The Prosperous Era of Longwan

According to the "agent war" model proposed by Wei Guangde, it is actually the most beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. This is the conclusion Li Chunfang reached after several days of deliberations.

Although it is a bit unbelievable, if you really do a careful calculation, you will find that for this, the Ming Dynasty only needed to pay some iron tools and food, so that the grassland forces could attack each other, and in the end they would all be weakened.

Regardless of whether Han Naji or Xin Ai Huang Taiji won the final victory, the power of the Mongols was greatly reduced, and the threat to the Ming Dynasty was naturally minimal.

Even if he does not get the support of Ming Dynasty, when the new Khan appears on the grassland, he may have to depend on Ming Dynasty's attitude if he wants to survive.

Because the war had made them extremely weak, they were not looking for living space southward, but thinking about how to survive.

In fact, similar strategies were widely used during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and later during the Three Kingdoms and Song Dynasties. They were essentially a variation of counterintuitive strategies.

However, when the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty did not know much about the internal situation in Mongolia, no one would think of such an operation.

Moreover, there really was no place to start at that time.

But now that Han Naji was brought to the Ming Dynasty, it gave the Ming Dynasty an opportunity to understand Mongolian society, and Wei Guangde also thought of this way to weaken the strength of the Mongols.

Although it is difficult, as long as the operation is successful, you will get huge benefits.

However, because of the difficulty of the operation, there was not much support for Wei Guangde's proposal in the cabinet. Only Yin Shizhen clearly supported it, and everyone else was very skeptical.

Accordingly, they were more willing to choose the plan proposed by Zhang Juzheng and have a decisive battle with Ada Khan in Datong to completely weaken the threat from the northern grasslands.

But now the situation is different. Some of the suggestions put forward by the governor and governor of Datong coincide with those of Wei Guangde. This shows that this strategy is also feasible, otherwise the people below will never put it forward. .

You know, they are the ones responsible for the implementation. If it is too difficult to achieve, they will never foolishly propose this plan.

Fighting may not necessarily lead to victory, but defense is fine. After so many years, as long as the frontier generals are well prepared, the Mongols cannot get in.

As long as it takes a few years and Anda Khan dies of old age, the grassland may fall into chaos, and the Ming Dynasty will profit from it.

While Li Chunfang was still thinking, Cifu Gao Gong had already walked in, greeted him casually and sat down, waiting for his next words.

Li Chunfang also came to her senses at this time and handed Gao Gong the memorial that had just been delivered and asked him to take a look first.

Li Chunfang was already used to Gao Gong's attitude, but she just didn't want to tangle with him any more.

It was even because of Gao Gong's attitude that Li Chunfang didn't want to quit politics so early.

As long as he sits in this position and makes no mistakes, Gao Gong will have nothing to do with him.

If you dare to use force against him, as long as the news is spread, it will be difficult for Gao Gong to get along in the court.

It's a pity that Gao Gong never realized that his dominance over Li Chunfang actually had the opposite effect. Not only did it not make him want to quit, but it strengthened his determination to stay in the court.

Gao Gong quickly finished reading Wang Chonggu's memorial and lowered his head to think.

His so-called three strategies, upper, middle and lower, are actually strategies based on the development of the situation. It is not so much three strategies as one strategy.

First, they tried to use this to have peace talks with Anda Khan and get what the Ming Dynasty wanted, including Zhao Quan and other rebels and the plundered population. They also tried to get Anda Khan to agree to pay tribute. As a condition, the Ming Dynasty agreed to trade with the Mongols. .

If the conditions are not met, then they will fight against each other and enter the so-called second strategy, the Ming Dynasty defense, to withstand the Mongolian attack and persist in returning Hannaji.

As for the three strategies, I don’t even know that they can be implemented until the Year of the Monkey and the Horse. After all, as long as An Dahan survives, there is no possibility of this strategy being implemented.

Relatively speaking, it was much simpler for Zhang Juzheng to propose a decisive battle with the Mongols in Datong.

Although the Ming Dynasty will pay a considerable price for this, the Mongols' losses will be even greater.

"Haha. Wang Chonggu and Wei Guangde have the same opinions. They both intend to divide the grassland."

Of course, Gao Gong would skip the first one first. He also had to think carefully about whether he could end the confrontation between the two sides through peace talks.

Regarding items 2 and 3, Wei Guangde's thinking was actually similar to Wang Chonggu's, delaying time until Anda Khan died of old age, and then interfering in grassland affairs to mess him up. He avoided Zhang Juzheng's proposal from beginning to end and launched a war.

Let’s not talk about whether Wang Chonggu and Fang Fengshi’s plan was good or not. Gao Gong’s first consideration was the opinions of the cabinet ministers, which actually coincided with those of the foreign ministers. This forced him to think more about Zhang Juzheng’s decisive battle strategy. There is something wrong, otherwise Datong would not mention the war at all.

The presence of Wei Guangde in the cabinet always made Gao Gong a little restrained, because this man was so good at hiding.

In the past, when he was in Prince Yu's Mansion, he only came up with ideas, and externally it was he and Li Fang who did the work, or Chen Yiqin and the others.

It was not until King Jing became a vassal that Wei Guangde began to publicly participate in some activities on behalf of Prince Yu's Palace.

In Gao Gong's eyes, Wei Guangde is a poisonous snake who chooses the opportunity to act, so he is now far less wary of other cabinet ministers than he is of Wei Guangde.

It was because he discovered that he was a thoughtful official but also had many small thoughts, so Gao Gong deliberately let him go so that he could avoid him and not have to be on guard against him all the time.

But I didn't expect that fate would play tricks on people, and it didn't work out. Instead, the relationship between the two became estranged.

He could feel that since then, the two of them had been wary of each other.

But Wei Guangde is too young, and he can't think of dealing with Li Chunfang and the others like that.

Even if he survives to death, I'm afraid Wei Guangde will still be alive and active in the court.

I originally thought of a way to support Zhang Juzheng, and asked Wei Guangde to go out to supervise the army, and then find a way to prevent him from coming back, but I didn't expect that Datong actually gave such a memorial, and the possibility of war was reduced again.

Yes, Gao Gong is now obsessed with state affairs, but he also does not forget to eliminate dissidents in the court.

Having already suffered a big loss, he wanted to nip the threat in the bud, and Wei Guangde was what he regarded as the biggest threat, even more than Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng's strength is there, but Wei Guangde is not.

The key point was that Emperor Longqing gave all the books in Li Fang's hands to Wei Guangde to expand his wings, which made him timid in taking action.

Because he was not sure what position Wei Guangde held in Emperor Longqing's heart.

"This is a topic for later. What we need to discuss now are the negotiation conditions proposed by Governor Wang and Governor Fang, such as whether it is feasible to pay tribute to Zhao Quan's traitors and plundered people."

Li Chunfang smiled at this time.

Gao Gong also withdrew his thoughts, knowing that this was the major matter to be discussed today, so he nodded and said: "Female tribute and mutual trade, this depends on His Majesty's wishes. Let's discuss it first and then talk to Your Majesty."

At this time, Gao Gong stopped thinking about Wei Guangde for the time being, and instead began to think about what the Ming Dynasty would do if there were peace talks with An Da Khan.

It should be said that Wang Chonggu's memorial included all the interests of Ming Dynasty, and there was nothing to add.

As for paying tribute and mutual trade, Gao Gong actually thinks it is feasible.

At the beginning, there was a lot of support between the DPRK and China for mutual trading, but Emperor Jiajing forcibly rejected the plan and did not argue with the courtiers at all.

Perhaps, this is related to the emperor's face, and he will insist on it until his death.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng also walked into the first assistant's duty room. It was not surprising to see Gao Gong arriving first, but he just bowed his hands and saluted the two of them.

"Uncle, here are the memorials from Datong Governor Wang Chonggu and Governor Fang Fengshi. You can read them first before talking."

Li Chunfang spoke and handed the memorial that Gao Gong had just read to Zhang Juzheng.

While Zhang Juzheng was still reading the memorial, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen also entered the room together.

After everyone read the memorial, there was no heated discussion as expected, and the room fell into silence, all thinking about the suggestions in the memorial.

Anda Khan's grandson comes to the Ming Dynasty. Will Anda Khan exchange it at all costs?

Wei Guangde expressed a little doubt, and he didn't even think that he could even get a White Lotus cultist at first.

In Wei Guangde's mind, Anda Khan should ask the Ming Dynasty to release people, not to negotiate conditions, but to demand, otherwise he would go to war directly.

In addition to forceful coercion, Wei Guangde did not believe in the terms of Anda Khan's talks, so after seeing this memorial, his first reaction was that Wang Chonggu and Fang Feng were out of their minds.

However, when Wang Chonggu stated more about the grassland things he learned from Han Naji and what happened before and after the "Gengxu Revolution", Wei Guangde was a little undecided again.

Mutual trading seems to be what Anda Khan has been pursuing. If he can't get it, he can only rob it.

Wang Chonggu even introduced in detail how Bian Wei killed the Mongolian envoys to cater to the Holy Heart before the "Gengxu Revolution" occurred.

"If the best strategy can be realized, it will naturally be the best. It can calm the war and even end the crisis of the nine sides."

Finally, Wei Guangde took the lead in speaking.

Yin Shizhen also echoed Wei Guangde's opinion. It's not that he has no opinion, but since it is the best policy, it naturally has merits.

Regardless of Zhang Juzheng's suggestion or Wang Chonggu's mid-range strategy, a war is bound to happen. It is naturally best if it can be avoided and Ming Dynasty can achieve its own goals.

Zhang Juzheng previously believed that Datong could fight decisively, but now after seeing this memorial, his attitude has changed.

Because he did not understand the actual situation on the border, he, like Wei Guangde, never thought that the matter could be resolved through negotiation.

"If we can take this as an opportunity to make peace with Anda Khan and allow him to become a minister on the condition of mutual trade, it will indeed be most beneficial to the court."

Zhang Juzheng finally said, "However, I am worried that after the news comes out, officials will oppose the reconciliation with Mongolia."

"Since the "Gengxu Incident", almost no one among the Ming Dynasty courtiers talked about mutual trading, and it was also because of the late emperor's firm attitude.

But now and then, if we continue to be tough, it will actually be detrimental to the court.

If the nine-border crisis can be resolved, and at least the border villages are restored, the burden on the court will be greatly reduced. "

Yin Shizhen said, "So, don't worry about the objections of the officials. If there is opposition, there will definitely be support. The main thing is His Majesty's attitude."

Yin Shizhen's words hit the point exactly. As long as Emperor Longqing was willing to agree, it would be useless for all officials to object.

Of course, the premise is that the cabinet also supports it and is willing to fully promote this matter.

And Yin Shizhen also happened to say the greatest benefit brought by the peace talks, which could alleviate the embarrassing financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty.

If there was no threat from Mongolia, there would be no need for hundreds of thousands of guest troops to stay in Jiubian, which would save a lot of money in food and food expenses in Jiubian.

Because the Ming Dynasty's army was a military garrison system. Due to the war, the military garrison was almost abandoned, and it all relied on the imperial court to transport money and food.

"Does everyone think it's okay to talk?"

While Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng were talking, Gao Gong suddenly interrupted and asked.

Hearing his question, all three people nodded.

"Master Chief Assistant, now we can discuss the conditions proposed by Governor Wang."

Gao Gong saw the reaction of the three people and immediately turned to Li Chunfang and said.

Li Chunfang nodded when he heard this and said with a smile: "Actually, the conditions mentioned in Governor Wang's memorial are almost perfect. I have nothing to add. I just don't know what you think?"

Hearing this, Gao Gong looked at Wei Guangde and the others again, and saw that the three of them were shaking their heads after thinking about it, and immediately said: "In this case, the imperial court should send a message back to Datong.

First of all, treat Han Naji favorably, so that he will be rich and noble in China, and use the milkman Ali Ge who persuaded him to commit suicide to assist Han Naji, and use the name I gave him to make him Ji dominated Mongolia and was finally used by me.

Secondly, when Anda came to ask for his grandson, on the one hand, he strengthened his defenses to prevent unexpected events, and at the same time sent people to inform Anda of his grandson's current situation, so as to carry out his planned plan.

Furthermore, for Bansheng Zhao Quan and others, in order for Anda to take the initiative, the intention should not be too obvious. It is best to ask others to come up with a plan. If Zhao Quan and others are tied up and sacrificed, then surrender will be successful and good luck will be obtained. If not, there will be no plan. "

What Gao Gong said now was actually how to implement it, but he had skipped the part of convincing Emperor Longqing, and he seemed to be confident.

Wei Guangde heard it, but didn't say anything.

As long as the cabinet is unanimous, Wei Guangde knows that even if Emperor Longqing has an opinion, he will probably not insist on it.

After Gao Gong finished speaking, no one in the room answered. Seeing this, Gao Gong had no choice but to turn to Li Chunfang and ask, "What do you think, Lord Chief Assistant?"

Li Chunfang then said: "Qing Su's words are reasonable, but now is the time to convince your Majesty first.

If His Majesty agrees, he can naturally restore Datong in the name of the cabinet.

At the same time, after the news spreads, if most of the officials are opposed, the princes will have to find ways to deal with it. "

"If this matter comes to pass, it will be of great benefit to the court without any harm, and it will also be a great joy to the people of the border town. Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch, how can you not understand the reason? Your Excellency, the First Assistant, is overly worried."

Gao Gong's words seemed to be certain that Emperor Longqing would agree.

However, he looked at Li Chunfang's expression that had not changed at all, then looked at Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and others, and asked: "Are all the ministers in my cabinet supportive?"

Seeing everyone nodding, he continued: "Since everyone agrees, we might as well go to Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty and talk about this matter.

If your majesty has concerns, we can explain it immediately so that your majesty can dispel your concerns and let this matter be implemented as soon as possible.

This matter is of great importance. The opportunity to control the captives is real and cannot be delayed. As long as His Majesty nods, the matter will be sent out urgently today, so that Governor Wang and others can have enough time to prepare. "