Chapter 45: Deceiving Heaven and Crossing the Sea Four

  (Map of Ming Dynasty and Mongol power)

  How are you?

  "Master Sun, what do you think of the five points I mentioned today?"

  "I humbly report to Your Majesty, it's all crucial and to the point. I suppose Your Majesty is planning to recruit talented scholars and Confucian students into this new army?"

  "Haha, yes! Master Sun, I plan to redivide the framework, functions and powers of this new army. In order to adapt to the future development of the new army, recruiting talents and enlisting scholars is a must. My new army cannot have illiterates who can't read maps or battle reports. What's the point of having them in my new army? I want an army that can fight to the last man, as long as there's one person left, there's still hope, and with just one person, we can regrow into a strong army. Not some mindless brute force..."

  Sun Chengzong also highly recognized the Emperor's military talent, which was considered "genius". Since the Emperor said he wanted to re-divide the army's framework, intelligence and power, he must have had a thorough consideration. Sun Chengzong didn't have any opinion on this matter either. His own armored cavalry regiment hadn't even been tested in actual combat yet.

  But after hearing the back, Sun Chengzong was frightened. An army that fights to the last man? An army with no illiterates? Such an army, I'm afraid only Yue Fei and our dynasty's Qi commander can achieve the former, but it's impossible to achieve the latter. So he returned: "Your Majesty, this strong army is a rare sight in a thousand years! It's hard to train, Your Majesty wants to train such a strong army, and it's inevitable that you'll have to pay some heart and blood. I think Your Majesty should not pursue perfection..." Sun Chengzong was also very dismissive of the emperor's strict requirements. The demand is really too high. One word, unrealistic.

  "Haha, Master Sun, you don't need to persuade me on this matter, I have my own plans. In the future, if I want to defeat the Eastern Barbarians and the Jin Dynasty in a field battle, I must train such a strong army."

  Sun Chengzong heard the emperor's decision and said no more. The emperor saw the thought and effort he had put into this new army, so Sun Chengzong said: "Your old minister will definitely share your worries with you and train this new army well for you."

  "Hmm, I will reassign the framework, power and responsibilities of the new army after a while. Those scholars and candidates will also need some time to join the new army. Everything is up to Master Sun now."

  "The old minister understands." Sun Chengzong's attitude towards Yang Reform was not as humble and compromising as others. What needed to be said, what needed to be done, he would take charge of himself. There was no such humility.

  "Ah, yes, Master Sun, I have another matter that requires your trouble."

  "Your Majesty just says it, and this old minister will do his best."

  "Ah, I have a fifth plan for today, which involves contacting the Mongols to gather intelligence. However, I am completely ignorant about the Mongols. Who is close to our great Ming dynasty and who has betrayed us? It's all unclear. I hope Master Sun can enlighten me on this matter.

  Yang Guifei was confused about the various tribes and factions of Mongolia. Even after searching through historical records, she found it difficult to understand due to the complex and hard-to-pronounce names. Therefore, she had no choice but to seek guidance from Sun Chengzong, a living encyclopedia."

  "...This matter, Your Majesty, let me think about it for a moment." Sun Chengzong furrowed his brow and began to ponder.

  Soon, Sun Chengzong came to a conclusion and said: "Your Majesty, the Mongolian tribes and our dynasty can be said to be sometimes good and sometimes bad. If we talk about closeness, Doyan Sanwei has some connections with our dynasty and has received rewards from our dynasty, but as for loyalty to our great Ming, it's not worth mentioning. They are all wolves with ulterior motives and are not worthy of trust."

  "Then isn't it that I wanted to rely on the Mongols to restrain the Eastern Barbarians and the Later Jin, but the plan cannot be implemented?"

  "No, Your Majesty. The Mongols only respect strength by nature. If they have the power, they will lower their heads; if they don't, they will pounce and bite. Does Your Majesty think that relying on the Mongols to restrain the Eastern Barbarians and the Later Jin is feasible? In my humble opinion, unless we use a large amount of silver to feed the Three Guards of Doyan, it's possible to make them sacrifice themselves for our great Ming dynasty. However, the military strength of the Mongols and the Eastern Barbarians are not on the same level. Even if we spend a lot of money, it would be a waste.

  I'm afraid Your Majesty wants to spend less money while still having something to rely on?" Sun Chengzong saw through Yang's thoughts clearly - there wasn't enough silver to use, and it was impossible to spend a huge amount of silver to bribe the Three Guards of Doyan. They were too big, too greedy, and their appetites were too large; a little bit of silver couldn't fill their stomachs. Even if their stomachs were full, their combat strength wasn't guaranteed. When facing the Later Jin, they would probably be no better than the Ming army. Useless goods."

  "Master Sun really knows my heart." Yang reform is now lacking just silver, naturally it's to use a small amount of silver to accomplish big things.

  "I, your old minister, think that Your Majesty can win over some small tribes. The expenditure of silver will not be much. Those small tribes are bullied by the big tribes and have no other way but to rely on our dynasty. It would be better for Your Majesty to find some suitable ones among these small tribes."

  Yang Reform felt that Sun Chengzong really understood his mind as soon as he heard it. Yang Reform was preparing to find some small tribes, which would not cost much money and be easy to control. Then, through these small tribes, they could gradually infiltrate Mongolia, understand the movements of the Later Jin Dynasty, and also prepare to do business with Mongolia. They needed such small tribes as guides and fighters. They could also serve as a model for sinicizing Mongolia in the future.

  "What Master Sun said is absolutely right, does Master Sun have any good recommendations?"

  "Haha, Your Majesty, no need to be so anxious. Do you know that last year, the Western Barbarians' commander, Saiyile and Naiman Huangbudu, led tens of thousands of people to surrender to Jian Nu? However, many of their tribes were unwilling to go... The tribe of Naiman Huangbudu, led by Yimou Neiqi and others, with 5,730 men and women, came to rely on our great Ming. Last year, Wang Duoshi dispersed these people to various places outside the pass. If Your Majesty has a mind to, you can try to find these tribes. They were originally Mongolians, so it's very convenient for them to gather information. These tribes are small and easy to control. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

  Yang Reform was dizzy from listening to that. Such a long string of "names", Yang Reform was cloudy and foggy. Not understanding, but still managed to understand, more than 5,000 Mongolians came to rely on our great Ming dynasty, and were settled in the outer border by Lord Wang. It's good to understand this, this tribe is small, has no backing, and only has a total of over 5,000 people. Taking away half of the women, there are still 2,500 people, excluding three-tenths of the elderly and weak, three-tenths of the young and small, with less than 1,000 able-bodied men. This kind of tribe can only rely on our great Ming dynasty, easy to control, and also convenient for gathering intelligence. Yang Reform was overjoyed. It seems that his plan has landed.

  First, the Mongols, then the small tribes, and finally those who surrender to or rely on our great Ming dynasty - that's all we need. Yang thought to himself that as long as he beckoned, the tribal leader would come crawling to him, willing to risk his life for a pittance. It was a cheap way to get things done. He chuckled: "Master Sun truly understands my heart! You're able to alleviate my worries! Ha ha, Master Sun, what's the name of this tribal leader again? I've forgotten for the moment."

  "Replying to Your Majesty, the tribal leader is called Nuoqituojin Ceng..."

  "...can... beg for a rabbit... gold... bad green..." Yang Gaige muttered with a twisted mouth. What's this name? Yang Gaige was confused.

  "Master Sun, if I were to summon that... Qi Jiguang... would he be willing to serve the Great Ming by gathering intelligence and rendering his service?"

  "Your Majesty, these tribes have no other dependence and are now relying on our great Ming. Your Majesty only needs to give them a little bit of favor, bestow some gifts, and they will be like a loyal hunting dog, serving you." Sun Chengzong seemed to also not think highly of these Mongolian tribes, probably because he was too harsh.

  "Really? In that case, I'll summon that... what's his name... Qi Jiguang, let him enter the capital and comfort me properly, so he can devote himself to the great Ming dynasty."

  "This matter is entirely up to Your Majesty's decision!"

  ……

  Yang was delighted with the reform, and this matter was settled. Gathered a small Mongolian tribe. One is to get an early warning when Jin enters the customs in the future, and the other is that in the future, doing business with Mongolia, these are natural guides and fighters.

  ……

  Yang Reform returned to the Forbidden City after finishing his exercise. It was already afternoon.

  Looking at the golden and resplendent Forbidden City, Yang Reform couldn't help but burst into a poem: Oh Forbidden City! You are really, truly, golden and resplendent!...

  Thanks for the rewards from "Blue Socks", "Cloud Peng", "Dugu Qiu Shu You Jin Wu Tui", "Three Realms Abe" and "Jianghu Book Reviewer".