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

Chapter 583 Solve the doubts
The interruption of the plan was not the main point. The main thing was the problems that arose in this battle, especially the sudden appearance of a powerful Zhejiang army, which made Huang Taiji uneasy.

Huang Taiji was well aware of the power of the Zhejiang Army. Since the Ming Dynasty sent such an army of Zhejiang troops to participate in the war in Tumed, it meant that the Ming Dynasty probably had far more than just this army, and perhaps even more powerful killer weapons.

Thinking of this, Huang Taiji frowned deeply and waved at Hauge.

Hauge hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Huang Taiji's thoughtful expression, he did not speak. He saluted and retreated.

After Hauge left, Huang Taiji was alone in deep thought. He didn't know how long it had been when he looked up and saw that the sky was gradually getting dark.

He stood up and walked a few steps, called the person and gave him a few instructions. After a while, Fan Wencheng hurried over.

"Great Khan..."

When he saw Huang Taiji, Fan Wencheng hurriedly knelt down to salute, but before he could kneel down, Huang Taiji raised his hand to stop him, pulled him up, and took his hand, smilingly asking him to sit down and talk.

After the tea was served and the people left, Huang Taiji asked, "Mr. Fan, do you know what happened today?"

"Your Majesty, I have understood it." Fan Wencheng replied with a bow.

"So, you tell me..." Huang Taiji continued.

Fan Wencheng was Huang Taiji's trusted adviser, so he naturally understood what Huang Taiji was thinking at the moment. Before he came, he had already guessed why Huang Taiji wanted to talk to him about it, and had thought about it in his mind.

"Great Khan, I think we need to clarify a few key points right now." Fan Wencheng said so. Seeing that Huang Taiji was listening attentively, he continued: "First, what is the situation between the Ming Dynasty and the Tumed, that is, the Tenger tribe? Does the Ming Dynasty really support the Tenger tribe against the Khan, and how much did it cost? As far as I know, the Ming Dynasty is facing many difficulties both internally and externally. Let's not talk about the external situation for now. There are rebellions in the northwest, constant party struggles in the court, and the emperor is stubborn and self-willed. The finances are tight."

"Under such circumstances, the Ming Dynasty cannot even afford to maintain the Liaodong military budget, so how can it provide a lot of support to the Tenger tribe? Moreover, since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the border trade between Shanxi and Tumed has been stopped, and I have not heard that the Ming Dynasty has recently reopened the border trade. At this time, the Ming Dynasty suddenly strongly supports the Tenger tribe to go to war with the Khan, which is really a bit strange..."

"Weird?"

"Yes! It's strange!" Fan Wencheng said seriously, "If the Ming Dynasty has such ability, why didn't it directly reinforce Liaodong, but instead tried to win over the Tenger tribe? Could it be that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had foresight? Did he know in advance that the Khan was going to send troops to attack Tumed?"

Huang Taiji nodded silently. He had not expected what Fan Wencheng said before. After careful consideration, it was indeed true. He did not make a big fanfare before sending Dorgon and his brothers to attack Tumed. There was only a month between the departure and the official start of the war. In just one month, what kind of reaction could the Ming Dynasty make?
Huang Taiji knew the situation of the Ming Dynasty very well. Although Emperor Chongzhen intended to work hard to govern the country, the civil service groups in the Ming court had always been fighting for factional struggles. Moreover, in the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were more respected than military officials. Even the most urgent military discussion could not be completed immediately without a certain amount of time.

What's more, this is not the Ming Dynasty's own business, but the Mongols' business. Given the historical conduct of Ming Dynasty officials, they haven't even figured out their own military problems, so how can they help the Mongols?
"Keep talking!" Huang Taiji said to Fan Wencheng with more energy.

Fan Wencheng continued, "What I just said is the first strange thing. The second strange thing is the Zhejiang Army that appeared this time. Khan, since the Battle of Hunhe, the Zhejiang Army of the Ming Dynasty has been annihilated. After the war, the then Emperor Tianqi intended to rebuild the Zhejiang Army, but ultimately failed."

"First, it is not easy to form the Zhejiang Army, and it is extremely difficult to train it. Second, the Zhejiang Army has always been centered around Yiwu soldiers. The Ming Dynasty has failed the Zhejiang Army many times. Yiwu people have long been disappointed with the Ming Dynasty court. After the Battle of Hunhe, almost every family in the area was in mourning, and they were quite dissatisfied with the court. They directly rejected the emperor's request and stopped sending their children to join the army. This is also the reason why Emperor Tianqi never rebuilt the Zhejiang Army."

"Great Khan, what the Tianqi Emperor couldn't do, do you think the current Chongzhen Emperor can do? And as far as I know, it will take at least several years for the Zhejiang Army to be formed, trained, and able to actually participate in the war to form combat power. The Ming Dynasty already had such an army a long time ago. Let's not talk about the distant past. Let's just talk about the time when the Khan led his troops to besiege the Ming capital. In such a dangerous situation, why didn't the Ming Dynasty send out this Zhejiang Army?"

At this point, seeing that Huang Taiji was about to speak, Fan Wencheng smiled and said, "I know that the Khan wants to say that the Third Prince encountered the Zhejiang Army under the city of the Ming capital, but the Khan should think carefully about the scale of the Zhejiang Army that the Third Prince encountered. The Zhejiang Army that the Third Prince encountered only had a few hundred people, and if our army had not broken through the Ming army camp, I am afraid that these Zhejiang troops would not have discovered it at all."

Huang Taiji thought about it carefully and frowned slightly. He had not expected this. According to Fan Wencheng's words, if the Ming Dynasty really had such a powerful Zhejiang Army, it would definitely not be left unused. Moreover, when the capital was in danger, Emperor Chongzhen had already ordered the whole country to come to the defense.

Under such circumstances, if he were Emperor Chongzhen, he would certainly mobilize such an elite force and lead it alone with other troops to fight together to protect the capital. Moreover, his army attacked Man Gui's camp that time, and it was not until he broke through the camp and penetrated deep into it that this small group of Zhejiang troops came out in a defensive posture, which was a bit strange.

"Could it be that this army was not fully formed at the beginning?" Huang Taiji guessed.

Fan Wencheng shook his head and said, "I don't think so. Since these hundreds of Zhejiang troops were able to stop the attack of the Third Prince, it is enough to show that their combat effectiveness is not weak. Even if they are not fully formed, they are still useful. However, judging from the battle situation, this Zhejiang army does not want to come forward at all. Instead, they hide in the Xuanda army and only fight with our army when the crisis comes."

"I think the origin of this army is not so simple. Perhaps even Emperor Chongzhen himself did not know the existence of this Zhejiang army. And in this Tumed battle, the origin of the excellent equipment of this army, including its Tengger unit, is so strange that I cannot figure out what is going on for the time being. But I can guarantee that it was not done by the Ming court, and the real reason is probably difficult to determine..."

Having said that, Fan Wencheng gave Huang Taiji an unfathomable look. Huang Taiji's heart moved slightly, and he nodded thoughtfully.

Fan Wencheng's analysis gave Huang Taiji an idea. According to what Fan Wencheng said, these situations were indeed very strange and unlikely to be the actions of the Ming Dynasty court.

But the problem is that it was not the Ming Dynasty that did it, so what was the situation? Fan Wencheng couldn't say, he only had a guess, and Huang Taiji also thought of this guess. Although it was a bit outrageous, it was somewhat possible after thinking about it carefully.

According to their speculation, this army was probably an independent army within the Xuanda Army. After all, since the Zhejiang Army was established by Qi Jiguang, it first suppressed the Japanese pirates and was later transferred to the north to guard the border. For a long time, it fought against the Mongols as a border army on the Xuanda border. Therefore, it was nominally the Zhejiang Army, but in fact it was a border army subordinate to the Nine Frontiers.

Perhaps it was because after the Battle of Hunhe, the Ming court wanted to rebuild the Zhejiang Army but failed. The generals in Xuanda used the Zhejiang Army veterans who remained in the border army as a foundation and trained an army in the way of the Zhejiang Army. This army was the "Zhejiang Army" that Dorgon encountered this time.

This possibility is not impossible. It is well known that the Ming army had a tradition of raising servants. It is very likely that this army was formed in the name of servants. However, the number of servants is generally not large. Even if a general has hundreds or even thousands of servants, it is very good. But what Dorgon encountered was a Zhejiang army of 5,000 people. The difference is too big.

Judging from the army that Manggurtai encountered, it was more like a group of servants trained in the style of the Zhejiang Army. So are these two armies the same army? And which general has the financial resources and ability to create such a large Zhejiang Army? Huang Taiji was confused again.

"Great Khan, I think this matter cannot be taken lightly. No matter what, we must find out who is supporting the Tenger tribe and whose army this Zhejiang army belongs to. If we can't figure this out, I'm afraid there will be big trouble in the future."

"Mr. Fan is right. So, in your opinion, what should we do now?" Huang Taiji asked without any hesitation.

Fan Wencheng said confidently: "Based on the battle in the capital of the Ming Dynasty and the battle in Tumed this time, I guess this army is probably in Xuanda Prefecture. As for where it is, we have to investigate carefully. In addition, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the court officials probably don't know about this army, let alone its existence, so we can do something about it..."

Fan Wencheng suggested to Huang Taiji that he could use this opportunity to publicize the existence of this army and directly disclose the news to the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, Fan Wencheng has recruited many people in the Ming Dynasty. As the Jiannu forces in Liaodong have become stronger, he has spies in the Ming Dynasty court. By spreading the news through these people, and even exaggerating it in the Ming Dynasty, it will not take long for it to reach the ears of Emperor Chongzhen.

When Emperor Chongzhen learned of this situation, he would never sit idly by due to his suspicious nature. He would even become furious and try to find out the truth and figure out who was flirting with the Mongols behind his back and even supporting the Mongols at such a huge cost.

In addition, the existence of this army would be immediately exposed. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen would never allow a powerful military force that the court did not even know about or could not control to exist alone. Even if this army defeated the army of Dorgon brothers and brought heavy damage to the Eight Banners, its existence had already threatened the stability of the empire and the throne.

What's more, there were people who secretly flirted with the Mongols without the knowledge of the imperial court, not only sending troops to support them but also providing a large amount of military support. This was something the rulers absolutely could not tolerate.

By this time, Emperor Chongzhen would definitely conduct a strict investigation and help Huang Taiji to clarify the matter. So they didn't need to investigate it themselves, they just had to pass the buck to the Ming Dynasty. As long as they let the bribed people pick out this matter at the critical moment and then put on some eye drops in front of Emperor Chongzhen, they would get a satisfactory result.

After hearing Fan Wencheng's words, Huang Taiji burst into laughter and was extremely happy.

"Mr. Fan, Mr. Fan, with you here, I am like Liu Bei having Zhuge Kongming. I have nothing to worry about!"

(End of this chapter)