Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Tian Jianxiu explained the military law, his expression softening as he addressed his soldiers:
"His Majesty said that the land recovered in Liaodong will be selected first by meritorious soldiers."

"Think about the situation in your hometown, and then look at the land beneath your feet. Don't you want to live and work in peace and contentment here?"

"We are all Qin people, so I won't mince words: if we win the battle, we can choose whichever of these places outside Haizhou City we want first!"

This statement drew cheers from the crowd, and their expressions became excited.

The area outside Haizhou City was originally Haizhou Garrison, a cultivated land. Born in the loess gullies, they knew how precious this flat land beneath their feet was.

Not to mention that most of the land in my hometown was owned by someone else, unlike in Liaodong, where the land was nationalized by the emperor and the well-field system was to be implemented.

The mere thought of winning these lands and having them theirs filled them with excitement, and they couldn't wait to defeat the enemy immediately.

The fighting spirit, latent in the blood of the Qin people, gradually began to awaken. They vowed to build upon the great achievements of their ancestors here.

As a guard, Ai Nanying, seeing the longing in these people's eyes, suddenly understood why the emperor valued the Qin people so much and why he ranked the Qin Dynasty alongside the Han and Tang Dynasties:
"The three dynasties of the Middle Ages all rose to power in Guanzhong."

"They conquered the world thanks to the men of Guanzhong."

"As long as these people are willing to fight, even if the Ming Dynasty faces peril, it can still reclaim the empire!"

Thinking of this, Ai Nanying couldn't help but shudder.

Because he vaguely sensed the emperor's deeper scheme:
That is to take Liaodong as the Guanzhong Plain, relocate disaster victims from Shaanxi, and rebuild the agricultural and military system of the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties.

Even if chaos breaks out in the mainland, these people can rebuild the country.

Excited yet apprehensive, he compared the similarities and differences between Liaodong and Guanzhong, and wrote an essay titled "Liaodong and Guanzhong." He argued that the climates of the two regions were similar, and that the Ming Dynasty could establish its own military force in Liaodong, or rather, the forces of good families from the six prefectures.

The required population naturally needs to be migrated from Guanzhong, and disaster victims need to continue to be relocated from Shaanxi.

Learning from history, he also thought of his own "Complete History of Ancient and Modern Times." He initially serialized this work alongside Chen Zilong's revised "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," but it was far less popular than the latter.

Now he has decided to focus on writing about the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties. He will write "The Romance of the Qin and Han Dynasties" based on the history of the late Qin dynasty, and "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" based on the history of the late Sui dynasty.

I refuse to believe that among all these books, none can compare to "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Having found his goal, Ai Nanying began writing furiously. He even had it presented to storytellers, much like he did with *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, to see if it could captivate readers.

Soldiers from Shaanxi were indeed quite interested in this. Some ancient stories also provided material for Ai Nanying's writing.

The distinction between Chinese and barbarians and the concepts of farming and warfare contained in the work further inspired them to fight bravely.
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While the Ming soldiers were actively preparing for war, Daishan, inside Haizhou City, had already received Huang Taiji's order.

Seeing the order requiring him to abandon Haizhou City and lead the army in a breakout, Dai Shanchang breathed a sigh of relief and said to his son, Sahalian:

"I saw it; the Great Khan also demanded that we abandon Haizhou City."

"There's no need to keep guarding it."

He felt no guilt about abandoning Haizhou; he only wanted to take his troops with him.

Sahalian had been in charge of the defense of Haizhou City for some time and was somewhat resentful about it.

In his view, his efforts to keep the Ming army out of the city during this period of time were already a remarkable achievement.

Now that the Khan is allowing him to break through, doesn't that mean everything we've done during this time has been meaningless?
The edict's accusation that they should simply defend the city in particular angered Sahalian.
"If Haizhou is not defended, how can Liaoyang be defended?"

"What will happen to Shenyang if the Ming army takes Liaoyang?"

These angry words made Dai Shan's expression change immediately.

Many of the Red Banner generals, who hadn't expected this, also changed their expressions.

Du Dudao, who belongs to the Bordered Red Banner:
"Great Prince, Sabele, what are you saying?"

"Is the Great Khan going to abandon Shenyang?"

Other generals also expressed their disbelief.

Their families, land, and servants are all in Shenyang. If they abandon Shenyang, will they wander like the Mongol tribes?
Daishan glared at his son, who had just spoken out of turn, and said to the generals, "Rest assured, everyone, the Khan has no intention of abandoning Shenyang."

"We are withdrawing from Haizhou now because it is too close to the Haicheng River, which is not suitable for the Eight Banners soldiers to maneuver."

"After retreating to Liaoyang and Shenyang, we will definitely not allow the Ming army to act so arrogantly."

He enjoyed immense prestige under the two Red Banners, and the generals were quickly appeased.

But Sahalian knew that these words were not credible at all.

Not only is the Hun River next to Shenyang, but Liaoyang is also near the Taizi River.

The old Khan was worried that the Ming army would attack Liaoyang along the Taizi River, so he moved the capital to Shenyang.

If the Ming army can now open up the Haicheng River, they can certainly open up the Taizi River as well.

Liaoyang will certainly fall, and Shenyang will also be in danger.

However, he didn't voice his thoughts. His previous words had already somewhat shaken the morale of the troops, and now was not the time to discuss these matters.

In fact, to punish him for speaking out of turn, Daishan even took the opportunity to say:

“Saharan, you come with me to reflect on your actions and temporarily put down the Bordered Red Flag.”

"The affairs of the Bordered Red Banner shall be temporarily managed by Prince Dudu."

Sahalian was removed from his position as banner chief, and Dudu was put in charge of the Bordered Red Banner.

Saharan never expected his father to do this, and he could hardly believe it.

Even if he and his elder brother Yue Tuo both support Huang Taiji, shouldn't Dai Shan, as a father, act this way?
Feeling aggrieved, he was about to argue, but Daishan sternly reprimanded him and took him away.

"If you were the flag leader, would you be able to charge into battle?"

Sahalian was somewhat speechless, because this was his weakness.

Although he had distinguished himself on the battlefield, he was a scholar and loved learning.

Going to the battlefield to fight was not something he enjoyed, let alone leading the Bordered Red Banner into battle.

Only then did he begin to understand his father's arrangement, and he spoke up:
"Does Father mean that Prince Dudu should take my place in the battle?"

Dai Shan nodded and said:

"That's exactly right!"

"The Khan's demand of us is to break through at all costs."

"You've seen the Ming army's firearms and battle formations; you know how many people would die if you tried to charge through."

“Let Du Du go this time. If he fails to break through, he will die. If he does break through, the Bordered Red Banner will suffer heavy casualties, which will also make him lose prestige.”

This was his plan, and also the reason why he temporarily put Dudu in charge of the Bordered Red Banner.

There were only two Red Banners in Haizhou City. As the main force of the Red Banner, he was naturally reluctant to charge into battle.

The only one they could use was the Bordered Red Banner, so they sent Dudu and his niru (military unit) to the front.

Once Sahalian understood this, he knew that his father was right.

But for some reason, he felt a deep sadness.

When did the Eight Banners start scheming against each other like this?

So much trouble and intricacies have been created just for the order of the charge! (End of Chapter)