Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 750 Satchel
Before he took this position, he did not feel the pressure. But after becoming the regent of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shenzhui realized how difficult it was to be an emperor.

Although he is not the emperor yet, he is no different from the emperor in terms of power. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen is still alive. Even if he wants to replace him, he needs to proceed step by step and not act rashly.

Wen Tihen had advised Zhu Shencui to ascend the throne before, but was rejected by Zhu Shencui. He could certainly go a step further, but the Ming Dynasty could not afford turmoil now. If the political situation got out of control just because of a title, Zhu Shencui would naturally not agree.

Besides, as long as he could control the government, what was the difference between being the regent and the emperor? Once the internal and external troubles were completely resolved and he could gradually control the south, Zhu Shencui would have nothing to worry about.

It is too early to say this. Zhu Shenzui shook his head slightly, put aside this distracting thought, and continued to look at the map of Liaodong, concentrating on studying it carefully.

"Yuan Chonghuan, oh Yuan Chonghuan, if it weren't for you, how could this have happened..." When his eyes fell on the location of Pi Island, Zhu Shenzui couldn't help but sigh softly.

The situation in Liaodong deteriorated because Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne after Nurhaci's death. Compared with Nurhaci, Huang Taiji was more capable and ambitious. The Later Jin Dynasty became the current Qing Dynasty, and the Khan became the emperor under the hands of Huang Taiji.

But even so, the bad consequences caused by Yuan Chonghuan were equally important, including the factors of Mao Wenlong and Pi Dao.

Although Mao Wenlong was arrogant and domineering, and he had many disrespectful behaviors when he occupied Pi Island, including raising troops without authorization, smuggling privately, taking in many adopted sons, and separatism, from the actual situation, even if Mao Wenlong had such problems, his actions were not fatal. Moreover, he raised troops for self-protection and to take in refugees from Liaodong. He smuggled because the military pay from the court was insufficient. As for taking in adopted sons in the army, it was nothing. There were so many generals in the Ming army who took in adopted sons. Who didn't take in adopted sons? Even the eunuchs in the palace took in adopted sons. If this was a crime, then everyone would have to be beheaded.

Moreover, Mao Wenlong had always been loyal to the imperial court and had never rebelled. Otherwise, Yuan Chonghuan wanted to kill him. Given Mao Wenlong's identity and status, as well as the situation at the time, if Mao Wenlong wanted to resist, Yuan Chonghuan would have no way to deal with him, and it was even possible that Mao Wenlong would kill him.

But Mao Wenlong did not do so. When Yuan Chonghuan forged an imperial decree to kill him, he really thought that Emperor Chongzhen wanted him to die. Mao Wenlong did not resist at all. He even told his subordinates not to be impulsive. Since the court had issued an edict, he was willing to die as a subject. After his death, all departments must obey the court's arrangements, etc. This shows what kind of person Mao Wenlong is.

Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong just to seize the command of Pidao and to take advantage of Mao Wenlong's smuggling channels. The charges and reasons he brought out were no different from those of a false accusation. After killing Mao Wenlong, Yuan Chonghuan got what he wanted, and obtained Mao Wenlong's smuggling channels. With the support of Emperor Chongzhen, he used his own man, Huang Long, to take the position of Pidao's general.

But the problem was that even if Yuan Chonghuan got all these, it would be of no good, because the killing of Mao Wenlong left the generals of Pi Island leaderless and the people in panic, which made the Jiannu people celebrate with joy.

Huang Taiji was completely relieved after learning about this situation. It was also because without the threat of Mao Wenlong in the rear that he had the courage to go through Mongolia, which led to the subsequent Ji Si Incident.

After the Jisi Incident, although Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned and eventually executed by the enraged Emperor Chongzhen, his death was certainly his own fault, but the serious consequences still existed. The situation of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong suddenly deteriorated comprehensively. Pidao lost its original effect of deterring the Jiannu as a detachment. Moreover, due to the internal strife and several rebellions in Pidao, the Ming Dynasty completely lost control of Pidao, which made Huang Taiji not only lead his troops to capture Pidao, but also took advantage of the situation to force Korea to surrender, thus the Ming Dynasty completely lost its only initiative in Liaodong.

If Mao Wenlong were still alive, the Siege of Jinzhou would never have happened. Once Huang Taiji attacked the Liaoxi Corridor with a large force and besieged Jinzhou, Mao Wenlong in Pi Island would definitely not sit idly by. His Dongjiang Town would certainly send troops to attack Huang Taiji's rear. If Huang Taiji returned to rescue, the Siege of Jinzhou would be lifted. If Huang Taiji sat idly by, Mao Wenlong would not be a pushover. He would directly lead his troops to attack Shenyang, which was Huang Taiji's Shengjing. How could he not rescue Huang Taiji when his old nest was kicked?

But now Pi Island is no longer the territory of Ming Dynasty, and Dongjiang Town, which once dominated Liaodong, has also disappeared. If Zhu Shenzhui had not made arrangements in advance and asked Xu Xiancheng to send people to bring back the remnants of Pi Island, the bodies of the soldiers in Dongjiang Town would have turned into bones.

Now the organization of Dongjiang Town has been cancelled in the Ming army. Part of the original Dongjiang Town soldiers were incorporated into Jizhou Town, and the other part was incorporated into Xu Xiancheng's subordinates in Shandong. After Xu Xiancheng came to Beijing, Li Xin commanded them and stationed them in Leiden.

In addition, a part of them directly joined Wang Jinwu's new army. The navy was also readjusted, half of them joined the Shandong Navy, and half of them were controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use in future maritime trade.

From these aspects, Dongjiang Town has been demolished and no longer exists. There is no way around it. Without Pidao Station, the cancellation of Dongjiang Town is inevitable. In addition, due to the need for overall layout, Ming Dynasty does not need to keep Dongjiang Town at present. But even so, Zhu Shenzhui still feels sorry. If Mao Wenlong were alive, this situation would never happen. But now it is meaningless to talk about this. Mao Wenlong cannot be resurrected, and Dongjiang Town cannot be rebuilt.

But at this time, an idea came to Zhu Shenzui's mind. Although Dongjiang Town was gone, Leiden's troops were still there, including the navy before Dongjiang Town. Even if part of it was incorporated into the Shandong Navy and part of it was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the overall situation remained the same.

Sending hundreds of thousands of troops to rescue Jinzhou at a huge cost and expense is not worth the effort. Perhaps there are other ways to use. If Mao Wenlong used the same method he used against the Jiannu before, attacking Huang Taiji's rear from the sea, or even heading straight for Shenyang, is it possible to save Zhao by attacking Wei?
For a while, Zhu Shenzhui's eyes were fixed on Pi Island, thinking whether to use the navy to recapture Pi Island, and then use Pi Island as a base to attack Huang Taiji's rear. But this idea was rejected by Zhu Shenzhui as soon as it came up. First of all, Pi Island had fallen into the hands of Huang Taiji. Although Huang Taiji did not station heavy troops on Pi Island, he still placed a force of more than a thousand people on the island. Moreover, Pi Island already had a navy, plus Mao Wenlong's defensive fortifications on Pi Island when he was operating Pi Island. If Pi Island was attacked across the sea, it would not be easy to capture Pi Island in a short time.

Even if they took the trouble to capture Pi Island, the Ming army would suffer heavy casualties. It would take more time and deployment to recover after capturing Pi Island and use Pi Island as a springboard to attack Huang Taiji's rear in Liaodong. Once the battle of Pi Island started, Huang Taiji would definitely receive the news and determine the real target of the Ming army. Once Huang Taiji was prepared in advance, the Ming army would lose the first move of surprise and the effect would be greatly reduced.

The second problem lies in the geographical location of Pi Island. Pi Island is actually not the territory of Ming Dynasty, but is located overseas in Korea, south of Iron Mountain in Korea.

Mao Wenlong chose Pi Island because of its superior geographical location. In addition, he had a navy, so he could land in Liaodong from the sea without restraint. Jiannu had no navy. If they wanted to fight Mao Wenlong, they had to build ships first and take over Korea before they could attack Pi Island. As long as Mao Wenlong had enough troops and mobility, Jiannu would not succeed. This was why Jiannu hated Mao Wenlong but had no way to deal with him.

But now it would be meaningless if Zhu Shenzhui followed Mao Wenlong's example and first took Pi Island and then attacked Huang Taiji's retreat in Liaodong. The situation is different, and the methods adopted are also different.

So Zhu Shenzui quickly shifted his gaze from Pi Island to another direction. He first noticed the Zhangzi Island and Lu Island areas, which were considered Mao Wenlong’s original strongholds outside Pi Island. But after frowning and thinking for a while, Zhu Shenzui gave up these two places and continued to look west, eventually landing on Dalan in the Bohai Bay.

Dalan is the Dalian of later generations. The noun Dalan is Mongolian, also called Dari, which means sea.

Wang Hai's earliest Mongolian name was Dari. Later, Zhu Shenzhui took him in and gave him a Chinese name, Wang Hai.

Dalan is located in the Bohai Bay, across the sea from Leiden. The distance between the two sides is not long, with the shortest point being less than 260 miles.

With the current speed of the Ming navy, this distance can be reached in two days at the fastest, and three days at the slowest.

After landing in Dalan, going directly north from Dalan for more than 600 miles will reach Shenyang. Moreover, there is no need to take Shenyang. As long as Yingkou and Haicheng in the central part are occupied, the connection between Huang Taiji's main force in the Liaoxi Corridor and Shenyang can be cut off, directly cutting off the opponent's retreat.

If this is the case, then Huang Taiji would never sit idly by. Once the retreat is cut off, not only will his old nest be at risk of falling, but even his main force in the Liaoxi Corridor will be at great risk. Logistics are extremely important in frontline battles. Liaodong does not produce much. Huang Taiji's main force besieging Jinzhou this time also puts a lot of pressure on logistics. If there is no food and grass, the Eight Banners soldiers will be useless. Huang Taiji has fought many battles and it is impossible for him not to understand this principle.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Zhu Shenzhui's face. If this plan was used, not only would the number of troops dispatched be much smaller than that of Chen Xinjia's method, but as long as the Jinzhouwei line of Dalan was occupied, the Ming army could attack or defend, and could withdraw its troops by sea at any time, which was much safer.

But this was just a hypothesis. Zhu Shenzui did not know the situation in Dalan. After thinking about it, he turned around and told someone to notify Xu Xiancheng to go to the palace immediately. Xu Xiancheng was the governor of Shandong and was stationed in Leiden. Although Dalan had nominally fallen into the hands of the Jiannu, it was still his defense zone. Moreover, Xu Xiancheng knew a lot about the Dongjiang Town troops after they withdrew to Shandong, so it was most appropriate to ask him.

(End of this chapter)