Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 129: The Huguang Chuangjun

After the grand military review, the task of rectifying the Zuozhen army was much simpler than Zhu Cilang had anticipated. As the saying goes, "A good strike is enough to prevent a hundred blows."

Whenever the military generals of the Ming Dynasty encountered an emperor with a little courage, they would be unable to stand up under the layers of constraints.

As for those civil servants, even including He Tengjiao, even if they wanted to pretend to obey but actually disobey, they could only endure it and look for opportunities to restore the system of civil servants supervising the military.

They are all smart people, and no one wants to be the "chicken" to scare the monkeys, nor do they think that they are tougher than the Ming emperor who just repelled Duoduo's 100,000 cavalry!

As the civil servant leader of Jiangxi, He Tengjiao had never thought of disobeying Zhu Cilang. Once he remained silent, most of the other officials who were originally ready to make moves naturally stopped.

After the military parade, Zuo Menggeng, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong and Li Guoying all suspended their so-called delaying strategy, but each of them had some small thoughts in mind.

After all, they had to hide as much of what they did as possible from the court.

When Zhu Cilang questioned them earlier, he gave them the opportunity to submit memorials, and they did not dare to slack off. They all confessed and talked about all sorts of things to defend themselves.

Since Zhu Cilang gave them this opportunity, he did not intend to pursue the matter to the end. He did not have the strength to eradicate these old-fashioned forces yet, so he could only harbor their filth and temporarily win over some, attack others, or even use their strength to fight them.

But if someone still harbors a fluke mentality and tries to cover up the truth at this time, he will definitely not let it go easily.

In this way, the originally loose alliance of the five battalions of Zuozhen will fall apart because of their own thoughts and even mutual suspicion. This is the result of not having a strong leader.

During the subsequent half-month inspection of the military camp, things turned out just as he had expected. Once these generals understood their status and Zhu Cilang's attitude, some of them began to surrender voluntarily, and even made greater concessions than Zhu Cilang required, hoping to gain the emperor's favor by showing their active performance.

Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng were both very panicked. They were worried that others would leak the news that they had colluded with various parties, but they did not dare to confess directly to Zhu Cilang.

As a result, the matter was delayed by the hesitation of the two men until Zhu Cilang began to inspect the camps, and no decision was made. They still had not prepared themselves mentally, so they missed the best opportunity to submit a memorial to defend themselves.

After all, they cannot be 100% sure that the final punishment will be lenient after they confess. Zhu Cilang has not yet established enough credibility in their hearts.

Xu Yong and Li Guoying were secretly delighted because of their previous caution. They only sent servants, so even if the secret was exposed, they had a legitimate reason to cover it up.

However, the two of them are also continuing to wait and see. Once the situation is not right, they will immediately take countermeasures to avoid being implicated by Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng.

Zuo Menggeng was even more panicked at this time. He had made the most serious false report and sent Ma Shixiu to secretly contact Ma Jinzhong. He was very worried that the matter would be leaked, otherwise his future would be completely ruined.

At this time, contrary to everyone's expectations, Ma Shixiu, a general who was loyal to Zuo Liangyu, saw that the situation was not good and actually ran directly to Zhu Cilang and told him all the big and small things that Zuo Menggeng had been involved in before.

The complexity of the matter was beyond Zhu Cilang's expectations, and Zhou Shixian, who was accompanying him, even broke out in a cold sweat.

The Jinyiwei he deployed in Jiujiang City had actually noticed Ma Shixiu's unusual behavior a long time ago, but because they underestimated Zuo Liangyu's deputy general, they did not find out the truth, which was a serious dereliction of duty.

If the performance of the Palace Guards during the military review had not completely intimidated these military leaders, there would have been chaos in this patrol army, and it would definitely not be as peaceful and smooth as it is now.

After Ma Shixiu confessed everything, Zhu Cilang even found out that Zuo Menggeng, under the instigation of Hao Xiaozhong, was actually planning to arrange for his soldiers to riot for pay while he was on patrol. There was even the shadow of Nanchang Assistant Governor Fu Shangrui involved.

With Ma Shixiu's confession, a series of things that Hao Xiaozhong and Fu Shangrui had previously planned also surfaced, and the influence of Zuo Menggeng and Yuan Jixian was also subtle in this.

However, many things were true or false, and there was no sufficient evidence. Most of them were even blocked by Zhu Cilang's actions at the planning stage.

But Zhu Cilang would not let the two main culprits go so easily. Hao Xiaozhong and Fu Shangrui were both demoted. One was sent to Shaozhou Prefecture in Guangdong to defend against the Yao people, and the other was sent to Guiping Prefecture in Guangxi to govern the local area.

At the same time, Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng were also punished. Like Zuo Menggeng, their rewards were cut in half. If the situation hadn't allowed, their punishment would have been even more severe.

Zhu Cilang did not treat Ma Shixiu, a loyal general, unfairly and intended to make use of him.

Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and other troops need a reliable person to lead them, and it cannot be He Tengjiao and Yuan Jixian.

After all, although Ma Shixiu took the initiative to confess the facts, no one knew what he said except Zhu Cilang and Zhou Shixian.

Ma Shixiu's fighting skills were not weak. Ma Jinzhong, Wang Guangen, and Zhang Xianzhong had all been defeated by him. He also led a battalion of soldiers and was previously Zuo Liangyu's deputy general. His conditions in all aspects were impeccable.

This was actually the reason why he finally came to express his loyalty to Zhu Cilang and submitted his letter of surrender.

After the two events of welcoming the emperor and the grand military review, he already knew that Zhu Cilang was a wise ruler, so he naturally had to fight for his own future. Where was his hope in following Zuo Menggeng?
This is a smart person who has his own judgment of the situation!

Zhu Cilang not only promoted Ma Shixiu, but also issued a special order to allocate military supplies and food to strengthen the two battalions under his command, and sent Zhang Huangyan directly to his army.

Of course, during this process, the rectification of the other four battalions of Zuozhen was not completed with just a few words, and the rewards and pensions in the army only successfully won over a group of people.

All Zhu Cilang did was to suppress those military leaders and rely on rewards and pensions, as well as promised new systems and new institutions to win over the morale of the army. The subsequent implementation of the system and the construction of the army still had to rely on the group of officers led by Zhang Huangyan.

Ma Shixiu, the deputy general, was briefly inferior to Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, and Li Guoying, but now his status directly surpasses them. In fact, it is also a kind of check and balance.

At the same time, the banditry, uprisings of farmers and soldiers, and uprisings of slaves that had occurred in various prefectures and cities in Jiangxi since the Chongzhen period were now accompanied by taxation operations. When the time came for forceful pacification or suppression, the results of Zhu Cilang's military reorganization finally came in handy.

Zuo Zhen's troops were no match for the Qing army, but it was easy for them to defeat the rebel army in Jiangxi. There was no need to even send out the main force, and a small force could pacify an entire prefecture.

This is a rare and lucrative job. Not only can you gain military merit, but you can also obtain the spoils of suppressing bandits and quelling rebellions. Who will be assigned the task of suppressing bandits and quelling rebellions depends on how loyal they have been in their previous performance.

He Tengjiao originally wanted to continue with the tax collection deployment and intervene in this matter, but Zhu Cilang did not let him get involved. Tax collection and suppressing bandits and quelling riots were originally two different things.

Zhu Cilang did not want the army to participate in suppressing the gentry. It was not because he felt pity for those wealthy gentry, but because such an army would not be able to truly enforce military discipline. Once it was robbed, it would happen countless times.

He could not be so foolish as to believe that the army of this era could display the feudal spirit of fearlessness and do not harm the rich and powerful when forcing them to pay taxes.

At this time, Zhang Huangyan had not yet been able to deeply control and influence the army, and the powers and personnel of each department had not yet been implemented. Even if it was to suppress bandits and quell rebellions, Zhu Cilang was still worried.

After reviewing the five battalions of Zuo Zhen and personally supervising the work of "counting the number of soldiers" in each battalion, Zhu Cilang immediately prepared to set off for Changsha. The Chuang Army would be more difficult to completely subdue than Zuo Zhen.

At this time, it was the end of July in the first year of Dingwu. The Jinyiwei spies stationed by Zhou Shixian in various places in Huguang continuously passed the news of the Chuang army's east and west routes to Jiujiang via Liling-Pingxiang.

"Your Majesty, the rebel generals Li Jin and Gao Yigong led their troops to capture Jingmen Prefecture and Dangyang in June. After that, they rested and collected food and fodder in the local area. Du Yinxi sent messengers to contact them many times, but all without success.

By July 20th, nine battalions of the Chuang army, led by Li Jin, Li You, He Lan, Gao Yigong, Liu Rukui, Ma Chongxi, Zhang Neng, Tian Hu, and Yang Yanchang, totaling 200,000 men, will attack Jingzhou. The city is garrisoned by Zheng Siwei, a rebel general, with no more than 5,000 men. Jingzhou's defenses are unlikely to last long. Zhou Shixian, upon receiving the secret report, rushed to report. Meanwhile, Zhu Cilang was in Jiujiang City's temporary palace, instructing He Tengjiao on future treasury allocations and defense deployments. He was also trying to appease the provincial governor and paint a rosy picture of the Ming Dynasty's revival.

However, compared to those trivial matters, Zhu Cilang was more concerned about the situation of the remaining troops of the Chuang army. It was impossible to deploy defenses on both the Jiangxi and Huguang sides relying solely on the troops of Zuozhen, and as long as there was a flaw in any link of the Yangtze River defense line, it would collapse one after another.

"This rebel army retreated from northern Shaanxi, crossing mountains and rivers all the way. It must have been difficult for them to carry cannons. Although Jingzhou City was previously destroyed by Zhang Xianzhong, it has been repaired and is now as impregnable as a rock. Even the outermost moat is like a natural barrier. Let alone 5,000 defenders, even if there are 3,000, Li Jin will not be able to capture it in a short time." Zhu Cilang shook his head.

"But the rebel army is said to have 200,000 soldiers. Even if it is divided into half, there are still a full 100,000 soldiers, at least 30,000 to 40,000 of whom are armored. With more than ten times the number of soldiers, it should not be impossible to capture the city, right?" Zhou Shixian asked in surprise after hearing this.

"Attacking a city is not easy at all. If we don't have weapons to break the city, even if there are 200,000 troops outside the city, we will be helpless. What's more, these soldiers can't escape along the way, all their supplies have been lost, and their morale is at rock bottom." Zhu Cilang affirmed.

It is said that after the two Dashun armies led by Li Jin (i.e. Li Guo) and Gao Yigong were defeated in Xi'an, they decisively broke through and escaped Jiang Xiang's pursuit. They then gathered the remnants of the Shun army in Shaanxi and Gansu and marched south from Hanzhong, Shaanxi.

In April, the Dashun Western Army, which consisted of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, passed through Taiping, Dongxiang, Dazhou, Kuizhou, Xinning and other places in Sichuan, and entered the Xiling Gorge area in western Hubei. After a short rest, it led its troops eastward in June and reoccupied Jingmenzhou and Dangyang, two cities that Dashun had controlled for a long time.

At this time, Li Guo and Gao Yigong were unaware of the news that Li Zicheng had died in Jiugong Mountain. They had just found out during their rest period that the main force of the Qing army in Hubei had retreated northward, and they thought the time had come to leave the mountain.

After all, Li Guo and Gao Yigong had followed Li Zicheng in the rebellion very early. They broke through the siege of the Ming army many times and even fled into the mountains. They always managed to wait until the main force of the Ming army retreated and then regroup.

Now, Li Guo and Gao Yigong will lead the nine battalions of troops to attack Jingzhou in order to gain a foothold, replenish troops and food, and continue to wait for news from Li Zicheng.

However, at that time, Zheng Siwei, the general of the Qing Dynasty who was guarding Jingzhou, stubbornly resisted the city. The Dashun Army besieged the city for half a month, "filling trenches and building ladders, setting up tents and digging kilns, and attacking in every possible way", but still failed to capture this important city in western Hubei.

Although the military intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard was vague, it was correct. The Dashun Army placed their families and supplies on Caoping in Songzi County, and their troops were stationed in the area from Jingzhou Prefecture to Lizhou, spanning more than 300 miles, and their strength was quite strong.

He Tengjiao also learned about these military secrets from Zhou Shixian's report, and became the second person to know after Zhu Cilang. This made him a little flattered, and he immediately said:
"Your Majesty, regardless of whether or not Li Jun can capture Jingzhou, the rebels in Pingjiang and Liuyang must be strictly guarded. I implore Your Majesty to immediately dispatch the army from northern Jiangxi to Changsha to prevent the rebels from feigning acceptance and then colluding with each other to invade Hunan."

Zhou Shixian actually had this worry as well. The military intelligence reported by the Embroidered Uniform Guards included the situation of Qing army envoys entering the Chuang army camp.

"Your Majesty, Commander He is right. These rebels not only refuse to accept the amnesty, but also have connections with the Qing army. We must be on guard against them."

Until July, the remnants of the Dashun Army that had followed Li Zicheng eastward, including Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Wu Ruyi, Yuan Zongde, Liu Tichun, Zhang Nai, Dang Shousu, Lin Yangcheng, Wang Jincai, Niu Wancai and other camps, reached a gentleman's agreement with Governor Du Yinxi, received food and salary supplies, and their situation improved, but the attitudes of both sides remained very ambiguous.

After all, the rebel army still did not trust the Ming Dynasty enough. Although Du Yinxi had shown great friendliness, in their eyes, it was more like a trap.

This is not surprising. There are still grudges between Zhu Cilang and the generals of the various camps in Zuozhen, not to mention the Ming and Shun armies, which were mortal rivals the year before?

Of course, at this time in Changsha and Yuezhou Prefecture, both Governor Du Yinxi and Military Supervisor Wu Jinxi were pragmatic people who sought truth from facts. Although Wu Jinxi was a close confidant of He Tengjiao, he knew very well that the Hunan standard camp was of little use. Even the Shizhu Tusi soldiers had already suffered great losses after years of war.

In the original history, Wu Jinxi served as the military supervisor of the Hengyongchengui militia under He Tengjiao. He once advised He Tengjiao on how to deal with the Dashun Army on the eastern route: "These troops have been in the ranks for a long time. They are energetic when active and playful when quiet. When they are at their peak, we can use them and attack them from different directions. We can achieve great success."

However, He Tengjiao agreed with his opinion on the surface, but actually adopted Fu Shangrui's suggestion, "making things difficult with the lack of funds", which led to the Dashun Army led by Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongde and others being unable to gain a foothold in Hunan, and they were unwilling to shave their heads and surrender to the Qing. In August, they heard that Li Jin, Gao Yigong and other troops had moved east from Sichuan to Hubei, and immediately decided to move the army north.

In the end, except for Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai who remained under He Tengjiao, the main force of the Eastern Dashun Army moved its camp north. The various units quickly seized the ships of the Hunan Ming Army and crossed the river to the north. Ma Jinzhong, who was stationed in Yuezhou, knew that he was no match for the enemy, but he also made it very convenient for them to move smoothly into the Jingzhou area.

Zhu Cilang naturally could not let such a thing happen again. He needed to control at least part of the rebel army and gather another part, while ensuring that the latter would obey orders and could tie down part of the Qing army in Jingzhou.

"Of course, I won't trust them easily. After the Palace Guards are assembled, follow me west to Changsha. Zuo Menggeng, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, and Li Guoying will each lead a battalion of soldiers and horses to accompany me. The rebel forces in Pingjiang and Liuyang are currently quite disheartened. As soon as I arrive with my main army, they will surely not dare to act rashly."

After hearing this, He Tengjiao finally felt relieved, but he immediately came to his senses. His Majesty didn't intend to bring him along, so wouldn't Du Yinxi take advantage of him?
"Your Majesty, these bandits are cunning and treacherous, and they are the enemy of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty must not take any risks!"

Zhou Shixian was also worried about Zhu Cilang's safety, but he knew that he could not convince Zhu Cilang without sufficient reasons. The so-called safety issue might be something that others needed to consider, but the emperor in front of him would never be persuaded by this situation.

So, while He Tengjiao was admonishing him, Zhou Shixian also said:

"Your Majesty, I think Commander He is right. The rebels cannot be fully trusted, especially since they are still connected to the Qing army. If anything unexpected happens, the consequences will be disastrous. Your Majesty is responsible for the Ming Dynasty and its people. You must not take any risks."

"Your Majesty, I do not doubt Governor Du's loyalty, but he has always wanted to pacify the rebels. It is inevitable that he will be blinded by the situation and may end up doing something bad with good intentions and mistakenly trust the treacherous ministers. That would be disastrous.

"From what I have seen since the remnants of the rebel army entered Hunan, I can see that they are all trying to recruit this rebel army. Hunan is indeed short of strong soldiers, but you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. If the soldiers you recruit are not loyal to the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't it be a waste of food and fodder, and the country's blood and sweat to support a rebel army?"

He Tengjiao continued to persuade him, saying that he was also an expert at slander and defamation. If Zhu Cilang's mind was not still involved in the memory of the original time and space, he would probably have become suspicious.

"I will make the final decision on this matter. Yuncong, you stay in Jiujiang and make sure to rectify Jiangxi's finances and taxes. I just received a report two days ago that Du Yinxi is doing a much better job collecting taxes in Hunan."

"Ah!" He Tengjiao was surprised for a moment. He was like hitting cotton with a punch. Zhu Cilang didn't believe it at all and changed the subject, leaving him speechless for a moment. After a pause, he could only sullenly clasp his hands and say:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Also, I will leave Ma Shixiu and Zhang Huangyan in Jiangxi, and the remaining troops of the Left Town's Five Battalions in northern Jiangxi. They will be dispatched to various locations to suppress bandits and quell rebellions, and will be responsible for the allocation of food and fodder. Yun Cong, you must be attentive and courageous. I do not want to see our Ming army's internal suppression of bandits become an external operation.

But the court's troops could not be used to forcibly collect taxes from the people. This loophole could not be opened, otherwise Zhang Huangyan would not be able to stop those angry soldiers. They had already robbed a lot when they followed Zuo Liangyu.

If, during the process of suppressing the bandits and quelling the rebellion, disturbances or looting occur, and Zhang Huangyan is unable to handle them, Yun Cong, you can enforce military law on my behalf, and the rules of the army must be established."

After listening to Zhu Cilang's instructions, He Tengjiao could only bow his head and agree repeatedly. Naturally, he could not go to Changsha.

Zhu Cilang had finally arranged for Du Yinxi to be fully responsible for all matters concerning the recruitment of the peasant army. Of course, he could not let He Tengjiao, who hated the peasant army, intervene. He had to subdue the eastern army before the two armies joined together, especially to control Li Zicheng's wife Gao.

In the original history, Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others learned the details of Li Zicheng's death in Jiugong Mountain only after the two armies joined forces, and the Queen Gao of Dashun also moved directly to the camp of Li Guo and Gao Yigong.

Li Guo is Li Zicheng's nephew, and Gao Yigong is Gao's younger brother. Although these two people hold heavy troops, they actually do not have much opinion on the current situation.

Although Gao had followed Li Zicheng in the uprising for many years and was highly respected, he lacked the courage to lead the remaining troops of the Chuang army, nor could he use his prestige to select a new leader of the Shun army who would be accepted by the generals of all camps.

In other words, after Li Zicheng's death, even Li Guo and Gao Yigong, who were capable of taking charge of the rebel army and at the same time maintained the main force of the army, were unable to take charge of the situation and lead tens of thousands of elite old camps to regroup.

This is the level of the military and political team of the Dashun regime. In fact, only Li Zicheng has the ability to command large-scale military operations and absolute leadership.

Therefore, as long as Zhu Cilang could control the Gao family in advance, it would not be difficult for him to persuade Li Guo and Gao Yigong to lead their troops to surrender. They just needed a way out and find a way out for themselves and their troops. Zhu Cilang just needed to give an explanation to the officials of the Ming Dynasty.

The cornerstone of trust between the two parties is the Gao family!
Zhu Cilang didn't care about the Chuang Army, the Western Army, or their original historical origins. What he cared about were the tens of thousands of strong troops. As long as he allocated them food, military pay, armor and weapons, he could at least hold back 10,000 to 20,000 Eight Banners cavalrymen. This was the most important thing for the Ming Dynasty at that time.

(End of this chapter)