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Chapter 229 Great changes in Liaodong 3
"The Ming army did not go north to Phoenix City, but went to Zhenjiang Fort along the Yalu River. I heard that the Ming Dynasty ships came there. In addition, the guy also said that the Ming Emperor sent a special envoy to North Korea to teach the method of iron smelting. I heard They say that one thousand catties of iron and one hundred catties of fine steel can be produced in one day and night... Hiss, you slave dog, you want to hurt me to death, get out of here!"

Bayala could not answer some of the series of questions raised by her elder brother, but she was very concerned about the trends in North Korea.To be honest, the Ming army is not scary, because they are too large, move very slowly, and are extremely corrupt internally. It is easy to sense the trends and prepare in advance.

But the Koreans are different. Their army is not as well-equipped as the Ming Dynasty, but it is more suitable for fighting in mountains, hills and dense forests. It is flexible and fierce and bloodthirsty.Youdao is both a colleague and an enemy, and it is similar to how the Jurchen tribe fought against the Korean army.If it is supported by Daming's equipment, it will be even more difficult to deal with.

"It's too early to say at this time. In ancient Tang Dynasty, you led 1000 people to garrison at Kuoyang Fort. If you encounter an enemy attack, you should immediately retreat towards a wall. Bayala, you should return to Hetuala City immediately and send someone to inform Chu Ying, Daishan and Mulhaqi withdraw their troops quickly, don’t worry about the Ula tribe yet!”

Within a few days, a series of question marks made Nurhachi dizzy and confused. However, when he heard that the Ming Dynasty had prepared sea ships in Zhenjiang Fort and sent craftsmen to North Korea, he immediately figured out a problem.

The withdrawal of the Ming army was definitely not accidental, but inevitable.It is most likely a big move that was planned in advance, and it must be treated with caution regardless of whether the reason is known or not.Before the whole story is clear, we must not spread our troops to bite off more than we can chew. We must gather our troops to closely guard all the arteries and wait and see what happens.

"General Du, is there any movement over there at Jianlu?"

Not only Nurhachi is busy, but Yuan Yingtai, the governor of Liaodong in Liaoyang, is also not idle.At this time, he was standing on the East City, watching groups of border troops and border residents rolling westward outside the city. He felt extremely uneasy and couldn't help but ask the new Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Du Song the same question for the nth time.

According to the emperor's imperial edict, the plan to abandon Liaodong was divided into three steps.The first step was to evacuate all the guard posts and military forts east of Liaoyang. All the border troops and border residents who were willing to live in the customs gathered along the post road towards Guangning Guard.

A rough calculation estimated that there were about 5 people. The emperor's order was that the baggage could be discarded, but the people could not be thrown away. Sufficient food and drink supplies must be provided along the way, as well as shelter that could protect them from wind and rain.

As the governor of Liaodong, Yuan Yingtai did not worry about providing supplies and had already prepared them. However, he was very afraid of the Jurchens in Jianzhou following them.Youdao is that a defeat is like a mountain. Although taking the initiative to retreat is not so passive, it may still lead to catastrophe once there are chasing troops.

"According to the news brought back from yesterday's expedition, it seems that Jianlu has not figured out the situation yet and has already gone all the way south to Kuandian. As long as he delays for two more days, he will be safe."

Du Song was ordered by the Ministry of War to assist the evacuation of border troops and border residents in Liaodong Town at the beginning of the month. He was accompanied by 3 Jingying troops and 2 Jizhou Guard troops.From this point of view, it seems that the court and the emperor must have spent a lot of money, and finally they were willing to send out the elite guards to guard the house.

"Governor Yuan, do you know why His Majesty is so anxious to abandon Liaodong Town?"

With these 5 soldiers and horses, plus the 3 Liaodong Army near Liaoyang, it should be enough to just defend the Jianlu and Beilu from taking advantage of the situation.But there was always a question in his mind, and he couldn't figure out why the emperor insisted on doing this.Yuan Yingtai was the governor of Liaodong appointed by the emperor. He must be considered a close official, and he might know some inside information.

"General Du, if you were to guard Liaodong, how many soldiers would it take to frighten the Northern and Jianlu, and how much food, grass, and military pay would be needed every year?"

Yuan Yingtai had no interest in chatting with Jun Song. How could you, a vulgar warrior, understand the subtleties of court politics?But it was even more uncomfortable to see the border residents with their families, shabby clothes and dull eyes on the post road.Just talk, distract yourself, and be out of sight. "Well...it still depends on whether Beilu and Jianlu attack in large numbers." Du Song was suddenly asked such a specific question, and Du Song didn't know how to answer it for a while.

Since Li Chengliang died of illness, there were rumors in the court that he was prepared to take over the post of Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong Army. He also did some homework immediately, but I can't say that he fully understood it, and he was inseparable.However, this kind of thing will involve the Ministry of War's expenditures on Liaodong over the years, so you can't talk about it casually, as it will offend people.

"Hmph, if Beilu and Jianlu are afraid of Du Dudu's reputation and dare not take action, how much will it cost?" But Yuan Yingtai's perfunctory attitude annoyed Yuan Yingtai, and he immediately ridiculed them.

"...Jin Song is not talented, but Xiao Guicao is casual."

When it comes to temper, Jun Song ranks second among the living generals, and I am afraid no one dares to be the first.Since he was guarding Ningxia, he has been a thorn in his side. He has been impeached by his colleagues many times, but he has not changed every time.He didn't get used to it when facing Yuan Yingtai, his face turned dark and he pushed back coldly.

"With Xiao Gui and Cao Sui, Governor Du knows that even if nothing happens throughout the year, the court will still have to spend 300 million taels as military pay. How much is 300 million taels? Taking Shandong as an example, each farmer's annual income is less than 10 taels, and There are less than 20 taels of framers in the Zongren Mansion in the capital in the whole year.

Three million taels can feed 300 households and millions of people throughout the year!This is only the salary directly allocated by the imperial court, and other expenses incurred by the frontier army are not included.

There were over a million border residents in Liaodong Town, but the imperial court could not get even half a penny in taxes, and instead had to feed and drink another million people every year.Yuan was not familiar with military skills, so he really couldn't think of the use of keeping this place, and why he would be reluctant to give it up.

Saving millions of taels of expenses every year, whether used for water conservancy or land reclamation, is enough to make the land in the northern provinces no longer dry and barren, the people no longer suffer from hunger, and the court does not need to demolish the east wall to replenish the west wall every year for relief. .

As long as Dudu Du can hold the Shanhaiguan border wall, the Ming Dynasty will be able to breathe a sigh of relief in less than five years. By then, it will not be too late for the army to make a comeback.No one can take away the land, mountains, and rivers here. If you want to take it for yourself, you have to rely on your own abilities. You can't force it! "

Yuan Yingtai supported the decision to abolish Liaodong Town and abandon Liaodong with both hands and feet.He served in Liaodong for three years and witnessed firsthand the difficult life of border troops and border residents. He also experienced firsthand how difficult it is to develop this land with crisscrossed rivers, dense forests and cold climate.

During this period, he went to Emperor Shu many times and told Liaodong Town in detail about its embarrassing situation and huge expense. Although he did not dare to give up directly, he did not regard this land as a treasure and was reluctant to part with it.

If the Ming Dynasty's national power was at its peak, spending some money and food every year would not be a big problem.However, after fighting in Korea for six or seven years, the imperial court's wealth had been wiped out, and the elite troops had been disabled. If they continued to vomit blood to fight for the ownership of this land with the northern captives, it would be a bit of a waste of time.

(End of this chapter)