Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

After Zhu Jian made the final decision, he left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, giving the officials no time to react.

After the emperor left, the others also slowly left the hall.

Outside the hall, Cheng Guoxiang sighed as he approached Sun Chengzong: "Grand Secretary Sun, what merit or ability do I possess to raise ten million taels of silver for military expenses in Nanjing?"

"Lord Cheng, raise as much as you can, just do your best!" Sun Chengzong said with a smile, trying to reassure him.

In Sun Chengzong's eyes, the fact that the emperor did not dismiss officials or kill anyone was the greatest progress. In the past, someone would have lost their job or even their life, but now that has not happened.

"Grand Secretary Sun, is His Majesty acting a little differently today?" Huang Daozhou asked from the side. He was not surprised that the emperor was suppressing Cheng Guoxiang, but he was greatly shocked by the suppression of Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang was the emperor's favorite minister, so why was he also exiled to Xiangyang to supervise the army?

"The Emperor has his own ideas, we just need to do our job well!" Sun Chengzong said a few empty words, then laughed and left, leaving Cheng Guoxiang and Huang Daozhou looking at each other in bewilderment.

In Sun Chengzong's view, this was the best way for the emperor to quickly advance tax matters—a balanced approach where both sides were punished equally, and the situation could be reversed once the tax system was in place... It was far better than resorting to excessive imperial power to dismiss officials and execute people...

Yang Sichang then approached his colleague Xue Guoguan, looking dejected, and asked, "Grand Secretary Xue, was His Majesty's behavior today intentional or unintentional?"

Yang Sichang felt he had fallen out of favor; the Emperor would never have spoken to him so harshly before, much less transferred him away from the capital...

Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan said with a smile, "Lord Yang, don't worry. The Emperor is just angry right now, but he'll be fine once he calms down. You just need to focus on supervising the affairs of Huguang with Xiong Wencan!"

Xue Guoguan gained nothing from this matter, nor did he suffer any harm. He used to be close to Yang Sichang because Yang Sichang was the emperor's favorite minister, but now that signs of him falling out of favor have appeared, he can only try to gloss over the matter.

In Xue Guoguan's view, the emperor, seeing that the fighting in various places was gradually subsiding, was beginning to reclaim the Ministry of War. This was consistent with the emperor's usual approach to personnel matters. However, he couldn't remind Yang Sichang of this, lest he anger the emperor and invite trouble...

Yang Sichang sighed deeply: "Fine, I'll just go and become the military governor of Huguang..."

Yang Sichang naturally did not believe Xue Guoguan's words. If the emperor was angry, he would have been angry long ago. Why would he scold Cheng Guoxiang first?

So he also suspected it might be related to the Ministry of War, but today the emperor could have taken this opportunity to dismiss him as Minister of War, yet he didn't, which was a bit puzzling... so he stopped thinking about it... If he was going to Huguang, he was going to Huguang...

......

Zhu Jian, having left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, hurried to the Hall of Martial Valor.

Upon seeing Hong Chengchou, who was already waiting there, he gently pressed his hand down, indicating that he didn't need to be too reserved.

He asked, "Chengchou, have the troop mobilization order and letter been written?"

"Your Majesty, it's finished!"

"Your Majesty, I am prepared to dispatch the Governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting, Generals Cao Bianjiao, He Renlong, Sun Xianzhu, Zuo Guangxian, Ma Ke, and Deputy Generals Gao Jie, Hu Dawei, and Meng Ruhu, leading 80,000 Qin troops in two batches to Xianghe, Baodi, and other places to await the Qing army!"

"General Sun Shengji, Military Commissioner Ding Qirui, and Vanguard General Qin Yiming, among others, will lead 20,000 soldiers to continue guarding Tongguan!"

Hong Chengchou transferred 80,000 troops from Shaanxi to Shuntian Prefecture to protect the capital and prepare for battle against the Qing army. He made Shuntian Prefecture the main battlefield, which directly changed the war plan set by Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, which was to first pacify the country before resisting foreign aggression.

Zhu Jian nodded slightly after hearing this, then turned to Wang Chengen, who was practically invisible beside him, and said, "Issue an imperial decree to transfer Zheng Chongjian, the governor of Ningxia, to Tongguan to supervise Sun Shengji, Ding Qirui, Qin Yiming, and others! Only defend, do not attack. If Li Zicheng breaks out of Shaanxi, order Zheng Chongjian to follow him closely!"

Zhu Jian ordered the remaining troops to fight a guerrilla war against Li Zicheng. Since Li Zicheng liked guerrilla warfare, they should fight together and see who could kill whom.

Hong Chengchou was taken aback upon hearing this, looking at Zhu Jian with a puzzled expression, thinking to himself: The emperor has actually started studying military strategy... This tactic will eventually wear down Li Zicheng, but the drawback is that the army's pay needs to be stable...

He said, "Your Majesty is wise; it was a prudent move for the garrison not to engage Li Zicheng in a direct confrontation!"

Hong Chengchou also agreed with Zhu Jian's strategy. The remaining 20,000 troops were comparable to Li Zicheng's forces, and if they fought a tough battle, they would likely be wiped out. Therefore, Zhu Jian's strategy was the best choice.

Zhu Jian then ordered: "Pass down the order to Qin Liangyu, who has already entered Hanzhong, to advance towards Li Zicheng's forces in Shaanxi. Adopt the strategy of retreating when the enemy advances, harassing when the enemy camps, attacking when the enemy is exhausted, and pursuing when the enemy retreats. Do not seek to resist with force, but only to preserve your own forces!"

"If the battle situation allows, Qin Liangyu and Zheng Chongjian should join forces, with Qin Liangyu as the main commander and Zheng Chongjian as the assistant commander!"

Zhu Jian wanted to use two knives to hold Li Zicheng back tightly, so that he wouldn't rush out and disrupt the battle while the Qing army was fighting on one side!

Hong Chengchou nodded slightly after hearing this. He felt that if the emperor had had this idea of ​​taking things slowly earlier, he would not have made so many mistakes due to impatience. The speed of military operations should be determined according to the situation, rather than being done all at once.

"As you command!" Wang Chengen took the list from Hong Chengchou, memorized the decree, and went to the Imperial Stables to draft the imperial edict to mobilize troops.

After Wang Chengen left, Zhu Jian asked, "Are you confident in defeating 80,000 Qin troops against 80,000 Qing troops?"

"Difficult!" Hong Chengchou didn't boast, but gave a fair answer...

Zhu Jian smiled and continued, "I plan to transfer Lu Xiangshan, the Governor-General of Xuanfu, Yang Guozhu, the Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu, and Li Fuming, the Commander-in-Chief of Shanxi, to join forces with Tang Tong, the Commander-in-Chief of Miyun, in July, bringing a total of 40,000 border troops to Huairou. At the same time, Miyun will be completely emptied and fortified!"

"Dispatch 15,000 border troops from Wu Aheng, the Governor-General of Jiliao, to Yutian, and implement a scorched-earth policy for the Jizhou garrison, leaving it completely empty!"

"Twenty thousand Liaodong troops, including General Wang Tingchen of the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, Deputy General Wu Sangui of Ningyuan, and Deputy General Zu Dabi of Jinzhou, will be transferred to Yutian!"

"I also plan to dispatch Liu Guoneng, a peasant army commander under Zuo Liangyu who has already surrendered, with 3,000 troops to the north to participate in the war!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou clicked his tongue slightly. The emperor was gambling with the fate of the nation! He had transferred all the elite troops to Shuntian Prefecture—160,000 soldiers—to besiege the Qing army that had invaded the border!

After a moment of hesitation, he said with difficulty, "Wouldn't drawing troops from the Guan Ning Army give the Qing army an opportunity to take advantage of the situation?"

Zhu Jian shook his head: "The Qing army that entered the pass numbered around 80,000. How many soldiers does the Qing court still have capable of fighting?"

"Chahar, the peninsula, and Shengjing all need military strength. At most, Huang Taiji can personally lead an army to hold off the Guan-Ning Army in front of Jinzhou! I believe Zu Dashou can hold them off!"

Zhu Jian knew perfectly well that Zu Dashou had held out for two years under such difficult circumstances during the Battle of Songjin, only surrendering after running out of ammunition and food and having nowhere else to go. Now, he could certainly withstand Huang Taiji's attack on Jinzhou. The worst-case scenario was that Jinzhou would fall, and Ningyuan would be exposed to the Qing army's might...

"This..." Hong Chengchou was speechless for a moment, unsure of what to say...

Zhu Jian glanced at the hesitant Hong Chengchou and comforted him, "If we're going to fight, we'll fight big. This time, the entire army will attack the Qing infantry and artillery that have entered the pass, and block the cavalry. If we can't stop the cavalry, we won't. As long as we eliminate the siege infantry, I don't believe that the Qing cavalry can also attack the city."

Without artillery and logistical supplies, relying solely on cavalry raids was simply insufficient to meet the demands of a prolonged war. Zhili, unlike the grasslands, lacked cities, making it impossible to plunder all the grain from the grassland tribes.

The small villages and towns outside the city can no longer provide enough food for tens of thousands of cavalrymen and their horses. Therefore, once the Qing infantry forces that invaded the city are defeated, even the most elite cavalry will retreat...

"With so many troops and a million taels of military pay, it will probably only last for one or two months..." Hong Chengchou said with a worried expression.

Zhu Jian: "It won't take that long, at most a month! The Qing army won't keep us locked in a stalemate for too long!"

Zhu Jian concluded that as long as the Ming army and the Qing army were entangled, the Qing army would withdraw on its own when it realized it could not plunder any benefits. Otherwise, being far from its base and without supplies, it would slowly be worn down by logistics...