Sure enough, before Li Ruolian finished speaking, a little eunuch walked in from outside the door.
After he arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty, a letter from Yan Yingyuan, the governor of Xuanfu and the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War."
After reading the contents of the official document, it was just as Li Ruolian had expected.
The Khalkha Mongolian leader Subadi requested the Ming court to open up trade, and emphasized that they needed basic necessities such as food, cotton, linen, and salt.
Soon, four cabinet members came to the Qianqing Palace to discuss the matter.
General official documents must first pass through the cabinet and then be submitted to the emperor.
Except for secret letters and private memorials.
Li Banghua took another document and bowed, then said, "Your Majesty, the Mongolian Chahar and Ordos tribes have sent letters to request the opening of trade."
Letters at the same time?
It looks like a request, but in fact it is a threat.
Chongzhen asked calmly, "What do you think?"
"I think we should refuse!" Fang Yuegong, the Minister of Revenue, said first: "The Mongols have already surrendered. The grain sold to them by the Jiannu will become their military rations. The cotton sold to them will be made into cotton armor to attack the Ming Dynasty in return."
Fan Jingwen held a different opinion: "I think we can trade with the Khalkha tribe. After all, they did not surrender to the Jiannu. As for the Chahar and Ordos tribes, my thoughts are the same as Minister Fang's."
Chongzhen looked at Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu had long been as steady as an old dog under the education of the other three old foxes in the cabinet. He walked out of the office slowly and saluted: "Your Majesty, I think what the two ministers said makes sense."
Chongzhen glared and said, "I'm asking you!"
Qiu Yu was so frightened that he lowered his head hastily: "I think the Mongols are wolves that can never be tamed. Whether they are full or not, they will bite people."
"So what I mean is that we can trade with them, but the principle of the trade is that we must not let them eat enough, but we also must not let them starve to death."
Qiu Yu's point of view made everyone's eyes light up.
Li Banghua then said, "Your Majesty, the cabinet means that we can trade with them, but there are priorities for trading."
"Khalkha Mongolia is the Ming Dynasty's priority trading partner, followed by Ordos, and Chahar is the lowest."
"The higher the priority, the more food, cotton, linen, salt, iron pots and other items you can trade. The lower the priority, the less you can get from the trade."
"Alright, after your cabinet has discussed the details of the transaction, report to the Imperial Household Department and I will approve it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After everyone left, Chongzhen continued to assign work to the Jinyiwei.
It’s not that Li Ruolian was incompetent as the commander, but that without Chongzhen’s instructions, Li Ruolian did not dare to act on his own in many things.
"Are there any smart, cunning, and vicious people in the Jinyiwei in the south?" Chongzhen asked.
Li Ruolian was stunned by Chongzhen's words.
He could understand that His Majesty needed someone who was smart and quick-witted, but he could not understand why he needed someone who was treacherous and vicious.
"I wonder what your majesty wants to do with this treacherous and vicious person?" Li Ruolian asked cautiously.
"Use a trick, a counter-espionage trick."
"Who do you want to use it on?"
"Zhang Xianzhong."
"Who is the spy?"
"Li Dingguo."
Li Ruolian instantly understood Chongzhen's intention.
Chongzhen had long thought of bringing Li Dingguo under his command.
But I have never found a way or an opportunity.
Although Li Dingguo's domestic affairs ability was average, his military ability was first-class.
He is a talented commander of troops.
The difference between a general and a commander is the same in small-scale battles.
However, when faced with large-scale group operations, the commander's ability to coordinate is revealed.
The reason why the Ming army lost more than it won in Liaodong was that it had no shortage of talented generals but lacked talented commanders.
Especially in the Battle of Songjin, which was a matter of life and death, Hong Chengchou's mediocre ability was evident.
Perhaps some people would say that Hong Chengchou was defeated because he urged the war and sent troops hastily.
But don't forget that Hong Chengchou is the commander-in-chief of the army.
Who would dare to send troops on their own if he didn't give the order?
Knowing that the strategy was problematic, he not only did not resign, but instead ordered troops to be sent out. This is a true traitor.
Let’s talk about Li Dingguo.
There were multiple factors in history that led Li Dingguo and the Dashi Army to submit to the Southern Ming.
This was because Zhang Xianzhong died at the hands of the Jiannu and the two sides had an irreconcilable feud, and also because Zhang Xianzhong left those words before his death.
Before his death, Zhang Xianzhong instructed his generals: After I die, you must return to the Ming Dynasty immediately and do nothing unjust.
This sentence paved the way for the future of the Dashi Army.
If the Ming army killed Zhang Xianzhong, Li Dingguo would not surrender easily.
If you want to make him surrender, you can only start from within the Dashi Army.
Expel Li Dingguo from the center of power.
After much deliberation, Chongzhen came up with the idea of using counter-espionage tactics.
Li Ruo Lian thought for a long time and said a name: "Ma Jixiang."
"Ma Jixiang is from Daxing, Shuntian Prefecture. He was a military scholar, cunning and eloquent, and had a basic understanding of morality. He first served as a military supervisor with Gao Qiqian, and later was appointed as a military commander. He is currently the commander of the Guangdong Jinyiwei."
Ma Jixiang...
Chongzhen sighed when he heard the name.
No matter what Ma Jixiang said or did in history, he never chose to surrender.
Instead, he died along with Emperor Yongli and the Southern Ming court.
It does not disgrace the reputation of the Jinyiwei.
Of course, Ma Jixiang here is just the commander of a province.
"Give him an order and ask him to find a way to alienate Zhang Xianzhong and Li Dingguo."
Li Ruo Lian tried to ask: "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"
Chongzhen glanced at him and said, "If I had an idea, why would I need you guys?"
"I'm leaving now!" Li Ruolian bowed and left hurriedly.
After returning to the Zhenfusi Yamen, Li Ruolian was depressed.
It was not until the middle of the night that Li Ruo Lian slapped his forehead and said, "Oh my!"
"Why think so much? Let Ma Jixiang figure it out himself. If I had an idea, I wouldn't need them!"
In the following days, imperial edicts were issued from the capital and sent to all parts of the country.
News from all over the country was also continuously sent to the capital.
"The new governor-general Ding Kuichu was defeated and captured..."
"Li Chuang thief besieged Fengyang and plotted against Nanjing..."
"Yuan Jixian divided his troops into two groups, one to defend Yuezhou, and the other to go down the river to defend Nanjing."
"Xu Dingguo plotted to murder Gao Jie. Gao Jie was injured and Xu Dingguo is missing."
"Qin Liangyu led her troops northward and captured Chengtian Prefecture and Xiangyang..."
Chongzhen looked indifferent after reading the news.
He had handed over power to the military generals who led the troops, and as for how they performed, it was beyond Chongzhen's control.
When Chongzhen saw the last Tangbao, he paused, pointed to the place name on the Tangbao and asked Wang Chengen: "Where is Yongzhou Prefecture?"
Wang Chengen glanced at the newspaper and his face changed drastically.
It was clearly written on the newspaper: Zhang Xianzhong captured Yongzhou, Guangdong and Guangxi were shocked, and nearby prefectures and counties began to impose martial law!
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