Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

“Is ten thousand people too many?”

"I'm afraid the imperial court will not agree to such a large-scale military deployment."

Liaodong Admiral You Shilu questioned.

He knew that the court's current strategy was to focus on small-scale battles and avoid large-scale decisive battles.

This strategy became even more resolute after Hong Chengchou commanded a large army in Korea and failed to retain even the rear troops of the Jianlu.

This year, when the Jianlu launched an expedition to the west, the imperial court did not take the opportunity to send troops, nor did it send a large army to the grasslands to rescue.

It is obvious that they believed that the current Ming army was unable to engage in a large-scale field battle with the Jianlu, so they limited the battle to a small scale.

You Shilu's statement implicitly expressed his opposition to a large-scale decisive battle. Zhao Lujiao refuted him:
"Ten thousand people is not too much, not too little, just right as a forward."

"When Ningyuan was defending the city, weren't there 10,000 or 20,000 people on the front line?"

"If the Jianlu don't come, then forget it. But if they do, then we'll fight them."

Sun Chengzong was also inclined to send 10,000 people. When he proposed to build Dalinghhe City, he estimated the size of the force based on this number.

Now that he agrees with Zhao's rule, he may be showing the court that he can also achieve victory by using his own methods.

After all, in his opinion, the 3,000 men in Dalinghhe Fort could hold out for a month under the fierce attack of Jianlu. A veteran like Zhao Lushio could lead 10,000 men to not only defend the city, but also fight a decisive battle with a single flag of Jianlu.

Although Bi Zisu had some opinions, his duties as a military guard were mainly in military and political affairs. He did not have much say in the specific command.

Since the commander-in-chief Sun Chengzong had made the decision, he had no choice but to execute it.

This was the power given to Sun Chengzong by the emperor in order to unify the affairs of Liaodong.

It was Sun Chengzong who recommended You Shilu, the governor of Liaodong. At this time, Sun Chengzong had made up his mind, so he had no choice but to obey.

However, he still made a suggestion:
"The deputy vanguard general Jin Guofeng is good at defense, and he assisted the Dalinghe defenders in building Dalinghe Fort No. 2 and other fortresses."

"I think he can be the deputy vanguard general, responsible for building a fortress in Niuzhuang."

Sun Chengzong was somewhat dissatisfied with these words, and even Zhao Lushio thought that You Shilu was looking down on him.

As the defender of Shanhaiguan, the most important pass in the world, does Zhao Luejiao still need others to teach him how to defend the city?

He had always been dissatisfied with You Shilu being the admiral, so he immediately said angrily:

"Does Admiral You look down on Zhao?"

"I can guarantee that I will live and die with Niuzhuang!"

He also asked You Shilu whether he wanted to sign a military order, intending to earn a title by virtue of the merit of recovering Niuzhuang and even advancing to Liaoyang.

You Shilu was pressed by him and was unable to question any further for a while.

Sun Chengzong tried to smooth things over:
"Since Jin Guofeng is good at defense, he can be transferred to Shanhaiguan as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Shanhaiguan garrison."

"With him and Ma Shilong, Shanhaiguan should be safe."

This was the preparation made by Sun Chengzong to prevent any problems from occurring in Shanhaiguan.

After all, the last time he sent Ma Shilong to fight, he lost a small battle at Liuhe, and it was rumored that he lost tens of thousands of soldiers. So much so that the capital was shaken, fearing that the Jianlu would break through Shanhaiguan.

This time he wanted to stabilize the defense of Shanhaiguan first to avoid fluctuations in the war on the front line, so he was questioned by the court.

It can be said that Sun Chengzong was still very cautious in his heart. He knew that he might only have one chance, and if he failed, he would be transferred back like last time.

He wanted to ensure that even if there was a small setback, it would not affect the overall situation. When You Shilu heard Sun Chengzong's proposal, he naturally agreed.

As the Liaodong governor stationed at the front, he was well aware of Jin Guofeng's abilities and believed that this man's ability to defend the city was no less than He Kegang's.

It would be a waste to keep both of them on the Dalingh River line. Now that Zhao Lushi is going to the war, it would be appropriate to transfer him to Shanhaiguan.

As for the deputy vanguard commander, he thought it could be directly dismissed. After all, the vanguard was now the Daling River garrison, so there was no need to keep this position.

This was actually the reason why the imperial court transferred Zhu Mei, the vanguard commander, away. It was just to stabilize the army and transfer Jin Guofeng, the deputy commander, to take over the army under the vanguard commander's charge.

Now that the Guanning Army needs to be reorganized, You Shilu believes that the vanguard organization can be abolished and incorporated into the armies of Ningyuan and Jinzhou.

Sun Chengzong listened to You Shilu's proposal, thought about it and said:
"According to the Privy Council's plan, our Liaodong Army will be reorganized into the Third Front Army, with Shanhaiguan Town at the head, numbered 31st Division."

"The remaining troops outside the Great Wall will be reduced by half, and the previous four generals will be reduced to two, organized into the 32nd and 33rd divisions."

"The commander of the 32nd Division will be Hou Shilu, the general of Tashan. He will be in charge of Tashan and the areas behind it, such as Ningyuan and Qiantun, and will be directly under the command of this governor."

"General You will concurrently serve as the commander of the 33rd Division, responsible for Jinzhou, Songshan, Dalinghe and other places, directly facing the Jianlu."

"Each division must select at least 10,000 elite soldiers. If the Jianlu launch a large-scale attack after General Zhao sends out his troops, they must be prepared to provide support."

You Shilu listened to this arrangement and asked:

"What about Daling River? Do you want a number?"

"Now that He Kegang is the general, he should be able to be the division commander."

Sun Chengzong was also a bit troubled by this, because although He Kegang led the Liaodong army, there were more Dongning soldiers.

In the past, he could use his power to forcibly incorporate the Dongning soldiers into the Liaodong Army.

But after Dongning Island was designated as the Crown Prince's territory, it would be bad for him to do so again -

To put it mildly, this matter is bullying the prince, and to put it seriously, it is an infringement of royal power.

This would absolutely not be tolerated by the emperor who was in the process of re-establishing the division of power based on rituals and music.

So he could only say vaguely:
"You are the governor of Liaodong, and you have the power to control the generals in Liaodong."

"Since the Dalinghe garrison is fighting in Liaodong, you will be in charge."

"Anyway, their military pay is independent, so we don't need to worry about it."

This was the rule set when the Dongning soldiers came to Liaodong.

Fearing that the Guanning Army might encounter logistical problems, Huo Weihua directly let Dongning Island take charge of logistics, and the rewards given to the soldiers were also allocated land on Dongning Island.

Especially after the imperial court arranged Zheng Zhihu to be responsible for transporting building materials for the fort, the logistics of the Dalingh River garrison had always been transported directly from the imperial court by sea.

Therefore, the Dalinghhe garrison now has its own separate military pay and does not occupy the military funds of the Guanning Army.

This is also the reason why, although the Guanning Army was somewhat dissatisfied with the Dongning soldiers coming to steal food, no large-scale conflict occurred.

After Sun Yingyuan led the Yingyang Army's Shesheng Battalion to Liaodong, he now used the logistics channel of the Dalinghe garrison to prevent the Guanning Army, which was disbanded, from being dissatisfied and doing harm to the Yingyang Army in terms of logistics.

The Yingyang Army also maintained a state of combat readiness in Liaodong so that it could suppress any mutiny as soon as possible.

It can be said that the main purpose of the new Yingyang Army is to defend the interior. Use its powerful combat power to suppress the Liaodong Army and complete the reorganization. (End of this chapter)