Chapter 2369
Chen Yixin always means the same thing, everything is possible. What attitude Haihan will take next depends largely on what conditions the Manchu and Ming Dynasties can offer.
This situation really makes Yue Yongshou feel very embarrassed. As a special envoy of the Ming Dynasty, he must of course protect the interests of his country with due diligence, but his authority is nothing more than to maintain daily communication with Haihan officials and collect military and political intelligence in Jinzhou. When it comes to the conditions mentioned by Chen Yixin, he has no authority to make promises to Haihan casually.
Judging from the information currently available, Yue Yongshou can judge that bribing Chen Yixin is basically unworkable. The Manchu envoy wanted to use this method in exchange for Chen Yixin's approval of the armistice, but it was obvious that this was not the condition that Chen Yixin was interested in, otherwise he might have accepted the benefits offered by the other party and agreed to negotiate peace with the Manchus.
So what benefits does Chen Yixin personally, or the Haihan official he represents, want to gain? From Yue Yongshou's perspective, the first thing he thought of was supplies, grain, grass and military expenditures.
Haihan stationing combat troops in Jinzhou all year round will indeed incur considerable expenses. Yue Yongshou has been in Jinzhou for a long time and has a relatively clear understanding of this. The food, clothing, weapons and equipment of the Haihan army greatly exceeded that of the Ming army. It is conceivable that military expenditures must be very huge.
Chen Yixin also specifically mentioned that the Haihan Army assisted North Korea in resisting the Qing Dynasty because North Korea offered reasonable conditions. Given North Korea's national strength, it must have drained its treasury for this.
But North Korea was already in danger of national subjugation at that time. If it did not ask for strong reinforcements to send troops to rescue it, it would probably not be able to survive. But the Ming Dynasty is not yet facing such a desperate situation - at least in the eyes of most Ming people, including Yue Yongshou, this dynasty is far from being in danger of overthrowing.
Since it is not so urgent, the conditions that the Ming Dynasty can give to Haihan are naturally unlikely to be as demanding as North Korea. However, considering that the Manchu and Qing Dynasties may also provide new peace negotiation conditions in the future, this scale needs to be carefully weighed. Don't give too much, which will fuel the ambitions of the Haihan people, making it difficult to control the situation in the future, and don't give too little, allowing the Manchus to seize the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and destroy the military alliance between the Ming Dynasty and Haihan.
Yue Yongshou did not have the power to make decisions on his own on such extremely delicate matters. He could only write a memorial and report it to the court as soon as possible, explaining the key points and leaving the problem to the big shots in the court.
Yue Yongshou said: "This matter is of great importance. I must report it to the imperial court. I wonder if General Chen has any other requests. I might as well put them forward together. I might as well write down the reasons in the memorial."
Chen Yixin responded: "As I said just now, whether Jinzhou will stop the war or not depends on the sincerity we see. Whoever offers more sincere terms will be inclined to that side's opinion. Of course, based on the two of us, If the conditions are equal, our country will definitely be more inclined to help Daming.”
At first glance, Chen Yixin's words seemed to be to help Ming Dynasty, but if you taste it carefully, it is not difficult to find that he was actually warning Ming Dynasty that the conditions offered should not be lower than those of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, otherwise Haihan's attitude would probably be different. Will lean towards the Ming Dynasty again.
But what kind of conditions the Manchus would offer, Yue Yongshou had no way of guessing at the moment. It was as difficult as guessing the answer to a riddle with no standard answer.
Yue Yongshou suddenly thought of one thing, whether Chen Yixin would use similar rhetoric to the Manchu Qing, for example, asking the other party to provide conditions that were better than those of the Ming Dynasty before his request for an armistice and peace talks would be considered. The two opposing countries didn't know what kind of conditions the other would offer Haihan, so naturally they could only take the initiative to raise their standards. Haihan, on the other hand, could enjoy the most favorable conditions without slowly bargaining with the two countries. If Chen Yixin has a darker heart, he can even go through several rounds to let both parties take turns raising the price.
If you are tougher, you can of course say no to Haihan, but the consequences that will follow may be a situation that neither the Ming Dynasty nor the Manchu Qing are willing to bear - a recognized military power like Haihan, if it stands on its own The opposite will cause a lot of trouble.
The Ming Dynasty may have to face north-south attacks from the Manchus and Qing Dynasties and Haihan. The thousands of miles of coastline can become landing grounds for Haihan troops. However, there are almost no effective defense methods for this, and wars will ensue. It is definitely not something that Ming Dynasty can handle at this stage.
Although the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have been fighting against Haihan in recent years, the Haihan army's offensive is not really fierce. In the Liaodong and Korean battlefields, they were mainly on the defensive. If the Ming Dynasty offered enough benefits to persuade Haihan to invest more troops in the Liaodong battlefield and launch an offensive proactively, then the Manchu Qing Dynasty would also feel a huge headache.
Since Yue Yongshou entered Jinzhou, he has always had the mentality of sitting back and watching the fight between tigers and tigers. From his standpoint, he naturally hopes that Haihan and the Manchu will fight as fiercely as possible. But now Haihan's attitude has changed. If you want to watch a martial arts show from now on, you will have to pay for a ticket.
Yue Yongshou came in good spirits but returned in disgrace. He originally thought that Chen Yixin was going to share the results of the previous winter offensive with him, but he did not expect that he would actually dig a big hole for him to jump into.
Having been in Jinzhou for so long, Yue Yongshou always felt that Chen Yixin was just a general who led troops to fight, but he did not expect that the other party would be so scheming and arranged such a situation that Daming had to bite the bullet and push forward.
It is indeed very difficult to word this memorial to the court so that it can explain the situation without taking responsibility for it. Yue Yongshou thought hard all the way, but when he got home, he still couldn't come up with a way to get the best of both worlds. He thought that his comfortable life in Jinzhou might be coming to an end.
Unlike Yue Yongshou, who was full of anxiety, Chen Yixin was in a good mood at this time. He doesn't usually deal with Yue Yongshou very much, and he doesn't know much about the envoy's temperament. Today's operation was basically just testing and making plans, but the effect was obviously pretty good, and even exceeded his expectations. .
"What do you think of the conversation with Yue Yongshou just now?" Chen Yixin asked his secretary.
During the previous meeting with Yue Yongshou, Zeng Xiaowen accompanied him throughout the whole process and basically did not miss a word. However, due to his status, he did not participate in the discussion. But as one of Chen Yixin's most trusted staff, he naturally had to review the operation with his boss afterwards.
Zeng Xiaowen said: "Master Yue obviously hasn't really realized what kind of adverse impact it will have on the Ming Dynasty after the armistice in Jinzhou. The Manchus and Qing Dynasties took the initiative to come to us to ask for peace, which shows that they plan to move Jinzhou's direction All the armed forces of the Ming Dynasty have been invested in other battlefields. By then, the Ming Dynasty will probably not only have its borders breached, but it will also be possible to march straight into the city. After he slowly writes a memorial and sends it back, the court will discuss a solution and then come back to us for discussion. We are not afraid that we will have reached a settlement with the Manchus by then, and the day lily will be cold." Chen Yixin said: "The authorities are obsessed with it, Yue Yongshou is in Jinzhou, and all the information he has access to here has been screened by us. and arrangements, his judgment on the situation can only be based on the information we provide. The only pity is that Yue Yongshou does not have any authority...Did you notice that he did not impose any specific conditions on me? This is because he is not qualified to give conditions, and the second reason is that Ming Dynasty has no corresponding plan for the situation of armistice between my country and the Qing Dynasty. "
Zeng Xiaowen smiled and said: "The Ming Dynasty does not understand the grievances between our country and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so there is no way to judge our country's true attitude. Perhaps those in the court will think that our country intends to continue fighting the Manchu Qing Dynasty to the death!"< br>
Chen Yixin also smiled and said: "Yes, how many people can really understand the twists and turns in the middle?"
Let alone the Ming Dynasty, even Zeng Xiaowen, who has been naturalized for many years and has been working as an errand beside Chen Yixin for a long time, may not fully understand the complicated grievances between Haihan and the Manchus. He only knew that Haihan sent troops to Liaodong to contain the Manchu Qing Dynasty in order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from falling apart due to internal and external troubles, and to ensure that Haihan had a stable supply of resources and a sales market.
But the decision made by Haihan's senior officials was actually due to the obsession to fight the Manchus, but he knew nothing about it. Even if he could feel that Chen Yixin and other senior generals were more motivated to fight the Manchus than just perform tasks, he I can't imagine the reason.
Of course, Chen Yixin would not take the initiative to explain the secret to his subordinates. This already involves the origin of the Time Travel Group and is a high-level secret that is absolutely prohibited from being spread to outsiders. Zeng Xiaowen currently understands the situation thoroughly enough to discuss related topics with him.
Chen Yixin continued: "Yue Yongshou does not have the power to make the final decision, so he can only report it and wait for the news. However, in this way, Ming Dynasty's response may be much slower than that of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. He must find a way to delay it. OK.”
Zeng Xiaowen said: "This is easy to handle. If the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty still want to continue the negotiation, when they send someone over next time, the general will go south to handle official business, so the negotiation can only be postponed temporarily."
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Of course, the negotiations between Haihan and the Manchus will not yield any results. Such a gesture is just to obtain more benefits from the Ming Dynasty. Any conditions set by the Manchus will eventually become Haihan's. A bargaining chip with Ming Dynasty. Zeng Xiaowen also knew his boss's true plan, so he contributed a strategy without hesitation.
"You've thought about it a long time ago, right?" Chen Yixin revealed the secret.
When Zeng Xiaowen sat in on the meeting between the two, he had indeed thought about the various changes in the situation and what to do to ensure that his side achieved its goals. He immediately responded with a smile: "This kind of time-delaying technique is best for humble people, but I didn't expect that one day I could use it on the right path."
Of course Zeng Xiaowen's words were just a self-effacing joke. If he was really procrastinating in doing things, how could he get Chen Yixin's respect.
Chen Yixin said: "Things are going smoothly at the moment, but we must keep a close eye on the front line. If there is any change in the Qing army, I must get the news as soon as possible."
Zeng Xiaowen quickly responded solemnly. No one can predict what kind of reaction the Qing Dynasty will have after receiving Chen Yixin's reply. Jinzhou can only tighten the fence first to prevent the Qing army from launching a surprise attack in anger.
After several years of confrontation between the two sides in the Jinzhou Isthmus, the Haihan Army has a better understanding of its opponent's combat habits. If the Qing Army wants to launch a large-scale offensive, it will inevitably strengthen patrols and reconnaissance in the middle area before taking action in order to confirm Haihan's defense deployment. situation. Such operations can usually only be carried out during the day to collect useful information, so it is not too difficult to prevent the Qing army from launching an offensive, as long as they keep an eye on these signs.
The in-depth defense system of the Jinzhou Isthmus Defense Line is being strengthened every year. There are various roadblocks and traps outside the position, such as barbed wire fences, horse traps, trenches, bamboo stakes, and landmines. It is difficult for the cavalry to pass through this hundred-foot-deep obstacle safely.
Even if the Haihan Army patrols are dispatched, they can only go to the wild through specially set aside channels. It is even more troublesome to deploy heavy weapons such as artillery outside the defense line. In the last operation, Chen Yixin set up artillery positions in the snowy fields and caught the Qing army off guard. This was because the Qing army believed that the Haihan Army would not dispatch the artillery units with the least power in winter. They did not expect that Chen Yixin would go to such great lengths to set up artillery positions. Set up an ambush in the snowy wilderness.
Even if the Qing army sends troops to attack the isthmus defense line, it will be difficult to achieve a major breakthrough in a short time. As long as the Haihan army is given time to react, several combat troops in the rear will quickly replenish the defense line. As long as the war lasts for four or five days, reinforcements from North Korea and Shandong will arrive. Therefore, regarding the possibility of the Qing army launching a surprise attack, Chen Yixin only needed to make arrangements according to the plan, and there was no need to put the entire Jinzhou into a state of war preparation early for this purpose.
After Chen Yixin finished his work arrangements and saw that it was already getting late, he ordered a car to be prepared to go home. When he got home, his wife and son had already fallen asleep. Chen Yixin couldn't bear to wake the mother and son, so he went to the study to rest. His study is fully furnished with bedding and has wall-to-wall heating, so sleeping in it is not much worse than a bedroom.
Chen Yixin finished washing up under the service of the house servant and was about to rest when his wife Ma Yuling knocked on the door and came in with a cup of hot tea: "My husband is inviting guests to the dinner tonight. He must have drank a lot of wine. Let's drink a cup of hot tea to relieve the alcohol." , let’s go back to the room to sleep later!”
Chen Yixin actually only drank three or four glasses of wine at the beginning, and then he stopped holding the glass when we were talking about things. The total amount was probably less than two taels. After two or three hours, he had no energy left. However, I definitely couldn't refuse my wife's kindness, so she quickly stood up and took the tea cup.
(End of chapter)