As expected, it finally came. It was the best time to recover the three guards in southern Liaoning. Historically, because Liu Aita was suspected of treason against the Jin Dynasty, Nurhaci massacred more than 100,000 Liao people from the three guards and abandoned the three guards.
Although this has a similar result to the recovery of the Three Guards, Zhu Youxiao has already seized the initiative, so how could he be satisfied with this?
Even if one is not very familiar with history, any intelligent person would find Liu Aita's letters too risky.
From Liu Aita's perspective, he naturally hoped to achieve as much merit as possible during the rebellion, because only great merit would earn the attention of the Ming court and provide better protection for himself and his family.
It was precisely because Liu Aita's appetite was too big that he wanted to surrender with only three guards, that Zhu Youxiao immediately knew that it was not feasible.
If only Fuzhou, where Liu Aita was in charge, surrendered, this would of course be the minimum requirement. Because fewer people were involved, the possibility of leaking secrets was also small, and the hope of success was great.
But if we want to connect the three guards, how many people will be involved? Who can guarantee that there will be no traitors or scum who will inform on us?
No wonder the anti-Japanese movement failed in history and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Liao people.
Zhu Youxiao tapped his fingers lightly. Although he understood Liu Aita's concerns, he didn't harbor any greed. It would be enough to restore the Zhou Guard. The other two guards could be recovered by the Ming army!
Perhaps, if the various military garrisons coordinated their actions, they could have dealt a heavy blow to the Jiannu and accelerated their defeat.
The key now is how to make Liu Aita feel at ease. This requires finding a balance. Being cold is not good, but being too enthusiastic will scare people.
Besides, the sooner the better. Zhu Youxiao fully agrees with the idiom "the longer the night, the more dreams there are."
The proof Liu Aita wanted was not excessive, and the person he contacted directly was Yuan Keli, the governor of Dengzhen, who only wanted to be exempted from death and given a title and a ticket.
But Liu Aita never dreamed that his letter of rebellion would be presented directly to the emperor for his review and the decision would be made directly by the emperor.
Zhu Youxiao thought for a long time and wrote a reply to Yang Jie. Of course, he also showed it to Jin Shengkui, Liu Aita's messenger.
"...If he could return to the Ming after his escape, he would have lived up to the spirit of Li Xianzhong of the Song Dynasty. The current situation is that whether he rebels or obeys is a matter of course. Liu Aita is no man without strategy. I hope he will carefully consider the situation and avoid bloodshed..."
After writing the reply, Zhu Youxiao read it again and again, and felt that it was hopeful but not excessive, and threatening but appropriate, so he wrote another letter of exemption from death, but did not give the title ticket.
The weight of the exemption from death certificate was very different when it was written by the emperor himself and when it was delivered by Yuan Keli himself, and of course it was more trustworthy.
As for the additional title ticket, Zhu Youxiao did not give Liu Aita the desired result. To be more precise, he left a hint in his reply, and the decision would depend on Liu Aita's merits and abilities.
In Zhu Youxiao's opinion, this was enough to reassure Liu Aita. Too much grace would easily make people suspicious. Such generous gifts, is it a lie?
If it was Yuan Keli, the governor of Dengzhou, he could be given both a death exemption ticket and a title badge ticket, but the weight of their combined effect would not be as great as a few words from the emperor.
If a big thing is to be accomplished, someone who can coordinate the overall situation and make decisions on the spot is needed to take command nearby.
Zhu Youxiao pondered for a long time, then picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Teacher Yuan.
Yuan Keli is stationed in Dengzhou, in charge of Deng Town and Dongjiang Town. Due to his responsibilities, he can directly command the two towns. He also has a long-term vision and great strategy, making him the most suitable person to complete this task.
Zhu Youxiao explained the whole story, but was afraid that Yuan Keli would not believe Liu Aita's rebellion, so he sent a high-level undercover agent to the Later Jin Dynasty to know that Liu Aita was determined to rebel and could be trusted.
At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also told Teacher Yuan all his plans and asked him to act as soon as possible to avoid any further delays and miss the opportunity.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao introduced Yang Jie to Yuan Keli, and recommended Yang Jie to be responsible for directly contacting Liu Aita and establishing a single line of communication with Yuan Keli.
After making such arrangements, Zhu Youxiao felt that he could accomplish great things. When he put down his pen, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
By recovering the three or two guards in southern Liaoning, the richest areas of Liaodong would return to the control of the Ming Dynasty, thus cutting off most of the food supply to the Later Jin.
Humph, the famine in the Later Jin Dynasty is coming early. But the Ming Dynasty has not yet reached the worst period.
Comparing the two, Zhu Youxiao was already convinced that pacifying Liaodong in five years was not a dream.
……………….Dividing line……………………
Dalinghe City.
Xiong Tingbi, the governor of Liaodong, stood on a high slope outside the city, observing the city defenses. After a long moment, he put down his telescope and nodded slightly in approval.
Although the Jiannu adopted a patient approach and did not send troops to disrupt the Ming army's plan to advance to the city, this also disappointed Xiong Tingbi and the generals.
The new artillery has been delivered, and the criss-crossing trenches have been rushed to completion. We are just waiting for the Jiannu to charge over and beat them to a bloody defeat!
If the Jiannu were defeated again, Xiong Tingbi would be ready to take advantage of the victory and advance again, establish a base in Youtunwei or even Guangning, and push the front line to the Liaohe River.
Now, Lao Xiong thinks we can’t act too hastily.
The Jiannu army still had strength, and it was obvious that they were waiting and watching, stretching the Ming army's supply lines and creating more opportunities for counterattacks.
"Right Tunwei..." Xiong Tingbi hesitated for a moment, glanced at the generals, and said, "Only send the cavalry forward, and do not send infantry to defend it for the time being."
He Kegang, Jin Guofeng and others were a little surprised. Dalinghhe City and Jinzhou were already stable. Could it be that they had to passively wait for the Jiannu to attack like Ningyuan?
While the cavalry advancing could certainly put some pressure on the Jiannu, the Jiannu, relying on their cavalry and archery, probably wouldn't take it too seriously. In fact, the Ming cavalry currently lacked the strength to engage the Jiannu head-on.
Zhu Mei thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "Sir, are you worried about the supply? I believe that Youtunwei is close to the sea, so it's more convenient to transport supplies. If we follow the speed of deployment along the Daling River, with three to five thousand troops, we can complete the task in ten days at most. The Jiannu might not have enough time to mobilize."
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