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

Chapter 779: Against the Qing Dynasty and in favor of the Ming Dynasty
This naval battle lasted for more than three hours, from morning to evening. As Quanjie saw that he could not escape and his warships were constantly sunk or captured, he jumped into the sea and committed suicide in despair. The remaining warships hung the white flag in surrender, and the battle ended.

In this battle, the entire fleet was wiped out. Except for more than a dozen Korean warships that escaped and a few Qing warships, the remaining nearly a hundred warships were left on the battlefield.

Nineteen enemy ships were sunk, six were seriously damaged, and more than thirty warships suffered varying degrees of damage, resulting in heavy losses.

The rest of the warships surrendered to the Ming army. After the war, the battlefield was cleaned up. Since the six captured warships were severely damaged and could not sail, they were directly ordered to be sunk. More than 30 lightly damaged warships also needed to be repaired. There were also a total of 1,000 captured enemy navy and Korean navy. Considering the subsequent wars, Zheng Hongkui and Li You decided to transport all these warships and prisoners back to Shandong and hand them over to Li Xin for disposal.

Although the Ming army won, they also suffered losses, but the losses were insignificant compared to the results of the battle. After dealing with the captured enemy warships and sailors, the number of their warships increased instead of decreasing due to the spoils, and they even had several more ships than before.

The great victory in the naval battle greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army, especially the Shandong navy, which had hardly participated in actual combat since crossing the sea to fight, and most of the time it served as a transport ship and cooperated with the army. This made the navy hold its breath, and they were jealous of their army brothers who were complacent with their large seizures.

This time, the navy was very proud of the victory. Not only did they win easily, but they were also very proud. Even the army brothers couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the navy brothers who returned with honors, which made the navy's morale high and their spirits high.

The news of the naval battle spread quickly. When the Qing navy and the Korean navy that escaped reported that they had been completely wiped out in the naval battle, the commander-in-chief Yue Tuo was shocked. He could not understand how his navy had been defeated and why it had been defeated so miserably.

For a moment, Yuetuo hurriedly ordered the troops to stop advancing. He didn't know whether he should continue to march westward to search or lead the troops back. Due to the destruction of the navy, Yuetuo was worried that the Ming army would attack Pi Island or even Korea by sea. If Pi Island was lost, or if Korea had any rebellion because of the Ming army, how would he explain to Huang Taiji?
In desperation, Yuetuo could only send the situation to Huang Taiji by fast horse and ask for his opinion. At the same time, he sent part of the troops back to prevent the Ming army from cutting off his retreat.

Because of the division of troops, Yue Tuo had insufficient manpower, so he decided to mobilize the eight banners garrisoned in the surrounding areas and incorporate them into his own army to strengthen his military strength.

"What? Yue Tuo wants to transfer our Zhenglan Banner to fight for our lives? Who does he think he is? Who does he think he is? Pah!"

Two days later, Jingwuer and Guanbao of Chengzitan received a military order sent by Yuetuo, which said that their two Niulu would be mobilized to supplement Yuetuo's army. Not only that, there were also three other Niulu of Zhenglan Banner in Zhuanghe, a total of five Niulu with 1500 troops under his command.

Upon seeing the order, Jingwuer exploded instantly. Although Yuetuo had a higher status than them, being not only a Beile but also the eldest son of Daishan, the problem was that the Eight Banners were different from other troops. The Eight Banners were based on the system of banner masters and bannermen. The banner master was the supreme commander of the Eight Banners and the real master of the bannermen. Yuetuo, a guy from the Bordered Blue Banner, had no right to give orders to the Plain Blue Banner.

Even if it is to be placed under Yuetuo's command, according to the rules of the Eight Banners, the order must be given by the Khan (Emperor), and then the deployment must be made by the banner owners. How can people from other banners directly give orders to other banners?
Moreover, let alone Yuetuo, even the current banner owner Dergelei was not taken seriously by Jingwuer. In his opinion, there was only one banner owner he recognized, and that was his old master Manggurtai. Dergelei was just a dog of Huang Taiji and had no qualifications to be the banner owner, let alone a mere Yuetuo.

"Uncle Jiu, Yuetuo is a Doroberle and a great general!" Guan Bao felt uncomfortable, but he still reminded him.

"What a bullshit duro beile, what a bullshit general!" Jing Wuer cursed, "If this guy wasn't the son of that old man Daishan, how could he have such a status? And where did he get the title of beile and general? How can you not know it if others don't know it? How did the second beile die? His Yuetuo has done a lot of stupid things!"

After this was said, Guan Bao also fell silent. Everyone in the Eight Banners knew that Yuetuo and his father Daishan were both dogs of Huang Taiji. If it had not been for the help of them father and son, Huang Taiji would never have been able to ascend to the throne of Khan, let alone become the emperor today.

But what did Huang Taiji do after he ascended the throne? He first killed the Queen Mother, then suppressed dissidents, split up other banners, and even murdered Amin and their old master Manggurtai.

Especially Amin. Amin was not the old Khan's son, but the old Khan's nephew. He had no qualifications to succeed to the throne of Khan. From this point of view, he posed no threat to Huang Taiji. Moreover, Amin ranked second among the four great beiles, second only to Daishan. When Huang Taiji was fighting for the throne, Amin did not directly oppose it. However, Huang Taiji still did not let Amin go and eventually imprisoned and killed Amin.

How was Amin imprisoned? Wasn't it because of Yuetuo? Amin was sitting in Korea, and for the sake of self-protection, he didn't want to get involved in Shengjing (Shenyang) affairs, and intended to stay away from the political vortex. But Yuetuo secretly complained that Amin was planning to hold his own army and establish his own regime, and wanted to split the Eight Banners. Huang Taiji was afraid of Amin, and Yuetuo's reasons hit the mark. He used this to deal with Amin, deprived him of his power and flag master, and then imprisoned him, and finally ended up with an unknown "acute illness and death".

This is almost the same as Manggurtai's fate. Moreover, when Huang Taiji was dealing with Manggurtai, Yuetuo also fanned the flames. Who doesn't know that he has sinister intentions? Now he is so shameless that he directly mobilizes the soldiers of the Zhenglan Banner and asks them to work for him? It would be strange if Jingwuer could bear it.

Guan Bao sighed in his heart. Without the protection of the master, they were like a woman's slave. Anyone could run to their heads and pee and shit. If Manggurtai was still alive, would Yuetuo dare to do this? With Manggurtai's temper, it would be strange if he didn't use the whip to make trouble for him.

But now the situation is different. Manggurtai is dead, the flag owner Degelei is a dog beside Huang Taiji, and Yuetuo is deeply trusted by Huang Taiji. Like his father Daishan, he can't wait to kneel down and lick Huang Taiji every day.

Now Yuetuo has recruited them from the Zhenglan Banner in the name of Duoluo Beile and the general, how can they refuse? Once they refuse, the lawsuit will be brought to Huang Taiji. Isn't it obvious who Huang Taiji will protect? Even without going to Huang Taiji, as long as Yuetuo and Degelei say something in private, they, the Niulu Zhangjing, will be in trouble. Originally, these people were on guard against the old Manggurtais. If they took this opportunity to attack them directly, wouldn't it be unfair? Even the old master Manggurtai, Huang Taiji, could be killed by poison, let alone them, the Niulu Zhangjing? It's just a matter of a word to kill or cut them, right?

"Uncle Jiu, should we just be patient? After all, they are in a stronger position. What if..."

"You mean that if we don't listen to Yuetuo, he will cause trouble for us, right?" Jing Wuer asked back.

Guan Bao nodded silently.

Jing Wuer sneered and asked Guan Bao: "Have you never thought about it? If we agree to Yuetuo and wait for his men, what will happen if Yuetuo asks us to rush to the front in a fight? You also know how strong the fighting power of this Ming army is. In the battle of Xiongyueyi, even the troops of the Plain White Banner could not stop them, and a Niulu Zhangjing was killed in the battle. Can you and I be stronger than the Plain White Banner?"

“This…” Guan Bao was speechless. The combat effectiveness of the Zhengbai Banner was well-known among the Eight Banners. If the previous Zhenglan Banner could be compared, the current Zhenglan Banner was no longer the same as before.

Moreover, once they went under Yuetuo's command, they would no longer have any autonomy. Yuetuo would never use his Bordered Blue Banner as the main attack force. He would definitely let their Plain Blue Banner serve as the main force and fight to the death with the Ming army.

If they win, the credit belongs to Yuetuo. If they lose, Yuetuo will not suffer any loss, and he can use the Ming army to eliminate the old men of the Zhenglan Banner. Others may not be able to do such a thing, but a sinister villain like Yuetuo can definitely do it.

This didn't work, and that didn't work either. Guan Bao didn't know what to do for a moment. He couldn't help but ask Jing Wuer how to deal with it. He couldn't just sit there and wait for death, right?

"Boy, I have an idea."

"Uncle Jiu, what solution do you have? Please speak frankly. I'm all ears." Guan Baoyi asked immediately.

Jing Wuer grinned, picked up the wine bowl in front of him and took a sip, then put the bowl down and looked at Guan Bao with sharp eyes.

"Why does Uncle Jiu look at his nephew like this?"

"Let me see if you have the courage."

"Courage? What does that mean?" Guan Bao was confused.

Jing Wuer chuckled and said, "I do have a way, it depends on whether you dare to do it with your uncle."

"Uncle Jiu, please stop beating around the bush and just speak directly."

"Okay!" Jing Wuer nodded and immediately lowered his voice and said, "After the old master passed away, our Zhenglan Banner has become a thorn in the eyes of others. Looking at the current situation, they will attack us sooner or later. My method is very simple. Instead of waiting to die, we might as well fight back. If they are unkind, we are unjust. Besides, we have followed Huang Taiji for so many years and have lived such a shitty life. If we continue like this, let alone a chance to make a breakthrough, we may even lose our lives. What do you think?"

"Uncle Jiu! Are you planning to rebel against the emperor?" Guan Bao was shocked.

"Emperor? What emperor! What kind of emperor is Huang Taiji? He is just a slave bandit leader. We, the Jurchens, originated from the White Mountains and Black Waters, and have been fighting on the borders of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. If it weren't for the old Khan, how could we be enemies of the Ming Dynasty? There is no need to talk about the old master later. After all, we are still the people of the Ming Dynasty. The so-called emperor of Huang Taiji is just bragging and flattering himself."

"This time the Ming army crossed the sea to attack Liaodong. Since Huang Taiji is forcing us so hard, why should we stay here? It's better to abandon the dark and join the light. If you have the guts, just follow me and contact the Ming army to join the Ming Dynasty. When the time comes, we will raise the banner and say we are against the Qing Dynasty and support the Ming Dynasty. When we get to the Ming Dynasty, we will be valued. Isn't it better than staying in Liaodong and suffering this bullshit?"

(End of this chapter)