Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The decision to gradually withdraw from wartime status after capturing Shenyang solved the biggest problem.

Both civil and military officials understood the ultimate goal of the Liaodong campaign and made arrangements accordingly.

Civil officials were eager to regain power, while civilian officers in the Privy Council were thinking:

Make the most of the remaining time to achieve great things.

Qin Shiwen, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, said:
"The withdrawal from wartime should not only involve rewarding and punishing officials, but also ensuring that rewards are distributed to the soldiers on the front lines."

"So that the promised rewards from the court will not be delayed after the end of the war, thus depriving the soldiers of the motivation to continue fighting."

These words were full of distrust of civil officials, which drew angry glares from many officials.

However, Zhu Youjian knew this was very likely, and nodded, saying:

"This is something we should definitely pay attention to."

"Rewards and punishments for both the front lines and the rear should be determined before the end of the wartime state."

"The Ministry of War should seize the time to prepare and conduct the performance evaluation and merit assessment."

He then addressed the officials of the Privy Council:

The art of war is constantly evolving.

"After every major battle, we must conduct a thorough review."

"The Privy Council has made a great contribution this time, but it has also encountered many problems."

"We must identify and address any shortcomings, and continue to improve the charter."

Yuan Keli and others must have felt both proud and somewhat ashamed of the Privy Council's performance this time.

We are proud that the Privy Council successfully launched the Liaodong Campaign and achieved victory.

Shamefully, the situation at the front was completely unexpected, and the Privy Council was unprepared for many things.

In addition to the problems discovered in logistics and production, Yuan Keli decided to take advantage of his position as wartime prime minister to further improve the Privy Council's system.

As the re-establisher of the Privy Council, he must live up to this title and the emperor's trust.

Chief of Staff Yang Sichang felt even more ashamed at this moment.

Because he was asked by the emperor to develop more contingency plans, he had not considered what would happen if the enemy attacked Shenyang.

Just last month, the General Staff planned to use the successful land and water advance strategy of this year to dredge the Taizi River to advance on Liaoyang next year, and then use the same method to dredge the Hun River to attack Shenyang the year after.

Unexpectedly, Liaoyang was captured by the combined forces of various armies in the blink of an eye, and now they have arrived outside Shenyang.

Faced with the emperor's expectations, Yang Sichang solemnly said:
"I will definitely work with the staff to summarize the findings and propose a more comprehensive plan next time."

Zhu Youjian nodded approvingly and instructed him:
"It's not just about summarizing with the staff of the General Staff, but also about listening to the opinions from the front lines."

"Even if they don't understand the work of the staff and make some ridiculous suggestions, the staff must still take them seriously."

"Because they were the ones who fought the war. A month ago, who would have thought that the Guan Ning Army, which was skilled at defending cities, would be able to reach the outskirts of Shenyang?"

"The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing, and we must allow the frontline to make its own decisions and prepare the corresponding support."

Zhu Youjian reiterated the need to delegate authority to the front lines, and then said to Yang Sichang:

"I have one requirement for the work of the General Staff: that is, 'mutual independence and complete exhaustion'."

"The General Staff should categorize all matters in the war, and all staff officers should propose plans for the tasks they are responsible for."

"After discovering the possibility of a certain development in the war, we can also independently propose contingency plans as alternatives for reference."

"Before each battle, the General Staff will hold a 'Zhuge Meeting' to allow all personnel to discuss freely, unleash their imaginations, and identify and fill any gaps in their understanding."

This is the famous MECE analysis method or brainstorming method, whose core is "mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive." It involves categorizing major issues and finding solutions.

Although Zhu Youjian only spoke about this in general terms, it still enlightened Yang Sichang and others, showing them how to improve.

After implementing battlefield decision-making cycles at the front lines and major decision-making cycles in the imperial court, Zhu Youjian put forward more theories, promoting further improvements in decision-making and management.

Especially for the logistics and equipment departments, Zhu Youjian, in addition to addressing transportation losses, also emphasized transportation efficiency and production efficiency. Those who exceeded the average efficiency were rewarded, while those who were inefficient or even lazy and shirking their responsibilities were punished. Officials in both departments were alarmed and sweating profusely, realizing that under the current emperor, slacking off was becoming increasingly difficult.

They originally intended to show consideration for their close associates when it came to rewards and punishments, but now it seems they need to be more careful.
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After making demands on the staff, logistics, and equipment departments, Zhu Youjian turned his attention to the border defense department, asking them to solve the second problem:
"After the recapture of Liaodong, how should it be governed, and what are the opinions of the border defense department on this?"

Border Defense Minister Liu Zunxian, having witnessed the achievements of the previous three departments, was already impatient. Upon hearing this, he immediately took out a map and hung it in the main hall, saying:

"After reflecting on the losses in Liaodong, we have discovered that the first problem lies in the construction of the Liaodong border wall."

"Your Majesty, please look..."

Pointing to the border wall in the Liaohetao area on the map, Liu Zunxian said:
"The Liaohetao region is flat and open, without any mountains to block it."

“This area is full of swamps. In summer, the water is shallow enough to reach the belly of a horse, but in winter it freezes over and becomes a thoroughfare.”

"Therefore, during the Zhengtong era, Wang Ao, the military commander of Liaodong, was promoted to the rank of centurion Bi Gong and appointed as acting commander-in-chief, connecting the scattered castles and beacon towers into a border wall."

"This wasn't entirely wrong at the time, but it seriously affected the later defense of Liaodong."

These words were clearly directed at Wang Ao, causing the civil officials to frown. They felt that Liu Zunxian was simply wasting his time by smearing this renowned minister.

However, after seeing the layout of the Liaodong border wall, the ministers of the Privy Council already understood what Liu Zunxian was trying to say:
Connecting the forts into a wall was a good idea, as it could defend against scattered Mongol incursions.

However, the layout of this border wall caused great trouble in defending against large numbers of Mongols.

Once the Mongols arrived at the Liaohe River bend outside the border wall, they could attack southwards, or they could attack eastwards or westwards.

The Ming army would need to deploy a large number of troops to defend the border walls that stretched for hundreds of miles on both sides.

If our forces are depleted, the enemy may break through.

This resulted in significant losses for the defenses, putting them at a disadvantage compared to the attacking Mongols.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the military was strong, and this weakness was not obvious. However, later, as border defenses fell into disrepair, the border walls of the Liaohe River bend were frequently breached by the Mongols, resulting in the destruction of farmland in Liaodong and requiring the court to provide financial support.

It's no wonder that Liaodong has always been under great pressure and frequently faces crises.

Liu Zunxian explained this principle, and the civil officials present understood it:

The Liaodong border wall was clearly a temporary measure without long-term planning, yet it was used by later generations.

Therefore, some people raised their opinions:
"Since the defects of the Liaodong border wall are so obvious, why has it never been remedied?"

"Were there no insightful governors or viceroys throughout history?"

Liu Zunxian said:

"It wasn't that the governors and viceroys of past dynasties lacked insight, but rather that they were powerless to do so."

"Gu Yangqian, the governor of Liaodong during the Wanli era, once said: 'It would take more than 100,000 laborers to defend the area, more than 100,000 government troops to defend it, and 600,000 to 700,000 taels of silver to achieve success, and 6 to 7 years to secure it.'"

"And we know that this is what the enemy will definitely fight for, and that they will launch a major offensive every autumn and winter."

"Even if all the troops in Liaodong were gathered, it would not be enough to protect the rammed earth walls."

"We can only let this defect go unchecked."

This made Zhu Youjian feel sorry for him and he said:
"This is putting the cart before the horse; it shows a lack of determination."

"If the Liaodong border wall had been redesigned earlier, would the court have let the Jurchens rise due to a lack of troops?"

"The chaos of the Jianlu Rebellion lasted for more than ten years, during which the imperial court spent countless sums of money and suffered the deaths of countless officials and civilians."

"We must learn from this lesson and never again let trouble accumulate from small beginnings."

The courtiers agreed, but were then left speechless.

Unexpectedly, the border defense strategy in Liaodong was flawed from the beginning, and now that it has been recovered, it needs to be reorganized.

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue felt their legs tremble at the thought of the expense of rebuilding the city walls. They had been planning to recuperate for a while after the recapture of Liaodong, never imagining that such a massive project was right before their eyes.

As the Minister, Bi Ziyan had no choice but to submit a memorial to the throne:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue issued two million bonds in the first half of the year, and another two million last month."

"We don't know when we'll be able to pay back those four million; we simply don't have the money to rebuild the border wall." (End of Chapter)