Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 159 A "Gift" for the Court!

"What the hell is this war about!"

Huang Degong jumped off his horse and shook off the blood on his helmet. "It's not satisfying. It's not satisfying at all. Commander, let's fight honestly. Why is it that either we retreat or they retreat?"

"I can't even kill ten people in a day!"

However, Huang Degong was stopped outside Cao Huachun's tent and was told that the commander-in-chief did not want to see him now.

I only gave him four words: obey orders.

The battle in southern Mongolia is still going on. There are bloodstains on the ground, corpses that have not yet completely stiffened, curses, shouts, and sounds of fighting that echo through the grassland from time to time.

After several battles, the Ming and Qing armies had already formed a normal state.

But both sides exercised great restraint because they had concerns. The Ming Dynasty was concerned that the Qing Dynasty's horses ran faster and had stronger field combat capabilities, and they were worried that the Qing Dynasty would bypass the main force of the Ming army and attack the Ming army's logistical supply lines.

Jirgalang had thought about cutting off the Ming army's supply lines.

But he was more afraid of the Ming army's artillery and muskets.

They were worried that once the troops were dispersed and the Ming side still had hidden troops and artillery, the Battle of Tongzhou would be staged again, which would be a loss.

Because of this, the two sides were more probing and neither side was determined to engage in a decisive battle.

At this time in the central army camp, Cao Huachun, Li Banghua and Qin Liangyu were studying the current dilemma.

Cao Huachun said in a deep voice: "The order from the Military Affairs Council has arrived, asking us to preserve our strength, confront the enemy, and try not to fight a decisive battle."

"Liaodong and Jiaodong will send troops..."

“???” Li Banghua and Qin Liangyu couldn’t help but look at Cao Huachun.

Li Banghua, in particular, frowned, "But... can Zu Dashou and his men send out troops?"

"They have to come out, or not... Datong and Shanxi are ready-made examples."

Cao Huachun put his hand on the map and said, "Your Majesty has long had a problem with them. If they pretend to obey you but actually disobey you this time, I'm afraid the day when we fight them won't be far away."

Take Zu Dashou as an example. Zu Shirong of his Zu family joined the army and was sent to Liaodong in the sixth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. Later, his son Zu Zhong was granted the hereditary title of the chief centurion of Dingliao Zhongwei after Zhu Di ascended the throne.

In the fifth year of Xuande, the Ming court established Ningyuan Guard in western Liaoning, and my ancestral family moved there.

Zu Dashou's father, Zu Chengxun, followed Li Chengliang in his campaigns and was continuously promoted to become the deputy general of Liaodong. Zu Dashou followed his father in the battles since he was a teenager and has been promoted to the position of general today.

In Liaodong, the Zu family has formed a military group of generals.

This situation has actually been around for a long time. First, there was the Li family generals with Li Chengliang as the core, then there was the Mao family generals headed by Mao Wenlong, and now there is the Zu family generals with Zu Dashou as the core.

This kind of military power recruited family servants as private soldiers, seized the rich land for their own business, and monopolized the senior positions in the Guanning Army, which led to the gradual weakening of the Ming court's control over the military generals, and they became arrogant and domineering and could not be eliminated.

Before the expedition, His Majesty asked me to keep an eye on the war situation in Liaodong and to withdraw in time if it deteriorated.

Although it was just a warning, it was enough to illustrate the emperor's attitude, which is why Cao Huachun had the confidence to say this.

It was for this reason that he submitted a memorial suggesting that the Liaodong Army send troops.

On the one hand, it can solve the urgent problem, and on the other hand, it will create an opportunity for Your Majesty to test the Guanning Army.

Moreover, the imperial court also controlled the supply of food and wages for the border troops, and the appointment and dismissal of personnel and the command power were in the hands of the central government. The Guanning Army did not have strong independence. Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui and others were not strong enough to completely monopolize the ownership of the Guanning Army, and had not yet formed a warlord.

……

at the same time,

In the Grand Council, the Prime Minister Sun Chengzong and the Minister of War Yang Sichang also talked about Liaodong.
Sun Chengzong couldn’t help but sigh, “In the early years of Tianqi, all the elite troops in Liaozhong fought in one battle.

Although there are some who survived, they are all old, weak, rotten, motley, and scattered, and there is nothing to rely on.”

"Yes, Xiong Tingbi opposed recruiting Liao people, thinking that they were all lowly people and there were many spies among them. Bringing them in would be tantamount to destroying the Great Wall." Yang Sichang also smiled and said, "It was only after Mr. Sun arrived in Liaodong that he began to recruit Liao soldiers."

"So, it is more appropriate for you to write the letter to Zu Dashou."

It was after Sun Chengcheng took office as the commander-in-chief that he proposed the idea of ​​"governing Liao with Liao people and supporting Liao people with Liao land", and he recruited a large number of Liao people and appointed Liao generals.

The proportion of soldiers from Liaodong in the Guanning Army began to increase significantly.

Zu Dashou was also promoted during the same period. It can be said that without Sun Chengzong, there would be no Zu Dashou today.

Zu Dashou neither refused nor agreed, but Yang Sichang knew that his attitude had already indicated his agreement. And today, when His Majesty came over and asked two people to issue an edict to Liaodong, it was actually not meant for himself, but for Sun Chengzong.

What the emperor actually wanted was Sun Chengzong's attitude.

Li Banghua knew this truth, and Sun Chengzong, who was old and experienced, naturally knew it too. He smiled and continued, "In the past, the Xiangwu Camp was composed of soldiers from the northwest. Their commanders were very disciplined, and no one dared to make trouble in the end."

"His grandfather Dashou was just a deserter and was suspected of having connections with the Later Jin. I was sent to Liaodong to supervise the army and put him in charge of building Ningyuan. But he was passive and lazy. I even thought about executing him."

"Later, he escaped with his life at Yuan Chonghuan's request, so the relationship between him and me was not that friendly."

"Moreover, during the three years that I was in charge of Liaodong, Zu Dashou's promotion was extremely slow. He only rose to prominence during Yuan Chonghuan's tenure as the commander-in-chief. Now that Your Majesty has asked me to write a personal letter to Zu Dashou, I'm afraid it might backfire."

Li Banghua rubbed his fingers and said, "Then I don't know. Maybe your majesty has other meanings in this."

Sun Chengzong did not respond, but he could understand the meaning of Li Banghua's words.

What is the emperor thinking?
Does he want to take action against Zu Dashou and the others?

"Since your majesty asked me to write, then I will do it."

Finally, Sun Chengzong nodded, and Li Banghua hurriedly said, "Lord, I will grind it for you."

……

Liaodong, Jinzhou City.

Zu Dashou's own intelligence system continued to transmit information to the city. Zu Dashou frowned, "Did the Ming Dynasty defeat the six tribes of southern Mongolia?"

"It has been confirmed that Prince Ezhe of Chahar has been captured and is being taken to the capital."

The person who spoke was his lieutenant general, who was also Zu Dashou's adopted son.

Zu Kefa.

Zu Dashou's eyes were burning. After a moment of silence, he said, "Sure enough, what I was worried about finally happened."

Moreover, they won the battle even when the Manchu-Mongolian coalition forces had arrived, but this was not necessarily good news for Zu Dashou.

As the oldest of the "Zu Family Generals", he had a high reputation and status in the Liao army.

His subordinate Liao generals also regarded him as the bond of unity and followed his lead. In the Guanning Army, even if their surname was not Zu, most of them were his relatives and friends. For example, Wu Sangui was his nephew. The source of all this was actually the Ji Si Rebellion in the second year of Chongzhen.

When Yuan Chonghuan was arrested and brought to Beijing, the soldiers of the Guanning Army were filled with dissatisfaction and fear.

Zu Dashou said bluntly: "Since Yuan was captured, many Liao soldiers have fled eastwards. They all say that even the loyal commander cannot save himself. What are we doing here?"

This triggered a mutiny. After the mutiny, the prestige of the Ming government in the Guanning Army declined rapidly.

"Godfather, what do you mean?"

Zu Dashou said calmly: "When Wen Tiren was the Prime Minister, I was not worried. Now that Sun Chengzong has taken over, we have to be on guard."

"Why?" Zu Kefa was puzzled.

"The first time Sun Chengzong was in charge of Liaodong, he was suppressed for three years without being promoted." Zu Dashou continued with a grim expression: "After the Ji Si Incident, Commander Yuan was tortured to death. The second time Sun Chengzong was in charge of Liaodong, he personally waited for me outside the city. That's how I led my troops into the pass."

"We are back, but the distrust between us still exists."

"Later, I had a conflict with Qiu Hejia, the then Liaodong governor, so I joined forces with many people in Liaodong to list Qiu Hejia's crimes such as corruption and prepared to submit a memorial to Your Majesty, but was strongly suppressed by Sun Chengzong."

"Now that he has become the prime minister, I was worried. Now that the Ming Dynasty has such a strong team, our situation is not good."

As the leader of the "Zujia Generals" of Liaodong, he hopes that the Ming Dynasty will be good, but he does not want it to be too good.

Because once the situation in the Ming Dynasty improves completely and the court has solved internal and external troubles, it will turn its attention to them. The Ming Dynasty will not allow generals like them who have a large number of private soldiers to occupy Liaodong for a long time.

The purpose of their existence is to stop the Qing Dynasty. Now that the four major camps are so powerful, it means that they can be replaced.

The fact that he could be replaced was an extremely dangerous signal for Zu Dashou.

"You go out first, I'll be alone for a while!"

Zu Dashou waved his hand, and Zu Kefa immediately understood what he meant and left quietly.

……

"This...why does it look like the way back?"

Prince Xiang's face was extremely ugly at this time. He had walked hundreds of miles with great difficulty, leaving Xiangyang and entering Henan, but now he had to walk back. How could he not be anxious?

"Hey, I'm talking to you..." Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming pulled Chongzhen, but the latter seemed not to hear him.

He was caught up in Zhang Xianzhong's team, staring at Zhang Xianzhong with a flame of resentment rising in his heart.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, which was last year, Zhang Xianzhong captured Fengyang, burned the imperial tomb, cut down hundreds of thousands of pine and cypress trees in the imperial tomb, and demolished the surrounding buildings and the Longxing Temple where Zhu Yuanzhang became a monk.

So he wore mourning clothes and ran to the Taimiao and cried loudly.

Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen not only ordered the execution of almost all officials who had escaped from Fengyang, but even the retired officials who had served in Fengyang were not spared.

It can be said that this hatred is irreconcilable.

Now that the enemies have met, their eyes are red with envy. Chongzhen was about to step forward when he was stopped by the captain of the Imperial Guards, who shouted in a low voice, "What are you doing? Are you planning to surrender to the enemy again?"

"I...why would I defect to the enemy..." Chongzhen's face changed again and again, and then he realized that he had lost his composure.

The captain of the Imperial Guard looked at him and said, "I advise you not to have any other evil thoughts. You should know that everything you see and do along the way will be reported to us."

"I know!"

A few of Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers came over and the men fell silent again.

Fortunately, they were now treated as refugees and were not even worth a second look from Zhang Xianzhong. Others also stayed away from them and did not notice anything unusual.

At this time, a scout of the Jinyiwei came over and whispered, "We have already found out that they are going to meet Huige Zuo Wuying... just fifty miles ahead. I think he wants to form a joint camp with them."

"Besides that, I also heard a name, Lu Ding."

"It seems to be Xiong Wencan's people. Zhang Xianzhong also seems to be in contact with people from the imperial court..."

……

In the capital, with the participation of the Armory, tens of thousands of badges finally arrived.

The Jinyiwei people went to major restaurants, eateries, and inns in the capital and handed badges to everyone.

It is shiny and bright like a coin, and when you hold it under the sun, it sparkles with metallic light.

"It's really unique... Oh, it has my name on it."

"How can it be a bad thing that His Majesty has bestowed upon me? It must be something that can be passed down from generation to generation."

"Your Majesty, long live..."

A captain of the Jinyiwei raised his hand to stop the crowd from cheering, and then said, "Everyone, let me show you how to wear this badge... Like this, pin it on your chest..."

After seeing that everyone had put it on, the Jinyiwei officer stretched out his hand and said, "Before you leave, His Majesty will give you a great gift."

"What kind of gift?"

"Yes, there is also a big gift, what is it?"

"..."

The scene suddenly became heated again, but the Jinyiwei captain kept it a secret, "Now, everyone, take your badges and go with me to the Anti-Corruption Department, and you will find out."

……

At this time, all the people in the Independent Commission Against Corruption were wearing badges.

"set off!"

At Xu Ci Fu's order, all the people dressed in neat official uniforms walked out of the yamen.

At this time, outside the yamen, there were rows of prison vans.

On both sides of the prison van were people from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot guarding with knives. When they saw the people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption coming out, they opened the prison van, pulled the prisoner down, tied him up with a rope, inserted a sign behind his neck, and hung another sign in front of him.

The sign behind the neck reads the person's name and official position, while the sign in front of the body reads the crime the person has committed.

The words are concise and to the point. For example, a head of the Ministry of War had a sign written in front of him: Embezzled 100,000 taels of silver.

What does the ICAC do?
Naturally, they were paraded through the streets for public display. Tens of thousands of successful candidates in the imperial examinations escorted corrupt officials from various government offices and paraded them through the streets for public display.

Not only that, the emperor also gave the power to judge these corrupt officials to the Integrity Bureau and tens of thousands of juren and xiucai.

The reason is: "Let you practice the work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in advance."

When this order was issued, the entire capital city was shaken. Tens of thousands of scholars and hundreds of thousands of ordinary people surrounded Chang'an Avenue from east to west, making it impossible to get through.

Such a scene was the gift from the emperor to many scholars.

It is also a "gift" to the entire court of the Ming Dynasty.

……

(End of this chapter)