Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 318 Tai Chi Starting Line: The Restoration of Liaodong (Part 2)

This horse-drawn railcar is truly a wonderful thing.

This is because carriages are so easy to build. Not to mention the Ming Dynasty, carriages were already prevalent during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods thousands of years ago, and people at that time were already able to mass-produce carriages.

The Ming Dynasty is now far superior in manufacturing carriages, and the horse-drawn carriage is simply a larger version of the original carriage, with glass installed and iron wheels replaced. With the current manufacturing capabilities of the Ming Dynasty, this is a piece of cake.

The key is that the horse-drawn carriage is not technologically advanced, it does not require a steam engine, and there is no need to worry about leaks.

Therefore, Zhu Jue did not rush to order the development of steam locomotives.

This is because steam locomotives are not only time-consuming and laborious to develop, but also easy to leak secrets. If the secrets of the steam engine were leaked just for the sake of that little bit of transport capacity, it would be a loss that does not outweigh the gains.

At this stage, horse-drawn railcars are sufficient, since there are no large workshops in the private sector that require transport capacity of hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms, while the factories in the inner court can use steamships to transport raw materials and goods.

It can be said that the advantages of horse-drawn railcars are numerous. If horse-drawn railcars could be promoted to the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would surely usher in a period of rapid development.

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty doesn't have enough horses to pull the carts right now, which is awkward.

The Ming Dynasty originally had no shortage of horses. During the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, the Beiping Regional Military Commission alone had 80,000 cavalrymen. And the cavalrymen rode warhorses. To train 80,000 warhorses, the total number of other types of horses would be at least 200,000.

In other words, during the Hongwu and Yongle reigns, the Beiping Regional Military Commission alone had at least 200,000 horses, and the other border towns together had at least 500,000 horses.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty had only managed to gather 60,000 cavalrymen, and the remaining horses capable of pulling carts were estimated to be less than 60,000.

In other words, after more than two hundred years of development, the Ming Dynasty not only had its navy completely destroyed, but its horse fleet had also shrunk by more than half. At this time, the Ming Dynasty definitely did not have more than 200,000 horses.

If they wanted to promote horse-drawn railcars to the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the more than 200,000 horses needed to pull the carts would probably not be enough.

Where did this horse come from?

Perhaps it's time to consider taking over the grasslands beyond the Great Wall. Once we take over the grasslands, the problem of horses will no longer be an issue.

More importantly, it's better to take the initiative than to defend passively!
The Jurchens ran to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, probably intending to emulate the northern barbarians' invasion. Instead, they simply did the opposite, attacking the grasslands instead. This would not only keep the Jurchens busy, but the grasslands they reclaimed could also be used to graze cattle, sheep, and horses.

The vastness of the grasslands beyond the Great Wall surpasses even the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. The Beiping Regional Military Commission alone could once graze over two hundred thousand horses. Just by reclaiming this one place, the Ming Dynasty will no longer lack horses, and beef and mutton can gradually become more common among the people, thus improving the physical fitness of the Ming citizens. Why not do it?

Of course, taking over the grasslands beyond the Great Wall is not so simple; at this point, they haven't even fully recovered Liaodong yet.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "Boya, how many horses are left in Liaodong that can be used to pull carts?"

How do you say this?

Sun Chuanting thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, there aren't many old horses left in Liaodong that can be used to pull carriages. If Your Majesty is in a hurry to use horses, then we can only use mares and underdeveloped warhorses to pull the carriages."

If you include mares and underdeveloped warhorses, Liaodong could muster four or five thousand horses for pulling carts.

These four or five thousand horses are barely enough to transport supplies between the capital and Nanjing. After all, the total distance between the capital and Nanjing is only a little over two thousand li. Even if there is a transit city every fifty li or so, there are only forty or fifty transit cities in total. If four or five thousand horses are evenly distributed among forty or fifty transit cities, then each transit city will have about a hundred horses, which should be barely enough to transport supplies for the people.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue slowly nodded and said, "Then gather as many horses as you can pull the cart as possible, and head directly to the capital by land."

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Liaodong needs to be recovered quickly. Next year, they will probably launch a military campaign against the grasslands beyond the Great Wall. If Liaodong is not fully recovered, who knows how many troops will have to be stationed there.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then asked, "Bo Ya, you feel that the Jiannu can complete the migration within half a month, right?"

How to put it? Who knows if the Jurchens will all migrate away?

Sun Chuanting thought for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, if they continue migrating at this pace, they should be able to complete the migration within half a month."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "So, does this mean that only surrendered Liaodong soldiers and civilians remain in Shenyang and Fushun Pass?"

It’s hard to say.

Sun Chuanting estimated: "After the Jurchens migrated away, some infantrymen from the Mongol Yuan tribes might still remain in Shenyang and Fushun Pass. This is because the Jurchens also forcibly conscripted a lot of infantrymen from the Mongol Yuan tribes. Huang Taiji would definitely want to cause us some trouble. Therefore, it is unlikely that he would migrate the infantrymen from the Mongol Yuan tribes together."

The infantry of the various Mongol tribes could also be recruited and surrendered.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you have any soldiers in your army who dare to go to Shenyang and Fushun to persuade them to surrender?"

Persuade?

It is unlikely that the infantrymen left in Shenyang and Fushun Pass could be persuaded to surrender, after all, they were either Liaodong soldiers and civilians who had defected to the Jurchens or young men from various Mongol tribes.

Sun Chuanting nodded slowly and said, "This humble servant can find quite a few. After all, the military and civilians of Liaodong have been intermarrying for so many years, and many of them are relatives or even blood relatives. There shouldn't be any danger in finding some relatives to persuade them to surrender in Shenyang and Fushun."

However, I estimate that the infantry remaining in Shenyang and Fushun Pass are unlikely to be persuaded to surrender, after all, they have all fought alongside the Jurchens against us.

This shouldn't be a big problem; all that's needed is for someone to persuade them to surrender.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then carefully explained, "We can use coercion and inducement."

Before you send someone to persuade them to surrender, you can move all your chariots and troops to the north bank of the Hun River, and then overwhelm them, completely surrounding Shenyang.

In this situation, they certainly had no way to escape; if they didn't surrender, they would only starve to death in the city.

You can also have your people persuade them to surrender and tell them that anyone who surrenders will not only be forgiven, but will also be allocated land, with each household receiving fifty acres of land to ensure they have enough to eat and wear.

If you let them choose between starving to death and having plenty of food and clothing, anyone who isn't mentally unstable would choose plenty of food and clothing.

What you said makes perfect sense. Anyone who isn't mentally unstable wouldn't choose to starve to death.

The question is, are they really going to distribute land to them?
Sun Chuanting cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, are we truly willing to forgive and forget?"

Zhu Jue nodded slowly and said, "That's true. They've all surrendered, so they're not much of a threat anymore. Killing them wouldn't make much difference. As long as they honestly farm, they can still grow a lot of grain for us."

If they truly forgive past transgressions, persuading them to surrender shouldn't be a problem.

After Sun Chuanting returned to Liaodong, he immediately assembled all the chariots and soldiers, used the navy's fast ships to cross the Liao River, and then waited for the Jurchens to finish their migration.

As soon as the last batch of Jurchen troops arrived at the Horqin Grassland, he immediately mobilized 400,000 troops to sweep over the city, completely surrounding Shenyang.

Immediately afterwards, he sent soldiers with many relatives in the army to come into the city in a hanging basket to persuade them to surrender.

The overwhelming number of chariots was truly terrifying. The infantry in the city had no chance of escaping. In addition, the Jurchens had already moved to the borderlands and were unlikely to come back to rescue them. The infantry left behind in the city, in despair, heard that if they surrendered, not only would they be forgiven for their past mistakes, but each household would also receive fifty acres of land. So they quickly surrendered.

Sun Chuanting then used the same tactic again, sending out chariots and soldiers to overwhelm the small Fushun Pass from both the east and west, completely surrounding it.

Upon hearing that the people in Shenyang had all surrendered, the infantrymen left behind in Fushun and Guanzhong chose to surrender without hesitation.

The entire Liaodong region was recovered just like that!
(End of this chapter)