Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Liaoyang is just ahead, and the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner is there."

On the hills outside Liaoyang City, Mao Wenlong, observing from afar, spoke to the people around him.

His trusted confidant, Li Jiucheng, said with some excitement:

"General, should we attack the city?"

"Brothers are all waiting to follow the commander and make great achievements!"

The Battle of Gisa at the end of the previous year was a chaotic affair for Korea. But for the Donggang Army, it provided many with opportunities to distinguish themselves.

Li Jiucheng was one of them. He was granted a hereditary baronship for recapturing Yizhou and beheading nearly a thousand people.

After the imperial court granted him the fiefdom, he was overjoyed to receive an even higher title.

Taking advantage of the main force of the Jurchens moving south, he followed Mao Wenlong to sweep through places like Fenghuang City and sneak into the Liaoyang area.

Seeing Amin leading the Bordered Blue Banner in Liaoyang, he wished he could attack the city immediately and cut off the heads of all these people.

However, Mao Wenlong was very cautious and immediately denied it:
"no!"

"We don't have many people here, so it won't be easy to take it down."

"If we attack the city now, we'll only alert the enemy."

"We might not be able to take Liaoyang, and instead get trapped inside."

Li Jiucheng said somewhat unwillingly:

"So all we can do is watch and try to contain them, as the court has said?"

"Commander, we must make a contribution!"

"If Niuzhuang wins, where will we find such a good opportunity to make a contribution?"

These words stirred the emotions of the Dongjiang Army.

Clearly, they were also worried that if the Guan Ning army won, they would have no more opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

However, Mao Wenlong scoffed and said disdainfully:
"The Guan Ning Army?"

"Do you believe they can win the battle and annihilate the enemy?"

"Don't overthink it. There will be plenty of opportunities to make a contribution. There's no need to rush!"

He looked down on the Guan Ning Army and thought there was no need to care about them.

However, Li Jiucheng said:

"Even if the Guan Ning Army is no good, what about the Liaonan Garrison?"

"General Chen also led his troops north this time. He said that the new army in Liaonan Town is no less than our Dongjiang Army."

Mao Wenlong paused upon hearing this, thinking of Chen Jisheng's letter.

He and Chen Jisheng were related by marriage, so he had no doubt about these words. Considering the distance between Liaoyang and Haizhou, Mao Wenlong said:
"How about we attack Haizhou and threaten the Jurchens from behind?"

Liaoyang and Haizhou are only a hundred miles apart, and it can be reached in two or three days if you are fast.

Mao Wenlong took out a map and calculated the route. He felt that traveling light and with minimal supplies would indeed be a good opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

If the Jurchens in Liaoyang discover us, they might intercept us.

After passing Anshan, the terrain becomes flat, and encountering Jurchen cavalry would be very troublesome.

"We still need to be more cautious!"

As he said this, Mao Wenlong gestured to the route on the map and asked:
"Where has Cijiang's army gone?"

When are you coming?

According to the Privy Council's plan, the three armies from Donggang, Jagang, and Andong set off from Korea together.

One of the tasks assigned to Hong Chengchou, the Governor-General of Andong, was to threaten the old stronghold of Hetu Ala of the Jurchens.

The Dongjiang Army and Cijiang Army advanced by both land and water to threaten Liaoyang.

Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Army took the land route, passing through Fenghuang City and Lianshan Pass, before infiltrating the Liaoyang area.

The Cijiang Army, meanwhile, advanced along the upper reaches of the Taizi River, threatening Liaoyang by both land and water.

This group was led by Choi Nam-i, and most of the members were North Koreans.

Li Jiucheng curled his lip and said:
"The troops under Cijiang's command are all Koreans. What good are these people?"

"General, we must fight the barbarians; we cannot rely on them!"

"Nonsense!" Mao Wenlong shouted, drawing his whip to strike him.

Just remembering Li Jiucheng's current status as a baron, he cracked his whip, his expression stern, and said:

"The Cijiang Army is our allied force, and the Earl of Cijiang is still a duke of the Ming Dynasty." "If you say such things again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Li Jiucheng apologized repeatedly, realizing he had misspoke.

As a baron, he had no right to look down on an earl.

Even though Cui Nanyi was a barbarian in his eyes and unworthy of being a count of the Ming Dynasty.

This is an effect of promoting the distinction between Chinese and barbarians.

After the court clearly stated that Korea was a country that was half Chinese and half barbarian, many Koreans identified themselves as half Chinese and sought to shed their barbarian identity and become Chinese.

However, the Liao people who migrated to Dongjiang with Mao Wenlong ridiculed them as barbarians. They often used this to mock them, especially when conflicts arose with Cijiang.

Mao Wenlong had heard about this before but hadn't paid much attention to it. Now that he heard Li Jiucheng say this, he immediately rebuked him sternly.

Seeing the discontent on the faces of his generals, he explained earnestly:
"Dongjiang territory is now part of Korea. To outsiders, it belongs to Korea, but it is also considered a semi-barbarian territory."

"Are you really willing to bear this identity and become a barbarian instead of a Chinese?"

"By mocking Cijiang, you are mocking yourselves!"

These words made everyone blush; they had never imagined that they too would be regarded as barbarians.

Li Jiucheng then shouted:

"General, we will do our utmost to achieve merit and help you become a marquis!"

"Once Dongjiang becomes a marquisate, it can break away from Korea!"

The generals responded enthusiastically, saying the same thing.

They were unwilling to become barbarians, even if they were Chinese from a semi-barbarian country.

After they equated barbarians with beasts, they didn't want to be associated with the word "barbarian" at all.

Hearing them say this, Mao Wenlong became somewhat elated. He had almost never concealed his desire to break away from North Korea, and Li Jiucheng's statement was precisely one of his strategies.

According to the regulations of the imperial court, a count could still be a lord, while a marquis had to become a feudal lord and establish a marquisate.

As a kingdom, Korea could not have vassal states as its subordinate states; the vassal states had to be directly subordinate to the royal court.

Therefore, Mao Wenlong wanted to become a feudal lord in order to break away from Korea.

This is also why they risked their lives to infiltrate the vicinity of Liaoyang.

If he could eliminate one of the Jurchen banners, he could receive a marquis's title like Man Gui.

Mao Wenlong waved to his subordinates and said:

"Many of the Koreans who were captured by the Jurchens two years ago were settled in the Liaoyang area."

"If Lord Cijiang mobilizes, we can suddenly have many more people."

"These people, aside from anything else, can always manage to dig ditches."

"We can dig a trench around Liaoyang and trap the Jurchens inside."

After the Jisi Rebellion, the Jurchens returned with 100,000 Koreans, most of whom were slaves and were settled in the Liaoyang and Shenyang area.

In the past year or two, Choi Nam-i has repeatedly sent troops to rescue captured Koreans, which has made his name known throughout the region.

With him, a hero in the eyes of the North Koreans, around, many North Koreans can be mobilized.

Li Jiucheng was somewhat puzzled by this and asked Mao Wenlong in confusion:
"What good is it to besiege Liaoyang? That won't kill the Tartars."

"General, the Emperor only asked us to kill the Tartars, not to take Liaoyang."

Mao Wenlong stroked his chin smugly and said:
"Who said I was going to take Liaoyang?"

"Blocking Liaoyang is to prevent Amin inside from getting out."

"Let's abandon Liaoyang and head south to attack the Haizhou area."

"If the Jurchens in Haizhou are attacked by us, will they suddenly fall into chaos?"

"If we join forces with Liaonan Town to annihilate the two Red Flags, what a great achievement that would be!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiucheng and the others were filled with anticipation and were all tempted.

Their Dongjiang Army couldn't handle the two Red Banners, but with the addition of Liaonan Town, it was quite possible.

Not to mention that Liaoyang was the rear of the Jurchens, and the Jurchens never expected that they could attack from the rear.

If they suddenly appeared during the fierce battle between the Jurchens and the Liaonan army, how great would that be if they changed the course of the war?

Excited at the thought, Li Jiucheng hurriedly arranged for people to contact the Cijiang Army. At the same time, he sent people to scout out the route to Haizhou.

As Liaonan Town prepared to launch its attack on Haizhou, five thousand elite troops of the Dongjiang Army also embarked on their journey to Haizhou. (End of Chapter)