lcionline Chapter 144 Various Grassland Ministries
Chapter 144 Various Grassland Ministries
(The maps of the late Ming Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty are not clear. This map shows more of them)
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the situation in Liaodong as a whole was quite complicated.
To the southeast of Liaodong was the Joseon Dynasty, to the northeast were the Jianzhou Jurchens, and to the north and northwest were the Mongolian tribes on the grasslands.
In the beginning, when the Ming Dynasty was powerful, these tribes were all its minions.
Before the Japanese pirates invaded Joseon, the Ming Dynasty court sent troops to help Joseon fight off the Japanese pirates.
When Nurhaci launched the Battle of Sarhu, both the Joseon Dynasty and the Yehe Tribe of Mongolia sent troops to help.
However, the Ming Dynasty, the big brother, was no longer useful. After the defeat at Sarhu, the entire Liaodong region was devastated, so naturally it could not take care of its younger brothers.
Therefore, after the Later Jin Dynasty defeated the Ming Dynasty and captured Kaiyuan and Tieling, it turned around and dealt with the Yehe tribe in northeastern Liaodong.
According to unofficial historical records, when the Yehe tribe was defeated by Nurhaci, the leader of the Yehe tribe once cursed: "Even if there is only one woman left in the descendants of the Yehenara clan, they will definitely destroy the Jianzhou Jurchens."
Later, the Qing Empire was destroyed by a woman from the Yehenara clan. As for that woman, it was naturally Empress Dowager Cixi.
If this unofficial history is really useful, I wonder if the words of Empress Dowager Cixi in film and television dramas, "I want all the foreigners to die," can play a role.
However, after defeating the Yehe tribe, the Later Jin began to conquer the Mongolian tribes on the grassland.
After the war in the early Ming Dynasty, the Mongolian tribes in the north had been broken up into large and small tribes, and the wars between tribes on the grassland had never stopped.
The entire prairie was divided into the Mongolian North, the Mongolian South and the Mongolian West. Among them, the tribes of the Mongolian South were adjacent to the northern border of the Ming Dynasty.
If the Later Jin wanted to go south and enter the Central Plains, they had to either sweep Liaodong and break through Shanhaiguan, or head northwest and enter the Central Plains from the northwest.
If the Later Jin wanted to break through Shanhaiguan and enter the Central Plains, it had to ensure stability in the rear, and naturally it had to subdue the surrounding Joseon and Mongolian tribes.
To enter the Central Plains through the northwest, one must also pass through the territories of the Mongolian tribes, and naturally one must conquer the Mongolian tribes.
Therefore, no matter what choice is made, as long as the Later Jin wants to continue to grow stronger, it must take action against the Mongolian tribes.
At this time, there was also an ambitious guy on the Mongolian grassland who wanted to conquer the Mongolian tribes on the grassland and restore the glory of the Golden Family. This guy was the last Khan of the Mongolian Khanate of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Lin Dan Khan.
In the early years, Lindan Khan had been leading his Mongolian cavalry to plunder the Ming border.
Later, seeing that the Jianzhou Jurchens were becoming increasingly powerful, Lindan Khan felt that the Jianzhou Jurchens posed a greater threat to him, so he released the Ming people he had previously captured and formed an alliance with the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Jianzhou Jurchens together.
In the 47th year of the Wanli reign, when Nurhaci attacked Kaiyuan and Tieling, Lin Danhan sent troops to rescue them, but when his troops arrived at Tieling, Tieling had already fallen.
In the end, the reinforcements sent by Lindan Khan fought against Nurhaci and were defeated without any suspense. Even the main general was captured by Nurhaci.
Later, the Ming court sent people many times to deliver silver to Ligdan Khan, asking him to attack the Later Jin.
However, this Khan Lindan was ambitious but lacked talent. In addition, he exercised authoritarian rule over the Mongolian tribes on the grasslands, which led to discord among the Mongolian tribes, and they became a mob when they gathered together.
In comparison, the Later Jin's attitude towards the Mongolian tribes was much milder.
Nurhaci adopted marriage, alliance, and military actions to gradually implement the plan of eroding the tribes of southern Mongolia, and continued to conquer the tribes of southern Mongolia, turning them into his own brothers. He married your daughter and asked you to help fight.
After the destruction of the Yehe tribe, the Khorchin tribe in the northeast of Liaodong had intermarried with Nurhaci many times. Both Nurhaci and Huang Taiji married women from the Khorchin tribe many times.
For example, Huang Taiji's Empress Dowager Xiaoduanwen Zhezhe, Empress Xiaozhuangwen Dayuer, and Consort Minhui Gonghe Yuanfei Hailanzhu were all women from the Khorchin tribe.
Moreover, Zhezhe is the biological aunt of the sisters Dayuer and Hailanzhu.
Of course, at this time, Dayuer and Hailanzhu were only six or seven years old or little girls in their teens, and had not yet married Huang Taiji.
However, Lu Cheng was not very interested in these two little girls whose hair had not yet fully grown.
Today, although the Khorchin tribe and the Later Jin have not yet formally formed an alliance, the exchanges between the two sides have become very close.
Lu Cheng would not put himself in danger for the sake of two little girls.
With only five or six hundred cavalrymen under Lu Cheng, even if they all carried explosive packs, they could only protect themselves on the grassland.
On the open grassland, the distance between the two sides is easily widened, and the explosive pack, a powerful weapon, is difficult to exert much power.
After leaving Liaoyang and heading northwest, Lu Cheng and his cavalry entered the area of Chahar tribe.
Shortly after entering the grassland, scouts under his command came to report that a tribe was discovered ahead.
Lu Cheng immediately rushed to the tribe with a specially hired translator.
When the herdsmen in the tribe saw a group of cavalry approaching, they immediately became alert. Many adult herdsmen picked up bows and arrows, mounted their horses, and prepared to meet the enemy.
Lu Cheng immediately asked the translator in the team to step forward, identify himself to the other party, and explain that he had no ill intentions.
When the other side knew that it was an army from the Ming Dynasty, they relaxed their vigilance a little.
Recently, the Ming Dynasty is joining forces with Ligdan Khan to fight against the Later Jin Dynasty, and the two sides are in a period of peace.
Afterwards, Lu Cheng asked his men to give some gifts to the leader of the tribe and asked the leader to select a guide to take Lu Cheng and his party to find Lin Danhan.
When the tribal leader saw the gift, he immediately accepted it without much vigilance.
It is summer now, and the grass and water are abundant. The Mongolian tribes on the grassland all live near the grass and water. Without a guide who is familiar with the situation, it is really difficult to find the location of Ligdan Khan.
The journey was much smoother after that. Lu Cheng led his cavalry and headed northwest. They found Ligdan Khan's base in a place close to the river with abundant water and grass.
Lin Danhan's situation was not very good at the moment, and he wanted to get more money from the Ming Dynasty. When he heard that an envoy from the Ming Dynasty was coming, he immediately met with Lu Cheng.
When the two sides met, Lu Cheng first asked his men to present a generous gift, including beautifully shaped colored glass bottles, glass decorations, Haizhouwei specialty soaps and scented soaps, as well as some Jiangnan tea and silk fabrics.
After seeing these gifts, Lin Danhan was naturally very happy. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Lin Danhan asked: "General Lu from the Ming Dynasty, I heard that you defeated Nurhaci's attack not long ago. Is this true?"
"Of course, Nurhaci wanted to conquer our entire Liaodong with tens of thousands of soldiers. He suffered a great loss in Haizhouwei, thousands of people died, and he had to retreat. The Khan only needs to send someone to investigate, and he will naturally know whether it is true or not."
"Then I, the Khan, would like to congratulate you. I wonder why General Lu came to see me this time? Do you want to join forces with me to attack the Jianzhou Jurchens together?"
Lu Cheng laughed and said, "Great Khan, even if we in Liaodong are preparing to attack the Jurchens, I'm afraid you won't be able to send many troops, right?"
When Lin Danhan heard this, his expression changed: "General Lu, what do you mean by this?"
"Don't be nervous, Great Khan. I only have some understanding of the situation on the grassland. As far as I know, there seems to be some unrest among the tribes on the grassland. In addition, not long ago, Nurhaci killed the envoy sent by the Great Khan. You and the Jianzhou Jurchens have completely fallen out, haven't you?"
"So what? The Jianzhou Jurchens only have a few tens of thousands of households, and only a few soldiers. Would I be afraid of them? If it weren't for the damned Jianzhou Jurchens who captured Zaisai of the Khalkha tribe, I would have gone to war with them long ago."
This Zasai was the leader of the Khalkha tribe who was sent by Ligdan Khan to rescue Tieling and was eventually captured by Nurhaci.
Zaisai had a high prestige among the five Khalkha tribes. After being captured by Nurhaci, Lin Danhan had been trying to rescue his younger brother. He also sent envoys to negotiate with the Later Jin, but unfortunately the negotiations between the two sides were not smooth.
If Zasai could not be rescued, Ligdan Khan's prestige would definitely be damaged.
Being exposed by Lu Cheng in front of him, Lin Danhan, who was very concerned about his reputation, was naturally very unhappy.
However, Lu Cheng would not indulge him. Lin Danhan was extremely arrogant. If he did not give him a blow, he would suffer losses even if he did business with him.
Moreover, Lu Cheng was not worried that Lin Danhan would turn against him.
Two years ago, Lin Danhan made a wrong decision. He listened to the advice of a monk from the Western Regions and changed his religious beliefs from the Gelug sect to the Sakya sect.
The Gelugpa sect has been spread on the grassland for a long time, and many tribes on the grassland believe in the Gelugpa sect.
This move by Lin Danhan directly led to the disunity of many of his tribes.
In addition to the Zaisai incident, the younger brothers who were sent to help the Ming Dynasty fight were captured by others and have not been rescued yet.
Under such circumstances, although Lin Danhan seemed to have occupied a lot of territories, he was actually weak inside and he did not dare to turn against the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, as a leader, Lin Danhan would not let others see his weakness easily. Instead, he turned his spearhead to Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty: "General Lu, the situation of your Ming Dynasty doesn't seem to be very good. You lost so many battles and cities last year. You should be very afraid of the Jianzhou Jurchens now, right?"
Lu Cheng smiled contemptuously: "The Jianzhou Jurchens are just a group of barbarians from a remote area. They won some victories last year by relying on sneak attacks. But so what? Our Ming Dynasty is vast and rich in resources. We have only lost tens of thousands of soldiers and can immediately summon more soldiers.
Moreover, now with Lord Xiong Tingbi in charge of Liaodong, the entire Liaodong is united, and hundreds of thousands of troops are ready for battle at any time. If Nurhaci dares to come again, he will be beaten to a bloody pulp.
Even in the Hetuala city of the Jianzhou Jurchens, this general can come and go freely. I just went there to kill two rebels half a year ago. Doesn't Lin Danhan know about this?"
Diplomacy sometimes requires exaggerating oneself, devaluing the other party, changing the positions of both parties, gaining the initiative, and then conducting specific negotiations...