Chapter 1789: Truly Fated Enemies!

"Great Khan, Our meaning is this: the Yan Mountains shall belong to Us, and the grasslands shall belong to you. The Yan Mountains that belong to Us, We shall go and take Ourselves! The grasslands that belong to you, you shall likewise go and take for yourself. As for the territory of Liaodong, apart from the eastern foothills of the Yan Mountains and the western Liaoning mountain region that is part of the Yan range, We shall be content to take the lands formerly under the jurisdiction of the old Liaodong Regional Command. All the rest may belong entirely to the Northern Yuan!"

Outside the city of Xinghe, inside an enormous golden-domed tent, Zhu Youjian — "the man who best understands war" — was discussing with "the Fleeing Khan" Ligdan Batur how to carve up the Later Jin state, although Zhu Youjian did not in the least believe that this single campaign could pacify Liaodong and destroy the Jin.

How could there be such a good bargain? The troops Zhu Youjian actually had available to fight were only the 12,000 men of the Headquarters Army and the 60,000 troops of the Xuan, Da, Jing, and Chang garrisons. And he could not pull all of them out to attack the Yan Mountains either. Of the Headquarters Army, 2,000 had to be left to guard the home base, and Datong, Beijing, and Xuanfu all had to keep garrisons as well — the three places together would require more than 30,000 men left behind.

In other words, the total force that could now march out with Zhu Youjian was 40,000 troops, plus 36 "black cannons."

This number was actually not small, and with cavalry, infantry, and artillery all complete, it could roughly be counted as the strongest army in East Asia. If it truly came to a decisive battle with Hong Taiji deep in the Yan Mountains, Zhu Youjian was genuinely not afraid.

The problem was, he also knew Hong Taiji's caliber. He was not so easy to deal with!

So Zhu Youjian's current plan was simply to fight for the Yan Mountains.

And the Yan Mountains — they were actually a fine place!

Do not assume that because the Yan range is mountain after mountain and ravine after ravine, there is little flat land. In fact, within the Yan Mountains there are extremely many valleys and ravines that can be opened up for cultivation! These valleys all have comparatively ample water sources, and they are fine places for farming and grazing. If one could occupy the entire Yan range, opening up another 10 million mu of arable land would be entirely possible.

Moreover, because of the shelter of the Yan Mountains, the winters in these areas are far warmer than on the grasslands to the north or in Liaodong to the east, and the soil and water are well preserved — extremely suitable for cultivation.

If Zhu Youjian could thoroughly digest and firmly hold the Yan Mountains, not only would the Later Jin have no further possibility of breaking through to raid, but the pressure of grain supply for Northern Zhili would also be greatly relieved — 10 million mu of land, even at a yield of only one shi per mu, would still produce over ten million shi!

And the Yan Mountains, with valleys and ravines everywhere, were also an excellent place for building feudalism. The Ming's military-civilian Guard Commander offices and military-civilian Chiliarch posts were actually not well suited to being placed on the great plains, because on the great plains it is not easy to maintain separatism. Once central authority weakened, mutual annexation would occur, and then extremely powerful military governorships would emerge.

But for those military-civilian Chiliarch posts nestled in the valleys and ravines, mutual annexation would not be so easy — the terrain itself stood in the way!

Therefore Zhu Youjian planned to enfeoff a great number of military-civilian Chiliarch posts throughout the Yan mountain region. For now they could serve as a screen for Beijing, and in the future these military-civilian Chiliarch posts could be relocated outward as colonization groups — truly combat-capable feudal colonization groups also need training, so let them practice their skills in the Yan Mountains first!

Ligdan Batur listened to the land-distribution plan Zhu Youjian laid out, narrowing his small eyes in deep calculation. It was not that he was dissatisfied with the plan — rather, he simply did not believe Zhu Youjian at all. He was the Great Khan of the Northern Yuan, and Zhu Youjian was the Emperor of the Ming. The two sides were fated enemies by destiny!

Their present alliance against the Later Jin was only temporary. Once the Later Jin was finished, the Northern Yuan and the Southern Ming would still have to contend for supremacy.

And Zhu Youjian was clearly a formidable ruler of the Southern Ming! Ligdan Batur thought to himself: It seems this Khan can only try to maintain the standoff between the Northern Yuan and the Southern Ming, and wait until Eje becomes Great Khan in the future, and then deal with that "Zhu Ciniang" (the Great Khan did not recognize the character "Lang"). From the sound of the name, he should be easy to deal with — soft-hearted and a bit effeminate.

Having thought this far, Ligdan Batur nodded and said: "Fine. We Mongols need only the grasslands; we have no need of the Yan Mountains, the western Liaoning highlands, or the territory of the Liaodong Regional Command." He paused. "Emperor, do you mean that we should advance in two separate columns — you lead your troops through the Yan Mountains, and I go by way of the grasslands, both advancing at the same time?"

"There is no need to move simultaneously," Zhu Youjian said with a wave of his hand. "The Great Khan may first go to Saihanba to pasture. The grass there is extremely rich and lush. By summer, the Great Khan's warhorses will surely be fat and strong. Then you can cross the Thousand-Li Pine Forest and advance east to the Huang River. If Hong Taiji is still locked in confrontation with Us at Mameng Mountain by then, I believe many Mongol tribes on the grasslands will certainly return to the Great Khan's banner."

The Huang River is a tributary of the Liao River. Both its banks are boundless great grasslands — the former heartland of the Khitans, and also the former core territory of the Chahar tribe. One could reach it by crossing the Thousand-Li Pine Forest from the rich Saihanba grasslands.

Once the Great Khan of the Chahar returned to the Huang River basin, the Mongol Left Wing would in all likelihood change masters!

By then, even if Hong Taiji had not yet been struck by Zhu Youjian's black cannons, he would still have to withdraw from Mameng Mountain. And the vast valley basin east of Mameng Mountain was the site of the old Daning Guard — it was also the seat of the Beiping Regional Military Commission, and at the same time the fief of the Prince of Ning, one of the Nine Frontier Princes.

Once Zhu Youjian retook Mameng Mountain, he could rebuild the Daning Guard, and restoring the Beiping Regional Military Commission would not even be impossible.

Ligdan Batur worked his little abacus again. However he calculated, he felt the method Zhu Youjian proposed was quite good — let the Ming army strike first. If the advance went smoothly, then by summer, when he crossed the Thousand-Li Pine Forest, there would not be much risk.

It seemed the revival of the Northern Yuan was now within sight!

"Your Majesty, are the terms you gave the Hutudun Khan not too generous? We gave him 100,000 shi of grain, 100,000 bundles of hay, and 3,000 cloth-faced iron armors…"

"Indeed. We fight to the death at Mameng Mountain, and let him go plunder the Huang River — is that not letting him off far too cheaply?"

"Your Majesty, this Hutudun Khan has always taken our silver without doing the work. His record is thoroughly disreputable!"

No sooner had Ligdan Batur left Xinghe City in high delight than people began settling small accounts with Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian swept his gaze over those around him. The ones speaking were Yang Gao, Zhang Fengyi, and Hei Yunlong. It seemed these three had suffered no small losses at the hands of the Chahar in the past.

"The terms We gave him are indeed generous," Zhu Youjian said with a smile. "But the Chahar will not actually gain any advantage — because Hong Taiji also likes to squeeze soft persimmons!

We shall march out from Rehe City, advancing step by step, consolidating as We go, steadily and surely, without exposing the slightest opening to Hong Taiji. Even if We have to grind it out with him over army provisions, We can still blast the slave-thieves out of Mameng Mountain!

When the time comes, if Hong Taiji wants to squeeze a soft persimmon, he will still have to go after Ligdan Batur! So right now We are not afraid of Ligdan Batur gaining an advantage — We are afraid he will hole up in the Tumed Plain and keep playing his role as the Western Khan."

Yang Gao was still uneasy. "Your Majesty, after all we have only 40,000 troops. If the slave-thieves come at us with their entire force, I fear we may not necessarily win!"

Zhu Youjian laughed loudly: "How could We not win? If Hong Taiji dares to come, he is a dead man! We have 10,000 armored cavalry, 30,000 brave and sharp infantry, and 36 black cannons. Even if all 60,000 of Hong Taiji's Eight Banner troops come, We do not fear him! The one who should be afraid is Hong Taiji. If that slave-thief Great Khan sends out 60,000 troops and in the end exhausts his army without success, runs out of grain and returns home, and on top of that lets Ligdan Batur seize back the Mongol Left Wing — will those deliberative Beile lords in his country spare him?

Rest assured, all of you. We understand the slave-thieves best. The slave-thieves now practice the Four Great Beile sharing the dragon throne. Hong Taiji is only one of them, so he does not dare to take reckless gambles."

You "understand the slave-thieves best" again?

Yang Gao, Zhang Fengyi, and Hei Yunlong were all taken aback. They thought: Where did this young emperor learn to understand the slave-thieves? And how does he understand so much? His martial prowess is the best under heaven, his art of war is the best under heaven, he understands Western languages, he understands Mongolian, he understands Western cannonry, and now he understands the slave-thieves best too!

Is there anything under heaven that you do not understand?

Zhu Youjian, pinned by several skeptical stares, felt a bit guilty too — it seemed he did know rather too much. How had his learning become so vast? This was not sufficiently modest!

Thinking this, he hastily changed the subject: "Since We have reached an agreement with Ligdan Batur, then We should march out early. Tomorrow We return to Xuanfu, and in three days We set out. First We shall shift the army to Rehe City, then go south of Mameng Mountain to the Chahar bend and build Huizhou City!"

(End of Chapter)