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

Chapter 784 Disintegration
After discussing how to resettle Jing Wuer and Guan Bao, including their subordinates, everyone began to discuss how to publicize this matter more advantageously, and at the same time use the issue to split the Eight Banners and win over more Eight Banners nobles to defect to the Ming Dynasty.

Among the people present, except Wang Jinwu who was a warrior, the rest were meticulous people. It was impossible to survive in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty without some skills. What's more, people like Wen Tihen and Yang Sichang were old hands in the officialdom who had climbed up step by step over many years. They might not be good at fighting and might not be good at other things, but when it comes to calculating people's hearts, sowing discord, and engaging in conspiracies, it is simply instinct for them.

In a short time, everyone discussed and came up with a plan, which was divided into three steps. The first step was to publicize the matter within the Ming Dynasty, so as to inspire people, boost morale, enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and use this to strike a blow to the arrogance of the Liaodong Jiannu.

The second step was to quickly contact other Eight Banners generals through Jing Wuer and Guan Bao, win them over, and make certain promises. As long as they were willing to surrender, they would be given high positions, generous salaries, and real power. As for family members, there would be no problem at all, as the Ming Dynasty would properly settle them.

Didn't Jing Wuer and Guan Bao say that there were many people in the Zhenglan Banner who were dissatisfied with Huang Taiji, and there were similar situations in other banners. So we should start with the Zhenglan Banner and recruit as many as we can. The more we recruit, the greater the blow to Huang Taiji. If we can recruit all the Eight Banners to the Ming Dynasty at once, then Huang Taiji, the so-called emperor, will have to give up his job. What's the point of being a bachelor commander? Just surrender directly.

This is of course impossible. Huang Taiji could not have sat firmly on the throne of the Great Khan and was promoted to the emperor without some skills. Moreover, he had used various means to control the Eight Banners over the years and had become the most powerful force among the Eight Banners. Otherwise, Amin and Manggurtai would not have been easily eliminated by him one by one.

While carrying out the second step, the third step should also be carried out at the same time, that is, to continue to use troops to attack the Jiannu rear, to strike the Jiannu with military actions, to make the Eight Banners in various garrisons panic all day long, and to exert strong pressure. Doing so can better enable the Eight Banners generals who have different intentions towards Huang Taiji to make a decision as soon as possible and thus surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Once this idea is in place, the Ming Dynasty can immediately respond to the other party and eliminate the other party's worries.

And there is another very important point, that is, the siege of Jinzhou has not been resolved yet. Only by making the fire burn more vigorously and bigger, can Huang Taiji completely withdraw his troops from Jinzhou and put out the fire. Only in this way can the siege of Jinzhou be ended and Zu Dashou of Jinzhou be rescued.

In addition, the imperial court would send someone to Shandong, or even to Zheng Hongkui and Li You in Liaodong, to directly announce the decree to Jing Wuer and Guan Bao, and at the same time preside over the work of recruiting the Eight Banners.

Such a thing could not be accomplished by Zheng Hongkui and Li You alone. On the one hand, their ranks were not high, and on the other hand, they were military commanders on the front line and could not represent the will of the court. Even Li Xin of Shandong could not do it. As a governor, Li Xin had the qualifications, but his foundation in the court was too shallow.

Logically speaking, it would be most appropriate for the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of War to send someone, but Zhu Shencui from the Ministry of Rites did not even consider it. Because of the Beijing inspection, the Minister of Rites Fang Fengnian had been demoted. Before, Wang Jinwu returned victorious from the Battle of the Great Wall, but the Ministry of Rites deliberately neglected and pretended to obey, which made Zhu Shencui extremely dissatisfied. He took this opportunity to severely criticize the Ministry of Rites.

Although Fang Fengnian has been demoted but remains in office, the Ministry of Rites is still under his control. Given Fang Fengnian's personality and Donglin Party background, how could Zhu Shenzhui hand over this task to the Ministry of Rites? If the time comes, it will be more trouble than success, and it will be troublesome if the arrangement is ruined.

What's more, Zhu Shenzhui directly excluded the Ministry of Rites from today's meeting and never thought of letting the Ministry of Rites participate, so from the perspective of the situation, the Ministry of War is the only suitable one.

The Liaodong affair was originally related to the Ministry of War, and the surrender of the Eight Banners generals also fell within the military scope. Apart from the Ministry of War, it was barely related to the Ministry of Personnel, and the other was the Cabinet. However, the Cabinet was in charge of the overall situation, and the specific work had always been handled by the various ministries. There was no need for the cabinet elders to step in.

Logically speaking, Xu Xiancheng was the most suitable person from any aspect. First, Xu Xiancheng's official position was sufficient. Second, Xu Xiancheng was the governor of Shandong before. Although Liaodong was the Liaodong Regional Military Commission and was currently under the jurisdiction of Ji-Liao due to the war, in fact, in the provincial division of the Ming Dynasty, Liaodong was under the jurisdiction of Shandong. This is why many of the Ming Dynasty's civil servants in the Liaodong battlefield usually held Shandong titles.

Moreover, the current Shandong Governor Li Xin was originally a subordinate of Xu Xiancheng. Xu Xiancheng, as the Left Censor-in-Chief and the Minister of Internal Affairs, was the right person to represent the court there. However, this consideration was also rejected in advance by Zhu Shenzhu. Now Xu Xiancheng controlled the Censorate and was the chief officer of the Supervisory Department in charge of the Beijing Inspection. He could not leave the court temporarily, let alone go to Liaodong.

"I am willing to go!" Chen Xinjia stood up and recommended himself. Seeing him stand up, Zhu Shenzhui's eyes suddenly lit up. Not to mention that Chen Xinjia was indeed a suitable candidate. He was the second in command of the Ministry of War, and his official position was high enough to represent the court. The key point was that Chen Xinjia was not one of those scholars in the court who knew nothing about military affairs.

You have to know that Chen Xinjia had stayed at the border for many years before and was no stranger to military affairs. He was also a civil servant. In addition, although Chen Xinjia was not a Jinshi, as a Juren official, he did things in an organized manner and was a practical person.

Moreover, Chen Xinjia did not belong to that faction in the court. It was true that he was recommended by Yang Sichang, but at best he had a good personal relationship with Yang Sichang. It was not correct to say that he was Yang Sichang's man. In essence, Chen Xinjia was a member of the imperial party and he was loyal to the Ming court.

Seeing the determination and eagerness on Chen Xinjia's face, Zhu Shenzhui agreed after a brief thought, and immediately decided to let Chen Xinjia go to Shandong as an imperial envoy, and then cross the sea to Liaodong to meet Zheng Hongkui and Li You after arriving in Shandong, and directly announce the imperial decree to appease Jing Wuer and Guan Bao who had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and then recruit the Eight Banners according to the plan discussed today. Chen Xinjia was very happy after receiving the order, and immediately promised that he would do a good job of this matter and live up to the trust of the court. After giving him a few instructions, Zhu Shenzhui said that the meeting was adjourned, and everyone stood up, saluted Zhu Shenzhui and said goodbye, and left.

Everyone left, except Wang Jinwu, who stayed behind. After everyone else left, Wang Jinwu could not help but say to Zhu Shenzhui, "Chen Xinjia is going to Shandong and Liaodong this time, how about I go with him to take a look?"

"Nonsense! What are you going to do?" Zhu Shenzhui didn't expect that this kid was actually thinking about this. No wonder he kept giving him looks just now. After all the fuss, he actually thought this way.

Wang Jinwu chuckled, scratched his head and said, "Isn't it that I have too little time in the capital? In the past year, since the Battle of the Great Wall, I have stayed in the capital. Every day I am either training the army or rehearsing chess with the soldiers in the barracks. I am really bored every day."

"I had originally planned to take advantage of the Liaodong war to go out and get some fresh air, but you took Li You away without letting me lead the troops. These days I have been hearing about Li You and Zheng Hongkui in Liaodong, and I feel really uncomfortable. The more I think about it, the more itchy I feel. If I stay like this any longer, I will get sick."

"Sixth brother, you have to let me move around, right? Even if it's just to go to Shandong for a stroll! If I keep staying in the capital, I will be ruined."

At the end, Wang Jinwu stopped calling himself "Lianchen" and started calling him "I" directly. He also called Zhu Shenzhui "Sixth Brother". Hearing this familiar name, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but laugh and cry. His cousin was still the same and his personality hadn't changed at all.

Although Wang Jinwu's words were pitiful, he also promised that he would only go to Shandong for a tour and come back after sending Chen Xinjia to Shandong, just to get some fresh air. But how could Zhu Shenzhu agree to Wang Jinwu's request? Others might not know, but how could he, Zhu Shenzhu, not know Wang Jinwu's temper? It would be strange if he agreed to this kid. Once this kid went to Shandong, he would definitely not come back immediately. He might just take a boat to Liaodong to have fun. At that time, no matter whether it was Li Xin or Chen Xinjia, how could he stop him? Don't forget that he is now a first-rank military general. He not only has the title of Left Commander-in-Chief, but also the position of Chief of the Beijing Camp.

"Stop talking nonsense! You are not allowed to go!" Zhu Shenzhui rejected it without even thinking.

"Why? Sixth brother, you can't be unreasonable! You promised to let me lead the army as a general, why are you keeping me in the capital now? Besides, I have almost finished the reorganization of the new army. The war in Liaodong is not over yet, and it is the time to use people. You even transferred Hei Yunlong and Zhang Keda to Liaodong, why can't you let me go? If I go, this mere Huang Taiji is nothing. I promise to help you beat the shit out of this old guy Huang Taiji."

"Vulgar!" Zhu Shenzhui laughed and scolded. This guy was getting more and more outrageous. How could Huang Taiji be so easy to defeat? Even if he pulled all the new troops in the capital to the Liaodong battlefield and added the Liao army and the troops of Jizhou Town and Xuanda to fight Huang Taiji, he was not sure. Otherwise, Zhu Shenzhui would have done so long ago.

Besides, Wang Jinwu's new army was Zhu Shenzhu's trump card, his trump card to control the government and suppress the local areas. How could Zhu Shenzhu use this army unless it was absolutely necessary? And now the court was at a critical moment, it was even more impossible to let Wang Jinwu leave.

"There is no need to discuss this matter any further. Just stay in the capital. I have great use for you and your troops."

"Great use? What great use? Sixth brother, can you explain it more clearly? I feel itchy when you say half of it."

"You..." Zhu Shenzhui was about to curse him, but seeing Wang Jinwu's confused look, he felt both angry and amused. If it was someone else, he would just scold him and tell him to get out. But this guy was Wang Jinwu, and there were some words he couldn't say.

He waved at Wang Jinwu, signaling him to come forward and talk. Wang Jinwu hurriedly took a few steps forward and approached Zhu Shenzhui, pretending to listen attentively. Zhu Shenzhui did not hide anything from him and whispered a few words in his ear. When Wang Jinwu heard what Zhu Shenzhui said, he was first surprised and then happy, and then hurriedly asked whether it was true or not.

(End of this chapter)