Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 329 Return
In the hall, after Li Chengzhi reported the situation in Huguang, he stepped aside. Zhu Lang looked at the officials of Huguang below and said

"Now that the three routes of Wuchang City are heavily guarded, it is not easy to take. The court has also been arguing about the war in Huguang recently. I summoned you here today to discuss the war and defense."

"Mr. Qu, you are the Prime Minister, you speak first."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shisi hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"The court has been at war for a year, and although it has won victory after victory, the treasury has been depleted. Wuchang is a strong city and it will not be taken in a short time. The court can no longer support a war."

After Qu Shisi finished speaking, he handed the memorial in his sleeve to Li Guoyong, who was standing beside him, and then began to report the financial situation of the expedition.

Although the Ming court conquered the three southwestern provinces, it also consumed a lot of military pay.
The Ming court's food and money for this expedition were all transported from Hunan and Guangxi. At the beginning of the year, the Ming court beheaded Chen Bangfu and Liu Chengyin in Guangxi and Hunan provinces, and confiscated more than 500,000 taels of their property.
But at this time, in order to buy grain to supply Hunan and Southwest China, the 500,000 taels had been used up.

The Ming court pacified Fujian and Zhejiang two years ago, and the environment in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces was stable last year, and the two provinces also ushered in a bumper harvest. Logically, the grain prices in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces should have begun to decline last year, but under the purchase of the Ming court, the grain prices in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces have continued to rise.

Guangdong Province is still better, but the grain price in some places in Guangxi Province has risen from 1 tael and 5 cents per stone at the beginning of the year to about 3 taels now, almost doubling due to the Ming court's purchase. This is the result of Yan Qiheng's severe crackdown on illegal grain merchants several times.

In addition to the food and salary expenses, the military pay was also extremely staggering, including the monthly salaries of the imperial guards, rewards for military merits, and pensions for soldiers killed in battle.

The imperial court was not only responsible for the military pay of the imperial guards, but also issued a batch of military pay in Sichuan Province.

Although the armies in Sichuan Province will definitely still rely on the taxes of the province to support their military, it is impossible to collect money and food in a short period of time since Sichuan Province has just been established. The court has also reserved half a year's salary for the armies in Sichuan Province as a transitional measure.

The imperial court went on this expedition and cast a large number of cannons in Sichuan and Huguang. Casting cannons costs money, and buying and transporting gunpowder from Fujian also costs money.

After adding up all the military expenses, the total cost was nearly two million taels.
The Ming court did not capture any spoils in Sichuan during this expedition. Although Hauge was defeated, he actually evacuated in an orderly manner. Most of the looted property in Sichuan was brought back to Hanzhong by Hauge.

The Ming court seized more than 1.6 million taels of silver in Yunnan Province and 500,000 taels of silver from Liu Chengyin and two others in Hunan and Guangxi.
The Ming court also did not capture much in Huguang. Although the Ming army defeated Geng Zhongming's main force under Baoqing City, the looted property of the three kings' army was mainly in Kong Youde's army.

Kong Youde repeatedly seized the opportunity and escaped first, and most of the property looted by Kong Youde and his companions in Hunan Province was also transported back to Wuchang by Kong Youde and his companions.

In addition to recovering the cities of Hunan Province, the Ming army only seized more than 200,000 taels of silver in Baoqing and Changsha. The total amount of silver seized in other provinces was also only more than 2 million taels.

In other words, the Ming court fought for a year, and basically, except for a pile of jade seized in Yunnan Province, there was not a penny left.

Zhu Lang put down the memorial in his hand, frowning slightly, but he did not express his opinion immediately. He just asked Qu Shisi to sit down first, and then looked at Ma Bao below.
"Ma Bao, you are in charge of the war in Hunan Province. Do you think the court should send troops to Wuchang again at this time?"

Ma Bao thought for a moment and then replied:

"If the court wants to continue using troops, the Tengxiang Army can continue to fight."

"Although the Qing army in Jiayu County has very strict defenses, it is only a small town after all. Yuezhou is well equipped with artillery. I will be able to capture Jiayu within a month. However, Jiayu is easy to capture, but Wuchang is difficult to capture."

"Wuchang's defenses are strong, even stronger than Yuezhou's. If we want to capture this city, we'll probably have to surround it with heavy troops like we did with Yuezhou, and then bombard the city day and night with artillery. Judging from the previous experience of capturing Yuezhou, it will probably take at least two or three months to break through Wuchang's walls."

"If you want to attack the city this way, logistics is the key. All the boats on the Yuezhou River have been burned and driven away by Kong Youde and others. If you want to surround the city with heavy troops, I'm afraid you will have to collect boats and use water transportation to ensure logistics and food supplies."

Zhu Lang heard this, but shook his head slightly. If it was as Ma Bao said, at least he would have to gather a large army and attack the city for more than half a year before he could completely capture Wuchang. Although the Guangdong Provincial Treasury still had some money left, it certainly could not afford such a consumption.
Zhu Lang thought for a moment, then looked down at Li Guo and said

"Marquis Xingguo is in charge of the Xiangyang war. He thinks the court should fight or defend at this time."

After Zhu Lang finished speaking, there was silence below. Everyone in the room looked at Li Guo who was standing behind him on the right side. Li Guo suddenly realized that Gui Jianguo was asking about him.
Li Guo reacted and immediately stood up and saluted. After a slight hesitation, he spoke

"The matter of war and defense is a major plan of the court. I dare not speak rashly and disrupt the court's arrangements. Regardless of whether the court is fighting or defending, I am willing to follow orders."

As soon as Li Guo finished speaking, Zhu Lang above him waved his hand and said

"General Li is entering the court for the first time and may not be familiar with the court. In the end, the court still has to listen to the opinions of the military officials on the war."

"You, the military officials, are on the front lines and have the most accurate understanding of the war. I don't care who you ask. If you have any opinions, General Li, just tell us. Don't worry."

Hearing this, Li Guo subconsciously looked at Gao Yigong beside him. Seeing Gao Yigong nod slightly, the hesitation on Li Guo's face disappeared.

Li Guo's expression froze, but he did not reply immediately. After thinking for a moment, he spoke

"Suizhou is the only channel for the Qing invaders in Huguang to obtain support from Henan Province. As long as this channel is cut off, the Qing invaders in Huguang will no longer be able to obtain supplies and reinforcements from land."

"As long as the Qing invaders are unwilling to give up Huguang, they will definitely defend Suizhou to the death. I have tried to attack the city several times before, but were always repelled by the Qing invaders in Suizhou."

"If the imperial court wants to gain a breakthrough in Suizhou, it will probably have to mobilize a large army and heavy artillery to capture the city."

"Moreover, there are also Qing invaders stationed in Dengzhou, Henan Province. If the imperial court wants to besiege Suizhou, in addition to guarding against the Qing invaders sending reinforcements from Xinyang, they must also guard against the Qing invaders launching an attack from Dengzhou."

After hearing what Ma Bao and the others said, Zhu Lang finally gave up the idea of ​​taking over Huguang.

It would take a long time to attack Wuchang from Jiayu. Zhu Lang was unwilling to use up all the silver in the inner treasury just for Wuchang.
It was also not feasible to capture Suizhou. At this time, it seemed that if we captured Suizhou, it would be very likely that Wuchang would be trapped.

However, if the Ming court launched a large-scale siege on Suizhou at this time, the Qing army from Henan Province would most likely come to support them in large numbers. If they were not careful, a war might break out between the Ming and Qing sides at the Hubei-Henan border, which was something the Ming court absolutely did not want to see.
Zhu Lang thought about this and finally made up his mind. He said

"If that's the case, then let's stop the fighting. Do you have any objections?" Qu Shisi, Du Yinxi and others below all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. No one in the room objected, and the matter was settled.

Zhu Lang glanced at Li Guo who was still standing in the hall and waved his hand to ask him to sit down. Then he spoke again.

"General Li has conquered Jingzhou in this battle and expanded the territory of the imperial court by thousands of miles. He has made great contributions. I would like to draw the Loyalty Battalion to form a new imperial army. General Li, are you willing to come to the imperial court and serve as the commander of this imperial army?"

Li Guo's heart sank immediately when he heard this. Even though the reorganization of the Loyalty Camp was a foregone conclusion, he would rather stay in the E Province Camp than serve as the commander of the Imperial Guard.

Li Guo subconsciously wanted to refuse, but looking at Gao Yigong beside him, who was nervous and hinting at him, and looking at Ma Bao above him, who had no expression on his face, Li Guo was silent for a moment, and finally stood up and bowed, and said

"I will obey the order of the court"

"Then General Li will be appointed as the commander of the Loyalty Camp Imperial Guard. There will be frequent wars in the future. General Li is a famous general in the army. After he enters the court, he will surely make new achievements and be granted a title."

Seeing Li Guo's agreement, Zhu Lang nodded slightly, as if it was natural.

Although Zhu Lang had also read the hesitant report from Du Yinxi, in Zhu Lang's opinion, since Li Guo chose to enter the court, it meant that he finally chose to submit to the court.

Since Li Guo chose to submit to the imperial court, it was only natural for him to accept the imperial court's appointment.

Zhu Lang only thought that Li Guo had figured it out himself, but he didn't know about Gao Yigong and Ma Bao's threats. But even if Zhu Lang knew, it wouldn't change anything.

After the reorganization of the Loyalty Camp, Li Guo must be transferred out of Hubei Province. This is something that has been decided by the court long ago. Whether Li Guo is willing or not, it is impossible to change this matter.

Zhu Lang asked Li Guo to return to his seat without formalities, then picked up a report on the table, looked at Wang Guangtai at the end on the right, and said:

"The Jinyifu received news yesterday that General Wang Guangtai had been killed by the Qing invaders in Wuchang."

Wang Guangtai resolutely rebelled, not only beheading all the officials in Xiangyang Prefecture, but also tricking the city gates into opening, helping the Ming court seize Jingzhou. It can be said that the collapse of the Qing court in Huguang was mostly due to Wang Guangtai.
Luo Xiujin originally planned to escort Wang Guangen to Beijing for execution by the imperial court, but after the Qing court learned about the situation in Huguang, they became angry and ashamed.

Dorgon personally ordered that Wang Guangen be executed by slow slicing in Wuchang without being escorted back to Beijing.

Wang Guangtai looked at the report in his hand, his face was pale. Although Wang Guangtai had already anticipated this consequence at the moment of the uprising,
But when Wang Guangtai heard the news, his mind went blank and he almost fainted.
Zhu Lang looked at Wang Guangtai, who looked pale, and said softly:

"Although General Wang Guangen was in the enemy camp, he still had a sense of justice and assisted the court in supervising the transportation of food and money regardless of his own safety. He never thought that he would be killed by the Qing invaders due to his carelessness."

"General Wang is loyal and has made great contributions to the court. I hereby posthumously confer the title of Marquis of Xiangyang on Wang Guangen, and allow his son to inherit the title, which will last for three generations."

"General Wang Guangtai returned to the court after raising an uprising and helped the court to capture Jingxiang. His contribution was very great, so he was specially awarded the title of Yicheng Earl. General Wang Chang also made contributions to the rebellion and was awarded the title of Nanzhang Earl."

"On behalf of the Wang family, I would like to thank Your Highness for his great grace."

Upon hearing this, Wang Guangtai also stood up and saluted, but Zhu Lang just waved his hand to let him not to salute.
Although Wang Guangtai had been granted the title, he still stared at the report in his hand after sitting back in his chair. His eyes were red, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Three members of the Wang family were all granted the title of Marquis, but no one in the hall objected at this time. Everyone knew the importance of Xiangyang to the court.

It can be said that after the imperial court seized Xiangyang, it had formed a pattern of north-south division with the Qing court. Wuchang seemed to be still in the hands of the Qing court at this time, but in fact, it was only a matter of time before the Ming court took back Wuchang.

As long as the Ming court made up its mind, it could capture Wuchang at any time. This is why the officials in the court were willing to stop the war at this time.

The Wang family seized Xiangyang for the court. At this time, let alone a marquis or two earls, even if His Royal Highness the Regent conferred a marquisate on Wang Guangtai, the court would not say anything.

After Zhu Lang finished rewarding the three members of the Wang family, he continued

"Since Huguang has decided to stop fighting, the imperial court will prepare to return to the capital. Before that, the defense of Huguang must be decided."

The ministers below all looked serious after hearing this. After much discussion, the defense arrangements for various places in Huguang were decided.
In Hubei Province, Du Yinxi was appointed as the Governor-General of Hubei and Henan Provinces and stationed in Xiangyang, in charge of all matters concerning Hubei and Henan Provinces.
Wen Anzhi was appointed governor of Hubei Province and stationed in Jingzhou. He was responsible for the affairs of the people in Hubei Province, resettling refugees and restoring production.
Gao Yigong was appointed as the governor of Hubei Province, in charge of the Loyalty Camp, responsible for garrisoning Xiangyang, Zaoyang, and Xinye. Wang Guangtai was appointed as the deputy governor, stationed in Gucheng. The two forces would jointly defend against the Qing army in the direction of Henan Province.
Ma Bao's son Ma Ziyuan was transferred to Hubei Province as a missionary and was responsible for reorganizing the Loyalty Camp and the armies of Hubei Province.

Ta Xinze was appointed as the deputy governor of Hubei Province, commanding 2,000 troops of the former Tengxiang Army and 3,000 troops of Yang Guodong's former Hubei Provincial Governor's Battalion, and stationed in Jingzhou.

Yuan Zongdi was appointed as the general of Qianjiang. He led 7,000 new troops from Xiangxi to Qianjiang, Hubei Province, and was responsible for guarding Jingshan, Jingling, and Qianjiang to guard against the Qing army from Wuchang.

After Yuan Zongdi accepted Du Yinxi's offer of amnesty, he attacked Xupu according to the imperial court's order and killed Zhang Xianbi and others who had fled there. Although Yuan Zongdi and others had surrendered to the Hubei Provincial Governor's Office at this time, they were still stationed in the mountains of western Hunan.
The number of troops in each army in Hubei Province is: 27,000 in the Zhongzheng Battalion, 7,000 in Wang Guangtai's army, 5,000 in Ta Xince's army, and 7,000 in Yuan Zongdi's army, a total of 46,000
In Hunan Province, Gao Doushu was appointed as the Governor-General of Hunan Province, Zhang Tongchang was appointed as the Governor-General of Hunan Province, Bai Gui was appointed as the Admiral of Hunan Province, and Lu Ding was appointed as the Hunan Camp Missionary Envoy, stationed in Changsha.
Hunan Province selected the best soldiers from the previously captured surrendered soldiers and expanded the army to 20,000.

Among them, Bai Gui led 10,000 troops to station in Changsha, Chen Youlong was appointed as the deputy governor of Hunan Province, led 5,000 troops to garrison in Chaling, blocking the passage from Jiangxi to Hunan, and Hao Yongzhong was appointed as the general of Yuezhou, led 5,000 troops to station in Yuezhou.

As for the rest of the generals from Hunan Province, Hu Yiqing's troops were incorporated into the Longxiang Army, and Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng's troops were incorporated into the Tengxiang Army.
Li Guo was appointed as the commander of the Loyalty Camp Imperial Guards. He transferred 10,000 soldiers from Hubei Province to form the Loyalty Camp Imperial Guards.
After Li Guo transferred 10,000 soldiers, the 6,000-strong Loyalty Battalion originally stationed in Changde and the 3,000-strong Loyalty Battalion under Gao Yigong who followed him to Sichuan were transferred to the Loyalty Battalion in Hubei Province. The number of soldiers in the Loyalty Battalion in Hubei Province remained unchanged.

This time, the four imperial guards of Longxiang, Tengxiang, Zhongyiying and Zhongzhengying, as well as Shi Lang's 5,000 Fujian troops stationed in Yongzhou, will follow him back to Guangdong Province.

After the arrangements were completed, the officials from Huguang who had gathered in Changsha left one after another and returned to their respective places of residence.

After the soldiers of the Loyal Camp arrived in Changsha, on February 15, the various imperial guards finally left Changsha and escorted the imperial carriage of the Central Government on their return journey, heading all the way to Guangdong Province.

(End of this chapter)