Chapter 262: I, Hong Taiji, Shall Lay Three Trap Cards Face-Down and End This Turn

Only after the letter's authenticity was settled did Hong Taiji reveal the true purpose for which he had called this council.

"Then the fact that this little emperor managed to send a reply within five days is truly somewhat terrifying…"

Manggultai spoke up. "Could it be that this little emperor anticipated our letter long ago and placed his reply with Sun Chengzong in advance — or even directly in Zu Dashou's hands?"

Daishan shook his head, rejecting the conjecture. "Impossible. If it had been a reply arranged in advance, it would have been written on silk, not this kind of letter paper." He turned to Dahai and asked, "Do you have any of this emperor's handwritten edicts on your side that we could compare it against?"

Dahai shook his head. "That would not be difficult to obtain, but no one ever imagined we would need it for this purpose, so at present we have none." Hong Taiji took up the thread and voiced the conjecture that sent a chill down everyone's spine:

"I fear… that 'Thousand-Li Lightning Platform' mentioned in the Da Ming Times may, in fact, be real…"

"From Ningyuan and Jinzhou to the capital — a thousand li apart — messages really can go back and forth within a single day!"

At these words, the whole assembly fell silent.

The Da Ming Times had published news of this radio station in its very first issue.

Yet at the time everyone had merely treated it as a joke; no one took it seriously.

Hadn't the White Lotus sect also boasted of transmitting messages a thousand li, reaching their destination within days?

In the end it was nothing more than keeping carrier pigeons — useless in winter, useless in rain or snow, and out of ten birds only three or four would ever arrive. Utter rubbish. When it came down to it, they still had to rely on spies slipping through the passes.

Hong Taiji turned to Li Yongfang, who was in charge of intelligence, and asked:

"Has there been any progress on the telescope and the radio codebook?"

Cold sweat instantly beaded on Li Yongfang's forehead. He hurriedly stepped forward and knelt.

"Replying to the Great Khan: ever since Sun Chengzong arrived in Liaodong, his patrols have been strict and watertight. On both of these matters… there is still no news as yet." Seeing Hong Taiji's expression darken, he hastily added:

"However, this slave has already arranged a route beyond the passes. If that still fails, once spring comes, the sea route will also open up."

"Ningyuan and Jinzhou may be tightly guarded against this radio, but according to the newspaper they plan to extend it to Denglai and to Datong — those two places surely cannot be as strict forever. Moreover, Datong and Shandong both have White Lotus sect activity; it will be far easier to operate there than in Ningyuan or Jinzhou."

He paused, then added with the utmost caution:

"That said… according to reports sent back by our agents, even if we obtain the codebook it will be useless."

"They say that high-level military intelligence requires a special 'supplementary cipher book.' One copy is held by the local commanding officer, the other by the emperor. The signalmen operating the radio in between are responsible only for transmitting the message and cannot understand the content at all."

Hong Taiji's brows furrowed deeply; a flash of anxiety passed through his eyes.

The Later Jin — or indeed any state whose strength lay primarily in cavalry — derived its greatest advantage from striking like a whirlwind and vanishing just as swiftly.

Within a single day they could concentrate tens of thousands of troops and force a breakthrough at a single point.

The Central Plain dynasties simply could not defend against every possibility and could only passively endure the blows.

In the past there had been beacon-fire signals, but those could convey only the crudest information — large enemy force, small enemy force. A few feint detachments combined with harassment were enough to render the beacons useless.

But now, if this radio truly could transmit several dozen characters in a single day, the entire shape of warfare would be transformed.

The Ming could station their main forces in key strongholds and wait until the intelligence was clear before committing them in a concentrated strike!

Thus, to the men of the Later Jin,

this baffling device was even more unsettling than the red barbarian cannon the Ming army had gradually begun deploying over the past two years.

"Get it done as quickly as possible. Whatever the cost, I want to see the actual object, and soon!"

"Ma!" Li Yongfang, as though granted a new lease on life, knocked his head repeatedly against the ground.

At this point Manggultai could finally contain himself no longer and burst out:

"This business… couldn't it just be the Ming blowing smoke?"

"If it's real, doesn't that mean the moment I, your father, lead my troops up to the walls of Jinzhou to take a piss, by noon the men at Shanhai Pass will know exactly how many bowls of water I drank? How the hell are we supposed to fight?!"

Crude as his words were, the logic behind them was sound.

"Speed is the soldier's greatest asset" — but if the other side had the whole map revealed, how could one fight at all?

Dahai, however, shook his head at this and interjected:

"It may not be quite so extreme."

"I have read some of the intelligence Yongfang gathered. They say the device requires a wooden platform to be set up every ten li."

"When we move our troops in the future, we can first dispatch picked light cavalry to slip past and destroy a few of the relay platforms in the rear. That should be enough to disrupt the transmission process."

Hong Taiji nodded slightly, his expression easing somewhat.

In military affairs, the speed of information transmission was indeed critically important.

Though most of the Later Jin leadership were rough men who had grown up in the saddle, they had fought their way out of the White Mountains and Black Waters to found a state — not one of them was a true fool. However much they might disdain that young emperor in the south, they would not turn a blind eye to an innovation that could alter the very shape of warfare.

By now, even Amin had dropped his barbed sarcasm.

After pondering earnestly for a moment, he said, "If that is the case, then we truly must probe the matter thoroughly before anything else. Otherwise we won't even know how to fight the wars to come."

"Once spring arrives, shall we dispatch a force to sweep the outskirts of Jinzhou? Seize some telescopes and those so-called codebooks, and capture a few signalmen for close interrogation?"

"Didn't the earlier reconnaissance reports say that during the summer and autumn, days of torrential rain in western Liaoning caused several sections of the Jinzhou city wall to collapse?"

"That governor called Wang Zhichen withdrew the garrison all the way to Xing Shan."

Amin licked his lips, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"If the Ming army leaves no troops in Jinzhou city, then we need not worry about our rear. Give me just three thousand men, and I can range freely everywhere north of Ningyuan! Those little forts can't hold many troops — they're nothing to worry about."

This proposal was met with considerable approval.

Daishan, however, after a moment of deliberation, offered a different view:

"What the Second Beile says is reasonable, but our original plan, as agreed, was to sweep the Arak Chote and Doloit tribes of the Chahar first when spring came." He walked to the map and pointed at that region.

"These two tribes sit between us and the Kharachin like a pair of nails, constantly cutting down the messengers traveling between us."

"Unless we pull them out, it will be very difficult to establish a stable connection with the Kharachin."

"Without that connection, our plan to befriend the distant and attack the near — to ally with the Kharachin against the Chahar — is, in truth, empty talk."

Daishan sighed and continued:

"But… the situation has shifted again. The Chahar were routed by the Great Ming at Qingcheng; that Tiger Khan has become a drowning dog. The Kharachin, trimming their sails to the wind, are surely no longer in such a hurry to throw in their lot with us."

"So I am thinking, should we continue reaching out to that Tiger Khan? See whether he might be willing to join us in raiding the Ming? Using the Tiger Khan's hand to swallow up the Kharachin — that might also work."

"If that's the case, when spring opens we could indeed sweep Jinzhou first and probe the Ming army's true strength."

"Absolutely not!"

Amin's brows instantly knotted, and he immediately voiced his opposition:

"If we truly seek friendship with the Tiger Chieftain, then what becomes of the Khorchin tribes? And what will those Chahar Beiles who have already come over to our side think?" "Besides, that Tiger Chieftain Ligdan Khan is just like Yuan Shao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms — fierce in appearance but faint of heart, fond of schemes but incapable of decision; he shrinks from risk when doing great things, yet throws his life away at the sight of petty gain."

"A man like that is nothing but a soft egg. Befriending him is no easy matter. And even if you did befriend him, would you dare trust him? I certainly wouldn't dare!"

"To my mind, this proposal is utterly absurd! It is nothing short of cutting off one's own arms!"

Amin delivered these words with a stern countenance and severe tone, every inch the picture of disinterested public-spiritedness.

But the truth was exactly the opposite.

His earlier remarks — setting aside his desire to keep winning merit and suppress Hong Taiji's prestige — had actually been fairly even-handed.

Yet in this impassioned speech now, at least half or more was pure self-interest.

As the only Beile among the Four Great Beiles not born of Nurhaci, Amin had always been an outsider in this circle.

Therefore, the marriage alliances and ties with the various Khorchin tribes, along with the effort to draw in the Chahar tribes that were gradually coming over, constituted the external power he relied on most heavily. Daishan's proposal, though made with the overall situation in mind, had trodden squarely on the red line of his interests.

The other Beiles also began to speak up, each voicing his own opinion.

The great hall once again sank into a buzzing clamor of dispute.

Hong Taiji listened to each man's views, weighing them over and over in his mind. After a moment of silent deliberation, he finally raised a hand to suppress the noise. "Enough."

"We have fought two campaigns this year. The warriors are weary, and the horses have lost flesh. Next year, we must rest and recuperate."

"Those of you who propose striking on both fronts when spring opens — it is not feasible. Say no more of it."

"Next year, no single expedition is to exceed five thousand men. The main strength of each banner must be given a thorough rest and refit."

"As for whom to strike first and whom second…"

His gaze flickered, and he spoke slowly:

"There is no need to fix that in stone just yet, either."

"On the Tiger Chieftain's side, have Dahai send a clever man to make contact and sound out his attitude."

"We still have an entire winter to observe his response."

"If by the time spring opens his attitude is not sufficiently positive, then we keep to the original plan — sweep the Arakchuud and Doloit tribes first when spring opens, to beat the grass and startle the snake."

"And then continue watching his response."

"If his attitude is positive and he is willing to cooperate, then when spring opens we call him out to sweep Jinzhou together and probe the truth of that radio station. And while we are at it, discuss with him the matter of swallowing up the Kharachin."

"If it truly cannot be helped, letting him strike southward while we back him up is not out of the question either…"

"Once he has truly committed, we can then answer the Kharachin's plea for help by dispatching troops — and swallow him up at our leisure."

"In sum, we wait until spring opens and decide according to the circumstances. Do not determine friend or foe so early."

At this point, Hong Taiji paused, cast an imperceptible glance at Amin, and only then continued.

"The many considerations herein are all military and state secrets. They must be kept strictly confidential. Above all, do not breathe a word of them to the Khorchin tribes or the various Chahar tribes — is that understood?" Everyone felt a chill in their hearts and answered in unison. Hong Taiji nodded, but his face showed little pleasure. He turned and went on:

"There is one more matter. It concerns Mao Wenlong."

"Dahai, you speak of it as well."

Dahai answered and stepped forward from the ranks.

"Reporting to the assembled Beiles: the former Vice Regional Commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner, Wang Zideng, abandoned his wife and children in the ninth month of this year and defected to Pidao."

At the mention of this name, the expressions of the several banner lords present all turned rather ugly.

After the battle of Ningyuan-Jinzhou, the loss of troops and officers was one aspect; there had also been considerable unrest among the Han people.

Wang Zideng's defection as a Vice Regional Commander was precisely one of the aftershocks of that battle.

Dahai paused, then continued:

"But now, this man has again sent a secret letter, saying that Mao Wenlong intends to facilitate peace negotiations…"

"The letter's tone is earnest, saying that Mao Wenlong's position in the Ming court is now difficult, and that he too wishes to leave himself a path of retreat."

"To establish credibility, this Wang Zideng is even willing to come in person to Shenyang to recount the details."

"But he also said…" Dahai gave a wry smile, "that scoundrel Mao Wenlong is suspicious by nature and unwilling to let the man go lightly. He wants us to send a trusted aide of sufficient weight over to his side as well — nominally for mutual trust, but in truth… as a hostage."

"Ha!" A scoff broke the brief silence. It was Amin again.

As though he had heard some colossal joke, his face was full of mockery:

"Send a trusted aide? Has this Mao Wenlong not woken up yet? Or does he take us for fools to be toyed with?"

"Isn't he just hoping we'll send someone over so he can cut his head off in a blood sacrifice to the banner, and then go claim credit and reward from that new Emperor? Where in the world is there such a cheap bargain!" Amin cast a sidelong glance at the others:

"If a trusted aide is to be sent, whoever among you is willing, go ahead and send one — but don't send anyone from my Bordered Blue Banner to their death."

Though Amin's words were sour and barbed, they struck at what was on everyone's mind.

Yet in matters of politics, things were never so simple.

Behind every foolish act, there was usually a reason that compelled it.

Yoto pondered for a moment, then shook his head and rejected this line of argument.

"What the Second Beile says has reason, but Pidao is, after all, a place of critical importance."

He walked to the map and drew his finger across the chain of islands off the Liaodong peninsula:

"If we could take Pidao, then all along the coast of southern Liaodong we would no longer need to enforce the policy of forced relocation and maritime prohibition."

"The farmland along this coastline — if it could be cultivated, the grain it would yield each year would be no small amount, after all."

(See attached map. Once you've looked, you should probably understand why I say the Later Jin was "not that" short of grain… this great plain…)

"More importantly, Wenlong still has a naval force under his command. If we could win it over for our own use and send it to raid Denglai, Tianjin, and other places — even if only as feints — it would leave the Ming court unable to look after both head and tail. This would be an immense boon."

Yoto looked toward Hong Taiji, his gaze resolute:

"In my judgment, though there may be deception, we must still make the attempt in the end."

Daishan at once chimed in:

"Quite right. After the great battle at Ning-Jin last year, weren't those Censors and remonstrating officials in the Ming court constantly impeaching Mao Wenlong, demanding he shift his garrison?" "When the cunning hares are dead, the running dogs are boiled. He may well have truly sensed the danger, and that is why he sent a letter to sound out peace talks. This matter is not necessarily a sham." Manggultai, Ajige, and the others then spoke up one after another.

Some said Mao Wenlong should first prove himself.

Some said they could send a few men of no importance to test the waters first.

In short, though each harbored misgivings, the general inclination was still that the potential gain was too great, and it was worth taking a little risk to make contact and see. Hong Taiji heard them out, nodded slightly, and made his decision:

"In that case, let Dahai handle this. We certainly cannot send a trusted Beile; that would be walking straight into a trap if it is one."

"Pick a few sharp, sensible bithesi from the Literary Academy, send them with generous gifts, and have them go chat first. If there is genuine sincerity, we can discuss the next steps later." With these two major matters settled, the emergency meeting convened on short notice that day was brought to a close.

Hong Taiji did not put on the airs of a Great Khan, nor did he observe any elaborate sovereign-minister ceremony. He rose and personally saw the several Beile to the door, watching them depart into the distance before turning back into the room.

The door slowly closed, shutting out the wind and snow and clamor beyond.

Inside the room, only he and Dahai remained.

That trace of genial smile on Hong Taiji's face vanished in an instant.

Yet the first words out of his mouth had absolutely nothing to do with the two letters they had just discussed.

"Dahai, what do you think… if we add the charge of leaking military secrets to Khorchin, will that be enough?"

Dahai's body trembled slightly; he knew perfectly well whom the Great Khan was talking about.

He pondered in silence for a moment, mulled it over carefully, and in the end honestly shook his head:

"Great Khan, I fear… it is still not enough." "This charge can be big or small. Among the Jurchen Beile, it is certainly a grave crime, but among the Mongol Beile, it may not be entirely convincing." "After all, it was done to cement an alliance. If the Second Beile insists on defending himself, he can also claim it was for the good of the Great Jin state."

Hong Taiji fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly, a trace of regret in his voice:

"Yes, this charge is still too light."

He turned around, his gaze burning as he fixed it on Dahai:

"How many items have you gathered on your side so far?"

Dahai swiftly ran through them in his mind and answered in a low voice:

"Replying to the Great Khan, at present there are about seven or eight that are solidly evidenced."

"But… forgive this slave for speaking bluntly, these are all merely charges of arrogance, bullying, and showing no respect for superiors."

"For a Great Beile who commands an entire Banner and has illustrious battle merits, we still lack a single capital crime that can settle the matter with one hammer blow and ensure he can never rise again." Hong Taiji said nothing, merely pacing slowly about the hall with his hands clasped behind his back.

After a long while, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and asked:

"What do you think… of sending Amin to attack Jinzhou when spring comes next year?"

Dahai started, then a flash of insight lit up his mind. He understood at once and asked in a lowered voice:

"Does the Great Khan think that little Ming Emperor can truly change something? If Jinzhou really is a trap…"

Killing with a borrowed knife!

If Amin suffered a crushing defeat at Jinzhou, losing troops and officers, then that crime would be heavy enough!

Yet Hong Taiji did not answer directly. Instead, he gazed through the southern window lattice at the gray, overcast sky beyond.

"If, immediately upon ascending the throne, he had impatiently ordered the pay audit, I would merely think him another Yang Guang, fond of grandiose projects and military glory — not worth worrying about." "If he had ordered the audit two months after ascending, I would also think him no more than a Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu — ambitious, perhaps, but incapable of great things."

Hong Taiji's voice grew deeper, tinged with profound wariness:

"But… word of this matter was let out very early, so much so that everyone in Liaodong knows of it, yet the real pay-audit imperial commissioner has still not set one foot out of the capital."

"This kind of restraint and forbearance is what increasingly unnerves me."

He abruptly turned back, his gaze sharp as a blade, piercing straight at Dahai:

"Send word down: have the White Lotus sect's people in the capital gather every scrap of information at any cost! Reports must come once a month without fail! I want to know what that little Emperor is doing, day by day!"

"If…"

Hong Taiji paused, the light in his eyes flickering:

"If that Emperor delays another month or more before dispatching the pay-audit party, then it shows this man plans thoroughly before he acts, and his designs are far-reaching." "When the time comes, let Amin go and test him next year. Use that fool Amin to try the edge of this new blade."

Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth than he frowned again and waved a hand:

"Forget it."

"It is still too risky. If Amin really gets too many of our elite troops killed, that would also wound the vitality of the Great Jin."

"Let us wait for more news and decide. There is no rush; we can decide when spring comes next year."

With that, Hong Taiji waved his hand, signaling Dahai to withdraw.

"Mm." Dahai bowed and withdrew, gently pulling the door shut behind him.

Silence returned to the room.

Hong Taiji walked to his writing desk and, somewhat agitatedly, began rifling through things at random.

He wanted to see whether, in the Han people's history books, there had ever been a situation as complex as the one he now faced, and to see how those Han or barbarian peoples had broken such deadlocks.

During the Liao and Song period, how did the Jin dynasty rise?

How did the Liao state suppress them at the time?

But his mind was tangled like hemp; he flipped back and forth, yet the words simply would not register.

Until he turned to that copy of the Zuo Commentary, its edges already somewhat dog-eared from much handling.

He had turned only two pages when a brilliantly colored pheasant plume feather drifted lightly out from the book and landed on the desk.

Hong Taiji looked closely.

It turned out this was the very page — the chapter he had not finished reading a few days before, prior to the state council meeting.

On it was only a single short line of title, yet it seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun, striking his heart in an instant…

— The Earl of Zheng Overcame Duan at Yan.

That was the timeless statecraft of forbearance, of indulgence, of a single killing stroke.

"The Duke said: 'He who commits many unrighteous acts will bring about his own death. My lord, simply wait.'"

Hong Taiji stared at that line of writing for a long, long time.

Suddenly, he shut the book, picked up that plume feather, and could not suppress a cold sneer.

The essay was certainly brilliant, but what was even more interesting was…

This beautiful plume feather was precisely the one Amin had presented to him, Hong Taiji, after a hunt!