Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 10 A Close Match: Who Will Control Ji and Liao?
Around dusk, as the sun sets and the sky is ablaze with red clouds, weary birds are returning to their nests, and passersby are heading home.

The streets and alleys of the capital were filled with hurried people, many of whom were starving and rushing home.

At this moment, a drumbeat-like sound of hooves suddenly came from the west and south of the capital, and two fast riders galloped over, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, as if they had agreed beforehand.

Sun Chuanting's family lived in Zhenwu Guard, Daizhou.

Lu Xiang-sheng is serving as the prefect of Daming Prefecture, south of the capital.

Both of them were still seven or eight hundred li away from the capital.

Although they were all changing horses at the post stations to head to the capital, there was no need for them to be in such a hurry.

Yesterday they suddenly received a message from the post station that the current emperor was in a hurry to see them.

They dared not delay, and the two of them went crazy, constantly changing horses and galloping all the way to the capital.

Fang Zhenghua's trusted men were already waiting at Fuchengmen in the west and Yongdingmen in the south. As soon as they entered the city gate, someone changed their horses for them, and then they followed them and galloped towards the imperial city.

Zhu Jue is having dinner.

He didn't know when Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng would arrive, but he had already prepared bowls and chopsticks for them.

Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan were led into the imperial city at high speed, and then quickly entered the palace and arrived at the kitchen of the Qianqing Palace.

The two men were taken aback when they entered the kitchen.

They never expected this scene.

Isn't the current emperor eager to see them? Haven't they all been promoted to Vice Minister of War?
They knew that the Ming Dynasty was currently embroiled in war, so this must be because something major had happened somewhere that they were being promoted so quickly and ordered to rush to the capital.

They all thought they would be led to a side hall filled with maps, but to their surprise, they were greeted with a table full of food.

Zhu Jue carefully examined the two men and couldn't help but nod in approval.

Sun Chuanting had a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a broad back and thick waist, truly befitting his background as a border garrison soldier.

Although Lu Xiang-sheng was somewhat thin, he was lean and wiry, with an unusually large frame, long arms, and a very strong build.

Both men were quite young, appearing to be only in their thirties, and their faces were full of vigor and spirit, unlike those civil officials who were powerless to even kill a chicken.

It seems that only two governors-general died on the battlefield during the Chongzhen reign in history. They were both willing to sacrifice their lives for the country, and their loyalty was beyond question.

As for their abilities, there is no doubt about them. The Qin army trained by Sun Chuanting and the Tianxiong army trained by Lu Xiangshan were both rare elites, and winning with fewer troops was as common as eating a meal.

Zhu Jue was truly gratified to have gained two rare loyal ministers and generals.

Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan were only slightly taken aback before they quickly cupped their hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then stood up and greeted, "Bo Ya, Jian Dou, you must be tired from your journey. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come, sit down and eat with us."

what?
Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng were both taken aback.

Is the current emperor very familiar with them?

The most taboo thing for court officials is to befriend vassal kings. They dared not befriend the current emperor when he was still the Prince of Xin, and they were not in the capital when the current emperor ascended the throne. They had never even seen this young emperor!
Could it be that someone recommended them? They really couldn't understand who would recommend them for the position of Vice Minister of War.

After all, they had not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate their military talents, and their positions were not high and their achievements were not significant. So, their sudden promotion to Vice Minister of War was really puzzling to them.

The fact that the current emperor invited them to dine together made them feel even more awe-inspiring.

However, they only hesitated for a moment before carefully sitting down.

Zhu Jue ordered his men to serve them hot food and then urged them to eat a few bites of vegetables before solemnly saying, "The Jurchens are currently attacking the various Tatar tribes. Once they take over the Chahar tribe north of the capital, they will surely invade the south. I have summoned you here to train your troops and reorganize the Jiliao defense line to resist the Jurchen invasion."

It turns out that the Jurchens went to attack the Tatar tribes.

They thought the emperor had urgently summoned them to the capital because the Jurchens had attacked.

It's good that the Jurchens haven't attacked yet; at least we still have time to prepare for war.

Upon hearing this, both Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, none of them spoke carelessly, because the current emperor only said that he wanted to train the troops and reorganize the Jiliao defense line, without specifying their exact positions.

Zhu Jue was also considering who should go to Liaodong and who should guard the capital region.

The Ji-Liao region can be said to be the key to the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty, so he naturally had to entrust it to these two loyal and capable generals who would be remembered in history.

The problem is that Ji and Liao are two separate places, and the two men have to guard them separately. Who should he send to Liaodong, and who should he send to Jizhou?
Both men are exceptional talents, seemingly equally capable and around the same age, which makes it difficult for him to choose.

He thought about it carefully, then asked, "Both the two governors-general of Jiliao, Gao Di and Wang Zhichen, wanted to abandon the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line and defend Shanhaiguan to the death. What do you think?"

That's suicide!
Gao Di and Wang Zhichen are both ignorant of military strategy. How can we easily give up the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line?

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting said rather urgently, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line must not be abandoned."

The reason why the Liaodong Border Garrison is so brave and good at fighting is that they not only defend the country but also protect their homeland. If the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is abandoned, the Liaodong Border Garrison, the most brave and good at fighting among the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty, will become rootless and the morale of the army will inevitably collapse.

Furthermore, the soldiers stationed on the Liaodong border all have families, and most of the civilians in Liaodong are related to the soldiers by marriage. If the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is abandoned, there will be nowhere to settle the families of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and four to five million civilians in Liaodong, and the imperial court will not be able to support them.

If millions of soldiers and civilians were left in Liaodong, it would not only demoralize the Liaodong troops but also benefit the Jurchens. The Jurchens would surely enslave these millions of soldiers and civilians to grow grain and gather fodder, and even instigate them to rebel and recruit soldiers for their own use. With this shift in power, the situation in Liaodong would inevitably deteriorate rapidly.

Hmm, not bad, that makes a lot of sense, and it resonates with me.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly in appreciation.

Upon seeing this, Lu Xiang-sheng quickly added, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that if we abandon the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, Shanhaiguan will be difficult to defend."

This is because Shanhaiguan is not a single pass; its western side is connected to the Great Wall. If the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is abandoned, the Jurchens will not need to launch a direct attack on the main city of Shanhaiguan. They can launch surprise attacks all over the mountains and plains. In that case, even tens of thousands of troops might not be able to hold it.

Furthermore, the main city of Shanhaiguan is less than ten li in circumference, far too small to garrison 100,000 troops. If the troops are stationed on the plains south of the pass, they will be unable to defend against a surprise attack by the Jurchens in time. Therefore, I believe that the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line must not be abandoned. If it is abandoned, it will be very difficult to defend the area west of Shanhaiguan.”

The Great Wall west of Shanhaiguan is the defense zone of Jizhou Town. It seems that Lu Xiang-sheng is quite familiar with Jizhou Town, and the Tianxiong Army also comes from Beizhili, not Liaodong.

Furthermore, Sun Chuanting had another special skill: he could train troops while simultaneously cultivating land to support the army. Historically, Emperor Chongzhen only gave him a total of 60,000 taels of silver for military pay, but he managed to train 50,000 Qin soldiers through land cultivation!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue had already made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)