Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The victory in the war against Matsumae made Hong Chengchou extremely proud.

Generals such as Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were also delighted and excited.

But the happiest person was actually Liu Xingzuo.

It was the Jurchen Niulu led by him that made the final decision.

It can be said that he made the greatest contribution in this battle, and Kong Youde and others should be ranked behind him.

It is amazing to think that the Jurchens of Niulu were recruited and trained for less than half a year, but they were able to exert such powerful force on the battlefield.

The new soldiers in the patrol camp felt their scalps tingling, wondering if they could defeat such an opponent—

After all, their imaginary enemy was the Jianlu, and the emperor required them to have one battalion that could defeat one Niulu.

Gu Yanwu, who had been promoted from trainee instructor to acting instructor, couldn't help but ask during the post-war summary:
"Are the Jurchens really that strong?"

"Let the Japanese be terrified when they hear this."

Liu Xingzuo understood the whole story at this time, and said with a laugh:

"This time it was an accidental success!"

"There is a legend about Dao Yi's invasion in Japan, and people are quite afraid of Jurchen pirates."

"They couldn't defeat our army in the first place, and when they saw the invading Jurchens, their morale collapsed."

"This battle was largely thanks to your frontal attack. It is our joint achievement!"

Kong Youde snorted coldly when he heard this and accepted this statement.

In fact, he knew that Liu Xingzuo said this because he was concerned about Dongjiang Town.

After Liu Xingzuo rebelled, he was granted the title of Viscount and, like Mao Wenlong, was authorized to open up territory in Korea.

However, because he had no roots in the Ming Dynasty, the location and population of his territory were far inferior to those of Dongjiang Town.

Mao Wenlong's territory was mostly plains, while Liu Xingzuo's territory was mostly mountains and forests.

If the emperor had not given him the task of recruiting Jurchen Niulu, he would have had almost no influence in the Ming Dynasty.

Now he has become famous thanks to the Jurchen Niulu under his command, but he still cannot change his weak situation.

When facing him who was born in Dongjiang Town, one naturally has to be more polite.

Gu Yanwu ignored the subtleties between the two and asked:
"Are all the Jurchens' Niulu so strong?"

"General Liu, what do you think of a battalion of the patrol battalion compared to a Niulu of the Jianlu?"

The other patrol officers also stared at Liu Xingzuo, waiting for his answer.

Liu Xingzuo was very surprised and said:

"Why did you say this, sir?"

"I am not bragging, but my 300-man Niulu army, all wearing armor, are top-notch even among the Jianlu."

"The Niulu of Jianlu is the Sumu of Mongolia. They all came from the Baihu and gradually increased their population."

"Nowadays, a Jianlu Niulu has about 200 to 300 men. One of every three men is selected to wear armor, and 60 men are the constant."

"Liu's Niulu has 300 men, and your majesty is counting the strongest Niulu as fully armored."

"How can a patrol battalion with more than 700 people be defeated by a Jianlu Niulu?"

He complimented the patrol camp and revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the Jianlu.

At this time, Gu Yanwu and other generals of the new army realized that the soldiers of a Niulu of Jianlu usually only had 60 people. Corresponding to the organization of the patrol camp, it should be a squadron.

This made them feel a little ridiculous for a moment. Did they train so hard just to deal with sixty Jianlu?

How much did the emperor despise them that he made them rehearse with the Jurchen Niulu before going into battle?

"wrong!"

Gu Yanwu suddenly shouted, and said in a daze:

"One Niulu of Jianlu should be counted as 300 people."

"Your Majesty's expectation for the new Patrol Battalion Army is not to defeat an incomplete Niulu."

"But when we recovered Liaodong, we were able to completely wipe out the Jianlu of Niulu."

"This Niulu not only has armored men, but also surplus men and the elderly, the weak, women and children."

"Even the bannermen who are loyal to them will fight against the Ming army."

"Your Majesty estimated that the enemy would be lenient, so he set the number of men in a Niulu to 300."

Feeling that he had found the explanation, Gu Yanwu looked at Liu Xingzuo expectantly and asked:
"What do you think, General Liu?"

"If a Niulu under the general's command goes to recapture Liaodong, can it completely destroy a Niulu?"

Liu Xingzuo was a little hesitant now. He had previously thought that the emperor had asked him to train 300 Niulu because he did not understand the organization of the Jianlu and regarded them as armored men.

Now I know that the emperor wanted to destroy the Jianlu, so he set the number of people in a Niulu to 300.

Thinking about the total population of Jianlu Niulu and some of the baoyi attached to them, Liu Xingzuo said hesitantly:
"It may be possible to win the battle, but it is difficult to completely eliminate it."

"When the Jianlu were defending their territory, every citizen was a soldier."

Gu Yanwu nodded with satisfaction, feeling that his thoughts were confirmed.

The same was true for the other patrol officers. They understood why the emperor asked them to target Jianlu Niulu.

What they have to deal with is not only the armored men of Jianlu, but also the combat power that can be exerted when all the people are mobilized as soldiers.

Liu Xingzuo believed that the Niulu under his command and the Jianlu were equally capable when fully mobilized, so when they conducted exercises, they targeted the Niulu.

This restored the confidence of the officers of the patrol camp. They felt that the emperor did not look down on them, but had high hopes for them.

They had to prove that a battalion of the patrol battalion had the ability to contend with, or even destroy, the 300 Jurchen armored men before the emperor would feel comfortable sending them to the battlefield to participate in the battle to recover Liao.

Hong Chengchou, who had been listening nearby, also understood the strength of a Niulu of Jianlu at this time, and asked Liu Xingzuo:
"Your Majesty asserts that the Jurchens have no more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. What do you think, General Liu?"

"How many Niulu are there in each of the eight banners of Jianlu?"

Liu Xingzuo was now under the command of Hong Chengchou, and he also received help from the Andong Protectorate when recruiting the Jurchens. He still respected Hong Chengchou very much, and immediately replied upon hearing this:

"One of the Eight Banners of Jianlu consists of about 25 Niulu."

"But the number of Niulu in each banner is different. Some have more, some have less."

"When Nurhaci was alive, the strongest Zhenghuang Banner had 45 Niulu, while the weakest Xiangbai Banner had only 15 Niulu."

"After Huang Taiji came to power, he asked the two yellow flags and the two white flags to exchange flags, and adjusted the number of Niulu in each flag. Now Liu can't tell the number of Niulu in each of the eight flags."

"But the total number of Niulu should not exceed 240."

240 Niulu, this number made some people feel disdainful, while others felt it was heavy. If the emperor's plan of a brigade of more than people could deal with one Niulu, the court would need to train new troops to have the confidence to eliminate the Jianlu.

If we keep some people as reserves, we will need to train at least 200,000 new troops.

Gu Yanwu, who knew how much the Patrol Battalion spent on training each year, had no hope for this.

Unless the imperial court disbanded all other armies, it would be unable to train so many new troops.

Hong Chengchou had the same idea, and he thought more.

At this time, he turned his attention more to Liu Xingzuo, believing that the emperor's order to organize and train the Jurchen Niulu was a correct decision.

If the imperial court could train thirty Niulu, it would be able to offset one banner of the Jianlu.

If we could train more of them, it might even be possible to use them to destroy the Jianlu.

The idea of ​​"using barbarians to control barbarians" quickly came to his mind, and he sensed his opportunity:
"If the imperial court implements the strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians, is there any place more suitable than the Andong Protectorate?"

"This is my chance to make a name for myself, to be rewarded with a title and land. This is my chance!"

Excited, Hong Chengchou thought of the Jurchens in the mountains and forests of Liaodong.

Some of these Jurchen tribes surrendered to the Jianlu, but some did not and remained hiding in the mountains and forests.

If I can recover these tribes and organize them into Yi troops, I will surely be able to make great contributions in the future when I pacify Jianlu.

So he looked at Liu Xingzuo with a very friendly look, thinking that this was an opportunity given to him by the emperor to make meritorious contributions and the key to being conferred a title.

What he needs to do now is to find a way to regain and utilize the Jurchens and open the door to a title for himself.
-
While thinking about this matter in his mind, Hong Chengchou did not forget the purpose of his visit to Beihai Island.

The reason why he personally led the troops to the war was to give face to the King of Han and to establish friendship with the King of Han.

This kind of thing must be done in full, Hong Chengchou ordered:
"Han Fan soldiers stayed behind, and Chen Changshi was in charge of clearing out the remnants of the Matsumae Fan."

"General Liu's Jurchen Niulu and the new troops of the Patrol Battalion will follow me to conquer the Ainu people."

"Which is stronger, a Jurchen Niulu or a patrol battalion? It all depends on your performance."

Stroking his beard and looking at Liu Xingzuo, Gu Yanwu and others, Hong Chengchou was extremely excited.

If the new army could prove that one battalion was better than a Jurchen Niulu, he planned to move the Shaanxi garrison to the Andong Protectorate and train it into a new army with firearms.

Use these people to intimidate the Jurchens and prevent them from being rebellious and refusing to obey orders.

The two sides were originally planning to compete, and after Hong Chengchou gave the order, a competitive mentality arose.

The new army felt unconvinced, while the Jurchens were complacent. They thought they were the best in terms of merit and that no other army could compare to them.

Under this comparative competition, the Ainu people on the island suffered greatly, and all the large tribes were wiped out.

Some people submitted to the rule of the King of Han, while others were captured and made slaves.

Under this situation, King Han Zhu Danshen finally went from Anzhou to Beihai Island.

In his heart, he was reluctant to leave the mainland and planned to make Anzhou the capital of the Han vassal state.

But the emperor did not allow it and distributed most of the fiefdoms on the mainland to the Han princes and royal family members, leaving him only Anzhou, with no hinterland at all.

As a result, he naturally had no place to place the Han Fan guards, so he could only go to Beihai Island and choose a place to build the capital.

Therefore, he insisted on expelling the Matsumae clan to avoid any trouble for his descendants.

After arriving at the stronghold where Korean soldiers were stationed, King Zhu Danshen of Han quickly felt that this was a good place. It was close to Anzhou and a port could be opened to establish bilateral communications.

However, the port sometimes freezes in the winter, which makes him sigh. And because it is close to the sea, he also feels that it is not safe enough to be the capital.

So he walked dozens of miles inward and chose to establish the capital of the Korean vassal state in the area of ​​Sapporo in later generations.

This area was all plains, suitable for cultivation. He decided to place one of his guards here to guard the future capital of the Kingdom of Han.

A guard was also to be placed in the south to suppress the old people of Matsumae. After distributing these cultivated lands to the soldiers of the Han clan as promised, he ordered that Matsumae Castle be changed to Ping Castle to commemorate the achievement of pacifying Matsumae.

However, he was not at ease living here, fearing that he would be invaded by other feudal states in Japan. After inspecting the areas developed by the Matsumae Domain, he chose to change Hakodate into Hankan as his temporary residence.

This place is a little far from the Japanese domain to the south, and it does not freeze all year round, making it suitable as a wintering place for Korean domain ships.

Then he circled the island again and made plans for each place, preparing to place the soldiers and immigrants he had recruited in various places on the island.

The development of the Han Wang vassal state began to get on the right track.

This event had a great impact, allowing many royal family princes to see the court's support for their establishment of vassal states.

Immigrants from Shaanxi, especially from Pingliang Prefecture where King Han previously lived, also found new resettlement sites.

This is why Zhu Youjian chose to use his troops against the Matsumae Domain even though he knew that the Jianlu were the Ming Dynasty's number one enemy.

If he does not prepare various resettlement sites for the disaster victims, he will have to prepare for internal rebellion.

Today, the court's biggest expenditures are military spending and immigration.

He needed to set up Han Fan as an example to encourage royal family members to move to their fiefdoms and relocate disaster victims in Shaanxi.

But to his surprise, before the royal family took any action, a descendant of a former noble had already requested to establish a fiefdom.

This person was none other than Li Shixuan, the descendant of Li Shanchang, the former Duke of Korea, who claimed to be the tenth-generation grandson of Li Shanchang.

Looking at the so-called "Taizu's will" presented by Li Shixuan, Zhu Youjian felt it was extremely absurd and said to the Grand Secretary and Nine Ministers:
"Li Shixuan said that Taizu left a will that the 216th spring was the end of the people's rule and that it was time to report to the emperor."

"Everyone, take a look and see if this edict is genuine?"

The ministers also thought this matter was extremely absurd. Han Yu, on behalf of a group of cabinet ministers, pointed out six major suspicious points and unanimously agreed that the imperial edict was a fake.

The most suspicious thing is that Li Shanchang committed suicide in the 23rd year of Hongwu, which is 240 years ago, and has long passed the so-called 216 years period.

It is really strange that Li Shixuan did not take it out before but took it out again now.

All the ministers believed that the imperial edict was a forgery and requested the emperor to punish Li Shixuan.

Zhu Youjian listened to their reasons and knew that no matter whether such an imperial edict was true or false, it would not be recognized if the court did not leave a record. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the court order, and countless similar imperial edicts would appear in the world.

So he accepted the opinions of his ministers and said:
"Li Shixuan's imperial edict is a forgery and should be convicted by the Dali Court."

"But which court should try him remains to be discussed. Is he a descendant of Li Shanchang?"

Han Yu, who was in charge of the three judicial departments, replied:

"When we first saw Li Shixuan's memorial, we asked the scholars from his hometown. They said that according to local legend, he was a descendant of the princess."

"He is a simple and honest man, not a fraud, but the plot is indeed true."

"According to the original commentary, it was repeatedly damaged by fire and water, and was later passed down by its grandfather. It is unknown if there are any errors."

"I believe that Li Shixuan is undoubtedly a descendant of Li Shanchang, the descendant of Princess Lin'an and her husband Li Qi."

"The case shall be tried by the Court of Nobles and the final decision shall be made by Your Majesty." (End of this chapter)