I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

More than an hour later, the ambush at the North Gate of Kaiyuan City ended.

With overwhelming superiority, Li Chengliang and Huo Jiugao beheaded more than 1,500 members of the Yehe tribe, captured over a thousand warhorses, and countless weapons.

The remaining thousand or so people fled in panic, and Li Chengliang led his troops in pursuit, heading towards Yehe City.

At this time, Yehe City only had more than two thousand garrison soldiers, and its leader had been killed. It was easy for Li Chengliang to besiege the city and force them to surrender.

……

After witnessing this bloody war, Shen Nian felt even more disgusted with war.

To change these people and reduce killing, in addition to stopping war with war, it is essential to implement education and develop commerce and people's livelihoods; neither can be neglected.

……

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, in the afternoon.

Li Chengliang led his cavalry back to the city. The Yehe tribe had been beaten so badly that they had almost no fighting power left and had no choice but to surrender the entire city.

Their tribal elders expressed their willingness to relinquish the territory they had seized from the Hada tribe, to be under the control of the Hada tribe thereafter, and to cease all warfare with the Mongol tribal alliance.

In accordance with the Ming Dynasty's current policy of using barbarians to control barbarians, Li Chengliang did not massacre the city, but only confiscated their warhorses and weapons as punishment.

On the day.

Li Chengliang then ordered his men to spread the news of the Yehe tribe's surrender to many Haixi Jurchen tribes. The various Haixi Jurchen tribes were terrified, and once again clearly understood what it meant to oppose the Ming Dynasty.

……

It was early morning on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Li Chengliang, Shen Nian, and their group then left Kaiyuan City and returned to Liaoyang.

For Li Chengliang, these kinds of battles were as commonplace as drinking water and eating; they broke out once or twice almost every month.

But this kind of war deeply shocked Shen Nian, who had never participated in it before.

Only by developing commerce and promoting etiquette and morality can this place become a place suitable for people to live in. Otherwise, even after two hundred, three hundred, or five hundred years, this place will still be full of plunder and killing.

……

It was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, near dusk.

Shen Nian finally returned to Liaoyang City before the New Year.

Since he entered officialdom, his family has rarely had the opportunity to celebrate the Lunar New Year together, but this time in remote Liaodong, the whole family was able to gather together.

Nowadays, people in the Jiangnan region mainly eat rice cakes and glutinous rice balls during the Spring Festival, while those north of the Yangtze River must eat dumplings.

This time, Shen Nian's whole family followed the customs of the North.

Father Shen, Mother Shen, Gu Dongxing, Gu Yue'er, Shen Nian, Shen Yanche, and Shen Zhiyi all pitched in to make dumplings with fillings such as roe deer meat and cabbage, venison and radish, wild boar and sauerkraut, and pork and hazelnut.

New Year's Eve.

Shen Yaoshan, Gu Dongxing, Hai Rui, and Shen Nian sat at a table.

They ate dumplings, drank some wine, and chatted about the interesting things that happened in Liaodong, and were all very happy.

As long as Shen Nian doesn't think about the mess in the capital, she's in a good mood every day.

……

It was nighttime on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Shen Nian, Li Chengliang, Zhang Xueyan, and a group of generals and officials gathered together for a New Year's Eve dinner.

When slightly tipsy.

Shen Nian talked about his trade strategy in Jiliao, Li Chengliang talked about his Chengliang Academy, and Zhang Xueyan talked about his plan to teach his favorite book, Zhuangzi, at Chengliang Academy after he retires from officialdom...

The group chatted until almost midnight before being led home.

In the following days, Shen Nian planned to take a year-end vacation.

He began to stroll around Liaoyang City with his family and go hunting in the suburbs. He took Shen Yanche and Shen Zhiyi with him, and they even saw black bears and tigers.

Faced with firearms, these behemoths were no match for humans.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

Shen Nian began to focus her attention on revitalizing the Jiliao trade.

He has two goals for the first half of this year.

Firstly, Jibei Port should be able to be officially put into use before May.

Building a port is not complicated; what is complicated is its maintenance. It involves having merchant ships dock, conducting trade, and having warehouses behind the docks filled with the goods that merchants want to buy.

Shen Nian was already confident about this.

Secondly, the location of Winter City was determined, and an order was issued to resettle displaced people and deserters, allowing homeless people to participate in the construction of Winter City and the Eastern Harbor.

……

On the 20th day of the first month, in Liaoyang City, at the Censorate.

Shen Nian saw Li Chengliang and Zhang Xueyan walking over from a distance. Li Chengliang was cursing and seemed very angry.

"Lord Ningyuan, who has offended you to make you look so pale!"

Li Chengliang said angrily, "Half an hour ago, I received news from the border of Kaiyuan City: the Mongolian Nuantu tribe, which was allied with the Yehe tribe last time, launched a surprise attack on the Hada tribe a few days ago. Although it did not cause great damage to the Hada tribe, it still stole some horses and grain."

"The Nuantu tribe's actions are clearly a show of force, an attempt to prove that they will unite with other Jurchen tribes to oppose us. I'm planning to find an opportunity to give the Nuantu tribe another beating, and let's jointly submit a memorial to the court!"

Shen Nian had some knowledge of this Mongolian Nuantu tribe.

They operated in the Liaodong frontier area for a long time. Because they were far from the Third Lady of the Tumed tribe, they were not under the control of the other party. In addition, they did not have specific castles or camps and always fought and ran away. Therefore, they often joined forces with some Jurchens to fight against some Jurchens. Their purpose was to plunder wealth. Their number was probably close to 10,000.

It will not be easy to surround and annihilate them.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said, "This time, I do not advocate going to war!"

"Ok?"

Li Chengliang and Zhang Xueyan, who had just thought Shen Nian was a war fanatic, were both very surprised to hear this.

“I have a better idea, let’s talk inside!” Shen Nian said with a smile.

Shen Nian immediately invited the two into the tea room and then took out a map covering the entire Jurchen people and part of the Mongol people in Liaodong.

This map marks the locations of many tribes, as well as the approximate locations of Winter City and Eastern Port. "Gentlemen, come and take a closer look! North of Liaodong, there are many Jurchen tribes, ranging from a few hundred to nearly ten thousand people. In this area, there are also no fewer than twenty Mongol tribes. In their eyes, plunder and war are the only way to survive, so they are constantly fighting among themselves and harassing us and the tribes that depend on us."

"The reason the Yehe tribe is easy to deal with is because we laid an ambush beforehand, knew their full strength, and were relatively close to us. If we were to attack the Mongol Nuantu tribe now, we would have to travel at least several hundred miles, passing through several tribes. Even if we weren't surrounded by some hostile tribes and caught up with the Nuantu tribe, if they ran away when they saw us, would we have to keep chasing them? Even if we wiped them out, it would be a lose-lose situation, which is not worth it!"

"It's better not to fight at all than for those who wear shoes to fight those who are barefoot, as both sides will suffer heavy losses!"

"Furthermore, even if we win, it will be difficult to keep other tribes in line. For example, if we wipe out the Nuantu tribe, how will we settle the elderly, weak, and women within their tribe? Some of the horses and grain that we didn't manage to take will be divided up by other tribes. If we wipe out the Nuantu tribe, the tribes that were suppressed by this tribe will quickly rise and grow stronger. It's as if we've done all that work for someone else!"

After saying that, Shen Nian added, "Of course, it also has a deterrent effect and can bring military merits to the soldiers in Liaodong!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Xueyan and Li Chengliang couldn't help but blush.

They then realized that although they fought every month and won more battles than they lost, which seemed impressive, it didn't really serve any purpose. It was just like trying to solve one problem only to have another arise, destroying one tribe while strengthening another.

If they continue fighting in this way, a hundred years from now, the Jurchen people will not only not be weakened, but may even become stronger.

"Then what should we do?" Li Chengliang asked.

Shen Nian looked at the map and said, "I plan to have you two select five hundred elite soldiers who are skilled in assassination and intelligence gathering to act as undercover agents, hiding in the Mongol and Jurchen tribes in Liaodong. On the one hand, they will cooperate with the first batch of students from the Elite Martial Arts Academy who were previously hidden in the tribes to gather information on the number of people, horses, weapons, and alliances of each tribe. On the other hand, they will carry out the decapitation of the leaders."

“Any tribe that provokes us will have its leader beheaded. Are you confident that you can send your soldiers to kill the leader of this Warm Rabbit tribe within two months?”

"Yes!" Li Chengliang said with great confidence.

"A decapitation strike against the chief? That's great! We have superior weaponry and intelligence, and it can serve as a warning to others. It's perfect for dealing with these small tribes that always rob and run!" Zhang Xueyan said with a smile.

"This is a bit brutal, but it is the most effective. Once our Winter City is established and trade flourishes, we will stop this practice. A life of plenty and stability will be enough to keep them away from war."

Shen Nian advocated for the decapitation of the leaders primarily to understand the specific situation of each tribe so as to address the problem effectively. As for beheading the leaders, that was only a secondary objective. If the leaders of each tribe advocated for peaceful coexistence, Shen Nian would never take action.

"At that time, we can also open a branch of Chengliang Academy in Dongcheng to be responsible for etiquette education. By then, everyone who has studied at Chengliang Academy will be considered a student of the Earl of Ningyuan!"

Hearing this, Li Chengliang was overjoyed and said, "That's a good idea, a good idea!"

"However, the cost of building the Liang Academy branch will have to come from your own pocket, Earl Ningyuan!"

"No problem!" Li Chengliang patted his chest and said.

Standing nearby, Zhang Xueyan joked, "Lord Ningyuan, you've fallen into Ziheng's trap again, haha!"

"I do!" Li Chengliang said, head held high, with an arrogant expression.

If you say he's bad at fighting, he won't argue with you; but if you say he's unqualified to be the head of the academy, he'll fight you to the death.

……

In the following days, Li Chengliang went to select soldiers to be responsible for assassinations and intelligence gathering.

There is absolutely no need for Shen Nian to worry about selecting soldiers and generals.

……

On the fifth day of the second lunar month, around noon, Shen Nian was organizing the list of caravans traveling between Quanzhou Port and Jibei Port when Qi Hu strode over.

"Minister, a letter has arrived from the trade envoy!"

Shen Nian was excited. Shen Maoxue's letter meant that the site selection for Winter City and Oriental Port was progressing well.

He quickly removed the stamp, opened the letter, and began to read it carefully.

Before long, Shen Nian frowned and muttered, "How did Nurhaci get involved?"

In his letter, Shen Maoxue stated that after arriving at the Wakurka tribe of the Donghai Jurchens, his initial communication with the tribal leader went very smoothly.

After explaining his reasons, Shen Maoxue proposed the following conditions for buying the land: in addition to allowing the original inhabitants of the tribe to continue to live in the designated location on this land and ensuring their safety, he would also compensate each tribe member with five taels of silver worth of daily necessities, such as grain, ironware, and cloth.

At the same time, the tribal chief and elders, a total of ten people, were given gifts ranging from two thousand to five thousand taels of silver. The land was valued at approximately thirty thousand taels of silver, depending on the acreage. In addition, the entire tribe was compensated for relocation with three months' worth of living supplies.

The total amount is 50,005 taels of silver.

For the impoverished Jurchen people, this condition was quite favorable.

Of course, these silver coins or supplies will not be given to them all at once.

Two-tenths would be paid upon signing the contract, three-tenths upon completion of the relocation, and another three-tenths upon the arrival of Ming soldiers and the settled people. The remaining payment would be made in full upon the complete establishment of sovereignty, a process that would take approximately eighteen months.

Several leaders of the Kurka tribe were very satisfied. Just as they were about to sign the contract, someone in the tribe became acquainted with Nurhaci, the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard. Since Nurhaci happened to be very close to them, they asked him about his knowledge of the Ming Dynasty.

After communicating with Nurhaci, their attitude suddenly changed. They stopped negotiating with Shen Maoxue and instead had Nurhaci act as their representative to negotiate with Shen Maoxue.

Nurhaci put forward very harsh conditions.

He demanded that the Ming Dynasty provide at least 100,000 taels of silver or equivalent worth of goods to purchase the land. In addition to sending troops to protect the Kurka tribe, he also demanded that their tribal leader be appointed as a commander, granted an official seal and court robes, and allowed to enjoy the Ming Dynasty's salary, plus a share of the profits from the commercial transactions after the construction of the Winter City, and that he take 20% of the profits.

From the moment he proposed the profit-sharing arrangement for trade, Shen Maoxue knew that Nurhaci had discerned that the Ming Dynasty's purchase of this barren land near the sea was for the purpose of establishing a port and engaging in commerce.

In addition, Nurhaci also proposed that, according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, he should be given at least 10,000 taels of silver personally as a middleman.

His demands were clearly outrageous.

Shen Nian and Shen Maoxue could not possibly agree to appoint their tribal chief as commander, let alone allow them to participate in the profit sharing of trade.

Unable to make a decision, Shen Maoxue wrote to Shen Nian for instructions.

He was already on his way back to Kaiyuan City.

Whether this matter succeeds or not depends on negotiations with Nurhaci. The Kurka tribe has handed over all decision-making power to Nurhaci.

He also asked Shen Nian whether Ningyuanbo should participate in the meeting with Nurhaci.

Shen Nian frowned slightly, not expecting Nurhaci to suddenly jump out.

He knew that sending Li Chengliang to negotiate with Nurhaci would be pointless.

The two were originally in a relationship of mutual exploitation, and Nurhaci already harbored hatred towards the Ming Dynasty because his grandfather and father were killed by the Liaodong army.

At this moment, Nurhaci dared not oppose the Ming Dynasty.

But in this deal, based on his understanding of Liaodong, he was clearly preparing to take advantage of a big spender.

At that moment, Shen Nian's murderous intent was stirred.

But upon closer reflection, if he were killed now, the Kurka tribe might be even less willing to sell the land.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Nian decided to personally meet this young Jurchen leader who was only twenty-six years old at the time.

If he cannot be used, or if the deal cannot be reached, Shen Nian may eliminate him immediately.

Immediately, Shen Nian wrote a letter to Shen Maoxue, arranging to meet Nurhaci outside Kaiyuan City. (End of Chapter)