The meaning of life is not to leave anything, as long as you have experienced it, it is the greatest beauty, this is not incompetence, but a kind of detachment.

– Rabindranath Tagore (Indian poet, philosopher, and Indian nationalist)

Looking at Bai Feng, who all the generals under his command showed curious expressions and didn't intend to hide anything, after sorting out his thoughts a little, he began to analyze: "As General Louis said before, the unification of Jianzhou Jurchen is actually only a superficial unity. ”

"Nurhachi was able to become the Khan of the Jianzhou Jurchens, not the result of a sudden rise overnight, but after a long period of conquest and annexation; ”

"His father, who died in the clash of the tribes, left him not a strong tribe with strong horses, nor a medium-sized tribe with potential for development, but five young warriors loyal to his father and thirteen sets of yellow cotton armor of average quality. ”

It was the sworn observance of these five warriors and his two younger brothers that enabled Nurhachi to conquer a small tribe with a population of no more than 500 and no more than 50 men in command, and the conquest of this small tribe had only just begun Nurhachi's legendary life. ”

"From conquering a small tribe with a population of less than 500, to conquering a medium-sized tribe with a population of 4,000 cavalry, and then conquering a large tribe with a population of more than 10,000 cavalry, in just five years, Nurhachi's tribe became one of the strongest tribes within the Jurchens of Jianzhou. ”

At that time, the five warriors who had repeatedly charged into battle for Nurhachi and made meritorious contributions were made generals in the army by Nurhachi, that is, the five Jurchen ministers of Jianzhou as we now know them, and his two younger brothers served as tribal leaders together with Nurhachi. ”

In other words, the former Aixin Jueluo family was not the Aixin Jueluo family of Nurhachi alone, but an emerging force established by the three Nurhachi brothers fighting together; ”

However, as the Aixin Jueluo family became more and more powerful, and the sphere of influence of the Nurhachi tribe expanded, Nurhachi, who advocated the complete elimination of other tribes in Jianzhou by violence, had serious differences with his two younger brothers who advocated the unification of Jianzhou Jurchen by moderate means. ”

"The final result of the disagreement is that Shulhachi and Mulhaqi decided to lead their tribes who are willing to follow them and leave Nurhachi's tribe;

"Nurhachi, who has the full support of the five ministers, originally wanted to lead his army to break the armies of his two younger brothers one by one and snatch back the people who belonged to the tribe;

"The Shulhaqi brothers, who had close contacts with the Jurchen tribes of Jianzhou such as the Sukesu River Protectorate, the Dong'e Tribe, the Hunhe Tribe, and the Nayin Tribe, used the strength of these tribes to establish an alliance against Nurhachi's violent unification of the Jurchen tribes in Jianzhou to resist Nurhachi. ”

"Later, under the high pressure of other steppe tribes outside, the Jurchen tribes of Jianzhou finally moved towards unification in order to survive, but the position of Khan of Nurhachi was not fought by himself with his army, but was elected by the leaders of the tribes. ”

Even so, Nurhachi's relationship with his two younger brothers did not improve, but rather became more and more serious because Shulhaqi and Murhaqi became more and more close to the other Jurchen tribes of Jianzhou, and on several occasions they almost met each other. ”

After explaining the relationship between the Jurchen tribes in Jianzhou, the rise of Nurhachi, and the origin of the contradiction between the three Nurhachi brothers, Bai Feng said no more, giving the generals who were still digesting enough time to sort out their thoughts.

"General, I understand!" After a while, Louis stood up with excitement on his face and said: "Nurhachi's recent Eight Banners system seems to be strengthening his control over the cavalry of the Jianzhou Jurchens, but in fact it is the product of factional strife within the Jianzhou Jurchens!"

"And Nurhachi's two younger brothers, Shulhaqi and Murhaqi, are not so much members of the Aisin Jueluo family as the biggest threat to the position of Nurhachi Khan;

"Why do they only use red belts?" Reynard, who was still confused when he heard this, asked Luis in confusion: "With the relationship between Shulhazy, Murhaqi and Nurhachi, it seems that they should use yellow belts to highlight their identity?"

"General Renard, the yellow belt and the red belt seem to be just the side of the line, but in fact, they represent two forces within the Aixin Jueluo family; ”

"If you don't believe it, you can go back now and think about the composition of the Jianzhou Jurchen Eight Banners. Perceiving that Renard did not fully understand the meaning of Louis's words, Di Maria, who had a tacit understanding with Luis, added:

"In the Eight Banners system formulated by Nurhachi, the three banners that belong to his direct control are the Zhenghuang Banner, the strongest force of the Jianzhou Jurchens in which he personally served as the flag owner, the Zhenglan Banner in which his second son Daishan served as the flag owner, and the Blue Banner in which his eighth son, Emperor Taiji, served as the flag owner. ”

"At first glance, the three flags are loyal to Nurhachi's cronies, but the yellow flag and the red flag, which are second only to the yellow flag, are among the five flags; in the final analysis, is it not because these two flags belong to Shulhazi and Murhaqi respectively?"

This also reflects from the side that Shulhaqi and Murhaqi are second only to Nurhachi in the status of the Jianzhou Jurchens; otherwise, the three flags should be the yellow flag, the yellow flag, and the red flag, in the final analysis, it is due to the high prestige of Shulhaqi and Murhaqi. ”

"I see!" Renard suddenly realized: "Nurhachi's Aixin Jueluo family is only the descendant force of the Aixin Jueluo family, and Shuerhaqi and Murhaqi, who are on the same page as Nurhachi, represent the side forces of the Aixin Jueluo family, right?"

"Yes, this is also the reason why the three flags and the five flags of the Jianzhou Jurchens are so divided. Even Renard understood, and Bai Feng concluded: "However, Nurhachi is not someone who will easily give up his ambitions. ”

"The five ministers who were most loyal to him, including Eyidu, Fei Yingdong, He Heli, Hu Erhan, and An Feiyangu, are now the commanders of the five banners; nominally they are assisting the banner lord Baylor in handling the daily affairs of their own banners, but in fact they are intent on dividing the forces of the various banners. ”

"For example, of the 20,000 cavalry with red flags, only about 10,000 were cavalry from the Sukesu River Protectorate, and the other 10,000 cavalry came from Tulun, Salhu, Jiamuhu and other subordinate tribes of the Sukesu River Protectorate. ”

"Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are rivers and lakes, there are fights; as long as the five ministers who are in charge of the banners are slightly provoked, the various ministries under their command, which are already full of contradictions and old grievances, will naturally fall into internal strife, and weakening the strength of the various ministries is Nurhachi's goal. ”

"That's not a bad thing for us, isn't it?" Montgomery, who had never spoken, said rarely: "This is a time match between us and Nurhachi, to see if he unifies the Jurchens of Jianzhou first, or if we destroy his lower five banners first!"