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

Chapter 721 Postwar Arrangements
The dispatched Jinyiwei arrived in Xi'an soon. After meeting with Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou in Xi'an, they conveyed the imperial court's order and asked them to hand over several rebel leaders including Gao Yingxiang to the capital.

In the Battle of Heishui Valley, Gao Yingxiang was defeated and captured. After that, the Ming army did not withdraw immediately, but continued to search the valley, including the section of Ziwu Valley near Heishui Valley, trying to be careful and not to miss a single person.

It was precisely because of Sun Chuanting's caution that some of Gao Yingxiang's subordinates who had been hiding were all found out, including Liu Zhe, whom Gao Yingxiang had asked to leave first.

Although Liu Zhe left one step ahead, Sun Chuanting's troops had already launched an attack. In a panic, Liu Zhe took a few people and hid in the valley, but they could not go far. After the war, Sun Chuanting continued to block Heishui Valley for search. Liu Zhe and his men hid in the valley for five days. Because they had eaten all the food they brought, they had no choice but to find a way to solve the supply problem and sent people out to hunt to satisfy their hunger.

Who would have thought that they were discovered by the Ming army as soon as they appeared. In the end, Liu Zhe and his subordinates failed to escape. Except for three people who were killed on the spot for resistance, the rest, including Liu Zhe, were all captured and fell into the hands of Sun Chuanting.

When Liu Zhe was escorted to Xi'an and imprisoned together with Gao Yingxiang, Gao Yingxiang was completely desperate when he saw Liu Zhe. Even Liu Zhe could not escape this disaster, let alone others. Gao Yingxiang was completely defeated this time and there would be no chance of turning things around.

After receiving the order from the Imperial Guard, Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou, who had been well prepared, put Gao Yingxiang, Liu Zhe, Huang Long and other rebel leaders into a prison car, and sent a team of subordinates to assist the Imperial Guard in escorting these people to Beijing. In order to avoid problems on the road and prevent these people from escaping, Hong Chengchou also asked someone to directly string Gao Yingxiang and others' scapula with an iron chain, so that Gao Yingxiang could not even move in the prison car, let alone escape. Moreover, the journey from Xi'an to the capital was very safe, and there was no need to worry about the emergence of large groups of bandits. The Imperial Guard did not delay for a moment, and set off on the same day after handing over the imperial prisoner, heading towards the capital.

The Jinyiwei came not only to escort Gao Yingxiang and others to Beijing, but also brought a secret letter from Zhu Shenzui. After Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou read the letter respectively, they both showed a look of relief on their faces and smiled a little more.

The secret letter mainly mentioned three things. The first one was the resettlement of the captives captured by Gao Yingxiang's troops. Zhu Shenzui said that killing all these captives directly would have too much impact. Once the upright officials in the court attacked him, Zhu Shenzui would be fine, but Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou would become the target of public criticism.

In Zhu Shenzhui's mind, both Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou were capable and important officials of the court. He did not want them to be tainted by such things and attacked. So he gave up the killing of prisoners, but it was not appropriate to resettle these people on the spot. First, these people were originally bandits, and their wild nature was hard to change. The resettlement place would be an unstable factor. Second, the court could not come up with so much money and food for the resettlement of these people at once. Moreover, the resettlement of uncertain factors could not be controlled when money and food were insufficient, which was not a good solution.

Zhu Shenzui asked them to select among the prisoners first and let the prisoners identify themselves. All the prisoners who committed serious crimes, including the leaders, would be selected and dealt with according to the national law. There was nothing wrong with this approach. According to the Ming Dynasty law, no one could find fault with killing people.

Once these people were dealt with, the restless factors among the captives would be basically eliminated, and the next captives would be escorted directly to the north. Zhu Shenzhu had made arrangements. After all these captives left the Great Wall, they would be handed over to the Tumed Mongols, who would take over and would have nothing to do with them from then on.

As for the outside world, they just told the prisoners to be sent to the frontiers and to be settled in the frontiers. This method made Sun Chuanting's eyes light up, and Hong Chengchou applauded. In Hong Chengchou's mind, these people were not worth dying for, and it was a waste of food to keep them alive. Now throwing them to the Mongols was like getting rid of this burden. Zhu Shenzhu even told them in a letter that when they handed over these prisoners to the Mongols, the Mongols would give them a batch of cattle, sheep and war horses. These materials were completely arranged by Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou, and could be used to enrich the army or to restore local production.

The second thing Zhu Shenzui told Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou was that although the threat posed by Gao Yingxiang had been resolved, the bandits were still there, especially Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were second only to Gao Yingxiang and were still causing trouble in the local area. In addition, Gao Yingxiang had a nephew, who was called "Chuangjiang" in his tribe. His name was Li Zicheng, and he was Gao Yingxiang's successor. Although this person was not as famous as Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, he should not be underestimated and must be taken seriously.

The annihilation of Gao Yingxiang's entire army and his capture does not mean that the world is at peace. As long as there is still a group of bandits in the world, the hidden danger will still exist.

Zhu Shenzhu hoped that they could join hands with Chen Qiyu and Zuo Liangyu, Qin Liangyu, Cao Wenzhao and other troops to continue to encircle and suppress the various bandits and completely solve the internal problems of Ming Dynasty. In addition, Zhu Shenzhu has appointed Lu Xiangsheng as the governor of Henan to lead the Tianxiong Army southward to cooperate with various troops to block the bandits' way in the Central Plains.

Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou took Zhu Shenzhui's reminder very seriously, especially when Zhu Shenzhui said in the letter: "It is better to pursue the desperate bandits with the remaining courage, rather than seek fame by imitating the tyrants." This sentence made them deeply agree. As long as the bandits are not completely wiped out, there will be no peace in the Ming Dynasty, and the world will not be able to settle down.

Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou were very clear about this, and they also approved of Zhu Shenzhui's decision. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui's method of letting them exchange captives for cattle, sheep and horses not only helped them get rid of a heavy burden, but also allowed them to use these materials to strengthen the strength of the army, including the local forces, and eliminated their own problem of insufficient materials, which made the two very happy. As for the third thing, it was the secret memorial system. Zhu Shenzhui asked the Jinyiwei to bring three exquisite boxes to each of them. The box was not big, but flat, and the volume inside could only hold a memorial, but there was a special seal on the front of the box, which was stamped with the seal of the regent.

From now on, for any urgent military affairs or urgent reports, in addition to the normal court document process, officials holding secret letters can write secret memorials directly to Zhu Shenzhui. The completed secret memorials can be placed in this secret letter, and then stamped with sealing wax and directly delivered through the Jinyiwei channel to Zhu Shenzhui's hands.

This approach can completely bypass the court departments, that is to say, there is a "dedicated line" for local officials including military commanders and the supreme commander. With this thing, there is no need to consider other factors or have any concerns. You can say whatever you want and make whatever suggestions you want. Zhu Shenzhui will also reply as soon as possible after receiving the secret memorial to ensure smooth communication between the two sides.

This practice was unprecedented. Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou were surprised but soon understood the benefits of this system. According to the court's rules, local governments and military commanders had to follow procedures to communicate with the court or report something. The procedures were complicated and had to be approved by the cabinet, including the Silijian, before they could come up with a plan and submit it to Zhu Shenzhui.

The secret memorial system directly broke this procedure, giving them the privilege of direct access to the heavenly court. In this way, they did not need to worry about the problems of the cabinet and the six ministries, let alone other uncertain factors. In addition, direct communication not only improved efficiency but also strengthened the connection between the central and local governments, which could be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Although Hong Chengchou thought that this was a bit against the rules, he had to admit that it was good. Moreover, Hong Chengchou was a bold man and he immediately realized that the secret memorial system was not only good for Zhu Shenzhui, but also for himself.

Being able to communicate directly with Zhu Shenzhu through secret memorials is not more appropriate than going through the cabinet and the six ministries? Many of my ideas and suggestions can be put forward in secret memorials, and it can also strengthen the impression in Zhu Shenzhu's mind. So what if such a good thing breaks some rules?
It is normal to do extraordinary things in extraordinary times. The Ming Dynasty is facing internal and external troubles. Isn't this an extraordinary time? Hong Chengchou was delighted. Although Sun Chuanting was a little hesitant, he finally accepted the secret memorial system and carefully collected the secret memorials sent to him, waiting for future use.

After Gao Yingxiang was escorted away, Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou discussed and began to screen the captured rebels, letting them identify each other and find out the heinous criminals hiding in the appendix, including the middle and lower-level leaders.

In addition, many ordinary rebels whose hands were stained with blood and who had killed innocent people were picked out. The evidence of their crimes was conclusive. Sun Chuanting, in the name of the governor of Shaanxi, and Hong Chengchou, as the governor-general of the three borders, were fully qualified to deal with this matter.

Soon, more than 600 people who were selected were all executed for serious crimes. On the day of the execution, the whole city of Xi'an was in an uproar. Batch after batch of people who were escorted to the execution ground had their heads chopped off. The flowing blood gathered into a stream, which made the onlookers, including those who were selected from the rebel prisoners to watch the execution, tremble with fear and their faces turned pale.

This method greatly deterred the local people, including the captured rebels. After the execution of these people, no one in the rebel army dared to be indignant or even make trouble. Then news came from the three sides that the Tumed had sent envoys. Hong Chengchou was very happy at that time. In order to avoid more trouble, he discussed with Sun Chuanting and divided the captives into six groups, each with thousands of people, and sent them to the grassland. The two sides met outside the Great Wall and exchanged the captives for cattle, sheep, horses and other items. Both sides got what they needed and were very happy.

The exchange of prisoners takes time. After all, there are nearly 40,000 people to be exchanged. Even if they are divided into six groups, there are more than 6,000 people in each group. Such a large number of people are not cattle and sheep that can be driven away with a whip. They are all living people. How to arrange them and how to bring them to the exchange site is impossible without a plan.

And the same thing happened in Tumote. With so many people on board, the follow-up work was very cumbersome and Wang Hai was under a lot of pressure.

Therefore, it would take at least two months to complete the exchange according to the plan. Let's not talk about the process of Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou exchanging prisoners with Wang Hai. When they first exchanged, the prisoner car carrying Gao Yingxiang finally arrived in the capital after a long journey. When the prisoner car arrived in the capital, the people of the capital were excited when they learned that it was the prisoner car carrying Gao Yingxiang and his generals. They rushed to see this "King of Rebellion" who had turned the Ming Dynasty upside down, and this number one rebel in the world.

(End of this chapter)