Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 147 Issuing an Edict of Self-Reproach is Pure Bullshit (Part 1)

A great victory in Liaodong!

Sun Chuanting intercepted the Jurchens between Shuangtaizi River and Daliao River, killing more than 2,000 enemies and wounding more than 20,000, resulting in a major defeat for the Jurchens.

This achievement was actually not very significant.

In the last battle of Jizhou City, they even killed four or five thousand Jurchen cavalry.

However, the garrison of Zunhua City also suffered heavy casualties that time, with four or five thousand soldiers killed in action, including Wang Yuanya, the garrison commander of Jizhou, who died for his country.

If calculated based on the number of casualties on both sides, they didn't gain any advantage.

Therefore, Zhu Jue did not order anyone to publicize it.

This time was different. The Liaodong border troops and the soldiers of the Beijing garrison suffered no casualties, while the Jurchens were simply beaten.

Moreover, Sun Chuanting not only repelled the Jurchens, but also recovered hundreds of miles of lost territory between Shuangtaizi River and Daliao River.

This marks the first time since the Battle of Sarhu that the Ming Dynasty has recovered lost territory.

As for the section from Daling River to Shuangtaizi River, that cannot be considered as the recovery of lost territory.

This is because that was the battle zone between the two sides. After the Ningjin Victory, that section was left empty. The Liaodong soldiers and civilians dared not go there to cultivate the land, and the Jurchens did not send anyone to occupy it. When Sun Chuanting took that section and built a defensive line on the west bank of the Shuangtaizi River, it could only be considered as consolidating the defensive line, not as recovering lost territory.

Only after recapturing the section between Shuangtaizi River and Daliao River can it be considered a true recovery of lost territory.

Zhu Jue naturally ordered his men to spread the news widely.

He also took this opportunity to promote a number of meritorious soldiers.

Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao were both promoted to the positions of General Commander of the Western and Eastern Armies of Liaodong, respectively. Zhou Yuji was also promoted to the position of General Commander of the Central Armies of Jizhou. Sun Yingyuan, the General Commander of the Beijing Garrison, was directly promoted to the position of Right Grand Commander of the Five Armies Commandery. Sun Chuanting was also appointed as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and the Commissioner of Liaodong.

His extensive publicity immediately delighted the people of the capital.

The Ming Dynasty finally recovered the lost territory of Liaodong. No matter how much was recovered, it was still a recovery. The key point is that Sun Chuanting also led his army to defeat the Jurchens.

Since the Battle of Sarhu, the Jurchens have been a nightmare for the people of the capital. In just six years, they slaughtered their way from Shenyang to Ningyuan.

Although Yuan Chonghuan withstood the Jurchens' attacks at the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line and achieved the great victories of Ningyuan and Ningjin, it was a passive defense, not a counterattack against the Jurchens.

The Jurchens might attack the capital at any time.

This was indeed the case in history. In the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the Jurchens broke through the defenses of Jizhou and ravaged the capital region.

The people of the capital lived in constant fear.

Now that's good, the Ming Dynasty has finally launched a counterattack, and the Jurchens have suffered a crushing defeat and fled.

From then on, the Jurchens were no longer getting closer to the capital, but rather getting further and further away.

The people of the capital were naturally overjoyed.

Who doesn't want a peaceful life?

The officials in the outer court were quite strange. Some were puzzled, some remained silent, some were secretly anxious, and some even seemed to have lost their parents.

This is all because the Liaodong victory was not what they wanted; it was all orchestrated behind their backs by the young emperor.

The young emperor treats them like thieves; how can they be happy?
At this point, some officials in the outer court even began to cause trouble in secret.

Zhu Jue had no time to deal with the officials of the outer court. He was busy because Wang Yingchao had brought back news that the Spanish envoy had arrived at Jilong Port in Dongfan and was on a fast naval ship heading to the capital.

This business with Spain is of paramount importance to the development of the Ming Dynasty. If the deal is successful, they will not only earn tens of millions of taels of silver a year, but they will also be able to buy large quantities of copper and rubber from the Spanish.

He naturally needed to plan this matter carefully.

The envoy sent by the Governor-General of Luzon in Spain this time was Valdes, because he had been here once before and knew the way well.

However, this time Zhu Jue did not receive the guy in the palace.

He chose the textile factory in Dongcheng that was undergoing expansion.

This textile factory is no ordinary size; it stretches for more than ten miles from north to south and is about two miles wide from east to west.

Zhu Jue also ordered the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Army to line both sides of the main road. All Valdes could see were huge factory buildings on both sides of the road, so densely packed that they stretched as far as the eye could see.

He was wondering what was going on inside the huge factory when Zheng Cai, who had led him there, took him directly into one of the factory buildings.

This is where silk is woven. Hundreds of looms are arranged densely, and in front of each loom, a woman is sitting and skillfully weaving silk.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty appears to be inspecting this place.

When Valdes saw Zhu Jue prostrate himself on the ground, he said loudly, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor."

This guy is really easy to fool. He had Zheng Lian tell this guy that this is the formal etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, and this guy actually believed it and even imitated it quite well.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities, rise." "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Valdes thanked him in a proper manner before getting up from the ground and saying with a fawning expression, "Your Excellency Marquis, it's been a long time."

Why are you talking to me?
Zheng Zhilong quickly corrected him, "Valdes, remember, you must not talk to others when our Emperor of the Great Ming is present. You can only talk to others when our Emperor allows it. This is also a very important etiquette."

Uh, the Ming Dynasty had so many rules of etiquette.

Valdes was stunned upon hearing this.

Should he speak next, or should he remain silent?

Zhu Jue nodded slightly after hearing Zheng Zhilong's explanation, then pointed to the silk on the shelf next to him and asked, "What do you think of this silk?"

When Valdes heard Zheng Zhilong's translation, he turned around and was overjoyed to see so much silk! There must be thousands of bolts of silk on this shelf!
He walked over, picked up a piece of silk and examined it closely. He couldn't help but exclaim, "This silk is so well woven! I've never seen such finely woven silk before!"

It's not a matter of how well it's woven; the key is that the yarn is good.

Zhu Jue didn't explain. He nodded slightly and then asked, "What did your governor say?"

Valdes quickly explained in detail: "Our Governor has already sent a personal letter back to the homeland to report this matter to His Majesty the King."

Our Governor-General said that His Majesty the King will certainly agree to this matter. We will then send a fleet to deliver copper and rubber to you in Dongfan twice a year, each time carrying approximately five million catties of copper and rubber, along with sufficient gold and silver. We hope your goods will fill our cargo ships.”

Dongfan?

It seems your fleet is traveling along the North Pacific Gyre.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said casually, "You can only carry ten million catties of goods in one trip, right? No problem. What kind of goods do you want?"

Is that all?
Valdes said happily, "We mainly want silk, cloth, porcelain and tea. We can also buy in large quantities of other good things."

How can you keep using the same old four items? I don't have enough silk, cloth, porcelain, and tea to fill your many ocean-going cargo ships right now.

Zhu Jue glanced around casually, then looked at the square blocks under the shelf that seemed to prevent it from tipping over and asked, "Do you want this refined steel?"

Refined steel?
what?
Valdes squatted down curiously, intending to pick it up with one hand to take a look, but he couldn't manage it.

so heavy!
He picked it up with both hands and looked at it, and then he understood that it was something similar to iron.

At that time, Europe did not have steelmaking technology, so he did not know what Zheng Zhilong meant by "hundred-times-refined steel".

He examined it closely and then asked, "Your Excellency, is this an iron ingot?"

Zheng Zhilong consulted the protagonist before shaking his head slightly and saying, "No, this is refined iron, which is purer, tougher, and easier to process than regular iron."

Oh, refined iron.

We also have refined iron, but refining iron is too troublesome. We only use refined iron to forge muskets, cannons, and weapons.

Valdes thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you have many of these?"

Of course, His Majesty just wanted to promote our steel ingots to you in this casual way.

Zheng Zhilong nodded without hesitation and said, "We have plenty of refined steel, enough to fill your cargo ships."

That would be great.

Valdes nodded repeatedly and said, "His Majesty the King will definitely want this. How much is it per pound?"

After listening to Zheng Zhilong's translation, Zhu Jue shook his head nonchalantly and said, "I won't discuss the price with you. You can go and negotiate with the Marquis of Nan'an."

After saying that, he pointed to the window and asked, "Do you want this glass?"

Valdes looked in the direction he was pointing and exclaimed in surprise, "Flint glass!"

After saying that, he quickly stepped forward and gently touched it; it really was flint glass!

This thing is very precious in Europe; it's usually used to make telescopes. I never expected that the Ming Dynasty would use it directly as a window!
I must say, flint glass is really beautiful for making windows. Nobles in Europe love these kinds of fancy things. If it could be shipped back to Europe, it would definitely cause a buying frenzy.

He looked up at the exquisite glass window and nodded repeatedly, saying, "His Majesty the King would definitely like this too, but I wonder how much it costs."

Zhu Jue shook his head calmly and said, "Forget it, go and talk to the Marquis of Nan'an about the price. I don't have time to talk to you about such trivial matters."

Ok.

Valdes nodded repeatedly and followed Zheng Zhilong.

Zhu Jue watched the guy's back and couldn't help but smile slightly.

The reason he showed this guy all this was to make him think that they had plenty of stock right now.

This saves a lot of trouble. Everyone assumes the supply is secure, so there's nothing to worry about. Zheng Zhilong only needs to negotiate the price with this guy, and the deal is sure to go through.

(End of this chapter)