Although Emperor Wanli neglected his administration and adopted a passive attitude of not publishing many of the memorials issued by foreign ministers, he still attached great importance to the border troubles in Liaodong. After the news of the fall of Fushun reached the capital, Emperor Wanli had nightmares for three consecutive nights.
Cidu dreamed of a foreign woman riding on him and stabbing him with a spear. When he woke up, he was sweating profusely.
There is no need to ask the ministers to interpret the dream to understand that this foreign woman represents the Jurchens. The Jurchens in Jianzhou pose an imminent threat to the Ming Dynasty. On October 16th, Emperor Wanli learned that Zhang Chengyin, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, was defeated. Emperor Wanli could not sit still.
, the emperor has not summoned foreign ministers since the attack last year. This time, it is impossible not to see foreign ministers. On October 21, he summoned the cabinet and the six ministers and nine ministers to discuss the crisis in Liaodong.
Xue Sancai, the Acting Secretary of the Ministry of War, reported the lack of pay in Liaodong. Since last autumn, the Liao had been owed 500,000 taels of pay. He begged the emperor to send a large amount of internal funds to help pay, so that Liaodong could recruit troops to deal with the offensive of the slave chiefs. The slave chiefs raised troops to invade the border, and there were Mongolians.
We must help each other when spring comes, and we will invade the border again. Although Wang Keshou, the governor of Jiliao, has selected and mobilized 6,500 soldiers from Jizhen to assist Liao on schedule, the number of soldiers is still insufficient. Therefore, we have to recruit troops in the Ming Dynasty and transfer wages. There is no time to delay.
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As soon as Emperor Wanli heard that he wanted money from his inner treasury, he immediately said: "The internal funds are empty and the expenses in the palace are not enough. How can there be any spare money to help pay? This matter has to be discussed by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household. Taipu Temple can allocate some
Silver taels to buy war horses." He hesitated and passed the Liao pay, and then said: "Liao Zuo has overthrown the army and killed generals, the captive power is increasing, and the border situation is very critical. Your ministry will recommend a general military officer to take office in Keqi to take care of military affairs.
, all defense and extermination matters will be dispatched by the governor and other officials at their convenience, and the service will be destroyed in time to establish the border. The conscription, transfer of pay and other matters will be recorded in the meeting in compliance with the decree."
Fang Congzhe reported that all the cabinet ministers and ministers should be filled if there was a shortage of officials in the government. He recommended Yang Hao, who was familiar with Liao affairs, to manage Liaodong. He also accused Li Weihan, the governor of Liaodong, of being mediocre and incompetent. He should be dismissed from his post and investigated, and Zhou Yongchun, the censor of Qiandu, should be appointed as his successor.
Afterwards, Emperor Wanli agreed and ordered the officials to immediately recruit Yang Hao to the court.
…
Three days later, Xue Sancai, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, reported to the emperor the results of the meeting of the officials of the Ministry of War: First, 30,000 strong men from Baoding, Zhending and other places were recruited as soldiers; second, all the retired servants from all sides were allowed to serve in front of the army.
Thousands of people were obtained; Shanhaiguan is the gateway to Jiliao, and a general must be appointed to raise troops to suppress it, not only to ensure that the capital is safe, but also to support Liaodong. The Ministry of War will postpone Sui Counselor General Du Song to garrison Shanhaiguan, and the general of Baoding Wang Xuanguan will fight Zhang Chengyin
After his death, there was a vacancy in the general army of Liaodong, and it was planned to use the abandoned general Li Rubai.
Xue Sancai's memorial had just been submitted. The news that the rebel general Li Rufang had surrendered to Songshan Tunbao had also been sent back. Fu'an, Huabaochong, Sanchaer and other eleven forts had all fallen. Jiannu looted and burned the villages.
Carrying the Han people, cattle, sheep and other property, they returned to Hetuala through the first snowfall of this winter.
Before retreating, Nurhaci released two businessmen captured in Fushun and asked them to deliver a message to Li Weihan in Guangning. These two businessmen were subordinates of Eunuch Lu. One of them had gone to North Korea with Zhang Yuan, named Zhang.
The other gentry was named Yang Xishun. They handed Li Weihan a document written by Nurhaci to the Ming Dynasty. In the document, Nurhachi cited the Seven Hatreds as the reason for raising troops, and asked the Ming Dynasty to send officials to fight with the Ming Dynasty.
He negotiated with Jin about paying tribute and withdrawing troops, including the return of the heads of Nalanbaksh and Hurhan.
The city of Fushun was destroyed, Zhang Chengyin was killed in battle, and the military and civilian losses in Liaodong were extremely heavy. As the governor of Liaodong, Li Weihan certainly understood the responsibility he had to bear. In order to alleviate the accusations of malfeasance and incompetence by officials in the DPRK, Li Weihan forwarded the document to Nurhaci.
At the same time, he also sent a memorial to the emperor, deliberately exaggerating the seventh of Nurhachi's seven hatreds, saying that Jiannu's invasion of Liaodong was forced by Zhang Yuan. This was Li Weihan's despicable mentality of wanting to find a scapegoat.
At that time, Li Weihan did not know that the court had decided to dismiss him from office.
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On October 29, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War submitted a letter to Emperor Wanli after a meeting and recommended that Yang Hao should be reinstated as the left minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of Liqiandu to manage Liaodong; Wang Keshou, the governor of Jiliao, would lead his troops out of the customs and arrive directly.
Guangning was transferred as governor; Zhou Yongchun replaced Li Weihan to patrol Liaodong, and the governor's headquarters was moved from Guangning to Liaoyang. He worked with the new Liaodong general Li Rubai to resist the defence, and waited for the arrival of the soldiers before making further advances; Shanhaiguan military town was established, and Yansui
General Du Song was appointed as Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief, and Baoding Commander-in-Chief Wang Xuan led his troops to move to the pass to guard the capital together with Du Song. The military pay should be reissued as soon as possible, and the emperor should use internal funds to support the pay.
Emperor Wanli, who had been idle in the past, also knew that the situation in Liaodong was urgent. He issued a reply the next day, adopting all the suggestions from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and added something: "Wang Keshou commanded the troops to leave the customs, proceed with the camera, and be prudent in their duties.
To ensure safety; the governors of Shuntian and Baoding moved to Shanhai and Yizhou to support each other; Liaodong soldiers quickly recruited reinforcements; Li Weihan was dismissed from his post to listen to the survey; Yang Hao sent someone to urge him to come at night to try to calm down the conflict.
No more delay."
Emperor Wanli finally relented to the issue of allocating internal funds to support the army and agreed to allocate 100,000 taels of silver from the internal treasury to meet urgent needs. Taipu Temple also raised 60,000 taels of silver to buy war horses, and the rest had to be raised by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs on their own.
…
On the third day of November, Qi Chengshun came to Zhang Yuan's apartment in the evening. Qi Chengshun looked solemn. After a brief tea tasting, he said: "Meson, Li Weihan of Liaodong has sent the latest memorial. It contains the paradox of the slave chief. The slave chief reiterated
Seven Great Hatreds, and asked for negotiations to stop the troops and pay tribute, and mentioned that Narambakshi should be sent back."
To pay tribute is to go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to contribute supplies. Isn't it strange that Nurhachi would come to pay tribute after winning a battle? In fact, it is not strange. Although Nurhaci captured Fushun, he completely wiped out Zhang Chengyin's ten thousand men.
army, but was still extremely wary of the national power of the Ming Empire. He stated the Seven Hatreds to find a reason for himself to raise troops, saying that he was being persecuted and had to resist. He stopped his troops to pay tribute because he wanted the Ming Dynasty to reopen the horse market and Jianzhou trade.
, after all, Nurhachi is not very confident in a full-scale confrontation with the Ming Dynasty. It would be best if he could withdraw his troops and pay tribute. Anyway, he has already robbed a lot. After retreating from Nurhaci, he burned down Fushun City and surrounding villages.
It can be seen that at this time, Nurhachi had no intention of occupying the territory of the Ming Dynasty. He was just a horse thief who would rob and leave. It was the cowardice and incompetence of the Liaodong Ming army that fueled his ambition.
Zhang Yuandao said: "The emperor has been very diligent in his work recently, dispatching troops, raising generals, and raising military pay. He wants to launch a general attack on Jianzhou. I foolishly thought that we should not rush to it. Why not negotiate with the old slave, which can be used as a delaying strategy."
"Absolutely not!"
Qi Chengshun said horrified: "Meson must not mention such words of peace talks to others. The Jiannu captured Fushun and plundered Liaodong. The capital was shaken. From the emperor to the common people, everyone hated the Jiannu and wanted to bring troops to wipe them out.
The thief's lair captures the old slave alive. How can I negotiate with Jiannu as a great dynasty!"
Zhang Yuan was silent, Qi Chengshun was right. If he advocated negotiation with Nurhachi at this time, even if he was to delay the war, it would not be tolerated by the public opinion of the government and the public. At this time, the scholars of the Ming Dynasty were still immersed in the power of the Celestial Kingdom.
In their dreams, the fall of Fushun and the defeat of Zhang Chengyin did not arouse much vigilance in them. They only thought that it was a momentary negligence that was taken advantage of by the enemy. The Ming Dynasty had a territory spanning thousands of miles and a population of tens of millions, while Jianzhou Jurchen was located in a remote Haidong area with a population of only a few hundred thousand.
How can we compete with the Ming Dynasty? When the armies from all walks of life arrive, Jiannu will be defeated completely. The three major campaigns of Wanli twenty years ago were all great victories for the Ming Dynasty. This time will be no exception. Who would say at this time?
If the Eight Banners Army is strong and difficult to defeat, it will definitely be said that you are "destroying your ambition and the enemy's prestige", and you will be labeled as a "traitor" or "an open traitor".
Qi Chengshun said again: "Then Li Weihan is responsible for the crime. In the memorial, he slandered that it was you who captured and killed the slave envoys in Korea and caused the old slaves to become angry and raise troops."
Zhang Yuan sneered: "How can Fushun City be prevented from falling by allowing the slave chief to collude with Lord Guanghai? Li Weihan is so shameless!"
Qi Chengshun said: "Although such ridiculous words are not worth defending, they may be detrimental to Jiezi if they are fueled by those with ulterior motives. Jiezi must be careful and never mention the words of peace talks, otherwise it will give opportunities to those with ulterior motives.
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Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "Thank you Kuang Weng for reminding me, Zhang Yuan knows the pros and cons."
Qi Chengshun said: "Those scientific and technical officers do not know the difficulties faced by the Ministry of War. They are short of soldiers and pay, and they are in dire straits."
Zhang Yuan asked: "The emperor is unwilling to allocate more internal funds to help pay, how can Liao pay be solved?"
In fact, Emperor Wanli was very good at amassing money and had a lot of silver in his palace. According to historical records, after Emperor Guangzong Zhu Changluo came to the throne, he immediately allocated 2 million taels of silver as military pay for Liaodong and Jiubian. These were all the savings of Emperor Wanli, but now Emperor Wanli only
He was willing to pay one hundred thousand taels of internal money for payment, but no matter how much he asked from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, it would be useless, so he had to find another way.
Qi Chengshun said: "Today the Ministry of War held a meeting with the Ministry of Household Affairs. Li Ruhua, the left servant of the Ministry of Household Affairs, who was in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, cited the previous examples of conquering the Japanese and conquering the prefectures, and increased the distribution according to the acres of land, adding three and a half cents to each acre, so that the whole country can receive silver.
More than two million taels will be used as pay for the Liao Dynasty. After the situation in Liaodong is peaceful, this extra sect will be abolished."
Zhang Yuan thought: "The chaos in Liaodong is protracted. These two million taels of Liao's salary can solve the Eight Banners Army of Nurhachi. It is really too wishful thinking." But it is useless to say this to Qi Chengyun now. Qi Chengyun is just...
He was just a doctor from the Ministry of War and asked: "Has Governor Wang left the customs yet?"
Qi Chengshun said: "Governor Wang is still staying at Shanhaiguan, waiting for General Du of Shanhai to lead his army to the pass."
Zhang Yuan said: "In this icy and snowy world, Jiannu has also returned to his hometown to avoid the cold and winter. Our army does not have to rush out of the customs for the time being. We should buy strong horses, new armor, and muskets to actively prepare for war. May I ask Kuang Weng, that new flintlock gun?"
How many have been made?"
Qi Chengshun said: "There are about five thousand, each side has taken away two thousand, and the Ordnance Department still has more than three thousand."
Zhang Yuandao: "Three thousand are too few, we need to work harder to build them."
Qi Chengshun said: "Shilang Yang of Shangqiu will come to Beijing tomorrow. Shilang Yang is ordered to manage Liaodong, and he has the right to make decisions. He has the right to make decisions on troop deployment, levying wages, and building ordnance. Jie Zi can give advice to Shilang Yang."
In July, Zhang Yuan sent Wu Ling to Shangqiu to meet Yang Hao with his letter. Within four months, Yang Hao returned. Yang Hao was the decision-maker of the upcoming war, especially crucial compared to Du Song. Zhang Yuan
Yang Hao must be influenced.
(To be continued. Mobile phone users please read here.)