Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

The next morning, it started to snow lightly.

All the guards at the gate of the courtyard were removed, leaving only the two who had initially followed Chen Feng.

One was leaning against the wall basking in the sun, while the other was squatting on the stone steps eating a sesame seed cake.

When Chen Feng came out, the two of them returned to their initial warm attitude.

A short while later, Li Ruolian delivered a black bundle.

Chen Feng went back into the house and opened the door. Inside was a brown warrior's uniform embroidered with dark patterns, and copper studs were embedded in the belt.

Along with the package came a knife, with a black lacquered scabbard, a green sharkskin handle, and the words "Northern Garrison Command" engraved on the blade.

It was the Embroidered Spring Blade carried by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Li Ruolian told Chen Feng that his family register had been corrected.

Chen Feng was assigned to a minor officer position in the Imperial Guard in Liaoyang. The officer's surname was Chen, and he died in battle at Shangjian Cliff in the 47th year of the Wanli reign. He had no relatives or friends.

Since this small flag has no descendants, there is no need for a family reunion, which saves a lot of trouble.

Hao Dadao and Meng Changgeng approached and saw the herdsman's uniform and embroidered spring knife on the table.

"Wow~" Meng Changgeng touched the well-made strongman's uniform and exclaimed repeatedly, "Boss, have you really become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"What Imperial Guard? It's just a uniform, no badge at all." Chen Feng slapped Meng Changgeng's hand away. "Get lost! Don't get my clothes dirty."

Chen Feng also touched the strongman's uniform. Although he was a little disappointed that it wasn't the flying fish uniform, the flying fish uniform was a gift from the emperor or an official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and it wasn't easy to obtain.

This warrior outfit was the best clothes he had ever seen since he transmigrated.

Hao Dadao's focus was different from Meng Changgeng's. With a "clang," he pulled out the embroidered spring knife from the table, the cold light reflected from the blade so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Hao Dadao brandished the knife in his hand a few times, then weighed it in his hand, nodding repeatedly, "A little light, but still a good knife!"

He looked at Chen Feng, grinning lecherously, and leaned closer: "Boss, give me this knife! My old one broke in Yizhou. The one I'm using now is one I smuggled from the Tartars, and it's not very good!"

"Get out! Get the hell out of here!" Chen Feng was furious at the two men's attitude and kicked and punched them out.

........................

Later that evening, Zhang Lan also brought some things over.

Seeing that Chen Feng had already changed into the uniform of a Jinyiwei strongman, he frowned almost imperceptibly. "Don't wear this outfit anymore. I'll have someone send you a few more outfits later."

Chen Feng noticed the displeasure on Zhang Lan's face and nodded silently.

Zhang Lan handed over a small booklet: "This is your military registration. Take a good look at it."

Chen Feng took the booklet and flipped through it. The paper had been artificially aged, making it look like an old booklet that had been read for several years.

The records above are very detailed, clearly stating the year, month, and place, the job performed, and any minor merits achieved.

He had never done any of these things, but from now on, this would be his resume.

"Starting from the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, from the military farms in Ningyuan to the owner's personal guards, everything was done according to the real records and can withstand scrutiny."

Chen Feng closed the booklet, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Lan, and said, "Uncle Zhang, thank you for your trouble."

Zhang Lan waved his hand and handed over another bundle, saying, "This is your official robe."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang." Chen Feng opened the bundle and saw a blue silk round-necked robe inside, with a pheasant embroidered on the patch.

Below the official robes is the seal of a commander-in-chief granted by the General's Office.

"Remember, you are now a commander of the Shanhaiwei."

"I understand." Chen Feng nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Lan spoke a few more words to Chen Feng, left two hundred taels of silver, and departed.

........................

Another day passed, and He Kegang seemed to have settled the details with the three parties, so he was about to return to Jinzhou to report back.

Chen Feng escorted He Kegang to the gate of Dongluo City, where He Kegang took the reins from him.

He Kegang patted him on the shoulder, "Things here are almost done. The rest of them are just arguing, it's none of your business."

Chen Feng nodded.

He Kegang mounted his horse, pulled on the reins, and looked down to find Chen Feng looking hesitant. "Is there something you want to say?"

Chen Feng clasped his hands and said, "General, I have brought back a brother with me this time, named Zhao Sheng. He serves under General Wu..."

He Kegang looked at him, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, "That night scout?"

"Yes."

"Alright, this is nothing." With that, he spurred his horse and rode off.

As Chen Feng watched He Kegang and his servants walk away, another weight was lifted from his heart.

........................

On October 21, a new commemorative book jointly signed by Gao Qiqian and Li Ruolian was sent to the capital.

On October 22, Zhang Lan, in the name of the General's Office of the Shanhaiguan Garrison, submitted a new memorial and a report on the merits of the campaign. The memorial no longer mentioned Wu Xiang's retreat, but only detailed the military achievements.

The document was appended at the end: impeaching Chiu Ho-chia for "mismanagement and missing opportunities in the battle."

On the same day, Zu Dashou's memorial was also sent out. In the memorial, Zu Dashou confessed his mistakes, taking the blame for Wu Xiang's crimes upon himself, without mentioning Song Wei's faults at all.

Similarly, the impeachment of Qiu Hejia was attached at the end, with the grounds for "unauthorized withdrawal of garrison troops and stubbornness".

Meanwhile, Sun Chengzong launched a new impeachment against Qiu Hejia, citing reasons such as "scratching his work in the early stages of city construction" and "lingering without advancing" after the city was besieged. The supervising eunuch Wang Yingchao also signed the impeachment memorial.

Qiu Hejia was unable to defend himself against the impeachments from all sides, and without any backing in the court, he became the target of everyone's criticism.

Qiu Hejia fell seriously ill and was unable to recover. He instructed his wife to describe his illness and request permission to return to his farm.

But the emperor had nowhere to vent his anger. How could he let Qiu Hejia simply claim illness and return home? He issued an edict punishing Qiu Hejia and ordered him to be escorted back to the capital and beheaded at the Meridian Gate.

Neither the civil nor military officials in the court defended Qiu Hejia.

On the ninth day of the eleventh month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, Qiu Hejia died of illness while being escorted away.

And so, the world where only Qiu Hejia was injured was achieved.

........................

Let's go back to October 28th, the day He Kegang was killed on the original timeline.

Meng Changgeng was teaching Sun Ergou, Aji, and Hao Dadao to read in the courtyard. Meng Changgeng was so angry at these three blockheads that he was about to explode.

But this was Chen Feng's strict order, requiring his men to learn to read in their spare time.

Meng Changgeng had considered quitting several times, but whenever he had this thought, he would remember that Chen Feng still owed him two thousand taels of silver.

He wiped his face, then picked up a twig and drew the character "人" (person) on the ground.

"Come on, repeat after me: 'Man'!"

Just as Meng Changgeng was preparing to strike again, the guard outside came in to report that someone from the Ministry of War had arrived.

Chen Feng thought to himself, "These memorials should have arrived in the capital less than three days ago, and the people verifying the war achievements have already arrived?"

He couldn't help but marvel at the "efficiency" of the Ming Dynasty, which was far superior to that of later generations. After all, in later generations, it would take almost half a year from approval to implementation for a third-class merit in the military.

Chen Feng went out to greet him and found that the leading official was in his early thirties, with a thin face, and wearing a blue seventh-rank official's robe.

He claimed to be the head of the Military Selection Office, ordered to verify military achievements.

The verification process went so smoothly it seemed unreal.

The person in charge brought the pre-prepared site visit records and merit reports, waiting only for Chen Feng to confirm and sign them.

Chen Feng turned the pages one by one.

Besides his achievements in the grain and provisions camp, Gultai's feat of killing enemies in battle can also be considered as merit.

Those few sets of Bayara armor without heads were also prominently listed among the battle achievements, serving as evidence of "slaying the guard in battle".

The names of He Mingxiao, Wang Jie, and the more than seventy night scouts who were stationed in Yizhou were all prominently listed.

Hao Dadao, Meng Changgeng, Aji, Sun Ergou, and Lao Putou also contributed to the cause, in varying degrees.

After Chen Feng finished reading, he picked up a pen and signed his name at the end.

The person in charge bowed to him, then left with his men without even introducing himself.