Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

It is summer in Beijing in May.

The Beijing summer fashion show is also held during the summer solstice.

All kinds of light and cool clothes are popular among the people of Beijing. Every family with spare money will buy a few pieces.

But in the distant Heilongjiang River, it is still spring. The flood season has just passed and navigation has resumed.

The fleet of the Principality of Jiangling took advantage of this period to transport supplies upstream.

As the commander of the fleet, Zhang Tongkui first unloaded a batch of goods for the Black Dragon Camp in Hailanpao, and then continued to go upstream northward and arrived thousands of miles away.

This place is the confluence of the Emur River and the Heilongjiang River. The local Jurchens called it Yaksa, which means "the collapsed river bay."

The Ming Dynasty once established the Buludan River Guard, Muhe Guard and other guards in this area. In the 43rd year of Jiajing, the Muhe Guard even requested the Ming Dynasty to succeed the post, which was only more than 60 years ago.

After Zhang Xianzhong was allowed by the emperor to form the Daxi Camp, he led his soldiers here from Hailanpao.

One of his tasks was to contact the hereditary officials of Muhewei and other garrisons to restore the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

However, after arriving in Yakutsk, he stopped.

Because he discovered that the wild Jurchens in this area were the Solon tribe mentioned by the emperor.

The emperor believed that the bravery of the Solon people was comparable to that of the Jianlu people, so Zhang Xianzhong would certainly not miss this excellent source of soldiers.

So, last year, he took advantage of the opening of the Heilongjiang River to set up a camp in Yaksa, and then went out to attack and recruit people from various tribes in the winter.

During the battle, Zhang Xianzhong found that these Suolon people were indeed as brave as the emperor said. It was just that their weapons were too poor and their army was not well organized, so their fighting power could not be compared with that of the Jianlu.

However, all this is not a problem for the Ming Dynasty. I believe that under the armament and organization of the Ming Dynasty, they can be trained into an elite force.

When ice floods occurred in Heilongjiang and the roads became muddy after the spring thaw, Zhang Xianzhong trained them in the camp.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong was fighting with the warriors of Sauron. With more fierce momentum and better skills, he beat down several Sauron people one after another.

When Zhang Tongkui arrived, he happened to see this scene. He looked at the Solon people who could fight with Zhang Xianzhong, and his eyes lit up:

"These Saurons are indeed an excellent source of soldiers!"

"How dare ordinary people fight with General Zhang? They are so scared that their hands are weak!"

Zhang Xianzhong's bravery was well-known in the capital. He won the first place in the unlimited full-armor combat by exchanging injuries for injuries.

After he arrived in the northeast and led his army alone, he gained a reputation as a bloodthirsty person. Anyone who disobeyed him would be killed by him.

Ordinary Ming army soldiers would be so frightened when they heard about a fight with Zhang Xianzhong that they would not be able to use even half of their skills.

But these Saurons are different. They are also fearless and brave enough to fight to the death in the face of the fierce Zhang Xianzhong.

Seeing that if the fight continued, there might be casualties, Zhang Tongkui was about to speak out to stop it, but suddenly he heard a cough and a eunuch said:
"Master Zhang, please don't disturb General Zhang's interest."

"If you make him angry, he won't recognize anyone!"

Zhang Tongkui looked over and recognized the eunuch Hu Liangfu, the military supervisor of the Great Western Camp. This was one of the military eunuchs that Wei Zhongxian had used heavily, along with Liu Yingkun and Ge Jiusi.

He had served as the governor-general of Dengjin and was in charge of guarding overseas places. He had also been an envoy to Korea and was very familiar with the situation in Liaodong.

When Liu Yingkun and Ge Jiusi chose to go on diplomatic missions to the West, he chose to come to the Northeast to make meritorious services and was appointed by the emperor as the eunuch supervising the military of the Daxi Camp.

Zhang Tongkui had met him last year, but when he saw him again, he almost didn't recognize him.

Looking at the body that was as thin as a stick and seemed to be blown down by a gust of wind, Zhang Tongkui said with concern:
"Eunuch Hu, what's wrong with your body?"

"Why is there no one to help me?"

Hu Liangfu coughed a few more times and said with a wry smile:

"Where will anyone help me?"

"Everyone around us died in this icy and snowy place."

"If I hadn't been able to ask for a reward from the Emperor, I would have been dead!"

Thinking about what happened in winter, Hu Liangfu felt scared.

When he first arrived at the Daxiying, he acted like a eunuch supervising the army, ordering Zhang Xianzhong around, and took all the ginseng, pearls and other treasures collected by the Daxiying into his own account.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xianzhong was a ruthless man. After shipping was cut off in winter, he forcibly took the soldiers and young eunuchs around him away in the name of military supervisors when he went to war.

Then those soldiers and young eunuchs died one by one in battle or from illness. As a result of his questioning, he himself almost died of illness. He only survived by chance because he explained to Zhang Xianzhong that he could ask for a reward from the emperor.

Hu Liangfu, who hated this, thought of ten thousand ways to torture Zhang Xianzhong. However, the current situation of the eunuch party losing power, the Empress Chenfei in the palace, and the instructions he received from the emperor before leaving, all made him realize that he could not do anything to this man.

At this time, he could only complain to Zhang Tongkui and tell him about his experiences, hoping that the Duke of Jiangling would be more wary of Zhang Xianzhong.

When Zhang Tongkui heard that Zhang Xianzhong had killed all the personal soldiers of the eunuch who was supervising the army, he became wary, because he really didn't expect that someone would dare to kill a eunuch.

At this moment, he remembered his cousin's instructions to him before he left, asking him to be careful and cautious when facing Zhang Xianzhong:
"Even your majesty finds Zhang Xianzhong unruly and untamable."

"So we left him in the north and formed a separate Great Western Camp to send him westward."

"Your mission is to provide him with logistics and take over his abandoned camp."

"It would be best if we can recruit Sauron soldiers. If we can't, we can wait until he leaves. Anyway, he can't recruit all those people. From Hailanpao to Yaksa, it has been confirmed that many tribes are Sauron people."

This is what Zhang Tongchang said when he asked him to come to Yaksa to recruit Solon soldiers. At that time, Zhang Tongkui thought his brother was too cautious. Their Jiangling Principality was responsible for the war in the Heilongjiang area, and Zhang Xianzhong could not fail to give face.

However, it now seems that he underestimated Zhang Xianzhong. When this man became arrogant, he even dared to kill the eunuchs sent by the emperor.

The arrogant and brave generals of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in history books were probably no more than this. The emperor could be killed in front of them.

Of course you have to be careful when facing such people.

"This person killed the people around Eunuch Hu, and the consequences are not small!"

"Not to mention that Eunuch Hu's friends will target him, even His Majesty will definitely be dissatisfied."

"You can't make close friends with this person. You have to be careful with him."

Thinking about this, Zhang Tongkui watched Zhang Xianzhong kill several warriors he admired and made all the Saurons respect him. Only after Zhang Xianzhong stopped, he stepped forward and said:
"General Zhang, I am here on the orders of Lord Jiangling to deliver supplies to the Great Western Camp."

"The furs and other goods that the general has collected can also be shipped back."

Zhang Xianzhong wiped the blood off his hands, looked at him and Hu Liangfu and laughed:

"You should talk to Eunuch Hu about this matter."

"I believe that Eunuch Hu will not let me suffer this time."

Then he said to Zhang Tongkui:

"Anything else?"

"It's alright, I'll move camp now."

"Those supplies are shipped directly to the ship without having to be unpacked and reloaded."

Obviously, he had decided to leave and continue to head west on the emperor's orders. He was quite shrewd and knew that if he stayed, the hidden danger of killing eunuchs might erupt. The eunuchs that Hu Liangfu was close to might kill him here.

But if he continued to move westward, the eunuchs would be out of reach, and even the emperor would protect him and allow him to continue expanding his borders.

This great gift from the Solon tribe was also left by him for the emperor. Since the emperor values ​​the Solon soldiers, then he should present them to the emperor.

I believe that after receiving this great gift, the emperor will tolerate what he did. Besides, the military supervisor eunuch Hu Liangfu was not dead, and he was spared.

Zhang Xianzhong, who had thought this through clearly, shouted to his soldiers to prepare to break camp. They were to continue westward along the Heilongjiang River towards Beihai where Su Wu grazed his sheep.

At this time, the Great Western Camp already had more than 2,000 soldiers. One thousand of them were recruited from his hometown last year, and the other one thousand were the Jurchens and Mongols conquered here. Now the majority were Solons, with a number of more than 600.

The families of these people will stay in Yaxica to settle and cultivate the land, and he will send people to pick them up after he finds the North Sea.

Zhang Tongkui came to Yaksa to recruit Solon soldiers. When he heard that Zhang Xianzhong was leaving and leaving this place to him, he was so happy that he didn't know what to say. Looking at Zhang Xianzhong's appearance, he also felt that he liked him.

Thinking of what his brother asked him to bring, Zhang Tongkui said:
"General Zhang, don't leave in a hurry. There is something you must see."

"This is the latest model of musket finalized by the Equipment Department. Your Majesty has allowed each vassal state to purchase it."

"Jiangling Principality finally booked a guard, and 500 of them were delivered a few days ago."

"My brother specifically asked me to bring 100 to General Zhang."

He raised his hands and clapped them, signaling his guards to bring up the muskets.

Then he demonstrated it himself, loading the bullet into the musket and pulling the trigger to shoot down a bird in the sky.

When Zhang Xianzhong saw that this musket was so easy to operate, his expression suddenly became serious.

The reason why he was so domineering in Yaxsa was that he expected that the imperial court would not be able to do anything to him. In particular, the newly recruited Solon soldiers gave him great confidence.

These Saurons, who were brave in battle and skilled in archery, dared to charge forward even when faced with firearms. The new firearms army organized by the Ming Dynasty would probably be defeated when facing them.

However, this new musket undoubtedly changed his mind and made him realize that past experience was not reliable and that the Ming Dynasty's new musket army was growing stronger.

After taking the musket, opening and closing the valve, Zhang Xianzhong asked Zhang Tongkui:

"How many rounds can this musket fire in one minute?"

"How does it compare to a bow and arrow?"

Zhang Tongkui smiled and said:

"After training, most people can shoot ten, and the fastest can shoot fifteen, which is almost the same as the fastest archers."

"The Emperor has already issued an order to use this type of musket to completely replace bows and arrows."

"From now on, the examination of hereditary officials will also be conducted with firearms."

This is undoubtedly good for hereditary officials, because training with firearms is much easier than training with bows and arrows. They will not be afraid of breaking their arms while practicing.

However, what Zhang Xianzhong thought of was the scene where the Ming Dynasty's new army used this new type of musket to shoot at the enemy.

With the firing rate of this kind of musket, even a cavalry charge might not be able to reach the Ming army.

So a sense of awe quietly arose in his heart.

Taking a bullet from a gun and shooting it at a tree, Zhang Xianzhong grinned and said:

"This kind of musket is good!"

"In the past, my archery was not as good as that of the Saurons, but now I have changed to firing guns, and I am not afraid of anyone anymore."

"I, Old Zhang, want all the 100 muskets. Please thank Lord Jiangling for me!"

He ordered someone to bring a tiger skin he had hunted, saying it was a thank-you gift to the Duke of Jiangling.

Zhang Tongkui happily accepted it and taught Zhang Xianzhong how to use this kind of fire gun, especially the key points of reloading the sub-gun. He said:

"The main reason why this kind of musket has such a fast firing rate and can be loaded from the back is that it uses a primer."

"Now only the Equipment Institute and Zhuolu Arsenal can produce primers, and they all have to be shipped from the capital."

"You can make your own gunpowder and bullets, but it's better to use those produced by the arsenal. The ammunition will be more powerful and more accurate."

This was obviously an arrangement made by the Ming Dynasty court to better control the equipment in various places.

Unless conditions permit, the Equipment Department will equip all of the vassal states' muskets with disposable bullets rather than reloadable sub-guns.

Zhang Xianzhong obviously also realized this. At this moment, he looked at the musket in his hand with a more solemn expression:
Because he had already realized that this kind of musket was a big trap set by the imperial court.

Once the Daxi Camp got used to fighting with this type of musket, it would become dependent on the logistics of the imperial court.

No matter how far he goes, he will be firmly controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

After Zhang Xianzhong realized this, he decided not to use this kind of musket, but when he thought of the Jurchens and Mongols who were good at archery, he was reluctant to give it up.

In the end, he could only comfort himself that he was marching west on the emperor's orders, and as long as he did not rebel against the Ming Dynasty, the emperor would not cut off his logistics.

After a simple training, Zhang Xianzhong equipped his personal guards with the one hundred new muskets, and then led the Daxi Camp upstream to the west.

On the way, they passed Muhewei, where there were old people who knew about the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Xianzhong ordered them to send someone to act as a guide and ordered them to pay tribute to Yaksa and trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Then continue westward and reach the confluence of another river.

The guide sent by Muhewei said:
"The river to the north is the Onon River."

"It was at the source of the Onon River that Genghis Khan convened the kurultai and became the Great Khan of Mongolia."

Talking about the splendor of the river in the north, the old man pointed to the river in the south:

"The one flowing from the south is the Ergun River."

"The Khorchin tribe is on both sides of this river. They are the guards of the Khanate."

Hu Liangfu took out the map given by the emperor and said:
"The Ergun River is connected to the Aru River, and to the south is the Aru Horqin tribe."

"More than a hundred years ago, a group of them moved to Nenjiang River and established Nenhorchin."

This is the origin of the two tribes of Khorchin. Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard and said:
"Nen Khorchin surrendered to Jianlu, and Alukorchin probably did the same."

"The Emperor asked us to find this tribe because he wanted to use the relationship of the Concubine Chen to bring them over."

"Let's go to the south and ask them if they are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty!"

He led his men south along the river and headed straight for Al Horqin.

They encountered almost no interception on the way.

It was not until they went ashore and captured several Mongolian soldiers who were delivering messages that they learned the news:
Lin Danhan's troops were conquering Khorchin.

Now the main forces of the Alukhorchin tribe are fighting with Ligdan Khan. (End of this chapter)