Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 282 I hate the Jurchens, and I don't like the Ming people either!
Li Yongfang was taken to the capital and sentenced to death by hanging, not because there was any objection to his sentence, but because Zhu Xieyuan suggested keeping him for a few days to see if they could extract any valuable information from him. His subordinates, though they had promised not to kill him, would not be allowed to remain in Liaodong any longer.

However, this resulted in Xiong Zhaobi losing a large number of able-bodied men best suited for farming, while Zu Dashou's troops were also difficult to replenish. After the liberation of Guangning, it became the front line in the confrontation with the Jurchens, and with only a few thousand soldiers, it was somewhat stretched thin.

"For a thousand miles, not a rooster crows; of the people, only one in a hundred survives." Xiong Zhaobi had only read such phrases in history books. Jiangxia County, where he lived, was a large county with a dense population and little land. Many people had no land to cultivate and could only seek a way to make a living other than farming. Their lives were also very hard, but they were far from being as miserable as he was now.

When the contents of history books came into view, he finally understood what a desolate scene those few words in history books depicted.

Not to mention the people outside the city, many residents inside the city also starved to death. This year was supposed to be a bumper year, and Guangning, as the site chosen by the Wei army, was suitable for farming. However, most of the grain was seized by Huang Taiji's men long ago, and even the food needs of the garrison inside the city could not be met. No wonder they chose to surrender.

Zu Dashou coveted Li Yongfang's three thousand soldiers immensely. He didn't care much whether these men were former rebels; he only cared that they were veterans ready for immediate combat. However, he couldn't defy the imperial court. Transferring surrendered soldiers was an order from the court, and he had no leverage to oppose it.

Despite the severe manpower shortage both inside and outside the city, Zu Dashou, citing the need to guard against Jurchen spies, emptied the city of its elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, leaving them to Xiong Zhaobi. With so many people and insufficient food, people were starving to death every day.

Zu Dashou remained unmoved, his heart as hard as stone, but Xiong Zhaobi could not tolerate it. He had no choice but to petition the court for grain relief, but as a chiliarch (commander of a thousand households), his rank was too low to warrant a petition on his own. Therefore, he could only turn to Zu Dashou, hoping that he could submit the petition on his behalf or at least sign his name.

In fact, Zu Dashou had already planned to ask the imperial court or the Liaodong military commissioner for personnel, but he hadn't taken action yet because he was waiting for Xiong Zhaobi to lose his temper first. Zu Dashou lectured Xiong Zhaobi, occasionally making sarcastic remarks, but Xiong Zhaobi didn't show any embarrassment.

Little Xiong thought, "This is nothing! It's not even as bad as what my cousin's sister-in-law said!" This was nothing; Xiong Zhaobi was fine, but Zu Dashou was almost driven to the brink of collapse. However, in the end, Zu Dashou still agreed to sign Xiong Zhaobi's memorial and drafted another official document for Yuan Keli.

The takeover of Guangning has encountered difficulties, and in southern Liaoning, the post-war handling of Haizhou City has also run into some trouble. Currently, the number of Mongolians in Haizhou City exceeds the number of Ming troops stationed there.

Actually, when the Mongols offered to surrender, the garrison of Haizhou City did not agree. The Ming troops inside Haizhou were unaware of the outside world's changes, and even less aware that the Manchu chieftain Huang Taiji was dead. In their view, they were making a last stand, prepared for the city's fall and their own demise. At this point, the enemy's offer of surrender seemed like a trick to anyone.
So how did the Mongols surrender? Their method was to first capture Haizhou City, and then force the city's garrison to accept their surrender. This process led to infighting among the Mongols, resulting in the deaths of many, before a consensus was finally reached.

Outside Haizhou City, Wu Youke, the newly appointed head of the Imperial Medical Academy, arrived in Liaonan with several imperial physicians, clerks, and a dozen apprentices to address the severe plague outbreak in Haizhou City. Wu Youke was the audacious itinerant doctor who had accepted the challenge to treat Wang Xiangqian, the Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong.

Wu Youke was not well-known at the time, but he later wrote a book called "Treatise on Plague," which became very famous. Zhu Youjian did not expect that treating Wang Xiangqian would attract this man, and based on the principle that meeting is fate, he "arrested" him and brought him into the Imperial Hospital.

In fact, in the original historical timeline, Wu Youke had entered the Imperial Medical Academy because of his superb medical skills, but he couldn't stand the exclusion by medical officials and resigned to become a barefoot itinerant doctor. The current Imperial Medical Academy has been purged by Zhu Youjian, and all the original directors, judges, and imperial physicians, regardless of their medical skills, were removed by him.

Because he didn't know whose people these were, if these people continued to hold official positions, they could work at affordable pharmacies, providing medical care to the common people at reasonable prices; if they were hot-tempered, they could simply resign. In any case, capable doctors could live comfortably anywhere, only those medical bureaucrats were nothing outside the system!

Mao Wenlong, with his belated reinforcements, encamped outside the city. Looking at the dilapidated city walls before him, he felt a pang of unease. He sent men forward to order the guards to open the gates, but while the guards responded readily, the gates remained closed. The atmosphere grew tense; the worst-case scenario had unfolded!

“Father, I think Haizhou City has probably been captured by the Tartars. Why don’t we just order an attack?” Shang Kexi said impatiently. Mao Wenlong’s face also darkened, but he still said, “Let’s wait a little longer.”

Inside the city, six thousand Mongol soldiers were divided into more than a dozen groups, their positions clearly defined. In addition, there were the original Ming garrison troops, who looked at these guys arguing in a language they couldn't understand, feeling somewhat weak and helpless.

In the brutal months-long siege, 4,000 of the original 8,000 defenders died in battle, and another 2,000 succumbed to disease, leaving only a thousand or so survivors. Shang Kexi was right; Haizhou City was indeed now under Mongol control.

"Urtu, what do you mean? Why are you blocking the Ming army and preventing them from opening the city gates? Do you want to go back and become a Bo'er for the Jurchens?!" The leader of the Kharachin tribe loudly questioned the leader temporarily elected by the Khorchin tribe.

“We are eagles soaring over the grasslands, and naturally we don’t want to go back to be dogs of the Jurchens. But I want to go back to my great grasslands. I hate the Jurchens, and I don’t like the Ming people either!” Urtu replied.

"The best pastures have all been taken by the Jurchens. If you go back, they will still forcibly take them away in the end. If you want to leave, then leave. I want to fight the Jurchens with the Ming army! My ancestors were from the Doyan Guard. My great-great-grandfather said that fighting for the Ming army can lead to becoming an official in the Ming Dynasty."

“I think Deliger is right. Our tribe is long gone. Our women have been taken over by the Jurchens, and our children are still herding sheep for them. We have no way to defeat the Jurchens and take back our women and children with our own strength,” the chief of the Aohan tribe chimed in.

The Ming soldiers had no idea what the Mongols were arguing about. They were excited and talking in a lot of gibberish. Then, the two leaders took off their clothes and started wrestling in the middle of the field. The Mongols watching cheered, which made the Ming soldiers, who were eager to open the gate and leave, even more anxious.

The Ming army was also familiar with wrestling. Seeing the Mongols wrestling round after round, the garrison commander finally couldn't hold back any longer. He took advantage of a gap between two rounds to rush into the arena and challenge the Mongol leader to a fight. The arena erupted in even louder cheers, which could be heard even outside the city. Now Mao Wenlong was even more confused.

The Ming army adjutant quickly subdued his opponent. What kind of formidable figures were these men? The higher-ranking officers had long been killed by Huang Taiji. These men were just ordinary herders in their tribes. How could they compare to the Ming army adjutant who had honed his strength and martial arts skills since childhood?
The adjutant fought a series of attacks, taking down one Mongol after another. By the time he reached the fifth one, he was finally exhausted and panting heavily. The surrounding Mongol spectators, who had initially cheered, grew increasingly subdued.

"Who else!" the adjutant shouted arrogantly after defeating his sixth opponent.

Having already lost a round, Urtu got up again to fight, but was grabbed by the shoulder.

"Forget it, men of the grasslands shouldn't be sore losers, or they'll become a laughing stock!" Deliger said in a deep voice.

Uritu finally deflated, his whole body hunched over. His two younger brothers had been killed by the Ming army when he followed Huang Taiji into the pass, so he had always held a grudge and did not want to join the Ming army, even though he knew that it was not the Ming army's fault. Those who went to plunder others should be prepared to be killed.

The Ming army adjutant limped toward the city gate, and hundreds of people from the Khorchin tribe spontaneously made way for him. The Haizhou city gate, which had been closed for five months, slowly opened...

(End of this chapter)