Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

No matter how important logistics and production are, they ultimately come down to military applications.

Yang Sichang summarized the previous stage of the war as follows:

"It is now certain that the Jurchens cannot defeat an army equipped with modern firearms."

"With the help of the new army, the elite of the Guan Ning Army were able to hold their own against the Jurchens."

"Therefore, the most important thing is to increase the number of new troops at the front."

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement, agreeing that this was indeed the case.

Regardless of their combat strength, the new army generally had the courage to continue fighting until they ran out of ammunition.

Unlike the Guan Ning Army, which suffered repeated defeats, they had no fear of the Jurchens.

Even the new recruits in Liaonan Town, who had only been trained for three months, regarded killing the Tartars as killing chickens after experiencing capturing and fighting the barbarians, and did not take the Jurchens seriously at all.

They were the army that Zhu Youjian valued most, and the main force of the Ming army in the Liaodong campaign.

He asked Yang Sichang:

How many new troops are currently on the front lines?

Which army can be transferred?

Yang Sichang pointed to the huge sand table in the hall, where the military forces of the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens were arranged, and explained:
"Currently, our army has more than 14,000 troops equipped with new firearms at the front, as well as 28,000 troops belonging to the Liaonan Army and the Fuhan Army."

"After suffering losses in multiple battles, there are currently about 40,000 of these people who are still combat-ready."

"Ten thousand of them were stationed at the Liaoyang and Hupiyi front lines, while the remaining thirty thousand were resting in Haizhou."

After introducing the overall situation, Yang Sichang went on to explain in detail:

"Of the 30,000 new troops in Haizhou, 5,000 were transferred from the Beijing garrison to bolster the morale of the Guan-Ning Army, and they were to be deployed together with the Guan-Ning Army."

"After the Fuhan Army was separated from Liaonan Garrison, apart from the 2,000 men left by the 354th Brigade, there is only one independent battalion belonging to the new army. Battalion Commander Ma Ke led the cavalry battalion to the Liaoyang front, and the remaining 5,000 men are also left to bolster the morale of Liaonan Garrison."

"The Restoration Army was formed entirely according to the new army model, with the 381st Brigade mainly composed of the original 354th Brigade. Currently, it only has 8,000 men and is being replenished."

"The 382nd Brigade was formed from the independent battalion led by Cao Bianjiao, and the cavalry battalion also went to the front line with him. Currently, Tian Jianxiu is actually in charge of protecting the army and is responsible for expanding the remaining 5,000 men into a brigade."

"The Red Flag Battalion is an independent battalion led by Tian Jianxiu, but it is currently actually under the command of Deputy Battalion Commander Hao Yaoqi."

"Currently, the forces that can be mobilized and have strong combat capabilities are the 381st Brigade of the Restoration Army with 8,000 men and the Red Flag Battalion with 6,000 men, totaling 14,000 new troops."

This number made Zhu Youjian frown slightly:

"Even if you add 14,000 to 10,000, you'll only have 24,000 new soldiers transferred to the front lines."

"After the Jurchens lost 20,000 of their main force, they still had about 40,000 left, which was still not enough."

This algorithm completely disregarded other armies. However, the assembled officials did not find anything wrong with it, because they too had already looked down on the old-style armies.

Yang Sichang then took out several wooden plaques and gestured:
"Dongjiangbo currently has two thousand new soldiers under his command, equipped with the latest firearms."

"The Earl of Cijiang has a thousand men under his command, making a total of three thousand new soldiers."

"There are also the Jurchens and Japanese led by Liu Xingzuo and Kong Youde. Although they are equipped with cold weapons and old-fashioned firearms, their combat strength is quite considerable."

"They gathered provisions and supplies in the Hupiyi area and fought a fierce battle with the Jurchens."

This is also why the officials in the court are not currently too worried about the supplies for the front lines.

Those Japanese are very skilled at burning, killing, and looting; things that the Ming army cannot easily do can be handed over to them.

Furthermore, since they were promised that their heirs would become hereditary soldiers of the Ming Dynasty if they died in battle, these people would never defect to the enemy unless absolutely necessary.

Hou Shilu confidently dispatched them to fight the Jurchens and to be in charge of procuring supplies.

This was an unexpected boon on the Liaodong battlefield. Although Zhu Youjian was somewhat uncomfortable with the Japanese setting foot in Liaodong, he suppressed this feeling by thinking of using them to wage a war of attrition.

He then asked Yang Sichang:

"How many Japanese soldiers do Hong Chengchou and Geng Zhongming still have under their command?"

Where have they advanced to? Any news recently?

Yang Sichang took out a wooden plaque and stuck it in Sarhu, replying:
"The Jurchens have abandoned Hetu Ala Old Village in Jianzhou Guard, and Commander Hong and Geng Zhongming have reached Sarhu."

"Currently, there is a standoff in the Fushun Pass area, with a force of approximately 10,000 troops."

This place name was etched in the minds of all the ministers present.

After the emperor named the Liaodong Campaign of the 47th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign the Battle of Sarhu, they remembered the name of the place.

Seeing that Hong Chengchou had already reached Sarhu, they were happy but also somewhat worried:
We must not repeat the same mistake and be defeated by the Jurchens again.

Zhu Youjian shared this concern and had no intention of allowing Hong Chengchou's detached force to reach Shenyang. He said to Yang Sichang:
"Remind Hong Chengchou to be aware of the danger and ask him to mobilize more troops."

Huang Lijie, the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs, interjected:
"Governor Hong sent Jiang Yueguang to recruit soldiers in Japan, which has already attracted the obstruction of the Edo Shogunate."

"They said if we continue recruiting, they will close the Osaka Free Trade Zone."

This threat made Zhu Youjian frown, and he asked in confusion:

"Didn't the treaty signed between the Ming Dynasty and Japan stipulate that they could recruit unclaimed samurai and civilians?"

Why did the Edo Shogunate obstruct it?

Huang Liji explained:

"The conditions offered by Special Envoy Jiang were too generous. Not only did unclaimed warriors respond to his call, but some claimed warriors were also recruited by him."

"The reason why Andong was able to quickly build up 20,000 Japanese soldiers was because some samurai brought their servants with them." Zhu Youjian was puzzled, but he did not know that Jiang Yueguang promised to grant him the title of centurion if he brought 100 men, and that he could become a hereditary knight if he made meritorious contributions.

After the signing of the treaty between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, the nobles of both sides recognized each other. As a result, some impoverished nobles led their subordinates to seek wealth and power, and some feudal lords even sent their illegitimate sons to lead their troops to make a living.

This led to a rapid increase in the influence of the Ming Dynasty among the various domains of Japan, naturally causing some instability for the Tokugawa Shogunate. They negotiated with Jiang Yueguang multiple times, demanding strict adherence to the treaty's provisions, stipulating that only individual samurai and farmers could be recruited.

Jiang Yueguang, however, argued that the treaty did not include this clause and ignored it. Enraged, Tokugawa Iemitsu was already considering closing the Osaka Free Trade Zone.

However, his father, Tokugawa Hidetada, is still alive, so things haven't escalated to that point yet.

Jiang Yueguang continued to actively recruit soldiers in Japan, aiming to reach Hong Chengchou's goal of 50,000 men.

Zhu Youjian, upon hearing that there were still 10,000 Japanese soldiers remaining in Andong Town for training, said with satisfaction:

"If it is beneficial to the Liaodong campaign, then do it."

"Tell Jiang Yueguang not to disgrace the Celestial Empire, for the Ming Dynasty is his backing."

They had already planned that if the Jurchens divided their forces and defeated Hong Chengchou, they would send the remaining 10,000 Japanese soldiers up there.

He didn't care how many Japanese died, nor did he need to pay them any compensation. A plot of land for hereditary soldiers was enough to make them risk their lives.

The old firearms they were equipped with were also plentiful in the Ming Dynasty, and all the equipment that various armies had discarded could be sent to Andong.

He instructed that Jiang Yueguang and others be rewarded together when the merits were distributed. Zhu Youjian then heard another piece of good news from Yang Sichang:

"Earl Li Zunzu of Ningyuan was ordered to intercept the Jurchens returning south to Khorchin, and they have now arrived in the Zhenbeiguan area."

“From here south are Kaiyuan and Tieling, and Ningyuan’s old subordinates are very familiar with this place.”

How could they not be familiar with it? The Li family was originally the hereditary commander of the Tieling Guard, and they had a deep presence in this area.

Zhu Youjian said with satisfaction:

"Let Li Zunzu act according to the situation and choose an opportunity to fight."

"They've been training for several years and equipped themselves with new firearms. Let me see what kind of achievements they can make."

“There are still places left around the Ningyuan Earl’s State! If he fails to achieve any merit, they will be granted to others.”

After verbally provoking Li Zunzu, Zhu Youjian asked again:
Where are Man Gui and Qin Liangyu currently?

This was after Qin Liangyu volunteered to go to the frontier, which granted her permission.

Man Gui met up with her and learned that the main force of the Jurchens was not in Shenyang, so they attempted to attack Shenyang.

Yang Sichang drew a line on the sand table and replied:

"Messages are difficult to transmit on the grasslands. At present, we only know that General Man and General Qin have passed Naiman and joined forces with Earl Zaisai of the Inner Khalkha tribe."

"It will take some time before we can attack Shenyang."

This already satisfied Zhu Youjian, because Man Gui's five thousand cavalry were all equipped with new firearms, and their combat strength was no less than that of a single banner of the Jurchens. That year, he was also busy on the grasslands. Having been promoted to marquis, he had already established another garrison to replenish the previous losses.

Qin Liangyu's nine thousand White-Spear Soldiers, under Zhu Youjian's care, were also equipped with new firearms and should be able to put up a fight against a single banner of the Jurchens.

If they choose to defend, the Jurchens will not be able to defeat them before they run out of ammunition.

This force can be used as a surprise attack, both to attack the Jurchens and to tie down their main force during defense.

However, they were still a secondary force; the main force depended on the new army at the Liaoyang front.

Zhu Youjian counted the number of new troops transferred to Liaoyang and felt that it was still too few.

He looked towards the Daling River and decided:
"Order He Kegang to transfer 10,000 troops from Dalinghe to Haizhou by boat to support the Liaoyang front."

"Keep only the necessary ammunition in the various forts along the Daling River, and send the rest to the front lines."

"We must fight with all our might in this battle and strive to achieve victory in one fell swoop!"

The Dongning Army at Dalinghe numbered 20,000, drawn from the five Dongning Guards, and was responsible for guarding various fortresses.

When Sun Chengzong led his troops out before the New Year, he realized the strength of the new army and wanted to transfer 10,000 troops from Dalinghe.

However, Zhu Youjian, fearing defeat, did not agree. Transferring the Dongning army from Dalinghe now meant he was taking a risk—

The Jurchens launched a surprise attack on Dalinghe, and it is possible that they will cross the defense line.

However, given the current situation of the Jurchens, this is basically impossible.

Moreover, even if they broke through the Daling River, the Jurchens had neither the ability to attack Shanhaiguan nor the ability to bypass the grasslands. Man Gui had also left a garrison on the grasslands, and Hu Dawei was also leading cavalry to guard against them.

Zhu Youjian is not worried about the Jurchens bypassing the grasslands to attack; he is only worried that if he loses this time, all the armies in Liaodong will be committed and these armies will not be able to recover for several years.

If it weren't for the certainty that the new recruits would be able to go to the battlefield after three months of training, Zhu Youjian would never have taken such a risk.

Ultimately, it is estimated that 34,000 new troops and 40,000 auxiliary troops will be concentrated at the Liaoyang and Hupiyi front lines.

With the addition of Man Gui, Qin Liangyu, Hong Chengchou, and Li Zunzu, the Ming Dynasty had concentrated 103,000 troops around Shenyang.

Uneasy, Zhu Youjian recalled Zhou Yuji, who had returned from Shanxi, to lead 5,000 imperial guards to reinforce the front. In case of defeat, they could stabilize the situation and clean up the mess.

However, Zhu Youjian still hoped that this army of 108,000 could bring him good news of victory when the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign arrived:
Whether the goal of pacifying Liaodong within five years can be achieved depends on this battle.

"I hope you won't let me down and will live up to the title I've given you!"

Zhu Youjian personally presided over the drafting of the titles, and conferred the titles of Earl upon Sun Chengzong, Yang Jiamo, Yang Yufan, and Hou Shilu. Before the official decree arrived, he spread the news throughout the Liaodong front.

The Ministry of War approved all the lists of rewards and honors submitted by the various armies. Furthermore, it dispatched officials to oversee the allocation of land. (End of Chapter)