Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"The Battle of Hunhe was won, but Hou Shilu was seriously wounded."

When the two pieces of news arrived at the same time, Zhu Youjian was both happy and worried.

The good news is that the Ming Dynasty has won again, and the fighting spirit shown by the various armies in the bloody battle shows that their morale has reached a frenzied state.

This is undoubtedly something Zhu Youjian would be happy to see.

He had a premonition that the Ming army, like the Jurchens after the Battle of Sarhu, would achieve continuous victories.

The Jurchens, on the other hand, resembled the Ming army at that time, losing their courage to fight.

As long as logistics are sufficient and the direction is clear, Zhu Youjian was confident that the Ming army would still win the next battle.

"Unfortunately, the logistics couldn't keep up."

"They're at their last gasp!"

In Liaodong, as winter approaches, not only do the rivers freeze over, but it also begins to snow.

Every stone of supplies that the Ming Dynasty is transporting to the front lines now consumes several times more along the way.

This consumption will increase as the Ming army advances.

For example, the upcoming Battle of Shenyang will consume several times more resources than the Battle of Haizhou.

What's even more worrying is that Hou Shilu, the main general, was seriously wounded in the Battle of Hunhe. If they continue, the casualties could be several times greater than before.

Zhu Youjian had already sensed that the vanguard army in Liaodong had entered a peculiar state:
The mind reaches its peak, and the body reaches its limit.

He now prefers to keep this army and use them to train the Guan Ning Army.

"Issue the decree: Announce to the entire army that the Liaodong Vanguard Army has annihilated the two White Flags."

"The Flying Tiger Army was established based on the Vanguard Army, and was specially granted the right to use the White Tiger Flag."

It is hoped that the spirit of this battle can be passed down and become the soul of this army.
-
Yuan Keli received the imperial decree and did not object to it.

He knew that the emperor liked to bestow titles to win over the morale of the troops at the front.

These are all trivial matters that don't cause any real trouble. What worries him is how the fight will continue on the front lines.

The war had progressed to this point completely unexpected by the Privy Council.

The best outcome the General Staff had anticipated was to capture Liaoyang and hold it.

Unexpectedly, even now that they have reached the gates of Shenyang, the Jurchens are still trying to escape.

The allure of capturing Shenyang with a little effort is something no one wants to give up:

"Shenyang is the capital of the Jurchens. If we capture Shenyang, the Jurchens will be basically pacified."

"From now on, Liaodong will no longer face any major threats."

This is something that makes Yuan Keli very happy. After years of hard work, the results are finally in sight.

Even if he were to fall at this moment, he could say without shame:

I am worthy of being called the wartime prime minister.

This was also what worried him; the situation at the front and the subsequent arrangements were all pressing matters before him.

In order to decide how to handle these matters, Zhu Youjian convened a wartime meeting at the suggestion of Yuan Keli.

The meeting was still being held in the Wuying Hall, and Yuan Keli spoke first:
"The first thing to do in Liaodong now is to determine how far the war should go and to fight the final battle well."

"And another question is, how should we govern Shenyang after we capture it?"

"What should be done with the remaining Jurchens? Should we continue the wartime state and fight on, or should we withdraw from the wartime state and temporarily recuperate?"

Three questions, each of which is very important.

The first question concerns the outcome of the Liaodong War, and both Zhu Youjian and his ministers hoped for a good result.

The second question concerns the governance of Liaodong. Could Zhu Youjian's previous proposals to establish provinces and to pilot the well-field system outside the Great Wall be realized? The third question excited the civil officials even more. Having been stripped of power by the Privy Council, they were eager to withdraw from the wartime state.

This was the first time since the start of the Liaodong War that someone had proposed withdrawing from the state of war, and it was the suggestion from wartime Grand Secretary Yuan Keli, which naturally excited the Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers.

In response, Zhu Youjian said:
"It has been nearly a year since we entered a state of war. We need to get feedback on how well it has been implemented in various regions."

"The Privy Council, the State Council, and the Censorate shall form a joint inspection team to supervise and inspect the situation of various regions entering a state of war."

"The state of combat readiness in various regions, the number of soldiers mobilized, and the amount of supplies provided must all be tallied."

"Officials who have made meritorious contributions should naturally be commended, while those who have made mistakes, especially those who have acted recklessly under the guise of a state of war, should be dealt with resolutely."

"This matter should be completed when we withdraw from the state of war, and Han Xueshi and Yang Xueshi should take on this responsibility."

Upon hearing these words, Han Kuang and Yang Jingchen realized that there was still a hurdle ahead if they wanted to withdraw from the wartime state and regain power.

If a satisfactory explanation cannot be given to the emperor, the so-called withdrawal from the state of war is very likely to be delayed.

Unwilling to be delayed any longer, Han Kuang immediately said:
"Your subject will certainly handle this matter impartially and properly."

"But before that, should we wait until the war in Liaodong ends and then immediately withdraw from the state of war?"

“There is too much control over everything now, and people are starting to complain.”

Other civil officials also spoke up, citing various problems that arose under wartime conditions.

The Privy Council officials were furious, because they never expected that the civil servants would take the opportunity to launch an attack.

Zhu Youjian remained calm and composed, saying:
"This is the first time we've entered a state of war, so it's inevitable that problems will arise."

"I ordered you to conduct this inspection in order to identify any shortcomings and summarize the lessons learned from this experience."

"All wartime laws must be revised based on this summary."

"The planning, execution, and subsequent inspection and handling of major matters must all be improved in this round."

By proposing the concept of the PDCA cycle, Zhu Youjian decided to improve the feedback mechanism for major decisions to ensure that the court's plans could be implemented more effectively in the future. He stared at Han Kuang and asked:

"Mr. Han, you are the current Grand Secretary, can you handle this matter well?"

"If it can't be done well, I'll hand it over to someone else?"

Faced with the emperor's relentless questioning, Han Kuang dared not utter a single word of "no," for if he dared to refuse, the emperor might simply strip him of his power.

Now, his power as chief minister is actually in the hands of Yuan Keli.

Given Yuan Keli's performance and achievements during this period, few officials would object to him continuing in his post.

If this drags on until next year's leadership transition, he will undoubtedly step down.

So he immediately and without hesitation said:

"Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to fulfill your instructions."

"We only hope that Your Majesty will consider the people's livelihood and not delay withdrawing from the state of war."

This was also the demand of other civil servants.

Zhu Youjian looked at their expressions and nodded, saying:
"Then let's make it clear now that once the Battle of Shenyang is over, there will be no more major battles in Liaodong, and the court will enter a transitional phase of exiting the wartime state."

"We will not fully withdraw from wartime status until the inspection is completed and it is determined that the enemy will not launch a major war."

This clear stance finally satisfied the civil servants.

Privy Council officials were equally pleased, as they were in a transitional period and would be in power alongside the civil servants.

Yuan Keli was not particularly interested in power; otherwise, he would not have voluntarily proposed to withdraw from the state of war.

However, he was still pleased that the emperor respected him so much and wanted him to remain in power for a while longer. He decided to use this time to make a thorough assessment and help the emperor improve the wartime situation. (End of Chapter)