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

Chapter 74: Merit must be rewarded, and transgressions must be punished; Mao Wenlong is enfeoffed as the Earl of Dongjiang.
The battle began in the early hours of the morning and lasted until the evening of the following day, with no winners!
Mao Wenlong lost half of his 3,800 cavalrymen, whom he considered his lifeblood. Mao Wenlong was devastated.

The corpses of the Jurchens were piled up like mountains, and blood flowed like rivers. It was estimated that no less than three thousand Jurchens were killed. However, the losses of the Dongjiang Army were more than twice that of the Jurchens!
"Old Yuan, you've really ruined us!" Mao Wenlong said with a mournful face, leaning on his serrated broadsword.

"If I hadn't taught you how to lay an ambush beforehand, Pi Island would have been breached by now!" Yuan Keli rolled his eyes and said.

"If you hadn't come here, would Amin have risked his life to attack my Pi Island? Who in the world doesn't know that I, Mao Wenlong, am tough and poor?!"

Yuan Keli remained silent for a while before saying, "In any case, this battle can be considered a great victory, and I will certainly submit a memorial to the emperor to request commendation for you."

"What's the use of claiming credit? My official position has reached its limit. Do you think the emperor will grant me a marquisate?!" Mao Wenlong said disdainfully.

"His Majesty has conferred a marquisate upon Qin Liangyu," Yuan Keli suddenly said.

"What?! This... this is His Majesty's agreement? How could those civil officials agree to this?!" Mao Wenlong said in disbelief.

Yuan Keli smiled mysteriously and said, "Our Emperor is different from others; anything is possible for him. Don't you want to be ennobled as a marquis? That's a bit difficult. How about an earl? I'll ask His Majesty for the title on your behalf."

"Don't do anything reckless! You might offend the emperor, won't you?" Mao Wenlong said with some concern.

"Aren't you fearless? Why are you worried about this? Don't worry, His Majesty is more tolerant than you think," Yuan Keli said, leaving out the rest of the sentence: If the Emperor can tolerate Wei Zhongxian, what else can't he tolerate?

"Let's put aside the matter of bestowing titles for now. What's the right thing to do is to put some effort into helping me get some compensation from the imperial court." Looking at the miserable state before him, Mao Wenlong couldn't help but show a look of bewilderment in his eyes.

"After this battle, every household on Pi Island will probably be in mourning," Yuan Keli couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The Jurchens were defeated, and Amin was extremely unwilling to accept it. He felt that his plan had not been flawed. He knew that Mao Wenlong and Yuan Keli would be on guard, but even so, they would still win. If it weren't for the cowards of the other banners who retreated at the last minute, they would have already captured Pi Island and were enjoying themselves. The other princes betrayed him, just as they had betrayed him when they negotiated peace with Korea behind his back.

Just then, Jirhalang rode up to Amin's side and said in a deep voice, "Banner leader, Yuetuo is dead!"

"What did you say? Yuetuo is dead?!" Amin turned around in astonishment. He suddenly felt a chill in his hands and feet, a chill that was even more unbearable than the loss of five Niru (military units) the previous night. He certainly disliked Yuetuo, but he didn't want him to die in his own army!
"Yes, why was it Yuetuo who died?!" Jirhalang thought with regret, but soon he became gloating.

Amin's words before the battle forced Yuetuo to charge into battle, so Yuetuo's death was inextricably linked to him. This time, in the "national council," he'll be severely punished, if not killed. According to the Khan's rules, if a banner chief makes a mistake, his family will be divided, and his banner confiscated. Wouldn't all of this ultimately benefit him?

"Shuotuo! Why don't you go and save your brother?!" Amin rode up to the front of the Bordered Red Banner procession and shouted.

"You old hag! If it weren't for you, would my brother have died? How dare you come here and yell at me?!" Shuo Tuo's eyes were red. Unlike the fake brotherhood between Amin and Jirhalang, these two brothers really had a deep bond. They were born of the same mother and were not favored by their father, Daishan, from a young age. They could truly be said to have depended on each other to get to where they are today.

Amin, used to being arrogant, saw that Shuo Tuo dared to talk back, so he tried to intimidate him with his seniority and imposing manner, as usual. Unexpectedly, Shuo Tuo, filled with grief and anger, showed no fear and drew his sword, immediately escalating the tension. However, they ultimately did not fight. The other banner princes advised Shuo Tuo to back down, and Shuo Tuo knew he was no match for Amin. As for a conflict between the Bordered Red and Bordered Blue Banners, that was even more impossible. Everyone knew that Huang Taiji was sharpening his sword, plotting to seize power from the banner chiefs; if they were to fight, Huang Taiji would be laughing all the way to the bank, and he was just looking for an excuse to attack them.

When the news of the victory reached Beijing, it was already half a month later. The corrupt emperor Zhu Youjian was enjoying hotpot and singing in the palace when he was completely stunned by the report.

Because Mao Wenlong had a history of falsely reporting victories, Zhu Youjian initially thought he had been deceived. However, this victory report was drafted by Yuan Keli and jointly submitted by Mao Wenlong and hundreds of other civil and military officials from Dongjiang Town. They confidently stated that the court could send someone to Dongjiang Town to verify the results of the battle, or wait until the weather warms up and the snow melts, and then use the navy to transport the heads of these Jurchens to the capital for the Ministry of War to verify.

If the two great victories in the southwest and northwest last year were somewhat exaggerated, then this great victory is the real deal, far more significant than Yuan Chonghuan's victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin. This is a great victory from Liaodong! Everyone knows how difficult the Jurchens are to deal with.

The Ming Dynasty's top reward was five taels of silver for rebels, ten taels for southern barbarians, and sixty taels for the Jurchens! The value of that reward is self-evident.

Today was supposed to be a day off, but Zhu Youjian convened a court assembly specifically for this report of victory. The officials and ministers were overjoyed and spread the news far and wide.

Not only was Zhu Youjian himself somewhat bewildered, but the officials were also wondering in their hearts: Could this seemingly unreliable emperor really be the Holy Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?! Yuan Keli was someone he had personally promoted to the position of Liaodong Military Commissioner, but unexpectedly, in less than half a year, he had achieved such great results.

Looking back, after the defeat at Sarhu, the Ming Dynasty was engulfed in war, suffering defeat after defeat. They finally managed to elevate Yuan Chonghuan to save face, but anyone familiar with military affairs could understand the true nature of those two great victories.

"Ministry of War, please verify the battle merits as soon as possible. Do not withhold rewards, and distribute the silver as soon as possible. Although we won this battle, our own losses were also very heavy. Bi Qing, your Ministry of Revenue should also allocate the compensation silver as soon as possible," Zhu Youjian said.

This time, surprisingly, no one dared to contradict the emperor. While there was no objection to the rewards and compensation, the focus of everyone's attention was on Mao Wenlong's personal reward. Mao Wenlong's actual position was General of Dongjiang Town, but he held the honorary title of Commander-in-Chief, meaning he couldn't be promoted further; he could only be granted a noble title.

However, the civil officials instinctively disliked Mao Wenlong: firstly, Mao Wenlong had never given them any tribute, and secondly, Mao Wenlong was indeed a bit outrageous, as most of his soldiers were recruited by himself, and he was simply a local tyrant who obeyed orders but not decrees!

It's all thanks to Yuan Keli! Although Yuan Keli wasn't particularly popular in the court, he was still a civil official, which was better than Mao Wenlong, so everyone instinctively wanted to attribute the credit to Yuan Keli.

However, Zhu Youjian thought: Why bother choosing? They all deserve credit, so why not just reward them all together?

In addition to the official victory report, Yuan Keli also submitted a private memorial to him, in which he stated that he did not need these achievements. He was already old and had reached the pinnacle of his position, and any more merits would not benefit him. He hoped that the emperor would convert the merits into cash and allocate money and grain to Dongjiang Town, as the soldiers in Dongjiang Town were living in extreme poverty.

"Reward those who have rendered meritorious service and punish those who have committed wrongdoing. Only in this way can people be convinced. My mind is made up. I hereby appoint Mao Wenlong as the Earl of Dongjiang!" Zhu Youjian declared loudly.

The ministers thought to themselves: This is in line with the emperor's usual practice. After all, the matter of bestowing titles is ultimately decided by the emperor himself, so as long as you are happy.

(End of this chapter)