stubborn thief

Outside Anju Castle in Pyongan Province, North Korea.

The royal tent of the Eight Banners.

Dorgon, sitting cross-legged by the fire, put down the letter sent from the front lines, his face beaming with joy. He shared with Wu Keshan beside him, "Dodo has truly made unparalleled contributions at the front. On the 12th, he had already reached the walls of Hanyang!"

Wu Keshan had been busy outside Anzhou City for two whole days, robbing people and livestock day and night. He had only been back in camp for a short time when he was shivering from the cold and reached out to warm his hands by the fire.

Upon hearing the news from the front, he perked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Three hundred men, charging straight to the walls of Hanyang? Are the Joseon army so easily defeated?"

"Vulnerable?"

Upon hearing this word, Dorgon chuckled softly, shook his head, and remained silent.

According to the intelligence relayed by Dorgon, the Korean army was far from being easily defeated and had no will to fight.

But this is a good thing.

"That kid is panicking now, afraid that the North Korean army will rally its fighting spirit and break out of the city. He has already asked Hauge for help."

Upon hearing Dorgon's words, Wu Keshan, who had been nearly dejected, immediately regained his fighting spirit and said, "Your Highness, shall we also set off south to attack the capital?"

He hadn't really rested; he was exhausted and really wanted to take a nap and have a good meal at the camp.

However, his remaining Khorchin troops were in dire straits. This southward march was originally intended to make up for the losses caused by Liu Chengzong's eastward invasion. They were entirely focused on seizing people in Korea and dared not slacken their efforts at all.

How many people shaved their heads?

"More than 30,000 women and children were also driven to the north bank of the river, but there were not enough ropes, and many women who were not tied up jumped into the Yashui River."

Dorgon is still in Pyongan Province, busy shaving the heads of Koreans.

Although the plan for this military expedition was to conquer North Korea, Dorgon himself had no intention of actually controlling North Korea.

Most of the Manchu nobles, like him, had no interest in the land of Korea.

If it weren't for the threat posed by Pi Island next to Tieshan County, apart from Amin who wanted to establish himself as independent, the Eight Banners nobles really wouldn't have looked up to anyone else.

Although the Later Jin's financial situation was constantly teetering on the brink of collapse, that was due to internal and external difficulties.

With constant warfare outside and too many troops inside, coupled with a truly small core area of ​​control, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were crammed into the Shenyang-Haizhou line, making it extremely difficult to provide for their needs.

It's not because the soil is infertile.

On the contrary, the Liaoshen area had abundant and good farmland. When Nurhaci rebelled, he invaded Kaifeng, Tieling, Liaodong, and Shenyang, seizing 300,000 hectares of farmland, supporting 50,000 Eight Banner soldiers, and driving 200,000 Han people to relocate to the former Jurchen lands.

As for North Korea... to be honest, two years ago he followed Hwang Tai-gil into North Korea and forced the King of North Korea to form a brotherhood alliance, so he had some understanding of its population and land.

The weights and measures system in Korea is called Jeonjeol.

The units are 把, 束, 负, 结.

A handful is a single ear of grain; ten handfuls are bundled together and tied up to form a bundle; ten bundles can be carried on one's back and forth and are called a load; carrying them back and forth ten times and then piling them up is called a knot.

A plot of land that can produce a thousand ears of grain is called a "bumper".

The term "Tianjie" comes from the book "Guanzi" and originally meant "field register," a system for registering land. However, when it was transmitted to Silla, it was somehow interpreted as a system for measuring land, which has continued from the Goryeo Dynasty to the present day.

However, during the reign of King Sejong, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty, a stable tributary relationship was established with the Ming Dynasty, and a conversion ratio was established for land.

On the other hand, a six-tiered land system was also established, which designated a plot of land with a fixed tax of 20 dou and a yield of 800 dou as a "jie".

The best farmland was about 24.4 mu; the medium-quality farmland was nearly 40 mu; and the inferior farmland was 57.6 mu.

Meanwhile, the Korean mu was a small mu in Zhou chi; the dou was also a small dou, with one dou equal to a little more than half a dou in the Central Plains.

Before the Imjin War, Korea had 1.3 million households in Jijang-do, with a population of over 10 million.

In other words, the total grain production will be at most 58 million shi (a unit of dry measure), and the land's carrying capacity has reached its limit.

Even considering that the main crops grown on the land are coarse grains and beans, as well as the losses from raw grain to finished grain, the land's carrying capacity has long exceeded its limit.

Based on this intelligence, Dorgon did some calculations.

If the Eight Banners had actually ruled Korea, there would have been no one left in Korea within a few years.

Because they could not possibly use Liaodong to support Korea, and Korea itself had already been depleted by its own nobles and had no surplus left.

Therefore, the best-case scenario is to only plunder a few hundred thousand people from North Korea, men, women, and children, making full use of everyone, and then plunder more when they are exhausted.

“Thirty thousand, not enough…” Dorgon shook his head: “How many women did the Prince mention jumping into the river?”

Wu Keshan said, "As of yesterday, more than a thousand had passed."

Dorgon glanced at Wu Keshan. He suspected that those people had been killed by the Eight Banners soldiers. The Yalu River was frozen over, so where would they find so many places to jump into the river?

However, this was a trivial matter to him. There were plenty of Koreans, so there was no need to delve into it. Therefore, he simply said, "Find more ropes, tie people up, and if you catch a fugitive, chop off his feet and throw him into the river for people to watch."

After saying this, he pondered for a moment and said, "Leave one mountain behind to gather the surrendered soldiers who have shaved their heads and continue to shave their heads in Ping'an Road. The rest of you will set off south tomorrow."

Previously, each Gushan (a military unit) had 7,500 people, but after the pre-war expansion, each banner now has three Gushan, with each Gushan having only 2,500 people.

Wu Keshan nodded in agreement, then added, "However, the Prince of Wuying sent a letter the other day regarding the shaving of the people and their crossing of the river..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dorgon raised his hand to interrupt him: "Ignore him."

Shaving one's head and wearing a rat-tail braid was a Jurchen tradition. The Jin Dynasty practiced shaving heads, and this practice continued into the time of Nurhaci.

However, the Manchu nobles did not like to shave other people's heads.

To be precise, in the eyes of most traditional Manchu nobles, shaving one's head had acquired value and was considered an honorable military tradition.

Besides the more conservative ones, there were also a large number of centrists who didn't care about this matter. On the contrary, those who liked to promote shaving their heads were a minority, such as Huang Taiji and Dorgon, who regarded this as a political means to distinguish between friend and foe.

Dorgon's two brothers, the elder Ajige and the younger Dodo, were both against it.

However, the two brothers had different reasons for opposing it.

Ajige was a pure traditionalist, a skilled warrior, and considered himself a military aristocrat. He was extremely proud of his lineage, customs, and achievements, and always disapproved of Huang Taiji using head-shaving as a political tool, shaving the heads of whomever he met.

What kind of means of distinguishing friend from foe? Bullshit.

Just like Geng Zhongming and others who groveled before the Eight Banners nobles, Ajige felt that they were not qualified to shave their heads at all—what kind of class are you, having the same hairstyle as me?
Dodo, on the other hand, was more playful and capricious. He could neither accept Huang Taiji's scheming nor tolerate Ajige's old dogmatism.

He felt it was normal for the Eight Banners soldiers to shave their heads. They spent half the year out on military campaigns and herding horses, and it was convenient for them to wear helmets without hair. They could also distinguish friend from foe in battle. However, he felt it was completely unnecessary for ordinary people or slaves to shave their heads, as it would only waste razors.

Dorgon was different.

He was frail and sickly from a young age, which made him extremely competitive and he had a strong desire to control everything.

In his opinion, the shaving order was excellent.

Using this method against countries like the Ming Dynasty and Korea was an excellent way to distinguish friend from foe. Since the hair wouldn't grow back anytime soon, the person whose head was shaved was left with no choice but to accept it. Others were afraid he was truly a barbarian from the East and dared not accept him; he was also afraid that others would truly think he was a barbarian from the East and exchange his head for money, so he dared not return it.

Those on the battlefield were resolute in becoming soldiers, while those who became slaves had no other choice.

Simple, efficient, and always works.

Dorgon's only unresolved issue was Chengzong, who was rotten to the core.

Shaving his head failed to work on Seungjong.

The barbarians at the Marshal's Mansion were more diverse than those of the Later Jin. They could even shave the heads of fake Tartars in reverse, tie a red ribbon with their rat-tail braids, and send them to the battlefield as dead soldiers.

Before the core ruling area bordered each other, Dorgon really couldn't think of a good way to shake the rule of the Marshal's Office.

But that's a matter for the future. Right now, to deal with the Joseon Kingdom, the hair-shaving order must be implemented from beginning to end.

This is taking precautions.

If the front lines fail to achieve the great feat of conquering the entire Korean peninsula, they will plunder as many people as they can.

When peace talks come, we can use these useless people to extort money from the King of Joseon and force him to pay for the ransom.

This matter will take at least half a year to resolve.

These slaves were able to farm in Liaoshen, which was just enough to get through the busy farming season next year. They harvested the grain, extorted money from the slaves, and those who survived were sent back to Korea, so there was no need to waste food to feed them through the winter.

In this way, the terrible consequences left by Liu Chengzong's eastern invasion can be weathered.

Even if the King of Joseon paid the ransom, he could still refuse to return the person if necessary.

The question is, "It's Liu Chengzong again, and he's killed everyone."

What can tiny North Korea do to me?
Actually, Seung Jong-jin did come.

Just as Dorgon and Wu Keshan, the Prince of Khorchin, agreed to head south the next day, Shang Kexi also entered the royal tent to report on the coastal waters.

Then a guard from the white flag rushed in, carrying a letter and reporting, "My lord, urgent news from Jiangbei."

Dorgon took the letter, his expression shifting between light and dark, drawing sidelong glances from Wu Keshan and Shang Kexi, but neither dared to ask a question.

After a moment, he put down the letter and said to the two kings, "A fight has broken out. The Mongol soldiers that Liu Chengzong left in Khorchin, who call themselves the Darhan Army, have broken through the border wall and entered Tieling to plunder... The leader seems to be called Shandan."

Dorgon looked at Wu Keshan: "Do you know who he is?"

Wu Keshan was dumbfounded.

Shandan means happiness and peace. This name is extremely common among Mongolian nobles, and is often given to younger sons.

This question is no less pertinent than asking whether or not someone knows Zhang Wei.

Before he could answer, Dorgon realized that his question was too tactless, so he simply changed the subject and said, "The Prince of Wuying also sent a message from Haizhou that the Ming army has sent several ships to reinforce Lushun Port, unloading guns and ammunition, and it seems that they are reinforcing their troops."

"It is still unknown whether the reinforcements are from the Ming army inside the pass or from the Dongjiang garrison, while Jinzhou remains inactive."

Dorgon said, "His Majesty judges that Liu Chengzong is in league with the Ming Dynasty and has sent troops to harass us."

After saying that, he shook his head helplessly.

Dorgon felt that Huang Taiji seemed to have been bewitched by Liu Chengzong.

After the Battle of Lingdong, Huang Taiji was rarely lucid, but whether in his sleep-talking or in his waking words, he always mentioned the name Chengzong.

These two characters have multiple meanings. They are usually used to describe someone who is bad to the core, but if you add the suffix "sweat," they can also mean foolish and stupid. When you curse someone, it carries a great deal of anger and regret.

Given Huang Taiji's recent condition, speaking in coherent sentences would be a significant burden on his body.

Cheng Zong's two simple words can clearly express most of his emotions. They are easy to learn, catchy, and a very apt swear word.

Most of the Manchu nobles didn't actually know the original meaning of this word.

After all, nobles like Huang Taiji, who were well-versed in Chinese studies, were few and far between, and most people could not associate the word with Liu Chengzong based on their knowledge.

Liu Chengzong's real name in Liaodong is written as Hanhan in Chinese and pronounced as Shazihan in Manchu.

People simply followed the example set by their superiors. When the Eight Banners nobles met the emperor and learned the word "Chengzong," they assumed it was a word created by Minister Dahai years ago. They didn't dare to ask, thinking it was just a sign of their low level of knowledge and fearing the emperor's wrath, so they quickly learned it.

After learning, he would go back and use what he had learned. When his subordinates asked about it, he would accuse them of being uneducated and lacking in knowledge.

As a result, Huang Taiji alone was able to promote this new Manchu word in Shengjing within a few months, and it became popular in Liaoning and Shenyang.

Even the pronunciation of "Chengzhong" was reintroduced to the ears of Han people in Jinzhou and other places as a Jurchen dialect that has existed since ancient times.

As for Dorgon and others who knew the origin of the term, they were unwilling to explain further.

What to explain, and how to explain it?

Are you going to tell others that the emperor personally led an expedition and suffered a crushing defeat, losing tens of thousands of soldiers and falling seriously ill, to the point that he was driven to a mental block by someone and, like a foolish sorcerer making effigies, created a word to curse the enemy?

Dorgon couldn't explain it, so when the Dalai Khan army attacked Tieling and the Ming army reinforced its ships at Lushun, the emperor interpreted it as a coordinated operation between Chongzhen and Liu Chengzong, which made Dorgon nervous.

Who is Liu Chengzong? Is everything in this world related to him?
According to his analysis, the attack on Tieling by Dalaihan's army was probably just a coincidence.

In the dead of winter, unless one is out of their mind and forced by circumstances, who would send troops?

That army was most likely a group of surrendered bandits that Liu Chengzong had gathered on the southern grasslands during his eastern expedition.

It was not suitable to settle them in southern Mongolia, and their fighting strength was not strong. Therefore, they were not brought back after the war, but were settled in the Horqin Grassland, which was destroyed by the war, and left to fend for themselves.

Several months later, the people and livestock looted in the battle of Lingdong had been eaten up, and there was a lack of food for winter. Just then, the Eight Banners troops were dispatched for a change of garrisons, and their stomachs were empty, so they invaded Tieling and looted.

There's no need to take it too seriously.

"On the contrary, the Ming army's reinforcements to Lushun are what worries me."

Dorgon shook his head, his brows furrowed, and said, "If it is the Dongjiang troops landing, it is fine, but if it is Chen Hongfan's navy... our army should not launch a large-scale southward advance."

Chen Hongfan's navy was making a great show of force. Before the Battle of Lingdong, there were rumors that he would raise 100,000 troops and 1,000 warships to conquer Liaodong by sea. The Later Jin had also received the news. Huang Taiji even left a letter of persuasion to Chen Hongfan on the beach for the purpose of counter-espionage.

"impossible!"

Shang Kexi spoke with conviction, saying decisively, "General Chen is just like Zu Dashou, both of them are old men who have lost their spirit. The Ming Dynasty's system of rewards and punishments is unclear. Doing things without merit is considered a crime if you make a mistake. It is easy for Chen Hongfan to station troops but difficult to send them out."

"Moreover, the chieftain of Dongjiang will not relinquish power and will certainly not cooperate. Even if the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty urges the war, the Shandong Navy will find it extremely difficult to send troops. Our vanguard must be swift and arrive at the gates of Hanyang in twelve days. Even if Joseon cannot ask for help."

Shang Kexi spoke eloquently, and Dorgon nodded in agreement: "What Prince Zhishun said is absolutely right. That's what I thought too. The Ming army is hesitant and indecisive. Even if they know about this battle, it will take time to mobilize troops and request supplies. They won't be able to send troops until spring. They won't even be able to catch up with the hottest food."

Dorgon chuckled as he spoke, then slowly nodded: "Leave two guards to defend the riverbank and plunder slaves; tomorrow the entire army will march south to reinforce Hanyang!" (End of Chapter)