Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"boom!"

Hammering the table hard, Amin said angrily:
"Hasn't there been any trace of the North Koreans yet?"

"Neither in Tieshan City?"

The soldier who delivered the message said tremblingly:
"No, I searched all over Tieshan City, but there is no one."

"I heard they all fled to Pi Island."

Tieshan is not far from Pi Island. Before the Jianlu attacked, Chen Zizhuang organized the people to move to Pi Island according to the tactics formulated by the Privy Council.

Those who stayed behind to harass were all militiamen, relying on their familiarity with the terrain to set up ambushes and fight.

This left Amin and Hauge with a powerful army, but they could not find anyone to fight. Instead, they lost a lot of men due to various attacks.

Seeing that there was no food to be found in Tieshan, and that sending troops further south might lead to food shortages, Amin said bitterly:

"Return to the teacher!"

"Let's go back to Yizhou first."

However, Hauge was young and energetic, and he objected:
"We'll fight all the way to Seoul. I don't believe there won't be anyone left."

"How can I explain to my father the Khan if I return with such a heavy loss of troops?"

Amin said angrily:
"Explain what?"

"If we run out of food, will you still want your Yellow Banner?"

"I am the commander-in-chief. Follow my orders and return to the army!"

Amin sensed the danger and worried that he might run out of food if he continued to move south, so he folded his Blue Banner here and withdrew his troops without hesitation, not moving forward any further.

Hauge was very angry at Amin's arbitrary decision, but he was also worried that the Bordered Yellow Banner might be in danger if it advanced deep into the enemy's territory alone.

So he had no choice but to withdraw his troops and lead them back to Yizhou.

Chen Zizhuang, who heard the news, expressed his regret.

Because he planned to let Mao Wenlong eat up the one thousand people left behind in Yizhou and achieve a great victory.

However, Amin and Hauge stopped at Tieshan and did not continue to Xuanchuan, which had rugged terrain. This forced him to give up the plan to eat up the troops of Yizhou.

After all, Tieshan is too close to Yizhou, only more than 80 miles away, and if you are fast, you can return in one day.

In such a short time, the Dongjiang soldiers had no chance of defeating the Jianlu who were left behind in Yizhou, even if they set up an ambush in advance.

However, when Amin and Haoge were on their way back, Chen Zizhuang still sent militiamen to set traps and intercept them layer by layer, so that the Jianlu were always in panic and could not let down their guard.

This also made Amin a little more certain about the danger he had sensed.

If he didn't return decisively, his Blue Banner might be destroyed in Korea.

Hauge was very angry. After arriving in Yizhou, he crossed the river directly to Zhenjiang to seek supplies.

Seeing this, Amin also hurried across the river, not daring to stay any longer.

North Korea, which was unobstructed last time and was like one's own backyard, has now become a den of dragons and tigers.

This made him really confused as to why the changes were so fast?

After calling the Zhenjiang garrison to inquire carefully, he finally understood the reason and said in surprise:
"You said that the land across the street was granted to Mao Wenlong by the King of Korea, and is now the territory of Dongjiang?"

"Is Mao Wenlong's repeated attacks to protect his territory?"

After getting a positive answer, Amin, Hauge and others understood why Mao Wenlong continued to fight despite repeated defeats.

The truth is that the Dongjiang territory belongs to him, so of course he cannot let the Eight Banners Army go alone.

This made Amin sigh:
"The King of Korea is willing to divide up the territory, Great Khan..."

"The Khan will regret not letting me stay in Korea."

Deep down, he always regretted not being able to stay in North Korea.

Now that he saw that Mao Wenlong had acquired territory in Korea, he was so jealous that he was about to smoke.

Out of jealousy, Amin came up with an idea, which was to destroy the houses and farmland in Dongjiang Territory to see if Mao Wenlong would come out.

So he led his troops across the river again and sent his soldiers to destroy all the houses and farmlands they saw.

For a time, the area near the Yalu River in Dongjiang County was filled with smoke of war.

Seeing the thatched huts they had built being burned down and the farmland they had cultivated being trampled by the Jianlu, the militiamen of Dongjiang were extremely furious.

These were their houses and lands, how could they allow the Jianlu to destroy them?

Some people could not help but rush out, but were surrounded and annihilated by the prepared Jianlu cavalry.

After hearing the news, Chen Zizhuang hurriedly restrained the militia and forbade them to attack without authorization. Their mission was to harass the Jianlu and not to engage in direct combat with them.

If the house was burned down, they could return to Pido Island. If the farmland had no harvest, North Korea would provide food. As long as the Jianlu were blocked north of the Cheongcheon River, the Korean monarch and his ministers would happily pay.

Therefore, many militiamen suppressed their anger and continued to deal with the Jianlu.

They also made up their minds that they would work hard to improve their skills so that they could fight the Jianlu head-on as soon as possible.

It can be said that under the belief of defending their homes and land, the fighting will of these militiamen of Liao origin is much stronger than before.

As a result, the Dongjiang soldiers under Mao Wenlong's command suffered repeated defeats.

Amin and Haoge destroyed things randomly for a while and found that the effect was not obvious.

There were not many people cultivating the land near the Yalu River, and the farmland close to Yizhou was also destroyed by them.

But the troops led by Dongjiang refused to come out and watched them wreak havoc here.

If the destruction is done in more distant places, small groups of troops will disappear in Dongjiang Territory, while large groups of troops will require more logistical supplies.

After failing to plunder North Korea for replenishment, their supplies were running low and had to be used at a critical moment.

The result of the discussion between Amin and Hauge was to send a large-scale military campaign during the autumn harvest in August to force the Dongjiang troops to fight.

If the Dongjiang troops did not come out, they would send people to harvest grain and use the grain as supplies to march south to Seoul.

So their attacks gradually decreased, saving their energy for the battle in August.

Chen Zizhuang, Mao Wenlong and others had obviously guessed this. While preparing for a quick autumn harvest, they asked the court for help, at least to delay the Jianlu for a few days during the autumn harvest so that they would have time to harvest the grain.

This is also the reason why Zhu Youjian ordered Jiang Yueguang to sign a treaty with Japan as soon as possible. He needed to withdraw his troops and concentrate on fighting the Jianlu.

Liu Xingzuo's Jurchen Niulu and three thousand Korean soldiers returned to Korea under the leadership of Hong Chengchou.

Gu Yanwu and the new army battalion of the patrol camp were sent to the Heilongjiang area to support the battle against the Khorchin tribe.

At the same time as the battle in Dongjiang, Huang Taiji led the main force of Jianlu to rescue Khorchin, which was attacked by the grassland coalition. The court, which learned the news from Ning Wanwo, sent people to inform Man Gui to prepare, and arranged the Black Dragon Camp to harass Khorchin from the north.

For a time, both the Dongjiang front in the east and the Khorchin front in the west were shrouded in war clouds and a major war was about to break out.

However, there was jubilation in the Privy Council because the goals of the Ji Si Plan had been basically achieved.

Whether ordering the Dongjiang leader to harass Liaodong or convening a meeting with the grassland to send troops to Khorchin, the purpose of the Privy Council was to cover up the action of building a fort in Dalingh River.

Now that Jianlu had sent a small army to Dongjiang and a main force to Khorchin, they obviously had no spare strength to send troops to Dalinghe. This made the construction of Dalinghe Fort go more smoothly.

What made the Privy Council particularly happy was that after more than four months of construction, Dalinghe Fort had been completely completed, and even the outer fortifications had been improved. Now the No. 2 Fort was being built, and the pace was even faster.

As long as this fortress is built before winter, they will be able to protect themselves even if the Jianlu launch an attack in the severe winter cold.

After Zhu Youjian learned the news, he completely put aside his worries about the Jianlu.

He was now certain that it was impossible for the Jianlu to take the Daling River Valley, bypass the grassland, and break through the Great Wall pass north of Shuntian Prefecture to enter the capital as they had done in history.

Dalingh Fort would be like a nail threatening the Jianlu's retreat, making it impossible for the Jianlu to take a detour through the Dalingh Valley with confidence.

This is also the reason why Sun Chengzong, as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, quickly built Dalinghe City after the Jisi Incident in history.

The imperial court urgently needed this city to prevent the Jianlu from entering the country through the grassland.

Unfortunately, the Dalinghhe City encountered the red cannon that had just been cast by the Jianlu and ultimately suffered a defeat.

At present, the red cannon of the Jianlu has not yet been cast, and the defense of Dalingh Fort is stronger than that of traditional cities.

Zhu Youjian had enough confidence to keep the Jianlu outside the Great Wall.

To this end, he ordered to commend Huo Weihua, He Kegang, Zheng Zhihu, Han Yun and other meritorious personnel, and awarded them all the first-class men.

All the soldiers who participated in building the fort were also rewarded, at least one li of Liaodong land certificate.

Xu Guangqi, who made the greatest contribution in the rear, was promoted to the position of Minister of State Affairs and praised for his achievements in training new troops and building bastions over the past year.

What made Zhu Youjian most happy was that the Academy of Agricultural Sciences headed by Xu Guangqi had successfully grown sweet potatoes and corn in the north, and was about to enter the harvest season.

This was also one of the reasons why Zhu Youjian went to Tsinghua University. He wanted to go to the Xishan experimental field to inspect the planting of sweet potatoes and corn.

As new crops, the promotion of sweet potatoes and corn was bound to be difficult. In order to prevent the public from rejecting them, he required that they be tested in mountainous areas first. He encouraged the public to reclaim wasteland and plant them in places that were previously uncultivated.

As long as we can harvest a little bit of grain, it will alleviate the famine and reduce the pressure on the court to provide disaster relief.

In the experimental field in Xishan, Zhu Youjian praised the efforts of Xu Guangqi and others in planting new crops, and based on his own insights, he proposed methods such as turning the sweet potato seedlings and asked Xu Guangqi and others to experiment.

Finally, they picked some tender corn and brought it back to Tsinghua Garden to entertain the nobles. They used these people to take the lead and speed up the promotion of new crops.

These nobles have enjoyed everything, and they only care about novelty. Some of them like the unique taste of corn and plan to plant it next year so that they can eat tender corn.

Anyway, according to the emperor, this new crop does not need to occupy arable land and can be planted on mountainous land.

Zhu Youjian's move to promote new crops achieved initial success.

He also asked the Royal Hotel of Shangshenjian to gather people who were good at making vermicelli, intending to research sweet potato vermicelli after the sweet potatoes were harvested.
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All this news made Zhu Youjian very happy.

What made him even happier was that he discovered a beauty in Tsinghua University.

This beauty was presented by Zhang Xianzhong before. Zhu Youjian had her sent to Tsinghua University and then forgot about her until he saw her for the first time when he went to Tsinghua University for summer vacation.

At first sight, he immediately understood why Zhang Xianzhong had specially offered this person and why Zhang Tongchang had mentioned him in front of him.

This woman was simply too beautiful, and she completely met his aesthetic standards.

And she has a unique temperament, which makes her look more like a sentimental beauty while having the charm of a Mongolian woman.

The appearance of a northern woman and the temperament of a southern woman, the combination of the two, fascinated Zhu Youjian.

So he quickly summoned this woman to sleep with him, and threw aside the selected concubines he brought with him on this trip.

After being held captive for several months and trained in Tsinghua University for more than two months, the woman could already speak some Chinese.

After Zhu Youjian communicated with her, he learned that she was from the Khorchin tribe, a descendant of the Borjigit clan, or the Borjigin clan, and a descendant of Genghis Khan's younger brother.

Her elder brother, Wu Kesan, was one of the leaders of the Khorchin tribe.

Her aunt was Huang Taiji's first wife, Zhezhe.

Her younger sister is Huang Taiji's concubine Bumbutai——

This person has another more famous name, that is, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in history.

This surprised Zhu Youjian, and he finally knew who this noble lady from the Khorchin tribe was:
"So she is Hai Lanzhu!"

"No wonder it's so charming."

In history, Huang Taiji was obsessed with her and favored her far more than the so-called Dayuer.

Out of his own bad taste, Zhu Youjian also gave her the name Hai Lanzhu.

They also named Gao Yingxiang's stronghold Hailanpao, and asked them to publicize their favor for Hailanzhu in the Khorchin tribe and win over the hearts of the people in the Khorchin tribe.

He also gave rewards to Zhang Xianzhong and bestowed titles on Zhang Xianzhong's relatives.

After returning to the palace in August, Zhu Youjian canonized Hai Lanzhu as the imperial concubine and arranged for her to live in Yongshou Palace.

This palace is one of the six western palaces, located to the west of the Qianqing Palace and behind the Yangxin Palace, very close to Zhu Youjian's residence.

This fully demonstrates Zhu Youjian's favor for her. Compared with the noble lady of the Chahan tribe who gave birth to Zhu Youjian's children and was canonized as an imperial concubine, Hai Lanzhu's status was higher.

In addition, due to the hostile relationship between the Chahan tribe and the Khorchin tribe, Hailanzhu was envied by the Mongolian concubines in the palace. Although they were both born in Mongolia, the relationship between the two sides could not get along well.

Empress Zhou and Concubine Tian also disliked her because she shared the emperor's favor. Only Concubine Yuan, who was not favored, had a slightly better relationship with her.

This made Hai Lanzhu even more depressed in the palace, and made Zhu Youjian feel more sympathetic towards her.

In order to give her something to do in the palace, Zhu Youjian also asked the royal orchestra to make grassland musical instruments and play grassland music.

The royal orchestra also had an additional task, which was to collect musical instruments and music from the feudal domain and perform feudal music.

The gathering of various music makes the Royal Orchestra even stronger.

They could play appropriate music when the court needed it.

However, most of the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty did not care much about this matter.

Although ritual and music are mentioned together, they are in no way superior to ritual.

What they were more concerned about was the formulation of the Ming Dynasty's succession rites and laws, which the emperor had clearly stated that he would abide by.

For this reason, in the first lesson of the Autumn Lectures on August 12, they explained the inheritance rites to the emperor and explained the inheritance systems of all dynasties to the emperor one by one.

The differences between the Ming inheritance system proposed by the emperor and the previous generations were also fully reflected when they explained it in detail. (End of this chapter)