commander-in-chief."

"Oh, please give me some advice, Mr. Fan." Yuan Chonghuan raised his eyebrows and said quickly.

Fan Wencheng said calmly: "Trust is the basis of cooperation between the two sides. Once trust is gone, how can the two sides cooperate? I wonder if the supervisor agrees with this?"

"Of course!" Yuan Chonghuan answered without thinking. Fan Wencheng continued, "In that case, the commander-in-chief's previous actions caused the Khan to misunderstand me. Now I am here to visit the commander-in-chief under the order of the Khan. In fact, the Khan also wants to communicate with the commander-in-chief. If he is completely disappointed with the commander-in-chief or does not trust him, the Khan would not send me here, right?"

"Mr. Fan is right, but..."

"No hurry!" Fan Wencheng waved his hand and said, "Misunderstandings are like cracks. Once they occur, it is difficult to eliminate them. However, considering the overall situation of both you and me, the Khan still took a stand and asked me to meet with the governor. Since I am here, I am here to solve the problem, not to argue with the governor, because arguing is useless. The truth of many things cannot be determined by words, but by what is actually done."

"Since the commander-in-chief has no intention of engaging in war with the Khan and prefers peace talks, there is still a basis for discussion between the two sides. But the prerequisite is to eliminate misunderstandings. This is the key. What do you think, commander-in-chief?"

Yuan Chonghuan cursed inwardly, this fake Jiannu is so good at talking, saying so much over and over again, but in fact, isn't he deliberately blackmailing him in the name of clearing up misunderstandings? Jiannu is a Jiannu, even this fake Jiannu is the same, his eyes are too shallow, he only stares at the small profits of the young man.

But it was good this way. After figuring out the other party's idea, it would be much easier to deal with it next time. As long as he could appease Huang Taiji and prevent him from going to war with him immediately, he would be able to give an explanation to the court and the emperor. As for the future, he would talk about it later. After he had reorganized the troops in Liaodong and completely absorbed Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town, he would be strong and powerful. Why would he be afraid of Huang Taiji?

He was not sure about the field battle, but could he not defend the city? If he could stop Nurhaci back then, he could stop Huang Taiji now. Who was afraid of whom?
Yuan Chonghuan immediately asked directly what method could be used to eliminate the misunderstanding and mend the rift. At this time, Fan Wencheng no longer beat around the bush and directly put forward his request. When Yuan Chonghuan heard Fan Wencheng's exorbitant request for one million shi of grain and military equipment, his face suddenly became extremely ugly.

"Impossible!" Yuan Chonghuan refused immediately. What a joke! So much food is worth a lot of money. Not to mention that the Liaodong Army is already short of rations, even if there is enough rations, he would not give it to Huang Taiji.

Even if the peace talks were resumed, the Ming Dynasty and Jian Nu were still hostile. As the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao, Yuan Chonghuan directly gave food to Huang Taiji? If this got out, wouldn't it be aiding the enemy? Moreover, it was blatant aiding the enemy. No matter how brave Yuan Chonghuan was, he would never do this.

Besides, Huang Taiji's appetite was too big. The value of so much grain was not a small amount, but he just took it away for nothing. No matter how high Yuan Chonghuan's official position was, he could not fill such a big gap. If Yuan Chonghuan dared to do this, the court would have to send the Jinyiwei to arrest him within a few days.

"General, there is no need to refuse. In fact, I didn't ask for this grain for free, and you don't have to sell it to us." Seeing Yuan Chonghuan's angry expression, Fan Wencheng explained with a smile.

When these words were spoken, Yuan Chonghuan was stunned and looked at Fan Wencheng in confusion.

Fan Wencheng said with a smile. He naturally knew that Yuan Chonghuan could not provide the grain for free. After all, it was not a small amount. One million dan of grain was enough for the Liaodong Ming army to consume for half a year. He was also clear that something would definitely go wrong if such a large batch of grain was given out.

Moreover, it was not realistic to give it directly to Huang Taiji, as it would easily cause Yuan Chonghuan to be criticized. Therefore, Fan Wencheng came up with a solution for Yuan Chonghuan, which was a roundabout way to save the country.

He knew that Yuan Chonghuan had suggested to Emperor Chongzhen that he wanted to unite with the Mongols to open up the situation in Liaodong, and this suggestion was approved by Emperor Chongzhen. So Fan Wencheng told Yuan Chonghuan that he could use this as an excuse to sell grain to the Mongols, and as for the tribes, he could sell them to Kalaqin. When the two sides agreed on the price, they could transport the grain to the grassland and give it to Kalaqin, and there would be no problem.

As for the grain given to Kharachin, how Kharachin used it later had nothing to do with Yuan Chonghuan, Huang Taiji would arrange for it himself. In addition to grain, weapons and other items could also be handled in this way. By then, Huang Taiji would have seen Yuan Chonghuan's sincerity, and the two sides would have the basis to mend the rift and negotiate again.

(End of this chapter)