Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 696: Xihaibo Zhang Xianzhong
"Alukorqin is the former territory of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty once set up the Hailaer Thousand Households Office there. Of course, we must take it back."

"There is also the Onon River in the west. The Ming Dynasty once set up the Onon River Guard there. Emperor Chengzu named it the Xuanming River. We must also take it back."

"The entire Heilongjiang River basin is under the jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate."

"Because it is too far from the Andong Governor's residence, the Andong Governor was promoted to the Andong Governor-General, and the Heilongjiang Inspector General concurrently served as the Andong Guardian, who was at the same level as the Governor, to perform the duties of the Governor in the Heilongjiang area."

This was Zhu Youjian's plan for the Northeast region, in which the Andong Protectorate replaced the original Nurgandusi to govern it.

The Andong Protectorate was stationed in the Jingcheng area at the mouth of the Tuman River. The port there was not frozen all year round due to the warm current, so it could be used as a wintering place for the fleet.

With this, the Andong Protectorate was able to effectively control the various feudal domains in the northeast and become the undisputed center of this region.

But Heilongjiang is too far from Jingcheng. So Zhu Youjian set up the Heilongjiang Inspector General to act as the governor. If the population and army increase in the future, it is possible to set up a new Protectorate or even a province.

This undoubtedly puzzled the ministers. Yuan Keli, the co-director of the Privy Council, said:
"I think the Andong Protectorate can be moved to Miaojie, which was formerly Nurgan City."

"Just like we established the Nurgan District Office before, we will govern this area."

This is what many ministers think, but there is a problem now:
That means Temple Street was divided up.

Today, it is a viscount territory affiliated to the Principality of Jiangling, and the focus of the development of the Principality of Jiangling is also mainly there.

If Zhu Youjian took back this place, it would undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to the enthusiasm of the Principality of Jiangling to develop its territory.

Zhu Youjian was unwilling to do this because he did not want to give people the impression that he was taking advantage of the situation and make the nobles worry that once they had developed the land, the court would take the land back.

In this regard, Kong Zhenyun said:
"I think we can use more land in exchange, and allocate more land south or north of Temple Street to the Jiangling Principality."

"The Heilongjiang River should be navigable and should be directly governed by the imperial court."

Apparently, after he was appointed as the Inspector General of Heilongjiang by the Emperor, he wanted to place the Inspectorate Office in Temple Street.

Although Zhu Youjian was tempted by this, he was more concerned about the national policy of enfeoffment. After consideration, he decided:
"There is no need to mention Temple Street anymore. I have given it to Duke Jiangling and will never take it back."

"There are also lands on the north bank of the Heilongjiang River, such as Hailanpao, which will be divided into fiefs in the future to encourage nobles to establish fiefs."

This is the arrangement he made for the Heilongjiang River Basin.

If it were in the later era when there were ships, he would definitely have directly managed this navigable area.

But it is not possible now. Although there is navigation here, the conditions are extremely harsh.

Whether sailing upstream or through dangerous shoals and shallows, it is necessary to arrange trackers and maintain a certain number of people on both sides.

The cost of relying on government maintenance would be very high, so Zhu Youjian planned to first divide the north bank to see if navigability could be maintained.

If that doesn't work, then the south bank will also be divided up, and the court will only retain key points such as Mohe, Heihe, and Blagoveshchensk.

After telling his thoughts to his ministers, Zhu Youjian asked them:
"How many people does the court need to arrange on both sides of the Heilongjiang River to maintain shipping?"

"How much does it cost every year to maintain a navy in Heilongjiang?"

No one can answer this question.

Because maintaining the navy in Heilongjiang is different from that in the inland areas, the river was not navigable for more than half a year.

Fleets from vassal states such as Gangneung would head south for the winter when the ice formed, or even go to further places to transport goods and earn profits.

The officers of the imperial court would only ask for more food and wages because of the bitter cold of winter, and would never do these things.

In fact, because of the cut-off of communication with the imperial court in winter, these officers would report the number of ships lost due to snow and ice in the next year and ask the imperial court to allocate money and food for repairs.

Maintaining a navy in Heilongjiang is definitely a bottomless pit.

Not to mention that the trackers and other personnel on both sides of the strait also need to be maintained and cannot be abandoned just because there is no navigation in winter.

The ministers felt their scalps tingle when they thought of this. Min Mengde, the Minister of Logistics, said:

"It is absolutely not feasible to set up a navy in Heilongjiang!"

"During the Yongle and Xuande reigns, the imperial court sent imperial envoys to inspect Nurgan, and each time they did so, they would build dozens of ships on the Songhua River."

“This was sustainable when the country was strong, but it is no longer sustainable now.”

"I think both sides of the Heilongjiang River should be divided into fiefdoms and vassal states should be established to maintain shipping."

"The Heilongjiang Navy should also be composed of vassal fleets and called upon in times of war."

Navy Minister Yu Anxing also thinks so. He said:
"I think it is sufficient to set up a fleet in the Andong Protectorate and transfer it to Heilongjiang when needed."

"It would be too costly to have a navy stationed in Heilongjiang all year round."

He believed that instead of maintaining a navy in Heilongjiang, it would be better to set up a fleet in Andong Protectorate.

This fleet can use mostly paddle boats, which are suitable for ocean and inland river transportation.

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement and ordered:

"Order the Governor of Andong, Hong Chengchou, to build a Whale Sea Fleet on his own."

"This fleet must be able to enter Heilongjiang when necessary to transport supplies and troops to fight against the rebels."

After such a discussion, all the ministers agreed that Jingcheng was suitable as the core of Andong Protectorate and the headquarters of the Protectorate could be located here.

Although Temple Street was not bad, the imperial court did not have the ability to maintain a long-term presence there.

Even Heilongjiang Inspector General Kong Zhenyun realized that in the future both sides of the Heilongjiang River would most likely be divided into fiefdoms, and only in this way could the imperial court maintain Heilongjiang shipping for a long time.

In order to prevent too powerful a force from emerging here, he suggested:
"Emperor Chengzu once said that the Heilongjiang area was a key place. Although the court was forced to divide it, it had to be prepared."

"I believe that only lords can be enfeoffed here, not vassal states. A lord can have at most one guard, which is under the jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate."

"If you want to open up a vassal state, you need to go north of the Heilongjiang River or further west."

This attracted the approval of all the ministers, and Zhu Youjian also nodded in approval.

An earldom with a maximum area of ​​300 miles will prevent this area from getting too out of control.

Not to mention that he had established the Principality of Jiangling at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River.

If any lord in this area rebels in the future, the fleet of Jiangling Principality will block the river mouth and prevent the lord from leaving.

In order to safeguard the interests of Heilongjiang shipping, the Principality of Jiangling would most likely take the initiative to send troops and actively support the court in its fight against disobedience.

As for whether Jiangling Principality would become too powerful because of the important location of Temple Street, Zhu Youjian was not too worried.

Because Temple Street and Kuwu Island are too far to the north, they cannot support many people.

Moreover, Jiangling Principality had no ice-free port, so the fleet had to head south every year to spend the winter.

This meant that the Principality of Jiangling had no chance of escaping the control of the imperial court.

Therefore, Zhang Tongchang was not weakened this time, but was rewarded. Zhu Youjian said to his ministers:

"Duke Jiangling played an indispensable role in the recovery of the Heilongjiang area."

"Draft an imperial decree to appoint Zhang Tongchang as the General of Andong, and to jointly take charge of the war in Andong with the Governor-General of Andong Hong Chengchou and the Guard General of Andong Kong Zhenyun."

Zhang Tongchang was officially designated as one of the three great men of Andong, and was jointly responsible for the war in Andong with Hong Chengchou and Kong Zhenyun. Zhang Xianzhong, who recovered the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River, was rewarded even more generously. Zhu Youjian said:
"Zhang Xianzhong, the guerrilla general of the Great Western Camp, has been promoted to lieutenant general. He is allowed to form a lieutenant general camp and recruit 6,000 soldiers."

"The court must reward him for his contribution to the restoration of his homeland. Recall his previous achievements and confer him the title of earl."

"You can choose a 300-li territory along the Heilongjiang River as your fiefdom."

This reward undoubtedly went beyond the expectations of the ministers.

Because Zhang Xianzhong did not experience any major battles along the way, many people did not think that he should be rewarded with the title of earl.

Yuan Keli, the Privy Councilor, said:

"Zhang Xianzhong's achievements deserve him to be conferred the title of Viscount."

"If you were to confer the title of Earl, I think that would be too much of a compliment!"

Zhu Youjian initially intended to confer him the title of Viscount, but after seeing the secret report of Hu Liangfu forwarded by Zhang Tongchang, he finally decided to confer the title of Earl on Zhang Xianzhong.

Conferring the title of Viscount on Zhang Xianzhong would not move this man at all. Only the title of Earl might make him remember the kindness of being recognized and appreciated.

Of course, he could not say these words to his ministers. His explanation to them was:

"Although Zhang Xianzhong claimed to have recovered his homeland, the imperial court had actually long lost control of the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River."

"His achievements can at least be described as expanding the territory by a thousand miles."

"Such a great achievement, how can I not reward him with the title of Earl?"

"Even if you help the prince to open up a vassal state thousands of miles away, you can get a reward from the earl!"

The ministers all agreed with this, because the so-called Hailaer Qianhu Suo and Onon River Guard were actually just names on the map. The court now had no control over that area.

Zhang Xianzhong's recovery of territory should actually be called territorial expansion. It is not excessive to be awarded the title of earl for his achievement of expanding territory by thousands of miles.

Not to mention that because of Zhang Xianzhong's actions, the imperial court discovered the whereabouts of Ligdan Khan and was able to respond to the changes in Mobei in a timely manner.

This is an achievement no less than that of conquering Al Horqin, and it can even be said to be the only highlight and victory of the court in this year's grassland changes.

So what the emperor said makes sense in theory.

However, the ministers could not accept the fact that Zhang Xianzhong had only been a soldier for two years and had risen to become an earl.

Their opposition to this was much greater than when Mao Wenlong and Man Gui were conferred the title of Earl. After all, those two men had fought for many years and had accumulated sufficient merits.

It can be said that Zhang Xianzhong was completely lucky, as he encountered Ligdan Khan's expedition against Alukhorchin and seized his spoils of war.

Yuan Keli, the Privy Councilor, said:

"To expand territory thousands of miles, you need real control."

"Now Zhang Xianzhong is just lucky enough to take advantage of the emptiness of Alukhorchin and capture some tribes."

"I think his achievements need to be confirmed. I will confer him the title of earl after he has completely conquered the area."

Xiong Mingyu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, also said:
"If Zhang Xianzhong is granted the title of Earl for this lucky achievement, how will people in the world view the imperial court?"

"If someone achieves the same feat in the future, will the court confer him a title?"

Zhu Youjian laughed and said:
“Of course it’s going to be closed!”

"No matter if it's luck or strength, as long as you expand your territory by a thousand miles, I will reward you with the title of Earl."

"I conferred the title of Earl on Zhang Xianzhong this time because I wanted to let the people of the world see that they can also achieve the same feats."

"The court will keep its word and the rewards will not be discounted!"

"Zhang Xianzhong was made a count and selected an area of ​​300 li from the land he recovered."

This decisive attitude made the ministers realize that the emperor's mind could not be changed.

In addition, the area outside the Great Wall had long been designated as a martial law zone by the emperor, and the power to enthrone Shuntian nobles was entirely in the hands of the emperor.

After their persuasion, they finally had no choice but to accept their fate.

Zhang Xianzhong was canonized as the Marquis of Xihai, a loyal and capable military official who was in a position to support the rule of heaven. He was given a salary of 1,000 dan and a fiefdom of 300 li, and was allowed to form a guard of his own.

Zhu Youjian specifically instructed:
"Western Sea Guard personnel can be recruited by Xihaibo himself, and weapons can be purchased from the Equipment Department."

"The Equipment Department should prioritize the allocation and transport the corresponding armor and muskets while the navigation is open."

"King Shunli received 5,000 sets of armor from the Ming Dynasty, and now it is estimated that there are still 3,000 to 4,000 intact. We must ensure that Xihaibo has enough strength to check and balance King Shunli in Mobei."

This statement made some ministers suddenly realize why the emperor conferred the title of Earl on Zhang Xianzhong.

It was obviously to strengthen his power and to check and balance Ligdan Khan.

Looking at all the generals in the Ming Dynasty, he is the most suitable one now. No one is willing to send others!
Therefore, the emperor conferred the title of earl on Zhang Xianzhong not only to fulfill his previous promise, but also as a helpless move, allowing Zhang Xianzhong to choose a territory and stabilize that area.

This finally made Zhang Xianzhong's title recognized by more people. Shi Fenglai also wrote a brilliant edict according to the emperor's instructions, showing that the court praised military merits.

Zhu Youjian asked for the publicity of Zhang Xianzhong's rise to prominence through the martial arts conference, and to promote the next martial arts conference as it was about to be held.

The imperial edict that conferred Hu Liangfu the title of baron was hidden in the edict, which naturally attracted little attention. Zhu Youjian conferred Hu Liangfu the title of baron on Zhang Xianzhong's two merits in the name of his meritorious service as a military supervisor, and allowed him to form a thousand households with a thousand guards.

He also sent him a secret decree, teaching Zhang Xianzhong how to be a nobleman and abide by the rules among nobles.

Even though Zhu Youjian did not expect to restrain Zhang Xianzhong in this way, he also hoped that he would act in a more organized manner.

As for his attitude towards Zhang Xianzhong, the further the better. Just like the titles he bestowed on Zhang Xianzhong, such as Daxiying and Xihaibo, he said, "Go west, west, and west again... preferably until the sea."

After Zhang Xianzhong was rewarded in the name of recovering a thousand miles of territory, the ownership of the land of Alukhorchin was no longer subject to discussion.

Zhu Youjian prepared to divide it up as the former territory of the Ming Dynasty, and like other places in the Heilongjiang River Basin, he appointed lords to govern it.

Now, because of the inconvenience of transportation and no nobles willing to go, Zhu Youjian appointed Zhang Xianzhong as the garrison commander of the Mohe Military and Civilian Office to govern this area.

He officially named the Aru River after the Aru River, and ordered Kong Zhenyun and Zhang Xianzhong to build the Aru City along the river as a place for trade with the tribes in northern Mobei.

The mountains on the east side of the river were named Daxinganling by Zhu Youjian and were managed by the Mohe Military and Civilian Government.

Kong Zhenyun was in direct charge of the Mohe Military and Civilian Government, and was also tasked with recruiting Solon people from the mountains and forests around Heilongjiang to form an army to conquer Nenkorchin together with Zhang Xianzhong, Gao Yingxiang and others in the future.

The Ming Dynasty will attack from the east, west and north to force Nenkorchin to surrender or drive them away.

Restoration of the Songhua River and Nen River was put on the agenda. Restoration of the water post along the coast and the post road from the upper reaches of the Nen River to the Hailaer Qianhu Suo were all the responsibilities of Kong Zhenyun, the Heilongjiang Inspector.

As long as these post roads could be kept open, the Ming Dynasty would be able to restore its rule over the area and threaten the Jianlu from the north.

Kong Zhenyun was very confident about this, believing that after last year's great battle, Nenkorchin would have no chance of resisting the combined forces of the three armies of the Ming Dynasty.

In particular, he thought of Zhang Xianzhong being conferred the title of Earl, and believed that the emperor was giving him the opportunity to be conferred the title of Earl for meritorious service.

The banks of the Songhua River and the Nen River also covered an area of ​​thousands of miles. If he was in charge of restoring the area, he would have a good chance of being awarded the title of Earl when the meritorious service was discussed.

So he quickly received the imperial order, and went to Heilongjiang to take up his post with the imperial edict and accompanying officials and soldiers.

(End of this chapter)