Chapter 49 Five Years of Ping Liao
You, Yuan Chonghuan, did win a few battles, but you don't have to be so arrogant!
However, Chongzhen had different ideas from other officials. Compared with those officials who were full of ambiguity, he preferred ministers who were confident and could give definite answers.

In his mind, things are either okay or not, and ministers who only say "I'll do my best" are all shirking their responsibilities and incompetent.

"Okay, okay! I feel relieved with your words, my dear minister!"

With Yuan Chonghuan's words, Chongzhen became even happier. "After the court session, please stay. I have something to say to you."

All the officials were a little jealous when they heard this. It was rare for a person with the mere title of Vice Minister of War to have a conversation with the emperor alone. What's more, Chongzhen was generous in praising Yuan Chonghuan and his attitude was extremely friendly. They all knew that Yuan Chonghuan already had a very important position in the emperor's heart, and it seemed that he would be reused soon.

The subsequent court meeting was no different from usual. Ministers stood up to report when they had something to report and left the court when they had nothing to report.

Chongzhen walked down the Huangji Gate and waved to Yuan Chonghuan, who was left alone, "My dear, come quickly."

Yuan Chonghuan followed Chongzhen very respectfully, and from time to time he stole glances at the 17-year-old Ming emperor.

Chongzhen had a smile on his face and walked with his hands behind his back, chatting with Yuan Chonghuan.

The topic was nothing more than chatting about Yuan Chonghuan's family affairs, which fully demonstrated Chongzhen's friendliness.

The two of them walked all the way to the Yuntai at the left rear door of Jianji Hall, and a eunuch immediately presented them with a throne.

Chongzhen sat down, and the topic gradually shifted from family matters to the situation in Liaodong.

"I believe that the strategy to pacify Liao is to use Liao people to defend Liao land, and to use Liao land to support Liao people. Defense is the main strategy, war is the special strategy, and appeasement is the secondary strategy! By stationing troops and cultivating land, integrating the military and civilians, and gradually eroding the living space of Jiannu, within five years, we will definitely be able to force Jiannu to surrender, or make Jiannu weak so that we can win the battle!"

Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand and stated his policy for pacifying Liao.

Simply put, it is to cultivate land, cultivate land, and turn civilians into soldiers and soldiers into civilians, so that the military and civilians can fight enemies in war and cultivate land in leisure time. In addition, it is to build cities and fortresses frantically, push the defense line outward little by little, and compress the living space of the Jiannu.

The main strategy was to advance steadily, achieve self-sufficiency through military farming to reduce the court's military expenditure pressure, turn the war into a tug-of-war, gradually consume the strength of the Jiannu, and drag the Jiannu into a protracted war with the Ming army on the Liaodong battlefield.

In fact, this was not the first time that Yuan Chonghuan had mentioned the policy of pacifying Liaodong. It was proposed as early as the Tianqi period.

It was only questioned by Emperor Tianqi because Yuan Chonghuan's seven-point strategy for pacifying Liao at the time proposed that through the strategy of establishing military farms and building cities, the strength of the Jiannu could be weakened, forcing them to negotiate peace or surrender.

Tianqi replied at that time: "All matters should be carefully considered and reported. This book says that if the slave does not surrender, he will definitely be captured. The ministers are not happy to hear this. In my opinion, the slave may not surrender, and surrender is not credible! We must win the battle, and victory is not easy to talk about; we must act realistically, take time and act correctly, and the magic lies in it! The governor should do it, and it is good to do it! "

Translated, it means that Tianqi believed that the Jiannu had wicked ambitions and would never surrender easily. Even their apparent surrender would only be a temporary measure. Once they got a chance to catch their breath, they would surely rebel again.

The war with Jiannu should be aimed at victory, but we cannot just say we can win. Doing things in a down-to-earth manner and making changes according to the actual situation will produce amazing results.

Let Yuan Chonghuan be prepared for a long and arduous battle, and don't easily say unrealistic things like it will take a certain number of years to pacify Liaoning.

In fact, people in later generations said that Zhu Youxiao was a carpenter emperor, absurd and incompetent. But if we look at his reply to Yuan Chonghuan alone, he was not completely useless. At least he had a very thorough understanding of the nature of the Jiannu, and he also clearly understood that the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin was a life-and-death struggle.

"Great! If you have such confidence, you can just go for it!" However, unlike his brother's calmness, Chongzhen was overjoyed when he received Yuan Chonghuan's promise to "pacify Liaodong in five years." Or perhaps we should not despise Chongzhen's impetuousness, after all, he was only a young man of 17 years old, and although many people were unwilling to believe it, they could also vaguely feel that the Ming Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse.

This is understandable, as it made Chongzhen, who was full of ambition, particularly impetuous.

It’s like a cancer patient with a strong desire to survive. Even at the end, he will still have a strong desire to survive and will never easily accept the fact that he is going to die.

If a famous doctor came out and said: As long as you listen to me, I guarantee that your illness will be cured.

Even though they knew it was impossible, they had to give it a try. What's more, Yuan Chonghuan was not a charlatan, and the policy of pacifying Liaodong that he proposed was the best strategy from any perspective.

In Chongzhen's eyes, Yuan Chonghuan was no less than a miracle doctor of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Chongzhen was very supportive of Yuan Chonghuan, it did not mean that he had no doubts about Yuan Chonghuan's strategy of establishing military farms and building cities.

Huang Taiji was not a fool and would not give Yuan Chonghuan the opportunity to leisurely cultivate land and build cities.

In fact, since the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the Jiannu launched a large-scale invasion war almost every year, consuming the national strength of the Ming Dynasty and disrupting the Ming army's formation.

Moreover, during the Tianqi period, when Yuan Chonghuan was still the commander-in-chief in Liaodong, Huang Taiji would lead his troops to attack every city they built, and would demolish or destroy whatever could be built.

However, facing this only minister who vowed to him that he would definitely pacify Liao and had military achievements, Chongzhen did not want to dampen his enthusiasm and did not raise his doubts on the spot.

After Yuan Chonghuan left, Chongzhen's inner doubts finally emerged.

Sitting on the throne and stroking his chin, he also had the same doubts as his brother.

However, this time Yuan Chonghuan learned his lesson and did not propose any specific solution to Chongzhen. Instead, he said something relatively vague like "let the Liao people guard the Liao land". This made Chongzhen feel that something was wrong but he could not put his finger on it.

"Otomo, do you think Lord Yuan can pacify Liaodong within five years?" Chongzhen asked.

Wang Chengen, who had been standing silently by the side, just frowned and said, "I know nothing about military affairs. If the emperor has any doubts, why not ask the young master?"

Chongzhen's eyes suddenly lit up. It would be foolish for him to worry about the 32nd generation descendant of the Mayi Sect who was good at fortune-telling and ignore him.

Thinking of Wang An, Chongzhen immediately stood up and said, "Let's go to Wang's Herbal Medicine Shop!"

Just as he raised his foot, Chongzhen slapped his forehead and laughed, "I almost forgot about the business with my cousin!"

Wang Chengen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have asked the Ministry of Revenue to directly seize Zhou Kui's coal mine in Xishan. The contract is already in my possession."

(End of this chapter)