Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The distinction between Chinese and barbarians was primarily an academic discussion in the capital.

However, in the overseas regions beyond the Great Wall, these regions serve as guiding principles for various policies.

As the Governor-General of Andong, Hong Chengchou recognized the court's policy shift more quickly than others.

The court's previous efforts to win over neighboring countries have been replaced by annexation and control.

"The Han dynasty, with its supreme power and prestige, commands all nations; all under the sun and moon are its subjects."

"His Majesty is trying to rebuild the Celestial Empire!"

Having already learned of the debate in the capital from Mao Pijiang, Hong Chengchou knew what the emperor meant by the concept of the Celestial Empire.

That is, all within the four seas submit to it, and all that is under the sun and moon is its subject.

Therefore, some of the previous practices are no longer appropriate.

The emperor sent Mao Pijiang and others to Korea, ostensibly to help Korea become a semi-Chinese nation, free from barbarian influence.

In reality, it is about strengthening control over North Korea in preparation for revising the treaty or signing more treaties.

If Korea, as an internal vassal state, needed such control, then Japan, which only signed vassal treaties with the Ming Dynasty, needed even stronger control.

Hong Chengchou believed that war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan was inevitable, and this might be his opportunity to become a duke or marquis.

While preparing for the Liaodong campaign, he had already begun preparations for another war, plotting to achieve the feat of destroying a country.

This requires the support of many people. Hong Chengchou asked Liu Xingzuo:

"How is the Earl of Ningyuan doing?"

"What did he say about this year's war?"

Liu Xingzuo said:

“The Earl of Ningyuan was prepared long ago, and his goals are even bigger.”

"He wanted to sweep through the areas around the Asu River, Songhua River, and Heilongjiang River and recruit Jurchens as soldiers."

Hong Chengchou nodded slightly and said approvingly:
"Having ambition is a good thing; this Earl of Ningyuan is capable!"

"However, there's no need to rush the cleanup of the tribes in the Three Rivers region; we can discuss that after this battle is over."

"If the war goes well, the Jurchens will never be able to take care of the area north of the Liao River again."

"Our troops are ultimately a detachment; how well they perform depends on the main force of the Guan Ning Army."

He looked southwest with a playful expression, towards the area around Shanhaiguan.

As the commander of a detachment, Hong Chengchou had no intention of competing with Sun Chengzong for credit. However, if Sun Chengzong failed to live up to expectations, he would not mind becoming the commander of the various armies in Liaodong.

After all, what achievement is greater than conquering Japan and eliminating the Jurchens?

The emperor referred to the Jianlu as the Later Jin, and regarded it as the Jin state and Goguryeo.

With this in mind, Hong Chengchou was very supportive of the Liaodong campaign, but not overly enthusiastic.

He only intended to complete the task assigned by the court and contain one or two banners of the Jurchens.

After the start of spring, troops from Dongjiang, Cijiang, and Jingcheng set out one after another to harass the rear of the Jurchens.
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This unusual activity alerted the Jurchens to the danger.

Ever since Huang Taiji abandoned his gains in southern Mongolia and fled back, the Jurchen leadership has felt uneasy.

Although the propaganda campaign among the lower classes was a success, it also brought back some Mongolian nobles.

However, the loss of their spoils along the way caused the Jurchens, a group that made a living by plundering, to have many complaints among themselves.

Mangultai and Amin believed that Huang Taiji was far too cowardly. If they were leading the troops, they would never have abandoned their spoils and fled.

Huang Taiji was furious upon hearing this and rebuked him:
"I led my army to fight in the south and north, sweeping across the entire southern desert."

"Do you think you played better? Don't you even respect me, a mere sweater?"

He also reprimanded Mangultai's subordinates for disobeying orders and delaying military operations.

Mangultai roared:

"Have my subordinates ever made a mistake?"

"Is the Great Khan deliberately making things difficult for me because he wants to get rid of me?"

He held a sword in his hand, as if to draw it.

Everyone was shocked by what they saw. His younger brother, Degelai, even punched Mangultai hard, trying to bring him to his senses. But Mangultai was already in a rage. Instead of calming down, he became even angrier and drew his sword, displaying his weapon before the emperor.

This was a serious matter, and Huang Taiji angrily scolded him:

“When you were young, your father did not grant you any property. You relied on me for food and clothing.”

"Later, you murdered your own mother to gain credit from your father. Who doesn't know about this shameful act?"

"You drew your sword to kill me, do you consider me a coward?"

They also drew their swords and rose from their seats to display their bravery.

He then rebuked the guards, saying:
"What use are you to me?"

"He tried to draw his knife and stab me, and you just watched?"

The guards drew their swords together, seemingly intent on killing Mangultai.

The surrounding princes hurriedly tried to dissuade him, and Mangultai finally became afraid and apologized:

“I drank four cups of wine on an empty stomach earlier, and I was a little drunk. I then spoke wildly to my brother Khan.”

“I was unaware that I had said those words. I kowtow to my brother Khan to beg for forgiveness.”

Huang Taiji was still furious and refused to forgive Mangultai.

The princes discussed the matter and, under the leadership of the eldest prince Daishan, stripped Mangultai of his title of Heshuo Beile, demoted him to Dorobele, and reduced his five Niru (military units).

Huang Taiji was then satisfied and approved the resolution.

The conflict between Mangultai and Huang Taiji ended with Huang Taiji's complete victory, and no one criticized him for abandoning the spoils and fleeing back.

However, the lack of criticism does not mean that this event did not happen. Huang Taiji clearly felt that some princes were outwardly respectful, but in reality, they were not as respectful to him as before.

The prestige he gained from his conquest of Korea is already fading away.

As a robbery gang, a Khan who cannot lead the Eight Banners to seize supplies is not worthy of their trust.

Huang Taiji was deeply troubled by this situation. He desperately wanted to find new targets for the Eight Banners to plunder.

However, he had plundered Korea and the grasslands, and was almost surrounded by the Ming army on his return.

These two places are no longer suitable for seizing; the Ming army, which is already prepared, will not give him a second chance.

The defense lines at Dalinghe and Ningyuan in the south made him even more reluctant to face them.

Given his current condition, if he fails again, his position will become unstable.

Thinking of this, Huang Taiji felt even more hatred for Amin:

If this person hadn't been selfish, why would he have abandoned the plan to bypass the grasslands and enter the pass, and instead attacked Korea?

Now that the opportunity has been lost, even if he wanted to bypass the Great Wall by going through the grasslands, he still had to face Man Gui.

Even now, he doesn't understand how Man Gui managed to do it, and he doesn't know if other Ming troops had the fighting strength of the Dongping Army.
"If all Ming troops were like the Dongping Army, the Jin Dynasty would be finished."

"Now, even going to the grasslands requires extreme caution."

They didn't even dare to go to the southern grasslands, let alone detour through the grasslands to break through the pass.

It can be said that the Ming Dynasty blocked off the east, west, and south directions.

Now, the only direction left for looting is the north.

But what is there to rob in the north? It's a harsh, cold land, and the tribes there are extremely poor.

The relatively wealthy Horqin region all depended on them.

Huang Taiji now finds himself facing a predicament:

The Ming Dynasty is trapping itself here, step by step.

To break this situation, he needs to break the siege and gain room to maneuver.

However, before he could choose a way to break the deadlock, the Guan Ning army, after the spring, advanced by both land and water along the Liao River, cleared out the surrounding garrisons, and headed to Niuzhuang to build a fortress.

Troops from Dongjiang and Cijiang territories also crossed the Yalu River.

The Khorchin tribe in the north was further attacked by the Ming army and the Chahan tribe.

The pressure from the Ming army was overwhelming. (End of Chapter)