Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The news of Hauge's death was quickly confirmed by the Dongjiang leader and spread to other places.

Thanks to Xuanchuan and Pidao's cost-effective pigeon messaging, Zhu Youjian, who was far away in the capital, soon received the news.

This made him feel extremely excited. He was even happier than when he learned that Yue Tuo had died half a year ago.

After all, it was not convenient to publicize Yuetuo's death, but the process of Hauge's death could be reported in newspapers, publicizing his achievements to the world.

This was the highest military achievement of the Ming Dynasty since the Jianlu Rebellion. Moreover, his death was caused by the measures taken by the court:

"The biggest reason why Hauge died was the bounty cards and the new weapons."

"After the bounty card was issued, whenever Hauge went out, he would be attacked by arrows."

"Many Ming and Korean soldiers would shoot him with bows and arrows as soon as they saw him appear, regardless of whether they could hit him or not."

"Especially when using a musket to launch an arrow-shaped bullet, the target can be as far as a thousand meters away."

"Even though it had absolutely no accuracy, it still frightened Hauge, and several of his guards were killed by stray bullets."

"Someone even started it from his side. Several of the horses he rode were poisoned to death."

This is the power of the people's war. Hauge was trapped in the ocean of the people's war in Dongjiang.

Except for the Jianlu soldiers, everyone who knew about the bounty card would keep an eye on Hauge when he came out. Even some Jianlu and Baoyi who had no ties to anything else might want to put a bounty on his head.

This made Haoge extremely uncomfortable in Dongjiang Territory, and was also the reason why he chose to travel light and hide in a carriage through the Road of Death.

He had had enough of this kind of life and couldn't wait to return to Liaodong.

His guard officer Aobai had discovered the ambushing musketeers several times and was entrusted with the important task of escorting him back to Liaodong.

But what he didn't know was that because of his great reputation in later generations, Aobai had long been put on the list of Jinyiwei's key investigations by Zhu Youjian. His portrait and reward cards were being made.

Xiang Junqing, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was responsible for providing intelligence support for the Korean War, heard the name of Oboi in Dongjiang and issued a reward for him, saying that killing him would lead to a promotion of two levels.

Therefore, Yang Yufan sent out an elite sniper team to ambush, and this was a sniper team with upgraded equipment.

Oboi's vigilance and experience did not play a role, but Hauge, who was sitting in the carriage next to him, was accidentally exposed.

What happened next was naturally simple. The sniper team concentrated their fire and shot him and Aobai to death. Then they took turns to provide cover and withdrew from the position along the route they had prepared before.

With the high rate of fire and long range of the breech-loading rifled musket, not a single member of Xie San's team was killed. The Jianlu of the Bordered Yellow Banner were incompetence and rage, and were mobilizing troops to besiege Xuanchuan.

Now that the battle has begun in Xuanchuan City, Yang Yufan is certain that Hauge is indeed dead, and requests more new-style muskets. He is confident that he can defend Xuanchuan.

Zhu Youjian naturally approved all his requests and transferred all the new muskets produced by the Equipment Institute for trial production to him.

In addition, the two meritorious officials, Yang Yufan and Xiang Junqing, and even the superiors of the sniper team in the rear, such as Cao Bianjiao, Liu Xingzuo, Hong Chengchou, and Zhou Yuji, were all commended and rewarded.

As for the sniper team that killed Hauge, all members were rewarded. The first thing to be paid was the reward of 5,000 households.

This should have been a simple matter, but Choi Nam-yi's identity as a Korean made it difficult for Zhu Youjian to make a decision on his own:

"North Korea's internal annexation is progressing, and we cannot arbitrarily interfere in North Korea's internal affairs at this time and cause things to go wrong out of thin air."

"Let someone inform the King of Korea first and discuss this with him."

"It would be best if he agrees to confer a title on Choi Nam-yi in Joseon. If he disagrees, then he can be conferred a title somewhere else."

According to the rules agreed upon between the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states, the Ming Emperor would not confer titles on their people at will, but would discuss the matter and seek their consent.

Although Korea has not yet completely submitted, Zhu Youjian consciously abides by this rule, wanting to let the Korean monarch and his ministers see his sincerity.

If they did not agree to confer a title on Choi Nam-il in Korea, Zhu Youjian would arrange for someone to urge Choi Nam-il to become a citizen of the Ming Dynasty and choose another fiefdom for him in the name of conferring a title on a Ming Dynasty meritorious official.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian frowned again, and had some doubts about Cui Nanyi, who had not yet joined the Ming nationality:
"Although this person joined the Ming army, he was unwilling to become a citizen after making meritorious contributions."

"It seems that he is somewhat attached to his homeland and has not yet made up his mind to join the Ming Dynasty."

"If the latest weapons are used by people like this, there is a risk of leaks."

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian decided to specially form a foreign army and only let them use ordinary weapons.

From now on, only those who have obtained Ming citizenship can use the latest weapons that need to be kept secret.

However, Cui Nanyi had just made a contribution and could not be treated differently immediately. After thinking about it, Zhu Youjian gave an order to the Dongjiang leader:

"Upgrade Xie San's sniper squad to a sniper brigade, and name it the Sharpshooter Brigade."

"All snipers who have made outstanding contributions will be promoted two levels, and observers will be promoted one level."

"They will temporarily serve as officers of the sniper brigade. Select elite shooters from Dongjiang Territory and North Korea to join this brigade."

Cui Nanyi and Xie San, who had made the greatest contributions, were promoted to higher positions:

"Choi Nam-yi will be promoted to baron, and will be temporarily appointed as the sniper battalion commander, with the rank of major."

"Xie San was promoted from lieutenant to major and served as the instructor of the sniper brigade."

Also awarded the title:

"Xie San was the first to shoot and kill Oboi, completing the mission objective. His subordinate Cui Nanyi also performed an extraordinary feat and was awarded the hereditary baronial title and a fiefdom of 100 li."

"Zhang Song, Cui Nanyi's observer, shared Cui Nanyi's two merits and was also granted hereditary baronship and a fiefdom of 100 li."

"Other snipers who participated in the war were awarded hereditary knighthood and given fiefs ranging from 10 to 20 li in area according to their merits."

"Observers who are willing to serve in the army for generations will be granted hereditary military service and three to nine square miles of land."

"Their fiefdoms and lands were divided from Cui Nanyi's earldom."

This shows that this is a collective achievement, but there is a hierarchy.

This is also his consistent attitude, viewing an army as a team.

At the same time, Choi Nam-yi was under even greater pressure because if he did not accept the title, no one else would be able to receive it.

This was an arrangement made by Zhu Youjian to prevent Cui Nanyi from being stubborn, lest Cui Nanyi refuse to accept the title and make the reward from the court unfulfilled.
-
After these reward orders were issued, Zhu Youjian ordered someone to call Niu Jinxing, who specialized in studying the top leaders of the Jianlu, to analyze the impact of Haoge's death.

Compared with Daishan's son Yuetuo, Haoge, who is also one of the four little beiles, has a higher status. And as the eldest son of Huang Taiji, he has a very important significance.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would not have offered a reward of 5,000 households for Hauge, and if he was killed he would be directly awarded the hereditary title of earl.

Niu Jinxing was also very surprised that Haoge was sniped and killed in Dongjiang. When he helped the emperor to formulate the bounty cards and determine the bounty for the top leaders of Jianlu, he never thought that anyone could accomplish it.

Who would have thought that it would work so quickly? Hauge, who was ranked second on the bounty list, was shot dead.

This surprised him, and he quickly realized that this was a good opportunity to provoke civil strife in Jianlu:
"Haoge is Huang Taiji's only adult son. Although he has not been officially canonized as the crown prince, he has an extraordinary status."

"After his death, Huang Taiji's eldest son was Yebusu, who was born in October of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. He was only three years old in lunar age."

"It's obvious that he can't be the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner. It must be someone else. There are even many people who will target Huang Taiji's position as successor."

"This is a great opportunity for Daming."

Huang Taiji had five sons, of whom the second and third died young. Only the fourth son, Yebusu, and the fifth son, Shuose, were still alive. One was born in October of the previous year, and the other was born in December of last year. It was hard to say whether the two infants would die young. Even the identity of their mothers determined that they could not inherit Huang Taiji's position as the Khan.

Yebusu died simply because his mother was of low birth and her family had no power. His mother was from the Yanzha clan of Yehe and was incorporated into the Zhenghuang Banner.

How could such a lowly person become the Great Khan? Those noble and powerful Beile would not agree.

Shuo Se was even worse off, as his mother, Yehenara, was the sister of Yehe Lao Nu. Huang Taiji had never liked her, and she only gave birth to a child fifteen years after marrying Huang Taiji.

And after Shuo Se was born, Huang Taiji married her to a minister as his wife.

Yes, you read it right! Huang Taiji married off the mother of his child, and Yehenara is no longer his wife.

How could Shuo Sai be qualified to inherit the Khanate? When people saw him, they would think of his mother and laugh at him behind his back.

Therefore, after Hauge's death, Huang Taiji suddenly had no heir.

Not only did he need to find a trustworthy person to serve as the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner, he also needed to prevent young people like Dorgon and Dudu from eyeing the position of successor to the Great Khan.

Especially since he was the Khan who was recommended by the various beiles, who would be the successor to the Khan did not need his consent. The alliances among the various beiles would further divide the Jianlu internally.

Zhu Youjian found it quite funny when listening to Niu Jinxing's analysis of Huang Taiji's offspring.

Unexpectedly, Huang Taiji, a Khan with many descendants, had no heir other than Hauge.

Thinking back to the history that after Huang Taiji died, Dorgon once fought with Haoge for the throne, and finally compromised and let Fulin succeed to the throne. He was sure that what Niu Jinxing said was right, and that someone other than Huang Taiji's son was also qualified to succeed to the throne.

Many people within Jianlu will be eyeing this position, which may cause division within Jianlu.

This reminded him of the inheritance rites that the Ming officials were still formulating, and he sighed:

"This is the disadvantage of having no etiquette!"

“We need to discuss this matter more in the newspapers so that all parties can learn from it.”

Because the mothers of Huang Taiji's two surviving sons were both from Yehe, he thought of a very famous and even fulfilled rumor in later generations:

"Destroy Yehe, the one who built the state!"

It is said that this was a curse left behind when the Yehe tribe was destroyed by the Jianzhou Jurchens. Although Zhu Youjian did not know whether there was such a rumor at the time, it did not prevent him from arranging people to spread it, so that Huang Taiji's two sons would completely lose their inheritance rights:

"It is said that when the Yehe tribe was destroyed, the leader left a curse:"

"Even if there is only one woman left in my tribe, I will take revenge and wipe out the Jianzhou Jurchens."

"You ask the Jinyiwei in Liaodong to think of a way to bury the stone tablet in a place that is meaningful to Jianlu, and write 'Yehe, the one who destroyed Jianzhou'."

"After the stele is dug out, spread the news widely so that everyone in Jianlu will know about it."

Niu Jinxing widened his eyes, and for a moment he was not sure whether such a curse really existed and he had just not heard of it.

But after he realized that Huang Taiji's two sons were both from Yehe, he immediately admired the current emperor in his heart:

Although this strategy is simple, most of the Jurchen high-ranking officials who have experienced the destruction of Yehe will probably not believe it.

However, this does not prevent some people from using it to make a fuss and deny the inheritance rights of Huang Taiji's two existing sons.

In that case, under people's careful observation, the problem of Huang Taiji having no heir would soon become apparent.

There will inevitably be some turmoil within the Jianlu, and even people's hearts will be divided.

This strategy of provoking people's hearts was really to his liking, and made him admire the current emperor from the bottom of his heart.

Then, in order to show his ability, he suggested the position of the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner:
"After Hauge died, the most qualified people to take over the position of leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner were Dudu, Ajige, Abatai, Sahalian, Jirgalang, and Degelei."

"Du Du is Chu Ying's eldest son and Nurhaci's eldest grandson. When I was alive, he served as the leader of the Bordered White Banner, which is now the Bordered Yellow Banner."

"He and Ajige have both served as flag masters, and they are the most qualified to be the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner."

Zhu Youjian knew that Niu Jinxing had been targeting Du Du and was trying to persuade him to rebel. He nodded and said:
"Then can Du Du be the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner?"

"Will it be more difficult to instigate a rebellion?"

Niu Jinxing shook his head upon hearing this:
"Dudu is Nurhaci's eldest grandson. He is qualified to inherit the Khanate."

"It is precisely because of this that Huang Taiji would not allow him to be the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner, because he would not be willing to accept this position no matter how high it was."

It was believed that Huang Taiji would not use Du Du, and even if Du Du became the leader of the banner, he could still be turned against the government.

Then he analyzed Ajige:

"Ajige is equally impossible!"

"He, Dorgon, and Dodo have sixty Niulu, and their strength is too strong."

"After the death of Yuetuo and Haoge, Huang Taiji's control over the Bordered Red Banner and Bordered Yellow Banner will inevitably decline. The Plain Yellow Banner alone can no longer suppress them."

"So he would not increase Ajige's power and make the three brothers disloyal."

Similarly, Sahalian, Jirgalang and Dergelei are also impossible, because Sahalian is the son of Daishan, Jirgalang is Amin's younger brother, and Dergelei is Manggurtai's younger brother.

Even if they are loyal to Huang Taiji now, it is hard to say whether they will unite with their family members who also control a banner after they take control of it.

In order to eliminate this risk, Huang Taiji would not allow them to take charge of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

In this case, there is only one possibility left, that is Huang Taiji's younger brother Abatai:

"Abatai is Nurhaci's seventh son. Among Nurhaci's sons, except for the Heshuo Beile who served as the leader of the banner, he ranked first in status and had six Niulu subjects in the Bordered Yellow Banner."

"It is impossible for Huang Taiji to bypass Abatai and let another brother be the leader of the banner, unless he wants that person to be a complete puppet."

Zhu Youjian was thoughtful after hearing this, and praised Niu Jinxing's work very much. He then asked him:

"Then how do you think the Ming Dynasty should profit from this?"

"Do you want to support Abatai? Arrange people around him in advance."

Niu Jinxing's face flushed, and he said excitedly:
"No!"

"Abatai should be removed from the list as much as possible, and Huang Taiji should choose someone else."

"Any choice is worse than Abatai, and there is even a possibility that Abatai will rebel."

Niu Jinxing planned to exaggerate the fact that Abatai had once complained that he should be ranked on the same level as the eight Heshuo Beile, so that Huang Taiji would choose someone else.

Whether it is Dudu, Ajige, Sahalian, Jirgalang, or Dergelei, they are all worse choices for Huang Taiji and may affect his position as Khan.

If Huang Taiji did not choose any of them and forcibly arranged others to serve as the banner master as a puppet, Niu Jinxing would be even happier. He would vigorously publicize within Jianlu that Huang Taiji wanted to replace the power of the banner master with the eight ministers in charge of banner affairs.

This would make other flag owners feel threatened and unite against Huang Taiji.

It can be said that after Hauge's death, Huang Taiji would be wrong no matter who he chose as the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner.

This is also the reason why his eldest son Haoge was offered a reward of 5,000 households. (End of this chapter)