Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 104 The Unexpected Card Draw!
Zhu Youjian gently put down the two memorials in his hands, his brows furrowing deeply.

This was a spy plan for the Later Jin dynasty that he had Wang Tiqian and Tian Ergeng submit a few days earlier.

very bad.

No, to describe it as terrible would be an understatement.

The disappointment in Zhu Youjian's eyes was almost overflowing.

The entire text is filled with terms from "The Art of War," such as "dead spy," "living spy," "counter-espionage," and "countryside," resembling a grand paper military parade.

Even though Tian Ergeng's grandfather was the Minister of War, his plan wasn't much better.

Both plans vaguely discussed instigating internal strife within the Later Jin, probing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and some even suggested burning their supplies.

But how exactly should it be carried out? Who should be sent? How should they infiltrate? How should messages be passed on?
None at all.

They didn't even mention the famine in the Later Jin Dynasty or the relationship between the Fourth Prince—something that he would later come to know.

Zhu Youjian rubbed his temples.

He always held ancient military warfare in awe and never dared to claim that he was smarter than the ancients.

But this time, I simply couldn't tolerate the absurdity and crudeness of these two proposals.

He sighed inwardly.

With this piece of crap, how can we possibly fight against Li Yongfang, the head of the Later Jin's spies?
It's likely that the people they sent out were packed up and sent back the moment they crossed the Shanhaiguan Pass.

However, this problem cannot be blamed on Wang Tiqian and Tian Ergeng.

Zhu Youjian was well aware that this was not a problem of their ability, but rather a structural flaw that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred years.

The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, these two sharpest blades and most acute eyes and ears of the Ming Dynasty, were always directed inwards and never outwards.

Their power, wealth, and even their lives were all tied to the capital, to the Forbidden City.

Sending them to the icy, snowy lands beyond the Great Wall to conduct espionage is tantamount to degrading themselves three ranks.

Who would do it? And who would be willing to do it?
Asking them to write this proposal is indeed asking too much of them.

Zhu Youjian racked his brains, but for a moment he was at a loss as to where to begin.

He remembered several civil officials who died for their country, knew a lot of capable military generals, and even remembered Song Yingxing, who studied the Exploitation of the Works of Nature.

When it comes to espionage, his "general card pool" is completely empty.

Is it really possible that this crucial step has to be figured out from scratch by an outsider like myself?

Mao Wenlong should have been a good player – but now it's a bit uncertain whether he's still usable!
Zhu Youjian fell into deep thought.

He stood up and paced back and forth in front of the imperial desk, the sunlight casting his shadow long and short.

Since there's no one available, I'll just have to figure things out myself first.

There are only two objectives in espionage.

First, know yourself and know your enemy, understand the enemy's situation.

The Later Jin dynasty today is likely still in a period of joint rule by the four great princes.

Although Huang Taiji was powerful, he was far from having the absolute authority that his word carried weight in later generations.

So, what were the attitudes of the other three Beile—Daišan, Amin, and Mangultai—towards Huang Taiji? And how was the power and influence distributed among the four Beile?
What is the state of economic production in the Later Jin state? How long can their food reserves sustain them in their war?
What were the main goods they smuggled for their livelihood? What trade routes did they use? And who were the people on the Ming side who secretly colluded with them, working in concert with them from the inside?
If all this intelligence could be clarified, its value would probably be equivalent to that of five divisions.

Knowing this, there are so many things we can do.

For example, could we deliberately elevate the status of other princes through diplomatic documents, smuggling, or other means, so that they could check and balance Huang Taiji?
For example, in official documents, Huang Taiji was referred to as "Fourth Prince" instead of "King," in order to sow discord between them regarding their relationship as ruler and subject.

It's important to understand that at this time, the Later Jin absolutely did not believe they could sweep across the world; the Ming Dynasty's approval might still be somewhat useful to them.

Secondly, it is to undermine the enemy's strength by cutting off their supply lines.

For example, they guided Han Chinese from Liaodong to flee back to the Ming Dynasty, thus undermining the foundation of their rule.

For example, turning or seducing some of their generals... Turning them to defection?

Zhu Youjian abruptly stopped, a thought flashing through his mind like lightning!
(Ding~ It's time for Emperor Zhu Youjian of the Ming Dynasty to draw a card!)
That's it! There's one card, a general card that can be considered an SSR in some ways, that he hasn't been able to draw yet.

It wasn't that he was unlucky or made a mistake, but rather that this card wasn't even in Da Ming's card pool right now!
Liu Xingzuo!
That son-in-law of Nurhaci was an important figure who later betrayed the Jin dynasty and joined the Ming dynasty!

Zhu Youjian suddenly turned around, his excitement almost making him want to shout.

All my thoughts suddenly became clear at that moment!
He had been making a misconception, always thinking that he should find intelligence talents trained by the Ming Dynasty itself to fight against the Later Jin.

But was Li Yongfang, the head of the Later Jin spy network, trained from scratch?
He is not!
He was nothing more than a Ming Dynasty general who surrendered!

The reason he was able to carry out his intelligence work against the Ming Dynasty so successfully was simply because of his familiarity with the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, army, and personal connections!

Conversely, let's use their own methods against them!
Liu Xingzuo, once Nurhaci's son-in-law and at the core of the Later Jin's power, surely knew as much about the Later Jin as Li Yongfang knew about the Ming Dynasty!

This person is simply a godsend, a game-changer!

The gloom that had been weighing on him for so long vanished, and Zhu Youjian felt completely refreshed. He turned to Gao Shiming, who had been standing by his side, and asked:
"Gao Banban, in the past memorials and reports from Liaodong, was there any mention of a person named 'Liu Xingzuo'?"

Gao Shiming pondered for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "Your Majesty, forgive my ignorance, but indeed... I have never heard of such a person."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian frowned slightly.

That shouldn't be the case. How could there be no record of such an important person?
He thought for a moment and then suggested, "When Yuan Keli was the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, he recovered Jinzhou and Lushun. It is said that this person was the one who tipped him off."

"what!"

Gao Shiming seemed to wake from a dream, and suddenly realized, "Your Majesty, are you referring to Liu Aita?"

Seeing Zhu Youjian nod, Gao Shiming quickly added, "Your Majesty, such a person does indeed exist!"

"I remember now. Both Yuan Keli and Mao Wenlong mentioned this person in their memorials. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty, while I go and fetch him."

After saying that, he quickly turned to the left side of the main hall.

There, a dozen huge bookshelves had been erected in neat rows, filled with various memorials and manuscripts categorized by type.

This was the result of Zhu Youjian's order to the Directorate of Ceremonial to organize documents and archives after he ascended the throne.

—You mean a screen? That's from the previous version.

Gao Shiming rummaged through one of the bookshelves labeled "Liaodong Tangbao" for a while, and soon returned with two memorials in his hands.

"Your Majesty, please see, Liu Aita mentioned it in these two memorials."

Zhu Youjian took the memorial and eagerly opened it.

The first document is a report from July of the third year of the Tianqi reign, from General Mao Wenlong, who was in charge of pacifying Liaodong, regarding the "great victories at Manpu and Changcheng".

Zhu Youjian recalled that when he stayed up all night to read this report, all his attention was drawn to the exaggerated result: "The official troops numbered less than a thousand, while the bandits suffered more than 20,000 deaths and more than 30,000 horses were killed."

They were stunned and their scalps tingled, completely unaware of the name "Liu Aita" mentioned only briefly.

The second document is an explanation by Yuan Keli, the then governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, regarding the recapture and subsequent loss of Jinzhou and Gaizhou, as well as the "victories of Manpu and Changcheng".

It also explicitly mentions the phrase "the son-in-law Liu Aita was appointed as an inside agent".

it's him!
Zhu Youjian raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on Gao Shiming: "Has this Liu Aita returned to the Ming Dynasty yet?"

Gao Shiming pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Your Majesty, the memorial only mentioned that he was an inside agent, and then it was not mentioned again. I... have no recollection of it. Perhaps, we can ask Governor-General Sun, who was also the governor of Jiliao in the third year of the Tianqi reign."

"Master Sun?" Zhu Youjian was taken aback. "Is he still in the capital?"

Gao Shiming nodded and replied respectfully, "Yes. Governor Sun feels that the matter of Mongolia is more urgent. He has been running around in the capital since yesterday, urging the various ministries and departments to issue orders for the allocation of funds and grain. He has not yet left the capital."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Teacher Sun, I didn't expect that we had just talked yesterday and I would have to come to you again today!
With a wave of his hand, he said loudly, "Prepare a sedan chair and quickly invite Master Sun to the palace to see me!"

(End of this chapter)