Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 320 The Northern Barbarians' Invasion Raises Concerns for the Nine Border Regions (Part 2)

Zhu Jue was overjoyed after reading Qin Liangyu's memorial.

He originally thought that Qin Liangyu could lead the army to defeat Zhang Xianzhong, but who would have thought that Qin Liangyu would actually wipe out most of Zhang Xianzhong's men.

In this battle, more than 30,000 enemy soldiers were killed and more than 70,000 were captured. This was a rare and great victory.

He seems to have forgotten about the military merits and rewards; the recapture of Liaodong was an unparalleled achievement.

Although the Jurchens retreated voluntarily this time, Sun Chuanting was not without merit.

Liaodong can be said to be the foundation from which the Jurchens seized power. Therefore, it was impossible for the Jurchens to voluntarily withdraw from Liaodong. If it weren't for Sun Chuanting's steady and methodical advance over the past few years, why would the Jurchens have run away? Were they out of their minds?
The recapture of Liaodong can be attributed to Sun Chuanting. If a rash or even malicious general had been in charge, who knows what the situation in Liaodong would be like now.

Such a great achievement naturally deserves a generous reward. Only a generous reward can boost morale and motivate the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to compete to expand the territory.

He thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Ruoyu, draft an imperial edict to promote Qin Liangyu to the title of Duke of Zhongguo and bestow upon him the title of Shijuan, and to promote Boya to the title of Duke of Liaoguo and bestow upon him the title of Shijuan."

This means he's been promoted to Duke, and the title is hereditary!

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but stand up excitedly, cup his hands, and say, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue raised his hand slightly to gesture for him to sit down, and then solemnly said, "Bo Ya, the recovery of Liaodong is an unprecedented achievement. Also, report the merits of the generals under your command. Those who deserve to be ennobled should be ennobled."

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

Upon seeing this, Lu Xiang-sheng couldn't help but show a hint of envy on his face.

He actually had quite a few men under his command, but unfortunately, he had to guard the capital and had no opportunity to make a name for himself.

This is the effect of a generous reward; Lu Xiang-sheng was thoroughly motivated.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue encouraged him, "Jiandou, don't worry. Once Liaodong is developed, we will definitely have to use our troops to fight in the border regions. You will lead the army there then."

The grasslands beyond the Great Wall are many times larger than those in Liaodong; there's so much potential there.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng couldn't help but excitedly cup his hands and say, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

At this moment, most of the chariots and cavalry of the Beijing garrison are still in Liaodong. If all the troops of the Beijing garrison are to be transferred out, the defense of Liaodong must be well prepared.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then looked at the map carefully before solemnly saying, "Boya, the chariots and cavalry of the capital garrison will definitely have to withdraw from Liaodong. The entire Liaodong region will then be handed over to the Liaodong Army for defense."

Nowadays, the Jurchens are mainly cavalry, while the area around the former Jianzhou Three Guards is mainly mountainous. They cannot mobilize too many troops to attack Zhenjiang Fort and southern Liaodong. Therefore, your defense focus should be shifted to northeastern Liaodong.

As for the specific troop deployment, you can decide for yourself. In short, you must station at least 10,000 troops to garrison large cities and at least 5,000 troops to garrison garrisons. I will provide you with provisions and pay for 100,000 chariots, 100,000 infantry, and 30,000 cavalry. You must build the Liaodong defense line as soon as possible.”

At this point, the Jurchen army had less than 100,000 troops, while the Liaodong army had more than 200,000. In addition, with the cities that would soon be spread throughout Liaodong, it should not be difficult to hold the line.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting thought for a moment before nodding solemnly and saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue glanced at Qin Liangyu's memorial again and then instructed, "I will have the more than 70,000 rebels captured by the Duke of Zhongguo escorted to Lueyang to board a ship and then directly to Liaodong."

"Make arrangements to have these prisoners taken to the mines. Order the guards to tell them, 'If they mine obediently, we will take their families and provide them with a comfortable life. Otherwise, kill them without mercy.'"

Uh, you're going to stuff over 70,000 prisoners into my hands?
Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting slowly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

After they finished their discussions, the large-scale development of Liaodong began.

With hundreds of thousands of artisans and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians from Liaodong working together, cities sprang up like mushrooms after rain. In less than two months, many garrison cities were completed, and the foundations of the walls of the five large cities were also built.

Huang Taiji originally planned to lead his cavalry to invade Liaodong and plunder it extensively.

As a result, he had barely settled his people and sent people to investigate when he found that cities were already scattered all over Liaodong.

Now he dared not go. There were still hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong. If his cavalry got trapped in the city, they would likely be surrounded and annihilated.

The problem is, the land in Guihua City definitely won't be able to be cultivated this year. He still has hundreds of thousands of clansmen to feed. If he doesn't plunder, where will he get the money to buy grain from the three major clans and eight imperial merchants in Puzhou?
At this point, the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou were also getting anxious. They had originally hoped that Zhang Xianzhong's surprise attack on Hanzhong would draw the main force of the Hanzhong army back, but who would have thought that Qin Liangyu's 30,000 to 40,000 troops would rout Zhang Xianzhong so badly? The ferocity of the Sichuan Army's White-Spear Soldiers was beyond their comprehension. They certainly couldn't count on Zhang Xianzhong; it would be a miracle if he wasn't wiped out by Qin Liangyu.

Even more seriously, the Later Jin were forced to withdraw from Liaodong, and the young emperor, in order to prevent the Later Jin cavalry from making a comeback, frantically mobilized manpower to build cities in Liaodong, so the Later Jin cavalry did not dare to invade.

Huang Taiji had hundreds of thousands of family members with him at this time. Without the proceeds from plunder, how could he support so many people?

If things continue like this, Zhang Xianzhong will be finished, Huang Taiji will be finished, and Gao Yingxiang will not be able to withstand the Hanzhong army. All the forces they can rely on will be gone, and they will all be finished as well!

They certainly wouldn't just sit and wait to die.

In this situation, they still need to nurture a powerful force.

There's no point in counting on Zhang Xianzhong; he doesn't even have 100,000 men left. Gao Yingxiang is also hopeless; even with over 800,000 men defending the city, he couldn't withstand the fierce attack from the Hanzhong army. He's just a piece of cake.

At present, it seems that their only hope is to fatten up Huang Taiji.

Historically, both the rebels and the Jurchens initially developed their forces and seemed to be doing quite well. Li Zicheng even had over a million men under his command. However, in the end, the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou chose Huang Taiji.

As for the reason, Li Zicheng was utterly incompetent!
This time, they chose Huang Taiji again, because there was still some hope in Huang Taiji.

And then, another bizarre scene unfolded.

Just as the Ming Dynasty was concentrating its manpower on developing Liaodong, Huang Taiji suddenly led the Jurchen cavalry southwards stealthily, breaking into Xuanfu Town from the Dongyang River Valley and starting a frenzied plunder!
Although Xuanfu Town didn't have many people guarding it at this time, it had become rich.

This is because the capital region has already been developed, and there are countless ways to make money in Xuanfu Town, which is just a stone's throw away. Not to mention anything else, even if each household stores up ice in winter, they can still earn more than ten or twenty taels of silver.

Moreover, Xuanfu Town also has many mineral deposits, especially phosphate mines. At this time, most of the phosphate mines in the Ming Dynasty are mined from Xuanfu Town. Even if a commoner or young adult goes to mine for a month, he can earn a few taels of silver.

As for the merchants, needless to say, Zhangjiakou Fort in Xuanfu Town was one of the main passes for the eight imperial merchants to trade with the northern barbarians. There were already merchants everywhere, and there were countless people doing all kinds of business. In addition, as the capital region developed, the merchants here became extremely wealthy.

This time, everything benefited Huang Taiji.

There weren't many cities and fortresses to the west of Xuanfu Town. Apart from important cities and fortresses like Xuanfu City and Zhangjiakou Fort, the other cities and fortresses were practically undefended and were easily breached by them.

Huang Taiji plundered with incredible gusto, taking away countless grains, goods, gold and silver treasures, and even women.

By this time, Xuanfu Town had been connected by horse-drawn railcars. Huang Taiji had only been in Xuanfu Town for less than half a day when the news had already reached the capital.

Around noon, Zhu Jue was happily eating with Empress Zhang, Empress Zhou, and Zheng Chenggong in the kitchen of Kunning Palace, playing with his beloved son Zhu Cilang, when Fang Zhenghua suddenly rushed in with a memorial in his hand, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from Xuanfu Town, 800 li away."

An urgent report from Xuanfu Town, delivered by express courier?
Xuanfu Town is less than 400 li away from the capital, right?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and glanced at it, and couldn't help but let out a cold snort of anger.

Liu Shigan, the general of Xuanfu Town, reported that at dawn today, tens of thousands of Jurchen cavalry suddenly broke into Xuanfu Town from the Dongyang River Valley. Huai'an Guard, Huailai County, Bao'an Prefecture and other places have fallen one after another. He requested His Majesty to send troops to reinforce them!

Xuanfu Town has been turned into a sieve.

Last time it was Dushikou, northeast of Xuanfu Town, and this time it was Dongyang River Valley, northwest of Xuanfu Town. The Jurchens were practically invincible, inexplicably barging in without any prior warning, and no one even lit the beacon fires!

The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou had recruited countless spies within the Xuanfu border garrison.

More importantly, the number of infantrymen in Xuanfu Town is currently less than the number of Jurchen cavalry. If he doesn't send reinforcements, who knows what kind of mess Huang Taiji will make of Xuanfu Town.

The problem is that most of the garrison troops from the capital are currently in Liaodong, and the rest are mostly defending Jizhou Town. He can't mobilize many troops in the short term.

How can we save this?
He thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "You all eat first, I have something to take care of."

After saying that, he gave Fang Zhenghua a wink and then strode out.

As soon as he stepped outside the kitchen, he whispered to Fang Zhenghua, who had followed him, "Quickly send someone to summon Jiandou to come to Yuxi Palace for an audience."

(End of this chapter)