Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

A few days later, Zhu Mei led 20,000 troops drawn from Xuan Da and joined Hei Yunlong.

Accompanying him was an observation group sent by the Privy Council.

Originally, Yang Sichang only planned to send staff members over, but after other departments of the Privy Council heard about this matter, they also sent personnel over.

In particular, the Intelligence Department of the newly established Intelligence Committee took this opportunity to find a way in, arguing that the observation group should be led by the Intelligence Department and have the responsibility to survey military merits.

This is one of the duties of the Jinyiwei, and the Intelligence Department, as a department of the Jinyiwei, naturally also enjoys this power.

In this way, the observation group is not just for observation, but also has a certain deterrent effect on the front-line generals.

After all, their contribution still needs to be confirmed by the observation team.

Zhu Mei respected these people very much and specially selected a team of cavalry from the standard camp to protect them.

Wu Ahheng, assistant to the General Staff and deputy head of the observation group, looked at the Xuanda troops through a telescope and praised:

"General Zhu is a strict commander of the army, no wonder he is given the seal of admiral."

"All the soldiers and horses that can fight in Xuanda are probably here."

Fang Hongzan, commander of the Imperial Guard and head of the observation group, said:

"Xuanda has nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses, but you and I both know how many of them can fight."

"Admiral Zhu has sent out 20,000 troops, and General Hei also has 10,000 troops."

"With these 30,000 troops dispatched, Xuan Da is a little empty!"

This was the concern of many people in the capital, and some people in the Privy Council suggested that troops from the Beijing camp should be dispatched to support Xuan Da, or that the Tianxiong Army trained by Lu Xiangsheng should be transferred there.

However, Zhu Xieyuan, the commander of the Great Wall, rejected these suggestions, believing that the troops along the Great Wall were sufficient to defend against the Jianlu.

Even if the Jianlu were to go all out, they might not be able to break through the Great Wall defense line, not to mention that there are only 20,000 Jianlu on the grassland now.

Obviously, after the heavy military buildup last year, Zhu Xieyuan had found a way to improve the defense of the Great Wall. He was unwilling to mobilize the army for any disturbance, which would make the government and the people uneasy and bring additional pressure to the defense of the Great Wall.

Fang Hongzan disagreed with this. As one of the intelligence leaders of the Jinyiwei, he knew how serious the corruption in the army was. Even if the court reimbursed the military pay in the past two years, it would be impossible to make up for the missing troops out of thin air.

In particular, Xuanda did not implement the new military system like Jizhen, and various new weapons were not available here. He had very little confidence in Xuanda's troops and even worried that the Great Wall defense would be threatened by Jianlu after a major defeat.

But Wu Ah Heng disagreed and retorted:
"The troops left behind by Xuan Da may not be enough for field battles, but they should be able to defend."

"Besides, even if the Jianlu break through the Xuanda Great Wall, they can't break through the Juyong Pass guarded by Changping Town."

"If they go to Shanxi, General Zhou's Yongwei Battalion will use the new muskets to shoot them in the mountains and forests."

When Fang Hongzan heard this, he remembered that Zhou Yuji had led a battalion of 3,000 brave guards and had stayed in Shanxi.

These people are not just here to suppress bandits and capture merchants who have contact with the enemy, they also have the intention of guarding against the invasion of the enemy.

Three thousand soldiers is not a large number, but it depends on what weapons they use.

In Fang Hongzan's opinion, these 3,000 soldiers from the imperial camp, armed with new muskets, could be compared with ordinary shooters in the sniper team.

The terrain of Shanxi is also more rugged than that of northern Korea, making it a good place for an ambush.

If the Jianlu dared to break in rashly, they would let them realize that the ambush they encountered in the Korean War last year was not accidental. Even if they could win every battle, they would leave their lives behind when they returned.

No wonder Huang Taiji never had any intention of attacking Shanxi. Apparently he had learned a lesson from last year's Korean War.

The same was true for all parts of Yanshan. Any place with forests could become an ambush for the Ming Dynasty's musketeers. Huang Taiji did not have absolute confidence and did not dare to attack the Great Wall defense line.

After thinking this through, Fang Hongzan immediately looked at Wu Aheng with new eyes. He realized that although he had some military knowledge, he could not compare with these professional staff officers.

He said respectfully from the bottom of his heart:
"Wu Qianshi has profound insights, and is worthy of being a descendant of King Wushun."

"Brother Wu, if you put down your pen to fight against the Jin, maybe you can restore the honor of your ancestors."

"Brother Wu will definitely have a place in the General Staff in the future."

King Wushun was Wu Lin, King Xin of the Southern Song Dynasty. He was the younger brother of King Fu, Wu Jie, and one of the Seven Kings of the Southern Song Dynasty. Wu Aheng was his descendant.

Wu Lin was crowned king because of his achievements in resisting the Jin Dynasty. Now that Jianlu has established a new country and is called Jin again, Wu Aheng has another place to show his talents.

Such a fate was also the reason why Wu Aheng gave up his pen and took up arms, and took the initiative to join the Privy Council after resigning from his post as Censor.

Because he had made contributions like Yuan Keli in suppressing the White Lotus Sect, and he was a Jinshi, he was highly regarded in the Privy Council. In just two years, he became a deputy minister of the General Staff, and then a deputy minister or even a minister.

Wu Ahheng understood Fang Hongzan's compliments and was really happy about them. But he had a clear understanding of himself and knew that with his current abilities, he was still far from being able to achieve merit and be crowned a king. It could even be said that he had no chance at all.

If he wants to be crowned king, he may not be able to pacify the Jianlu, not to mention that he is only a staff officer now and has no chance to lead troops.

So he sighed:
"To achieve merit and be awarded a title, you still have to go to the battlefield!"

"I hope this new military merit system can be implemented smoothly and I can get the opportunity to go to Liaodong next year."

The Liaodong Campaign is the war that the Privy Council currently attaches the most importance to.

The expedition of Xuanda's troops across the border was just one of the preliminary preparations for this war.

The court did not send them here without a purpose. Their mission was to promote the new military merit system.

In order to encourage the Liaodong soldiers to fight bravely in next year's war.

Fang Hongzan was familiar with the new military merit system and knew that this was the suggestion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After sending spies into Liaodong on a large scale, they gradually found a way to distinguish the Jianlu:

That is, the older the Tartars are, the more grease there is on their braids and the darker the color of their scalp.

Therefore, they suggested cutting off the braids and scalps instead of cutting off the heads.

In this way, soldiers would not have to compete to cut off their heads during battle. They only needed to cut off their scalp and braids with a knife to confirm their achievements.

The Jinyiwei spies could also hand over their braids to confirm the achievements of the Jianlu who were killed sporadically.

Fang Hongzan and others came here to promote this method of recording merits, to see if the army could adapt to this system and replace the beheading method of recording merits.

Zhu Mei knew about this matter, and he also strongly supported cutting off the braid instead of beheading.

Because the biggest problem with rewarding soldiers for beheading others is that when soldiers are fighting, some of them will resort to beheading others.

On the one hand, this will bring about the problem of stealing credit, and on the other hand, it will disrupt the formation, causing some soldiers to be killed or even the failure of the battle.

Therefore, he was very supportive of cutting the braids, believing that this method was far better than beheading and rewarding merit. Just like this time, it was confirmed that they were going to fight against the Jianlu. Except for the 20,000 real Tatars, most of the others did not shave their heads. Even the grassland people who had just joined the Eight Banners and shaved their heads had completely different scalps from the real Tatars, and could be clearly distinguished.

However, many Han people in Liaodong had already been forced to shave their heads, so this method might not work. Except in battle, beheading was still used to record merits in order to prevent the abuse of military merits.

Thinking of this, Zhu Mei couldn't help but sigh for the Han people who were killed in Liaodong and forced into slavery.

Hatred for the Jianlu surged up in his heart again, and he vowed to keep the Jianlu in front of him:
"We can't hold back in this battle. We have to fight even if both of us get hurt."

"I am the highest-ranking general from Liaodong. If even I am trying to preserve my strength, how will the others deal with the Liaodong battle next year?"

"In this battle, even if all the retainers die, we must leave a few thousand Jian captives behind."

After making this decision, Zhu Mei gathered all the generals to discuss how to fight. He said to the generals:

"This battle is a battle for me to avenge my humiliation in Liaodong and also a battle to restore my reputation in Xuanda."

"People say that the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty are either in Liaodong or in Xuanda. I hope you can muster up the courage and fight a battle that is no less than that of the Guanning Army."

“When people mention elite troops, they will think of Xuan Da.”

These passionate words touched the hearts of Xuanzhong's generals.

Before, when Man Gui was the admiral, they were convinced because Man Gui was now the most powerful general in the Ming Dynasty and he was born in Xuanfu.

But after Man Gui, the court sent Zhu Mei, and they were somewhat dissatisfied. Especially since both Man Gui and Zhu Mei were promoted for their meritorious service in Liaodong.

At that time, many people complained that Xuanfu and Datong did not get the chance to fight, so they suffered losses. Many things happened in Xuanfu and Datong under Zhu Mei's rule because many generals were dissatisfied with him.

Fortunately, Zhu Mei was a calm person, and with the support of the court, he finally secured the position of Admiral of Xuanda.

Now the generals of Xuanda no longer want to replace him, but when they encounter an opportunity to make merit, they will still rush forward without hesitation. This is why Zhu Mei must go out of the border -

The imperial court had asked them to wait for an opportunity to go out of the border and hold back the Jianlu. If Zhu Mei continued to suppress them, he would probably be reported to the imperial court.

So Zhu Mei had no choice but to lead the army out of the border and agree to Hei Yunlong's participation in the battle.

However, in order to intimidate the generals and let them know how powerful the Jianlu were, Zhu Mei allowed Hei Yunlong to fight with the Jianlu, which resulted in his unexpected defeat.

Now, no one among the Xuanda generals dared to look down on the Jianlu, but they had not lost their ambition to achieve great things.

Zhu Mei felt that the army's morale was good at this time, and planned to fight the Jianlu head-on:
"Fighting a stupid battle, fighting a messy battle, this was the strategy the court set for the Korean War last year."

"Our Xuanda troops are more elite than the Koreans, but compared to the Jianlu, we are not as experienced as them."

"If we are dragged into the battle tactics that the Jianlu are familiar with, we will most likely be defeated."

"Therefore, I think we should fight a stupid battle this time. We should make up for the lack of combat experience of the Xuan army and prevent the Jianlu from showing their advantage."

This was the tactic he chose based on the current situation of Xuanda’s army.

As long as the generals of Xuanda are determined to fight the Jianlu head-on, these elite soldiers can at least be exchanged for one with the Jianlu.

However, the generals couldn't help but hesitate when they thought about the servants they had trained for many years.

Those people are the foundation of their existence. If they all die, how can they control others in the army in the future?

Zhu Mei looked at their expressions and knew what these people were thinking.

In fact, he was reluctant to use his family servants to fight the Jianlu, but if he missed this opportunity, these brave family servants would be gradually eliminated. It would be better to use them at this time to win a title for his wife and children.

He said to the generals:

"Do you know about the new muskets of the Brave Guard?"

"What are your feelings?"

Black Cloud Dragon said:

"Amazing!"

"The fire gun has now completely replaced the bow and arrow."

"And when it launches, it's almost effortless."

"In the past, anyone who could fire more than ten arrows in a row was considered a warrior, but nowadays, ordinary soldiers can still fire a hundred or so muskets with plenty of energy."

This was what amazed him the most. He believed that the musket could completely replace the bow and arrow, and could possibly replace other cold weapons when equipped with a bayonet.

Zhu Mei nodded and asked them:
"So how long do you think it will take for the imperial court to invest millions of taels of silver in manufacturing new firearms to completely replace bows and arrows?"

"After the new muskets are widely equipped in the future army, how useful will personal bravery be?"

All the generals fell silent for a moment, knowing that for the new musket army, no matter how brave the enemy was, they could be killed with one shot.

But the brave warriors did not use more muskets than the ordinary soldiers. The gap between the brave warriors and the ordinary soldiers was no longer as big as before. Even the brave warriors selected by the court through the martial arts competition did not have many opportunities to make meritorious deeds now.

Therefore, the brave servants have actually been eliminated, unless they train all of them to be sharpshooters using muskets.

But this is obviously impossible, many brave servants are not used to using fire guns. They are more powerful when using bows and arrows.

Zhu Mei's subtext is: Even if they still need servants, this group of brave servants are of little use now. It is better to send them to the battlefield to fight and establish merit for them.

In order to strengthen her persuasiveness, Zhu Mei spread out a map and said to them:

"This is the Guihua Protectorate established by the imperial court. All areas except Xuanda belong here."

"Previously, the imperial court only planned to grant fiefdoms 500 miles from the Great Wall, but now the limit has been reduced to 300 miles."

"In other words, all the grasslands near the naturalization can be used as fiefdoms."

"It depends on whether you have achieved enough merits."

This obviously made the generals of Xuanda more excited. The reason they went out of the border was to intend to make meritorious deeds.

They coveted the grasslands that the people of the capital and the southerners looked down upon. Especially since they knew that tens of thousands of Han people had reclaimed wasteland near Guihua City, and that was all arable land.

Hei Yunlong looked at Guihua and said:

"Does naturalization also require enfeoffment?"

"What about King Shunyi and those Shuntian nobles?"

"Some of them contacted me and wanted to surrender anyway."

Zhu Mei laughed and said:

"Guihua needed to be rebuilt after it was burned down. As the seat of the Guihua Protectorate, at most, mansions could be built for the Shunyi King and nobles who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

"These people have performed so poorly this year that they can forget about naturalizing to the south. The court plans to banish them all to the north."

"All the pastures south of Guihua are yours to take. Whoever has made the greatest contribution will have priority."

This promise made the eyes of Xuanda's generals light up, and they all realized that this was a good opportunity to establish a fiefdom for their family.

If they miss this opportunity, even if they have made achievements, their fiefdoms will be in more remote places, and they cannot choose the fertile land south of Guihua like this time.

Therefore, in the hearts of these people, they have already tended to agree with what Zhu Mei said, that is, to use their own brave servants who are about to be eliminated to fight against the Jianlu.

Especially Zhu Mei's last words made them completely determined:
"The Jianlu are marching westward this time because the grassland is weak."

"If the Jianlu are not beaten hard outside, there will be no peace in the southern grasslands of the desert, and our territory will not be stable either."

"In order to leave a legacy for future generations, we must let Jianlu know who Mo Nan belongs to!"

The generals were so excited that they cried out and decided to inflict great pain on the Jianlu so that they would not dare to move westward. (End of this chapter)