Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 30

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Chapter 45: A Dilemma

Huang Taiji pulled Mangultai to a corner of the tent and whispered, "Fifth Brother, what are you thinking? We have no way back!"

Mangultai didn't argue, but his face still showed resentment. He slowly turned his head away, avoiding Huang Taiji's gaze, seemingly still considering surrender.

Huang Taiji tugged at him anxiously, drawing Mangultai's attention back to him. He emphasized, "Fifth Brother, we've killed so many Han people over the years and sold millions of Han women to the Mongols. We have no way out. Mao Wenlong is our sworn enemy. If he leads the Dongjiang Army back to Liaodong, once he's established himself, he'll never give us a good life. The Ming court will definitely turn a blind eye to the border conflict. We can only wait to die!"

If the Later Jin surrendered, they would at most retain the Jianzhou settlement that the Ming Dynasty had allocated to them a hundred years ago. Dongjiang Town currently boasts the most military achievements and has a large number of Liaodong natives in its army. Dongjiang's generals will undoubtedly take over most of Liaodong territory, and given their proximity to Jianzhou, they will certainly become new neighbors of the Later Jin regime.

Mao Wenlong had over three hundred clansmen killed by Nurhaci; now, besides his son, only his nephew Mao Chengzhu remains. The relatives of other high-ranking Dongjiang officers like Chen Jisheng who remained in Liaodong have also been found and killed by Nurhaci. Currently, the Dongjiang army is in Korea, while the Later Jin army occupies Liaozhong, so Mao Wenlong and his men are naturally powerless against them. However, if the Dongjiang army were allowed to return to the Liaozhong plains, and the Later Jin retreated to the deep mountains and forests of Jianzhou, once the Dongjiang army had grown strong enough, it would be strange if they didn't come looking for trouble, let alone trade daily necessities with the Later Jin.

Mangultai sniffed and silently lowered his head. Huang Taiji shook his arm hard twice, forcing Mangultai to look up at him: "If we surrender, what will happen to our people? What will they eat? If we retreat to Jianzhou, who will be willing to trade with us? The Han people of Liaodong will never forget this hatred. Once we take the first step back, there will be no end in sight. Surrender is a dead end; we must establish an independent state."

Mangultai nodded dejectedly: "Yes, but I think continuing to fight is also a dead end. Huangshi will come back sooner or later."

"No!" Huang Taiji retorted loudly, unconvinced. "Huang Shi has been transferred to the south. I've thought it over carefully. He won't be coming back for at least ten years, and perhaps never in his lifetime. First, Huang Shi is unfamiliar with the southwestern part of Ming territory, and it will take him several years to quell the unrest there. Second, even if he's incredibly lucky and manages to quell it, he'll only become more feared, and they definitely won't transfer him back."

Looking at Mangultai's bewildered eyes, Huang Taiji knew he had to rouse him, because the strategic situation of the Later Jin was already extremely perilous, and everyone within his ranks had to give their all. Huang Taiji took a deep breath:

"Fifth Brother, think about it carefully. Why did the Ming Dynasty transfer Huang Shi away? Wasn't it because the civil officials started to fear him? So they wanted to cause him some trouble and dampen his momentum. I guess most of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials will try to trip him up, which is why they said he probably couldn't quell the rebellion in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty, so he definitely won't be able to come back."

Mangultai quickly asked: "You just said that he could very well quell the rebellion in one fell swoop because of good luck. Hmm, I think that's very likely, because Huang Shi can't be judged by ordinary standards."

"Yes, I did say that. But then he'd be even less likely to come back. The Ming officials... like that scoundrel Yuan Chonghuan, they're already envious of Huang Shi and Mao Wenlong's achievements. If Huang Shi really pacifies the southwest, won't they be insanely jealous? If Huang Shi is recalled then, where will those Ming officials, those scoundrels, put their faces? Wherever Huang Shi goes, that place becomes peaceful; wherever he leaves, that place descends into chaos. The more capable he is, the more it highlights the incompetence of those scoundrels."

At this point, Huang Taiji chuckled self-deprecatingly, realizing he had unconsciously categorized the Later Jin regime as one that Huang Shi was capable of pacifying. However, Huang Taiji immediately regained his composure, displaying an expression of absolute confidence:

"Fifth Brother, it's better to rely on ourselves than others. Only if we work hard and prevent the Ming Dynasty from taking us down will we have a chance to survive. Huang Shi is only capable of leading 10,000 troops. The Ming Dynasty won't allow a military general to have such a powerful army. As long as we can bring in those Mongols and gather 100,000 or even 200,000 armored soldiers, then even if Huang Shi really returns, we won't be afraid of him."

Mangultai grumbled somewhat dissatisfiedly, "This is too dangerous. You're placing all your hopes on the Ming Dynasty's civil officials, as if they're all short-sighted villains."

"Aren't they?"

Huang Taiji stared brightly into Mangultai's eyes, raising his voice to ask again, "Aren't they?"

"Sigh—" Mangultai sighed deeply, his tense muscles relaxing instantly, as if he had lost the will to continue arguing.

"If the Ming Dynasty had been united, even my father, the Khan, couldn't have turned the tide in the Battle of Sarhu; if the Ming Dynasty had worked together, we would have starved to death in the mountains long ago by Xiong Tingbi; if the Ming Dynasty hadn't undermined each other, we wouldn't have been able to conquer Guangning; if the Ming Dynasty had been harmonious between its civil and military officials, they wouldn't have only given Mao Wenlong 200,000 taels of silver in military pay, nor would they have transferred Huang Shi away!"

Huang Taiji stepped back, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace everything in the tent, his palms tilted upwards, his smile carrying unspeakable sarcasm: "And what was the result? The Ming Dynasty's Liaodong Garrison was destroyed, and Xiong Tingbi's head was sent to the nine border regions." Mao Wenlong is stuck in Korea, Huang Shi has been transferred to Fujian, and we—are still the masters of Liaoyang!

After chuckling a few times, Huang Taiji withdrew his arms and took another step forward: "Fifth Brother, I assure you, those Ming officials would rather negotiate peace with us than let Huang Shi return to earn military merit! I see them for who they are."

Mangultai sighed again, scratching his head helplessly, "You always speak so eloquently, it's fine with others, but it's always a different story when it comes to Huang Shi, I'm scared."

"Fifth Brother, trust me one more time, we must persevere, we will definitely get out of this predicament. "

...

November 16th, the sixth year of the Tianqi reign. Changsheng Island.

When Liu Qingyang wrote to say that everything was progressing smoothly, Bao Bowen knew that his time on Changsheng Island wouldn't be long. A few days earlier, fast ships from Fujian had arrived at Changsheng Island first, and the fleet responsible for the relocation had already returned. Huang Shi's orders to Bao Bowen were not unexpected: all the workers and machinery on Changsheng Island had to be moved to Fujian.

During this period, Changsheng Island's strict system was once again proving effective. Every day, military households and their families were sent south. All military households and soldiers were classified into ranks, and the Changsheng Island authorities would decide their actions based on their importance.

Large numbers of combat troops, led by officers, would head south along the Grand Canal; after all, they weren't of great significance to production work. So even though... A few days' delay on the road wouldn't matter much, and a long march would be beneficial for troop training.

Besides the 70% of combat troops traveling by land, even the ordinary military households and their families wouldn't be transported by sea. Before the ships return, Bobowen would complete most of the relocation work, leaving only the last batch of skilled workers on the island to continue production. These workers would then board the ships along with the dismantled machinery from Zhongdao Island after their final shift, heading to Fujian.

Huangshi's plan was to complete the entire relocation within three months. That is, no later than the end of November, the last group of people from Changsheng Island would depart, arriving in Fujian before next year and quickly resuming production. Leaving aside the issue of production capacity, Huangshi's four-month deadline alone was enough to make him stand out throughout the entire Ming Dynasty.

If other military towns were to complete such a large-scale mobilization, even with 10,000 combat troops, it would take more than four months, and for tens of thousands of military households, it would take at least a year. Not to mention the large amount of machinery that still needed to be relocated from Changsheng Island. So far, Bao Bowen is very satisfied with the progress, and he has designed plans for the dismantling and loading of various machine tools.

After the fleet returned from Fujian yesterday, Bao Bowen immediately began loading the ships according to plan. Everything is proceeding strictly according to the pre-arranged plan, and the brand-new engineering equipment—pulley systems—is also playing a significant role. The combination of meticulous planning and ingenious tools saves several more days, according to the current schedule. Bao Bowen believes that in five days, on November 21st of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the last batch of people from Changsheng Island can set off, nearly ten days earlier than the deadline set by Huang Shi.

This month, the island produced another 800 breastplates, which Bao Bowen loaded onto ships and sent to Japan. In addition to these breastplates, he also produced fifteen six-pound cannons during these days. Because there was no need to produce field artillery vehicles, the production speed of these cannons was faster than normal. According to Huang Shi's orders, they would be reserved for the Left Army of Dongjiang Town for use in the defense of castles like Fuzhou.

For the sake of stability in the Left Army, Mao Wenlong recommended Zhang Pan, a veteran Dongjiang general, as Huang Shi's successor. Zhang Pan is now the temporary deputy commander-in-chief, awaiting only approval from the Ministry of War before officially assuming office. Before leaving, Huang Shi instructed Bao Bowen that if Liu Qingyang could borrow enough silver, the remaining funds in the treasury should be transferred to Zhang Pan.

Therefore, after receiving news from Liu Qingyang that the situation was very favorable, Bao Bowen ordered the treasury opened and sent the remaining 60,000 taels of silver to Lushun. This was roughly equivalent to a year and a half's worth of military pay for the Left Army, which should have been a pleasant surprise for Zhang Pan.

Over the years, Huang Shi had developed a strong attachment to Dongjiang Town. Although Changsheng Island was also harsh, he was, after all, a transmigrator. Huang Shi was adept at maritime trade, technological development, and historical knowledge, allowing him to navigate the complexities of factional struggles. His former superior, Mao Wenlong, lacked these skills, yet he dedicated himself to aiding and supporting more refugees from Liaodong. Huang Shi admired Mao's abilities and was willing to do his best to ensure Mao's comfortable life.

Mao Wenlong had no objection to Huang Shi taking away military households; while losing tens of thousands of households meant less manpower, it also meant fewer mouths to feed. Moreover, Mao Wenlong was from Jiangnan; Fujian, with its abundant rainfall and proximity to the sea, was far better off than Liaodong, which suffered from droughts every two years. Therefore, Mao Wenlong could only be happy for his subordinates who went south to enjoy a better life.

...

November 17th, Tianqi 6th year, Beijing.

Yesterday, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs sent a report from Liaodong, which made Tianqi frown. Today, he specifically summoned the cabinet to inquire about this matter.

The court session had just begun. The Tianqi Emperor, somewhat annoyed, asked, "My esteemed ministers, who exactly authorized the Liaodong Governor to send someone to offer condolences to the Jurchen chieftain? I don't recall giving the Liaodong Governor such permission."

Wei Zhongxian had already privately informed the three cabinet members, so Gu Bingqian was well aware of the emperor's anger. He frankly replied, "Your Majesty, the Liaodong Governor indeed did not submit a memorial beforehand. But this old minister believes that, perhaps as the Liaodong Governor said, this was an extraordinary time, a matter of urgency, and an opportunity that could not be missed. The Liaodong Governor's decisive action might be understandable. This old minister also believes that the merits of this matter can be discussed further. But the Liaodong Governor was indeed acting out of a sense of public duty."

Gu Bingqian rambled on for a long time, without taking any real responsibility. The Tianqi Emperor was well aware of Gu Bingqian's character and was already used to it. The young emperor knew that his chief minister was a man who always shrugged off, and his words just now were essentially an attempt to exonerate Yuan Chonghuan.

Seeing that the other two cabinet ministers remained silent, Tianqi knew they agreed with Gu Bingqian's view. Since the cabinet was so unified, Tianqi suddenly felt guilty, realizing his anger might have been unreasonable. Therefore, his tone softened immediately: "The most important matters of state are military and religious affairs. Such a significant matter should surely have been discussed with the Liaodong governor first. Alas, you are also right; perhaps the situation was urgent, and the Liaodong governor didn't have time to consult beforehand."

Since his speech, Gu Bingqian had maintained a composed demeanor, eyes downcast. He had already contributed once at today's court assembly. Although the Grand Secretary held a high position, he had still fired the first shot; now it was the others' turn. As fellow ministers, the risks should be shared.

Seeing this, Feng Quan coughed and cleared his throat, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Yuan acted rashly this time. But Lord Yuan has always been like this—a bit headstrong, but still courageous and responsible. As the art of war says, 'A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders.' Didn't Commander Huang also act on his own initiative last time?"

Tianqi frowned again, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, saying, "That's not right. Last time when Commander Huang went to Liaoyang without permission, didn't you all want me to punish him? How come this time the Governor of Liaodong sent someone to Liaoyang without permission, and you all agreed?"

"Your Majesty, Commander Huang was brave last time, but he was ultimately just a military man." This time it was Ding Shaoshi's turn to speak. He gave a thumbs up and said firmly, "The Governor of Liaodong, on the other hand, has read countless books and possesses courage and strategy! Your Majesty, the Governor of Liaodong's memorial clearly states that his purpose in going to mourn was actually to investigate the strength of the Jurchens."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing the roulette wheel turn to face him again, Chief Minister Gu abruptly raised his head, his eyes gleaming. "The envoy sent by the Liaodong governor this time is also a man of courage and insight. According to the Liaodong governor's memorial, he has concluded that 'eight dogs in one cage will surely devour each other if bones are thrown at them.' The Liaodong governor's meticulous arrangements have successfully sown suspicion among the Jurchens, and they will soon begin to kill each other."

"Your Majesty!" Feng Quan's shout drew Tianqi's attention again. He said solemnly, "The Liaodong governor's memorial states that he also righteously ordered the Jurchens to immediately lay down their weapons and surrender, submitting to the court's punishment, greatly frightening the Jurchens!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Without giving Tianqi time to think, Ding Shaoshi followed closely behind Feng Quan, shouting, "The Liaodong governor also said that the Jurchens have decided to accept the amnesty and are even willing to offer two younger brothers as a sign of their sincerity."

This part by Ding Shaoshi was not in the original history. In this timeline, under the military intimidation of Huang Shi, Yuan Chonghuan, in his memorial after the mourning trip, besides boasting about his effective intelligence gathering, his use of counter-espionage to cause internal strife within the Eight Banners, and his order for Huang Taiji to immediately surrender and submit

to punishment, finally managed to produce some real evidence. However… Ding Shaoshi continued, “The Liaodong governor has already written a letter politely declining Hong Taiji’s suggestion to offer his brother as a hostage, showing his trust and reassurance. According to the Liaodong governor, Hong Taiji was so grateful upon hearing the news that he wept tears of gratitude and praised the benevolence of our Great Ming Dynasty.”

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Liaodong is a man of both virtue and talent, capable of subduing distant peoples, dispelling doubts, uniting vassal states, and understanding the hearts of barbarians. If not for Your Majesty's wisdom and virtue, Heaven would surely condemn him—" Gu Bingqian shook his head violently to emphasize his words, his facial muscles trembling, and shouted, "Such a virtuous minister could never have been appointed! This old minister congratulates Your Majesty!"

After speaking, Gu Bingqian stood up shakily, intending to kneel and pay his respects. Seeing this, Feng Quan quickly stood up as well and knelt down with the Grand Secretary Gu, praising, "Your Majesty, since the Jurchens started their rebellion, the country has spent millions in Liaodong military funds and mobilized hundreds of thousands of soldiers, yet it has been six years without quelling the unrest. Today, the Governor of Liaodong has pacified them with ease, controlling the Jurchens as if they were children. This is truly a monumental achievement! This humble subject congratulates Your Majesty."

Ding Shaoshi couldn't think of any good words for a moment, so he knelt down as well, shouting at the top of his lungs, "This humble subject congratulates Your Majesty."

"Alright, alright, rise, all of you." Tianqi waved his hand with a smile, signaling the cabinet members to rise. The three men's commotion immediately made the emperor forget his slight displeasure. The young emperor thought more and more that his anger earlier was indeed unreasonable, so he smiled and said to the cabinet, "Then draft the resolution. Everything will be done according to the Liaodong governor's wishes. As long as the Jurchens sincerely surrender and obediently withdraw from the border, I can spare their lives."

...

Wei Zhongxian didn't say a word at the court meeting, nor did he interrupt the cabinet's drafting of the resolution. Instead, he went back to his room alone and called out his trusted eunuch who had written him the letter: "Draft it, and immediately send a letter to the Liaodong governor."

"Yes, sir."

The eunuch quickly spread out the letter paper. He deftly ground the ink, then dipped his brush in the thick ink, and looked up to ask, "Father, what do you want me to write?"

Wei Zhongxian thought for a moment, then said calmly to the young eunuch, "Tell the Liaodong governor that I've taken responsibility for his unauthorized actions this time; I still trust him. However, caution is paramount. Barbarians cannot be trusted entirely; we must prevent any mishaps… Hmm. Tell the Liaodong governor to handle the Liaodong matter quickly, lest things get complicated. I will personally petition His Majesty for credit on his behalf."

…

November 28th, Tianqi 6th year, Dengzhou.

Liu Qingyang saw off the first batch of maritime trade ships at the dock today. With a large amount of capital arriving, the merchants began to settle the remaining payments for chartered ships and purchased goods. Currently, the Dark Council's ledger shows that they will be opening dozens more businesses and countless shops. These merchants have already received standardized price lists, and according to the agreement, they must purchase goods at uniform prices. Once the southern specialties are transported back, the Dark Council will naturally issue them another standardized price list.

Because these merchants have a unified supply and sales channel, their operating costs will naturally be lower than those of ordinary merchants. However, Liu Qingyang does not intend to maliciously lower prices. Firstly, he does not want to provoke hostility from other established brands. Secondly, with the Dark Council as a powerful backer for unified supply, its supporters have an unparalleled advantage in commercial information. Given the communication methods of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible for other individual enterprises to surpass the Dark Council in reaction speed.

At this time, Huang Shi also received Liu Qingyang's report in Fujian. The figure of 2.7 million taels of silver far exceeded Huang Shi's expectations. Although most of the funds would be used to rent ships and open shops, the profits from maritime trade are too high, and breaking even should not be too difficult.

Liu Qingyang's plan for this first investment was to purchase local products with 800,000 taels of silver. He suggested starting with the established trade route to Japan, as they were more familiar with the area. Sugar from Fujian and silk from Zhejiang could yield more than double the profit in Japan. Japan also urgently needed ironware and cloth, which Fuzhou could produce themselves.

Furthermore, Japan's abundant copper, gold, and silver would bring huge profits back to the Ming Dynasty. Kuroshima Kazuo could help resolve some of the issues with sailors and shipping routes, and Fujian could recruit more sailors; these shouldn't be major problems. Moreover, once in Japan, they could utilize the warehouses and sales channels of the Choshu Domain, so there shouldn't be too much trouble.

If there were no cargo losses at sea, the 800,000 taels of goods could be worth over 1.5 million taels of silver in Japan within a few months. After purchasing Japanese copper and gold, the value could easily exceed 3 million taels. Combined with the sales network in Shandong and other places, Huangshi would definitely be able to turn over the funds within six months. Therefore, apart from pirates and typhoons, Liu Qingyang couldn't see anything that could prevent Huangshi from becoming incredibly wealthy.

Of course, Japan was still too small a country. If the volume of goods were too large, Huang Shi worried that the Japanese market would soon become saturated. So what truly attracted Huang Shi's attention was the Spanish silver. Of course, Huang Shi had no intention of rashly starting a war with the Spanish.

On this issue, Huang Shi's thinking was similar to that of the Wanli Emperor, and he knew more than the Wanli Emperor. Most of the silver in Luzon came from South America and Africa. As long as China could not gain access to these places, attacking Manila would not necessarily bring much benefit. However, it was a bit late to develop friendly relations with Spain, because the powerful Dutch East India Company was also involved in this sea area. These Dutchmen were trying to monopolize trade between China and Spain.

In addition to the Dutch, pirates on the Fujian coast also coveted this maritime Silk Road. They robbed merchants or forced them to pay tolls. These actions were of course very harmful to the Ming court's revenue, but although the Fujian navy tried its best to suppress the pirates, they still rose up again and again. This was because the profits from maritime trade were simply too tempting. With just a few successful raids, pirates could build a force of thousands.

"Given the initial size of the Shandong merchants, they probably wouldn't attract the attention of the Fujian merchants. But that's only a matter of time; they'll soon become their rivals. Hmph, many large maritime merchants become Japanese pirates once they set sail, or at least have some connection with them. They tip off the pirates, provide them with intelligence, and help them recruit sailors."

Huang Shi's tone was very unfriendly as he spoke to Jin Qiude, while his chief of staff listened with a serious expression.

"Compared to the treacherous waters of Fujian, our Liaodong Peninsula is nothing more than a bathtub. I don't know if Heishima Kazuo's sailors are up to the task of naval warfare, but their numbers certainly can't withstand attrition. Therefore, we must vigorously develop our navy and recruit Fujian sailors locally. They've long been accustomed to storms and waves."

"Yes, Commander." Jin Qiude agreed with Huang Shi's assessment, but all of this required money: "Sir, when do you plan to begin recruiting sailors?"

"It doesn't seem absolutely necessary at the moment."

This year, Yu Zigao had just driven the Dutch out of Penghu, and the Ming navy still held some power in the surrounding waters. Huang Shi had already visited Xiamen once. For a renowned military commander like him to pay a visit was a considerable honor for Yu Zigao. Huang Shi and Yu Zigao also had a pleasant conversation, at least on the surface.

“However, General Yu’s Fujian navy is being continuously weakened. After repelling the Dutch, the court has ordered the reduction of about 10,000 sailors from Penghu. These 10,000 sailors seem to be the most elite group of soldiers under General Yu. As far as I know, 70-80% of them have become pirates, so the strength of the Fujian pirates is probably quite considerable.”

Huang Shi’s voice grew softer and softer, and the worry between his brows deepened.

“My lord, I dare to be bold.” Jin Qiude had opposed Huang Shi’s hasty plan to advance into the southwest from the beginning. He had always advocated sending a symbolic small force to Yunnan to fight first, while focusing the main efforts on Fujian, consolidating the new base before considering a large-scale invasion of Yunnan: “The ancient military strategy is to first establish a strong foundation, and then plan for the future. Now, my lord, your position is not yet secure, and you are eager to enter Yunnan to quell the rebellion. I fear that haste makes waste.”

“Hmm.” Huang Shi responded with a heavy sigh. Training funds would certainly not be sufficient, and if the focus was on the army, the navy would definitely be severely lacking.

Jin Qiude reiterated his previous suggestion: "My lord, we should first build our own navy to break free from our dependence on Yu Zigao. Then, we should eliminate the pirates and expand our strength until the navy can guarantee the safety of our maritime trade. After that, we should train our soldiers extensively and send troops

to the southwest to quell the rebellion. This is the only foolproof plan." "I understand your suggestion. But even if we build a navy, we will still need to send several thousand soldiers to the southwest within a year as a show. The expenses for these soldiers will be enormous, which will also hinder our efforts." Although Jin Qiude's suggestion was more prudent, it would mean Huang Shi would have to fight on two fronts. While he could only spare some energy to deal with the pirates, he would also have to maintain a force thousands of miles away.

This would likely prolong the anti-piracy war in Fujian, and the war in the southwest would be even more indefinite. And until the war here ended, the force in the southwest would continue to drain the resources of Funing Town, tying down Huang Shi's finances.

“Even if the Fujian navy is powerless to suppress the pirates in the Fujian seas, we can simply take a longer land route through Zhejiang, which would only slightly reduce our profits. Judging from Liu Qingyang's calculations, maintaining an expeditionary force of tens of thousands of men is still sufficient. As for the navy…”

Huang Shi shook his head and sighed repeatedly. The pirates' method is to plunder whenever they have the chance, while the government army's goal is to ensure the safety of a certain sea area. These different objectives lead to a huge cost difference between the two sides: “The navy is simply too costly and time-consuming; let's put it aside for now. For the time being, we can only rely on General Yu Zigao.”

Most of the Fujian pirates are locals from Fujian, and they are heavily reliant on the Fujian sea trade. Whether they are leaders or followers, these pirates are unlikely to be very determined to fight the court to the death. Furthermore, the pirates' manpower mainly comes from the Fujian mainland. Huang Shi believes that if there are no worries about their rear, as long as the coastline is completely blockaded and the pirates' supplies and manpower are strictly cut off, the Fujian pirates will ultimately be without foundation.

"In the end, the Minhai region is still relatively easy to deal with. Moreover, if I can successfully quell the She-An rebellion, then the court officials will have no reason to stop me from returning to Liaodong, right?"

"Your Excellency is still worried about Liaodong?"

"How can I not be worried? Well, the reason the Grand Secretaries in the court are sending me to the southwest is simply that good steel should be used where it's needed most. They say that destroying the Jurchens is effortless, so they're sending me to deal with the numerous rebels under She Chongming and An Bangyan. If the rebellion in the southwest is quelled, and the situation in Liaodong changes, the Emperor will naturally remember me again."

...

December 15th, the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Liaoyang.

"To demonstrate his magnanimity, the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor has stopped requiring us to send hostages. Last month, I sent another envoy to Ningyuan, pleading with the Ming governor to show mercy and spare our people's lives, to demonstrate the Celestial Empire's benevolence and prove that the superior nation is indeed willing to pacify us... The Ming governor agreed, and he no longer offers rewards to the Mongols for our people's heads!"

This month, Yuan Chonghuan sent two more groups of envoys to Liaoyang. From October of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, envoys traveled between Liaoyang and Ningyuan in an endless stream. Since envoys were constantly riding along the official road between Liaoyang and Ningyuan, private trade between the Mongol tribes and the Later Jin Dynasty resumed considerably, and many Mongol tribal chiefs pretended not to see it.

Huang Taiji glanced triumphantly at his brothers in the room, loudly announcing the diplomatic achievements with the Ming Dynasty over the past month: "After the Ming governor of Liaodong agreed to our demands, he sent someone to read a letter from the Ming Dynasty, urging us to turn back as soon as possible to avoid further provoking the Ming's wrath. Then he used his usual tactic of combining kindness and threats, warning us that it was time to turn back, and that the Ming would definitely forgive and forget, and would not seek revenge later. He told us to put aside all our concerns and not worry about any future troubles." "

Hahahaha," Huang Taiji burst into wild laughter. When the letter arrived, Huang Taiji personally went ten miles outside Liaoyang to welcome it, and arranged an extremely grand ceremony for Yuan Chonghuan's envoy to enter the city: "Fifth brother, it's a real pity you weren't there. You should have seen the expressions of the Bayan Mongol herdsmen, hahaha, they had just received the announcement from the Liaodong governor that he would no longer pay the reward for the heads, and then they heard the Ming Dynasty announce that they would not hold us accountable for our past actions, hahaha."

Mangultai also sneered. Two days ago, Yuan Chonghuan's letter arrived while he was out hunting. Liaoyang has recently become lively again. At the end of November, following Yuan Chonghuan's condolence visit to Nurhaci, the chieftain of the Khorchin Mongols suddenly recovered from his illness. He personally came to Liaoyang to pay his respects to his old relative, expressing deep regret for arriving after the Ming Dynasty.

Meanwhile, impoverished Mongol herders began flocking to the Liaozhong Plain again. Huang Taiji had already ordered the reconstruction of the Mongol left wing: "At the end of last month, we received the oath from the twelve Kharachin Mongol tribes, agreeing not to oppose our Great Jin again, as long as we sell them salt at a low price; at the beginning of this month, we also received the oath of non-aggression from the various Kharachin Mongol tribes; two days ago, after receiving the letter from the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor, I have sent someone to see Ligdan Khan, hoping he can temporarily cease hostilities with us."

Daishan gently stroked his beard. He squinted and said, "Korea and Mongolia have no enmity with our Great Jin. The reason they are making things difficult for us is simply because they are responding to the call of the Ming Dynasty. It's like friends who are invited to help are bleeding and sweating, but the main party keeps shrinking back... What is the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor thinking?"

Huang Taiji's smile faded, and he said with a serious face, "The Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor is too eager to make a name for himself. You can see how anxious he is by sending envoys time and time again. He is so eager to make this happen that he has lost his composure."

"Alas, he's a pitiful man indeed. It breaks my heart to hear his story." Amin, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up, her expression one of deep sorrow. "Yuan Chonghuan is incompetent in warfare, yet he desperately wants to gain merit. In his madness, he had no choice but to gamble everything, and to make matters worse, he ran into our Fourth Prince. Alas, I truly sympathize with him."

"If I'm not mistaken, even if Lindan Khan isn't heartbroken after hearing this news, he will be filled with apprehension. After all, war means death. If there's no reward, why would Lindan Khan risk his life?"

"That's right."

"So..."

"So Mao Wenlong is now completely isolated and helpless."

"Exactly, we must mobilize every soldier we can to attack Dongjiang Town."

Huang Taiji stated his plan without hesitation: "Currently, our Manchu Eight Banners, plus the Mongol Left and Right Wings, have nearly 30,000 armored soldiers. We will send all 30,000 of them to attack Korea. At the same time, I also plan to issue an order that any Han Chinese who can achieve military merit will be immediately granted land and official positions, and those with outstanding achievements can be directly enlisted in the banners."

Mao Wenlong probably had less than 10,000 fully armored soldiers under his command, and even his cavalry had at most 30% armor. Their food supplies were pitifully small, and their weapons were very crude. No one believed that he could resist 30,000 Later Jin armored soldiers for a long time. However...

the other three Beile watched Huang Taiji quietly. Among them, Mangultai was the most impatient and was the first to jump out and say, "If we don't leave any soldiers behind, what will we do if others come to raid our hometown?"

"Lindan Khan will definitely hesitate for a long time before sending troops. Once he has thought it through and decides to send troops, the Khorchin Mongols can hold them off for a while; Gaizhou doesn't have many soldiers to begin with, and Huang Shi just left, so the Dongjiang garrison is in chaos. I estimate they probably don't have enough supplies to attack Liaoyang."

"What about Liaoxi? The Ming Dynasty's Guan Ning Army has thirty-five field battalions with seventy thousand soldiers, and their supplies are piled up like mountains."

Huang Taiji laughed incessantly: "Haha, Yuan Chonghuan is nothing but a rat. Let alone seventy thousand soldiers, even seven hundred thousand or seven million, what can such a rat do?"

After laughing, Huang Taiji stood up proudly and pointed to his chest: "With me alone in Liaoyang, I am better than a hundred thousand mighty soldiers. I will make Yuan Chonghuan dare not look directly at the Liao River!"

Can Wanrenzhifeng bear the burden? Chapter 46 Sharing the worries.

December 20th, Tianqi 6th year, Xiapu.

Huang Shi convened a full military meeting with all his senior officers. His troops possessed extensive land warfare experience, and Huang Shi himself was most confident in land combat. In contrast, the Changsheng Island naval force hadn't fought a single battle in years, and while Shi Ce was a former pirate from the Fujian coast, he had likely forgotten most of his skills.

After discussion, everyone agreed that rapidly developing a navy was unrealistic. Furthermore, the timber used for shipbuilding needed to be thoroughly dried, otherwise it would warp upon contact with water. Shipbuilders believed that the safe drying time for timber like the keel of large warships should be two to three years, followed by another one to two years to build the ship.

This long drying time seemed unacceptable to Huang Shi, but ships built after thorough drying could sail for over fifty years, while those not thoroughly dried would generally only last five or six years. Freshly dried timber might fall apart upon contact with water.

Huang Shi suspected that the fundamental principle lay in whether all the tree's cells were dead. Perhaps completely dried trees had no living cells left, so they wouldn't deform when submerged in water; while wood with remaining living cells either absorbed or dehydrated, causing the wood to warp. However, this was just a hypothesis, and he planned to find an opportunity to bake the wood to see if it could solve the time issue.

Yang Zhiyuan was still in Japan, and Liu Qingyang was still in Dengzhou. Among the senior officers who had arrived in Fuzhou, He Dingyuan and Li Yunrui firmly supported pacifying the southwest first, both believing they could play a greater role on the ground. Zhao Manxiong remained neutral for the time being because he hadn't made up his mind yet. Bao Bowen, Hong Antong, and Zhang Zaidi felt it wasn't within their responsibilities, so they had no objections.

Although Fan Leyou was somewhat inclined towards the navy, his words carried less weight than those of He Dingyuan and Li Yunrui, and he wasn't as resolute as the latter two. As for Duncan, although he had a considerable say, he was conflicted. His greatest passion was artillery, and building a navy would certainly involve creating more and larger cannons, but Duncan lacked naval experience. No matter how many cannons the navy had, it would be irrelevant to him. Ultimately, Duncan cautiously remained silent.

"In the end, this town has decided to prioritize sending troops to the southwest to quell the rebellion. First, the imperial court has ordered this town to suppress the rebels led by She Chongming and An Bangyan. The Minhai pirates have always been dealt with by General Yu, the deputy general of the southern route. If this town were to intervene rashly, it would easily cause misunderstandings with colleagues and might delay the dispatch of troops to the southwest, incurring impeachment from the censors."

Huang Shi then lowered his voice and said to his confidants in the room, "Second, even if we were to attack both, we should deal with the She-An rebellion first, and then the Minhai pirates. After all, She Chongming and An Bangyan have tens of thousands of rebel troops. If we cannot suppress them for a long time, the strength of the southwestern rebels will definitely increase day by day, and it may become even more troublesome to deal with them in the future. As for the Minhai pirates, they are still fighting among themselves, and I don't think they can pose any real threat for the time being."

He Dingyuan and Li Yunrui naturally cheered loudly. Although Jin Qiude still leaned towards a conservative approach, seeing that Huang Shi's mind was unwavering, he no longer insisted: "Since the Commander-in-Chief has given the order, then this humble general will naturally obey."

Huang Shi nodded in satisfaction. Jin Qiude's habit of speaking his mind loudly but resolutely executing orders was commendable: "Hmm, let's quell the She'an Rebellion first. If the situation in Fujian is not resolved after we return, we can easily deal with these pirates as well, which will take less time than dealing with both simultaneously. In case something happens in Liaodong, we can also withdraw from Jiangnan."

Jin Qiude didn't say anything, but a hint of disapproval inadvertently appeared on his face. Clearly, he thought Huang Shi was being overly pessimistic. Huang Shi didn't try to persuade Jin Qiude, but simply smiled and added, "We don't have much time to waste."

...

December of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Beijing.

General Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang sent two urgent reports to Beijing this month, believing that the Later Jin intended to launch a major attack on Liaodong. However, Mao Wenlong determined that the Later Jin's target was Kuandian, not Korea, because he thought the Later Jin did not have enough time to achieve any results in Korea. While requesting aid from the court, he also ordered the Right Assistant Commander of Dongjiang to mobilize.

After Mao Wenlong's letter reached the Liaodong Military Command, Wang Zhichen, the Liaodong Military Commissioner, immediately ordered messengers to set off quickly and ordered the Mongol tribes to prepare to send troops to Liaodong. To contain the Later Jin's field forces and coordinate with the Ming army's operations in the Kuandian region...

"The memorial submitted by Wang Zhichen, the Liaodong military commissioner: In recent years, the Jurchen chieftain sought peace with the Western Jurchens, but they refused; he submitted to Korea, but Korea did not accept it. Once peace is negotiated, they will surely become disaffected, which will only help the enemy and isolate us! Recently, when the commander passed by the proclamation office, the Jurchens whipped his back and said: 'You Han people have no brains at all. You only say that we will not help you, but you carry a lot of gold and silk, and send lamas to mourn for him and seek peace. Instead, you make others your enemies. We might as well surrender as well.' Based on this, what should I say in response?"

After receiving a series of urgent reports from Dongjiang Town, Emperor Tianqi convened another cabinet meeting. He personally read through Wang Zhichen's memorial. In his recent memorials, the Liaodong military commissioner had been tearful, saying that the various Mongol tribes, whether openly or covertly, refused to send troops to contain the Later Jin. The Bayan Mongol tribes, traditionally staunch allies of the Ming Dynasty, were displeased this time, feeling betrayed.

When Ligdan Khan was attacked in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Mao Wenlong, upon learning of this, exclaimed, "The safety and victory of Liaodong hinge on this!" He then mobilized the Dongjiang garrison and launched a full-scale attack, storming Haizhou and Anshan, forcing Nurhaci to retreat. However, even Ligdan Khan this time declined Wang Zhichen's call, expressing his dissatisfaction in his reply, accusing the Ming Dynasty of abandoning him. After the Chahar Mongols clashed with the Later Jin for the Ming Dynasty's sake, the Ming Dynasty attempted to withdraw, leaving the Chahar to face the formidable enemy alone.

While the various Mongol tribes spoke differently, their underlying message was similar: they had come to help, and if the Ming Dynasty itself did not wish to fight, they would not want to incur its enmity. Wang Zhichen was deeply concerned about this and petitioned the court to strictly prohibit peace negotiations, lest it alienate its vassal states.

Wang Zhichen also believed that the Ming army in Kuandian would face a very serious situation. To salvage the situation, it was necessary to send envoys to appease the various Mongol tribes and simultaneously send troops to support Dongjiang Town to reinforce Kuandian, Liaodong, as a bridgehead for the Ming army.

Emperor Tianqi relayed Wang Zhichen's views and then asked the cabinet, "What are your opinions, gentlemen?"

"Your Majesty,"

Gu Bingqian replied, shaking his head as he read Yuan Chonghuan's memorial. The memorial was long, but its core message was correct. Under Yuan Chonghuan's management, the situation in Liaoxi was not just slightly good, but exceptionally good. Yuan Chonghuan swore to the court that the Later Jin army would never dare to attack Korea, but would definitely attack Liaoxi.

Yuan Chonghuan analyzed for the emperor that, in his judgment, the current strategic situation was completely different from what Mao Wenlong had described. If the Later Jin army were truly mobilized, their target would undoubtedly be Liaoxi. Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan specified the locations: Jinzhou, Youtun, and Ningyuan. Finally, Yuan Chonghuan went a step further, confidently assuring the Tianqi Emperor, "I have divided my troops into three routes for defense, ensuring the enemy has no way to return."

After analyzing the strategic situation, Yuan Chonghuan immediately displayed his keen political acumen, concluding that Wang Zhichen was jealous of his achievements. Yuan Chonghuan reminded the emperor of the precedent of the discord between Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, imploring the emperor to place his full trust in him and to severely punish Wang Zhichen for attempting to frame a colleague.

Yuan Chonghuan's memorial was written with great emotion and persuasion, garnering almost unanimous sympathy from the cabinet. The cabinet initially intended to recommend Yuan Chonghuan to the Tianqi Emperor, but they realized it was unnecessary. After listening to the memorial, Emperor Tianqi ordered, "Speak kindly to the Governor of Liaodong, tell him I will not listen to slander. Hmm, issue another reprimand to the Liaodong Military Command, instructing Wang Zhichen to focus on his duties and not to keep targeting his own people. The Cabinet should draft the document."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gu Bingqian agreed and waited a while, but there was still one matter the emperor had not given a clear instruction on. However, Gu Bingqian would never risk being the villain, so he asked, "Your Majesty, how should the Liaodong affairs be handled?" "

Of course, the Governor of Liaodong should make the decision."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gu Bingqian hurriedly agreed, so that even if Wang Zhichen was dissatisfied, he could not blame the Grand Secretary.

... On

New Year's Day of the seventh year of Tianqi, in Xiamen.

Huang Shi bid farewell to Zhu Yifeng, the Governor of Fujian, on the morning of New Year's Day. Then he left Quanzhou and headed straight for Xiamen. By evening that day, Huang Shi was already in front of the Southern Route Deputy Commander's Mansion.

"General, isn't this New Year's gift you prepared for General Yu a bit..." Hong Antong couldn't stand Huang Shi's gift no matter what, and finally couldn't help but voice his objection again.

"Oh." In addition to the other gifts, Huang Shi also personally carried a bag of pig's trotters. Hearing Hong Antong's worried question, he smiled, held up the bag of pig's trotters to look at them, and said without turning his head, "It's alright, this is very good."

Yu Zigao had accumulated numerous military achievements while guarding Fujian for many years, but he lacked powerful backing from the imperial court and had no strong connections to support him. When Huang Shi usurped his position, Yu Zigao was naturally resentful and simply stayed in Xiamen. After Huang Shi arrived in Fujian, Yu Zigao also used the excuse of being busy with military affairs to avoid paying him a visit.

When Huang Shi first met with Fujian Governor Zhu Yifeng in Quanzhou, Governor Zhu spent a long time pleading with Huang Shi not to hold a grudge against Yu Zigao and to understand Yu's resentment. Huang Shi deeply appreciated Governor Zhu's concern and generously stated that he would not hold a grudge against an elderly gentleman.

However, Hong Antong didn't seem to have a good impression of Zhu Yifeng. After leaving, he secretly reminded Huang Shi, "Governor Zhu seems afraid that you, sir, don't know that General Yu is dissatisfied, and afraid that the Marshal won't know that General Yu deliberately didn't come to pay his respects. Hmm, I think Governor Zhu seems to be sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight."

"That's right, I think so too," Huang Shi said to his military police chief with a grin at the time, "That's why I had to agree with him and say a few words about General Yu."

When he took his leave from Lord Zhu Yifeng today, Huang Shi deliberately explained that after listening to Zhu Yifeng's advice last time, he thought it over and felt that what Lord Zhu said made a lot of sense. It is important to maintain harmony among colleagues, so he took the initiative to pay his respects to Yu Zigao in accordance with Lord Zhu's teachings.

No sooner had Huang Shi's visiting card been delivered than the main gate of the deputy general's residence swung open, and Yu Zigao, the deputy general of the southern route, rushed out and bowed to Huang Shi, saying, "I was unaware of General Huang's arrival. I am truly sorry for failing to greet you properly."

"General Yu is too kind. I dare not accept such a courtesy," Huang Shi returned the courtesy. When Yu Zigao invited him to enter, Huang Shi declined several times, insisting on entering the main gate side by side with Yu Zigao.

After entering the deputy general's residence, Huang Shi saw a large number of military officers from Xiamen already waiting for him in the central hall. Just as Huang Shi had estimated, most of the military officers from Xiamen had come to Yu Zigao's residence early that morning to offer New Year's greetings. Huang Shi had already made plans; he was determined to reach Xiamen to offer New Year's greetings to Yu Zigao on New Year's Day. Of course, before coming to Yu Zigao's residence, he would definitely visit Zhu Yifeng first, so Huang Shi had hurriedly set off yesterday and hadn't even had a proper New Year's celebration.

Upon entering the central hall, Huang Shi, in front of all the military officers from Xiamen, presented the bag

of pig's trotters to Yu Zigao with both hands, saying, "General Yu, Happy New Year!" Yu Zigao, beaming, accepted the pig's trotters from Huang Shi and happily carried the bag to the living room, handing it to his attendant. Yu Zigao was now, after all, the deputy general of Funing Town, and in terms of rank, he was still Huang Shi's subordinate. If it were a New Year's greeting, it should be Yu Zigao who went to Huang Shi, not the other way around.

Huang Shi, acting like a minor figure, had rushed to Yu's residence on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This already made Yu Zigao feel very honored. Seeing the gift personally presented by Huang Shi, Yu Zigao was even happier. People in Xiamen love pig's trotters, and when younger generations visit elders during festivals, they often bring a bag of pig's trotters. Huang Shi had truly acted like a respectful junior this time.

This scene left Hong Antong, standing behind Huang Shi, dumbfounded. He had always felt that Huang Shi's gift was inappropriate and rather embarrassing. Seeing Yu Zigao's delight, Hong Antong could only admire his superior's "omnipotence."

Although Huang Shi insisted on addressing him by seniority today, the generals of Xiamen disagreed. In the end, Huang Shi compromised, agreeing to let Yu Zigao call him Marshal Huang, but the title "Great" had to be omitted.

After sampling some sweet and savory rice cakes, a banquet was held at Yu's residence before sunset. At the banquet, General Yu naturally sat at the same table as Huang Shi, and each table was served a main dish of "Sea Cucumber Stewed with Pig's Trotters." Although people in other parts of China also enjoy this dish, few love it as much as the people of Xiamen. Many of the military officers who came to visit General Yu today brought pig's trotters, and the chef prepared this dish for everyone. Huang Shi's pig's trotters were naturally among them.

As the dish was almost finished, General Yu suddenly felt that something was amiss. Huang Shi was kind enough to give him face, but not reminding the cook earlier, and treating him like one of his own subordinates, was rather disrespectful to his superior. Thinking of this, General Yu felt a pang of anxiety and stammered an explanation that it was unintentional, to avoid any unpleasantness.

However, Huang Shi seemed completely unconcerned. Before Yu Zigao could speak, Huang Shi snatched the last piece of pig's trotter, laughing at everyone, "General Yu's cook is truly skilled; I'm going to disregard my reputation to grab the last piece."

Everyone laughed, and Yu Zigao chuckled, "General Huang is too kind. It's just a simple meal."

"I've eaten so much today; I wonder which brother has suffered. Luckily, I brought a bag of pig's trotters with me, so I've done my part. Otherwise, I'd feel really uneasy." Huang Shi said as he finished the trotter clean, still looking like he wanted more.

"General Huang, you may not know this, but my cook is quite famous in Xiamen. To invite him to my home..." Seeing Huang Shi's smug expression, Yu Zigao was even more pleased and couldn't help but boast about his cook. As for an apology, Yu Zigao figured Huang Shi wouldn't care at all, so why bother? He left it at that.

Dishes continued to be served. After a few drinks, Huang Shi asked Yu Zigao about the recapture of Penghu, something Yu Zigao was most proud of. The Dutch, in order to monopolize the maritime trade between Quanzhou and Manila, landed and built fortifications on the Penghu Islands, attempting to force Fujian merchants to trade with them, who would then trade with the Spanish.

Since the Dutch controlled the Penghu Islands, the risks for Fujian merchants in maritime trade had increased. Initially, the Dutch established checkpoints along the coast, forcibly collecting taxes from Fujian merchants who traveled to Manila for trade, and instigating Dutch pirates to plunder around Penghu, causing considerable losses to Ming Dynasty merchants.

The Fujian authorities initially advocated a peaceful resolution and negotiated with the Dutch several times. However, the differences between the two sides were too great. Ultimately, the Dutch East India Company advocated forcing the Fujian local government to recognize their status through force, thus intensifying piracy based in Penghu and even launching a military attack on Yuegang in Zhangzhou.

Yu Zigao strongly advocated for suppression, arguing that the Ming Dynasty should treat the Dutch the same way it treated the Japanese pirates during Qi Jiguang's era. After negotiations broke down, Yu Zigao was ordered to command tens of thousands of Fujian naval troops to fight the Dutch. After three years of arduous fighting, Yu Zigao recovered most of Penghu, and the Dutch accepted the conditions of the Fujian governor, guaranteeing never to return to the Penghu Islands.

Recalling his arduous struggle and the current fruits of victory, Yu Zigao became increasingly elated as he spoke. Once General Yu started talking, he couldn't stop. His white beard trembled, and his eyebrows danced with the story, making Yu Zigao forget to eat.

"I have rid the country of a great scourge. Enough to protect Fujian Province for a hundred years, hehehehe."

Yu Zigao laughed for a while, and seeing another dish being served, he immediately picked up his chopsticks and put the fish head on Huang Shi's plate: "General Huang, please, please. This is a custom of us Fujianese; the fattest fish head must be given to the guest. Hehe." That night, Huang Shi left the

Yu residence to stay at the Xiamen government office. After saying goodbye and walking around for a while, looking around to make sure no one was there, Huang Shi looked up to the sky and sighed: "Now, I have no worries."

January of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. General Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang determined that the Later Jin's attack on Kuandian was imminent, so he decided to launch a preemptive attack on Zhenjiang, which would both relieve the pressure on Kuandian and allow him to collect some grain for the winter—a win-win strategy.

At the same time, in Liaoyang.

The Later Jin regime ordered all Manchu bannermen and Mongol men aged sixteen and above to join the army. Han Chinese who wished to serve could be released from their bondservant serf status and granted private land; those who distinguished themselves in battle could even obtain official positions. Huang Taiji mobilized nearly 30,000 armored soldiers and over 50,000 unarmored auxiliary troops, assembling an astonishing army of 80,000—the largest military mobilization since the Later Jin regime's inception.

"This is truly an unprecedentedly powerful force; it will surely catch Mao Wenlong completely off guard." Mangultai stood atop the city wall, watching the large contingent of troops filing out of Liaoyang's gates. The vanguard of 30,000 had already reached Phoenix City. But the rearguard hadn't finished marching from Liaoyang.

Today, Mangultai would lead the last batch of troops out, and Huang Taiji, preparing to use the empty city ruse, would come to see him off. Upon hearing Mangultai's lament, Huang Taiji laughed and said, "Such a golden opportunity is rare. Even if we can't eliminate the Dongjiang Army once and for all, we must ensure Mao Wenlong can't recover his strength within a year."

Although Mangultai knew Huang Taiji was unlikely to change his mind, he still asked one last time with concern, "Are you really not even leaving any guards?"

"No, there's no point in delaying. We need to defeat Mao Wenlong as quickly as possible. Besides, if Liaoxi really dares to send troops, what good will leaving a squad of white-armored guards do?" Huang Taiji and the other three great beile had discussed this issue many times. Whenever the Later Jin army stayed outside Liaozhong for more than a month, Mao Wenlong would definitely come to cause trouble, so the Later Jin simply didn't have time to dismantle the strategic encirclement in other directions.

But if they attacked Mao Wenlong, Mongolia and Liaoxi would pose a fatal threat to the Later Jin, and the main force of the Later Jin army would be tied down by the strategic encirclement. To disintegrate Mongolia and Liaoxi, one must first defeat Mao Wenlong; to defeat Mao Wenlong, one must first disintegrate Mongolia and Liaoxi… This was a vicious cycle that could not be broken from within.

“This opportunity is too rare; we must unhesitatingly devote all our strength.” Huang Taiji looked at Mangultai, whose face still showed worry, and smiled easily: “Fifth Brother, rest assured, I can deceive Yuan Chonghuan for half a year without any problem. The only problem is provisions; you must act swiftly.”

“Four months’ worth of provisions should be enough. We can also collect some locally in Korea. What I’m worried about isn’t that, but what about the second half of this year?”

To gather the necessary military provisions, Huang Taiji not only plundered the reserves of the Manchu Eight Banners and the left and right wings of Mongolia, but also swore an oath to the Han people under his rule that if they handed over even a peck of rice, they would be exempt from all taxes and labor for the year. Some Han people didn’t believe a word Huang Taiji said, but others, with some skepticism, produced their hidden grain and took the Later Jin regime’s guarantee of tax exemption for the year.

When Huang Taiji made his promise, the other three Beile all chose to support him, because they all knew that this was the only chance to escape the military predicament. However, if Huang Taiji really kept his promise, not only would the Eight Banners lose tens of thousands of bondservants, but this year's grain tax would also be halved.

Although for now, they could only take it one step at a time, Mangultai was also full of worries about the future. If they still couldn't get enough to eat by winter, they would have no choice but to start killing the Han people again. Everyone knew that the more they killed, the fewer people they had under their rule, and that their demise was only a matter of time. But even though they knew it was poison, they had no choice but to drink it when the time came.

"Fifth Brother, don't worry, I have a plan." Huang Taiji smiled mysteriously and dismissed the doubtful Mangultai.

...

In the first month of the seventh year of Tianqi, Amin led 30,000 vanguard troops from Fenghuang City to launch a feigned attack on Kuandian. After learning that the Mongols could not come to reinforce, Mao Wenlong ordered the Dongjiang main force to launch a fierce attack on Zhenjiang, trying to relieve some of the pressure on Chen Jisheng. After successfully luring the enemy out, Amin bypassed Mao Wenlong's main force and launched a surprise attack on Uiju, Korea. Later Jin insiders opened the city gates to welcome Amin into the city. More than 10,000 refugees from Uiju and the nearby Dongjiang area were killed. Mao Wenlong hastily retreated by sea to Dongjiang Island and ordered an emergency mobilization of the second-line Dongjiang troops near Tieshan.

...

At the end of January of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), the Ming court, receiving an urgent report from Mao Wenlong, urgently asked the Liaodong governor for a plan. Yuan Chonghuan told the court: There is no need to panic. Just send an envoy with a letter from Yuan Chonghuan, and you can force Huang Taiji to withdraw his troops!

Unfortunately, although Yuan Chonghuan gave the order, Huang Taiji refused to withdraw. In mid-January, after the Later Jin captured Uiju, 80,000 troops poured into Korea. Amin, Mangultai, Jirgalang, and others immediately divided their forces into two routes. 50,000 troops headed towards Tieshan, a crucial supply depot for the Dongjiang army, and captured it in February. Dongjiang's meager reserves also fell into enemy hands.

After the loss of supplies at Tieshan, the Dongjiang main force was almost rendered immobile. Chen Jisheng hurriedly ordered the Right Wing to descend the mountain and launch a series of desperate suicidal attacks on the Later Jin army's supply lines, attempting to divert some pressure from the main force. The Left Wing was still in a chaotic reorganization phase and had no immediate offensive capability. Mao Wenlong hastily ordered Zhang Pan to transport the Left Wing's stored grain back to the main force while simultaneously appealing to the court for help, hoping that the Ming army in Liaoxi could intervene to buy the Dongjiang army a respite.

The Ming court then urgently ordered Yuan Chonghuan to attack the Liaozhong Plain. Yuan Chonghuan submitted a memorial arguing, "Commander Mao avoids the ice and snow in winter, which is common knowledge. Those left at Tieshan are only the old, weak, and women!" In short, Yuan Chonghuan believed that the situation in Korea was not critical at all, and Mao Wenlong still had considerable resources to spare, so he did not send troops.

Late February of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Beijing.

The cabinet read the latest memorial from the Liaodong governor to Emperor Tianqi. Yuan Chonghuan said he was "already aware" of the Later Jin's plan to attack Korea. He explained that his previous statement that the Later Jin's target was Liaoxi rather than Korea was not due to oversight, but because Yuan wanted to use the opportunity to build fortifications. Yuan Chonghuan even proposed a grand plan: to build fortifications step by step, "from Jinyi to Guangning to Liaoshen, building solid fortifications at each step." He believed that as long as the fortifications reached Huang Taiji's doorstep without interruption, "victory could be achieved in four years."

"Nonsense!" Emperor Tianqi jumped up from his throne, his arms trembling with anger. "Reinforcements are needed as quickly as possible! I'm talking about reinforcements, not fortifications! This is the immediate problem, not something for four years from now."

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Gu Bingqian and the others kowtowed in thanks, then stammered, "Your Majesty, trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust. Let the Liaodong governor act as he sees fit."

"No, although I am ignorant of military affairs, the Liaodong governor's actions are certainly wrong." Tianqi had recovered from his anger. He took a deep breath and said loudly, "Issue the Liaodong governor: 'If Korea is unable to withstand the attack and is forced to surrender, the Jurchens will become even more powerful, which is not in our interest.'...Issue another decree to the Liaodong governor: 'Order the Guan-Ning army to strike directly at the tiger's den,' to relieve Mao Wenlong's predicament."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

In early March of the sixth year of Tianqi's reign, Liaodong governor Yuan Chonghuan defied the decree for the third time, submitting a memorial stating that he was not unaware of the 100,000-strong Later Jin army attacking Korea. This time, Yuan Chonghuan also admitted that Mao Wenlong probably could not withstand this force. However, Yuan Chonghuan argued that he guessed, heard, and estimated that the Later Jin army actually numbered only 200,000, because since Huang Taiji dared to stay in Liaoyang, he must have been commanding 100,000 troops to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out.

Since Huang Taiji had left behind an army no less formidable than the Guan Ning Army, and Yuan Chonghuan was well aware of the enemy's treacherous schemes, Yuan Chonghuan believed that attacking Liaodong was absolutely out of the question.

"...I've heard that the enemy has 100,000 troops plundering the Xianbei and another 100,000 stationed there. What have they seen to presume such a weak position? Even if we were

to launch a full-scale attack, no matter how far our forces could penetrate, what harm would it do to the well-prepared Yi tribesmen?" In the Golden Palace, Emperor Tianqi shook his head, muttering, "This is wrong. Although I have never fought a war, this is definitely wrong."

Before Gu Bingqian could finish reading, Tianqi impatiently said, "Get to the point. What exactly does the Liaodong governor intend to do?"

"Your Majesty, the Liaodong governor says he is building three fortresses: Dalinghe, Xiaolinghe, and Xingshan." "Gu Bingqian dared not say a single good word for Yuan Chonghuan now. He kept repeating, 'What the Liaodong governor said, what the Liaodong governor said,' as if to absolve himself of any responsibility. Gu Bingqian flipped through Yuan Chonghuan's memorial and quietly read it to the emperor: 'The Liaodong governor said, "If the city is not intact and the enemy arrives, we will inevitably retreat, which would be abandoning our victory!' The Liaodong governor believes we should not provoke the Jurchens to avoid being attacked."

"If we don't provoke the Jurchens, will they not attack?" Tianqi shook his head, his face weary. "I don't want to argue with the Liaodong governor anymore. Three strikes and he can't disobey the imperial decree again. Issue another decree, ordering him to send troops immediately."

"As you command."

...

In mid-March of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, following repeated orders from the court, Yuan Chonghuan dispatched 500 sailors to support Mao Wenlong, and then ordered Zhao Shuaijiao to lead 9,000 troops out of the Daling River and advance towards Sancha River, a hundred li away, to prepare for building a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

At the end of March, after the main force of the Later Jin army penetrated deep into the Korean heartland, the Dongjiang Army launched a counterattack against the Later Jin army's flank and rear. The Ming army and the Later Jin army engaged in fierce fighting in the Tieshan area, while the

Guan Ning Army had not yet completed the pontoon bridge. In early April, the Dongjiang Army recaptured Tieshan, but the Guan Ning Army still hadn't finished building the pontoon bridge.

On April 11th, Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Army engaged in a fierce battle with the Later Jin army at Pingshan. The Ming army won a great victory in this battle, taking over a thousand heads, including those of bondservant and Han soldiers. Upon inspection at Laideng Town, more than 500 Later Jin armored soldiers were found among them, and the Later Jin army decided to retreat. At this time, the Guan-Ning Army had not yet completed the pontoon bridge...

On April 15th, the Dongjiang Army recaptured Changcheng, and the Guan-Ning Army...

On April 18th, the Dongjiang Army fought fiercely with the Later Jin Army at the Yalu River. The Later Jin Army began to retreat from Korea, and the Guan-Ning Army... At the end

of April, Yuan Chonghuan ordered the Guan-Ning Army to withdraw. When they left, the pontoon bridge was still not completed.

...

On the fifth day of the fifth month of the seventh year of Tianqi, in the capital.

"The Liaodong pacification and aid to the Xianbei are extremely impressive. However, the government troops stopped at the river, which is truly a paper army. Are the Liaodong troops really usable?"

Gu Bingqian finished reading Wang Zaijin's impeachment memorial, and secretly glanced at the emperor. Tianqi's lips were tightly pursed. The cabinet knew that this expression meant that the emperor was in a bad mood, so no one was willing to step forward and provoke him.

"Grand Secretary Gu, what do you think?"

Although Emperor Tianqi's voice was as amiable as ever, Gu Bingqian's heart clenched upon hearing the question. He inwardly cried out, "Injustice! What has this to do with me?" But he couldn't ignore the emperor's question. Gu Bingqian quickly wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to remain unnoticed. "Your Majesty, this old minister heard from the Governor of Liaodong that..."

"I don't want to hear what the Governor of Liaodong has to say! I want to hear what you have to say! Aren't you my Grand Secretary? I want to hear what you have to say!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Please forgive me!" Gu Bingqian leaped from his chair with an agility beyond his years, kneeling and kowtowing.

Behind Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian's sleeves hung low, seemingly staring blankly at the tips of his boots, his gaze never meeting the ministers' eyes. The other two Grand Secretaries also stared expressionlessly at the tip of their noses, oblivious to the sounds around them.

Tianqi, his hands gripping the armrests of the throne, leaned forward slightly and softly comforted Gu Bingqian, saying, "I just want to hear your opinion, Grand Secretary. What are you apologizing for?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"Grand Secretary, please speak! You are my chief minister!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"Fine," Tianqi suddenly snapped, leaning back heavily, "Grand Secretary, just tell me what the Liaodong governor said?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Gu Bingqian replied steadily and forcefully, kneeling upright as if granted a pardon, "The Liaodong governor said: 'The three cities are complete, and the defenses are four hundred li away, making the defenses even stronger!' Taking advantage of the Later Jin's weakness, the three cities were successfully built, so Liaoxi should be safe." At this moment,

Tianqi rested his right elbow on the armrest of the throne, his hand supporting his forehead, and asked somewhat absentmindedly, "Is it confirmed that the three cities of Dalinghe are completed?"

"The Liaodong governor said they are completed."

"Hmm, at the end of last month, Commander Mao sent an urgent report saying that he had learned that the Jurchens would attack Liaoxi again on the sixth day of the fifth month, which is tomorrow. Commander Mao said he was too busy to attend to everything, so he ordered the Liaodong Military Command to prepare for defense. I just want to know if the three cities of Dalinghe, Xiaolinghe, and Xingshan have been repaired yet, and whether there will be any problems in Liaoxi?"

"Your Majesty, the Liaodong Governor said: 'If Hong Tai doesn't come, all is

well; but if he does, he will surely be captured by me.'" Tianqi gave a lazy, cold laugh: "The Liaodong Governor said, the Liaodong Governor said... Has the city been repaired or not? Is there any problem with the defense of Liaoxi? What did my Grand Secretary say?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"No crime, no crime." Tianqi called out impatiently twice, then stood up abruptly. Just now, a deep sense of disgust surged into the young emperor's chest, almost suffocating him. After standing up and catching his breath, Tianqi, feeling slightly better, looked down at the three Grand Secretaries before him, and the same feeling surged up again like a tidal wave, causing him to stumble. He decided to do some carpentry work to clear his head: "My head hurts, it hurts terribly. You Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs can discuss this matter yourselves. Don't bother me anymore. Whatever you want to do, I agree and approve!"

...

The ink on the treaty with Korea on April 18th was barely dry when, on May 6th, the exact day predicted in Mao Wenlong's memorial, Huang Taiji led the four banners of troops who had just returned to Liaozhong on a journey. In addition to the 10,000 armored soldiers of the four banners, Huang Taiji also mobilized 20,000 bondservants and bannermen, having them push carts of four men each to transport grain to western Liaozhong.

"Fifth Brother, you know how I'm going to solve the food problem, right?" Huang Taiji laughed at the man beside him from his horse. Mangultai's rear army had just returned to Liaoyang, and Huang Taiji immediately mustered his troops to set off.

"Are we going to Liaoxi to move the grain?"

"Haha, I've already found out. Yuan Chonghuan has just repaired three cities, including Dalinghe, and transported in a large amount of grain. He's also stationed tens of thousands of Guan Ning troops there. In addition, Yuan Chonghuan has established several thousand hectares of military farms in Liaoxi, settling dozens of military households, men and women. We can not only bring back the grain, but also capture hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers to farm. Look, the grain we exempted this year, and the bondservants we released, they've all come back, haven't they? Haha."

...

On the ninth day of the fifth month of the seventh year of Tianqi, in Xiapu.

Ouyang Xin solemnly put on the helmet with a five-inch red tassel on his head and stepped out of the tent of the temporary camp. The neat ranks of the fire brigade's engineering team immediately came into view, and on the sea behind them, huge, expansive ships were slowly rising and falling. Ouyang Xin scanned the Imperial Guard with extremely jealous eyes, took a deep breath, and shouted with all his might:

"Send troops! Our engineering corps must be the first to enter Yunnan!" The

period from the end of the sixth year of the Tianqi

reign to May of the seventh year was also a time of great development for Funing Town.

Funing Town was originally a military town with a mix of garrison troops and conscripted soldiers, but after successfully driving the Dutch out of Penghu, the "wise and mighty" Wei Zhongxian believed that the situation in Fujian was no longer a concern, so he immediately ordered the disbandment of all conscripted soldiers in Funing Town. Now, most of the elite soldiers in Funing Town have switched to piracy.

In addition to the tens of thousands of direct troops brought by Huang Shi, there were tens of thousands of male military households and 3,000 hectares of military farms in the Xiapu area. These 120,000 men were theoretically all garrison military households. If we only consider it theoretically, Huang Shi not only didn't have to pay them a single penny of military pay, but he could also take 20% of the income from the military farms each year to cover the expenses of the military town.

If Huang Shi were to actually do this, his mobilization capacity would drastically decrease to around 3,000 combat soldiers and 30,000 auxiliary troops, and even then, he might not be able to properly equip these 3,000 combat soldiers with weapons. This is roughly the normal mobilization capacity of a Ming army garrison. If he were to support a grand expedition to the southwest, Huang Shi could definitely mobilize no more than 5,000 troops, of which no more than 2,000 would be combat-ready, not even considering the loss of his personal guards, elite soldiers, and military settlements.

Under normal circumstances, a military commander at the level of a governor-general would only have this many troops under his direct command. The civil official group believed that this would ensure that the military commander would not have the ability to establish a separatist regime or rebel. However, Huang Shi did not intend to be just a normal military commander. In his ambitious plan, he wanted to train tens of thousands of combat troops and turn the entire military settlement of Funing Town into a large "industrial zone."

In early December of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign (1626), the last batch of workers, including Bao Bowen, arrived in Fujian, more than half a month earlier than Huang Shi had anticipated. Because the treasury's silver reserves were reserved for the Left Assistant of Dongjiang Town, Huang Shi had to divert funds from Liu Qingyang's loans to maintain the operation of Funing Town for a period of time.

Since it was diverting funds, Huang Shi cautiously only allocated 50,000 taels of silver in December. Although this amount was insignificant compared to the enormous sum of 2.7 million taels, it was still a considerable sum for the previously cash-strapped soldiers of Changsheng Island. After all, they had never dared to spend 50,000 taels of silver in a single month before.

With ample financial support, Huang Shi was able to utilize all his manpower to restore production capacity. The machine tools were quickly assembled, and in the water-rich Jiangnan region, Huang Shi could begin mass-producing machines instead of building windmills. However, for the sake of stable water flow and ease of control, Huang Shi initially planned to build several small reservoirs. For Huangshi's "heavy industry," reservoirs were like batteries, windmills like generators, and waterwheels like electric motors. Although Fujian didn't seem to need many generators, having a few extra "batteries" was always a good precaution.

After formulating a plan to fully develop the army, the production of armor and helmets was naturally the top priority for Funing Town. When Huangshi was transferred from Dongjiang Town to Funing Town, Emperor Tianqi even issued a special edict to Southern Zhili, ordering the Nanjing Armory to prioritize the military supplies for Funing Town.

However, the emperor's edict was one thing, and its execution was another. Huangshi knew very well that the supplies in the Nanjing Armory were not so easily obtained, so when Huangshi went to Quanzhou in the first month of the lunar calendar, he only asked the Fujian governor Zhu Yifeng for a large quantity of leather armor and gunpowder, without mentioning any iron armor.

From the mid-Ming Dynasty onwards, generals at all levels who wanted to obtain weapons for their troops generally had to pay one-tenth of the weapon's value, which was also the main source of income for the civil officials in charge of the armory. Therefore, generals at all levels were generally unwilling to equip their soldiers with expensive weapons like armor and shields, preferring to spend their money on their own retainers.

While it's absurd for national generals to spend money on equipment for the national army, Huang Shi lacked Mao Wenlong's courage to challenge the unspoken rules, and Mao Wenlong's predicament was enough to dampen Huang Shi's "fighting spirit." Therefore, Huang Shi decided to pay honestly and continue his opportunistic ways. Of course, Huang Shi only picked the cheaper items; a leather armor only cost two taels of silver to the armory official, and this time he requested five thousand sets of leather armor for his musketeers.

After three months of haggling and bargaining, with the help of some "old friends" in Southern Zhili, the Fujian governor Zhu Yifeng finally managed to obtain these items for Huang Shi after much effort. After the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War of Southern Zhili issued approvals, Huang Shi gave red envelopes to Zhu Yifeng and his friends in Southern Zhili, and then sent someone to the Nanjing armory to pay and retrieve the armor.

These leather armors were all of the most basic quality, offering limited protection, but their biggest advantage was their lightness; a single set weighed only twenty pounds. This wasn't a significant burden in the mountainous regions of the south. Besides his unwillingness to spend money, Huang Shi had another consideration. The various heavy armors, arquebuses, and breech-loading cannons produced by the Ministry of Works offered absolutely no guarantee of quality; counterfeit or substandard products were never returned.

Therefore, although Huang Shi now had the right to allocate weapons from the Ministry of Works, he preferred to produce his own iron armor and helmets, especially the iron armor needed by heavy infantry. Thanks to Bao Bowen's efforts, steel production began in Funing Town in the first month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), and by the end of the first month, Huang Shi's precious machine tools finally resumed operation.

In the first month, Huang Shi also managed to extract another 50,000 taels of silver from Liu Qingyang. With this financial support, Funing Town was transformed into a military town with a semi-military garrison and semi-recruitment system, where soldiers and workers received a fixed monthly salary of one tael. The others, of course, were simply cheap labor, paid for without cost. Some of them still had to continue farming and fishing, but Huangshi only collected a 10% tax, allowing him to free up other military households for manual labor.

In February of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), the Japanese shogunate launched an attack on the Choshu Domain. However, in terms of incompetence, the shogunate's army was no less formidable than the Choshu army Yang Zhiyuan had encountered on his previous trip to Japan. In his first report to Huangshi, Yang Zhiyuan claimed the only difference was that the shogunate's army was larger.

To prevent a humanitarian catastrophe against the people of Choshu, Yang Zhiyuan and the Iwashi Battalion naturally wouldn't stand idly by. Yang Zhiyuan reported to Huangshi that he planned to use the Choshu Domain's border fortresses to hold back the shogunate and Japanese feudal lords' armies coming from several directions, while concentrating the Choshu New Army and the Iwashi Battalion as a mobile force to defeat the punitive expeditionary force piecemeal.

By the end of February of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), Funing Town had produced six hundred sets of new armor. The armor used by the Funing Army consisted not only of a breastplate but also matching protective armor for the shoulders, arms, legs, and shins. Before finalizing production requirements, Huang Shi first consulted He Dingyuan. The latter stipulated that the weight of the entire suit of armor should not exceed 32 jin (approximately 16 kg). This figure was about 70% of the weight of a full set of heavy cotton armor, comparable to the weight of the iron armor issued to Huang Shi by Sun Chengzong.

He Dingyuan believed that this weight would not affect the infantry's tactical movements, so Huang Shi relayed this suggestion to the Funing Garrison's military industry department, allowing them to proceed independently. Huang Shi's main idea was to increase the iron content of the armor; the breastplate armor had an almost 100% iron content, which should both reduce weight and improve defensive effectiveness.

The produced armor satisfied Huang Shi, and the military industry department even further reduced the weight to 30 jin (approximately 15 kg), only 10 jin heavier than the leather armor of musketeers. Furthermore, the standard helmets of Funing Garrison would be integrated with the Funing Garrison's iron armor. In this way, when the helmet is attacked, the chest will bear the brunt of the impact; this type of helmet weighs

five jin (approximately 2.5 kg). At the beginning of this month, Huang Shi received another 50,000 taels of silver from Liu Qingyang. After receiving this money, Huang Shi immediately trained 8,000 new recruits. Including the existing troops, Funing Town now has over 15,000 combat troops on payroll. The Military Industry Department also needs to pay nearly 2,000 people, amounting to 17,000 taels per month, plus training and maintenance costs. The monthly expenditure on the army has already exceeded 30,000 taels.

In March of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Liu Qingyang's trading group began to generate income last month. The Dark Council was optimistic about the trading's profit prospects, even after deducting necessary interest. The total profit for February reached approximately 150,000 taels of silver. The first order Huang Shi issued after reviewing the reports was: Liu Qingyang must hand over 100,000 taels of silver in March.

After receiving the money, Huang Shi expanded the military industry bureau, and the expanded Funing Town military industry bureau suddenly had more than 8,000 people. The military pay for Funing Town this month was as high as 24,000 taels. Faced with the generous military pay, many girls from the mountainous areas of Fujian began to be tempted, and some began to marry into Funing Town.

During this month, Yang Zhiyuan kept sending good news. Under the joint "persuasion" of the Panshi Camp and the new military district of the Choshu Domain, the southwestern domains of Japan repented and withdrew from the unjust war against the people of Choshu. These domains also expressed their willingness to further strengthen cooperation with the Choshu Domain.

However, "privately sending troops is tantamount to rebellion," and Japan was a "country not to be conquered" designated by Zhu Hongwu, so Huang Shi did not dare to openly collude with the Japanese domains. He had to leave these tasks to Kuroshima Kazuo. After all, the governor Nobuyoshi was, after all, a senior member of the Choshu Domain, and it was not entirely reassuring to have him help Huang Shi manage the business.

Yang Zhiyuan also reported to Huang Shi that the main force of the Japanese shogunate, after a month of fierce fighting, was still halted at the border fortresses of the Choshu Domain. Although the troops stationed in the fortresses were also old-style troops from the Choshu Domain, they were equipped with a large number of artillery pieces, and these fortresses were old-style bastion structures designed by the engineers of Chosei Island for the Choshu Domain.

The Japanese shogunate army, mainly equipped with bows and arrows, bamboo spears, and samurai swords, was at a loss against the Choshu Domain fortresses and could only hope to capture them through a long siege. According to Yang Zhiyuan, the Iwashi Battalion and the new Choshu Domain army suffered almost no losses in the previous battles and were currently recuperating in the rear, preparing to set off next month to fight the main force of the shogunate.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhiyuan also reported that after witnessing the power of the new army of the Choshu Domain, the prestige of the garrison commander Nobuyoshi within the Choshu Domain had just reached a new peak. The tense atmosphere at the start of the war among the Choshu soldiers had also dissipated, and cries of "Fight to Kanto, burn Edo!" were rampant. The senior garrison commanders had secretly consulted Yang Zhiyuan about the issue of public opinion guidance, and Yang Zhiyuan therefore asked Huang Shi to clarify the next course of action.

In April of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Huang Shi received another 100,000 taels of silver from Liu Qingyang. Although the Funing Garrison was not expanded that month, Huang Shi ordered a pay raise for the soldiers, increasing the monthly salary of ordinary soldiers from one tael to one tael and five mace. This salary was comparable to that of the Guan Ning Army and far exceeded the usual three mace of silver for recruits in Zhejiang Province.

The soldiers of the Funing Garrison naturally strongly supported Huang Shi's decision, and Huang Shi took this opportunity to restore the silver coin system, still referring to it externally as military notes. This time, Huang Shi learned his lesson. He forged the edges of the silver coins with spiral patterns to prevent others from scraping off the scraps. The newly issued coins were still 70% silver, so if no one exchanged them, Huang Shi, despite raising wages, didn't actually spend more silver.

Huang Shi maintained his credibility by allowing free exchange of silver coins. Although some new recruits exchanged their coins for silver themselves, under the influence of veteran soldiers, most Fujian recruits trusted Huang Shi. The silver coins were indeed convenient, and their value was clearly stated, so they wouldn't be cheated.

This wage increase immediately caused a sensation in the vicinity of Funing Town. For example, the agricultural tax in Fujian, set by the Wanli Emperor, was only five li per mu per year, and a shi of high-quality rice cost only four qian of silver. Yet, soldiers in Funing Town received one liang and five qian of military pay per month. Ordinary farmers and fishermen might earn less in a year than a soldier in a month.

By April, for an entire month, large groups of people in Funing Town were signing up for the army every day. However, Huang Shi had already issued an order that recruitment should prioritize local military households. Disappointed, many of the men who came to enlist actually requested to join the army, starting as ordinary military households in Funing Town. Even after being informed that there were no further plans to expand the army, many still said it didn't matter, insisting on becoming military households to work for Huang Shi for free. They just wanted food.

Since the masses were so enthusiastic, Huang Shi felt bad about disappointing them, so he recruited tens of thousands of people for manual labor, even waiving the usual resettlement allowance.

With manpower, and after building more reservoirs and waterwheels, Huang Shi further implemented a three-shift system. Anyway, the military company had trained several thousand workers, so there was no need to worry about manpower. After a month of working day and night, by the end of April, the military industry had produced 1,700 sets of armor. Combined with the output of March, Funing Town had stockpiled 3,000 sets of new iron armor. At the end

of April, Yang Zhiyuan led the Panshi Battalion to Funing Town. The just war waged by the people of Changzhou for regional autonomy had ended in mid-April. More precisely, the military conflict was essentially over after the combined forces of the Choshu Domain's new army and the Iwashi Army clashed with the Tokugawa army on April 8th; what remained was the work of the politicians. The

Choshu army was centered around 3,000 modern soldiers, supplemented by nearly 10,000 highly motivated peasants defending their homeland; their enemies were over 50,000 peasants from the Kanto region, along with thousands of armored "sword masters," who had been besieging a fortified castle for two months.

The result of the battle was that, under the bombardment of field artillery, the Tokugawa army, like its predecessors who had first encountered this force, began to crumble rapidly. The Tokugawa hatamoto samurai of this era were indeed slightly stronger than the Choshu Domain army and the armies of the southwestern domains. They even attempted to maintain their formation and advance into hand-to-hand combat. But when the new army used terrifying chain shot and grapeshot, this force, hailed as the strongest in Japan, began to rout. The last few samurai were riddled with bullets by muskets...

After defeating the shogunate army, the allied forces pursued them for a day. By nightfall, they had beheaded tens of thousands and captured over 20,000 prisoners. Following Huang Shi's instructions, the commander of the garrison, Nobuyoshi, displayed the demeanor of a true statesman, not only providing the tens of thousands of prisoners with a full meal but also releasing them unconditionally.

The conditions ultimately proposed by the Choshu Domain left the shogunate speechless with astonishment. Never before in Japanese history had such reasonable, well-founded, and measured conditions been offered, especially against the backdrop of this unprecedented defeat. To prevent the Choshu Domain from reneging, the Tokugawa shogunate hastily sent envoys to sign a new treaty with the Choshu Domain, thus restoring peace to Japan.

After the Iwashi Battalion arrived in Fujian, the three field battalions under the Fuzhou Garrison—the Firefighting Battalion, the Iwashi Battalion, and the Vanguard Battalion—had a total of 9,000 officers and soldiers, with a shortage of 6,000 men. By the end of April in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), Huang Shi's 8,000 new recruits had completed basic training. He immediately replenished all three field battalions to full strength and selected some promising officers and soldiers from the three older field battalions, placing them in the Tianyi Battalion along with the remaining new recruits.

By May 1st of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), the three battalions of Fuling Town—Jiuhuo, Panshi, and Xuanfeng—had 15,000 officers and soldiers, comprising 24 infantry units, and three artillery, cavalry, engineer, and supply units. The 24 infantry units included 6,000 pikemen and 3,600 musketeers. Huang Shi had 3,000 sets of new-style armor and 2,200 sets of remaining old-style iron armor, plus 3,600 sets of leather armor, finally completing the basic armor supply for the infantry.

The supply units, needless to say, had no armor, and the artillery units' armor had been completely removed; the artillerymen no longer needed to fight desperately. The engineer units were issued a batch of leather armor. As for the cavalry, Huang Shi once again withheld all their iron armor, issuing only leather armor to make do.

He Dingyuan came over and grumbled bitterly. But Huang Shi genuinely ran out of supplies. To procure iron armor for the infantry, he had even taken back the iron armor from the Imperial Guard. Besides, within the Fuzhou military system, the cavalry's main task was reconnaissance and pursuit, so Huang Shi had a perfectly valid reason for not providing them with iron armor. In the end, He Dingyuan had no choice but to accept reality.

Before He Dingyuan left, Huang Shi comforted him, saying, "Brother He, don't worry. In another two months, the infantry armor will be almost complete, and then I'll start producing breastplates. That'll be for the cavalry."

He Dingyuan, who had already stepped out of the tent, pulled his leg back upon hearing this. "General," he said, "I've heard you say this for years, but every time there's a shortage of supplies, you take them from the cavalry without a second thought. If the infantry doesn't have armor, you take it from the cavalry; if the artillery doesn't have horses, you take them from the cavalry; and the Imperial Guard simply takes men from the cavalry."

Huang Shi laughed, "Isn't that because Brother He trains his troops so well? You've trained eight thousand elite soldiers, so naturally, supplies have become a bit tight."

"No, General, you're blaming me again," He Dingyuan vehemently denied this. He retorted loudly, "Every time I suggest training more cavalry, you always say you don't have the money. But whenever you have a little money, you expand the infantry, artillery, engineers, and even supply troops, while constantly cutting back on the cavalry. There's no hope at all. This time in Fujian, you expanded the infantry by eight thousand in one go. If you still say you don't have the money, I absolutely don't believe it."

"One horse is worth ten foot soldiers. Eight thousand infantrymen sounds like a lot, but if you're raising horses, that money is only enough to support a thousand cavalrymen. Besides, we're going to the southwestern mountains. A thousand cavalrymen are clearly not as effective as eight thousand infantrymen."

"No matter where we go, a thousand cavalrymen can't beat your eight thousand infantrymen, but that's not a reason not to form a cavalry force!" He Dingyuan's voice grew louder and louder, and the veins on his neck were bulging.

"I know, I know." Huang Shi smiled, not angry at all. Seeing that He Dingyuan's resentment had reached a certain point, he decided to reveal a secret to him: "Alright, actually I've already bought a batch of fine horses, horses you've definitely never seen before."

"What kind of fine horses?"

"Brother He, what's the heaviest horse you've ever ridden?"

"Hmm, about 550 jin, less than 600 jin, that was back in my hometown in Shaanxi. In Liaodong, they all have small horses weighing 400 jin, nothing like the horses from Shaanxi."

Mongolian horses are generally only around 200 kilograms, and they struggle to carry one person. Huang Shi's mount, though carefully selected, was only slightly over 500 jin. He himself weighed 180 jin, plus dozens of jin of armor and weapons, leaving the horse with no strength left to wear any horse armor.

"Yes, the Hetao horses of Shaanxi are indeed world-famous, but those kinds of large horses are not common, are they?"

"Not common, horses weighing over 400 jin are the most common."

Huang Shi nodded, holding up a finger and waving it at He Dingyuan: "Brother He, after I came to Xiapu, I ordered a batch of breeding horses from the Hongyi. These horses all weigh over 1200 jin."

He Dingyuan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Barbarians just talk nonsense. Where would you find such large horses? I've never heard of such a thing."

"So, even if I really bought them, Brother He, you wouldn't want them?"

He Dingyuan looked at Huang Shi suspiciously, while the latter leisurely raised his teacup and began to drink tea: "Yes! Why wouldn't I want them? But I've heard that a horse weighing over 600 jin is already worth over 1000 taels of silver. If there really is a horse weighing over 1000 jin, it would cost at least 10,000 taels of silver."

"The Hongyi horses are cheaper here. I made an appointment with the Jesuits last December. They'll find me ten stallions and twenty mares. After a month of raising them here, they need to reach 1200 jin (600 kg). I'll pay them 200,000 taels of silver." Huang Shi made it clear he wanted stallions, to be used for breeding.

He Dingyuan mentally calculated that 1200 jin of horses, besides carrying people, could also carry 70-80 jin of heavy armor. This truly delighted him: "Sir, when will the horses arrive?"

"They should arrive this year."

Huang Shi's words stunned He Dingyuan. He murmured, "But it's only April now."

"Yes," Huang Shi admitted without batting an eye, "Once these horses arrive, we'll start breeding them. Then, once the foals are grown, Brother He, you can build a powerful cavalry."

...

May 3rd, 7th year of Tianqi. Xiapu.

Huang Shi paid this month's military pay with his treasury's silver coins and still had 10,000 taels left over. The military farms had yielded considerable profits. The harvest from the military town was enough to feed its hundreds of thousands of people. At the end of last month, Huang Shi ordered Liu Qingyang to pay 200,000 taels of silver this month, and the money arrived yesterday. Huang Shi checked the accompanying report; due to Huang Shi's continuous levies of large sums of silver, Liu Qingyang hadn't yet covered the deficit.

"No rush, there are still more than two years,"

Huang Shi said with a relaxed attitude. In the past four months, he had poured 350,000 taels of silver into building a nearly 20,000-strong Fu Ning Army. Besides the 17,000 troops in four field battalions, Fu Ning Town also directly administered a 700-man internal guard, a 200-man training corps, a 1,500-man medical corps, a town-level supply corps, and varying numbers of staff, intelligence, logistics, and law enforcement officers.

Including the 8,000-man military production officer, the core organization of Fu Ning Town was close to 30,000 people. The monthly military pay was over 40,000 taels of silver. Adding in the costs of training, canteens, and other expenses, the maintenance cost of Funing Town had already exceeded 70,000 taels. Fortunately, the military households in the town were not only self-sufficient but also helped Huang Shi share some of the burden, and were also a potential source of manpower.

"When I have more money, sooner or later I will make sure all the male soldiers in the military households of Funing Town receive basic military training, otherwise what kind of military households are they?"

After receiving the huge sum of 200,000 taels of silver, Huang Shi immediately announced that he would be setting off for the southwest: "This time, my Funing Army will mobilize all 15,000 officers and soldiers from the Firefighting, Rock, and Vanguard Battalions. We will also mobilize 500 guards, 1,000 medical personnel, and the town's directly administered supply corps. In addition, the General Staff, the Military Intelligence Department, and the Military Law Department will also send people to accompany us, for a total of 18,800 officers and soldiers."

The audience below were all in high spirits. The scale of this troop deployment was unprecedented, and the generals of Funing Town were all excited and thrilled.

"Award Zhao Manxiong the additional rank of Lieutenant General. While I am away, Lieutenant General Zhao will be fully responsible for the military affairs of the old camp in Xiapu. After I leave, Lieutenant General Zhao can recruit and train two thousand new soldiers from the military households, and at the same time, have the two thousand officers and soldiers of the Tianyi Battalion ready to fill the vacancies of the three battalions at the front."

"Yes, sir. This subordinate will certainly do his best and live up to the General's trust."

"Good. This time I am going to the southwest to oversee the military affairs of four provinces, and it will be difficult for me to be in charge. Therefore, I have already reported to the Fujian Governor and the Ministry of War, requesting that they award General Yu the additional rank of Garrison Commander-in-Chief of Fujian. However, General Yu's post will still be in Xiamen. He will not interfere in Xiapu. During festivals, Lieutenant General Zhao should remember to send letters to General Yu to inquire after him. Do not be disrespectful." "

This subordinate understands. Please rest assured, General."

"Alright, here are the military arrangements. The Firefighting Battalion will depart before the 10th of this month, and I will depart with them; the Rock-Solid Battalion will depart on the 15th, led by Guerrilla General He; the Vanguard Battalion will depart on the 20th, led by Guerrilla General Jia."

"Yes, sir."

The Imperial Guards and engineers, as the first batch of troops to depart, were responsible for surveying roads and terrain to assist the main force's march. The Imperial Guards' main task was to direct traffic, while the engineers were responsible for drawing road sketches and estimating the main force's speed. The Firefighting Battalion's engineer team was also specially selected and placed under Ouyang Xin's command. They would travel by boat to Guangzhou with hundreds of Imperial Guard officers and soldiers to pre-plan the route along the main force's path and conduct advance reconnaissance.

... On

the 7th day of the 5th month of the 7th year of the Tianqi reign, in Liaodong.

After four months of fierce fighting that severely damaged the Dongjiang Army, Huang Taiji looked around and saw that the strategic encirclement that had once tightly gripped the Later Jin's neck was on the verge of collapse. He immediately abandoned his previous humble demeanor and sent a messenger to Yuan Chonghuan. In this letter, Huang Taiji ridiculed Yuan Chonghuan's four months of peace negotiations and openly provoked him, saying:

"...Even if you can fortify several cities, can all their cities and fields be truly secure? If the war does not end, then I, by Heaven's favor, will come to me in Beijing, and the Ming Emperor will flee to Nanjing. What will become of his reputation then?..."

On the seventh day of the fifth month, the vanguard of the Later Jin army arrived at the Liao River. On the eighth, the Later Jin army crossed the Liao River in a single day and set foot on western Liaoning.

After receiving Yuan Chonghuan's memorial, the Ming court finally issued an edict praising him and ordering him to strengthen defenses and prepare for a possible attack by the Later Jin army. However, nearly a month after receiving Mao Wenlong's warning, the generals, soldiers, military households, and merchants in western Liaoning still had not received any further warnings.

On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, Yuan Chonghuan's words of "the impregnable fortress" were still ringing in people's ears when Mangultai led two hundred Later Jin vanguard cavalry to the walls of Guangning Zhongzuo (Dalinghe). Caught off guard, the Guan Ning army commanders defending the city surrendered with all two thousand Guan Ning cavalry and tens of thousands of merchants and civilians. On

the ninth day of the fifth lunar month, Mangultai's two hundred cavalry arrived at the walls of Guangning Youtunwei (Xiaolinghe). Three thousand Guan Ning cavalry within the city surrendered. After Mangultai's agreement, they peacefully laid down their weapons and, together with the men, women, and children of the city, obediently headed east towards Liaoyang.

On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the Later Jin army reached Jinzhou. The defending general, Zhao Shuaijiao, was greatly surprised to see the Later Jin cavalry suddenly appear outside the city. He immediately sent envoys to surrender, pleading for a one-day extension so he could persuade his men to surrender as well. The Later Jin army agreed and bypassed Jinzhou, continuing their southward advance.

That afternoon, a scout galloped towards the Later Jin vanguard cavalry: "Your Highness, the garrison commander of Songshan surrenders."

Mangultai tilted his head and glanced at the scout, saying somewhat strangely, "But I haven't even reached the city walls yet."

The scout quickly dismounted and apologized to Mangultai, "Your Highness, please forgive us. We accidentally got too close and were seen by the Ming army at Songshan."

Earlier, after being discovered by the garrison commander of Tashan, the Later Jin scouts, emboldened by their upbringing, had gone directly to persuade them to surrender. The Tashan commander then asked them to tell Mangultai that if their lives were guaranteed, the garrison would be willing to open the city gates and surrender.

"Alright, but before they leave, dismantle the city walls. Save us the trouble."

"Yes, Your Highness, I will go and relay the order."

When Mangultai rode to the walls of Songshan, the Guan Ning cavalry inside the city were supervising all the merchants and civilians to tear down the city—which had cost the state 500,000 taels of silver and had been built less than a month ago—down to bare walls.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Tell the garrison commander to start dismantling the walls first thing tomorrow morning."

The next day, Mangultai instructed the Ming soldiers dismantling the walls as they set off: after the demolition was complete, they should carry the city's supplies and then proceed to Liaoyang.

On May 11th, the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army continued its southward advance while expanding its search area. On the same day, tens of thousands of Guan Ning cavalry stationed in Xingshan, Tuanshan, and Dading surrendered to the Later Jin army. The Later Jin's orders were essentially the same: they were to destroy or repair the castles, whether they were complete or not, and then carry the city's belongings to Liaoyang to regroup.

Meanwhile, the Ming army in the Ningyuan direction finally received the alarm. The Guan Ning cavalry stationed in Lianshan, Xiaotuanshan, and other forts abandoned their castles without hesitation and retreated en masse towards Ningyuan. Without firing a single arrow, the Later Jin army captured seventeen Ming cities, fortresses, and post stations outside the Great Wall.

By May 13th, 1627, all twenty large and small fortresses outside the Great Wall, painstakingly built by the Ming Dynasty over eighteen months at a cost of five million taels of silver since the Battle of Ningyuan, had been abandoned within four days. During this period, millions of taels of silver worth of grain, gunpowder, cannons, bows and arrows, armor, and swords and shields transported by the Ming Dynasty to these fortresses were also given away to the Later Jin army.

On May 14th, Jirhalang led reinforcements to catch up with Mangultai's vanguard: "The road is really difficult to travel, it's packed with people."

"Alas, quite a few have already fled," Mangultai sighed repeatedly. Since the day before yesterday, beacon fires had been lit throughout western Liaoning, and hundreds of thousands of civilians, merchants, and military households between Jinzhou and Ningyuan were fleeing south, which allowed Mangultai to capture far fewer people.

"Third Prince is truly greedy," Jirhalang laughed.

Mangultai glanced at the men following Jirgalang and frowned, "Why did you only bring so few men?"

Jirgalang only had a little over a thousand cavalrymen behind him. He calmly explained, "The garrison commander of Jinzhou, Zhao Shuaijiao, has changed his mind; he refuses to surrender."

"Oh, what does the Khan intend to do with him?" "

Jinzhou is a fortified city with deep moats. The Khan attacked it the other day, but it was very difficult. The city has many firearms and cannons."

"Haha," Mangultai laughed a few times, then looked back north, "These hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers in Liaoxi, at least they have a man of courage. It's truly remarkable."

"Haha, but there's more than one. The garrison commander of Dafubao also refused to surrender."

"Hmm, then there are two. How is the battle at Dafubao?"

"The Khan also sent men to attack, but it seems they can't take it either."

"We have so much stuff that we can't move it all. If we can't take it, we shouldn't fight anymore." Mangultai's mood had become very cheerful these past few days. Since Huang Shi left, life suddenly became wonderful again: "Last time we entered Liaoxi and it was like entering an empty land. This time it's the same at the beginning. Do you think Ningyuan will surrender?"

"Haha, let's go and see."

"Okay."

Jirhalang was in high spirits. This trip to Liaoxi looked like it would be very exciting: "Third Prince, our two Blue Banners have been fighting in Liaodong for so many years. Although Mao Wenlong and Chen Jisheng's soldiers are poorly dressed and call a wooden fence a castle, they're just smearing mud on top of that. But we've never won so easily. The roads in Liaoxi are full of strong cities and fortified walls. I've also seen the equipment of the surrendered Guan Ning army. They are truly well-armored and well-equipped. How could they be so easily defeated?"

"Hmph, what do Mao Wenlong's soldiers have besides their lives? And these guys in Liaoxi are well-fed. They're reluctant to die."

"Even if they're reluctant to die, why don't they try to fight? Besides, Liaoxi is completely undefended."

“Alas, Mao Wenlong is obsessed with fighting his way back to Liaodong, and his men naturally share this ambition. He harbors a deep hatred for us, so he sleeps with his eyes wide open. Yuan Chonghuan is preoccupied with peace talks, so he doesn't even bother with the most basic vigilance. With such cowards at the helm, the Guan Ning Army will never learn how to fight

, not even in ten thousand years.” After Mangultai finished speaking, a look of worry suddenly appeared on his face: “Those guys who eat more than those in Liaoxi and fight more desperately than those in Liaodong… those are the truly terrifying ones. You've always been in Liaodong, and you haven't seen those beasts yet.”

…

Hearing the drumbeats approaching from afar, the engineers and guards on the hilltop put down their work and turned together towards the official road. The officer on horseback, his face solemn, carefully adjusted his helmet, then slowly raised his hand to his ear, saluting the approaching army along with the others.

Golden sunlight streamed down from the sky, quickly filling the official road with the gleaming light of helmets and weapons, forming a metallic river. Above this silver river, countless white feathers, like sharp swords, pointed straight to the sky, swaying rhythmically forward alongside the densely packed spear blades between them.

The thunderous footsteps shook the earth, and the joyous drumbeats, like a nimble bird, danced around the ranks alongside the fiery red viper flags. The guards and engineers on the mountain stood ramrod straight, chests out, maintaining a motionless salute, like statues erected on the mountain.

Chapter 48: Fighting Spirit

. Before this expedition to the southwest, Huang Shi, after careful consideration, decided to directly command the Firefighting Battalion himself. He entrusted the Panshi and Xuanfeng Battalions to He Dingyuan and Jia Minghe, respectively. Barring unforeseen circumstances, these two would remain battalion commanders until the end of this expedition.

With the complete reorganization of the army, the Xuanfeng Battalion had long since lost all independence, and Jia Minghe was now just an ordinary general within Huang Shi's system. However, Huang Shi didn't intend to mistreat veterans like Jia Minghe and Pu Guanshui from this, as he felt that "crossing the river and burning the bridge" was a terrible reputation. Furthermore, bringing in new recruits would help dilute the established power of his older subordinates.

Huang Shi ordered the armor and artillery to be transported to Nanchang, and then shipped to Guizhou via the Yangtze River. However, since all soldiers carried helmets and weapons, Huang Shi felt that as an army, these basic equipment should be with the soldiers at all times. This month, Funing Town could produce some more armor, and this newly produced equipment would be transported to the southwest front with the highest priority. With this batch of supplies, Huang Shi felt that the shortfall in armor would be almost covered.

But the Yangtze River's shipping capacity was limited, making the transport capacity Huang Shi could obtain even more precious. According to Huang Shi's intelligence analysis, in the next few months, besides transporting supplies, he could only transport about one more battalion of troops. Ultimately, Huang Shi decided to use this capacity to transport the Vanguard Battalion and auxiliary personnel from the Military Intelligence Department and the General Staff Department.

The maritime transport along the southeast coast could also share some of the burden, transporting troops from Fujian to Guangzhou by sea, and then northward along the official roads of Guangdong to Guizhou. However, the transport capacity on this route was limited. Recently, pirates in the Fujian Sea had become increasingly active, diverting the main attention of the Fujian Navy, so the transport capacity could not support a battalion of troops.

Although the pirates' activities were becoming increasingly rampant, Huang Shi estimated that the pirates would not dare to rob troop transport ships full of officers and soldiers. Therefore, since there was still some transport capacity, Huang Shi would still make use of it. He ordered the Panshi Battalion to transfer most of its supplies to the Yangtze River route, and sent He Dingyuan to lead a group to Guangzhou by ship, and then to Guizhou by land.

After exhausting the transport capacity of the sea and the Yangtze River, the last battalion of troops had only one route left: to take the route through Jiangxi and Huguang by land to Guizhou. This route was undoubtedly the longest and most arduous, and there might be many troubles along the way. Huang Shi decided to personally lead the team on this route.

However, their hard work paid off. Although the fire brigade had to exert their utmost effort, their morale soared after they heard that Huang Shi was personally leading the team. As a veteran unit that had followed Huang Shi for six years, the soldiers in the fire brigade also felt a strong sense of pride.

"In critical moments, they still have to rely on our fire brigade."

"Our fire brigade is not only the most capable in battle, but also the most resilient."

"Our fire brigade is the oldest of the old camps under the General."

...

According to Zhang Zaidi's report, the officers and soldiers of the fire brigade were full of confidence and there were no complaints. Even the newly recruited soldiers were eager to try.

With the morale issue resolved, the remaining issues were logistics and speed. Besides the hardships of the march, there was also the burden of supplies. Although Huangshi could march without armor and cannons, grain was consumed in large quantities every day.

"Perhaps we can get some from the local government, so the troops can carry less grain. Anyway, our army is marching under orders and has the right to obtain supplies from the local area." When calculating the cost of transporting grain, Yang Zhiyuan gritted his teeth with heartache. If the grain for these 2,500 li had to be transported by manpower from Funing Town, then to ensure that these 5,000 people were fed, Funing Town would have to mobilize 100,000 auxiliary troops and hire a large number of vehicles and laborers along the way. The entire town would definitely be completely bankrupted and starved.

Jin Qiude immediately objected: "However, if supplies are obtained from local officials, the first issue is losses. This isn't a major problem; we can simply give them some. But I'm afraid it will affect the army's marching speed."

He Dingyuan was always silent on such matters. If Huang Shi hadn't dragged him in to listen, he would have been more interested in doing something else. Jia Minghe and Zhao Manxiong also had no objections; one was new and didn't want to talk much, and the other hadn't yet fully weighed the pros and cons.

Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the status of military officers had greatly declined. The civil official group felt it was essential to strengthen control over troop movements. The garrison system severely limited the logistical capabilities of individual military officers. Even Huang Shi now could barely organize long-distance grain transport, let alone ordinary military towns. Therefore, the civil officials believed that as long as they could control the grain supply along the way, they could further strengthen their control over military officers.

Therefore, before the collapse of discipline during the Chongzhen reign, local officials in the Ming Dynasty generally refused to directly hand over grain to the military commanders leading the troops. Instead, they would prepare the food and then dispatch local soldiers and yamen runners to supply it according to the population. Civil officials claimed that this would reduce the opportunity for military commanders to embezzle, but Huang Shi believed that this would make it easier for civil officials to embezzle.

If it were only this way, it would be tolerable. However, the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty then considered a new problem: was it necessary to feed the marching troops too much? The civil official group generally believed that if the soldiers were overfed, it would easily cause inconvenience to their movements, which was obviously not conducive to marching. Therefore, the civil official group later stipulated that only two meals a day should be provided to the passing troops.

If it were only this, it would still be tolerable. However, the civil official group of the Ming Dynasty soon discovered a potential loophole: if the army marched too fast, passing through two or even three counties a day, then the soldiers could eat four or even six meals a day. Wouldn't that be those soldiers taking advantage of the situation? Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's civil service added another regulation: troops arriving on the same day were not given food; they could only eat after staying in their current location for a day. This effectively blocked the last avenue for soldiers to "eat more than their share."

The members of the Ming army were human beings, not mules; they couldn't survive on grass. Soldiers naturally wanted to maximize their mealtimes. Therefore, even in emergencies, the Ming army would move for a day and stop for a day during troop movements to ensure soldiers could eat for one day out of every two days.

In reality, the Ming army's movement speed was often even slower. Soldiers knew that once they broke camp, they wouldn't have a chance to eat that day, so morale was extremely low upon departure, sometimes even leading to mutiny. Sometimes, generals, eager to get to their destination, had to offer rewards to entice soldiers to break camp.

If the situation wasn't urgent, soldiers naturally wanted to stay longer and travel less, and generals understood that hungry soldiers wouldn't move quickly even if they did. Low morale in the army not only slows down the march but also increases the risk of desertion and theft. Therefore, Ming generals generally avoided the hassle of forced marches and instead responded to the soldiers' pleas, slowly shuffling along the roads.

Jin Qiude's question about marching describes this situation. Now that they were marching inland, Huang Shi had to abide by these rules. If Huang Shi marched one day and rested the next, he would have to carry enough rations for the day's march, essentially paying half himself. If he marched one day and rested two, he could carry less rations, eating more at local government offices and less on the road. He could manage. If he slowed down like other Ming troops, he could have his soldiers save up some food each day, allowing him to march one day every three days. However,

if he did this, Huang Shi wouldn't reach Guizhou for at least a year and a half. Therefore, Huang Shi chose a third option—spending money. "

...

Sir, you plan to spend money to buy enough grain for five thousand troops?"

When Huang Shi uttered this idea, his officers were shocked. "How much money would that cost?"

Huang Shi thought this was the most convenient method because the local people always had surplus grain. As long as the army could provide the silver, even if the people didn't have enough grain themselves, they could buy it elsewhere, thus creating a large number of one-time logistics personnel. "It's cheaper than transporting it ourselves, and transporting silver is much lighter than transporting grain."

Although everyone agreed with Huang Shi, Yang Zhiyuan clearly hadn't gotten around to this: "But we are government troops, we are going to help the southwestern border army, why should our Funing Town have to pay?"

Huang Shi didn't think it was a big deal. Although it was strange for the border troops to be ordered to quell a rebellion and for the general to have to pay, wasn't this the Ming Dynasty? Feudal dynasties always have their historical limitations: "What we need most is time; spending more money isn't a problem."

Jin Qiude glanced at Huang Shi curiously: "General, are we in a hurry? I don't think we need to rush; taking it slow can save some money."

"That would take several more months, even several years. Besides, the first strike in a war is the most powerful. We need to get all three battalions to the Yunnan-Guizhou front within three months, then launch a thunderous attack to quickly quell the rebellion. That's the most cost-effective way." After Huang Shi finished speaking, he looked at Jin Qiude again and added, "It's the same for the country and for our Funing Town."

"Three months to walk from Xiapu to Guiyang..." Jin Qiude murmured the number, looked down at a document in front of him, and after a while looked up again and said, "General, this journey is about 2,400 li, which means 30 li a day for 90 consecutive days."

"Hmm, about right." Huang Shi nodded; he knew the number.

Previously, when we were in the hilly area of southern Liaoning, the daily marching speed of the Changsheng Island regulations was 40 li. If we used forced marches, we could reach 60 li per day, but forced marches could not be sustained for more than five days. Jin Qiude tentatively asked, "General, from Xiapu to Guizhou, almost all of the two thousand li is mountainous. Shouldn't we allow more time? If we reduce the marching speed to twenty li a day, I think it's perfectly feasible."

Li Yunrui also loudly echoed, "General, I agree with Guerrilla Jin's suggestion. In the past, the Ming army marched ten li a day on this route. Although they are far inferior to our Fuzhou army, we might not be able to reach thirty li a day."

Huang Shi planned to enter Jiangxi from Ruijin in Ganzhou Prefecture, then take the route through Hengzhou and Baoqing, traversing the entire Huguang region, and heading directly to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, via the shortest route: "Once we enter Guizhou, we will reach the border region. The shorter the travel time, the less money we will need, so we should try to speed up as much as possible."

Jin Qiude and the others seemed hesitant, after all, the average daily speed of the Ming army was generally ten li, and a strategic movement speed of fifteen li was already considered high speed. In the past, even the long-distance strategic movement speed of pure cavalry units was only twenty li a day. The thirty-mile distance proposed by Huang Shi was unprecedented. Therefore, they were all a little nervous.

Because this long-distance, high-speed march was a first for the Fuzhou army, Huang Shi's men, while not openly contradicting him, all wore expressions of worry on their faces. Huang Shi softened his tone and asked, "Gentlemen, what primarily determines marching speed?"

"First is logistics, ensuring the soldiers are well-fed and clothed. Second is morale; the higher the morale of the officers and soldiers, the faster the march."

"Hmm, not bad." Huang Shi was very satisfied with his men's understanding. He remembered that modern biology had stated that humans are the most enduring mammals on Earth, and modern military theory seemed to suggest that human marching speed is primarily determined by fighting will. Therefore, after the emergence of nation-states, the average daily marching speed of modern armies exceeded thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers). And in the 20th century, the daily marching speed of human armies advanced by leaps and bounds; apart from human legs, no other animal could keep up with the speed of armored vehicles and tanks.

In Huang Shi's original timeline, he didn't know which Chinese army could be considered a modern army. Therefore, Huang Shi could only use modern armies as a reference point. He traced the marching route he had drawn, and regardless of the season, China's first modern army advanced 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) per day along this route, maintaining this pace for a year without rear support or supplies.

Huang Shi, also Chinese, remembered the modern army's forced march record: within 28 hours, they had successively defeated two enemy forces, advancing 240 li (approximately 120 kilometers) along rugged mountain roads, then immediately crossed an iron chain bridge to defeat the last remaining enemy force. Most remarkably, they even managed to carry a small mountain gun and several heavy machine guns while speeding along the mountain path.

"I've painstakingly trained this army for so long; morale is high from top to bottom. Their fighting spirit is strong; surely they can't be less than 30% of theirs?

" "Does anyone here doubt the morale of my Fuzhou army?"

Huang Shi scanned his subordinates in the room; they were all silent. "Alright, let's settle on this then. Our only problem is ensuring the soldiers are well-fed and watered."

...

May 15th, the seventh year of the Tianqi reign.

Mangultai and Jirgalang's more than a thousand Later Jin cavalrymen marched straight south along the official road. As they advanced, houses and farmhouses on both sides of the road began to burn fiercely, turning into endless ruins. Occasionally, the cavalry could catch up with groups of Liaoxi military households or merchants fleeing south. These people, under the strict orders of the Later Jin army, turned back towards Liaoyang, towards their lives as slaves...

When Jirgalang arrived with reinforcements, the official road was almost blocked by soldiers and civilians heading north to surrender. Tens of thousands of people silently obeyed the orders of the Later Jin army, obediently burning down their houses and carrying their possessions towards Jinzhou. According to Jirgalang, as he marched south along the official road, his troops were like a small boat in a torrent, seemingly about to be capsized by the surrendered Liaoxi Ming army at any moment.

Because of their considerable gains, Mangultai and Jirgalang temporarily stopped their southward march and instead summoned Yuetuo and Ajige to help them move their property.

While the Later Jin were busy relocating their forces to Liaoxi, Huang Taiji was still determined to persuade Zhao Lüjiao to surrender.

One day, Huang Taiji proposed a plan to Zhao Lüjiao, the garrison commander of Jinzhou: a decisive battle would be fought outside the city, with the Later Jin sending ten men and the Ming army sending one thousand. If the Later Jin won, the Ming army would surrender; if the Ming army won, the Later Jin would lift the siege.

Zhao Lüjiao countered, "What if you take the opportunity to seize the city gates?"

Huang Taiji swore, "I guarantee I won't take the opportunity to seize the city gates."

Zhao Lüjiao replied, "I don't trust you!

" Huang Taiji then berated Zhao Lüjiao, saying, "Like a wild boar entering a cave, hiding its head and tail, howling wildly and thinking no one can stop it!"

On the same day, Huang Taiji sent a messenger rushing back to Liaoyang, ordering all Later Jin units to urgently mobilize and send a large number of men to relocate through the Liaoxi Corridor. Upon hearing of Huang Taiji's great success, Amin and Daishan, who had just returned to Liaoyang, also hurriedly set off. They disregarded even the main army still in Korea and yet to return to Liaozhong, hastily gathering 20,000 bannermen and bondservants, and pushing carts through the night towards the Liaoxi Corridor.

The Later Jin army, surrounding Jinzhou, continued its hauling from May 16th to May 22nd, then dug three trenches around Jinzhou to besiege Zhao Lüjiao, leaving a portion of its forces to guard the city. The main force of the Later Jin army then marched south along the official road, beginning to collect leftover grain and supplies near Ningyuan.

...

On May 24th, in Tingzhou, Fujian,

Huang Shi bid farewell to the officials and merchants who came to see him off, then silently waved goodbye as he mounted his horse. The drums thundered once more, and the red flag followed Huang Shi as he began to move forward. Behind the flag, the soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, their expressions solemn as they marched westward in a rolling procession.

Hong Antong leaned close to Huang Shi and whispered, "General, we're entering Jiangxi province soon. Yes, the prefecture capital, Ruijin."

"Yes, I know."

In the sixteen days since departing from Fuzhou, the fire brigade had covered 550 li, averaging nearly 35 li per day—faster than Huang Shi had anticipated. However, this long march was expected to continue for several more weeks. Huang Shi wasn't entirely sure how long his soldiers could hold out.

A dozen soldiers had fallen behind due to illness, but since they were marching on their own soil, Huang Shi didn't need to stop for them. The surrounding government offices had promised to send people to care for these soldiers. If the number of stragglers wasn't too large, the local administration could even arrange post horses for them to catch up. Once outside the city, Huang Shi dismounted and led the

way on foot along the official road with his soldiers. Unexpected events always occur during marches, and Huang Shi had already ordered that only the Imperial Guard and the engineering corps use horses. All other horses were reserved for the lightly wounded and sick; no one else was allowed to use them. Huang Shi didn't intend to attract too much attention upon entering the city, so he would ride for a while, but once outside the city, he would set an example by walking alongside the soldiers.

In Huang Shi's column, the warhorses were probably the lightest burdened; they carried nothing, and even their fodder was carried by the soldiers. However, even with this relaxed pace, the horses were constantly losing weight. These horses needed to eat several kilograms of grain daily to recover their strength, and at night, supply troops would feed them. But if nothing unexpected happened, Huang Shi estimated that in at most twenty days, the warhorses from Fujian would be unable to keep up with the column.

The horses used by the vanguard of the Imperial Guards and engineers had already been replaced at nearby post stations. Huang Shi secretly resolved that once they reached Jiangxi, he would no longer conserve their strength; aside from leaving a few horses for further experimentation, the rest would be used without restraint, and replaced as needed.

At each road fork, one or two fire-fighting engineer detachments or soldiers from the Funing Town garrison would silently guide the troops to the correct fork, then salute the massive column. These past few days, the engineers sent out had repeatedly discovered road problems or calculated the traffic flow of side roads in advance; their work had saved the entire battalion countless detours.

Huang Shi was quite creative, having all the garrison soldiers wear helmets dyed snow-white—the only thing missing was the word "Military Police" written on them. As for the engineers, Huang Shi had originally wanted to give them green helmets, but this design was unanimously opposed by the engineers, so now their helmets were all dyed yellow.

As they rode, a white-helmeted knight galloped straight to Huang Shi's side, leaned down, and loudly reported, "General, there's a village three miles ahead by the roadside."

Huang Shi didn't stop, simply replying, "Understood. Go."

"Yes, sir." The white-helmeted knight gave a solemn salute, then spurred his horse and galloped off.

As the dense ranks of imperial guards passed before the small village, some elderly people and children stood by the roadside, quietly watching this unusual force.

As Huang Shi strode through the village, he vigorously waved his right arm and shouted, "Brave, victorious!"

"Brave, victorious!"

the fire brigade soldiers echoed in unison, rhythmically raising their weapons twice to the upper right.

"Brave, victorious!"

The resounding shouts echoed throughout the small village as the dense, continuous ranks of soldiers passed by. With each passing village, the fire brigade soldiers would shout this rallying cry. And each time, their steps seemed to become lighter, even in the twilight when the sun was setting; the soldiers' impassioned shouts simultaneously banished their weariness.

At midday, the fire brigade moved into their designated resting place. Local villagers, whom they had gathered to help, had already prepared food. According to the latest orders, the fire brigade soldiers had to loudly thank the surrounding villagers before taking their share of food.

"Thank you, thank you!" Zhang Chengye said loudly twice before running to the side with his several large steamed buns to start eating. Just as he was about to take his first bite, a commoner suddenly handed him a ladle of water. Zhang Chengye immediately stood up, took the ladle, and hurriedly said, "Thank you. Thank you." Huang Shi mobilized

all his propaganda tools to tell the soldiers about the righteous deeds of these commoners. He told the soldiers that without these commoners selling them food and cooking for them, they would be hungry or eating cold food. Huang Shi said these words every day, until Zhang Chengye's ears were calloused. However, Zhang Chengye dared not say a word of nonsense; he still remembered Wang Qinian's lesson.

Last time, when Huang Shi was speaking, Wang Qinian muttered under his breath, "Don't they also take money?"

For this one grumbling, Huang Shi immediately turned on him and demoted Wang Qinian from a centurion to a battalion commander. He was only temporarily given the title of Qianzong (a military rank) and allowed to continue leading the troops. Huang Shi also claimed that, considering Wang Qi's first offense, he was only being treated leniently. If he heard similar words from any other officer, that officer would not be allowed to remain in the fire brigade but would be immediately sent back to Funing Town and placed in the reserve officer rank.

These days, Huang Shi had repeated this point of view over and over again: regardless of whether these people received money or not, their selling goods to the fire brigade was a favor, and all the work the people did for the fire brigade was a righteous act; all the people who had helped the fire brigade were righteous citizens and righteous men; it was with the help of these righteous men that the fire brigade could march lightly and did not have to transport grain from Funing Town themselves; he, Huang Shi, had no way to repay these righteous men, so he could only give them silver worth twice the market value as a token of his gratitude.

With repeated brainwashing from the internal guards, the loyalist Catholic Church, and the officer system, Zhang Chengye gradually began to believe that Huang Shi's words made some sense, and his soldiers became increasingly grateful to the people they encountered along the way.

While the fire brigade soldiers were eating, Huang Shi had Hong Antong hand over silver far exceeding the market price to the village chief, while he personally thanked the elder repeatedly. Only after the embarrassed elder left did Huang Shi breathe a sigh of relief and begin eating his own meal.

Hong Antong, while taking a large bite of his steamed bun, exclaimed, "The Commander-in-Chief is truly courteous to his men!"

Huang Shi smiled and said, "They helped us a great deal, didn't they? It's only right that I express my gratitude."

"The Commander-in-Chief is wise,"

Hong Antong, a senior officer from Funing Town who participated in Huang Shi's decision-making, fully understood Huang Shi's true intentions. Huang Shi believed that besides paying double the market price, the soldiers should also be genuinely grateful to the people. Huang Shi also believed that there were no fools in the world, and that ordinary people could sense whether someone was truly grateful.

Hong Antong had once doubted that, given the fire brigade's marching speed, even if Huang Shi did a lot of good deeds, the news wouldn't spread very far. But Huang Shi had told him with a smile, "You underestimate the people. I assure you, their news travels ten times faster than our march."

The situation these past few days increasingly proved Huang Shi's prediction correct. The Imperial Guards were finding it increasingly easy to purchase provisions, and every day they encountered people on their way, seemingly going to a market. Many of them had set off before dawn, traversing mountains and valleys from miles away, and were already waiting on the fire brigade's route to sell their agricultural products to the Fu Ning army.

Not long after the column had set out in the afternoon, an Imperial Guard arrived to report that the fire brigade's dinner and lodging for the night were secured. Several villages ahead had even erupted into a dispute over the opportunity to help the fire brigade build a temporary camp and provide dinner; in the end, the Imperial Guard in charge simply dispersed the troops, allowing several villages to have some business.

"Ah, I have a feeling our journey will become more and more comfortable," Huang Shi sighed, his feet moving steadily. The people along the way were all poor, but the fire brigade was eating quite well. They had eggs for breakfast every day, meat every day, and even hot water for washing their feet in the evening. "Never underestimate the power of the people,"

Huang Shi said after a while, then added, "Hmm, let's add one more order. From now on, before leaving each day, the officers and soldiers must sing a military song for these righteous people to thank them for their good deeds."

...

On the evening of the 26th, Mangultai and Jirhalang led the Later Jin vanguard to the walls of Ningyuan.

When the Later Jin army once again saw the walls of Ningyuan, the twenty Guan Ning field battalions nearby had already assembled there on the orders of the Liaodong governor. Facing a formidable enemy, the walls of Ningyuan were densely packed with Guan Ning warriors. This time, Ningyuan showed even greater courage than a year and a half ago; the Liaodong governor only ordered three gates to be blocked, leaving the east gate, facing the sea, open. Ten battalions of 20,000 Guan Ning cavalrymen stood in neat formation between the sea and the city walls, ready to strike back at any moment.

"So Ningyuan is this small," Jirhalang remarked upon first seeing Ningyuan Castle, a fortified city 800 meters wide and 850 meters long. "I heard that last time they crammed seven battalions and tens of thousands of men into this city. How did they manage to fit them all in?"

"I don't know, but last time, the walls of Ningyuan were packed with people. Think about it. Not counting the unarmored men, there were 20,000 armored soldiers standing on the walls, which is less than a thousand zhang long. That's twenty men per zhang (an average of six armored soldiers per meter)!"

Jirhalang chuckled. "Third Prince, you're joking. They had to stand on top of each other. One layer wouldn't be enough, well, three or four layers would be enough.

" "So they came out this time. A surrendered soldier just said that Ningyuan has gathered twenty battalions and tens of thousands of refugee households this time. I guess the small city just couldn't hold them all." Looking at the dense, dark mass of Guan Ning cavalry covering the city, Mangultai smiled at Jirhalang beside him, "It seems we miscalculated; they don't seem to intend to surrender."

"Yes, Third Prince, let's set up camp and then send someone to report to the Khan."

"Alright."

Mangultai immediately set up camp north of Ningyuan City and requested reinforcements from Huang Taiji. On

May 27th of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Mangultai led 1,000 Later Jin armored soldiers against 40,000 Guan Ning cavalry for a day. Before nightfall, Huang Taiji arrived with 6,000 armored soldiers and over 20,000 bannermen and bondservants pushing carts. Huang Taiji then divided the 6,000 armored soldiers into nine routes, completely surrounding the 40,000 Guan Ning cavalry within Ningyuan City, and then dispersed to plunder the surrounding suburbs.

That night, Huang Taiji's army stayed in the camp built by Mangultai and his vanguard. Meanwhile, carts began transporting the collected supplies back to Liaoyang. The next day, six thousand Later Jin soldiers, clad in armor, continued to surround Ningyuan City with forty thousand Guan Ning cavalry, forming an impenetrable wall. Simultaneously, they organized men to burn down all the abandoned Ming fortresses between Ningyuan City and Qiantun.

On the 28th, seeing nothing more to plunder and estimating little hope of capturing Ningyuan Fortress, Huang Taiji turned and left, watched by the Liaodong governor and twenty battalions of Guan Ning cavalry. He left some bondservant soldiers behind to continue looting the Liaoxi military settlements.

"Fifth Brother, we've had a great harvest this time, haven't we?"

"Yes, it's been really good this time. We've been in Liaoxi for over a month, and no one has bothered us." Mangultai was also in a very good mood, which meant that the Dongjiang Army was practically crippled, otherwise Mao Wenlong would never have failed to mobilize.

Huang Taiji pointed towards the receding Ningyuan City and laughed, "This Liaodong governor of the Ming Dynasty is quite interesting. I bet he's well-versed in military strategy."

"Military strategy? Who?" Mangultai scoffed dismissively, "That coward Yuan Chonghuan, I've figured out how he fights: he gathers all his troops around him, several times larger than our entire army, then sits in his castle. He just waits for us to loot everything around him before retreating. Anyway, there's so much stuff in Liaoxi that we can't even move it all; who would want to plunder him?"

"Haha, that's exactly what I was talking about. A Han Chinese strategist wrote a book called *The Art of War*, which says to remain as immovable as a mountain. I bet the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor has read it. We attacked Korea, and he remained immovable; we besieged Jinzhou, and he remained immovable; we captured all the Han people around Ningyuan, and he still remained immovable. Haha, from now on, the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong governor should be called 'Immovable Mountain Yuan Chonghuan'."

"Immovable as a mountain! What a fine phrase. There are so many cowards among these Han people. These cowards even dare to write military treatises; no wonder they fight so badly."

"Fifth Brother..." Huang Taiji wanted to tell Mangultai he should read more books, but the words lingered in his mouth before finally escaping as: "After we return to Liaoyang, let's go hunting together."

"Okay!"

...

Inside Ningyuan City.

"Thanks to Lord Yuan's might, the Tartars have retreated!"

"With Lord Yuan here, have those Tartars lost their minds? Would they dare come to their deaths?"

...

Amidst the joyous celebrations of victory, a loud shout suddenly rang out: "Lord Yuan, Jinzhou is still under siege! Shouldn't we go to its rescue?"

The generals in the hall, seeing the gesture made by the person above, erupted in cheers again:

"Lord Yuan is brilliant! This must be a Tartar trap!"

"Lord Yuan is farsighted! The Tartars are trying to launch a surprise attack on us!"

...

"Lord Yuan!" The oblivious voice rang out again: "My lord! The Tartars have abducted many merchants and civilians, and they are still seizing our military settlements. This humble general is willing to lead three hundred of his men into battle to reclaim the people and the military settlements."

The person in the center made the same gesture.

"Lord Yuan's insight is brilliant! The Tartars feigned weakness; there must be a trap."

"Just as Lord Yuan sees, we must not let small gains lead to greater losses."

"General Man Gui, I ask you! Between a few merchants and Ningyuan City, which is more important?"

...

At the victory banquet in Ningyuan City, a guard suddenly rushed in to report: "Reporting to the Governor, General Man Gui has led three hundred retainers out of the city without authorization to pursue them."

After a long silence, a sigh rang out in the hall: "He who did not heed my words will surely suffer a crushing defeat!"

"Lord Yuan's insight is brilliant! Alas, what a pity for such a brave general as General Man Gui."

"How lamentable! How lamentable! Why didn't General Man Gui listen to Lord Yuan? Truly, it was the courage of a reckless man."

...

After several rounds of drinks, everyone in the hall was thoroughly drunk. As they boasted and competed for credit, one by one, their chests and bellies exposed: "Reporting to the Governor, General Man Gui has returned to the city! He has beheaded over two hundred and rescued more than a thousand civilians!"

After a long, awkward silence, a crisp sound of a wine glass shattering rang out, and the hall fell silent instantly.

...

On the fifth day of the sixth month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army retreated to Liaodong. Apart from the three cities of Jinzhou, Dafu, and Ningyuan that refused to surrender, all the cities, fortresses, post stations, military settlements, and houses built by the Ming Dynasty over eighteen months at a cost of millions of taels of silver were destroyed by the Later Jin army.

Furthermore, because the Liaodong Military Command ignored the repeated warnings from General Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town over the past month, the large number of merchants and military households who had moved into the Liaoxi Corridor during those eighteen months suffered heavy losses. The Later Jin not only gained enormous amounts of supplies but also plundered countless slaves and livestock.

Before the Battle of Ningjin, the Later Jin regime had abandoned the cultivated land along the Liao River for two years due to insufficient manpower. Now, this farmland could finally be cultivated again.

Upon learning that the Later Jin army had retreated to Liaodong, the Liaodong governor Yuan Chonghuan reported the great victory to the court and submitted a memorial to Emperor Tianqi requesting that a shrine be erected in Ningyuan in honor of Wei Zhongxian, whose virtue had benefited the people.

Chapter 49: Heroes

. June 20th, Tianqi 7th year, Beijing.

Wei Zhongxian, carrying the memorial, tiptoed over, his footsteps so light they made no sound. Emperor Tianqi stood before him, his back to him, engrossed in his work. Before Wei Zhongxian could report, Tianqi, without turning his head, said, "Stop! Don't say anything, wait until I'm finished."

After giving the order, Tianqi doubled his efforts in planing his beloved wooden planks. Sweat poured from the young man's forehead, forming two thin streams that dripped onto the ground. As Tianqi worked diligently on his carpentry, he occasionally let out a few indistinct coughs. The eunuchs around him dared not say a word, simply assisting him quietly.

Wei Zhongxian stood behind the emperor for an unknown amount of time, perhaps several hours, before Tianqi finally stopped his work, exhausted. He burst into a violent cough, his cheeks turning a strange red.

"Tea!" the emperor called out, then grabbed the teapot himself and gulped down a large mouthful of cold tea. After such a long period of labor, his forehead appeared even paler. After drinking his fill of tea, Emperor Tianqi slumped weakly into a chair, propping his elbows on the armrests and burying his head in his hands.

He sat silently for a while before letting out a deep sigh: "Speak, what's happening in Liaoxi now?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Zhongxian, holding the memorials, began to recount the contents of several reports, from the desperate battle at Ningyuan, repeatedly thwarting the enemy's advance, to the three major victories and twenty-five minor victories at Jinzhou, from severely wounding the sons of Daishan and Huang Taiji, to the daily cannon fire killing of thousands of Later Jin soldiers and tens of thousands seriously wounded, a continuous slaughter for twenty-four days.

"They won?" Tianqi jerked his head up, asking in surprise, "You mean, they won?"

"Your Majesty, they won."

Tianqi stared intently at Wei Zhongxian's face for a moment. With a sudden beckoning gesture, a eunuch stepped forward and brought the memorials to the emperor. Tianqi eagerly tore them open and began to read, his arm trembling slightly involuntarily.

"...Today, the siege was lifted and the enemy's advance was thwarted. This was truly due to the painstaking efforts of the Imperial Guards, the secret planning of the Cabinet, and the encouragement of the troops by the Governors, Ministers, and Circuit Intendants for years. How could they possibly hold onto a city abandoned for six years, with a mere rabble of soldiers for a month? This remarkable victory was achieved. Therefore, it was only right that this urgent report was sent to me. I saw that the enemy, taking advantage of their victory at Dongjiang, had already planned to seize Ningxia and Jinzhou. Who knew that His Majesty's great restoration was so magnificent, that the army marched according to discipline, that the ministers devised brilliant strategies, and that every minister dared to fight to the death? Dozens of battles, large and small, were fought, and the siege was lifted. Truly, a military achievement unseen in decades!"

"Haha." Tianqi finished reading the memorial softly, leaned back comfortably, and let out a long, easy breath. His voice suddenly became louder: "In Jinzhou alone, the Liaodong Governor said that they could kill three or four thousand enemies every day, and wound over ten thousand seriously or near death. For twenty-four consecutive days, hmm, that's seventy thousand killed, and seriously wounded... hmm, seventy thousand?"

Tianqi's lips moved slightly as he mentally recalculated the numbers, but still felt something was amiss. He picked up the previous memorial again and examined it closely, then let out a long sigh. "Oh, this is the highest number killed in a single day. On the lowest days, only a little over a thousand were killed. Hmm, let's say thirty thousand in twenty-four days. Hmm, the Liaodong governor is right, this is truly a military achievement unseen in decades!"

"Very good!" Tianqi repeated in a deep voice, then smiled and looked up at Wei Zhongxian, asking, "So, including the kills at Ningyuan and others, how many heads were taken in this great victory?"

"Your Majesty, two hundred heads were taken."

"Two hundred heads?" Tianqi lowered his head, looking at his hands, pondered for a moment, then looked up and smiled, "The Liaodong governor was afraid I would blame him for advocating peace and not helping Korea, so he deliberately exaggerated the results."

Wei Zhongxian hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty is wise. The Liaodong governor is probably somewhat uneasy about the Jurchens' repeated rebellions."

"Am I that harsh?" Tianqi chuckled. He seemed to be in a very good mood, so he picked up a few more memorials to review. When he put them down again, the emperor's mood seemed even better: "The generals of Ningyuan beheaded over 140 enemies during the defense, and General Man Gui pursued and beheaded another 60. It seems there were indeed several fierce battles. Hmm, in my opinion, the Liaodong governor said there were dozens of battles, large and small, most of which were probably lost, hence the low number of beheadings, but there were indeed a few victories."

Wei Zhongxian quickly bowed and smiled, "Your Majesty is truly insightful. This humble servant and the cabinet also think so."

"That's enough. The Guan Ning Army previously lacked even the courage to go into battle, but this time they dared to fight the Jurchens in dozens of battles. This is truly a great improvement. Regardless of victory or defeat, the Liaodong governor has made considerable contributions, and no reward is too much for me. Have the cabinet draft a bill to richly reward the meritorious officials of this time."

Tianqi's decision surprised Wei Zhongxian somewhat. He hesitated and asked, "Only two hundred beheadings? Should we reward them richly?"

"I'm not in a hurry. As long as there's progress, that's good enough. I don't expect everyone to be a fierce general like Commander Huang." Tianqi returned the memorial to the eunuch, stood up, stretched heavily, and laughed loudly, "I've been doing carpentry all afternoon, I'm really hungry! Quickly, bring me something to eat."

At the end of June in the seventh year of Tianqi's reign, the Ming court announced to the world that the Ming army had achieved a great victory at Ningjin. Tianqi believed that Wei Zhongxian, the director of the Eastern Depot, had the most outstanding achievements in command, followed by Grand Secretary Gu Bingqian, then Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong, and below him were Man Gui and the generals of Guan Ning.

...

At this time, the fire brigade had already left Jiangxi and was marching across the vast land of Hubei and Hunan.

The white mist obscured the visibility of the travelers. Huang Shi, holding a wooden stick and wearing a full set of raincoats, bravely moved forward with his feet sinking deep into the mud. The heavy rain reduced visibility to a very low level. Huang Shi nearly misjudged the road several times, and at forks in the road, he had to walk to the Imperial Guard officers to see their directions.

Huang Shi carefully examined the road ahead; it was a complete blur, with mud and water everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish between the official road and the fields. Huang Shi unconsciously slowed his pace, afraid of leading the troops behind him astray. Hmm, there seemed to be a red shadow flashing in the distance. Huang Shi quickened his pace.

"Phew." When he saw the Imperial Guard soldiers at the fork in the road, Huang Shi breathed a long sigh of relief. At least he was still on the right path.

The Imperial Guard soldier was also wearing a straw raincoat, but he still wore the white helmet on his head. He was raising one hand to his ear in salute to Huang Shi. On the tree behind the soldier, the viper flag was tightly bound, still fluttering in the wind amidst the lightning and thunder.

Apart from the winding fire brigade column, there was no other person in the open field. A guard ran up to Huang Shi and shouted at the top of his lungs, "General—there's a village ahead!"

"Understood," Huang Shi shouted back at the same speed.

As the village slowly emerged from behind the rain, Huang Shi wiped the water from his face and once again led the shouts, "Brave! Victory!"

The drums of the Fu Ning Army instantly resounded with fervor. The soldiers stood tall against the wind and rain, their weapons, which they had originally used as walking sticks, were now neatly shouldered. Heads held high, they strode past the village, chanting slogans. Beside these soldiers, many local people rushed to the edge of the village, standing in the rain and shouting loudly at them.

"General Pingman! Firefighting Battalion!"

...

When they reached their designated campsite for the day, the Firefighting Battalion also emerged from the rain. The sun peeked out from behind the thick clouds, bathing the Fu Ning Army camp in a golden light. Thick ropes were strung outside the camp, and the soldiers took off their heavy clothing. Hang them up to dry. These personal belongings are to be packed in bamboo baskets and carried by the soldiers themselves; removing some water quickly will lighten the burden for tomorrow.

An engineer carrying a map approached and reported to Huang Shi, "General, the entire army marched twenty-seven li today. After marching in the rain for three consecutive days, we've covered a total of seventy-five li."

"Hmm, I see." Huang Shi looked back at the bustling camp. After dozens of days of long marches, the soldiers hadn't collapsed; on the contrary, they seemed increasingly spirited. Their daily marching speed had not only been maintained but had even shown a steady upward trend. Soon, local residents brought food to the camp. After thanking them, the fire brigade soldiers engaged in lively conversation. Although their accents differed considerably, they still chatted happily, using gestures and expressions.

"General, more people are asking to join the army."

These days, groups of young men were being encountered every day requesting to join Huang Shi's army. Rumors about the fire brigade spread rapidly through several provinces along the route. Many people heard that a soldier's monthly salary was more than they could earn in a year of hard work, and with the amplification of rumors, the figure became increasingly outrageous.

Huangshi could buy enough supplies for very little money; the inland villages were extremely poor, and grain, eggs, and pork were much cheaper than in Fujian, where maritime trade was more developed. Every day, the villages the fire brigade passed through were bustling like a market day, with villagers from dozens of miles around coming to sell their chickens, ducks, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Besides grain and pork, the fire brigade's cooks would also buy a considerable amount of fruits and vegetables. To the impoverished locals who ate pickled vegetables year-round, the fire brigade seemed like a festival every day.

The rumors about this unit disturbed the mundane lives of farmers in Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, and many strong and confident young men clamored to join the army and go with Huangshi to quell the rebellion in the southwest. As many people would say, "Living a few years of this kind of life, eating meat like this, would be worth it even if you died."

However, Huang Shi certainly couldn't recruit these people directly into the fire brigade, so he told the internal guard soldier who came to report, "Let's do it the old way."

"Yes, sir," the soldier saluted and withdrew.

The internal guard quickly set up several tables, and the able-bodied men who came to register, thinking they were enlisting, excitedly gathered around. After the Funing Town internal guards ascertained their names and hometowns, they prepared two copies of the information and had the applicants affix their fingerprints to both forms.

Once all this was done, the Funing Army would give one copy to the applicant: "If this brother really wants to join the army, take this paper to Xiapu, Fujian. Funing Town has registered you. Once you arrive in Funing Town, you will be incorporated into the army and given military pay."

This document also bore the official seal of Funing Town, and the recruit could use it as a travel permit to deal with inspections by local officials along the way.

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