Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian did not intend to limit the development of Northeast China to agriculture, but rather to include industry and mining.

In his plan, the coal mines in Fuxin and Fushun, and the iron mines in Anshan and Benxi were all very important.

Pointing to Anshan Post Station between Liaoyang and Haizhou, Zhu Youjian said:
"As far as I know, there are several large iron mines near Anshan Post Station."

"In the future, we will transport the coal from Fushun and the iron from Anshan along the river to their confluence and build a steel plant there."

This choice, which was completely different from the previous practice of building steel plants in iron ore producing areas, was a consistent measure of Zhu Youjian.

The steel plant he ordered Song Yingxing to build in Caofeidian had neither iron ore nor fuel; it was only suitable for building a port to facilitate the transport of iron ore from Zunhua and Qian'an, and to use timber imported from overseas to make charcoal and smelt iron.

This year, the production of firearms in major arsenals largely relied on steel from the Caofeidian Steel Plant. Furthermore, blacksmiths at the steel plant even cast cannons, experimenting with the iron mold casting method for cannons mentioned by Zhu Youjian.

However, while charcoal-based steelmaking technology was mature, it wasn't a long-term solution. One charcoal-based steel mill in the north would suffice, while Zhu Youjian planned to use coke in Liaodong.

Even if the technology was immature and the steel produced was of poor quality, it could still be used as agricultural tools. It could also be sold to the steppe people to encourage steppe tribes to fight against the Jurchens.

The Ministry of Works was aware of this situation. Minister of Works Shang Zhouzuo said:
"Iron smelting in Anshan began in the Han Dynasty, and during the Liao Dynasty, it was known as the Iron City."

"Our dynasty has established a Hundred-Household Iron-Making Office in Anping Mountain, southeast of Liaoyang, which can manufacture armor and firearms."

That was the situation in the past; I don't know the specifics now.

The Ming army advanced too quickly and had no time to thoroughly investigate these areas.

Zhu Youjian issued the following instructions:
"We need to resume production as soon as possible, and at the same time transport the iron ore out and use the coal mines in Fushun for smelting."

"There are many iron mines in the Anshan area. The Ministry of Works should send more people to search for them."

"At the same time, the waterways were dredged to transport the ore out."

(The Ming Dynasty developed the Gongchangling open-pit iron mine, which now has proven iron ore reserves of 16.5 billion tons, of which 1.64 million tons are rich iron ore with TFe>50% in the second mining area. It is very close to Liaoyang, and the Tang River flows into the Taizi River nearby.)

(Coal mining in Fushun dates back to the Han Dynasty, but was banned during the Qing Dynasty because it was considered the "place of the dragon's rise." The modern Fushun West Open-pit Mine is located on the south bank of the Hun River, less than three miles away.)
(The Hun River and the Taizi River seem to have been connected in the Huangniwa area in ancient times, and some people have even suggested building a canal in Xiaobeihe Town. Ergongtai and Sangongtai are both locations through which the Liaodong Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty passed, and belong to Chang'an Fort.)
This instruction determined that the administrative center of Liaodong Province would remain in Liaoyang.

A steel plant will be built at the confluence of the Hun River and the Taizi River on the west side of Liaoyang City.

This steel plant supplies Liaodong, Liaoxi, Liaoning, and even the entire Northeast.

At the same time, because the Anshan Post Station area was assigned to Liaoyang Prefecture, the Haizhou Guard in the south was to be established as a prefecture, and thus had to expand southward.

Ultimately, all the land on the east bank of the Liao River that belonged to Liaodong Province, including Niuzhuang and Yingkou, was transferred to Haizhou Prefecture.

Further south, Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou were also upgraded to prefectures, mainly for Shaanxi disaster victims, and continued to build up various garrisons.

On the eastern side of the Liaonan Peninsula lies land allocated by Zhu Youjian to the Restoration Army. It is now named Changhai Prefecture, and military garrisons were established and cultivated in this area.

This army, imbued with strong nationalist sentiments, was chosen by Zhu Youjian as the vanguard to recover the lost territories of the Han and Tang dynasties. They were to continue fighting and were subsequently incorporated into the Marine Corps.

To the north of Changhai Prefecture, near Dongjiang Territory, the Border Defense Department established Dingliao Prefecture, centered on Phoenix City where Dingliao Right Guard was located, and reorganized the Dingliao Guards.

The jurisdiction includes Kuandian Liubao, and a garrison will be set up in this area in the future, which will not be allowed to be abandoned.

Further north, Jianzhou Guard was also divided into several guards to form Jianzhou Prefecture.

In addition to Shenyang Prefecture, centered around Shenyang and Fushun, and Liaohai Prefecture, centered around Kaiyuan and Tieling, Liaodong Province comprised a total of ten prefectures, covering a larger area than Liaoxi.

Except for Liaohai Prefecture and Jianzhou Prefecture in the north, all ten prefectures were eligible to be converted into prefectures or counties.

In addition, most of these areas were already developed and had mature land, making the competition between the Privy Council and the civil service extremely fierce.
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Zhu Youjian did not interfere in the struggle between civil and military officials until they reached a conclusion, at which point he said: "Many barbarians and Liao people have been cleared out of the mountains and forests in southern Liaoning."

"We will advance all the way from Liaoyang and Shenyang. Most of the Jurchens will flee. There is no need to worry about them."

"However, there are many barbarians living in the mountains and forests of Liaohai Prefecture, Jianzhou Prefecture, and Dingliao Prefecture. What do you all think we should do to govern them?"

Liu Zunxian had previously worked in farming in Gansu, and upon hearing this, he immediately replied:

"Those who are enemies of the Ming Dynasty should be resolutely attacked, while those who are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty should be allowed to continue to exist."

“If we relocate Han Chinese to garrison and cultivate the land, we can naturally stabilize this area over time.”

This is an old method used by the Ming Dynasty to expand its frontiers. Although it has been very effective, it is somewhat slow to show results.

Zhu Youjian then asked his ministers:
Is there a better way?

How can we solve this problem once and for all, so that the barbarians will never pose a threat again?

The ministers discussed the matter extensively and proposed various solutions.

One approach was to emulate the cleanup of southern Liaoning by conducting large-scale searches and arrests in both prefectures, capturing all the barbarians.

However, this approach was too cruel and inhumane, causing not only civil officials to frown but also civilian military officers to find it unacceptable.

Chief of Staff Yang Sichang said:

"The reason why a comprehensive cleanup can be carried out in southern Liaoning is because the area is not large and there are no roads to the east, west, and south."

“People in the mountains could only go north, and then they would be captured by soldiers lying in ambush.”

"However, the Jianzhou Prefecture area is surrounded by mountains and forests. The various tribes live there and are familiar with the local area. When they move around, it is difficult to completely eliminate them."

"They might even migrate to places like Liaoyang, causing instability in the newly established garrisons."

"I believe that we must be cautious in dealing with the barbarians, lest we suffer harm as a result."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, also agreeing that such an extreme approach was not feasible. He addressed his ministers:
“The land that can be cultivated should be cleared, and the barbarians should be driven into the mountains and forests.”

"However, there are many barbarians in Liaodong and Andong. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to be enemies with all the tribes and waste its energy in vain."

"Therefore, my idea is to disperse the barbarians who have submitted and incorporate them into the garrisons as military households. Those who are unwilling to submit can be fought if we have the ability, and those who do not have the ability to fight for the time being should be given a local official position to appease them."

"Those who oppose the Ming Dynasty will be resolutely eliminated, so that they will know the consequences of opposing the Ming Dynasty."

This strategy is tougher than before, but not much different.

The real difference lies in the strategy that Zhu Youjian proposed next:

“All the chieftains will be replaced by officials appointed by the central government in the future, and the chieftains and local people will be incorporated into the military garrisons.”

"We must ensure that all garrisons are predominantly Han Chinese, with Han Chinese making up no less than half. The remaining half should be predominantly Chinese, and the others should be assimilated."

"The garrison should not only be responsible for local defense, but also become a melting pot for educating foreign peoples, and educate all the soldiers of the garrison to become Chinese people who use Chinese etiquette, learn Chinese culture and yearn for China."

"This is the duty of the garrison guards. Ai Nanying is responsible for compiling teaching materials and formulating educational plans."

"Based on this, the Congressional Education Committee should draft the Garrison Education Act as part of the educational code." (End of Chapter)