Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 191 Sun Chengzong leaves Beijing

Zhu Youjian, who was far away in the capital, naturally didn't know what Zheng Zhilong was thinking. Not to mention that he transferred Yu Zigao to the capital, which saved Fujian a war.

At this time, he was busy sending Sun Chengzong away and driving this man to Liaodong. This prevents Sun Chengzong from becoming the core of the Donglin Party in Beijing and Beizhili and reuniting the Donglin Party.

Following the example of Emperor Tianqi sending Sun Chengzong to supervise him, on November 28th, Zhu Youjian came to the imperial palace and presented Shang Fang with a sword and a python. Hundreds of civil and military officials came to the court to congratulate him, and cabinet ministers were sent outside Chongwen Gate.

Such a solemn etiquette shows that Sun Chengzong is valued. Moreover, in order to allow Sun Chengzong to open up a situation in Liaodong, Zhu Youjian specially allocated 500,000 taels of silver from the internal treasury to repay Liaodong's arrears.

It can be said that no matter how he felt about Sun Chengzong in his heart, Zhu Youjian gave him courtesy on the surface. I will try my best to support this veteran whose whole family died for his country in history.

Sun Chengzong, who was already sixty-five years old, was grateful for this courtesy, but his mood was more solemn than the last time he went to Liaodong.

He knew that the enemy he had to face this time was not just Jianlu. There are also the arrogant generals of Liaodong and the local generals of Liaodong who have gradually become popular.

Especially since he resigned due to the defeat of Liuhe, the officers and soldiers of Liaodong subsequently won two victories in Ningyuan and Ningjin. As a scholar-inspector, he was somewhat uncertain as to whether he would be able to use the victorious and arrogant generals of Liaodong, and whether the generals of Liaodong would obediently move out of the pass.

This made Sun Chengzong know that his taking office this time was even more dangerous than before.

In addition to Liaodong's troubles, Sun Chengzong was even more worried about the fact that the emperor treated him with courtesy on the surface, but in fact he didn't trust him that much. Although the Liaodong side was completely handed over to him, Jizhen, Tianjin, Denglai, Liaonan and other places were almost separated.

The same goes for sending him to Liaodong this time. Along with him, he received the Shang Fang Sword and was sent to the Chongwen Sect. There were also two admirals, Mao Wenlong and Yu Zigao, who each received 250,000 taels of silver from the inner treasury.

It can be said that the emperor took the opportunity of sending him to improve his status as a general. The so-called gift of a sword from the royal family was regarded by the emperor as a ceremony to worship the general.

Sun Chengzong was not fully confident whether Mao Wenlong and Yu Zigao would listen to his command and act in accordance with his strategy.

However, Sun Chengzong felt a little reassured when he thought of Ma Shilong, the former Liaodong commander-in-chief, who was sent by the emperor to Mao Wenlong as the guard captain, and Yu Anxing, the navy guard who partnered with Yu Zigao.

He knew that Ma Shilong, his beloved general, would definitely obey his command. Yu Anxing, a member of the Donglin Party, would also respect his orders.

With these two people here, Liaonan and the navy will not be completely out of his control. Although the emperor gave Liaonan and the navy a great deal of autonomy, it was not completely without checks and balances.

He admired the emperor's methods very much and believed that such an emperor could possibly revive the Ming Dynasty:
Except for the eunuchs, it is rare to care for them.

The emperor had only been in power for three months and had made two very great achievements.

Compared with Emperor Shizong Jiajing, it can be said to be even better!
Knowing that many people are comparing the current emperor with Emperor Shizong Jiajing, Sun Chengzong also quietly compared the two, and came to the conclusion that -

The current emperor is stronger and more measured than the Jiajing Emperor.

This can be seen from the process of overthrowing Wei Zhongxian and dealing with the eunuchs. The emperor lured Wei Zhongxian into his trap step by step, and finally took advantage of the general situation to transfer him out of the capital and easily get rid of this person.

And the subsequent investigation of the rebellious officials made it possible for everyone in the court to pass the test. It also forced eunuch officials to surrender and cooperate with him in assuming power. These step-by-step actions showed that the emperor had a plan.

In particular, the establishment of the Standing Council and the elevation of the status of the Nine Ministers were, in Sun Chengzong's view, very similar to the Emperor Jiajing's move to Xiyuan, where he allowed ministers of honor, cabinet bachelors, and some ministers to enter the Zhiwuyi Hall. Allowing the emperor to live deep in the inner palace can also firmly control the power of the country.

Moreover, compared to the Ruzhi Wuyi Hall, the Standing Council established by the current emperor is more institutionalized. The name of the court meeting does not seem to be catering to the emperor, and there is not so much criticism. The decisions made by the Standing Committee will be better implemented by officials, and they can directly handle the affairs of the six ministries and have greater power.

All this shows that three months after ascending to the throne, the emperor had actually taken control of the court.

Compared with Emperor Jiajing who took power for three years before ousting Yang Tinghe, the current emperor looks stronger.

And unlike Emperor Jiajing, who was very selfish, although the current emperor has some power, most of it is for state affairs. They are also very perceptive about internal and external affairs.

Apart from other things, the emperor discovered Lin Danhan's intention to move westward from a report at Taolingou, and promptly recruited the Chahan tribe to stop the war on the grassland. Sun Chengzong was so impressed that he was even shocked.

Only those who have been on the battlefield know how valuable this insight is. Ma Shilong, a general who was highly regarded by Sun Chengzong, misunderstood a piece of false information because of his lack of insight, which led to the defeat of Liuhe.

From a piece of information that was unknown to be true or false, the emperor saw that Lin Dan Khan wanted to move westward, and deduced the situation after moving westward, and stopped this in time. In Sun Chengzong's view, this is the highest state of military art, which means that those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements.

Therefore, Sun Chengzong fully agreed with the emperor's proposal of "strengthening the stronghold and fighting stupid wars." I even felt that I was talking about it from the bottom of my heart and planned to implement it in Liaodong.

From now on, the Liaodong army must follow the emperor's words of "building a strong camp and fighting a dull battle", making good use of camp defense, integrating offense and defense, and advancing steadily.

This tactic seems to have no strategy, but it is most suitable for the Ming Dynasty. Use the strong national power of the Ming Dynasty to consume the Jianlu to death.

This was the basis for Sun Chengzong to take office again, and it was also the reason why he had the confidence to command the Liaodong army and become a hero of the Purple Pavilion. If he can't even do this simple tactic well, he is in vain.

The only drawback is that this consumes too much money. The imperial court's finances are now unable to make ends meet, and Jiubian still has millions of unsolved unpaid wages. Before the nine-border payment arrears are resolved, it is impossible to have financial resources to support the Liaodong army's operations.

Therefore, Sun Chengzong's main task in the past two years is to straighten out Liaodong and prepare for the implementation of this tactic.

Zhu Youjian is also preparing for this tactic and plans to ask the Ministry of Industry to study the technology of walled city construction and prepare several templates. Use the simplest and fastest method to create the most suitable camp for defense.

Cement, concrete, barbed wire and other technologies were all included in his plan. He wants to use stronger defensive capabilities to make Jianlu despair under the wall.

Especially when thinking about Zheng Chenggong's platform in later generations, it took a long time to capture Chikan City. He decided to send someone to study and see if he could incorporate Western bastion technology to improve the defensive capabilities of the walled city.

If every walled city could hold on for more than half a year with sufficient food and water resources. The Liaodong side will be able to be impregnable and not afraid of the invaders' invasion.

(End of this chapter)