The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 406: The King's Battle Record
Ten days before Dongfang Zhu's night visit to Pu Gang, the defender of Linqing, Liu Zongzhou, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, led the Northern Expedition Army from Fengxian County in Nanzhili to the north and slowly entered Shandong.

The Northern Expedition Army passed through Yutai and Jiaxiang, then turned west to Wenshang and Dongchang. It was not until July 20th that it finally arrived at Gaotang Prefecture and appeared behind Linqing Prefecture, cutting off the retreat route of the defenders in the city to cross the sea to the northeast.

At the same time, Ma Hongqi, deputy general of Pingxi, Henan, also led 30,000 troops north from Linzhang. The army crossed the Zhang River and entered Shandong. They went north from Guanxian, crossed the Wei River and Qinghe River, and occupied Qinghe County on July 16, blocking the Linqing defenders' escape route to the west.

Lieutenant General Ma Hongqi was a powerful figure in southeastern Henan, with no grudges against Emperor Wuding's Great Qi. During the Taichang reign, Ma Hongqi and his four brothers gained control of the salt wells in Runing Prefecture, Henan. Relying on the profits from the well salt, they smuggled millions annually, gradually becoming Henan's most powerful tycoon. At the time, the Kaiyuan Army was engaged in campaigns east and west, and the Ming army was preoccupied with counterattacks, leaving little attention to this unruly local tycoon.

By the first year of the Tianqi reign, Li Xianzhong had invaded Henan, leaving the region in ruins. By forming an alliance with bandits from Shaanxi, the Ma clan gradually expanded its influence into northern Henan. After the Hongguang Emperor ascended the throne, he freely granted titles to popular support, successfully appointing Ma Hongqi as a deputy general. His retainers and militiamen were eventually rehabilitated and commissioned into the imperial army. In the first year of the Wuding reign, the capital city was devastated, and Henan was torn apart. Remnants of the Qi army, bandits from Shaanxi, and local tyrants each acted independently. Ma Hongqi saw this as a golden opportunity to expand his power, and he actively requested a joint attack with Liu Zongzhou, stationed in Yangzhou, to attack the remnants of the Qi army in Shandong.

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The Southern Ming army dragged its feet, stopping and starting along the way, and its marching speed was comparable to that of the Korean army on the Yalu River.

Although they were the Southern Ming army and had sufficient food and wages, the Northern Expedition Army continued the bad habits of the Ming army, such as stealing and killing innocent people to gain credit. Especially in those desolate villages far away from the prefectures and counties, burning, killing and looting were the norm.

After entering Shandong, Qi troops were stationed in many counties and prefectures. Such stains naturally became evidence of their extortion by the Ming army.

In this way, Master Wang made money as he traveled, and the journey that was originally scheduled to take twenty or thirty days took more than two months.

As a great scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, Liu Zongzhou inherited Mr. Hengqu's compassionate heart of "establishing a mind for heaven and earth". He would feel ashamed for a long time when scolding his servants, but he was helpless in front of these soldiers.

Liu Dushi was originally a Jinshi (Jinshi) who had previously served as an official in the Ministry of Revenue before returning to his hometown to lecture. He was then inexplicably appointed as the Northern Expedition Commander-in-Chief. Under normal circumstances, a resume like his would never have led to military action.

However, what is normal in this world? The small court in Nanzhili has never been normal since its birth.

Liu Zongzhou's rise to power was actually the result of a fierce game between several political forces and had nothing to do with his own resume and ability.

This kind of phenomenon was common in the late Ming Dynasty politics where party struggles were prevalent.

Since Zhang Juzheng, all officials who did practical work were suppressed, so that in the end the focus of the Ming Dynasty court was not government affairs, but personnel matters.

To put it more directly, they don't care about right or wrong, and they only think about how to promote people who are on the same side as them and suppress the officials who are against them.
Liu Zongzhou had little foundation in the army. He knew very well that these temporarily recruited soldiers, especially the new recruits from the Huaiyang area, were all arrogant and difficult to control. If they were pushed into a corner, a mutiny would inevitably break out.

He could only secretly make up his mind that after returning from this Northern Expedition, he would strictly enforce military discipline and train an army as strong as the Qi Family Army.

On July 21, the first year of Wuding, the day after the Northern Expedition Army arrived at Linqing City, Ma Hongqi launched an attack on Linqing City in advance without even notifying Commander Liu.

The intention of this Henan tyrant was very simple. He wanted to take advantage of the chaos in northern Zhili to capture as many cities as possible and expand his influence from northern Henan to Shandong.

Liu Zhaosun's successful ascension to the throne greatly stimulated the powerful people in various places. They gradually realized that in this day and age, as long as you have troops, anything is possible.

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Five miles northeast of Linqing Prefecture lies Zhengjiakou Town. This small town in northwestern Shandong province is filled with endless tents like a flood. The tents are scattered everywhere, and from the outside, no clear arrangement of troops is possible.

Teams of civilians dressed in silk and satin were making fires and cooking in the open space on the edge of the town. Wisps of green smoke soon rose from the camp. From time to time, groups of armored soldiers came in and out of the camp, holding piles of silks and jewels in their arms. Long after nightfall, the tents were still noisy, like a busy market, and occasionally the screams of women could be heard.

In the evening, the royal army visited this wealthy town closest to Linqing City. It was said that this town had once accepted wounded soldiers from the defeated Qi army, although the other side gave silver to the people.

In any case, this act of blatantly aiding the enemy must be severely punished. When the royal army arrived, it was said that remnants of the Qi army were still active in the town. Without waiting for Liu Zongzhou's order, several local rogues led this group of arrogant soldiers and generals into the town, searching house to house. When they found evidence of collusion with the Qi army - a piece of armor or the owner's accent that sounded like Liaodong - they burned, killed and looted the houses.

Zhengjiakou is close to the canal. Although it is not as good as Linqing City, it is full of businesses and is quite prosperous.

When Wang's army was robbing jewels and silks, a dozen ignorant and reckless people tried to resist and were quickly hacked to death.

Now, the heads of those who died with their eyes open are hung at the camp gate for public display.

If everything goes well, when they capture the Linqing city, the heads of these unruly people will be saltpetred with lime along with the heads of the remaining Qi army in Linqing city, and sent to the Nanjing Ministry of War by express horses, as a military achievement of the royal army in pacifying the rebellious Qi. Finally, they will be distributed to the generals of the royal army with a reward of ten taels of silver per head.

Dozens of women from Zhengjiakou Town who did not have time to escape were also abducted by the king's army and brought to the camp, and are now being enjoyed by several generals.

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Under the dim candlelight, Mr. Jishan unfolded a yellowed volume of "The Doctrine of the Mean" and read it carefully, ignoring the woman's cries outside the tent.

"The Way of the Great Learning can be summed up in one word: prudence in solitude. The Great Learning advocates prudence in solitude, and the Doctrine of the Mean also advocates prudence in solitude. Apart from prudence in solitude, there is no other learning."

Before becoming the chief minister of the cabinet and commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, Liu Zongzhou had been lecturing in Shanyin, Shaoxing Prefecture. Because he lectured in Jishan, Shanyin, some people called him Mr. Jishan. In short, Commander-in-Chief Liu's other identity was a thinker.

Mr. Jishan believed that "the learning of a gentleman is to be cautious when alone" and "the key to learning is to be cautious when alone."

"Alone" is the original heart, the conscience, and a subjective moral ability that people possess.

It has to be said that this kind of view is quite similar to Zhang Zai's Three Sentences of Hengqu, and is of great significance in guiding the behavior of scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

For example, now, when those arrogant and powerful generals under his command are doing evil and taking human lives, Mr. Jishan, who is unable to stop them, only needs to be cautious, keep his conscience, and not interfere too much.

"If a person can be cautious when alone, he will be a perfect person in the world."

Liu Zongzhou closed the book, looked at the dark night sky of Daming, and muttered to himself.

(End of this chapter)