Ming politicians

On May [-]th, Su Tiancheng and others returned to the capital.

At this time, the results of the disposition of Yue Tuo, Kong Youde and others had already come out. Yue Tuo was Che Li, Kong Youde was Ling Chi, and the rest of the officers were all beheaded.

Hearing the result of this disposition, Su Tiancheng was not very satisfied. The main reason was that Yue Tuo's disposition should not be broken. The two armies are fighting, and they must give each other a minimum of respect. Looking at Huang Taiji, he is very generous. Of course, This kind of treatment is also justified. The atrocities committed by Hou Jin in the pass are heinous, especially four years before Chongzhen, after the city was captured, the city was basically massacred, and no one was left alive.This also made the people of Ming Dynasty hate the Houjin Tartars to the bone. It is estimated that after Yue Tuo was split by a car, it is impossible for the bones to remain, and the people will definitely chop him to pieces.

Su Tiancheng had no opinion on Kong Youde's handling.

As soon as he entered the city gate, there were eunuchs waiting.

This shows that Su Tiancheng and others who entered the capital wanted to go directly to the palace. Such treatment had never happened before.

Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui have seen each other, especially Wu Sangui, every time he comes to the capital, he has to wait for a long time before he can see the emperor. Sometimes, he may not be able to see the emperor even after waiting for a long time .They are very clear that relying on their own abilities, it is impossible to enjoy such treatment.

Su Tiancheng didn't show any surprised expression. He wished to see the emperor soon. After finishing speaking, he would go home to see his wife. The life of this bachelor was difficult. During the five months in Liaodong, there was no woman by his side. The war is tense, and there are many things every day, and it is really uncontrollable.After crossing, everything else is easy to talk about. It is really not good in this aspect. The situation in Liaodong has not been completely stabilized. It is definitely not possible to bring family members there.

After capturing Dalinghe City.With Guan Ningjin's line of defense stabilized, the problem shouldn't be too big. Su Tiancheng also doesn't want to live a bachelor's life anymore. The Governor's Mansion is so big that the few family members in the past didn't have any problems at all.

After entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Su Tiancheng quickly knelt down, followed by Hong Chengchou and others.

Something even more surprising happened.Zhu Youjian left the throne, walked up to Su Tiancheng, and helped Su Tiancheng himself.

When Su Tiancheng got up, Hong Chengchou and others also got up.

"Su Aiqing, I am very pleased to have regained Dalinghe City this time. I am even more pleased that Yue Tuo and Kong Youde were captured alive. The situation in Liaodong has changed a lot. Su Aiqing is guarding Liaodong. Later Jin will never dare rampant."

"This is the emperor's sage, not the credit of the minister alone. Master Hong, Eunuch Qin, General Zu, General Wu and many other soldiers, all loyal to the emperor and fighting hard, were able to take back Dalinghe City."

Su Tiancheng has such a humble attitude.It was already in Zhu Youjian's expectation. This time, he summoned Su Tiancheng and others alone. He didn't ask the cabinet officials to accompany him. He also wanted to ask some questions.

"Su Aiqing is so humble. I won't say much more. I am very surprised. Why Su Aiqing was able to take down Dalinghe City in one day. If she has such courage, wouldn't she be able to completely suppress Houjin? ."

"Your Majesty, the reason for this was not mentioned in the memorial. I hope the Emperor will forgive me."

"It's nothing. It's okay to talk about it in detail today."

"I dare not live up to the great trust of the emperor. When I became the governor of Jiliao, I was thinking about attacking Dalinghe City. Our Damingguan Ningjin defense line is more than [-] miles away. Dalinghe River is at the forefront. The city is far away from the city. Jinzhou City is only about forty miles away, and its location is very critical. Houjin occupies Dalinghe City and threatens the Guanning Jin defense line at all times. To harass many large armies, to be honest, in terms of field battles, the frontier army is inferior to the Eight Banners army. Therefore, the frontier army has nothing to do when they harass the Guanning Jin defense line for more than [-] miles. After leaving Dalinghe City, everything changed."

Zhu Youjian listened very carefully, but no one specially explained these situations to him.

"Dalinghe City is like a throat. The frontier troops stationed here can protect the Jinzhou City behind and make the Guan Ning Jin line of defense stronger. Forming a fatal blow, Dalinghe City and some surrounding fortresses and strongholds basically blocked the advancing route of the Later Jin Tartars, no matter which direction the Later Jin Tartars came from, it would be difficult to bypass Dalinghe City."

"I think the most important point is to take down Dalinghe City. Houjin has no strongholds to rely on on the Guanning Jin defense line. From Shenyang to Dalinghe City, the distance is more than [-] miles. The Liaohe, Guan Ning, Heishan and other places are not suitable for large-scale garrisons, and can only occupy small groups of troops. This also shows that the Eight Banners Army can only gather in the Shenyang area. preparation time."

"We have defended Dalinghe City, strengthened the surrounding fortresses and strongholds, and can directly threaten Shenyang. When the army moves out, relying on Dalinghe City, the supply line can be strengthened. Huang Taiji of Hou Jin will definitely think of this. .”

"So, I think that only by taking down Dalinghe City and completely consolidating the Guan Ning Jin line of defense, can I live up to the emperor's expectations. To this end, I have made a lot of preparations together with my colleagues."

"The city of Daling River is solid, relying on the tactics of attacking the city and pulling out the stronghold will inevitably cause huge casualties. I have basically never thought about this method. This time, the focus is on the artillery battalion of the Jiangning Battalion, which has concentrated the advantages of artillery. Blowing open a gap in the wall of Daling River City, the army attacked the city through the gap, catching the Hou Jin Tartars stationed in the city off guard, so they were able to take down Daling River City in a short time."

"The attack on Dalinghe City was well-prepared, and it also involved a certain degree of suddenness, and the consumption was huge. In order to attack Dalinghe City, the Jiangning Battalion spared no expense to manufacture a large number of artillery, consuming more than 150 million taels of silver. Therefore, this siege battle cannot be replicated."

"I served as the governor of Jiliao, and analyzed the strength of Hou Jin. The number of sergeants in the Eight Banners exceeds 30. Including the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han Army that Hou Jin can still mobilize, the total strength is close to 50. This is A force that should not be underestimated is still very strong at present, so I think that it is temporarily impossible to carry out a full-scale offensive. For the present plan, it is best to strengthen the defense line of Guan Ningjin, strengthen the construction of the border, and block the Jin The route for the Tartars to enter the customs."

"I believe that the land occupied by Houjin is not large, and it is all poor land. As long as the development of Houjin can be curbed and the territory of Houjin slowly eroded, Houjin will naturally decline in about three to five years. Go on, if they can't bear it anymore and think about launching a large-scale attack, then the imperial court can make up their minds and wipe out Hou Jin in one fell swoop."

Zhu Youjian's face was obviously disappointed. He really wanted to go all out and wipe out Houjin completely, but what Su Tiancheng said was indeed reasonable. Thinking about the fights against Houjin over the years, Daming suffered too much. , Everyone feels uncomfortable. If it weren't for the rise of the Jiangning camp, maybe the later Golden Tatars would enter the pass and plunder many times.

"Su Aiqing's words are reasonable. Since I let you be in charge of Liaodong affairs, everything depends on your opinion."

"The emperor trusts me, and I dare not let him down. I can only do my best to get rid of Houjin as soon as possible."

After half an hour, Hong Chengchou and others retreated, leaving Zhu Youjian and Su Tiancheng in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At this time, Zhu Youjian talked about the most critical thing.

"Su Aiqing, you mentioned in the memorial that you are planning to carry out a large-scale abolition of the frontier army. What does this mean? You know the importance of the frontier. Take the opportunity."

"Your majesty, what I mean is to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the frontier army. The frontier army and Jiangning battalion stationed at the Guanningjin defense line have reached 33 people. The imperial court cannot afford such a large expenditure. At the same time, after recovering Dalinghe City , The more than 18 miles of the Guanning Jin defense line must be fully utilized. A large amount of idle farmland needs to be cultivated, and the fertile land is barren. It is a pity. I have thought about it. There are enough people. Among them, 3 people are stationed around Daling River, 5 people are stationed in Jinzhou and its surrounding fortresses, 5 people are stationed in Ningyuan and its surrounding areas, and 5 people are stationed in Shanhaiguan. Cultivate the fields and create wealth, so that Guan Ningjin's line of defense can be further stabilized."

"As for the deployment of troops, I have also thought about it. Dalinghe City stationed [-] Jiangning battalion soldiers and [-] frontier troops, Jinzhou stationed [-] Jiangning battalion soldiers and [-] frontier troops, and Ningyuan stationed [-] Jiangning battalion soldiers. [-] frontier troops, [-] Jiangning camps stationed in Shanhaiguan, [-] frontier troops."

"The purpose of the minister's abolishment of the frontier army is to make the Houjin Tatars dare not covet our Guanningjin defense line. Although the strength of the troops has been reduced, the combat effectiveness must be improved. I hope that in less than a year, all the frontier troops , Dare to start a field battle with the Houjin Tartars, and not be afraid of the Houjin Tartars, only when this goal is achieved, will it be possible to completely wipe out the Houjin Tartars."

Zhu Youjian nodded.

"I understand. Su Aiqing is thinking for the imperial court. Abolishing more than half of the frontier troops on the Guan Ningjin Line of Defense can indeed save a lot of expenses."

"Your Majesty, I will not only abolish the frontier troops stationed at the Guan Ningjin Line, but also the frontier troops stationed at the border. For example, the Datong frontier army, and the frontier troops stationed in Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places, I think, The number of the army is not large, the key is to be able to fight and fight, if the quality of the sergeants cannot be improved, the more the number, the more the combat effectiveness will decline."

Zhu Youjian thought for a while, and finally made up his mind.

"I support you, just go ahead and do it." (To be continued...)