Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian attached great importance to the Han army of the Eight Banners and convened a special meeting of the Privy Council.

Zheng Shiyi, Niu Jinxing and other Jinyiwei officials also attended the meeting in the name of the Privy Council Intelligence Department.

After making great contributions, Zheng Shiyi was appointed as the Privy Councilor, one of the Privy Councilors.

After he read out the information collected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the knowledgeable ministers also changed color and understood why the emperor held a special meeting on this matter.

Yuan Keli, the Privy Co-Director who had commanded the war in southern Liaoning, said:

"If the Eight Banners recruit Han people, I am afraid that some of the occupied people in Liaodong will join the Eight Banners."

"This will greatly make up for the current shortage of Jianlu people. When the imperial court recovers Liao in the future, there won't be that many Han people who will respond."

“The scene of being welcomed by Han Chinese people in the past will no longer happen.”

Yang Sichang disagreed and said doubtfully:

"The number of Han people in Liaodong dropped from 5 million to 1-2 million, and most of those who survived had a deep hatred for the Jianlu."

"Even if it's not for the sake of national justice, they won't forget their own hatred, right?"

"Even if the Jianlu recruit Han people to join the banner, how many people will respond?"

This view was also shared by some people, but Yuan Keli shook his head, feeling that Yang Sichang still lacked experience.

In the face of life and death, what does the previous hatred matter?
There are always people who forget their hatred and accept the recruitment of the Jianlu.

What's more, the Jianlu were extremely brutal. They forcibly recruited soldiers from the Han people. Could the Han people in Liaodong still resist?
After the imperial army had not set foot on Liao territory for many years, many Han people in Liaodong had lost the will to fight.

As long as the policy of Jianlu continues for more than ten years, the new generation of Han people in Liaodong will forget their previous hatred and regard themselves as people of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Whenever Yang Sichang had fought on the front lines, he would not have been so optimistic.

Zhu Youjian was the same and agreed more with Yuan Keli's point of view.

The hatred between Dongjiang Town and Jianlu was as deep as the sea, and the Han people of Liaodong who could not survive fled on their own initiative.

However, in history, after Mao Wenlong was killed, some of them still defected to the Later Jin.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian did not expect the Han people in Liaodong to continue to harbor hatred. He hoped to give the Han people in Liaodong more opportunities to survive and let them escape from the rule of the Jianlu.

Facing the debate between Yuan Keli and Yang Sichang, Zhu Youjian listened to the opinions of the ministers and said to Zhu Xieyuan, who had not spoken:
"What does Zhu Qing think about this?"

Zhu Xieyuan looked at the ministers and suddenly said to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, I think we should pacify Liao as soon as possible."

"If we delay any further, the Jianlu will become a serious threat!"

Bi Maokang sneered upon hearing this and said:
"Who doesn't know that the Jianlu are a great threat?"

"Does Minister Zhu need to mention it again?"

Zhu Xieyuan said seriously:

"The great trouble I am talking about is no longer a local trouble like the She'an Rebellion."

"It is a threat that is in direct opposition to the Ming Dynasty, or even on equal terms with it."

"In the past, the Liao Kingdom occupied Yanyun and stood on equal footing with the Song Dynasty."

"After the Jin Dynasty annexed the Liao Dynasty, it occupied half of the Song Dynasty."

"Although the Liaodong area occupied by the Later Jin was small, it already had such potential."

"If it succeeds in recruiting Han Chinese, it will be a grave threat to the Ming Dynasty."

These words made the ministers suddenly change color, and many people blamed Zhu Xieyuan for exaggerating.

But Zhu Youjian fell into deep thought and realized that what Zhu Xieyuan said was absolutely true.

Historically, Huang Taiji quickly formed an artillery army with Han people, the so-called Wuzhen Chaoha. Then he conquered the south of the desert and annexed the tribes of Lin Danhan and others.

After completing the union of Manchus, Han and Mongolian, Huang Taiji quickly proclaimed himself emperor and officially stood on equal footing with the Ming Dynasty.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youjian was unwilling to negotiate peace, as the Later Jin had the ambition and potential to replace the Ming Dynasty.

Now, Zhu Xieyuan can realize this and he agrees with it very much.

Facing the criticism from his ministers, Zhu Youjian defended him:

"As the saying goes, we should be lenient in anticipating the enemy. Although what Zhu Qing said is a bit exaggerated, we must be on guard."

"In the future, the Ming Dynasty must pay more attention to the strength of the Jianlu, and find ways to weaken the Jianlu and prevent them from reaching this point."

"Yuan Qing, you are the head of the General Staff. No matter what the situation, you must make a plan."

"Is there any solution to this situation?"

Yang Sichang was gloomy when he heard this, knowing that his performance today had greatly lost points in front of the emperor. So much so that the emperor did not ask him, the person who was actually in charge of the staff, but asked Yuan Keli instead.

Yuan Keli didn't feel anything and responded to the emperor's question:

"I think we should send troops to Dongjiang Town as soon as possible to recruit Han people from Liaodong."

"Let's not talk about how many we can recruit for now, but at least we need to let the Han people see hope of resistance, so that they don't have no choice but to surrender to the Jianlu."

"The navy in Lushun should also be dispatched to pick up the Han people near the coast."

"Now each vassal state is short of population, and there are enough places to accommodate them."

This is the convenience brought by the overseas feudal policy.

All the vassal states are now scrambling for people, and they are not afraid of how many people come.

The Han people in Liaodong can be resettled immediately after being brought out, instead of being left to fend for themselves as was done before with the Dongjiang Town.

For example, the King of Han, who was preparing to attack the North Sea Island, asked the emperor to send more troops together with the generals Kong Youde and others sent by the court to support him. He even set his sights on Dongjiang Town, wanting to compete with Mao Wenlong for the Liao people.

As long as these people are well-maintained, they will become qualified sources of soldiers, and every vassal state welcomes such people.

So Zhu Youjian nodded immediately and ordered:

"Order Admiral Yu Zigao to dispatch troops, and Dongjiang Town is also limited to dispatching troops before May."

"The goal this time is not to capture southern Liaoning, but to rescue the Han people."

"But we must also make a bigger splash in southern Liaoning to support the construction of the fort in Daling River."

"As for Lin Danhan, we are also urging them to send troops before May, advancing from both the east and west."

This was an action that had already been determined in the Ji Si plan.

It was only because of Huang Taiji's idea of ​​the Eight Banners Han Army that the purpose changed slightly.

If there was any thought of taking advantage of the opportunity to regain some land before, it is completely gone now.

The purpose was to snatch people and rescue the Han people from Liaodong.

After the meeting, Zhu Youjian left Yuan Keli, Zheng Shiyi, and the Minister of the Navy Min Mengde behind and asked the Jinyiwei to plan several counter-attacks, with the Navy responsible for the response.

He wanted to use the rebellion of the Han people in Liaodong to combat Huang Taiji's plan of the Eight Banners Han Army.

Make the voices within the Jianlu opposing the Eight Banner Han Army louder.
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After the order was issued, it quickly spread to Tianjin and Lushun.

Yu Zigao had nothing to say about this, as he had already prepared to send troops.

Especially after Zheng Zhihu traveled to Dalingh River several times without encountering any obstacles, the navy was eager to make achievements.

In addition, the emperor's mission was simple: to take action along the coast to meet the Han people in Liaodong. The First Fleet of the Lushun Navy and the Marine Corps quickly set out to Fuzhou and Gaizhou.

Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town was not very happy about sending troops, and he muttered to his subordinates: "The court is urging us to send troops again!"

"Don't you know that we are doing spring ploughing? How can we find manpower?"

Zhuang Jichang, the chief officer of Dongjiang, who had been promoted to the position of Imperial Academy reader for his achievements in the mission to Korea, heard this and said solemnly:

"Marshal Mao is like this, but do you have any complaints?"

"The court ordered the troops to be dispatched before May, when spring ploughing would have been over. Why couldn't they be dispatched?"

"Could it be that Marshal Mao only wants to gain benefits from the imperial court and does not want to work for the imperial court?"

Even if Mao Wenlong thought so in his heart, he didn't dare to show it.

Under Zhuang Jichang's questioning, he laughed and said:

"Why do you say that, Mr. Zhuangyuan?"

"I am just worried that the spring ploughing will be delayed and the soldiers will be too tired."

"And if we attract the Jianlu here, the crops we have worked so hard to plant might be destroyed."

These words reminded the soldiers around them of the previous incident when the Jianlu invaded Korea and forced them to Pi Island.

Now that they see that the land of Dongjiang has become theirs, they really don't want to provoke the Jianlu.

Faced with this situation, Zhuang Jichang looked at the soldiers of Dongjiang Town and said loudly:

"The court has issued an order:"

"Anyone who has made contributions in the war against the Jianlu will be awarded land."

"For every head of a real Tartar, at least ten acres of land will be given."

"The area north of the Cheongcheon River is vast, and it can be divided into more than one Dongjiang Territory."

"Anyone who has made contributions in the war against the Jianlu has the potential to become a lord."

"We can also keep some of the Han people we rescued as your subjects and let them cultivate the land for you."

This made the soldiers who just agreed with Mao Wenlong speechless.

No matter how good the land Mao Wenlong distributed to them was, it was not as good as the territory allocated by the imperial court!
For a moment, all these people looked at Mao Wenlong, with flames of expectation flashing in their eyes.

Obviously, the emperor's reward policy has completely convinced them.

These generals from Dongjiang Town had already planned to go to Liaodong to kill the Tartars and rob the Han people.

Faced with this situation, Mao Wenlong naturally could not go against public opinion.

After staring at Zhuang Jichang for a while, he gave the order to the eager soldiers:

"Pass my order to assemble on April 25th."

"After five days of reorganization, we will cross the river to Zhenjiang."

I plan to go to the other side of the Yalu River just for show.

Anyway, he was familiar with Zhenjiang City. The reason why he became famous was the great victory he won in Zhenjiang.

Therefore, after hearing Mao Wenlong's order, the soldiers of Dongjiang Town were eager to win another great victory in Zhenjiang.

However, Zhuang Jichang took a deep look at Mao Wenlong and knew that this general, who had become a little cunning, was not so honest.

If Mao Wenlong dared to attack Zhenjiang with more than a hundred warriors in the past, then Mao Wenlong now would not dare to attack the city of Jianlu even if he had ten thousand elite soldiers.

What's more, the court's order was for him to rob people, and there was no order to attack the city at all.

Mao Wenlong, who was already very skilled in falsely reporting military achievements, most likely led his troops on a journey and then returned to Dongjiang.

As the Chief Secretary, Zhuang Jichang felt that it was his responsibility to advise Mao Wenlong.

But before that, he needed to arrange the spring plowing so that the soldiers of Dongjiang Town could go to the battle with peace of mind.

Regardless of physical fatigue, Zhuang Jichang worked all night to arrange spring ploughing, reclaim wasteland, build water conservancy projects, irrigate fertile fields, and organize various cooperative teams to help families in need.

Finally, in mid-April, the spring ploughing work in Dongjiang Territory was completed. They even prepared baggage for the troops going out to battle, and organized militia to defend the village...

After so much work, Zhuang Jichang's health also broke down. He wanted to go with the army, but he collapsed on the eve of Dongjiang Town's expedition.

The Dongjiang army and civilians who heard the news flocked to visit. Even Mao Wenlong brought doctors with him and asked them to treat Zhuang Jichang.

It is true that he had conflicts with Zhuang Jichang, who was sent by the court, but he was secretly proud that a top scholar appointed him as a chief secretary. He usually called him the top scholar to satisfy his vanity.

How could he want to lose such a talent?

However, Zhuang Jichang was already at the end of his life and could not be saved by the doctors.

Zhuang Jichang, who knew his physical condition, held Mao Wenlong's hand tightly and said to the soldiers and civilians who came to visit him in a trembling voice:
"A man of honor is born in a prosperous era and meets a wise ruler, but God does not give him a long life. Isn't it sad?"

"Restore Liao! Restore Liao! Restore Liao!"

He shouted loudly three times, and then died suddenly.

Seeing this, the Dongjiang army and civilians burst into tears. They loved this dedicated champion from the bottom of their hearts.

Even Mao Wenlong was touched and did not pull his hand back for a long time.

A top scholar in the Ming Dynasty, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, and a candidate for Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, he devoted his life to the recovery of Liao and eventually died as the Chief of Dongjiang.

How could he not be touched? Didn't he think about his original intention?
After returning to his residence and sitting in a daze for a long time, Mao Wenlong, who was somewhat confused, was reminded by someone around him that he should report the news to the court and the Governor-General's Office in Korea.

Zhuang Jichang's main job was a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy. He came to Korea on a business trip, and his role as the chief historian in Dongjiang was a part-time job.

According to the current court's training plan for Hanlin, he will have to return to the court to serve in a few years.

Now that he died in office, the leader of Dongjiang must give an explanation.

Mao Wenlong wrote the memorial in a daze. It was not until the memorial was sent out that he came to his senses and asked the people around him:
"Did the number one scholar really go there?"

"He is two years younger than me!"

Dongjiang Commander Chen Youshi had conflicts with Zhuang Jichang before. At this moment, tears welled up in his eyes and he said in a sobbing voice:

"Marshal, Mr. Zhuang has indeed gone."

"You must lead the soldiers to recover Liao and fulfill the will of Zhuang Changshi!"

Li Jiuchen and others did the same and told Mao Wenlong about Zhuang Jichang's last wishes.

Mao Wenlong looked at these soldiers, suddenly drew his sword and shouted:

"Beat the drums and gather the troops!"

"I will fulfill the will of the champion and cross the river to send troops to Liaodong."

"I will not take any of the credit and spoils from this time, and will give them all to the champion."

Gather the troops from Dongjiang Town and prepare to march to Liaodong.

The Dongjiang Town soldiers and civilians, who had already made preparations for sending troops and were moved by the death of Zhuang Jichang, immediately crossed the river in a mighty force under the leadership of Mao Wenlong.

Except for the two thousand men who stayed behind to lead the militia, almost all of Mao Wenlong's more than ten thousand soldiers were dispatched.

After crossing the river, he did not stop in Zhenjiang as he had planned before, but sent a part of his troops to watch, while the rest of his troops headed straight for Phoenix City.

He wanted to turn the hinterland of Liaodong upside down and make merit for the deceased Zhuang Jichang.

Try to let Zhuang Jichang's descendants have a title, and bury Zhuang Jichang in Dongjiang Territory. (End of this chapter)