weaving

Chapter 1501 Stepping into the Forefront
On August 13th, a mutiny broke out in Anqing Prefecture, Southern Zhili Province of the Ming Dynasty.

Initially, Liao Yingdeng, the deputy commander of Anqing, led 3,000 men, while guerrilla generals Wang Zhengguo and Li Zichun each led 1,000 men. They harassed the people of Anqing Prefecture, causing deep resentment among the local populace.

At that time, Xu Shiyin, the governor of Anlu, had only recently taken office, and Guang Shiheng, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Justice, submitted a memorial impeaching Liao Yingdeng and demanding that he be punished according to military law.

Unfortunately, the imperial gazette arrived first, so Deputy Commander Liao Yingdeng incited the soldiers in the camp to take the lead in the uprising, killing Commander Xu Liangkou and letting his troops plunder the villages.

The newly appointed governor of Anqing, Xu Shiyin, rushed from Nanjing to Anqing Prefecture. He did not pursue Liao Yingdeng's crimes, but instead relocated Liao Yingdeng's troops to Taihu Lake, and relocated Wang Zhengguo's troops to Tongcheng. Li Zichun's troops were moved to Susong, and the rebellion was quelled.

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On August 21, the Battle of Kepong took place, also known as the Battle of San Salvador, the Battle of San Salvador, or the Battle of José.

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Spanish from Europe discovered Sandiao Cape in northern Taiwan. After occupying Keelung in northern Taiwan on May 16 of the same year, they began to build the city of San Salvador there, which took more than ten years to complete.

The city of San Salvador has a circumference of only about 400 paces. It is a fortified building that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The superintendent of its construction was Valdes, the first Spanish garrison commander of the freshwater town of Cocco.

Subsequently, until the seventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the Spanish rulers of Keelung continued to expand the fortress, adding four more circular bastions around it.

Driven by the prospect of enormous trade profits from the East, Dutch Navy Captain Haroldy of Europe led fewer than seven hundred soldiers to land near Keelung Harbor in northern Taiwan and use it as a base to launch an attack on the city of San Salvador.

This sparked the Battle of Keelung, a struggle for control of northern Taiwan!
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On August 30th, a proclamation from the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty arrived in Kaifeng.

With the personal approval of Emperor Chongzhen, the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty, at the request of the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander and the Earl of Yongning, promoted four new generals.

The four newly appointed commanders-in-chief are:

Luo Rucai, who had just been pacified, was appointed as the garrison commander of Guide Prefecture, stationed in Suizhou within the territory of Guide Prefecture, and under the control of Zhang Cheng, the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander and Earl of Yongning.

Jiang Mingwu, the former deputy commander of Shanxi, was appointed as the commander of Henan’s relief and suppression efforts. He was stationed in Xinzheng County within the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture and was under the command of Zhang Cheng, the commander of the Central Plains bandit suppression and the Earl of Yongning.

Chen Zheng, the former deputy general of the White Tiger Battalion of the Yongyi Army in Xuanfu Town, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Kaifeng Anti-Bandit Army. He was stationed in Xuzhou City within the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture and was under the command of Zhang Cheng, the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander and the Earl of Yongning.

Zhang Guodong, the former deputy commander of the Qinglong Camp of the Yongyi Army in Xuanfu Town, was appointed as the garrison commander of Luoyang, stationed in Luoyang within the territory of Henan Prefecture, and under the command of Zhang Cheng, the Central Plains Bandit Suppression Commander and Earl of Yongning.

It is almost certain that the above four people will remain in Henan. They will become an effective force for the Earl of Yongning to control Henan and limit the further expansion of the rebel king's power.

The remaining battalion commanders of the Yongyi Army, such as Zhang Guangda, Wei Zhice, and Li Jiyu, as well as Yuan Shizhong, the commander of the Xiao Yuan Battalion who had just completed reorganization and training, were awarded the title of General by the imperial court.

They enjoy the benefits of a general and are recorded in the Ministry of War's roster according to the rank of general, but they do not have the actual position of general for the time being.

At the same time, the deputy generals, captains and other officers of the various battalions of the Yongyi Army were also rewarded and promoted to military positions such as deputy general, assistant general and guerrilla commander according to their military merits.

Among them, Hu Zichen was promoted to deputy general for his merits, and still led the soldiers under the original Baoding Army, which was named Hu Battalion. He will lead the soldiers of Hu Battalion to stay in Zhuxian Town.

Chen De also rose through the ranks to become a military officer, though he would only command a thousand elite cavalrymen for the time being. He would serve under the Earl of Yongning, and his future prospects were promising. With this, the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng, had completely subdued the troops of the former Zhenbao General Hu Dawei and the Henan General Chen Yongfu. He directly controlled Hu Dawei's former subordinates through Hu Zichen, and indirectly controlled Chen Yongfu's subordinates through Chen De.

Zhang Cheng's goal was to directly control Kaifeng Prefecture and Guide Prefecture through the four newly appointed generals, and indirectly control parts of Ruzhou, Nanyang Prefecture, and Runing Prefecture.

Chen De naturally wanted to keep him by his side, both to use him for his own purposes and to make full use of his role as a hostage.

Sometimes, trust is worthless; only when you have control over someone's lifeline will they be worthy of your trust!

Zhang Cheng only truly understood this point after rising to a high position. The higher one's position and the more power one wields, the more one fears betrayal from subordinates. Therefore, one must always be vigilant and never give others complete and selfless trust.

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Furthermore, Li Shidong, the former head of the western defense stronghold of the Mangshan militia and a scholar who passed the imperial examination, was appointed as the magistrate of Mengjin County in Henan Prefecture, while Zhang Shikuang, the commander of the western militia, was appointed as the garrison commander of Mengjin County.

Xu Yousi, the former leader of the eastern joint defense village of the Mangshan militia, was appointed as the magistrate of Gong County, Henan Prefecture, while Feng Gang, the commander of the eastern militia, was appointed as the garrison commander of Gong County.

Yang Shibin, the brother-in-law of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng and the former head of the Mangshan Militia Joint Defense Headquarters, was appointed as the Assistant Magistrate of Henan Prefecture and concurrently served as the Magistrate of Yanshi County.

Meanwhile, Yang Shijie, the second brother-in-law of the Earl of Yongning and the former commander of the Central Militia of the Eastern Joint Defense Village of Mangshan, was appointed by the Earl of Yongning as the garrison commander of Luoyang with the rank of deputy general. Wang Guanqin, the head of the Wang family in Mengjin County, was appointed as the vice prefect of Henan Prefecture.

The Mangshan militia was originally intended as a hidden pawn...

Now, taking advantage of the opportunity to aid in the suppression of Henan, the Earl of Yongning has naturally brought it to the forefront, making it the main force in his control of Henan Prefecture.

The original members of the Mangshan militia have infiltrated the government in the northern part of Henan Prefecture. They will become Zhang Guodong's henchmen, helping him to completely control the northern part of Henan Prefecture.

Of course, the Mangshan militia could be Zhang Guodong's assistant, a spy to monitor him, or even a fierce force to restrain him if he makes any unusual moves.
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Through this campaign to aid in the suppression of the rebellion in Henan, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, completed his strategic layout in the Central Plains.

He left behind two core combat forces, Chen Zheng's White Tiger Battalion and Zhang Guodong's Azure Dragon Battalion, in the Central Plains. These forces could protect the two major cities of Luoyang and Kaifeng, and also keep an eye on Luo Rucai in Guide Prefecture, preventing him from rebelling again.

Although Jiang Mingwu's force was not particularly strong, his successful promotion to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Henan Expedition was entirely due to the recommendation of the Earl of Yongning, and he now wholeheartedly admires the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng.

According to Zhang Cheng's plan, he would select some able-bodied men with families from the troops that Luo Rucai and Yuan Shizhong had eliminated, and supplement Jiang Mingwu's troops to a size of 5,000.

With the troops under Chen Zheng and Jiang Mingwu, plus the Henan government troops under Chen Yongfu, the entire Kaifeng Prefecture was now under the actual control of the Earl of Yongning.

Meanwhile, through Zhang Guodong and the Mangshan militia, Yongning Bo also effectively controlled Luoyang, Yiyang, Shengchi, Xin'an, Mengjin, Yanshi, Gongxian and other cities north of Henan Prefecture.

The ferry crossing in Mengjin County, in particular, is an important passage connecting the north and south banks of the Yellow River.

Chen Zhong has now been promoted to deputy general for his merits, but he still leads the Yanhe Battalion back to Yanhe Town to garrison, and Yanhe Town will become an important transit base for the Yongyi Army north of the Yellow River.