The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 248 Dog Town
In late August of the second year of Taichang, Liu Zhaosun led his troops to fight in Shenyang.

The garrison commander Zu Dale underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, resulting in the loss of all his servants and the forced retreat back to the chariot camp.

Wang Huazhen bribed the gunners on the city walls to fire at the chariot camp. The Zu family army suffered heavy casualties and the entire army collapsed.

Zu Dale was left with nowhere to go, so he surrendered to Ping Liaohou.

However, Liu Zhaosun did not let Zu Dale go.

In the city of Shenyang, all the male members of the Zu family who were taller than the goose-feather sword were beheaded.

The pacification troops found millions of silver coins and countless grains and cloth in the Lieutenant General's Mansion. All of Liaozhen's industries and mineral deposits in Shenyang were taken over by Ping Liaohou.

Ping Liaohou ordered to take out part of the money and grain of Liaozhen to provide relief to the casualties of the foreign tribes. The foreign tribes then submitted and called him Tian Khan.

On that day, the army camped outside the city to rest. Ping Liaohou set up the central army tent at the north gate of Shenyang, which was the place where the bloody battle of Hunhe took place to defeat the Later Jin.

On the 29th, Ping Liaohou summoned Qiao Yiqi, Kang Yingqian, Yuan Chonghuan, Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu, Wang Zengbin, Ma Shiying and others to discuss the next battle against Liaoyang.

Shenyang and Liaoyang were only 150 miles apart. Zu Dale was defeated in Shenyang, and the Liaoyang defenders were like frightened birds.

The Zu family’s garrison in Liaoyang was very small, far less than that in Shenyang, with only a mere thousand men.

All the generals suggested persuading Liaoyang to surrender and occupying this big city without bloodshed.

Liu Zhaosun was also unwilling to suffer heavy casualties in the war. Occupying Liaoshen was only the beginning; capturing Guangning, Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan was the key.

At present, Liu Zhaosun and the three brothers of his Zu family have become blood enemies. If the three cities in western Liaoning are captured later, no one knows how many people will die.

Ping Liaohou ordered Ma Shiying to arrange for the Liaozhen officers who had surrendered in the city to rush to Liaoyang to persuade them to surrender.

The civil affairs chief Xie Yang reported on the army's food and fodder consumption. Liu Zhaosun frowned and everyone else was dumbfounded.

The more than 10,000 dan of grain stored by Sun Chuanting in Fushun were consumed within five days of the war, leaving only 2,000 dan, which was expected to be eaten in three days.

The logistical problems of a legion of 300,000 people are basically unsolvable in this era.

The number of troops Liu Zhaosun had commanded on the battlefield before was no more than 30,000, and all of them were well-trained combat soldiers and auxiliary troops who obeyed his orders.

This time he was suddenly asked to command more than 300,000 troops, and a considerable number of them were farmers and foreign herdsmen who had never been to the battlefield.

In this situation, even if Han Xin was reborn or Bai Qi traveled through time, they would probably be unable to do it.

Everything went smoothly after the war started.

Liu Zhaosun ignored the most critical supply issue.

He followed his adoptive father in battle for many years and fought in many campaigns in the past two years. He basically understood all military affairs, but matters outside the battlefield, such as food and grass supply and resource allocation, were not Liu Zhaosun's forte.

It seems that having too many people also brings its own troubles, and if things go wrong, it will easily lead to collapse.

Many historical examples of victory of the outnumbered side were basically due to the fact that the side with more troops had problems with food and fodder, which led to a crushing defeat.

At present, merchants from all over Liaodong are still transporting food and supplies to the front line in exchange for the salt permits they want.

However, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people cannot rely solely on this kind of commercial transportation.

"General Liu, the food and fodder delivered to the front lines every day is barely enough for the army, but if we continue to fight in Liaoxi, I'm afraid..."

The further west you go, the greater the transportation risk becomes, and the less motivated merchants are to transport goods.

Liu Zhaosun asked Xie Yang to sit down, then stood up and paced back and forth in the tent. After a while, he looked up at everyone:

"Since that's the case, then we'll feed on the enemy and plunder all the way from Shenyang to Liaoxi. Every time we capture a city, we'll divide up the money and food from our ancestors, all the way to Shanhaiguan."

After everyone dispersed, Ping Liaohou left Kang Yingqian alone.

It has been almost two months since the two of them last met. Kaiyuan has experienced a lot in these two months.

The corruption among the generals was beyond imagination. People who Liu Zhaosun previously thought were loyal and reliable eventually betrayed him. People who he previously thought were honest and dedicated to their work actually embezzled millions.

However, the first few people who followed him have always been the same as before. To use a popular term among time travelers in later generations, they have never forgotten their original intentions.

Liu Zhaosun had heard from Yuan Chonghuan that Kang Yingqian traveled back and forth between the two sides of the Yalu River every day in Kuandian, recruiting Korean refugees, preaching the Kaiyuan policy to foreigners, and winning over the gentry of Yizhou to join him. It can be said that he did a lot of practical work.

This time, he summoned Kang Yingqian back in order to restore his position in Kaiyuan, to make him his right-hand man, and to help him move forward.

After experiencing many things, Liu Zhaosun reflected on whether past policies were too lenient and pedantic.

Just like Kang Yingqian in Kuandian, he would also reflect on whether his previous use of unscrupulous means to pursue power was appropriate.

Yesterday, Ping Liaohou went on a killing spree and almost wiped out Zu Dale's entire family. Kang Yingqian was stunned watching from the side. Liu Zhaosun seemed a little unfamiliar in his eyes.

"I remember that Supervisor Kang often urged me to annex Korea, relocate the Koreans to Liaodong, and kill any who resisted."

Liu Zhaosun was seeking the golden mean, neither being as pedantic as before nor becoming a mad king like Nurhaci.

"After we eliminate Zu Dashou, the next step may be to take action against North Korea."

Kang Yingqian was shocked when he heard this.

He thought that the action Liu Zhaosun mentioned was to kill everyone like what happened in Shenyang.

Thinking back to what he'd seen and heard in Kuandian these past few days, and the scenes of his interactions with the foreign tribes, Lao Kang hesitated. "Marquis Ping Liao... From what I've seen in Kuandian, the Koreans in Yizhou are also aware of the etiquette of the Celestial Empire. There's no need to exterminate them all. Besides, if Marquis Ping Liao occupies Liaoxi, the imperial court will inevitably send troops to Shanhaiguan. Kaiyuan should defend Shanhaiguan and prepare for a decisive battle with the imperial court, rather than expanding into Korea and slaughtering the foreign tribes..."

The imperial court might not care so much about the burning, killing and looting Later Jin Mongols, but it would definitely fight to the death against the rebellious Kaiyuan.

Liu Zhaosun looked at Kang Yingqian's cautious eyes, suddenly stood up from his seat, patted Kang Jianjun's shoulder, and laughed loudly:
"Good! It seems your time in Kuandian was not in vain. I am very pleased to see such a change in you!"

When Kang Yingqian heard Liu Zhaosun say this, the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground, but he heard Ping Liaohou continue:
"After Hetuala, the former Ping Liaohou died. General Kang, have you ever heard of Dog Town?"

Kang Yingqian looked at Liu Zhaosun with a confused expression, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Gouzhen is a small town. During the Hongwu period, the daughter of the White Lotus Sect's headmaster ran away from home and broke into Gouzhen. She treated everyone in the town kindly, but was eventually treated as a prostitute and abused by the townspeople. Finally, the headmaster and his followers arrived and wiped out the entire town..."

"I pondered this for a long time, until one day, I suddenly understood."

Kang Yingqian was puzzled and asked:

"What does Ping Liaohou understand?"

“No matter how the outside world treats me, I will always treat the world with the heart of a saint. This is the greatest arrogance.”

Kang Yingqian could understand this sentence.

"Marquis Ping Liao, I have something I want to ask you. Since we've come to this point today, I'll dare to ask."

"General Kang, please speak."

Kang Yingqian looked out of the tent at the gloomy sky.

"I heard that your adoptive father, Liu Jing, was a Buddhist. I wonder if you believe in Buddhism as well. That's why you've never taken lives easily and your way of dealing with people is obviously different from that of the other generals."

Liu Zhaosun clapped his hands and laughed.

"Hahaha, I don't believe it, but I do occasionally perform physical salvation."

Kang Yingqian didn't know what physical salvation was, but in order not to appear too ignorant, he just nodded thoughtfully.

"What was I talking about just now?"

"arrogant."

"Yes, arrogance."

Liu Zhaosun continued:

"Treat the world and everyone, including your enemies, with the heart of a saint. Allow them to bully you, threaten you, and ultimately threaten the safety of your family."

“To be extremely mean and ungrateful to oneself is the greatest arrogance.”

“If there is one person in this world who cannot be neglected, one person who cannot be disrespected, that person must be myself.”

When Liu Zhaosun said this, the obsession that had been condensed for many years suddenly dissipated.

"Back then, foreign troops came to aid Liao and were indebted to Liaozhen. The Li and Zu families joined forces with the Jiannu to harm us, resulting in countless casualties. My adoptive father and his generals all died in Liaodong. Liaozhen is a dog town."

"The world doesn't need a dog town!"

"That's why I want to kill them all."

In early September, the Kaiyuan army marched into Liaoyang.

The army continued to recruit troops along the way, and military households and foreigners joined one after another.

Before arriving in Liaoyang, Liu Zhaosun had more than 350,000 troops under his command.

The army surrounded Liaoyang and cut off its connection with western Liaoning.

On the third day, Wang Erhu led the Third Guard Army to defeat the Liaozhen troops who came from Shisanshan and Guangning to reinforce Liaoyang, beheading 800 and defeating 3,000.

On the fourth day, the Liaoyang defenders, in desperation, opened the city gates and surrendered to Ping Liaohou.

When the news reached the capital, the imperial court was shocked.

Emperor Taichang was forced to temporarily give up suppressing the rebellions in various places. The Ministry of War planned to mobilize elite troops from the nine border areas and local chieftains in the south to rush to Shanhaiguan for a decisive battle with the Kaiyuan army.

The two cities of Liaoshen were completely annexed, and Kaiyuan's power expanded unprecedentedly.

Kang Yingqian led the crowd in submitting a petition to persuade Ping Liaohou to take the opportunity to establish a country and proclaim himself emperor in Shenyang, to boost the morale of the army, to defeat Liaoxi and then enter the pass to establish a lasting hegemony.

Liu Zhaosun did not try to stop these people from urging him to ascend the throne.

But it is too early to proclaim himself emperor now.

In the central army tent, Ping Liaohou took the city defense force map sent by the Guangning spy and slowly looked at his subordinates.

"Everyone, military morale is certainly important, but time is more important to us. Becoming emperor will only slow down the process."

"The war has just begun."

(End of this chapter)