Chapter 146: Combine vertically and horizontally
After hearing about Zheng Zhilong's life, Chongzhen couldn't help but feel angry and amused.

The great bandit had made all kinds of plans, but in the end he died tragically at the hands of the Jiannu.

Although the Ming Dynasty treated him with great honor and favor, he was unwilling to die for it.

Such a short-sighted and profit-seeking person deserves no pity to die.

It’s a pity for his son Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Zhilong’s Japanese wife Tanakamatsu.

After Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, his wife Tian Chuan Song was captured by the Qing army. The Qing army was attracted by Tian Chuan Song's beauty and immediately had evil thoughts, so they raped his wife.

In grief and anger, Tianchuan Song took out a dagger and wanted to die together with the Jiannu general who raped her.

However, as a woman, she was no match for the vicious Jiannu and was hacked to death on the spot.

After his son Zheng Chenggong took back his mother's body, in order to clear his mother's innocence, he directly cut open his mother's stomach, took out his mother Tianchuan Song's intestines, washed them with clean water and put them back.

Ridiculous Zheng Zhilong...

He is not as brave as his Japanese wife!
However, no matter how much we sigh, if there is anyone in the Ming Dynasty who can transfer grain from the south to the north, it must be Zheng Zhilong.

Although Zheng Zhilong is profit-driven, this is also an advantage because he can be bought off as long as enough benefits are offered.

In most cases, they are easier to deal with than those hypocrites in the court who want both.

After hearing this, Chongzhen immediately felt confident.

He did not continue to ask how to resist foreign aggression after pacifying the country. After all, he was an emperor, and there were many things that did not require Wang An to explain in such detail.

As long as the domestic situation in the Ming Dynasty is stabilized and the whole nation can unite to resist foreign humiliation, the Jianzhou Jurchens will be nothing more than a clown.

After figuring out the key point, Chongzhen was in a good mood.

However, as for Wang An's eight words "resist the enemy's aggression, maintain domestic stability, and unite the vertical and horizontal forces", although there is an idea of ​​forming vertical and horizontal forces, it is not yet very clear.

So he asked, "May I ask, brother, what is the meaning of the eight words 'he zong lian heng'?"

"Isn't this simple?" Wang An was already dry-mouthed after talking so much. Seeing that his younger brother was still asking questions about such a simple truth, he immediately said in frustration:
"Whether it's inside or outside the Great Wall, whether it's really about fighting the Jiannu or suppressing the bandits, even in the court, the strategy of forming alliances is indispensable. This is one of the emperor's mental strategies!"

When Wang An mentioned the emperor's mind, Chongzhen straightened up a little and moved a little closer to Wang An.

Although Chongzhen was the emperor, he was never trained as a crown prince. Neither Wanli nor his father Taichang ever kept him by their side to teach him by example.

Naturally, there is no way to talk about the so-called imperial mentality.

Therefore, many people in later generations thought that Chongzhen was stupid and had no idea about the political skills of an emperor. In fact, this is somewhat wrong.

Because from the moment Chongzhen was born, he was positioned as an idle prince by the court and the public, and no one ever expected him to become emperor.

No one had ever taught him how to be a good emperor.

So when Chongzhen heard the four words he had longed for, "The Emperor's Mindset", how could he not be excited?
Seeing Chongzhen's excited and eager expression, Wang An said with both anger and amusement: "Look at how excited you are. If you don't know me, you'd think you're the emperor!"

Chongzhen laughed awkwardly twice and quickly restrained his expression, fearing that Wang An would see something. However, Wang An had long been accustomed to his younger brother's nervous look, so he did not think too much and explained: "The so-called vertical and horizontal alliances have long been explained by the strategists of the Warring States Period. If you want to know, go back and look through the ancient books."

"Let's mainly talk about why the emperor used the strategy of forming alliances and connecting vertically and horizontally."

In Wang An's view, whether one is an emperor or an ordinary citizen, forming alliances is inevitable in life.

The so-called vertical and horizontal alliances mean uniting people with common interests around oneself to confront and suppress those who are in competition or conflict of interest with oneself.

As for border threats, Ligdan Khan was determined to unify the Mongolian desert and restore the glory of Genghis Khan.

Although there are some frictions with the Ming Dynasty, there are no principled conflicts for the time being, and they are candidates for an alliance.

From the moment Nurhaci wrote down the Seven Great Grievances and broke off relations with the Ming Dynasty, the Jianzhou Jurchens and the Han people in the Central Plains had been enemies to the death, and there was no room for compromise.

If the Ming Dynasty was unable to wipe out the Jiannu, it could join forces with Ligdan Khan to deal with the Jurchens.

Because the Jurchens were extremely ambitious, they not only wanted to destroy the Ming Dynasty and replace it, but they were also eyeing Mongolia covetously, and formed a strong competitive relationship with Ligdan Khan.

However, this fool, Lindan Khan, was like a mad dog. He could not distinguish the pros and cons at all. Under the relentless pressure from the Jiannu, he not only did not think about how to unite the various Mongolian tribes south of the Gobi Desert, but instead attempted to unify the entire Mongolian south of the Gobi Desert by force, causing panic among the entire Mongolian people. They turned to the Jiannu for fear of being annexed by Lindan Khan.

Even among the eight Oktos of the Chahar headquarters under his own command, two defected to the Jiannu.

So although Wang An believed that there was a possibility of an alliance between the Ming Dynasty and Ligdan Khan, they also had common interests.

However, due to Lindan Khan's mad dog nature, there was uncertainty in the alliance between the two parties.

However, the purpose of playing Anzi is to illustrate the strategy of forming alliances. As for how to form an alliance with Ligdan Khan and ensure that Ligdan Khan can sincerely join forces with the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Jiannu, he does not need to worry about this.

As for domestic situations, the imperial court could unite with maritime forces such as Zheng Zhilong for its own use.

In the court, he could unite with the eunuch party to suppress Donglin and make those corrupt scholars obedient.

The essence of forming alliances is to unite all people with common interests, unite all forces that can be united, and abandon the prejudices and even hatred between the two sides.

He was not abandoned because of the stigma of the eunuch party, nor was he kept away because of Zheng Zhilong's materialism.

Nor should we give up our efforts to unite with him just because of Lindan Khan's mad dog.

What did Jiajing and Wanli rely on to avoid attending court for decades?
It relies on forming alliances and using one party to check and balance the other in order to achieve a balance in the government.

Although Jiajing loved to cultivate immortality, one has to admit that he was truly a genius when it came to imperial psychology.

Seeing Chongzhen listening fascinatedly, Wang An teased him, "If you want to learn the mindset of an emperor, go back and buy a copy of the Veritable Records of Emperor Jiajing and read it carefully. I believe you will learn a lot."

Wang An originally just wanted to make fun of him, but he didn't expect Chongzhen to actually nod seriously and even say "hmm", which made Wang An very bored.

After this long conversation, it was already dark. Chongzhen sat in silence for a while, and then he said as if waking up from a dream: "I never thought it would be like this. I will take my leave now!"

(End of this chapter)