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When he first came to this era, Zhao Junchen, based on his shallow understanding of the historical process, also regarded the Jianzhou Jurchens as a major trouble.

However, when Zhao Junchen carefully understood the details of the Jianzhou Jurchen, the fear in his heart was lowered.

In the historical time and space that Zhao Junchen is familiar with, the reason why the Jianzhou Jurchen can enter the Central Plains is mainly due to three points, first of all, Emperor Chongzhen's decision-making mistakes and his own death; secondly, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by rogues and had no time to take care of itself; In the end, it is the self-respect of the Liaodong Military Town, and it has never been wiped out.

Even so, if the Jianzhou Jurchens want to enter the customs smoothly, they also need Wu Sangui's "rushing to the crown and being angry".

In fact, the threat of the Jianzhou Jurchen was not as great as imagined, and later generations only regarded the Jianzhou Jurchen as the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty because of the success and defeat of the king.

For example, in the historical time and space that Zhao Junchen is familiar with, according to the records of the Ming Dynasty, until the funeral of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, the Ming Dynasty has always adhered to the tactics of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness in western Liaoning, so that the logistics supply of the Jianzhou Jurchens continued to lengthen, and the result was that the Jianzhou Jurchens "were hungry in the country, the price of rice was eight taels of silver, and people had cannibalism", which can be described as a great loss of vitality.

The effect of this tactic is remarkable, that is, it consumes too much silver, and Yuan Chonghuan, who is very controversial in later generations, thinks that the Ming Dynasty should complete its work in one battle, and also tells the Emperor of the Apocalypse about his strategy of leveling Liao, and puts forward the proposal of building a fortress to trap Nurhachi, but the Emperor of the Apocalypse is nicknamed the Carpenter Emperor by later generations is not a vegetarian, and he has asked Yuan Chonghuan several professional questions in a row, but Yuan Chonghuan is speechless, so the final conclusion of the Emperor of the Apocalypse is "victory without easy talk".

It's a pity that after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he was very interested in Yuan Chonghuan's boastful Pingliao strategy, and also reused Yuan Chonghuan, so the Ming Dynasty began to repeatedly send military rations to the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the decline of the Ming Dynasty also began here.

But in this completely different historical time and space, Emperor Chongzhen is a qualified emperor, and he still continues the practice of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, even if the ambition of the Jianzhou Jurchen is undiminished, it can be regarded as working hard, but it has not set off too many waves.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen has always had a complicated attitude towards the Jianzhou Jurchens, on the one hand, he is vigilant from the bottom of his heart, thinking that the Jianzhou Jurchens will have incidents sooner or later, and on the other hand, he feels that the imperial court only needs to deal with its own affairs, so it does not need to worry too much about the threat of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

*

At this time, Zhao Junchen looked down at the few notes in his hand, and his brows quickly twisted.

There are three copies of the song, which are from the Jianzhou Jurchen, the Liaodong Military Town, and the Xuanfu Military Town.

The first is a letter from the Jianzhou Jurchen.

In Zhao Junchen's view, the content of this text is not so much a table reduction as a transaction.

In short, the Jianzhou Jurchens said that they wanted to pay tribute to the Deqing Emperor, and from now on they would no longer start wars lightly, but the premise was that the imperial court had to accept a series of conditions from the Jianzhou Jurchens.

One of the conditions was that the imperial court must support the Jianzhou Jurchens with 3 million stone grains and grass, 10,000 pieces of various iron tools, and a large number of cattle and farm tools.

The second condition is that the two sides will trade with each other, and it is not the common kind to open a trading market at the junction of the territory of the two sides, but the imperial court will allow the caravan of the Jianzhou Jurchen to go deep into the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the future and purchase materials on their own...... Of course, according to the principle of equality and reciprocity, Ming caravans could also enter the sphere of influence of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

The third condition is to require the imperial court to reduce the strength of the Liaodong military town, and of course, the Jianzhou Jurchens will also reduce the number of troops they have deployed on the Liaodong front line, so as to create mutual trust conditions for a truce between the two sides.

Fourth, the imperial court and the Jianzhou Jurchens will not invade each other's spheres of influence in the Mongolian steppe, and the Jianzhou Jurchens will recognize the rule of the Ming Dynasty in the Hetao region, nor will they interfere with the imperial court's military operations against the Mongolian right-wing tribes, but the imperial court must also recognize the leadership of the Jianzhou Jurchens over the Mongolian left-wing tribes.

And so on and so forth, for a total of more than a dozen conditions.

Seeing these contents, Zhao Junchen only felt angry and funny, thinking that these conditions of Jianzhou Jurchen were really insatiable and delusional, but at the same time he was a little dilemma.

The reason for Zhao Junchen's dilemma was because of the two differences between the Liaodong Military Town and the Xuanfu Military Town.

Because the Jianzhou Jurchen took the initiative to surrender, the Liaodong Military Town also submitted its opinions to the center of the imperial court.

On the one hand, it strongly opposed the imperial court's acceptance of the Jianzhou Jurchen's request to surrender, and on the other hand, it suggested that the imperial court could agree to the conditions of the Jianzhou Jurchen to a limited extent, such as opening up a mutual market in Liaodong to allow the two sides to conduct limited trade; On the one hand, it was a sworn guarantee that the Liaodong military town was completely not afraid of any attack by the Jianzhou Jurchens, so that the imperial court did not have to worry about the reaction of the Jianzhou Jurchens, but on the other hand, they once again cried to the imperial court and asked for money, food and materials.

The suggestions of the Liaodong Military Town seem to be contradictory, but if we understand the mentality of the Liaodong Military Town to raise the self-respect, these contradictions can be explained.

For the Liaodong Military Town, once the imperial court agrees to the surrender of the Jianzhou Jurchens, it will inevitably reduce the military funds and money and food of the Liaodong Military Town, which is completely unacceptable to the Liaodong Military Town, but because of the self-respect of the Liaodong Military Town, it is inevitable that there will be secret contact with the Jianzhou Jurchens, probably to receive benefits, so it is also recommended that the imperial court agree to some of the Jianzhou Jurchen requirements.

On the one hand, I don't want the court to accept the invitation of the Jianzhou Jurchen to be a minister, but on the other hand, I hope that the court will agree to some of the requirements of the Jianzhou Jurchen, which is not only to make the court pay benefits, but also does not want the court to reap any benefits.

It is precisely because he understands the position of the Liaodong Military Town that Zhao Junchen is in a dilemma, because once the imperial court refuses the Jianzhou Jurchen's surrender, the Jianzhou Jurchen will have the possibility of being annoyed and angry and starting a war again, and the imperial court will no longer have any reason to refuse the Liaodong Military Town's request for money and food.

However, according to Zhao Junchen's idea, the annual military expenditure of Liaodong Military Town has already accounted for more than 20% of the national treasury expenditure, and it is really not suitable to increase it.

At the same time, Xuanfu Junzhen sent a military emergency report, saying that the army of Jianzhou Jurchen began to appear frequently north of Datong Military Town, and the real purpose of Jianzhou Jurchen is not yet understood, but Xuanfu Junzhen only repelled the division of the Mongolian right wing not long ago, and then transferred part of the troops to participate in the battle of the imperial court to recover the Hetao, but the defensive force is somewhat insufficient, and it is also hoped that the imperial court can support one or two.

This information also made Zhao Junchen vigilant.

At this time, the Jianzhou Jurchens sent a large number of troops to the west, and their target was the tribes of the Mongolian right wing who had suffered heavy losses? Or is it the army of the imperial court that is already showing signs of exhaustion?

If the tribes of the Mongolian right-wing were attacked by the Jianzhou Jurchens after this period of time, maybe the Jianzhou Jurchens would take the opportunity to annex the Mongolian right-wing, and the Jianzhou Jurchens would really become the henchmen of the imperial court at that time!

If the target of the Jianzhou Jurchens was the imperial army in the Hetao area, then the imperial court's efforts to recover the Hetao might have failed, and once the imperial court directly rejected the Jianzhou Jurchens' request to surrender, it also gave the Jianzhou Jurchens a pretext for war.

According to Zhao Junchen's plan, after the imperial court hit the Mongolian right wing hard, it was natural for the Jianzhou Jurchens to turn their attention to the West, but Zhao Junchen still hoped that the pace of the Jianzhou Jurchens' westward expansion would be as slow as possible, and it was best to delay until the army of the Dzungar Khanate made a comeback and went out to the Mongolian steppe again, so that the Dzungar Khanate and the Jianzhou Jurchen could compete with each other, and the court could sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight.

But it is clear that the Jianzhou Nuzhen is very eager to expand, and will not act according to Zhao Junchen's expectations.

This is another reason why Zhao Junchen feels in a dilemma!

From the bottom of his heart, Zhao Junchen didn't want the imperial court to pay a series of costs, just in exchange for a nominal surrender of the Jianzhou Jurchen.

But if you don't accept the Jianzhou Jurchen's invitation to surrender, the imperial court will not be able to influence the Jianzhou Jurchen's next move, and there will be too many variables here.

*

Just as Zhao Junchen was secretly thinking, the argument between Cheng Yuandao and Li He continued.

But both of them have their own ideas, but neither of them can convince anyone.

In the end, Shen Changmao was a little impatient, turned his gaze to Zhou Shangjing, and asked, "Old Zhou Ge, what do you think?" ”

From beginning to end, Shen Changmao did not glance at Zhao Junchen, obviously thinking that Zhao Junchen had just entered the cabinet as an auxiliary minister, and he was inexperienced and young, so he was not qualified to discuss such a major military matter.

Zhou Shangjing's thoughts were similar to Zhao Junchen's, and he also considered the pros and cons of different choices, so he was a little dilemma in his heart, so he didn't answer Shen Changmao's question directly, but slowly asked, "Your Majesty, what is his opinion?" ”

Shen Changmao shook his head and said: "As far as the old man knows, these notes have been delivered to His Majesty yesterday evening, but Your Majesty has not made a decision after thinking about it all night, and there is no mention of a word at today's court meeting, obviously he can't make up his mind, and wants our cabinet to take the lead in coming up with a charter." ”

Zhou Shangjing nodded lightly and said: "With Your Majesty's temperament, it is obviously inclined to accept the invitation of the Jianzhou Jurchens, after all, this is a matter with a bright face, but Your Majesty also has to take into account the state of the household department's money and food, the attitude of the Jianzhou Jurchens repeatedly, and the attitude of the Liaodong Military Town, so he can't make up his mind." ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing turned his head to look at Zhao Junchen and asked, "Junchen, what do you think?" ”

Hearing Zhou Shangjing's inquiry, Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao were both dissatisfied.

On the other hand, Li He has some expectations - according to Zhao Junchen's experience in Hubu and Shaanxi and Gansu, on the one hand, he does not want the treasury to be in deficit, and on the other hand, he is also a hard-line main battle faction, so Li He thinks that Zhao Junchen should be inclined to refuse the Jianzhou Nuzhen's request to surrender.

But Zhao Junchen's attitude is different from Cheng Yuandao and Li He.

I saw Zhao Junchen ponder for a while, and then said slowly: "There are two points, one is to talk!" The second is dragging! ”

"Talk? Drag? ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's statement, several pavilion elders were thoughtful.

Zhao Junchen waved the descending table in his hand and sneered: "The Jianzhou Jurchen is ostensibly asking for surrender, but in fact, they want to take advantage of the imperial court!" Just like Li Ge Lao said, the situation of the Jianzhou Jurchens in recent years has been very difficult, and there are also continuous natural disasters, it is said that the soldiers and civilians who starved to death in the territory are as high as tens of thousands, so they will take the initiative to surrender, and they are imploring the imperial court to support them with money, food and materials, but their conditions are too greedy, we can't agree to them all! So, let's not refuse directly, since the Jianzhou Jurchen is asking for a sky-high price, of course we have to pay back the money on the ground, and negotiate slowly...... That's talking! Since we want to talk, there is no reason for the Jianzhou Jurchen to turn their faces!

Looking at the intelligence of the Xuanfu military town, the Jianzhou Jurchen saw the endless war between the imperial army and the Mongolian right wing in the Hetao, and obviously wanted to participate in it, whether the Jianzhou Jurchen helped us fight the Mongolian right wing, or helped the Mongolian right wing fight us, or sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight, it will be an unpredictable variable! Therefore, when negotiating, the imperial court also had to force the Jianzhou Jurchens to withdraw and leave, and they should not act without permission! …… That's drag! As long as it drags on until the end of the Hetao war, the imperial court does not have to worry about the variables of the Jianzhou Jurchen, and even if it turns its face in the end, it does not worry about the pressure of the two-front battle, and the initiative is in the hands of the imperial court! ”

Shen Changmao was not very optimistic about Zhao Junchen's suggestion, and asked rhetorically: "Do you think the Jianzhou Jurchens will agree to the negotiation and delay of the imperial court?" Especially if you want to use this negotiation to get them to withdraw their troops and leave, how can the Jianzhou Jurchens compromise so easily? ”

Zhao Junchen said categorically: "The Jianzhou Jurchen will definitely compromise!" The reason why the Jianzhou Jurchens sent troops to the direction of Hetao was that they thought that the imperial court might not agree to their request to surrender, which was also a means for them to gain room for negotiation, and wanted to force us to agree to their request to surrender, and then ask the imperial court for food and grass materials! Of course, if the court refuses their invitation to surrender, they can also take the opportunity to make trouble as revenge...... Hey! That's a shrewd approach!

But for the Jianzhou Jurchens, the most important thing now is to solve the problem of food shortage, but there is no grain in the Hetao, and there is no food in the Mongolian right wing. Therefore, even if they took the opportunity to seize the Hetao from the imperial court, or took the opportunity to conquer the right wing of the Mongols, it would not help them solve the problem of food shortage at all! On the contrary, they have to divide troops to garrison the Hetao, or raise hundreds of thousands of more Mongolian right wingers, which are all burdens they cannot bear! Therefore, as long as the imperial court has a tougher attitude and expresses some sincerity, they will definitely compromise, and they have no other choice! ”

Li He asked: "If you want to talk, you must study where the bottom line between the imperial court and the Jianzhou Jurchen is, what things can be discussed and what things cannot be discussed, that is, there can be too many concessions, and this negotiation cannot be easily broken, I am afraid that these things are difficult to handle!"

And, if this negotiation is indeed negotiated, what will happen then? Do you really want to accept the invitation of the Jianzhou Jurchen to surrender and let the Jianzhou Jurchen recover their vitality? If the Jianzhou Jurchens still descend first and then rebel as before, it will inevitably damage the face of the imperial court, and who should be responsible at that time? ”

Li He's question is very reasonable, especially his last sentence, which is the key.

In any decision, the first step is to consider who will take responsibility.

Zhao Junchen thought for a moment, but said with a smile: "In my opinion, everything can be discussed, especially the mutual market between the two sides, and there is a lot to talk about!" As for Li Gelao's worry that the Jianzhou Jurchens will gradually recover after they descend to the imperial court, or if they will lose face to the imperial court after they descend first, there is no need to worry, as long as the imperial court recruits the Jianzhou Jurchens, not only did it not harm its own interests, but also made a lot of benefits from the Jianzhou Jurchens, these problems are not a problem! ”

Cheng Yuandao frowned and questioned: "If the imperial court recruits the Jianzhou Jurchens, in order to show the demeanor and sincerity of the Celestial Empire, I am afraid that it will be difficult to refuse those requests of the Jianzhou Jurchens, even if the number is as low as possible during the negotiation, it is inevitable to give them a batch of grain, grass and materials, how can they make their own interests not be damaged, but instead make benefits from the Jianzhou Jurchens?" ”

Cheng Yuandao only cared about questioning Zhao Junchen, but he completely forgot that his original position was to make the imperial court accept the invitation of the Jianzhou Nuzhen.

Zhao Junchen said with a smile: "In the eyes of the elders, although the juniors are not qualified and inexperienced, they should also understand the means of doing business for the juniors!" When the younger generation does business, they will never suffer! This time, the Jianzhou Jurchens want to surrender and want to exchange markets, just to let the caravan captain of the imperial court drive straight into their territory, this matter only needs to be handed over to the juniors to handle the specific handling, and the final result will inevitably satisfy the seniors! ”

After a pause, Zhao Junchen chuckled and said: "The Jianzhou Jurchens have always been aggressive, but when an invading nation understands the benefits of farming, tastes the sweetness of doing business, and learns the fun of walking dogs and fighting birds...... Can you still maintain your former aggressiveness? ”

As he spoke, Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed with interest.

In Zhao Junchen's view, this will be a very interesting social experiment!

On the other side, Zhou Shangjing's old eyes flashed, but he looked at Zhao Junchen with an unprecedented serious attitude.

In fact, after reading these notes, Zhou Shangjing thought about it carefully, and also came up with the idea of "talking and procrastinating", but Zhou Shangjing did not express his position directly, but asked Zhao Junchen's opinion, that is, he wanted to test Zhao Junchen's overall vision and militaristic decision.

But Zhou Shangjing never expected that Zhao Junchen not only had the same ideas as him, but the insight and vision shown in his last words far exceeded Zhou Shangjing's expectations.

In the end, Zhou Shangjing quickly reined in his abnormal state, nodded lightly and said: "The old man thinks that Junchen's statement is very reasonable, let's draft an opinion to His Majesty based on this idea." ”

After seeing Zhou Shangjing's coffin, Shen Changmao was slightly stunned, but in the end he said helplessly: "It's okay, it depends on Your Majesty's attitude." ”

*

Seeing Shen Changmao's following statement, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but laugh a little.

After all, there is a difference between the real cabinet chief and the false cabinet chief.

"This is the difference between the cabinet and the household department, this is the place that really affects the decision-making of the imperial court, the household department can only decide how much silver they can come up with, but the cabinet is to decide whether the household department should take out a sum of silver, and where should this silver be used...... If the decision is slightly different, the person who reaps the benefit will be completely different from the person who loses the profit! ”

"However, if the Jianzhou Jurchen did lower the conditions for surrendering, the imperial court would really accept the Jianzhou Jurchen's request to surrender...... I can do this task as a negotiator, and I can also take the opportunity to avoid the limelight for a period of time to come......

The army of the Jianzhou Jurchens is currently near the Xuanfu Military Town, and I have also made many arrangements in the Xuanfu Military Town, and I have also arranged for a large number of people who have fled the famine to go to the defense area of the Xuanfu Military Town to cultivate the land, and it will be time to inspect it......

By the way, I also went to meet the current leader of the Jianzhou Jurchens, that is, the ...... Ai Xin Jueluo. Xuan Ye! ”

Thinking of this, the corners of Zhao Junchen's mouth hooked up a smile.

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