Please call me the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

"There are not many troops in Ningyuan City, and they are putting up a stubborn resistance."

Previously, they had 11 red-coated cannons, but now that the Portuguese have withdrawn, their red-coated cannons have become mere decorations and have lost their function.

There is currently no known expert in artillery among the Ming army.

They were just firing blindly, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the cannons.

Although Yuetuo and Mangultai failed to capture Ningyuan City, the Ming army also suffered considerable losses.

As he spoke, Dai Shan took out a map and hung it on the wall.

He held a bamboo pole and gestured on the map: "Therefore, I suggest:"

First, we will ambush our troops around Ningyuan to cut off reinforcements.

For example, reinforcements from the Ming court or from Mao Wenlong's side;

Secondly, we will concentrate our superior forces to launch a fierce attack on the east gate of Ningyuan, but we must be careful not to crowd them all together.

They dispersed, each soldier maintaining a distance of about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) from each other.

In this way, even if they use red-coated cannons to attack us, the damage will be minimal;

Third,

Yuetuo and Mangultai captured some Ming soldiers, and our soldiers can dress in their clothes and infiltrate Ningyuan City as inside agents.

It must be said that Daishan had been leading troops in battle for many years and was very experienced. Dorgon believed that the suggestions he made were indeed feasible.

Ajige proposed: "Give me 5000 cavalrymen, and I will be in charge of attacking the city."

Ajige's military command skills were outstanding among the crowd.

He was Dorgon's older brother, born of the same parents, and was seven years older than Dorgon.

Dorgon was wary of him, worried that his achievements would be too great and that he would eventually surpass Dorgon in status.

Dorgon pondered for a moment and said, "Let's leave the siege to Daišan."

Upon hearing this, Ajige's face showed displeasure: "What do you mean? Do you think I can't take Ningyuan?"

If that's the case, then I'm quitting.

I will return to Shengjing immediately, and you can do whatever you want here.

Upon hearing this, Dorgon's face darkened: "Ajige, you are a brother at home and a general when you go out. How can you do whatever you want in the military camp?"

Here's what I'll do: I'll give you 3000 infantrymen, go and give it a try.

"If they cannot give birth, they will not be spared!"

Wenhua Hall.

early morning.

Zhu Youjian was radiant and full of energy, his eyes fixed intently on the civil and military officials.

He placed his hand on the dragon throne and said to the crowd: "The Later Jin army has reached the outskirts of Ningyuan City."

Man Gui sent a letter requesting assistance, and the two sides have already clashed.

Currently, the Later Jin army numbers 5, while the troops in Ningyuan City number less than 1.

Man Gui has requested reinforcements. What do you think we should do?

Minister of War Cui Chengxiu stepped forward: "Your Majesty, we currently have no troops left to deploy."

Why?

"Your Majesty, some time ago, Gao Yingxiang, the rebel leader, caused a great disturbance in Shaanxi."

In order to suppress Gao Yingxiang, we transferred several thousand troops from Shanhaiguan.

Soon after, the bandit Ma Pianpian caused trouble again, and Lu Xiang-sheng requested reinforcements from the imperial court. We managed to spare several thousand troops for Lu Xiang-sheng.

Currently, apart from the Five Armies Camp, the Divine Machine Camp, and the Three Thousand Camp, there are basically no troops left to be mobilized in the capital.

"The responsibility of defending the capital is immense. If we transfer these few troops away from the capital, who will take responsibility should something happen to it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "You, Cui Chengxiu, in principle, I could issue an order to arrest you right now."

However, in order to maintain overall stability.

He discussed with Zhou Ling'er that it would be better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten.

To prevent the eunuch faction from uniting and causing trouble, a strategy of defeating them one by one was adopted.

First, they killed Tian Ergeng.

Currently, the case of Sun Yunhe's alleged attempt to assassinate himself is also under trial.

After all, Cui Chengxiu is different from them. He commands a large army. If anything goes wrong and things escalate, it will be no laughing matter.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian adopted a very cautious approach and did not issue an order to arrest Cui Chengxiu for the time being.

At this moment, Wang Zaijin took a step forward: "Lord Cui, what you're saying is a bit hard to understand."

Our Ming Dynasty has at least a million troops, so why can't we mobilize them?

Where did all those troops go?

Were they all sent to wipe out the bandits?

Wang Zaijin has now been appointed as the Minister of Justice.

Cui Chengxiu knew that Wang Zaijin had once served as Minister of War.

Because his plan for retaking the pass differed from those of Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan,

Later, he was dismissed by Zhu Youxiao and transferred to Nanjing.

However, he was a senior figure in the court and his words carried considerable weight, so Cui Chengxiu did not dare to underestimate him.

"Lord Wang, you can't say that. Although our Great Ming still has a million troops, these troops are not concentrated in one place, but are scattered in various places."

For example, there are hundreds of thousands of troops stationed on the western border.

But distant water can't quench a nearby fire, and it's of no use.

"Does that mean there are no troops available to be deployed around Ningyuan?"

"There are simply no troops available to be transferred around Ningyuan."

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Cui Chengxiu was deliberately making excuses. The Ming army numbered more than a million; it would be easy to spare 30,000 to 50,000 men.

Because before this, Wei Zhongxian had spoken to Cui Chengxiu,

If the emperor wants to mobilize troops, he cannot be allowed to do so.

Not only that, but some of the troops on the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line also had to be transferred to relieve the pressure on the Later Jin army.

Thinking of this, Cui Chengxiu stroked his beard and slowly said, "Your Majesty, Lu Xiang-sheng has quelled the bandit Ma Pianpian in Daming Prefecture..."

but,

The more they try to suppress them, the more thieves there are.

Lu Xiang-sheng appealed to the imperial court for help.

"This humble servant intends to transfer 5000 troops from Jinzhou to reinforce Lu Xiang-sheng. What is Your Majesty's opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian realized that Jinzhou was of paramount importance.

When Gao Di arrived at Shanhaiguan, he advocated abandoning all the land and cities outside the pass.

They all retreated to within the Shanhaiguan Pass.

Only Ningyuan and Jinzhou still have some troops left. Troops from places like Songshan, Youtun, and Dalinghe have already retreated into Shanhaiguan.

If we transfer the troops from Jinzhou, wouldn't that leave the city wide open?

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then said, "We have just achieved a great victory at Ningjin."

Therefore, Jinzhou is of paramount importance to us.

There weren't many troops in Jinzhou to begin with, so how could they be withdrawn from there?

"You should try to find a solution elsewhere."

Upon hearing this, Cui Chengxiu immediately understood that Zhu Youjian was unwilling to transfer troops from Jinzhou, so he glanced at Wei Zhongxian.

That means, Your Excellency, say something!

"Ahem, ahem," Wei Zhongxian coughed twice. "Your Majesty, this old servant believes that what Lord Cui said is not without reason."

People often say that to repel external threats, one must first secure internal stability.

How can you solve external problems if you can't even solve internal ones?

Therefore, in Lao Nu's view, stabilizing the internal situation was more important than fighting against the Later Jin army.

Moreover, the troops stationed at Songshan, Youtun, and the Dalinghe and Xiaolinghe areas surrounding Jinzhou have already withdrawn to Shanhaiguan.

Jinzhou is an isolated city.

This old servant believes it would be more appropriate to transfer the troops from Jinzhou to suppress the bandit Ma Pianpian.

Wang Jiayan, the supervising official, was upright, incorruptible, and fearless.

Upon hearing this, he retorted, "Wei Zhongxian, in my opinion, what you said is illogical."

Dorgon has led the Later Jin army to attack, and the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line could be breached at any time.

Moreover, Dorgon was resourceful and skilled in martial arts, and was not someone to be trifled with.

Ningyuan is 200 li away from Shanhaiguan. The city has little food and no reinforcements. Moreover, due to the continuous autumn rains in the past few days, many weapons have rusted.

The spears were dull and rusted, and the bowstrings were rotten.

In this situation, support is urgently needed.

If we lose Ningyuan and Jinzhou, then a large area of ​​our land outside the Great Wall will be handed over to the Later Jin.

Our successive victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin greatly boosted the morale of our Ming army.

These two places are of paramount importance to our Great Ming Dynasty. How can we easily give them up?

Its strategic significance is extremely profound.

If one only guards Shanhaiguan Pass, it is very difficult to defend a single pass.

Let's prepare for the worst. What if the man guarding Shanhaiguan betrays us and opens the gates to let the Later Jin army in? What would that do?

Wei Zhongxian, however, disagreed: "Lord Wang, you are overthinking it. Since he is an official guarding Shanhaiguan, he must be a loyal minister trusted by the court. How could the situation you described possibly occur?"

"That's not necessarily true. People change. Does a loyal minister remain loyal for life?"

Many people cannot resist the temptations of power, money, and women.

If Shanhaiguan is captured by someone else, it will be too late for regrets then.

Therefore, I oppose transferring troops back from Jinzhou to suppress the bandits; this is a complete failure to prioritize the main objective.

None of the court officials dared to defy Wei Zhongxian, but Wang Jiayan didn't care about any of that.

Wei Zhongxian's face flushed red and then turned pale: "Right now, we don't even have enough military rations, weapons, and armor to allocate."

Wang Zaijin said, "No matter how difficult it is, we must not make things difficult for the soldiers of Ningyuan."

They are fighting a fierce battle against the Later Jin army.

If we don't give them food, how can they survive?

Therefore, sufficient food must be allocated to Ningyuan; otherwise, it could easily incite a mutiny.

The reason why the Zhao army was ultimately defeated in the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao was because they lacked food.

Zhao Jun had been besieged for dozens of days, to the point where cannibalism had become the norm.

Zhu Youjian looked intently at Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Revenue, and asked:

"Is there any more food available?"

Bi Ziyan stared at Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian winked at him, meaning no.

"Your Majesty, the national treasury is currently empty."

Not to mention the lack of extra funds and provisions, officials in many places haven't received their salaries for three months or even half a year, causing a huge uproar.

But even a skilled cook can't cook without rice.

"This matter is also giving me a headache."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "This is good; I need to call for reinforcements, but I have no troops to spare."

We need money and provisions, but we have neither.

Wang Zaijin sneered and asked, "How did you manage to become the Minister of Revenue?"

Even if the Ming Dynasty is extremely poor, it should at least scrape together enough grain from its granaries to send a batch of grain to Ningyuan.

How can those soldiers fight if they have no food to eat?

Upon hearing what Wang Zaijin said, Bi Ziyan glanced at Wei Zhongxian again.

Wei Zhongxian held up one finger.

Bi Ziyan understood: "Then let's send 10,000 shi of grain to them."

To be honest, 1 shi of grain isn't much.

Wang Zaijin said: "One of the main reasons we were able to achieve the great victory at Ningyuan last time was that we invited the Portuguese to participate in the war."

The Portuguese were very brave, and their greatest advantage was their skill in using cannons and firearms.

There are 11 red-coated cannons in our Ningyuan city.

That is why we were able to win the Battle of Ningyuan.

The Portuguese are no longer in Ningyuan City.

Our soldiers aren't very proficient with artillery.

Therefore, I humbly suggest that the court immediately send envoys to Portugal.

"Let's ask some more Portuguese soldiers to come and help."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian nodded, agreeing that Wang Zaijin's idea was quite good.

What's the use of having cannons if no one knows how to use them?

"In addition, we are running low on artillery shells, so we will purchase some more from Portugal."

Bi Ziyan shook his head: "I already said, if we don't have money, how can we invite people?"

How will we buy artillery shells?

Zhu Youjian sat upright on the dragon throne: "Some time ago, many places suffered from drought and locust plagues."

I have already taken a considerable amount of money from my own pocket for disaster relief.

This time, I'll take a little more from my own pocket.

Choi Seong-soo thought to himself, "Wasn't all that money of yours hidden under the palace? You've confiscated it!"

Wang Zaijin asked Bi Ziyan, "You always say you have no money, no money."

We collect so much tax revenue every year, where does the money go?

"If it weren't for the fact that the Ninth Prince collects 500 million taels of silver every year, we would have been completely ruined long ago."

500 million taels,

It sounds like a lot, but actually, if you divide it up, there's not much left.

For example, the salaries of local officials, the construction of water conservancy projects, and so on.

This pile isn't nearly enough.

Also, some time ago,

We've offered a hefty reward and spent a considerable amount of money to wipe out the bandits.

Actually, compared to when we offered a reward of 750 million taels of silver to capture the pirate Chen Zuyi, we are nothing.

Zhu Youjian also heard about this matter.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there was a notorious pirate named Chen Zuyi, who commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of warships.

They seized and occupied the southeastern coastal area.

This caused great trouble for the Ming Dynasty court.

Initially, Zhu Yuanzhang offered a reward of 50 taels of silver for the capture of Chen Zuyi. By the time Zhu Di ascended the throne, the reward had increased to 750 million taels.

This number is already quite astonishing.

At that time, the imperial court's annual tax revenue was only about 1100 million taels of silver, and most of that money was used to capture Chen Zuyi.

Thieves are rampant these days; the imperial court probably won't be able to function without spending some money.

Having no other choice, Zhu Youjian had to take out some money from his own pocket to support Ningyuan.

Zhu Youjian's personal money and the money in the national treasury are two different things.

He can freely dispose of his personal money, but he cannot do so with the money in the national treasury.

Zhu Youjian had to carefully consider all aspects before he could use any money.