Di Ming

Chapter 356 "Tong, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Jianzhou Garrison and General of the Golden Guard, in the Fight Against the Japanese Pirates!" (Large Chapter)
Such reckless and rule-breaking behavior, devoid of any martial ethics, shows that Emperor Bai Jin has truly gone mad.

This intelligence report is very detailed.

Intelligence reports that Zhang Jing said something very important to the emperor, something extremely powerful. It was this very statement that made the emperor abandon his last remaining concerns. Zhang Jing said:

"Your Majesty, think of your ancestor, Emperor Shizong. How fierce was the Great Rites Controversy back then, and how powerful were ministers like Yang Tinghe? The Great Rites Controversy not only concerned the foundation of the country but also the ancestral system that has been passed down for thousands of years. Was it not even more serious and unchangeable than the current struggle for the crown prince?"

"Although the court officials remonstrated with all their might and even boycotted court in protest, Emperor Shizong was wise and resolute, and his heart was as firm as iron. He remained unmoved until the very end, even at the cost of bloodshed. The Zuoshun Gate Incident was a coup, but what did it amount to? Nearly two hundred officials were imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and punished, and sixteen ministers were beaten to death in court. Hundreds of officials died in prison, were dismissed from office, or were exiled. How tragic it was!"

"But what happened in the end? Emperor Shizong won. The self-righteous and incessantly chattering ministers were utterly defeated. Emperor Shizong fulfilled his filial duty as he wished, enshrining his late father's spirit tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, posthumously honoring him as an emperor, and placing him above Emperor Wuzong! He even changed Emperor Taizong's temple name to Emperor Chengzu, removed Emperor Renzong from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and established the 'Minglun Dadian' as a new ancestral system. Every single one of these actions refreshed the ancestral system and rites. What a bold move Your Majesty has made!"

"Your Majesty, please consider this: which is more difficult, the events of that year or the current struggle for the crown prince position?"

The emperor replied, "The matter of the Great Rites Controversy is more difficult, but the current dispute over the foundation of the state is somewhat easier."

Zhang Jing said, "Your Majesty is wise! In my opinion, the matter of the Great Rites Controversy is much more difficult, while today's matter is easier. After all, throughout history, there have been many who were not the eldest sons but became the crown prince. They are all Your Majesty's sons, but none of them are the legitimate sons. Who can't do it?"

"The court officials opposed the ancestral temple back then, and now they oppose Your Majesty, all because they cling to the concept of propriety. After all, our Great Ming governs the country with propriety. So they take advantage of this and attempt to control the emperor with propriety! Where is their loyalty and filial piety?!"

"But in my humble opinion, what is propriety? Propriety is what the emperor desires, what the emperor expresses, and what the emperor does! This is the fundamental principle of propriety. The propriety held by the ministers is merely the details of propriety. When the fundamental principle is upheld, the details will naturally follow. If the fundamental principle is not upheld, the details cannot be followed! The ministers are all reversing the fundamental principle, deceiving the emperor and trying to mislead His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the emperor excitedly lit his opium pipe, tapped his jade tablet, and exclaimed, "Well said, Zhang Jing! What you say makes perfect sense! Please continue!"

Zhang Jing continued, “Before His Majesty ascended the throne, he was the rightful Crown Prince. His Majesty’s mother was a Noble Consort during the reign of Emperor Mu. Before His Majesty ascended the throne, she had already served as the Crown Prince for five years. As for Emperor Shimiao, he was just the son of a vassal king, born to a vassal consort, and was the heir apparent in Jingchu.”

"May I ask Your Majesty, how does Your Majesty, with your humble origins, compare to Emperor Shizong?"

The emperor solemnly replied, "My lineage is far inferior to that of my imperial grandfather; we cannot be compared."

Zhang Jing asked again, "May I ask Your Majesty, how do today's officials compare to Yang Tinghe and others of that time?"

The emperor shook his head: "It is far inferior. Yang Tinghe is a veteran of three reigns, highly respected and relied upon both inside and outside the court. He was the leader of the gentry at that time. He controlled the government and held the power of drafting and approving imperial edicts. His protégés and former officials were all over the court. His reputation and position were even greater than Zhang Juzheng's."

Zhang Jing said, "Emperor Shi was originally installed by Yang Tinghe, and besides, Emperor Shi was merely the heir of a prince. Yet, given Yang Tinghe's strength, Emperor Shi was still able to achieve his goals and win a great victory. How much more so should Your Majesty, who is of noble birth and not installed by the ministers, and whose ministers today are far inferior to Yang Tinghe?"

Upon hearing this, the emperor suddenly stood up and walked barefoot around the dragon pillar several times. Zhang Jing, holding the dragon boots, followed closely behind the emperor.

The emperor suddenly stopped, stabbed the screen with his jade tablet, and shouted, "Is there anything else?"

Zhang Jing knelt down, put down his dragon boots, and said, "Furthermore! Emperor Shizong was only fifteen years old when he entered the capital to ascend the throne. However, in the year he ascended the throne, his position was not yet secure, his power was not yet strong, and he initiated the Great Rites Controversy at the tender age of fifteen!"

"Today, His Majesty is over thirty years old and has reigned for twenty-one years. He is in his prime, wise and decisive, and has the submission of both the court and the people. His throne is as stable as Mount Tai. He is incomparable to Emperor Shizong, who entered the capital at the age of fifteen to ascend the throne."

"Therefore, I believe that what Emperor Shizong could do, Your Majesty can certainly do even more! And what Emperor Shizong could not do, Your Majesty may not necessarily be unable to do!"

"Back then, the treacherous ministers Yan Song and Zhang Juzheng were merely officials, yet they were able to dominate the court and wield absolute power. They also committed many major acts that violated ancestral rules and etiquette. How much more so Your Majesty!"

"Only the ministers are allowed to go, but Your Majesty is not?!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor could no longer contain himself and exclaimed, "Well said! Well said! I have tolerated them for too long! If my grandfather could do it, why can't I!"

"Zhang Jing, do as you wish. This time, I will not hesitate, nor will I tolerate or compromise!"

Next, Zhang Jing left the palace by imperial decree, and the next day at the grand court assembly, he ordered the secret police to arrest ministers en masse.

Although the intelligence was very clear, Zhu Yin still had some doubts. Because a person's character is actually very difficult to change, especially when facing major, challenging tasks, where weaknesses in one's character can be magnified.

Logically speaking, even with Zhang Jingfeng's instigation, the money-worshipping emperor shouldn't have gone so far.

This is completely out of character for him.

Could it be related to opium pipes and aphrodisiacs?
Zhu Yin, wearing Jurchen-style shoes, paced back and forth in the Jurchen-style semi-subterranean hearth house, pondering repeatedly in his mind.

Recalling the several large-scale arrests of officials in Ming history, Zhu Yin understood even more clearly.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu and Emperor Zhu Di repeatedly issued large-scale orders to the secret police to arrest officials, ranging from dozens to hundreds or even thousands. However, this was during a special period in the early Ming Dynasty, under political pressure, where there were few rules to speak of.

During the Zhengde reign, Liu Jin seized power and also broke the rules and acted recklessly. The Jiajing reign was even worse.

But what are the personalities of these two?

Emperor Zhengde was a mischievous brat, always ready to cause trouble and create chaos. He was wild and audacious. It's not surprising that he dared to break the rules and openly confront his ministers.

Jiajing was the son of a prince and was not raised in the inner palace. He was not only unconventional but also shrewd and worldly-wise. Moreover, he was shrewd, decisive, treacherous, and cunning.

What about Emperor Wanli? This man was conservative, cautious, weak, and had an escapist personality. It was truly a difficult task to expect him to do what Emperor Jiajing and Emperor Zhengde did.

The only explanation is that drugs were also involved. The money-grubbing emperor had been smoking opium for several years, and the habit was escalating. Because of his lustful nature and the many beauties in the palace, he also had a fondness for the aphrodisiacs developed by the Ning sisters, which he took daily.

Both opium and aphrodisiacs stimulate the nervous system, leading to mental excitement and even hallucinations. Excessive use can drastically change a person's personality.

Zhu Yin then thought that Wanli's physical and mental health was being eroded by drugs, and it would only get worse. This time he broke the rules of political struggle, so what other irrational things would he do in the future?

Zhu Yin suddenly regretted it. He regretted using drugs to plot against the money-grubbing emperor.

History has changed so much, and who knows what will happen next? His cheat ability as a time traveler is now practically useless.

Apart from his advantages in technology and ideas, he is already similar to the ancients in other aspects.

Zhu Yin wrote a targeted, encrypted letter to Huya, and then opened the second wax pill, which also contained intelligence from Beijing.

Upon seeing the second intelligence report, Zhu Yin couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Increase taxes on mining and send large numbers of tax inspectors!
On the same day that the three kings were enfeoffed, the emperor, citing the huge military expenditure and the shortage of the imperial treasury, issued an edict to open mines and collect taxes in various parts of the country, and to set up checkpoints to collect taxes. He appointed thirty-six trusted eunuchs as mining supervisors and tax commissioners, each granted an imperial envoy seal, and sent them to various places to increase mining taxes.

The military pay is enormous? Zhu Yin was speechless. What a lame excuse. The military pay is paid by the Ministry of Revenue, not by your private treasury? The private treasury is short of funds? Your private treasury has nearly ten million taels of silver, and you call that short of funds?
Deprivation my ass!

Zhu Yin couldn't help but curse, and almost kicked Xiao Hei.

This disastrous event in history occurred in the 24th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign and was not abolished until after his death, lasting for a total of 25 years. It caused widespread anger and resentment, and left the people impoverished and the nation destitute.

Now, we can start three years earlier!
The "tax increase for mining" not only alienated the people and alienated their support, but also greatly accelerated the corruption of politics, causing the court's credibility to plummet and paralyzing administrative governance.

It wasn't until Zhu Changluo ascended the throne that an edict was issued to "completely abolish mining taxes throughout the country." Unfortunately, it was too late.

The problem with "increasing taxes on mining" is not the increase in taxes on mining itself, but that it has become a tool for the eunuch group to amass wealth, harm the people, and interfere with local affairs. The operation was seriously absurd and deviated greatly from the track of reasonable taxation.

In many places where there are no mineral resources, mining is being forced upon them, and "mining taxes" are being levied on them. So who are the mines? The people are the mines!
Those who suffered the most and were plundered the most were, of course, the powerless and ordinary people.

The eunuchs in charge of mining taxes, posing as imperial envoys and waving the banner of imperial decree, wielded immense power and influence in the local areas, placing themselves above local officials. They claimed to be increasing taxes for the imperial treasury, but in reality, they were enriching themselves.

For example, Chen Feng, the tax commissioner of Huguang, embezzled more than two million taels of silver.

Then there's Gao Huai, who was utterly ruthless in Liaodong, incurring the wrath of both gods and men. He dared to take any money and do anything.

He sold military equipment and armor to the Jurchens, massacred Ming soldiers, seized military farmland, embezzled military pay, robbed and killed Korean merchant groups, and oppressed the Jurchens and Mongols, leading to multiple mutinies and forcing many Han Chinese soldiers and civilians in Liaodong to flee to the Jurchens and Mongols, which contributed to Nurhaci's rise to power.

After Gao Huai's machinations, the hearts of the people in Liaodong actually began to lean towards the Jurchens. Without Gao Huai, it's uncertain whether Nurhaci's Later Jin dynasty could have been established, or even if it could have maintained its power.

But because he amassed wealth for the Jin emperor and wreaked havoc in Liaodong for ten years before returning to the capital, he was completely unscathed.

Gao Cai, too, was a notorious corrupt official in Fujian, known as the "Giant Corrupt Official of Fujian." He embezzled over three million taels of silver, exterminated his entire family, confiscated their property, indiscriminately killed innocent people, massacred people in Zhangzhou, harmed children, abducted hundreds of young girls to be his concubines, and even murdered the daughter of a local official.

Fujian's annual tea production plummeted from 100,000 dan to 30,000 dan, and trade volume in Yuegang shrank by 80%. Hundreds of thousands of people from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and other prefectures fled to Southeast Asian countries. This also forced many Fujianese to become pirates at sea, leading to the later Fujian-based pirate groups.

He also colluded with the Dutch, allowing them to occupy the Penghu Islands.

Gao Cai single-handedly turned the prosperous Fujian into a land of misery and poverty, triggering the Minnan Uprising. Gao Cai was forced to flee to a Dutch merchant ship to save his life.

This villain has been impeached dozens of times, with numerous charges against him, but Emperor Baijin has ignored them all and protected him to the end.

In the end, however, the money-worshipping emperor only received a small share, and was kept in the dark. The lion's share was taken by the eunuchs and corrupt officials.

The tyranny of mining taxes was so exploitative that the amount of money amassed was incalculable, leading to countless people being ruined and their wealth being plundered. Meanwhile, the emperor, eunuchs, and corrupt officials squandered their wealth and indulged in extravagance and debauchery.

It would be against all reason if the Ming Dynasty hadn't fallen.

Finally, the despicable Emperor Baijin left behind mountains of gold and silver that he had not yet squandered, abandoned the already terminally ill Ming Dynasty, and lay down in the cold Dingling Mausoleum, ending his shameful life.

Until his death, the granite head of the ruling class remained filled with stubborn, incompetent, selfish, and apathetic ignorance.

After I die, who cares about the deluge!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yin suddenly recalled the records that after Gao Cai wreaked havoc in Fujian, hundreds of thousands of people along the Fujian coast fled to sea.

He immediately thought of emigrating and going to sea!

The reason we didn't promote immigration before was because the Ming Dynasty was still a "prosperous age," and the lives of ordinary people were generally quite good. There were few displaced people, so fewer people were willing to go to sea.

Surely we can't abduct or kidnap our fellow countrymen to go to sea?

However, if it were coastal provinces like Fujian that were harmed by the eunuchs sent by Emperor Wanli, the situation would be different.

At that time, a large number of Han Chinese along the coast will be forced to flee to sea!

Then, a plan could be devised to relocate the Han Chinese people who were forced to flee to Southeast Asia to the three places occupied by the Jinghai Navy: Jingzhou (Luzon), Dongning Island (Taiwan), and Jeju Island.

Once they have two or three hundred thousand people under their control, the power of the Eight Banners overseas will surge. And once they have trained forty or fifty thousand elite troops as their base, reclaiming the throne and changing the world will be much easier.

Zhu Yin immediately sat down and wrote a secret letter about preparing to receive refugees from the coastal areas, involving five places: Shandong, Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.

The plan is to be able to accommodate more than 100,000 people going to sea from the five locations combined within a year.

After finishing his letter, Zhu Yin wrote another letter to Wei Zhongxian in Shandong. He instructed Wei to organize the White Lotus Rebellion to besiege the Confucius Mansion, making the siege as large as possible and encouraging as many Shandong people oppressed by the Confucius Mansion as possible to participate. Once the imperial army suppressed the rebellion, he would take the opportunity to transfer the rebels out to sea under the guise of pirates and send them to Jingzhou.

As for how to eliminate the influence of the White Lotus Sect, Zhu Yin was of course not worried at all; he had plenty of ways to do it.

After processing these two intelligence reports, Zhu Yin crushed the third wax pellet.

This intelligence came from Japan.

Japan has now split again. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi remains the most powerful, followed by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, then Mori Terumoto who controls the Chugoku region, and Date Masamune who controls the Tohoku region.

Besides these four major powers, there are dozens of small and medium-sized powers, some of which are affiliated with Hideyoshi, some with Ieyasu, and many more that are completely independent forces.

Hideyoshi did not stay in Kyushu, but retreated to Osaka Castle, firmly holding onto the Kinki region and Chubu region, which are now the richest and most populous areas in Japan.

Yan Shaoting, using the alias Hattori Shunju, actually defected to Mori Terumoto when Hideyoshi withdrew from Kyushu, leaving Kyushu's military forces depleted, and Shimazu Yoshihiro was still fighting in Korea. He seized the territory of the Satsuma Domain and proclaimed himself a daimyo!

His followers, including samurai, ninjas, foot soldiers, Japanese ronin, Chinese pirates, and Chinese slaves, numbered a staggering 20,000. Moreover, they had ample provisions, superior weaponry, and the support of foreigners.

After years of lying low, Yan Shaoting finally emerged from the shadows and became the most powerful person on Kyushu Island.

In order to weaken the Kyushu daimyo, Hideyoshi, while his prestige was still intact, transferred another 50,000 to 60,000 Japanese troops from Kyushu to Korea, increasing the overseas Japanese military strength to 200,000. However, Kyushu Island was also left vulnerable, with very few troops left behind by each daimyo, totaling only about 10,000 men.

This greatly facilitated Hattori Haruaki's plot to raid Hattori's home.

Yan Shaoting had clearly been planning this for a long time, but he hadn't had the opportunity before. He first seized ships in Kyushu, and in just half a month, he captured Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Domain, took Shimazu Yoshihiro's family prisoner, and occupied the most important castle in Kyushu.

Then, taking advantage of the victory, he divided his forces into two routes: one route captured Saga Castle of the Saga Domain, and the other route captured Maiga Castle of the Fukuoka Domain.

The main cities and families of the three powerful vassal states of Kyushu all fell into Yan Shaoting's hands.

Interestingly, Hattori Haruaki had ninja agents in every one of these three famous castles who created chaos at crucial moments, working together from within and without. This suggests that Yan Shaoting had planned this all along.

In less than a month, Yan Shaoting had occupied most of Kyushu Island, commanded tens of thousands of troops, and become the fifth largest power in Japan!

Mori Terumoto deeply regretted accepting Hattori Haruaki's offer of allegiance, but it was too late. The situation in Kyushu had changed too rapidly; before he could react, Yan Shaoting had already taken over most of Kyushu.

Mori Terumoto wrote a letter angrily rebuking Yan Shaoting, threatening to attack him. Little did he know that Yan Shaoting had been waiting for Mori Terumoto to turn against him. Once the Mori family turned against him, he seized the opportunity to declare his submission to the Tokugawa Shogunate and support the Shogun.

Since the Mori family took the initiative to turn against him, Yan Shaoting had no moral obligation.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu first established the shogunate, his power was not as great as Hideyoshi's and he was in a standoff with the Toyotomi family. At this time, Yan Shaoting announced his support for him, which he was naturally happy to accept. In the name of the shogunate, he appointed Yan Shaoting as the Kyushu Tandai (Kyushu Governor) to govern the Kyushu island.

Intelligence analysis indicates that Yan Shaoting will soon occupy the entire Kyushu Island, and no one can stop him. Unless the Japanese troops in Korea return home, no one can do anything to Yan Shaoting at this time.

Currently, the 200,000 Japanese troops in Korea have essentially become an independent force. Because the Japanese court was wiped out, Japan has once again fallen into division, and no one can remotely control the Japanese troops in Korea.

However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were both powerful and ruthless figures, and their situation was far more complex than that. For the sake of Japan, they had to temporarily set aside their civil war and jointly command the Japanese military's war of aggression overseas.

Under no circumstances should we lose our 200,000-strong army.

Therefore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi proposed to establish a Joint Military Council, in which all daimyo were eligible to participate, and then to command the Japanese army in Korea under the name of the Joint Military Council.

Tokugawa Ieyasu and others also agreed. Thus, the Joint Military Council was established.

However, the division of Japan is already a fact, and only through another civil war can it be unified.

In reality, the so-called Joint Military Affairs Office was no longer able to command the Japanese army in Korea.

Because the combined Ming and Chinese naval forces, along with a detachment of the Jinghai Navy, had gained control of the sea and the Tsushima Strait.

Ships from the Japanese mainland could no longer reach Korea. Of course, transporting food supplies was out of the question.

The joint command was merely a fig leaf, telling the Japanese people that they were still directing the actions of the Japanese army in Korea.

Zhu Yin immediately wrote down instructions to continuously provoke civil war among various Japanese forces and to intensify the infiltration of Yan Shaoting's forces.

That's not all, there's a fourth wax pellet. For intelligence that isn't extremely urgent, Tiger Fang always delivers several pieces of information together on a chosen day.

This is no small matter after all. The fourth intelligence report says that Myanmar is acting suspiciously again.

At this time, Burma was heavily relying on a Westerner named Gutt, who claimed to be an advisor to the Japanese Emperor and a special envoy of the King of Spain, and boasted of his extensive knowledge of both China and Japan. King Mang of Burma appointed him as a general and lord, and tasked him with training Burma's 50,000 elite imperial guards in the use of firearms.

The Burmese king decided to take advantage of the Japanese conquest of Ming China to launch a pincer attack on the Ming Dynasty from both the north and south. He planned to send an army of 200,000 men within a year to seize Yunnan and invade Sichuan.

To demonstrate his determination to conquer the Ming Dynasty to the nobles and lords, the Burmese king ordered a group of monks to chant sutras for seven days. He also had more than a thousand Ming men captured in Yunnan tied to wooden stakes, shot, and beheaded. Their heads were piled up to form a skull altar to be sacrificed to the Burmese war god "Mahakiri".

He then sent over a thousand Ming women, previously captured, to Gutt's military camp as "female slaves" for the Imperial Guard. However, Gutt stopped the Burmese king, saying that this was not in accordance with the king's morality and civilization, and that such humiliation would anger the Ming men.

So the Burmese king simply sent over a thousand Han women to Gutt for his own disposal. Gutt was a money-grubbing man and a shrewd businessman. He conspired with his subordinates to sell these women to Jingzhou, hoping to fetch a good price.

Gu Te's reasoning was that Jingzhou, occupied by Ming Dynasty pirates, would definitely welcome these Han women and offer them a high price, much more than they would earn by selling them to Macau.

He did the math and said he could sell it for tens of thousands of silver dollars, and he would make a fortune again.

Tiger Tooth agents witnessed Gute escorting over a thousand Han women onto a ship and transporting them to Jingzhou.

“King of Burma… Gutt…” Zhu Yin murmured these two names, then wrote a secret letter, instructing Burma’s intelligence organization to focus on the major lords within Burma, especially those among them who opposed the conquest of Ming.

By the time all this was done, it was already quite late.

Emperor Kangxi entered, took away Zhu Yin's secret instructions, and sent them out overnight.

Zhu Yin rubbed his temples, feeling as if he had just finished reviewing memorials. "Sigh," he sighed, "I worry about the whole world; it's not easy. How many people in this world truly understand me? How many truly know me?"

Little Blackie was asleep by the fire pit. Ning Qingchen was with her mother, Jilan. Zhu Yin lay fully clothed on the kang (a heated brick bed), the faint howling of wolves from the forest outside the city echoing in his ears.

"Awooo—Awooo!"

The young strategist listened to the howling of wolves in the north and drifted off to sleep.

……

Early the next morning, just after Zhu Yin and the others had finished breakfast, the horns in the city of Foala sounded a mournful, desolate wailing.

"Uuuuuu——"

As the bugle sounded, all the troops in the city left. Zhu Yin, dressed in the magnificent armor of a top-ranking general, followed Nurhaci out of the city, with Eidu, Heheli, and Feiyanggu, who had lost an arm, behind them.

Behind them were Chu Ying and Dai Shan, who were only fourteen and twelve years old respectively. The two wore small-sized Ming-style cotton armor and carried light bows on their backs.

That's right. According to Jurchen custom, children over ten years old could participate in hunting. By the age of twelve, they could lead troops and herd horses.

Nurhaci took them to Korea not only to train them, but also to give them the opportunity to make contributions.

"Father! Father Guchu! Heheli!" Dongguo, with his younger brothers, stood at the city gate and shouted, "May Lord Cuoha Zhan protect us and bring us back safely!"

Nurhaci turned around and said, "With Lord Cuohazhan's protection, you will definitely return safely!"

Zhu Yin shouted, "Dongguo, your father and your husband will return safely!"

The Jurchens who came to see them off all sang together, and the whole city of Fola was filled with the song "Yoyo-za," a song to send off the warriors to war:
"Yoyoza, Baturu, stars fall on Alchuha (battlefield), I long for your return when your horse's hooves are light, your helmet's tassel red brighter than the evening glow..."

As soon as Zhu Yin left the city, the 36,000 Ming troops commanded by Qi Jiguang outside the city also slowly set off from their camp, heading towards Sarhu.

Two hours later, 36,000 Ming soldiers and 10,000 Jianzhou soldiers finally arrived at Jiefan City at the foot of Sarhu Mountain.

One by one, the Jianzhou nobles waved their command flags, rode out on horseback, first summoned their archers, counted their subordinates, and then reported to Nurhaci.

At this time, there were no Eight Banners, but there were already Niru. The tribal troops were counted in units of Niru.

After a while, the Jianzhou army finally finished counting its troops. The commanders of each Niru (military unit) tallied their numbers: 10,046 soldiers and 6,400 warhorses. Among them were 5,600 suits of armor and 208 sets of horse armor.

These armors and warhorses already represented most of Nurhaci's wealth. This army of ten thousand men comprised the most elite able-bodied men of Jianzhou. In short, this was Nurhaci's main force.

Nurhaci dismounted and approached Zhu Yin's horse, bowing and saying, "Generalissimo, the Jianzhou anti-Japanese army has assembled. This is the military register; please take a look!"

Zhu Yin picked up the troop register, glanced at it, and nodded, saying, "The number of soldiers has reached ten thousand. It's acceptable."

Nurhaci then said, "Please, Grand Coordinator, order the change of flags!"

Zhu Yin nodded and said, "Please, General Jinwu, raise the flag and change the banner!"

Nurhaci obeyed, saying, "Yes, sir!"

Turning to Eyiddu, he said, "Raise the flag! Change the banner!"

"Yes, sir!" Eidu loudly accepted the order, and immediately unfurled a neatly folded Ming army banner and raised it high.

The biting northern wind blew, and the Ming army's red banners, with yellow backgrounds and red borders, embroidered with the crescent moon, the red sun, and the Big Dipper, fluttered above the Jurchen army's formation.

This is the Ming Dynasty's Sun and Moon Banner, symbolizing the eternal brilliance of the Ming Dynasty, like the sun and moon. Only armies commanded by generals of the second rank or above could use this banner.

As the Ming army's banners unfurled, a line of Chinese characters appeared:
"Tong, the Governor of Jianzhou, General of the Golden Guard, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief in the Anti-Japanese War!"

The eyes of ten thousand Jurchen warriors immediately turned to the Ming army's banner.

They didn't recognize Chinese characters, but the crescent moon and red sun on the flag were exceptionally dazzling!
P.S.: Finally, the troops are about to be deployed! A long chapter of 7,000 words, please give me your monthly votes and reviews, thank you! Good night!

(End of this chapter)