Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 236 The Expedition Against the Qing Dynasty
After arriving in Beijing, Lao Zhu did not rush to Shanhaiguan.

National affairs cannot be accomplished overnight.

The most urgent task is to strengthen imperial power.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the country was in turmoil, with rebellions and uprisings occurring in various places, and the central government's ability to control the local areas gradually declined.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang placed Tang He in Sichuan, Feng Sheng in Hubei, Xu Da in Hunan, and Li Wenzhong in Nanjing to deepen his control over the entire south.

Under their command, most of the south had submitted, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou.

Mu Tianbo of the Mu family in Yunnan also personally went to Sichuan to visit Tang He and express his willingness to submit to Emperor Taizu.

Just then, a local chieftain rebelled. Tang He sent Qin Liangyu to lead Sichuan troops and two hundred Hongwu soldiers to sweep through the local chieftains in Yunnan and kill many corrupt officials, thus taking control of Yunnan.

Later, Tang He sent the Jinyiwei, which he had established in Sichuan, to Yunnan to maintain local order, arrest rebellious chieftains, and massacre officials, landlords, and gentry.

Through a series of actions, a large number of Yunnan chieftains were killed, and many local forces chose to surrender and submit, and Yunnan quickly returned to the rule of the imperial court.

And it wasn't just him.

Li Wenzhong in Nanjing, Xu Da in Changsha, and Feng Sheng in Wuhan were all doing the same thing.

In addition to Yingtian Prefecture, Feng Sheng also led troops into Hunan and Hubei provinces. While governing Hubei, he also killed Ren Jun, the governor of Henan who later surrendered to the Qing, and Huang Shu, the inspector of Henan, and rectified the Yuzhou region.

Xu Da then took charge of Guangdong and Guangxi, summoned Shen Youlong, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and concurrently the Governor of Guangdong, and dispatched 10,000 troops to Guangdong to kill local officials who had surrendered to the Qing, as well as landlords and gentry. He then distributed a large amount of vacant land to the people to alleviate land annexation.

Under the arrangement of these generals from the early Hongwu period, the southern regions were stabilized in a very short time, and the distribution of power was reshuffled after at least hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

After all, it would be extremely difficult for officials in the Chongzhen era to achieve this, given the complex web of personal relationships involved and the fact that subordinates might not be willing to do favors for them, making it virtually impossible.

But the generals of the Hongwu reign did not have these concerns.

They were founding generals who had risked their lives for the country, and they had high prestige. They had the soldiers of the Hongwu Dynasty as their base, and many people were willing to follow and believe in them, so they did it without any pressure.

Although many people were indeed killed, they were mostly corrupt officials, landlords, gentry, and rebellious bandits and chieftains.

Unlike the Manchu conquest of China, which resulted in the massacre of countless ordinary people.

In contrast, northern regions such as Shaanxi and Shanxi are currently in chaos. Feng Sheng managed to quell the unrest in Henan, while Zhu De killed a large number of people when he passed through Shandong and Hebei, thus stabilizing the local situation.

However, Shaanxi and Shanxi remained in chaos, so the next day Old Zhu printed out the list of those to be killed and handed it to Fu Youde, ordering him to go to Shanxi immediately.

By early August of the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhu Yuanzhang had been in charge of Beijing for almost half a month.

As the founding emperor, he took charge of the government and appointed the Prince of Wu as regent, while the crown prince Zhu Cilang observed the government affairs. Every day, he would listen to news sent back by Zhu Di from the front lines and then review Zhu Yunfeng's policies for governing the country.

In fact, governing a country in just half a month is not very effective, but it would be good enough to stabilize the Ming Dynasty, which is currently riddled with problems.

Zhu Yunfeng actually did two things.

First, Li Wenzhong in Nanjing was tasked with harvesting this year's summer grain and transporting it to Beijing as quickly as possible to ensure smooth grain transport.

Secondly, Jihe was instructed to bring in a large quantity of seeds from modern times and promote them in Henan, Shaanxi, and other places, including crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes that are not picky about soil and have relatively high yields.

In fact, during the Little Ice Age, sweet potatoes and potatoes are not cold-resistant, even less so than wheat.

However, modern breeding can produce cold-resistant varieties.

That's why they say technology changes lives.
After some time, in late August, Zhu Yuanzhang finally prepared to officially send troops to personally lead an expedition against the Jurchens.

In fact, it's been quite lively lately.

Zhu Yuanzhang's decision to remain inactive was not out of kindness or a merciful act to delay the extermination of the Jurchens. Rather, it was to ensure the army was fully equipped and to redeploy troops from various regions.

Currently, the national garrison system has been abolished, and the conscription system has been reinstated. In addition to the Jurchens, the Mongols are also a threat.

In addition, the Shanxi border troops were transferred to Shanhaiguan by Emperor Chongzhen, leaving behind many old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers. The defense system needed to be rebuilt, which would take time.

After making the necessary preparations, Old Zhu was able to go to Liaodong with peace of mind.

On August 24th, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it even snowed in the north. The snowflakes fluttered down, covering the earth, and even the Forbidden City was covered with a thick layer of snow.

In the distance, the Yanshan Mountains are covered in silver, resembling a silver dragon coiling around, with swirling mist rising and shining brilliantly in the afternoon sun.

Both Zhu Yunfeng and Old Zhu were wearing thick cotton-padded clothes with loose dragon robes over them. Zhu Yunfeng wore a prince's dragon robe, while Old Zhu wore a simple bright yellow dragon robe from the early Ming Dynasty. Their footsteps made a soft thud in the snow outside the Qianqing Palace.

During the Little Ice Age, the temperature dropped in a truly bizarre way. Zhu Yunfeng remembers that in 2025, it was already April, almost summer, and the temperature in Changsha in the south was still around four or five degrees Celsius, while it was snowing in the north.

In other words, with advanced technology and sufficient productivity in later generations, even in the face of extreme weather, food production can be guaranteed through technologies such as greenhouses and polytunnels.

In ancient times, such extreme cold weather causing widespread crop death would have been nothing short of a disaster for ordinary people.

“Fu Youde just contacted me via radio. He said that after he arrived in Shanxi, he had already killed many border generals, all of whom were people who oppressed soldiers and withheld their pay.”

“Good for them. The border defenses in Shanxi were rotten to the core. No wonder the Mongols and the Later Jin repeatedly raided the borders from Shanxi.”

"That's true. I heard that the Shanxi merchants were backed by them?"

"One of Commander Liu's most trusted advisors."

"What do you mean?"

"Merchants are just front men for those in power. I checked the records and found that both the Jiajing and Wanli emperors had such front men. They even directly allowed relatives of concubines and eunuchs to resell salt permits."

Zhu Yunfeng and Old Zhu walked slowly through the snow toward Xihua Gate. As they walked, Zhu Yunfeng laughed and said, "Something interesting is that the eight imperial merchants that have been circulating online in our area are not recorded in any of the Qing Dynasty's official records. They are only mentioned in the Wanquan County Gazetteer from the Daoguang era: 'The eight merchants were all from Shanxi and came to Zhangjiakou for trade at the end of the Ming Dynasty.' On the contrary, the Chongzhen Changbian records that Shanxi merchants donated one million taels of silver to Emperor Chongzhen and helped Lu Xiangshan and Yang Sichang buy a large number of cheap warhorses from Mongolia."

"Oh?"

Old Zhu asked in surprise, "Is that so?"

"Ah."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded and said, "When Fu Youde went to Shanxi this time, I also told him to check the situation among the Shanxi merchants. If there are really traitors like Fan Yongdou, they should definitely be killed. I haven't heard back yet. But from the information I found online, killing people like Fan Yongdou is probably unlikely, but finding some other traitors should be quite easy."

"How to say?"

"Because there is absolutely no record of Fan Yongdou in the online historical materials of the Ming and Qing dynasties."

Zhu Yunfeng scratched his head and said, "Aside from a brief mention in the Wanquan County Annals, the only other record is in the Fan Family Genealogy of Zhangyuan, Jiexiu. Fan Yongdou was still a nobody merchant until this year. He sold all his possessions and set up a warehouse called 'Yongxing Huanji' in Zhangjiakou. It took three generations before he finally became a big merchant during the Kangxi era. If the Fan Family Genealogy is correct, then it is obviously impossible for Fan Yongdou to have traded goods with the Later Jin during the Chongzhen era."

"That would be a miscarriage of justice." Old Zhu chuckled.

"It's not necessarily a miscarriage of justice. Fan Yongdou may have been wronged, but the Shanxi merchants were not."

Zhu Yunfeng shook his head and said, "In the end, the Shanxi merchants are a group of profit-driven merchants who will follow whoever provides the benefits. Their trade in Zhangjiakou and Datong is actually carried out under the surveillance of the Ming Dynasty's border troops. Moreover, on the surface, they are not trading with the Later Jin, but with the Kharashin Mongol tribe, which is controlled by the Later Jin."

"Emperor Chongzhen was aware of this matter; Lu Xiangshan and Yang Sichang mentioned it in their memorials to him. However, Emperor Chongzhen had no money, and the Ming Dynasty needed warhorses, so he could only continue the trade."

"According to Chongzhen's requirements, it was not allowed to sell strategic materials such as grain and ironware. However, the Shanxi merchants sold them to Harashin, which was equivalent to indirectly selling them to the Later Jin. This was definitely an act of treason. There must be something fishy going on among the Shanxi merchants."

"Based on the fact that Chongzhen later arrested Shen Qi, the governor of Xuanfu, and Dong Jishu, the general, and the records that they persuaded the Later Jin to withdraw their troops by providing them with grain, it is likely that these Shanxi officials were the ones who betrayed the country behind the scenes."

"The Shanxi merchants must have been acting as front men for these Shanxi officials. Otherwise, how could they have so many heads to cut off if they sold these strategic materials to the enemy right under the Ming army's nose?"

"So the Shanxi merchants definitely had problems, but the Shanxi officials had even bigger problems."

Zhu Yunfeng concluded, "As for the specifics, it depends on how well Fu Youde investigates. But I estimate it will be about the same. A batch of Shanxi merchants will be killed, and many Shanxi officials will not be able to escape either."

It's not about whitewashing Fan Yongdou and the other "eight imperial merchants," but rather that Zhu Yunfeng searched through historical records and genuinely couldn't find any records of these people.

Even the claim circulating online that Emperor Shunzhi bestowed upon them the title of the Eight Great Imperial Merchants has no source.

According to local county records and their family genealogies, the so-called eight imperial merchants at that time were not even small fry and had no ability to transport strategic materials such as grain and ironware to the Later Jin in Liaodong.

Therefore, the likes of Fan Yongdou are purely online rumors.

However, to some extent, the online rumors may have wronged Fan Yongdou and the so-called eight imperial merchants, but they did not wrong the Shanxi merchants.

According to the records in the History of Ming, Shanxi merchants contributed to the Ming Dynasty, donating one million taels of silver to Emperor Chongzhen and helping Lu Xiangshan and Yang Sichang obtain many Mongolian warhorses.

However, Shanxi merchants also betrayed the country.

Through the Later Jin's caravans and the Mongol tribes led by the Later Jin, a large amount of strategic materials such as grain and ironware were purchased from the Ming Dynasty and transported to the Later Jin to supply the enemy.

Looking at it this way, the sequence of events becomes clearer.

The Shanxi merchants were not a unified group; among them were both patriots and traitors.

It's just that Fan Yongdou and others grew into top Shanxi merchants during the Kangxi era, while there are no records of Shanxi merchants who actually betrayed the country during the Chongzhen era, so the blame was placed on them.

But there are definitely bad guys among the Shanxi merchants, and it's a fact that they transported supplies to the Later Jin. Now it just depends on how well Fu Youde's investigation goes.

Let's see who exactly is acting as a traitor.

"It doesn't matter. What's true can't be made false, and what's false can't be made true."

Old Zhu pondered for a moment and said, "The most urgent task now is to reorganize the military affairs in Shanxi. It is easy for me to destroy the Later Jin, but the Ming Dynasty is now riddled with problems. If the Mongols move south, it will cause further bloodshed."

"Ah."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded and said, "I hope things can be settled with Fu Youde as soon as possible. If that doesn't work, we can transfer Sun Chuanting over, or Zuo Liangyu would also be fine. I'm just worried that Fu Youde has too few men and the Mongols have too many cavalry. No matter how powerful their guns and cannons are, they won't fight you. They'll just plunder you and you won't be able to do anything about it."

"Then you can make arrangements to transfer Zuo Liangyu over there. I only need the garrison at Shanhaiguan. Although those people are basically useless, we still need them to fight when things are going well and to clean up the battlefield."

Old Zhu smiled and said that the key to military campaigns is quality, not quantity. He could sweep through the Later Jin with a thousand men, but logistics were still necessary. At the very least, he needed to bring enough guns, ammunition, and food.

So, on the surface, there might only be around two thousand Hongwu soldiers marching towards Liaodong, but in reality, there were still tens of thousands of logistics troops.

The two had already left through the Xihua Gate while they were talking.

At this moment, the army was already waiting outside Xihua Gate. Zhu left Mao Xiang with 100 men to protect Zhu Yunfeng's safety, while he led the remaining soldiers to Shanhaiguan.

In addition to the Hongwu soldiers of their own troops, they hired 200,000 civilian laborers and auxiliary soldiers to transport supplies such as grain, ammunition, and other provisions.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang intends to eradicate the entire Jianzhou Jurchen population, to carry out another Chenghua purge, even more severely than the Chenghua purge, to completely wipe out the Jianzhou Jurchen population, which currently numbers only around 100,000.

"Your Majesty! Your Highness!"

The guard commander, Jiang Huan, came over and saluted them.

"Ah."

Old Zhu glanced over.

Outside Xihua Gate, many Hongwu guards were dressed in cotton-padded clothes and mounted on horseback, with a large carriage in the very center.

Outside the city, a large number of auxiliary soldiers and civilians were waiting for them, escorting a lot of supplies.

Old Zhu walked to the carriage, and Zhu Yunfeng followed him. Old Zhu stood there and said to him, "Yunfeng, this trip has fulfilled my wish. The Ming Dynasty is now in your hands. Do a good job."

Zhu Yunfeng rolled his eyes at him and said, "I've been working for you guys for free, okay? I'll have to hand it over to Zhu Cilang later."

"If you really want to stay here and be the emperor, then go ahead."

Old Zhu smiled.

"Forget it, modern times are better. I'm just a passerby."

Zhu Yunfeng shrugged: "Consider it a way to save my ancestors. It would be ridiculous to actually become emperor. Ancient emperors are never as comfortable as being a rich person in modern times."

"Hahahahahaha."

Old Zhu laughed loudly, patted him on the shoulder, and climbed onto the carriage road: "Let's go. That Dorgon, the little Emperor Shunzhi, do you want to see him alive or dead?"

"It's dead, isn't it? I don't like seeing dead people either. Just throw it away somewhere, don't bring it back to me."

"it is good."

The carriage curtains were drawn, and the caravan slowly set off.

Zhu Yunfeng stood in the wind and snow, with Mao Xiang and other guards behind him, and Gao Shiming and other attendants further away.

He looked out into the distance and smiled.

Wild Boar Skin met Zhu Yuanzhang, and his fate was sealed.

(End of this chapter)