The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 162 One Husband, Two Wives, Three Meals, Four Seasons

After Qin Jianxun returned to Sichuan, the war around Kaiyuan finally came to an end. Ping Liaohou replenished the troops of the four thousand headquarters. The four thousand headquarters were all fully staffed, and Kaiyuan's combat effectiveness gradually recovered.

The 1,000th Headquarters, with a strength of 4,000, remained under Liu Zhaosun's command. The 2,000th Headquarters, commanded by Deng Changxiong, comprised 3,000 men. The 3,000th Headquarters, commanded by Wang Erhu, comprised 2,500 men. The 4,000th Headquarters, commanded by Qi Jin, comprised 2,000 men. The Cavalry Battalion, commanded by Buerhanggu, had its strength restored to 2,000 by June and July. The Artillery, commanded by Wang Congzhi and Han Zhenyi, remained in command. The artillery suffered relatively few losses during the Battle of Hunhe and the Korean War, requiring only a small number of reinforcements, and currently stands at 300 men.

The Intelligence Bureau's personnel were relatively stable. Because there had been no fighting for several months, the intelligence officers' external reconnaissance operations had been greatly reduced. They only monitored Hetuala, which was opposite Fushun, and Sinuiju, which was opposite Kuandian. Liu Zhaosun did not want the spy agency to grow too quickly, and there was no suitable intelligence leader at the moment. It seemed that everyone in all departments did not like the Intelligence Bureau very much. The Central Army Guard had reached 120 people, and every few days they would conduct special assassination training. Pei Dahu, Wu Xiao, and Lin Yu led a group of guards and were busy...

After the Battle of Hunhe, the chief instructor Sen Ti learned that the army was about to be expanded, so he selected a group of eloquent and courageous private school teachers who had fled to Liaodong to serve as instructors for each battalion.

According to Ping Liaohou's plan, all generals above the rank of captain-general must be equipped with a training officer. On the battlefield, the training officer not only boosted the morale of the troops, but also served as a staff officer and supervisor. If the commander died in battle, the training officer could temporarily take over the commander's position and continue to command the battle, similar to the political commissar of later generations.

Ping Liaohou participated in the entire process of selecting, training and appointing instructors. Liu Zhaosun would also meet with these people privately on weekdays to strengthen his control over the army through personal relationships with the instructors.

~~~~~
In mid-June, the four thousand headquarters dispatched new soldiers to Tiger Hill, 20 miles east of Kaiyuan City.

According to the recollections of some Sichuan soldiers in the army, the terrain of Tiger Hill was quite similar to that of Yongning in Sichuan. Ping Liaohou ordered mountain warfare training to be conducted there in preparation for the upcoming Southwest War.

According to the plan, if the imperial court transferred the original army south, only one force could be dispatched to Sichuan to participate in the suppression of She Chongming's rebellion.

The number of places is limited, and all four thousand headquarters want to get the opportunity to quell the rebellion.

The battalions braved the scorching heat, competing with each other, fearing they would fall behind in training. Especially the newly recruited soldiers, who had practiced formations and spears on the parade grounds for several months and could no longer hold back, eager to quickly go to the battlefield to vent their frustrations...
Ping Liaohou went to Huqiu Mountain every two days to inspect the training situation and exchange training experiences with Qi Jin. Qi Jin was stationed at Huqiu Mountain and had not returned to Kaiyuan for half a month.

Liu Zhaosun was full of admiration for this professional officer. If every general was as obsessed as Qi Jin, it would not be a fantasy for Liu Zhaosun to pacify Liao in three months and enter the Pass in three years.

Since marrying Jin Yu Ji, the time traveler gradually developed the concept of home. Apart from training troops, he stayed in the general's mansion, leaving the affairs of civil affairs and private schools to Xie Yang, Ma Shiying and others.

In his spare time, he would accompany his two ladies at home and live a shameless life of one husband and two wives.

After getting married, he and Jin Yuji became more and more affectionate and inseparable, and they were almost always together.

After more than half a year of recuperation, Jin Yuji's old injuries had fully recovered. Liu Zhaosun asked Jin'er to prepare some of Jin Yuji's favorite foods.

In June, Xu Xiake asked someone to bring back kimchi and pollack from Korea (a hot product of Incheon, suitable for braising, with soft and chewy meat). Unknowingly, the Korean girl made Liu Zhaosun a foodie. After they got married, her figure became more and more charming...
When she was outside, Jin Yu Ji always wore military uniform and disguised herself as a servant of Ping Liaohou. Except for a few guards in the central army, no one else knew that this person was General Anyuan who beat drums to repel the enemy in the bloody battle of Hunhe River.

~~~~~~
At the end of June, General Kang hurried back from Shenyang.

In May, Kang Yingqian went to Shenyang to meet with the new Liaodong Governor Wang Huazhen to discuss the distribution of Liao military pay this autumn. Kang Yingqian and Wang Huazhen were both Jinshi in the same imperial examination. When they were young, they traveled together in Qinhuai, got drunk in the flowers, and had many romantic affairs that were unknown to outsiders.

Today, the two old men are still in their prime and always have endless topics to talk about when they get together.

Kaiyuan General's Mansion, living room.

Kang Yingqian paced back and forth around the tables and chairs with an anxious look on his face. Guard Zhang Chao stood at the door, looking outside from time to time.

"Has Lord Liu returned?"

Zhang Chao hurriedly said, "General Kang, please be patient and have some tea. Wu Xiao has gone to call him and he should be here soon."

"What are you drinking? I've already had three cups. If you drink any more, I'll have to pee again!"

Kang Yingqian shook his head and looked at the books on the bookshelf in the living room. He picked up one at random and saw that it was another vernacular novel. He became even more annoyed. He walked as fast as a meteor and muttered to himself, but no one knew what he was saying.

I heard Ping Liaohou and Wu Xiao talking from afar...

"What? Supervisor Kang has been waiting in the living room for half an hour. Why didn't you inform me earlier? Wu Xiao, you're out of money this month!"

Kang Yingqian pricked up his ears and vaguely heard Wu Xiao complaining in a low voice: "General Liu, I was already half an hour ago..."

Lao Kang pretended not to hear. At this moment, the door creaked open from the outside.

"Cough! Cough!"

Ping Liaohou, who was dressed in casual clothes, coughed twice and showed a look of surprise on his face.

"Ah, Supervisor Kang, I've been waiting for you. Xie Yang was just reporting on the summer harvest, so I'm sorry for the delay. Zhang Chao! Hurry and serve tea to Master Kang!"

Zhang Chao suppressed his laughter, ran in, picked up the teapot and skillfully refilled Kang Jianjun's cup.

Kang Yingqian glared at him, waved his hand, and sat down on the chair angrily:
"No, I don't want to drink anymore!"

Liu Zhaosun took the teacup handed to him by Zhang Chao, drank it all in one gulp, picked up the teapot and poured himself another cup.

"It's been over two months since we last met, and General Kang is still as energetic as ever. He's still going strong!"

Kang Yingqian looked Ping Liaohou up and down, leaned closer, and sniffed his sleeve:

"Haha, I haven't seen you for two months. Ping Liaohou is on his way. I'm afraid he has disturbed your happiness again."

Liu Zhaosun smiled but said nothing.

"It's a pity that when I went back to Shenyang, I gave all the King Kong Powder to Wang Xiaoqian (Wang Huazhen's pen name). I'm out of stock, so I won't give it to Ping Liao Hou!"

Wu Xiao and Zhang Chao beside him both tried to hold back their laughter. Liu Zhaosun said awkwardly:

"You're newlyweds, Supervisor Kang should understand..."

"I understand. I was young once too."

The two of them joked with each other for a while, while Zhang Chao and Wu Xiao stood guard at the door. The sound of the night watch drum could be heard on the street outside.

Liu Zhaosun asked about his experiences in Shenyang. Kang Yingqian said a few words and got to the point:
"A fellow eunuch from the same hometown as Wang Xiaoqian in the palace said that the new emperor is very wary of our Kaiyuan. Last month, he scolded Eunuch Wei and almost had Cao Huachun take his place. The two censors who spoke for you were demoted. Fang Congzhe's position as Prime Minister is also untenable. He's become a forgotten figure after he left!"

Liu Zhaosun was shocked and said, "Emperor Taichang is more in charge than his father! Even if this person leaves, the tea will get cold. We still have to give him money. We should be kind to him."

Kang Yinggan curled his lips: "I wonder if Ping Liaohou has a thick wallet? How much silver has he donated to the capital in the past two years? Now that the prime minister has been replaced, all that money has gone down the drain!" Liu Zhaosun had long been prepared for Emperor Taichang's countermeasures. If he were the emperor, he would not tolerate a thorn like himself in Liaodong.

I just didn't expect that the Emperor of January would be so strong-willed, comparable to the God of War of Coal Hill.

"Old Kang, after Fang Congzhe leaves, who will become the new Prime Minister?"

Kang Yingqian said without hesitation, "Who? Of course it's Liu Yijing, the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Dongke. He's the leader of the Donglin Party and quite powerful in the court, but he's been suppressed by Emperor Shenzong. Based on his seniority, it's time for him to rise up."

Liu Zhaosun knew nothing about this Liu family member. When he went to Beijing to offer captives last year, he seemed not to have noticed this person.

Kang Yingqian guessed his thoughts and stroked his beard proudly, saying, "This man and your adoptive father are from the same hometown, Nanchang. They are friends. It all depends on how the new emperor feels about him. I sent someone to give him a gift at the end of last year. He was still a minister at that time, and the battle at Hunhe was critical, so he didn't tell you. Minister Liu accepted the money, so the friendship is established."

Liu Zhaosun praised sincerely: "General Kang is a mature and far-sighted man who has made plans for the country. I admire him very much!"

"You are so kind, Marquis Ping Liao!"

Kang Yingqian chuckled twice and changed the topic to the brothel business in Liaodong.

"I heard that a group of Korean women have come to Kuandian again. I will go to Yuan Chonghuan to inspect them and learn about the exotic customs."

Kuandian City, separated from Sinuiju by a river, has now become a window city for Liaodong's "opening up to the outside world". In order to attract merchants from Korea, Japan and other places to settle in, Ping Liaohou specially authorized the legal operation of brothels and gambling houses here. Kuandian thus became the first and only "special zone" city in Liaodong.

"If General Kang is so inclined, you can switch places with Yuan Chonghuan. You stay in Kuandian, and he stays in Kaiyuan..."

Kang Yingqian quickly shook his hand.

"This exotic scenery can only be admired from a distance, not played with. If you get too close, it will lose its charm."

Liu Zhaosun was speechless.

The two chatted and laughed, and Kang Yingqian suddenly said in surprise: "I almost forgot to talk about business. Ping Liao Hou, this year's Liao tribute has shrunk a lot compared to last year, only 1.8 million taels left."

"Oh?"

Liu Zhaosun held the teacup and responded nonchalantly.

Seeing that he was calm, Kang Yingqian continued, "They gave Liaoxi 1.1 million taels, but only 700,000 taels to us..."

"what!"

"Why does Zu Dashou deserve so much! He didn't fight the Tartars or the Mongols. I told him to blockade Hetuala, but he took the opportunity to smuggle! Why should he get so much!"

Ping Liaohou slammed the table and stood up, knocking the teacup on the table to the ground. Zhang Chao, who was standing at the door, turned around and looked over here. Liu Zhaosun waved his hand to indicate that everything was fine.

Kang Yingqian's face was gloomy as he spoke word by word, "Why? Because the emperor wants to use the ancestral family to hinder us. It's such an obvious move, and you still can't see it?"

"Our caravan was detained by Zu Dashou again in Liaoxi, did you know that?"

Kang Yingqian shook his head.

Liu Zhaosun looked at the broken teacup on the ground and was about to continue talking about Liaoxi. Kang Yingqian said:

"Let's not talk about Zu Dashou for now. I heard that Ping Liaohou is planning to send troops to aid Sichuan?"

Liu Zhaosun nodded, staring at Kang Yingqian's shaking beard.

Kang Yingqian suddenly said loudly:

"Stupid! Why are you stirring up trouble? The southwest has been in constant rebellion since Emperor Chengzu. Has it ever been pacified in the past hundred years? The Han people and the natives live together, and there are many problems. It's not just She Chongming! You throw tens of thousands of troops from Kaiyuan in, and you won't be able to pacify it for three to five years! Even after pacifying it, you still have to station troops. In short, it's a bottomless pit..."

"Isn't it said that the chieftains in the southwest are all very rich? I heard from my adoptive father..."

Seeing that the incident with Liu Jing was about to be brought up, Kang Yingqian quickly changed the subject:

"What does your adoptive father know? He only sees thieves stealing silver, but never sees them being beaten! Expecting to earn silver by fighting in the southwest is a foolish dream!"

~~~~
During the Ming Dynasty, the policy of control was implemented in both the southwest and Liaodong regions. Simply put, this meant allowing local chieftains or tribes to govern themselves, pay taxes regularly, and dispatch officials. These various measures combined to gradually weaken the power of local chieftains.

The chieftain where She Chongming lived surrendered to the Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu period. Zhu Yuanzhang appointed She as the Xuanfusi and let her family guard the land for generations.

When the She clan chieftainship was passed down to She Chongzhou, because there was no son to succeed him, She Chongming inherited the throne as a member of the clan.

In the first year of the Tianqi reign, Liaodong was in danger. Guizhou, Sichuan, and other southwestern regions dispatched elite troops to aid Liao. She Chongming secretly ordered his son-in-law, Fan Long, and his associate Zhang Tong to prepare for rebellion. After arriving in Chongqing, they remained stationed in the city for a long time, refusing to advance north. Chongqing officials, aware of the Tusi's intentions, repeatedly urged them to march north to aid Liao. However, the more they urged, the more She continued to delay.

In September of the first year of the Tianqi reign, She Chongming killed Sichuan Governor Xu Keqiu and Chongqing Prefect Zhang Wenbing, and captured Chongqing. He usurped the title of emperor and established the positions of prime minister and five other government officials.

In June of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ming Dynasty appointed Zhu Xieyuan as Minister of War, bestowed upon him the Imperial Sword, and promoted him to the rank of Shao Bao. He was then in charge of military affairs in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei, and Guangxi, and served as the Governor of Guizhou, tasked with suppressing the rebellion. In April of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhu Xieyuan dispatched Xu Chengming, the Guizhou General, and other troops from Yongning to recapture Chishuiwei. In August of the same year, they executed An Bangyan, She Chongming, and 143 other rebel leaders, essentially wiping out the main force of the rebellion. This was hailed as a "miracle victory in the southwest." By the spring of the third year of the Chongzhen reign, the remaining remnants of the defeated army were gradually eliminated. Thus, the "She An Rebellion" was finally brought to an end, and the two major chieftain forces in the southwest were eradicated.

Of course, according to another historical narrative, the so-called She'an Rebellion was actually caused by the Yongning chieftain being unable to bear the harassment from corrupt officials and rising up in rebellion.

Regardless of the historical truth, this chieftain chose the perfect time to rebel. He had just suffered a crushing defeat at Sarhu and signs of a civil uprising were emerging in Shaanxi.

She Chongming also wanted to walk the path that Yang Yinglong, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nurhaci, Hongru and others had walked.

These people believed that a final blow to the dilapidated house of the Ming Dynasty might be enough to knock it down.

~~~
Liu Zhaosun knew little about the Southwest Rebellion and couldn't even tell whether the "reform of the natives" policy was related to the Ming or Qing dynasties. After listening to Kang Yingqian's analysis, he felt a pang of anxiety and decided that any attempt to intervene in the Southwest would require further consideration.

Kang Yingqian stroked his beard and smiled:
"Marquis Ping Liao, your adoptive father and I were close friends back then. We conquered Burma together, though not in Sichuan. The chieftains of Yunnan and Guizhou were similar, constantly surrendering and rebelling. Whenever the imperial court wanted to take back their power, they would inevitably rebel. Do you really think there was only one She Chongming in Sichuan? In short, we must not wade into this muddy water!"

(End of this chapter)