Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 133 The Emperor's Visit
When Hao Yaoqi heard this, his hair stood on end and he immediately knelt down again. His hands and feet were stiff, his lips were trembling, and he couldn't even speak.

He remembered this incident clearly. More than a hundred elite cavalrymen died inexplicably in the water fort outside Qingzhou City. If he had not been able to respond quickly and cover it up after the incident, he would have been punished by Li Zicheng long ago.

But he never expected that the excuse he had made up to cover up the matter was actually correct. If he had known this earlier, no matter what conditions Du Yinxi offered, he would not have thought of recruiting him.

But now, the development of things is no longer up to him to make a choice!

Zhu Cilang looked at Hao Yaoqi who knelt down in a hurry, but hesitant and unable to speak. He then looked at the horrified expressions on the faces of Wang Jincai and the surrounding generals, and burst into laughter.

When he had laughed enough, the tense nerves of the generals relaxed. Only then did Zhu Cilang slowly step forward and soothe them in a gentle voice:

"General Hao, don't be nervous. I just suddenly remembered something from the past. I don't want to pursue these trivial matters, let alone discuss the so-called right and wrong.

Today is today, and the past is the past. I will never generalize. At that time, you were a general under Li Zicheng, stationed in Jinghai. When you noticed something unusual, you sent troops to pursue him. This was fulfilling your duty and there is nothing wrong with it.

Now that you are my subject, all these things must be written off. I heard that you brought tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to me this time, ready to serve the Ming Dynasty. Is that true?"

"It's absolutely true, Your Majesty!" Hao Yaoqi knelt on the ground, lowered his head, bowed to Zhu Cilang, and answered in a firm tone.

"Yeah!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then looked at Wang Jincai, who looked confused and even a little at a loss.

Upon seeing this, Wang Jincai immediately knelt down with a "puff" sound, and bowed to Zhu Cilang, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have also led 70,000 soldiers and civilians to serve the Ming Dynasty. As long as Your Majesty gives the order, I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty, even if it means death."

Zhu Cilang looked at the tall, even somewhat obese general, nodded, and then said in a calm voice:

"Since you have the courage to come here alone, your loyalty is beyond doubt. And since you have already submitted to the Ming Dynasty, the placement of these hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, as well as the training of the soldiers from all walks of life, will all be the responsibility of the imperial court.

Putting aside other matters, if you are short of troops, or if your soldiers are running low on armor and food, I will instruct all departments to replenish them. I will never let down the soldiers' sincerity, nor will I leave you two loyal ministers with any worries."

After hearing this, Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai immediately shouted out their thanks. They had been worried since they entered the military camp. From those elite soldiers to the General Zuo Zhen who stood obediently in the imperial tent, they all made them feel as if they were being oppressed by something.

After Zhu Cilang and the other two expressed their gratitude, they turned to the still uneasy General Hao Yaoqi and said:
"Hao Yaoqi, I've heard that you're incredibly brave and invincible. You earned this name because you held the banner in the army and fought bravely. Is that true?"

"Your Majesty is wise, indeed." Hao Yaoqi was flattered. He paused, then added, "But before, I only cared about courage, not loyalty. I completely put the cart before the horse. As a result, I made many mistakes in my confusion. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Zhu Cilang knew that Hao Yaoqi was not really relieved yet. After all, if someone sent troops to hunt down the emperor while he was fleeing, he would not think that everything was fine just because of a few words of comfort.

But Hao Yaoqi is the key to his persuasion of Tian Jianxiu and Gao. He must gain their trust, otherwise unexpected accidents are likely to happen.

As for Wang Jincai, his role was not significant. The so-called 70,000 soldiers and civilians under his control were just a coincidence. He did not have the ability to do so, and in the original history, he did not cause any waves.

In terms of courage and ability to fight, at this time, in the Dashun East Route Army, there were only Hao Yaoqi and Liu Tichun, who not only had heavy troops under their command but were also able and dared to fight.

"I've already said that all past right and wrong will be forgiven." Zhu Cilang said, stepping forward to help up Hao Yaoqi who was kneeling on the ground, and said in a stern voice:

"However, since you, General Hao, have said that you only knew courage and not loyalty, and thus committed many mistakes, from now on, I will give you a new name. It is both a gift and a warning: Yongzhong!"

"Hao Yongzhong, what a nice name!" Upon hearing this, Ma Jinzhong immediately joined in the response, which triggered responses from other generals in the big tent. Those who didn't know would think that he was a spy arranged by Zhu Cilang in advance.

At this time, Zhou Shixian also shouted:
"Hao Yongzhong, His Majesty has spoken, why don't you thank him?"

Upon hearing this, Hao Yaoqi knelt down again and kowtowed directly this time:

"Your Majesty, your servant Hao Yongzhong, bows in gratitude for His Majesty's grace. Long live the Emperor!"

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang smiled and helped Hao Yongzhong up for the third time, then said with a gentle smile:

"Okay, between the ruler and his subjects, the most taboo thing is a rift. I have always been open and honest in my actions, and now, between you and me, the ruler and his subjects, the same should apply from now on."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I will swear to be loyal to Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty until death." Hao Yongzhong quickly expressed his loyalty. Only now did he feel relieved.

After all, if Zhu Cilang wanted to bring up the past and find a reason to kill him, there was no need for such a show. Otherwise, it would ruin his credibility as a ruler.

In other words, after Zhu Cilang had done so many things and expressed so many attitudes, it would be almost impossible to kill him easily. There was even the intention of taking him as a confidant and promoting and training him.

Therefore, the only thing Hao Yongzhong has to do now is to perform well and seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"In that case, I'll get straight to the point." After Zhu Cilang won over the people's hearts, he didn't say any more words. The nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses outside the tent were almost assembled at this time.

"The Tartars' invasion of the pass this time is not just for plunder, but to steal the territory of the Ming Dynasty, destroy the civilization and society built by the Han people over thousands of years, and even enslave millions of the people of the Ming Dynasty, and even force all Han people to cut their hair and wear queues.

The country is destroyed, the family is ruined, the mountains and rivers are broken, and the situation has reached a point where there is no turning back. We have to put aside the grudges and hatreds within the Ming Dynasty for now. If we don't drive away these bandits, what will be the point even if we win the battle?

My primary purpose in personally visiting Huguang this time is to pacify the brothers of the Chuang army, supply them with military supplies and fodder, and deploy defenses in Huguang along Yuezhou and Jingzhou, waiting for the Qing army to advance southwards so that we can join forces and strike hard."

"I am willing to return to Liuyang and persuade Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi and others on behalf of Your Majesty. As long as they agree, others will definitely have no objection." Hao Yongzhong immediately bowed and clasped his fists.

"Okay, that's exactly what I meant!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then looked at Wang Jincai and said, "Wang Jincai, you should also go back with Hao Yongzhong. You have 70,000 soldiers and civilians under your command, so your words carry more weight."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang Jincai was pleasantly surprised and immediately responded with a bow.

"But." Hao Yongzhong hesitated to speak.

"Yongzhong, just speak directly in front of me." Zhu Cilang instructed upon seeing this.

"Your Majesty, I am worried about the shortage of food, fodder, weapons and armor in Changsha's treasury. I, Wang Jincai, Liu Tichun and other generals have a total of more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians under our command, including more than 30,000 combat soldiers and more than 50,000 strong laborers. I'm afraid it will not be easy to resettle them." Hao Yongzhong said with a frown, cupping his hands together.

But Zhu Cilang had already prepared for these. When he heard Hao Yongzhong's words, he knew that the latter was sincerely accepting the offer, and he immediately smiled and said:

"Yongzhong, you have considered it very carefully. The most difficult part of recruiting people is not beforehand, but the resettlement afterwards. I have already asked Du Yinxi to prepare food and fodder, and a lot of military equipment and armor has been produced. As long as we recruit 10% of the people, the supply equipment of the soldiers and the resettlement of their families will all be arranged immediately.

Therefore, the most important thing now is to find someone who is trusted by both sides to facilitate this matter. I think this person is you. As long as you personally take action and pacify them, you will have already achieved half of the success. "

Upon hearing this, Hao Yongzhong was immediately inspired and felt his blood boiling. He agreed to do the job directly and signed a military order in front of everyone that he would die if he failed.

Encouraged by Zhu Cilang, Wang Jincai naturally did not want to fall behind. So early the next morning, together with Hao Yongzhong, he followed Qin Yiming back to the Chuang army camp in Liuyang. They also brought with them the imperial edict that Zhu Cilang had just written.

After the two returned to the Chuang army camp, they first summoned their trusted men and assembled all the elite soldiers. Then they went directly to Tian Jianxiu and asked him to summon other generals, claiming that they wanted to read the imperial edict.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang also led a large army and followed closely. The scouts arranged by Tian Jianxiu on the periphery quickly discovered the main movements of the Ming army in Changsha City. As soon as the news was passed back, several large camps of the rebel army near Liuyang became restless in an instant.

Tian Jianxiu originally wanted to unite with other generals to stabilize Hao Yaoqi, but Hao Yaoqi did not give him this opportunity at all. While he smugly corrected the other party that his name was now Hao Yongzhong, he frowned and read the imperial edict word by word.

Zhu Cilang only mentioned three things in the imperial edict.

First, the Tartars entered the pass and swallowed up the five northern provinces. The world was at a critical moment of life and death. He decided to gather and recruit all forces willing to resist the Qing Dynasty, just to recover the country and kill all the Tartars.

Second, all past involvements of Tian Jianxiu and other former rebels would be forgiven, and upon accepting the offer of amnesty, they would be immediately provided with provisions, official titles, and would continue to command their former subordinates. Third, he demanded that all the generals of the rebel army, including Gao, immediately prepare to receive an audience, and he would immediately lead the army to Liuyang to meet with Ming officials.

Of course, these are just superficial statements. Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai immediately conducted in-depth analysis, but Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun and others were still wary of this.

Upon seeing this, Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai immediately told several people about the strong army they saw in the military camp in Changsha City, especially the new look of the Zuozhen army.

In fact, the most important reason why the two of them suddenly made up their minds to accept the surrender was this - if they were surrounded and attacked at that time, there would not be such good surrender conditions as now, and they might even lose their lives.

However, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang and others did not believe what Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai said at all. Zuo Zhen was beaten and fled by them half a year ago. How could it be possible that it could be reborn and become a strong army so quickly?
About two hours after Hao Yaoqi returned to the camp, the vanguard of the Ming army appeared fifteen miles west of the Chuang army camp. Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongde, Zhang Nai and others were completely out of confidence in the face of Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai, and the so-called argument came to an abrupt end.

In fact, they were not opposed to being persuaded, but they could not easily trust Zhu Cilang, the emperor of the Zhu family. If they left their own army, they would be like fish on the chopping board.

Finally, after Hao Yongzhong promised Zhu Cilang not to pursue the blame for Li Zicheng's capture of Beijing, Gao made the final decision and the matter finally came to a conclusion.

As for Li Zicheng and the so-called Dashun, what Zhu Cilang had to do was not to mention them or pursue them, and to throw all these things into a corner before destroying the Qing Dynasty.

As soon as this key issue was resolved, Gao immediately took the generals of the rebel army and, after explaining the important military tasks, set off early the next morning to meet the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cilang led the cavalry and the palace army to Liuyang one after another, and set up camp about fifteen miles away from the camp of the Chuang army. The subsequent troops followed closely and arrived one after another.

By the time Gao led Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, Zhang Nai, Hao Yongzhong, Wang Jincai and others and hundreds of cavalry soldiers to the outskirts of the Ming army camp, the five battalions of the Zuozhen army had already set up camp on the spot after a day and night of hard work.

Changsha City was less than a hundred miles away from the rebel army camp in Liuyang. After resting, Zhu Cilang's troops arrived at the designated location in just half a day.

Before this, he had already found out the basic situation of the Chuang army camp through the Jinyiwei and the scouts. In fact, it was not only the Chuang army that was wary of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang was also not completely confident in the Chuang army.

As soon as the armies arrived, he ordered them to set up strong camps fifteen miles away from the main camp of the rebel army.

The soil on the plain was loose, and the Ming troops quickly set up camp. They also dug two deep trenches around the camp, filled them with sharp wood, and surrounded them with strings of caltrops.

The earth excavated from the trench was piled up into a low breastwork. Between these breastworks surrounding the camp, a small French cannon or a tiger squat cannon was set up every two hundred steps.

In addition, the various camps were both interconnected and isolated from each other. Countless chevaux de frise divided them into independent parts. If the enemy attacked at night, even if they succeeded by chance, they would be confined to a corner and unable to deploy quickly.

Each of the several gates of the barracks was equipped with a simple wooden watchtower. There were heavy barricades in front of the gates, and the outer trenches were paved with wooden boards, which would be removed at night to prevent sneak attacks.

At this time, outside the Ming army camp that had risen from the ground, countless scouts were galloping back and forth on the plains. Behind them were more than a thousand cavalrymen commanded by Zhu Cilang himself.

Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang and others were a little bit unbelievable when they saw this. They had not seen such well-trained Ming troops for a long time, and they were even more surprised that these Ming troops actually had groups of elite cavalry.

Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai looked at the expressions of the others and were very proud in their hearts. Hao Yongzhong even called out Tian Jianxiu and the others by their names and said proudly:
"Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, do you believe it now? If the former Ming army, the former Zuozhen, could set up a camp like this?"

Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun and Liu Fangliang were all silent when they heard this. They just watched quietly. Such a solid camp was built in just one day and one night. It was indeed something that only a strong army could achieve.

At this time, Wang Jincai was not willing to be outdone. He raised his head slightly and snorted coldly:

"Your Majesty's strength is far beyond our imagination. If he truly wanted to destroy us, it would be easy. However, Your Majesty now prioritizes resisting the Qing. Everything he does is to help the world and restore the country."

"That's right!" Hao Yongzhong continued:
"Your Majesty, if you can recruit us, it will give us a chance to avenge our grievances and even make great achievements. We have been chased all the way here by the Qing army and are actually in a desperate situation. Now that Your Majesty is willing to recruit us, we must not be ungrateful!"

Faced with the joint PUA of Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang and others said nothing. In fact, they had been convinced. Now they really had nothing except the few thousand defeated soldiers in their hands.

Upon seeing this, the two men immediately sent someone to report to the imperial camp. After obtaining Zhu Cilang's permission, they led this group of generals of the rebel army into the camp where the palace army was stationed, where Zhu Cilang was already stationed.

Since it was an audience with the emperor, the Jinyiwei led by Zhou Shixian had to take action. Although Zhu Cilang did not intend to make things difficult for the generals of the Chuang Army, the etiquette and rules between the monarch and his subjects still had to be observed. This was the prerequisite for the Ming Dynasty to recruit the Chuang Army.

At this time, Gao, Tian Jianxiu and others no longer cared about their previous so-called identities, especially Gao, who was originally a soft-tempered person.

After a somewhat cumbersome audience etiquette, Zhu Cilang finally succeeded in meeting with the generals of the Chuang Army, represented by Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang and others, who had passed numerous inspections.

With the cooperation of Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai, the two sides quickly reached an agreement on a series of issues concerning the Ming Dynasty and the Dashun Dynasty.

However, rather than saying that they reached an agreement, it would be more accurate to say that Zhu Cilang agreed to draft an imperial decree to fulfill the official positions and titles he had verbally bestowed upon them, and at the same time promised never to pursue the previous rebellion.

Zhu Cilang had been prepared for all these, and he even gave more. As long as he could win people's hearts, he didn't care about national traitors or family feuds. These illusory things were not something that should be delved into under the current situation.

The biggest disagreement between the two sides was actually practical issues such as resettlement after the appeasement. Zhu Cilang agreed to supply food and military supplies, and at the same time allocate land to resettle the families of the troops in each camp. These were not difficult problems.

After all, if he did not recruit the remaining troops of the rebel army and formed a new camp on his own, all these would still be required. Moreover, because of the recruitment of new soldiers, the training time would be increased, and more money and food would be allocated.

This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the Qing army is likely to move south again within half a year, and he does not have time to train tens of thousands of soldiers with sufficient combat effectiveness in such a short time.

However, the deployment of troops from each camp became the focus of the dispute. Zhu Cilang required that after each camp of the rebel army accepted the amnesty, they should count the number of soldiers, separate the military and civilians, and settle the families of the soldiers according to the garrison. Except for Hao Yongzhong who stayed in Changsha and was directly dispatched by Du Yinxi, and Liu Tichun who assisted in defending Yuezhou, all camps had to be transferred to the south of the Yangtze River with the emperor to form a new army there.

Putting aside other things, the separation of soldiers and civilians touched upon the biggest taboo of these rebel generals who came from bandit backgrounds. It was even unknown whether Zhu Cilang wanted to use this to hold their families hostage and threaten them.

Seeing that Gao hadn't spoken yet, and that Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, and even Hao Yongzhong and Wang Jincai were all very hesitant, Zhu Cilang immediately said:

"Counting the troops and separating the military and civilians is the first priority for rectifying the army. I am not targeting you this time. A month ago, all the camps in Zuozhen completed this move under my supervision.

If we don't count the troops, how can I order the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Five Military Commands to determine the amount of military pay and food? If we don't count the families accompanying the troops, how can we distribute land?

From now on, the management of the money and food for each army will no longer be through the civil officials, but will be managed by the various departments established within the army. The corruption of the civil officials and the share of the military pay will be greatly reduced. You don't have to worry about the allocated food and military pay being insufficient to support the army. "

However, after hearing this, Tian Jianxiu and others just looked at each other and did not give a direct answer. They were not unaware of the corruption in the Ming army, and it was hard for them to believe such words.

Seeing this, Ma Jinzhong, a veteran from the Chuang army, immediately stepped forward and said:
"I, Old Ma, can attest that His Majesty has indeed completed the inventory of the troops in Zuozhen. The families of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers accompanying the troops from each camp have all been resettled. Most of them have been allocated wasteland for farming, and the local government will also allocate oxen and seeds."

Ma Jinzhong was originally a major force in the rebel army. As soon as he opened his mouth, the expressions of Tian Jianxiu and others changed.

Jin Shenghuan saw this and immediately said:
"That's right. The soldiers' monthly pay has been directly increased by one ounce and five cents. Besides that, they will also have all the necessary cotton clothing, armor, weapons, and rations. Your Majesty is a sage monarch throughout the ages, and he will definitely not treat the soldiers unfairly."

Soon, Zuo Menggeng, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others also spoke out, each of them vividly describing Zhu Cilang's increase in the monthly salary and supply standards for each battalion and each branch of the army in Zuozhen. This made Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, Hao Yongzhong, Wang Jincai and others gradually begin to waver.

"I don't think I need to explain the current situation to you any further. You should know the Tartars' fighting power better than I do. I recruited you because I saw that you can fight and are not useless."

Zhu Cilang looked around at the generals in front of him. He looked at the eyes of these rebel generals and knew that they had begun to waver. This was a game. Only when Zhu Cilang really won over the hearts of the people could he feel at ease to incorporate them into the Left Army of the Palace that he was about to form and deploy them in Huguang.

"Today, I have put aside past grudges. What I say and do is not for the sake of one family or one surname. I do it for the sake of the common people of the world, the Han state, and for the sake of the people of the Great Ming, so that our descendants will not be enslaved by the Eastern Tartars. This is for the sake of the few tufts of hair on our heads and the clothes on our bodies!"

These words touched the hearts of the generals of the Chuang Army. If they had not refused to shave their heads, they would have been won over by Tong Yanghe and become the vanguard of the Qing court's conquest of Hunan and Jiangxi.

After all, in the eyes of the Chuang army, the strength of the Ming army was far inferior to that of the Qing army. If they had to surrender, it would naturally be better to surrender to the Qing army. But the Qing army wanted to shave their heads, which was the bottom line that most of the Chuang army generals could not give up.

(End of this chapter)