Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 180 Immovable as a Mountain, Step by Step (Part 2)

Huang Taiji led the Jurchen cavalry in a frenzied plundering of Shuozhou, Mayi, Shanyin and other places, and the soldiers and civilians of Datong Town seemed to be unable to bear it any longer.

When the urgent memorial, delivered over 800 li, arrived in the capital, the cabinet seemed to be getting restless.

Han Kuang actually wrote a draft proposal, suggesting that Hong Chengchou be appointed as the governor of Xuanfu, Datong and Taiyuan and Pianguan, and that a large army be assembled to drive Huang Taiji away.

Zhu Jue remained unmoved, completely ignoring these guys!
He was actually waiting for Lü Zhi to come back.

The next morning around 9 a.m., he had finished reviewing all the memorials, but he didn't go anywhere. He just stared blankly at the map in the main hall of Yuxi Palace.

Not long after, Lü Zhi strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How is it? Is spring plowing finished in Liaodong Town?"

There is too much farmland in Liaodong Town now, and there is a serious shortage of labor, especially between Dalinghe River and Shuangtaizi River, between Shuangtaizi River and Daliaohe River, and between Haizhouwei and Gaizhouwei.

The combined farmland in these three regions is over ten million mu, but the combined population of these three regions is less than one million.

Sun Chuanting could not act like the Jurchens, whipping these people to work day and night.

He could only send infantrymen from Liaodong Town and soldiers from the Beijing Garrison to help them cultivate the land.

These people, regardless of age or gender, have to cultivate more than ten acres of land per person on average, which is incredibly tiring.

Lu Zhi couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty, there's so much land over there. Lord Sun has sent all the soldiers he could to help, and they're still not done yet."

It's almost July, and we're still not done?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue frowned slightly and said, "Has Boya not read the 'Complete Treatise on Agriculture'? Rice and wheat take time to grow. If we plant them now, will they even ripen this year?"

Uh, I didn't explain it clearly.

Lu Zhi quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This servant did not explain clearly. Lord Sun knows that rice and wheat need time to grow, so the rice and wheat were planted first. Now that they have all been planted, they are busy planting the two million mu of potatoes and sweet potatoes."

I've heard that potatoes take about three months to mature and sweet potatoes take about four months. Planting sweet potatoes first and then potatoes should still be in time.

Oh, they're planting potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How much longer will it take them to finish planting?"

Lu Zhi recalled, "The sweet potatoes were planted more than ten days ago, and it seems they are already planted. The potatoes have just started to be planted, and it will probably take another ten days or so."

It takes more than three months for potatoes to grow to maturity, but it's fine to finish planting them in a month or two.

Zhu Jue pondered, "If Boya doesn't send anyone to help, the soldiers and civilians should be able to finish planting the potatoes by July, right?"

Lu Zhi nodded repeatedly and said, "Even if the soldiers from Liaodong and the Beijing garrison don't help, it will only be a few days slower. We will definitely be able to finish planting by July."

That'll do.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Go and convey my imperial edict, ordering Boya to gather troops and prepare to recapture the Gaizhou Guard, Fuzhou Guard, and Jinzhou Guard line. If Mao Wenlong can take Zhenjiang Fort, have Mao Wenlong attack Zhenjiang Fort at the same time."

Tell Boya to fight with confidence. Huang Taiji is still lingering in Datong Town. It will take the Jurchen cavalry at least twenty days to get back, not even counting the time for relaying messages. If you include the time for relaying messages, it will take at least thirty days.

This immediately caused an uproar in Liaodong Town.

Sun Chuanting, as if possessed, immediately assembled 40,000 cavalry, 40,000 chariot soldiers, 30,000 infantry, and 10,000 musketeers, and charged madly towards Gaizhou Guard.

His army numbered over 100,000, while the garrison of Gaizhou had less than 3,000 troops in total!
This guy is terrifying. Over 100,000 troops are spread all over the mountains and plains, covering the sky and the earth.

The Jurchens, both inside and outside the city, were so terrified that they wished they had two more legs. They ran away as fast as they could, abandoning even their food and belongings.

Mao Wenlong, as if possessed, mobilized his more than 20,000 men and dozens of fishing boats and warships, and rushed madly towards Zhenjiang Fort.

Zhenjiang Fort is just a fortress at this point. Even if it were filled to capacity, it could only hold about a thousand people. Moreover, it's impossible for it to be filled to capacity.

The Jurchens inside the fortress were so frightened that they ran away without offering any resistance.

It's not that they're afraid of death or dare not resist.

The key point is that Huang Taiji had already given a secret order: if you feel you can't win, run away as soon as possible; saving your life is the most important thing.

Knowing that the Jurchen cavalry were not there, Sun Chuanting confidently led his army in a fierce charge southward without any hesitation.

The combined Jurchen garrison of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou was less than ten thousand men; how could they possibly withstand the onslaught of over one hundred thousand Ming troops?

The garrison troops of Fuzhou and Jinzhou were just like those of Gaizhou. When they saw the overwhelming Ming army rushing over, they ran away as fast as they could, not daring to resist at all.

Mao Wenlong was even bolder. After capturing Zhenjiang Fort, he left less than 10,000 troops to garrison it. Then, he led 20,000 troops on a fierce charge to the west, frantically recovering lost territory.

Upon receiving the battle report from Sun Chuanting and Mao Wenlong, they immediately led their troops to pursue the fleeing Jurchens from Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou.

Two armies advanced from the east and west, and in less than twenty days they had recovered the southern part of Liaodong. The Jurchens were so frightened that they fled into the Great Dividing Range and rushed frantically towards Dingliao Right Guard.

It was July, and the capital was sweltering. Zhu Juena rarely went out anymore. He spent most of his time in the main hall of Yuxi Palace, waiting for battle reports from Liaodong.

This person is used to being outdoors and can't sit still, especially when the heat is unbearable.

He was fortunate, because there were ice cellars in the imperial city, and every winter the palace eunuchs would collect enough ice from Taiye Pond for him and some of the concubines to use to cool off. Ordinary people couldn't do that, and even the palace eunuchs and maids could only use fans to cool off.

He couldn't sit still any longer and started thinking of ways to beat the heat.

These days, the only way to beat the heat is with ice cubes; forget about air conditioning and refrigerators.

There are two main sources of ice: one is to dig ice cellars to store natural ice in winter, and the other is to make ice from saltpeter.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had not yet found any large saltpeter mines. Saltpeter was basically used to make gunpowder, so it was not practical to use saltpeter to make ice in large quantities.

He could only rely on natural ice, asking people to dig more ice cellars.

As for how to use ice to cool off, he did have some ideas.

Around noon that day, Song Yingxing ordered someone to deliver the windmill he had requested.

The windmill he wanted was not the kind of large windmill powered by natural wind, nor the kind of fan with three blades that we have in later generations, but a farming tool used by farmers to remove chaff, ash, and shriveled grains from their crops.

The top of this windmill holds a large container for pounded grain, while the bottom holds rice. The husks, chaff, and shriveled grains are blown out from one side by the wind generated by the windmill's impeller.

He also had Song Yingxing make some changes. The top was changed to a tin hopper for holding ice, and a row of cast iron pipes was added in the middle to let the ice water flow down. The bottom was a basin to catch the water, and when the water was full, the funnel at the bottom was opened to collect it in a bucket.

This was a simple air conditioner. He simply ordered someone to point the air vent at where he was sitting, then added ice, and told them to crank the handle. A gust of cool air blew over.

At first, the wind wasn't too cold, but as the ice gradually melted into ice water and flowed down the cast iron pipe, the wind became as cold as a blizzard, making people feel cool and refreshed.

He raised his hand with a hint of smugness and said, "Ruoyu, Chengen, come and try."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruoyu and Wang Chengen quickly came to his side.

Goodness, this wind is so cool!
Wang Chengen couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Your Majesty, this windmill uses less than one-tenth the amount of ice as usual, yet it's so cool!"

You're just leaving the ice on the ground and letting it release its own coolness. The palace is so big, it naturally needs a lot of ice, and most of that coolness is absorbed by the walls, pillars, beams, and even the ground.

This is the cool air emanating from the concentrated ice blocks blowing onto people, so naturally it doesn't take that much.

Zhu Jue said with some pride, "These ice windmills are really good. Get a few from Kunning Palace, and one from each of the six palaces in the east and west, so they can all cool off."

Tell the eunuchs under your command who are digging ice cellars to work harder and dig more ice cellars. Next summer, I will order more ice windmills to be built, so they can all enjoy this rare cool breeze in the sweltering heat.

We can also have the soldiers of the Beijing garrison dig more ice cellars near the moat, the Tonghui River, and even the Wenyu River and Yongding River to store more ice in winter. Then we can sell the ice windmills and the ice blocks for money; they'll earn money from the ice blocks, and I'll earn money from the ice windmills.”

Rich people would definitely want one or even a whole bunch of these.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruoyu and Wang Chengen nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

As they were enjoying the cool breeze, Lü Zhi suddenly strode in, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

You've come back just in time.

Seeing the guy covered in sweat, Zhu Jue waved him over and said, "You must be so hot. Come on, get some fresh air."

Can I enjoy the breeze with you?

Lu Zhi glanced at Liu Ruoyu and Wang Chengen standing next to Zhu Jue, and quickly and carefully moved over to them.

Oh dear, it's so cold!

The icy wind blew, making him shiver.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue smiled slightly and asked, "How far have Boya and Wenlong gotten?"

I forgot to mention that.

Lu Zhi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Lord Sun and General Mao have already met up near the former Huanggui Fort. The Jurchens were so frightened that they ran into the Great Dividing Range and fled towards Dingliao Right Guard. The southern part of Liaodong has been completely recovered."

very good!

Huang Taiji, are you still trying to play the fool with me?

Let's see how long you can keep up this act.

Zhu Jue pondered for a while, then pointed to the map in front of him and carefully instructed: "Tell Boya to send 40,000 cavalry to set up a large camp more than ten miles south of Dingliao Right Guard, and casually build some siege weapons to make it look like you are going to attack Dingliao Right Guard, but don't actually send chariots and infantry to attack."

If the Jurchens drove back from Datong Town, their cavalry would retreat to the Zhenjiangbao line.

This year, they will expand Zhenjiang Fort and repair the fortresses at the exits of the valleys along the Great Dividing Ridge. They need to stabilize the situation first and not rush things. The Jurchens are extremely skilled at fighting in the mountains. Even if they can capture Dingliao Right Guard, they shouldn't rush to attack. They'll assess the situation next year.

Lu Zhi quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This servant will remember."

Having said that, he prepared to take his leave.

Zhu Jue raised his hand and said, "Don't rush. Let's cool off in the breeze and dry off the sweat before we leave."

(End of this chapter)