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

Chapter 783: Promotion to a higher position
After reading it, Wen Tiren finally understood why Zhu Shenzhui had invited them to the Wenhua Hall to discuss matters. This was indeed a happy event, and a big happy event at that.

No one could have expected that such a chaos would occur within the Eight Banners. The two Niulu Zhangjing of the Zhenglan Banner led their Eight Banners soldiers to rebel against Huang Taiji under the banner of "anti-Qing and pro-Ming" and directly surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. This was truly an unexpected surprise.

After everyone read the memorial and understood the matter, joy lit up everyone's face and their expressions became much more relaxed.

"I congratulate the Regent. It is because of the Regent that our Great Ming can prosper. The Regent's prestige is great throughout the country. The Regent's wisdom shines on the world like the sun and the moon. With the blessing of heaven and the blessing of the people, Jiannu was influenced by the Regent and made this move of abandoning darkness and joining the light. It is a blessing for our Great Ming and all the people in the world!"

Wen Tiren was shaking with excitement, tears streaming down his face. He immediately stood up and knelt down in front of Zhu Shenzhui, praising him loudly.

"This old bastard! How shameless!" Yang Sichang cursed in his heart. Wen Tiren was too shameless. He could even say such flattering words. But even though he cursed in his heart, he was not slow in his actions. He followed Wen Tiren and showed the same excitement and excitement. He bowed to Zhu Shenzhu and echoed his praises.

How could the rest of the people sit still? They all made the same gesture, even Wang Jinwu. However, Wang Jinwu was not as shameless as Wen Tiren. When he saluted, he winked at Zhu Shenzhui playfully with a smile on his face. Seeing his strange look, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Please stand up, my dear ministers." Zhu Shenzhui raised his hand and said.

Wen Tiren and others then stood up and sat back down one by one.

"Today I have summoned you all to discuss this matter. Jing Wuer and Guan Bao have abandoned the dark and joined the light. This is no small matter. This matter can not only boost the morale of our Ming Dynasty, but also stabilize the war in Liaodong. If handled properly, it may be able to strike at the Jian Nu and divide and disintegrate them. What do you think about this matter? Feel free to tell me, there is no need to worry."

Wen Tiren quickly agreed and was the first to speak: "I think that, as the Regent said, the court can make a big fuss about Jing Wuer and Guan Bao's defection to the light. Once this fuss is done, it will not only be beneficial to our Ming Dynasty, but also a heavy blow to Jian Nu. The Eight Banners were created by me, and they are the foundation of Jian Nu's country. Starting with this matter, the Eight Banners can be divided and disintegrated. Once the Eight Banners are divided, Jian Nu will lose its foundation and will no longer be a threat."

"I suggest that we should first treat Jing Wuer and Guan Bao well. Not only should we give them official titles, but we should also show them great sincerity to demonstrate the virtue of the Ming Dynasty and make them feel grateful to the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the court should send people to Liaodong as soon as possible to announce the decree, and at the same time announce to the world that as long as the eight banners can follow their example and surrender to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will forgive their past mistakes and treat them equally, promising them high positions and generous salaries. This will naturally help to divide the other side."

"What the Prime Minister said is very true. I agree!" Zhang Zhifa responded quickly.

What Wen Tiren said was exactly what others thought. Jing Wuer and Guan Bao were very important. Since Nurhaci started his rebellion, they were the first Eight Banners generals to take the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. This was not only a military victory, but also a political victory, of great significance.

It is certain that they will be given official positions, and they cannot be stingy. They must be given high positions and generous salaries. Only in this way can the world see the tolerance of the Ming Dynasty and publicize the benevolence and majesty of the Ming Dynasty. As long as we treat these two people well, we are not afraid that other Eight Banners generals will not be tempted after the news spreads. Even if there are not many people who are tempted, it is enough. If there is one, won’t there be two? If there is two, how far are the three and four?

By that time, the people in the Eight Banners would be in turmoil and naturally split. Would Huang Taiji's position continue to be stable? How could he not understand these truths?

Everyone agreed unanimously and said that this matter must be implemented as soon as possible. If it takes too long, Jing Wuer and Guan Bao will have some ideas. And this matter must be done with great fanfare. The bigger the publicity, the better. This will not only boost morale and enhance the image of the Ming Dynasty, but also strike at the opponent and ultimately achieve the effect of division and disintegration.

Zhu Shenzhui approved of this and immediately asked them to work out a plan. They needed to discuss what military positions and ranks to grant the two men. In addition to military positions and ranks, they also needed to be given honors. Only in this way could the magnanimity of the Ming Dynasty be reflected.

Just like that, everyone started a heated discussion and after discussing for a while they finally came up with a plan.

Jingwuer and Guanbao were both Niulu Zhangjing, a military post in the Eight Banners, and also represented the identity, status and power within the Eight Banners. According to the military household system of the Ming Dynasty, Niulu Zhangjing was roughly equivalent to the garrison commander, but the Eight Banners were special. Niulu Zhangjing was not only a military post, but also had other powers. In this respect, he was vaguely similar to the garrison commander.

Since they have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty cannot be stingy and give them a lower official position than when they were in the Eight Banners, right? So Chen Xinjia suggested directly promoting them to the rank of Commander Assistant and granting them the title of Guerrilla General. This was recognized by everyone. After all, it would be inappropriate to give them a higher rank. Commander Assistant is already an official of the fourth rank. As for the Guerrilla General, although it is only the fifth rank, it is an actual military position and can directly lead troops. At present, Zheng Hongkui is only the deputy general who actually leads the general. Li You's rank is not much different from Zheng Hongkui. If the military positions of Jing Wuer and Guan Bao are raised too high, it will be inappropriate.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty will take this opportunity to continue recruiting the Eight Banners to surrender. If the Eight Banners generals who surrender later have higher status, it will be difficult to arrange for them. You can't just give them the position of deputy general or even general as soon as they arrive, right?

However, although the military rank was slightly lower, it could be compensated in other aspects, so Zhang Xijun suggested giving him the Wusan rank of Dingyuan General or Huaiyuan General of the third rank, and also giving him the honorary rank of Shangqi Duwei of the fourth rank.

Everyone agreed with Zhang Xijun's proposal. These were just titles, and they didn't cost any money, so why not? At this time, Wang Jinwu made another suggestion. Since it was already like this, why not be more generous and give the two men's descendants the title of Jinyiwei Baihu. Zhou Anmin agreed to this, and everyone thought about it and nodded again and again. This reward should be enough.

The matter of conferring official titles and honors was settled, and the next thing to discuss was the placement of the Eight Banner soldiers they led. Should they be split up or retained? This was particularly important.

Yang Sichang proposed that they should be split up and used. Although Jingwuer and Guanbao were determined to join the Ming Dynasty, they could not guarantee whether the Eight Banners soldiers were sincere in joining the Ming Dynasty. If there were any disloyal people among the Eight Banners soldiers, letting them continue to stick together might cause hidden dangers.

In order to avoid the hidden dangers of these Eight Banners soldiers, Yang Sichang proposed to split them up and disperse them into the Ming army, and redeploy the troops under the command of Jing Wuer and Guan Bao. In this way, not only can the hidden dangers be avoided, but even if Jing Wuer and Guan Bao regret it in the future, they will not be able to pull their subordinates to rebel again.

But as soon as this was said, Xu Xiancheng expressed his opposition. He said that if you employ someone, trust him, and if you doubt him, don't employ him. Since the other party has come to surrender, he is one of ours. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has shown its sincerity in conferring an official title and honors. If we do such a small move in this matter, it will inevitably make the other party unhappy.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you surrender to the Ming Dynasty with your men, and the Ming Dynasty splits up your troops, wouldn't that tell the other party that they don't trust you? Jing Wuer and Guan Bao are not stupid. Don't forget that they are the Niulu Zhangjing of the Eight Banners, and they are the nobles of the Eight Banners. Even if the Jiannu have a lower cultural level, they still understand this principle.

Moreover, the more people like Jiannu are, the more sensitive they are to these things. Once they have an idea in their mind, they will inevitably be alienated from the court. Moreover, they have just arrived in the Ming Dynasty and are unfamiliar with the place. They are at a time of anxiety and will definitely have the mentality of sticking together for warmth. At this time, forcibly splitting up the opponent's troops will cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Furthermore, the reason why the Eight Banners' combat effectiveness is so strong is because of the coordination between the Eight Banners' cavalry and archery and combat. Once these Eight Banners soldiers are split up and incorporated into the Ming army, they will lose their original strong combat effectiveness, which will not be beneficial for their subsequent use.

Moreover, except for the navy, the rest of the troops led by Zheng Hongkui and Li You were new troops. The new troops had their own special training methods and tactics. The incorporation of the Eight Banners soldiers into the new army would inevitably be incompatible with them and would also affect the original tactics of the new army. This approach would simply not be worth the cost.

Xu Xiancheng suggested that since they had already recognized their sincerity in surrendering and given them high positions and generous salaries, why bother to dwell on this matter? Doing so would only make them look petty. Moreover, even if they took some risks, the two Niulu Eight Banner soldiers would not be able to cause any trouble. Once used well, they would not only strengthen the strength of the Ming army, but also show an attitude, completely dispel the other side's concerns, and set a model for the subsequent division and disintegration of the Eight Banners.

Xu Xiancheng's suggestion was approved by Zhang Xijun, and Zhou Anmin and Wang Jinwu naturally would not object. As for Wen Tihen, he knew as soon as he arrived that there was a deep meaning behind calling them to Zhu Shenzhui today. Xu Xiancheng, Zhang Xijun, Zhou Anmin, and Wang Jinwu were all Zhu Shenzhui's confidants, and half of the eight people stood on Zhu Shenzhui's side without any problem. Isn't this equivalent to telling him what to do?

Moreover, Wen Tiren had already made Zhu Shenzhu unhappy because of the dispute over the command of troops in the Liaodong War. Otherwise, Zhu Shenzhu would not have made the decision to directly dispatch troops to let Zheng Hongkui and Li You cross the sea. Afterwards, Wen Tiren, who had been beaten, suddenly realized and tried his best to find a way to mend the rift between the two sides. Under the current circumstances, it is even more impossible for him to speak out against it.

As Wen Tihen also expressed his agreement, Zhang Zhifa, who was a fence-sitter, of course followed Wen Tihen's position unconditionally. Chen Xinjia thought about it and nodded. Finally, Yang Sichang saw that it was useless to object, so he could only go with the flow and settle the matter.

(End of this chapter)