Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 105 The hearts of Ming Dynasty literati were truly black!

Zhu Youjian and Sun Chengzong sat facing each other on soft, bright yellow brocade cushions.

This was a new trend brought about by Zhu Youjian: during audiences, unless there were special circumstances, both the emperor and his ministers would sit.

But for Sun Chengzong, a "new recruit" who had just arrived in Beijing, this favor was something he was very uncomfortable with.

He was dressed in a scarlet bullfighting outfit, his white beard was meticulously trimmed, and his posture was ramrod straight. However, he only dared to sit on half of the brocade stool, his back muscles were taut, and his posture was somewhere between sitting and kneeling, which was more tiring than standing.

His weathered, dark face remained calm as always, but his tightly pursed lips betrayed his inner unease.

So, where exactly is Liu Aita now?

Zhu Youjian's voice broke the silence.

There was a barely perceptible excitement in his tone, like a treasure hunter who had finally found a key clue to a treasure map.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed intently on Sun Chengzong, awaiting an answer.

Sun Chengzong bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, during my two years of leisure in Gaoyang, I corresponded with Yuan Chonghuan several times, and we did indeed discuss this person in our letters."

"After the Jin-Fu war, he was suspected by the Jurchen chieftain and wanted to surrender directly. However, Yuan Chonghuan thought the time was not right, so he ordered him to act as an inside agent for the time being, to wait for the future."

At this point, a hint of curiosity appeared on Sun Chengzong's face. He looked up at Zhu Youjian and asked, "But... I am a little puzzled as to why Your Majesty would suddenly ask about this person? This person is not particularly famous among the slave generals."

"Hahaha……"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian burst into hearty laughter.

“Master Sun, I said yesterday that Sun Tzu’s words are not the teachings of an emperor. But I also acknowledge that they are indeed the words of a great general.”

"The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the next best is to disrupt their alliances. My intention to pacify the Mongol tribes appears to be military action, but its true purpose is precisely to 'disrupt their alliances,' thus severing one of the Jurchen's arms. However…"

Zhu Youjian abruptly changed the subject, leaning forward and suddenly becoming more assertive.

"However, can we directly carry out our 'strategic attack' within the Later Jin state?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight.

"The Later Jin dynasty was ruled by four princes. Although Huang Taiji was intelligent, he was only one of the four princes, or even ranked fourth."

"Now that he has been elected as the king, are the three great beile—Amin, Mangultai, and Daišan—truly convinced of his loyalty?"

"I have heard that the one who led the troops to attack Korea at the beginning of the year and made great contributions was Beile Amin."

"In the middle of the year, Huang Taiji personally led a large army, carrying the momentum of a great victory, but ended up stranded under the walls of Ningjin City, without achieving any success."

"The king's prestige has been tarnished, while his ministers have achieved great merit. Is there no reason not to take advantage of this?"

"Furthermore, the Later Jin state is in dire straits and has many smuggling dealings with our Great Ming in Liaodong and Dongjiang. I do not believe that there are no nobles of the Later Jin involved. Could we use this trade route for our own purposes, such as for intelligence gathering?"

"I have been thinking about every single detail of this matter, and it has kept me up at night! If this intelligence mission can be accomplished, it will be of greater benefit to the country and its people than a million soldiers!"

Zhu Youjian became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes seemingly burning with fire.

These words were a solution he came up with after careful consideration, combining his knowledge from later generations with the information at hand.

Sun Chengzong listened quietly, his surprise growing stronger, and his tense body unconsciously relaxed.

As soon as Zhu Youjian finished speaking, an astonishing light burst forth in his deep eyes, and he couldn't help but slap his thigh in admiration!

"What a brilliant 'the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting'! Your Majesty's thoughts and ideas are exactly the same as mine!"

"Ok?"

Zhu Youjian's smile faltered slightly.

What does it mean to agree without prior consultation?

You thought of that too? You're not just pretending, are you?
There's no record of you engaging in these kinds of conspiracies in history books.

Zhu Youjian's mind raced, but he showed no sign of it on his face.

He maintained his composed smile, a hint of curiosity in his eyes, and followed up on Sun Chengzong's words, saying, "Oh? Judging from Master Sun's words, it seems you had planned this all along? Then I'll be all ears!"

When Sun Chengzong heard the emperor's question, a rare smug smile appeared on his usually serious face.

He stroked his gray beard and shook his head.

"Your Majesty flatters me. I have been away from my post for nearly two years and am already unfamiliar with the situation beyond the Great Wall. I dare not say that I have any plans. Everything will have to wait until I take up my post and thoroughly investigate the latest situation of the Later Jin before I can make any decisions."

He paused, then changed the subject, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"However, in the third year of the Tianqi reign, when I was in charge of the troops in Liaodong, I did do something similar."

"Your Majesty, I request to speak of one person."

"This man is none other than Wang Shizhong, the current Commander-in-Chief of the Pacification of the Barbarians!"

Wang Shizhong?
Zhu Youjian frowned slightly.

He recognized the name; it had appeared several times in memorials from Liaodong. The official in charge of liaising with the Ligdan Khanate and handling matters related to pacification was always the one who had been in charge of this.

What connection could he possibly have with the intelligence of the Later Jin?
Sun Chengzong seemed to sense Zhu Youjian's doubts. Instead of explaining directly, he posed a question.

"Does Your Majesty know how this old servant Nurhaci rose to power?"

Zhu Youjian was quite clear about this, and said, "I know a little about him. He started out as a Jianzhou Jurchen, and later conquered the various Haixi Jurchen tribes, unified the Jurchens, and only then did he become a force to be reckoned with."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bold idea flashed through Zhu Youjian's mind like lightning! He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief, and asked, "Master Sun, do you mean... that Wang Shizhong is actually a descendant of the Haixi Jurchens?"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Sun Chengzong clapped his hands in praise, this time with genuine admiration.

"That's right! Wang Shizhong's original name was Kebaku, and his father was Menggebulu, the ruler of the Southern Pass Kingdom of the Haixi Jurchens!"

“Back then, when the old man led his troops to attack and destroy the South Pass, Kebaku was captured along with his father and his brother Urgud.”

"Later, our Great Ming issued an imperial edict reprimanding the old servant. Under pressure, the old servant returned the treasury."

"Emperor Shenzong took pity on his plight and raised him in the inner court, bestowing upon him the name Wang Shizhong to show his loyalty to the royal family."

Sun Chengzong spoke slowly, as if he were telling a long-forgotten story.

Zhu Youjian's heart was racing without him even realizing it.

He had already vaguely guessed Sun Chengzong's plan from back then.

“Master Sun,” Zhu Youjian’s voice was somewhat hoarse, “how did you manipulate this matter back then?”

Sun Chengzong's lips curled into a meaningful smile, a smile that contained both the confidence of a chess player and a recollection of the past.

"Your Majesty, why don't you guess what I did back then?"

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly. At this point, the answer was almost obvious.

He spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly: "Could it be that the key lies with his father and his brother?"

"Hahaha! Your Majesty is indeed exceptionally intelligent and gifted!"

Sun Chengzong laughed heartily, his laughter filled with the joy of meeting a kindred spirit.

"That's exactly right! Although Nurhaci killed his father and destroyed his country, he still made his brother Urguchi his son-in-law in order to appease the Hada tribe."

“Urgu was brave in battle and made many meritorious contributions. He rose through the ranks and by the third year of the Tianqi reign, he had become the First Minister of the Later Jin and the head of the Eight Ministers!”

Sun Chengzong's eyes gleamed with eagerness as he continued:

"At that time, I treated Wang Shizhong with great kindness and personally put my own robe on him in front of all the generals to show my favor."

"On the other hand, rumors spread that Wang Shizhong cherished his homeland and wanted to use the name of the former leader of the Nanguan tribe to reunite the four tribes of the Haixi Jurchen and restore the glory of his ancestors."

Zhu Youjian was completely absorbed in it, and he couldn't help but ask, "So, is it really effective?"

Even though he knew it probably wouldn't work—if it did, things wouldn't be like this today.

But this matter was so sensational that even he couldn't help but look forward to it.

Sure enough, Sun Chengzong shook his head, a hint of helplessness and regret in his smile.

"Whether it is effective or not is beyond my control."

"I placed this piece in a casual manner not to ensure victory, but simply to increase my chances of winning."

He paused, and his dark face suddenly became intensely piercing.

"However, my brilliant idea does not lie here!"

“Wang Shizhong’s brother, Urgudu, holds a high position in the Later Jin, and there are rumors circulating about his restoration of the state. Your Majesty, please consider this: within the Later Jin, how can the Haixi Jurchens and the Jianzhou Jurchens not be suspicious of each other? How can the ruler and his ministers be of one mind?”

"This is my true trump card! To sow discord among the ruler and his ministers with empty and ethereal words, and to sever their internal ties—this is the best strategy for defeating them!"

Zhu Youjian felt a chill rise up his spine.

He always thought that he had arrested civil officials like Sun Chengzong simply to inquire about Liu Aita's whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly upright old minister was also so adept at these political maneuvers!
This is no longer a simple act of planting spies; it is an attempt to undermine the enemy from within by exploiting a fundamental human weakness—suspicion!
It's baseless accusation, it's baseless accusation. Are only Han emperors subject to baseless accusations?

Indeed, among all people in the world, scholars have the most wicked minds!
However, Sun Chengzong's piercing eyes quickly dimmed.

He let out a long sigh, filled with endless regret.

"It's a pity... It's a pity that although the old servant was violent, he was not without the decisiveness of a great hero. Upon hearing the news, he immediately used the pretext of corruption to arrest and imprison Urgut, but did not kill him. In this way, he quelled the possible tribal unrest."

"My many schemes have caused some turmoil within the Later Jin. Subsequently, for example, Liu Xingzu secretly sent signals, and Zhang Pan of Dongjiang took the opportunity to recover Jinzhou and other places, all of which occurred at this time."

"However, at that time, the new army was still in its early stages of training and its morale was low. Due to the hasty actions, Jinzhou was gained and then lost again, and the plans for Liaonan ultimately became empty talk."

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

In the third year of the Tianqi reign, a great famine struck the Later Jin state, causing widespread chaos and panic among Han officials.

In a sense, it was indeed a very good window of opportunity, but unfortunately, all parties acted in a scattered manner and ultimately failed to seize the opportunity.

The atmosphere in the main hall became somewhat heavy for a moment.

After a moment, Sun Chengzong was the first to rouse himself and looked at Zhu Youjian again.

"However, Your Majesty, the state of the slave tribe is now very different from what it was back then."

He paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"In my opinion, Huang Taiji is quite different from Nurhaci!"

(End of this chapter)