Chapter 1205 Who is Feng Tang from Geng Zi Juan? (Big update, please vote!)
Nurhaci’s question caused the entire hall to fall into silence.
The capture of Fushun Pass was all due to Li Yongfang's counterattack. In fact, the Jurchen war in the north of Jianzhou suffered a setback. The Ula tribe suddenly migrated to the territory of the Yehe tribe. Now there is a posture of merging the Yehe tribe. It was beyond Jianzhou Jurchen's expectation.
This magical stroke completely disrupted the plans of Jianzhou Jurchen.
You must know that the Jurchens in Jianzhou have made all kinds of preparations to completely surround the Ula tribe and annihilate them. Nurhaci even made plans to marry one of his daughters to Bu Zhantai, the leader of the Ula tribe, in order to speak to the Ula tribe as quickly as possible. The tribe, like the previous Hada tribe and Huifa tribe, was integrated into the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe.
This is the best way to expand the power of the Jianzhou Jurchens, far better than absorbing the Han people captured from Fushun. They are all Jurchens, and their languages and customs are very similar, and there is a kinship relationship between them. As long as the upper echelons of the Ula tribe are completely controlled and included, the tribesmen below actually don't care too much about who they follow or even what the tribe's name is, as long as they can have enough to eat.
In contrast, it is not a simple matter for the Han people to completely submit them to the Jurchens. Even if they surrender to you on the surface and are even willing to work as cows and horses to pay rent, their disapproval and contempt deep down are still there. It is always difficult to eliminate, and it cannot be achieved within ten, eight, or even one generation.
Because of this, Nurhaci paid so much attention to conquering the Haixi Jurchens and gathering the East China Sea Jurchens. However, he did not expect that the plan to conquer the Haixi Jurchens encountered a setback only halfway through. Ye He's tribe was just that. Nurhaci knew very well that this was the Haixi Jurchens. The backbone of the Jurchens, he planned to attack this hard nut last, but he was determined to win the Ula tribe, but he did not expect that he would still fall short.
The recruitment of Jurchens from the East China Sea went relatively smoothly, but Nurhaci also knew that the success in the early stage was based on his extensive kindness, and the savage tribes like the Jurchens from the East China Sea have become more and more hungry. If they want to continue to recruit them, , you need to pay more materials, and this is also a huge difficulty for the Jianzhou Jurchens.
"I don't know if you realize it or not. We had a smooth sailing in the past few years. The Jurchen tribes in Jianzhou were unified by us. The Huifa tribe and the Hada tribe also surrendered to us and integrated into us. Even when we conquered the Ula tribe, we The fight was good, but things didn’t go so well later on. This time Fushun Pass was successful, and it can be said that all the credit lies with General Li. If it hadn’t been for General Li’s surrender, we wouldn’t have achieved such results!”
Everyone turned their attention to Li Yongfang, who was standing at the bottom on the right.
Li Yongfang had already changed into a Jurchen battle armor. Hearing Nurhachi's roll call and praise, he could only bow and say, "The Great Khan has over-praised him. Yongfang only has a meager effect. Even without Yongfang, the Great Khan can win."
Nurhachi waved his hand and said, "Yongfang, we Jurchens are straightforward. Whoever gets the credit deserves the credit. You can pick 500 households of the captive population from Fushun to be your slaves. From now on, everything they have will belong to you." Including their descendants, they are all your slaves..."
Li Yongfang was shocked. He also knew the Jurchen side of Jianzhou relatively well. This kind of situation where hundreds of households directly rewarded someone was unprecedented, especially since he was still a Han Chinese. He gave himself five hundred households of slaves. No wonder the generals and ministers around him looked at him with red eyes.
"Great Khan, how can this be done? The battle in Fushun is for you..."
"Okay, I have already made a conclusion on this matter. No need to say more. As for them, I will naturally give them the reward they deserve, but your contribution cannot be erased."
Nurhaci also understands the principle of buying horse bones for a thousand gold, not to mention that Li Yongfang's surrender has indeed brought huge benefits to the Jianzhou Jurchens. It can be said that even if the Jianzhou Jurchens pay thousands of losses, they may not be able to obtain such a generous return. Not to mention the demonstration effect that this kind of incident will bring in the future, it will have a huge shock to the Zhou Dynasty.
Seeing that Nurhachi had such a determined attitude, Li Yongfang naturally did not dare to say more and could only kneel down and thank him.
"Yongfang, I know that you have just come from Dazhou, and you still have some doubts in your heart. There are also some people on our Jurchen side who think you are just taking advantage, but I have to say that your reward is not worth it. If thanks to your contribution, the Jurchens will continue to advance westward and southward in the future, Liaodong will definitely return to our hands, so I need you, the talented Han people who know current affairs, to help me..."
Nurhachi has thin eyebrows and narrow eyes. Although he is not young, his spirit is particularly strong and his eyes are bright.
"You came from Liaodong and know the situation there best. Can you evaluate the current situation in Liaodong for us? I have a feeling that in the past year or two, Liaodong seems to be a little different from the past, but specifically We can’t tell what is different, but it must have a lot to do with the new Governor of Jiliao. We only know that Governor Feng is from a family in the border town of Datong, and his family has been guarding Datong to fight against the Tumuts. Later I went to Yulin and then came to Liaodong. What is your evaluation of this person?"
Li Yongfang also knew that the Jurchens in Jianzhou must be extremely interested in Liaodong. In fact, after Feng Tang became governor, although he made few major military moves, he seemed to have continued the conservative attitude of his predecessor Li Chengliang, but Li Yongfang knew that this Governor Feng is different from Li Chengliang in that a series of non-military means are extremely smooth. The conservatism in military and the activeness in political and economic means are in sharp contrast.
The entire hall fell silent, and everyone was waiting for Li Yongfang's answer.
Especially people like Daishan, Eyidu, Anfei Yanggu, Fei Yingdong, Mang Gurtai and Huang Taiji.
"Dakhan, I haven't had much contact with Feng Tang. He hasn't been in Liaodong for a long time. Judging from the few times I have met him, I don't see any special abilities or methods in this person. The only feeling is that this person may be doing something." Cautious and thoughtful, or it can be said to be calm in style and careful in considering issues."
Li Yongfang’s answer disappointed Nurhachi. What kind of answer is this? It can even be said that it has no value. Calmness, sophistication, and caution are all normal for a veteran, but this is by no means the feeling Nurhachi feels.
It is impossible for an ordinary general to bring such great pressure to himself. In other words, Jianzhou Jurchen seems to have fallen into a state of stagnation and is no longer as able as before. To be able to do this, this person definitely has something to do with it. Something different from other generals.
“But I thought it might just be an appearance.”
Li Yongfang’s last words made Nurhachi perk up and made other people in the hall **** up their ears.
"Yongfang, are you saying that this person is good at disguising? Now his external performance is all pretending, not his true side?" Nurhaci asked thoughtfully.
"I also say it's not very good, but we can analyze it from some specific details." Li Yongfang knew very well that if he couldn't come up with a convincing answer to this question, I'm afraid everything he had done in the early stage would be criticized a lot. Seen as speculation and cheapening, many people will despise themselves even more.
“Say.” Nurhaci said steadily, looking forward to it in his heart.
"After Governor Feng came to Liaodong, on the surface, he didn't actually take many direct actions towards our establishment of the state. He even took the initiative to send people to talk to him, hoping to maintain a harmonious situation and maintain the status quo. It seemed to people that He just came here to get some qualifications and survive for a few years." Li Yongfang spoke very slowly, as if he was thinking about the introduction: "This may be because he came here because of it, and it turns out that all the ministries left by Li Chengliang still have some differences. The reason for his great influence is not entirely due to his soft personality. A person who can serve as a general soldier in border towns such as Datong and Yulin for ten or twenty years. He does not have tens of millions of lives in his hands, and even good people in nine generations will have to be turned into stone. heart, so I never believed he was born that way.”
This sentence won unanimous nods of approval from Nurhachi, Eyidu, Anfei Yanggu and Daishan.
"Then the governor-general didn't make any big moves towards Jianzhou, so what did he do?" Li Yongfang continued: "He did several things. First, he used the power of his commander-in-chief of Liaodong and governor-general of Jiliao. His identity, coupled with his experience and close relationship with Chai Ke, the Minister of War, in countering the rebellion in Ningxia, pushed You Shigong, his old subordinate he brought from Yulin, to the position of Chief Soldier of Ji Town. I thought this was not just about pushing one of his own people to the position. Simple, but an extremely sophisticated layout.”
Nurhachi’s face became solemn, while E Yidu, Fei Yingdong and others frowned in thought.
“At first glance, it seems that it is just to arrange for one’s own people to rise to power. Everyone does this. It is normal, but it is not the case...”
"As soon as You Shigong became the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, Feng Tang began to rotate between the two towns, adjusting the original direct lineage of Ma Gui in Ji Town to Liaodong, weakening the control and influence of Ma Gui's old department on Ji Town , and at the same time arranged Li Chengliang's old troops to Ji Town. This change of defense disrupted the original system, allowing the old troops he brought over from Liaodong Town, such as Cao Wenzhao, You Shiwei and other troops, to quickly take advantage, and soon The integration of all departments in Liaodong Town was completed, and even Jianzhou was unable to make any response..."
This is a bit heartbreaking, but it is true. When Feng Tang came out, Jianzhou was also observing, wanting to see what the new governor would do, but after waiting around, no other abnormality was seen. The visitor expressed friendship and could not see anything else, but the result was that the other party quickly completed the internal defense change. Of course, this was only achieved quickly with the full support of the Zhou Dynasty Military Department, but it did catch Jianzhou by surprise.
"..., and he is extremely good at buying people's hearts. Zhao Lijiao, Du Song and other troops were quickly won over by him and were devoted to him. Many of them saw that You Shigong was originally just a general in Yulin Town, and it was during his visit that he Yulin was the first to join him, and as a result, he rose through the ranks. Within a few years, he was promoted from staff general to deputy commander-in-chief, and then to the rank of commander-in-chief of Jizhen. This made countless people jealous. He used this skill to make Zhao Zhijiao and Juniper and others are willing to serve, and I have to say that their methods are amazing."
Nurhachi nodded slightly. To be a commander, one does not necessarily need to be able to fight. Often, one who is good at using people is the biggest advantage. Putting the right people in the right positions and making them willing to serve and strive for the first place is the ability of a commander. , Feng Tang seems to have achieved this.
"The second thing is that this person has a very far-reaching vision. Everything he does seems to be careless, but in fact it has deep meaning." Li Yongfang felt even more proud when he saw that the appetites of everyone were aroused by him, "I accidentally heard When he talked about the strategy for Jianzhou, he mentioned that Jianzhou was currently at its peak. The Liaodong armies of the Great Zhou Dynasty had been guarding the border for many years. They were all under the old system and were tired and lazy. This probably meant the current Liaodong Army. After maintaining this state for many years and still building the army and fighting in the old way, it has been difficult to resist the vigorous development of new forces like Jianzhou. The Liaodong Army lacks the momentum and fighting spirit to dare to attack hard. And many soldiers regard guarding as a kind of torture, and this lack of courage to fight and take the initiative cannot win the battle, while Jianzhou is just the opposite."
Nurhachi was both proud and horrified. How could the other party see this?
He had never looked down upon the Liaodong Army. Although the Liaodong Army plus the Jizhen Army were five or even eight times more powerful than the Jianzhou Standing Army, these armies were only thinking about how to defend the city wall and had no intention of taking the initiative to attack. This is why he dared to build the royal city in Hetuala, right under the nose of Crow Falcon Pass, because he concluded that the Liaodong Army simply did not have the courage to take the initiative to fight.
Jianzhou dared to fight this battle. If the Liaodong Army dared to come out from Crow Falcon Pass, then he would dare to lead the Jianzhou Army to a decisive battle with the Liaodong Army on the banks of the Suzi River in Hetuala, and win the battle.
“Then since Feng Tang can see this, he must have a solution?” Nurhaci couldn’t bear it anymore and asked.
Li Yongfang shook his head, "I asked the same question, but Feng Tang did not answer directly. He only said that Liaodong needs time now, so the most effective way is to temporarily delay the Jianzhou offensive and use non-military means to delay it as much as possible." , block the offensive launched by Jianzhou and buy time for Liaodong, and the best strategy is to form a wide range of allies."
(End of this chapter)