Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

News of Annam's victory quickly reached the capital.

While the ministers cheered with joy, Zhu Youjian also felt somewhat gratified:

"Zhu Xieyuan fought well; he truly is a commander!"

"It's reassuring to entrust the Annam strategy to him."

He praised Zhu Xieyuan highly, using his achievement of destroying a country to balance Sun Chengzong's influence.

This is also why he quickly launched the Annam campaign after the Liaodong campaign.

We cannot allow the meritorious officials of Liaodong to become too arrogant and stir up trouble in the imperial court.

Many ministers in the court shared this view and strongly supported the war in Annam.

Previously, Yuan Chonghuan's advance was thwarted, and some people thought Annam would be difficult to conquer.

Zhu Xieyuan has now annihilated Annam's main force and captured the capital in just a few days, making all the officials realize his ability.

Even Yuan Keli praised Zhu Xieyuan highly:
"Lure the enemy deep into our territory and defeat them in one fell swoop."

"The victory in the Annam campaign was achieved so quickly, entirely thanks to Commander-in-Chief Zhu's strategy."

"I believe he should be transferred back to the capital and appointed as the Privy Councilor."

He clearly hasn't given up on the idea of ​​retirement and plans to step down during the leadership transition.

However, Zhu Youjian did not give him this opportunity, and said worriedly:
"Conquering Annam was easy, but governing it was difficult!"

"Leaving aside the withdrawal of troops from Annam at the beginning of the dynasty, it will be easy for the troops from Yunnan to defeat Xuan Quang Town this time."

"However, after the defeat, the Yunnan troops were tied up in Xuan Quang Town, which shows that Annam was difficult to govern."

"Don't think that the victory is the end. The next step, governance, is even more important. Annam cannot do without Zhu Xieyuan."

These words prompted the courtiers to ponder deeply.

Annam is not a difficult place to conquer, and Zhu Xieyuan's easy victory this time makes people underestimate him even more.

However, the lessons learned from conquering and then losing Annam at the beginning of the country made them very uneasy about governing Annam.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang seized the opportunity to say:
“Annam is easy to conquer but difficult to govern. I believe that prefectures and counties should be established as soon as possible.”

"Appoint a governor of Annam to be in charge of local governance."

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval and gave the order:

"Jiaozhou Prefecture is a military and civilian prefecture, and should be divided into a military and civilian prefecture and a military and civilian garrison."

"Those who have made contributions in this battle, as long as they are willing to stay in Jiaozhou, can be appointed as hereditary officers or hereditary sergeants."

“Those hereditary officials or soldiers from the mainland who are willing to go can also be arranged to go to Jiaozhou Garrison.”

"As soon as possible, incorporate local Chinese who can speak Mandarin into the military and civilian households, and organize immigration."

“In the future, at least half of the people in Jiaozhou Prefecture should be Chinese.”

He immediately ordered his officials to organize the migration and stabilize the order in Jiaozhou.

He needs to change the population structure of Jiaozhou and completely assimilate it into Han territory.

In Zhu Youjian's view, this place was extremely valuable and could support many people.

Both now and in the future, the population of northern Annam is larger than the population of the entire Siberia.

With the drought worsening, Zhu Youjian (Emperor Zhu Youjian) attached great importance to this land. He planned to relocate the locals and send disaster victims from the Ming Dynasty there.
-
Han Kuang, Yuan Keli, and others agreed and then recommended officials from Jiaozhou Prefecture.

Zhang Jingxin, who was sent as an envoy to Annam, was appointed as the prefect of Jiaozhou Military and Civil Prefecture because of his familiarity with the local power structures there. He continued to act as an envoy of the Court of Colonial Affairs, negotiating terms with the powerful clans of Annam.

Li Yun, the governor of Guangxi, concurrently served as the governor of Jiaozhi, and suppressed the forces that refused to submit.

Ai Nanying, the Protector of the Restoration Army, also served as the Inspector of Jiaozhi, overseeing local officials.

However, the Restoration Army was recalled and no longer remained there. Zhu Youjian said:
"The climate difference between the north and south is too great. Most of the losses suffered by the Restoration Army this time were due to climate reasons."

“Let Yang Yufan bring back the Northerners from the Restoration Army and the Beijing Garrison. Those who can adapt to the climate can stay in the local area.”

"I do not wish for them to die of disease before they could even go to the battlefield."

This arrangement was well-intentioned, but the courtiers couldn't help but have some concerns.

After all, Annam was notoriously difficult to govern, and they had just been discussing this. They worried that after withdrawing these troops, large-scale rebellions would soon break out in the region.

Yuan Keli advised:

"The reason why the Annam rebels grew so powerful in the past was because the court withdrew its troops."

"I believe that even if the Restoration Army wants to withdraw, it should wait until the situation stabilizes."

Zhu Youjian shook his head and said:
"No one can say for sure when things will stabilize in Annan."

"We can't leave the elite Fuhan Army there to maintain order."

"Only 75 people were killed or wounded on the battlefield, but thousands have fallen due to the climate."

"We cannot use our elite troops like this. The Fuhan Army must be withdrawn before the rainy season arrives."

The comparison of the two figures greatly shocked the court officials.

They knew the Restoration Army was a formidable force, but they hadn't anticipated defeating Annam's 100,000-strong army with only 75 casualties.

Even more unexpectedly, thousands fell due to the climate, dozens of times more than those killed or wounded on the battlefield.

No wonder the emperor insisted on withdrawing the Restoration Army; no one wanted to lose their elite troops here.

However, Annam needs stability and a sufficient military force.

The number of southerners left in the Beijing garrison for Zhu Xieyuan was too small, only a little over ten thousand.

Yuan Keli pondered the strength of the Ming Dynasty's military and proposed:
“Both the Beijing Garrison and the Jizhou Garrison have Zhejiang soldiers, and the White-Spear Soldiers come from the southwest. I think we can transfer them there.”

Zhu Youjian, however, was too lazy to send reinforcements, and said:

"The battle is over, there is no need to send more troops."

"The new army left in Annam is enough to suppress the local population."

We have full confidence in the combat capabilities of the new army equipped with modern firearms.

Using a breech-loading cannon to fight the Annamese who were armed with cold weapons would be a sure thing.

France later conquered Vietnam with fewer than three thousand men.

After easily defeating the 100,000-strong Annam army, Zhu Youjian realized that he did not need to pay too much attention to the main force of Annam, but should focus more on the war of maintaining order.

This was his idea, but the courtiers felt uneasy. Yuan Keli advised him:
"That being said, insufficient troops will not suffice."

"More than 10,000 new soldiers were able to control Thang Long, but they were unable to completely occupy the area."

Zhu Youjian was also very worried about the war to maintain order, and after thinking it over, he said:

"Jiaozhou Prefecture should have at least five guards, requiring more than 10,000 hereditary officers and soldiers."

"The number of meritorious soldiers willing to stay in the local area may not be enough, so we can recruit soldiers from the civilian population."

"Especially those small groups of bandits who roam around in the north, we recruited them and moved them there."

"Those who can make meritorious contributions will be granted hereditary official positions and will be tasked with suppressing local forces that resist the Ming Dynasty."

This approach left the court officials looking at each other in bewilderment, feeling that there was no need to treat the bandits too leniently.

However, Yuan Keli knew that the emperor had no choice but to do this:

Under Sun Chuanting's vigorous suppression, the large groups of bandits in the north were gone, but small groups of thieves kept emerging, and the imperial army simply couldn't keep up with them.

The reason they turned to banditry has long been found out: it was because of years of severe drought, when they had no food at home, so they gathered together to rob.

Sometimes entire villages would fall victim to bandits, making them impossible to eradicate. The emperor's order was specifically for these people, pardoning their crimes and sending them to Jiaozhou.

Yuan Keli, who understood the situation in the Northwest, agreed:
"The common people are forced into thievery, and they should be given a chance to reform."

“Jiaozhou has fertile land and abundant resources, so they can settle there.”

It was decided to organize the relocation of the bandits who had been recruited into the government, under the name of the Committee for Suppressing Rebellion and Relief.

If the court's conditions are not accepted, then the crackdown should be intensified in an effort to stabilize the Northwest.

Han Kuang, being from Shanxi, agreed with this, because he didn't want his hometown to remain in chaos.

Even so, this is not a quick fix; Annam needs to increase its troop strength as soon as possible to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of the Restoration Army.

Chief of Staff Yang Sichang suggested:
"The Mo family made some contributions to defeating the Annamese Zheng family this time."

"I believe that we can use Annamese to govern Annamese, and order the Mo family to form a vassal army."

"While these people cannot be fully trusted, they can be used to stabilize the local area temporarily."

This was an attempt to cultivate traitors and collaborators in Annam. Zhu Youjian almost laughed out loud when he heard this.

However, this strategy did have some effect. Zhu Youjian nodded and said:
“We can recruit some trustworthy Annamese and even grant them titles.”

“Use these people to clean up the local area of ​​Annam. Those who resisted, like those in Xuan Quang Town, were all arrested and sent to other places.”

"The development of the Liaohe River bend and the development of Nanyang both require manpower, and we need to use them to do dangerous work."

Zhu Youjian harbored extreme hatred for the Wu family of Xuanguang Town.

Although this was a mess created by Yuan Chonghuan, since things had come to this, the fighting should continue.

Otherwise, the local forces in Annam would underestimate the Ming Dynasty, and resistance would emerge one after another.

To prevent Annam from becoming a drain on the Ming Dynasty's resources, Zhu Youjian issued the following order:
"Order Yuan Chonghuan to wipe out Xuanguang Town and leave no one to resist."

"All those who have been involved in military operations and cannot speak Chinese should be relocated. I do not wish for that place to become a gathering place for rebels."

"This is his last chance to redeem himself. If he doesn't do well, he'll have to go back home and farm."

With his eyes fixed on Han Kuang, he instructed him to pass on the imperial edict to Yuan Chonghuan.

Han Kuang felt helpless and somewhat dissatisfied with Yuan Chonghuan.
He valued Yuan Chonghuan in the past because the Donglin Party had no one who could fight.

This time, Zhu Xieyuan achieved a swift victory, while Yuan Chonghuan's advance stalled.

Han Kuang couldn't help but feel doubtful, wondering if Yuan Chonghuan really had the ability.

Is it really worth it for me to keep protecting him?

He had already realized that the emperor was growing increasingly impatient with Yuan Chonghuan. By insisting on protecting him, he was eroding the emperor's trust.

This could very well be exploited to threaten his position as prime minister.

Moreover, more troublesome than the emperor's dislike was that Yuan Chonghuan's refusal to heed the Privy Council's strategies greatly offended the Privy Council.

As far as he knew, some civilian military officers had said that Yuan Chonghuan was domineering and more like a military man.

This was even more critical, meaning that Yuan Chonghuan was no longer favored by civilian military officers.

According to the emperor, after the new firearms were deployed, the scholars gained the ability to restrain the military.

Yuan Chonghuan was even more arrogant than military generals, which put him in opposition to the scholars.

The Privy Council is now run by civilian military officers who are scholars. In order to establish their authority and suppress military men, they will target Yuan Chonghuan.

Han Kuang felt worried whenever he thought about this.

As the Grand Secretary, he was wary of the Privy Council, but not afraid of it. In fact, after the Emperor delegated power to the Cabinet, he even tried to suppress the Privy Council's power to maintain the Cabinet's position.

However, standing in opposition to the literati was something he had never considered.

Therefore, he had already begun to feel dissatisfied with Yuan Chonghuan.
-
The situation was more serious than Han Kuang had imagined. People in the Privy Council were already plotting how to deal with Yuan Chonghuan.

Yang Sichang, in particular, as the architect of the Annam campaign, wanted to make a great contribution in this battle, just like the "four cardinal and six intermediate" strategy implemented in Liaodong.

Yuan Chonghuan, however, disregarded his strategies and acted arbitrarily, which greatly angered him.

Yang Sichang, who was petty and narrow-minded, wanted to punish Yuan Chonghuan at the time.

However, Grand Secretary Han Kuang insisted on protecting him, which gave Yuan Chonghuan the opportunity to redeem himself through meritorious service.

Even if Yang Sichang was furious, he could not take action against Yuan Chonghuan during the war, lest it affect the court's grand plan.

Now that he has won the battle of Annam, he has seen an opportunity:
"What a Yuan Chonghuan! I thought he was a famous general!"

"I didn't expect that with such limited skills, they couldn't even take down the chieftain of Annam."

During a Privy Council meeting, Yang Sichang mocked Yuan Chonghuan and suggested that he be severely punished.

Otherwise, if everyone ignores the Privy Council's strategies like he does, the Privy Council's authority cannot be established.

Yuan Keli agreed with this, because he also looked down on Yuan Chonghuan and his faction that advocated peace.

I thought this man had some skill, but his true abilities were revealed during the Annam campaign—

A person who can't even subdue a chieftain is not qualified to become a regional governor.

"The Duke of Qian is young, and the Yunnan General is acting as the Governor. He must have the ability to subdue the local chieftains."

“Yuan Chonghuan’s performance in the battle of Xuanguang Town may have made the chieftain resentful.”

"The governor of Yunnan should be replaced by a more capable person."

These words stirred the interest of the ministers in the Privy Council.

After the emperor implemented term limits, local governors and viceroys became unusually stable, and it was no longer easy to become one.

The emperor treated the Grand Secretary as prime minister and required that the Grand Secretary should have experience as the principal official of at least two of the three levels of provincial, prefectural, and county governments.

Court officials also tended to be selected from among the governors-general and governors, especially the ministers of the six ministries of the State Council.

This made the position of governor-general highly sought after, and the competition for it fierce.

Now that Yuan Chonghuan has made a mistake, the position of Governor of Yunnan may become vacant, and they cannot help but be tempted by this position.

However, the position of governor does not have much say in the Privy Council; the Privy Council ministers can only participate in the recommendation of generals and deputy generals.

Border Defense Minister Liu Zunxian said:

"If the Governor of Yunnan is to act as the General-in-Chief, he should choose someone who has served as a civilian military officer."

"Our Privy Council really needs to put in some effort."

Using this as a pretext, they vied for the power to nominate the governor of Yunnan.

Other Privy Council ministers echoed this sentiment, further agreeing that the governor of Yunnan should be replaced, and that the Privy Council should participate in the nomination process.

Their consensus was to remove Yuan Chonghuan, thereby gaining the right to nominate the governor of Yunnan.

The cunning and malicious Yang Sichang devised an even more insidious plan:
He leaked the news, forcing Yuan Chonghuan to perform meritorious service and clear out Xuanguang Town according to the imperial court's orders.

There were even rumors that Yuan Chonghuan's achievement was not enough; he needed to clean up the entire Annam and take charge of Annam's security.

Only by completely eliminating the rebels in Annam can one atone for their sins and achieve merit.

He wanted to use this to force Yuan Chonghuan to take drastic measures and unleash a massacre in Annam.

If Yuan Chonghuan did that, he would be deliberately dirtying his hands and tainting his reputation, making it impossible for him to become a high-ranking official in the court.

Being close in age and holding a similar official position to Yuan Chonghuan, he aimed to completely eliminate any possibility of Yuan Chonghuan vying for the position of Grand Councilor, leaving him no chance whatsoever.

The term limits and the examination system implemented by the emperor have turned people who are in the same cohort, born in the same year, or are of similar age into competitors.

The competition between them became increasingly fierce. (End of Chapter)