Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 125 Majesty
Wang Yuncheng looked at Ma Jinzhong's majestic back as he rushed forward, and was surprised for a moment. He blurted out:
"Laoma, Lao Ma, wait for me, I haven't caught up yet!"

But at this time, Ma Jinzhong didn't care about him at all. He rushed forward without looking back, as if he hadn't heard anything. Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying, Zuo Menggeng and others also rushed forward.

However, no matter how fast Ma Jinzhong reacted or how fiercely he rushed, he did not dare to rush directly in front of He Tengjiao. The emperor's holy carriage was right in front of him, and he did not dare to be presumptuous.

The difference between the civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty had long been imprinted in everyone's mind. Even if Ma Jinzhong spoke rudely in private, he would not dare to do anything inappropriate in public.

The civil officials and military generals waited again, but the dragon boat that Zhu Cilang was riding on still did not reach the shore. But at this time, whether it was the civil officials or the military generals, they were all respectful and silent, and no one dared to make a noise.

Soon, Zhou Shixian and Lin Changfu brought the Jinyiwei and the imperial camp ashore from the first warship that docked. He Tengjiao immediately stepped forward and waited for orders.

It was naturally not so easy for local officials like them to board the ship to meet the emperor, and Zhu Cilang would not summon them so easily. The necessary procedures and various trivial matters before the audience with the emperor still needed to be sorted out.

After Zhu Cilang ascended the throne, due to the urgent situation and constant emergencies from all over the country, He Tengjiao and their staff did not go to Nanjing to meet the emperor, but took office directly. They had never truly witnessed Zhu Cilang's methods, nor did they stand together in Fengyang, and live and die together as monarch and ministers.

In other words, in their hearts, the emperor of the time was still a child of sixteen or seventeen years old, so they naturally had less awe in him.

Zhu Cilang wanted to use the etiquette of meeting the emperor to distinguish the identities of the monarch and his subjects, and to have an audience with the monarch as a subject, first of all, in Jiujiang, on the away field, on the dragon boat, to gain the home advantage.

Zhu Cilang did not doubt He Tengjiao's loyalty, but he had to make He Tengjiao understand where his power came from. Although He Tengjiao was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, he was also ambitious and liked to fight for power. What Zhu Cilang was most worried about was the endless infighting.

The Ming Dynasty's factional strife, unfolding through the reigns of Emperors Jiajing and Longqing, became a pervasive officialdom ethos beginning with the Wanli reign. Driven by powerful group interests and factional ideologies, various cliques engaged in countless political disputes and power struggles throughout the late Ming dynasty.

Such political struggles, and the fact that the cabinet, as the nominal center of the court, actually had no legitimate powers, coupled with the emperor's enormous power in the entire system under the imperial system, further intensified party struggles, making the Ming Dynasty's military and political system, as well as its internal and external strategies, difficult to maintain and very prone to errors.

After Zhou Shixian and Lin Changfu, together with He Tengjiao and other civil and military officials, had basically completed preparations on the shore, the dragon boat that Zhu Cilang was riding on finally slowly approached the shore.

Faced with the dragon boat that still looked like a palace on the water, He Tengjiao and his companions followed the etiquette of the audience and boarded the boat one after another and waited on the deck.

He Tengjiao and Yuan Jixian were both in their fifties. They had been standing on the shore since early morning, and had not eaten or drunk anything. They felt a little weak.

But none of them dared to show any discomfort. They still forced themselves to get on board and waited respectfully to be summoned.

Zhu Cilang was naturally aware of these situations. From the dragon boat, which was a completely unfamiliar environment for He Tengjiao and others, to deliberately delaying time and making them wait on the shore until after noon, as well as the royal guards on the dragon boat who were well-armored and majestic, were all part of the whole plan.

However, after all the civil and military officials who claimed to be heroes of the Ming Dynasty boarded the ship, Zhu Cilang no longer maintained his pretense. Otherwise, he would be seen as mean, eccentric, and even incompetent in the eyes of these civil officials.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Zhu Cilang did not summon He Tengjiao, Yuan Jixian and others separately, but summoned Fu Shangrui, Yan Qiheng, Zhang Kuang, as well as military generals such as Ma Jinzhong, Zuo Menggeng, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong and Li Guoying.

When He Tengjiao heard he was being summoned, his face was filled with astonishment, and he was stunned for a moment. Even though he had been an official for many years and was very shrewd, he couldn't hide the disappointment on his face at this moment.

He was originally full of expectations and accepted the summons alone. In front of Zhu Cilang, he first defined many things. Even if Yuan Jixian followed him in, he was still his man.

But now, His Majesty not only summoned other civil officials, but also summoned those soldiers as well. This is not only a problem that is difficult to say, but also shows that his status in Zhu Cilang is far not as high as imagined.

However, He Tengjiao quickly calmed down. However, everyone saw his changes from surprise and uncertainty to composure, and he looked quite embarrassed.

But Fu Shangrui, Yan Qiheng, Zhang Kuang and others were secretly delighted. Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others were even more overjoyed. However, Zuo Menggeng looked a little complicated.

Under the watchful eyes of armed guards on both sides, a group of civil and military officials carefully filed into the dragon boat's helm to meet the emperor. They all became nervous.

At this time, the people who were most nervous were not the civil officials who were privately quite sensitive about the distinction between the monarch and his subjects, but the military generals who had just spoken without restraint. They were much more afraid.

After shouts of "Long live the emperor" and the completion of the ceremonial procedures between the monarch and his subjects, Zhu Cilang traveled thousands of miles and finally met the ministers stationed in northern Jiangxi. He Tengjiao and others were also finally able to see the emperor. The emperor they had been thinking about was now in front of them.

Zhu Cilang did not say much, but just as if he was in the palace, he started to examine the memorials and debates, and from time to time he told the secret reports sent back by the Jinyiwei and the impeachment memorials between the officials, awakening the ministers in front of him, and then he affirmed the merits of He Tengjiao and other ministers.
After this series of combined punches, even the commander-in-chief He Tengjiao and the cabinet ministers were trembling with fear, not knowing what was going on.

There are many "secrets" between their actual battle performance in northern Jiangxi and the reported results, as well as the actual situation of the "Battle of Nankang".

After all, in this world, no one is exempt from investigation. If they are, everyone will be full of loopholes. And Zhu Cilang, relying on the intelligence gathered by the Jinyiwei, constantly releases smoke bombs to show that he has control over the situation. Anyone would be nervous!

However, Zhu Cilang did not continue playing these tricks. Seeing that the ministers in front of him had been successfully intimidated, he immediately said seriously:
"Zuo Liangyu has made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Since his reinstatement three years ago, he first fought hard against the Qing army in Yongping, and then went to Liaozhen to resist the enemy. He fought for the court in the Central Plains, repeatedly fighting against the Chuang army and defeating the Western Army. Although there were defeats during this period, his merits ultimately outweighed his faults."

Zuo Menggeng never expected that after Zhu Cilang questioned He Tengjiao and Yuan Jixian, he would immediately give his father a verdict. Although he was prepared, he was unable to react for a while.

Zhu Cilang did not wait for others to say anything, and then said:

"This is a rare and talented general in the Ming Dynasty. My father highly appreciated him during his reign. Although there are often rumors that he is arrogant and self-indulgent, I know there must be hidden reasons and difficulties. In those years, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles. It was not easy for him to resist the enemy and quell the rebellion.

Now, Zuo Liangyu has stopped Ajige for me again. I will definitely fulfill my previous promise and ensure the prosperity of the Zuo family's descendants. Zuo Menggeng, from now on, you will stay by my side. When I return to Nanjing, you will bring your troops with you. The Beijing camp is short of soldiers and generals.

"Your Majesty, your grace is so great that I have no way to repay you. I will fight for you on the battlefield to kill enemies and defend the Ming Dynasty!" Zuo Menggeng immediately knelt down and said, which meant that he would be transferred to the Nanjing Jingying and entrusted with an important task.

At the same time, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others also breathed a sigh of relief, and their originally hanging hearts were instantly put at ease.

They all understood that this was clearly an attempt to define Zuo Liangyu's merits and demerits during his lifetime, but in reality it was meant to appease his old subordinates. A dead man was nothing, and they were the ones His Majesty really needed to take care of at the moment.

However, this is because they think too highly of themselves. Zhu Cilang naturally had this intention, but it was also to put an end to Zuo Liangyu, especially since Zuo Liangyu in this time and space did not ultimately carry out the farce of "clearing the court".

Zuo Liangyu, the general who almost openly disobeyed orders during the reign of Chongzhen, certainly had his problems, but with his death, many of these problems became unimportant.

Moreover, Zuo Liangyu finally understood the truth. All his subsequent actions were just about how to avoid being captured and killed by Chongzhen like other ministers, and how to preserve his strength and survive.

But the system of the Ming Dynasty was there. The growing strength of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai actually put him in many crises. Even though he defeated Zhang Xianzhong many times and regained countless lost prefectures for the Ming Dynasty, when the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?
In the Battle of Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng still severely damaged his vitality, and his core elite soldiers suffered heavy losses. He could only rely on recruiting peasant armies and defeated soldiers to expand his power.

All these led to the fact that even though he became the biggest warlord in the Ming Dynasty, he still didn't know what to do. However, until his death, Zuo Liangyu never really revealed any intention of surrendering to the Qing army.

Under the Ming Dynasty system, any military general who wanted to rebel had almost no chance of success, so whether it was Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie and others, they never had such an idea.

All they wanted was to expand their power, strengthen their army, and, while saving their lives, seize more money and food and embezzle more military pay. In fact, this was the only ambition that the military leaders of the late Ming Dynasty had.

After Zhu Cilang understood this, he had a strategy for dealing with these military leaders. He knew exactly what they wanted. He also knew he needed to rebuild trust between the emperor and his subjects. Zhu Cilang then had Zuo Menggeng, the commander-in-chief of the army at the time, report in detail on the gains of the "Battle of Nankang," particularly the actual number of Tatar heads taken.

Other things can be boasted about, but for these Tartar heads, the Ming Dynasty had strict procedures and standards, so it was not so easy to forge them.

Zuo Menggeng reported and recounted the military situation at the time, while Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement. He would occasionally say a few words, each time hitting the nail on the head, causing Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong, and Li Guoying, who were watching the fire from the other side and remained motionless, to break out in cold sweats again.

After Zuo Menggeng had basically finished speaking, Zhu Cilang slowly spoke:

"This battle was well fought. I killed eight or nine thousand Tartars in Jiangbei, but I was unable to kill many of their generals. In one battle, you killed Zhuobutai and almost captured the so-called Baturu of the Tartars. This is truly a great achievement."

When the military generals heard Zhu Cilang boast about killing eight or nine thousand Tartars, they all laughed secretly in their hearts and did not believe it at all. However, those civil officials who knew nothing about military affairs believed it without a doubt and even felt that the number was too little.

Not only did they know nothing about military affairs and lack the most basic military knowledge, but they were also mysteriously confident and even believed in the exaggerated military reports they fabricated. Many people also believed that as long as the army was upright and pure and possessed good virtues, they would be able to defeat the Qing army.

"However." Zhu Cilang changed the subject and then said:

"Twenty thousand troops, ambushed, and with the help of the navy, were unable to contain fifteen hundred Qing troops. In the end, they only captured a little over a thousand Eight Banners soldiers. Jin Shenghuan's troops also suffered heavy losses. This is not a good record."

Upon hearing this, Jin Shenghuan was completely different from the others, his heart was in his throat. He seized the opportunity and immediately stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, in the battle of Nankang, if it weren't for General Zuo's inexperience and poor deployment, the Qing army would have been almost unchecked and would have charged directly at my troops. My soldiers and generals would never have suffered such heavy losses."

"His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Menggeng immediately stepped out and wanted to quibble, but was stopped by Zhu Cilang. Seeing Zhu Cilang's fierce eyes, he didn't dare to continue speaking.

"Go on!" Zhu Cilang said to Jin Shenghuan.

Jin Shenghuan was very proud when he heard this. He knew that the civil servants headed by He Tengjiao were all watching the show. At this time, he was full of confidence and continued:
"Your Majesty, I am bringing up this past matter not to blame anyone. It's just that the soldiers under my command all have wives, children, and parents. Their pensions have been delayed, and some have even starved to death in the army. I simply wish to seek a meal for them.

The killing of over a thousand Tartars in this battle was almost entirely due to their efforts. If they had not sacrificed their lives to stop the Qing army and forced them to break out in a panic, I'm afraid no matter how many more troops we had on the plains, we would have found it difficult to defeat those elite Eight Banners troops."

After these words were spoken, Zuo Menggeng was completely speechless. In the name of compensation, Jin Shenghuan stood on the moral high ground. This meant that after he played tricks on Zuo Menggeng, he didn't have to worry about being questioned about having ulterior motives. At the same time, he also achieved his goal of showing off in front of Zhu Cilang.

After hearing this, He Tengjiao suddenly had other thoughts in his mind. Although he was persuaded by his subordinates and wanted to support Zuo Menggeng, he actually preferred Jin Shenghuan if he was obedient.

In the current situation, he needs a military general who is both obedient and good at fighting, so that he can help him fight back against the Qing army in the future and surpass Li Banghua with his military achievements.

Zhu Cilang knew that Jin Shenghuan was ambitious, otherwise he would not be like this now, not hesitating to offend Zuo Menggeng directly in order to show himself in front of him.

Moreover, this man was good at fighting. Although he was not a top-notch general, Li Guoying performed mediocrely when he was under Zuo Liangyu. But after surrendering to the Qing army, he became a military and political expert.

Ultimately, whether you can win often depends on who your opponent is, and more importantly, on the system you are in and whether it can provide the conditions for this stage.

After Jin Shenghuan finished speaking, Ma Jinzhong, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others also spoke up. On the one hand, they wanted to defend themselves and shirk responsibility, and on the other hand, they wanted to learn from Jin Shenghuan and show themselves in front of Zhu Cilang.

They all wanted to be promoted, so naturally they didn't want to fall behind. With the pressure brought by Jin Shenghuan's proactive attack, they all vied to show their loyalty and merits without Zhu Cilang having to use both kindness and force.

Zhu Cilang naturally did not believe in their loyalty. He was just relying on the authority of the legitimate emperor of the Ming Dynasty to scare them, but if he really wanted them to be convinced, he had to show them something practical.

"I will definitely not skimp on post-war compensation for the soldiers. Money and food rewards will also be generous. Even replenishment of troops, armor, and military equipment will be gradually allocated by the court."

Zhu Cilang looked around at the ministers and generals in front of him and said slowly:

“However, this time when I came, in addition to the army that protected me and the gold, silver and jewels that I rewarded the soldiers, I also brought a large shipload of Tartar heads.

Although we won the Battle of Nankang, the spoils were still insufficient. This time, I have brought over two thousand Tartar heads, along with many captured Eight Banners flags, to boost morale. Among them is a Jiala flag, which I will plant on the walls of Jiujiang. Any further attack by the Tartars will surely infuriate them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the civil and military officials below were all shocked, seemingly unable to believe the news. If Zhu Cilang had brought in two thousand Tartar heads at once, then his claim of killing eight or nine thousand Tartars was very likely true.

The four words "two thousand heads" immediately set off a huge wave in the hearts of Ma Jinzhong and others. They looked at each other with vague eyes. They didn't dare to believe it, but they also dared not to believe it.

If the current emperor really had this power, they would not dare to act arrogantly anymore. These people do not have the courage of Zuo Liangyu, they are just eager to try.

Not only them, He Tengjiao was also very surprised. If this was true, then the news that more than 20,000 Qing troops were killed during the Jiangbei War for more than half a year should also be true. This was ten times the results of the battle in northern Jiangxi.

Zhu Cilang observed the expressions of the crowd and knew that bringing these two thousand nitrated heads was the right decision. He simply wanted to flex his muscles, show them the strength of the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp, and finally dispel the ambitions of these generals.

After confirming that the current emperor was not entitled to the title in vain, these military generals immediately acted more like loyal subjects, vying with each other to flatter Zhu Cilang, each one more fawning than the other.

Zhu Cilang also took this opportunity to show his kindness. Zuo Menggeng and Jin Shenghuan were of course important, and Xu Yong was good at defending. Once he decided on someone to follow, he would be extremely loyal and stubborn. He had to subdue such a person.

For a long time in the future, the Ming Dynasty will be in a state of strategic defense and local counterattack. City defense talents like Xu Yong who have performed well in many previous battles are crucial.

This time, Ajige did not attack the city honestly, and his strength had not yet been demonstrated. Xu Yong originally did not have much hope, but he was very excited to be appreciated by Zhu Cilang.

The same was true for Li Guoying. He and Xu Yong were the first to accept the court's recruitment and leave Zuo Liangyu, but they had not made many contributions in previous battles. Unexpectedly, they both won the favor of His Majesty, and they had already secretly made up their minds to repay His Majesty.

His military and political talents are superior to most of the generals under Zuo Liangyu. Combined with a general like Xu Yong who is good at defense, it is not a problem for him to defend an area. Zhu Cilang intends to continue to use him, so naturally he has to show his attitude at this time.

However, Ma Jinzhong was in an awkward position. Zhu Cilang naturally wanted to win over this most powerful general who had hundreds of cavalrymen. But he was not at ease with such a general who was "as quick as the wind" in fighting security battles behind enemy lines, but he was not at ease with him in front of the battlefield without his supervision.

Ma Jinzhong was immediately anxious when he saw this. He had just rushed to the front, but now he was almost at the end of the queue. He was extremely anxious for a moment, and finally could not bear it any longer. He directly took out the list and said loyally:

"Your Majesty, I, Old Ma, am also loyal to the court. No matter how Your Majesty orders us, I will never disobey. Even if Your Majesty asks for my thousand cavalrymen, I won't blink an eye."

Zhu Cilang deliberately left him to the end. Seeing Ma Jinzhong's anxious look, he couldn't help but laugh in his heart, but he naturally didn't believe what he said. Then he smiled and said:
"Okay, General Ma's loyalty is evident to me today, so let's make it a deal. I'm in need of cavalry!"

After hearing this, Ma Jinzhong was stunned and felt extremely regretful. He was just showing his loyalty!
(End of this chapter)