It can be said that Liaodong was only the foundation of Guo Dajing, and the pacification of Liao and the extermination of the barbarians was only the initial stage. If his ideal was limited to this, it would be a disgrace to those who traveled through it.
Guo Dajing certainly didn't care about building a mansion. Where could there be a mansion bigger and more magnificent than the Forbidden City?
They are all petty and short-sighted!
In terms of grand ambitions, Guo Dajing is definitely qualified to look down on anyone. Including Mao Wenlong, including the first and second assistants in the court, and all the big shots.
However, no one knew how ambitious Guo Dajing was.
Chongzhen, who was far away in the capital, would not have thought that Guo Dajing, who had just launched a long-distance attack across the sea to save face for him and the imperial court, and was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief, would have been thinking about his throne for a long time.
The Jianlu who took a detour to enter the pass were almost completely wiped out, and the slave chief Huang Taiji was captured alive and cut into pieces in the capital. The unprecedented victory boosted the morale of the army and the people, but the sequelae of the Jianlu invaders continued to explode.
When Jianlu was ravaging the capital, Chongzhen issued a Qinwang Order to the Sifang military towns, and even the frontier troops as far away as Gansu were ordered to march toward the capital.
When King Qin's Gansu border soldiers passed through Jin County (today's Yuzhong, Gansu), the soldiers asked for pay, but the general Wang Gu refused to pay it, which led to a mutiny and the general Wang Gu and the local county magistrate were killed.
Among the revolting border troops, there was a general whose surname was Li Zicheng, who led part of the rebel army to fight in Hanzhong and joined Wang Zuogao's peasant army.
At this time, there were more than a hundred peasant rebel armies in Shaanxi, forming a raging war. Many official and military border soldiers mutinied due to lack of pay and joined the rebel army and became the backbone of it.
However, Chongzhen did not realize the seriousness of the rebellion in Shaanxi. Yang He, the governor of Shaanxi's military affairs on all three sides, whom he appointed, knew nothing about military affairs and used pedantic tactics to recruit troops to deal with the rebels. As a result, "the evil of the bandits was the beginning of the disaster."
"Yu Yang He".
According to Yang He's report, the rebels in Shaanxi Province accepted the imperial court's recruitment one by one and were resettled in their localities.
The thieves seemed to have been put down one after another, but the recruited thieves just changed their identities and continued to rob and commit adultery in the places where they were resettled, but the local officials did not dare to control them.
Anyone who has some brains and some logical analysis skills will not be like Chongzhen, who cannot see through the root cause of the repeated peasant uprisings.
It was just because of stuttering under frequent natural disasters. Whoever was full and strong picked up a wooden stick and a hoe to rebel.
But since Chongzhen did not reduce taxes and had no practical relief measures, how could he use them to appease the rebels?
Even those who were forced to appease the situation soon started again because the court was unable to feed the large number of hungry people.
Chongzhen couldn't understand, or maybe he was pretending to be confused.
If he needs money and food, where can he get it? To support the Guan Ning Jin defense line, and to allocate resources to Dongjiang Town, which has suddenly emerged as a new force, it is already going to bring down the Ming Dynasty's finances.
Just after a quiet year in the atmosphere of celebration of a great victory, the memorials filling the desk made the young man Chongzhen feel depressed again.
"With Jinzhou as the front line, Ningyuan as the backbone, and Shanhaiguan as the backing, we will keep the Jianlu out of the pass..."
When Chongzhen saw this cliché, he rolled his eyes in anger. Jianlu had already taken a detour to enter the pass, so why should I say here that the Guan-Ningjin defense line could stop Jianlu?
Yes, Jianlu did not break through the defense line of Jinzhou, Ningyuan, and Shanhaiguan, but it also shows that this line of defense is of little use.
At least, hundreds of thousands of troops are placed here, which consumes too much money and food, and the price-performance ratio is obviously very low.
"Have any memorials been sent to Sun Chengzong and Man Gui?" Chongzhen threw the memorials on the table angrily and asked Wang Chengen somewhat eagerly.
"Back to the Emperor, not yet." Wang Chengen bowed and echoed: "It should be that time is still short, and the rectification in Ningyuan has not been completed yet."
The fleeing of Guan Ning's army was the decisive factor for Chongzhen to finally abandon Jinzhou and shrink the defense line to Ningyuan. If Jinzhou and Daling River were captured, there was really hope of pacifying Liao and annihilating the captives, Chongzhen would grit his teeth and hold on.
But now, the Guanning Army will become the Ningyuan Army, and even Shanhaiguan will be replaced by soldiers that Chongzhen trusts, and they are definitely not from Liao.
Ma Shilong is now the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan and the governor of the left. He was the first step for Chongzhen to prevent Guan Ning's army.
The second step is to transfer the garrison of Ningyuan to garrison at Jizhen. Some of the non-Liao generals, such as Cao Wenzhao and others, will be retained.
The third step was to order Zu Dashou to lead his troops back to Zhenningyuan, so that it could become a buffer and barrier outside Shanhaiguan, and also facilitate the transportation of grain and wages to Juehua Island and nearby supplies.
After such operations, Guan Ning's army became Ning Yuan's army, with only more than 30,000 troops left. Shanhaiguan was both their retreat and their supervisory team, and guarded against rebellion.
Ningyuan has 30,000 troops, Shanhaiguan has 40,000 troops, and Ji Town has 30,000 troops. The entire Guan Ning Army has since fallen apart. This warlord-like army can no longer make big waves, and Chongzhen can rest assured.
At the same time, abandoning Jinzhou and Dalinghe and other places can save at least one million in food and salary every year. As long as the total fiscal revenue remains unchanged, this money can be invested in Dongjiang Town.
In Chongzhen's view, this was a clever plan that killed three birds with one stone. It not only controlled Guan Ning's army, but also provided preferential supplies to Dongjiang Town without increasing the financial burden.
No, it should be to kill four birds with one stone. The garrison in Ji Town no longer has to spend money to recruit, isn't it another saving?
But even with such a clever plan, many officials in the court opposed it.
If it weren't for Guo Dajing's analysis brought back by Cao Huachun, Chongzhen would not have known that behind these officials' impassioned speeches, they were thinking of continuing to make money and commit corruption from the investment in the Guanningjin Defense Line!
The reason why Chongzhen sent Sun Chengzong, the originator of the Guan-Ningjin Defense Line, to Ningyuan with Mangui to make preparations for moving to Guanzhong was that Sun Chengzong had been operating in Liaodong for many years and had considerable prestige.
Man Gui was not only a fierce general, but also served in Ningyuan for a long time. With this combination of civil and military forces, in Chongzhen's view, the move of Ningyuan's army should be fast and stable.
But less than a month had passed since he was dispatched, and the same problem that Chongzhen had worried about had occurred again. He even began to wonder whether Sun Chengzong was acting against the will and not working hard to implement the new strategy of shrinking the defense line.
Wang Chengen's euphemistic explanation made Chongzhen feel a little relieved. He put aside his impatience and sat back in the royal chair.
Chongzhen pondered for a long time and said slowly: "There are rumors in the market that Yuan Chonghuan conspired to kill Mao Wenlong in order to negotiate peace with Jiannu. Moreover, he also communicated privately with cabinet officials and received support from some people."
Wang Chengen bowed and said: "Your Majesty, there are many rumors in the market that they all hate Yuan Chonghuan. If you want to prove the truth or falsehood, it is not difficult. Just send a message to the Town and Fu Division for interrogation."
"There is no smoke without fire." Chongzhen said solemnly: "Go and tell Liu Qiao, the Town and Fu Secretary, to interrogate Yuan Chonghuan on this matter."
"Slave, please send someone right now." Wang Cheng'en bowed and retreated outside the palace, and asked the people passing by to go to the Zhenfu Division to deliver the long-lived edict.
Chongzhen did not want an explanation for Mao Wenlong, but he most wanted to find out which cabinet minister dared to secretly make friends with foreign ministers. In his opinion, Yuan Chonghuan was able to deceive him because there were people in the court who supported him and whitewashed his words.
The most intolerable thing for emperors in the past dynasties was for officials to form cliques. After Yuan Chonghuan's incident, those who were closely related to him had already been classified as rebels by Chongzhen.
Not only did he want to purge those who rebelled against the party, Chongzhen also wanted to invalidate all the policies and measures implemented by Yuan Chonghuan after he took office. Without new measures, he basically restored the status quo.
For example, if the governor of Denglai is re-established, food and wages will be transported from Tianjin, and Shandong will also bear part of it.
Wang Tingshi had been included in Yuan Chonghuan's party, and the official position of Denglai Road was settled. But who should be the governor of Denglai and the governor of Liaodong still made Chongzhen think hard.
Due to the poor performance of Guan Ning's army, Chongzhen turned all his hopes of destroying the captives in Ping Liao to Dongjiang Town. Precisely because of the decline in importance of Guan Ning's army, it was no longer appropriate to set up governors or managers in Liaodong.
In the official system of the Ming Dynasty, although the supervisors and managers were at a higher level than the governor, they were not their superiors. It was the governor who really took charge of local military affairs.
But the paradox is that no matter what official position you hold, having someone in the court is the most important thing.
For example, Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, had the support of Zhang Minghe, the Minister of War, and Ye Xianggao, the chief assistant, so he could suppress Xiong Tingbi.
When Sun Chengzong first became governor of Jiliao, Yan Mingtai, the governor of Liaodong, was just a decoration and was directly pushed to Juehua Island and became a logistics officer.
The generals and officers under the governor, the manager, and the governor are also not subordinate to each other.
The Shangfang sword in the hands of the governor and the manager cannot do anything to the general soldiers under the governor; but the general soldiers who directly belong to the governor and the manager can kill them first and then report them when they commit crimes.
Historically, Yuan Chonghuan had this advantage. After he dismissed Governor Denglai, he took direct charge of Dongjiang Town, and Mao Wenlong was considered his subordinate.
However, Mao Wenlong was not an ordinary general, but a general holding Shang Fang's sword. Yuan Chonghuan did not ask for an order and was good at killing.
Chongzhen did not have a governor or governor of Liaodong, which meant that Liao Town and Dongjiang Town were not under the same jurisdiction. Liao Town had a governor of Liaodong, and Governor Denglai was the immediate superior of Dongjiang Town, albeit only in name.
Although he was very disappointed with Guan Ning's army, Chongzhen still hoped to gradually change and turn it into the hands of the imperial court. In this way, the imperial court would have a force to rely on, instead of the Dongjiang Army being the only one.
Balance is very important. Whenever possible, neither the emperor nor the civil servants want to see the emergence of unruly or uncontrollable military leaders.
In fact, Mao Wenlong did have a bad temper. But he was still very loyal to the emperor and the court. However, he had too much power and was located overseas, which made it difficult for the monarchs and ministers to control him.
Moreover, his rude words and unruly behavior were largely forced out of control. If he had sufficient food and salary, how could he compete with the court?
Over the past year or so, Mao Wenlong, apart from his troubles with Yuan Chonghuan, has had a much better attitude towards the court. The reason is very simple. The food and salary in Dongjiang Town have been secured, and he does not need to offend anyone.
"Your Majesty." Wang Chengen walked in from outside the palace, bowed and said, "Cao Huachun will meet you outside."
Chongzhen nodded, read the memorial in his hand, put it on the desk, and then said: "Let him come in!"
It was not long before Cao Huachun entered the palace, knelt down and kowtowed, "Long live my greetings, slave."
Chongzhen looked at this eunuch whom he trusted quite a lot and said harmoniously: "I order you to take charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor Seal and the Governor to bravely guard the camp. From now on, you will concentrate on military affairs and train a tiger and wolf army for me as soon as possible.
"
In the military system of the Ming Dynasty, there was a forbidden army directly under the emperor and commanded by the inner court, called the Tengxiang Four Guards. During the Jiajing period, the Tengxiang Four Guards were reorganized into the Warriors Camp and the Four Guards Camp, and were supervised and managed by imperial horses.
This army was said to be "selecting the strongest men from all over the world" to join the army. However, by the Chongzhen period, its combat effectiveness had seriously declined and it was no longer a strong army.
After the experience of building a captive army and becoming an invader, Chongzhen urgently needed to master a powerful army. Reorganizing the Yongwei Battalion was the fastest way.
Cao Huachun had already been mentally prepared for the emperor's appointment, and used this time to plan and think, and had a rough plan.
"Your Majesty has ordered me to do my best," Cao Huachun said in a nod to the leader and presented his own army plan.
Chongzhen Yue looked at the plan, sometimes nodding his head in appreciation, sometimes frowning slightly.
After a long while, he raised his head and said slowly: "The sharp firearms and elite cavalry of the Dongjiang Army played an important role in the Zunhua War, and it was indeed shocking. If you want to imitate, there is nothing wrong with it."
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "I can ask Dongjiang Town to provide weapons and instructors, but the officers of the Yongwei Battalion must be carefully selected loyal and brave people. Do you understand what I mean?"
"My servant understands," Cao Huachun said, "The officers and soldiers of the Yongwei camp must be loyal and serve forever. Otherwise, what's the use of it?"
Chongzhen showed a smile and said with his head: "It's good if you understand. I'm very relieved. You can go down now, I have my own arrangements."
After Cao Huachun kowtowed, he exited the hall.
Cao Huachun, who witnessed the Zunhua Battle with his own eyes, was extremely shocked by the tactics of the Dongjiang Army. He was even more impressed by the ferocity of the muskets and artillery, as well as the fierce final counterattack of the cavalry.
In his opinion, if the Yongwei Battalion reaches the level of the Dongjiang Army, it will be enough to be called a tiger and wolf division. Of course, this requires Dongjiang Army's firearms and cavalry training instructors.
In Chongzhen's view, the weapons and equipment of the Yongwei Battalion must be excellent. Since the Dongjiang Army is good, it is not difficult to buy it or copy it.
As for the instructors who train cavalry, there are only a dozen or so at most. It is absolutely impossible to leave after training and stay in the Yongwei Camp.
In fact, both Chongzhen and Cao Huachun only saw the surface, but did not understand that a truly strong army depends on more than just weapons and equipment, tactics, and food and salary.
Of course, for the feudal army, well-prepared soldiers and well-prepared troops, strong armor and powerful troops are all factors that make a strong army. If they could reach Guo Dajing's vision and standards, they would no longer be ancient people.
Even the current Dongjiang Army is still far from Guo Dajing's expectations.
Although he worked hard to improve the social status of soldiers, tried to give them the best treatment, and gradually built up a sense of pride and honor among soldiers.
But time is there, and people's traditional concepts are deeply ingrained. Therefore, this is not a job that can be accomplished overnight.