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

Chapter 328 The Penguin Empire, On its March!
Three days later, 60,000 elite troops drawn from the Beijing garrison swore an oath and set off. Although Zhu Youjian had just announced the Northern Expedition, the supplies needed for the war had actually been prepared long ago. However, everyone thought that the emperor was just indulging in hoarding and did not realize that he was going to take the initiative to attack the Jurchens.

After all, back when everyone was clamoring to fight the Jurchens to the death, the emperor was the most cowardly. From the seventh year of the Tianqi reign to the fifth year of the Chongzhen reign, six years had passed, and the Ming army had basically been in a passive and defensive state, losing Korea, losing Pi Island, losing Dongjiang Town, and next time they might even lose the capital!
The only two offensive actions were both decided by Yuan Keli and Zhao Shuaijiao on their own initiative, without prior consultation. This was extremely taboo. If they won, it wouldn't be a big deal, but what if they lost?
Everyone thought our Ming Dynasty soldiers were brave and fearless, but they just happened to run into a cowardly emperor—what bad luck! People went from hating his incompetence to slowly accepting reality, and then the emperor suddenly announced a northern expedition—was he kidding?! Who could stand that?!
The actual field force of the Beijing garrison still only consists of the three elite battalions, among which the cavalry has grown to three thousand. Originally led by Zhou Yuji, now that Cao Bianjiao has become the commander-in-chief, Zhou Yuji has been promoted to deputy commander-in-chief and serves as Cao Bianjiao's deputy.

Today, the governors, generals, and brigade commanders of the Ming Dynasty still maintain their own standard battalions and personal guards, but a strict hierarchical relationship has been clearly defined.

In war, subordinates must carry out orders from their superiors, even unreasonable ones; survival comes first. Afterwards, subordinates can accuse their superiors of insubordination, but this is not permissible during wartime. Democracy is unsuitable for war; only democratic centralism works.

The chariot battalion, which originated from the Fifth Army Battalion, had the largest number of elite soldiers, forming a standard, complete chariot battalion of 6,627 men. In terms of modern-day extravagance, it was equipped with four 2,000-jin medium-sized Hongyi cannons and twenty-four 800-jin large breech-loading cannons.
The entire battalion consisted of 3200 infantrymen, 2400 cavalrymen, 512 supply wagon drivers, 515 officers, attendants, and laborers of various ranks, and 128 tanks. Each tank was equipped with two drivers and two standard 36-jin tiger crouching cannons.
Cavalry consisted of 50 riders per unit, each equipped with a tiger crouching cannon and a 20-jin mini breech-loading cannon. The standard cavalry equipment was a breech-loading cannon, along with a saber. They could also choose to equip themselves with a lance according to their individual needs. Each infantryman carried an improved matchlock musket with a bayonet and a waist knife. They could also choose to equip themselves with other melee weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds.

The commander of the wagon camp was Huang Degong, who would later become one of the four warlords of Jiangbei. At this point, he was as naive as a recent college graduate. Of the four warlords of Jiangbei, the other three were traitors, and the discipline of the other three was increasingly deteriorating. Huang Degong, however, was the kind of person the people would willingly build a shrine for in his honor!

It wasn't like the kind of shrine built for Wei Zhongxian. Zhu Youjian didn't allow anyone to tear down Wei Zhongxian's shrine. It was built when the capital was established, and demolition would cost money. It wasn't part of the GDP of the Ming Dynasty. There were more than seventy shrines built for Wei Zhongxian all over the country. Many of them were not even known to Wei Zhongxian himself. They were just erected by some fools who couldn't even curry favor properly.

Zhu Youjian ordered local governments to use these ancestral halls as schools, which was in line with the social trends of the time. Ancestral halls were originally intended to be used as schools, with ancestral tablets serving as teaching materials. Wei Zhongxian's statue was placed at the entrance as a stone lion, since no one really went to worship him anyway. Placing it at the entrance would allow passing schoolchildren to stroke it a couple of times, manually polishing it and keeping it looking new with frequent use.

The third is the Vanguard Army of the Infantry Fire Battalion, which was reorganized from the Shenji Battalion. Each battalion of the Infantry Fire Battalion has only 1121 people. There are now three Infantry Fire Battalions. The commander-in-chief is Sun Yingyuan, one of the three generals of the Yongwei Battalion. Among them, Zhu Yujian, the Little Tang Prince, leads one battalion.

This wasn't actually arranged by Zhu Youjian. Firstly, he himself had military merits, with three and a half bandit heads tucked away in his military tent. He also awakened a talent for precise shooting, his arrows would go completely astray, missing the target even at thirty paces. Yet, he was a master marksman, capable of headshots at a hundred paces with a straight-rifled rifle.

More abstractly, this kid was imprisoned for more than ten years by his grandfather, who is now the Prince of Tang. He could not go out and could only read books for entertainment. Zhu Yujian was actually a little nearsighted!
The half of his three-and-a-half-head title carried considerable weight. Of course, wanting to advance in military merit was only one aspect; a certain amount of social skill was also required. In terms of military achievements, Zhu Yujian was merely average; but in terms of background, it was quite formidable!

Others were happy to have him serve as the military camp officer. Putting aside everything else, the higher-ups would have to think twice about deducting military pay. You know, Zhu Yujian, a member of the imperial clan, could directly enter the palace to meet the emperor, which was quite frightening!
Zhu Youjian did not allow Cao Huachun to compile the Yongwei Battalion, but the three original generals of the Yongwei Battalion were still given important positions. Zhu Youjian actually admired Cao Huachun somewhat. Given the population of the Ming Dynasty, it was easy to find loyal people and capable fighters, but those who were both politically sound and professionally competent were extremely rare. He had found three of them all at once, each with outstanding military achievements and each who fought to the very end!

Zhou Yuji's defeat made Li Zicheng question his existence, saying that if there had been another Zhou Yuji, they would never have reached the capital; Sun Yingyuan fought too fiercely and was ambushed and killed while pursuing the enemy, dying in the same way as Li Rusong; Huang Degong survived until the Southern Ming Dynasty, but under such circumstances, he became a warlord in a daze, and he couldn't even do the job properly. He would rather die than surrender to the Qing Dynasty and was betrayed and killed by his own teammates!

Historians are unfortunate, but poets are fortunate. Every time there is chaos, heroes inevitably emerge. It is both regrettable and fortunate that Zhu Youjian quelled the internal strife of the Ming Dynasty, so many heroes did not have the opportunity to rise to prominence and were still struggling to gain seniority.

In this campaign to recover Liaodong, no one from top to bottom considered the possibility of failure. The military thought that after this battle, there might not be any more wars for the next ten years or so.

Zhu Youjian did not undertake a large-scale training of a new army. The so-called elite troops in the army were mostly veterans who had experienced hardship, so they were satisfied with their current lives and grateful to this emperor.

But they also worried that after the war, when they were released to graze freely, the imperial court would drastically cut military spending, and they would have to go back to living a life of barely having enough to eat every two or three days.

They hadn't considered the idea of ​​fostering a band of enemies to enhance their own power, nor was it something people of their rank should be thinking about. Perhaps the Jurchens initially developed their power by fostering a band of enemies to enhance their own power, but now they've gone too far. The Jurchens have grown too large to be dealt with by a single garrison commander.

The military region's leader, the overall commander of the campaign against Liaodong, such as the Liaodong governor, the military commissioner, or the governor-general of Jiliao, was qualified, but Lu Xiang-sheng had only recently taken office and had no such idea at all; while Yuan Ke-li was almost dead and had no motivation to do so.

Mao Wenlong had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the Jurchens, and perhaps he once had the idea of ​​supporting the Jurchens for his own benefit, but now he probably hates the Jurchens more. Man Gui is simply loyal to whoever treats him well. Zhao Shuaijiao is also old, and he is actually the one who thinks the clearest. He doesn't need any external motivation to fight the Jurchens.
Zu Dashou is difficult to judge. He was a very traditional old warlord from western Liaoning. Unfortunately, the new era did not provide him with a suitable platform. He was weak and powerless, and even if he wanted to cause trouble, he could not. He was best at assessing the situation and would not cause trouble at this time.

Regarding this so-called last battle, most people think that they should seize the opportunity to gain more military merits and lay the foundation for a better life in the future. It is rare to have a favorable battle, and if they miss it, they may never encounter it again in their lives.

Apart from the Vanguard Army, which could fight on equal footing with the Jurchens and was even slightly stronger, the remaining 47,000 troops in the capital were very traditional battalion soldiers, with 3,000 men in each battalion. Each battalion was headed by a battalion commander and assisted by three centurions, totaling sixteen battalions, which were controlled by nobles.

The Duke of Yingguo clung to Zhu Youjian's leg, begging him to let him go on this Northern Expedition. It's unclear what's wrong with this Duke of Yingguo; instead of being a proper high priest, he's become obsessed with war. He's already a duke; even if he achieves military merit, what good will it do? No matter what, the Ming Dynasty will never grant him the title of a prince of a different surname.

But Zhang Weixian stubbornly refused to let go, no matter how much they pleaded, he insisted on reviving his ancestors' prestige. Zhu Youjian couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. What kind of prestige did this old fellow have? "Yongle had no great generals, so the emperor was the vanguard." Zhang Yu was only a deputy commander during the Hongwu era, and Zhang Fu suffered a crushing defeat at Tumu Fortress, ruining his reputation in his later years!
However, Zhu Youjian eventually reluctantly agreed to Zhang Weixian's request to go on the expedition. Thus, this highly decorated Beijing garrison set off. Some of the troops were personally led by noblemen, and at the very least, several sons of noblemen were also included.

Zhu Youjian felt that this scene seemed somewhat familiar, and he had a bad feeling. He was deeply moved by the patriotic actions of the nobles and secretly told Yuan Keli that these people should be beaten or killed for being disobedient.

Don't consider giving face to anyone, and don't have too high expectations of them. Be prepared for the routed troops to storm your camp. Yuan Keli's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Your Majesty, are you perhaps planning to use someone else to do your dirty work?!"

"I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Youjian denied it three times in a row, and Yuan Keli nodded repeatedly, saying, "I understand, I understand!"

The elite troops selected by the Beijing Garrison were the entire elite force of the garrison; the rest were merely a group for creating atmosphere. They couldn't possibly defeat the border troops, let alone Lu Xiangshan's Hebei rebel army! They had been living a life of barely having enough to eat, with very low pay and deductions from their superiors—a truly miserable existence.

Zhu Youjian did give them opportunities; those who performed well could enter the Vanguard Battalion, where they were served three meals a day, each with meat, and received full pay in peacetime and double pay in wartime. Those who died received triple compensation, and their treatment was even better than that of the border troops.

However, some people lacked the necessary skills, while others lacked the right mindset. They were afraid of death and hard work, so they could only stay in the same place and continue to do nothing. Even those in the atmosphere group who were sent to fight were given ample food and pay by Zhu Youjian, and each was equipped with a standard smoothbore matchlock musket, along with a waist knife and a spear.
Everyone was given a cast iron armor that was made with reduced workmanship but not reduced materials. The armor plates were one finger thick and the way they were attached was like overlapping tiles. The style was the ancient two-piece armor from the Qin and Han dynasties, with one side on the chest, one side on the back, and the sides open. It was tied together with a rope.

Because it was a weighted armor that hung naturally under gravity, it couldn't be tied with a belt, and almost all the weight of the armor rested on the shoulders. This simple iron armor weighed a terrifying eighteen jin (approximately 49 catties), half the weight of a full set of lamellar armor and comparable to the weight of cloth armor. However, its comfort and operability were so poor that it was practically unmanageable.

Once the soldiers put on the armor, they immediately felt a kind of sleep paralysis. After half an hour, their shoulders ached slightly, after two hours their backs and necks ached, and after three hours, the soldiers felt utterly hopeless and began to curse the people in the Ministry of Works who designed the armor, saying they would rather be shot to death than wear this thing!

This armor offers limited protection, but it's cheap; it lacks flexibility and is very cumbersome to wear, but it's cheap; even dogs won't wear it, but it's cheap!!!

Its production cost is basically equal to or even lower than the cost of materials, because this armor can actually be considered a byproduct of cannon casting. The casting materials for this iron armor are the molten steel scraps, the offcuts from the lathe, and the recycled scrapped firearms.

Due to the excessive amount of impurities and air bubbles, the armor plates, although metallic, had the appearance, texture, and feel of stone. Because the material was so wasteful, the only solution was to increase the thickness to enhance its strength. The production cost of this iron armor reached a terrifying three hundred copper coins per set, and even when equipped for the entire Beijing garrison, it cost less than twenty thousand taels of silver. Zhu Youjian was astonished and marveled at his own frugality.

In addition to basic personal equipment, each of the sixteen battalions was allocated two hundred substandard military horses, enough tiger-squatting cannons, and one 800-jin (400 kg) large breech-loading cannon.

Zhu Youjian appeared cunning and wicked, but he was essentially a kind person. Before parting, he softened and told Yuan Keli to mentor those descendants of the nobility who could be mentored, to cultivate those with potential, and to dismiss those who were truly hopeless and send them back to their posts.

The main point is that while these ordinary soldiers in the Beijing garrison may not be very capable, they shouldn't be sacrificed for these sons of nobles. In military strategy, everyone should have their own role. These less capable soldiers should be used for defending the city, transporting supplies, besieging the city, and forming ranks to create a show of force. There's no need to give special consideration to these nobles, but there's no need to deliberately harm them either.

Zhu Youjian issued an edict summoning Yuan Keli's old partner, the current Shandong governor Li Banghua, Sun Chengzong who had returned to his hometown in a fit of pique, Xu Guangqi, the master of sweet potatoes, Sun Yuanhua, the abstract art master, Yang Sichang, the left vice minister of the Ministry of War, Liang Tingdong, the deputy military commissioner of Yongping, and Cao Huachun, the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, to their military tents to advise on military affairs. They had the right to make suggestions but not the right to command.

In reality, it was about arranging a staff group for Yuan Keli. Although the old man was experienced, he was old after all. Zhu Youjian was afraid that he would be overworked to death by the high intensity of his work, and he was also afraid that he would become senile, make mistakes in command, and have an unfortunate old age.

The initial force of 130,000 troops was somewhat exaggerated, with 60,000 coming from the Beijing Garrison, 30,000 from the Jizhou Garrison, 30,000 from the four cities in western Liaoning, and 20,000 from southern Liaoning and Dongjiang Garrison.

As for laborers, there was no need to conscript them separately. Zhu Youjian gradually arrested 200,000 monks. Of course, many monks had heard the news in advance and ran away, but there were still quite a few stubborn ones who vowed to live and die with the temple.

Zhu Youjian believed they were truly Buddhists, and that the twilight witnessed their faith. As for these people, Zhu Youjian's instruction was to use them to the death if possible. Why did they have to believe in Buddhism? Their brains must be broken!

Since there's no cure for brain disease, let's just send them off to the afterlife. Hopefully, they can return to their ideal lotus-filled Buddhist paradise after death! Zhu Youjian loved monks and was grateful to Buddha. They provided him with military funds and manpower; Zhu Youjian was deeply moved!

That night, Zhu Youjian talked with Yuan Keli for a long time. He held the old man's hand and asked him if he had left any last words, and whether he wanted to carry a coffin to the battlefield. It was hard to buy Phoebe zhennan wood now, but the pillars of the old palaces in the imperial palace were made of Phoebe zhennan wood. They could steal the pillars and make him a coffin.

Winter campaigns require adequate clothing and charcoal. You, Yuan Keli, are in your seventies or eighties; you can't compare to those vigorous young men. Be extremely careful. Although the most terrifying Nurhaci and Huang Taiji are dead, Ajige is formidable. He's incredibly fierce. Jirgalang managed to escape from the inescapable trap he laid last time; he's no simple man either.

As for the older generation of slave chieftains like Daišan and Mangultai, although they were old and frail, their past achievements should not be underestimated! Their Aisin Gioro family was somewhat peculiar; when Nurhaci was young, he was just a nobody.
He was more often victorious than defeated in battle, and even in his forties, he would ride into battle with his brothers. But when he started his own army at sixty, he was incredibly fierce. Who knows if his second son will be like him, remaining silent until he suddenly makes a name for himself?
There's a prevailing atmosphere of arrogance and complacency throughout the court and the army, with a deep disregard for the Jurchens. They think my northern expedition is also a sign of disrespect for them, but that's not the case at all. As the commander-in-chief, having fought against the Jurchens for so long, you absolutely cannot be careless!

Yuan Keli said, "Your Majesty, you've been rambling on and on, but in essence, you're still unsure, aren't you? Please rest assured, Your Majesty. This old minister dares not guarantee victory, but as long as Your Majesty doesn't urge this old minister on, and the officials of the court don't cause trouble or hold us back, then this old minister can at least be in an invincible position for now."

Although the Jurchens had no shortage of brave warriors, they were still just mortals. Even with triple armor, they couldn't withstand the fan-shaped spray of the Tiger Crouching Cannon or the fist-sized projectiles from the Portuguese.

"How could we, Your Majesty, be unprepared for what you've described? We've even prepared waxed tarpaulins for setting up rain shelters. Light rain won't be a problem, and even a downpour won't be enough to stop the Jurchens' iron hooves. Besides, even with cavalry, our Great Ming might not be afraid of the Jurchens now!"

Zhu Youjian said, "Don't you trust me to handle things? Same as always, I'll take care of all the open and covert attacks in the court for you. You just need to focus on fighting the war. I'll stay in the capital and wait for your triumphant return. Oh, I forgot to tell you, your granddaughter is pregnant recently. Imperial Physician Tan said that judging from her pulse, it should be a prince."

The old man was very happy to hear this, but he said seriously that his granddaughter lost her father at a young age. Her mother refused to remarry and passed away when she was a few years old due to excessive grief and longing. So, he had actually raised this child with him all along.

His granddaughter wasn't very bright and was timid. He didn't ask for her to be rich and powerful, as that was beyond her means. He only hoped that after his death, she would be taken care of, not bullied, and could live a simple life.

"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to say something, there should be a limit to how much Your Majesty favors the Consort. You should have a legitimate eldest son with the Empress. Only in this way can the harem be stable and the court officials live in peace."

Zhu Youjian was ashamed and said, "It's been born, it's been born!" But what he was thinking was that being an emperor was difficult, but being a crown prince was even more difficult. It was not something that could be determined simply by whether the crown prince was virtuous or not, or whether the emperor was broad-minded enough. It was a systemic trap.

Regarding the succession, since it was impossible to emulate Japan's system of retired emperors, it would be better to adopt the Qing Dynasty's system of secretly designating an heir. However, Zhu Youjian believed that it would not be a blessing for him to see which of his children became emperor.

He has the advantage of foresight. Even the emperor is living a life of ecstasy and walking on thin ice. How can a local lad raised deep in the palace not be tormented by these shrewd people who have emerged from the sea of ​​exam questions and those ruthless individuals who have fought their way out of the infighting among their colleagues?

Zhu Youjian himself lacked confidence, so he had even less confidence in raising an heir. He didn't expect to raise a so-called wise and virtuous crown prince, but felt that he would be content if he could just raise his child to be a normal person.

After all, from the perspective of a celestial being, everyone looks like an ant, making it easy to lose empathy; surrounded by people and living in an information cocoon of lies, it is difficult to remain clear-headed.

As for judging character, there's no experience to be gained from someone like Zhu Youjian who cheated by copying answers. If you absolutely have to raise a dimwit, at least hope he's a kind-hearted fool who can say things like, "If the people have no food to eat, why don't they eat meat porridge?" "This is a loyal minister, don't kill him!" "This is the blood of Ji Kang, don't remove it!"

Trying to outsmart or manipulate power with cunning people is just asking for trouble. It's better to be honest and put yourself in their shoes. If someone is a good emperor, at least there will be loyal ministers who will step forward to protect him and help him fight the bad guys. That's better than being mean and sarcastic, losing the hearts of the people, and being abandoned by everyone.

In the winter of the fifth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the weather was bitterly cold, and the snow in the capital region was too thin to moisten the wheat. The 60,000-strong Beijing garrison marched into Shanhaiguan for the winter. For this purpose, each soldier was issued a padded coat and winter boots, which cost six taels of silver, more expensive than their armor and weapons.

The soldiers, clad in their padded coats, looked like plump penguins, their long ranks forming a neat, orderly line, resembling a flock of fat penguins. Despite their bulkiness, the damned, tattered iron armor—designed by who-knows-who—fitted them surprisingly well, easing their shoulder pain. The padded coats were now more fitted, distributing the weight of the armor, but their feet were still somewhat obscured, compromising their mobility.

This is because they are wearing new cotton-padded jackets. Cotton-padded jackets are initially very bulky, but they become too thin after wearing them for a while. At this point, straw needs to be stuffed inside to keep them warm enough. This is why the border troops need to replace their cotton-padded jackets every year.

The imperial court was a bunch of scoundrels. Not only did they fail to pay, pay in arrears, or pay late, but when they did pay, the soldiers even had to bribe the quartermaster with silver. A cotton-padded jacket that cost three taels of silver and used only nine qian of material was sold to the border soldiers for two taels of silver! They were cheating both sides. The imperial court paid the money, but the soldiers' resentment was greater than that of ghosts!

(End of this chapter)