Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 38: Rehabilitating the White-Pole Soldiers of the Qi Family Army

"I remember there was an extremely powerful and brave army, how come it's gone?" Zhu Changgan stood up suddenly and headed towards the Qianqing Palace without even finishing his meal.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Concubine Yuan stomped her feet in resentment, but could not stop the emperor.

But even so, she still felt that His Majesty was particularly charming, even more attractive than when she first married into Prince Xin's Mansion.

Zhu Changgan returned to the Qianqing Palace and asked several eunuchs to go to the Imperial Archives (1) to find information about the "Qi Family Army" for him. How could this iron army with great achievements fade out of the historical stage in the middle and late Ming Dynasty?

"Your Majesty, we found it." Soon a eunuch came running over with a stack of memorials and handed them to the emperor.

Zhu Changgan looked at the slightly yellowed note and the words on it, his arms trembling slightly.

What he saw was a memorial from Wang Bao, the general of Jizhen, which recorded in detail the fate of Qi's army.

"Jizhen mutiny?... This is simply a dirty massacre." Zhu Changgan angrily slammed the memorial from Jizhen General Wang Bao on the table.

Such a powerful army was killed by their own people?

"The Ming Dynasty's national defense concept is really bad." Zhu Changgan couldn't help but curse.

Zhang Juzheng left Wanli such a rich legacy, a large amount of money, and several powerful troops, including the border troops in the north and the Qi family troops in the southeast. It was with these that Wanli won the "Three Major Battles of Wanli."

Unfortunately, within a few years of Zhang Juzheng's death, the Ming Dynasty's military preparedness was completely weakened.

The army's money and food were also embezzled by officials and generals, resulting in the soldiers not getting the money and food they deserved, and the army's equipment was not in place, so mutinies were common, and this situation continued until the Chongzhen period.

"Come here, I want to clear the name of the Qi Family Army."

……

In Prince Xiang's Mansion, Chongzhen was studying hard, picking out sentences from books.

The reason was simple. Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming invited the gentleman over and vowed to shape him into a "great scholar" of the Zhu family.

He was writing when suddenly the brush moved violently. He froze and his face changed drastically.

The Ming Dynasty's national defense concept is rotten? Rehabilitate the reputation of Qi's army?
Chongzhen's face suddenly became extremely ugly. He had also heard about the death of Qi's army. Zhu Changgan bluntly said that he wanted to clear the name of Qi's army. How to clear the name?

That was agreed to personally by Chongzhen's grandfather, Emperor Wanli. Your words of vindicating the Qi family army are a blow to the reputation of the royal family.

He couldn't help but get furious and asked, "How can this be possible?"

Suddenly, a voice woke him up, "Prince? What happened to you?"

"Uh..." Chongzhen suddenly realized that he was in Prince Xiang's mansion. The corners of his mouth twitched a few times, "No...nothing, I...I just remembered something that happened before, and I felt a little angry."

Mr. Dugu sighed, "Although the prince is very intelligent, the most important thing about studying is to concentrate on it. Have you heard of "The Story of Zhongyong"?"

Chongzhen clenched his fingers and said, "I've heard of it."

"Zhongyong's intelligence is a gift from heaven. He is far superior to other talented people... The prince is a man of great talent, so he needs to work harder." Mr. Dugu's earnest teachings made Chongzhen blush with embarrassment.

……

In the Qianqing Palace,

Coincidentally, Wen Tiren came to meet the emperor.

Zhu Changgan asked Wen Tihen to draft an edict to restore the reputation of Qi's army.

"Your Majesty, the Qi Family Army incident happened a long time ago, and involves a lot of documents from that time. Should I sort it out carefully before drafting the edict?" Zhu Changgan shook his head, "It is precisely because it happened a long time ago that I asked you to draft the edict."

"Qi's army fought bravely, but they did not die in Korea but died in their own hands. They were just asking for wages, but they were killed in this way. I am uneasy, and so are the hearts of thousands of soldiers."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The reason why Zhu Changgan asked Wen Tihen to draft the edict was that he knew Wen Tihen was good at guessing the emperor's mind and had the skills to please him.

The more resolute the emperor was, the more Wen Tihen tried to please him. As long as it did not involve his own core interests, he would always get things done quickly.

For Wen Tihen, the Qi family army had nothing to do with him, so he would naturally do as the emperor wished.

"Your Majesty, all the people involved in the Qian Qianyi case are here." Wen Tiren handed over a memorial. Wang Chengen was not there, so another eunuch took it and unfolded it in front of the emperor.

"Well done, Lord Wen, are you feeling better?" Zhu Changgan didn't even look at him, but instead asked about Wen Tihen's health.

This made Wen Tiren's eyes flash with joy, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have recovered well and I think I can go to court tomorrow."

"Then I will wait to see Lord Wen at the court meeting tomorrow."

As soon as Wen Tiren left, Zhu Changgan tapped the table with his fingers.

The fall of Pi Island made his desire for available soldiers overwhelm everything else.

The Jinyiwei and Yongweiying together had less than 30,000 people, which was still too few.

The Qi family army has already disappeared, so it can be of no use.

White-pole soldiers!
Chongzhen wrote poems for two people, one was Yang Sichang and the other was the female general Qin Liangyu.

The "White Spear Soldiers" she led had played a huge killing power in the Liaodong battlefield and in the northern expedition to defend the emperor. The arrogant Manchu soldiers were scared. They were defeated by this strange team of "White Spear Soldiers" and left a shadow in their hearts. Qin Liangyu was also awarded the post of general.

The only female general in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Before Chongzhen hanged himself, the Ming generals chaotically commanded the "White Spear Soldiers", resulting in the annihilation of 30,000 "White Spear Soldiers". However, Qin Liangyu did not lose heart and once again mobilized the soldiers from the creeks and caves to form the White Spear Soldiers.

Zhu Changgan's eyes lit up, "Great kindness!"

Although they had flintlock rifles, they had an advantage at long distances. Facing the rapid charge of the Qing cavalry, once they were rushed close, they would be completely at a disadvantage.

But if it can be matched with "white pole soldiers"...

The white pole spear is made of solid white wax wood. It has a hook with a blade on the top and a hard iron ring on the bottom. During combat, the hook can be used for chopping and pulling, and the ring can be used as a hammer weapon.

Even with flintlock rifles, the cavalry might not gain any advantage over them.

"Wang Chengen, please write for me. I want to write a letter to General Qin... Wang Chengen?"

Zhu Changgan shouted a few words before he remembered that Wang Chengen had gone to see Cao Huachun to discuss the rectification of the movement.

He murmured, "There is still a chance. Lu Xiangsheng is still here, and so is Sun Chuanting. They are just not in the capital right now. We have to find a way to transfer them to the capital."

……

1: Huangshicheng, the royal archive of the Ming Dynasty, was built for fire prevention. In the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing, a fire in the east of the palace destroyed buildings, so the palace was built. It was completed in the th year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing and has been used to store royal archives since then. It was renovated in the Qing Dynasty, but continued to be used. It was looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance in the late Qing Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)