I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 178 What conspiracy is Chen Boying brewing?

Chapter 177 Chen Ying thought Mao Wenlong would make exorbitant demands, but to his surprise, Mao Wenlong didn't immediately ask for tens of thousands of sets of armor and hundreds of thousands of shi of grain. His demands were quite reasonable. Chen Ying silently did the math in his mind: if the Dongjiang Army really launched a fierce attack on the heartland of the Later Jin, Nurhaci would have to divide his forces to deal with it, which would be an excellent opportunity for him to seize Haizhou and completely conquer Liaonan. Exchanging these supplies for an excellent development base was worthwhile.

Although he had settled down in Yongning, the problem was that Yongning also had very prominent issues. Not only was there no one there, but the weather was also colder, and wheat would be affected by early frost, resulting in a severe reduction in yield. More importantly, the climate there made it very difficult for the people to survive.

Last winter alone, more than 600 people froze to death and more than 1,000 died of disease. These are not just cold numbers; they represent nearly 2,000 lives lost. Although people are dying every day in the Ming Dynasty, Chen Ying does not want these people to die at his hands.

The four prefectures in southern Liaoning not only have slightly higher temperatures, but more importantly, they hold a very important strategic position. If the Jurchens wanted to attack western Liaoning, southern Liaoning would be a strategic foothold they could not avoid.

More importantly, Chen Ying's true goal was not to swallow the four prefectures of Liaonan whole, but to occupy Nanguanling. He knew very well that one cannot become fat in one bite. Even if he occupied the four prefectures of Liaonan, he could not actually hold them, because apart from Haizhou, the walls of cities like Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou had been destroyed by the Jurchens. The key point was that Haizhou was just an isolated city, far from the sea. The Jurchens could completely surround Haizhou and attack its reinforcements. He knew very well that he could only do what he was capable of.

At this stage, he only needs to occupy Nanguanling to control the entire area from Lushunkou to Nanguanling, including Nanguanliao and Liaochang.

The city was his best shield.

Chen Ying pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Firearms and battle robes are easy to obtain, though shipping them by sea is inconvenient. However, I can replenish a batch for you first. Your Dongjiang Army's equipment should have been replaced long ago; I will send someone to deliver it to your camp. As for provisions, I can allocate a portion in advance to ensure your soldiers have enough to eat before you set out. As for the distribution of spoils—whoever captures a city will naturally control the spoils. But I have one condition—when the fighting starts on your side, you must make Nurhaci believe that you are the main attacking force, so that he will transfer his troops eastward to relieve the pressure on me."

Mao Wenlong smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, of course. As long as General Chen can provide our Dongjiang Army with some provisions, our Dongjiang Army can guarantee that unless more than half of us are killed in action, we will not retreat a single step."

"No, no, no!"

Chen Ying shook his head and said, "Please don't do that. The lives of the Dongjiang Army soldiers are also lives. I cannot use the lives of the Dongjiang Army soldiers to exchange for an empty city. Since we are going to join forces, there are some things I need to make clear—"

Mao Wenlong instantly understood Chen Boying's concerns. For the generals of two military garrisons in the Ming Dynasty to have private relationships was a major taboo. This was why all the generals, whether in the Guan Ning Army, Datong Garrison, or Xuanfu, had varying degrees of conflict—some genuine, others merely an act—because it was politically correct. Chen Boying's supplying the Dongjiang Army was also a grave offense; if discovered by the court, he could lose his head.

Although Chen Boying was not a garrison commander-in-chief, in the early Ming Dynasty, Chen Boying's authority was actually greater than that of Mao Wenlong, the garrison commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Garrison. However, as the garrison system collapsed and border troubles intensified, the garrison commander-in-chief was gradually established as the highest military commander of a garrison (such as Liaodong, Xuanfu, Jizhou and other strategic locations), in charge of the garrisons and garrisons under his jurisdiction. He could also command several military commanders or assistant commanders. Although there was no fixed rank, he was mostly appointed by the governor or commander-in-chief, and his authority was greater than that of the commander-in-chief.

The problem is that Chen Boying is an unofficial commander-in-chief, and he has more freedom than a regular commander-in-chief. Although he only has five garrisons under his command, his financial resources and equipment strength far exceed those of officials at the governor level. The military officers and the Five Military Commissions only have nominal jurisdiction over Chen Boying.

"I understand!"

"These weapons and supplies are from my personal savings. The amount is limited, and they're not given away for free. Commander Mao, don't hide anything. I know the situation in Dongjiang Town. It's the right thing for us to join forces to deal with the Jurchens."

Mao Wenlong has endured so much hardship on Pi Island for so many years, maneuvering between the imperial court, Dengzhou and Laizhou, the Jurchens, and Korea. He has relied on his shrewd calculations. Chen Boying is no longer the minor commander of Shahe Guard. He is now the commander of Da Ning. He wants to seize the four prefectures of Liaonan, which will relieve the pressure on Mao Wenlong. In particular, Chen Boying has a very strong naval force under his command, and he is not to be offended easily.

Before facing harsh realities, Mao Wenlong, the Left Vice-Commander-in-Chief, didn't really think much of Chen Boying, the Second-Rank Commander of Da Ning. But the problem was, Chen Boying had powerful connections; he not only had money and grain, but also a large amount of good equipment, which were exactly what Mao Wenlong wanted most.

"General Chen, rest assured, I have been on Pi Island for so many years, and I still know how to conduct myself properly."

Mao Wenlong adopted a very humble posture and spoke with great sincerity. He continued, "Our Dongjiang Town has a blood feud with the Jurchens. Even if you don't provide the Dongjiang Army with a single grain of rice or a single arrow, let alone all the equipment you've given us, our Dongjiang Army will still fight the Jurchens. My brothers are willing to risk their lives to fight the Jurchens. Now that we've joined forces, we can both fight the Jurchens and make a fortune. Why not?"

The Dongjiang Army's existence actually caused the most suffering for Korea. There are two major factions in Korea: one pro-Ming and the other pro-Kim. Without Mao Wenlong and the Dongjiang Army, the pro-Ming faction would have no foothold in Korea. Because the Dongjiang Army has a navy, they can blockade the Yalu River. However, from October to February of the following year, there is a four-month-long ice-covered period, during which the Dongjiang Army cannot blockade the Yalu River. Moreover, most of the supplies for Dongjiang Town do not come from the Ming Dynasty, but from Korea. Without Korean grain, relying solely on the more than 200,000 taels of silver from the imperial court, they would probably starve to death about a third of their population.

"General Chen, please take a look!"

Mao Wenlong pointed to the map and said, "Zhenjiang Fort is the bridge between the Jurchens and Korea. There are less than two thousand troops stationed there, including fewer than two Niru. Tangzhan Fort and Xianshan Fort have even fewer troops. Fenghuang Fort does have a Niru Ejen stationed there, but his forces are not many. Nurhaci is currently stationed in Shenyang, and he has also deployed a lot of troops in Haizhou. His forces are scattered, which is perfect for us to attack from both sides."

Chen Ying had originally asked the Tianqi Emperor to write a letter to Mao Wenlong, but now that he saw that Mao Wenlong was not putting on airs and was willing to cooperate, he did not immediately take out the letter.

Just as Mao Wenlong and Chen Boying were secretly discussing the detailed action plan, Chen Boying's order arrived at the Da Ning Commandery.

Unlike other border troop mobilizations of the Ming Dynasty, which involved the Ministry of War issuing orders, the Ministry of Revenue collecting provisions, and local officials conscripting laborers to transport supplies, this process took one or two months. To give a very simple example, in August of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zu Dashou was trapped in Dalinghe City. Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, ordered Kong Youde to provide sea support to Yaozhou. However, due to a storm, the sea support could not be provided. Sun Yuanhua then ordered Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng's troops to provide land support to Dalinghe. Finally, on November 28th of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, Kong Youde launched the Wuqiao Mutiny in Wuqiao.

This means that the Battle of Dalinghe lasted for more than three months, and reinforcements barely entered the territory of Northern Zhili. It must be said that...

It's a speed that inspires despair.

The problem is that the biggest difference between the Daning New Army and other border armies is that their provisions are not allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, and they do not need to conscript laborers to transport provisions.

Whether it was the Daning New Army or the Shahe New Army, Chen Ying's army had a unique organizational structure: a logistics unit. From the day the Shahe New Army was established, Chen Ying considered that the larger the army was, and the more it was fighting on the front lines, the more impossible it was to place the hope of supplies on those unreliable civil officials. So he began to set up his own logistics department. When he was in Shahe Guard, this work was handled by Zhang Changgeng.

At that time, the logistics department of the Shahe New Army had 150 four-wheeled heavy-duty horse-drawn carts. Each cart could carry 30 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. 120 of the carts were used for transporting grain, and they could carry 3,600 shi at a time, enough for the Shahe New Army to eat for 45 days. The other 10 carts transported medicine, and the other 10 carts transported weapons and ammunition.

With the establishment of the Daning New Army, the size of the logistics department continued to expand. Now, the Daning New Army logistics department has 1,200 four-wheeled carriages and more than 2,700 horses.

After Zhou Bin, the deputy commander of the Da Ning Army, received Chen Ying's order, he immediately relayed the assembly order to all units. The generals of the Da Ning New Army arrived at the headquarters of the military commander as soon as possible.

Zhou Bin looked at Wang Tiezhu, Qin Siming, Xiang Hu, and other generals and said, "You've all seen the Commander-in-Chief's orders, you know what to do, right?"

"knew!"

Zhou Bin continued, "Now I order that the vanguard battalion, artillery battalion, and cavalry battalion of the main camp be the first to advance."

"The left and right battalions form the second marching order, while the central and rear battalions are responsible for garrisoning Yongning!"

Zhou Bin's orders were very simple. This time, he mobilized five battalions of the Daning New Army, which can be considered as the entire force being deployed. The five battalions, totaling more than 28,000 men, quickly sprang into action, and the Wolf Cavalry also began to assemble.

More than 1,200 four-wheeled carts from the logistics department, loaded with grain, cotton clothing, dry rations, horse feed, lead bullets, artillery shells, and a total of more than 25,000 catties of explosives, military uniforms, crossbows, medicines, bedding, shoes and socks and other miscellaneous supplies, began to sail toward the port.

More than 28,000 soldiers, along with more than 8,000 registered military households, totaling more than 36,000 people, quickly bid farewell to their families, wrote their wills, and began to assemble and board the ships.

From the time Chen Ying issued his order until the first 20,000-strong army boarded the ships, it took only two days. If this efficiency were in the Ming Dynasty, even if the Forbidden City were on fire, other Ming armies would not have been able to move so quickly.

Such a large-scale mobilization could not be kept secret from everyone. In a corner of the Yongning Port area's residential area, a gyrfalcon took advantage of the night to fly into the air, heading towards Shenyang.

There are no secrets in the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty now. Even if the Tianqi Emperor gets up several times in the night and how long it takes, by dawn, those in the capital who need to know will already know. In fact, the same is true for Yongning. Although the main body of the Da Ning New Army comes from the Xingzhou Wutunwei in Shuntian Prefecture.

The problem is that Chen Ying also received many Liaodong people from Ningyuan, and among these Liaodong people were many Jurchen spies.

In fact, Nurhaci did not capture any of the cities in Liaodong, such as Shenyang and Liaoyang, through direct confrontation.

All the troops used the same tactic: driving the Liaodong people towards the cities that the Ming army was still defending. Even if the Ming generals knew there were spies among them, they couldn't keep the cities closed and prevent these Liaodong people from entering, because if they dared to refuse them entry, they would definitely be impeached.

The same applies to the new army in Da Ning. Not only in Yongning, but even in Shahe Guard in Changping, there are Jurchen spies. Because the people of the Ming Dynasty are too poor, it is too easy to bribe some informants. Just three days later, Nurhaci, who was in Shenyang, received news from Yongning.

"Chen Boying's New Army of Daning is assembling, numbering over 20,000 men. They've boarded ships, but their whereabouts are unknown."

Upon receiving this news, Nurhaci fell silent. Since Chen Boying became the commander of Daming, he had relocated two to three hundred thousand people to Yongning. After arriving in Yongning, he developed land reclamation and formed a trade alliance with various Jurchen tribes in Haixi. His troops grew stronger day by day, but he never advanced any further into Haixi. He only occupied the southern bank of Henkewei (present-day Xingkai Lake) and Shuangchengwei. His sphere of influence only included an area of ​​more than two hundred li north of Yongning (Vladivostok).

Especially in the middle of the year, he suddenly attacked Lushun and took advantage of the Jin Dynasty's carelessness to capture Lushun at a very low cost. Now, Chen Boying has suddenly gathered more than 20,000 troops, which is by no means a trivial matter.

Nurhaci also knew that if a Ming general wanted to mobilize troops, especially 20,000 troops, it could not be a private matter; at the very least, it required the court's approval.

Nurhaci looked at Huang Taiji and asked, "Any news from the capital of those southern barbarians?"

"No news has come!"

Nurhaci muttered to himself, "What's going on?"

Chen Ying's plan with the Tianqi Emperor was known only to him, the Tianqi Emperor, Wei Zhongxian, Wang Tiqian, and Li Yongzhen. Chen Ying also wanted to see who was playing the double agent. Unfortunately, the scope was too small. As it stands, it seems that these five people did not report the information to the Donglin Party, and Nurhaci was unaware of Chen Ying's true movements.

Could it be that Chen Boying is to be sent to the southwest to quell the She'an Rebellion? In comparison, Nurhaci also saw that the Ming Dynasty not only failed to quell the She'an Rebellion but also fought a protracted war, which made him determined to rebel against the Ming.

He thought about it for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out why Chen Boying would mobilize 20,000 troops, especially in this freezing winter season.

"Tell me, what exactly is Chen Boying planning? What conspiracy is he plotting?"

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