Chapter 13 4. Form an alliance with Mongolia and build the "Northern Great Wall"

In the 21st year of Wanli, the four Hulun tribes headed by the Yehe tribe and five tribes including Horqin formed an allied force and launched an attack on the Jianzhou Jurchen headed by Nurhaci.Because Nurhachi was brave and good at fighting, he captured the thief and the king, personally supervised the army, and finally defeated the nine coalition forces, and captured the Horqin tribe leader Weng Guodai (the ancestor of the Keyou Middle Banner) and Manggusi (the ancestor of the Kezuo Middle Banner). Another leader of Horqin, Ming An (ancestor of Kezuohou Banner), escaped by luck. After defeating the nine coalition forces, Nurhachi held a banquet in the camp to reward the soldiers.The banquet lasted from noon to late at night, but the soldiers didn't seem to want to stop. A jar of wine was brought up, and after a few back and forth, they reached the bottom.Nurhachi said with a smile: "This time we were able to defeat the nine coalition forces in one fell swoop, relying on the bravery and skill of the soldiers. Drink, drink to your heart's content, I will change today's military order, and go back to sleep when drunk."

All the soldiers cheered when they heard it, and the voices of yelling five and six became louder. At this time, a soldier ran over with an ugly face. He said to Nurhachi: "Boss, the prisoner is very dishonest. He said that he was locked up like this. He would rather die than be a prisoner, so he wanted to commit suicide. We I was afraid that they would really commit suicide, so I tied them up, what do you think the leader should do?" Nurhachi put down the wine bowl, pondered for a moment and said, "Today's banquet was so disturbed that I forgot about it. Immediately bring the captives into my tent."

In the tent, Nurhachi paced back and forth.He thought that as the leaders of the Mongolian tribe, Weng Guodai and Manggus should not be underestimated. If they were killed now, it would be a loss to him.With my current strength, I need such a helper.If you can talk to them and form an alliance with our army, the problems you face will be solved.Thinking of this, he had a plan in mind. After a while, the soldiers escorted Weng Guodai and Manggus brothers to Nurhachi's tent.Nurhachi had been waiting there a long time ago, and he said to the soldiers: "Untie the two chiefs, this is not the way of hospitality."

After untying them, Nurhachi waved his hand and signaled the soldiers to go out. After the soldiers left, Nurhachi said: "I heard that the two chiefs are going to seek death. You can't do it. If you die, your tribe will be in chaos. I advise you two to calm down and wait until your mood calms down. Or the decision not to die." Weng Guodai snorted, and said: "Stop talking nonsense, now that we have lost the battle, although you have captured us, we will never bow to you. If you want to kill, you will have a good time. What kind of heroes are mothers-in-law!" "Okay, I have the demeanor of a leader, but you will get the wrong idea. I saw you two today. Not only will you not kill them, but you will also release them and all the captured soldiers." Nurhachi said loudly.

These words surprised Weng Guodai and Mang Gusi, Mang Gusi said: "What do you mean, why do you let us go, what is your intention?" Nurhachi was a little displeased, rubbed his temple with one hand, and said: "I don't feel comfortable hearing what you said. Just let it go. Where are there so many rules and regulations? You can still bring troops to attack me after you go back. I will wait for you at any time." What you said just now is because you are too suspicious, if I have intentions, I won't let you go back, you should understand such a simple truth, right?"

Weng Guodai didn't speak, but squinted at Mang Gusi, both of them looked very surprised, wondering how Nurhachi would let him go back so easily, and threatened that he could lead troops to fight again at any time. Seeing that the two of them were silent, Nurhachi said again: "Before you go back, I think it is necessary to tell you some things. The other tribes of Mongolia should have been eyeing you, and the idea of ​​annexing you may have been brewing in their hearts. It's been a long time. If you don't go back for a day, the result will be easier to imagine, and if you go back, you may be restricted by them. So I have an idea, and I want to discuss it carefully before you go back."

Nurhachi's analysis made sense, and Weng Guodai and Mang Gusi were also a little bit guilty.Manggus asked, "What do you want to talk to us about?" Nurhachi said with a smile: "It's very simple, form an alliance with you, so that we can rely on each other. In terms of strength, it will be difficult for other tribes to compete with us. Of course, my approach like this is good for us. Think about it." Let’s go. If it’s okay, make a statement right away, if it’s not, you can go back immediately without saying a word.” Weng Guodai's tone softened, and he said, "Leader, please allow us to discuss it carefully?"

Nurhachi nodded and said: "Okay, then I will avoid it for a while, after discussing it, just call me." Then he walked out of the tent. Seeing that Nurhachi was walking away, Weng Guodai approached Mang Gusi and said, "My dear brother, do you think Nurhachi's words are trustworthy?" Mang Gusi said: "Since he is willing to let us go, this statement should not be false. I thought about what he said just now, and I think it is very reasonable. This time we lost the battle, and the loss of the army will be less than half. In terms of strength, we are far behind other tribes. They are likely to take advantage of this opportunity to annex our tribe. So I am thinking that if we form an alliance with Nurhachi, we may really be able to solve this difficult problem.”

Weng Guodai said: "Then we can agree, this is probably our only way out now." Mang Gusi nodded. Weng Guodai called Nurhachi, and Nurhachi walked in and asked, "How about it, have you considered it?" Weng Guodai said: "Think about it, we accept your suggestion, Manchurian Alliance." Nurhachi immediately let them go back, and presented a lot of war materials such as cloth and horses. After returning to the camp, Weng Guodai went to look for Ming An, and saw that Ming An's chest was covered with bandages, he was very puzzled, and hurriedly asked, "How did you get into this state?"

Ming An was very happy to see Weng Guodai come back. He hurriedly sat up on the bed and said, "How did you come back? Did you find a chance to fight out? You don't know. After losing to the Manjun army last time, I was lucky enough to lead my troops out Siege. But just after returning to the camp, we were attacked by Lin Danhan, our army suffered heavy casualties, and barely repelled them. When Lin Danhan left, he threatened that he would combine forces from various ministries to encircle us in a few days." Weng Guodai's complexion changed, and he cursed: "It's unreasonable, isn't this taking advantage of others' danger? It's impossible to go on like this, and Nurhachi really guessed it."

Ming An didn't understand and asked: "You guessed right, could it be that you were captured?" Weng Guodai nodded and said: "After you killed us, we were caught by Nurhachi. Later, he summoned Mang Gusi and me to tell us about the alliance. At that time, I thought he was profitable, uneasy and kind, but thinking about it now I am overwhelmed. I came today to visit you first, and to talk to you about the alliance with the Manchurian Army. I have considered that the alliance with the Manchurian Army is very beneficial to our current situation, Lin Dan Khan must also be scruples about this, and stay away." Ming An gritted his teeth, seemed a little unwilling, finally he breathed heavily and said: "It seems that there is no other way, I also agree to form an alliance with the Manjun Army!" After Nurhachi established the post-Jin regime, he adopted a more united policy towards the neighboring Mongolians.Nurhachi had a clear understanding of the Mongolian tribes as early as the Tianming years. He compared the Mongolian tribes to the clouds in the sky. In order to prevent the scattered Mongolian tribes from being gathered together, he adopted a policy of combining gentleness with force and focusing on gentleness in response to the characteristics of Mongolian "vigorous atmosphere, accustomed to fighting and never willing to submit". Under Nurhachi's win over, the Horqin tribe joined Houjin in 1624, and was very loyal to Houjin. With the help of Nurhachi, they got rid of Lindan Khan's rule, ended the long-term melee situation among the Mongolian tribes, and established a relationship with the Jurchens. An inseparable relationship of in-laws.Nurhaci and his successors strictly adhered to the policy of "no king in the south, no relatives in the north", and implemented a series of win-win policies for Horqin, such as marriage, knighthood, and Daxing Lamaism.At this time, the relationship between Manchu and Mongolia was very harmonious, which also greatly improved the status of the Horqin tribe. In the end, the status of the Horqin tribe ranked first among the Mongolian tribes, and its status was prominent in the Qing Dynasty.