Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 516 Return to the teacher
Wang Rong's Luzhou Guard set out today, preparing to return to Shanxi.

Zhu Shenzhui, Wang Jinwu and others will go back with Wang Rong this time. After all, there is no war in the capital anymore. Sun Chengzong has delayed Huang Taiji in Shanhaiguan, and the possibility of a further battle to defend the capital is not great.

Moreover, because of the mutinies in various tribes, the imperial court had ordered the troops from various places to leave, and there was no need for Wang Rong's Luzhou Guards to continue staying in the capital. So after saying goodbye to Hei Yunlong, Zhu Shenzui followed Wang Rong's troops and set out on the return journey.

It was the end of the second year of Chongzhen when he came, and it was almost the spring of the third year of Chongzhen when he left. This time he even spent the New Year in the camp outside the city, which took several months. Although he took risks this time, he also gained a lot, especially the response and operation of the court in this war, coupled with the many mistakes in decision-making by Emperor Chongzhen, which made Zhu Shenzhui clearly see the truth of the weakness of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, there are the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in various places and the situation of the Eight Banners. It is difficult to understand these things if you have not experienced them personally. So far, Zhu Shenzhui has gained a lot and has also made him understand the real situation of this empire more clearly.

As for Wang Rong, apart from bringing back Zhu Shenzhui and Wang Jinwu safely, he got nothing else. He led the troops on such a journey in vain and spent a lot of money and food.

What's even more infuriating is that because of the mutiny of the Shanxi Army, Wang Rong was almost implicated. If Hei Yunlong hadn't explained to the court about Wang Rong, and Zhang Xijun in the capital hadn't found a way to pass the message through someone, that short-sighted guy might have implicated Wang Rong and the mutinous Shanxi Army. If Emperor Chongzhen had been furious and sent people to arrest Wang Rong, Zhu Shenzhui would definitely not have stood idly by and might have directly rebelled.

Fortunately, this problem was solved quickly, and Zhu Shenzhui was prevented from launching an attack prematurely. However, because of this, the court did not give Wang Rong any benefits afterwards, let alone rewards, and even did not promote Wang Rong. The Luzhou Guard was sent away with a few words, which made Zhu Shenzhui very angry.

In fact, for Zhu Shenzui and Wang Rong himself, it was not important whether he was rewarded or not. As the commander of Luzhou Guard, Wang Rong was very independent and could do whatever he wanted in his small territory.

Over the years, it was precisely because of Wang Rong that Yangtou Mountain and Zhaowuling became Zhu Shenzhui's bases. Also relying on the geographical location of Luzhou Wei, the smuggling trade of private salt and goods was booming, making Zhu Shenzhui a lot of money.

Once he was transferred from Luzhou Wei, even if he succeeded as the general of Shanxi, it would not be better for him to be the commander-in-chief.

As mentioned earlier, the commander-in-chief was the head of a garrison, and the general was actually a military position in the Ming army. Although the two have gradually shown signs of overlap in the two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there is still a difference between them in reality in the military.

As the highest officer of the garrison, the commander not only controls the army but also the territory of the garrison. The commander has the final say in all matters under the jurisdiction of the garrison. Although the position of general is of a higher rank, roughly equivalent to the commander-in-chief, the problem is that the general only has the power to command the army but not the right to intervene in civil affairs. Moreover, if the garrison is fully staffed, its military strength is not inferior to that of an ordinary general. Therefore, for both Wang Rong and Zhu Shenzhui, it is better to continue to be the commander of Luzhou Garrison than to be the general of Shanxi.

But even so, whether the court gives rewards, whether you are promoted or not, and whether you need it or not are two completely different matters.

As a member of the Ming Dynasty court, especially the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the attitude of Emperor Chongzhen is very important. It also reflects the trust and reuse of a superior in his subordinates, and it is also a political means.

Just like the boss of a company, when employees work hard to create profits for the company, and even save the company from danger, you as a boss have to show some respect, right? Whether it is giving your subordinates a promotion or a salary increase, or giving them a bonus, it is always an attitude. But now, the capital is fine, and you as a boss just throw people away like a rag after using them, without even a little expression, and you are stingy. How can the employees below be satisfied?

Emperor Chongzhen never thought about the consequences of his actions, and perhaps he never considered the thoughts of the generals and soldiers who came to support the emperor. In his eyes, he was the emperor who was high above everyone else, and everyone was his subject. As the emperor, whatever he did was right, and it was natural for you, his subjects, to follow his will.

So Wang Rong and his Luzhou Guards left the same way they came, just as the poem says, "without taking a single cloud with them." That would have been fine, but after sending away the troops from various places to support the king, two troops were left in the capital, one was Hei Yunlong's Xuanda Army, and the other was Zu Dashou's Guanning Army.

In fact, since the Guanning Army returned to the capital, it has not participated in several battles. When Mangui's camp was attacked, Zu Dashou did not go all out to rescue it. He just sent troops to pretend. It was not until he saw Huang Taiji's Eight Banners began to retreat from the chaotic camp that the Guanning Army made a gesture to rescue friendly forces. After that, the Guanning Army stayed in the garrison and never fought with the Eight Banners again. From the perspective of strength preservation and combat effectiveness, the Guanning Army is the strongest among the troops serving the king. It stands to reason that when Sun Chengzong left the capital for Tongzhou, and later when he took Ma Shilong and the Liao army to start a war in the north, thus attracting Huang Taiji away from the vicinity of the capital, the Guanning Army should have followed Sun Chengzong directly to the north. With the combat effectiveness of the Guanning Army and the iron cavalry it possessed, with such a unit in hand, Sun Chengzong would have had an easier time dealing with Huang Taiji.

Unfortunately, Emperor Chongzhen rejected Sun Chengzong's suggestion to transfer troops, and only transferred part of the troops from the Royal Guards to Sun Chengzong, refusing to let the Guanning Army go. As for what Emperor Chongzhen was thinking, no one could figure it out. Zhu Shenzhu pondered for a long time and felt that there was only one possibility, that is, he was worried that Sun Chengzong's strength would increase after the Guanning Army fell into his hands. Emperor Chongzhen was afraid that Sun Chengzong would be the next Yuan Chonghuan. In order to avoid such a situation, he forced the Guanning Army to stay in the capital on the grounds of the defense of the capital, and refused to let the Guanning Army leave.

As the saying goes, trust people when you employ them, and don't employ people if you don't trust them. However, Emperor Chongzhen wanted to employ people but also be suspicious of them. This is really puzzling.

In the absence of the most powerful Guanning Army, Sun Chengzong fought hard with Huang Taiji at Shanhaiguan and Zunhua. However, Sun Chengzong was Sun Chengzong after all. He relied on the only forces he had to defend Shanhaiguan, and at the same time sent troops to threaten Huang Taiji's retreat.

After a long siege on Shanhaiguan, Huang Taiji was afraid that his retreat would be cut off. Moreover, he had led his troops to the Ming Dynasty for several months. As time went on, the Eight Banners under his command also became tired of war. They plundered a large amount of supplies and people in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. Since they could not take Shanhaiguan and could not defeat the capital of the Ming Dynasty, why did they continue to stay here? It would be better to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.

Various reasons prompted Huang Taiji to finally make the choice to withdraw. After returning from Shanhaiguan, Huang Taiji recalled the Eight Banners troops in various places and retreated to Zunhua. Back in Zunhua, Huang Taiji led his troops to fight two more battles with Ma Shilong, but at this time Ma Shilong had received orders from Sun Chengzong to switch from offense to defense, leaving Huang Taiji no chance to take advantage.

Seeing that there was no way to defeat Ma Shilong in a short time, and that Sun Chengzong's troops at Shanhaiguan could move westward to join forces with Ma Shilong at any time, Huang Taiji could only order the entire army to retreat, abandoning the pass from Zunhua and retreating to the grassland. Upon learning of Huang Taiji's withdrawal, Sun Chengzong ordered all troops not to pursue him, but to advance steadily and recapture Zunhua first, to avoid Huang Taiji's counterattack.

In this way, half a month later, Huang Taiji's Eight Banners Army withdrew from the Ming territory and returned to Liaodong via the grassland. At this time, Sun Chengzong also recovered Zunhua and took the previously breached and occupied pass without bloodshed. At this point, the war known as the Ji Si Change finally ended.

When the news of Huang Taiji's retreat came, Zhu Shenzui and others had already entered Shanxi from Zhili and were not far from Luzhou Wei.

Zhu Shenzhu was not surprised when he heard the news, because this result was destined. As early as when Sun Chengzong led his troops to capture Jizhou and headed straight for Zunhua, Huang Taiji had only one choice, which was to abandon the capital and return to fight Sun Chengzong.

After failing to capture Shanhaiguan, Huang Taiji had only one option left, which was to withdraw his troops voluntarily.

Therefore, this result was already expected by Zhu Shenzhui. Unfortunately, although Sun Chengzong used his method to defend the capital and solved the problem of the invading Eight Banners and forced the other side to withdraw, his plan did not go well because of Emperor Chongzhen. Now the Eight Banners are still strong, but the Ming army suffered heavy losses. Although Huang Taiji did not get what he wanted this time, his gains in the Ming Dynasty were huge, and in the future, Huang Taiji might come to attack the Ming Dynasty again like this time. The Liaodong war was not only not resolved, but worsened.

The bigwigs in the court could see this result, and even Emperor Chongzhen understood it. So when he learned that Huang Taiji had withdrawn his troops, Emperor Chongzhen was relieved at first, but then he couldn't help but feel angry. In his opinion, the culprit for all this was none other than Yuan Chonghuan in prison.

At the beginning, I trusted Yuan Chonghuan so much that I gave him almost everything he wanted, but how did Yuan Chonghuan repay me? The result of pacifying Liaodong turned out to be what it is now. Yuan Chonghuan not only betrayed my trust, but also committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. If I don't punish Yuan Chonghuan, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart.

But to deal with Yuan Chonghuan, there is still a problem, that is, the Guanning Army. The Guanning Army is still outside the capital, and the general leading the army is Yuan Chonghuan's confidant Zu Dashou. After receiving the military report that the foreign threat has been resolved, Emperor Chongzhen finally issued an order to let the Guanning Army return to Liaodong. However, this is not the time for him to be afraid that Sun Chengzong will control the Guanning Army. Emperor Chongzhen secretly sent an order to Sun Chengzong, asking him to restrain the Guanning Army after receiving it. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen also appointed a new Liaodong general, this person is Wu Xiang.

Although Wu Xiang and Zu Dashou are relatives and have always had a close relationship, Wu Xiang is different from Zu Dashou. Compared with Zu Dashou, Wu Xiang is more smooth and experienced, and has great respect for the court. Emperor Chongzhen met Wu Xiang once and had a good impression of him. This time he appointed Wu Xiang to share Zu Dashou's military power with him, and because of their kinship and personal relationship, Zu Dashou would not have too many thoughts after the appointment was issued.

(End of this chapter)